1903 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
149 
Hope Farm Notes 
Manure on Meadows.— I spoke last week 
of the action of lime on old meadows. 
They are full of organic matter, but fre¬ 
quently this is so indigestible that the grass 
plants cannot use it. Lime often helps this 
by giving a better chance for the little 
bacteria to work over this organic nitro¬ 
gen into nitrates. 
if this is the action of lime, what does 
good stable manure do to such meadows? 
We all know that a coat of good manure 
on a tough old sod will often give far better 
results than an equal amount of plant food 
in fertilizers. 
The manure helps in three ways. It is 
iilkaline in its action—that is, it overcomes 
the acid and like the lime, sweetens the 
soil and gives the bacteria a chance to 
w,ork. It also supplies a quantity of soluble 
nitrogen in the form of nitrates, so that 
the crop may start at once without waiting 
for the organic matter in the soil to be 
made over. Again, it not only starts the 
bacteria in the soil at work, but it adds 
many more, for it is alive with them and 
often when sour or stagnant soil is manured 
the bacteria which the manure introduces 
multiply and work with astonishing ra¬ 
pidity. I have long felt that for these 
reasons it will pay us to scatter our ma¬ 
nure more—not crowding it all upon a few 
crops, but putting a little on many crops, 
and filling out with fertilizers. 
Are you not making too much of all this? 
I do not think so, because 1 feel sure 
that this changing of the humus or organic 
matter in the soil into soluble nitrates is 
the most important thing connected with 
general farming. There may be special 
farmers who can afford to ignore this soil 
nitrogen and use great dressings of manure 
or fertilizers every year, but most of us 
will do better to make the soil our nitrate 
factory. Surely we cannot do that suc¬ 
cessfully without knowing what runs the 
machinery and how to make it work to the 
best advantage. Let us all understand that 
what we call a “rich” soil is one that con¬ 
tains much organic matter, and also has 
these bacteria in working order so that 
they make it into nitrates. If faith is re¬ 
quired to have full belief in this bacteria 
theory 1 would make a great effort to ac¬ 
quire it! 
T,aid L'r.—L incoln's Birthday found the 
Hope Farm man badly used up with an 
attack of the ’ grippe.” This name is, 1 
believe, applied to the disease by city doc¬ 
tors when it attacks tiieir wealthy patients 
—with common folks it is influenza. With 
rich or poor tiie symptoms are much the 
same. Tour head aclies, your nose is 
stopped up, your eyes run like a hydrant, 
your legs are Wicak, and your back feels 
as though some one had used your shoul¬ 
der blades for a bass drum! Morning 
brings you an intense desire to take a 
buggy whip and tlirasii all the children 
and their grandmolhei, throw the break¬ 
fast dishes at Mother, and have a light 
With the hired man. You do not usually 
perform any of tiiese operations, but you 
uuiU to, and it hurts your feelings to think 
tliat you do possess any such desire. 1 
made a melancholy day of it. It was briglit 
and clear outside, and 1 wanted to be on 
the end of a cross-cut saw helping to nu 
tnat carload of wood. To be sprawled out 
on a lounge with a nose stuffed tighter 
tlian a drum and a back feeling like a beef¬ 
steak wfien a butcner has got through ’’len- 
dering” it, was enough to make an active 
man ask himself tliat unfortunate ques¬ 
tion—“Am i really getting old?” 
I regret to say, too, that there are temp¬ 
tations that slide in with the grippe! 
UTiat are you to do when old friends be¬ 
gin to say: “I've been through this, and 
ivd liquor is the only thing to drive it out!” 
Lvery time you open a magazine or paper 
you see the figure of some beautiful wo¬ 
man holding out a bottle of “sure cure” 
which you know is yu per cent rum! Oh, 
it tries a man's philosophy under such cir¬ 
cumstances to stick to his pills and his 
hot lemonade and his “nose paste,” but it 
pays, it gives a fellow a chance to realize 
that the Bud is grown to be a fine little 
nurse. You get a little better acquainted 
with the Madame, and learn a few' things 
tliat most men are not likely to learn until 
iliey have to. A good woman hoitis the 
best of herself in reserve until time of 
trouble! 
Fak.m Notes.— The hotbeds were filled 
with manure about the middle of February. 
Bhilip is taking extra pains with the beds 
this year. He built a new one that will 
last for 25 years! We expect to start the 
Prizetaker onion seed about March 1, so as 
to have the ti’ansplants ready in about CO 
days. This plan of transplanting onions 
worked so well last year on a small scale 
that we shall put in nearly half an acre 
this season.I have been asked if 
the low-down wagon is entirely satisfac¬ 
tory. For hauling out manure or for farm 
work on level ground it is a great success. 
Much lifting is saved by having the load 
nearer the ground. For hilly and rough 
ground it is not so good, and for hauling 
over our ordinary country roads I much 
prefer the larger wheels. In deep mud the 
small wheels are a disadvantage, and in¬ 
crease the draft. Where the mud is frozen 
into rough ridges I think the small wheels 
are better. We have tipped over with sev¬ 
eral loads of hay coming down our steep 
hills where the higher wheels would have 
held the load straight. When I was a boy 
I was told that a short-legged dog would 
always win in a fight because “another dog 
can’t throw him down.” I have learned 
about this as about others that “’taint so.’ 
For the first time we are having trouble 
with some of our shredded fodder. The 
stalks were a little green when we put 
them in the barn. 
Why did you house green stalks? 
There was a big storm on the way, and 
1 reasoned that the stalks were safer in 
the barn. Most of them cured out nicely, 
but part got a little musty. When we 
shredded we crowded one large box stall 
full, packing the fodder down hard. This 
started to heat, but by digging right 
through it when we came to feed we let 
the air in, or rather out, and saved it. 
Salt scattered on this fodder would have 
helped it, but I am convinced that it does 
not pay to cut too much at a time. When 
w'e get our own power I shall plan to cut 
every 10 days or so. I know that the silo 
men will say that all this is an argument 
for silage. Why not cut it all into the silo 
at once and have it done with? I do not 
consider that the silo is well adapted to 
our plan of farming, as we are going out 
of the dairy business. 
Who Speaks Here?-W e have been suc¬ 
cessful in filling what 1 may call “long 
felt wants.” When Elmer Hubbard in 
Cuba asked for a gardener to work without 
reward 20 people wrote him. When that 
Philadelphia man called for a “trusty man” 
50 specimens of the genuine article started 
up at once. I have thought that some 
reader of The R. N.-Y. can give a sensible 
answer, from experience, to any sensible 
question, but this request from a New 
Y’ork State man will probably break the 
charm: 
“Now I will tell you what I am, and 
that is an old bachelor trying to farm 36 
acres and do my housework and take care 
of my mother (84 years old last October). 
You can guess what I have to do. So if 
you have the application of any old maid, 
20 to 40, tell her to write, as women are 
scarce here, respectable ones. It is a pretty 
hard Job to hire a girl, as they are looking 
for a soft job or a man with plenty of 
money.” 
It cannot be said that this man offers 
what most women would call “fiattering 
inducements,” yet any man who will care 
for his mother in this way is worthy of 
respect if not admiration. I have seen 
enough of the world to know that too many 
people neglect their parents when they be¬ 
come a burden, and put them off with scant 
care. Is it true that most women are “after 
a soft job or a man with plenty of money?” 
Fifteen years of married life with varied 
serenity gives the Hope Farm man wisdom 
enough to withhold his opinion on this im¬ 
portant topic. H. w. c. 
This Wheel Harrow 
Thoroughly Pulvorizes the SoM| Kills AM Weeds and 
Makes a Perfect Seed Bed. 
It li suited to llttlag soy kind of soil for any kiod of crop. 16 Mteot 
urlinpod spring 6*oh fitted with Sk Inch rcTerslble i^&ts. Cuts » 
»trip 6 feet wide. Good high wheels with wide (3 in.) tires. Carries the 
rider and at the same time reduces draft to the minimum. Two convenient 
levors control the gangs perfectly. It Is most modem steel construction 
(broughout,which means the maximum of lightness,neatness and strength 
combined. Every tooth cuts its own furrow. ^'o trailing. Cannot be 
clogged with stalks, stubbles, weeds or rubbish. Once over leaves the 
soli In better ouodition than two or three times with ordinary harrows. 
We vrant ag^ngentin each locality. Write fur catalog and special terms. 
REED MFG. CO., Kalamazoo, Mich, 
Seed Sower’s Book 
Tells you tiie whole story of how, what and when to 
sow and doscrihes the popular A ■ ■ A A Al 
uAHUUN 
Broadcast Seeder, 
which sows uniform¬ 
ly the seed 
to 50 
. For 
of seed, 
free. Write 
to.day. 
Wagon World Awheel. 
Half a million of these steel 
wheels have been sent out on 
our own wagons and to fit other 
wagons. It is the wheel that 
determines the life of any 
, wagon, and this is the longest 
I lived wheel made. Do you want 
a low down Handy Wagon to 
use about the place? 'We will fit 
out your old wagon with Elec¬ 
tric Wheels of any size and 
any shape tire, straight or stag¬ 
gered spokes. No cracked hubs, no 
loose spokes, no rotten felloes, no resetting. Write for 
the big new catalogue. Itls free. 
Elvotrlo Wheel Co., Box M, Quincy, Ills. 
THE WEAR 
OF RUBBER BOOTS AND 
SHOES DEPENDS UPON 
THE RUBBER IN THEM. 
There is absolutely no wear in any of the other ingre¬ 
dients of which they are composed. Every time the 
quality of Rubber Boots and Shoes is reduced 10 per cent., 
the durability is reduced over 20 percent, because there is 
only one way to cheapen them, and that is to leave out 
Rubber and put in its place other things that have no 
wearing quality whatever. This cheapening process has 
been steadily going on for the past 40 years. 
■xsie: 
BUCKSKIN BRAND 
OF RUBBER BOOTS AND SHOES 
are made of real rubber—and one pair of them 
will outwear two pairsof tbe stamiard first graiies 
now on tlie market. Try a pair and be convinced. 
Made in Duck Boots, Duck rolled edge Overs for Socks, 
and Felt Boots and in Arctics and light rubber shoes. 
Insist on getting tlie UL'CKSKI.N BRAND. None gen¬ 
uine without the word BUCKSKIN on the top front of 
the legs of the hoots and the bottoms of the shoes. 
If your dealer does not keep them write us and we will 
see that you get them either through some 
dealer in your town or from us direct. We will 
also send you a very interesting catalogpie 
profusely illustrated, which describes the mak¬ 
ing of Rubber Boots and Shoes from the gath¬ 
ering of the rubber to the finished goods. 
MONARCH RUBBER GO., 
80 Bridge Street, LAMBERTVILLE, N.J. 
FACTORY, ST. LOUIS, MO. 
■‘Tff 
NOT MADE BY A TRUST. 
An actual test of a s-tnch 
strip cut from the sole of 
the Buckskin Boot. Note 
the elasticity and strength 
Only the best Rubner 
will stand a test like this. 
Wei ght of boy and swing 
no lbs. 
SEE THE SEED DROP 
In plain sight of the operator. 
MATTHEWS IMPROVED 
NEW UNIVERSAL 
Hand Seeders and Cultivators. 
Used by the most successful garden¬ 
ers. They do perfect work. Save time 
and money. Open furrow,drop seed, 
cover any desired depth, also mark 
next row. Latest ana best Cultivat¬ 
ing Attachments. Best material 
S' throughout. Oak bent handles. 
OMPANY. 64 MARKET 
Planter and Fertilizer 
Is the latest, and It drops 
at twelve different 
itances. w seed. 
If you want them, 
we furnish Marker and Trip 
Attachment for rowing both 
ways. Sand for 1003 
Catalogue of Labor Sav> 
ing Specialties—FREE. 
Street, boston, Massachusetts. 
HAPGOOD 
REVERSIBLE 
OR SIDE HILL 
DISC SULKY 
has all the good points of the Hancock and in addi. 
tion is especially adapted for hillsides, plowingf 
back and forth on same land. Send for special circnlarwitb 
fall description. AGENTS WANTED. Liberal discount 
on first machine to introdnee. Address 
HAPGOOD PLOW CO., Exclusive Mfrs., Box saS^AIton, III. 
Sizes 
3 T013 1-2 Febt. 
Agents 
Wanted 
SENT ON TRIAL 
To be returned at my e-xpense if not satisfactory. 
The best pulverizer—cheapest Riding Har¬ 
row on earth. We also make walk¬ 
ing Acmes. The Acme 
crushes, cuts, pulverizes, 
turns and levels all 
soils for all pur¬ 
poses. Made en¬ 
tirely of cast steel 
and wrought iron 
—indestructible. 
Catalog and Booklet, ''An Ideal Harrow," by Henry Stewart, mailed free. 
I deliver free on board at New York, Chicago, Coigmbus, Louisville, Kausas City, Minneapolis, San Francisco, etc. 
Address DUANE H. NASH. SOLE MANUFACTURER * - MILLINQTON. NEW JERSEY. 
AnUE* Pulverizing Harrow 
Clod Crusher and Le 
Leveler 
Works on either standing timber or stumps. Will pull an ordinary Grub in 1)Z minutes. Makes a clean 
sweep of Two Acres at a Sitting. A man, a boy and a horse can operate it. No heavy chains or rods to 
handle. The crop on a few acres the first year will pay for the Machine. Send postal card for Illust’d 
Catalogue, giving price, terms and testimonials. |||| ur |jrp nn nnn OIL 04 fll 
(Addrm Milne Bros. Jot Shetland Pony Catalog.) nllLnt Hib. Uu., ODU 6111 ol., MOniuOUlD, til. 
i 
