1903 
n ~ 1 
Hope Farm Notes 
I have a stack of questions, some of 
which are too much for me. I will try a 
few at any rate. 
Sulphur and Scab.— A North Carolina 
man gives this one: 
"I notice in The R. N.-Y. of 1902, page 
355, you say that when the drizzle began 
you scattered a little more .sulphur on the 
seed pieces. I would like to know why 
you apply sulphur; is It to keep off scab? 
If so. how much sulphur do you apply, say 
to five bushels of seed potatoes? I have 
a lot of small seed potatoes that are pretty 
badly affected with scab. Would you plant 
such seed? Would you drop the seed first 
and then spread the manure on top of the 
seed and then cover with soil, or would 
you spread manure first and then drop the 
seed?” c. f. w. 
We use sulphur for a double purpose; it 
prevents the growth of scab to some ex¬ 
tent and also prevents the seed piece from 
rotting. In cold, wet ground the seed 
pieces often rot before the sprout can get 
above ground. Sulphur stops the rot and 
gives the seed piece a chance. It acts 
against the scab in two ways, directly to 
kill the germ and indirectly to make the 
soil sour, so that the live germs will not 
work rapidly. 
It is an old story which must be retold 
every year that “scab” is a skin disease of 
the potato. It spreads by means of a tiny 
germ—much like a skin disease of animals. 
It enters the soil usually upon the seed 
potatoes, and once there may remain alive 
for years. There are two ways of prevent¬ 
ing its growth on the crop. We may use 
something on the seed potatoes that will 
kill the scab but not kill the sprouts, and 
we may try to put the soil in such shape 
that the germs will not grow. These germs 
grow best when the soil Is alkaline—they 
do not spread rapidly when the soil is 
sour. Therefore in growing potatoes we 
try to avoid the manures or fertilizers that 
make the soil sweet. It has often been no¬ 
ticed that w'hen a green crop like rye or 
clover is plowed under just before planting 
potatoes, the crop Is usually clean. That 
is because the green crop soured the soil 
so that these germs could not spread. Sul¬ 
phur alone will not clean that scabby seed. 
It will do quite well where there is little 
scab, but for this seed you will need a 
liquid that will soak into every crevice. If 
I used that seed at all I would soak It for 
two hours in a solution of one-half pint 
of formalin in 15 gallons of water. Rinse 
the potatoes first in water, then soak them 
in this solution and dry before cutting. 1 
would use the sulphur too. Our plan is to 
cut the seed into peach baskets. Three 
times, while the basket is being filled, we 
sprinkle a handful of sulphur over the cut 
pieces and shake them well. The basket 
stands on a sack so that the sulphur which 
falls through can be used again. We use 
not far from a pound of sulphur to a 
bushel of seed. Your plan of dropping 
such seed in the bottom of the drill and 
then putting manure on it would be just 
the way to raise a big crop of scab. The 
manure is alkaline and will give the scab 
just exactly the right conditions for grow¬ 
ing and spreading. Do not under any cir¬ 
cumstances put manure and scabby seed 
together. The Hon and the lamb will lie 
down together long before this combination 
will work anything but harm. 
Corn Growing.— This letter comes from 
Schoharie Co., N. Y.: 
"Will the Hope Farm man tell us how 
many plants he leaves in the hill of Rural 
Thoroughbred Hint corn? A seedsman 
says leave but one plant in a hill. When 
that corn was first sent out by The R. N.- 
Y. in the free seed distribution my father 
planted his in the garden, one plant In a 
hill. The corn eared immensely. Some of 
the hills had six ears, one hill yielded 10 
good ears from one kernel. Would you 
advise me to plant this corn for field crop? 
I want a corn that will ripen in 90 days.” 
J. R. B. 
We grow this corn mostly for fodder and 
leave three or four stalks to the hill. It 
makes a wonderful growth of leaf. If 
wanted for grain we would leave two good 
stalks in the hill at the average distance. 
This corn under such handling ears out in 
a way that is the envy of a deaf man. I 
think one stalk three feet each way would 
give a great yield, but on our steep hills, 
where the wind Is often fierce, such heavy 
loading of the stalk does not pay. A stalk 
standing alone with three big ears on it 
will whip and thrash about and go down 
where two good stalks in the same hill 
will st.and together. This corn requires 
a rich soil or heavy feeding to make a 
good crop. Some varieties are hustlers, 
giving a fair crop even when poorly fed. 
Not so with this flint. It will take a lot 
of plant food and make it into a big crop. 
It is worth trying in your locality, but I 
will not guarantee it as being the best 
variety for you. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
2i7 
Dishwater for Pigs. —Here is another 
man from North Carolina: 
“Referring to Hope Farm Notes on feed¬ 
ing dishwater to pigs, would it be safe if 
there was an excess of soap in the water? 
We have colored help, and they use a 
large amount of soap in their dishwater. 
Do you think under the circumstances it 
would be safe to feed it to pigs?” j. d. 
Since I wi’ote about feeding dishwater 
to pigs a number of good friends have told 
me politely that 1 am all wrong. .1 never 
meant to say that we empty the dishwater 
right into the pigs’ trough. That would be 
a good way to kill the pig if much soap or 
washing powder were used. Our dishwater 
is thrown into a large barrel with other 
liquids and wastes so that when it gets to 
the pigs it is very much weakened and 
also mixed with grain. We use much hot 
water in washing dishes and not mucn 
soap. Kerosene would be much better it 
I could only induce the Madame to have 
confidence enough in my scientific attain¬ 
ments to believe it! I like to encourage 
the use of soap—except on the inside of a 
pis—but I fear such dishwater as you 
mention if used clear would hurt the pigs. 
I would either dilute it with water or other 
liquids and mix swill or grain to thicken it 
or use it around trees as a fertilizer. 
The Boy and the Farm.— The following 
letter comes from Delaware: 
“It is not the boys’ fault that they leave 
home to seek city life. It is because they 
are poor and their parents are not able to 
pay them wages when they are of age; 
therefore they must go somewhere, and 
the wages offered In the city are three and 
four times what they can earn on the farm. 
If the boys could become land owners there 
is not one in ten who would leave the 
farm, but it takes money to buy land and 
there is no one to help them by loaning 
the money. 1 speak from experience. I 
am a farmer’s wife and our oldest boy is 
now 18. If his father owned a good farm 
he could afford to keep his boy at home, 
but after we pay our rent there is little 
left to help the boys with. If we could 
find some friend willing to loan $10,000 or 
$12,000 at four or five per cent interest and 
secure himself by a mortgage on the farm 
for a few years, we could soon have a 
home paid for and the boys would not 
w.ant to leave the farms. If you know of 
some one willing to try the loan just let 
me know, and 1 assure you he will not lose 
his money, and be doing good to the farm- 
Cf.” c. T. D. 
There Is some truth in this. When 1 
was a boy I ran away from the farm be¬ 
cause I could not see any chance on it. 
1 have often told how ashamed I was to 
go back years after and find that a wo¬ 
man on that same little farm had made a 
good living and more. I know therefore 
that a boy will sometimes go to the city 
after a job before he has tested half the 
possibilities that the old farm had to offer. 
1 doubt whether there is a community In 
this country where a boy may not sell 
skill and brains to advantage. He must 
learn to do something or produce some¬ 
thing better than others can do it. He 
can pack his skill into a chicken, a pig, 
seed corn, a strawberry plant or a job of 
grafting. Father may be poor and the 
farm may be under the shadow of rent or 
mortgage, but the boy who tcill can find 
a way to sell skill at home. If I were a boy 
again with the spur of necessity behind 
me and the finger of ambition ahead I be¬ 
lieve I could make a paying job almost 
anywhere I think therefore that boys 
often go away because they lack opportu¬ 
nity and inspiration at home. As to lend¬ 
ing money at low interest on farm prop¬ 
erty, 1 cannot conceive of anyone wlio 
would loan $10,000 with security on a farm 
which does no more than you say this one 
does. Taking society as it is made up at 
present I do not consider such a thing pos¬ 
sible. Most men who scrape $10,000 to¬ 
gether are more concerned about doubling 
it than they are about taking such a four- 
per-cent risk as any such farm mortgage 
would be. I wish it were possible for such 
farmers to obtain fair credit. If they 
could only secure capital some of them 
would be much better off, but unless a man 
can show rare skill or great energy as a 
farmer moneyed men are shy about hand¬ 
ing him money. There are causes for this, 
I think, and some day I shall try to see 
if I can dig them out for view. h. w. c. 
Lines. 
OrKitnlze an oxchange in your community. Full 
particulars gladly lurnislicd. Catalogue free. 
; THE NORTH ELECTRIC CO., 152 St. Clair St., I 
CLEVELAND, OHIO. 
AGENTS WANTED. 
for the only Perfect Steam Cooker made, the fastest 
selling article on the market. You can make $75 to 
to$200 per month. If you want the exclusive sale for 
your town, write us at once as territory Is being 
rapidly given out. Address 
The Kuipire Cooker Co., 3 KN. Newburgh,N.Y. 
THE LARIMER DITCHIHG PLOW 
with Subsoil Attachment. If you have ditching to do 
this plow will save you more money than any imple¬ 
ment you have on your farm. Reduces cost of dig¬ 
ging ditches from one-half to two-thirds. Send for 
circular. Manufactured by 
.JOHN .J. LAKIMER & CO.. 
153 S. Jefferson Street, Chicago, III. 
(Formerly of Latrobe, Pa.) 
Ho. 15 
Iron Afro 
Iron Age 
whooi Implefneuts have helped make crops 
no«. Hill and larger, expense smaller. There’s 
, Urill Soedi-r. ^ tools- 
Ko. 8 
Iron Ag;e 
Home Hoe 
d Caltivator 
for farm and gar¬ 
den work—every 
one a winner ! 
They are fully described in the 
New Iron Age Book 
No. 12 
Iron Age 
Wheel Flow 
and Cultivator 
It will give you ideas. Itshows the tools by large, accurate 
wood engravings, “just as they are,” gives prices and all 
details. Wliether you have a quarter acre garden 
or a great big farm you can find the tools you 
^ need described in this book. It is Free. 
No. 70 Iron Age 
Combined Pivot 
and Fixed Wheel 
Riding Cultivator 
^BATEMAN MFG. CO.. 
Box 102, 
Grenloch, N. J. 
WATER. 
If you want water only when the wind blows a windmill will do your work 
and cost less money than our Rider and Ericsson Hot-Air Pumps, but if you want 
water every day while your flowers are growing and do not want your pump blown 
down when the wind blows too hard, no pump in the world can equal ours. We 
have sold about 20,000 of them during the past twenty-flve years, which Is proof 
that wo are not making wild statements. 
Our Catalogue “C 4” will tell you all about them. Write to nearest store. 
Rider-Ericsson Engine Company, 
35 Warren St.. New York. 692 Craig St., Montreal. P. Q. 40 Dearborn St., Chicago. 
239 Franklin St., Boston. Tenlente-Rey 71, Havana, Cuba. 40 N.7th St., Philadelphia. 
22 Pitt St., Sydney, N. 8. W. 
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 percent., 
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. 
oche: 
BUCKSKIN BRAND 
OF KUBBF.K BOO'FS AND SHOES 
are made of real rubber—and one pair of Ibein 
will outwear two palrMof tUe standard lirst graileM 
now on the market. Try a pair and be convinced 
Made in Duck Boots, Duck rolled edge Overs for Socks 
and Felt Boots and m Arctics and light rubber shoes’ 
Insist on getting the ItlJOKSKI.V BR.4MI. Xone gen¬ 
uine without the wrord BUCKSKIN on the top front of 
tlie legs of tlie boots and the bottoms of tlie 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 catalogue 
profu.sely illustrated, which describes the mak¬ 
ing of Rubber Boots and Shoes from the gath¬ 
ering of the rubber to the finished goods. 
MONARCH RUBBER CO., 
80 Bridge Street, LAMBERTVILLE, N. J. 
FACTORY, ST. LOUIS, MO. 
NOT MADE BY A TRUST. 
-y 
A n actual test of a 3-lneh 
strip cut from the sole of 
the Buckskin Boot. Note 
the elasticity and strength 
Only the best Rubber 
vrill stand a test like this. 
Weight of boy and swing 
110 lbs. 
pulverizer—cheapest Rid 
TO 2 e.T. % ing Harrow on earth. We also mak 
Age^s Walking Acmes. The Acme crushei 
Wanted cuts, pulverizes, turn 
and levels all soils fo 
all purposes 
Made entirely 
of cast steel an 
wrought iron- 
indestructibU 
. Catalog and Booklet, Ideal Harrow^" by Henry Stewart, mailed free. 
I deliver free on board at New York, Chicago. Colitmbus, Louisville, Kansas City, Minoeapolls, Sao Francisco, eh 
Address DUANE M. NASH. SOLE MANUFACTURER - MILLINQTON, NEW JERSEY 
A A U E Pulverizing Harrow 
Clod Crusher and Leveler 
SENT ON TRIAL. 
Cut this out, fill in your name and address and 
mail to me. 
DUANE H. NASH, Millington, N. J. 
Ship to my Address 
One ACME Pulverizing 
Harrow, Clod Crusher 
and Leveler, No. 23 
Two Horse Size 
To be returned at your expense if not entirely 
satisfactory after half day’s trial on my farm. 
Name. 
P. O. Address. 
County and State. 
