1903 
Hope Farm Notes 
riere we arc again with another big grist 
nf questions on ail sorts of topics. 1 lake 
them up almost at random: 
“I shall be short of hay this Summer, 
and I have a few acres which are now 
seeded to rye. Shall I mow the rye for 
hay, or shall I plow It under and sow oats 
and peas on the ground? In either case, 
can 1 secure a second crop of hay by sow¬ 
ing millet or beardless barley? In other 
\^ords, how shall I manage this field so as 
to obtain the largest amount of desirable 
hay?” 
We are very short of hay this Spring. 
I saw this shortage coming last Fall, and 
seeded rye wherever we could find a place 
for it. We shall cut this rye early and 
make hay out of it. I say “hay” as a mat¬ 
ter of being polite, but Major, Dan, Prank 
and the rest, would like to edit the state¬ 
ment. Dried rye is poor stuff at best. 
Slock will eat it if they have nothing 
else, but it is the poorest of all the dried 
stems of grains. It is all our horses will 
have, however, for at least two months. 
A part of the rye might well be plowed 
and seeded to oats and peas, but I shall 
have all mine cut. While oats and peas 
are excellent. 1 have about come to the 
conclusion that good corn fodder well 
cured and run thiauigh the shredder makes 
the cheapest forage we can rtiise. I shall 
plow the rye ground after cutting and 
raise tons of this fodder. You can raise 
beardless barley or millet after rye or oats 
and peas. We cpiestion the great value of 
the barley for fodder. The stem is too 
short. Millet is good fodder for cattle, but 
we prefer the fodder from our flint corn. 
“Will Hubbard squash mature if planted 
on a piece from which a crop of early 
peas has been harvested?" 
It will with us in an average season, but 
you must not stop to toll stories. 'I’he 
squash must be started at once and pushed 
along with well-rotted manure or good fer¬ 
tilizers. For a small patch the plants can 
be started eariy under cover in jtots, or 
on small sods and transplanted in the 
hills. The time is short for the squash, 
and delay will be fatal. 
“I wish you could direct our reading a 
little more. When you get hold of a good 
book tell yotir friends ab<nu it. also sug¬ 
gest books for children.” m. o. u. 
I do not feel competent to direct a course 
of reading. I do not have time to read 
lialf the books I would like. Most of my 
study is in scientific books which would 
hardly interest most people. 1 certainly do 
not read them from choice! The books 
that interest me most are those dealing 
with what I may call the human side of 
history. The books by John Fi'ske and the 
volumes by Francis Parkman are wonder¬ 
fully interesting to me, because they dis¬ 
cuss the forces which were slowly brought 
together through centuries in the up¬ 
building of this nation. I have Just read 
Paul Kruger’s memoirs. Another book 
that has influenced me greatly is Hamil¬ 
ton W. Mabie’s “Dife of the Spirit.” That 
with my old friend, “Deafness and Cheer¬ 
fulness,” make a pair of inspiring brothers 
in i>rint. Our little boys like books of ad¬ 
venture. Mayne Reid appeals to them, and 
also well-written little histories of early 
times. The little girls aie just now read¬ 
ing Hans Christian Anderson’s stories. I 
er.courage them to tell me the story in 
their own words after they have read it. 
“What has become of your Alfalfa?” 
I gave it ui) last Fall as surely dead to 
the world. I found no fault and deter¬ 
mined to try it again with manure or lime. 
Now, to my surprise, I find some of it 
alive! Parts of the field are fairly well 
covered with it—and they are the parts 
where I never believed it possible for the 
Alfalfa to grow. Where 1 thought I had a 
right to expect it there isn't a leaf to be' 
found. What will 1 say if, in spite of all. 
liiat Alfalfa does its duty? I shall be 
very much obliged to it both for helping 
feed the stock and for stiffening my faith 
in what I ought to know—that if I do my 
share the rest will come. 
A Vermont friend touches up an import¬ 
ant question as follows: 
“I hiive been an interested reader of the 
indignant re.sponses to the aspersions cast 
oil fanners’ wives as cooks. I am not a 
judge of cookery, but I notice that when 
a young man quits boarding at a hotel and 
goes out on a farm he fattens up right 
away. Iliough often in the midst of hard 
work. 1 wish the girl question could be 
made the subject of a symposium in Thk 
U. N.-\. It is not so bad in Vermont, but 
bad enough. 'I'he farm girls here all think 
• iiey must go to academy or normal school 
and fit for teachers. They make good 
ones; there is a demand for them with 
better wages than the kitchen girl gets." 
n. A. K. 
I have known town young men to make 
ah sorts of fun of farmers and their food. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
24 1 
and yet wlien you give them a chance at 
a farm table it is almost necessary to 
carry them away! Our city friends need 
not worry about the poor farmers! 1 will 
admit that some of them do not live 
within gunshot of ttieir privileges, but we 
certainly don't care for the sympathy of 
the poor things who have little to eat be¬ 
sides the trash they write for the papers! 
As for the girl question—it grows larger 
every year. If there is a good demand for 
Vermont school ma’ams they will naturally 
follow that demand. It is all well enough 
to say that the children must be educated— 
but how about the housework? When sick 
or elderly women are compelled to work 
like slaves simply becau.se no help can be 
had for love or money, what’s to be done? 
The girl crop seems to be as large as ever, 
but something seems wrong with the 
training. I used to think that the inven¬ 
tion of the typewriter was a great thing 
for women, because it gave them oppor¬ 
tunity. There is another side to it, for 
the new order of things has put girls w.ho 
might have scored Ho per cent as house- 
keeiiers at the machine, where they score 
barely 15. 
Farm Notes.— The Prizetaker onions are 
up in the hotbeds. Last year this variety 
gave a very poor stand, but this year the 
seed sprouts well and we do not expect 
any lack of plants. Philip will fit tlie 
onion field as near right as possible. The 
manure has been well rotted and will be 
spi'ead early in April and plowed under 
deep. Then the stones will be picked and 
raked off. They will be put into ditches 
dug through the lower part of the garden. 
Then the field will be lightly plowed and 
about 400 pounds of iron slag spread on 
the furrows and well harrowed in. Then 
we expect to harrow and harrow and har¬ 
row until the onions are ready to trans¬ 
plant. We expect to make that field as 
rich and fine as it well can be; to have 
the onion plants stocky and healthy, and 
to put them in right, if it is possible to 
do so. ... A farmer gains respect for 
a hog when he cleans out the pens. The 
amount of good compost that goes out 
through the windows of the hoghouse is 
astonishing. Where it all comes from Is 
a mystery. The little StringfeLow trees 
will have a good mulch of this stuff. 
Surely their root systems ought to be sat¬ 
isfactory since the Berkshires have rooted 
this material over time and again. , . . 
The fence problem is troubling us some¬ 
what. 1 do not like inside fences and 
liope to see the time when they will all go. 
At present we are obliged to have a small 
pasture for the stock. The old rail fences 
are falling down, and I am glad of it. In 
their places we expect to try a three-foot 
band of one-inch mesh chicken wire with 
two strands of ribbon wire above it. No 
barbed wire for us. The filly is too fine to 
risk that. This fence will turn the cows— 
with their horns off. ... It does my 
heart good to see the clover sprouting up 
this year. The few warm days of March 
have put such life into the Crimson that 
it is now likely to take care of itself. 
The Red clover promises a grand crop. 
We have it in different fields seeded with 
rye, oats and peas and beardless barley. 
If the stand on any field is better it Is 
where the oats and peas grew. This is 
surprising to me, since some of the wise 
men told me that you cannot get a catch 
of clover with oats and peas. Here Is the 
clover, however, and it seems wiser than 
the wisdom of these wise men. h. w. c. 
BUY DIRECT FROM FACTORY, BEST 
MIXED PAINTS 
At WHOliESA LE; prices. Delivered FREE 
For Houses, Bams, Roofs, all colors, and SAVE Dealers 
profits, la use 5 8 years. Officially Endorsed by the 
Orange. Low prices will surprise you. Write for pies. 
0. W. INQERSOLL, 246 Plymouth St., Brooklya, N. Y. 
For 30 days to the readers of The 
Rural New-Yorker. 
A Beautiful 13-piece 
I TOILET SET 
or China Tea Set, or Parlor Lamp, or Clock, or 
Watch, and many other articles too numerous 
to mention, with an order of 20 lbs. of our >iew 
Crop. 60c. Tea, any kind,or !40 ll>s. Kaking 
J ovvder, 45e. a lb., or an assorted order Teas 
and 15. P. This advertisement MUST ae<;oin- 
pauy order. 
THE«KEAT AMERICAN TEA CO., 
I P. O. Box 230. 31 & o3 Vesey Street, New York. 
THE REED 
Pivot Axle Spring Tooth 
CULTIVATOR 
pulverizes every inch of ground, kills all weeds 
and helps preserve moisture. Ideal implement for 
roimh, stony land. Widely adaptable. Peep or 
shallow cultivation. Three extra teeth forms per¬ 
fect riding harrow. Keinoval of a bolt forms rigid 
axle cultivator and gangs swing independently 
SHIPPED ON APPROVAL. 
If not found in your town, write us for catalog? and 
Special Introductory Price. Aicents and dealers 
wanted in all new territory. 
^REED WIFG. CO., Kalamazoo, IWloh. 
WATER. 
If you want water only when the wind blow.s a windmill will do your work 
and cost less money than our Rider and Ericsson Hot-Air I’uraps, butif you want 
Witter 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 about20,000 of them during the past twenty-five years, which Is proof 
that we are not making wild statements. 
Our Catalogue “C 4” will tell you all about them. Write to nearest store. 
Rider-Ericsson Engine Company, 
36 Warren St.. Nicw York. 
239 Franklin St., Boston. 
692 Craig St., Montrkat.. P. Q. 
Tenlente-Rey 71, Havana, Cuba. 
22 Pitt St., Sydnicy, N.8. W. 
40 Dearborn St., Chicago. 
40 N.7th St., Pmr.ADEt.PHiA. 
.. ■■ ■• -- - 
< 
IWII l■■lll■■■| . 
A FIFTY YEARS’ ^ 
RECORD 
Adriance 
Farm 
Machinery. 
For Cultivating, Haying, 
Grain and Corn Harvesting. 
Adriance, Platt & Co , Established 1855. 
Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 
Send for Free Catalogue B. 
AftMF Harrow 
■■ w IVI k Clod Crusher and Le 
Sizes 
3 T0 13 1-2 Feet. 
Agents 
Wanted 
Leveler 
SENT ON TRIAL 
To be returned at my expense 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 pnr- 
poses. Made en- 
_ tirely of cast steel 
^ and wrought iron 
_ , , j . - —indestructible. 
Catalog and Booklet, "An Ideal Harrow" by Henry Stewart, mailed free. 
I deliver free on board at New York, Chicago, Colambns, Loolsvllle, Kangai City, Mlnaeapolls, Saa Francisco, etc. 
Address DUANE H. NASH. SOLE MANUFACTURER . MILLINGTON, NEW JERSEY. 
TELEPHONES 
For Farmers’ Lines. 
Organize an exchange in your community. Full 
particulars gladly furnished. Catalogue free. 
; THE NORTH ELECTRIC CO., 152 St. Clair St., 
CLEVELAND, OHIO. 
Profitable 
Planting 
always results where a Keystone Com 
I’lanler is used. Drops tlie kernels in 
lull or drills any distanee apart and 
sows any ki d of pulverized fertilizer 
Willi utmost siitisfaetion. Works well 
in any kind of soil. Does not i-raek 
the grain and plants lieans, iwas, ete. 
Krame is steel, making a diiralile 
iiiaeliine wliieli is a iileasiire to use. 
Vou’ll never regret tlie pureliase of a 
Farquhar Keystone 
Corn Planter 
A. B. FARQUHAR CO., Ltd., 
York, Pa. 
Send for free 
illustraled 
eatalogue 
of farm 
iiiipleiiients 
and i 
maeliiiiery. 
THE MOWER 
that wl 11 cut your short grass, 
your tajl grass and weeds, 
and will do all the trimming 
along fences and walks. 
Send for catalogue and 
prices. THK CLIFPKK 
LAWN M <) W K K CO., 
Norristown, Pa. 
•‘STUCK UP” 
Corn rows that are stuck up against a hillside 
cannot be cultivated with the ordinary culti¬ 
vator. That is just where the 
U RAUS cultivator 
Am. Isatliome. The pivot-axle which controls 
the entire machine, enables it to go against the 
hillside with a “gather.” That keeps it up to 
the work and parallel with the row. Works 
equally well r>n the level. Wheels and shovels 
simultaneously moved sideways by the foot 
levers. Adjustable In width. Center lever 
spreads orchises the gangs. 1, 6 or 8 shovels. 
Pin or Spring Hoe or Spring Tooth. Simplest 
in construction and easiest working cultivator 
made. Accept no substitute. Insist on getting 
theKKiUS. No other “just ns good.” If your 
dealer does not handle it, write us. 
THE AKRON CULTIVATOR CO.. DEPT. 0, AKROH. OHIO. 
Four 
of the 
Famous 
workers that have made the Iron A^e line of farm and garden Implements 
known all over the continent. You can make more money this year than last 
If you will decide now to let them help you. Look at the good points of 
Iron Age Implements 
Iwprorrd-Robbins ^ _ No. SO Iron An 
Poute rinnur. ^ Figure out how much time, work. Seed, fertlll- riTotWhooiCniurLir. 
ser, dtc., you might save with a very small 
outlay, by buying Iron Ag;e implements. 
They have won their way by hon¬ 
est performance of every promise 
Write for free boolK. 
BATEMAN MFC. CO.. 
Box 102, 
Crenloch, N, J. 
No. I 
Irou Ak« 
Dooblo 
And 
Wheni Uon 
