19C3 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
423 
Hope Farm Notes 
Farm Notes.— We had two light showers 
the third week in May—not water enough 
to soak down into the soil, yet enough to 
fre.shen up the grass and give the straw¬ 
berries a drink. They needed it, for in 
spite of constant hoeing and cultivating, 
they were ready to give up their job. 
Nothing quite like this early drought was 
ever known before in this section, and I 
fear we have not seen the worst of it yet. 
.... At the first shower Philip began 
transplanting the onions. They had been 
ready for over two weeks, and had been 
trimmed back several times. Although 
the soil had been harrowed and fined many 
limes he put on another bag of fertilizer 
and then harrowed again. Then the 
jjlants were set out in straight lines. They 
were dug out of the hotbed, the tops 
clipped off and the bulb set down in a 
little hole. It is a slow and puttering job, 
and at first thought a gardener will say 
that this plan of raising onions takes too 
much time. There is another side to it. 
L'nder this system you are able to get the 
soil into perfect condition and kill out 
many weeds with harrow and weeder 
which in the other method would have to 
be pulled with the fingers. I think we 
save more time in cultivating than we 
lose in setting, though it is harder to 
hire transplanters than it is to hire w'eed- 
ers. The objection to it is that in a sea¬ 
son like this one you cannot set the plants 
out just when they ought go in. 
We have cut most of the rye for hay. It 
was harder than I liked, but we were able 
to cut and cure it in good shape, and our 
horses will have nothing else in the way 
of roughage this Summer. The Crimson 
clover was cut May 25, and will be fed to 
the cows in pasture. Hay from Crimson 
clover that has formed seeds is not the 
safest feed for horses, but is good for 
cows.Thus far the trees plant¬ 
ed this Spring on the Stringfellow plan 
are doing well. Out of about 1,000 planted 
all but a dozen have leafed out and some 
of these will come later. No harder test 
could have been made, for this dry season 
is enough to parch a tree planted under 
the most favorable conditions. Many trees 
planted along our ridge have died. I saw 
one lot which was doomed to death from 
the start. The planter had heard some¬ 
thing about root-pruning, so he cut the 
roots off and left the tops all on. Then 
to insure their death he plowed a furrow 
in each side of the row, tlirowing the 
soii to the trees. There were the trees 
caliing for moisture with the entire top, 
wliile tlie roots had been cut off and put 
so that the air came close to them. 1 
cannot think of a harder cliance for a 
tree, and yet this man will doubtless say 
that he has tried the Stringfellow method 
and knows that it is a failure. 
We planted 200 apple trees last Fall—part 
of them in a rye field. In spite of the 
ilrought this rye has made a remarkable 
growth, and of course it has taken con¬ 
siderable moisture from the trees. Some 
of tliern begin to show the effect of the 
Imrd sucking, so we went earlier than we 
expected and cut the rye along the rows 
and piled it around the trees. This was 
done with a scythe. The rye in between 
will be cut w'ith the mower and most of 
it i)UL around the trees—the rest hauled 
in for feed.1 could, in company 
witii most farmers, tell a story of dis¬ 
appointment at the sad results of this 
drought. It has badly interfered with our 
plans, and in some cases pretty nearly 
up.set the year’s calculations. We have 
not even plowed our corn ground yet, and 
1 expected to grow a great crop of corn 
for seed—of a famous variety. In spite 
of all our care and fertilizer the grass is 
standing still. The Red-top in some places 
goes to seed at six inches high, and the 
clover heads out as a mere dwarf. It is 
tough for all of us, but no time for griev¬ 
ing or falling down. Scour the country 
with a fine-tooth comb and pick out the 
man who thinks he is hardest hit by this 
drought, and I will guarantee to find an¬ 
other who is evidently worse off. When 
a man wants to show how, rich and 
strong he is he compares himself with 
others. Why not do the same with mis¬ 
fortune? A little investigation will con¬ 
vince any sane man that others are worse 
off than he is! Come, now, cultivate 
cheerfulness if you can’t cultivate any 
other crop! . . . One crop that thrives 
in this dry weather is the chick crop. We 
have a fine lot of White and Brown Leg¬ 
horns. They spend about a month in the 
brooders and then move out into little 
houses without artificial heat. 
Water Supply. —Neighbors begin to com¬ 
plain about their wells, but we have no 
fear of a water famine. If I were to put 
up new fixtures I would make some 
changes. Instead of buying a windmill I 
would get a gasoline engine with power 
enough to run the saw as well as pump 
water. This engine would cost about as 
much as the windmill. While it would co.st 
more for running, it would be ready at 
call, while a windmill has a way of stand¬ 
ing stock still just when your tank is 
empty. I would also have two pipes con¬ 
nected W'ith the tank—one for the inflow at 
the top and one to let the water out at the 
bottom. When our tank was put up I was 
advised to have only one pipe entering at 
the bottom, with a branch from it running 
to the house. The argument was that this 
would give us fresh water at the house 
while the pump was working, and that 
water entering at the bottom would keep 
the tank w'ater well stirred up. These 
claims seem to be true, but the results are 
not worth enough to offset the disadvan¬ 
tages. The direct pumping into the house 
gives too much pressure for our hot-water 
fixtures, while the pumping in at the bot¬ 
tom of the tank requires considerably more 
power than where the water is delivered 
at the top. 
“Judgment op Providence.’’- I was at 
a gathering of farmers last week when a 
man read the riot act to me in great 
shape. He was a better farmer and an 
older man than 1 am. This is about what 
was said: 
“Our folks are down on you. Our women 
folks are so Incensed at you that they are 
likely to write you and tell you what 
they think!’’ 
“Why—what have I done, now—or, 
rather, what have you caught me at?’’ 
“Are you the man who said he wouldn’t 
sell an old blind horse to be abused?’’ 
“Yes, sir—I’m the man!” 
“And yet you sold the old horse blind 
of one eye and with rheumatism. 'I'hen 
you got stuck on the old grey mare with 
thick wind. It’s a judgment of Provi¬ 
dence on you and I’m glad of it, sir— 
I’m !/lud of it!” 
'I'hen it flashed over me that what he 
referred to was the sale of Dan. Now. 
Dan was only nine years old—a stout little 
chunk of a horse, but too light for b'rank. 
His rheumatism was about cured. The 
boys sold liiin while I was away, and 
wlien I found that he had been sold I 
went to the buyer and tried to get the 
horse back, but he hung to his bargain. 
I told him every defect that Dan has, but 
he hung to the horse. The man is a baker, 
and drives Dan on his delivery wagon. 1 told 
the baker that some day an auto will go 
by Dan’s blind side and suddenly dart 
within range of his good eye. Then the 
little horse will make a bolt and scatter 
bread and pies all the way to Hackensack. 
No use—the more 1 disparaged Dan. the 
more the baker wanted him. and I could 
not get him back without a lawsuit. I 
think my friend got young Dan mixed up 
with old Major. If I let Major go at any 
price I should deserved to be hooted at, 
for that faithful old fellow shall sleep on 
Hope Farm when his time comes. I tried 
to make ali this clear, but the farmer 
wouldn’t have it. “A judgment of Provi¬ 
dence! Served you right!” was all he 
would say. Another farmer who stood b.v 
said: “You did just what / would have 
done”—and that 1 considered a liigh com¬ 
pliment. 
As for the “judgment” part of it, I tliink 
there is something in that. 1 don't go 
fooling with jockeys any more, 'i’hey are 
too smart for us—and yet the "Bird” may 
yet put wings on her wind and surprise 
us all! 
Work Notes.— The Graft wants to earn 
money enough to buy a bicycle, and he 
has a fair chance to do it tliis Summer. 
He is raising potatoes and Lima beans in 
partnership with me. and also working for 
Llie other children. The Scion hired him 
to help plant potatoes and promised him 
10 cents for the job. Tlie Graft wanted to^ 
quit early, because he “had to do all the 
work.” I tried to explain to liim how the 
man who hires the laborer is boss of the 
job, and that the laborer luis no right to 
complain if the boss shirks—provided the 
pay comes as agreed. I made a poor job 
at this explanation, for to tell the truth. 
1 doubt this divine right of cash to lord 
it over labor. I think more of the carry¬ 
ing out of a contract even at a loss. I 
want the little boys to carry out their 
agreements no matter what turns up. 
Will the Graft be permitted to buy his 
bicycle if he earns the price? Certainly- 
the money will be his. If, after he looks 
at the scars on his little hands and re¬ 
members the drops of sweat he still wants 
to pay out the money he may do so. I 
do not fear that sweat-marked dollars 
will often be foolishly spent.Be 
it boy’s \v;ork or man’s work, labor that 
has no spirit in it is worse than drudgery. 
To drive a boy to his work at the end of 
a pitchfork is a sure way to prod him off 
the farm. The other day I took my hoe 
and started for the peach orchard to work 
around some of the newly-planted trees. 
The little boys can do this work as well 
as I can. but for some reason the.v didi. t 
want to go. It would be easy to make 
them go, but that is not the way to make 
fruit growers. I went in and got the little 
air gun and started up the hill. Within 
five mii.utes the little buys were at my 
heels begging for a chance to carry the 
little gun. It was easy to get them to 
agree to work an hour m exchange for five 
minutes’ shooting with the darts! They 
worked like little tigers. When we sat 
down to rest I told them how li. old times 
the early settlers carried their guns to 
the field and put them at the middle of 
the row so that the Indians could not 
reach them before the workers. The boys 
put this boloved air gun so that it was 
always in plain sight. Some of you will 
say that all this is nonsense, and that a 
stick beats an air gun for getting work 
out of boys. I’ll guarantee that the habits 
of work we are starting will stick better 
than your stick habits will. If I had my 
way no one should toil without recom¬ 
pense or labor in vain! h. w. c. 
Missing Link in Missouri.—1 see an 
article on page 369 in regard to the Missing 
Link apple. I am very glad to have an 
opinion from such an eminent man as Mr. 
Van Deman. I have some of the trees 
growing in my nursery, and call them a 
very poor grower; while some claim they 
are an extra good grower. a. l. z. 
Weatherby, Mo. 
Strawberry Note. —The strawberries 
were badly trozen twice, and the pre.sent 
drought has done some injury, but still I 
am going to have something worth seeing. 
The fruit has withstood the bad weather 
conditions better than might be expected. 
The first berries are just beginning to 
ripen. May 24. I have an irrigating plant. 
I began pumping May 23, and will be at 
it every day until it rains. The President 
l.s fine, and I think will bear out my ex¬ 
pectations this year, making allowance for 
tlie bad weather we have htid. The fruit 
where it was not injured is as fine as it 
was last vear, and is much smootlier, 
having very few of the wrinkles which it 
had last season. t. r. hunt. 
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