1903 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
487 
Hope Farm Notes 
Tough Weather.— The Hope Farm man 
took a 10 days’ vacation about the middle 
of June. He attended the nurserymen’s 
convention at Detroit, and then visited 
the old agricultural college where he was 
a student over 20 years ago. I am going 
to talk about all this later. When I went 
away we were just at the close of our long 
drought. After 45 days of baking, the soli 
on our hills was as hard as a brick More 
than half our corn ground had not even 
been plowed. 'The boys were to plow and 
plant at once when 1 started, but instead 
of stopping in time, the rain kept up day 
after day in a flood. Charlie plowed the 
field and got about half of it harrowed. 
There it stands now, a perfect mud bed. 
We have not been able even to mark it. 
For 16 days now the rain has flooded us. 
Complaining? 
Not a bit. We remember how less than 
three weeks ago we were begging for rain. 
We would be pretty folks to turn around 
now and beg for drought. Yet that would 
be about what we call “human nature.” 
The boys are Inclined to doubt the wisdom 
of planting corn after June 20, but I am 
going to plant that cornfield If I wait till 
the middle of July. We expect great things 
from our yellow flint—here we have a fine 
chance to test it under hard conditions. If 
we can plant it the last week in June and 
still get a fair crop we shall surely have 
something to brag about. So I will not 
change any plans about that corn. It is 
hard to stand in the barn door and watch 
the rain make mud pies of the fields that 
need cultivation. That is so hard that we 
won't try it at Hope Farm. There are 
jobs that ran be done in the rain. They 
do not bring in much money, but we keep 
at them and think of the rain’s gifts in 
Compensations.— There are many of them. 
The drought had nearly ruined the grass, 
but these soaking rains have given It new 
life. The first crop will still be short, but 
the second one will oe a wonder where we 
used the fertilizer. Then the little trees 
are jumping. Those young apple trees in 
the ryefield which Mr. Van Deman laughed 
at have had a full drink and are shaking 
tiiemselves out for a new run. The rains 
have started the strawberry runners in 
great shape, and we shall be able to do our 
Summer planting earlier than usual. Some 
of our Marshall plants marshalled a yard 
of texts for good sermons. The frost 
nipped them and the drougtit dried up their 
best efforts, but they didn't give up. When 
tlie rains came .they just shook themselves 
and sent out dozens of runners to walk 
off with next season’s opportunities. When 
a strawberry plant shows such faith in the 
future as Lliat a man should not fall down 
and worship doubt and gloom. The soil is 
now fully soaked. If wo handle it prop¬ 
erly we ought to raise fine crops of all late 
things-like cabbage or sweet corn. Our 
Hope Farm hills always were better suited 
to late crops than to early ones. There¬ 
fore, why find fault with the weather— 
since we are powerless lo control it? There 
were certainly no audible complaints Sun¬ 
day noon, when Agnes called us to dinner, 
it was still raining, after 226 hours of more 
or less steady downpour, but it didn’t spoil 
our dinner. We had two Hope Farm hens 
fliat grew weary of laying, with gravy to 
dig the grave of sorrow, potatoes, lettuce, 
green peas, bread and butter and straw¬ 
berries with cream thick enough to stand 
alone. Who would growl at the rain if he 
could have such a dinner in a dry place? 
All Sorts. —Now we get one good side 
of the new method of raising onions, 
'i’iiese days of rain would have made drilled 
onions look like a meadow. It would not 
liave been possible to keep tliem clean. 
During the drought we were able to worn, 
the onion ground again and again, and 
tlius had it thoroughly fitted before the 
onions were transplanted. Now there i.s 
noiliing to grow there but onions, and they 
certainly make the most of their chance. 
.... Our potatoes are certainly fine. 
In looking over my notes 1 find tliat three 
times in five years 1 liave let out a gentle 
brag at this season about potatoes. Since 
digging tlie potatoes has usually dug the 
bottom out of tliese brags I will say no 
more about potatoes except that we have 
planted fewer than ever before, and have 
spent more time than ever with a hand 
hoe. The Hope Farm man was brought 
up on a hoe and learned to hate it. He 
has been all through the talk and practice 
of letting a horse do all the hoeing, but 
now he knows that in our plan of farming 
no tool beats it in usefulness. . . . The 
cherry crop was a failure. All we have is 
what grew on two big seedling trees in the 
yard. The fruit Is small, with a dash of 
the wild-cherry taste, but we are glad to 
get them this year.I am plant¬ 
ing a new variety of cow peas this year— 
the Rani’s Horn. We nave tried about 
every variety—starting with Farly Black, 
This is good where you want seed, bul tho 
vin.^s are not large enough. I prefer to 
plant the late varieties, which make enoi’v 
mous vines, but seldom ripen seeds. We 
must remember that we are not after the 
seed crop at the North. We cannot afford 
to handle it in competition with the cheap 
labor at the South. What we want is the 
largest possible vine. This Ram’s Horn is 
white with a black eye. Drought gave 
Hope Farm a bad black eye. On the prin¬ 
ciple that like cures like, this black-eyed 
cow jiea ought to heal the wounds on the 
farm. Where do we sow these peas? We 
put a row on both sides of each row of 
young apple trees on the hill. There will 
be eight rows of fodder corn to fill out the 
32 feet space between the rows of trees. 
Pig Notes.— We now have 37 swine, old 
and young, to turn into pork this Fall. 
They will run in two of the orchards and 
eat the grass and fallen apples—to be 
“finished” on corn. We try to sell tlie 
young pigs as close to 100 pounds as pos¬ 
sible. There are several old sows in the 
lot which will dress close to 200 when 
they get In shape.I liave heard 
champions of various breeds tell how "pre¬ 
potent” their favorites are. In order to 
experiment a little we crossed the Berk¬ 
shire on tlie Yorkshire. The result is a 
litter of nine fine pigs. Four of them are 
just like Billy Berk and so far as mark¬ 
ings go would sell for good Berkshires. 
The other five are exactly like their York¬ 
shire mother except that the noses are 
longer. 1 had expected either a lot of 
spotted pigs or a decided tendency toward 
one parent, and these perfectly-colored 
little Berks show how wonderfully the 
Berkshires have been bred. Yet, this very 
fact makes it all the more wonderful that 
those five white pigs should appear. I 
would like to keep one of each, white and 
black, to see if the cross blood will not 
crop out later.The last year’s 
figures show that tlie Yorks have proved 
more profitable than the Berks. As is well 
known, I started with a prejudice in ravor 
of the Berks. 1 snould not say that this 
is a fair contest between tlie breeds—it is 
rather a trial between the families which 
I happen to have. My Berks are large, 
active and hardy. They grow rapidly and 
make a fine carcass, but the litters are 
too small, i have had four, five and six 
little Berks at a litter, while the iorks 
average 10, 11 and 12. 1 thought at one 
time that the average Berk would beat 
the average York, bat tliat has not been 
true of our pigs, uur Yorkshire sow Hose 
has a fine litter of 11 and is raising all ot 
them with no decided runt in sight yet. i 
would not have this opinion taken as a 
decision between the Oicvdis, for 1 am as¬ 
sured that some families of Berkshires are 
noted for large litters. 1 will try some of 
tills blood beiore 1 drop tlie breed. 
Horse Talh,— The “Bird,” our thick- 
winder, still wheezes along. The llesli is 
willing enough, but the wind is weak—in 
lier case. We tried Dr. Hatch s remedy ot 
nux vomica and iodide of potash, but it 
does not seem to relieve her. i hardly 
think slie is worth enough to risk an oper¬ 
ation. She does her best, but in aduition 
to her throat alHiction, she seems to have 
about the smallest proportion of hoise 
sense that one can obtain for the dollars 
we invested in her. A city man or horse 
may think that any fool can farm, but 
they find their mistake when they leave 
the ruts of city work and strike the coun¬ 
try. When the "Bird'’ was hitched up 
with Frank she eyed him as though she 
considered it a little below a lady of her 
cloth to pull a plow. She soon found her 
mistake. You haul a city dump cart with 
your shoulders and your beef, lou auii 
your brains to the work that is dune uu 
a farm. 
Two weeks ago you suoke of old Kate^. 
She is a new one. What about her? 
Some w’eeks ago 1 had a letter from a 
man in New York. He was a stranger to 
me, but thought that Hope Farm would 
give a square deal even to a horse. He 
was giving up part of his business, and 
iiad a faithful old mare left on his hands. 
He could sell her fur ^25, but the man wlio 
would take her was rough to horses and 
would be quite sure to abuse her. He had 
given away two old horses to farmers who 
promised them good homes, but who finally 
sneaked around and sold them! This had 
MULTIPLICATION OF MAN POWER. 
Power op Windlass.— I read in The R. 
N.-Y., page 454. that machinery does not 
add power to men. Our people have a 
heavy wagon box that required three men 
to take it off and set it on the ground. 
With a homemade windlass I drew it 
under the shed and raised it high enough 
to back the wagon under it, and one man, 
with the windless, lowered it on the 
wagon before breakfast. R. h. k. 
Norwich, N. Y. 
Slow Man Power.— The reason why you 
could draw the cultivator with the wind¬ 
lass is that you were using the lever prin¬ 
ciple. We will suppose you could exert 
a horse power and that a horse equals 10 
men; it would take you 10 times as long as 
it would the horse, or 10 men to have a direct 
pull on the rope to move a certain dis¬ 
tance. Use the plan that is the most con¬ 
venient; both will get there, if you doubt 
this test it and time the men with a wind¬ 
lass and the horse, and see which gets 
there first. C. m. 
Camillus, N. Y. 
Horse Power op a Mouse. —Referring 
to page 454, a mouse or a squirrel expends 
enough energy in a day to lift many tons. 
A child weighing 50 pounds lifts a ton In 
going up a flight of stairs a few times, 
or even In a short walk. A man walking 
five miles lifts from 375 to 500 tons, and 
gives the same weight a not insignificant 
forward motion. The mouse cannot apply 
his force directly so as to lift at one im¬ 
pulse a weight even of a single pound, but 
put him in a wheel and let him run at 
will; attach cords to the wheel and ar¬ 
range pulleys and cranks and gearing, 
and the mouse’s horse-power becomes 
available: even the weight of this little 
creature may be made to counter-balance 
tha.t of a horse. Notice with what a tiny 
weight the coal dealer balances wagon, 
driver and load of coal. It is simply a 
question of properly applying the force 
so as to do the desired work. A mouse 
has as much strength as a horse, if you 
give the mouse time enough. Do you re¬ 
member the lion who strove in vain to 
free himself from the net in which he was 
ensnared, and the mouse who gnawed a 
few threads and destroyed enough meshes 
to set the lion free? As a matter of fact, 
also, we get our strength from air as well 
as food, and perhaps also somewhat from 
courage. w. w. s. 
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weakened our frieiid’ti faith in human 
promises, and lie said he would have the 
old mare shot before he would have her 
abused. He wanted me to take her, work 
her while she could work and then put her 
■out of the way. i have great respect for 
any man who will take such a position as 
that, and the result was that Hugh went 
to the city and rode old Kate out to the 
:farm. She i.s now at work liere as faithful 
and honest as 1 should want a Hope 
Farmer to be. She is a little stiff in her 
legs, bul mighty limber in her desire to 
ido her duty. Old Kate is all right. Charlie 
•claims that slie is a better horse to-day 
than the "Bird’’—which cannot be called a 
ihigh compliment until you know what the 
“Bird” cost! _ h. w. c. 
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