599 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Hope Farm Notes 
New Varieties.— The following letter 
interests me greatly: 
"i have some potatoes raised from seed 
balls, about 70 varieties, averaging nearly 
si.\ hills each. I feel confident that some 
and perhaps many of them will prove 
worthy of propagation, but I am old and 
poor, and have neither the means nor the 
ability to push them into publicity. If 
you know of anyone who would take them 
off niy hands, giving me a liberal com¬ 
pensation, ask him to come ui) here and 
see them dug some time next month.” 
Connecticut. J- w. w. 
I do not know of anyone who would be 
likely to pay the cost of travel to see the 
potatoes dug. Our friend feels confident 
that some of the.se potatoes will prove 
good ones. He must remember that peo¬ 
ple do not put their money back of such 
tilings until they are sure. This is like 
the hundreds of appeals we receive from 
would-be inventors. A few of them have 
a real model of a machine, but most have 
only an idea, tuid they cannot understand 
why iieople with money will not see the 
great possibilities in their plans. You see, 
ideas or possibilities are very cheap. A 
man can develoii them while lying in bed, 
but dollars represent sweat and hustle on 
the part of somebody. They come hard 
to most of us, and while 1 would like a 
few my.self I see no reason why others 
should put them up without good security. 
There is very little profit in the introduc¬ 
tion of a new iiotato. At one time, some 
years ago, it was possible for a seedsman 
to secure a monopoly of a new variety 
much as a manufacturer could on a pat¬ 
ented article. That is no longer po.ssible, 
and no one will pay the iirices that weie 
l);iid per pound for Early Rose. 1 know 
all tibout the introduction of the R. N.-Y. 
No. 2 potato. Mr Carman tested thousands 
of seedlings before he found one Ihttt was 
worth anything. Ho received only $20h for 
this famous seedling, desiiite all the adver¬ 
tising and influence which the name car¬ 
ried. 1 am sorry to throw a shadow over 
any hopes, but I regret to say that the 
financial outlook for most originators i.? 
very poor. It is a shame, too, when the 
man who invents a new machine or writes 
a book can obtain a monoi)oly! 
Grass in Orchards.— Prof. \V. E. Mas¬ 
sey, in the Practical Parmer, says he is 
surprised that the Hope Farm man cuts 
a crop of hay in an apple orchard iind 
[ilans for another: 
"He .says that he cannot afford to leave 
that much feed in the orchard, when he 
can buy the plant food for the trees for 
one-fourth of the money. We fear he will 
find that it is not merely plant food that 
the trees need, but moisture to make it 
available. The maturing of a big crop of 
hay takes away from the soil moisture as 
rapidly as anything can, and in the 
droughts that are apt to aftlict us the 
growth of the trees will be seriously af¬ 
fected though the soil be full of plant 
food. The grass is all right, if it is fre- 
([uently mown and let remain as a mulch 
to keep the soil moist and to accumulate 
hurnus still further to increase the mois¬ 
ture-retaining character. Moisture in the 
soil along with good drainage is of more 
importance to the apjile than the plant 
food in a soil baked with drought and 
dried out by a hay crop.” 
I agree with that, but there are sevenil 
more things to be said. This is a wet 
season, with too much moisture for the 
trees. Four times in five August with us 
is a wet month, so that the grass has 
ample moisture. It has been .so wet that 
I have not mulched, the young peach trees 
at all. Had it been a tlry month I should 
have given that orchard a coat of manure 
as soon as the grass came off. That would 
have been as good a mulch as the grass. 
It so happens that we get many local 
showers, which never reach 10 miles on 
either side of us. Yes, indeed, T under¬ 
stand the need of moisture for trees, but 
it is not good business in our county to 
spend $00 for mulching an acre orchard 
when you can do it for much less. This 
year we do not need the mulch. In a dry 
year a good coat of manure made from 
shredded cornstalks will do it and leave 
us free to sell the hav. 
Women and Farms.— I can read between 
the lines of the following letter. I print 
it because we are having more than the 
usual number of letters from city people 
who want to try farm life: 
"I w-as brought up on a farm, and now 
after 30 years of city life I wanted to take 
up a farmer’s life, but the wife was op¬ 
posed. I hoped by having The R. N.-Y. 
and a poultry journal coming regularly 
she would read and get interested, if not 
enthused. She has read the Hope Farm 
man’s experiences, which seem real and 
ti'ue, and is determined more than ever 
we shall not try farming, so I feel com¬ 
pelled to abandon my ideal and go on 
grinding away in the tiresome noisy city.” 
So far as my own share in influencing 
this wife goes I can onlj- say that I have 
never tried to paint farm life as a sort of 
annex to Paradise. I know very w.ell that 
it isn't, and all country people who are 
obliged to work for a living are well aware 
of the fact. Many of us iirefer to live in 
the country in spite of some things that 
are uncomfortable, and if honest reasons 
were given for this choice you would 
have a long list of motives ranging fiann 
those that are utterly selfish to those that 
embrace the noblest acts of self-deni.al. 
1 have never had any patience with the 
writers who glorify the joys of country 
living without even a hint at the shade. 
Such writers do a vast amount of harm, 
for they induce people to come to the 
country who are entirely unfitted to face 
the responsibilities or enjoy the blessings 
of country life. Hope Farm tries to put 
its fair side forward—not the very best or 
the very hardest, but average life as it 
comes. I might pick out a few things 
that would make our old farm seem like 
fairyland, or 1 might select others that 
would read like the sad record of a 
tragedy. I am sorry for the man who 
w.ould like to end his days on the farm 
and is denied, yet I have great respect 
for one who gives up a life desire to 
please his wife. Farm life /« often hard 
for the women—harder than for the men. 
I cannot deny that, yet on the other hand, 
there are chances for happiness there 
which are unheard-of in town. As for me, 
after living under many varied conditions, 
I will put myself on record as saying that 
if I were offered the linest palace in New 
York with money to run it on condition 
that I must live in it all the time, I would 
reject the offer! But would the Madame 
say “Amen” to that? Probably not! 
Farm Notes.— VV’e put up a game fight 
against the weeds, but the wet weather 
was too much for u.s. The transplanted 
onions, the bush Limas, the potatoes and 
part of the corn are clean enough to suit 
anyone— as for the rest of the farm—don’t 
say a word. When the Nyack Pippins 
began to ripen we let the weeds go, and 
all hands picked apples. We never had 
better early fruit, ami it has brought good 
prices. The old orchard near the house is 
standing by us this year. When we came 
to the farm it had a heavy crop of ver.v 
small fruit, and there was a fair sod. \\ e 
pi'iined the trees and Fall-plowed the sod, 
giving one year of cultivation, and then 
seeded to oats with Orchard grass and 
clover. As the trees are headed high we 
pastureil the orchard last year with cows 
and this year with hogs. 'Each Fall we 
put on about 3UU pounds jier acre of basic 
slag. Under this treatment the orchard 
has .Shaken itself out, put up a fail- 
growth of young wood, and this year is 
well loaded with beautiful apples of line 
size and color. We keep 14 hogs in this 
orchard to eat the windfalls, and they are 
manufacturing pork that will retiuire no 
apple sauce! This pork, with the apples 
we are selling, will make this orchard 
about the most useful field on the farm 
this year. That seems to be what you get 
by giving the old things a fair chance 
. . . . The boys see now why 1 insist 
upon heading all our young trees close to 
the ground. These old trees are headed 
so high that some of the best fruit is 
about GO feet from the ground. These old 
veterans usually do their best work up 
near the sky and it takes twice as much 
time with four times as much danger to 
pick a basket on these stilts as it would 
on a low-headed tree.In spite of 
rings in the nose 1 find that hogs root In 
soft, damji places under the trees. They 
do not attempt it in the firm sod. It 
seems to be a hog’s nature to root, and 
unlike man, they will not submit to ring 
rule.The Timothy grass in the 
buckwheat is starting well. We did not 
seed heavily with the grain, but used 
about 12 uuarts of Timothy seed per acre. 
Why did w-e not depend on the “Clark” 
method? Because this field is on the siile 
of a steej) hill, and we are having one 
hard rain after another. Mr. Clark him¬ 
self lost the effect of his line culture by 
having a washout on his field. The dangei 
on our hills would be twice as great. 
. . . . Apple picking has interfered with 
strawberry cleaning. The Crab grass is 
working into the strawberries, but it will 
be pulled out again. There isn’t any use 
expecting fine fruit in June if you will 
not clean the crops by September. The 
road to a strawberry crop at Hope Farm 
runs through backache and sore lingers, 
but it is worth following.We 
have at least one crop on the farm this 
year that is a genuine credit—the trans¬ 
planted onions. From the day of their 
transplanting Philip has kept at them 
with wheel hoe and fingers—through 
drought and rain and all kinds of weather. 
These onions now are stretching them¬ 
selves in a way to do your heart good. 
As the field stands to-day it is the be.st 
lesson in intensive culture I ever saw. 
First the field was heavily manured, and 
then harrowed until its feelings were hurt. 
Then fertilizer was scattered and har¬ 
rowed in and the plants were set. Then 
Philip and the boys got down on their 
knees and scratched and pulled weeds. 
Then Philip put nitrate of soda along the 
rows and scratched again. That’s the way 
to get onions or anything else—make your 
soil rich, lit it, get good seed and stay by 
it. 'I’his .year we waited all thi-ough the 
drought before setting the plants. Now 
we know better. When the ground is 
ready put them in. h. w. c. 
Soda Bordeaux Mixture.—As we are 
often asked to describe “Soda Bordeaux’’ 
we give the following facts from a bulletin 
issued by the New Jersey Station (New 
Brunswick): One pound of “Lewis lye” 
and live ounces of lime are used to neu¬ 
tralize three oounds of sulphate of copper. 
The I.ewis lye is dissolved in a gallon of 
waiter and water is added to this solution 
until it contains 15 gallons. The copper 
is dissolved in 10 gallons of waiter, and 
the tw'o mixtures poured together. Then 
add the lime in the form of a thin white¬ 
wash, and keep all well stirred. Add water 
enough to make 30 gallons in all—the rule 
being 10 gallons of water to one pound of 
copper. This form of Bordeaux gives a 
better mechanical condition, and will spray 
easier. It appears to be just as useful as 
the lime mixture for destroying plant dis¬ 
eases, and can be used on well-grown 
fruits without leaving a coating. On the 
other hand it costs more than the lime 
mixture, though it is easier to prepare. 
mgigiigigiimmiiimiiiiiiiiii^iig^_iQiggmjggQjii 
Horse Owners! Use 
aOMBAULT’S 
Caustic 
Balsam 
A Safe, Hpccdjt and Posltiie ea;<i 
Xhesafest, Best BL1.STER ever used. Taki; 
ib8 place of all Hnaments for mild or severe actloi, 
Removes all Bunches or Blemishes from Horset 
and Cattle. SUPERSEOKS AL,I- CAUTERl 
OR FIRING. Impossible to produce scar or blemis:. 
Every bottle sold Is warranted to give satlsfactfos 
?rice SI. 60 per bottle. Sold by druggists, or sens 
!>y express, charges paid, with full dlrecdons fos 
'.‘8 use. Send for descriptive circulars. 
THE LAWRENCE-’WILLIAMS CO., Cleveland. O. 
For Sale—Steel Fencing. 
Ten cents per rod. Write for description and sample. 
ROCHESTER RADIATOR CO.. Rochester, N. Y. 
WE WILL HAVE A MAN 
from the oflBce at the State Fair, to meet agents and 
friends,as well as show others the superior points 
of Frost Fence, Steel Cates, etc. Cut this “Ad’’out 
and take It with you. and get a souvenir. 
THE FROST WIRE FENCE CO., Cleveland, O. 
If Our Agent 
don’t call on you soon, send for agent’s terms. 
PACK iVOVF.X WIRE FKNtH CO., Adrian. Mich 
CHARTER 
Gasoline Engine. 
For Grinding, Shelling, Fodder Cutting, 
Threshing, Pumping, Sawing, etc. 
STATIONARIES, PORTABLES, SAWING 
AND PUMPING OUTFITS, ETC. 
Send tor Illust’d Catalog A TestlmonlalB. 
Stmlm Your Powmi‘Itmmdm. 
CHARTER 6AS EN6INE CO., Boi26 STERLINO, ILL. 
Gutters Pneumatic. 
''Silo Fillers.’" Blowers. 
These machines cut and elevate with the same wheel at the same time. 
This wheel has patidles which throw and fans which blow. VV ithout the 
fans the patldles would throw the ensilage 15 fee t high. A Ugh t blast of 
atr In addition will blow It toaoj height. No chains, belts or cogs to slip 
and waste power. A twoborse tread power will cutand ele^te4 toss per 
hour, a 1 Oh. p. engine 20 tons per hour. The easiest running and sa^st 
cutters and blowers made. Also cutters and carriers, shredders, silos, 
engines, horse powers, saw machines, etc. Send for catalogues. 
HARDER MFC. CO., COBLESKILL, N.Y. 
The Golden Harvest 
will bring more gold to the farm¬ 
er if he uses complete fertilizers 
containing not less than 6% actual 
Potash 
The importance of Potash in 
grain culture is explained in our 
books which we mail /ree to all 
farmers who write for them. 
GERMAN KALI WORKS, 
93 Nassau Street, New York. 
BELLE CITY Feed 
and Ensilage Cutter 
Fan attached to Knife wheel and blows feed or ensilage 
through any length pi|)ewith le.<ig power 
than any other blower. Full line of 
Tread and Sweep Pow* 
ersyKoot Cuttera.8aw 
Frames Bella 
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8end for 
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BELLE CITY MFG7C0., Racine. Wis 
Silo and ensilage 
treatise sent free If 
you mention this paper. 
Box 
SMALLEY 
SAFETY BLOWEHO 
Only One Belt Required. . I I 
Self 
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18 
Sizes 
of 
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Freeman 
Feed 
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Smallest hand) 
lever to largest 
self-feed cylinder cutters, shredders 
and carriers for fodder, ensilage, etc. 
1 Widely popular through many years 
f service. Also Wind Milis, Corn tellers, 
Wood Saws, etc. Catalogue 108 Bent free. 
S. Freeman & Sons Mfg. Co., 
Racine, Wisconsin. 
WET AND DRY ROT PREVENTED 
and fence posts, sills and all exposed timbers made to 
last Indefinitely by the use of CONSERVO WOOD 
PRESERVATIVE. It permeates and harden* 
wood, prevents working of wood worms. Insects, etc. 
Cost but a trifle. Write for free circular. 
SAMUEL CABOT, Mfg.ChemUt, 
81 Kilby Street. Boston, Maui. 
It’s Almost 
Poist Believing 
the amount of time, labor and money this machinesaves 
you. say nothing of in- . 
creased crops its use .« « 
M0 
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It spreads all kinds of manure, lime, 
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lumpy, caked, coarse, strawy or stalky the manure is, 
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__ _ _ . lut "How to Grow 
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made by ourselves and the patents thereon have been fully sustained by a recent decision of the United States Circuit Court. 
KEMP tS. BVRPE:e: MANUFACTURING CO.. BOX 38, SYRACUSE. N. Y. 
