rilK RURAL NEW-YORKER 
647 
li'on 
Hope Farm Notes 
Had VVt;ATHp:R.— As I write we are enjoy- 
iiig our fifth day of rain. Before that we 
had four more days of dull cloudy weather, 
with the soil pasty as putty. My dream 
Ilf a hot August and September for ripen¬ 
ing the corn turns out to be made of about 
the same stuff that most dreams are made 
of. Vet, in spite of the cold rain the corn 
actually seems to be earing out as it 
should. The rot has come upon the pota¬ 
toes like a thief in the daytime—a thief 
so big and forceful that you cannot handle 
him. The soil is in such shape that farm¬ 
ers cannot dig, and our county is likely 
to lose a good share of the crop. This 
will not hurt us much, as I planted few 
potatoes this year, but I am sorry to see 
hard-working farmers lose their crop. 
Those who have neither hay nor apples 
this year are in bad shape. The rain has 
(lone us great damage this year, still, as 
I see it gather strength for another deluge, 
I feel that I am responsible for the fact 
that two acres of fine clover are out in 
Nature’s washtub, I had it cut just before 
this rain started, for the sun came out in 
a way that quite deceived me. Nature is 
doing a good job of laundry work on that 
$60 worth of hay, but I am not going in 
to scold the Madame or whip the children 
about it. It didn’t dry much before the 
rain started. While its selling value has 
gone, it’s five to one that the cows will 
eat most of it, or 10 to one that the hogs 
will clean it up. Even if it gets so bad 
that the hogs refuse it I must remember 
that it will make a great mulch for the 
trees, and that Hitchings wouldn’t even 
take it off the ground. 
The Bud is a thoughtful little child. 
Whenever she sees me in thought or in 
liouble she comes and asks me if I am 
glad—never if T am sorry. So when I feel 
a little hand on my arm and a little voice 
liiping up with, ‘•Father, are you ohul it's 
raining?” I try to feel as gay as a lark 
liver whatever comes to me in a way that 
I cannot prevent. Where would a man 
end if he began to grieve over things 
which are beyond his control? The very 
ait of meeting these blows with cheerful¬ 
ness gives us our only chance to ‘‘brace 
mi” .after they move on. 
Hut has this not been a ruinous .season 
at Hope Farm? 
No. the truth is that unless the whole 
ihing goes wrong in September and Octo¬ 
ber our farm income will be far greater 
than last year. The coal strike provided 
a good market for wood. We do not pre¬ 
tend to be dairymen, but our sales of 
milk and calves will run clo.se to $150. The 
aiiples are excellent, and are bringing good 
prices. The onions could hardly be better, 
and the.se great white bulbs will sell at 
nearly our own figures. As a sort of 
desperate move I planted nearly half an 
acre to bush Eima beans. They are just 
ripening an immense crop, and as the pole 
l.imas around ns are rotting the price is 
high. Hay was a great crop, and for the 
first time T shall have considerable to sell. 
If the hogs do not meet with disaster we 
shall have 5,000 pounds or more of pork 
in sell before Christmas. I am still hope¬ 
ful for the corn, and if it mature the 
seed will brin.g a fair price and leave the 
.stalks for feeding. Sales of poultry, vege¬ 
tables and potatoes will help, and we can 
also turn off some telephone poles if we 
like. When you add to this growth which 
this wet season has packed on our young 
finit trees I realize that we have much to 
be thankful for. 
Then why do you growl about the 
Weather? 
oh. 1 don’t exactly growl—I am just sorry 
that some of my best plans have been 
knocked on the head by this wet season. 
X man is bound to think highly of his own 
plans. Even when nature kicks them over 
and substitutes better results from pl.ans 
of her own a farmer hates to admit it. I 
know, however, that this season has 
brought sorrow and loss to many farmers, 
I hough 1 will not admit that it has brought 
Iln-in the right to growl at their families! 
Fri'it Notes.— August 24 brought us a 
windstorm that seemed like the tail end 
of a cyclone. The wind roared down our 
valley, and everybody ran forishelter. T 
felt well satisfied with the mulch method 
of keeping an orchard when the tall apple 
trees began to swing like a baseball pitcher 
about to deliver an out curve. ’Phe trees 
were well loaded with fine fruit, and T 
thought most of it would go, but most of 
the apples hung on and all of a sudden 
the wind puffed out and left us. We 
found that the apples were but little 
bruised, as they fell on the soft, thick 
grass. We picked them up and shipped at 
once, for I reasoq^d that if the wind was 
general New York would be flooded with 
windfalls before a week, and the only wind¬ 
fall of price would come to him wno got 
In ahead. These apples brought good fig¬ 
ures. Buyers said they were better for 
pies and sauce than the ripe apples of the 
season. You see a green Baldwin or Green¬ 
ing with sugar will cultivate a demand 
for their ripe sisters later on. Very fe'w 
apples have rotted at Ffope Far.m tbls 
.vear. 'Pin; hogs and the cows have taken 
good care of the culls.'I'ho fli.-'t 
week in September we put the last fer¬ 
tilizer on the young peach trees, cut the 
weeds and piled around the trees as a 
mulch. I shall be criticised for using fer¬ 
tilizer so late in the season, but that will 
kill neither tiie Hope Farm man nor his 
trees. I use little nitrogen so lato in the 
season, but chiefly potash and phosphoric 
acid. 'Phis, I think, hardens the wood, and 
I can use nitrogen in the early Spring. 
Last year the mulched peach tiees kept 
on growing until Decemter 1. Where trees 
grow slowly and steadily in this way I do 
not find that the wood is injured by winter- 
killing because, having made a steady 
growth all through the season, the wood 
is firm and mature.We cut 
weeds, goldenrod, briars—any wild or tame 
growth we can find, and throw it around 
the trees after using the fertilizer. So far 
as holding moisture in the soil goes this 
mulch has not been needed this year, but 
now we put it on, both for the sake of 
cleaning up the fields tind obtaining a good 
growth through September and October. 
Most of this work is being done by Will¬ 
iam, a student at a classical college. A 
little work with the scythe will make him 
cut a wider swath when he goes back to 
dig out Greek roots and saw off Latin 
branches. Our peach trees accept William 
as a full bill of particulars, as he does a 
good job. The Hope Farm man doesn’t 
know much about the classics himself, but 
he wants the roots on those peach trees 
to go everlastingly deep, and if William 
can graft a few of his tough Greek roots 
on them he may see practical virtues in 
the classical education yet. With Greek 
roots below ground and goldenrod for 
mulch we ought to raise peaches that will 
attract attention. 
Crows and Fruit. Here is .a tough one 
from New York State:— 
“Our orchard is overrun with crows. 
'Phey come in large numbers and ravage 
the fruit. 'Phey show remarkable facility 
in selecting the best apples to which they 
give one vicious peck leaving them worth¬ 
less. It is impossible to get within gun¬ 
shot of them and much time has been 
wasted in trying to shoot them. Is there 
any way of getting rid of these pests which 
are becoming a rapidly increasing burden?” 
H. M. 
One thing is sure—this man will take very 
little interest when he is told that some 
scentist examined a crow’s stomach and 
found injurious insects there! Crows have 
never troubled me in this way. Our friend 
must be located near a “roost” where 
thousands of crows live. I would station 
boys with guns throughout the orchard and 
wait for a shot. Early morning is the best 
time. A friend who has had experience 
says that crows can be caught in steel 
traps. 'Phe traps should be set on tlie 
outskirts of the orchard, oiled and geared 
sn that they will spring easily. Cover the 
trap with grass or leaves and put an egg 
beside it. 'Phe crow is very fond of eggs 
and is also a very knowing bird. He will 
circle around the egg coming nearer and 
nearer and step in the trap and spring it. 
If you can catch a live crow in this way 
he will act as policeman. Do not kill him 
but fasten a string or chain to his leg with 
the other end fast to a high pole so he can 
flutter about. Plenty of men have gone to 
jail and come out to tell others how to 
keep on the outside of the bars. Their 
arguments are not always very effective 
but when a crow is tied to a pole he 
seems able to give his friends most con¬ 
vincing arguments in favor of skipping his 
footsteps and turning in his trail. 'Phe 
crowd will listen to his tale of woe and say 
whoa! to all desire to enter the orchard. 
I can easily believe this after seeing crows 
spread the news that we put tar on our 
corn! 
Farm Notes.—S unday, August 30, was 
cold enough for a fire in the open grate. 
'Phis doesn’t look much like a corn crop, 
but we are not done yet, and there must 
be some dry weather somewhere. Speak¬ 
ing of our open fireplace I will .say that 
one of the few real bits of advice that I 
feel like giving every farm family is to 
I ry to have a fireplace where big sticks of 
wood can slowly burn. It is a great bless¬ 
ing for a country home. You who have 
never tried it have no idea how much sad¬ 
ness and grief will burn away and go up 
the chimney from an open fire. You burn 
111 ) the old trash which has encumbered 
the farm, and watch it burn, and you will 
be surprised to .see how much of the trash 
of your own life goes with it. An open 
lire is a great civilizer and a powerful 
home missionary. If you can possiblv do 
so punch a hole in the bottom of your 
chimney and make a lireplace. 'Phen cut 
your own wood and burn it without any 
lamp.No use talking about cow 
peas this year—they are a flat failure. 
'Phey are six inches long where they should 
be four feet. I realize that some who took 
my advice and planted cow peas are now 
measuring the Hope Farm man’s wisdom 
with a very short stick. I can imagine 
their feelings when they look at the poor 
little dumpy vines. Well, gentlemen, I 
still stick to the cow pea, although wet 
weather has stuck to me. I took my own 
medicine and haven’t crop enough to pav 
for the seed. Next year I shall go right 
out and sow cow peas again. It isn’t going 
to rain 40 years! .... I fear that most 
experiments with the “Clark” method of 
seeding to grass will fail this year. It has 
been impossible ta prepare heavy land in 
our section as this plan requires. For days 
at a time the disk harrows would only 
clog and refuse to tumble over the .soil. 
Under such conditions I think the cutting 
does more harm than good, since it will 
not kill weeds or grass or even get them 
out of sight. Our grass seeding with buck¬ 
wheat and cow peas has started well. I 
expect to try the experiment of seeding to 
grass in one field of late corn. We have 
not used a pound uf Crimson clover seed 
this year, as we found it impossible to 
work the corn at the proper time for seed¬ 
ing. I have never seen a season which 
made it more necessar.v to have some cover 
crop on the ground during the Fall, and 
I shall sow rye after the corn is cut. . . . 
'Phe garden holds out well. On September 
1 we could take our choice of potatoes, 
beets, lettuce, Lima beans, sweet corn, 
turnips, egg plant, tomatoes, parsley, cab¬ 
bage, carrots, onions, parsnips, celery and 
peppers. 'Phese, with apples, pears, grape.s 
and peaches, with a fat hen or two, keep 
us all gaining in flesh in spite of the rain. 
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