1900 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER.' 
THE BELGIAN HARE BUSINESS. 
Following Is a clipping from a local paper, 
setting forth the great profits to be de¬ 
rived from the raising of Belgian hares. 
Do you know whether there is any profit 
in it, either for eastern or western farm¬ 
ers? According to this article it would 
seem as though the beef, pork and poultry 
interests were “not in it a little bit.” If 
you are smitten with the scheme, why can’t 
we go into the business together? I have 
a little land to start on, and perhaps you 
could furnish a pair of hares, which evi¬ 
dently would be plenty; then in five years 
we could pay the National debt, give sev¬ 
eral millions to needy missionary enter¬ 
prises, and have a grand time the rest of 
our days. 
"Allowing to one pair of hares only six 
litters a year and but eight to the litter, 
such would in five years aggregate the 
enormous total of 4,305,181,682 hares. Allow¬ 
ing each hare only two square yards of 
space, there would be required to accommo¬ 
date the above number 278 square miles ot 
land. Allowing an equal amount of land 
for the purpose of raising Alfalfa to feed 
the hares, we have a total of 556 square 
miles, an area almost equal to that or 
Orange County. At only $1 each the owner 
of these hares could buy all of Orange 
County, including all improvements, and 
could then build the Nicaragua Canal, pay 
off the public debt of the United States, 
build 100 first-class battleships, give $25 to 
each man, woman and child In the United 
States and still have left a fortune of 
$1,000,000,000.” H. J. 
Cromwell, Conn. 
Ans. —This Belgian hare business is 
getting to be a favorite with the “fake” 
writers who prepare long stories for the 
papers. We have looker the matter up 
with great care, but have been unable 
to find anyone who has raiseu these ani¬ 
mals in large numbers tor market pur¬ 
poses. There are a number of small 
flocks in the country, but they are 
usually kept for breeding purposes, and 
the stock is sold at fair prices to those 
who wish to begin the business. We 
often find the hares offered for sale in 
New York, and when wild rabbits are 
not in the market they are fairly profit¬ 
able. If they were supplied in very 
large numbers it is doubtful whether 
they would bring enough to pay. Those 
who are fond of rabbit meat might well 
keep a few hares to provide a home 
supply, but we have not seen anything 
in actual practice to warrant us in ad¬ 
vising readers to go into the business on 
a large scale. The above statements are 
absurd, and calculated only to influence 
people of poor judgment who want to 
obtain something for nothing. If there 
is any large establishment in this coun¬ 
try where these hares are produced in 
large numbers at a profit, we shall be 
very glad to learn where it is. For the 
past 10 years such stories have been 
told in the papers, and it is high time 
these great results were obtained if it 
is possible to obtain them. 
THE WOODCHUCK PROBLEM. 
A Good Doo. —On my father’s farm, 
during the last Summer, th-re were a 
great many of these little pests. Our 
method was unlike any that I have seen 
in Tiie R. N.-Y. We had a dog, half 
shepherd and half bull terrier, which 
did the business for us. He killed 14 
before the middle of July, when he met 
an untimely death by poisoning. Al¬ 
though I don’t advise anyone to search 
around for mixed-bred dogs to kill 
woodchucks, ours certainly did good 
service. s. w. k. 
Liberty, N. Y. 
Kill, Him While Asleep. —What does 
the woodchuck do all Summer? Eats 
my clover and gets fat as butter. Then 
what does he do all Winter? Hiber¬ 
nates and meditates on the smartness 
of woodchucks and stupidity of two- 
legged folks. Goes to sleep, does he? 
Almost dies, does he? Isn’t it easier to 
kill an almost-dead ground hog than a 
quite lively one? Sure. Perhaps down 
in Jersey they stay out all Winter to 
oil their hair and laugh at people, but 
here they den up August 20 to Septem¬ 
ber 10. Then about October 1 tramp the 
holes full of earth. All depends on tne 
time you do it Too late won’t work, 
because after awhile Mr. G. Hog gets too 
dormant to- think or Dreathe, and if 
pulled from his hole may be killed en¬ 
tirely, and he won t squirm or offer any 
objection, but for a while after going 
into Winter quarters he must have some 
air, or else be asphyxiated before he 
dreams of trouble, like the greenhorn 
who blows out the gas. If holes are 
filled too early, of course the inmate 
will dig out to eat, but shortly after he 
goes in for good, shut him up, and when 
he wakes in Spring he is ail dead and 
buried. farm boy. 
Vermont. 
The Woodchuck Torch. —In response 
to the article in your issue of January 
13, entitled What j. Know About Ground 
Hogs, I wish to say that the “wood¬ 
chuck torch” used by your correspond¬ 
ent to destroy these animals, is very ef¬ 
fective if used in the right way. It is 
all wrong, however, to fasten the torch 
to a long pole, as he uid, and tnen light 
and push into the hole, for in so doing 
a considerable quantity of the fumes 
would inevitably escape from i_e mouth 
of the hole. The true way is to have 
ready beforehanu a large sod, or some¬ 
thing of the kind, to stop ihe hole im¬ 
mediately after the introduction of the 
torch, which snould be laid gently, just 
inside the mouth of tne nole, fuse down¬ 
ward, after you have lit the fuse. Then 
clap on the sod and tread it down firm¬ 
ly. The merit of the torch is that it 
gives off suffocating fumes with great 
force, like a volcano, anu drives them 
forward into every part o*. the hole, but 
in order that ic may do this, the hole 
must be closed tightly and at once. If 
the torch is properly used, the wood¬ 
chuck will never come to light again, 
and on digging into the hole he will be 
found dead. A friend of mine has used 
the torches with great success in this 
manner for several years for protecting 
his asparagus beds. c. g. b. 
Marshfield, Mass. 
NEW 20TH CENTURY 
CREAM SEPARATORS 
Jan. 1st marked the 
introduction of the Im¬ 
proved 20th Century 
“B aby” or “Dairy” sizes of 
De Laval Cream Sepa¬ 
rators and these newest 
“Alpha” disc machines 
are simply unapproach¬ 
able by anything else in 
the shape of a cream sepa¬ 
rator. Overwhelming as 
has been the conceded su¬ 
periority of the De Laval 
machines heretofore their 
standard is now raised still 
higher and they are more 
than ever placed in a class 
by themselves as regards all 
possible competition 
Send for new catalogue. 
THE DE LAVAL SEPARATOR GO. 
Randolph & Canal Sts., | 74 Cortlandt Street 
CHICAGO. I NEW YORK. 
Why the Best? 
Because the most simple; 
Because the most durable; 
Because neatest looking-; 
Because the best material 
is used; 
Because the most perfect 
in workmanship; 
Because the cream is the 
finest; 
Because they skim clean 
forever, and 
Because they are safe. 
No other farm separator equals the 
Sharpies in a single one of these par¬ 
ticulars. We say it advisedly and de¬ 
liberately. A ir^e trial. Send for 
Catalogue No. 25. 
THE SHARPLES CO., P. M. SHARPLES, 
Canal and Washington Sts., West Chester, Pa., 
CHICAGO. U. 8. A. 
II Yah Wich tokn ow how to raise CALVES 
II I UU TV 1911 cheaply and successfully with¬ 
out milk, write to J. W. BARWKLL, Waukegan Ill 
Cows barren 3 years 
MADE TO BREED. 
JESS Moore Brothers, Albany, N. Y 
SEPARATOR * 
( on 10 Days’Trial. Lightest, 
easiest running HAND Separator 
NATIONAL Cream 
Separator 
Free book tells all about it. 
National Dairy Machine Co.. Newark. N. J. 
DON’T RUN THE RISK. 
Don’t buy a “pig in a poke.” Don’t risk a fail¬ 
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Feed sold in bulk without a guarantee of purity and 
value behind it, is sold that way because no one is 
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experiment in feeding Quaker Dairy Feed. 
QUAKER DAIRY FEED is made entirely of grain 
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the proper maintenance of the animal. Sold only in 
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“Modern Hairy Feeding,” an invaluable book, containing scientifically 
proportioned rations, including every form of roughage and every variety of 
feed. Sent postpaid on request. Scientific advice on feeding—FREE. 
Address, SCIENCE DEl’X., 
THE AMERICAN CEREAL CO., 1339 Monadnock Bldg., Chicago, III. 
Empire 
Cream Separators 
are worth five cows in every herd of twenty, and cost 
nothing to feed. They increase the output of butter 
by 25%, and improve the quality of 
the butter. They leave less than one- 
tenth of one per cent, of the butter fat 
in the milk. A child can run them. 
If you own three cows an Empire Sep¬ 
arator should pay for itself in a year. 
Write us to-day, and we will send you an illus¬ 
trated book on butter making and separators. 
U. S. BUTTER EXTRACTOR CO., 
212 High Street, Newark, N. J. 
W] 
IF YOU COMPARE THE PRICES AND CAPACITIES OF 
THE IMPROVED UNITED STATES SEPARATORS 
with those of other makes and bear in mind that the U. S., in addi¬ 
tion to GIVING MORE FOR THE MONEY. SKIM CLEANER, 
RUN EASIER. LAST LONGER, you must acknowledge that 
the U. S. are the BEST and MOST PROFITABLE SEPARA¬ 
TORS TO BUY. _ 
1900 or “ New Century ” Prices and Capacities. 
- * - - - --- - — lbs ^ — 
No. 9 
No. 8. 
No. 7. 
No. 6. 
No. 5. 
No. 3>$. 
Low Frame. 
84 
High 
Capacity 150 to 175 lbs., $50.00 
“ 225 to 250 “ $65.00 
44 275 to 300 44 $85.00 
44 350 to 400 44 $100.00 
44 450 to 500 44 $125.00 
44 650 to 700 44 $165.00 
We furnish a complete line of Dairy and Creamery 
1 Apparatus. Catalogues free for the asking. 
VERMONT FARM MACHINE CO., Bellows Falls, Vt. 
THE 
WILLARD KNAPP 
Cow Tie 
Insures Cleanliness 
Health and Profit, and is 
the most durable device for 
fastening cows. We have 
never had a dissatisfied cus¬ 
tomer. We quote below a 
sample letter from a user. 
From J a mks H. Webb, Spring Olen Farm New 
Ilaven, Conn.: “ We have just completed one dozen 
stalls, using your ties and following your plan. We 
are going to equip another barn with them, and want 
2U more Immediately.” 
Send for Circular and Testimonials from the best 
dairymen. 
WILLARD H. KNAPP & CO., 
404 Groton Street, Cortland, N. Y. 
DR. LEAVITT'S 
Dcrvble Power 
DEHORNING 
CUPPER—VMade. 
Leavitt cMfg Co, Hammond,HI. U.S.A 
AGENTS 
WANTED. 
Inquiries 
Answered. 
THE BEST FOR 
THE DAIRY, 
be It large or small. Is 
the celebrated 
Kneeland 
Omega 
Separator 
Least In cost, great¬ 
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required, and easy to operate. Only two parts 
to clean, which can be doue in 3 minutes. No 
possible clogging in the bowl. An all around 
machine of highest quality. Guaranteed to 
satisfy, or your money back. 
“Good Butter and How to Make It,’’ Is our 
a for It. 
Send 
free book, of value to everyone. 
THE KNEELAND CRYSTAL CREAMERY CO., 
28 Concord Street, Lansing. Mich. 
