1900 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
207 
HOPE FARM NOTES. 
"Know it All.”—I have never known 
the time when readers asked as many 
questions as they do this season. The 
questions pour in from all sides, and are 
about everything you can well think of. 
I like this questioning, because I have al¬ 
ways claimed that an honest “Why?” 
points the road to wisdom. It only points 
the road, however, and the most complete 
answer only gives the traveler a fair start. 
He must do the “getting there” himself. 
I want to make that very plain. We do 
our best to get fair answers to questions, 
but readers must understand that the 
active, moving part of an idea cannot be 
communicated through printer’s ink. Sug¬ 
gestion is about all we can ever put into 
printed words. Both editor and reader 
would be better off if they would under¬ 
stand that. 
Tough Hams.— I have to think of that 
every time I look at our home-cured meat. 
When we slaughtered the pigs last Fall we 
decided to salt and smoke two of the 
smaller ones. We read a book which told 
how to do it, and also studied some good 
articles in The R. N.-Y. It looked as easy 
as sawing wood-rwhy, a wooden man could 
add salt, sugar, etc., and hang up the hams 
and start a tire! We went through those me¬ 
chanical operations exactly as the book 
said, and I'll tell you without any reserve 
that it requires a mechanical operation and 
a half to eat the meat. Tough!!! Salt!!! 
Don’t say a word! Our folks are fond of 
ham—the fact that they eat this meat is a 
sure proof of that! You see what we 
lacked was judgment and experience. 
Other folks could tell us to handle salt and 
smoke, but the how, when and where to 
handle them could not grow out of printer’s 
ink. A can lay down a rule for B, but B 
must himself learn to apply it. Old Top- 
knot lays an egg, but Aunt Jennie applies 
the egg and makes a custard or a pudding. 
The hen does a better job with the crude 
egg than most men do with a crude idea. 
Printer’s ink may put new germs in a 
man’s mind, but unless he makes the proper 
conditions by work and thought they will 
never grow large enough to look at. 
Potato Planting.—I speak of all this be¬ 
cause there have been a number of ques¬ 
tions about our plan of planting potatoes. 
I will try to answer them all at once. I 
will make it as clear as I can, but after all 
is said, the reader must use his own judg¬ 
ment, or the crop will be like our hams. 
We’ll make better hams yet—and we’ll raise 
better potatoes, too. I like to be scientific 
when I can at the same time be sensible. 
Of course, our scientific friends will say 
that science and sense are like the Sia¬ 
mese twins. I hope that is true, though 
the application of science is not always on 
speakjng terms with sense—especially when 
money talks! I asked Prof. B. D. Halsted, 
of New Jersey, to give us a nutshell full of 
advice about what to do with a valuable 
new potato in order to get the most out 
of it. This is what he says—I call it 
sensible science: * 
“If I wished to get the most out of a 
’seed’ potato I would first go back a gen¬ 
eration and find out whether the soil at 
hand was suitable for potatoes. Some per¬ 
sons fail at the outset by putting their 
seed where it cannot grow. Again, if the 
soil had a bad reputation for scab, it 
seems to me that I would avoid such fields, 
and reduce the uncertainty as much as 
possible in that direction by planting in a 
soil as free as may be from disease germs. 
With a potato soil free from germs, the 
next thing is to use the staple precautions, 
which are sulphur upon the cut seed, and 
a spray of the Bordeaux Mixture once in 
two weeks upon the vines throughout the 
growing season. Mix the arsenic com¬ 
pound with the Bordeaux to keep off the 
bugs; feed well, and with clean culture 
and good weather hope for full returns.” 
Curing the Scab. —How can we do this 
on a large scale? That’s the question. At 
any rate, how close can we come to it? 
We lost many dollars last year through 
scab. We deserved to, and I don’t com¬ 
plain. Part of the crop was planted on 
soil where potatoes were grown the year 
before. I knew better, but took the risk, 
as it was the best potato soil on the farm. 
We did not even soak the seed. The scab 
did not come as any “mysterious dispensa¬ 
tion of Providence,” because Providence 
opened some of its mysteries to us and 
showed us how to prevent scab. Our po¬ 
tato soil this year is, I think, reasonably 
free from scab germs. It is old sod. I do 
not think that potatoes have been planted 
there for years. The sod was plowed 
last Fall, and it will be Spring-plowed and 
well worked with Cutaway and Acme. 1 
wish to tear up that old sod as thoroughly 
as possible. Our soil is naturally cold, but 
there are streaks which contain a fair 
amount of sand and gravel. As a rule, 
these are at the tops of little hills or 
mounds, and in such soil the earlier va¬ 
rieties will be planted. I shall not decide 
about hills or drills until that sod is 
turned up with the plow, and I see how 
thoroughly the grass has been killed. If 
It is not dead, hills will be in order, with 
cultivation both ways. If the sod is dead, 
we shall use the planter. 
Doctoring Potatoes.— The scab is a skin 
disease. The germs spread and grow in 
the soil. There are more or less of them 
in all soils, but the greatest danger, I 
think, comes from the seed. It won’t do 
to look at a potato and says that as "it 
looks pretty smooth” there is no danger. 
I did that last year and lost money by do¬ 
ing so. I shall try this year to “soak and 
sulphur” all seed before planting it. 1 
won’t guarantee to do it just as I would 
advise others to operate, for I know from 
experience that it doesn’t do to write “I 
have done” for "I am going to do.” I buy 
most of the seed potatoes from points 
north of us. They usually come unsprout¬ 
ed, with their eyes hardly opened to the 
possibilities of life. The best way to 
handle a small lot is to spread them out 
evenly in the sun—on the barn iloor or some 
place where they can be protected from 
frost. In the light they will start great, 
broad sprouts that will grow into thick, 
heavy stems. Sunlight is life. The great 
work of the plant is to be done in the 
dark ground, but it will be much better for 
its brief baby days of sunshine. A man, 
like a potato, is better all his life when he 
is encouraged to put out the first strong 
sprouts of character in love and moral sun¬ 
shine. The potatoes should, of course, be 
shoveled over and protected from frost. 
Soak and Sulphur.— It is not always pos¬ 
sible to handle large quantities of potatoes 
in this way. VVe shall not be able to sprout 
all of ours, but I hope to do so with the 
early varieties, as they will need the most 
help in starting. What about soaking? H 
the seed is apparently quite scabby, I shall 
soak it, but if not I shall use sulphur—pos¬ 
sibly both. I like the formalin solution- 
eight ounces to 15 gallons of water. 1 
would first rinse the potatoes off with water 
to wash off the dirt. Then either put them 
in a barrel or tank, and pour on the solu¬ 
tion, or put it in a barrel and dip in the 
potatoes in a sack or cage made of wire 
netting. You will find this a hard job— 
I don’t care how easy some writers make 
it out. You will get sick of it long before 
you have soaked 10 barrels. It is better foi 
your feelings to have a temporary scab on 
them than to have a permanent scab on 
your potatoes. The potatoes should be cut 
and planted as soon as convenient after 
soaking. We have found that a potato 
once soaked or thoroughly wet loses in 
keeping qualities. 
Uses of Sulphur. —We use flowers of sul¬ 
phur as the seed is cut. A good way is to 
cut into peach baskets. Have the basket 
on a cloth to hold the sulphur that sifts 
through. When the basket is one-thiru 
full sift over the seed a handful of the sul¬ 
phur. Do it again when two-thirds full 
and when full. Shake the basket thor¬ 
oughly at each addition of sulphur. The 
pieces are thus well dusted. The sulphur 
that falls through can be picked up in the 
cloth and used again. Some of those who 
use potato planters mix the sulphur ai 
seed in the hopper of the machine as they 
plant. I do not think the dry sulphur 
remedy is as effective on very scabby seen 
as the soaking method, it will, however, 
serve to prevent rotting in the soil. It is 
thus very useful on early varieties, especi¬ 
ally when they are cut small. In cold 
Springs in damp soils these little pieces are 
likely to rot before the soil is warm 
enough to let the sprout get above ground. 
The sulphur will give the seed a better 
chance, and it will also kill some germs in 
the soil. As to cutting the seed, the great 
mistake most people make is in assuming 
that all eyes are alive. On round or chunky 
varieties like the Carmans about half the 
eyes are often “dead”—the other half being 
very much alive. These live eyes are 
grouped at one end, and in cutting these 
varieties slices should be made lengthwise 
through the potato. 
Now, here I have covered lots of space, 
and yet only got the seed ready! 1 will 
go on with it at another time. We can all 
afford to spend more time over the seed. 
After all, it is most important to get a good 
start. Half a pint of sulphur in April wil 
prevent more scab than a gallon of sweat 
in August. Hope Farm doesn’t have much 
hope for folks who won’t start right when 
they know how to do so. h. w. c. 
If you are a farmer or want to be one, 
send for the “Western Trait..” Published 
quarterly. Full of pointers as to settling 
in Kansas, Oklahoma and Indian Terri¬ 
tory. Handsomely embellished and con¬ 
cisely written. Mailed free. 
Address by postal card or letter. 
John Sebastian, G.P. A., Chicago.— Adm. 
66 
FUMA 
(Mkills Prairie Dogs, 
Woodchucks, Gophers 
and G rain Insects.“The 
wheels of the Gods 
grind slow but exceed¬ 
ing small.” So the weevil, but you can stop their 
with “ Fuma Carbon Bisulphide ” as agoing. 
EDWAKD R. TAYLOR, Tenn Yan, N. Y. 
DO YOU GET UP WITH A LAME BACK? 
Pain or dull ache in the back is un¬ 
mistakable evidence of kidney trouble, 
it is nature’s timely warning to show 
you that the track of health is not clear. 
If these danger signals are unheeded, 
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Bright’s Disease, which is the worst 
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you. 
The mild and the extraordinary effect 
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Lame back is only one symptom of 
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If you have the slightest symptom of 
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If you are already convinced that 
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10,000 F1RMERS 
WANTED 
To 
put up our Barn Door Hangers, 
Hay Carriers, Hay Slings, etc. 
THERE IS MONEY IN IT. 
The “LOUDEN GOODS” 
EQUAL. 
RAS NO 
have no equal and are fast taking the place of 
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etc. Mention this paper. Address’ Louden Machinery Go., Dept, j Fairfield, Iowa. 
WE SAVE YOU MONEY ON FERTILIZERS. 
Huy yotir fertilizers J>irect at Wholesale Prices, and get your money’s worth. 
SPECIAL OFFER TO CLUB PROMOTERS. 
WRITE FOR PRICES, SAMPLES AND PAMPHLET. 
WALKER, STR ATM AN & COMPANY, Rittstmrgh, Pa. 
1900 
THE SOUTH SIDE 
FRUIT CARRIERS AND BASKETS 
PETERSBURG, VA. 
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