1900 
449 
Baling Cow-Pea Hay. 
One of our southern readers wishes to 
know whether it would be possible to bale 
cow-pea hay under the ordinary baling 
process, and he wishes to know whether 
the hay knives will cut it as they do other 
hays. Do you think baled cow-pea hay 
would be a success? Would there be any 
sale for it, and do you think it would be 
worth while, for any reasons, to attempt 
it? 
The hay is very often baled. In this 
immediate vicinity the larger part that 
is offered for sale is in the form of bales. 
It is not only practical but very desira¬ 
ble to bale the hay. Whether baled or 
not baled, buyers who have become 
aware of its value from previous feed¬ 
ing pay a higher price for cow-pea hay 
for all feeding purposes than for Tim¬ 
othy or any other kind of hay. It sold 
in this town last Fall in competition 
with Timothy for $1 to $2 more per ton. 
One point to be observed in growing 
cow-pea hay for baling is to grow a va¬ 
riety that does not run, and to plant it 
rather late in the season; for instance, 
on wheat or oat stubble. I regard well- 
cured cow-pea hay as superior to any 
hay that Is sold in the South for feeding 
horses, cattle or other animals. It is a 
little difficult to cure, especially if rains 
are prevailing at the time of mowing, 
but by the use of a cheap frame of some 
kind that will afford ventilation, the 
grower can cure his vines regardless of 
the weather. The leaves cure very 
quickly, but the main stem dries out 
quite slowly. it. l. bennett. 
Arkansas Experiment Station. 
To make the finest kind of cow-pea 
hay our North Carolina farmers sow 1 y 2 
to two bushels of seed. This gives a 
thick stand, and determines an upright 
rather than a spreading growth. If 
sown in June here the annual Crab grass 
grows up with the peavines. Hay grown 
this way is fine enough to bale. We 
have seen many handsome bales of this 
hay at the annual fair of the State Ag¬ 
ricultural Society. There is at least one 
merchant farmer living 10 or 12 miles 
from Raleigh who makes a specialty of 
growing cow peas to make hay. This 
he bales to haul to the city, where he 
supplies quite a number of customers, 
for carriage horses and family cows. If 
the vines are coarse the bales do not 
look so smooth, but they are much bet¬ 
ter to handle than loose hay, pack away 
easier and occupy so much less room 
that it is by far the 'better way to bale 
than try to handle the hay loose. Be¬ 
sides this cow-pea hay wastes so much 
in handling, if the weather is at all dry, 
that the grower could not afford to 
handle it loose to furnish customers. 
To handle this hay in an ideal way it 
should be hauled to a large, cheap, open 
shed as soon as properly made, where it 
will cure further, and where the press 
can be stationed and operated as oppor¬ 
tunity and the condition of the hay al¬ 
low. Thus the leaves can be kept on, 
the expense for storage will be at mini¬ 
mum cost, and hay ready for compact 
storage and customers at the earliest 
possible moment, and when needed. 
City customers seldom have room 
enough to store much loose hay, and 
frequently putting in small amounts is 
expensive in cleaning up, besides being 
wasteful to them. The baling is much 
the better way to handle this hay all 
around. frank e. emeky. 
When to Spray with Kerosene. 
L. P. 8., Lebanon, Conn .—What per cent of 
kerosene In water will kill the San Jos6 
scale, and how can you tell that you are 
destroying them? How could anyone pro¬ 
cure the ladybugs spoken of in The R. N.- 
Y. of June 2, as destroying the scale in 
California? If they will not stand the 
Winters here would it pay to get them for 
only one season? 
Ans.—K erosene may be applied undi¬ 
luted in a fine spray just before the buds 
begin to swell, or after the fruit has 
become well set. The trunks and larger 
'branches may be treated at any time. It 
should be applied on a clear, dry day, 
when evaporation is rapid, as it kills all 
insects immediately, and the sooner it 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER: 
evaporates the less the chances of harm¬ 
ing the tree. Peach trees are less affect¬ 
ed by raw kerosene in Summer than 
when applied in Winter. It can also be 
applied in a spray mixed with water by 
one of the new combination sprayers, 
which contain the oil and water in dif¬ 
ferent receptacles. They have graduated 
valves by which the proportion of kero¬ 
sene to water can be regulated. Eight 
to 12 per cent of kerosene is sufficient 
to kill all scales which are hit by the 
mixture. Whale-oil soap dissolved in 
water at the rate of one pound to two 
gallons Is very safe, and quite effectual, 
but must be applied with great thor¬ 
oughness. The best dates for applying 
these insecticides are about June 15, 
August 1 to 10, and again in September, 
if living scales or larvae are found. If 
the attack is very light the trees may be 
left until late Winter and thoroughly 
sprayed or painted with crude petro¬ 
leum, which is apparently quite safe, 
and is effectual, if the work is well done. 
The only way to find out whether the 
scales have been killed or not is by a 
careful examination, during which a 
magnifying glass is almost indispensa¬ 
ble. Probably the only way to secure 
the Red-spotted ladybug would be to 
apply to the entomologist of the experi¬ 
ment station at Berkeley, Cal., for some 
living specimens. It would scarcely pay 
to secure them for the short time they 
would be able to do effective work be¬ 
fore frost. _ 
IVOTES FROM A NEW FARMER. 
As I have been installed as a farmer 
but a little more than 12 months, I 
would not think of setting myself up as 
an agricultural teacher. Perhaps there 
are other readers of The R. N.-Y. 
though, who are as young in the pro¬ 
fession as I. Possibly the statement of 
a few things which I have observed the 
past year may help some of these. I 
fin'd that I cannot run farm work on 
schedule time, like school work. I plan 
a d'ay’s work in the evening; in the 
morning the rain is pouring, and my 
plans must be changed. It pays to have 
rainy-d'ay jobs planned ahead, so that 
when the weather upsets other plans, no 
time is lost in determining what to do. 
Farming is harder work for the head 
than the hand, especially when one has 
all to learn as he goes along. Had I my 
college days to live over, at least two 
years should be spent in agricultural 
school. Many of my neighbors do not 
regard farming as a worthy professlion, 
and look upon the business men of the 
city as their superiors. Why is this? 
For my part, I feel quite as dignified in 
the field as I ever did in the school¬ 
room. Some farmers know more about 
how to manage a foreign war than to 
manage their farms. Fanning is a 
broad study, and 1 am but a beginner; 
a couple of my neighbors, though, 
“know it all.” Strange to say these two 
authorities frequently disagree. It is a 
good plan to listen to the advice of such 
men (they enjoy giving advice); then do 
juse as one pleases. 
Accurate figures are rare on most 
farms. Fields are measured by count¬ 
ing fence corners, yields per acre are 
guessed at. The cost of keeping a cow 
or horse is seldom reckoned. Why not 
use pencils more? The advantages of 
keeping purebred stock are discussed 
continually in agricultural papers, yet 
nine out of 10 farms are stocked with 
scrubs. Why? Agricultural books have 
too limited a circulation, and conse¬ 
quently are comparatively high in price, 
yet it pays to invest in a few. Bulletins 
of the Agricultural Department may be 
had for the asking. Some of these are 
of inestimable value to the farmer Who 
expects to succeed. A little extra work 
in the kitchen garden pays. Good, fresh 
vegetables aid digestion. A quarter’s 
worth of flower seeds, a lawn mower, 
and a pinch of backache Will make an 
ordinary farm home so attractive that 
it will call forth remarks from the 
neigiibors. Try it. It pays to work the 
ground because it is in proper condition, 
not because the man on the next farm 
is at work. A year of actual work on 
the farm makes one skeptical about 
many model farms, which we see only 
through printed descriptions. Success 
and disappointment are blended on 
the farm as well as elsewhere. Success 
and failure have both had their innings 
at our place the past year; yet in foot¬ 
ing up accounts, I find that even finan¬ 
cially success is the Winner. The pres¬ 
ent year is beginning with somewhat 
smaller expectations, but backed by 12 
months’ expedience. w. c. p. 
(Miami Co.. Ohio. 
SHORT STORIES. 
The Bird Business. —A bill was re¬ 
cently before Congress which was meant 
to stop the slaughter of song birds. Mr. 
Cummings, of New York, in speaking 
for it said: 
I have recently seen an advertisement in 
a Philadelphia newspaper advertising pro¬ 
posals for the skins of 30,000 birds. Con¬ 
tracts have been made with men in the 
little State of Delaware to procure these 
skins. If these contracts are carried out 
I venture to say that Delaware peaches 
will be scarcer than ever during the coming 
season. Years ago Delaware peaches were 
in every American market at low prices. 
Year by year they have become more 
scarce, until last Summer it was almost 
Impossible in the New York market to buy 
a single basket of the fruit. One cause for 
the dearth was the destruction of the in¬ 
sect-feeding birds of that State. 
This is carrying the thing a little too 
far. Frost and the yellows are the chief 
enemies of the Delaware peach, and the 
birds could not prevent either. 
Business Principles.— The story is 
told of a blind man in New York who 
owns a large business. He is said to be 
worth over $5,000,000. Hanging in his 
store is the following card. The spell¬ 
ing is his own idea of dropping useless 
letters: 
IIE WHO BILT, OWNS AND OCUPIES 
THIS MARVEL OF BR1K, IRUN AND 
GRANIT, 18 YEARS AGO WALKT THE 
STREETS OF NEW YORK PENILES 
AND $51,000 IN DET; ONLY TO PROVE 
THAT THE CAPITALISTS OF TO-DAY 
WERE POOR MEN 20 YEARS AGO, AND 
THAT MANY A FELO FACING POV¬ 
ERTY TO-DAY MAY BE A CAPITALIST 
A QUARTER OF A CENTURY HENCE, 
IF HE WILL. PLUK ADORNED WITH 
AMBITION, BAKD BY ONOR BRITE 
WILD ALWAYS COMAND SUCES EVEN 
WITHOUT THE ALMITY DOLAR. 
This man is said to call honesty the 
greatest of virtues and idleness the 
worst of vices. He works long hours. 
An ordinary man would be glad to quit 
active work and see something of the 
world, but it is probably better for this 
sightless man to keep in the harness. 
“Divining Rods.” —We have had 
much to say about the work of the 
“water witch,” or “diviner,” who locates 
water by carrying a forked stick in his 
hands. It seems that several patents 
have been granted for contrivances ex¬ 
pected to locate iron, gold, silver, or 
other metals. The Chicago Record 
says: 
Electricity Is now used, however, for 
such matters more than the ordinary rod of 
witch hazel, and, as in the recent patent 
granted to Mr. F. H. Brown, the operator 
usually connects with an ordinary battery 
two wires which are attached to two 
stakes. When he reaches a place where 
he suspects minerals should be found, he 
drives the stakes in the earth, turns on the 
current, and, If the circuit is completed by 
a body of ore in the earth, a bell or some 
other annunciator connected with the bat¬ 
tery will announce the discovery. Springs 
of water and subterranean streams can be 
located in the same way. A simpler de¬ 
vice consists of a rod with an electrical 
battery and a wire on the top and a wire 
running down the center. This rod Is 
driven in the ground, and if the end comes 
in contact with ore or minerals of any kind 
the result Is felt by the operator. 
No one has yet secured a patent on a 
witch-hazel stick. That seems to have 
been in use for centuries, and Nature 
provides the patent power required to 
“turn” it. _ 
For the land’s sake, use Bowker’s Fer¬ 
tilizers. They enrich the earth.— Adv. 
with our new patent 
KEROSENE SPRAYERS 
i is simple indeed. Kerosene Emulsion 
I made while pumping. varieties ( 
I Sprayers, Bordeaux and Vermorel f 
I Nowles, the “World** Heat.’* 
/THE DEMING CO. SALEM, OHIO. 
Western Agents, Henion A Hubbell,^ 
r Chicago. Catalogue and Formulas Free. 
The Dew-ey Sprayer. 
Sprays Kerosene Oil and Water by 
simply working the pump. Write for 
circular. Agents wanted. 
Sent exp. paid east of Miss. River on receipt of $1.50. 
LEGGETT & BROTHER. 301 Pearl St., New York 
PROCESS AND PROFITS 
FRUIT EVAPORATORS 
B. L. RYDKR CO., Box 420, Philadelphia, 
Pa. 
li 
FUIHA 
ig small. 
IIkills Prairie Dogs, 
' ' Woodchucks, Gophers 
and Grain Insects.“The 
wheels of the Gods 
grind slow but exceed- 
80 the weevil, but you can stop their 
ritif 11 Fuma Carbon Bisuiphids ” 11 are doing 
BOXAll KILLS 
Professor Wood, of the Maine Exp. Station, says of spraying in Aroostook 
County, Me.: “ On one farm, were Ufty-two acres of potatoes, bright and green 
(September 15), while unsprayed potatoes in the neighborhood had been dead two 
or three weeks. The yield will be nearly double that of unsprayed 
crops.” 
Use BOXAL ” and Save Your Potatoes. 
Send for free catalogue C C, containing spraying calendar and full particulars. 
liOWKER CHEMICAL COMPANY, 43 Chatham St.. Boston. 
WE SAVE YOU MONEY ON FERTILIZERS. 
Buy your fertilizers Direct at Wholesale Driest, and get your money’s worth. 
SPECIAL OFFER TO CLUB PROMOTERS. 
tVIUTE FOR PRICES, SAMPLES AND PAMPHLET. 
WALKER, 8TRATMAN & COMPANY, FHttaburgh, F»a. 
