1900 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
597 
BERRIES OUT OF THE DUST. 
Holding Moisture in a Dry Time. 
Part II. 
DROUGHT-RESISTING VARIETIES—There are 
two things to be considered where one wishes to raise 
small fruits in a dry time. One is to get the varieties 
best adapted to drought; the next is to handle the soil 
so as to retain as much moisture as possible. There 
is no doubt about the fact that some varieties are 
better able to make a crop in a dry time than are 
others. This is just as true of strawberries as it is of 
fodder plants. We have all seen how the clover 
jumps up and grows on the meadows after cutting. 
The drier the season the more noticeable is this 
growth of clover, because the Timothy and other 
grasses cannot grow as rapidly in a drought as the 
clover does. The roots of the clover reach down 
deeply, and thus the plant is better able to make use 
of the soil’s moisture. In the same way, certain 
varieties of strawberries evidently have a better root 
system than others, and are thus able to perfect their 
fruit. Some of the fruit growers near Mr. Siddon’s 
place are still growing the old Wilson and other 
varieties that were popular 25 years ago. Since that 
time there have been wonderful improvements in 
varieties. One part of Mr. Siddon’s plan is to investi¬ 
gate and test the new varieties, until he finds those 
which are best adapted to his dry condition. For 
instance, he says that in old times oil was used for 
lighting the streets. Then came gas, which was con¬ 
sidered a wonderful improvement. Then finally came 
the electric light, which displaced the gas, because it 
is more economical and better. These men who say 
that there is nothing in new and improved varieties 
would not want the towns and cities to go back to oil 
lamps for lighting the streets, although it is just as 
reasonable to expect the old-time varieties of fruit to 
do as well under special conditions as the newer and 
tested fruits. 
SPECIAL CARE.—The Atlantic variety is a fav¬ 
orite with many in central New York. Mr. Siddon 
says that for years he did not consider it a profitable 
variety. Now he has learned how to grow it on his 
soil, and he will plant more heavily to Atlantic. 
That is a good illustration of the way the man has 
studied out this small-fruit question. Most men 
would say that one variety is the same as another so 
far as any special culture is concerned. Mr. Sid¬ 
don knows Detter than that, and he knows that 
Atlantic requires a special kind of culture and care 
to make it do its best. Now he knows what the 
variety needs, ana is prepared to give it. He wants a 
big berry of fair quality. I found Atlantic, Bubach, 
Glen Mary, Clyde, Beder Wood and Haverland giving 
good returns in the dust. Parker Earle had fruited 
heavily, and was developing a fair crop of good-sized 
berries, but the drought made it impossible to per¬ 
fect all of its enormous setting. Mr. Siddon has 
hunted up Rough Rider and has watched it carefully. 
He is satisfied that it is going to be an acquisition 
on his grounds, as it is strong and vigorous, and 
makes a heavy growth even in a dry time. 
FERTILIZER AND WEEDS—It takes years of 
study and experience to pick out the right varieties. 
Then it takes years more to know howto handle them 
properly. The problem on Mr. Siddon’s farm, as I 
have tried to point out, is to hold the moisture in 
the ground. The conditions are such that irrigation 
is impossible. The plant must perfect its fruit on the 
sur}]us water left ever from the rainy season. Mr. 
Siddon said he used to spend his Winters hauling 
manure from Syracuse. That went on over 30 years, 
and he grew tired of it. It was thought that without 
the humus provided by tne manure, the moisture could 
not be held in the ground, but Mr. Siddon believed in 
the philosophy of the dust mulch, and so he took up 
the plan of “chemicals and clover.” He uses heavy 
dressings of Read’s fertilizer, and grows Crimson 
clover or rye in every available spot. The soil on 
the day of my visit was like an ash heap. 
The plants were well set in the first place, 
and thoroughly cultivated. This season prom¬ 
ised to be dry, and the cultivators were kept 
constantly going up and down through the rows, 
until the upper soil was as fine as it possibly could be. 
There was a great contrast between this finely-pul¬ 
verized soil and the hard-baked cement of neighbor¬ 
ing strawberry fields. The weeds were kept down 
with hoe and cultivator, but we all know how cer¬ 
tain weeds will grow in the blazing sun, when most 
other crops will wilt. In spite of all his care, after 
the blooms appeared, some large weeds jumped up 
among the strawberries and began to grow vigor¬ 
ously. Mr. Siddon hates a weed, not perhaps for 
the reason that some other farmers would give, but 
because they suck the water which belongs to the 
strawberries from the soil. The water needed to de¬ 
velop the weed would develop a hill of fruit. Yet it 
would not do to go in and hoe and pull up these 
weeds while the fruit is forming. So he sent boys 
along with knives and shears, to cut those weeds off 
close to the ground. When you come to think of it, 
that was the wisest thing tnat could be done. It 
saved the moisture and did not disturb the ground. 
To have pulled them out by the roots would have 
opened the soil and dried it out quicker than ever, 
and also interfered with the roots of the strawber¬ 
ries. That is a fair sample of the care with which 
Mr. Siddon handles the fruit. He began from the 
ground up and has worked along carefully with the 
sole idea of developing big berries, and he has cer¬ 
tainly succeeded in doing it this trying season. It 
was a pleasant sight to see the stream of berries 
coming in from the field to the packing shed, and 
another evidence of good reputation was the stream 
of wagons and carriages driven out from town after 
fresh fruit. Some of the best people in the city have 
acquired the habit of driving out to the fruit farm in 
the afternoon to buy their own fruit fresh from the 
vines. They enjoy the drive and like to see the way 
the fruit is handled. Every one of such customers is 
a traveling advertisement, for they talk about their 
trip and praise the berries until their neighbors and 
friends are led to do the same thing. 
CLEAN CULTURE.—Mr. Siddon’s cucumbers and 
blackberries all showed the same careful culture. 
There was hardly a weed to be seen on the farm, and 
the ground was so thoroughly stirred that by scratch¬ 
ing away the upper dust you were sure to find dark- 
colored, moist soil beneath. The cucumbers espec¬ 
ially showed evidence of care and handling. We 
know that many farmers say that it does not pay to 
polish up the crops in this way. “Give fair cultiva¬ 
tion,” they say, “and then let the weeds and grass 
come if they will.” The money and time spent in 
digging out every weed and every spear of grass will 
not give returns. I asked Mr. Siddon what he 
thought about this plan and naturally he said that 
he did not believe in it. “I buy fertilizer and I culti¬ 
vate my ground,” he said, “to produce something 
good enough to sell. If I let the weeds eat my fer- 
tilizer or enjoy the benefits of cultivation, I produce a 
worthless crop; worse than worthless, in fact, because 
it makes future cultivation all the harder.” Mr. Sid¬ 
don has started in on this careful, painstaking plan, 
and this year certainly shows that he is on the right 
track. Some of the neighbors say to him: “Oh, well, 
you may have a good crop this year, but you cannot 
do it again.” Why not? A few others have worked 
carefully along this plan and found that it took them 
a dozen years to learn how to take care of a crop as 
it ought to be cared for. Having once learned how, 
they have never lost the knowledge, and most of them 
will say that they have never lost a crop to which 
this thorough care was given. Mr. Siddon certainly 
knows how to raise berries in the dust. He is on the 
right track, but those who try to imitate him, must 
remember that it is not a matter of one or two years, 
but that he has been at this thing half of a lifetime, 
studying how to do it, and that his success has grown 
through these long years, and has not been acquired 
at a jump. h. w. c. 
THE CULTURE OF A FIELD OF CORN. 
Five and a half acres of corn were planted May 
14 and 15, 1900, finishing a day or two later. Rye 
on part of it had been fed off to the cows. The re¬ 
mainder, sown last Fall witn wheat for later feeding, 
hadn’t done well and was plowed in. The stable 
manure had been applied during the Winter. The 
corn was planted in hills 3Yz feet each way, with a 
hand corn planter. Just as the corn broke ground 
we went one way with a cultivator having seven 
spring teeth. The cultivator was set wide enough so 
that the soil sifted together, barely sprinkling the 
bursting corn. Usually in about a week the corn is 
high enough to cultivate the other way, but this year 
it was so cold that the corn stood still while the weeds 
began to grow. As soon as it was possible to run 
the cultivator crosswise without covering the corn, 
it was done. After the second or third cultivation, 
or as soon as the corn had a good foothold, the weed- 
er was run crosswise to the latest cultivation. This 
should be done when the plants are dry and when 
the soil is dry enough to crumble readily. The man 
with the hoe followed behind the weeder, taking two 
rows, straightening up any corn knocked down, and 
cutting out any big weeds that have escaped. He 
will generally keep up with the weeder and not 
double up his back with the weight of centuries very 
much either. He certainly doesn’t hump himself as 
much as the man with the bike with the weight of 
century runs upon his back. From the start the 
ground is stirred with one tool or the other about 
once a week, until the corn is too large for the 
weeder. After this time the ground was filling with 
corn roots, and the cultivator in its further use is 
set as shallow as possible, especially the outside teeth, 
or more damage would be done than good. A culti¬ 
vator with weeder teeth or light harrow teeth is the 
best tool for finishing. The field is gone over once 
or twice with the hoe after the weeder as described. 
No other hoeing is given unless a piece is very 
weedy. I find the V-shaped weeder better than the 
straight one, as it holds handier and does not clog 
as quickly. The weeder, used with the cultivator, 
gives a level tillage and leaves the ground in excel¬ 
lent shape for seeding in the corn. 
July 19, 14 pounds of clover seed and one-half 
bushel of oats per acre were sown in this corn—the 
tassels were just showing—and a 29-inch frame 
weeder was run through each way to finish the job. 
The oats are an experiment to supply Winter protec¬ 
tion to the clover. The clover consists of three plots, 
first one of Crimson clover; second one of common 
Red clover; third one of Mammoth clover. We wish 
to see how they will compare next year, all the other 
conditions being equal. It is our intention after top¬ 
dressing with stable manure during the Winter, either 
to mow the clover and then plow in the sod for corn 
or to plow in the entire crop. At this time, August 
8, the clover is up in good shape and waiting for rain. 
Connecticut. k. c. biroe. 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK. 
DOMESTIC.—The surface workings of the Berwind Col¬ 
liery, near Dubois, Pa., were burned August 15. The loss 
is estimated at from $500,000 to $1,000,000.Ex- 
Senator John J. Ingalls, of Kansas, died at Las Vegas, 
New Mexico, August 16.Three steamers were 
wrecked on the beach at Cape Nome, Alaska, during the 
storm prevailing August 2-3, and 15 persons were drowned. 
. . . . An explosion in a gas plant at Point Breeze, near 
Philadelphia, August 16, seriously injured five men. 
. . . . The explosion of a stove burning natural gas 
killed six persons at Chicago, Ill., August 16. 
The Governor of Georgia, August 17, ordered a militia 
company to quell an uprising of negroes in Liberty 
County, in the southeastern portion of the State, where 
the blacks outnumber the whites three to one. One white 
man and two negroes have been killed. On August 16 two 
towns were fired.According to the new census, 
the population of old New York (Manhattan and the 
Bronx) exclusive of the annexed district, is 2,050,600. The 
total of Greater New York is 3,437,202.An Italian 
convict and anarchist who arrived in New York August 
16 will be sent back, he being suspected of a plot to as¬ 
sassinate the President.A tornado struck She¬ 
boygan, Wis., August 20, causing damage amounting to 
$350,000. The same storm caused a good deal of damage 
at Oshkosh.August 20 was the eleventh day of 
100-degree weather at Abilene, Kansas, and the tempera¬ 
ture rose to 115, with hot winds. Corn is badly burned. 
. . . . Caleb Powers has been found guilty in the con¬ 
spiracy to kill Governor Goebel, of Kentucky, and sen¬ 
tenced to life imprisonment. The second prisoner, 
Youtsey, Is now under trial.A rear-end collision 
on the Harlem railroad near Kensico, N. Y., August 21, 
caused the death of three persons.The great 
factory of the Kelly Ax Company, at Alexandria, Ind., 
was destroyed by fire August 19; loss $800,000.In¬ 
tense heat prevailed along the south Atlantic coast dur¬ 
ing the week ending August 25; at Savannah and other 
Georgia points the temperature was 102 on August 21. 
The heat has continued in the Southwest for several 
weeks without intermission. In Kansas the day tempera¬ 
ture continued at 100 degrees for 11 days in succession, and 
went as high as 115 degrees. Deaths and prostrations 
have been numerous.A big wave swept Lake 
Michigan August 20, causing the water to recede 100 feet 
from the Illinois shore, rushing back again like a solid 
wall. The level of the Chicago River was reduced four 
feet, and the rush back drowned two persons. 
Several negroes who are British subjects have appealed 
to their consul for redress, as the result of assaults dur¬ 
ing the recent race riots in New York. They assert that 
the police made no efforts to restrain the mob. It is re¬ 
ported that Danish, French and Dutch subjects were also 
among the victims of the mob, these being West Indian 
negroes.The Summit Hill (Pa.) mine fire, which 
has been burning for 40 years, is spreading to other col¬ 
lieries, throwing 300 men out of employment. 
Six men were killed at Guthrie, O. T., August 21, by the 
caving in of a well.Five men were smothered 
in a coal mine at Isaquah, Wash., August 21.At 
Cleveland, O., August 22, 12 persons were injured in a 
trolley accident, the car jumping the track.Au¬ 
gust 22, the city prison at Akron, O., was attacked by a 
mob desiring to lynch a negro prisoner. In the battle 
with the authorities two children were killed and several 
persons injured. 
PHILIPPINES.—Bubonic plague still exists In Manila, 
but the disease appears to be confined to Filipinos and 
Chinese. 
GENERAL FOREIGN NEWS.—August 15 the Allies 
captured Peking, finding the Envoys safe. The Empress 
fled. The Allies requested immediate reenforcements. 
The American troops now in China include the Ninth In¬ 
fantry, eight companies of the Fourteenth Infantry, Bat¬ 
tery F, Fifth Artillery; eight troops of the Sixth Cavalry 
and four companies of the Fifteenth Infantry, the latter 
having recently arrived. There are at sea destined for 
China four batteries of the Third Artillery, Company E 
of the Engineers, four troops of the Third Cavalry, eight 
troops of the First Cavalry and eight troops of the Ninth 
Cavalry. Others sailed August 22. Despatches at Rome 
from Taku, under date of August 20, say that according to 
advices from a Japanese source, dated August 17, the 
battle of Peking was then finished, and the Japanese had 
entered the imperial palace. The foreign ministers, with 
detachments of the allied troops, were then occupying 
the imperial city, the Chinese princes and ministers hav- 
nig retired west of Peking. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—A deadlock between the Cali¬ 
fornia wine makers and the wine growers has ended in 
the breaking up of the growers’ combine. Grapes are now 
selling for $13 and $14 a ton, instead of $18 and $20, the 
prices fixed by the association. 
Wind and hail storms of unusual severity visited Ne¬ 
braska on August 16. Crops were ruined by the hail, and 
in some cases small buildings were wrecked. The damage 
to crops will amount to more than $100,000. 
At Flint, Mich., August 16, Food Commissioner Grosve- 
nor made complaints against nine farmers operating milk 
routes, who have been using formaldehyde in their milk. 
The samples were very bad, the embalming fluid being 
freely used. 
The farmers of Cass Co., Ind., have declared war against 
the owners of the Burlington Turnpike, who insist upon 
collecting toll for travel on the road. The company has 
50 or 60 men to guard the tollgates at night and the farm¬ 
ers have organized to tear down the structures. It Is 
feared that serious trouble will ensue. 
The Lancaster County (Pa.) Tobacco Growers’ Society 
will be addressed on September 15 by Professor Frear, of 
the State College, and Professor Whitney, of the Agri¬ 
cultural Department, at Washington, D. C. 
Among exhibitors receiving awards at the Paris Ex¬ 
position are the McCormick Harvesting Machine Co., the 
Deering Harvester Co., Oliver Chilled Plow Works, Syra¬ 
cuse Chilled Plow Co., S. L. Allen & Co., P. M. Sharpies 
and a number of other makers of farm machinery 
Louis Menand, one of the oldest florists in the United 
States, died at Albany, N. Y., August 15, aged 93. He was 
born in France, and settled in the United States in 1837 
The National Farmers’ Congress opened its twentieth 
annual session at Colorado Springs, Col., August 21 
There was a large attendance. 
