1902 
3o7 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
HOPE FARM NOTES 
Progress.— There was very little “do¬ 
ing - ’ through the first week in April. Just 
as we got within half a day’s work of 
plowing the barley and Alfalfa field a reg¬ 
ular Jersey rain started in and lasted 
nearly all the week. On our heavy soil 
this meant “stop,” for we would do more 
harm than good to turn the sticky earth 
over into hard clods. Even when the sun 
did come out for half a day it was impos¬ 
sible to do good work. On the lighter lands 
in the valley the plows were running, 
though some of the soil they turned up 
was pretty thick. It was hard to see this 
work being done while we were standing 
still, unable even to haul manure! It re¬ 
quires patience to run a heavy farm, yet 
we ought to remember that we shall have, 
on these hills, 10 good ripening days in 
the Fall after our valley friends have been 
frostbitten. Really the end is better than 
the start. Is that because we are obliged 
to take the end? Partly, but when we get 
our system of stone drains finished we 
shall gain at the start without losing at 
the end. Jack Frost won’t climb the hill 
any earlier because we dry the water out 
of our soil! 
Wet-Day Jobs.—O f course no one sat 
around grieving because it rained. 1 don't 
think the barley and Alfalfa would have 
gained anything by lying in that cold, wet 
soil. They were better oft in the bag if 
we must have such weather! Philip and 
Charlie painted the blinds for the new 
house, patched up fences, put the last saw¬ 
dust on the ice and did dozens of needed 
jobs. Hugh finished pruning and cleaned 
up the orchards, set 30 peach trees and a 
few apples, picked out his trees for graft¬ 
ing, set grapevines, lifted the mulch on the 
strawberries—why there are plenty of 
things to do besides finding fault with wet 
weather. The grass and grain enjoyed the 
wetting. East year’s clover is jumping. 
After a hard struggle the Crimson clover 
has concluded to live, and, except on the 
low, dishy places, is leaving its red sister 
far behind. If there is any difference at 
all the Crimson seeded with rape last Fall 
is ahead of that in the Cow-horn turnips. 
Except that these turnips dig down deep 
into the ground I call the rape better for 
green manuring. We are starting a little 
nursery at the back of the farm. We had 
a chance to obtain a good lot of Northern 
Spy seedlings and a number of other young 
fruit trees, and Hugh believes that it will 
pay us as well to raise trees from the 
cradle as it does to raise our best calves, 
pigs and colts. That is another Cornell 
idea, and a good one it seems to me—that 
the sooner a careful man can begin to train 
and educate and develop his young stock 
the better he can make it at maturity. 
That’s right, but suppose the man is not 
careful? In that case I would rather have 
him keep away entirely from young things, 
lie will only teach them lazy and shiftless 
habits. He should let others graft habits 
on the young stock so securely that he 
can’t change them, though he may dwarf 
them. 
Everything. —I will try to answer some 
of the many questions that have been ask¬ 
ed of late. 
Why do you sow beardless barley? 
I want some Spring grain, and have 
never been satisfied with oats in our coun¬ 
try. I also believe that barley is the best 
Spring grain for seeding Alfalfa. 
But why not sow the Alfalfa alone? 
I need extra grain or fodder this year. 
The barley can be cut for hay or left for 
grain—probably the former. The field is 
on a steep hillside where a heavy rain 
might wash. I think the grain will help 
hold the water and protect the young Al¬ 
falfa. 
But why not put the Alfalfa on the lower 
part of the farm? What sense is there in 
using that old hillside? 
Because, among other things, I hope to 
show our farmers that these hills may be 
made useful. Too many of them are now 
idle—the owners buying manure from New 
York to use on the lower and level fields 
of the farm. If Alfalfa can be made to 
grow on these hills, it will turn these neg¬ 
lected fields into the granary of the farm. 
We may then feed the lower land from 
the hills, keeping the Alfalfa going by 
means of chemicals. What I want to do is 
to cover my loafer fields with cow peas, 
and fruit trees or Alfalfa, feed the fodder 
to the stock that pays best, and crowd all 
the manure upon 10 acres at the lower part 
of the farm. It will take years to mature 
this plan, and the Alfalfa may not succeed 
with us. I believe, however, that what our 
farmers need is to crowd their work and 
manure upon the lower fields near the 
road, and look to the hill fields to provide 
the manure. There is no credit in taking 
a rich field, well located, and getting it 
started to Alfalfa. Anyone who has the 
field ought to be able to do that, but not 
many of our farmers have such a field. A 
man may have a great brain, but a tre¬ 
mendous stomach or weak little legs, so 
that he does not take proper exercise. The 
world doesn’t need to have that brain en¬ 
larged, but tinkering up the weak points 
of the body—stomach and legs—will surely 
give that brain more force and power. If 
a man has a farm with loafer fields on it 
he should put them at work and make 
them wait on the farm salesmen, or those 
fields that produce money crops. 
Why not put Alfalfa in that orchard near 
the barn? 
All the advice I can get is against it. 
People disagree upon every other point 
concerning Alfalfa, but all eastern grow¬ 
ers say keep it out of the orchard. 
Why? 
Because they say it sucks the water too 
hard, and takes it all—leaving nothing for 
the trees. 
Do they all say this? 
Hugh tells of a western farmer who came 
and talked to the students at Cornell. He 
said he had 100 acres of Alfalfa, and ad¬ 
vised its use in orchards because it would 
pump up water from the subsoil and bring 
it where the trees could use it. 
Do you believe in that? 
As I don’t know what to believe I con¬ 
tent myself with doubting it. You take 
two boys working with straws at a cider 
barrel—one has a 10-inch straw and the 
other has one 15 inches long. With the 
cider 12 inches from the bunghole I think 
the boy with the short straw would go 
dry. I don’t think the water pumped up 
by the Alfalfa would benefit the trees any 
more than the water in the long straw 
would help the boy with the short one. 
Shall you plow up pasture? 
Part of our last year’s pasture will be 
plowed up for planting corn. 
How will you feed the stock? 
They will have the run of a small pas¬ 
ture, and will be fed green crops in addi¬ 
tion. Beginning with green rye there will 
be wheat, oats and peas, barley, millet and 
corn. I used to throw this green fodder on 
the ground and let them eat it, but that is 
wasteful. A low rack is better. 
What grapes are you planting? 
Ours is not a grape country, and we do 
not expect to raise grapes as a market 
crop. I shall plant samples of about 20 
different varieties as I can get them. We 
plan to put our vineyard at the brow of 
our steep hill. Around the house where 
lively climbers are needed we plant Clin¬ 
ton and McPike, 
What varieties of apples? 
Mostly the old-fashioned sorts such as 
Baldwin, Greening and the russets. We 
have a few of the so-called “odd-year 
Baldwin.” The Greening does well in this 
locality, and there is good demand for all 
we can raise. I know that many growers 
are rejecting the russets, yet they do quite 
well here, and there are thousands of old- 
fashioned people who want to buy them. I 
do not care much for the Fall and early 
Winter varieties. The apple that sells in 
January, February and March is the fruit 
for us. , , 
“You spoke of the “dust” method of 
spraying—do you believe in it? 
I am going to try it to see whether I do 
or not. We expect to mix about 15 pounds 
of lime to one pound of dry Bordeaux and 
blow this dust forcibly into the trees while 
they are wet with dew. We shall also use 
a mixture of sulphur and lime. We have, 
in former years, used dust poisons on vines 
with good results. If it will answer for 
trees we want to know it. H. w. c. 
If you want the best, the most im¬ 
proved and the most reliable binder in 
the world—buy the McCormick—it is 
the unit of measure in harvesting ma¬ 
chines.— Adv. 
STAR PATTERN 
, BILLINGS 
Planter and Fertilizer 
Is the latest, and It drops 
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For CORN, 
BEANS, PEAS 
and 
BEET SEED. 
If you want them, we fur¬ 
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Corn Planting 
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232 So. Dcsplalnes Street. CHICAGO. ILL. 
Send 
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make the work easier for both the man and team. 
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Enough Water 
is quite enough for some people, but most 
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Rider or Ericsson Hot-Air Pumps 
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We supplied the U. 
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WE MAKE TEN STYLES_0F FARM TRUCKS, 
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OUR PRICES LOW. QUALITY PURE. 
Write for Memorandum Book, Prices and Samples. 
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. _ _-— - 
-F 
? or Money Crops - 
