1902 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
547 
HOPE FARM NOTES 
The Weather. — I have known some 
spells of gloomy and depressing weather 
In my day, but I cannot recall anything 
quite equal to the last two weeks in July, 
1902. There was n ..re or less rain every 
day. The sun might struggle out for 10 
minutes now rnd then, only to be smoth¬ 
ered from view by thick, dripping clouds. 
The soil was like a sponge. No tool would 
work in it. Try to hoe and you pulled a 
shovelful of dirt at each stroke. About 
all that could be done was to pull weeds 
by hand or cut them with a scythe—not 
much satisfaction when you pull a hill of 
corn with the weed. Such weather is bad 
enough in Winter, but then you can close 
the day before a bright fire and forgeft 
most of your troubles as the flames snap 
and crackle. No one wants to be roasted 
at night after being stewed all day in 
this soft, clammy air. There was no use 
grieving, however. We set cabbage plants, 
pulled weeds, thinned out the squash and 
sugar beets and spread fertilizer. We 
were better off than some of our neigh¬ 
bors, who actually had hay and grain out 
through this drizzle! Others have filled 
up with Summer boarders, who came to 
the country to “bask in the sunshine.” 
They have done more barking than bask¬ 
ing this Summer—in fact, I should think 
the landlord’s patience would have no 
bark left on it! To show how hard it is 
to suit everyone with weather, I may say 
that while we were grieving because -we 
couldn’t work in the corn, Philip was ra¬ 
diant because the rain was just the thing 
for the celery. Not much use finding 
fault with the weather when the crops on 
your own farm can’t agree as to what is 
best! 
Gloomy Thoughts.— It’s wonderful how 
necessary sunshine is to courage and 
hope. I’ll guarantee that thousands of 
farmers during these dull and gloomy 
days have gone around magnifying their 
troubles and disappointments, and forget¬ 
ting all about their blessings. It is pretty 
hard, as I know, to try to argue with 
yourself when even the great sun doesn’t 
seem to have spunk enough to show itself. 
A man may say to himself over and over 
again: “I have a good wife and family, 
as good a home as anyone need ask for, 
and I have done a man’s full duty as I 
saw it!” You may reason that way and 
fully believe it, and yet you can’t get the 
thought out of your mind that somebody 
or something has held you back from the 
things you ought to have had! It is hu¬ 
man nature to forget the things that are 
within our reach and go straining and 
longing for the unattainable—the impos¬ 
sible things away off yonder. We may 
dream about these great things that have 
been denied us, but surely we shall never 
get even a good solid look at them until 
we make the things around us so firm 
and solid that we can stand on them 
without falling through. To be fair and 
honest about it, has not God done more 
for you than you have done for Him? 
Some of these agnostic gentlemen object 
to me learnedly when I speak of God. 1 
should refer to “Ruling Force,” they say. 
Very well, has it done more for you than 
you have done for it? It strikes me that 
those of us who are forced to admit that 
we haven’t yet evened up the score ought 
to keep rather quiet, or admit that we 
want to ride as moral deadheads. 
Loafers at Work.—I have described 
what I call a “loafer field” at the extreme 
west of the farm. When we came here it 
was a mass of brush and little trees. We 
burned it over, plowed with the big sulky 
plow, and sowed cow peas. This year we 
had rye there—a fair crop for late sowed 
grain. This field is over a mile from the 
barn—the road through the woods being 
narrow and rough—part of the way being 
through a soft swamp. Our neighbors at 
the Lord’s Farm (a religious community) 
have a binder, and they agreed to cut 
that rye. They started between showers, 
and a slow, patient job it was getting 
through that narrow path with the heavy 
machine. We had to cut a way for them. 
1 hardly knew which to admire most—the 
horses or the man who drove them. The 
horses were fully trained. They would 
start together at the word and stop in an 
instant without yelling or swearing. Some 
horses would have ripped that binder all 
to pieces, but this team guided it along 
gently and slowly, without injury to any 
part. Had some of the mule drivers I 
knew out West been taking that binder 
through those woods the air would have 
been blue! The driver bumped into a 
stump at one place and remarked: “Twen¬ 
ty years ago. when I was using the lan¬ 
guage of another world, I would have 
made some remarks right here!” These 
profane fellows have told me what a re¬ 
lief it is for them to let out a flood of 
“language” when their work goes wrong. 
I know what the temptation is myself, but 
the feeling that comes with self mastery 
beat# It. 
Crops for Loafer Fields.—H aving put 
that field at work the question now is 
what job to give it. You may stir up a 
loafer and get him going, but he will 
never forget his loafer days. Sweat burns 
him far more than it does the man who 
has always kept at work. There was rea¬ 
son for throwing that field out of service. 
It is far from the barn, with two steep 
hills and a low nlace between. That 
means a long haul for a light load, as we 
found when we hauled home the rye. No 
use putting some perishable crop over 
there. We can seed it to grass and put 
up a barrack to hold the hay until Win¬ 
ter. If we can make Alfalfa grow there 
we might handle it in the same way, but 
I don’t like those long hauls on such a 
long and narrow farm as ours. What I 
want to do Is to take the 15 acres nearest 
the barn for small fruits and such garden 
crops as prove most profitable. The next 
15 acres or so I hope to get into the most 
profitable fodder crops I can find. The 
remainder of the farm, outside of the 
woods, I expect to put in orchards much 
after the plan followed by Mr. Hitchings. 
For example, I shall set apple trees on 
that loafer field where we have cut the 
rye, and never expect to haul a pound of 
fodder away from it. The grass and weeds 
will all be cut and left to rot on the 
ground. It’s well enough to make these 
plans, but of course I know that a mere 
plan fills no pocket. 
Farm Notes.— After cutting the clover 
on a piece of land in the pear orchard 
near the house, Charlie plowed and plant¬ 
ed squashes. This is a new crop with us, 
and we don’t pretend to know just how to 
handle it. Hills were marked off nine feet 
each way, and a quantity of dry hen ma¬ 
nure put in each hill. We planted both 
Hubbard and Faxon. While Hubbard is 
the standard squash for market I am told 
that Faxon is much easier to raise. 
Thus far with us Hubbard has proved 
the stronger. Our crop has made an as¬ 
tonishing growth. It has been well culti¬ 
vated and the weeds pulled out of the 
hills by hand. We thinned to three and 
four good plants, expecting to pull some 
of these if the borers are not too bad. 
The black insect has not troubled, but 
hundreds of the true squash or stink- 
bug have been picked and killed. As the 
vines run we shall cover many of the 
joints with dirt, so as to root them in va¬ 
rious places and thus give them a better 
chance against the borer. I believe it will 
pay to care for squash this year. Last 
Thanksgiving I had to pay 10 cents a 
pound for a poor speciinen. I’d rather sell 
than buy at that price.The 
cows have been pastured in the early ap¬ 
ple orchard. These old-fashioned trees 
are headed up so high that the cattle can 
hardly reach the fruit. They clean up 
the windfalls about as fast as they drop, 
and are not injured by them. ... We 
are giving the old orchards a dressing of 
basic slag. This is to supply lime and 
phosphoric acid. During August we hope 
to haul out the manure and give these 
orchards a good supply. I feed the or¬ 
chards in the Fall for the same reason 
that I feed the strawberries then. The 
fruit buds are produced on the tree from 
now until frost, and now is the time to 
feed the tree so that these fruit buds will 
be strong and abundant. Some apple 
growers object to using stable manure in 
their orchards. I will use all I can get 
of any fertilizing material, but it must be 
well balanced. I think much of the 
trouble with stable manure in orchards is 
that it is used alone, and thus supplies 
too large a proportion of nitrogen. This, 
1 think, will make both tree and fruit 
soft. 1 use slag and nitrate of potash 
with the manure. 
But will not this use of manure in the 
Fall produce so much new growth that 
the tree will be frost bitten? 
I do not think it makes so much differ¬ 
ence with an old tree. I do not put ma¬ 
nure on the young trees in the Fall ex¬ 
cept to put a mulch around those newly 
planted. We do not feed for fruit buds 
in the young tree any more than we put 
good business chances before a child. We 
expect a mature tree and a mature man 
to know what to do with opportunity, 
though I regret to say that the man often 
disappoints us.The J unior Bride 
potatoes were all readv to dig by August 
1. The yield is excellent—quality fine. At 
present the price is too low. It will pay 
us better to hold for seed. I like this va¬ 
riety for early growing better the longer 
we try it. June Eating has been our 
stand-by for years, but Junior Pride is 
likely to drive it off the farm. I may 
keep an old horse past his prime out of 
sentiment, but not a variety of corn or 
potatoes that has been fairly beaten. I 
hear many complaints of blight in pota¬ 
toes. We have no signs of it yet, and I 
attribute it to the fact that we sprayed 
or dusted three times with Bordeaux Mix¬ 
ture. 
All Sorts.—W hile the little boys are 
away the Chunk does the marketing. He 
sold nearly $9 worth of goods in the first 
week. Now that sweet corn is ready he 
will sell more. Every now and then some 
timid soul bobs up to ask if the children 
are not ashamed to sell farm produce! 
What in the •world is there about honest 
milk, eggs, fruit, cabbage or peas to be 
ashamed of? Why is it not as honorable 
to sell them as it is to sell cloth or gro¬ 
ceries, coal or sewing machines? It makes 
me so fired that I want to sit right down 
upon some of these fainthearts when I 
hear them suggest that anybody at Hope 
Farm feels ashamed that their living 
comes out of the soil! Bosh! One great 
trouble with farming to-day is the fact 
that some people who depend upon the 
farm for their living turn up their nose 
at it and try to discredit an honest busi¬ 
ness. If any of children were 
ashamed of selling what Hope Farm pro¬ 
duces, I should feel like taking them out 
behind the shed with a shingle. That 
might not increase their respect for agri¬ 
culture, and I would much rather use the 
shingle on those -who put such ideas in 
their heads.At this season of 
the year we often have some arguments 
about price. A customer may say: “I see 
in my paper that potatoes are quoted in 
New York at $1.50 per barrel. It would 
cost you at least 25 cents to ship a barrel, 
therefore you would get only $1.25. You 
ought therefore to let us have them at 12 
cents a peck!” I have had people talk 
that way. 1 usually ask what these same 
New York potatoes cost when they buy 
at the local store. At present the price 
is 35 cents a peck. The storekeeper has 
to pay freight and cartage and run all 
the risk on small and rotten potatoes! 
Why should I be expected to cut the price 
when my fresh-dug potatoes are better? 
It is hard to reconcile the difference be¬ 
tween retail and wholesale prices some¬ 
times, and in making a price for a good 
article I have often been puzzled as to 
what I ought to charge. Shall we take all 
the customer will stand, or try to figure 
what the goods cost? As most of us are 
situated goods put on the regular market 
bring about what the buyer is willing to 
give and no more. h. w. c. 
The “Clark” Grass Method.—I notice 
you ask for reports on the Clark method 
of seeding grass. While ours would have 
been very successful had it not been for 
the careless application of too much fer¬ 
tilizer, which killed the stand, still I no¬ 
tice a great and distinct advantage, name¬ 
ly in the absence of daisies and weeds— 
which in itself is a great and profitable 
point. , l. m. s. 
Connecticut. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you will get a quick reply and 
“a square deal." See our guarantee 8th page. 
Thirty-five bushels of wheat con¬ 
tain thirty pounds of 
Potash 
Our books contain many valuable 
facts and suggestions for farmers. 
The books are free; send name 
and address to 
GERMAN KALI WORKS 
93 Nassau St., New York 
COSTS LITTLE 
EASILY LAID 
LASTS YEARS 
RUBEROID 
(TRAL)b MARK RELIStbHtO) 
ROOFING 
BOOK l h i “K’’ 
THE STANDARD PAINT CO. 
102 Wiluam Sr., Ntw York. 
RIFE HYDRAULIC ENGINE! 
1® 
S Pumps water by water power; runs 
1 without attention! gives a constant 
1 flow and is sold on 30 days trial. 
1 Unequaled for the farm or country 
H 
Send for Book. 
lUlPRPI POWER SPECIALTY CO. 
126 Liberty St. New York. 
WATER. 
If you want water only when the wind blows a windmill will do your work 
and cost less money than our Rider and Ericsson Hot-Air Pumps, but if you want 
water every day while your flowers are growing and do not want your pump blown 
down when the wind blows too hard, no pump In the world can equal ours. We 
have sold about 20.000 of them during the past twenty-five years, which Is proof 
that wo are not making wild statements. 
Our Catalogue “C 4” will tell you all about them. Write to nearest store. 
Rider-Ericsson Engine Company, 
35 WarrenSt..Nrw York. 692 Craig St.. Montreal. P Q 40 Dearborn St. Chicago. 
239 Franklin St., Boston Tenlente-Rey 71, Havana, Cuba. 40 N. 7th St., Philadelphia. 
22a Pitt St., Sydney, N S. W. 
IN A WET SEASON SkigtepDay^the Price of a 
FARMER’S HANDY WAGON 
Every far¬ 
mer knows ne 
ought to have 
one; ibis only 
a question of 
“ where can I 
buy a good 
one with the 
least money.” 
Theysupnlied 
the H. S. Gov¬ 
ernment with 
all the Trucks they 
in the Cuban war. 
They build more 
Trucks than all 
builders combined, 
by the IT S Government, 
an ordinary wagon box 
The Farmer’s 
Handy Wagon 
Company, f f Sagl- 
naw, Michigan, 
were the first to 
build such a 
wagon, and the 
only ones whogive 
the farmer a 
choice between 
steel and wood 
wheels. They sell a 
good steel wagon 
used 
Farm 
other 
The platform is easily removed 
The wheels turn under the load. 
AS LOW AS $20.00 
The one shown In this picture Is the one recom¬ 
mended by the Agricultural Colleges and Experi¬ 
ment Farms, and is the only truck ever adopted 
and stakes placed on bolsters, then It Is ready for 
Send for Catalogue anti Prices. 
It Is no longer necessary to 
offer arguments In favor of 
Low-Wheeled, 
Wide-Tire, 
Short-Turning, 
Broad-Platform 
Wagons. 
FARMER’S HANDY WAGON CO., Saginaw, Mich. 
