1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
383 
HOPE FARM NOTES. 
Cow Peas. —We are still eatiDg cow 
peas at Hope Farm. The people in the 
house make short work of a big dishful, 
and the s.weet corn is having a glorious 
feast where the vines were plowed in 
this Spring. The bean-eaters of New 
England have done great things for the 
country. Dewey was one of them, and 
Hobson was a cow-pea boy. If beans 
and peas can produce lively humans, 
they should make even livelier humus— 
capable of pushing corn and potatoes in 
great shape. A neighbor last Winter 
got over a bushel of our cow peas, and 
fed his family for weeks. This year he 
wants to get a piece of waste land, have 
it broken up and sown to cow peas. The 
children can pick them in the Fail. 
There is no way I know of in which so 
much food can be produced at a dollar’s 
expense as in broadcasting cow peas on 
cheap land. You can pick off the peas, 
leave the vines, and then have the ground 
good enough to grow potatoes ! Uncle 
Ed says that cow peas and sweet pota¬ 
toes are the salvation of the poor people 
in Florida. These two crops give nearly 
a balanced ration, and can be very 
cheaply grown. I notice that people are 
becoming interested in cow peas. I al¬ 
ways carry a few in my pocket, and hand 
them out to those who are interested. 
Most people are surprised at their ap¬ 
pearance. I have given away a number 
of quarts in this way. We are told to 
“scatter sunshine!” Why not scatter 
cow peas as well ? 
Family Wastes. —Somewise chemists 
have told us how much the average 
housekeeper throws out of the back door. 
They analyzed the contents of the family 
swill tub, and figured what it would 
come to in the course of a year. These 
wastes are considerable, even with the 
most careful housekeepers. The chemist’s 
measure is a good one, but I like the 
pork measure better. How much pork 
will this waste make ? That is the way 
we try to measure it at Hope Farm. We 
have four shotes in one pen, that receive 
nothing but the kitchen swill—dish¬ 
water and wastes. They will get a few 
weeds and wastes from the vegetables, 
but little that costs money. They are 
not fat, but they are thriving, and will 
make large hogs by Fall. I am satisfied 
that there are 400 pounds of pork in the 
Hope Farm dishwater and swill. In 
some of the poorest families, I know 
these wastes are thrown away. I know 
one man who rarely sees 810, yet he 
raised a 815 hog. He did not notice the 
small sums of money paid out for feed, 
yet when lumped together in the hog, 
they provided half his Winter’s meat 
supply. 
Seasonable Notes. —I never saw the 
country change so rapidly as it did the 
first week in May. All of a sudden, the 
leaves seemed to leap out of the trees, 
and within a few days, the woods changed 
from nearly bare poles to a mass of 
leaves. It shows how Nature can cut 
across corners when need be, and catch 
up with the procession. . . . The 
Early Harvest blackberries are leafing 
out well, but I find that we did not cut 
out all the dead wood when we trimmed. 
There are six inches or more of frozen 
wood left on some canes. I believe this 
is bad for the bush, and we shall clip 
the dead wood off at the risk of making 
the canes bleed. ... As the season 
develops them, it is very interesting .to 
notice the wild strawberry plants which 
we dug up and transplant id last year. 
Under good cultivation, the plants have 
grown three times as large as they 
were in the sod and weeds. There are, 
at least, three distinct types. They may 
be merely “ escaped ” plants. . . . We 
seeded nearly half an acre to Dwarf Es¬ 
sex rape about a year ago. It grew 
slowly at first, but finally sprouted up 
until it stood nearly three feet high. It 
made fine hog food, and the hens pre¬ 
ferred it to cabbage. The horses were 
fond of it. This Spring, we find that 
quite a little of the rape has lived 
through the Winter, and is going to seed. 
Neglected Chobes. —On many farms, 
the “ chores ” must take a back seat dur¬ 
ing the planting season. The days are 
too short for the planting, and when 
night comes, the little things are likely 
to get behind. Some people advise ex¬ 
tensive poultry keeping in connection 
with general farming. That is poor ad¬ 
vice unless the women folks have a 
natural love for chickens. At the time 
when the little thiDgs nei d great atten¬ 
tion in the brooders, the biby corn and 
potato plants must be safely tucked 
away in the soil. You are nearly sure 
to neglect one or the other if you try to 
do them both. The same thing seems to 
be true of the man who tries to do too 
many things. Few of them can be well 
done. Too many chores spoil the day’s 
work. 
Potato Seed. —We have cut our seed 
smaller this year than ever before. The 
price has been pretty high, and we have 
used the planter entirely. Small pieces 
of uniform size are needed for the plant¬ 
er, which has given great satisfaction 
this year. No living man could have 
dropped the seed as regularly as this 
human-like machine has done. In order 
to satisfy visitors, we have dug into the 
furrows after planting. You get the 
location of one piece, and you can meas¬ 
ure along the top, and tell just where 
to strike the next one. We put them all 
18 inches apart in the drill. On our 
light soil, this season has been very fav¬ 
orable for potato seed. The first plants 
came above ground 21 days from the 
seeding. In former years, on cold soil, 
I have known the seed to lie in the soil 
35 days. By the first week in May, our 
first planted field was well spotted with 
plants. The best-looking plants thus 
far are from a barrel of second-crop seed 
that we obtained from Virginia. 
Rich Ground. —Last year, we had a 
large chicken yard in which ran nearly 
100 hens and chickens. We planted po¬ 
tatoes right with the chickens last year, 
and raised a fair crop. The fowls did 
not trouble the vines, but they dug down 
and ate a good many of the tubers. This 
year we took out the fowls, renewed the 
fences, plowed up the yard in connection 
with the rest of the field, and planted 
potatoes. In one corner, we sowed tur¬ 
nips broadcast. “There you will find 
the best potatoes this year !” said Char¬ 
lie, who is our chicken crank. He claims 
great benefits from a hen, even after she 
has moved away ! I set out new varie¬ 
ties of strawberries where the former 
tenants kept hens, and they certainly 
made a remarkable growth. Large yards 
may well be moved and plowed up 
every two years. The soil in small yards 
is plenty good enough for manure. It 
may weU be scraped up to the depth of 
eight inches, and carted out. Fill in 
with light soil or sand, and by another 
season, you will have more manure. This 
is more sensible than using bedding to 
absorb the manure from horses or cattle. 
Dry Weather —The soil is about as 
dry as a chip. We had a soaking shower 
on May 2 . I know it soaked because it 
caught me away from cover. That is 
all the rain we have had for three weeks. 
With sharp Spring winds blowing over 
the farm, that means the loss of more 
water than will run in the average 
brook. Our shower was a local one. 
Five miles away the ground was scarcely 
moistened. The soil was full of water 
to begin with, and our crops have sprout¬ 
ed well. On May 5, we got out the weed- 
er, and scratched over the potatoes— 
going lengthwise of the rows. We did 
this with fear and trembling last year, 
for it seemed as though all the little 
plants were broken off and killed. We 
didn’t realize that millions of little 
weeds were put out of the battle for 
good. A few potato sprouts were 
knocked off, but up came the leaves from 
a lower joint. We go right ahead this, 
year, and hold down hard on the han¬ 
dles. One week after the first weeding, 
we turned right around and scratched 
across the rows. Then we go in with the 
two-horse Iron Age cultivator, and put 
the teeth down deep between the rows 
Then run the weeder across the rows 
again to level down. We are weed hunt¬ 
ing this year with a vengeance. It’s 
time to pull off your coat for the Potato 
beetles. We shall try the new Paragrene 
by the side of Paris-green and London- 
purple. _ h. w. c. 
POTATOES ON LONG ISLAND. 
SELLING BEFORE PLANTING. 
The daily papers recently contained 
an item to the effect that Long Island 
farmers were selling their potato crop 
before it was planted. Dealers in New 
York or Brooklyn are said to furnish 
seed and fertilizer at a fair price, and 
take an option on the crop at from 50 to 
G5 cents a bushel, to be delivered in the 
field. Something of this plan is followed 
in the South with the cotton crop, and 
of late years, a good share of the vege¬ 
tables grown at Norfolk, Va , have been 
controlled by the large dealers in New 
York City. These dealers furnish fertil¬ 
izer, seed, and a fair amount of capital, 
and the grower signs an agreement to 
send them his entire crop, which is sold 
on commission. 
We had no idea that this method of 
growing crops had been attempted at the 
North. Correspondence with many farm¬ 
ers on Long Island shows that little is 
known about the matter. At Southold 
and Peeonic, it is reported that a Brook¬ 
lyn firm has offered 50 cents in advance 
for the crop. Many farmers on the east 
end of the Island say they would be glad 
to contract their crop at that price. At 
liiverhead, a Brooklyn dealer is reported 
to have made a contract at 05 cents a 
bushel. It is said that he has opened a 
store in Cuba, and that these Long Island 
potatoes are to be shipped there. 
In some places, it is customary on the 
Island for a dealer in potatoes to engage 
a number of farmers to raise the crop 
for him. This man provides the seed 
and the fertilizer, and the farmers pro¬ 
vide the land and do the work. They 
get 25 cents a bushel for the crop when 
it is harvested. This is about the basis 
on which the daily papers invent a great 
story about farm practices. Many of the 
reports published in such papers, when 
traced down, will have less back of them 
than this report can show. 
Clover and Salt.— In Bulletin 40, of the North 
Dakota Station (Fargo), some odd advice about 
sowing clover seed is suggested. In one case, It 
is proposed to seed with a grain drill, running 
the drill across the rows of wheat as shallow as 
it will run. Four pounds of common barrel salt 
were used with the clover seed for one acre, in 
order to give bulk. At another time, ground 
barley was used with the seed for the same pur¬ 
pose. Another plan is to allow the second growth 
of clover to stand, holding snow over the crop, 
and this second growth reseeds the land. 
Killing Gophers. —The Kansas Experiment 
Station recommends the following plan for kill¬ 
ing gophers that eat seed corn : Soak the seed 
corn for two days in water. Then pour into the 
vessel a quantity of Paris-green. Stir the corn 
well for a few minutes, and then drain it. When 
the Paris-green has become dry, sow the corn as 
soon as possible. There should be enough of 
the poison to give the corn a green coat. 
The gophers will not eat very many grains 
of corn, prepared in this manner. By this 
means the seed sown ^ directly protect¬ 
ed, and is not so likely to be found by birds 
which we desire to protect. In experiments that 
were made, corn prepared in this manner ger¬ 
minated as soon and as fully as the unprepared 
corn. 
Preserves 
V p-fruitajpcllles, pickles or catsup are 
more Easily, more quickly, more 
healthfully sealed with Refined 
Paraffine Wax than by any other 
method. Dozens of other uses will be 
'"Refined 
Paraffine Wax 
In every household. It is clean, 
tasteless and odorless—air, water 
and acid proof. Get a pound cake of 
It with a list of its many uses 
from your druggist or grocer. 
Bold everywhere. Made by 
STANDARD OIL CO. 
FRAZER ASL 
BEST IN THE WORLD. 
Its wearing qualities are unsurpassed, actually 
outlasting three boxes of any other brand. Not 
affected by heat. GET THE GENUINE. 
FOR SALK BY DBALERS UENKRALLY. 
Lane’s Steel Jack. 
All steel. Unbreakable. Compound Levers. Quickly 
adjusted any height. Best and easiest operated jack on 
rs ''.market. Thousands in 
use. If your local deal¬ 
er doesn’t keep them 
will send sample at 
regular price prepaid. 
LANE BROTHERS CO., 
Prospect and 1st Sts., Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 
YOUR 
WAGON 
WHEELS 
may need new rimrn, 
new HpokcK or new 
tires. These repairs 
have to be made every 
little while with wood¬ 
en wheels. Stop all this 
expense for all time 
by buying a set of our 
ELECTRIC 
Steel Wheels 
They are made with direct or staggered oval 
spokes, broad tires, any height, and to fit 
any wagon. They can’t rot, goto spokesand 
need no tire setting last indefinitely. There 
is only one thing better, and that is an 
ELECTRIC HANDY WAGON. 
Our free illustrated catalogue tells all about 
both and gives prices. Send for it. 
ELECTRIC WHEEL CO. Box 88, Quincy, 111. 
L ARGEST manu¬ 
facturers of the 
best steel wheels 
for farm wagons in 
America* Any size, 
straight and stagfgard 
spokes, any width tire. 
The head of 
spoke in the 
groove can't 
wear off. 
Make best 
Handy Steel Wagons. 
.All steel, and wood. 
Four different kinds. 
SEND FOR OATALOQUE 
Havana Metal Wheel Co. 
Havana, III. 
Can we Save 
You Money 
on a saddle, harness 
or vehicle? 
Because we have no agents. 
Can we really doit! We say yen. Can we prove It without 
cost to you! We can. Howl We will ship you a harness, sad¬ 
dle, or vehicle, without you sending a single cent, mud let you look 
it over at your freight house and if you don’t find we have given 
you the biggest bargain you ever saw or heard of return the 
roods to us at our expense. We give with each vehicle a 
■-years Iron-clad guarantee protecting you against poor 
material and workmanship, Our vehicle catalogue describes the 
largest line of buggies, road wagons, phaetons, flurries, 
spring and farm wagons, carts, harnesses and sad¬ 
dles ever shown ii* one book. It’s fr«e. Head for it. 
Marvin Smith Co, 55-59 N. Jefleraoa St. X 16 Chicago, 111. 
Michigan Fruit Notes —I read with Interest 
the article on Frozen Peach Trees in Michigan, 
from Oceana, Kent and Berrien Counties, page 
341. No such terrible condition of things seems 
to confront us, at .east, at present; such a wealth 
of bud and blossom seldom is seen as now, on 
apple, pear, plum, cherry, also on the gooseberry 
and currant. Even the peach, in favored loca¬ 
tions, or in hardiness of variety, as with Hill’s 
Chili, Jaques and Gold Drop, is showing up 
finely; one orchard in the village shows more 
than 300 trees of the abovenamed varieties, filled 
with the beautiful pink and white emblems of 
prosperity. My own little orchard of five acres of 
apple, pear, cherry and small fruits, is a wonder¬ 
ful sight to see, though some of the peach trees 
may yet succumb to the effects of that February 
freeze. Upon a careful examination of my peach 
trees, I find out of the 200, 74 having more or less 
bloom thereon, and 55 trees now give promise of 
fruitage, from oue to five baskets each. k. l. 
South Haven, Mich. 
Wherever the pain may be, 
there is the place for an 
At leech's 
SPRAYING CROPS : Why, 
When and How to Do It.— By Prof. Clar¬ 
ence M. Weed. Illustrated. 
This little book tells in plain, understandable 
English, just what the ordinary farmer and fruit 
grower most needs to know. It describes all the 
insecticides and fungicides used in spraying; all 
the principal appliances used ; tells when to 
spray; what precautions to observe ; describes 
the insects and fungi against which it is neces¬ 
sary to guard; in fact, is a complete, condensed, 
convenient handbook on the whole subject. Price 
In stiff paper covers, is but 25 cents, postpaid. 
The Rural New-Yorker, New York, 
