1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
483 
HOPE FARM ROTES. 
Dry Poisoning. —The Potato beetles 
have been worse than usual this season. 
On one field of about four acres, they 
came out all of a sudden, and did quite 
a little damage before we could get at 
them. Some of our potatoes this year 
are planted on last year’s potato field. 
To my surprise, the beetles are not so 
bad on these old fields as they are where 
corn or grass grew last year. On one field 
where the beetles were bad, we started 
a boy at knocking them off into a pan. 
He got a peck or more, but still they 
came, and poisoning was necessary. A 
lively charge right into their headquar¬ 
ters was needed. We took the one-horse 
market wagon, and rigged a board be¬ 
hind, so that two men could sit out 
about opposite the wheels. With a boy 
to drive and each man working a Paris- 
green gun, we put the dry poison on 
four rows at a time as fast as the horse 
could walk. We mixed flour and Para- 
grene, half and half, and dusted it on 
in this way with great success. It killed 
the bugs completely. We can work over 
20 acres a day with this rig. We used it 
mostly at morning and evening, when 
the plants were a little moist, and I was 
quite astonished at the way it cleared 
out the beetles. I see farmers still sift¬ 
ing plaster on the plants. They lug a 
barrel of plaster over an acre, sifting on 
one plant at a time. It’s a very slow 
and tedious job. With the Paris-green 
gun, you take two rows at a time, and 
dust the plants as fast as you can walk. 
With one pound each of plaster or 
flour mixed with a pound of Paris-green 
or Paragrene—one / is as good as the 
other—you can fully dust an acre. We 
have found the dry poisoning safer and 
better than using water with ordinary 
sprayers and tools. 
A Good Rain. —On June 15, the 
weather clerk made a fearful effort, and 
sent us a good half-hour’s shower. It 
gave the ground a thorough soaking four 
inches deep. It was a great relief to the 
thirsty crops. We had just sowed our 
late cabbage seed and sorghum. As 
soon as possible after the rain, we set 
out the last of the early cabbage plants, 
which had been waiting such a shower 
for weeks. What could be done to make 
that rain most useful for the earliest 
potatoes? There were tubers all the way 
in size from a duck’s egg down, but the 
plants had gone through a hard battle 
with the drought. Many of them were 
yellow half way up from the ground, 
and the early blight had started on them 
in some parts of the field. The hot, dry ¬ 
ing wind had about used them up, and 
here was the hardest part of their job 
before them. 
Stimulants for Potatoes. —I reason¬ 
ed that those earliest planted potatoes 
on the hot, dry sand, felt about as Fitz¬ 
simmons did at the end of the ninth 
round of his recent fight. I imagine 
that life had few attractions for him. 
He certainly didn’t feel like eating a big 
meal to get back his strength. His sec¬ 
onds, probably, rubbed him down, gave 
him a strong stimulant, and told him 
how everything depended on his making 
a mighty effort to redeem himself. Now 
there was no use telling those plants 
that potatoes were worth nearly $4 a 
barrel, and that there were half a dozen 
calls for every dollar. I reasoned, how¬ 
ever, that the other methods were worth 
trying, and so the boys put on 250 
pounds of nitrate of soda per acre, and 
cultivated it in with the diamond-tooth 
cultivator. Then we dusted fungiroid or 
dry Bordeaux Mixture on the plants. 
That was as near to a stimulant and a 
rub-down as we could give. The effect 
of the nitrate was evident inside of two 
days. It didn’t make the yellow leaves 
green, but it gave a darker color and a 
thriftier look to the living vines. We 
can’t tell about the profit of it until dig¬ 
ging time comes. My theory is that the 
nitrate will give those drooping plants 
start enough to make them form their 
tubers. After the grass is cut, I think it 
will pay to use nitrate just before or 
during a rain, to quicken up the second 
crop. This small amount of soluble 
nitrogen may be just what the crop 
needs to stimulate or quicken it. I no¬ 
tice that nitrate left on top of the 
ground slowly dissolves and disappears. 
Fruit Prospects.— The rain helped 
the bush fruits, but came too late to do 
the strawberries much good. The hy¬ 
drant water helped the Parker Earles 
so much that we decided to water more 
of them. Water at five cents a minute 
costs too much with a well full of good 
water. We tcok turns at the pump, and 
carried the water in buckets, giving the 
larger single plants a gallon or more. 
Some of these wise men have figured 
how much water it takes to cover an 
acre one inch deep, and give a thirsty 
crop a good drink. With all their wis¬ 
dom, they don’t know half so much 
about it as they would if they had car¬ 
ried water to 500 big strawberry plants! 
The water helped these plants greatly, 
and we have had a fair crop. Without 
water, my famous wild strawberry 
plants made a worse showing even than 
Parker Earle. Gladstone has given a 
fair crop of fine fruit, though the 
drought has hurt it.I notice 
a difference in the ability of bush fruits 
to stand the dry weather. Gregg with 
us looks better now than the other 
blackcaps. Kansas, in spite of its name, 
can’t stand up so well against the dry 
winds. Early Harvest blackberry is 
getting ready for a heavy crop, while 
Snyder at its side has quit the race. 
The boys say it should drop the last let¬ 
ter in its name. The contrast in this 
case is quite remarkable. I see no rea¬ 
son why one currant should stand the 
drought better than another, yet the 
Wilder shows up better than any other 
I have seen. It is true we sowed cow 
peas among the currants after fruiting 
last year, and plowed the vines in. 
“Man with the Hoe.” —One of our 
neighbors is quite lame, and finds it 
hard work to follow a walking culti¬ 
vator. He put in a large crop of corn 
because the hay crop is short, and he 
wants fodder for next winter. He came 
one day and borrowed the two-horse 
Iron Age cultivator. It was a revelation 
to him in the way of farming. He could 
sit on a comfortable seat, and run over 
his corn twice while he went once with 
the one-horse tool. The teeth were un¬ 
der better control, too. With such a 
tool as this, a man with only one leg, 
or a light boy, or a slender girl or wo¬ 
man, can tend crops as well as a big, 
stout man. With a sulky plow, an 
Acme harrow, a potato planter, a bicycle 
weeder, a riding cultivator with a Paris- 
green gun behind it, and a riding potato 
digger, two one-legged men can take 
care of 30 acres of potatoes, and walk 
hardly a step. With cheap labor, it 
might pay to give the potatoes one hand- 
hoeing, but a fair crop can be produced 
ready to pick up, with practically no 
walking at all. Take two sound men 
with walking plow, seed and fertilizer 
dropped by hand, hoe and one-horse cul¬ 
tivator, Paris-green sifted on by hand, 
and the crop dug with forks, and they 
would hardly take care of five acres 
properly. 
“The man with the hoe” is getting to 
be a back number in such a race. We 
used to think that the methods employ¬ 
ed on the great western farms were cut¬ 
ting out eastern agriculture, but “the 
man with the hoe” now finds his hardest 
competitor in the eastern farmer, who 
adopts some of the western methods. I 
am satisfied, more and more every year, 
that, with method against method, the 
eastern farmer is ahead. I mean that, 
where the eastern farmer is so situated 
that he can use horse machinery, and 
produce a wholesale crop, he has the ad¬ 
vantage, because he is close to the mar¬ 
kets, and can command the highest 
prices. The small man with the hoe 
still has his chance on some crops, but 
where the crop can be produced by horse 
power—like potatoes or corn—he must 
hustle in order to keep in sight. Yet, if 
he can raise the capital needed to buy 
a set of potato-growing tools, and has 
waste land, he can still get into the 
race. With a rotation of cow peas and 
potatoes, the former plowed under for 
fertility, he can use a fair quantity of 
fertilizer, and, with a stout boy and girl 
to help, raise a large crop at compara¬ 
tively light expense. The hired-help 
problem is getting to be so serious that 
the eastern farmer must make a greater 
use of improved horse tools. Our plan 
this year has been to make the fruit and 
hens pay running expenses, and trust to 
a big potato crop and a* fair crop of 
sweet corn to carry us out. ir. w. c. 
Street Fairs. —The National Stock- 
man and Farmer has the following note 
about street fairs: 
Street fairs have become very popular of 
late years. Many who denounce the agri¬ 
cultural fair on account of the fakirs, 
swindlers and gamblers that infest it, favor 
the street fair, where no racing encourages 
gambling, and where swindlers can be 
cared for by municipal authorities. But 
human nature is much the same, whether 
it be on the streets of a town or the 
grounds of a fair association. The gam¬ 
blers and fakirs who hang around the agri¬ 
cultural fair are on hand at the street fair, 
and they are tolerated or “fired” just as the 
sentiment of the community demands. 
After all, the character of a fair, street or 
otherwise, depends very much upon the 
community in which it is held. A corrupt 
fair cannot long survive in a community 
whose moral sense protests against it. In¬ 
stitutions, as a rule, reflect in some way the 
“tone” of their locality, and the fair is no 
exception. 
There is a good deal of truth in that. 
In many cases, these street fairs were 
started because the regular county fair 
was too corrupt for honest men to pa¬ 
tronize. In some cases, the mistake was 
made of catering to the merchants and 
shop-keepers, who were asked to contri¬ 
bute premiums. The merchants were 
after a crowd, without much regard to 
its makeup, and they have, in some 
cases, demanded features that the farm¬ 
ers alone would not admit. Correct! 
When the moral sense of any community 
protests against gamblers and “fakes,” 
these nuisances will go, and the moral 
sense will remain—and grow stronger. 
Right-Hand Binders. —It is stated 
that some manufacturers are making 
grain binders with the cutting attach¬ 
ment on the right side. Such machines 
are often used in foreign countries where 
oxen haul. The Farm Implement News 
says: 
In this country, previous to the introduc¬ 
tion of the Marsh harvester, most of the 
reaping machines had their cutting ap¬ 
paratus at the right hand; but the Marsh 
harvester had to be made with left-hand 
cut, in order that the grain should be de¬ 
livered with heads at the left hand of the 
men binding, so that the tuck of the knot 
as formed by hand should be toward the 
heads, the reason for which any old farmer 
understands. As the Marsh harvester be¬ 
came the leading machine, it established 
the left-hand cut, and as later automatic 
binders took the place of the manual bind¬ 
ers on this machine, the left-hand cut was 
continued, and has become the custom in 
this country. In short, binders work 
equally as well whether right-hand or left- 
hand; abroad, where right-hand reapers 
have been in use, naturally right-hand 
binders are called for; here, left-hand ma¬ 
chines have established the left-hand cus¬ 
tom and it still prevails. 
Eureka Harness Oil is the best 
preservative of new loather 
and the best renovator of old 
leather. It oils, softens, black¬ 
ens and protects. Use 
Eureka 
Harness Oil 
on your best harness, your old har¬ 
ness, and your carriage top, and they 
will not only look better but wear 
longer. Sold everywhere in cans—all 
sizes from half pints to five gallons. 
Mado by STANDARD OIL CO. 
FRAZER c^ E 
BEST IN THE WOULD. 
Its wearing qualities are unsurpassed, actually 
outlasting three boxes of any other brand. Not 
affected by heat. VT GET THE GENUINE. 
FOR SALE BY DBALERS GENERALLY. 
A Low Wagon at a Low Brice. 
In order to introduce their Low Metal Wheels 
with Wide Tires, the Empire Manufacturing 
Company, Quincy, Ill., have placed upon the 
market a Farmer’s Handy Wagon, that Is only 
25 inches high, fitted with 24 and 30-lnch wheels 
with 4-inch tire. 
This wagon is made of best material throughout, 
and really costs but a trifle more than a set of 
new wheels and fully guaranteed for one year. 
Catalogue giving a full description will be mailed 
upon application by the Empire Manufacturing 
Company, Quincy, Ill., who also will furnish 
metal wheels at low prices made any size and 
width of tire to fit any axle. 
L ARGEST manu¬ 
facturers of the 
best steel wheels 
for farm wagons in 
America. Any size, 
straight and staggard 
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 OATALOQUI 
Havana Metal Wheel Co. 
Havana, III. 
Cheaper to buy new than repair old— VV H Y ? 
$7.50 buys 4 Buggy Whrrla 7-8 Id. Bto.l Tire 
$8.00 buy. I Carriage W heels 1 In. Sleel Tire 
UJ Repairing soon eats up price of new. 
0) Cur wheels stand the racket. 
D He give full value for money. 
5* We can furnish axles and 6et boxen 
jjj properly. Write for new price list 
(D No. H and directions for measuring. 
WTLJI IM.T0N WHEEL CO., Wilmington, Del. 
Lane’s Steel Jack. 
All steel. Unbreakable. Compound Levers. Quickly 
adjusted any height. Best and easiest operated jack on 
* - market. Thousands in 
/use. If your local deal- 
I er doesn't keep them 
will send sample at 
regular price prepaid. 
LANE BROTHERS CO., 
Prospect and 1st Sts., Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 
New and 
Novel, a 
Sight 
Seller. 
BIG MONEY FOR AGENTS 
WRENCH 
^ fPAT. Bl OV. 2/9 7. \ 
' ^ Combination 
... AND JACK 
for buggies. Carriages A Light Wagons. C . 
Ij^Removes and grasps burr wlillo Jark 
Dome vt^r- - - — ^ acts as continue- 
nn " tlon of axlo, suu- 
#1 00 porting wheel and leaving spindle clear for oiling. No 
lost washers No soiled hands. Agents write fer special prices 
COMBINA'N. WRENCH & JACK CO., SALEM, OHIO. 
P 
WE BUILDIFARM TRUCKS ONLY. 11 I This is our No. 9. 
TEN 
STYLES. 
It has 6 in. tiros, short-turn’ 
and the patented front gear 
and 6th wheel is very strong 
and especially built to hold 
a load steady on a short turn. 
Stakes pull out and 7 x 
ft. flat platform, only 82 in. 
from the ground, rests on the _ 
bolsters. Our patented wedge made wheels, or steel 
wheels if desired. The nest Farm Truck made. 
Send for free descriptive circulars. 
FARMER’S HANDY WAGON C0. f 
SAGINAW. MICH. 
