1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
625 
Short Stories. 
Big Agent Schemes. —Complaint comes 
from central New York that a seed com¬ 
pany having headquarters in Buffalo are 
adopting peculiar methods of selling 
grain and other seeds. They drive 
wagons through the country advertising 
their business in an extravagant man¬ 
ner, bragging greatly about the quality 
of their wheat seed. A contract is given, 
and the purchaser agrees to give five 
bushels for every one sown, and if the 
grower do not get 50 bushels per acre, 
it is understood that he is to give no¬ 
thing. In some places, wheat 'is offered 
for cash at $4 a bushel. These agents 
tell a new story in almost every place. 
Most farmers give them a wide berth, 
yet they are sure to sell some of their 
wheat in every township, for they are 
good talkers, and make many verbal 
promises. They are like the nursery 
agents who are still traveling in west¬ 
ern New York selling peach trees of 
wonderful character. These men claim 
to have a patent from the United States 
Department of Agriculture, which gives 
them the exclusive right to sell and 
propagate these, peach trees. The R. 
N.-Y. is almost tired of exposing such 
schemes. It does seem as though 
grown-up men ought to know by this 
time that there is no short cut to wealth 
in farming. When a man comes along 
with an extra big story, and tells you 
how to make 10 times as much money 
as you can in legitimate farming, it is 
high time to let him alone. 
A Homemade Seed Germinator.— 
Most seed dealers now make germina- 
A HOMEMADE GERMINATOR. Fig. 237. 
tion tests, before putting their seeds on 
the market, and extensive work of this 
class is done by the Department of Ag¬ 
riculture. Consumers will also find it 
much to their advantage to test the via¬ 
bility of seeds, but as a rule, they have 
the impression that seed-testing re¬ 
quires elaborate apparatus and some 
complicated scientific process to con¬ 
duct it successfully. That this opinion 
is inaccurate, is shown by the home¬ 
made germinator seen in Pig. 237, re¬ 
produced from Circular No. 18, issued by 
the Division of Botany, U. S. Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture. A piece of moist 
flannel is placed on a plate, the seeds 
put on the flannel, u second piece of 
moist flannel being laid over them, and 
a second plate is then inverted over the 
whole. A certain number of seeds 
should be carefully counted out, and the 
germinating ones removed and counted 
as fast as they appear. In testing Crim¬ 
son clover, if the seed is good, 80 to 90 
per cent should sprout within three days. 
The Government seed expert, A. J. Pie¬ 
ters, especially advises tests before sow¬ 
ing Crimson clover. Most failures with 
it are due to old seed, but even fresh 
seed may be of poor quality. This seed 
should test 85 to 95 per cent viable. 
For the land’s sake — use Bowker’s 
Fertilizer.— Adv. 
Notes from Tompkins County, N. Y. 
—August 15 we had fine peas from a 
sowing of seed saved from this year's 
earlier crop. In vigor of growth, they 
surpassed any Fall peas I ever raised, 
and made a good crop, in spite of ex¬ 
treme drought. August 12 we had the 
severest hail-storm ever known in this 
locality. In many places, gardens look 
as though mown with a scythe, especial¬ 
ly the late-planted gardens, where vege¬ 
tation was young and tender. Buck¬ 
wheat is ruined, and some fields of corn 
are stripped of leaves. 
This season I sowed Canada peas 
among blackberries. I had just a bushel 
of seed—White Marrowfats. I picked 
and sold 14 bushels from them at $1 per 
bushel. I nave sold 45 bushels of culin¬ 
ary peas. I got $1.20 per bushel for the 
first 10 bushels, so that makes $47. The 
bushel of Canada peas cost $1.40; the 14 
bushels brought $14. Still there are peo¬ 
ple who complain that farming doesn’t 
pay. All I have to say is that I would 
like to invest all my money at that rate. 
A seedsman was here recently, taking 
notes about Crimson clover. He had 
never seen a field of it growing. He 
said it seemed hard work to introduce 
it. I showed him a field of corn, one- 
half Crimson clover, the other half plain 
sod ground. The sod ground corn was 
planted two weeks before the other. 
The corn on the Crimson clover sod was 
“head and shoulders” above the other. 
I think I “imbued” him with some of my 
enthusiasm about this grand crop. 
M. G. Y. 
Fall Grains 
need a good start to stand 
the winter ; therfore feed 
them well in the beginning. 
This will produce hardy 
plants with plump grain. A 
good fertilizer should contain 
plenty of 
Potash 
Potash increases stiffness of 
stalk and plumpness of grain. 
Our books tell the rest — sent free. 
GERMAN KALI WORKS, 
93 Nassau Street, New York. 
^/VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVI/V’ 
Profits of Farming 
GARDENING AND FRUIT CULTURE. 
depend upon Good Crops and they In 
turn upon Good Fertilizers. The 
uniformly l»est fertilizer for all Crops 
and all soils Is made by 
The Cleveland Dryer Co., Cleveland, O. ^ 
Materials Supplied for “ Rome Mixing." 4 
Moo Fibre and Moo Liquid 
Will give you Early Crops and Large Crops 
of Vegetables or Fruit. Send for Catalogues 
and be convinced of the merits of these 
new Fertilizers. 
THE AMERICAN JADOO CO., 
815 Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia, Pa. 
“A MOLE 
< on the Neck, 
.IF Money 
by the Peck 
but there Is no money In hav¬ 
ing a mole In your garden or I 
on your lawn. Don’t have I 
them. Catch them with the ( 
“OUT-O-SIGHT” 
Mole Trap. 
Every trap has our guarantee to catch.. 
Sample trap 8Sc. by mall 
or, have your dealer order for you. 
ANIMAL TRAP CO. 
10 rieeJt St., Abingdon, HI. 
WE SAVE FARMERS 40 PER CENT. FERTILIZERS 
We sell you direct—Actually pay you salesman’s expenses and agent’s profit. Write for 
free sample and book. THE SCIENTIFIC FERTILIZER CO., PITTSBURG, PA. 
Grand Watch Offers. 
ALU WATCHES DELIVERED POSTPAID. 
The Joy Forever. 
No. 701 is a ladies’solid gold watch 
with Waltham or Elgin works,—your 
choice. It has a hunting case beauti¬ 
fully engraved and it will last more than 
a lifetime. The works contain all the 
greatest improvements known to the 
most expert watchmakers. Price, post¬ 
paid, $18.10 ; with one new subscription, 
$18.50; or sent free for a club of six 
yearly subscriptions at $1 each and $14.50 
extra money. 
The Alpine Gem. 
No. 70i2 is a beautiful open-face 
chatelaine Swiss watch for ladies’ use. 
The case is solid silver, handsomely 
chased, and the works are jeweled in 
every important part, making the watch 
a good timekeeper. The regular retail 
price of this watch is $5, but we will 
send it postpaid, and one yearly sub¬ 
scription, for $4.25 ; or for a club of four 
yearly subscriptions at $1 each and $2.75 
extra money. Free for a club of 10. 
The New York Belle. 
No. 70J5 is a handsome gold-filled 
watch for ladies’ wear. The case (hunt¬ 
ing only) is made of solid gold in two 
plates reenforced between with a sheet 
No. 704. 
of fine composition metal for the pur¬ 
pose of making it more serviceable. The 
works are Waltham or Elgin, seven- 
jeweled, and they contain the greatest 
modern improvements. The makers 
guarantee the case to wear 20 years like 
solid gold. Price, delivered, $10.50; or 
with one yearly subscription $11, or sent 
for a club of six yearly subscriptions at 
$1 each and $8.75 extra money. 
No. (5J$. This is an attractive watch. 
The case is solid gun metal. Duplex 
movement, stem wind and set, and 
jeweled balance wheel. It is fully guar¬ 
anteed, open face, ladies’ or gent’s size. 
We send this with one new subscription 
for $2.75, or free for a club of seven at 
$1 each 
No. 702. 
The American Special. 
No. 704 is a men’s watch with a 
heavy nickel-silver open-face case, and 
your choice of genuine Elgin or Waltham 
works. Nickel silver is just as hand¬ 
some and durable as coin silver. The 
case is so perfectly made that it excludes 
dampness and dust from the valuable 
works. Trice, $4.60; or with one new 
yearly subscription, $5 ; or we will send 
it for a club of four yearly subscriptions 
at $1 each, and $3.70 extra money. 
The Silver King. 
No. 70(5 is a magnificent coin silver 
watch for men, hunting case or open- 
face. The works are Waltham or Elgin, 
whichever you wish, of the same quality 
as in No. 704. This watch is rich, not 
gaudy, and the works are so strong and 
well made that it is suitable for men of 
any age and boys over 14. Price, de¬ 
livered, $7.25 ; or with one new subscrip¬ 
tion, $7.75; or we send it for a club of 
seven yearly subscriptions at $1 and $5.85 
extra money. 
Men’s Gold Filled Watch. 
No. 700 is a handsome gold filled 
Waltham or Elgin seven jeweled watch, 
hunting case. The works are like those 
No. 707. 
in No. 704, and the case, which is beauti¬ 
fully engraved, is guaranteed to wear 20 
years. Price, delivered, $12; or with 
one new yearly subscription, $12.50 ; or 
sent for a club of seven subscriptions at 
$1, and $9.50 extra money. 
No. 707 is the same as No. 706, but 
open-face. Price, delivered, $9 ; or with 
one new yearly subscription, $9.50 ; or 
sent for a club of eight yearly subscrip¬ 
tions, and $7 extra money. 
No. 63. This is same movement as 
No. 53. The case has a heavy rolled gold 
center with a bezel and hack of gun 
metal. We send this with one new sub¬ 
scription for $2.90, or free for a club of 
| eight at $1 each. 
