1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
io5 
Hay in South Dakota. 
W. H. H., Letcher, S. D.—I have been 
much interested in Mr. Clark’s hay crop. 
Here our hay is either wild hay or mil¬ 
let, and either can be bought now for SI 
a ton in the stack, or SI.75 to S2 a ton 
delivered, so you see Mr. Clark’s methods 
would be too expensive for this country. 
If not too early in the season, we cut 
upland hay in the forenoon, and with a 
rake and go-devil or bucker, stack it 
where cut in the afternoon. Lake-bed 
or heavy hay is cut in the afternoon, 
and stacked the same way the next after¬ 
noon. The hay costs nothing except the 
time in putting it up, and many people 
turn their cattle to the stacks to feed 
themselves during the Winter. 
Potatoes for Quality. 
E. R.. Plainfield, N. J.—I inquired 
of a large advertiser of seed potatoes in 
The It. N.-Y., for the best three potatoes 
in table quality, early and late, without 
regard to yield or anything else, and he 
replied that Freeman, Moneymaker and 
one of the Carmans were “ absolutely 
best in quality ”, so I got a bushel of each 
from him. They grew and yielded well, 
but really, as a table dish, not one of 
them was fit to eat, and we were glad 
when they were gone. They grew in a 
sandy loam, just the soil, one would say, 
and not too wet. I was disgusted, and 
last year, did not plant one, but our 
success in buying good potatoes is not 
much better, and this year, I want to 
plant again. I know one good potato— 
the Minister. We had it four or five 
years ago, and it came nearer in quality 
to the Peachblow in its early prime than 
anything else I have seen. It is hand¬ 
some in tuber and vine, and an excellent 
keeper, good all the season through, but 
was not extremely early. The next year, 
I had but a small garden and no potatoes; 
this year I intend to plant the Minister 
again. I planted the potatoes in trenches, 
and gave strictly level culture, on a 
heavy loam in a rather moist season, and 
they yielded well. 
Work Land After Plowing. 
T. J. S., Eagle, Wis.—I n the Western 
States, we must save all the moisture in 
the land we possibly can. To begin 
with, we plow each half day only that 
which can be harrowed,or disk-harrowed, 
and rolled before leaving the field. I have 
a set of whittietrees for each harrow and 
roller. It does not take more than two 
minutes to change, and the change is 
good for the horses. This way of work¬ 
ing is far better than the old way of 
plowing the whole field before harrow¬ 
ing. The land is never in as good shape 
for harrowing after it becomes dry, as it 
is as soon as plowed. 
Most of the farmers around here wait¬ 
ed for it to rain last Fall before plowing 
for wheat, thinking the land was so dry 
that wheat would not grow if sown. The 
rain came so late that most of them did 
not sow last Fall, but will try Spring 
wheat. I did not wait, but plowed, disk- 
harrowed and rolled before quitting the 
field. The soil was very lumpy—lumps 
of all sizes from pebbles to the size of my 
head. After the field was plowed in this 
manner, I went over it again with the 
disk harrow, and rolled what I had har¬ 
rowed, before quitting. I then sowed the 
wheat with a drill ; after the drill, I 
rolled the ground and finished by har¬ 
rowing. The reason I harrowed last is 
because my land blows when left rolled 
smooth. The result is that I have a good 
stand of wheat. I know of one piece 
that was put in the old way, that has 
not come up yet. This way of prepar¬ 
ing the soil for a crop, and preventing 
the crust from forming on the surface, I 
think is the keynote of good farming on 
lands subject to droughts. 
Windmills and Compressed Air. 
S. C., South Side, West Va. — I have 
been much interested in the discussions 
of farm power, particularly windmills, 
and have read with interest all you have 
printed about them. I have used a wind¬ 
mill for years to pump water, and by hav¬ 
ing a large tank, have got along pretty 
well with it. But sometimes, when I 
would like to use it for other things than 
pumping, the wind doesn’t blow. The 
wind furnishes power enough to do lots 
of things if we could only store it up and 
save it, and I have thought that that 
might be done by means of compressed 
air. Let the mill work an air pump and 
force the air into a tank from which it 
could be drawn when needed. In the 
first place, could it be done at all, and 
then what would be the cost ? IIow large 
should the tank be to hold air enough to 
run a cream separator, say two hours a 
day, calculating that the wind will blow 
not less than three days in the week. If 
the wind blows hard enough to pump 
water from a 60-foot well three days each 
week, and the windmill be attached to the 
air compressor instead of pump, how long 
will the air compressed in the three days 
run the water pump ? 
R. N.-Y.—We understand that manu¬ 
facturers are already at work upon this 
principle. 
No Place for Gray Squirrels. 
C. W. K., East Taunton, Mass —F. H. 
V., in The R. N.-Y. of January 23, doesn’t 
like to see gray squirrels hung up by 
the heels in the market, but would rather 
have them gamboling in the tree tops. 
If they would confine their gambols to 
the tree tops, small farmers and gar¬ 
deners in the country would say, amen ! 
But they don’t. They are very destruc¬ 
tive to sweet and field corn when grown 
near wood or sprout land. One man 
here lost his entire crop of Stowell’s 
Evergreen last Fall, and many others 
suffered from the visits of Mr. Bushytail. 
Crimson Clover Appreciated. 
II. P. I)., Warwick, N. Y.—Three years 
ago, I sowed and harrowed in four acres 
of Crimson clover in August, but it did 
not grow, so the next year, I sowed the 
same piece of ground (my orchard) in the 
middle of July. It took, and grew nicely, 
so that by last Spring, it was a fine piece 
of clover, and a great many persons 
asked about it. By the time it was in 
full bloom, the people said that it was 
the finest sight of its kind that they 
ever saw, and judging by the way they 
trod it down and carried off the blos¬ 
soms, they meant what the y said. My 
intentions were to let the seed get ripe, 
and then to plow it under ; but by that 
time, it was so matted that I had no team 
or plow that could do the job. It seemed 
to me as though four horses could not 
draw a plow through it, so I let the seed 
get ripe, when I mowed it, and let it lie 
on the ground for a mulch. The ground 
at the present time is completely covered 
with clover. I intend to pasture it with 
sheep in the Spring. 
The germs of consump¬ 
tion are everywhere. 
There is no way but to 
fight them. 
If there is a history of 
weak lungs in the family, 
this fight must be constant 
and vigorous. 
You must strike the dis¬ 
ease, or it will strike you. 
At the very first sign of 
failing health take Scott’s 
Emulsion of Cod-liver Oil 
with Hypophosphites. 
It gives the body power to 
resist the germs of consump¬ 
tion. 
50 c. and $ 1 . 00 , all druggists. 
SCOTT & BOWNE, Chemists. New York. 
IM 
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'Annual' 
a FAWft, 
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W' J PHILADELPHIA* PA 
Before Buying Seeds, you should write a postal for 
URPEE’S 
FARM ANNUAL 
For 1898. 
The Leading American Seed Catalogue. 
A handsome new book—tells the truth about 
The SEEDS 
| Twenty-one Exclusive Novelties of Un¬ 
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New Flowers painted from Nature. 
BURPEE’S SEEDS 
Our business grows also. We fill more orders 
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CROW 
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Our NINETY-SEVENTn ANNUAL CATALOGUE is now ready, and 
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Including every Standard Variety and every 
Novelty of Established Merit. 
^ For Nearly a Century the Leading Seed House of America 
J.M.THORBURN & Co. 15 JOHN ST.NewYork 
■J 
K 
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i 
NEW SEEDS FREE 
* 
Y* 
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Gash for 
J their Names • 
\,Vo propose to Introduce in 1899 two remarkable NOVELTIES, one a NEW TOMATO, by 
far the earliest In cultivation, the other a NEW 1JEET, which, experts say. will drive all 
the 0 market! We want Names worthy of each ®2oo.o© "tor tiSem. 
To those desiring to test them In 1898, and compete for these prizes, wo will send a liberal 
packet of seed of each, with conditions of competition printed thereon, together with three 
other choice noveltlen (which alone cost 80c. at regular prices) viz: Nuw White Prize Win¬ 
ner Onion, the largest, mildest and best for American climate; New Winter Queen Cel¬ 
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of which will be KENT ON RECEIPT OF 10c. in stamps or silver.Remit now and we will 
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colored plates, and reliable information about seeds, etc., which no one can afford to miss, 
44 217-219 Market St 
PHILADELPHIA, PA 
JOHNSON & STOKES, 
f 
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:k 
SEEDS TO BURN 
For a period of seventeen years the purchasers of LANDRETTI’S SEEDS have been 
protected by our Dated Papers andour BURNING SYSTEM, which gives your local 
merchant the privilegeof burning bis stock left over at the end of t he season, thus as¬ 
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LANDRETHS’ SEEDS 
the Tin lied States Mall brings our seed store to every man’s door. We oflVr Garden 
and Field Seeds of all the standard sorts and many novelties of merit. 
Send us your address by postal card and we will mail you, free of charge, our Catalogue 
with prices attached. Business founded 1784. Address 
DAVID LANDRETH & SONS, 21 and 23 South fith St., Philadelphia,Pa.,U.S.A. 
— 
nPCCD’C RELIABLE 
i UIaIJEIa Seeds, Plants and BU 1 bs 
’ are everywhere known as the REST. To more fully Introduce them we make the following special I 
. offer, viz: Onestrong rooteaeli oftheTwo GRAND CANNAS—“Austria” and “Italia” free • 
; by mail for 25 ets., and to each purchaser FREE our GARDEN CALENDAR for 1898, the ’ 
< handsomest Catalogue of the year; to others we will send it on receipt of 6c. In stamps. • 
: HF.NRV A. DREEK, 714 Chestnut Street, PHILADFJ.PHIA, PA. | 
vw mu I 'O t w vvt* oi.ommiir , 
Seeds That Will Grow! 
A copy of our handsome GARDEN ANNllAL FREE 
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Address COLE’S SEED STOKE, Pella, la. 
Jerry's 
grow paying crops because they’re 
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Stick to Ferry’* Seed* and prosper. 
1898 Seed Annual free. Write for it. 
D. M. FERRY & CO., Detroit, Mich. 
Seeds! Seeds! 
74th Annual Priced Catalogue of 
VEGETABLE, FARM AND FLOWER SEEDS, 
is now ready and mailed FREE to all applicants. 
BRIDGEMAN’S SEED WAREHOUSE, 
37 East 19th Street, New York City. 
0LL SEEDS 
that “Grow” do not 
PAY TO GROW. 
Ours do. For proof, 
see our catalogue 
pages 1 & 2. Send for 
it. It tells all about 
Seeds and How to 
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You will find in ev¬ 
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SO CENTS* WORTH OF FREE 8EEDS. 
HEM AN GLASS, Seed Grower, Rochester, N.Y. 
