1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
531 
RURAL/SMS. 
(CONTINUED.) 
United States Pomologist, for 1892, is an 
illustration made true from life, as to 
color, shape and size. The largest of 
these is just seven-eighths inch in length, 
and five-eighths inch transverse diame¬ 
ter. In the catalog-ue of John Lewis 
Childs, to which reference has been made 
in lluralisms, is a large picture of this 
variety, representing seven fruits. The 
smallest one is 1% inch in length, or 
1 % inch in diameter, and the largest one 
2 % inches long and 1% inch in diameter. 
This last is a most astounding exaggera¬ 
tion. It represents a berry weighing 
fully 25 times as much as the largest one 
I ever saw, and Mr. Burbank said, in his 
letters, that he sent me the best he had. 
I do not believe that the climate and 
soil of Floral Park, the nitrogen and 
other gas which permeates that region, 
will produce any such fruits in actuality. 
Mr. Luther Burbank, of Santa Rosa, 
Cal., under date of June 3, sent us two 
plums, the result of a cross between Bur¬ 
bank and Robinson. “ It is the earliest 
plum known. Would like to know how 
it carries and what you think of it. It 
was picked when dead ripe.” The plums 
reached us not until July 10, and they 
were quite decayed. We fancy that Mr. 
Burbank made a mistake in writing June 
3 for July 3. 
HOME NOTES FROM INDIANA. 
IIOVV HOOSIER8 DO IT. 
Cutting Ui* Oats. —Our fodder shred¬ 
der had no cutter head, and I couldn't 
cut my oats into the mow. So I called 
on a neighbor who has a large cutting 
box, to arrange to put our shredder ele¬ 
vator, 32 feet long, on his cutter. In a 
few days, we expect to cut all our oats 
into the mows. One farmer near here 
lias some oats cut that way three years 
old, and no smell of mice about them, 
lie cuts his with the binder without 
tying, turns them once, hauls in like 
hay ; then cuts in spare time. This has 
two advantages : 1, he cuts them a little 
greener than we dare bind them, and 
avoids the moldy middles ; 2, he gets the 
straw in immediately away from the 
weather. He says that oat straw is bad¬ 
ly damaged by bad weather, but it is a 
bungling way, both to haul in and to 
cut. Two neighbors are trying to get 
about the same results by changing 
their binders so as to bind quite small, 
and then cut a little green. One made 
his bind so small that it wouldn’t bind 
fast enough. The other had to pad the 
trip and bend some of the stays to get his 
machine to bind smaller. It now makes 
15 bundles where it made 10 before. 
Tinkering the Harrow. —While look¬ 
ing at the binder, I noticed an Iron Age 
harrow made like a Planet Jr. The 
draught bar turns up in front, say eight 
inches, with holes for a clevis pin. This 
had been made higher, as we have all 
noticed that we had to hitch out too 
long to prevent lifting the front end. 
A bar of the same size was made double 
at the bottom, so as to straddle the old 
bar. A bolt was put through, and the 
top of the new bar braced with one ex¬ 
tending back 18 inches, and bolting to 
the old pull bar, and a brake pin through 
the top. Now one can hitch close. The 
principal convenience is in turning either 
around stumps or at the ends. It, also, 
pulls easier. But the thing runs wrong 
end first, anyhow; it throws the soil 
toward the middle, and leaves an ugly 
little furrow near the corn or potatoes. 
The neighbor agreed to this, and I 
showed him how 1 changed mine to run 
big end first. It now makes the row 
lowest in the middle, gradually rising 
towards the corn. Breed’s weeder is 
running in my potatoes to-day (July 1(5), 
and the Planet Jr. is running in my 
corn. 
IIay Ropes and Harpoons.—I said to 
my neighbor, who once sold hardware, 
that my fork rope for unloading hay 
twists up so that the fork won’t trip. 
He said that I had put the rope in wrong 
end first; that all twisted cord, includ¬ 
ing twine, runs better from one end than 
the other. We think the double harpoon 
the best fork for clover hay. The single 
may do for Timothy. I never used slings. 
Some who have tried them, say that they 
have two faults : 1, if you happen to trip 
them too soon, you have no way of get¬ 
ting hold of the dropped hay ; 2, if the 
mow is getting full, the sling is hard to 
get out after tripping. Otherwise, they 
are handy, and especially so, in putting 
sheaf oats or fodder in the mow. 
Child Labor. —Our little girl (10 years 
old), has been picking berries for a near 
neighbor. Her pay is her own. The 
other day, she said at dinner, “ Oh, how 
much larger these blackberries are than 
what we pick”. Ours are Lawtons. 
They may not be firm enough for mar¬ 
ket, but are large and fine. Our only 
boy (12 years old), drove the binder, 
rake, and horse to the hay fork, poisoned 
potato beetles, cut rye out of the wheat, 
drove the drag and harrow, cut the pota¬ 
toes, etc. I bought each of them a new 
bicycle, and they have a time. 
Appropriate Mottoes. —I put a picture 
frame with a glass face 22 x 2(5 inches in 
the post office, and put a motto in it, 
changing every week. One week, we 
had this motto, “ Every man’s task is 
his life-preserver ”. After the destruc¬ 
tion of Cervera's fleet, we had Sampson’s 
picture up a week. We also have Dewey’s 
and Gladstone’s ready. I placed this 
motto in to-day for next week, “ He 
spake of life, which all can take but 
none can give ”. e. h. collins. 
Central Indiana. 
AN OLD STRAWBERRY BED. 
In treating an old strawberry bed, I 
always mow off the tops of the vines as 
soon as possible after picking is over. If 
it is not too dry, and thus liable to in¬ 
jure the crowns of the plants, I then 
burn. First I back fire, and then com¬ 
mence on the opposite side, strewing a 
little straw all along the edge of the 
patch, and then firing the whole length 
of the field as quickly as possible. This 
should be done when there is a stiff 
breeze. I hardly ever fail to burn over 
from two to three acres in half an hour 
in this way, as I always mulch heavily 
with coarse wheat straw, well shaken 
out. When this can be done it leaves 
the ground clean and nice for working. 
In case the ground is too dry, I rake 
with a hay rake in windrows, and haul 
off for another year’s use, when my 
patch is ready and the ground is not too 
dry. If it is dry, I wait for a good rain. 
Then I plow and throw a back furrow 
between the rows. When this is done, I 
take my 72 tooth smoothing harrow and 
go right across these back furrows back¬ 
ward and forward, until the ground is 
perfectly level. This leaves the ground 
mellow. I do nothing more to the patch 
until after the weeds begin to start; then 
hoe and clean all weeds and grass out. 
After that, we use the Hallock weeder 
once a week until Fall, when we mulch 
again with clean straw as soon as the 
ground is frozen. 
I fertilize with bone and ashes and 
plenty of good stable manure. In plow¬ 
ing down a bed^ I have either sown mil¬ 
let or buckwheat, which has always 
ripened in time to harvest and resow to 
wheat. I have a piece of 2>£ acres just 
thrashed that yielded 120 bushels by 
weight, or 48 bushels per acre. The vari¬ 
ety was bearded Fife. J. d. 
Angola, Ind. 
HOPE FARM NOTES. 
The Blessed Rain just soaked Hope Farm 
through and through, on July 12. Well now, you 
never saw plants enjoy themselves as our crops 
did. We were all dry and dusty. I felt just like 
going out to stand in the rain and feel it as the 
corn and potatoes did. It kept on raining until 
the ground was wet 'way down. Then it quit. The 
sun came out and that drying wind started up. 
We knew it was only a question of hours before 
the upper six iuches of Hope Farm would be dry 
again. Our problems were to get our late plants 
and seeds into the ground while it was moist, 
and to do what we could to hold the moisture 
in the soil. 
Plants and Weeds.—I can tell you that we 
jumjjed in the cabbage plants about as lively as 
possible. The soil was just right for them, and 
they hardly stopped growing for a moment. The 
currants had done fruiting, and we worked up 
the ground with a small plow, and sowed cow 
peas among the bushes on July 14. About half 
the old strawberry bed was plowed up and cab¬ 
bage set out in rows six feet apart. In between 
these rows, we are setting young Cuthbert rasp¬ 
berry plants dug up from around the old plants. 
With the present season, we expect to push them 
right along. Raspberries pay us better than 
strawberries. On l l / 2 acre of oat stubble, we 
sowed, July 15, two bushels of Canada field peas. 
These were cut in with the Cutaway about four 
inches deep. Then we broadcasted 2j4 bushels 
of barley, worked it with the Acme, and finished 
with the roller. Old farmers say that this will 
not amount to much as fodder, but we shall see. 
The rutabagas will go in before July 25 on land 
where the carrots have failed. This seed goes 
into the land at a good time and with a fair 
chance—we hope. 
Holding the Moisture.—Right after that soak¬ 
ing rain, or as soon as the soil was firm, we 
started the weeder and the cultivators, and 
scratched over all our growing crops. 
“ What’s the good of that ? ” 
My notion is that the greater part of our upper 
soil moisture is lost by evaporation. The winds 
that blow over Hope Farm, and give us a chance 
to tell how cool our house is, just lift the moisture 
right out of our dry soil, and carry it away from 
us. You leave the soil undisturbed, just as the 
water ran into it, and you give it the best possi¬ 
ble chance to get out again. You break up the 
upper soil and leave it fine and loose, and it is 
much harder for the water to get out. Not long 
since the Bud undertook to drink a glass of soda 
water which she had earned by working (?) in 
the Held. She took a straw and undertook to 
suck up the liquid. So long as that straw was 
straight and clear, the liquid came like water 
through a pump. But the Bud chewed the straw 
and bent it over ! Then it would not “ pull ” in 
spite of all her pumping. This, to my mind, 
illustrates what we do when we cultivate lightly 
after a good rain. We destroy the connection 
between the surface and the lower soil. The Bud 
threw away the straw and drank the soda water, 
but the wind cannot do that, and so the plant 
roots get a better chance at it. 
Working the Children.—I believe that chil¬ 
dren should get in the habit of doing some useful 
work as early in life as possible. Our little folks 
have certain jobs to do, and they are paid for 
their labor, too. The Graft is foreman, and the 
Bud and the Scion work under his direction. 
Their chief work now is pulling weeds. We try 
to take the Graft around the farm and show him 
what is needed—then he gets his workmen to¬ 
gether and goes at his weeds. He says that the 
way to get work out of the Bud is to praise her a 
little. The Scion wants to wander all over the 
job, and then sit down to rest. It appears that 
human nature is about the same—from the cradle 
to the grave. When the boys got the oats in, 
they left the scatterings. The Graft and his 
“workers” raked most of them tip. At night, I 
hitched up old Frank to the light wagon and 
helped get in their little load. The Graft pitched 
on, the Bud drove and the Sciou loaded, and I 
tell you now there never were three happier chil¬ 
dren. They thought they were useful—and so 
they were! If I can do anything to bring it about, 
I mean that our children shall pick up the habit 
of useful labor, and learn the true value of 
money. 
D The Blackberry Crop is paying us well this 
year. We made nothing on the currants, and 
the strawberries disappointed us, but the bush 
fruits are doing well thus far. A year ago last 
Spring, we bought 500 plants of what we supposed 
were Early Cluster blackberries. They came 
through the Winter nicely, and bloomed ahead 
of other varieties. They made a heavy crop of 
rather small berries, which have sold like hot 
cakes in our local market. We now find that 
they are Early Harvest. The chances are that 
they will be killed during a severe Winter, but 
this year, they have certainly proved a great 
success with us. It would never do to commend 
them for northern growers, though judged by 
this one season, they are just what we want. I 
am surprised that the blackberry crop should 
prove so popular. We Hud taut many people use 
this fruit for preserves and jam. There is quite 
a general belief that blackberries are more of a 
“medicine” thau any other of our common fruits. 
In most towns, I think it would be possible to sell 
crates of blackberries for canning. Such a trade 
is profitable according to our experience. 
Some New Crops.—This rain has quickened up 
several new crops that were giving poor accounts 
of themselves. The rape seed was sown in June, 
but the plants dawdled along so that the chick¬ 
ens kept them well eaten down. I began to doubt 
some of the great stories told about this crop, 
when all of a suddeu, it began to jump. It is a 
turnip with no bulb—all the edible growth being 
above ground. It is now growing finely, and 
promises lots of fodder. Sorghum, also, disap¬ 
pointed me at first. I concluded that our com¬ 
mon field corn would give us more fodder than 
an equal area of sorghum. Now, I am in doubt 
about it. The sorghum is growing like fun, and 
the stock prefer it to sweet corn. Wait until we 
cut it once, and then see what it does. The rain 
is bringing up the Crimson clover wherever the 
crop was plowed under. The field where we 
sowed cow peas in the clover vines Is, evidently, 
going to be a perfect mat of green. Those sweet 
potatoes? Well, they are coming along slowly, 
and may surprise you all yet. That’s all we have 
to say about them now. h. w. c. 
11 ea sy to 
J 1 haul a big , 
I load up aj 
V ^5big hid It I 
y° u grease 
the wagon 
wheels with 
MICA Axle Grease 1 
Get a box and learn why 
it’s the best grease ever 
put on an axle. Sold everywhere. 
FRAZER greaL 
BEST IN THE WORLD, 
Its wearing qualities are unsurpassed, aotually 
outlasting three boxes of any other brand. Not 
affected by heat. %W GET THE GENUINE. 
FOR SALE BY DEALERS GENERALLY. 
“We are the largest 
manufacturers of.. ^ LCC1 
Truck Wheels 
for farm wagons In America 
Send for Catalogue 
Havana M«ial Wheel Co., Havana, III. 
LANE’S CARRIAGE JACK 
Beat in the world. All 
ateel \ unbreakable ; oper¬ 
ated by powerful com¬ 
pound lovers, and auickly 
adjusted to anv height. At 
all hardware dealers, of 
LANE BROTHERS CO., Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 
Flre-Weather-Llghtnlng Proof 
Black, painted or galvanized metal ROOFING 
and siding; (brick, rocked or corrugated) 
METAL CEILINGS AND SIDE WALLS 
Write for Catalogue. 
Penn Metal Celling & Roofing Co.. Ltd., Philadelphia. 
1 
-- 
d . 
LMM 
npftJ 
ftrarri 
nirt 
4 - 
OLD GLORY 
lias no end of admirers these days. Likewise, 
men appreciate a fence which knows neither de¬ 
feat nor retreat. Try it. 
PAGE WOVEN WIRE FENCE CO., Adrian, Mich. 
ADAM 
THE FENCE MAN 
Makes Woven Wire 
Fence that ‘‘Stands 
Up.” Cannot 8ag. 
Get his nevrcatalogue. It, 
tells all about The Beet 
Farm Fence Made. . 
W. J. ADAM, Joliet, 
Kills Prairie Dogs, Woodchucks, Gophers, and Grain 
Insects. 
“Fuma” Carbon Bi-Sulphide Did It. 
•‘I treated f>00 inhabited (prairie dog) holes two weeks 
ago, and not a hole opened up.”— RICHARD KESUCH. 
Send for free illustrated pamphlet. It Is beautiful, 
Interesting, readable, and will save you money. 
EDWARD R. TAYLOR. Cleveland, Ohio. 
IA DU COD 0 A I C —Meadow Brook Farm. 100 
’All111 rUn OHLl acres, one-half mile from 
ho itrot.riput. villiLtre In Wavne County. Terms easy 
N. Y. State Fair, 
SYRACUSE , N. Y, 
August 29 to September 3, ’98. 
$25,000 in Premiums. 
New Buildings. 
New Water Plant. 
Great Attractions. 
PREMIUM LISTS NOW READY. 
APPLY TO 
J. B. DOCHARTY, Sec’y, ALBANY, N. Y, 
Special railroad facilities, reduced rates, and 
all exhibits unloaded from cars on .the Fair 
Grounds. 
Horses, Cattle, Sheep and Swine. 
Geo. W. Curtis, M. S. A. Origin, History, Im¬ 
provement, Description, Characteristics, Mer¬ 
its, Objections, Adaptability South, etc., of 
each of the Different Breeds, with Hints on 
Selection, Care and Management. Methods 
of practical breeders of the United States and 
Canada. Superbly illustrated. About 100 
full-page cuts. Cloth..$2 
The Rural New-Yorker, New York, 
