722 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
October 22 
HOPE FARM NOTES. 
A Voice from the South.—Some of our readers 
evidently take quite an interest in Hope Farm 
matters, so much so that it seems no more than 
right to give them a chance to talk now and then. 
Here is a letter from a man in South Carolina: 
“ H. W. C., Hope Farm, cannot make a flock of 
200 hens yield a profit of $600 per annum, although 
he is a faithful student of Mr. IIuDter, editor Farm 
Poultry. Neither can H. W. C. grow 700 bushels 
of Irish potatoes per acre, although he is a faith¬ 
ful student of Mr. Carman, editor It. N.-Y. 
“ II. W. C. has plows, cultivators, and an 
improved weeder, and so many weeds in his field 
of potatoes, that even a Success digger was not 
a success. H. W. C. did not get $1 per 100 for 
first-class sugar corn, although he deals with 
honest and reliable commission merchants, and 
is also situated where he can personally feel the 
pulse of the market daily. 
“Why! Why! Why! Why! Why! 
“ Ib H. W. C. a gummerthdoone, or is he just an 
uncommon man who is honest enough to tell the 
whole truth ? 
“ I sincerely hope that H. W. C. will answer 
these questions through The R. N.-Y.” r. l. lamb. 
Too Big a Question.—Now I never was worth 
a cent at answering conundrums, and I doubt 
whether I can answer these questions satisfac¬ 
torily. I do not pretend to know what a “ gum¬ 
merthdoone ” is, therefore decline to admit that I 
am one. I am sorry to have our friend say that 
it takes an uncommon man to tell the truth about 
farming. He is correct in saying that we have 
not been able to make our hens average $3 per 
year profit, or grow 700 bushels of potatoes on an 
acre of ground. We have studied and worked 
hard with these great ends in view, but the wise 
men beat us. With much smaller average yields, 
however, we have come out on the right side by 
a small margin. The fact of the matter is that 
the average farmer on the average farm is not 
making a fortune these days. The few fortunate 
ones who are so situated that they save more 
than the average, may say what they will and 
prove to a certainty that we are far behind our 
possibilities; but the fact remains that one-man 
farming requires great skill, hard work and a 
fair amount of capital to make it yield much of 
a cash income. 
Slow Money But Sure Home.—That is about 
my idea of a motto for the average farmer in 
these times. It seems to me fairer to look the 
facts right in the face, and not attempt to deceive 
ourselves by running after mere possibilities 
about which we hear only one side. It is possi¬ 
ble for all of us to improve and do better, but 
it takes time and bull-dog courage to hang on 
through thick and thin when it seems as though 
Fate itself were trying to shake us off. I have no 
patience with the writers who sit on cushioned 
chairs and tell us what to do as gravely as 
though they really knew the difference between 
a Berkshire pig and a Parker Earle strawberry 
plant. Better, it seems to me, is the honest 
record of a complete failure with the causes 
which led to it made clear, than a half record of 
some great success coupled with a scolding at 
one’s ignorance. These writers who proclaim 
their success upon the housetops, and bury their 
many failures in the back yard, deceive only two 
classes of people—themselves and those who are 
very new to the business. Practical men know 
better. 
Proud to Be a Farmer.—Possibly, a “ gum¬ 
merthdoone” is one who believes farming is only 
a thing to run away from. In that case, I am not 
of that class. In spite of the small cash income 
from one-man farming, I hope that our boys will 
make farmers. I have done almost everything 
for a living—from sawing wood to acting on the 
stage, and I am sincere in saying that the farm 
is good enough for me. Too many people get the 
idea that a farmer does not need any capital to 
work with, or any special ability. What folly 
that is! Cash capital is just as useful and neces¬ 
sary on the farm as it is in the grocery business. 
As for skill and intelligence, there is no trade or 
profession under heavens that requires such con¬ 
stant thought and observation as farming. Talk 
about a lawyer having to work to keep up with 
legal decisions and new laws; why, both the 
science and practice of farming are constantly 
changing, and nearly always, as it seems to me, 
with new chances for the farmer. For my part, 
I am not going to sneak around in any shame¬ 
faced fashion and admit that I am a farmer, and 
that I have eggs and pork and potatoes to sell. 
I am proud of the fact. The business is an hon¬ 
est one, and I am not afraid to come out and tell 
the truth about it. There may be nothing in our 
story to make amateurs run to the farm, but if 
that is true, so much the better for farming. 
Agriculture, of all the professions, can stand the 
truth. 
The Lame Horse Again.—Now here we have 
a note on another subject, written by a Vermont 
friend: 
“ Yes, I think that old Major remembers the 
kick that he received, and will be afraid of Frank 
for some time; but in my opinion, horses haven’t 
enough reasoning power to watch for revenge. 
There are exceptions to all rules, though. Ex¬ 
perience is a good teacher. I think that you will 
now see that that stall partition was too short, 
and especially that it isn’t right to have horses 
tied in such a way that they can bite each other. 
Mr. C., what would you have done if you had been 
in Frank’s place ? ” H. m. p. 
Major is now nearly well again. We drive him, 
though he has a slight limp. He seems in deadly 
fear of Frank, and will bolt past him like a colt. 
He is in such fear that I do not think that he will 
attempt to “ get even ”. I think, too, he will mind 
his own business hereafter, and let Frank alone. 
You are right about that partition. What would 
I have done in such a case? Well, now, that’s 
what I call a leading question. Had I been tied 
up and my mate tormented me as Major did 
Frank, I am inclined to think that I would have 
booted him hard, though I would have selected 
some portion of his body where the injury to his 
pride would have been greater than the injury to 
his bones! 
Winter is Coming.—The killing frost has held 
off later than usual this year. On Sunday, Oc¬ 
tober 9, there was hardly a touch of color on the 
upland trees. Usually at this time the leaves 
are brilliant. The cow peas and millet in the 
bush fruits grew until October 10, and so did the 
sweet potato vines. It is now time to g( t ready 
for Winter. We are in better shape every way 
than we were a year ago. We have three times 
as much left to sell. The clover seeding is much 
better. The strawberries are clean and have 
made a good growth. Last year they were foul 
with weeds. We have nearly 200 fine pullets of 
our own breeding, and nine good pigs. Last year, 
we had about 50 good pullets and a lot of scrub 
hens, and two little shotes that were but little 
better than runts. We have more and better fod¬ 
der, and the soil is in far better shape than a 
year ago. The bush fruits look well. Best of all, 
we understand the farm and its possibilities 
better. We know better how to care for our stock. 
We have gained a little over last year. 
What About School.—Our children have never 
attended the public schools. The Graft is really 
the only one old enough to go. We suppose that 
he is about seven years old. The Madame is an 
old school teacher, and she expects to start a 
little home school this Winter. I don’t pretend 
to know much about schools, but I have always 
thought that many children start too early in 
life, and get tired of it. I would rather hold them 
back and make them eager to study and learn. I 
find some people who are afraid of the public 
school in their district. They say that the morals 
of such schools are bad, and that a good many 
teachers do not or cannot keep an eye on the 
little children. As I remember the district school 
I went to when I was a boy, there were practices 
and habits among the pupils that I don’t want 
my children to pick up, if I can help it. I would 
rather keep them at home a few years longer so 
that we may get a little firmer hold on them our¬ 
selves. The young woman who lives with us (I 
think we must call her the Cutting) goes to the 
county town seven miles away, and attends a 
good grammar school. I tell you now that this 
matter of educating the children is ahead of the 
fertilizer question, or the hen question, or the 
tariff question. I find lots of farmers who are 
fairly staggered at the responsibilities that are 
tied up in the lives of their children. Character 
is at the bottom of it all. Let us not forget that 
in planning for the little folks. u. w. c. 
CRIMSON CLOVER IN PENNSYLVANIA. 
J. W. Nelson, of Clearfield County, Pa., 
says that he wants to thank ns for mak¬ 
ing him acquainted with Japan plums 
and Crimson clover. Like many other 
readers, he had no success with Crimson 
clover at first, but he always sowed some 
Red clover with it. When the Red died 
out in the Spring, there would always be 
some patches of the Crimson left, while 
the Red died out entirely. Last Summer, 
he sowed three acres to buckwheat, put¬ 
ting Crimson clover in both fields. The 
buckwheat field had twice failed to catch 
clover when sown with oats, hut this 
year, it was a sight to behold. People 
came for miles to see the clover. Mr. 
Nelson let it get ripe and cut it for seed. 
After it was cut, the Red clover came on, 
and also made a good crop, and now the 
ground is covered again with Crimson 
clover which was self-seeded. 
He also sowed four acres of the Crim¬ 
son clover on August 10, one acre of sod, 
and three on wheat stubble. He sprinkled 
some buckwheat among this for the bees. 
The clover made a good stand and cut 
several loads of first-class hay on the 
three acres of stubble. This was also 
sown to Red clover and Timothy, hut 
these had no show till the Crimson was 
cut. On the acre of sod, the Crimson 
clover grew until a foot high, and it was 
left to see what the other grass would 
do. After the clover got ripe, the 
Timothy and Red clover started and gave 
a fair yield of hay, with a good second 
crop of Red clover on September 1, with 
a solid mat of Crimson from this year’s 
seeding. 
This year Mr. Nelson says that he has 
a nice catch in the corn, three acres 
more in buckwheat, which was sown 
July 23, and three acres in millet and 
Crimson clover sown June 28 ; also five 
acres of Crimson and Red clover, and 
Timothy sown on wheat stubble August 
24. This shows that it pays to hang on 
•to a thing that has done well for others. 
We never know how to handle any new 
crop, until we have studied and experi¬ 
mented with it. Mr. Nelson now knows 
how to use Crimson clover to advantage. 
If he had dropped it after the first fail¬ 
ure, he would have lost money by doing so. 
A “ SURE CURE " FOR CURL LEAF. 
For the benefit of fruit raisers, I will 
give a little of my experience. About 3(5 
years ago, I had a peach tree attacked 
with curl leaf. An old man came along 
peddling tin, and when he saw the tree, 
said, “If you will pour two or three 
quarts of beef brine around that tree, it 
will cure it.” I followed the directions, 
and it did the work finely. Last year, I 
had another. I made a plain brine, 
poured it around the tree and it cured it 
like the first one. Of course, it will take 
some time for the r ots to absorb the 
In the Fall 
Your health should be carefully guarded. 
There is danger of malaria, fevers, sud¬ 
den colds and pneumonia. Make your 
blood rich and pure by taking Hood’s 
Sarsaparilla and you need not fear these 
dangers. Hood’s Sarsaparilla has wonder¬ 
ful power to strengthen and fortify the 
system. It gently tones the stomach, 
creates a good appetite and invigorates 
every organ. 
Hood’s Sarsaparilla 
Is America’s Gx-eatest Medicine. $1, six for $5. 
Hood’s Pills cure constipation. 25 cents. 
BRIDGENIAN’S 
OATALGatT* or 
Bulbs and Seeds 
FOR FALL PLANTING, 
mailed free to all applicants. 
brine so as to effect _ cure. Whether it 
will have the same effect on all kinds of 
soil, I am unable to say. If I had any 
trees troubled with yellows, I would try 
the same remedy, also for sickly plum 
trees. d. b. e. 
Mcodus, Conn. 
Comment. —Horticultural literature is 
full of so-called “sure cures” or remedies 
based upon no more evidence than that 
submitted by I). B. E. Doubtless a fruit 
tree would absorb some salt through its 
roots, but it is very doubtful whether 
enough salt could thus get into the plant 
to have any effect upon a fungous disease 
attacking the leaves. Climatic and other 
conditions have so much influence on 
fungous diseases like the curl leaf that 
no experiments against it can be con¬ 
sidered at all conclusive which do not, 
also, include check or untreated trees 
subject to similar conditions. I feel quite 
sure that an application of Bordeaux 
Mixture before the buds open in the 
Spring will have a much more beneficial 
effect in controlling the peach leaf curl 
than a dose of salt at the base of the tree. 
I must confess that I have little or no 
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ESTABLISHED 1824. 
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Order early for fall 
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IT I OH TS TOWN* N. J. 
BISMARCK 
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100 LOUDON 
Raspberry Plants, by mail for $1 
T. C. KEVITT. Athenia, N. J. 
faith in the “salt remedy”, yet I am 
open to conviction by evidence supported 
by scientifically-conducted experiments. 
M. V. SLINGERLAND. 
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SHRUBS, FLOWERS AND FRUITS. 
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