466 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
July 2 
HOPE FARM NOTES. 
A Strawberry Incident.—We made our first 
Bale of strawberries on June 5, when the Gard¬ 
ners began to ripen. This variety is light-col¬ 
ored and rather soft, but of fine flavor for a 
nearby market. The Haverlands, Bubachs and 
Glen Marys came along rapidly. On June 13, 
there were more than our small home market 
could handle, and we packed up two crates on 
Monday and one on Tuesday, of what we called 
extra-fine berries, and sent them by express to a 
grocer who has handled quite a little of our 
stuff. The Madame was bound to have them 
tirst-rate, so she did the sorting and packing 
herself, and fixed them up just as she would like 
to buy good berries. We followed Mr. Kevitt’s 
plan of wrapping each box in waxed paper, and 
I’ll tell you that we were proud of those berries. 
They were the flrst we had shipped in that way. 
When I got within sight of the house Tuesday 
night, I knew something was wrong inside. It 
was a hot day, but there was a roaring fire in 
the stove, and it seemed as though every pot and 
kettle in the house was crowded upon it. The 
Madame had her sleeves rolled up, and I must 
say that her hands, arms and face looked as 
though she had been fighting a regiment of 
Spaniards. Now a naturally good-natured man 
with 10 years’ experience in married life knows 
that words from him are not expected at such a 
time, and I calmly waited for the facts, which 
were about as follows: 
Strawberries Rejected.—Those two crates of 
fine strawberries had been returned by the grocer. 
He sent a letter making some excuses about 
poor picking and packing and green fruit. In¬ 
stead of trying to get what he could for them, he 
had shipped them back to us in that hot sun— 
and, of course, at our expense! Well, now, it was 
a time for children and men folks to take to the 
barn! “ Green fruit!” “ Poor picking and pack¬ 
ing!” Why, the Madame guaranteed those ber¬ 
ries herself—and there they were to speak for 
themselves after those journeys in the hot sun! 
She didn’t purpose to be beaten that way, and 
those strawberries were going into preserves and 
jelly just as fast as a roaring fire could get them 
there. There didn’t seem to be very much for me to 
say at that time, but as my contribution to the 
literature of the occasion, the next day I wrote a 
letter to that grocer with barbs on it a yard long! 
I must say that I took some pride in handing 
it over to the Madame to read before it was sent. 
By that time, however, she had cooled off a little. 
That strawberry jam certainly was a great suc¬ 
cess! “That’s a very good letter,” she said, “but 
I wouldn’t send it! We will get a chance to 
square things up in a much better way than 
that! ” So we have decided to answer what we 
call a mean piece of business in another way, 
which we may refer to when it is done. I tell 
you, though, it’s hard to see how some of those 
dealers and commission men sometimes treat 
small shippers. They have them right at their 
mercy, and the excuses they make for small 
returns are enough to drive a farmer crazy. The 
larger farmers who ship in quantity can usually 
get fairer treatment, but the little man with a 
few crates or boxes is fine game for the dealer. 
Some one may say that, probably, the strawber¬ 
ries were not first-class, any way! That may be, 
though we handled them as well as we knew 
how, and the same sort of fruit sold well to our 
other customers. They were worth something , at 
any rate. 
The Strawberry Season in our part of the 
country has not been satisfactory. The fruit all 
seemed to ripen at once, and every town of any 
size was simply flooded. Some of our neighbors 
hauled beautiful fruit to Paterson, N. J., aud 
sold it at 2y t aud 3*4 cents a quart. We sold one 
crate of tine Parker Earles at four cents, which 
is the lowest figure we reached. The two weeks 
of hot, dry weather following Decoration Day 
cut down the size of the fruit. The Hope Farm 
folks don’t expect to go to the mountains this year 
on the profits of the strawberry crop; but we 
have learned some good things from this season’s 
experience. We shall not plant any more of such 
varieties as Gardner. It is too soft and light 
colored. Life is too short to attempt to “ educate” 
your customers. If they want a firm red berry 
of poorer flavor—give it to them until they learn 
better, but let some one else do the teaching. The 
plan of wrapping the boxes in waxed paper has 
both good aud bad sides to it. Where the fruit 
can be delivered at once to choice customers, the 
paper is a good thing, for it keeps out dust and 
dirt, and has a very neat appearance. Where 
the berries are to be shipped long distances in 
crates, the paper is a disadvantage. It prevents 
the air from circulating through the berries. We 
find that, in hot weather, the berries go down 
quicker where the paper is put around the boxes. 
The Early Pea Crop.—From 14 rows of early 
peas 125 feet long, we picked about six bushels, 
which sold at an average of 80 cents a bushel. 
The seed cost $1.75. Picking was worth 20 cents 
a bushel, but most of them were picked by mem¬ 
bers of the family. The varieties were Alaska 
and Nott’s Excelsior. Had the weather not been 
.so dry, there would have been, at least 10 bushels. 
The peas were small, but very fine in quality. 
No fertilizer was used. The ground was chopped 
up with the Cutaway when the vines were pulled, 
and we at once planted peas again for a late 
crop—Telephone aud Nott’s Excelsior this time. 
We have never had much success with late peas, 
but they bring good prices, and we try it again. 
The early planted Telephones are in bloom, and 
looking very well. 
Get Rid of the Flies.—There are plenty of 
flies on New Jersey live stock, no matter how 
lively they may be. Last Summer, the cow was 
in torture through July and August. We have a 
fly that locates itself on the upper part of the 
udder just where the cow cannot reach with 
tongue or tail. We tried carbolated vaseline, 
but the fly still dug and scraped. This year, the 
same performance began, and we tried the 
remedy known as “ Shoo-fly.” It has -worked like 
a charm. No fly will stay where this stuff is 
used, and it heals insect wounds. We just paint 
it on with a little brush. We have used it thus 
far on the horses and cow. In every case it has 
done the work, and given great relief to the stock. 
Chickens in Potatoes.—We have about 500 of 
this year’s chicks, large and small. Those from 
the earlier batches got to be a nuisance in the 
garden aud around the fruit. Around a patch of 
early potatoes, when the plants were about three 
inches high, we ran five rolls of four-foot 
wire netting. Then we put several small houses 
inside, and carried in about 150 of the largest 
chicks. They are doing well. A few of the more 
enterprising have learned to fly over the fence, 
but a snip at their wing feathers will stop that. 
As fast as the smaller chicks get large enough 
for damage, we shall put them inside this yard. 
I have been curious to see whether these large 
chicks will damage the potatoes. If they do not, 
I have a new plan for next year. I have never 
noticed a hen eating a potato vine, or a potato 
bug for that matter. People tell me that they 
have known hens to eat the vines, .and dig in 
after the tubers. Our chicks have not yet touched 
the vines, but I notice that they have begun dig¬ 
ging beside them—whether for tubers or worms 
I am unable yet to say. This is quite an interest¬ 
ing point to me, for if I can keep hens and pota¬ 
toes in the same field, I shall be glad of it. 
The Potato Beetles are here, but are not un¬ 
usually numerous. We use dry Paris-green, mixed 
with three parts of flour, blown on with a Paris- 
green gun. This discourages them in short order. 
On one field, we tried picking the hard-shells, 
and it seemed to reduce the numbers of the soft 
shells. Mr. M. Garrahan, of Pennsylvania, told 
me last week that, one year, he offered the chil¬ 
dren 50 cents a quart for picking the hard-shells. 
All he gained by it was the knowledge that it 
takes about 1,500 bugs to make a quart ! Can we 
kill the bugs without the use of poisons like 
Paris-green or London-purple V That point is 
important to us in connection with our poultry 
yard experiment. Prof. Slingerlaud says that 
neither kerosene emulsion nor pure kerosene has 
been found effective. It is quite evident that we 
must either poison or pick. Oh, for some breed 
of poultry that will manufacture eggs out of po¬ 
tato bugs! _ h. w. c. 
INTRODUCTION OF THE PERUVIAN 
POLE BEAN, NOW KNOWN 
AS THE LIMA BEAN. 
How, when, and by whom was this 
valuable and widely distributed bean, 
introduced into the United States ? From 
its name, it was naturally credited to 
Peru ; but how it was sent, or brought 
from that country, I could not ascertain 
until quite recently. It is now posi¬ 
tively, and beyond all question, credited 
to an uncle of mine, who brought, in 
1824, and planted in his own garden, the 
first Peruvian beans ever introduced. 
Captain John Harris, of the United 
States Marine Corps, sailed under orders 
for a cruise in the Southern Pacific, in 
1821, in the frigate Franklin, Commo¬ 
dore Stewart, and touched at several 
ports, east and west, until he ended his 
voyage at Callao, Peru, the seaport of 
Lima, and six miles from it. He left 
Callao in April, 1824, which corresponds 
with our October in season, and reached 
New York in 118 days, or on August 25, 
1824. When in Peru, his attention was 
attracted by the fine qualities of their 
beans, and having lived upon a farm 
until the age of 23, which land he still 
owned and had cultivated, he naturally 
laid in a stock of the beans, to take home 
and propagate. This farm was located 
in Chester County, in what is called the 
Great Valley, near Frazer. Here the 
first beans were planted in 1825, and 
from this stock were disseminated the 
Peruvian pole beans of this country. 
Living in the same county and valley 
was my father, who early g-rew in a new 
garden, the Peruvian pole bean, given 
him by his brother, and I well remember 
their climbing the poles at the back end 
of the garden, when a little boy. They 
produced a fine crop, and seemed per¬ 
fectly adapted to our climate; but I 
never heard who introduced them till 
last Spring; when my informant said he 
was told by the late Col. Harris, also his 
uncle, that he had brought the bean 
from Peru. In this day, the introducer 
would not have been lost sight of, as it 
would have been given the title of the 
Harris Peruvian bean. 
America has furnished three important 
members of the bean family: 1, the 
Mexican Black bean, or Frijoles; 2, the 
Cuban Indian bean, found by Columbus 
and carried by him to Spain; it is known 
now as the French Soup bean, and in 
France, as the Swiss Red bean; and 3, 
the Peruvian bean just mentioned. Be¬ 
sides these, there are several indigenous 
to North and South America, of an in¬ 
ferior character. South America has 
still other vegetables that might be 
grown in our hotter States. 
Pennsylvania. Robert p. karris. 
That Tired Feeling 
Is just as surely due to thin, impure, sluggish, 
lifeless blood, as scrofula, salt rheum, or other 
“blood diseases,” and is just as surely and 
quickly cured by Hood’s Sarsaparilla, nature’s 
true tonic and blood vitalizer. To give you a 
good appetite, tone your stomach, steady your 
nerves, and make you “fighting strong,” there’s 
nothing like 
Hood’s parilla 
America’s Greatest Medicine. 
Hood’s Pills cure biliousness, indigestion. 
T r e e S — also small 
fruits — our specialties. 
Order early for fall 
shipment 'and get 
special low prices. 
JOS. H. BLACK,SON&CO., 
Village Nurseries, 
HI GUTS TO W N N.J. 
Pot Grown 
Strawberry Plants 
will bear crop next season. Fruit trees^ 
celery, cabbage plants, etc. —everythin 
in the nursery line. Send your address fo» 
our free Summer and Autumn catalogue 
T. J. DWYER & SON. Cornwall, N. Y. 
Potted Strawberry Plants. 
100 NIC Ohmer for # |1.50. 
T. C. KEVITT. Athenia, N. J. 
C RIMSON 
LOVER 
and other Seeds for Summer Bowing. Write for 
our Mid-Summer Catalogue.We send It Free. 
HENRY A. DREER, Philadelphia. 
PEACH 
APPLE 
PEAR 
FRANK B. BARKLEY MFG, CO„So 0 ^ 
Bldg., Chicago. 111., will sell you a Spray Pump, Gas 
Engine, or Cider Press, direct from factory. 
EXPRESS PAID, 
ON RECEIPT OF 
$4.00. 
Guaranteed to give 
satisfaction. 
Will dust Paris-Green, London-Purple, Hellebore, 
etc., on Vines, Rushes and Trees. Agkxts Want iso. 
Write for circular. 
LEGGETT & BRO„ 301 Pearl St.. New York. 
CRIMSON 
CLOVERSEED 
The great land improver. Home grown 
seed, free from weeds, at lowest cash 
price. Write at once. 
J. G. IIARRISON <fc SONS, Berlin, Md. 
Crimson Clover & Essex Dwarf Rape Seeds. 
Thomas McKlroy, European Seed Commission Mer¬ 
chant, t> Harrison Street, New York, oilers a few lots 
of Crimson Clover and Essex Dwarf Rape Seeds 
Samples and prices on application; dealers only. 
Years of Prosperity 
are surely coming, so 
wake up. Buy an 
ECLIPSE 
SPRAY PUMP, 
and save your fruit crop. “ It is 
better to be sufethun sorry” 
in fruit growing as well as In any 
other business. 
Send for our 1898 catalogue. 
MORRILL & M0RLEY, 
Bknton Harbor, Mich. 
-1 our new 
KEROSENE Sprayers 
in simple. Kerosene Emuleion made 
while pnmplng. Send for photo, of 
onrNrw PEERLESS ORCHARD 
SPRAYER, with BORDEAUX 
NOZZLE, the WORLD’S BEST. 
r THE DEMINO CO. SALEM, 0. 
' Wat’t A^ta, Henlon A Hubbell, Chicago. 
Ufl Clll IIQE—'Twelve successive Crops of 
HU I HILUnK. Crimson Clover. Again 1 offer 
for sale the strain of seed thatdid It; free from other 
seeds. Fresh, bright and clean. 
SAM. H. DERBY, Woodside, Del. 
CELERY PLANTS. 
Very strong plants now ready, cheap. Write tor 
prices, stating about quantity and varieties desired. 
JOSEPH HARRIS COMPANY. 
P. O. address, Moreton Farm, N. Y. 
CELERY PLANTS FOR SALE. 
Leading varieties, carefully packed In baskets, and 
delivered here at Express Offices; 250 plants for GOc.; 
5U0for9Ue: 1,000 for jl .50. Special price on quantities 
over 6,000. Cash with order. 
WOODLAND FARM. Canastota. Madison Co.. N.Y 
Choice Seed Potatoes 
by the bushel, barrel or car-load, including the best 
new aud standard varieties; prices right. Write for 
catalogue. THE C. C. BRAWLEY SEED AND 
IMPLEMENT CO.. New Madison. Ohio. 
Pakhatra Dlanic 10 varieties. $1 per thousand. 
bdUUdgc * 1“ lUSQeo.Tiinnghast, La Plume,Pa 
SHRUBS, FLOWERS AND FRUITS. 
Most complete General Collection In America. Three thousand 
varieties described In a 200-page (frbk) Catalogue. “ THE 
LEADING NEW ENGLAND NURSERY.” 
JACOB W. MANNING, Reading, Mata. 
Sm fruit Book 
Vr VJRjLKI Millions of marketeer 
free, write quick,—« a marvel of 
exact orchard information ;» line 
colored plates of 21 fruits, IOC photos, 
of market sorts 
old & new: Ben Davis, Black Ben Da¬ 
vis; Elberta; Red June Jap—EVERYTHING. 
We PAY! RLIGHI 
LOUISIANA, M0. 
Stark, Mo. 
Stockport, ML 
Dansvilie, N.Y. 
REMEMBER 
FOR 
3XTEW 
L BLACK DEATH 
The best and cheapest Insecticide on the market. Instant death to potato 
bugs, and will not injure the vinos. A fine dry powder ready for Immediate 
— use. Recommended oy Edward F. Dibble, the largest grower of Seed Potatoes 
in the United Slates. To introduce, special prioe, 100-pound keg. $1. AGENTS WANTED. Address for 
lull particulars 
O-AT-KA CHEMICAL CO., Le Roy, N. Y. 
AN OVER-STOCK 
THE LENOX SPRAYER CO., PITTSFIELD, MASS. 
are entirely over-stocked. 
5,000 SPRAYERS ON HAND, 
MUST BE UNLOADED WITHIN THIRTY DAYS. 
$4 
CUT IN TWO 
$2 
THE LENOX SPRAYERS are first-class, and well known, hold 24 quarts. Regular price 
$4; will be cut in two—$2. One or a thousand, $2. No use to write letters or ask 
questions for wholesale prices or agencies, letters without remittances will receive no 
attention. All our wholesale price-lists have been thrown away. $2 each if you take 
one or the lot, for yourself or to sell again, makes no difference. Has a swinging agi¬ 
tator, constantly mixing the liquid. An excellent machine, a pity to sell at 
this price, but must go. Send money order before they are gone, lots of 
times you can use a knapsack where you cannot a barrel pump. Handy at 
any place. Get one while at §2. Cash with order. The world will never see 
a Lenox Sprayer for $2 again after these 6000 are gone, so if you want one 
get it right away. Our reference, this paper or any of our banks. 
THE LENOX SPRAYER CO.. 30 WEST ST.. PITTSFIELD, MASS^ 
