1904. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
591 
Hope Farm Notes 
Clover and Turnips.- —1 have the follow¬ 
ing question from Pennsylvania: 
“Referring to the Hope Farm man's arti¬ 
cle on page iT43, will you inform me why 
lie mixes Cow-horn turnip seed with Crim- . 
son clover? I have never used the latter, 
but thought I would sow it in three differ¬ 
ent ways; alone, in conjunction with cow 
peas, ajso with cow peas and rye.” c. A. s. 
I do not find that the turnips interfere 
with the seeding of clover. Therefore the 
growth they make is pretty near clear gain. 
In some cases I have had a better seeding 
to clover where turnips were used than 
where clover was seeded alone. The Cow- 
horn turnip does not flatten out like the Hat 
or strap-leaf. It forms a long, deep tap 
root. I have traced it far down into the 
subsoil. This deep rooting is one great ad¬ 
vantage of the turnip seeding. The soil is 
loosened and opened up, and I think plant 
food is brought up from the subsoil. I feel 
sure that these turnips bring considerable 
quantities- of phosphoric acid up from be¬ 
low and leave it in the upper soil, where 
the crops that follow can obtain it. We 
can pull what turnips we need for our own 
use and let the rest decay. I certainly 
would not sow Crimson clover alone. While 
we have obtained in some years a fair stand 
of clover with cow peas, the latter make 
such a rank growth that the clover is often 
smothered out. As for seeding clover with 
rye I do not like the combination. If you 
cut the rye for fodder you must do it before 
the clover is at its best. If you let the rye 
go for straw and grain the clover will in¬ 
jure the straw. 1 would rather sow the 
clover and turnips, pull what turnips I need, 
let the clover winter, cut it early, and then 
plow and plant some other crop. If I planted 
cow peas and Crimson clover I would do one 
of two things—sow the cow peas early in 
drills, keep them clean and at the last culti¬ 
vation sow the clover as you would in corn. 
Clip the cow pea vines in September and use 
them for fodder or let them rot. Another 
way is to sow the cow peas broadcast. Just 
before the vines begin to run, and if possible 
just before a rain, broadcast Crimson clover 
alone or with turnips right among the vines. 
Then cut them with a mower and let the 
vines rot on the ground. A new growth of 
vines will start and the turnips and clover 
will come. 
Hillside Orchards. —This question from 
Virginia has been on hand for some time: 
“I have a hillside too steep for profitable 
cultivation. How would it do to run five 
or six furrows with turning plow, harrow 
well and set to fruit trees? When needing 
cultivation run the plow above the trees so as 
not to interfere with roots; turn down until 
you get an extra furrow or two each time of 
cultivation. In course of time terraces would 
be formed. Tirat would give the trees deeper 
soil and prevent the fruit rolling down 
hill, and also form a place that a wagon 
could pass without turning over. I don't 
care to plow the whole surface at ono time 
for fear of being washed by heavy rains. 
Would it pay to sow to grass, clover or other 
kinds of grass seed, as 1 don't think it would 
be best to leave bare, as the weeds would 
grow if nothing else did? Perhaps rye would 
help.” A - 
I should not hesitate to plant trees in this 
way, though for apple trees I still doubt the 
need of much cultivation on hillsides. I have 
had no experience in making terraces, but 
from observation in hilly countries I judge 
that they are very useful. On my own steep 
land I get a thick growth of sod and keep 
it. I should certainly seed the hillside to 
grass—a mixture of Timothy, lted-top, Blue- 
grass and clover. 1 would take narrow 
strips each year for this seeding, so as final¬ 
ly to get it all into grass without danger 
from washing. Our experience shows that 
it is a mistake to sow rye in a young orchard 
unless you are willing to cut it early and 
pile it around the trees. The weeds should 
be cut before they seed and used to mulch 
the trees. 
While discussing this I want to show some 
of our own sod-grown trees. Pictures are 
printed on page 58t! of an apple and a peach 
tree. The apple, Fig. 2C0, was planted late 
in the Spring of 1902. The trees were late 
in reaching us, and had leafed out so that I 
was afraid they would not grow. They were 
cut back severely root and top, and planted 
in small holes. They dawdled along the first- 
year, though they received good care. In 
the Fall rye was seeded in the field and 
made a fair stand. The Spring of 1903 was 
very dry, and we made the mistake of let¬ 
ting the grain stand too long. It sucked the 
moisture out of the ground and the little 
trees began to shrivel and dry out The rye 
was cut and piled around the body of the 
tree, where it slowly rotted down. The trees 
stood still for some weeks, and then began to 
grow. They wintered well, and this Spring 
were fertilized and mulched with weeds and 
scatterings from the hay. A good growth 
of Red-top has come in. This picture was 
taken on July 4, and shows what the tree 
is doing. The picture cannot show the dark, 
rich foliage and thrift which this little giant 
exhibits. This is the sort of tree 1 am after 
—1 want a low head—for there seems little 
use for a long trunk on a tree. I want a 
broad, bunchy top with thick, strong foliage. 
I have no doubt there are larger trees of 
this age that have been cultivated and highly 
fed, but I feel like matching this block ol 
nearly 400 for vigor and health. 
The little peach tree, Fig. 259, is a June 
hud planted April 15. The picture was 
taken July 4, so (his means a growth of 80 
days. Our apple trees are planted 32 feet 
each way, aud the peaches are put at the 
center of the square made by four apples. 
The field is in sod. The June buds were 
cut back root,, aud top; the picture shows 
what a small stick was left above ground. 
A small hole was then made with a spade, 
the little tree put in and the soil pounded 
firmly around the roots. A small hoed 
space was left around the tree. We broad¬ 
cast about 000 pounds of fertilizer per acre 
over the grass, throwing out a little extra 
at each tree. When the grass was about 18 
inches high we went in with a sickle and 
cut a space larger than a barrel around each 
tree—leaving the cut grass as a mulch. 
When the grass was cut the scattering ana 
the weeds along the walls and fences were 
piled around the trees. The foliage is a 
dark, rich green, aud the present promise is 
that before Fall the trees will reach the 
Graft’s shoulders, if not his head. 
The growth on all our sod-culture trees 
that lived throught the Winter has been 
quite satisfactory this year. I say this after 
going about a good deal, and looking at many 
trees. I am not prepared to say that the 
sod trees average as large as the cultivated 
ones. In fact, they are mostly smaller. That 
does not trouble me, .as I have plenty ol 
cord wood over in the wood lot. For low, 
compact heads, firm wood and general thrifty 
appearance our sod-mulched trees suit me 
well, and when I compare the cost of the 
two methods I am pretty well satisfied to go 
ahead with my plan. In fact, it would noi 
be possible for us, with our condition and 
help, to care for our trees as the cultivating 
experts say we ought to do. While I am not 
prepared to tight for my opinions yet, or con 
demn those who think differently, I am goinj 
ahead with the following ideas: 
1. This sod-mulch culture is for some rea 
son better adapted to the apple than to the 
peach. 
2. Big holes at planting are not necessary, 
I have dug up many trees and invariably 
found a deeper root system growing from 
the small holes. 
3. Root pruning down to a short stub is 
an advantage to the tree, provided the top 
is cut back to correspond. I would by all 
means get the little tree as close to the con¬ 
dition of a cutting as I possibly could ana 
make it grow. Where the top is cut hack 
to a little stick we have far better control 
of the new top, and can shape it as we like. 
4. Grass and weeds should never be per¬ 
mitted to grow close up to the body of the 
tree. We go so far as to pull them out by- 
hand. We have had good results by piling 
coal ashes, rotten sawdust or forest leaves 
close around the tree to kill out the grass. 
5. On our soil a thick mulch around the 
young tree seems to give ideal conditions for 
steady and thrifty growth. Put fertilizer on 
the ground and pile such a mulch over h 
and see how rapidly it disappears, comparea 
with fertilizer hoed or harrowed into the 
soil. 
0 . “Sod-culture” has to stand the dis¬ 
credit brought upon it by many people who I 
do 20 per cent of their duty and then call 
the job done. Such people stick a tree into 
(he ground, let the grass and weeds grow 
close up to it, use no fertilizer or manure, | 
cut the grass that grows and haul it all oui 
as hay, let the soil bake hard around the | 
roots of the tree, and then call “sod-culture’ 
a failure because the tree will not grow. 1 
wish I could make people understand that a 
lazy man will not bp likely to make a tree 
grow properly in sod until he gets under the I 
sod with it. I can find plenty of chance for | 
the hardest work among my trees. 
Odds and Ends. —All told there are 17 
humans just now at Hope Farm. They 
filled the house pretty well when the wet I 
Sunday of July 24 kept us all indoors. I did 
walk over the hills before the rain reached 
its worst, but it was a soggy trip. We were | 
glad to see the rain. The hay was all in, 
and this wet means a good second crop ot 
grass. In some places the soil was too hara 
for the Fall plowing. So we made no ob 
jection as the rain soaked down—except the I 
Sunday School delegation, who came back a 
little wetter than they liked. . . . Miss | 
Mabel came to the farm in the hope of get 
ting fat. Merrill came with the wish that 
he might grow lean! As he weighs 203 1 
pounds at 15 years old, there is some rea 
son for his wish. I have found that the 
proper care of a tree is not a fat-making | 
job, so we put Merrill at it. Before he got 
over one row he cut into a hornet’s nest, but 
finally reached a point of safety with one | 
sting and the loss of some flesh ! . . 
Apple-sauce time has come again—has been 
here for some weeks. Our Red Astrachans | 
were later than usual this year, but Yellow 
Transparent and Nyack Pippins are helping I 
out. The pippins ripen earlier than usual. 
We have found a fair market for windfalls 
and wormy fruit. Billy Berkshire and his 
16 comrades attend to them pretty well, and 
give fair returns. . . . The dull periou I 
known as “dog days” is nearly here. 'Phis | 
is a hard time for many farmers. Work 
presses, the air seems dull aud dead. Al 
the failures of the year are in evidence, and | 
some of our best plans have gone wrong. 
For any man to stand up aud say (hat he has I 
made no mistakes, and that he has nothing [ 
to regret, is to advertise to all sensible 
country people that he doesn’t know what 
he is ’talking about, or is trying to fill the | 
hole of a great, big failure with words. No; 
dog days will bring a feeling or depression 
to all—rich or poor, strong or weak. It is I 
the warning that Summer is thinking of 
house cleaning, aud that old Jack Frost, far 
in the north, takes a rainy day for going | 
over his tools. A man may well summon 
his powers to light off depression when dog I 
days come. Be cheerful, even though you 
don't feel it ! n. w. <’. 
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:TH 
[] 
E, w 
1j 
1 
HENRY B. HYDE 
FOUNDLRs 
in 
JW. ALEXANDER 
PRESIDENT 
J.H.HYDE 
VICE PRESIDENT 
From flower to flower 
For a careless hour." 
PC 
Wf / d 
BUT AFTER. 
iKe careless Hour” 
we all know the fate of 
tke butterfly. 
Don’t flit your life away. Take 
a lesson from the ant, not 
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» // Opportunities for wen of character load as representatives 
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For lull inlormation till out this c oupon o r write 
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