1904 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
4i5 
Hope Farm-Notes 
Farm Notks. —Our first oats and peas 
were sown April 10. The peas were plowed 
under and the oats covered with the Acme 
harrow. The oats began to appear April 
29, and the peas followed on May 5. I 
think we covered the peas a little too deep, 
hut they have made a good stand and are 
now none the worse for it. We expect to 
cut the oats and peas for hay and to follow 
them with late cabbage or seed down to Tim¬ 
othy and Red top. . . . Our first Alaska 
peas were planted April 21. They were up 
April 30 and look well. The next planting 
was made May 6 (Daniel O’Rourke). I 
have not been able to buy what I wanted of 
Nott's Excelsior this year. Seed of sweet 
corn, etc., is hard to get. Our first plant¬ 
ing was made May G between rows of newly 
set currants. We set currants 8x4 feet, 
run a row of sweet corn midway between 
the rows and plant potatoes between the 
currant bushes in the row. This gives us 
something from the ground while the cur¬ 
rants are coming on and the extra culture 
required is good for all. Sweet corn prices 
were very high last year and so farmers in 
this section have planted heavily. Old 
fields that have lain idle for years are being 
plowed up and fertilized for sweet corn. I 
think this a mistake. The high prices last 
year were due to the poor season. The 
corn would not mature, and thus a short 
crop made high prices. With a good grow¬ 
ing season the market will be flooded with 
corn. This crop cannot be held—it must be 
picked and shipped at once. I think the 
prospect for potatoes and Lima beans is bet¬ 
ter. I am told that 15,000,000 or more cans 
of tomatoes were burned in the Baltimore 
fire. This year’s crop must not only supply 
the trade in fresh fruit, but provide for a sur¬ 
plus. . . . The trouble with any crop like 
tomatoes in our country is the job of caring 
for them. It is next to impossible to obtain 
reliable help. Our soil is natural grass land 
and the weeds and grass come upon it with 
a rush in hot weather. It requires constant 
work with horse and hoe to fight the weeds. 
When you can keep it clean land that will 
raise good grass is good for any crop. The 
best potatoes I ever grew were in a field 
where the crab grass rushed in early and fin¬ 
ally conquered when the vines grew too large 
for cultivation. At that time I bad a man 
who claimed that it was the crab grass that 
made the crop! I believe it was the work 
we did on the soil in fighting the grass while 
we were able to get through the potatoes. 
The cultivation which was made necessary by 
the grass helped the potatoes. That is why 
grass and weeds are sometimes blessings in 
disguise when we make a hard struggle to kill 
them out. . . . We are greatly pleased 
at the seeding of red clover and rape in tlie 
old orchard. This orchard is headed up high. 
The hogs ran in it last year and on the low 
parts where the ground was moist they rooted 
around a number of trees and killed out the 
grass. On March 31 we sowed a mixture of 
red clover and Essex rape right in the mud. 
A rain had made the soil soft and the seed 
was broadcast evenly all over the orchard. 
I was a little doubtful about such a seeding, 
but the weather was right, and there is now 
a good stand of both plants so well ad¬ 
vanced that they are sure to get through. 
About the middle of June I expect to turn 
about 20 pigs into this orchard to eat down 
the grass and clover. If this scheme works 
as I think it will I do not expect to ring 
the pigs. A pig never does as well with a 
sore nose and the little working they do will 
help the trees. If I can get a fair catch of 
clover and rape in the mud each year it will 
he like having mulch, cover crop, cultivation 
and manure each year. . . . The first 
pig for the season’s feeding has arrived. He 
is a purebred Berkshire with a little too 
much red or “brass color’’ in him to suit the 
breeder. This brownish color is often seen 
on Berkshires, and some breeders do not re¬ 
gard it as a serious objection. It will be 
found in some of the finest herds. The 
breeder I speak of wants to breed out all 
blemishes and so Billy Berkshire has come 
to Hope Farm for a pork test. We shall feed 
him in our regular way—not pushing him 
hard, but giving him good pasture and a fair 
amount of grain and see what he comes to. 
1 am satisfied that it does not pay a farmer 
in our country to try and keep pigs in a pen 
and feed them on grain. There is nothing in 
that. You can buy pork cheaper, except it 
may be for one or* two pigs that can be fed 
largely on swill or waste from the farm. If 
we are to make pork for sale we must save 
grain and let the pigs get most of their food 
at pasture. We are better fitted with pasture 
this year than ever before. . . . Our first 
potatoes were planted May 5 on an old straw¬ 
berry bed on which late cabbage followed last 
fall. I have been told that potatoes should 
never follow cabbage, but I don’t always be¬ 
lieve what I am told. We plowed this piece, 
then worked it with the disk plow and har¬ 
rowed twice. The seed was dropped by hand 
and covered with a plow. We do not try 
any more to raise potatoes as a field crop. 
We raise enough for our own use and a few 
to sell to our milk and vegetable customers. 
We think it pays better to put time on the 
fruit. 
Fertilizer Problems. —It was a hot fore¬ 
noon. The wind was slowly rising and now 
came down so as to shake the young trees. 
Off to the northwest clouds were forming and 
the ail - had the peculiar feel that indicates 
rain within 48 hours. Charlie, Alex and I 
were broadcasting fertilizer. The wind blew 
it all over us and clouds of dust followed us 
along the field. I would have quit but for 
the clouds in the northwest. I wanted that 
fertilizer on before the rain came. Last year 
our fertilizer was spread after the early rains 
and lay on the ground all through the May 
drought. This year I meant to have it on 
before the rains, and so we marched on 
through the dust. The wind seemed to take 
special delight in whirling that dust into 
eyes, nose, mouth and ears whenever we were 
obliged to walk up into the breeze. The 
north wind always seems to have a grudge 
against a farmer. It likes to catch his cattle 
out and make them hump their backs, or to 
catch the farmer unprepared and put the 
pneumonia knife into him. I could imagine 
it whirling around the edge of the wood and 
calling to the fertilizer about as follows: 
“Now gentlemen, you’ve got him ! Get into 
his eyes—that's the place to hurt him ! You 
Nitrate of Soda remember how man dug you 
out of the desert and carted you away. You 
have been soaked and boiled and ground and 
pounded by men—now take revenge on this 
one who throws you around and give him a 
taste of the desert.” 
This appeal was too much for the Spanish 
blood in the nitrate, for it dug into my eyes 
with all claws. 
“And you blood,” said the wind; “think 
what they did to you. Y’ou were once life. 
You gave force and power to a living thing. 
Think of the slaughter that poured you out 
and which has left you dry and lifeless. Up 
and at him. Revenge! Give him the knife 
they gave you !” 
“And you phosphate! How comfortable 
you were in your bed in the earth. They 
dug you out and burned you in the biting 
acid. Go at this man now and put the fire 
in his eyes. Creep into his nose and sting 
him !” 
“And you, too, potash! There you were 
cool and easy in that German mine. Men 
dug you out and put you through all sorts of 
capers and sent you over the sea an unwilling 
immigrant. Now is your chance. Give these 
men worse than their brother gave you.” 
“And you bone—they destroyed your very 
shape, boiled the meat away from you and 
stamped and crushed you until none of your 
old friends would know you. You have a 
bone to pick with all mankind—pick this one 
to the bone at once!” 
Nitrate and phosphate were ready to sting 
us, while it took potash some time to make 
up his mind. Old Bone spoke up for himself 
and his friend Blood. 
“I don’t know about this, gentlemen. These 
men are not responsible for our misfortunes. 
True, we are now in bondage and have been 
degraded, but are these men trying to de¬ 
grade us still further? I claim they are not, 
but are rather trying to set us free. I do 
not want to remain here crushed and man¬ 
gled. If these men put us into the soil we 
shall find new life. This living grass will 
take us into partnership or we may even get 
into those peach trees. My friend from 
South America was never happy in his hot 
desert. Let him think what it will mean to 
live and bloom in this orchard. My friend 
phosphate and my portly German brother did 
the world no good in their dismal graves. 
Here they have a chance to practice the true 
religion of service. Our friend the North 
Wind is wrong. Man has not injured us, 
but rather gives us the chance to do higher 
service.” 
l’otash seemed to reply for the crowd: 
“Dot vas gommon sense! What? Yes!” 
Of course the North Wind blustered a lit¬ 
tle, but I think there was less sting on his 
tongue and I think he went back to hurry up 
the showers for us. And the little girl on 
the stone wall waiting patiently for the 
woodchuck to come out of his hole under the 
stone, said : 
“Father, are you glad the wind is blow¬ 
ing ?" 
I certainly could not say that I was sad. 
Fruit Matters. —Not a tree lias been lost 
of last year's planting. The plant, lice nearly 
ruined some of the apple trees set last year 
and I feared for them through the Winter, 
but they are budding out in perfect shape. 
Out of 1,200 apple trees planted in the last 
two years I have found only four dead ones 
thus far.’ These trees have all been ferti¬ 
lized and will be mulched between now and 
the middle of June. While the soil is as 
moist as it is now I am in no rush to put 
the mulch on. . . . We have had a per¬ 
fect bloom on the cherries and cool high 
winds during blooming. This will, I think, 
ensure a good set of fruit. We have had 
only one full crop of cherries in five years 
and it is time we had another. The bloom 
on the apples is not heavy, but very strong. 
We hope for a fair crop of our Nyack Pip¬ 
pins, which usually bring a good price. The 
peach trees are making a good bloom in spite 
of the hard winter—that is, the trees near 
the top of the hills. On the lowe' levels the 
buds were uearly all killed. The .straw¬ 
berries are in fine condition. I have rarely 
seen finer plants at this season. Last year 
the drought cut our crop. The wild straw¬ 
berries which I brought from the field and 
tried to tame have not “done me proud.” 1 
am about satisfied that I was wrong in think¬ 
ing that these wildings will respond to good 
culture and feeding. They can make a liv¬ 
ing under hard conditions, but it is not such 
a living as will enable a farmer to live and 
let them live. Their standard of living is 
too low and you can’t raise it without put, 
ting new blood into them. It may be that 
the great and “coming” strawberry is run¬ 
ning wild in the woods, but I doubt it and 
will hunt no more for it. ... I never 
knew Spring to put on her clothes with more 
grace and beauty than she did this year. 
Until far into April there was nothing but 
gray and brown to be seen. Then the wil¬ 
low's began to brighten and little patches of 
green appeared along the brooks and springs. 
There came a little tinge of red when the 
maples showed and the green crept up the 
hills. The crab apples showed a shimmer of 
green ; before we knew it the apricots burst 
into flower and all of a sudden, with a rush, 
the apple trees burst out so that we could 
not see across the orchard. Then, almost in 
a single night great white figures started out 
against the green hills where the cherry trees 
grew by the stone walls. Spring had surely 
come. Soon the brown patches of plowed 
ground on the hillsides will begin to show 
green streaks as the crops grow and summer 
will be here. Surely Spring never came in 
so beautifully before and it never was so 
welcome. As a fellow gets on in years he 
cannot but feel that each Spring cuts a 
deeper notch on his staff and he should make 
the most of it. . . . We have eaten the 
last of our apples, but rhubarb is on hand. 
It is our fault more than the fault of our 
russets that they did not last longer. 
H. w. r. 
feWITMAN’S 
BALING ' 
PRESSES 
frkft.RLDS STANDARD” 
j^RAW,WOOL_, ETC. 
^THE EARTH OVER. 
LI IN AM ERICA.I 
^ACHINERY 
THE rn 
FOR HAY,S 
VICTORIOUS 8t IN LF3 
LARGEST 8: MOST PERF& 
ALSO OTHER AGRICULTURAL 
-§-- SEND FOR CATALOGUE 
^Whitman Agr’l Co.- st.louis^TS 
b 
THE POTATO DROP, 
large or small, is best 
harvested with 
the Improved 
DOWD 
Potato Digger - 
cnt. Standard digger with so peer, and it lasts. Ask 
DOWDEN MFC* CO., Bos 22* PRAIRIE 
CITY, IA. 
— Hoover Potato 
Digger 
8aves time, labor and pota' 
toes. The only ma¬ 
chine that sepa¬ 
rates the potatoes 
from the vines, 
Prices within 
reach of 
farmer. 
Catalog 
FREE. 
HOOVER-PROUT CO.Vfi? 
RCHARD PROFIT 
fl 
IB dopendsupon 
W# fruit into a salable 
cider for i nstanoe. If 
pure it sells readily at a profit. 
Ttio best is produced by a 
HYDRAULIC c,D P gss 
Made in varying sizes, hand 
power. Catalogue free. 
HYDRAULIC PRESS MFC. 
38 Cortiandt St., New York. 
PARKER HANDY DERRICK 
Just what every farmer needs for 
heavy lifting or loading of manure, 
.. lumber, machinery,etc. Portable, 
i can be set anywhere, on wagon, scaf¬ 
fold, In basement or barn loft, etc. 
Manure foik or shovel attached. Will 
lift 8000 lbs. Has 20 ft. sweep. 
Can be easily converted into a 
Stump Puller or Grubber for 
small stumps or second growth 
A-timber. Write for prices and 
•<L catalogue. 
NATIONAL HOIST & MACHINE CO., 
Dept. R, 463 W. 23nd St., Chicago. 
WANTED "MEND-A-RIP" 
Does ail kinds of Light and Heavy Stitching 
Does all kinds 
light and 
hoavj rlvetin) 
Save the Price or Ithelp 
Many Times a Year. A Perfect 
Hand Sewing Machine and Riveter combined 
To Show It Mean* a Sale. Agent* 
make from $8 to 915 a day.v On* 
agent made $20 first day and writes to hurry 
uturo machines to him. Write for terms to agent*. 
Foundry Co., Fredericktown. Ov 
WIRE $1.40 m 
SMOOTH GALVANIZED WIRE 
putup 100 lbs. to a bale; gauges from 
11 to 14 Inclusive. Lengths running up 
to 250 ft. Per 100 lbs. ,1.40. Fence 
Staples, all sizes, per 100 lbs.; 12.00. 
Wire Nalls, assorted In a keg, per 
100 lbs. *1.70. Barbed Wire, per 
100 lbs. 12.W. P.ultry Netting, Field Fence, etc., at 
low prices. Ask for free catalogue No. 65, on 
merchandise of all kinds f rom Sheriffs and Receivers sales 
CU1CAUO 11 OINK WKKCliINU CO.. 85th & Iron 8ts. Chicago. 
Let Us Send You 
Our Book. 
about good wheels and good wagons that will save 
you a lot of work and make you a lot of money —the 
ELECTRIC STEEL WHEELS 
-and the- 
ELECTRIC HANOT WAGON. 
By every test, they are the best. More than one and 
a quarter millions sold. 6pokes united to the 
hub. Can’t work loose. A Bet of our wheels will 
make your old wagon new. Catalogue free. 
ELECTRIC WHEEL CO.,Box 88, Quincy, Ills. 
Make an Early Season 
AGRICULTURAL DRAIN 
LE. Everyman of experience knows that 
land that is tile drained may be worked weeks 
in advance of that which is undrained, We make all kinds of tile and 
Sewer Pipe, Red Pressed Brick, Fire Brick,' Chimney 
Tops, Flues, Encaustio Side Walks, etc. Write for what 
you want. JOHN H. JACKSON, 76 Third Ave., Albany, N.Y. 
Keep the Hens 
Warm. 
PAROID 
is recommended by some of the 
largest poultrymen as the most 
economical roofing and siding for 
poultry houses, sheds, etc. Shingles 
and clapboards cost more and do 
not keep the buildings as dry and 
warm. 
YOU CAN APPLY IT YOURSELF 
with roofing kit in each roll. It does not require painting when first 
applied, and lies flat. Send to-day for free samples and our booklet, 
“Building Economy.” 
F. W. BIRD & SON, E. Walpole* Mass 
Chicago, Illinois. 
A Day’s Work For An Engine 
on the farm is likely to include pumping, feed cutting, sawing, sepa¬ 
rating cream—a dozen things. A power isn’t fit for the farm unless 
Jt’s adapted to many duties and will stand rough handling and most 
any kind of setting. That’s just a part of the reason why 
GASOLINE 
ENGINES 
are so popular with farmers. They are suited to any work you have, 
they stand rough handling and moving, they are composed of few 
parts and are strong, simple and safe. Two other things worth 
knowing are that they are the easiest gas engines made for a begin¬ 
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combine strength, safety and dependableness. You can make a mis¬ 
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Verticals and Horizontals are superior to others. 
Stoddard Mfg. Co., Rutland, Vt. 
^ We make the Green Mountain Silo and carry full line Dairy Supplies. 
STODDARD 
BIG INTEREST ON MONEY 
An investment in a good farm wagon, one that embodies the greatest labor-sav¬ 
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THE FARMERS’ HANDY WAGON 
made with wood or iron wheels, proves the wisdom of its purchase with every 
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of farmers; also for the booklet “Thinkful Thoughts for Thoughtful Thinkers.” 
Farmers Huudy Wngou Co., Saginaw, Mich. 
