1904 
479 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Hope Farm Notes 
Farm Notes. —The drizzle that I spoke of 
on Decoration Day lengthened out into a 
four-days' rain. It was wonderfully refresh¬ 
ing for the young trees and the grass, and 
we tried to think of this while viewing the 
weeds sprouting on the lower field and the 
onion plants that should have been trans¬ 
planted. It was Saturday before we thought 
best to get into the onion field. I don t 
like this tramping hard on wet ground. The 
onion plants are not as large as last year's, 
but we have the soil in better shape and we 
hope to bring them through. Whenever I 
take the job of transplanting 2,500 onion 
plants in a day I realize that I had more 
hinges in my back 25 years ago. This trans¬ 
planting is the worst feature of our plan 
of growing onions, though 1 do not consider 
it worse than hand weeding the drilled 
onions. Down on my knees in the dirt 
sticking the little onion plants in close to 
the line, it was a relief to lift my eyes 
to the hills and see the trees on the eastern 
slope sparkling in the sun. We are doing 
this finger work on the lower farm so that 
our trees on the hillside may have a chance. 
And they are grasping it well. . . . 
The growth on the young apple trees is far 
better than I expected. As fast as we can 
find time for it we cut the grass in small 
circles and pile it around the trees. The soil 
is now so well soaked that they do not 
need this mulch, but drier days are coming, 
and before July I hope to have every one 
banked in this way. The little trees planted 
last Fall do not look well—at least these 
that were frozen, but I expect to get lower 
sprouts from most of them that will make 
fair trees. ... I said last week that 
we did not have a single Alfalfa plant on 
the farm. I shall have to take it back, for 
there are several million now. The seed 
sprouted at once, and parts of the field actu¬ 
ally show a green tinge already. 
Is it any better where you used the “in¬ 
oculated” seed? 
I think so, though I am done making 
judgments on what a baby promises. We 
will wait. I have talked about big potato 
and other crops before now, in June, and 
had the digger in September rip up my hopes 
worse than it did the potatoes. When the 
Alfalfa fills up a good hole in the hay mow 
you will hear from me. I hope the bacteria 
will be able to make a showing. It will 
teach all our folks to have more faith. One 
great trouble with the world is that men call 
for a “sign” which they can feel with their 
fingers or see with human Syes. In other 
words, they want all such things brought 
down to the level of their present intelli¬ 
gence, while it is their duty to grow up to 
them. Take a man who looks at the sky and 
can tell you by the wind and the appearance 
of the clouds when rain is near. lie could 
not do that when he was a boy. The clouds 
have not come nearer to him, but he has 
gone nearer the clouds. So it is whenever 
we get a clear view of “the evidence of things 
unseen”—we make the growth ourselves. So 
I hope these little bacteria will give us all 
faith to believe that we can grow to under¬ 
stand things which are now obscure. . . . 
The little pigs are having a glorious time. 
That, for a pig, means a constant supply of 
grass, clover and rape, with plenty of water 
&nd several meals of grain slop each day. 
I notice that these little fellows eat the 
rape first of all—then nibble at the young 
clover. They seem to be making a fair 
growth, but we shall weight several of them 
every 10 days, and regulate their grain feed 
by the growth they make. Billy Berk is in 
with the little ones. To one who has had 
much to do with the world it is not sur¬ 
prising to see this larger brute calmly take 
the best corner in the nest and the best posi¬ 
tion at the trough—tossing his smaller fel¬ 
lows away when they get near his place. 
“Just like man 1” says the Madame. Of 
course I must make a bluff at defending my 
sex, and so I suggest that mankind would 
be more appropriate. Charlie believes in 
repressive legislation, and so he put a couple 
of rings in Billy’s nose. It is wonderful how 
much more polite this gentleman in black be¬ 
comes when he realizes that his snout is 
not what it was! ... We cut the 
rye for fodder, but the four days of rain 
nearly ruined it. Had it been anything but 
rye there would have been nothing but a lot 
of rotten stuff left. Rye is tough, and so 
we have a good bunch of fodder which the 
horses sort over, eating part and leaving the 
rest for bedding. We must all remember 
that rye must be cut early and cured quickly 
if we are to use it for hay. We do not 
grieve, for the same rain that nearly ruined 
our lot of rye brought up another piece that 
we thought was to be worthless. 
The first picking of Marshall strawberries 
was made June 3 this year. While this vari¬ 
ety is not what we call a heavy yielder, it 
stays by for a long time, and this year the 
berries are grand. The children picked the 
first great berries and held them as a “sur¬ 
prise” for Mother. The Mead is a new 
variety that promises much. I think it will 
pay all who like to give the new ones a trial 
to give Mead a test. ... It will be 
cultivate and hoe and hoe and cultivate in 
lively style at Hope Farm for the next 
10 days. If the weather holds clear we will 
clean up the lower farm and get things in 
readiness for the hay crop—which promises 
to be a buster this year. Why shouldn't it 
be? We took pains with the seeding, put 
on the fertilizer and have had an abundance 
of rain! . . . Charlie doesn’t agree 
with some of my ideas about mulching an 
orchard. I tell him that if I could afford it 
I never would take a pound of grass out of 
the orchards, but would cut it all and let it 
rot on the ground. This to him seems almost 
like a crime, for it would mean the loss of 
many tons of hay. I would, however, save 
the cost of hauling and handling the hay, 
and also the cost of fertilizer, which the 
trees will need. By leaving all the grass I 
am very sure that I should have a better or¬ 
chard in a few years. 
If you are sure of this, why don't you 
do it? 
I suppose I haven’t got the true confidence 
in that “evidence of things unseen.” I shall 
have to grow a little further into it. As it 
is, I shall haul about two-thirds of the grass 
out for hay and haul it back as manure. 
“Don't Have To.” —Over a mile from Hope 
Farm the county is putting a new bridge 
over the river. The old one was washed 
away by the big flood last Fall. While the 
new one is going in a rude pole bridge is 
used. To get to it you drive down into a 
soft field, and in wet weather the mud 
is sometimes hub deep. The county has made 
little effort to make a good bridge—we are 
expected to flounder through it. The good 
women who say, “Isn’t it dreadful!” and the 
men who hurl good round oaths at it all 
have the same thing in mind—the great dif¬ 
ference being on the tongue! If you weVe 
to say to these good people that bad as this 
road is, our fathers and grandfathers had 
worse, they would say—“what of it?” If 
you were to ask them how they would like to 
be obliged to travel all the way home over 
just such a road you will hear them say : 
“I don’t have to!” 
Ask them why they “don’t have to” and 
you will get into a fight or over your head 
in a useless discussion. 
I have just been reading in “The Crossing 
how Col. George Rogers Clark and his men 
captured Vincennes and saved the West tor 
America. They went, a mere handful of 
men, through a frozen tvilderness, wading 
through Ice-covered streams and sleeping in 
swamps, doing things which the British did 
not dream of. They did not wait for maca¬ 
dam roads or automobiles, but tramped off 
through water—Clark himself in advance 
breaking the ice with his gun. That was the 
way this nation was saved for us. Ask many 
a young sprout of to-day how fie would like 
to do that and you will hear him say 
“I don't have to!” 
I have heard orators tell the people that 
the reason these brave old pioneers endured 
the hardships and fought to the end was 
because they wanted those who followed them 
to have an easier time. If they could come 
back to-day and see the way those who now 
occupy the land eat the fruits of their toil, 
I imagine they would be disappointed. Let 
some one who helped conquer the wilderness 
come back and hear his great-grandson re 
fuse to strengthen body and mind or take up 
a man's share of the world’s work because 
“I don’t have to!” and his system would 
certainly receive a “jar.” When a human 
being gets to the point where he will do 
only the things he has to it is time to throw 
him out of his easy job and compel him to 
face harder conditions. Nothing will do 
him more good. When a man works hard 
and earns a competence he has a right to 
enjoy it, and can honestly say that he does 
not have to toil as he once did. When a 
man has his place made soft by other hands 
and falls back upon that which means the 
labor of those who really toiled he has no 
right to say, “I don’t have to.” He has 
lost moral growth, and is a dead piece of 
wood on the tree. I am aware that it is a 
trait of human character to wait for some 
pushing force behind before starting at dis¬ 
agreeable things. The people I refer to, how¬ 
ever feel only the animal forces that induce 
one to hunt for food, shelter and clothes 
Those who do really great and fine things do 
them because they “have to, but the forces 
behind them are ambition, honor and a true 
desire to leave the world better than they 
found it. I wish I could put such “have 
tos” behind a lot of people in this world so 
they would know the forces were there! 
n. w. C 
Artesian Wells in Dakota. —They have 
just finished a new well at Chamberlain, the 
strongest one I ever heard of. I will not 
tell you anything but what can be verified. 
This is an eight-inch well; it flows 8,479 gal¬ 
lons a minute. They put on a reducer and 
run it open reduced to a six-inch stream, 
and it threw a stream over 60 feet high, 
and reduced to four inches it threw a stream 
over 150 feet high. They had no way of 
measuring the exact height of these streams, 
but that is supposed to be a conservative 
estimate. It was only allowed to run open 
in this way one day in order to get some 
pictures of it. The water is now confined 
to the pipes and is used to run the electric 
light plant. Their old well was failing so 
they did not have power enough. e. l. c. 
Chamberlain, S. D. 
Government Whitewash. —To make Gov¬ 
ernment whitewash, slake half a bushel of 
good stone lime in boiling water, keeping it 
covered while slaking; strain and add half 
a peck of salt dissolved in warm water, 
three pounds of rice boiled to a thin paste, 
half a pound of powdered Spanish whiting, 
one pound of clear glue dissolved in warm 
water. Mix all together and stand for sev¬ 
eral days. Keep in a kettle and apply as hot 
as possible with a clean brush. 
ruberoid 
ROOFING 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you will get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See guarantee, page 8. 
rrr 
iil 
RUBEROID ROOFING 
has been the standard pre¬ 
pared roofing for 13 years. 
Lasts longer and costs less 
than metal or shingles. 
Any handy man can apply 
it. No experience required. 
Contains no tar. Positively 
weather-proof and fire- 
resisting. 
Send for Booklet “ K-” 
THE STANDARD 
PAINT COMPANY, 
Sole Manufacturers, 
100 WILLIAM STREET 
New York. 
'^lRUMELY? 
The thresherman haj many reasons, too many to give 
here. Summed up, It means the model threshing outfit, 
thebest money can buy. You will find the latest catalog 
on Rumely'. Rear Ceared Traction Engine. and 
New Rumely Separatora full of threshermen's logic, 
argument that convinces. Write us for it. Mailed free 
M. RUMELY CO., LA PORTE, IND. 
WHAT DO YOU SAY? 
Several hundred thousand farmers say that 
the best investment they ever made was 
when they bought an 
Electric Ha Wagon 
Low wheels, wldetires; easy work, light draft. 
We’ll sell you a set of the best steel wheels 
made for your old wagon. Spoke united with 
hub, guaranteed not to break nor work loose. 
Send for our catalogue and save money. 
ELECTRIC WHEEL CO.. Box 88. Qulnoy, III. 
EXTENSION AXLE NUTS 
Cure wabbles and make old buggies run 
like new. Quick sellers; very profitable. 
^ Agents Wanted. Also very attractive 
fence machine proposition. , rl , 
Hardware Specialty Co., Box 43, Pontiac Mien. 
SILOS 
Also Cutters, Blowers, Carriers. Horse Powers Ha I Pr ' sses ' 
Saw Machines. HARDER MFC. CO., Coble.klll, N. Y. 
WATER TANKS 
PARKER RANDY DERRICK 
Just what every farmer needs for 
heavy lifting or loading of manure, 
1,. lumber, machinery, etc. Portable. 
St! can be set anywhere, on wagon, scaf¬ 
fold, in basement or barn loft, etc. 
Manure fork or shovel attached. Will 
lift 2000 lbs. Has 20 ft. sweep. 
Can be easily converted into a 
Stump Puller or Grubber for 
small stumps or second growth 
L,, timber. Write for prices and 
__ catalogue. _ 
NATIONAL HOIST & MACHINE CO., 
Dept, R, 463 W. 33nd St., Chicago. 
IfrMITMANTS presses 
iRLDS STANDARD 
1RAW,WOOL, ETC. 
;THE EARTH OVER. 
£T IN AMERICA 
MACHINERY 
THE: rP WfcI 
FOR HAY,^ 
VICTORIOUS 8c IN ira? 
LARGEST 8: MOST PERFL. 
ALSO OTHER AGRICULTURAL 
-- SEND FOR CATALOGUE 
WHITMAN AGRL CO.- ST-LOUIS,! 
* 
m 
— H00V6r Potato 
nu Digger 
Saves time, labor and pota* 
toes. The only ma¬ 
chine that sepa¬ 
rates the potatoes 
from the vines 
Prices within 
reach of 
farmer. 
MADE OE 
ARE THE 
THE HOOVER 
Catalog 
FREE. 
HIT C0. A «fiZ- 
RALPH B. CARTER. Co., 47 Dey St., N. Y. 
NEW CALEDONIAN BEAN 
HARVESTER AND BUNCHER. 
Pays for It* 
self with two 
days’ use. 
Damps auto¬ 
matically, 
and leaves 
the BEANS 
FREE from 
WEEDS, 
DIRT and 
STONES. 
White To-Day 
_*-J tSitr- you CATALOG. 
CALEDONIA BEAN HARVESTER WORKS 
CALEDONIA, N. Y 
THE POTATO CROP, 
” • - large or small, is best 
harvested with 
the Improved 
DOWOEN 
Deep or shallow, you get 
- — — — r them all, fast, clean and un- 
out. Standard dipper with nop««r, and it lasts. Ask for free Powden book. 
DOWDEN MFC. CO. a Bos 22s PRAIRIE CITY* I A* 
Potato Digger\ 
MEND-A-RIP" 
AGENTS »i 
WANTED 
Does ail kinds of Light and Heavy Stitching 
— Doos all kind! 
light and 
heavy riveting 
Will Savi tiii Prici or Itbelt 
^ Many Timm a Year. A Perfect 
Hand Sewing Machine and Riveter combined 
To Show it Means a Sale. Agent# 
, make from $3 to $15 a day. One 
agent made $20 flret day and write* to hurry 
more machines to him. Write for terms to agents. 
J. C. Foote Foundry Co., Fredericktown. O. 
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 
it’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 
“Agricultural Education,” on page 431, 
we have read and reread; very good, espe¬ 
cially the point made regarding the modern 
system of education in onr public schools 
and your opinion of its results. The child s 
misconception begins with its early school 
days, to be followed after a few short years 
bv the competitive period, when home with 
its household duties is rendered subordinate 
to public school rule. It is like the country 
town that to a traveler appears to be run 
by the railway, getting up, eating and going 
to bed in accordance with the trains pass¬ 
ing through; so the public school runs the 
household. Plain, old-fashioned work is then 
a disgrace and must he avoided; result—a 
lot of “poor clerks and office hands." 
marston green. 
STODDARD 
GASOLINE 
ENGINES 
lL 
are bo popular with farmers. They are suited to any work you have, 
I they stand rough handling and moving, they are composed or te w 
parts and are strong, simple and safe. Two other things wortn 
knowing are that they are the easiest gas engines made for a begin- 
I ner to run and they cost as little as any for fuel. Not all gas engines 
combine strength, safety and dependableness. You can make a mis¬ 
take in buying. Write for free catalogue and see why the btoadaro 
Verticals and Horizontals are superior to others. 
Stoddard Wlfg. Co., Rutland, Vt. 
We make the Green Mountain SUo and carry full line Dairy Supplies. 
The Agricultural Drain 
m - w- - - - — - - — BEsF’tKat long experience, tber- 
■as. oue h equipment and superior clay will produce. Tile drained, la nc ia 
lathe earliest easiest worked and most productive. Make also Sewer Pipe, 
^ChimneyTops, Ked and Fire Brick, Oven Tile and Supply Mortar Colors, 
Cementfpiaster, Lime, etc. Write for what you want. 76 Third Ave. 
