812 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
November 12, 
A WOMAN'S FARM NOTES. 
A Change of Policy. —All Summer 
long we butted our heads against the hired 
help problem, with the result that the 
problem remained unchanged, while our 
heads were very much the worse for the 
encounter. The last of June, being left 
without any help in the house, we set 
about trying to find some one to supply the 
lack, but it seemed impossible to find any¬ 
one who was willing to go into the coun¬ 
try. Besides this, most of those I talked 
with seemed frightened by the amount of 
work expected of them, although, as it 
turned out, I managed, with only about 
six hours’ help a week from a friend, to 
do it after a fashion alone through the 
Summer, in addition to delivering the 
cream, doing the other farm errands, some 
outdoor work, and the many things in the 
house that I should have done myself any¬ 
way. But with the worry, and the long 
hours, it was too hard. So we advertised 
for a girl. The high price we offered at¬ 
tracted a few, but two answered out of 
curiosity, and a third did not want to work 
hard. To complicate matters, the outdoor 
work was increasing and we needed more 
help there. If we got some one in the 
house, the outdoor work would be just as 
hard, and if we got a man, that would 
make the indoor work harder, while if we 
hired both it would be very expensive. 
Incompetent Men. —There are men 
who can be got to do farm work, but many 
of them are heedless, shiftless and incom¬ 
petent. One man we thought of hiring 
wanted $30 a month. Our first impres¬ 
sion of him was very favorable, but before 
deciding to take him we wanted another 
interview. This is always a wise thing 
to do, for, as old Gorgon Graham says, 
" a man feels better acquainted with you at 
the second interview and is more off his 
guard. This man said, among other 
things, that he had hard work to support 
his family, and he added feelingly: “God 
knows 1 don’t spend a cent foolishly.” 
This sounded well, but later it came out 
that he was spending for tobacco a sum 
that amounted to $25 a year, or nearly a 
whole month’s pay. He came to look over 
the place and get an idea of the work he 
was to do. In going over the farm he 
took a keen interest in the huckleberries 
growing in the pasture. He made some 
remarks about the strawberry bed and the 
mowing fields which showed him to be 
ignorant of simple farming methods. We 
told him that the cows were our chief 
concern, but he did not ask to see them, 
and when they came up the lane and I 
went to let them in, he sat still in his 
chair on the lawn and did not go to help 
or to look at them. When we began to 
run the milk through the separator he 
made no motion to go and see it, but 
asked if it was run by electricity! It was 
plain lo see that he was very ignorant, and 
at the same time thought he knew it all, 
and would want to run things to suit him¬ 
self. This man could not possibly work 
for less than $30 and his board, and exist, 
but some weeks later I learned that he 
was still out of a job. As the choicest 
cows are seldom for sale, so it is the case 
that the best hired men, those who are 
faithful, conscientious and capable—and 
there are some of this kind—are seldom 
out of a situation. It is quite easy to get 
men to work by the day. We have had 
some very good help of this kind, but it 
is expensive, and you do not get any as¬ 
sistance on the everyday chores. And so 
at length we were forced to the conclusion 
that others before us have been driven to— 
that we must do only what business we 
could attend to ourselves, hiring a little 
help occasionally. It seemed hard to give 
up our cream business. Tt was profitable, 
and we understood it thoroughly, but to 
continue and not be able to get help was 
to risk a breakdown. If a man can do 
the work in his own family without hiring 
help he can make a good thing out of this 
business. The man who has a family of 
boys and girls growing up has a tremen¬ 
dous advantage over those who have none. 
I am not sure but the only solution of this 
farm help problem is for a man to raise 
a crop of children first beforejgoing into 
any extensive fanning operations. 
Thickness of Cream. —In running a 
separator it is quite difficult for the novice 
to get the cream the right thickness. It 
can be regulated quite nearly by the cream 
screw, having the right number of turns 
of the crank of course. But even then it 
will not always be the same; variations in 
feed, temperature of the milk, and some¬ 
times unknown causes, make a difference 
in the cream. But by watching the stream, 
and turning the crank faster or more slow¬ 
ly, the thickness may be regulated at these 
times of fluctuation. Our cream was quite 
heavy, and to have it so I tried to have 
the stream fall straight down from the 
spout. If it draws in toward the machine 
it is too thick, and the speed should be 
reduced, while if it slants away from the 
machine, it is too thin and the speed needs 
to be increased. If one finds the cream 
coming too thick every day the cream 
screw should be loosened, as running at 
slow speed results in loss of cream, while 
if it is coming too thin right along it 
should be regulated by the screw, as too 
high speed is bad for the machine. I found 
that I needed to have the screw adjusted 
quite differently in Winter from what it 
was in Summer, the milk being much less 
rich in Summer. A new milch cow would 
always make the cream thinner for a time. 
In bright, cold weather the cream may run 
thinner than in warm, damp weather, as 
it thickens much more in cooling. 
A Severe Test. —One day there was 
some cream left at the store which I 
thought rather old to be left, so I brought 
it home. It had been down the well from 
Sunday night—when it was milked and 
separated—till Monday morning, then car¬ 
ried two miles, kept on ice till Friday 
morning, when I brought it home. I left 
it in the back room, off the ice, waiting 
to be made into butter, till Saturday noon, 
when it was opened and tested. It was 
perfectly sweet, and was eaten for din¬ 
ner. It was within 30 hours of being a 
week old, and the time was early Septem¬ 
ber and fairly warm weather. I account 
for this long keeping by absolute cleanli¬ 
ness of pails, cans, separator, strainer cloth 
and glass jars, and by quick and thorough 
cooling immediately after separating. 
With care, a separator and a good well, 
one need not be bothered with sour cream 
even in hot weather and without ice, al¬ 
though the latter would be a great help. 
SUSAN BROWN ROBBINS. 
Advice About a Canning Factory. 
F. H., Guthrie. Okia .—I wish to start a 
canning factory, but have had no experience. 
How could one gain some knowledge of the 
business in short time? What would be the 
expense of machinery with capacity sufficient 
to can 5,000 to 10,000 cans per day? What 
prices do canneries usually pay for their 
goods, such as peaches, pears, apples, toma¬ 
toes, bean§, corn and pumpkin? Could any 
part of tlie canning machinery be used in 
making jellies or preserves? 
Ans. —You can learn very much about 
the canning business by reading the in¬ 
structions the manufacturers of canning 
machinery send out. They give full in¬ 
structions about canning, prices of various 
raw materials, selling prices of the finished 
products, and how to set up a canning 
factory. I have so many requests along 
this line from R. N.-Y. readers that 
I will give the name and address of 
a firm whose machinery I have tested and 
found satisfactory, namely, A. K. Robbins 
& Co., Baltimore, Md. 
One must make allowances for differ¬ 
ences in prices of products during different 
seasons and in different localities. A good 
way for you to be on the “safe side,” is 
to find out what the raw materials will 
cost for a case, what it will cost to put 
up a case, and then what the finished case 
will bring on the market. The factories 
make money on canned goods when the 
raw materials cost as follows: Peaches, 
50 cents per bushel; pears, 50 cents; 
apples, 20 cents; tomatoes, 20 cents; beans, 
20 cents; corn, $8 per ton, and pumpkin, 
$2 per ton. These figures are only ap¬ 
proximate, sometimes much higher prices 
are paid. Labor in canning is one of the 
most costly items of expense. If you are 
near a small town you might employ 
women and children to great advantage. 
They are usually hired by the piece or 
job, so that they receive pay for what is 
actually done. It requires some business 
ability to sell the goods to advantage. A 
reputation for your own brands of goods 
must be made. Begin by putting up 
strictly first-class goods, guarantee the 
quality and drive out all canned goods 
sent into your town. I usually advise the 
beginner to build a small factory at first, 
then enlarge the capacity after more ex¬ 
perience has been gained. The machinery 
for a 5,000 can capacity per day, exclusive 
of boiler and house, will be about $350; 
for 10,000 capacity the cost would hardly 
be twice as great. The expense could be 
made much less by using some old build¬ 
ing and attaching the machinery to a sec¬ 
ond hand boiler. There might be a cotton 
gin in your town which does not run 
during the canning season. A jelly fac¬ 
tory and a pickle factory could also be 
easily attached to the canning factory at 
small cost. Much of the parings from 
fruits could be used to make an excellent 
quality of jelly, which might otherwise go 
to waste. Hogs and milch cows could be 
fed on vegetable wastes. The business is 
an attractive one, and usually pays well if 
managed to advantage. r. h. price. 
Virginia. 
Bee Questions. 
E. G. /?., Potsdam. N. Y .—How often should 
one look for moth in hive? How much 
honey should be left in hive for Winter? 
Ans. —Through the Summer, whenever 
working among the bees, it is important 
to look out for worms in the comb or on 
the bottom of the hives; if any hive has 
a tendency that way it should be marked 
and watched. If you are in a northern 
climate, where the bees are many months 
without flora, it is necessary for them to 
have a heavier store, much, than when, 
as in the South, the time is comparatively 
short “between drinks.” Also a large 
hive or colony will consume more honey 
than one that is light in bees. From 40 
to 60 pounds is not too much for our 
climate, near the Canada line. If they 
have more than they need in the Spring 
it comes in very useful to help out those 
that are short. Better too much than too 
little, is my theory. f. e. w. 
Mulch Method For King Apples. 
HOW TO RID YOUR ORCHARD OF 
SAN JOSE SCALE 
PATENTED JULY 5, 1904. 
Will Mr. Ilitchings tell us if the King 
apple will do well under the mulch method? 
Ans. —The King apple responds to the 
mulch method of growing apples, color¬ 
ing as fine as one could ask for, many 
specimens being entirely red. It is not a 
hardy variety, the blossoms being de¬ 
stroyed by frost, while Wealthy, Olden¬ 
burg and apples of their hardiness are not 
affected. My oldest trees are 14 years old, 
and show no sign of lack of vigor. They 
bore the first paying crop at seven years 
old, and have borne irregularly since on 
account of frost damaging blossoms. The 
mulch method aims to fill the soil with 
humus so as to make a reservoir condi¬ 
tion. It has been proved beyond a doubt 
that soil filled with humus is very reten¬ 
tive of moisture. When you get your soil 
into this condition one variety of apple 
will respond as well as another. 
GRANT G. H1TCHINGS. 
Picking Flowers. —One of the men who 
came to help us one day said he never hired 
out to pick flowers before. We went at It 
and gathered In the wild carrot that had 
crept into the meadows. There were not so 
very many of them, so it was possible to get 
them about all out. I have seen fields where 
it wouldn't he a pleasant job to gather them 
all. “Perfectly covered" is what they say of 
those fields. There is a law down in New 
Jersey, my uncle said, requiring wild carrot 
to he cut twice during the season. L'p in 
Vermont they don't make so much account 
of them. Some let them go, and say they do 
not trouble much; others clip them after 
haying and say that does all that is neces¬ 
sary to keep them in check. For us, we shall 
try to keep them out if we can. h. h. L. 
New York. 
SPECIALLY PREPARED FOR 
NEW SPRAYING 
MIXTURES. 
See October numbers of RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
One Barrel Makes 500 Gallons. 
Dilute One Gallon of “CONSOL” with 
Forty Gallons of Water, hot or cold; 
Spray with any Spray Pump. 
The Result of a HALF MILLION 
DOLLARS in experimental work. 
WRITE FOR BOOKLET. 
“ Valuable Information on Orchard Spraying." 
A Pleasure to Answer Inquiries. 
AMERICAN HORTICULTURE 
DISTRIBUTING CO., 
Martinsburg, West Virginia. 
SAN JOSE SCALE 
and other INSECT8 killed by 
GOODS 
Caustic Potash Whale-Oil Soap No. 3 
Endorsed by U. S. Dept, of Agrl. and State Experiment 
Stations. Thissoapisa Fertllircraswellasan lnsectl- 
alde. 6n-lb. kegs.12.50; 100-lb. kegs,14.50; half barrel, 
170 lb..Beeper lb; barrel.425 lb.,3*^0. Send for booklet. 
JAMES GOOD. Original Maker, 
939-41 N. Front Street. Philadelphia, Pa, 
ADPI P RAPRPI Q —Buy now and save money 
MllLL BHnnLLOl Robt. Gillies, Medina, N. Y. 
PECAN TREES AND, NUTS 8 eedllngtrees.(L2 43 
years old.' TheG. M. Bacon Pecan Co. <Inc.) Dewitt,Ga 
KEVITT’S PLANTS 
GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME. Athenin, N. J. 
DC A f* II ot| iiT fruit trees at wholesale prices. Price list 
rbAwil free. K. S. JOHNSTON, Uux 4, Stockley, Del. 
shows in NATURAL COLORS and 
accurately describes 216 varieties of 
fruit. Send forour liberal termsof distri¬ 
bution to planters.—Stark Bro’s, Louisiana, Mo. 
BERCKMANS co 
Delivered any It. It. Station East Missis¬ 
sippi River for $5.00 in advance. 
CHARLES WARNER COMPANY, 
WILMINGTON, DEL. 
DON’T LET THE 
SAN JOSE SCALE 
DESTROY YOUR TREES. SPRAY WITH 
LIME, SULPHUR AND SALT WASH 
AND BE SURE TO USE 
BERGEN PORT 
SUBLIMED FLOWERS OF SULPHUR. 
This brand is prepared especially for 
Spraying purposes: insist on having it. 
Ask your dealer, or write to 
T. & S. C. WHITE CO., 
28 Burling Slip, New York. 
FRUIT TREES. 
A Large Assortment of the Finest Quality 
of Fruit, Shade and Ornamental Trees, 
at very Low Prices. We make a Specialty 
of dealing Direct with the Farmers. 
Write for Price List. 
CALL’S NURSERIES, Perry, O. 
TREES TREES TREES 
400,000 Apple, 300,000 Peach, 
50,000 Pear, 40,000 Sour Cherry, 
40,000 Japan Plums. 
Best packing, best grading, best prices, best trees; 
best place to buy orchards. Jobbers supphed. Ourfree 
catalogue is meaty. No agents. Firm not impersonal 
Woodview Nurseries, B. 3, Ml. Holly Springs, Fa 
LARGEST PEACH TREE 
GROWERS IN THE SOUTH. 
Write for our new illustrated and 
descriptive catalogue of general 
Nursery Stock. 
CHATTANOOGA NURSERIES 
Chatfanooga, Tenn. 
est. 1884. DWYER’S NURSERIES. 
Fruit and Ornamental Trees, Vines, Shrubs and Plants, in all the standard 
and new varieties. Write to us for our free, descriptive, and illustrated catalogue. 
T. J. DWYER & CO., Orange County Nurseries, Cornwall, N. Y. 
HOYT’S NURSERIES NEW ENGLAND 
and no more complete line of “ A 1 ” stock grown in the United States. Fruit Trees, Shade Trees and 
Ornamentals. Write us about your Fall planting—advice based on experience of three generations, free. 
Catalogue for the asking. 
STEPHEN HOYT’S SONS CO., NEW CANAAN, CONNECTICUT. 
BARTLETT, BIG SECKEL AND BOSC. 
THE THREE GREAT HIGH QUALITY business Pears. Our trees are bred from buds selected 
for us by Geo. T. Powell and others. The BEST TREES and the SAFEST TREES money can buv. Our 
THEE BREEDER gives prices on Fruit Trees ordered now with part payment, for early Spring shipment. 
Tlie Tree Breeder. ltOGEKS ON THE 111I.I.. DA NSY 11 . 1 .1:, N. «. 
PEACII and. TAPAKT PLUM 
for late Fall or Sp-in g shipment; we grow all the commercial sorts in large quantities. 
PLANT PENKTSYLVANIA’S BEST 
the y are strong, thrifty, longer lived—you may wonder why; get our catalog—it tells. 
Tlx© Patterson Nnrsory Oo.. Stowartstown, Pa 
TREES l 5 - 
PER 100. FREIGHT PAID. 
Apples. Pear, Plum, Cherry, Peach and 
Carolina Poplars. Healthy, true to 
name and Fumigated. All kinds of trees aui plants at low wholesale prices. 
Catalogue free. RELIANCE NURSERY, Box 10, Geneva, New York- 
