1Q04. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
831 
Hope Farm Notes 
Planting Close to Plowing. —Here is a 
question from a reader in Maine: 
"Last Kail I plowed a piece of sod and 
harrowed it quite well. This Spring 1 gave 
it a good coat of manure and cross-plowed it, 
harrowed it well and planted potatoes. I got 
a nice crop and less weeds than before. 
Some of my good neighbors claim that a 
piece of ground, should be planted in from 
one to two days after breaking. I would like 
the opinion of the Hope Farm man and other 
readers on this matter.” f. n. b. 
I have never found any cast-iron rule about 
farming. On a light, open soil, in a dry 
time, I should want to get the potatoes into 
the ground as soon after plowing as possi- 
It would pay in some cases to roll such 
after planting, and then take a weeder 
scratch over the surface. The object of 
would be to hold the moisture in the 
it 
the 
lose 
not 
ble. 
soil 
and 
this 
soil. Turning the soil over of course opens 
it and causes a loss of moisture. The longer 
it stays open the more moisture it loses. 
The object of rolling the soil is to pack 
close around the potato seed. Hut 
soil were left packed down hard by the roller 
It would “cake" or crust and still lose its 
moisture. By working the upper surface 
with a weeder we prevent evaporation much 
the same as when wo put a mulch on the 
ground. 
Now it is easy to see that this would not 
do for general advice. If a man tried it on 
heavy soil, or in a wet time, he might 
his crop. In the first case there was 
enough moisture and the object was to hold 
all we can of it. In the other case there 
would be too much moisture and we must 
get rid of some of it. By leaving the fur¬ 
rows open for a time we get rid of some of 
the moisture, and enable the soil to get 
warmer. We would not of course roll such 
soil. Strawy manure will usually warm up 
such soils because it lets in the warmer air. 
I do not, therefore, believe that we should 
always plant one or two days after plowing. 
We should go by the condition of the soil, 
and it takes nice judgment to tell when the 
soil is right. Some men are called “book 
farmers” because they depend on printed ad¬ 
vice without cultivating judgment about such 
operations. Advice from others is useful, 
but a good farmer must also have the “in¬ 
stinct” which comes from long observation 
and experience. 
Stone Drains. —A reader in Pennsylvania 
asks about 
questions. 
“Will you tell me 
struct stone drains to 
to drain land 
stones on my 
cha.se tile. , 
A stone drain is a makeshift at best. It 
is not as good as tile. Some people simply 
iii" a ditch, throw' in stones, cover with 
earth, and think they have a good drain. 
There must be a clear throat or open passage 
in any drain 
away. Dig 
grade 
vvith flat' sides'*at the bottom of the ditch 
so as 
and cover 
apples that are a disgrace to the farm. Hogs 
have their place in an orchard, but they will 
not kill all the worms. They do not deal in 
Paris-green and they cannot catch all the 
worms. 
Stock Matters. —The young pullets have 
not begun to lay, but are crazy for food. It 
takes courage to pile the grain into them 
with no returns in sight, and yet this heavy 
feeding is as necessary to them now as it 
will be after they begin to lay. Our pullets 
were never more comfortable than they are 
this Fall, and we have the right to expect 
help from them later on. . . . Five of 
the pigs were slaughtered last week. They 
weighed, dressed. 104. 82, 11.3, 70 and 104 
pounds, a total of 482. Allowing a loss of 
35 per cent for waste, this would give about 
740 pounds live weight. 'These pigs came to 
the farm May 20, at w'hich time they weighed 
113 pounds." They gained, therefore, 027 
pounds. The two largest were cross-bred 
Berks and Chester Whites. They were older 
than the others, and when they came weighed 
together 04% pounds. They gained 200 % 
pounds. Tne other three w'ere well-bred 
Chesters. They weighed together 48% 
pounds on May 20 and gained 470% pounds. 
I know that judged by reports from 
perts these gains arc small, but as 
explained before, no effort was 
the pigs. They ran in the 
the Summer, eating grass 
Light 
From 
Above 
stone drains. We often have such 
how properly to con- 
make them lasting and 
effectually? I have plenty of 
land, and I do not wish to pur- 
The ordinary lamp wherever 
used spoils all lighting effects 
by its downward, shadow. Re¬ 
place It with 
the ex- 
I have 
made to force 
orchard during 
and windfall 
one 
last 
Hie ditch 
of the fin- 
ap 
small 
larger 
the 
earth. In 
and 
two 
if the water is to be carried 
a good-sized ditch, getting the 
so that water will run in it. It must 
than where tile is used. Lay stones 
of the 
to leave an open course between them 
with Hat stones, fitting as closely 
together as possible. This will give a square 
or three-cornered passage at the bottom of 
the ditch. Sometimes two Hat stones are 
used, meeting over the center of 
like the two hands with the tips 
gers together and the wrists spread apart. 
When these stones are firmEv placed 
stones are put carefully on them with 
ones on top to a point just below the plow, 
and the ditch then filled with 
some cases a board is laid on the bottom of 
the ditch or a narrow, flat stone is used for 
the bottom. Such drains will last for years 
if well made, with a sure fall for the water. 
Some Mistakes— We make a number of 
then* every year. They show up most torci- 
blv in the Fall—the general round-up for 
crops. The frost caught a large number of 
peppers on the vines. Of course the price 
went up shortly after, but we had no good 
ones to sell. Now comes an old pepper 
grower with the following: 
-You sav von lost a goodly number ot your 
Deppers. 1 "am sorry: here we pick when 
we are afraid of frost and put in heaps 
cover with the tops (they will keep 
weeks) ; then ship as convenient 
Now whv didn’t we think of that? Last 
Year we lost some squash by leaving them 
out too late, but this season we got them in 
on time. We can handle next years pepper 
crop properly, but why didn t we do it this 
vear’ We see on every turn how foresight 
and “instinct" are necessary in farming. We 
should have known. 
Old “Bird," the thick-winded horse, is an¬ 
other mistake. 1 want to dispose of her, but 
no one cares to buy. People point to frank 
and say "1 will pay your price for him, 
but they shake their heads ai the Biid. It 
does not pay to keep a poor animal. No one 
wants to buy it, while a good one is always 
salable. Some will say that our mistake was 
telling customers what it is that ails old 
but that is not so—the mistake was in 
a horse from a professional jockey, 
and in bothering with her after we knew 
she was wrong. We should have disposed of 
her at once, forgotten the loss and bought 
a nood horse. When a man goes on the 
market with inferior goods of any sort 
carries a sign board on which is printed 
big letters: “This man is trying to get 
of a mistake.” ... , . 
1 made another mistake in not spraying a 
block of apple trees. The pigs ran in the 
orchard last year and ate the apples. I 
hoped that this ended the worms for after 
a worm is made into pork it is not likely to 
sting another apple. 1 made the mistake of 
mixing hope up with direct evidence. I did 
not spray those trees, and picked some wormy 
apples, with an average of not over 
pound of grain each per day. For the 
month they were fed heavily. 
These pigs cost me delivered at the farm 
not far from $2.85 each. They all ran to¬ 
gether and were not fed separately, and I 
cannot tell how much grain each consumed. 
As close as 1 can figure the average cost 
of the grain for each pig was $2.50. Tills 
makes $5.35 as the cost of one pig, or $26.75 
for the five. The pork sold at nine cents, 
thus bringing $43.38. The balance. $16.63, 
must cover wastes which the farm produced, 
labor and any possible profit. On the other 
hand, we have more and better manure and 
unquestioned benefit to the orchards. As we 
handled them it was a small job to care for 
these pigs. They took care of themselves. 
Suppose we had fed twice as much grain. 
AVould the pigs have made enough extra gain 
to pav for it? Would it have paid better to 
put division fences in the orchard and keep 
the pigs in smaller lots? I am not prepared 
to answer these questions. On general prin¬ 
ciples I think it a good plan to give young 
pigs a wide range, and compel them to get 
out and graze. I cannot say just where the 
line of profit comes in. I doubt my ability 
to keep pigs in small pens and feed at any 
profit. None of the black pigs has been 
killed yet. It is evident from these weights 
that one pig mav be better than another. 
Why should one pig in a large herd where 
all have an equal share at the food gain 
faster than his brothers and sisters? The 
Madame says that one is “more of a hog than 
another,” which is perhaps true In the sense 
that one human may be “more of a man’ 
than his companions. No doubt about it, 
some pigs have a distinct character for mak¬ 
ing pork. One of these white pigs dressed 
104 pounds. He weighed 16 pounds when 
he started with us. and for two months was 
called the runt of the herd. He ended ahead 
of his own brother and dressed as much as 
another pig that was older and started at 32 
pounds. This little fellow simply ran with 
the others and got his share. Was he like, 
some humans who seem destined to get a 
larger share than others? 
Mn.CHlNG Trees. —It is quite clear to my 
mind that a heavy mulch on the surface of 
the ground keeps the soil in excellent condi¬ 
tion for apple trees. I think a fair-minded 
man will agree that m.v young orchards show 
excellent growth, and that the older ones are 
thrifty. I see no reason to change my plan 
of planting apple trees. As to peaches and 
pears I am not so sure. The June-bud 
peaches planted in sod last April have made 
a remarkable growth, but I know that condi¬ 
tions differ, and I want to know all about 
the soil and location of any orchard before 
I would give definite advice. While I was in 
Florida Uncle Ed showed me some peach 
trees which had made a poor, straggling 
growth. They were growing in the sand, 
and had apparently been well cultivated. I 
went out with a pitchfork and mulched those 
trees by piling weeds, vines or what I could 
find around fhem. “What ails them?” I 
asked Uncle Ed. “Well,” he said, “when I 
was at Hope Farm I saw Itow you root- 
pruned the apple trees. I came back and did 
the same to those peach trees. Most of them 
died and the rest are like these! It won’t 
do here!” 
Of course I had to tell Uncle Ed that the 
trouble was that he didn't cut off enough of 
the roots, didn’t pound the dirt hard around 
them when he planted, didn’t mulch them 
got impatient with them when they didn’t 
start off to grow as the long-rooted trees 
did. and then let them go in disgust. Noth¬ 
ing like having a great variety of reasons, 
but Uncle Ed shook his head as one who 
declines a useless argument. As an exper¬ 
iment he is willing for me to take two rows 
in his orange grove and cultivate it with a 
mowing machine. I will fertilize it as he 
does the other part of the grove, but instead 
of plowing and cultivating cut the grass and 
weeds again and again, and let them lie on 
the ground as a mulch. While I was in 
Florida I saw a small grove handled some¬ 
what in this way. Let’s see if the mulch 
will do on that light soil what it does on 
ours. I am told by some that the mulch will 
“suck the moisture out of the soil and hold 
it.” Uncle Ed thinks the greatest trouble 
will be the danger from fire. I don't know, 
and I want to find out. n. w. c. 
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0 
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in 
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in 
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Gas Kills Trees. —In front of our Baptist 
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on the sidewalk line stood a magnificent row 
of maples, ash and elms, 15 to 24 inches 
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gas pipe which lay 8 or 10 feet from these 
trees only two feet underground, or cracked 
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there until the gas pipe was finally dug up 
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