446 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
July 3 
HOPE FARM NOTES. 
What shall we charge for one day’s 
labor of man and team ? The ordinary 
price in our section is $4—$1.50 for man 
and $2.50 for horses. Is this fair ? Who 
have ever figured it out ? Our own team 
of horses cost, this spring, $120, the har¬ 
ness $20. The first 15 days of June, the 
feed for these horses cost $6.64 in cash, 
as we have been obliged to buy both 
grain and hay. With Sundays and wet 
days out, the horses worked 85 hours in 
these 15 days of June. In round num¬ 
bers, this means about eight cents an 
hour as the food cost of our team. After 
July, this cost will be reduced, as we 
shall be feeding oat hay of our own rais¬ 
ing, and can feed less grain with lighter 
work. One month with another, we can 
feed the team for $125 per year, and buy 
all the grain but corn. Shoeing will cost 
about $35 per year, wear and tear on 
harness not over $10. The horses cost 
$120 in the spring. One is six years old 
and in good condition, the other 11, and 
good for two years, at least. We can 
allow for a depreciation in value of 25 
per cent for one year’s work, and have 
$200 as the necessary earnings of the 
team in one year to cover expenses and 
risk. An average of five hours each day 
for 250 days, means a cost of 16 cents an 
hour for the team, or $1.60 per day of 
10 hours. All above that is profit. One 
year with another, the average farm 
team will not do more than 1,400 hours 
of good work. We consider this esti¬ 
mate a fair one for figuring the cost of 
producing our crops this year. 
Corn planting this year has been very 
unsatisfactory on most fields. The cold, 
wet season has held the crop back, and 
much replanting has been found neces¬ 
sary. Low sod fields are full of grass. 
At Hope Farm, we raise sweet corn 
almost entirely—a small patch of early 
Adams planted late being all the field 
corn we have. The greater part of the 
crop is Stowell’s Evergreen. This variety 
is noted for starting poorly. In a grassy 
corn field, it is almost impossible to dis¬ 
tinguish the rows of young Evergreen 
corn, and a careless man with a cultiva¬ 
tor will often do more harm than good 
in such a field. When about 10 days out 
of the ground, Evergreen seems to make 
a sudden jump and grows rapidly. 
Country Gentleman seems far more 
vigorous than Evergreen, as it first 
comes up. 
The potato bugs appeared very sud¬ 
denly this year on June 19. We used a 
Paris-green gun in fighting them. By 
smearing the inside of the nostrils with 
vaseline, there is no discomfort from 
breathing in the green. A few blighted 
plants were found in the early crops on 
June 21. These were pulled up and 
burned at once, and the plants near 
them were well dusted with fungiroid. 
Two barrels each of R. N.-Y. No. 2, Car¬ 
man No. 3 and Orphan are planted in the 
same field. The Orphan gives nearly 600 
feet more in the drill than either of the 
other varieties. Its eyes are better dis¬ 
tributed for cutting. The R. N.-Y. No. 
2 did not cut well for use in the Robbins 
potato planter. The plants of Orphan 
planted on the same day are now nearly 
twice as large as those of the R. N.-Y. 
No. 2. The early habit of growth of the 
latter variety fairly frightens the grower 
who is not used to it. It seems to spindle 
along with a single upright stem and 
then, all of a sudden, sprawls out with 
an immense vine. One would think that 
this single vine would fall an easy victim 
to bugs and blight as compared with 
such varieties as Orphan. I observe 
fewer bugs on it than on the others. Its 
leaves do not seem to give so good a 
place for laying eggs, and they are, also, 
tougher and more leathery. 
I have been wondering how to culti¬ 
vate this year. The season has been 
very wet and cold, and low, flat land 
has been in no condition for perfect 
tillage. We have one piece of sweet 
corn on light, well-drained soil that we 
hope to cultivate at least 18 times as an 
experiment. The object is to keep the 
upper soil constantly stirred up. Shal¬ 
low cultivation tends to keep the land 
moist and cool by preventing evapora¬ 
tion. How then shall we treat land that 
is already too cold and wet ? We can¬ 
not let sod ground alone, for the grass 
will soon capture it, and we do not wish 
to retain the water in it. What is the 
rule for cultivation in wet weather ? 
Here is a note from Prof. Roberts : 
“ We always cultivate both corn and 
potatoes deeply, with corn as deeply as 
we can and not cover up too much of the 
corn, until about the first of July ; then, 
as the roots begin to spread across the 
rows, we cultivate shallow and towards 
the last, we do not like to use even a 
spring-tooth cultivator, although we do 
sometimes, but rather prefer the one 
which is illustrated on the front page of 
Bulletin No. 130. This leaves the ground 
fine and quite smooth, and not in a cor¬ 
rugated condition as do most of the 
cultivators. You are quite right in say¬ 
ing that when the land is wet and cold 
as it has been this spring, one object of 
tillage is to dry and warm the land. 
Corn land with us is always too cold in 
the spring, so in any case we cultivate 
deeply at first. (See The Fertility of 
the Land, page 76). With potato cul¬ 
ture (see Bulletin No. 137), we found 
that seven to eight cultivations gave us 
the best results, but all of this depends 
so much upon the land and the crop, 
and the presence or absence of mois¬ 
ture, that no definite rule can be given.” 
Our old friend, D. C. Lewis, of Middle 
sex Co., N. J., has this opinion : 
“The conditions of moisture have so 
much to do with the cultivation of crops, 
that to me the whole matter is con¬ 
trolled by it. I do not comprehend that 
the cultivation of corn 18 or 20 times 
during the crop season could be of any 
possible advantage. By our mode of 
cultivation, we should deem it unwise to 
cultivate our corn more frequently than 
once each week. More frequently than 
that,I believe, would be a positive injury. 
We have not had the experience of fre¬ 
quent shallow cultivation, for the entire 
season, as to its effects upon the final 
yield. Take this season of frequent rains, 
moisture ample for all crop demands. 
I would not care to go through the corn 
more frequently than once in 10 days, 
and then not more than four times 
previous to J uly 15, if once got in order. 
Last year, we went through our corn 
five times and cultivated so frequently 
that it was a damage, and our corn did 
not grow properly, until we let it alone. 
I believe that, in arid regions, shallow 
and frequent cultivation would prove 
efficient, and even with us, in a dry sea¬ 
son, frequent cultivation would be bene¬ 
ficial, but that cultivation must be shal¬ 
low, indeed. In a wet season, we should 
cultivate deeper to keep soil loose, as 
with frequent rains, the ground would 
become compact, and besides, to disturb 
the roots would cause little damage.” 
Mr. C. J. Norton, of Kansas, has a dif¬ 
ferent problem to deal with this year, 
lie says : 
“ Our soil is so much different from 
yours, that what I would do here might 
not be of any use there. Many cultiva¬ 
tions of corn, made with an ordinary 
cultivator, have not been a benefit, but 
a positive drawback. Extreme shallow 
workings, only often enough to prevent 
the moisture line rising into the dust 
mulch, have proved to be an advantage ; 
but by such work, I mean that done by 
a very light tool, such as a weeder, har¬ 
row or Planet Jr. 12 tooth with pul¬ 
verizer set so the rear teeth only scrape 
along. In our soil, in a wet time, only 
deep cultivation is of avail. If the corn 
roots are cut, the continued wet will re¬ 
store them. To run a subsoiler between 
the rows, if corn is not over 18 inches 
tall, will rapidly allow air to enter, and 
allow the soil to mellow up and dry out, 
while at the same time, it cuts the roots 
and confines them to their own territory. 
It is my opinion that the true way to 
fertilize corn is by running a subsoiler 
that has a spout that conveys the fer¬ 
tilizer directly to the freshly broken off 
roots. When we can learn to apply 
liquid fertilizer in this way, we can 
more than double the crop over any 
other way, and I think here is a grand 
opening for some one. 
“ We are almost dried up here, and my 
potatoes smell like cut clover wilting. 
We are almost eight inches short of the 
normal rainfall since I planted the pota¬ 
toes. I introduced 75 bushels of the 
Bovee here, and the result is that 
new potatoes were put on the local mar¬ 
ket by May 20, in quantities, or about 16 
days earlier than ever before. One man 
produced them in five weeks.” h. w. c. 
The Farmers’ Favorite. 
Never before in the history of the sep¬ 
arator trade has there 
been so many of these 
machines sold as this 
season. More Safety 
Hand Separators have 
gone to the farmers 
this year than of all 
makes combined dur¬ 
ing any previous sea¬ 
son. The Safety Hand 
is a mechanically per¬ 
fect separator, and produces the finest 
quality of butter. 
P. M. SHARPLES, 
West Chester, Pa. 
Elgin, Ill. 
Rutland, Vt. 
Live Stock Matters 
CREAM SEPARATORS. 
THE BREEDING PEN. 
HOW LARGE ? HOW ARRANGED ? 
What has been your experience in the matter 
of breeding poultry to secure the largest propor¬ 
tion of fertile eggs ? Small pens, with us, have 
not proved entirely satisfactory. We conclude 
that 50 hens running with four roosters will give 
a larger proportion of fertile eggs than when 
divided into four separate small pens. What do 
you think of this matter? 
Fred Grundy Agrees. 
During the 15 years I have been breed 
ing fancy poultry, I have tried about 
all the plans recommended, as well as 
some not recommended, to insure a large 
per cent of fertile eggs, and have found 
that the only one that will invariably 
give good results is to give the flock largr 
range and to have about four males to 
fifty females. This season, I have three 
males and 36 females in one flock, and 
95 per cent of the eggs proved fertile 
Small, penned-up flocks, comprising six 
to twelve females and one male, will 
give 60 to 80 per cent of fertile eggs, and 
strong chicks for 15 to 25 days at the be¬ 
ginning of the season. After that, the 
per cent of fertile eggs decreases rapidly, 
and the chicks are invariably weak and 
never make good, vigorous breeding 
fowls. The breeder may feed the 
penned-up fowls whatever he pleases, 
the results, in nine cases out of ten, are 
the same ; viz., infertile eggs and weak 
chicks. Many will deny this emphati¬ 
cally, but I have bought eggs from 
many well-known breeders who follow 
the small pen plan, and unless I pro- 
(Continued on next page.) 
INSURES 
MORE EGGS 
QUICKER GROWTH 
SHORTER MOULTING 
“Your Money's Worth 
or Your Money Back" 
Address 
THE H=0 COMPANY 
73 PARK PLACE. - NEW YORK 
De Laval “Alpha ” and '■ Baby" Separators. 
First—Best—Cheapest. All Styles Sizes 
Save $10 per cow per year. Send for Catalogue. 
Prices, $50 to $800. 
THE DE LAVAL SEPARATOR CO., 
Randolph and Canal Sts., I 71 Cortlandt Street, 
CHICAGO. | NEW YORK. 
THE PERFECTION 
MILK COOLER 
AND AERATOR. Latest 
and Best. Why 'Because 
It is low down. It has 
the greatest cooling sur¬ 
face. It is cheap ! Cost¬ 
ing no more than in¬ 
ferior coolers. Circulars 
and prices. 
L. R. LEWIS. 
50 Main St.. Cortland.N.Y 
H EEBHER’S 
With SPEED REGULATOR. 
For 1.2 and 3 Horses.. 
Patent level-tread 
Horse-Power 
LITTLE GIANT Threshing Machine J 
Threshes Grain, Rice. Flax, Millet an 1 (trass Seed. Fully 
Warranted, P'eed and EnsilagoCutters,Feed Grinders, Ao 
UEEBNElt & SONS, Lanadnle. l*a.,U.S.A» 
We 
want 
re¬ 
spons¬ 
ible 
Agents 1 
Write 
for 
what you 
® wantand our • 
illustrated Cata¬ 
logue—FREE. 
Calvanized Steel 
Pumping 
b Power mills 
1 are acknowledged to be the most powerful ami l 
i durable; they are self-oiling, direct or back-, 
geared, and have the most perfect governor 
made. We make Ensilage ami Fodder Cutters, i 
Corn Huskers, Corn Shellers, Feed Grinders, 
Wood Saws, Sweep Powers, Tread Powers, Hay 
1 Loaders—full line of anything the farmer needs. 
APPLETON MFC. CO. 
27 Fargo Street, BATAVIA, ILL. 
CIDER 
MACHINERY 
Hydraulic, Knuckle Joint and Screw 
Presses, Graters, Elevators, Pumps, 
etc. Send for Catalogue.; 
BOOMER & OOSCHERT 
PRESS CO.. ■ 
118 YV. YVliter St., Syracuse, K, Y.' 
CIDER & WINE PRESS 
MACHINERY. 
POWER AND HAND PRESSES. 
Capacity , to to 120 Lbls . in lOhrs 
SEND FOR CATALOG LIE. 
EMPIRE STATE PULLEY & PRESS CO., 
FULTON, Oswego Co., N.Y. 
NEBRASKA 
FARM 
A dry healthy cli¬ 
mate, free from 
malaria, an abun¬ 
dance of pure water, a soil 
which is unsurpassed for 
richness, and is easily culti- 
B 1 lin A vated, yielding all va- 
U nl I ! X r i et i es crops. That is 
1 1 U 0 ■ w ^ at - Nebraska offers to 
the home seeker. Lands 
are cheap now. Send for a pamphlet 
describing Nebraska, mailed free on ap¬ 
plication to P. S. Eustis, General Pas¬ 
senger Agent, C. B. & Q. R. R., Chicago. 
SILofToAP 
OINT OF 
ERFECTION 
REVIOUSLY 
UNKNOWN 
-( 
Don’t build until you hear from 
AMERICAN SILO GO., 
Seneca and Jefferson Streets, 
BUFFALO, N. Y. 
