5o 
January 26 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
RETAIL BUSINESS ON THE FARM. 
Printers' Ink for Middleman. 
Some of our western readers who are located on 
large farms, and do a wholesale business In grain and 
meat or wool, are apt to think that the little eastern 
farms, located in thickly-settled districts, are mere 
toys. They would be astonished if they could know 
how much some of these little farms produce. We 
have recently learned something about the methods 
employed in selling the products of Unkeway Farm, 
which is located at Babylon, Long Island. This place 
is on the south side of the Island—the Summer home 
of many wealthy people, and a vacation ground for 
many more. P. R. Townsend, the proprietor of Un¬ 
keway Farm, is a former business man, and instead 
of selling to peddlers and grocers he goes direct to 
the consumers. He has a printed list of the 51 articles 
produced on the farm. These lists are mailed to cus¬ 
tomers with the prices of articles marked in ink. For 
example, here is the list as it was sent early in De¬ 
cember: 
We quote prices to-day as 
follows: 
Eggs, per doz.35 
Chickens, roasting, Ih.... 16 
” fowls, per Ih... 14 
“ broilers, pair.1.26 
Ducks, per lb.— 
Asparagus, bunch .— 
Artichokes, each .— 
Beans, string, per qt.— 
lima nt . . _ — 
iitixcit — 
Beets, per qt. 6 
Brussels sprouts, per qt.. 7 
Cabbage, each . 8 
Cauliflower.10 to 25 
Celery, head. 4 
Corn, per doz.— 
Cucumbers, each .— 
Kgg plant each.— 
Kohlrabi, bunch .— 
Leeks, bunch . 6 
Fruit In 
Apples, per peck.25 
Plums, per peck.— 
Pears, per peck.— 
Currants, per peck.— 
Raspberries, per peck.... — 
Blackberries, per peck— — 
Gooseberries, per peck... — 
Articles not marked are 
not on hand. 
Lettuce, hothouse, head. 8 
Mushrooms, ?41b. per qt.. 40 
Okra, per qt.— 
Onions, per qt. 10 
Parsley, bunch . 5 
Parsnips, each . 2 
Peas, per qt. — 
Peppers, each .— 
Potatoes, per peck. 20 
Pumpkins, each .— 
Radishes, hothouse, bch.. 5 
Rhubarb, bunch .— 
Spinach, per peck.20 
Soup vegetables, bunch.. 6 
Squash, each .— 
Sweet potatoes, per qt.... 5 
Tomatoes, per qt.— 
Turnips, per qt. 6 
Carrots, per qt. 6 
Season. 
Peaches, basket . — 
Grapes, per lb. — 
Melons, musk, each.— 
“ water, each.— 
Young roasting pigs, ea.3.50 
Sausage meat, per lb.18 
“How often are these statements sent out?” we 
asked. 
“We send the marked quotation list every 10 days, 
and postal cards are included, printed with blanks in 
such a way that it is easy for customers to make their 
orders.” 
“Of course you aim to sell only flrst-class pro¬ 
ducts?” 
“We work hard to produce the very best article pos¬ 
sible, and on no condition will we fill the order unless 
the articles are as good as the market affords. You 
will see that we offer 51 different articles from our 
farm, and we often have much difficulty in providing 
really first-class goods enough for our trade.” 
“Who do these circulars go to?” 
“We send them to all prominent residents of our 
town, and to all those hiring or taking Summer cot¬ 
tages, of which there are many along the shore. We 
also send them to our friends and acquaintances in 
New York, and are constantly on the lookout for new 
customers.” 
“How and when do you deliver?” 
“In our town goods are delivered at once If wanted. 
If not, they go out with our first delivery. Some of 
our customers give us orders for certain quantities 
every other day, or twice a week. Others change but 
little, and as soon as we learn the requirements of 
a family, we are safe in taking the goods to the door 
even without a positive order.” 
“How about goods for the city?” 
“Friday is our shipping day, and with few excep¬ 
tions our customers are willing to accommodate us. 
All our articles are packed carefully in hampers which 
are made especially for us. The express company re¬ 
turns the hampers free of charge.” 
“How large are these orders?” 
"Here is a copy of one just delivered which will 
show about the character of the goods ordered: 
Blanh. 
BABYLON, L. I.. DEC. 7, 1900. 
TO UNKEWAY FARM 
F. R. TOWNSEND. 
4 Dozen eggs @ 36c.J1.40 
2 Chickens, 8% lbs. @ 16c. 1.32 
2 Quarts of beets @ 5c.10 
1 C^abbage . 8 
4 Lettuce @ 6c.24 
6 Celery @ 4c.24 
1 Quart onions .10 
2 Parsley (@ 6c.10 
4 Parsnips @ Ic. 4 
1 Peck potatoes .20 
6 Bunches radishes @ 5c.30 
1 Peck spinach .20 
1 Quart white turnips. 6 
1 Quart carrots . 5 
1 Soup vegetables . 6 
4 Quarts sweet potatoes.20 
2 Pounds sausage meat @ 18.36 
Total .$5.03 
“How large is your farm?” 
“We have under Intensive culture about 13 acre#. 
and about two acres devoted to the chicken depart¬ 
ment, about 2,000 square feet of glass and over 50 cold 
frames.” 
“What is the most profitable department of your 
business?” 
“The fruit and plant department. We raised last 
year about 40,000 vegetable plants. We used many 
ourselves, and the remainder we sold. We could have 
sold many more. We also raise quite a good many 
fiowering plants, palms, roses, etc. The following 
list will show what we now have growing: Twelve 
varieties of geraniums; one rose; four varieties of 
Fuchsia; eight Chrysanthemums, including Marguer¬ 
ite; 12 hardy roses; 12 tender roses; one Gesnera; one 
Yucca; three Hibiscus; one Croton; six ferns; two 
Dracaenas; three carnations; eight palms, all our own 
seedlings, including Latania, Phcenlx, Kentia and 
Cocos; two Agaves; two Aspidistra; 10,000 strawberry 
plants, including Sharpless, Gandy, Glen Mary, Beder 
A TWIN CUCUMBER. Fl0. 21. 
Wood and Brandywine; 300 blackberries; 600 rasp¬ 
berries; 175 currants; 175 gooseberries. 
“Do you supply fiowers for family trade?” 
“We supply many farmers’ wives with small plants 
for their window boxes. For instance, we can supply 
the following list in two-inch pots for 25 cents, or 
four-inch pots for 50 cents: One geranium, one ice 
plant, one wandering Jew, one rose geranium, and 
one small palm. This would be the smallest order 
and, of course, we handle them in much larger lots 
when desired. This is a good business, especially in 
a neighborhood like ours. We give a little instruction 
to those who buy these plants, especially with regard 
to watering and ordinary care. The farm Is run in a 
strict business way, with accounts open with six dif¬ 
ferent departments, with a regular set of books, so 
that we know just what each department brings in 
and also what it costs.” 
Mt experience In seeding Timothy Is to plow the land 
In the Fall and seed Timothy alone. I hare cut the next 
July two tons per acre. I sow about four quarts of seed 
per acre. k. l. s. 
FILLINO THE ICE HOUSE. 
The sketch. Fig. 20, shows a cross section of our 
own ice house, with boards nailed horizontally on the 
inside of the poles. From 12 to 15 inches should be 
left between the ice cakes and the walls. Locate the 
ice house where good natural drainage may be se¬ 
cured. Tile may be laid, as indicated at A, to secure 
more adequate drainage if needed. Cut the cakes so 
as to break joints, say 18x36 inches, or 15x30, as con¬ 
ditions may require. It will be Impossible to make 
the cakes fit together perfectly, no matter how expert 
the saw manipulator may be. On this account, we put 
in one layer, fit closely as possible, then shave over 
the upper surface of all the cakes with a carpenter’s 
adze. The shavings of ice are swept into the crevices 
between cakes. When freezing cold, a little water Is 
sprinkled over the whole surface to cement the layer 
solidly together. 
As each layer is completed, the sawdust should be 
filled in around the sides, level with the top, and solid¬ 
ly tamped down. Allow no sawdust to remain on top 
of the various layers until the ice house is filled. Fig. 
20 shows the sixth layer in and ready for the saw¬ 
dust. Ice is preserved by being packed away from the 
air. As hot weather comes on the ice will settle some. 
Be sure to keep the sawdust tamped down around the 
sides frequently during early Summer, and see that 
no airholes form. When the ice is all packed in, cover 
with 10 to 15 inches of sawdust. Leave the gables 
open more or less to allow free circulation of air over 
the ice. I hope that this description, with sketches, 
of our own successful harvesting and storing of ice 
in a cheap pole-frame ice house, will encourage many 
farmers, who read The R. N.-Y., to decide to have 
some ice next season. And may they thoroughly en¬ 
joy, for the first time, the cooling benefits which ac¬ 
crue to the fortunate possessors of the congealed 
fluid. Next Summer write us how you like it. 
J. H. BUOWN. 
A TWIN CUCUMBER. 
Fig. 21 is a very good representation of a twin cu¬ 
cumber grown in England and reported co us by Mr. 
Charles J. Fox, Ontario, Canada. Abortive twin fruits 
are not uncommon, but it is seldom that one arrives 
at any symmetrical maturity, as the chances are all 
against the equal pollination and development of twin 
or multiple ovaries. As every cell in a growing plant 
is theoretically capable of indefinite segmentation or 
sub-division, there would seem to be ample oppor¬ 
tunity to develop these monstrosities, but Nature gen¬ 
erally confines her efforts to the perpetuation of the 
species in the most simple and direct manner, and 
twin fruits usually either fail entirely or develop in 
a lopsided manner. The cucumber represented is evi¬ 
dently one of the glasshouse or forcing varieties, 
which have been so educated by culture under highly- 
artificial conditions ihat the fruits, which are only en¬ 
larged and highly developed ovaries, are grown to 
maturity without the stimulus of pollen from che male 
flowers, and, in consequence, without the production 
of seeds. For this reason this class of cucumbers is 
more likely to develop a symmetrical twin fruit than 
most other plants, but it is rare to find so perfect a 
specimen. Mr. Fox omitted to say whether perfect 
seeds were found in this specimen or not. In case 
seeds were developed the subject of illustration is even 
more extraordinary, as an almost equal number must 
have been found in each of the twin fruits. 
A LIFE-TIME SILO.—Noticing Mr. Cook’s recent 
article on solid and substantial silos I am moved to 
send you a little sketch of twin silos recently put up 
by a large dairy company in New Jersey, shown in 
Fig. 22. These silos are of large capacity, being 22 
feet in diameter and 30 feet high inside, and made of 
brick and stone throughout. The plan is that given 
by Prof. King in the Wisconsin bulletin on silos, with 
one notable exception. The doorway has no wooden 
frame, as given in the bulletin, but the door is 
clamped to the inside of the opening by strong rods, 
which pass to a timber across the outside. There is 
thus no woodwork to decay that cannot be easily re¬ 
placed. These silos cost about $800 each, and are 
calculated to last a life time. c. o. u. 
Plalnsboro, N. J. 
Crude petroleum Is being used as a first coat or 
“priming” on weatherbeaten buildings. It is a wood pre¬ 
servative and makes good underclothing for a coat of 
paint. 
In regard to hay press will say that I made one for 
hand power; two men can bale three tons In 10 hours; 
size of bale 48 x36x23 Inches; weight from 126 to 180 pounds. 
u. L. s. 
Cows have been pretty well picked up In this section, 
Chemung County, at prices ranging from $10 to $25 on an 
average. No doubt there are some throughout the county 
left, which could be bought at the prices mentioned, but 
no large amount, and I do not think they would be of 
extra quality b. n. 
Horseheads, N. Y. 
