1901 
THE RURAL NEVV-YORKEK 
423 
// opeJarml\'oics 
Water Works. —That title will fit all 
work at Hope Farm. It is still wet as a 
sponge. Rain has fallen more or less 
every day for the past 11 days. During 
these 264 hours there may have been 15 
hours when evaporation beat precipita¬ 
tion. We saw the sun about three hours 
on Decoration Day, and the day fol ow¬ 
ing tried hard to entice the prodigal sun 
back to his business. He began work, 
but in le.ss than an hour a cloud arose 
and spilled twice as much water on us 
as the sun pulled out. While that hour 
was only one-tenth of one per cent ®i 
the duration of Noah’s deluge, it seemed 
as though nearly 15 per cent of his total 
rain fell! Well, we are not “kicking!” 
We are like Julia, tied up so we can’t 
do anything. Unlike her we might sour 
the milk of human kindness as circum¬ 
stances force it out of us, but that would 
by nonsense. The wise men tell us that 
the trouble with this weather is the fact 
that “an area of rain and fog” hangs 
over the eastern part of the country. 
There is not energy enough in the air 
west of it to blow it off into the ocean! 
It’s a great satisfaction to know about 
these things, but that sort of knowledge 
doesn’t plant corn. We Jerseymen want 
to know what ails the western people 
that they can’t raise a little more 
“energy!” This makes me think that 
men sometimes feel clouds of depression 
settle down over them until the.r wives 
or some one else starts a little “energy” 
with the tongue, and off rolls the cloud. 
Fau,\i Prospects.— Up to June 5 we 
had not planted a hill of field corn. A 
small patch of early sweet corn is up, 
but our corn ground is so hard and moist 
that we could not plow it properly. I 
won’t plow that ground so it turns up 
thick and full of clods if 1 have to wait 
until the Fourth of July! Some farmers 
have corn well up, but it is pale in color, 
and the soil is sticky and full of clods. 
1 think it was plowed too early, and that 
crops will suffer for several years in con- 
secpience. 1 expected by this time to 
have at least 12 acres of corn up. it is 
a sorry outlook for corn! . . . The 
oats are very fine. The young clover 
and Orchard grass have “caught” well- 
in fact, all grass and grain are very 
promising. We made the mistake of 
sowing rye and Crimson clover together 
last Fall. We cut and fed to the stock 
as long as the rye was tender, and then, 
rather than lose the clover, cut all with 
the mower. It is impossible to cure it 
in this weather, so we hauled several 
loads to the barn and scattered the green 
stuff all over the mows. It will make 
fair feed for the horses and save hay, 
but the cows will only pick out the 
clover. . . . We have nearly five 
acres of potatoes planted. The rain beat 
us on the rest. We got them in abou 
right—taking time to fit the ground 
well. I was afraid of this wet, so we 
used large seed pieces well dusted with 
sulphur. They have made nearly a per¬ 
fect stand thus far. In some of the 
farms near us where small seed pieces 
were planted very early nearly one- 
third have failed to sprout. We planted 
in hills this year, making deep furrows 
one way and light marks the other. Part 
of them were covered by running the 
Acme crosswise of the furrows—others 
with the cultivator run lengthwise. In 
this wet season the latter plan seems 
best. ... I see some farmers out in 
the damp weather and wet soil cultivat¬ 
ing such crops as have come up. it 
seems to me that they do more harm 
than good by such work. The soil is 
water-logged now. Working the surface 
will only prevent evaporation. Horse 
and man pack and paste the mud down 
into clods. No w^eeds are destroyed 
without sunshine—they are only trans¬ 
planted! A light plow would do better 
work, but I would keep entirely out of 
the field. 
Home Note.s. —Our ice has caught the 
prevailing depression, and is easily 
moved to tears. Most of the small ice 
houses all about us are falling this year. 
Our house was made out of an old hen¬ 
house. The ice may last until Septem¬ 
ber, but I doubt it. In case of doubt 1 
believe in action, so we purpose to get 
some of the benefit of that ice before it 
all goes. It makes a very nice jacket to 
go around some of Julia’s cream. The 
Hope Farm family can raise the tem¬ 
perature of their idea as to the value of 
living several degrees over a can of ic’ 
cream. No cornstarch in ours, pi ase— 
just the pure cream and fruit! WTiat s 
the use in talking about pie when this 
combination of cow and ice house can 
be found on the farm? I have known 
men who kept 25 cows or more and re¬ 
ceived less than two cents a quart for 
m.ilk, to growl like bears if their wives 
wanted a little cream for home use. 
What ails such men? I wish their wives 
would give an opinion! The farmer 
ought to live on the fat of the land—that 
is, unless he begins to find it hard to 
button his last year’s vest. In that case 
he should give his share to the lean 
members of his family. . . . After 
waiting a week for a clear day Grand¬ 
mother came home from the hospital 
between showers. We had the front 
room downstairs all ready for her with 
a wood fire burning in the grate. She 
was glad enough to get back to Hope 
Farm. Scrambled eggs were good 
enough for the rest of us that night, but 
Grandmother had a squab on toast. We 
must push some of the little chicks into 
broilers! Our scales show that Grand¬ 
mother lost 13^^ pounds while in the 
hospital. Most of us who find our flesh 
becoming a nuisance would lose it by 
some other method of pruning if we 
had our own way. The little girls espe¬ 
cially were glad to have Grandmother 
back. It was pleasant to see the three 
again sitting together over their sewing. 
Cow CirARACTER.—I have the foLow- 
ing note from a friend in Maine: 
I was surprised to read in the Hope Farm 
Notes of the kicking cow Julia; did not 
know that any up-to-date farmer had such 
a cow. I am not strictly up to date myself, 
hut have raised and kept a good many 
<-ows, and never had a kicker. If I had a 
hired man who should discover a kicking 
cow in my herd 1 would let him go Into 
some other business, where his talents 
would be more likely to be appreciated. 
H. B. w. 
I agree with that. If I should raise 
a heifer that became a confirmed kicker 
1 should certainly blame myself rather 
than the cow. We did not raise Julia. 
I bought her as a four-year-old. She 
was nearly dry when I looked her over 
and she did not kick. I didn’t like the 
appearance of her eye, but her other 
“points” all indicated rich milk, and I 
risked her eye. The man who sold her 
must have forgotten her disposition. 
That is a charitable way of considering 
him. This cow is naturally ugly. She 
will fight the other cattle, chase the 
children, pull down fences and plan like 
a politician to get what doesn’t belong 
to her. If I ever raise a “kicker” I shall 
hold myself responsible for her, but 
Julia is not a Hope Farm product. All 
we can hope to do is to make her walk 
a straighter line. We have her daughter 
with her first calf—as mild and gentle 
as need be. Another letter that makes 
me thoughtful is the following: 
In your paper dated May 18, page 359. in 
II 01)0 Farm Notes, 1 notice the following 
in refeience to richness of milk; “I’lils milk 
i.s so good that a gallon of it repi-esents a 
pound of buttei'.” Your milk being very 
rich a gallon would not weigh more than 
eight pounds. This would be equal to 
about 12 per cent butter fat for 100 pounds 
of milk. Milk as rich in butter fat as this 
could be sold in Lancaster, Pa., rur 12 
cents per quart. I would like to know 
what strain of cows you secure your milk 
from. We have a fairly good herd of regis¬ 
tered Jersey cows, and they average a 
pound of butter from 16 pounds of milk. 
I thought I made that plain. I said 
that a gallon of Julia’s milk brings 
money enough to buy a pound of butter 
made by some man back farther from 
market. I was afraid, after I wrote it, 
that some one would get things mixed 
up. No! No! I do not intend to offer 
Julia as a famous butter cow. She is a 
good cow—though probably not so good 
as those owned by our friend. Her bad 
habits condemn her, and she will end 
her days this Fall in a butcher’s shop. 
Her kicking is not patriotic, and un¬ 
worthy of going down to posterity. 
Uses of Adversity. —.A.s I write the 
clouds gather again and the fog spills 
down. “Looks as though we raighu have 
rain!” The best thing I can do, under 
the circumstances, is to quote from a let¬ 
ter just at hand from a good friend in 
California. He puts it better than I can; 
I cannot help feeling that the unfavor¬ 
able seasons, pests, disasters and other un¬ 
favorable conditions that we see about us, 
are for the purpose principally of calling 
the attention of weak mankind to the fact 
that there is an over-ruling Power in the 
universe who knows His business and what 
is best for man much better than man does 
himself. For Instance, I cannot now see 
why we should have so much rain at this 
season, when perhaps three-fourths of the 
hay in the country is unprotected, and 
large quantities have been spoiled. It is 
true that these rains lay the dust and 
freshen the air, and benefit all trees and 
growing crops to some extent, but the man 
whose entire crop is hay cannot or does 
not feel happy about it. Must we not after 
all conclude that every man receives just 
what is best for him in order that he may 
develop towards perfection and strengthen 
the individuality that God has given him, 
or else admit that we are the victims of 
chance, and that God’s plans are not per¬ 
fect in all their details? H. G. K. 
Amen! says the Hope Farm man. The 
great Manager of the universe knows 
more about this season than I do. You 
are right—the only man who is worth 
counting is he who goes through fire and 
has the trash burned out of him. Wu 
Ting-fang, the Chinese Minister, spoke 
at Grant’s tomb on Decoration Day and 
among other things said: 
q’wenty-three centuries ago, Mencius, 
who next to Confucius was the greatest 
philosopher that has ever nourished in 
China said: “When Heaven is about to 
confer a great office on any man, it first 
exercises his mind with suffering, and his 
sinews and bones with toil. It exposes his 
body to hunger, and subjects him to 
bodily privation. It confounds his under¬ 
takings. By all these methods, it hardens 
his nature and supplies his incompeten¬ 
ces.” 
It would hardly be appropriate to say 
“Amen” in referring to a Chinese “ser¬ 
mon,” but that strikes me as bed-rock 
truth—I don’t care who said it. Brace 
up against trials and misfit conditions, 
and in time one comes to have the power 
of a giant. Fall down before them and 
they will roll over you and flatten you 
like a pancake. Mencius referred to a 
man who is to hold an “office.” I con¬ 
sider that the head of a big farm family 
occupies one of the noblest offices wifhin 
the reach of human endeavor, h. w. c. 
When you write advertisers mention Tiir 
B. N.-Y. and you will get a <ini('k reply .and 
“a square deal.” See our guarantee 8th page. 
Killed=Dead. 
You know that the horse 
buyer knocks off 850 or more 
for every lump or blemish on 
a horse. Get full value for 
our hoi’se—don’t have any 
lim ps. Cure him with 
X uttle^s 
Elixir. 
_ It is guaranteed under a for¬ 
feit of 8100. to cure any ca.se of horse ail, curb, 
splints, contracted cord, callouses, thrush, etc. 
Used and Endorsed by Adams Express Company. 
. TUTTLt’S FAMILY ELIXIR cures rheumatism, sprains, 
bruises, etc.. Kills pain instantly. Our 100-page book, 
“Veterinary Experience” FREE> 
Dr. S. A. TUTTLE, 30 Beverly St., Boston, Mass, 
beware of so-called Elixirs—none genuine bnt Tuttle’s. 
Avoidall blisters, they offer only temporary relief If any. 
IN A LIFE TIME 
is often enon^h to do some thjiics. It (s often enough to boy 
a wagon U yoa buy the right kind. The 
ELECTRIC 
lasts that loig under ordinary conditions. 
HANDY 
WAGON 
depends the wheels. 
First the life of a w.^g^n 
. Tliis one is equipped with our flectrlo 
Steel W hccl^. with Straljrht or atagger spokes and wide tires. 
Wheels any height from 24 to 6U inches. It lasts because tires can’t 
get loose, no re-setting, hubs can’t crack or spokes become loose, 
rclloescan’t rot. swell or dry out. Angle steel hounds. 
THOUSAMDS MOW IM DAILY USE. 
Don’t buy a wagon until you git our free book. “Knrm SnWngi.*’ 
JCLECTKIO VL U££L CO., Box S8 aalncy. lilt 
I 
OUALITY 
I Ask Your 
Neighbor, 
who owns oue, if his 
Stvideba-ker Wa-gon 
has not (fiveii him the most perfect satisfac¬ 
tion through all the years in which he has 
j used it. That Is the experience of multiplied 
thousands of theiruaersaud it will be your 
oxi)erieuco it you buy one. Ours is the only 
lartre wapou works in America that is still 
managred by the founders as it has been 
sinco 1852. Nobody else has had so many 
1 years of experieneo in wagon making art and 
I consequently noothorwaffonisso good. Ask 
your dealer for the Kliidebaker W oKon. If 
not there, wrltousdireotand we will toll you 
where you can get them. 
Studebaker Bros. Kfg. Co.,South Bend,lnd.,U.S.X. 
BUGBIYS 
TOP BD^Y 
YOU CAN BUY FROM US AT FACTORY PRICES 
BUGQIES, PHAETONS. SURREYS, WAGONS. ALL KINDS OF HARNESS. 
We will sell direct to you a vehicle or harness as cheap as dealers 
buy their goods in car-load lots. Don't pay profits to nirddlemen. 
Our work is all high-grade, correct 9 tyle, and elegantly flolslied. 
SEND rnrr’nT’frrnniifc'" *howino largest line 
FOR rnce CATALDGUE vemaes AND HARNFSS 
IN the united states. 
All Work Gunrnnteed and Shipped on Approval, 
CONSUMERS CARRIAGE & MFG. CO., 
2:12 So. Deeplaine. Street. CHICAGO, ILL. 
Nil. 0 o;m, Concord .'Spring Buggy. 
ITiee $BO.eO. 
No.2mi; < 'aiiopy Top ('iiiTiage. I’l U’C$!>8 
No. UfJ Ti-aiii Ilariies-S. I'riee SlS.llil. 
Prie 
No. Si«-l Buggy. 
c SiDi.ai, with leather quarter top. 
Buy Your 
Carriages 
Where They 
Are Made 
You can save two profits by buying your 
carriages, buggies, pluetoiis, surreys, 
wagon.s or harne.s.s right from our factory. 
We are manufacturers of vehicles and har¬ 
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not only have an absolute guarantee of 
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A Great Saving 
It is an actual fact that you can purcluise 
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THE COLUMBUS CARRIAGE AND HARNESS COMPANY. 
Box 772. Columbus, Ohio. 
