VoL. LX. No. 2689 
NEW YORK, AUGUST 10, 1901 
$1 PER YEAR 
A YEAR FROM TBE START. Fig. 237. 
THE BRIARCLIFF MANOR SCHOOL 
WHAT THE STUDENTS ARE DOING. 
How It Differs from Other Institutions. 
After pTienomenal success in its unique method of 
teaching agriculture, the Briarcliif Manor School, 
situated in the central part of Westchester County, 
N. Y.. is about to complete its first year of active 
work. It was founded as a private enterprise by a 
wealthy New Yorker, and thus far has more than 
come up to his expectations. There are now 27 stu¬ 
dents registered at the school, two of whom are wo¬ 
men. The latter do practically the same work as the 
men, which consists of putting everything they learn 
to practical tests in the field. A remarkable fact in 
regard to the class of students at Briarcliff is that 
ali but one are city bred, such cities as Boston, Phila¬ 
delphia, Brooklyn, Pittsburg and New York being 
represented at the sdhooi. Students are also en¬ 
rolled from the Hawaiian Islands, and Amsterdam, 
Holland, as well as from other distant countries. 
There are two general types of students at the school; 
those of considerable wealth who ai*e studying agri¬ 
culture with the idea of becoming competent in con¬ 
trolling agricultural land, and students who expect 
to make their livelihood from the practice of agri¬ 
culture by becoming farm managers or experts in 
some particular line. 
The school was designed with the idea of meeting 
the growing demand of city-bred people for rural 
life and rural pursuits, and of instilling into students 
a greater love for nature and the occupations of the 
more sparsely-settled country. In its methods of 
teaching, the school differs from Cornell and other 
agricultural colleges, by limiting its scope exclusive¬ 
ly to the practical, and giving less advanced work in 
the sciences as well as other studies. The school en¬ 
deavors to give the student the same experiences in 
its work that it would encounter in the outside world. 
During the Summer the instruction is devoted to field 
work, the instructors and students laboring together. 
The women students of necessity engage only in the 
lighter forms of labor, although they study the work 
quite as thoroughly as the men. The afternoon is 
spent in the class room where the fundamental 
sciences, such as chemistry and botany, are taught, 
and the practical work of the morning is discussed at 
length by instructors and students. Much time is 
also spent in the study of business methods as ap¬ 
plied to commercial agriculture. This branch of 
study is recognized as one of prime importance, and 
one of the chief objects of the teaching is to impress 
the student with the need of accuracy and minute 
care in all his or her undertakings. It has become 
recognized that for success in agriculture, more than 
in any other commerdial pursuit, groat care must be 
taken with details. 
In answer to a question as to the cause for the 
growing demand for women as farm managers and 
horticulturists, George T. Powell, the principal of the 
school, said: “Women are more painstaking in small 
details than the men, and in horticulture this is of 
prime importance. I think in the future horticulture 
will be a great field of employment for women.” As 
an illustration of the kind of work accomplished by 
women, Mr. Powell pointed out work in hand culti¬ 
vation in the field, which had been done by women 
students. The contrast between that and the work 
done by the men was quite marked, the former show¬ 
ing more painstaking effort. During the past year 
there has been a woman student at the school, from 
Honolulu. She has taken special work in fiower cul¬ 
ture with the idea of soon returning to her native 
country, where she intends to engage in the raising 
of fiowers as a commercial enterprise. 
Of the 65 acres making up the school grounds all 
are under close cultivation, the labor being done en¬ 
tirely by the students. The practice of tile drainage 
is followed quite extensively, and intensive methods 
are practiced in all the processes of cultivation. The 
soil is treated heavily with commercial fertilizers. 
These the students mix themselves, following for¬ 
mulas which have been found by experiment to be the 
best for the particular soil for which the fertilizer is 
intended. By this method the soil which had become 
I>oor from former neglect now furnishes astonlshing- 
THE START OF A PEACH TREE. FiG. 238. 
ly large crops. A small peach orchard but two years 
from the bud had in many cases over 100 well-set 
peaches to each tree. These were nearly all removed, 
a large crop being anticipated for next year. Con¬ 
siderable space on the farm is devoted to experi¬ 
mental truck gardening, in which the students show 
great interest. About 50 varieties of potatoes are be¬ 
ing grown in one plot, also a number of varieties of 
strawberries, and all the common garden vegetables 
are being experimented with in others. 
That this educational venture will prove a success 
is assured; already a large enrollment of students for 
next year is promised. Such a school fills a need 
whidh no other institution has yet ventured to cope 
with. It is neither a charitable institution, nor an in¬ 
stitution limited to a certain few, but a school where 
all youth interested in nature and rural pursuits may 
get what is wanted by going directly to the soil for 
knowledge. That a student should go to the Briar¬ 
cliff iSchool rather than to a State institution, where 
there is no tuition and consequently less expense, 
argues well for the success of the school. 
In explanation of the pictures we would say that 
Fig. 238 is a peach tree as they were when planted 
out in May, 1900. They were cut down to from 16 to 
20 inches tall. Fig. 237 shows the same trees 14 
months later. They are between six and 714 feet tall, 
and from four to five feet through. All of them set 
peaches, some of them cai-rying as many as 120 to 139 
perfect fruits. As it is not intended to permit these 
to carry fruit until next year, they were thinned so 
that from one to three peaches are left on each tree 
to see lif the variety is true to name. The soil is a 
gravelly knoll, and this part of the field was con¬ 
sidered to be the poorest part of the farm. The whole 
farm has been let out on shares for several years, 
until no one would take it, as it was so run down. 
After planting the trees the land was prepared for 
cantaloupes and watermelons, which were grown 
successfully between the trees, the watermelons giv¬ 
ing good returns. The cantaloupes were lost by blight 
in August, when within seven to 10 days of being 
ready to market. They were an exceptionally prom¬ 
ising lot. No arrangements wero made to combat the 
disease. We hope to pull this year’s crop through 
all right. Crimson clover was sown in between the 
melons, which was left on the ground all last Winter 
as a co’.’cr crop, and plowed in this Spring. Varieties 
of peaches on trial are Studley, Niagara, Crawford's 
Late, Clifton Park, Fitzgerald and Champion. 
Fig. 239 shows students scoring dairy cattle. In 
the Winter months practical work is taken in the 
cattle bams of Mr. Law, the students cleaning and 
milkiing the cows. In the picture a party is discus¬ 
sing the merits of two individual cows from a dairy 
standpoint, and scoring them for their points. The 
score cards are handed in to the professor in charge, 
who goes over the animals with the students, ascer¬ 
taining their reasons for giving the various scores, 
and at the same time making criticisms. 
Fig. 240 represents a party of students working in 
the greenhouse with violets and carnations, while 
Fig. 241 shows the dormitory building as it was when 
opened April, 1901. Since then the grounds surround¬ 
ing the building have been graded and made ready 
for laying down as a lawn. A. f. b. 
GRASS SEEDED WITHOUT GRAIN. 
The “Clark” System of Grass Culture- 
Part H. 
How often does Mr. Clark work the ground? 
From 15 to 25 times. As was stated last week, he 
uses a digging or lifting harrow, which tosses up and 
airs the soil Instead of turning it over as a plow 
would do. 
Why does he object to a plow? 
Because he says it turns the soil over, leaving the 
top at the bottom. Subsequent tillage is at the sur¬ 
face. Thus the roots and seeds of weeds and foul 
grass are not a.sturbed; they are simply planted 
deeper. They live at the bottom of the furrow and 
grow again later, along with the new grass. When 
a Cutaway or spring-tooth is used this packing and 
burying cannot occur, for the soil is tossed or shaken 
up, and the sun and air destroy the weeds and poor 
grass. Many of these cannot be killed until the roots 
are cut off and exposed. 
SCORING DAIRY CATTLE. Fig. 239. 
