1901 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
647 
H OPE FARM N OTES 
Transpl^vnting Sthawbbrbiks. —I re¬ 
ceived the following note from a first- 
class fruit grower of Massachusetts: 
1 see that you will transplant strawberry 
plants in wet soil. You say: “Cut around 
the plant, and with the lingers squeeze a 
good-sized ball of dirt around the roots.” 
On my soil, which is heavy, this does not 
work well, for the little ball cakes hard 
around the roots and restricts them. They 
do well for a time, but the roots do not 
work out through the ball. 
We have not been troubled in this 
way, though we have followed the plan 
for several years. Of course we do not 
leave the plants in the sun after squeez¬ 
ing the soil around them. They are not 
permitted to bake hard. When put into 
damp soil we scratch the earth around 
and over the ball, and in a short time 
it becomes as soft as the soil around it. 
The danger from this plan I should 
think would be in squeezing the ball 
around the roots, letting it bake hard 
in the sun, and then setting in partly 
dry soil. The place where we set the 
plants is close to where they are grown, 
and we take few at a time. The soil is 
now much drier, and so we are using the 
Richards transplanter. The plants set 
with this never stop growing. Not long 
since we received some plants of new 
varieties by express. The soil had been 
pinched or balled around the roots, and 
had baked quite hard. They were set in 
moist ground and now it is impossible 
to find where the ball was. 
A Lazy Windmill. —For the first time 
in two years our windmill stood still for 
four days in succession. On September 
1 the sun came out hot and clear, but 
with hardly a breath of air. We kept 
the mill in gear night and day, but I 
doubt whether it pumped a gallon in 100 
hours. The tank ran dry—aided by a 
small leak at a joint near the pump. We 
had been pretty liberal in our use of 
v/ater anyway of late. We never knew 
what that mill represents until we found 
it necessary to pump that water by 
hand. The women folks demanded just 
as much, and the stock refused to go 
thirsty just because the wind took a 
week off. When you come to the job 
of pumping water up into the air just 
for the sake of letting it run down when 
you want it, the steel and wood of the 
mill beat the human back all hollow. 
We never know how hollow the victory 
is until the back aches, and we 
straighten up from the pump only to 
hear the Madam^ say: “Hurry now and 
let me have more water—there’s not half 
enough here!” The trouble with us was 
that we got a little too sure of our 
friend the wind. There were plenty of 
chances to pump the tank full and keep 
it full. We let the pump stand idle and 
when the wind caught the asthma it 
caught us with a tank half full. That s 
what you get by taking chances with 
wind. When we woke up Sunday morn¬ 
ing and found a young gale blowing we 
kept that mill at it till the tank filled 
up and ran over. 
Hay Notes. —The sunny weather dur¬ 
ing the first week in September gave us 
a good chance to get the second cutting 
of hay under cover. One old hillside 
that has, I think, been seeded for a good 
many years, threw up a heavy second 
growth of “foxtail” and wild carrot. We 
cut and cured it as though it were the 
finest of Timothy. What is the use of 
fooling with this weed, you will say. 
The horses eat practically all of it. Old 
Major cleans up the wild carroc as most 
horses do the tame vegetable. It is a 
clear saving of fodder. How about the 
weed seeds? I consider them less dan¬ 
gerous in the manure pile than when 
blown and scattered all over the farm. 
Many are killed in the manure. Those 
that survive go out on the corn, where 
good cultivation is given, so that weeds 
are killed. The animals eat certain 
weeds at pasture—doing it, I think, part¬ 
ly to “doctor” themselves. These same 
weeds, when dried in the hay, are use¬ 
ful for the same purpose. . . . The 
second growth on the upper field where 
we tried the “Clark” grass culture is 
heavier than the first. This is a pleas¬ 
ant surprise, and seems to show that 
(he crop will do its duty yet. Very little 
Red-top is apparent in this second crop. 
After the first crop was cut we broadcast 
a mixture of equal parts of nitrate of 
soda and sulphate of potash. My ex¬ 
perience in grass and this year on po¬ 
tatoes makes me feel quite sure that it 
is much better to use potash with the 
nitrate.The lower field of 
“Clark” grass is pretty close to a failure 
—^so far as the second crop goes. The 
wet season has kept this field drenched. 
The soil was fit only to produce coarse 
swamp grass and weeds. Soil uoes just 
what it is fitted for, and so instead of a 
good crop of Red-top and Timothy we 
have on most of the field a crop that 
will be useful chiefly for bedding. 
Around the Farm. —It happens that 
we have no cow peas this year except 
a volunteer crop on one of the back 
fields. Last year’s crop stooa on the 
field all Winter. I thought rain and 
frost last Pall had ruined the crop, and 
many bushels of seed were lost. This 
Spring we plowed a strip in this field, 
turning under the cow-pea vines. To 
my surprise a fair stand of plants start¬ 
ed up on this plowed ground and are 
making a good growth. I had no idea 
that cow peas could stand such a trial 
as that. . . . We are slowly getting 
the land plowed and fitted for wheat. I 
do not intend to sow Timothy with this 
wheat, but shall sow clover alone next 
Spring. This will be our preparation 
for setting an apple orchard. I may set 
the trees this Fall right among the 
wheat, and plow three or four furrows 
on each side of them next Spring. On 
a field at the far western end of the farm 
we had last year a heavy growth of cow 
peas. They rotted down on the ground, 
and the Spring was so wet that we could 
not turn them under in time for oats. 
They have covered the ground all Sum¬ 
mer, and now we are plowing them un¬ 
der for wheat. The goldenrod where 
these cow peas were rotting stood 18 
inches higher than that on the natural 
soil outside of this strip. . . . The 
corn is earing out well, and in spite of 
the late planting there will be a fine 
crop. Some of it was planted 25 days 
after the ordinary “corn-planting time” 
for New Jersey. It is on a hillside. I 
should hardly dare attempt such late 
planting in a low valley. . . . What 
a season this has been for turnips. I 
have never had them grow so fast. The 
yellow turnips are spreading out in the 
rows as though they knew that worthy 
people expect to draft them as substi¬ 
tutes for potatoes next Winter. The 
Cow-horn turnips do not grow so fast, 
but they have far outstripped the Crim¬ 
son clover. Where the two were sown 
together one would think at first sight 
that it was a field of young rape, but the 
clover is there—stoolin^gyout beneath 
the turnip leaves. 
Table Stuff.— Nott’s Excelsior peas 
have given us a fair crop this Pall. They 
were planted late in July, and In spite 
of the wet season matured a fair crop. 
Telephone peas are blooming, and prom¬ 
ise to fill the basket before frost. We 
have never before had such success with 
late peas. . . . Baked Fail Pippin 
apples with thick cream help to make 
the Hope Farmers let September pass 
without regrets. The cow is a gentle 
creature, and cream is her purest ex¬ 
tract, but when it lines a man’s stomach 
it gives him the courage of a lion. . . 
. . Sweet corn is at its best just as the 
nights take on a little nip of coolness. 
T he time to pick it off the stalk is when 
the women folks begin to get ready to 
take up dinner. Let it live until the last 
moment. Then snap off a long, slender 
ear with the silk just turning a dry 
brown. Get its jacket right off and bob 
it at once into a kettle of boiling water 
and put the cover on tight. Cook it rap¬ 
idly and rush it to the table so hot that 
few dare touch it with the bare hand. 
To see a hungry man put salt and butter 
on one of these great ears and then slow¬ 
ly put it between his jaws is enough to 
fill the toothless man with the wildest 
possible pangs of regret, and to make 
him remember that the same condition 
which seems to loosen his own teeth ap¬ 
pears to firm and sharpen those of Time. 
Running Down. —So old Time gets a 
little firmer grip at you as the years go 
by, does he? It would seem so, and we 
feel it more in the Fall than at any 
time of the year. September comes 
much like a man waking up on the 
morning of his forty-fifth birthday. 
Three corners of the average working 
square have been passed. You are no 
longer young, and the harvest doesn’t 
amount to much after all. There are 
weeds in the corn and small potatoes 
in the hill of life. They might have 
been larger if you had not spent so much 
time resting in the shade. Some men 
reflect on these things, and end by say¬ 
ing that since their chances are gone 
there is no sense in working on with a 
poor job. Others get themselves to¬ 
gether and mutter: “Work, for the 
night is coming when no man can 
work!” No man has any business to sit 
with folded hands listening to regrets. 
Let them alone—kick them off and work 
on. September doesn’t mean that the 
end of all is coming. Nature is just 
getting ready for a rest. While she 
rests you may work and catch up a 
little. ir. w. c. 
The Cause of Appendiciiis. 
The following article is reproduced 
from the University Medical Magazine. 
I believe that the article may be of in¬ 
terest to you because it very clearly 
demonstrates the folly of fearing to eat 
seedy fruits, such as grapes, raspberries, 
etc., on account of the possibility of ap¬ 
pendicitis developing because of the 
lodgment of seeds in the vermiform ap¬ 
pendix. This fear has in many localities 
lessened the consumption of certain 
fruits, and while injuring the fruit 
growing industry, the chief reason for 
regret is that many people deny them¬ 
selves the use of wholesome fruits. 
An Interesting study of the relative fre- 
(luency of foreign bodies In the vermiform 
appendix Is presented by Dr. John P. 
Mitchell in the Johns Hopkins Hospital 
Bulletin for January, February and March. 
1899. Of 1,400 cases of appendicitis collecG 
cd from various sources during the last 
10 years he found only seven per cent of 
true foreign bodies; while in 700 of these 
cases, in which a definite statement was 
made as to the nature of the foreign body, 
there were 45 per cent of fecal concretions. 
In 250 cases of appendicitis In the Johns 
Hopkins Hospital, in the past 10 years, 
there was only one foreign body—a seg¬ 
ment of tapeworm. Osier, in 10 years’ ex- 
Iierience in Montreal, found foreign bodies 
only twice; in one instance five apple pips, 
and In another eight snipe shot. The most 
common foreign bodies have been gall¬ 
stones, round worms, spicules of bone, 
bristles and pins. 
Pins have been especially frequent. Dr. 
Mitchell has collected 28 cases in which a 
pin was found in the appendix at opera¬ 
tion or autopsy, together with two in¬ 
stances in which a pin had perforated the 
caecum. It seems remarkable that in no 
single case was there any knowledge of 
a pin having been swallowed. Contrary 
to what might be expected, they occurred 
more frequently in males than in females 
(males 17; females, nine). The resulting 
appendicitis was of a very variable type, 
in some cases the symptoms were mild, 
leading to chronic appendicitis, with re¬ 
current attacks, or with ilong-contlnued 
pain, and, perhaps, finally ending in an 
abscess. In the majority of cases, how¬ 
ever, there was rapid perforation and 
abscess formation following the first ap¬ 
pearance of symptoms. 
The pin entered the appendix by its head 
or point, and, except in one or two in¬ 
stances, where it lay directly across the 
lumen, it was straight, with its long axis 
parallel to that of the appendix. In seven 
of the 28 Cases the appendicitis was asso¬ 
ciated with abscess of the liver. The au¬ 
thor concludes from his investigations that 
foreign bodies at one time thought es¬ 
sential in appendicitis are now known to 
play a much smaller role than that former¬ 
ly accredited to them; and fecal concre¬ 
tions are much more apt to be present as 
an exciting cause. Foreign bodies of light 
weight, like grape seeds and cherry stones, 
so popularly assigned as the cause of ap¬ 
pendicitis, and against which we are for¬ 
ever being warned, are in reality excep¬ 
tional, and their frequency is much over¬ 
estimated on account of the close resem¬ 
blance of fecal concretions and the lack 
of careful examination of the bodies de¬ 
scribed. 
I think that the essential tacts of the 
article above should be given wide 
publicity. J. s. r., m. d. 
Reading, Pa. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you will get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See our guarantee 8th page. 
Grain ^ 
lodging" means straw i 
vW weakened because the , 
fertilizers are not .m/m 
well balanced. 
^Rotash^ 
m in fertilizers prevents this ^|,j 
V and improves the grain. ^ 
j OI7R BOOKS arc not advertising catalofifues, but 
'fl arc scientific publications, written by the most emU g\ 
1 nent agricultural authorities. We mail them FKRE iV 
I to all fanners upon request. Send your name n Ml 
and address to 
GERMAN KAIil WORKS, 
93 Nassau Street, New York n 
- ^ 
LIME FERTILIZER. 
Special preparation glvlux splendid satisfaction. 
Correspondence solicited. TUB SNOW FLAKE 
LIME CO., Bowling Green, Ohio. 
PATENT GROOVED 
Tire Wheels 
FofFarm Wagons 
Any Size to lit any Skein. 
MACK ONLY BY THK 
HAVANA METAL WHEEL CO. 
Havana, Ill. 
We are the largest manufac¬ 
turers of steel wheels and low 
down trucks in the U. S. 
CiT Write for Prices- 
BRAND NEW STEEL ROOFING 
anA &alle<c U,t 
i. MWsire me&ne iOi> 
Iap- Ek , Asi, 
Bought at Receivers’ Sale. 
Sheets either Hat, corru 
gated or “V” crimped. No 
tools except a hatcLator 
banunerts needed te lav 
the rootLag, We tsjriaiah 
tree wltlt each Vrder 
enough saint to • I 7jC 
are ft, writs t*r¥n» CataisfM 
Lire__ 
LIGHTNING WELL MACHYi 
IS THE STANDARD 
ST£AMPUMPS, AIR LIFTS, ; 
CAS 0 LIN£ ENGINES.®^ 
miTCFOH CmcULAHMSa 
THE AMERICAN WELL WORKS 
AURORA,ILL.-CHICAGO." DALLAS.TEX 
LAND DRAIN TILE 
(Car-loads or less). 
Sizes, a, 3, 4, 5 and 
6-lncIi. 
WILLIAM T.LEGGETT& CO. 
1025 Liberty Avenue, 
Pittsburgh, Pa. 
WHEELS 
MAKE A COOD WACOM 
Unless a wagon has good wheels It l* 
useless, ri CPTDIP STEEL 
the LLCblnIb WHEELS 
are good wheslsand they make a wagon 
last Indefinitely. They are made high o» 
low, any width of tire, to fit any skein 
They can’t get looBe, rot or break 
down. They lastalways.CataIogfree 
Electric Wbeel Co.. Box Quincy Ills. 
Cider Machinery.—Send for catalogue to Boomer & 
Boschert Press Co., 118 West Water St .Syracuse.N.Y. 
[BALES^HAYl 
The Gem Full-Oirol© lif hte«t, 
itroufeet, cheapest baler. Made of wreughx steel. 
Operated by 1 or 2 horses. Bales 10 to 16 tons a daif. 
Bold on 6 days trial, Oatalosue free* Addreeo 
QEOa ERTEL OO.y Qutnoy, III. 
Safe From Wind and Weather 
Free Hiiral .Mall Delivery is now being provided in many sections 
of the country, and In a iittle while will apply to the wliole country. 
If you are not on a route now, you soon will he. The Government’s 
only request is that you provide a suitable box in which the mail may 
be deposited. Tlie Govei iiment insists upon a box of its owu approval. 
Our box has been approved by the Gov eriiment. 
Our Vi\cle Sam’s Favorite Mail Box 
is the only one made from steel plates, stamped out, formed to shape 
__and riveted together. Only one seam in the entire box—no solder. Has 
letter holder, change holder, spring lid, etc. Finished in hard white aluminum witli 
your name on top in black letters. Big enough to hold any package the carrier may 
bring from town. Our splendid illustrated booklet tills the story completely. Scud 
for it to day. We send a sample box, express paid for *2.00. 
BOND STEEL POST CO.. ADRIAN. MICH. 
