3i8 
MAY i7 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
for hay, and get an average of lton per acre; and what¬ 
ever we get for the seed over the cost of saving it is clear 
profit, and we cannot do without clover in a proper rota¬ 
tion. The straw is generally spread on the ground and 
plowed under for corn, but some farmers who do not take 
agricultural papers, burn it yet. 
Allen County, Indiana. 
FROM V. D. STONEROAD. 
The clover-seed crop is considered a by-product. About 
enough is raised for home supply. The millers generally 
have a little on hand and buy any surplus. Clover is 
sown entirely on wheat in early spring and makes a good 
growth. After the wheat has been cut the clover is left 
to lie on the ground. The next year it is cut before the 
first of July. It is the main hay crop of farmers in this 
county. Of course, we have Timothy also, and some seed 
it with clover, making a very good feed; but clover after 
wheat is the regular rotation. The seed comes from the 
second crop, which is mowed and raked the last of Sep¬ 
tember. If possible, it is hulled in the field, being hauled 
right to the machine. Some hullers leave it in good shape, 
but generally to make it quite clean it has to be run 
through a fanning-mill. As so much is sowed in the regu¬ 
lar rotation, it is only in exceptional years that any is 
shipped. This year, as our crop is short, we must get a 
supply from either Philadelphia or Chicago. Very likely, 
if raised for seed alone the crop would not pay. The straw 
is sometimes left in piles in the field, and of course it does 
no good in that state. Some spread it, and those who hull 
in the barns throw it on the straw stack and it is worked 
over by the stock. Clover is our mainstay in keeping up 
the fertility of our land, as often all the manure made on 
a 150 to 175-acre farm would not cover 12 to 15 acres even 
in homeopathic doses. Our land is a heavy clay and gravel, 
and clover turned under loosens it. I am satisfied that 
without something to take its place, we would have to 
give up farming, if we failed to use clover. As it is, our 
plight is bad enough. Some are branching out into spe¬ 
cialties, but there seems to be no definite idea as to what 
will pay. There is only a blind feeling for something— 
people don’t know what. 
Mifllin County, Penn. 
FROM R. W. GLADWELL. 
The better class of farmers of this section obtain their 
clover seed from expert seed dealers, or from reliable 
persons who know the seed to be just as represented. Our 
small grain crops consist mainly of oats and rye. Clover 
seed is usually sown in the following way : If sown with 
oats, the ground is plowed as soon as practicable; next 
the grain is sowed and the ground is harrowed until suffi¬ 
ciently smooth; then the clover seed is sowed and har¬ 
rowed or smoothed in with a plank drag. If sown with 
rye, the seed is sown in late winter or early spring. It is 
considered best to sow on a light fall of snow, or before the 
frost has entirely left the ground, as the seed is then more 
likely to be buried in the soil. The time for cutting de¬ 
pends entirely upon the season, as some seasons are more 
advanced than others at corresponding dates. When in¬ 
tended for hay it is thought that it will make the best kind 
if cut when the first blossoms begin to turn brown. And 
the earlier the first crop is taken oil the ground (especially 
in case of common red clover) the better the seed crop is 
likely to be. The best time for cutting for seed is before 
the seed has become too ripe, for if over ripe it is likely to 
shatter too much. It is cut with many different machines 
and in as many different ways; but the best farmers of 
this section cut with a self-rake reaper when the later 
blossoms have turned brown. The clover is allowed to 
accumulate on the platform until a gavel sufficiently large 
has been obtained. It is then raked off and the gavel is 
deposited on the ground. By depositing each gavel op¬ 
posite another they lie in windrows and can be more con¬ 
veniently hauled to the thrasher, huller or stack, as may 
be desired. When gathering, usually two men (one on 
each side of the wagon) with a barley fork deposit the gavels 
on the wagon and the load is drawn to the huller or stack. 
Many different machines are used for hulling. Some use 
attachments to common grain thrashers; but these do 
not givt satisfaction, as they do not clean the seed as well 
as those specially adapted for the purpose, and do not get 
all the seed out of the straw. The machines specially 
adapted for the purpose do very satisfactory work, as they 
get all the seed from the straw, and, besides, they have a 
special cleaning attachment which cleans the seed ready for 
market. 
The seed is sometimes sold directly from the machine 
to local buyers of our towns, or shipped to commission 
firms at Chicago, where a better price may be obtained. 
The clover crop of this section is very profitable as com¬ 
pared with other crops; the good effects of the crop 
as a fertilizer for the soil more than pay for the trouble and 
expense of growing and handling, to say nothing of the 
value of the hay and seed. The straw or haulm is piled up 
in the field, and in some cases allowed to rot; while some 
utilize it for bedding in yards, stables, etc., and others burn 
it as soon as the machine is out of the way. The latter 
way of utilizing the haulm is very extravagant, and I am 
of the opinion that farmers should at once abandon the 
practice. Indeed none but the most shiftless farmers burn 
their straw or rubbish of any kind, as a little torethought 
and labor would soon convert it into manure. 
Ogle County, Illinois. 
There can be no doubt that thinking farmers every¬ 
where are deeply interested in the temperance question. 
Well they may be, for the saloon business seems to thrive 
and increase, as farming becomes more unprofitable. The 
R. N.-Y. fully realizes that thousands of farmers fully 
believe that the liquor traffic has more to do with the 
p resent depression than any other factor. This is what they 
believe firmly and honestly. 
READ, SPOKEN AND SEEN. 
Strawberries Make The Mare Go.—The R. N.-Y. 
likes to have the experience of men who work farms or 
gardens for a living. It is with pleasure that we print the 
following notes from a Maryland subscriber. This man is 
a “city farmer” too—one who left work in Washington to 
locate on a poor farm: 
“ I endeavor to raise some of the best strawberries that 
go to the Washington market. I like to plant on land that 
was worked.the year before, as it is clean and in good con¬ 
dition. I plant on land worked in sweet potatoes. These 
and strawberries are my special crops with grass, clover 
and oats for hay, cut green. I manure my sweet potatoes 
heavily, and if the land is good I plow it in the spring 
(after working in the sweet potatoes) about as deep as I 
can without turning up too much yellow land. I get the 
land in good condition and lay off the rows about four feet 
apart, and ridge them and plant the strawberries about 20 
inches apart in the ro ;v, and then keep them worked clean 
till they cover the row and are able to get the best of the 
grass and weeds. In the winter when the ground freezes 
I top-dress my berry patch with manure as free from 
seeds as I can get it. By feeding oats, oat hay and corn 
and bedding on rye and wheat straw I manage to keep 
the manure made in this way, free from weeds, and hold 
it for a top-dressing. I don’t like commercial fertilizers 
for top-dressing, as I do not get as good results from 
their application as I do from the manure. After 
I get through planting in the spring I leave my 
old beds as they were left in winter till after the bear¬ 
ing season; then I plow up the middles and keep the beds 
cultivated for the second year, providing they are free 
from grass; if grassy, I plow them up and plant in sugar 
corn or cabbage, and put in sweet potatoes again in the 
following spring. My berries are clean and bright and 
sell readily. Some men send their berries to market cov¬ 
ered with mud, and then think they should get the same 
price I get for my clean berries. Some of my neighbors 
wonder how I get along so well—building, and buying bet¬ 
ter horses and tools than they can afford, maintaining my 
family in better condition and keeping a nicely-painted 
vehicle to ride in, and a girl in the house to help my wife, 
and in other ways making life better worth living, etc. 
I sell my berries to green-grocerymen and generally sup¬ 
ply them every other day, letting a commission man sell 
any that may be over, as it takes too much time to stand 
in the market and retail them. My commission man gives 
me pretty good satisfaction and settles whenever I call on 
him. Sometimes I get better prices than he does, and vice 
versa. Some families get their berries from me as I am 
on my way to market, but I would rather not sell less than 
a crate of 32 or 60 quarts, for it takes too long to stop and 
deliver a few until they get cheap; then I sell them to 
families for canning. By careful management I make it 
pay. The varieties I like best are the Sharpless and Cres¬ 
cent. I have Jessie and Bubach on trial and they are look 
ing fine. The frost damaged the first blossoms; but enough 
will be left to pay. They ought to pay well this year, as 
almost all other kinds of fruit are injured or killed. 
Is the Codling Moth Doomed ?—The R. N.-Y. was 
somewhat surprised to read the following remarks made 
by an extensive fruit-grower, at a recent meeting of the 
Oregon Horticultural Society :—“ That the codling moth 
will ultimately exhaust itself I have no doubt. My obser¬ 
vation goes to show that it is even now less numerous 
than it was a few years ago. I am convinced that its time 
with us is rather short.” 
Prof. A. J. Cook, to whom this statement was referred, 
has this to say about it: “ It is to be hoped that this pre¬ 
diction is true; but I fear our friend has reckoned without 
his host. Unless the moist climate is inimical to the cod¬ 
ling moth in Oregon, there is no reason whatever for 
hoping that this insect has not become a “web-foot” to 
stay. The usual way in which insects are lessened and ex¬ 
terminated is through the means of parasites, and when 
an insect is introduced into a country widely different 
from its former home, the Insect enemies are not found 
and must be developed. This takes time; so we may expect 
that this common cause of extermination will remain long 
inoperative against the codling moth in Oregon. That 
the weather—excessive moisture—will prove unfavorable 
to this insect in its new home on the Pacific slope is not 
probable. It thrives in England, and in the moist climate 
of our Eastern coast and Michigan. This argues that 
Oregon climates may be quite to its taste. I feel so con¬ 
fident in this matter that I venture the prediction that 
the codling moth will thrive and continue for all the 
future to be a veritable pest to the Oregon apple-grower, 
and that success will demand warfare to death—that is, 
the arsenites.” 
Transported Eggs for Hatching.— Mr. Henry Hales 
saysthat in traveling the layers of eggs get mixed together 
and that letting the eggs lie a few days, turning them 
only once each day, may allow the soft contents of the egg 
to settle in a normal condition. “ There is likely to be 
some truth in this,” hecontinues : “ fori haveseen the best 
results when eggs have been kept several days after a 
journey before they are set. It is well-known that eggs 
bought from a store, that have traveled many hundreds 
of miles in a common barrel, will hatch in spring when 
they are comparatively fresh, and yet not as fresh as care¬ 
fully expressed eggs. Another fact came under my notice 
last spring : We often know of hens that sit very steadily, 
and yet don’t hatch a chick. A neighbor of mine who had 
a sick horse and spent much time in the barn with it, had 
two hens sitting there; one sat very closely, while the 
other was off the nest nearly all one day, but when the 
chicks should have come, it was found that the steady sit¬ 
ter had hatched none, while the other brought off a good 
brood. While quietly watching his horse, he noticed a 
grinding noise in the nest of the close sitter, and found she 
was continually turning her eggs. Now this would in¬ 
dicate that too much turning of the eggs will destroy their 
vitality, and thus the failure to hatch may be accounted 
for.” 
Value of Cucumber Seeds.—A friend in Towa says he 
read about a man in New Jersey who grew several hun¬ 
dred dollars’ worth of cucumber seeds which he extracted 
Dy machinery. Our friend thinks from this that there 
must be some medicinal value for these seeds, and as he 
has a patch of ground well suited to the growth of cucum¬ 
bers, he wants to try the business and make a fortune. All 
we can say is: “ Don’t do it. There is positively nothing 
in the idea.” 
Late Peas.—The R. N.-Y. doesn’t know much more 
about this crop than it did last week. One friend who 
grows fruits and vegetables for the Washington market 
writes thus: 
“ I have never grown late peas to any great extent, and 
have always sown the Black-eyed Marrowfats on medium- 
good, loamy land, without fertilizer of any kind, as they 
are rapid growers and will fall down and mold when it is 
wet, and it costs too much to “ stick ” them. I cultivate with 
the Planet Jr. cultivator as soon as the peas are an inch 
high and once in 10 days afterwards till they meet in the 
row. As they grow straight, one can let the dirt fall against 
the vines to smother small weeds, etc. 
Another subscriber, a market gardener at Mobile, Ala¬ 
bama, says: 
“ I have never tried to grow green peas to come in so 
late as August. I have found that late spring plantings of 
this sort of vegetable have generally not done well, owing, 
I think, to climatic conditions: our long, sunny days don’t 
suit them, although the temperature is not high, seldom 
reaching 90 degrees at any time. We plant about Christ¬ 
mas, Marrowfats for spring shipment West or North, and 
dwarf sorts later for home use.” 
Florida Camphor Trees.— The publication of the fact 
that camphor is largely used in the manufacture of the 
new smokeless powder, has served to call attention to the 
fact that the world’s supply of that substance is limited. 
It has been suggested that farmers in Florida and Cali¬ 
fornia might find in the camphor tree a valuable source of 
revenue. Mr. William Saunders, of the Department of 
Agriculture, writes to us as follows : 
“ When in Florida, several years ago. I was asked to 
suggest a good shade tree for the State. At Tampa I saw 
a fine camphor tree which had been sent from the Depart¬ 
ment several years previous, and the sight of it convinced 
me that it would be a fine shade tree. So I procured seeds 
from Japan and raised 4,000 to 5,000 plants, of which some 
are yet on hand. The camphor tree grows well in Florida 
and the Southern Gulf States and on the coast up to 
Charleston.” 
No great skill is required in the manufacture of camphor 
from the wood. 
City Men on Small Farms.—T he R. N.-Y. has had 
considerable to say about the chances for city men on 
small farms. It seems to us that the following note from 
a Massachusetts subscriber is fair : 
“ Whether or not a city man can make a living on a 
farm depends on circumstances. If he has rural tastes, a 
love tor the business, good health, temperate habits, an 
unincumbered farm and will be content with a fair living, 
no doubt he will succeed. On the other hand, if he has 
no particular taste for farming, is slipshod in his manage¬ 
ment, intemperate, extravagant or in debt, he will, no 
doubt, wish himself back in the city within a year.” The 
R. N.-Y. has noticed that most city men in changing to 
country life have trouble in picking up a new system of 
handling their money. In the city they get their money 
every week or month and become accustomed to spending 
it on that basis. In farming not one-third of the returns 
come in cash and most of that at the end of the season. 
For a year or two it is hard to change the old plan of 
spending and many become discouraged trying to do it.” 
Home-Mixed Fertilizers.— This is a term that is often 
misunderstood. Farmers seem to think it applies only to 
the mixing of chemicals. This is a mistake, as W. A. 
Saunders writes : 
“ I think the by-products of the mills and factories are 
slighted. By using more of them in feeding for milk, 
cream, beef, mutton and pork, and in well-bedding the 
stock, an enormous sum can be saved. We owe much to 
the fertilizer makers; but not enough to cause us to 
neglect farm waste or the making of composts. We need 
to know when reverted phosphoric acid becomes available. 
Life is too short for individuals to learn by yearly ex¬ 
periments.” 
Profitable Peanuts.— We all eat peanuts. Some of 
us find it profitable to do so ; others are doubtful about it. 
Few of us think of those who grow peanuts as a cash crop. 
Hence the following note from a Tennessee subscriber will 
prove interesting: 
“ My cash crop for 1889 was peanuts, About 11 acres 
(estimated) were planted and Isold 598 bushels at $1.00 per 
bushel, and kept 52 bushels for seed, making 650 bushels 
in all or very nearly 60 bushels per acre. I sold the crop 
about the middle of December, and bags were furnished 
me. The latter part of the season was very wet and did 
not suit the crop. I will plant peanuts for a cash crop for 
1890.” 
Prof. E. S. Goff makes this forcible remark : “ Exper¬ 
iment Station workers are more to be criticised for what 
they have not done than for what they have done.” Again 
he says : “ It seems to me that before we are competent to 
form a proper estimate of the quality of seeds we must 
have more knowledge on the subject; and the proper work 
for our experiment stations at present is to develop this 
knowledge.” 
