454 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. TULY 12 
yard attached. If desired, the weight can be printed 
automatically on the ticket.” “A new railway milk can, 
the * Redcliffe,’ is exhibited. The novelty in the can is 
that it is mounted on two small wheels, and can be wheeled 
instead of being rolled, very much as a sack barrow is. The 
can rests on its bottom firmly, except when it is tilted, 
and the wheels are thus brought into play.” 
Glore’s Improved Potato Digger.— This implement, 
made by Wm, Glore’s Sons, Rising Sun, Indiana, is really 
a potato plow. It has a double-mold board and bars at 
the back to separate the potatoes from the earth. Last 
year we gave a symposium on plowing out potatoes and 
several of our correspondents claimed to have found this 
tool very effective. 
Trial of Seed Sowers.— American manufacturers of 
seed sowers are informed by Consul-General Bourn that a 
trial of seed sowers will be held at Foggia, Italy, October 
20, 1800. Augustus O. Bourn, U. S. Consul-General, Rome, 
Italy, will send full information, or the facts may be 
learned from No. 115, April 1800, of the Consular Reports 
issued by the State Department. 
Cultivator as A Marker. —Our marker was broken 
the other day just as we wanted to mark some land for 
pop corn. One of the boys took the Higganum horse hoe, 
removed all the teeth but the rear two, opened the bars 
to the last hole and fitted a stick so that it dragged three 
feet to one side. With this arrangement the furrows were 
made with one horse, in excellent shape. 
Road Rollers.— The Ames Plow Company of Boston, 
make an excellent roller for use in macadamizing or in fin¬ 
ishing roadways and streets. There is no sense in trying 
to do a half-way job of road making. It is not enough to 
simply put broken stones on the roads. They must be 
packed and rolled into proper shape. This roller, with 
road machine and stone-crusher, will make an excellent 
outfit tor road building. 
Freeman Feed Cutter.— This cutter is made by the S. 
Freeman & Sons’ Manufacturing Company, Racine, Wis. 
The No. 16 is adapted to the use of stockmen who feed SO 
or more head of stock, and is especially useful for cutting 
silage. It is said to cut every kind of green or dry fodder, 
including the largest corn-stalks, husked or unhusked. It 
will be remembered that many dairymen who do not use a 
silo cut their dry stalks, grain and all, to feed the cows. 
The Freeman cutter will do this well. Smaller sizes are 
made for those who desire them. Send for the catalogue 
and see how the cutter is made. 
Forster’s Patent Rock Crusher.— On page 405 we 
spoke of a stone crusher that gave very general satisfac¬ 
tion in preparing stones for macadamizing roads. The 
implement there referred to is made by The Totten & Hogg 
Iron & Steel Foundry Co., Pittsburgh, Pa. This crusher, 
as we have previously explained, comes as near to the 
work done by the heavy hammer in the hands of a skilled 
workman as is possible. The stone is left in good condi¬ 
tion, while the machine itself is simple, durable and easily 
managed. Contractors, township boards or others who 
are interested in road improvement, are advised to secure 
circulars of this machine. 
Hay Loaders For Grain.— Several years ago I tried 
loading grain with the hay loader. I found that when the 
grain was dry enough to be fit for storing in the barn with¬ 
out danger of heating or becoming musty, the loader would 
shell and leave so much of it on the ground that it could 
not be profitably used. The forks of the loader must be 
forced through the grain by the weight of the machine and 
the needed pressure will shell more than any farmer will 
like to see left on the ground. The wheels will also shell 
some grain, as it is not possible to avoid more or less of it. 
The loader is a very useful labor-saving machine, but on 
some farms it cannot be used to advantage in a very wet 
season like that of last year. Many of my meadows were 
soft owing to the excessive rainfall, and the wagon and 
loader, cutting into the sod, would require more than one 
team to handle them to advantage. Notwithstanding the 
disadvantage of wet seasons and rolling meadows, the hay- 
loader will come into general use on the recommendation of 
its own merits. C. S. RICE. 
Lewis County, N. Y. 
A WOMAN’S FARMING. 
No. III. 
The years that went by left my father an old man, fast 
bordering on invalidism, and my mother quite feeble and 
a confirmed invalid ; while I had arrived at “ an uncertain 
age,” and was a spinster. In the interim I had not been 
idle. While my hands were busy with daily tasks, my 
mind had been taking notes from every-day observance. 
I not only dotted down items of success, and noted mis¬ 
takes on the home farm, but kept watch of those ou the 
neighbors’ places, and while I was silent and gathered in 
knowledge from these sources, I read everything that fell 
in my way relating to agriculture, horticulture and dairy¬ 
ing as well as the raising of stock. Meanwhile my posi¬ 
tion became assured. Although my father was too much 
of an old fogy to own to any superiority in the manage¬ 
ment of the farm on my part, yet behind all his apparent 
obstinacy, he did own to himself, though never to others, 
that I was the better manager. I dared not boast, but had 
to keep meek and lowly in the paternal eye. Thus I gained 
power which couldn’t be disputed. Gradually the farm¬ 
ing fell on my shoulders—the ordering, gathering and dis¬ 
position of the crops and farm produce. Before I was 
fairly aware of the fact, 1 had become the power behind 
the throne, which is often more potent than the throne 
itself. 
During this period the owner of the farm died, and the 
place itself, which was heavily encumbered, had to be 
sold, It was purchased by a near relative of mine, subject 
to a heavy mortgage, and we remained on it, year after 
year, paying a nominal rent. My brothers saw no money 
in farming, and turned their backs on the plow and hoe, 
and went to the city as clerks, where they had hard work, 
small pay and no enjoyment, to my mind. It was the old 
story: Farming is hard, dirty, groveling work, rewarded 
with coarse clothes and “ pork and taters.” Perhaps I was 
less favored than they. I had no beauty to boast of, and 
cared nothing for fine clothes. In my eye the farmer was 
lord of the roost. He held power over the beasts of the 
field, and the blades of grass and sheaves of grain made 
obeisance to him. He was in direct union and close com¬ 
panionship as well as in joint partnership with Him who 
blesses with dew, waters with rain, fructifies with sun¬ 
shine, and gives‘‘the increase.” Is it any wonder that I 
became a farmer and the owner of flocks and herds, when 
I held in honor and praise all of these things so closely 
allied with the tillage of the soil ? All the proceeds of the 
dairy as well as of the poultry and sheep came into my hands. 
Thus I earned the money for the rent, supported and 
clothed the family, which now consisted of my parents, a 
younger, lovely sister, who was a joint partner with me, 
a brother who was intellectually unfit to take care of him¬ 
self, and myself. 
I labored, however, under many disadvantages, owing to 
my father’s old-fashionod ideas and a lack of judgment as 
to how to direct affairs. He could not or would not look into 
the nature of things and ascertain the causes of failure. 
While I argued that we should raise on the farm all or 
nearly all that we consumed, he could not see the point. 
I held that we should keep more stock and make our own 
manure for the enrichment of the soil so as to raise greater 
crops. This was in direct opposition to his ideas. He was 
not the man to make another man’s farm rich. I urged 
that we should keep more cows in the dairy, spread the 
manure on the land, and raise more grass and grain. 
I thought we ought to raise our own bread, and did carry 
this point later on when my father grew more feeble, and I 
became, as it were, a staff for his declining years. 
By degrees I had accumulated quite a handsome sum of 
money, which I became so impatient to increase that I 
drew all my funds out of the bank and invested them in 
Government bonds, which, at that time, were paying a 
high rate of interest. As my means increased, I became 
enamored of the usurious rates of interest paid by West¬ 
ern county bonds, and invested a portion of my money in 
them. Some of them paid as high as 10 per cent. Interest 
semi-annually. I was delighted with these, and regularly 
presented my coupons and drew the interest in gold. 
Every cent of it was saved religiously, and added to my 
earnings, which were not much in comparison, and the 
whole went periodically for another bond of the same 
kind. Then I fell into the habit of buying railroad bonds. 
I was making money in this way faster than on the farm; 
but at last the bottom fell out and I lost a considerable 
amount. I became discouraged and down-hearted. 
At this time my father suddenly died ; my mother was 
wholly dependent and an invalid ; my brother also de¬ 
pended on me. Although willing and able to do much 
work under direction, he required a care-taker like a child. 
Although possessed of no ability, still he proved a blessing 
in many ways. My father died in the spring after the 
work of the year had begun. All the heirs to his estate 
agreed that everything should remain as it was for the 
ensuing year. In the fall the crops and stock were sold, 
and the proceeds were divided. My operations in the bonds 
of wild cat railroads and other like investments that paid 
a high rate of interest which, of course meant low security, 
had so disgusted me with that sort of business that I de¬ 
termined to invest my money where I could walk on it and 
hold it more under my control. Having gathered every¬ 
thing together, I found myself possessed of $2,200. After 
looking around a little, I bought a farm of 48 acres, and I 
paid $100 per acre for it. On it was a comfortable dwelling- 
house, situated in a sloping valley, about which the sunshine 
played all the day. There were also a good barn, wagon- 
house, wood-shed, cow-shed and corn crib. A large old 
apple orchard broke the force of the west winds and I had 
also two acres of heavy oak timber. A stream of never- 
failing water had already been brought to the kitchen and 
barn, in lead pipes, and I had been observaut enough to see 
that there was a supply of water in the pasture. Thus I 
was fairly equipped in this respect. My calamities were 
not yet at an end, however. Before pay day arrived a 
Western railroad failed to pay the interest on one of its 
$1,000 bonds I held. To realize, I had to sell it at a dis¬ 
count of $700 on $1,000. Moreover, a county $100 bond 
proved to be entirely worthless. With a contrite spirit, 
and a discouraged heart, however, I took the farm subject 
to a $3,500 mortgage. 
I was 40 and beginning to think I had seen my best days. 
However, I put my shoulder to the wheel. The contract 
was drawn up and signed in the fall. I had the winter be¬ 
fore me for planning. I was left without stock; there was 
not a cow on the place, and we were about out of butter. 
I had purchased a few sheep, and the old family team of 
horses together with some grain and hay at the sale of 
father’s stock. I had a little ready money by me. A drove 
of cows came along the road. In it was a pure-blood year¬ 
ling Devon heifer, supposed to be due to calve in the 
spring, and a two-year old three-quarters-blood Jersey, 
giving milk at the time, and having the recommendation 
of sucking herself. She was a beauty, and I had never 
owned or had anything to do with Jersey blood. But for 
her single failing, the drover told me the man who had 
raised her would not have parted with her for less than 
$100. I offered him $28 for her and $15 for the red heifer. 
He deliberated a while, but finally took the money. I was 
ridiculed before my face and doubtless still worse behind 
my back. I was told several times that the in-calf heifer 
would never come in; but I was stubborn and wise in my 
own conceit. I invented a sort of a chair poke and put it 
on the Jersey’s neck to prevent her from getting her own 
milk. She proved to be the most docile and gentle creature 
living. I could do anything with her, and she and I be¬ 
came great friends. Being short of butter, I churned her 
milk. Five quarts of it made a pound of beautiful butter. 
After this we (the family) were never out of milk or butter. 
In the subsequent spring, an offer was made to me to 
rent for a term of four years the farm on which I resided. 
I rented it at the old rate, not feeling willing to remove 
my mother to a new home at her advanced age. It con¬ 
sisted of 124 acres, woodland and all. I concluded to work 
my own land also, as it lay nearby, and put in my house a 
man to work for me by the day as a tenant. I found 1 
could make my farm much better by so doing, as I could 
keep more stock and manage things more easily. c. B. 
IVOman's IVork. 
CHAT BY THE WAY. 
EFORE the little metal-topped salt sprinklers are put 
away, they should always be carefully wiped after 
each meal; if any salt appears to be lodged inside the neck, 
it should be shaken out, and the inside of the top wiped. 
This not only keeps the sprinklers in better order, but pre¬ 
vents the metal top from rusting. If such precautions are 
neglected, the metal soon becomes unsightly; we all know 
the liability of salt to engender rust. In damp weather it 
often seems difficult to keep these sprinklers in working 
order; but they are so much cleaner and more convenient 
than the open salt cellars that their use fully repays the 
trouble. In filling them, if the salt has been put near the 
fire to dry it should always be allowed to become perfectly 
cool before it is put into the sprinklers, for if put in warm, 
it will harden into a cake. In the nicer sprinklers a little 
jagged piece of plated metal is loose inside; this shakes 
about with the salt, and prevents it from hardening. 
These little things need a good deal of attention ; a table 
soon looks slovenly if the salt and pepper boxes are ill- 
filled, the sauce and vinegar bottles stained with driblets 
of their contents, and the water carafe dubiously clouded. 
Some of the nicest-looking tables I have seen were really 
skimpy, when it came down to details ; but everything was 
so neat, so sweet and tasteful, that the effect of the whole 
was suggestive of anything but poverty. 
* 
* * 
“ Chat By the Way ” has so often offered a little “preach ” 
about the demoralizing effect of setting the table just any¬ 
how, that it seems a pity to refer to it again. But it will 
take a lot of preaching before some housekeepers realize 
that it is just as easy to be neat and tasteful as to be just 
neat, and nothing more. Do let us have a little more pret¬ 
tiness in our work a day lives ; it does not mean so much 
extra work, when we know how. Cleanliness comes first, 
of course, but cleanliness is quite compatible with real 
ugliness. An orderly and well set table may be thoroughly 
attractive, even if set with common crockery and coarse 
linen. There seems no excuse for these near a big city 
where shops abound, for really pretty table ware is as 
cheap as ugly utensils. It all depends on the buyer’s taste. 
* 
* * 
Now, I have otten heard young women say that it was 
useless for them to waste time in trying to make their sur¬ 
roundings prettier, because their efforts were not appre¬ 
ciated by the household. This seems a very narrow view 
to take: there is to me such a pleasure iu turning barren¬ 
ness into beauty—in making homely surroundings suggest 
taste and refinement—that this alone would be an incen¬ 
tive, even without the approval of others. "Beauty is 
its own excuse for being”—even when it takes form in a 
few timid little touches about the family rooms. Certainly 
there may be some grudging spirits that look with an un¬ 
kindly eye on the slightest effort for beauty, even when it 
is not attended by extra expense; but we usually notice 
that people who begin by decrying such efforts end by tak¬ 
ing personal interest in them. Besides, is it not sometimes 
true that the family reformers begin reform rather with 
the air of declaring war on the objectors ? When im¬ 
provements are undertaken with a sort of superior I-am- 
more-cultured-than-you air, it is not strange if the vandals 
declare that these aesthetic ideas are just nonsense. If 
reforms are undertaken slowly and modestly the less 
{esthetic members of the household are very likely to fall 
into line by degrees. By all means, let us make all the 
prettiness possible about us. 
* 
* * 
When laying aside any uncut dress material which is 
likely to be unused for some time, it is advisable to roll it, 
instead of folding, for the sake of avoiding creases. Take 
a broom-handle, if nothing better is to be had, and roll 
it tightly with several thicknesses of old material, to make 
it soft, then roll the material smoothly over this. This 
plan is especially desirable iu layiug aside uncut silk, and 
it may also be found serviceable for keeping materials 
which have eeu picked apart before they are made up. 
It is often a very difficult matter to remove creases caused 
by folding. Emily Louise Taplin. 
$tti,$ccUancou.o guimti.sinfl. 
In writing to advertisers, please mentiou The R. N.-Y. 
W hen Baby was sick, we gave her Castorla, 
When she was a Child, she cried for Casiorla, 
When she became Miss, she clung to Casiorls, 
When she had Children, she gave them Castorla. 
