464 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. JULY i9 
wrote to the Agricultural Department and received this 
reply: 
“ Senator Spooner’s bill of last session was not presented 
this session, as it was crude and extravagant. In its stead 
it was proposed to give to the Secretary of Agriculture a 
sum of money in bulk for the purpose of assisting in pro¬ 
moting institute work, etc. At first it was proposed to 
donate $150,000; then it was suggested to cut it down to 
$75,000, and Senator Spooner submitted an amendment to 
the sub-committee in charge of the Agricultural Appro¬ 
priation Bill, but the sub committee rejected it, aud the 
Senator did not renew the matter in the Senate. Hence, 
the whole matter, apparently, has dropped out of consider¬ 
ation for this session.” 
Teaching Children at Home. —It seems to me that a 
good many R. N.-Y. readers live in school districts that 
will not support good schools. These people want to hear 
from parents who have succeeded in teaching children at 
home. A lady in Wisconsin writes the following note, 
which will doubtless interest these inquirers: “I have 
taught my children at home for years, and think it far 
better than to send them while very young to a corrupted 
school. Some schools are quite safe and clean, others are 
horrid. I know, for I have taught in several district 
schools. If there were only more unity of action in farm¬ 
ing communities, and more moral backbone in women, bad 
families could be driven out, or bought out of a decent 
district. Home teaching of children should be largely 
carried on by the kindergarten methods. Write to A. B. 
Stockholm, at 161 La Salle St., Chicago, Ill., or to the W. 
C. T. U. publishing house, for text books. The ad¬ 
dress of both is the same. A positively pure moth¬ 
er is a good object lesson to her children. Many 
are just negatively good, and too insipid to make lasting 
impressions. Teach physiology, hygiene, natural history, 
and all Such needful practical things along with the al¬ 
phabet. Spelling here is mostly by dictation, and gymnas¬ 
tics—of the simplest sort—are highly appreciated. We 
make lessons short, reviews frequent, and all work very 
thorough.” 
The “ Census Man.” —A great deal of abuse is being 
heaped upon this individual—a great deal of it, according 
to my experience, being entirely uncalled for. Here is a 
note from a man in Rhode Island: 
“If my experience is any evidence, the census of 1890 
will be of but little value. I keep three cows, four pigs, 
one horse (usually two), ICO hens and have a proportionate 
number of farm vehicles and implements, yet the census 
enumerator made no account of them because the average 
profit of the farm is not over $500. Of what value are 
statistics concerning our agricultural interests which ex¬ 
clude all farms which do not yield an annual profit of over 
$500. Of course, no mention was made of mortgages, farm 
hands or anything else except members of the household. 
This was not only my experience; but it was also that of 
my neighbors. I would not give a cent for the statistics 
concerning the condition of agriculture in the State of 
Rhode Island as shown by the census of 1890.” 
They evidently have some curious ways of doing business 
in this little State. I have not heard of such an experience 
before. All the census enumerators that I have met are 
intelligent men. The man who interviewed me had nothing 
to say about the profits of my farm. He got all the infor¬ 
mation he needed about my family and my property. There 
must be some mistake about the Rhode Island matter. As 
to the value of the census statistics, that is a matter of 
opinion. It is evident that many of the figures are only 
valuable for comparison. For example, our “census man ” 
wanted to know how many quarts of milk my cow gave 
and how many eggs my hens laid. I ought to have been 
able to tell him; but I couldn’t, so he multiplied the num¬ 
ber of hens by 60 and as the cow is an extra good one, gave 
her 3,000 quarts. Now these may be safe averages ; but 
any one may see that it only needs a “ census man ” with a 
very lively imagination to multiply the number of hens by 
75 or 100 and thus give the egg business a tremendous boom. 
Agricultural statistics are all right for comparison, but it 
always makes me smile when I hear precise figures given. 
STRAWBERRY NOTES FROM NEW JERSEY. 
The strawberry season of ’90 covered a period of 24 days 
from June the 3d to the 26th inclusive—and as it embraced 
the same varieties as last year, it was six days shorter. 
The character and quality of the fruit were at par at the 
opening and closing of the season, but much below in the 
middle. This depression was due to frequent and copious 
showers and continuous moisture from the 12th to 18th, 
with an entire absence of sunshine during the same period; 
quality, color and texture were soon injured by these con¬ 
ditions; the fruit became soft and flavorless, and rust and 
rot held high carnival and much fruit was wasted. The 
importance of sunshine soon manifested itself, after this 
dull period, in the Improved character of the fruit. Water 
is essential to the full development of size and quality, but 
it requires no great amount of observation to learn that a 
superabundance is not at all desirable. 
The record of rainfall for the month has been made up 
and shows that it has been .885 of an inch above the aver¬ 
age, 1 6-10 inch falling on the 14th. June, ’89 was generally 
considered a wet month; but the above shows that it was 
surpassed by the month just closed, and from the way 
rain fell last night and this morning, July makes a good 
start towards breaking the record. Fine prospect for 
haying ? 
But returning to strawberries, the Pearl seems to re¬ 
main worthy of all the good things that have been said of 
it. If it were only iron-clad in resisting the rust, I should 
say it was as near perfection as I ever expect to see a 
strawberry. As it is, I place it at the head of all standard 
sorts I have yet tested, for the present at least. If we 
could discover some treatment to bar out or annihilate the 
various fungi that stand ready to attack the plants at the 
first favorable opportunity, we might rest content for a 
while; but as long as these parasites menace us our only 
hope is in new blood and resistant force in constitutional 
vigor through new varieties. The Jessie has many points 
of merit which go to make it a standard sort. Its chief 
fault is uneven ripening. Whether this is due to local 
causes or is inherent in the variety owing to impure stock, 
as has been suggested, I do not know. Mr. Green assures 
me this defect does not exist at Rochester, N. Y., and I 
find plants that produce berries without this tendency and 
so different in form, type and texture as to create the sus¬ 
picion that there is ground for the belief in impurity. I 
would like to hear the views of other careful observers on 
this point. The Bubach suffered badly from the unfavor¬ 
able weather and did not fulfill its promises as well as it 
did last year, still, as a large, productive sort, it will hold 
high rank for a time. Belmont is very much like Sharp¬ 
less in fruiting. It produces a few large, perfect berries at 
first; but the later settings are deformed “nubbins” and 
it is no cropper. Burt, Ohio (Windsor Chief), Eureka and 
several others 1 discard for newer, if not better kinds. 
Of the dozen or 20 new kinds set this spring the most 
noticeable is the Parker Earle. I received from Mr. Mun¬ 
son a round dozen of these plants, on April 22, and set 
them immediately. They were in bloom and had berries 
on as large as peas when received. Most of them were re¬ 
moved. The plants took hold at once and started to grow¬ 
ing. The few berries left on just to get an idea of the 
character of the variety, ripened, and every plant since has 
seemed determined not to be deprived of its right to bear 
fruit, has thrown up new fruit-stalks, and yesterday 
(July 3) I picked a handful of ripe berries, and the plants 
are still blooming. Whether this is the mission of the 
variety to produce an annual crop of fruit, under any and 
all circumstances, or whether it is the acquired Southern 
habit seen in other varieties grown there—as shown in 
Florida—of ripening berries for two or three months in 
succession, I can’t say. It is a feature I hav£ never noticed 
in any other variety, and its performance next season, 
when thoroughly acclimated, will be interesting. If per¬ 
mitted, I hope then to be able to chronicle the behavior 
and promises of several of the much lauded new kinds; 
but I am sorry to say that present indications are not at 
all flattering to some of the novelties so persistently 
boomed. 
It is strange how the quality of plants sent out by differ¬ 
ent dealers varies, and yet they all claim to send only first- 
class stock. Three dozen plants from one party were as 
bulky as 150 from another, and all the roots of the latter 
would hardly amount to as much as I cut from the former 
as useless. How people can continue business year after 
year sending out such miserable, feeble apologies for 
plants is a conundrum unless new customers continually 
take the place of the old ones, for it seems incredible that 
the same fiFh will take the same bait the second time. A 
friend in Virginia sent to me for a dozen plants of a 
certain variety last spring. In the lot above mentioned 
were 25 of the kinds wanted. I divided them and sent my 
friend the best half as a gratuity. He acknowledged their 
receipt and said: “I will do my best to induce them to 
grow, but for such plants I would not give 50 cents a 1,000. 
I know you did not grow them : you must have got them 
of-.” His supposition was correct. He had “been 
there” himself, and learned the lesson in advance of me. 
It seems that such nurserymen should learn to send out 
better stock and if necessary, charge more for it. Such 
weak and feeble plants are a prolific source of disappoint¬ 
ment and loss to the planter, and damage to the reputa¬ 
tion of the nurseryman if he only knew it, and such care¬ 
lessness has an important bearing on the question of varie¬ 
ties running out. The sooner such practices and the 
nurserymen themselves run out the better for the com¬ 
munity. E. WILLIAMS. 
Montclair, N. J. 
THE TRUE USE OF DIGGING HARROWS. 
There is a belief among some farmers that the increased 
use of the new diggers and cutting harrow # is to be 
condemned because such tools lessen the use of the 
plow and lead to shallow tillage; the soil is not 
stirred deep enough. If you have used the Cutaway 
or any of the spading harrows in preparing the 
ground for a crop, will you be hind enough to tell 
us how far these tools may be safely used to take the 
place of the ploxo ? 
It Is a Question of Soli. 
My experience is greatly in favor of the use of the har¬ 
rows acting upon this principle. While I do not believe 
their chief virtue is to replace the plow, I do believe that 
most soils may be fitted for certain crops more cheaply, 
quickly, and in many ways better by these harrows than 
by the plow. The whole question is one of soil, and crops 
to be raised. In brief, it is, Can the soil by these means be 
put into proper condition for root growth ? I have raised 
some of my best oats on land fitted without the use of the 
plow. In our locality it is frequently easier to break up the 
soil than it is to again firm it at the bottom. I should dis¬ 
like to see a crusade against these new harrows, as I regard 
them as a great advance on any other devices I have seen 
for firming the bottom of the seed-bed and for fitting soil 
for corn. EUGENE DAVENPORT. 
Mich. Agri. College. 
Supersedes the Plow under Certain Conditions. 
My experience with the Cutaway harrow extends only 
through a part of two seasons, and I should not care to 
generalize to any great extent yet; but it seems to me that 
these deep-working harrows may be safely used in placerof 
the plow in preparing stubble ground on light, friable soils 
for oats or barley. Further than that I should not care to 
substitute their action for that of the plow. They are of 
great service to us in allowing the plowing to be done at a 
greater interval before planting than would otherwise be 
desirable. Thus, in the present year, we were able to plow 
our corn ground early in April, and, although the corn was 
not planted till late in May, to put it in a good seed-bed by 
the use of the Cutaway. If we had not had the deep¬ 
working harrow, we would not have been able to get the 
early-plowed ground in good .'condition after the beating 
rains that had fallen upon it; and if we had not plowed 
when we did, we would not have been able to plant the 
corn at all, as the land has hardly been dry enough to plow 
since. h. h. wing. 
Ithaca, N. Y. 
Used after the Plow. 
I have used the Cutaway harrow the past year in prepar¬ 
ing the ground for crops, after it had been well plowed, 
and I like the implement very much. I would not think 
of using it instead of the plow except in light, sandy soil. 
Suffolk County, N. Y. david carll. 
“We Do not Want Deep Plowing.” 
I have used the Cutaway harrow with great satisfaction. 
As to the notion said to exist among many farmers that 
it tends to lessen the use of the plow, and leads to shallow 
tillage, I should say that almost everything may be true 
of shiftless and lazy farmers. But as a matter of fact 
the incompetent farmer does not plow deep any way, 
and most American farmers keep teams too light for deep 
plowing. Further, I do not hesitate to say that, in North¬ 
ern New England at least, we do not want deep plowing. 
Maximum crops can be and frequently are grown on land 
plowed less than six inches deep. The object of deep til¬ 
lage is to lighten and let the air through an indurated soil. 
Our frosts will not infrequently so expand the soil by 
freezing the soil-water as to raise its surface four inches. 
When the frost leaves, the soil is too light, and needs 
compression, in order to grow a good crop. The depth to 
which the Cutaway stirs the ground depends upon the 
size of the disks, the weight of the implement and the 
strength of the team. On the great majority of our farms 
it will take three or four 1,000-pound horses to draw the 
Cutaway in a light soil, when loaded sufficiently to doits 
full work, that is, if they are to work at it all day. 
As to the inquiry how far the Cutaway may be made to 
take the place of the plow, I answer that on mellow and 
not too strong land the Cutaway, properly used (a good 
many who have it have not yet learned how to use it), 
fully replaces the plow on all fallows not too weedy. It 
will fit the ground for com, ^potatoes aud small grain 
better than the plow at a much smaller cost. I fully ap¬ 
preciate both the sense and the humor of the remark of the 
Boston merchant who, sitting on a fence and watching the 
operation of plowing, said he “wondered how it was that 
God had made all the land wrong side up.” With the 
plow we cannot pulverize and intermix the soil without 
reversing it. It is nece3sarv to reverse it only when we 
must bury sod, manurial crops or weeds. So far as the 
Cutaway can replace the plow, and do equally good work, 
as shown in the crop, we do not want the plow. Where it 
does not, we still have the plow. t. h. hoskins. 
Orleans County, Vt. 
Plow in Fall; Harrow In Spring. 
The opinion among farmers that the substitution of the 
Cutaway for the plow results in too shallow culture to 
the detriment of the land, or its productiveness, is cer¬ 
tainly in some cases without foundation. I have noted 
this point carefully for three years. My rotation is: grass 
two years, corn, oats wheat and then grass again. We 
plow the grass for corn just prior to planting, and mellow 
the soil deeply and very quickly with the Cutaway. The 
next spring we work over the corn ground for oats with 
the Cutaway at a saving of one-third in time. We get 
just as good crops as when we plowed, just as good as our 
neighbors who now plow. When we plow this ground in 
the fall for wheat, we have no trouble, and find our wheat 
crop is just as bountiful as under the old regime. Now 
suppose the tillage is more shallow—though we find we 
can get a good deep seed-bed for our oats—what harm is 
there, so long as there is no reduction in our crop. After 
a thorough trial for three years of this more rapid method 
of preparing my land for corn and oats, I am exceedingly 
well pleased with it. In working on sward there is no 
tearing up of the sod if the Cutaway is used. It will be 
seen that in our rotation we plow twice out of the three 
times of cultivation—the first and the last. Only the 
middle stirring is done without the plow. My land is 
clay loam and was originally very stony. We aim to pick 
up the large stones. Stones are hard on the Cutaway as 
they are on any harrow. a. j. cook. 
Ingham County, Mich, 
An Indiana Opinion. 
In a discussion at a Grange meeting one of our successful 
wheat farmers said that his practice was to pack his 
ground, after plowing, by rolling and harrowing; the es¬ 
sential thing was to have a loose, fine surface of a few 
inches for a seed-bed, and the better the ground was 
packed below that, the better it would be for the wheat. 
The query with me is : Would he have advised the use of 
the Cutaway to prepare ground for wheat if it had then 
been in use ? It will certainly make a fine, well-pulverized 
seed-bed, and leave the soil compact below it. The theory 
is that with a compact soil the wheat will not be so subject 
to upheaval in unfavorable weather. In Louisiana the 
sugar crop is doubled by using powerful plows to loosen 
the soil to the depth of 20 inches, or two feet. For 
sugar it would seem that the deeper the soil is loosened the 
better; while successful wheat farmers in the North want 
a compact soil under the seed-bed. It seems to me that we 
have too little data to give an authoritative opinion on the 
effects the use of " digging ” or “ spading ” tools will have 
on the soil. The past spring I sowed a field of oats that had 
been prepared with the Cutaway harrow, and my neighbor 
