47 o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
barrel. The latter should be thoroughly cleaned out after 
every charge, and this cannot be done unless there is a 
valve or plug in the bottom. This should be pulled out 
and the barrel be well drained before each fresh charge. I 
made a long plug coming up from the bottom through the 
top. It is quite handy to pull this out, and all dregs are 
emptied out every time. I am certain much harm has 
been done through lack of this precaution. A. s. mcb. 
A WOMAN’S FARMING. 
No. IY. 
I let my house to a young married man, who was said to 
be a good worker, steady and all that. I gave him the 
house rent free, an acre of ground for potatoes and $15 in 
cash per month for eight months. At that time good farm 
hands were commanding from $22 to $25 and board for the 
eight months. I boarded my help when working for me. 
He proved to be a good man to work, with a little better 
judgment than the average hired man of the American 
class. He was also handy with tools. He took possession 
of the house on March 1, but did not begin his time until 
•April. I had some seasoned oak timber that had been 
lying about the nlace for several years. Among the other 
old implements that could not be sold at the auction was 
an old iron-toothed harrow. I got him to convert this into 
a four-square harrow, using the old teeth. Two of these 
harrows were made and I sold logs and planks enough 
off my place to pay the expense. There were sev¬ 
eral hickory logs which had been got out, and were well 
seasoned, but had never been worked up. These I sold to 
good advantage, giving employment to my man by the day 
during March. 
There were two old straight beamed plows on the place, 
that had been in use since my first remembrance; I selected 
the best of these for spring use—the one having the 
best share. They had been so long out of general use that 
It was difficult to fit them with castings. I bought a new 
Buckley plow, which was then in vogue. I needed two 
teams, I obtained credit and bought one—a pair of working 
cattle—and four cows. As I needed more stock, I got, at a 
low price, a pair of oldish, thin oxen, said to be good 
workers and orderly. They were good workers, but by no 
means orderly. When out of the yoke they would go 
where they pleased, and led me a rambling life. For this 
reason I was forced either to keep them head-and-footed 
or in the yoke. This was my first lesson in buying work¬ 
ing cattle. I benefited by the experience and got rid of 
them,after I had bought a pair of young, well broken steers, 
warranted to be perfectly orderly, kind and gentle. This 
time I made a good bargain, having purchased them of a 
reliable party. 
My youth was but a sweet memory which I had no time 
to review; middle age was upon me, and ahead of me was 
hard, earnest work, for my shoulder must be put to the 
wheel. I found that the more brains were brought to 
bear on the work, the better it was performed. Some¬ 
times I longed for the strength ot an ox and the endurance 
of a camel,but had I the qualifications of these two beasts, 
perhaps I would have been just as stupid as they. 
Socrates could manage a team, and I put my two teams 
to the plow as soon as the ground was in order to work. I 
had, first of all, to teach my men that I was boss 
and would be boss at all risks. They must work under 
my orders or got no pay. This was the understanding 
from the beginning. My orders were pretty generally 
obeyed. What an old man remarked to me at the outset, 
I found to be true, that a woman can do business as well 
as a man ; but she must do it man-fashion, not woman- 
fashion. I was careful to study out my plans, and gave 
no directions that could not be followed out with benefit. 
Thus the men gained confidence. It is one thing to 
know what a day’s work is, and whether it is done or not, 
and another to give an order, another to know when to 
put the crop in and when to stop the plow. 
I turned over 14 acres of sod the first year and planted 
it to corn. The season was poor for corn, being cool and 
wet, but I raised a fair yield. I commenced with the 
eight-rowed Canada corn which my father had, and I 
always kept to that. I have some of it on hand at this 
day. It is as nearly a 90 day variety as any I have ever 
seen and Beldom fails to ripen a good crop of sound grain. 
Moreover, the stalks are small and fine and better relished^ 
by stock than any other sort. I kept to my father’s old 
plan of planting. The rows were two feet eight inches 
apart each way. This method gave plenty of room for 
working; there was a good, solid stand; I never allowed 
any “ missed ” hills. 1 have often gone over the corn fields 
witn a pocketful of corn and planted where there was a 
“ miss,” saying to myself that the growth would make 
fodder if not corn. 
The first year I missed the barnyard manure. Indeed 
my father seldom had much because he had so little stock. 
At an early date I formed the idea—and I have never given 
it up—that a growing crop of grass or gram consumed all 
the richness in the soil. This was a disputed point be¬ 
tween my father and self. I was for manuring heavily. 
My man did first-rate until after haying. On the farm 
the haying season, which is the most beautiful of all the 
year, is also the most trying for hired help. I hij-ed an 
extra hand by the day, paying the going rate at the time, 
which was then $2. It is better to hire a good, experienced 
Ijand and pay the price asked, than to bother with poor, 
cheap help, that is always dissatisfied and grumbling. 
From the first I decided very emphatically that no strong 
drink should be introduced in the hay-field. I knew I 
should have to fight a fierce battle, for my father allowed 
it, and imbibed it himself to too great an extent. Hence 
arose much difficulty, which I determined to avoid. I 
would furnish tea and coffee and lunch twice a day if re¬ 
quired ; but no liquor or cider. There were some low-mut¬ 
tered words, but on me they were like water on a duck’s 
back. I was firm. The storm gradually blew over. I was 
always prompt in payment when the work was done, and 
gave good wages. This gave me a character, and did me 
great service in the frrture. 
As I said before, my man did well until after haying, 
when a sick spell set in, and he lost a good deal of time. 
He grew morose and disagreeable and made trivial excuses 
for lying off. I had to hire extra help when the time 
for cutting corn arrived, but he put in an appearance at 
husking. 
About this time I purchased a full-blood Jersey cow. 
This was a magnificent animal: she gave from 15 to 16 
quarts of rich milk, and made per day two pounds of but¬ 
ter of a high color when fresh. She was dark-colored, and 
by experience and observation I have discovered that the 
dark cows make the highest colored if not the richest but¬ 
ter. At this time I was doing well with my dairy. The 
grade Jersey that I had purchased the fall before, dropped 
a heifer calf in April, and gave a fine mess of milk; she also 
made her two pounds of butter per day. At first I milked 
her three times a day, feeding the calf which I raised. I 
made it a rule to raise all the heifer calves. I raised two 
cows from this animal and afterward sold her for $56. The 
Devon that I had purchased proved to be farrow. I kept 
her and later she was an excellent cow. I sold her with 
the grade for $45. From the Devon I raised one heifer which 
proved to be worthless for the dairy. C. B. 
A WESTERN FARM OUTING. 
We have just returned from our summer vacation; if 
we are “only farm folks” we needed recreation and rest 
in the hot summer months and we took both, that’s all. 
“ But who ran the farm ? ” you ask. Our absence was the 
result of a well organized plan. It was certainly exasper¬ 
ating when the thermometer was over 100 in the shade, 
to pick up the city papers and read of this and that mil¬ 
lionaire family closing its city house and taking the cool 
delights of Bay View, Lake Bluff, Long Branch, etc., and 
to feel that “ the farmer’s place was on the farm,” as he 
“ feeds them all.” 
“ As if,” quoth the family philosopher, “ we did not need 
rest more than they! ” 
“ It can and shall be done ! We will try it for one sum¬ 
mer—or for a month at least,” exclaimed the family 
manager. 
But how ? This was the scheme. Our family is large; 
that is a blessed thing. So we divided it into two squads— 
one to stay at home and run the farm, the other to go in 
search of recreation and rest, returning to relieve the 
home guard in two weeks. Where to ? was the next ques¬ 
tion. Not to any fashionable watering place where we 
would be hampered to death with fashionable costumes, 
expensive hotels, and petty regulations, and so far away 
that all our spare cash would be expended in getting 
there, and neither did we want to go to any teachers’ in¬ 
stitutes or conventions, or other “improving” gatherings. 
No, No ! Teachers would be better if they abandoned 
these instructive dissipations and, as Mary H. Krout says, 
“ forgot the shape of the earth and the multiplication 
table for one season.” We hit upon a better plan. Within 
15 miles of our prairie farm the river stretches away into 
grand forests. Acres and acres of timber—Red and White 
Oaks, maples, walnuts and other species—all festooned with 
wild grape-vines, and tucked away in a cosy nook, within 
sound of rippling waters, one of our party discovered a 
deserted cottage, small but rain-tight. It had evidently 
been built by city hunters and parties camping out. We 
gained the owner’s consent to use it, white-washed two of 
the rooms, swept the floors, and returned home for pro 
visions, a gasoline stove, worn-out women, whining child¬ 
ren, fishing-rods, bathing-suits, team, wagon, cow, and, 
last but not least, Prince, the dog, and taking leave of the 
home-guard, departed a merry crowd. 
Oh, the rare delights of that summer outing ! No tired- 
out city-folk ever enjoyed such delightful days. Into the 
very depths of the forest we penetrated. Delicate ferns 
hid themselves under the shadow of lovely trees. The cot¬ 
tage was soon reached and under the branches of the 
neighboring trees we prepared to swing our hammocks, 
storing our perishable articles for fear of rain. Such 
tender, rank, cool, delicious grass I How the youngsters 
tumbled and shouted and fairly squealed in their glee ! 
To our right the river ran and rippled and seemed to sing 
us a welcome in silvery tones. “ I shall sleep in the ham¬ 
mock out of doors all night,” decided Phil., as he carefully 
unpacked bis hammock, a home-made one, his special 
pride, made from cracker-barrel staves, and linked to¬ 
gether with No. 8 galvanized wire. 
Did you ever make one ? Just try it. Bore two holes in 
each stave at both ends; make them about six feet long, 
and at each end of the hammock leave enough wire to 
securely fasten snaps to it. This, with a small comfort, and 
paper pillow, is a rare delight and costs nothing. The 
paper pillows are made by tearing waste paper into pieces 
the size of one’s thumb nail. We used bleached flour sacks 
for covers, and, in my opinion, they are superior to feathers 
for hot weather. 
Oh, the delightful waking of those quiet days; the long 
rambles by the river bank and the triumphant ^hout when 
some lucky fisherman hauled in a catfish or buffalo for 
dinner; lounging, book in hand, under shady trees; or 
going farther and farther into the forest depths, returning 
home, reporting some precious find—“a patch of black¬ 
berries dead-ripe; walnut trees loaded ready for winter 
use;” or “great patches of hazel brush aching for a frost.” 
Our two weeks sped away all too fast; but the home 
guard must be relieved; so the first squad returned re¬ 
freshed and invigorated to take their turn on the farm. 
The head of the house declared himself 10 years younger, 
and expressed himself pleased with the management of the 
farm during his absence, and began to plan to go next 
JULY i 9 
year without fail. It is not too late for others to follow 
our example, and get rested for the turmoil of thrash¬ 
ing. As for us, we can calmly say : “ Come on with your 
two weeks’ thrashing ; we are equal to it— now.” 
KENDALL PERRY. 
Womans Work. 
CHAT BY THE WAY 
O NE of the most important points in summer market¬ 
ing is to be sure that your purchases are fresh. It 
is a very hard matter when living in the country, far from 
good markets, to keep supplied with the more perishable 
products, and very often the stock of dealers in remote 
places is not to be depended on. One of the greatest 
dangers in this line is the use of stale fish ; it is not only 
unwholesome, but often dangerous. Being myself an un¬ 
fortunate wbo is actually poisoned by some sorts of fish, 
even when fresh, I can readily understand the danger of 
touching such food when the least bit stale. Such fish as 
fresh mackerel or bluefish, or any of those having a very 
soft flesh, are more susceptible to decay than the firmer 
sorts, and it is certaiuly imprudent to eat them if they 
have been long out of the water, even if no signs of putre 
faction are noticeable. If fish of any kind seems very 
flabby, the eyes sunken and dull, and the gills limp, leave 
it alone; it is not fresh, and although harm may not result 
from eating it, it is best to be on the safe side. I have 
been told that a little chloride of lime will freshen stale 
fish, but I should not like to eat it myself. Certainly there 
is danger in eating any sort of flesh if the least bit stale, 
but fish seems especially dangerous, though some constitu¬ 
tions are more susceptible than others to injury from it. 
When using fresh-water fish, it will always be improved 
by soaking in salt water before using; this will do much 
to remove the muddy taste from fish caught in small 
ponds or rivers. This soaking is a great improvement to 
cat fish, which, repulsive though they are in appearance, 
make very delicate eating when well served. Cat-fish 
chowder, just right, is almost worthy of a place beside the 
bouillabaisse whereof Thackeray sings. 
■# 
* * 
Whenever means will allow it, there is no doubt that it 
is an excellent plan, to remove the carpets in the summer, 
replacing them with matting. The latter is far cooler, and 
somehow seems cleaner and less dusty. If this plan is 
pursued, the carpets must be well beaten, tightly rolled, 
with camphor in the folds, wrapped iu tar-paper and then 
covered with burlap. In the dining-room it is an improve¬ 
ment to have a drugget under the table, which can be 
shaken out whenever necessary. The labor of sweeping 
matting is so much less than that of sweepiug carpet, that 
the difference must be taken into consideration during the 
hot weather. 
* 
* * 
IN caring for the family health we must remember the 
many summer diseases which have their origin, directly or 
indirectly, in neglect of sanitary precautions. The dis¬ 
posal of the family waste becomes a matter for considera¬ 
tion. There is no doubt that the plan followed by many 
city dwellers in flats—that of burning much of the refuse— 
is excellent. There is a species of drying-pan now made, 
in which vegetable peelings and the like, can be so far 
dried without offense that they can be burned afterwards 
like fuel. It is a very great mistake to mix such refuse 
with ashes ; the mixture makes a useless and offensive 
mass when decaying and damp. The ashes should be 
sifted, and then kept apart, to be used in road-making. 
Where gravel cannot be obtained, coal ashes make the 
best substitute for top dressing roads or paths about the 
house. One of their great advantages is the discourage¬ 
ment they give to weeds, which can be readily kept down 
in the ash walks, even if the locality is very much Infested 
with them. Such rubbish as dust and sweepings one cau 
burn readily enough, saving labor and preventing untid¬ 
iness. As for soapy water or dish-washing, in a country 
place where there is a large yard they never need become a 
source of danger or offense. Carefully emptied around 
grape-vines or trees, they are useful fertilizers, and are 
readily absorbed. One of the State Boards of Health sug¬ 
gests that near the foot of the house-lot a series of furrows 
or deep trenches should be made, into which waste liquids 
should be thrown. Oats or corn sown between the trenches 
would aid in taking up the excess of liquid and shielding 
from the sun. This authority considers this trench system, 
which enables the soil to absorb and deodorize the liquids 
quickly, far preferable to a cess-pool, which often becomes 
a source of danger. Of course, it is only applicable to a 
country neighborhood, where space is plentiful. From 
time to time all places receiving such waste matter, all 
cess-pools and the like, should be liberally sprinkled with 
chloride of lime or copperas solution, and the same care 
must extend to the viciuity of stables and other out-build¬ 
ings. A little extra expense and trouble are surely pref¬ 
erable to an outbreak of typhus or malignant diphtheria. 
EMILY LOUISE TAPLIN. * 
■piSrcUancou.o' £Uvcrti$inQ. 
In writing to advertisers, please mention The R. N.-Y. 
When Bahy was sick, we nave her Castorla, 
When she was a Child, she cried for Castorla, 
When she became Miss, she clung to Castorla, 
When she had Children, she gave them Castorla. 
