318 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
May 9 
seed. The fertilizer described last week, is liberally 
used. They have just bought a Robbins potato 
planter, and though their land is rough and hilly, 
they hope to beat Chapman’s 9-cent potato crop. Mr. 
Manchester gives the following notes of potato ex¬ 
perience : 
“ We find it pretty hard work to get pure seed pota¬ 
toes. We are afraid that many dealers don’t know 
their own varieties. In one lot of four barrels of 
Early Ohio bought this year, we picked out one bushel 
of New Queen, with a few Polaris. It is needless to 
say that we shall not buy of that man again. Many 
farmers are learning that the early potatoes bring the 
most money. They can often be sold before the late 
varieties are matured. It saves storing, shrinkage 
and a possibility of lower prices. Even with not quite 
so large a yield, they pay better. Several dealers 
have written us “all sold out” or “nearly out” of 
early potatoes. We like the Early Harvest very much, 
and hope great things for it this year. On about a 
half-acre plot, we have planted the following varie¬ 
ties to compare yield and earliness. Early Ohio, Early 
Harvest, Early Norther, Early Pearl, Burpee’s Extra 
Early, Earliest in the World, Lee’s Favorite and King 
of the Roses. We have used 1,000 pounds of good 
fertilizer on the plot, furrowed deep and shall cover 
or fill up gradually with a smoothing harrow. On 
our trial grounds last year, of 40 varieties, Early 
Pearl outyielded all, and nearly all were handsome, 
marketable potatoes. The Keystone had immense 
vines, and we expected great potatoes, but found only 
a few small ones. We were never deceived quite so 
badly before. We paid a good price for some new 
Extra Early Blush ; they were not early, and did not 
yield half a decent crop.” 
It will thus be seen that efforts are made at “ Pros¬ 
pect Hill Farm ” to grow a few standard crops, and 
grow them well—just as a manufacturer would pro¬ 
ceed to make his goods on scientific principles. What 
does that mean ? Why, it means, buying the raw 
materials at the lowest cash prices, and putting them 
together in the most skillful way, and with most of 
the muscular force performed by engine, horse or 
machinery. It is a mistake for a man’s hand ever to 
work alone. It should never undertake a job that 
does not have enough in it to warrant the admission 
of brain as an equal partner. You will notice that all 
the crops on this farm naturally run into the barn. 
The sweet corn stalks all go there, and some of the 
money obtained for the potatoes will go to buy grain 
or pay the milkers. So that the products of the milk 
from the 40 cows will largely represent the farm’s 
profit. These products are ice cream, butter, sweet 
milk, pot cheese, cream and skim-milk. When all the 
customers are supplied, there is little left for the cats 
and calves. In most of the smaller Connecticut towns, 
there is a regular demand for skim-milk at 10 cents a 
gallon, which is a greater value than an ordinary 
calf can get out of it. 
We shall not take time in these articles to describe 
the making of any of these products, except the ice 
cream. That is a feature of this farm, and it is one 
that might well be copied on many dairy farms 
throughout the country. If any reader cares to ask 
questions about the other products, we shall gladly 
answer. 
During the spring and summer, the Manehesters 
open an ice cream room in the town where cream is 
sold at wholesale or retail, and where milk, pot 
cheese, cream, butter or eggs are also furnished. 
This year, the room was opened April 17. On April 
18, the sales amounted to $32.89 for 13 gallons of 
cream, and two gallons of ices. If the cream had 
been made into butter, it would have made about 24 
pounds which, at a wholesale price of 23 cents, would 
have brought $5.52. All other materials used in the 
cream did not cost over $2.50, which leaves a differ¬ 
ence of $14.87 in favor of the cream, with the cost of 
labor, rent of store, and interest of investment to 
come out. That will do to think over until next week, 
when we shall try to tell how the cream is made. 
WHAT SAY? 
Cheap Roof and Paint. —What is the cheapest 
and best roof for henhouses, that is, warm, vermin- 
proof and durable? Would gas-tar and gasoline, 
painted on the inside of a henhouse, be better than 
to whitewash with lime ? G. b. l. 
Ontario. 
A Water Gate. —At Fig. 103, is a plan for a fence 
across a creek that runs through our farm. Every 
spring, there is quite a rise of water, and we have to 
take the fence away in the fall and rebuild it in the 
spring, or else lose the rails. The water was from 
five to six feet deep this spring, but it soon goes down 
again to about one foot. At high water, it is about 
100 feet wide. Do you think that stone pillars built, 
say, 30 feet apart with a gas pipe at the top on which 
heavy wooden gates are hung, would make a perma¬ 
nent fence ? The high water would push the gates 
with the current and allow the water to pass. Some¬ 
times small logs and stumps float down when the 
water is high. Do you know of a better plan ? Would 
it be very expensive ? g. f. 
Bartonville, Ont., Canada. 
R. N.- Y .—We shall be pleased to have those of our 
readers who can do so, give us their experience in 
this matter. 
Wild Broom Corn Pat ?—Is it practicable to grow 
broom corn on good corn land, with the idea of mak¬ 
ing the product up at home in the winter time, and 
selling the same to near-by markets ? Would it 
likely succeed in the climate of central New York ? 
Would the cost of machinery or lack of experience, be 
a serious objection ? From what I have seen, it does 
not seem to be an intricate or costly affair. Please 
submit this subject for consideration. a h. g. 
Oakwood, N. Y. 
WHAT THEY SAY? 
Shipping Breeding Fowls. —I have shipped a large 
number of fowls to breeders and farmers in all the 
Western and Southern States, and never had but one 
injured. For one Plymouth Rock cock, I make the 
coop 16 inches wide, 18 long, and 20 high. For two 
CRATE FOR SHIPPING POULTRY. Fig. 102. 
or three hens, 16 inches wide, 16 high, and 24 long. 
For cock and two hens, same width and length, but 
20 inches high. The bottom is tight, %-inch stuff 
with one strip across each end and one across the 
middle, underneath. Sides, ends and tops are made of 
plastering lath placed one-half inch apart. No cloth, 
pasteboard or paper is used. The only bird I ever 
failed to land safe and sound at its destination, was 
placed in a coop lined with cloth and open only at the 
top. It met with disaster in a warm express car, and 
arrived looking weary and sad, and soon after turned 
up its toes. I use lath coops to conform to the new 
reduced-rate rule of the express companies, and to 
secure good ventilation. A fowl that can’t stand 
ventilation is of no value as a breeder. The agents 
of the companies advised me to make the sides of all 
my shipping coops perpendicular, and strong enough 
to stand the pressure when piled one upon another. 
Sometimes goods are piled about coops so closely that 
ventilation must all come from one side, hence all 
four sides should admit air. In a properly constructed 
coop, a fowl will go to the farthest corner of the 
country as safely as to roost. fred grundy. 
A Calf Bit. —The best bit for a sucking cow (page 
271) is to give her a bit of weaning before she ever 
had an opportunity to learn to suck. That is, by 
weaning the calf as soon as it is born. I have followed 
this plan for over 30 years, taking the calf from the 
cow as soon as it is dropped, or, at the latest, before 
it has had time to suck the cow. The cow is put into 
a special stall alone, as soon as it is evident that the 
calf will be dropped in a day or two, and is fed and 
cared for attentively. A small, sliding door is made 
in the side of the pen, so that one may see how things 
are going on without disturbing the cow. As soon as 
the calf is born, it is picked up and taken to a pen, 
out of hearing of the cow, and it is fed on the milk as 
it is taken from the cow, beginning four hours after 
the birth of the calf. It is easily taught to drink, a 
few lessons patiently and kindly given, without cuffs 
or kicks, or blows or even hard words, being sufficient 
to wean the little, often-stupid, thing. After the 
fourth day, only skimmed milk is given, but it is 
warmed to the ordinary milk temperature. Three 
quarts are given at first, at a meal twice a day, and 
this is steadily increased as the calf grows, and the 
milk should be continued for three or four months. 
This makes a fine calf, a big frame, plenty of vital 
force, good bone, and one without any of those an¬ 
noying tricks that seem natural to a calf which has 
once sucked the cow. The comfort of having such 
animals in one’s herd ; all to be trusted and free from 
vices ; and without any instinct of sucking, or even of 
being sucked after a few generations ; and the profit of 
it, are together well worth the having, h. stewart. 
Silo for Small Herd. —I wish that I could say 
something to encourage E. W. V., page 256, to build 
a silo for his “ six or eight cows.” I have been just 
where E. W. V. is now, and found ic entirely practical 
to use a silo. As a few items not often mentioned by 
the advocates for the silo, I will call attention to the 
fact that a “wider” ration can be fed where ensilage is 
used, thereby making quite a saving, as the feeding 
stuffs rich in protein are by far the more expensive. 
As E. W. V. is making butter, he will find a decided 
improvement in the “churnability” of the cream. A 
rectangular silo 10x10 and 24 feet deep, would contain 
sufficient for e ght cows, with a chance to carry some 
over for summer feeding. In feeding from a silo 
where two inches are not removed every day, use 
boards to cover one-half, changing back and forth 
every day or two, so as to keep the surface level. 
Wisconsin. chas. solveson. 
A Silo Pays. —I don’t agree with S. C. H. on not hav- 
ing a silo for eight cows. The first cost may be a 
trifle more proportionately, but it can be saved in 
labor. I built a silo three years ago last fall, and like 
it better each year. I could keep no more than four 
cows before I built it, but this winter I fed five cows, 
four two-year-olds, three yearlings and a bull, also a 
pair of oxen. My silo is 22 feet deep, and 12 feet in 
diameter. I filled it full to overflowing from not more 
than three acres of drilled corn. I opened it on .December 
1, and have enough ensilage left to feed my cows till 
grass comes. Besides, I have about seven tons of hay 
left. 1 sell butter to private families, have no com¬ 
plaints, and some of the parties are very particular. 
If a man can keep eight cows on his farm now, he 
can easily keep 16 with a silo of the proper dimen¬ 
sions. I say that it is the best paying thing I have 
on the farm, because I can winter my stock so much 
cheaper, and can produce more milk with less grain 
than formerly. <j, K> 
Georgetown, Conn. 
Sunshine for the Stock.—Do you see that calf 
standing in the sunlight just inside the open barn 
door? Fortunately, the barn faces south, and as the 
wind is in the west, the calf has a comfortable place, 
even though it is zero weather outside. There it 
stands and has stood for an hour, chewing its cud and 
blinking its eyes, the very picture of contentment. 
But why is it there ? Did its mother tell it that a 
sun bath would be good for its health ? Or has it, by 
a long course of reasoning, come to the opinion that 
sunlight is beneficial and, therefore, it stands there 
from a sense of duty ? How foolish ! It is instinct, 
the same as it is instinct that taught her to suck. 
But every instinct found w ithin a calf’s hide, was 
put there for some good purpose. Anything the 
matter with that proposition ? Well, then, if that 
calf enjoys the sunlight, it follows that it needs the 
sunlight. It makes no difference whether it is for its 
light, or for its warmth, or for some of its mysterious 
chemical properties ; it needs the sunlight. The calf’s 
mother and her mates have the same affection for it, 
too, for this very day they are enjoying the sun in the 
field and are very reluctant about going back into the 
stable after a three-hours’ soak, even though it is con¬ 
siderably warmer than the field in which they are 
standing. 
Yesterday the sun did not shine, and although the 
thermometer was 15 degrees higher than it is now, 
the wind was blowing, and the cows, as soon as 
through drinking, were anxious to go back into the 
barn, and, of course, were allowed to do so. It is the 
same instinct with them, and do you think that it is 
best to deprive them of this enjoyment, believing, as 
we do, that it pays us to take thought for the comfort 
of our animals ? Better arrange this winter for the 
cows to have a bath on every sunshiny day. e. b. w. 
R. N.-Y.—Early winter was the time to think about 
this. Possibly the appearance of the cattle as they 
leave the barn for pasture, may “ rub it in.” 
Mulching the Garden. —Last year, we determined 
to see whether we could not have a garden without 
the everlasting hoeing that must be resorted to if one 
expects to find where the vegetables were planted. 
The experiment was carried out with peas, tomatoes, 
cabbage, squashes, and part of the melons. The 
ground was made fertile with good manure, and some 
fertilizers. As soon as the plants were well started, 
cut straw was used in abundance for mulch, enough 
to check any growth of the weeds. There was no use 
of hoe, or weeder on this part of the garden. The 
plants grew right on without interruption from the 
dry weather. In growth and yield, they exceeded 
anything before grown in that garden. The peas 
kept green, and supplied the table well into the sum¬ 
mer. We never had finer tomatoes or any freer of 
rot, than were these, and they fruited abundantly. 
The same was true of the vines of various kinds, and 
between leaves and mulch, there was a total absence 
