1896 
389 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
WHOLESALE CORN-GROWING AT THE EAST. 
PLANTING CORN IN BRICK DUST. 
[EDITORIAL correspondence.] 
Gov. Morton's farm at Rhinecliff is about the last 
place an experienced man would select for a dairy 
farm ; yet it supports, probably, the largest herd of 
Guernsey cattle in the world, and provides all the 
rough fodder for them. Here one may find “ artificial 
farming.” Most of the soil is such a heavy clay that 
it should have been used for brickmaking rather than 
for corn growing. This soil, with ordinary culture, 
will break up into brick-like clods, and when pulver¬ 
ized by proper tillage, is literally brick dust. During 
the past year, this section has been about as “rain¬ 
less” as those western regions, where people have 
nearly starved to death. All along the Hudson River, 
the hay fields are simply burned out by drought. 
There has hardly been one good soaking rain for two 
years, and grass has died of thirst. 
Yet, in spite of this drought, Ellerslie Farm pro¬ 
duced, last year, 2,000 tons of corn ensilage, and, so 
far as human foresight can estimate, will produce an 
equal amount this year. Wishing to know how to 
raise corn in brick dust, I visited the farm on May 22, 
to see how the crop is put in. 
The corn land, 175 acres, was all plowed last fall. 
Some of it was old meadow land, while the rest was 
in corn last year. In plowing, the furrows were left 
“ on edge,” so that the frost could work all through 
the soil. The first working this spring was done with 
a disk harrow, run crosswise of the furrows. As soon 
as the ground had been worked one way with the 
disk, it was cross-harrowed by running the disks at 
right angles with the first harrowing. This leaves 
the surface lumpy and ridged, though stirred five or 
six inches in depth. 
Then comes the Acme harrow, which is also run 
twice—with the furrows and across them—and it is 
wonderful how, after these four harrowings, the 
lumps are crushed and the surface is pulverized. 
“ That ought to be harrowing enough,” I said, and 
certainly the soil seemed fit to plant the smallest 
seeds. 
“ But we shall give it two more workings,” said Mr. 
Cottrell, “ with the grain drill and the roller. The 
work of the grain drill is equal to another harrow¬ 
ing. We shall also roll the ground after planting. 
In ordinary seasons, this would not be needed, and in 
a wet year it would be suicidal to roll this clay soil. 
This year, however, we believe that the rol'ing will 
crush the few remaining lumps, and firm the soil 
about the seed so that it will sprout better. For pre¬ 
paring our corn ground, we have found no better 
combination than the disk and Acme harrows. We 
use three horses on the disk, and two on the Acme, 
and run two harrows at a time, one following the 
other.” 
On the day of my visit, they were just finishing the 
planting of a 75-acre field. Two teams did the work 
in 4% days, which is an average of a little over eight 
acres a day for each team. The ordinary drill for 
small grain is used. The corn is fed into every third 
hole, with the shoes arranged so that the rows are 
run 3% feet apart, with the seed averaging one foot 
apart in the drill. The fertilizer is run into every 
hole, so that it is really broadcasted over the entire 
field, as well as placed in the drill with the seed. 
Each machine drops two rows at a time, and as two 
teams work together, four rows are planted at each 
round. One man drives the team and another walks 
behind the drill to see that seed and fertilizer are 
dropped evenly. At each side of the field, men are 
placed with fertilizer and seed to see that the boxes 
are kept filled. 
Mr. Cottrell prefers the grain drill to the regular 
corn planter, for several reasons, although the fer¬ 
tilizer boxes are too small. The hoes give the ground 
a good harrowing, and drop the fertilizer evenly all 
over the ground. This is an important point, for, on 
this farm, strange as it may seem, fertilizers are used 
to grow feed for cows. That seems like reversing the 
natural order of things, for the usual advice to dairy¬ 
men is to crowd the cow manure on the corn ground, 
and use the stalks as fodder or ensilage to feed more 
aows,* and Thus make jn«re.manure,. At Etlerslie^ .the 
uv9-ii am in .listed for aatiumi erimoausiiairti notiJala^guJsMifc 
j-AtYTils.nsadirak klmjeax ra^nuru. At Ellerslie, the 
^iVr.^SUtrell says that, whenever 
helhas used Smalley,almcmntsi h» hassf^i«led»itext)btaiag 
the desired) crop; : T his'fertilizer is i a s speciaBmixture 
madettaii4> the neieiiSioL this hesuvyisoil., it analyzes 
about-fomu pec cent oLnitrogenv nine^pf cphosphoric 
aeidjiandifieven of potasbJiiThefe.rtilizer nien usually 
say ithaiuthia soil does.<mot need/ iso- much potash. 
When tthey arejaskpdti&fche£ will iguaranfcee^as^good 
oropst withia mixture! containing dess potash,: they are 
nAt ready$o <lo so* < The Success of this ensilage crop,' 
year niter year*ion this hard soil, with s6i little 
not ready to do so. The success of this ensilage crop, 
/ear after year, on this hard suit, with so little 
moisture, is a striking illustration of the value of fer¬ 
tilizers when they are properly selected and rightly 
used. Years ago, fertilizers were used on this farm, 
and discarded because it was claimed that they did 
not pay. Why didn’t they pay ? Because they were 
of a brand too low in nitrogen and potash, and be¬ 
cause the soil was not properly prepared. In spite of 
the fact that hardly six inches of available rainfall 
have been registered in this section in the past six 
months, the grain drill turned up dark, moist soil, 
into which the seed corn was dropped and packed. 
That moisture has been brought to the surface and 
retained there by the constant stirring and crushing 
afforded by the five workings with disk, Acme and 
drill. When soluble fertilizers are put into such soil, 
they become at once available for every little root, 
and each sprinkle of rain can be utilized. 
But for this careful and thorough preparation of 
the soil, it is safe to say that the Ellerslie cattle 
would go hungry next winter, or live on western hay. 
There is enough of last, year's ensilage still left in 
the silo to feed them till July, and then the clover, 
and oats and peas, will be ready—that is, if there be 
any rain. 
Forty acres of grain and peas were sown this year, 
but though twice the usual quantity of seed was 
used, there is hardly half an average stand. Two 
bushels each of oats and barley mixed were broad¬ 
casted on each acre after it had been prepared by 
disking in 50 loads of cow manure, and 500 pounds 
of a fertilizer containing only potash and phosphoric 
acid. After the grain had been broadcasted, 2)4 
bushels of peas were drilled in, the harrowing of the 
drill serving to cover the oats and barley. As we 
have said, there is scarcely half the ordinary stand in 
spite of this heavy manuring and seeding. Unless a 
soaking rain shall come soon, there will be little but 
ensilage to feed on Ellerslie Farm. It is a lucky 
thing that the corn plant is a Prohibitionist, and can 
laugh at the drought when treated as it is on these 
clay hills. H. w. C. 
THE STRAWBERRY IN NEW YORK. 
THOUGH DELICATE, IT’S A L ASTER! 
The strawberry is one of the most perishable of 
fruits, its season from first to last usually spanning 
but a few weeks, though, by setting different varie¬ 
ties comprising the earliest and the latest, the fruit¬ 
ing season may be prolonged somewhat. Yet New 
York has strawberries fresh from the vines during at 
least two-thirds of the year. From December to 
August, there are few days when they cannot be pur¬ 
chased, at some price, in our city markets, and occa¬ 
sionally, they are to be had outside these mouths. 
The first that come are the hothouse berries, which 
usually begin in time for the Christmas market, or, 
perhaps, a little earlier. These are never seen in the 
open market, the price confining them to the fancy 
trade of the higher class of fruit stores. Few can 
afford to eat these, and they are rightly classed as 
luxuries. Last winter, they sold at wholesale, as high 
as $2.50 per one-third cup, that is, $7.50 per quart. Of 
course, not all sell so high, and no great quantity, no 
matter how choice, could be sold for this price. But 
there is a chance for intelligent industry to be well 
rewarded in this direction These strawberries usu¬ 
ally continue to arrive in greater or lesser quantities 
for several months, long after the southern berries 
become quite plentiful. 
The first to come after these, are the Florida ber¬ 
ries, an account of the growing of which is given on 
our first page. The time of their arrival depends upon 
the season at the place of growth. Sometimes un¬ 
timely frosts delay the crop for weeks, and materially 
lessen the output. This year, the first to arrive in 
quantity to warrant quotations, came the latter part 
of January, and were quoted at 75 cents per quart, 
though choice ones would have sold for a still higher 
price. They continue to come until the price drops 
to a point that renders further shipments unremun- 
erative, or the continued picking reduces the size of 
the fruit below the requirements of the market. As 
the strawberry market moves northward, the planta¬ 
tions nearer market have a great advantage in the 
matter of transportation, and^the berries from: Georgia, 
id aa:a£hias<fiV fcrgitaL Mary lan*L lj Delaware.*tnlDNew 
Delaware and New 
i)mqW)*edlilu*JdyI*lobl&®Gt*rries, this year, seemed to 
reaic&ethisinaatkeu - ftf 
The increased! use 'Ofr : ied'dtt shipping, will, •pfobaibl'y- 
explaifi this/ ! 'The most’de'straMie 1 way4o i isse th*6Bac- 
cording to dealers here, is in^ th&'Large-eratfeb, itTvHtieb 
theTaskets of berries 'are'placedyarith a tray of-iee put 
in>above fchem.leThis‘plan ‘bekts a ‘refrigerate rear 1 , as 1 
tho orates can be shipped idtreet to dealers, hvithout 
any repadking. This plan beats a refrig'erator cur, us 
ii The berries' from the > Middle- 1 Sbuth, 1 this year,' were 
not so<good as'those from Florida, on account of the 
The berries from the Middle South, this year, were 
uul ao Ad lUOhW Lt'-itU aJl UlA, UU ttUCUtlUt ui t»UO 
drought which rendered them smaller and of poorer 
quality. The reports from the Hudson River \ alley 
are also to the effect that many of the vines have been 
entirely destroyed by the drought, and others badly 
injured ; so that we are not likely to get berries of 
so good quality from there this year. 
At present, the bulk of our berries are coming from 
Maryland, Delaware and the eastern shore of Vir¬ 
ginia, though a few are still coming from further 
south, and New Jersey is sending some. Varieties 
are numerous, but not one dealer or consumer in 100, 
knows one variety from another, unless it be the 
Sharpless, which is always a prime favorite. 
New York is a distributing center, and thousands 
of crates ai*e re-shipped from here to New Eng¬ 
land, New York and sometimes, to Canada. Later in 
the season, immense quantities come from near-by 
points. Then, still later, the strawberry fields of 
northern New York send whole train-loads to make 
the season still longer. Sometimes, too, we have had 
strawberries from Maine and Canada, which extend 
the season still longer than northern New York. 
Many of these, however, arrive in poor condition. 
The same care in packing and shipping ought to put 
them into the market here in as good condition as 
those from Florida, and the extra price usually 
obtained at the end of the season, ought to make it a 
paying business. The market is frequently glutted 
with poor fruit, but it is rare that the supply of choice 
fruit, put up in neat, attractive shape, equals the 
demand. 
WHAT SAY? 
Ensilage and Cows’ Teeth. —An objection to silos 
is making a disturbance here. Some people say that 
ensilage destroys the teeth of stock that eat it, so that 
young cows have to be disposed of because their teeth 
are gone. Some farmers here wish to build a silo, 
but if ensilage destroys the teeth of stock, they will 
not feed it. Can the question be started in The R. 
N.-Y. to decide the matter ? G. v. B. 
Cortland County, N. Y. 
R. N.-Y.—What about this, ye ensilage feeders? 
Who can show the oldest ensilage-fed cow with good 
teeth ? 
What Crop for Small Farm ?— I own a small farm 
of 30 acres, mostly light loam soil about 18 inches 
deep to a clay subsoil, I am told, in fair condition. 
It is situated on the Niagara River, nine miles from 
the city of Buffalo, N. Y., a city of 350,000 population, 
which, I suppose, would be a good market for almost 
any kind of product which could be grown. I use this 
place for a summer home, my family passing five 
months of the year there. I could not spare more 
than one day each week to oversee any work going on 
there. Heretofore, I have had no income to speak of 
from it. I would like to get, at least, six per cent in¬ 
terest on my investment, of $3,000, if possible. What 
would you advise me to do with it ? I would he will¬ 
ing to invest $1,000 or $2,000 or more, on any improve¬ 
ments, if I could see any chance of getting interest 
on it back in a few years. Would it be advisable to 
put it all into fruit ? If so, what kinds ? Or into 
what other crops? I can hire ordinary help and 
teams at reasonable wages. Almost the entire piece 
is in grass now, which is about run out. j. G. G. 
R. N.-Y.—We would like a discussion regarding 
these questions. The chances are that, all things 
considered, it will pay as well as anything to get the 
farm into grass as quickly as possible, and cut a hay 
crop every year. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
Mr. J. H. Martin, White Lake. N. Y.. wants to sell R. N.-Y. 
readers Berkshire pigs. Anything Mr. Martin sends out will be 
all right. 
Any one in need of cider or wine press machinery, for hand or 
power, will find a suitable press described in the catalogue of the 
Empire State Pulley and Press Co., Fulton, N. Y. It will be sent 
free. 
Farmers who wish to grade up their stock with purebred Guern¬ 
sey males on their native stock, will find some desirable bulls in 
Governor Morton’s Ellerslie herd. Address II. W. Cottrell, Ithine- 
cliff, N. Y. 
In time of short pasture, nothing serves better to complete a 
balanced ration than linseed oil meal. The Detroit Linseed Oil 
Works, Detroit, Mich., is a good place to procure it. They will 
give prompt attention to R. N.-Y. inquiries. 
For all conditions of soil and surface, we don’t know of a grain 
drill that gives better general satisfaction than the Buckeye. 
Wherever we find it, or hear of it, it is doing satisfactory work. 
The manufacturers are P. P. Mast <& Co., 9 Canal Street, Spriug- 
Bit* : wt*.r,u. 4 ,.. ,1 i., I .S UJ.i;. -al.- .. lu'J W o A 
i EjUltuaUNUEi Rus'.j shown. that -Ultr.hest, siuwuas With:., C-Tin) 
•rioMfiil domes from seed grown in this country, and as far north as 
latitudes. Arthur J Collin'-, 
MTo rbrniMv-the best prices* hay-’mitatp b*>' welln baled .n <j>neu oft tire, 
aldeatiamt best-known manufacturers of hay presses is P. K. 
De^ni?^* Pfh,tAlVW','fcl: cl^m jhaytlieir presses are 
iMWLOr forage balsd.in t,h<Lwprlft. 
T^F 1 < f, a Hi9gu. e ,jeWflg ,«#. (9V thinking,, 
i Few implements, are 1 , manufactured doc farm use, that van be. 
put tournee varied, and .profitable uses than rthe^‘iiittle Gem” 
Wr M HRfl-.WAfttht# ^•ip^ft l l ^ : s 1 trest,uj-te>vxi, l »;at«r[t4figar,d^, 
9Ltbe ; c,elm. :i 9r Ai^rlbqte_iiq l uld,iuauuj’e,.it is ready and, 
, A ,b e attached, to spray vipeyard*. 
SlPu.F.S .kPU.eYie'lN*usedjvuUoipqsly, would 
pay its way every year, ou, any farm imtbe country. 
t-vc. VV»* that tins implement, U judiciously, would 
At tO 
