1905. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
377- 
Hope Farm Notes 
Farm Notes. —About the middle of April 
people laughed at me for saying we were to 
have a late Spring. There wasn't a thing 
for me to do hut keep quiet, for the air was 
warm and the sun shining. I had figured 
that the North was full of ice and snow, and 
that, icebergs would float down—thus keeping 
fhe north wind cold. It didn't look as though 
there could be an iceberg on the face of the 
earth, but I have learned among other things 
to wait. All of a sudden the wind whipped 
around cold until one would think there were 
icebergs floating down the Hudson River. 
The peach buds were just ready to swell 
when that cold wave struck us, and it was 
an anxious time, for ice nearly an inch thick 
froze on the tubs. The buds were not open 
enough to be damaged. This cold wave puts 
our season back so that we are later than 
usual after all. Our first Alaska peas were 
planted this year on April 13—three days 
ahead of last year. The first potatoes were 
planted April 20—later than usual. Tree 
planting is later, as the trees were late in 
coming. 1 was afraid they would be too far 
advanced, but to my surprise they were quite 
dormant when fjiey finally came. This year, 
instead of starting onions in the hotbed very 
early for transplanting, we waited till April, 
and started some in the hotbed and others 
in rich spots of ground here and there. This 
plan worked well last year. The onions 
started outside were quite as large, though 
not so early as those started in the hotbed. 
The picture at Fig. 155, page 370, shows 
how our fruit buds are crowded on the wood. 
The trees are small and low down. They 
were June buds planted in crowbar holes. 
There is nothing like them for a show of 
fruit anywhere in our section. Most of them 
made about 18 inches of new wood last sea¬ 
son. and the buds are plump enough for any¬ 
body. 
Thee Notes.— The chief business at Hope 
Farm this year will be caring for the or¬ 
chards. We nave learned that by heavy 
manuring and close planting of garden crops 
on the lower part of the farm we can pro¬ 
duce as great, a value as we formerly did on 
many acres of hillside. The latter is now 
all in grass and trees. This year ought to 
give us our first good returns from the young 
trees, but we are not banking on it until It 
comes. The crops for paying expenses while 
the trees come on are strawberries, cherries, 
onions, potatoes and peppers, with the sur¬ 
plus of other vegetables. We could sell a 
good deal of hay if I did not want to leave 
all the grass I can in the orchards around 
the trees. 
I have been criticised more or less for try¬ 
ing what is called the “Stringfollow" method 
of handling trees—that is, close root-prun¬ 
ing, planting in small holes and mulching in 
place of cultivation. My observation lias 
made me believe that, by means of this plan, 
or a modification of it, we may turn some 
of our rocky and unproductive laud Into 
profitable orchards. In view of the way 
some of my own trees have acted I have been 
unable to understand why the scientific men 
made such fun of this practice or method. It 
ilid me a lot of good to read Bulletin 157 of 
the Ohio Experiment Station (Wooster, O.L 
That bulletin contains an excellent account 
of various peach orchards, showing how some 
were killed. Among other things we are told 
of Mr. Hadden, a peach grower, who has 
tried to establish "'an orchard on good soil. 
Read this: 
"He cannot, however, get the trees be¬ 
yond the age of two years, when they sicken 
and die from a disease that still abounds and 
continues to spread, the young shoots grow¬ 
ing slender and weakly and the leaves nar¬ 
row, wiry and yellow, with curled, brown 
margins, very like yellows indeed. The re¬ 
markable exception to this discouraging con¬ 
dition of things, and a striking example of 
some strange and favorable force at work in 
the midst of disaster, is found in a shallow, 
broad-bottomed ravine coursing irregularly 
through this part of the orchard. I.i the 
cultivation of the orchard* the broad bottom 
of this winding ravine has not and could not 
have been broken because of the desperately 
stony surface presented. So stony -is it that 
no plowshare can gain an entrance, and the 
plow has to be dragged over the rocky sur¬ 
face until the gravelly, more tillable soil at 
either boundary is reached. As a result the 
Blue grass has matted the ravine, seeming to 
flourish as it gained possession of crevices 
between the stones. In this "Blue grass bot¬ 
tom” of the ravine, also slightly mulched 
with coarse material, such as mown weeds, 
etc., every peach. tree planted is growing 
clean, dark-foliaeed, vigorous and promising. 
The contrast is so strongly and clearlv 
marked as to be wonderful as viewed from a 
slight elevation nearby.” 
That talk is closely with my own experi¬ 
ence. I have a block of Carman peaches 
growing on a rocky ledge with barely a foot 
of soil, but well mulched, that are remarka¬ 
ble for vigor. Some of our scientific friends 
will not only find it necessary to take a back 
seat on this subject, but will have to stand 
up. 
Farm Labor In Florida.—I intend to be 
as fair to Florida as possible by giving all 
sides a hearing. Here is a note from a 
northern hired man : 
"I spent last Winter in Orange County, 
Florida. I am a farm laborer in Western 
*<ew York, and went south with I ho idea of 
working as a laborer. 1 had considerable 
trouble finding work. I walked 10 miles be¬ 
fore I struck a job. I asked for work where- 
ever 1 thought there was something doing, 
and finally I did strike a job picking oranges 
at four cents a box. Well, I found it al¬ 
together different from picking apples. Rick¬ 
ing oranges is something like picking apples 
off a thorn-apple bush, and as far as labor 
is concerned it is like anything else; a green 
or poor hand will work harder picking 18 or 
20 boxes or barrels of oranges or apples than 
an expert, would in picking 30 or 35 of the 
same. I did not work at my job very long; 
it would rain now and then, and one would l>e 
put out of a job, and in the morning one 
would have to wait until the dew would dry. 
One would find days short for piece work. I 
then hired out to what they call a farmer for 
a dollar a uay, rain or shine. I liked the 
work. It was drawing, packing and picking 
oranges. I paid $4 a week board ; that, was 
the cheapest I could get anywhere. A room 
would cost from $1 up. I did not. hire a 
room. I made my bunk in an old barn. It 
was my first experience sleeping in a barn. 
I do not advise any man from the North to 
go South for work. I met several young lads 
like myself, who had just money enough to 
send them to the South and depended on 
labor for a living and to make money enough 
to return them. I met some that sent home 
for money to come back with. I sold my 
watch and chain to pay my way back. Well, 
1 spent the Winter in the “Sunny South", 
but give me the snowbanks in western New 
York for mine.” ,T. G. 
Orleans Co., N. Y. 
Now some Florida man will probably start 
up and say that this is a slur on his State, 
but I think this story is accurate. There are 
parts of Florida where it would be easier to 
get work, yet I think it must be admitted 
that Florida is not the place for a day labor¬ 
er. At the same time I have letters from 
people who ask for help. The State is not 
the best for a poor man, but rather for one 
who has some little capital to carry him over. 
More Alfalfa. —It is an off day that 
doesn’t, bring us several letters about Alfalfa. 
A Virginia man says he has a piece of ground 
that he wants to seed in the late Summer or 
early Fall of 1906. 
“I expect to cover the ground with stable 
manure this Spring (the ground is now in a 
heavy Timothy sod), so that all of the weed 
seed will sprout before next year. I do not 
expect to mow the Timothy, but will graze 
very hard instead. The soil consists of about 
six inches of rather a sandy loam, and a sub¬ 
soil of red clay.” 
I don't believe you will get much Alfalfa 
by turning over a Timothy sod. Weed seeds 
will keep on sprouting for five or six years, 
and the grass in that old sod will kill out 
your Alfalfa. I should want to follow some 
cleaning crop like corn or potatoes, so as to 
have most of the grass and weeds cleaned 
out. If you can start a year ahead with 
Alfalfa a good way is to put corn on the sod. 
and follow with rye, using lime on the rye. 
Plow rye under in Spring, fit the soil well 
and seed to Alfalfa. Do not make the mis¬ 
take of thinking that the weed seeds in 
manure spread broadcast on sod will- sprout 
in one year. As well expect that we have 
escaped all the evil habits of our grandpar¬ 
ents. I should use 20 bushels of air-slaked 
lime per acre, either with rye as mentioned 
above or at the time of seeding. I have a 
piece of ground that, was in squashes last 
year. About the middle of May I expect to 
plow it and sow Japanese millet. This will 
be cut before August 1, the land plowed 
again, well limed, and seeded to Alfalfa, using 
soil from the other Alfalfa field. Having 
succeeded in making at least some of the 
Alfalfa grow I intend to help spread it 
through our neighborhood. If I get the 
plants up to their best growth I would like 
to dig up several good ones and nail them to 
a board at the front of the farm. That 
ought to be equal to a sign reading: "This 
way from the miller’s pocketbook !" I be¬ 
lieve that the general introduction of Alfalfa 
into any good farm neighborhood will increase 
farm values and make better citizens. I 
have heard people ask what good can possibly 
come from studying about bacteria and ail 
such things. When you get a man to try to 
study out some principle of his business you 
help the man in all ways. You make him 
keener, broader and more receptive of in¬ 
formation. When you think of how little the 
average man can give to society, and how 
much he must take from it, you see how we 
must imitate the sponge rather than the 
clothes wringer. All this talk about bacteria 
has taught many of us to have faith in what 
we could not see or clearly understand. We 
need faith about as much as we need any¬ 
thing. _ h. w. c. 
Silo Advantages. —I have no silo, but 
have been watching my neighbors who have 
silos and shall build this Fall. I have in¬ 
vestigated my neighbors’ who have been us¬ 
ing them for two and three years, and am 
satisfied that it: is a good and cheap way of 
feeding cattle and sheep, even where brew¬ 
ers’ malt may be had with short haul. My 
judgment on the matter of feed is that with 
Alfalfa and a well-filled silo we can produce 
milk, mutton and beef at small cost. .t. f. 
drove City, Pa. 
4 per cent 
on your savings 
People send us their sav¬ 
ings from everywhere — 
partly for safety; partly for 
4 per cent. 
SAFETY— THE CLEVELAND 
TRUST COMPANY has 48,000 de¬ 
positors; $25,000,000 assets; $2,800,000 
capital and surplus. 
4 PER CENT —send for booklet 
H, which tells clearly why we pay 4 per 
cent on savings deposits and how you 
can Bank by Mail. 
Be Sure of Your Bank 
Zb e 
Clevelanb 
Zx ust Company 
CLEVELAND OHIO 
containing plenty of Potash. All 
vegetables require a fertilizer con¬ 
taining at least io per cent, actual 
Potash 
Without Potash no fertilizer is-com- 
plete, and failure will follow its use. 
Every farmer should have our valuable books 
on fertilization—they are not advertising 
matter booming any special fertilizer, but 
books of authoritative information that means 
large profits to tho farmers. Sent free for the 
asking. 
GERMAN KALI WORKS 
9S Nassau Street, New York. 
Land Rollers 
Steel Frame, Steel Axle 
Dust-Proof Boxes, Etc. 
COMBINATION DRILL 
IglL „ 
wheel cultivator. Send 
for illustrated catalogue and prices. 
BACON llFG. CO., Pontiac, Mich. 
Send for Special Circular and Price List. 
LANSING IMPLEMENT CO., Lansing, Mich. 
NO COMBINES OR TRUSTS IN CUTAWAYS. 
Clark’s Reversible Bush & Bog Plow, cuts a track i ft. wide. 1 ft. deep. Will plow anew 
cut forest. His Double-Actfon Cutaway Harrow keeps the laud 
true, moves 18,000 tons of earth, cuts 30 acres per day. His Itev. 
Disk Pi o w cuts a furrow 5 to 10 i u. deep, -*■ ,14 In.wide 
All these machines will kill witch- —JWK. 
grass, wild muitard, charlock,hard- 
hack. sunflower, milkweed, thistle , 
any foul plant. Send forcir'lars. J 
CUTAWAY HARROW CO„! 
Higganum, Conn., U. S. A. 
i ! 
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EQUITABLE 
HENRY B.HYDB 
J.W. ALEXANDER. 
PRESIDENT 
J.H.HYDF. 
VICE PRESIDENT 
TIME AND TIDE 
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brings you nearer the un¬ 
productive years of your life. 
At the flood-tide of your 
life make provision for your 
mature years. 
An Endowment Policy in the 
Equitable will return your sur¬ 
plus earnings when you need 
them most — and meanwhile 
your loved ones are protected. 
Splendid opportunities for men of character to act as representatives. 
Wfii» to CAGE E.TAR8EL 2l°Vi« Prpsd.nl. 
SEND THIS COUPON FOR PARTICULARS OR WRITE 
The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, 120 Broadway, New York, 
Dept. No. 125. 
Please send me information regarding an Endowment for $.issued to a man. 
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