Vol. LXLV. No. 2918. 
NEW YORK, DECEMBER 30, 1905. 
WEEKLY, $1.00 PER YEAR. 
THE HOPE FARM ORCHARDS . 
How Sod Planted Trees Appear. 
All readers of The R. N.-Y. feel a personal interest 
in and acquaintance with the Hope Farm man, in his 
various endeavors. All those who, like the writer, are 
interested in horticulture, have noted his orchard plant¬ 
ings, some doubtless with scorn, others with doubt and 
disbelief, but all with interest and hope for a successful 
outcome. Yet I think few, if any, realize the extent 
of the plantings. It was my good fortune to visit the 
farm two years ago, and while I saw some of those 
sod-planted trees, and was told there were to be more 
plantings, even then I left with no idea of the extent 
of the orchards. There may be three reasons for this; 
the rainy day, the fear on the part of the owner that 
the plantings had -not been out long 
enough to bear inspection, or a disposition 
not to “show off.” 
At that time I was impressed by the 
strong, healthy growth of the apples two 
years set, and remarked that while this 
soil was counted poor, and would be of 
little worth for ordinary farm crops, yet 
I believed there was stored up in it a 
large amount of mineral plant food, read¬ 
ily available for the trees. I see no rea¬ 
son to modify that opinion now. 
A few days back I again visited Hope 
Farm, and partook of the baked apples 
and other good cheer that abounds there. 
I sat by the open fire and enjoyed the 
society not only of the Hope Farm man, 
but that of “the gude wife” as well. 
Next morning after breakfast we turned, 
our eyes, as well as our footsteps, toward 
the hills, from whence he expects his 
help to come. At the risk of abusing my 
hospitality, I want to tell the readers of 
The R. N.-Y. just what is being done 
here in the orchard line, believing that it 
will help some in like situation, and that 
all may know how extensive is the work, 
and so be more interested in the outcome. 
I am sure the Hope Farm man will not do 
this himself, and trust the above reason 
may appeal to him strongly enough that 
he publish what I am writing. That it 
may be clearly understood that I am a 
disinterested witness, let me say that I 
am not a believer in the “Hitchings” 
method for most men and on ordinary 
tillable land. 
I was surprised to find that on Hope 
Farm there are about 3,000 young trees 
growing, 1,300 apples, some of these four 
years old. These I saw before, so I was 
able to make a comparison of their 
growth and thriftiness with my own of the same age, for 
instance, under an entirely different system. There are 
300 pear trees. These do not look as well as the apples 
and peaches. I do not think it good pear land. There 
are 1,400 peach trees. The trees four years set had 
borne a fair crop of fruit this year, very high in color 
and of good quality. These trees had also made from 
six to eight inches of new wood, and were full of fruit 
buds. There are about 60 acres in the farm other than 
woodland. The best of this lies nearest the buildings, 
and is good enough for anyone when it is drained and 
cleared of stones, as some of it has been. This can also 
be irrigated from springs above at a trifling cost. Most 
of the land is on an elevation more or less stony, and 
hard to till; land that is accounted poor. Some of it 
has a scrubby second growth of wood on it. Part of 
this has been and is being cleared off and trees set in. 
The fact that this land has lain fallow so long, and 
there has been some vegetable matter gone to decay, 
which in turn has helped to make soluble some of the 
mineral plant food, surely gives conditions most fav¬ 
orable for the healthy growth of trees. It would be 
folly to attempt economically to raise crops on such 
land, and equally^ foolish to try to cultivate trees on it. 
With trees set with both root and top cut back there 
is abundant plant food of the right kind for the tree 
in the start. Then by digging about the base and then 
mulching with grass or other refuse material, the 
moisture is retained and more plant food set free, and 
at a minimum of cost. The intention is to apply fer¬ 
tilizers as the increased growth of the trees demands it. 
More or less fertilizing must be done in any orchard. 
Here much of such expense is offset by little cost for 
cultivation. One who should view these orchards, com¬ 
paring them with those of equal age, grown by heavy 
fertilization and good cultivation in the best apple dis¬ 
tricts of New York State, would at first glance be dis¬ 
appointed. On closer examination one realizes that this 
is not a fair comparison. This land has little value. 
These trees are grown with little expense. Even though 
they never make so large a growth, here is almost 
worthless land made to bear a crop of highest market 
value. The location of the land is such that danger 
from late frosts is very slight, and on such elevations 
fungus growths are not particularly troublesome. 
I can see where for a small investment one not able 
to perform hard manual labor might from such orchard¬ 
ing make a good living. I do not want it understood 
that these trees were unduly small or in any way un¬ 
thrifty. The annual growth of new wood was all that 
one could wish, and it is good solid wood too. I have 
come to the conclusion that it is folly so to force a tree 
that there is grown a lot of soft wood, just for the 
privilege of cutting it off, and that often to the injury 
of the tree. They are strong and healthy, and will 
compare favorably with the majority of trees of the 
same age anywhere. I see no reason why in the next 
eight or ten years these trees should not return an 
annual net income, that will equal several times the cost 
of the land and trees. The old trees on the farm show 
the soil is well adapted to the apple. The fruit grown 
on them was of good quality and of an exceedingly high 
color. With the large population right at the doors the 
owner is almost independent of commission men and 
dealers. Seconds, Baldwins, were selling right from the 
farm,when I was there at 40 cents per half bushel bas¬ 
ket. The owner also showed a familiarity with the in¬ 
dividual trees, such as a shepherd do"es for his flock, 
which speaks well for the future of the or¬ 
chard enterprise. edw. van alstyne. 
MAPES, THE HEN MAN. 
THE BARN HEATER. — I have 
spoken before of the small heater which 
supplies warm water for use at our out¬ 
buildings. The satisfaction to be had 
from a tank of hot water always at hand 
in or near the barn in Winter can only 
be appreciated by those who have used 
one. It is not so many years ago when 
it was unusual for a barn to be equipped 
with cold water in abundance, even where 
a dairy of cattle was kept. Either the 
house well, or some distant spring or 
brook was the only available supply. Tt 
is now the exception rather than the rule, 
when either the windmill or some other 
device does not furnish cold water in 
abundance in farm buildings. The next 
step should be to install a supply of hot 
water as well as cold. The expense need 
not be so great as to debar any farmer 
from the luxury, if such it can properly 
be called. Our heater only cost $14; the 
tank was homemade, and large enough to 
immerse and scald a 300-pound hog at one 
dip, or set six 40 quart cans of milk into 
when desired. One small scuttle of pea 
coal (20 pounds) every 24 hours keeps 
a continuous fire and keeps the water hot 
enough for all ordinary uses. With 50 
to 100 hogs to feed, and 1,500 hens to 
water and feed, we simply could not think 
of dispensing with it. It is almost as in¬ 
dispensable on account of the cows and 
horses. On severe days a few quarts in 
each pailful offered to the horses takes the 
chill from ice-cold water, and a larger 
quantity syphoned out into the tank in the 
yard from which the cattle drink accom¬ 
plishes the same thing there, at a cost of one 
or two cents for extra coal, and a minute’s 
time, or thereabouts. Pea coal costs about $2 
per ton less than larger sizes here, and is equally as 
effective so far as I can see. 
How do we manage a fire to run it 24 hours with 
20 pounds of coal? 
First, see to it that you have a good bed of live coals, 
then throw on half a scuttle of new coal and open the 
door above the fire-pot at once. At the end of 12 hours 
the new coal thus applied will not be all ignited. Now 
turn on the drafts by closing top door, etc., until it 
burns up quite hot, then apply the other half scuttle of 
coal, open door and close drafts as before. 
MANAGING A FIRE.—Does not gas escape by 
opening top door as soon as fresh coal is applied, and 
before it is ignited? 
Not with a good brick chimney that draws well. My 
CLUSTER OF BALDWIN APPLES FROM WESTERN NEW YORK. Fig. 423. 
