THH) RURAL NEW-YORKER 
lOT 
1909. 
SLAVERY TO THE WASHBOARD. 
The picture below shows a very 
common scene on many a farm. The 
members of the family consider it their 
privilege to put all the dirt they can 
into their clothing, and then consider 
it the duty of the women folks to 
scrub that dirt out again. This “play¬ 
ing the piano” on a washboard may 
look well in a picture, but in practice 
it is hard and disagreeable work. 
Many women are not strong enough to 
NECESSARY YET UNNECESSARY. 
do the rubbing properly. The dirt must 
be removed, but it is not necessary to 
rub it all out by hand. We use a 
washing machine on the farm which 
makes the job look like play compared 
with the labor evident in that picture. 
The only member of the family who 
objects to the machine is a boy who is 
called upon to work it. We print that 
picture not to show how the farm 
washing ought to be done, but rather 
to show how it should not he done. 
^SOWING ASPARAGUS IN PERMANENT 
BEDS. 
In the December 2 issue of the Mar¬ 
ket Growers’ Journal, I am criticised by 
W. F. Massey for saying what I did in 
a recent article that appeared in The 
R. N.-Y., namely: “If the grower can 
meet the conditions as they arise, and 
not let weeds or any foul growth over¬ 
run his plants, and is willing to do a 
tremendous amount of work in weeding 
by hand below the natural level of the 
soil, and has time and inclination to 
fight the Asparagus bugs and their 
young over a large area, never allowing 
those insects to get advantage of the 
young plants, then and not till then, is 
planting asparagus seed where it is to 
remain likely to be a success,” etc. Mr. 
Massey says: “The tremendous weed¬ 
ing by hand below the level of the soil 
is entirely imaginary. If the seeds are 
sown to have the roots deep in the soil, 
it is a small matter to work the earth 
to them with a wheel hand plow or 
cultivator. If they are sown for green 
asparagus nearer the surface, there will 
be but one hand working, and then the 
horse cultivator will come in.” 
I only wish there was more imagina¬ 
tion and less weeds and weeding in 
growing asparagus plants from seed. In 
the seed plot, to say nothing of having 
the same amount of plants scattered over 
acres of ground, were it so, I could grow 
plants much more cheaply than I now 
do, knowing full well when I sow the 
seed they must be hoed and hand-weeded 
at least three times to have them clean 
and make a maximum growth. 
The asparagus seed is one that ger¬ 
minates very slowly, requiring three 
weeks or more from the time it is 
planted till it appears above ground. 
During that period many weeds are 
growing, and ofttimes the row has to 
be cleaned of foul growth before the 
plants appear at all, and when they do 
appear they are so frail and tender that 
hand work is the only feasible way of 
making a clean job. My judgment is 
that were asparagus seed planted only a 
few inches below the natural level of 
the soil the hand wheel cultivator that 
Mr. Massey recommends would be ut¬ 
terly useless as an eradicator of weeds. 
1 rue, it would kill many along the 
sides of the row, but were it set to 
cover all in line with the plants, would' 
not the plants be covered also? 
1 he statement I made in the above re- 
ferred-to article was based on observa¬ 
tion and actual practice here among the 
plants. I did not make it to discourage 
anyone from trying the method, but 
merely to show what the grower had to 
contend with should he conclude to try 
it, neither do I believe I put it too strong 
in what I said. Only a year ago the 
past season I set a bed of asparagus of 
several acres and tried every means at 
my command to eliminate hand hoeing 
and weeding; nevertheless that field had 
to be hoed and weeded three times in 
order to have it absolutely clean. How 
much greater would have been the work 
were these young seedling plants that 
had to be nursed until sufficiently large 
to be cared for with the horse cultiva¬ 
tor ? Whatever the conditions are in 
Mr. Massey’s locality I am sure the 
work is not over-estimated in this lo¬ 
cality. If anyone thinks he can grow a 
field of asparagus by planting the seed 
where it is to remain, with no more 
work or care than is pictured by Mr. 
Massey, let him try it, and experience 
will be his teacher. c. c. hulsart. 
Monmouth Co.. N. J. 
Sweet Corn and Peas for Hogs. 
•/. E. lit.. La Plata, Mo .—I would like to 
plant some variety of sweet corn to liog 
off next Fall or Summer, and would like 
to sow to field peas at third working. Who 
can tell me what varieties will probably 
ripen together? Which will be best, the 
regular field pea or cow peas. I have tried 
the cow pea to some extent, but find our 
ground too cold and damp until rather late. 
If some one has had experience along this 
line I would be pleased to hear it. 
Ans. —Our experience in New Jersey 
would hardly answer. We shall be 
pleased to have our western readers 
give their experience. 
Keeping Grapes. 
C. F. W. (No Address ).—How can grapes 
be kept until the holidays, or for the late 
Fall trade? 
Ans. —Grapes keep some years bet¬ 
ter than others, cause unknown. It 
is difficult to keep the early varieties in 
good condition. No trouble should be 
experienced with the later ones if 
picked late as possible without their be¬ 
coming over-ripe. A dry cold place 
that will discourage mold and yet not 
allow the stems to dry and wither is 
best. I would advise trying on a small 
scale at first. Use the utmost care in 
picking to avoid all broken berries, and 
store in close trays or small boxes. 
F. A. SEELEY. 
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nlO 
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Li^Kt Draft PI OWJ 
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T RADL 4P' 
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irect To You—At Reduced Price—A 
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But let us tell you first how big a cut in the price to you our 
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SViaker City F 
40 Years The Standard 
We Pav Freiciht 
eed Mill 
m i ^ uueu beuiiig pian means. 
ay frreigm A Double Advantage For You 
That, in a nutshell, is the story of our new 
Buiness policy, Header. We have cut out 
Jobbers, Retail Dealers, Middlemen of all kinds. 
We come direct to you this year, the user, and 
offer you, on the most liberal terms you could wish, 
the best grinder built and at the factory price. 
Q„a T?,f y ifr“ /y QUAKER CITY FAMILY OF op Km ^ 
TBlS N lS T 5fsAME PL^EANDBYTffiSAME ^G^ Ls , 
Besides, we are 
offering to send one 
to you on trial with¬ 
out trying in any way 
to tie you up to keep¬ 
ing it if it isn’t satis¬ 
factory. “Claims” 
are a drug on the 
market. We want 
you to see that 
& 
E 13414 s 
D10 & II 
C8 4. H u 
11 Sizes—22 SSyles 
From Hand to 20-Horse Power 
Although Quaker City Mills have been given added im¬ 
provements recently, which put them still farther ahead of 
any other mills—although the price would have to be higher 
than before, if sold through dealers—yet you can get one 
now for less, much less, than ever. 
And we pay the freight, remember. We take all the risk. 
We ask for no money in advance, no bank 
nothing but that you try 
the mill. Here is as liberal 
< sIk, 1, LL^ a proposition as you 
°INCF could get from any 
~ IX£* home dealer and 
we know that we 
offer better value. 
Let us prove it at 
our expense- 
Quaker Quality means faster grinding, better prepared prod¬ 
ucts, less trouble—more satisfaction and more profit from 
your investment. We want you to see that a Quaker City Mill 
has the widest range of usefulness—that it is the best adapted 
to all kinds of grinding—soft and wet corn as well as dry. 
—Guaranty- 
City Mills 
pocketbook. 
Say that you want the FEED MILL Book 
—Trial Offer and 
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Prices. 
your 
Write For 
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One 
needs 
of the Quaker 
and fit your 
THE A. G. STRAUB COMPANY 3737 Filbert Street Philadelphia. Pa. 
