'THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
201 
1908, 
GROWING POTATOES WITH STRAW¬ 
BERRIES. 
I have about half an acre of very early 
ground that I want to plant to straw¬ 
berries, keeping them in narrow rows. Is 
there any practical objection to planting 
very early potatoes between the rows if the 
rows are three or 3 '/■< feet apart and thor¬ 
oughly fertilized? I want to utilize the 
ground as much as possible. w. p. N. 
Chardou, O. 
Theoretically if your ground is very good 
and you fertilized heavily it would be 
possible for you lo raise a crop of potatoes 
between the rows of strawberries planted 
as suggested, but practically? Have you 
stopped to think of the amount of hand 
labor this system would require? Straw¬ 
berries do best in a good mellow soil, and 
if you would raise them to perfection you 
must keep them free from weeds and the 
soil well cultivated during the whole grow¬ 
ing season. Potatoes require practically 
the same amount of cultivation to raise a 
paying crop, and as your rows would be so 
close together you can easily see that un¬ 
less you are favored with a plot of land 
that is practically free from weeds it 
would be nearly impossible for one to keep 
the crops clean and well worked, as it 
would have to be done entirely with the 
wheel hoe and hand labor. Should yon 
succeed in giving clean cultivation and get 
the crops well started in your rich ground, 
the potato vines would soon spread over 
the strawberries, causing you endless 
trouble in keeping your berries from being 
smothered out entirely. Cannot you see 
that all this hand labor would cost you 
more than the potatoes would probably 
bring? Not only this, but the chances are 
all against you, for if you had a wet 
season you could not keep your patch clean, 
and it would be overrun in a few days with 
weeds, and you could not use a horse to 
clean them out. Your strawberries would 
be checked and held back, and should the 
Summer be dry after the potatoes were dug 
they would make very little growth, and 
you would probably lose more from your 
first crop of berries than you would make 
from the potatoes. You would have to 
dig the potatoes by hand too, as the ber¬ 
ries—if you had any left by then— 
would be buried or tramped down in tak¬ 
ing up with machinery. 
There are a few crops, such as radishes, 
lettuce, beets, carrots, onions, low-growing 
string beans, possibly very dwarf early 
peas, that you could plant between the 
strawberries if you feel that you cannot 
spare the ground for (lie season without 
some income. These crops can all be taken 
off the ground quickly, and the rows thor¬ 
oughly worked with a horse cultivator, 
long before the potatoes would be tit to 
market. The Hope Farm man lias tried some 
of this intensive cultivation in growing 
crops between his fruit rows, and lie found 
during the wet weather last season that it 
required the intensest kind of intense 
work to keep the crops clean. Hero in 
southeastern Pennsylvania we often grow 
our crops in very narrow rows, and also 
an early crop between a later one, but 
it takes a thorough knowledge of just what 
crops to plant side by side, and the in¬ 
tensest kind of intense hand labor to keep 
them clean, and it only pays on our very 
high-priced truck farms, and then with 
very quick maturing crops. Unless you are 
in a position to market some very low- 
growing early crop you would better plant 
your berries in 3Va or four foot rows, 
fertilize thoroughly, keep them entirely 
free from weeds and give thorough culti¬ 
vation the whole season, running the cul¬ 
tivator very shallow during the hot dry 
weather in Summer, thus creating a soil 
mulch and thereby retaining all the 
moisture in the soil. You will then be 
reasonably sure of having a fine crop of 
berries next season while on the other 
hand it seldom pays to crowd two crops 
Where there is only room for one. 
Pennsylvania. a. j. h. 
A Copper Cable Lightning Rod. 
J. II. II., Mingo Junction, O .—I have on 
my barn a copper cable lightning rod with 
four points. These four points are copper 
tubes set in sockets, neither riveted nor 
soldered. Does this make a good connec¬ 
tion, one sufficient to conduct the current 
from point to the cable? 
A ns.—I t cannot be told by the question 
whether the upper ends of the tubes are 
cut so as to present upward a lot of 
idiarp points. If not so cut, they should 
he, as electricity is only taken on and 
given oft silently from such points. If 
the connection with body of cable is 
continuous; that is, if the metal point 
is in close contact with the wires of the 
cable, the current will pass just as well 
as though riveted or soldered. But each 
separate wire of the cable should make 
an accurate connection with the point. 
If the copper cable goes into the socket, 
it would be advisable to drill through 
the socket a small hole for each wire 
of the cable and run the wires each 
through a separate hole and file the end 
of wire sharp and let it slick up, one 
or two inches, diverging at an angle of 
40 degrees or 45 degrees from the point. 
Or a part of the wires might be run 
up and wound around the point in close 
contact with it. The essential thing is 
to have a continuous surface. 
J. S. WOODWARD. 
Testing An Acid Soil. 
G. F. It., Salisbury Mills, N. Y .—Will 
you give the correct way to test soil with 
litmus paper to determine whether or no 
the soil needs lime? 
Ans.— Get fair sample of the soil by 
taking small lots from several parts of 
the field. Mix them all together. Take 
a cupful of the mixed soil and moisten 
it just enough so it will pack firmly in 
the c.up. Thrust a knife down into this 
soil and work it back and forth so as 
to leave an opening. Be ready with 
strips of blue litmus paper. This is a 
form of blotting paper colored blue 
with a dye made from certain mosses 
or lichens. It has the property of 
changing its color from blue to red, 
and from red to blue when put into 
acid or alkaline substances. We buy lit¬ 
mus paper at drug stores. It comes in 
sealed bottles, each bottle containing 
about 25 strips for 10 cents. After 
the hole is made put a piece of this 
blue paper down into it and push the 
soil up around it. Let it stay there 
half an hour or more, then take the 
paper out and dry it. If there is 
much acid in the soil the blue color 
will change to a pink or red—the more 
acid the darker the color. If it does 
turn a pink or darker you may con¬ 
clude that the soil needs lime. We 
would make several tests of the mixed 
soil, and also of the soil from dif¬ 
ferent parts of the field. Do not de¬ 
pend upon one test alone. While this 
is not, of course, as reliable as a chem¬ 
ical analysis, it is a good indication of 
the need of lime. 
WANT TO KNOW. 
A Practical Fertilizer Distiiirutor.— 
Will some practical farmer, who is not an 
agent, kindly give me his experience (if lie 
lias had any) with the various kinds of 
grain and fertilizer drills? I have been 
fooled a good deal on farm machinery, and 
before I purchase, would like some honest 
advice if I can get it. I have a Hilly farm 
with two or three acres to lay down to 
grass each year. I want something which 
will sow a ton or more of fertilizer to tlie 
acre, also one that will sow grain and 
grass seed satisfactorily, not too hoavv a 
machine, as my team is light. Will this 
work require two machines, or is there a 
satisfactory combination at a reasonable 
price? Probably many of the readers of 
The R. N.-Y r . are in search of this same 
information. t. d. 
The 
Angle 
of a Hoe 
Grasp a Keen Kutter Hoe as you 
would in the field—better yet, put 
one to actual service, and see how 
well it fits its job. The angle of the 
blade is just right. If you strike at a 
weed, you are sure to cut it—if you 
“hill” a plant it carries a full load of 
earth eachstroke and does it all in the easiest position you can assume. 
Km KVTTtR 
Farm and Garden Tools 
are fitted by model and temper for great service and long wear. The fine oil 
tempering gives elasticity, power and keenness and the model “hang" and 
balance are just, right to make the work easy. 
The Keen Kutter trademark covers Forks, Hoes, 
Rakes, Scythes, etc., as well as all bench tools—Axes, 
Hammefs, Saws, Planes, Adzes, Chisels, Augers, Bits, 
Braces, Gimlets, Bevels, Squares, Draw-knives, 
Gouges, etc., besides every possible tool and cutlery 
for the household. Look for the trademark—it guar¬ 
antees quality. Sold for 40 years under this motto: 
"The Recollection of Quafity Remains Long After ' 
the Price is Forgotten. ”— E. C. Simuions. 
Trademark Registered 
If not at your dealer’s, write us. 
SIMMONS HARDWARE CO. (Inc,), St. Louis and New York, D. S. A. 
OHdCW Ljg/ftensLal)OF 
y 
W MiVPT You can’t afford to over- 
f look the LOUDEN Hay Car¬ 
rier:—that is if you want a car¬ 
rier that will never break down; 
that you do not »end away for repairs 
every now and then. Years of hard 
usage by thousands of farmers havo 
proven this to such an extent 
that they will not buy any 
hay tools, forks, slings, ?Y32-.m71. 
tracks without the 
name LOUDEN on 
them. Never 
any bind- 
ICarricr 
ing on the track; the sim¬ 
plest lock that works per¬ 
fectly every time; patented 
- swivel takes kinks out of rope. 
Why not buy a LOUDEN carrier that 
will be good for life. We are hay tool spec¬ 
ialists— Free catalogue of LOUDEN Lit¬ 
ter Carriers, Flexible Barn Door, 
Hangers and other labor sav- 
ing hardware specialties^ 
ynSv ' show you why. 
Free Booklet, 
“ Fitting up 
Barns.” 
n 
..... mu • • iii i iNtiiiuii ■ ii 1111111111 j 11111| 111 j | in mi in ||j//7iiiilllllVlJ IIIIJIUH1 uBUI 111 IllMII I (I III I HU I VVi ’ V 
LOUDEN MACHINERY CO.* 601 Broadway* Fairfield* Iowa* 
Gaboon Seed Sower 
Sows all kinds of grain and grass seed. The most correct, simple and durable broad¬ 
cast sower made. Lasts a lifetime—made of steel, iron and brass. Guaranteed to do 
more and better work than any other hand seed sower. You save time and seed and get 
bigger crops with the Cahoon. Pays for itself many times over every year. Ask your 
dealer for the Cahoon. Send to-day for the Seed Sowers’ Manual. It tells how to save 
seed and have bigger crops. It’s free. 
GOODELL CO., 14 Main St., Antrim, New Hampshire 
SPRING 
TOOTH 
HARROW 
ON 
WHEELS 
LlffhteAt Draft Harrow made. Adapted to any noil. Saves a half- 
horse power. Seat adjusted without bolts. Used either as walking 
or riding harrow. Teeth controlled by lever. Easily cleared of rub¬ 
bish. Made of very best materials. Awarded Gold Medals at st. 
Louis W orld’s Fair. Write for free catalogue describing this harrow. 
THE HENCH A OROMCOLD CO., Mfrs., York, Pa. 
Get Prof. Dodd’s Book 
It will tell you. the reason fora stroke of Lightning, in terms so 
clear that when you have read the book you could explain to your 
friends the conditions which cause Lightning. It will also explain why 
some parts of the house or barn are more dangerous than otlur parts, 
and give you so much information about the dangerous Lightning stroke 
that you will wonder why you never knew it before. 
Professor Dodd is a recognized authority on this subject and his 
book is worth having. 
It costs you nothing but the asking if you get it now. 
\ 
DODD & STRUTHERS, DES MOINES, IOWA 1 
I PROF. WEST DODD. “MAKERS OF LIGHTNING RODS THAT KEEP OUT THE LIGHTNING” 1 
^/lllinilllllllllilllllllllllllllll ll UIllllllllllllllllN . . . . ... ...... IIIHIIUI1HI1IHV# 
WHY NOT USE HUBBARD’S? 
