1008 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 11, 
Hope Farm Notes 
FARMS FED FROM A BAG. 
Part II. 
Since the potato crop is the sheet an¬ 
chor of the farm let us see how it is 
grown. Mr. Fagan has some novel ideas 
about handling the potato crop. Most 
growers plow and fit the land and then 
plant, fertilize and cover with the ma¬ 
chine all at one operation. On this farm 
the land is well plowed and then the 
potatoes are dropped by the machine 
with the covering disks taken off. In 
this operation the furrow is made and 
the seed dropped, but the furrow left 
open. A small quantity of soil rolls onto 
the seed and lightly covers it. Then the 
fertilizer is put on with a drill, which 
operates much like a grain drill—drop¬ 
ping the fertilizer through tubes. This 
gives very nearly a broadcasting—in 
the furrows and also between the rows. 
Then the harrow starts lengthwise of 
the rows, working the fertilizer in and 
partly filling the furrows. This harrow¬ 
ing is kept up again and again, until the 
plants are up and too large for the har¬ 
row. Then work with the cultivator be¬ 
gins. This harrowing levels the furrows 
and thoroughly spreads the fertilizer. 
Many potato growers say that it is just 
as well to put all the fertilizer in the 
drill with the seed, but Mr. Fagan wants 
it well scattered and worked in. He 
does not like the way a potato planter 
leaves a ridge over the seed when it 
covers. • While his method of fertilizing 
and covering makes far more work he 
is sure that it pays. 
Then there is nothing to it but culture 
and spraying. On August 6 two single 
cultivators were running through the 
potatoes. This made 14 times that they 
had been worked with cultivator or har¬ 
row. It is probable that by the time 
the potatoes were dug the field had been 
worked 20 times. The vines showed the 
result of this heavy feeding and thor¬ 
ough tillage. They were green and thrif¬ 
ty—running out like thick melon vines. 
They had been thoroughly sprayed from 
the beginning. Mr. Fagan says that Au¬ 
gust is the month of profit or loss in 
potato culture. This agrees with the 
scientific men who tell us that the crisis 
of the potato crop comes when after 
blooming the tubers are forming. A 
check then of plant food or moisture 
will set the plant back and it is during 
the August weather when the plant is 
growing so rapidly that the blight is 
most likely to spread. Many growers 
cultivate and fertilize only to fail in 
August through lack of spraying. These 
potatoes were “copper-plated" with Bor¬ 
deaux. Just before digging the cultiva¬ 
tor is run between the rows, and then 
the digger starts ripping out the tubers. 
We all know what a trying season this 
has been for New England. Many fields 
were fiat failures, but on 24 acres Mr. 
Fagan averaged 200 bushels of market¬ 
able potatoes. This is the average for 
the farm—measured acres here and there 
would run 200 bushels or more. Not 
bad for a worn-out farm and a farmer 
who had to learn the business by ex¬ 
perience, and no stock but a cow, work 
horses and a flock of sheep. 
I have said there is no definite rota¬ 
tion on this farm. In some cases, when 
most convenient, potatoes follow pota¬ 
toes for several years—always well fer¬ 
tilized and handled as above described. 
When the conditions and the season 
are right the potato ground is seeded to 
grass. The late cultivating and the dig¬ 
ging give the soil a thorough working. 
After digging the potato vines are raked 
off and the ground is harrowed until fit 
for seeding. For a short-lived meadow 
Timothy is used alone. Mr. Fagan thinks 
Clark advised too much seed. The re¬ 
sult was a short and thick growth—well 
enough for cutting 10 years or more as 
Clark intended, but not the best for a 
short rotation. Eight quarts of Timo¬ 
thy seed are considered enough for an 
acre after potatoes. If it is expected to 
make the meadow permanent Red-top 
seed is added to the Timothy. This com¬ 
bination will give a heavier yield and a 
better feeding hay, but the pure Timothy 
sells to better advantage. This Fall 15 
acres of the potato ground were seeded 
to grass as described; up to the present 
it looks well. If in the Spring it is thick 
and strong it will be left. In this chemi¬ 
cal farming it is an easy matter to put 
on the fertilizer and push the grass 
crop, provided there is a good stand. 
If this Fall seeding does not Winter 
well the land will be plowed and planted 
to corn or potatoes—seeding once more 
a year hence 
Air. Fagan intended originally to run 
a short rotation of potatoes and hay 
alone. He did not want to grow small 
grain or corn, as this would mean hand¬ 
ling straw and stalks. He has been led 
to plant corn because it has come to be 
one of the best farm crops in New Eng¬ 
land. The grain is higher than ever 
before, and with 100 bushels or more of 
ears per acre the crop takes high rank 
for profit. Mr. Fagan has a flint variety 
that will give that yield when well fer¬ 
tilized in a good season. There is a 
market for the stalks too. Besides this 
the corn crop is well-nigh ideal for 
growing on sod, or when old land is 
first broken up. While on this farm 
potatoes are sometimes planted on sod 
or as a first crop such places are usually 
given to corn. It is also the custom 
with a good many New England farmers 
to seed to Timothy and clover in the 
corn at the last cultivation. In some 
sections such practice would be con¬ 
demned, but I saw in early August such 
a seeding that was very promising. Now, 
three months or more later, and after 
the corn is cut, this grass is thick and 
strong and will no doubt give a good 
crop next year. But such crops are not 
grown on faith alone, but by good work 
with the cultivator and heavy fertiliz¬ 
ing. 1 saw a fine field of corn with the 
young grass thick all over the ground. 
This crop was planted on a good sod 
and had in addition half a ton of fertil¬ 
izer per acre. You will see what is pos¬ 
sible under such a system. This year 
we cut grass. Next Spring the sod is 
turned over and corn planted with fer¬ 
tilizers. The plow and cultivating tears 
up and kills out the old sod. In August 
of next year grass seed is used in the 
cornfield, and the following year we 
cut grass again. We might have put 
potatoes in place of the corn or planted 
them the year after the corn was cut. 
The point is to show that when we use 
high-grade fertilizers in large quantities 
we are not limited to any special rota¬ 
tion, but can if need be cut across cor¬ 
ners in any direction and still grow a 
profitable crop. 
Of course under the system followed 
by Mr. Lewis of New Jersey the IS acres 
of corn grown this year would mean a 
silo and a herd of cattle. From Mr. Fa¬ 
gan’s farm the stalks and corn not need¬ 
ed for feeding the home stock are sold. 
Naturally since he sells more awav from 
the farm than Mr. Lewis Mr. Fagan 
uses more fertilizer to the acre. Sheep 
are kept in place of cows because they 
need less care, give both mutton and 
lambs, and are excellent stock for clear¬ 
ing a field of weeds. There seems to be 
no doubt that sheep are well suited to 
the changing conditions of New England 
farming brought about by the use of 
chemical fertilizers. I am very sure that 
the soil of this farm as a result of drain¬ 
age. good culture and heavy fertilizing 
is growing more and more productive 
So it is that men like Mr. Fagan are 
helping to improve rural life in New 
England, and in that way changing his¬ 
tory. With the old farms producing 
more all interests are quickened. Schools 
are improved, homes are made more 
comfortable and agreeable, and land val¬ 
ues rise. One man going into a neigh¬ 
borhood and showing the true possibil¬ 
ities of chemical fertilizer is like a mis¬ 
sionary for good farming, and his farm 
is an experiment station. Eight years 
ago practically every farmer in this 
particular neighborhood was ready to 
sell out. You will understand what form 
of discouragement that stood for if you 
know the love of the New Englander 
for the old home. Now there are no 
farms for sale, for the value of this land 
to earn money has been demonstrated. 
And it is not as if it were possible to 
produce too much food. As Mr. Fagan 
puts it, his farm is within 100 miles of 
10 per cent of the entire population, 
while inside that same area not one per 
cent of the nation’s food is produced. 
In that respect New England farming 
has an advantage over manufacturing. 
The use of chemical fertilizers has 
changed the entire character of agricul¬ 
ture in this section. Just as the coming 
of foreigners from all over the world 
has changed industrial life and society, 
so the wastes of the Western slaughter 
houses, the phosphate mines of the 
South, the deserts of Chile, the Pacific 
Islands and the German potash mines 
have combined to change the long cul¬ 
tivated valleys and the abandoned hill¬ 
sides of New England into gardens and 
orchards. It is a new order of things 
built on a fertilizer bag! And though, 
as I put it here, this all seems very sim¬ 
ple and easy, let no man ever imagine 
that the fertilizer bag takes the place 
of brains or of the need of hard, con¬ 
stant work. These newer conditions 
and industrial changes all mean harder 
competition and the need of keener 
judgment and skill. They simply bring 
opportunity—that’s all. H. w. c. 
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How Would You Build a Separator? 
“You’ve got an anvil and a drill 
press in your repair shed, haven’t 
you?” asked our foreman. 
“Yes,” replied the farmer visiting 
our factory. 
“Well, there’s a lot of people think 
they can build separators with about 
that equipment,” continued our 
foreman, “and to show you the dif¬ 
ference let me tell you how we do it 
at our factory. 
“First we get high-carbon steel— 
that costs more, but with 
it we can secure exact¬ 
ness down to a fourth-of- 
a-thousandth of an inch. 
“Then every casting is 
put into a revolving 
shaker which removes the 
sand and cleans the cast¬ 
ing so any imperfection 
may be seen and the 
casting rejected. 
“When it comes to the 
bowl we draw each one 
from discs of the toughest 
steel cut to exact size so 
there will be no waste. 
Every stamp of the big 
press draws the bowl a 
little deeper until finally 
it comes out a perfect 
shell without seams. 
“But the hardest part 
The Economy Chief 
is yet to come — the bowl must be 
balanced so as to run smooth and 
quiet without the slightest jar or 
vibration. We employ the most 
expert men and pay them big wages 
for this delicate work.” 
“Yes,” interrupted the farmer, 
“but how can you sell the machine 
for such a low price ?”. 
“Because we are making more 
than 50,000 this year,” smiled our 
foreman. “We divide our overhead 
expense among this tre¬ 
mendous number so it 
amounts to a very little on 
each machine. Then we 
sell it direct to the farmer 
and avoid the traveling 
salesman’s expenses and 
the profit for the local 
dealer and county agents. 
“The b i g 600-pound 
machine we sell for $43.65 
would cost if sold through 
dealers about $125.00. 
“Perhaps you would 
like to see the factory,’! 
suggested our foreman. 
“Just step over this way 
into the first room where 
$28.80 to $43.65 
we — 
Tlie rest of this interesting story is 
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••Facts About Our Factory.” Sent 
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