1908. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
80 T 
Hope Farm Notes 
I spent a good share of Election Day- 
on my knees. "Vote as you pray!” 
That is strong advice, yet I fear that 
if it were made the basis of a well- 
enforced law there would be a very 
small vote polled. I was on my knees 
using the knife, not so much on the 
politicians as on the Peach borers. I 
tried the political knifing a little, tou, 
by asking voters to use a paster on 
their ballots. Some were ready to do 
it, but others demurred a little. One 
man said no money could induce him 
to vote for a Democrat. I certainly 
had no money to offer him. Another 
one said the Republicans had stolen 
everything else, but they never could 
steal his vote. Still another said that 
after the party had made up the ballot 
it was a sin to cut it. One more said 
if he ever cut a ticket he never would 
be nominated for an office. Well, there 
are thorns in the pathway of a re¬ 
former, but our feet are getting so 
hard that we can stamp them down. 
We cut those peach borers, though, 
without any mercy. They are unusually 
bad this year, and many of our best 
trees would have been ruined by Spring 
if we had let them alone. I have tried 
various washes, but usually come back 
to the old plan of cutting out. Hot lye 
will kill a borer if it gets at him, but 
the gum must first be scraped away 
so as to leave the burrow exposed. You 
must do that anyway, and if you do it 
there is not much more work in dig¬ 
ging the borer than in putting on the 
wash.. When you once get him out and 
kill him you know his boring is over. 
We send a boy ahead with a hoe to 
clear the soil from the base of the tree. 
Then we follow with the knife. The 
borer betrays himself by the little pile 
of fine chips or sawdust mixed with the 
gum on the tree. By scraping this 
away we find the upper part of the 
burrow and follow it down. Some use 
a crooked wire for this digging, but we 
prefer a sharp, small knife. We slit 
down the dead bark over the burrow 
until we find the borer, usually at the 
bottom. Instinct apparently teaches him 
to work down to the root, yet I have 
found many at work at the top. There 
is usually but one to a burrow though I 
have found three and four working close 
together. We took 11 big ones from the 
base of one five-year-old tree. Of 
course, when using the knife, the orders 
are to cut up and down and never 
across the tree. I think it pays to cut 
out the dead bark where the borer has 
made his track. We leave the cavity 
around the tree open until cold weather. 
When the trees are thoroughly sprayed 
with the oil the mixture runs down the 
trunk, and, I think, makes life a burden 
to the few borers that escaped the knife. 
As things stand now, Peach borers do 
us more damage than the ,San Jose 
scale. We have the latter well under 
control. . I could hardly find a peach or 
apple this year with a scale mark on it. 
We have used soluble oil entirely. It 
would be hard to find scale on our 
trees this Fall except in one part of a 
back orchard, yet I expect to duck the 
trees again—on general principles. 
Every time I speak of Peach borers 
people come asking if it will not answer 
to put tar or lead and oil paint on the 
trees. I doubt it, but have never had 
quite the courage required to try the 
plan. 
Turkeys.— Our folks have tried at 
various times to raise turkeys at a 
profit. We had a good flock of White 
Hollands and succeeded in hatching a 
fair number. We fell down in raising 
them, for after getting fair size they 
died or wasted away in some mysterious 
manner. I concluded that our surround¬ 
ings are too damp and cool for young 
turkeys. I think they need freer range 
oyer the hills than our place can pro¬ 
vide. While I was in Jefferson Co., 
N. Y., I saw a number of flocks of 
turkeys. The best one is pictured on 
the first page this week. Mrs. E. G. 
Rider raised this flock, as I understood 
her, from six hens. The tom was the 
son of a first-prize winner, and these 
birds seemed about as near alike as 
the peas in a pod. Mrs. Rider made 
light of the job of raising turkeys. 
She said it required little labor on her 
part, as the birds nearly took care of 
themselves. Remembering the failures 
that stung our own hard work I could 
not see how it was such an easy job. 
Yet there was the fine flock of turkeys, 
and Mrs. Rider is a busy farmer’s wife. 
It must be in the “know how.” After 
all, success in any walk of life seems 
to depend on knowing just what to do 
and just when to do it. Part of this 
seems to come as the result of long 
experience, while part of it is instinct 
or vision. Surely if one has the ex¬ 
perience and instinct required to raise 
turkeys, he ought to make a fine busi¬ 
ness out of it on some of the hill farms. 
We do not seem to have the right local¬ 
ity,_ and have not yet struck our ex¬ 
perience. 
A good friend who always has some¬ 
thing to say when he starts talking 
comes at me this way: 
I’ve got a bone to pick with you. Now, 
you needn’t get mad and rush out and 
tear a board off the pigpen. For this is 
a serious matter—a very serious one to me. 
Pie then proceeds to pick several 
bones. I shall not try to tear a board 
off the pigpen, for just now there is no 
such edifice on the farm. Our hogs 
have had the run of the orchard near 
the barn since the oats and peas were 
cut—about July 4. A little brook runs 
through one end of this orchard. So 
the hogs require little or no care. We 
feed them a small quantity of wheat 
middlings in a slop, but for the rest of 
their food they depend on fallen apples, 
grass, weeds and insects which they root 
out of the soil. 
That is the way they were cared for 
up to the middle of October. At that 
time we sold one, and he made a good 
carcass of pork. 1 he others are now 
in separate stalls under cover, where 
they are fed on soft cabbage, small po¬ 
tatoes boiled and cornmeal. I shall try 
to turn them all off before December 
15. Grain is so high that it does not 
pay us to fatten pigs in cold weather. 
I would not keep a hog on the place 
unless I could pasture them through 
the Summer and make their growth 
mostly on fallen apples, grass and 
farm wastes. 
Farm Notes. —The cabbage is selling 
at a good price. It looks now as if we 
should get rid of it all without storing 
any except the soft heads for cow feed. 
We began feeding these when the pas¬ 
tures got short, and are now giving 
three or four fair-sized cabbage per 
day to each cow. They are very fond 
of them, and as we feed them there 
is no bad taste in the milk. If we were 
to carry cabbage through the Winter 
our plan would be to plow deep fur¬ 
rows in on the lightest land, giving a 
good slope to the furrow. Then pack 
in the cabbage, heads down and close 
together. Then throw a furrow from 
each side over the cabbage, and, as the 
ground freezes, put a little hay or straw 
on top. In taking out, of course, we 
begin at the lower end and work up. 
. . . . I am very sorry to say that 
the fungus disease which has ruined so 
many chestnut trees has appeared in 
our woods. We have 30 acres of fine 
timber—mostly chestnut—and I have 
been leaving it as a sort of life insur¬ 
ance since the price of timber is rising. 
Now I notice som: of the finest young 
trees dying down from the top, and the 
disease seems to be spreading through 
the woods. The experts do not hold 
out much hope, for there is no prac¬ 
tical way of fighting the disease and 
preventing its spread. We might cut 
out the trees which show it, but that 
will only delay the spread. It looks 
as if my fine woods must come down 
for timber if I am to get anything but 
stove wood out of it.I am 
writing this with one eye on the paper 
and the other on the new baby—having 
been left in charge of him while our 
folks have gone to a meeting. This 
baby is three years old, and “inquisitive 
for his age,” as I have heard people 
say. Mother brought him' from Ala¬ 
bama, where his own mother was sick. 
His little red head goes bobbing around 
the house, into all sorts of mischief, 
and carrying sunshine into every cor¬ 
ner. I was directed to put him to bed 
at a certain hour, so that he might 
sleep, and I obeyed instructions to the 
last detail. But the little scamp 
couldn’t sleep with the memory of the 
cats and Tinker and Shep, and all the 
wonderful things outdoors. When I 
peeped in to be sure that he was “cov¬ 
ered,” there he was bolt upright in 
bed all ready to cry. So here he is 
again playing on the floor for a few 
minutes, and then coming to lean his 
head against my arm and watch the 
point of the pen “make marks.” I have 
an. original and pleasant way of inter¬ 
esting him. When he gets too restless 
I take him up and we eat a baked apple 
together. We have already made a sad- 
looking hole in the dish of apples laid 
aside for dinner, but there are plenty 
more. This may. be voted an expensive 
way of interesting children by those 
who have to buy the apples, but it will 
n*ake a useful member of the Apple 
Consumers’ League. h. w. c. 
TOWER'S FISH BRAND 
THE 
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AT THE SAME TIME CHEAPEST IN THE END 
BECAUSE IT WEARS LONGEST 
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EveRy garment bearing "the sign of the fish- 
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SEND POSTAL FOR FREE CATALOG */06 
AJ.TOWER CO. BOSTON, U.S.A. * 
TOWER CANADIAN CO. LIMITED.' TORONTO CAN. f 
Outwear Two Pairs 
You take chances when you buy ordinary rubber 
boots with rubber soles. 
They give only slight protection to your feet — a 
sharp stick or a nail may go through the sole at any 
moment. Then they are done for. 
NOT SO with Rubberhide Boots. The Rock 
Oak sole outwears several rubber soles as well. That's 
why they are most economical for you to buy. 
Better for ditching, spading and all kinds of 
wet work. Absolutely water-tight, and, 
unlike other boots, always stay so. Your 
feet are dry all the time. 
Resolable by any cobbler 
Rubberhide Boots, with ordinary care, 
will outwear two pairs of ordinary rubber 
boots. If they should not, we agree to make 
good any difference in wear in money. 
Ask your dealer for them. If he cannot 
supply you, send to us direct, giving his 
name. Write to-day for booklet. 
RUBBERHIDE CO. 456 Essex Bldg. 
Boston, Mass. 
**——— -jm 
This Is why 
Rohberhldes wear longer 
Next to the foot is a smooth 
leather insole, then a rubber insole, 
then a filling sole of rubber, then a heavy 
reinforced rubber welt sole vulcanized to 
the upper. And a sewed Rock Oak leather 
outsole to take the hard wear. 
NO OTHER SOLELIKETHIS 
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Made 
to Order 
at the 
Men’s 
Buy your clothing di¬ 
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out the dealer’s profits. 
Suits and overcoats 
MADE TO ORDER 
handsomely trimmed 
and guaranteed to give 
satisfaction. Many pat¬ 
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and & "A 
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and Overcoats 
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$10:92 to $ 18:22 
Our $12.50 Suits 
A BIG VALUE 
We make a specialty of suits at this 
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ave sold thousands of these suits, and we 
have testimonials from satisfied customers 
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Express charges paid east of the Mississippi River. 
Allowances made on all orders west of the Mississippi, 
Write for samples of cloth and style book. 
GLEN ROCK WOOLEN CO., 
203 Main St., Somerville* N. J. 
bcch^fov 
Send for It today— 
* V a • • 
5 ' eb* r-\gs Y<IU • 
Larger Prvjtlb 
1 - ■ 
, lt’<? Frpp g jr es }” ots of am * J 1 \,.\ wv 
' ,cc able information of the '-/t (V) 
! ‘ft*?* 1 , cuI(; iyation of Beans and * ™ & 
1 eas and their market, sollingand feed- - h/ 
thA es '.i.Tnforimuiori furnished by 
manufacturethe 168 1& the C ° Untry ' Wo 
OWENS 
Bean and Pea Threshers 
| need ofboththe small an'naVge grower, 
as well as job threshermen. These thresh! 
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of Beans and Peas directly from the 
the seed 0r ° Wln ° vlno * w, »hout splitting 
Our Proposition to Bean or Pea growers 
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Write for It and tl 
63 
L. OWENS 
Superior 
Minneapolis 
) book today. 
CO. 
St. S. E„ 
, Minn. 
tfttt 
L ft. 
You’ll 
find rab¬ 
bit-shoot¬ 
ing rare 
good sport 
if you go out 
with a Stevens. 
Every shot will 
count—a Stevens 
is so far-and- 
straight-shooting 
and quick-firing. 
Send for Stevens 
Catalog describing all 
Stevens Firearms— 
Kiiles, Shotguns, Pis¬ 
tols. 6c. for postage 
I brings it. 
And Dan Beard's book, 
"Guns and Gunning”— 
full of interesting and 
instructive facts about 
woodcraft and camping, 
about birds and game, 
etc. Postpaid, 20c. paper 
cover, or 80c cloth cover 
—stamped in gilt. 
Most dealers sell Stevens 
firearms. If yours can’t sup¬ 
ply, we’ll ship direct on receipt 
of catalog price. 
J. STEVENS ARMS & TOOL CO. 
"00 'Grove Street 
Chicopee Falls. Mass. 
U.S.A. 
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CINCINNATI 
THE 
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co. 
266 Wabash Ay. 
CHICAGO 
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