February 4, 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
PREPARING SWAMP FOR ONIONS. 
C. G. L. (No Address —1 am interested 
In onion culture. I have considerable swamp 
land we could drain. Would this land 
bring onions the first year? There is a lot 
of old swamp grass on most of it I 
notice the Hope Farm man uses seed when 
he grows onions. Wouldn't onion sets be 
less trouble? We always used sets and 
raise a few in the garden. 
Ans.— We should not care to drain 
the average swamp, plow and plant 
onions for the first crop. Onions re¬ 
quire very careful cultivation and are 
hard to keep clean. Much hand work is 
required, and we would rather precede 
them with a cleaning crop. Corn or 
cabbage grown in hills, worked both 
ways and hand-hoed will clean the land 
and prepare it for onions. Be sure to 
use a good dressing of lime before you 
plant onions. You can use sets if you 
like, but they will prove more expen¬ 
sive than seed or seedling plants such as 
are used at Hope Farm. 
MAINE POTATO BOOM ON DECLINE 
The potato boom in central Maine has 
begun to slump. Men who were declaring 
a year ago that the market could never be 
glutted with first quality stock now frankly 
admit their error, and are making plans 
accordingly. It has been a hard lesson for 
many, but good will come from it in the 
end. Diversified farming with stock hus¬ 
bandry as the leading feature, will now 
occupy the place to which it was assigned 
by both experience and science many years 
ago. Thousands of acres that were plowed 
for potatoes last Fall will be planted with 
corn instead, and the flocks and herds will 
flourish accordingly. The sheep industry 
will show the results of the transition first, 
with poultry, swine and dairy cattle fol¬ 
lowing in the order given. 
The fertilizer companies have been pri¬ 
marily responsible for the renewed interest 
in corn. Special prizes offered in connec¬ 
tion with the New England Corn Exposi¬ 
tion put the limelight upon the fact that 
more food can be grown per acre right 
here in the far East than anywhere else in 
the United States. Results obtained by 
practical farmers working under ordinary 
conditions have been held up to the public 
with great effect. The methods employed 
have been emphasized, until the average 
man feels sure that he can go and do 
likewise and be sure of getting a fair re¬ 
turn for his labor. Sheep will come first 
when the farmers stock up with something 
to eat the corn crop. One of the principal 
reasons for this is the Somerset and Frank¬ 
lin Sheep Breeders’ Association, which has 
been diligently at work for nearly a year, 
sounding the praises of the “golden hoof.” 
First they say that the capital required is 
not so great as to debar any interested 
farmer from getting at least the founda¬ 
tion for a good flock. Then the returns 
eome in so quickly that the buyer will have 
his sheep and the money too at the end 
of a few months, or else stock enough to 
enlarge rapidly afterwards. Finally the 
profits that good sheep men get out of the 
business seem almost incredible. To care 
for sheep is not so exacting as chicken 
raising or dairying, and the change will not 
make the ex-potato grower feel that he is 
ti<fd down after all. 
A lot of that corn crop will be turned 
into eggs and chicken meat, unless some¬ 
thing unforeseen upsets the carefully laid 
plans of the poultry specialists. Hero 
again the center of organized activity is 
in Somerset County, where two poultry pro¬ 
ducers’ associations have recently been 
formed. Poultrymen insist that hens have 
the same advantages as sheep, only more 
*o. The census figures prove that a lot of 
people think so, too, for the fowls kept in 
the county have doubled in number within 
a very few years. The producer gets more 
out of the consumer’s dollar when he raises 
poultry and eggs than from anything else 
turned into the usual channels of trade. 
Freight and express rates are lower in 
proportion to the value than on other food 
products, and the competition among the 
traders keeps their margin of profit down. 
Still the poultrymen are wise to the fact 
that the margin can be still further re¬ 
duced by co-operative organization and 
marketing. They propose to get together 
and grade their stock with extreme care, 
and then work to cut out every super¬ 
fluous middleman. They will not have to 
buck the beef trust either. The way was 
paved for comprehensive plans in up-to- 
date breeding when the Somerset Poultry 
Producers’ Association held the first show 
at Skowhegan. Everything was on a busi¬ 
ness basis, and in the fat stock classes the 
birds were killed and picked then drawn 
and trussed before the judges said which 
was which. It took something besides 
feathers to win in that class, and everybody 
said it was the most interesting thing of 
the kind they had ever seen. 
Swine will take a back seat as com¬ 
pared with sheep and poultry, chiefly be¬ 
cause the breeders have not taken the 
trouble to organize. Several progressive 
farmers have demonstrated that pork can 
be grown on the products of a Maine farm 
and marketed at a good profit, but the 
how and the why makes, slow progress 
around the State. Organized effort would 
work wonders with the business, but noth¬ 
ing of the kind is in sight, so the pig is 
likely to keep on for a time as a side 
issue m the dairy business. The lovers of 
the dairy business insist that it is the 
corner-stone of good farming, and when 
the cow keepers take out their wallets to 
buy stuff from the hard-nressed potato 
growers, there is something besides the 
man to talk. It may be smart to joke 
about the unprogressive farmers, but the 
stand-patters in the midst of the potato 
boom have got the best laugh. Every one 
of them who kept on raising a variety of 
crops and animals has had plenty of 
stuff to sell and at prices that would have 
looked impossible 10 years ago. 
The dairy industry is well organized too, 
in addition to enjoying strong support 
from the Department of Agriculture. The 
Maine Dairymen’s Association is an old 
organization now taking a new lease of 
life. Meetings were held last Fall in every 
county, and much interest aroused, but the 
newer cow testing associations are what is 
making things happen. These organizations 
are strictly local, and the members get 
together every month. Then they talk 
farts and business. While they go by the 
name of cow-testing associations,. man-test¬ 
ing would be more accurate. Dairy ac¬ 
counting is the primary work they are 
doing. Then when the members get to¬ 
gether they have records to compare, and 
after that it doesn't take them long to see 
who’s who. The next step is to look into 
the whys and wherefores, and after that 
progress is both rapid and sure. 
Humanity likes to be shown, and farm¬ 
ers are no exception to the general run. 
Those members of the cow test associations 
who can look back upon the progress made 
since they began to have records of what 
their herds were doing are now beginning 
to think that perhaps there are other de¬ 
partments of the farm that could be braced 
up in a similar manner. Bookkeeping by 
the individual farmer is practically out 
of the question, but organized into an 
association the problem becomes very sim¬ 
ple. That system has worked wonders in 
Denmark, and lots of the progressive ones 
who have read up on it, are wondering 
how much longer they can afford to be 
without it here in Maine. Under the Dan¬ 
ish system each member of the accounting 
association is visited at intervals by an 
agricultural expert, and after a few years 
a system of cropping is developed that is 
especially adapted to that particular farm. 
This gives the maximum profit, keeps the 
agriculture properly diversified and makes 
such booms and slumps as are afflicting 
the potato industry impossible. If it were 
not for the financial condition of the State 
there would be a strong demand for the 
Department of Agriculture to make a start 
towards introducing the Danish system 
next year, and even at that ifmay be done 
anyhow. There is plenty of money avail¬ 
able if it were properly expended. 
JOHN E. TAYLOR. 
GALLOWAY 
SAVES YOU 
$50 to $300 ; 
1 -fMjr•* t t'l' If 
S AVE from $50 to $300 by buying: your gasoline engine of 1% to 28-H.-P. fronj 
a real engine factory. Save dealer, jobber and catalogue house profit. No such offer 
as I make on the class of engine I sell has ever been made before in all Gasoline Engine 
history. Here is the secret and reason : I turn them out all alike by the thousands in my 
enormous modern factory, equipped with automatic machinery. I sell them direct to you 
for less money than some factories can make them at actual shop cost. 
All you pay me for is actual raw material, labor and one small profit (and I buy my 
material ;n enormous quantities). 
Anybody can afford and might just as well have a high grade engine when he 
can get in on a wholesale deal of this kind. I* m doing something that never was 
done before. Think of it! A price to you that is lower than dealers and 
jobbers can buy similar engines for, in carload lots, for spot cash. 
An engine that is made so good in the factory that I will send ^ _ 
ft out anywhere in the U. S. without an expert to any inexperienced 
users, on 30 days’ free trial, to test against any engine made of yyST *’ ** 
similar horse-power that sells for twice as much, and let him M MM jo .■■ 
be the judge. Sell your poorest horse end buy a yy VtGW WfllfOWrM jM 9 
5-H.-P. Only $119.50 
FA' 
Biggest and Best 
FREE BOOK 
Write today for my beautiful new 50-page Engine Book in four 
colors, nothing like it ever printed before, fuliof valuable information, 
showing how I make them and how you can make more money with a 
gasoline engine on the farm. Write me— 
Wm. Galloway, Prom., Wm. Galloway Co. 
BBS Galloway Station, Waterloo, Iowa 
SUCCESS WITH AN AIR PRESSURE 
WATER SYSTEM 
I have had an air pressure water sys¬ 
tem with windmill pump on my place for 
about three years. I have an eight-inch 
tile well, 51 feet deep, with about 12 feet , 
of water in it, and the bottom cylinder, a 
2%-inch cylinder, is within two feet of . 
the bottom. At the top of the well there 
is a 2 Mi -inch cylinder with an air-cock, so 
that when the pet cock is open the extra 
dimension at top provides for pumping air 
along with the water. My tank is 3x10 
feet, and supplies bathroom, toilet and 
kitchen and furnace (with hot water 
heater in kitchen). My mill is a 40-foot 
tower with a 10-foot wheel and pumps in 
a very light air with oiling once a week. 
I have the weight set to shut off at about 
60 pounds pressure and when it gets to 
that pressure it will shut off even in a 
gale. When sufficient water has been used 
to reduce the pressure to say 30 pounds 
or so, the vane begins to swing around 
automatically and the mill begins to work. 
It requires no attention and receives none 
except once a week when I climb the tower 
and oil the mill and look over the various 
bolts and nuts to see that everything is 
tight. My house was an eight-room farm¬ 
house, buit I changed four rooms to make 
two large living rooms, and besides my 
wife there are two children. I take a cold 
bath every morning the year round and 
another at night before retiring in Summer, 
with a warm bath in Winter. The rest of 
the family are equally foud of the water, 
and we find the arrangement provides us 
with an adequate supply. Since we have 
had this system installed I use a hose to 
water garden and trees and I think the 
hose can be used for say an hour to an 
hour and a half before the pressure be¬ 
comes too low. There have been two 
periods of two or three days during the 
time we have had the system where a con¬ 
tinued calm caused us to use up all the 
pressure; but my experience is that no 
matter how calm the day may be, one 
can generally depend upon at least a light 
breeze between midnight and morning to 
replace any pressure lost through use. The 
rest of the time I have had more than 
enough water. I pulled the pipes up once 
to see why the mill didn’t pump and found 
a small piece of stone caught in the bottom 
valve, and although it wasn’t necessary I 
took that opportunity to change the leathers 
on the bottom cylinder. The system is 
satisfactory and should I buy or build an¬ 
other house would use the same system— 
with a windmill for a small house and a 
gasoline engine if the house were a large 
one. The only defect in connection with 
the mill that could be improved upon is a 
detail. All bolts and nuts sent with the 
mill outfit should have square heads, and 
not round flat heads, and should be sup¬ 
plied with washers, to provide against wear 
of the wooden pumping rod, as without 
washers the bolt is apt to wear a larger 
hole than required for its passage, thus 
making the wooden rod work loose. I 
remedied this myself and it is all right. 
The other defect which should be improved 
is that the galvanized wire connecting the 
pressure regulating weight with the vane- 
control now passes through a small hole- 
in the plate of the mill-head. Constant fric¬ 
tion will wear out this wire at that point 
in from one to two years, requiring re¬ 
placement of the wire. Otherwise the wire 
would last forever. Of course the above 
items are of a minor character and do not 
affect the usefulness of the mill, as they 
are easily remedied. Charles l. cook. 
Long Island. 
Fruit Trees, Ornamental Trees, 
SHRUBS and ROSES, 
SMALL FRUIT PLANTS 
of all kinds from the famous Lake Shore re¬ 
gion of northern Ohio. Send for catalogue. 
MAPLE BEND NDBSEET, 
T. B. West. Lock Box 287, Perry, Ohio. 
WHEELBARROW If JRSSJ LABOR 
Sows evenly. No need \j r SEED 
to wait for quiet day. 
Sows Timothy, Clover, Alsike, Alfalfa, Millet, Turnip, etc. 
Two sizes: 14 ft. and 16 ft. Auger feed. Wood frame. Satis¬ 
faction guaranteed. Prompt shipment. If your dealer 
does not handle the “STAR” write us for booklet. 
STAR SEEDER CO., Box R, Shortsville. N. Y. 
$53.50 
BUY A NEW YORK STATE WAGON 
DIRECT FROM FACTORY $ 45.00 
If -you want the best made at the lowest 
passible price. We build wagons for ser¬ 
vice—not merely to sell, We aretheonly 
N. Y. State factory selling direct to user, 
saving one-third of the costfer you. 
Send for One on Approval. 
... ,, ., , Safe delivery guaranteed —no deposit or . NIo , HunahouU spindle w- 
Handy Wagon: Removable seats, references required. Our wagon can sell riding wHl last for wa 
drop end gate, strong and dur- itself or there will be no sale. Write today defies c-ompetiti. 
able. .Can’t be duplicated ^by fol . eata i 0 g of 200 styles and Wholesale Price 1 
List. 
any dealer for less than $75. 
Rochester Vehicle Company, 
defies 
for $66 
•at, 
_many 
competition. 
everywhere. 
360 Alain St., Rochester, N. Y. 
SPRAY 
Auto-Sprays 
FRUITS AND 
FIELD CROPS 
1 and do whitewashing in moet effectual, economical, 
rapid way. Bati*faction guaranteed. BROWN’S 
HAND OR 
POWER _ 
No. 1, shown here, is fitted with Auto-Pop Norrle— 
' does work of 3 ordinary sprayers. .Endorsed by Ex- 
, f periment Stations and 300,000 othsrs. 40 styles and 
Bites of band and power sprayers—also prices 
and valoabla spraying guide in our Free Book. 
Write postal now. 
THE E. C. BROWN COMPANY 
28H. X. 
APPLES SCIONS 
$3 per M for ROME BEAUTY, 
JONATHAN and some others. 
KNSEE, the most promising new winter 
apple of high quality, $10. 
Agents for Spraying Material. 
Apples—$5.00 per barrel by carload. 
U. T. COX, PROCTORVIIXE, OHIO 
Sec’y Rome Beauty Growers’ Association 
Two Million 
Strawberry Plants 
Every one of them good honest plants 
with an abundance of branching root!ets. 
Good big crowns. Free from disease 
and in the most thrifty growing condition. 
Guaranteed true to name and variety. 
No other grower can produce anything 
better. Our 
Small Fruit Catalogue 
contains 24 pages of matter devoted exclu¬ 
sively to Strawberries, Raspberries, 
Blackberries, Gooseberries, Curranls 
and Grapes. Gives good straightforward 
and honest descriptions of the many varieties 
we offer. 
Write for free catalogue today. It.’s sure to 
make and save you money. Don’t delay. 
J. W. JONES & SON, Allen, Nld. 
N. WERTHEIMER & SON WifKft 
Choice seeds boughtdirect from the farmer and sold 
direct to the farmer. We offer you the choicest 
seeds, doubly recleaned. Medium and Mammoth 
Clover Seed, AJsike, Alfalfa. Timothy, Crimson 
Clover, White Clover, Red Top, Orchard Grass, 
Blue Grass, Lawn Grass, all kinds of Corn, Spring 
and Winter Wheat, Buckwheat, all kinds of Peas. 
Samples and prices sent on application. ... 
N. WERTHEIMER & SON LIGONIER. INDIANA 
THAT 00 NOT DISAPPOINT 
^ !■ !■ I I ^ Sold on The Ford Plan, which guar- 
M ■ I I II M ■ antees satisfaction and saves you 
WW ■■ ■■ MW money on every purchase. Our cat¬ 
alog tells about it, gives descriptions and low prices on 
Boat varieties Garden, Flower and Field Seeds, Pota¬ 
toes, Bulbs, Trees, Shrubs and Small Fruit Plants. Con¬ 
tains lots of testimonials from our customers. It’s free. 
FORD SEED CO., Dept. 24, Ravenna, Ohio. 
STRAWBERRY PLANTS TH AT CROW 
All Standard Varieties. Also RASPBERRY, BLACKBERRY. 
CURRANT and GRAPE Planta and ASPARAGUS Roots in 
ASSORTMENT. WARRANTED TRUE-TO-NAME, and of 
GRADE represented. Catalog with Cultural Instructions FREE. 
C E. WHITTEN, BOX 1*1, BRIDGMAN. MICHIGAN. 
S TRAWBERRY PLANTS for Business. Fancy 
Berries. That’s what talks. Leading varieties. 
Catalogue free. D. M. TEETER. Belleville, Ohio. 
Most Everyone Has a Hobby. 
Ours is propagating new varieties of strawberries. 
After a thorough test and proved to be all-around 
best of all, you hear us say something—otherwise 
we bury them. Our catalogue for 1911 is brimful 
of new ones, and conspicuously absent of varieties 
that have been but cannot come back. Early, Mid- 
Season and Late. We were the introducers of the 
famous “Stevens’ Late Champion,” a book on 
strawberry culture, with every catalogue all free 
for the asking. • „ , 
J.T. GARRISON & SONS, Bridgeton, N. J. 
^BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED CATALOG 
{jl 44 Large ^ages—Mailed Free 
(About 34 Natural Size ) 
ESCHSCHOLTZIA THORBURNI 
(California Poppy) 
H ARDY annual. Sow outdoors in Spring. 
The grandest of all Eschscholtztas. The 
unopened buds on outer side of petals 
are of the deepest crimson, toning down on the 
inner side to bright flame color and molten 
gold. We will mail a packet of this valuable 
novelty and a copy of our beautiful catalog 
the best Seed annual published in America for 
only IO cents, stamps or coin. (Regular 
price of Seed, 15 cents packet.) Write today. 
J. M. THORBURN & CO 
DEPT. Y 
33 BARCLAY ST„ NEW YORK 
PLANTS 
Our free book 
quotes lowest 
prices, honestly describes 60 varie¬ 
ties, explains C. O. D. plan, tells how 
_. to plant and grow strawberries, rasp¬ 
berries, blackberries, grapes, etc. . „ Tr 
A. G. BLOUNT, Dept. A, Hastings, N. Y. 
STRAWBERRY Plante. Send for free catalog. Large 
stock Miller, best red raspberry, only $5 per 1000. Also, 
eggs for hatching. Pure W. Wy. and B. P. R., 26 eggs 
for $L2o. Slayslaker & Son, Wyoming, Del. 
WHOLESALE PRICES 
On Strawberry, Raspberry, Blackberry. Gooseberry, 
Currant, Asparagus and Grape Plants, Heavy Rooteu, 
High Grade Stock. IBtti Annual Catalogue Free. 
Jl R. WESTON & CO, R. 8 Bridgman, Mick. 
POTATOES—Caiman. Cobbler, Coin, Harvest, Hebron, Ohio, 
queen, Longfellow, Kinp: 85 hinds. C. W. Ford, Fishers. N.Y. 
Why Harris’Seeds 
are Surest and Best 
Seed that grows —that gets right down to business and , 
makes good plants—is the only kind you can afford— and 
it’s the kind you get when you order from us. Every strain of 
our seed has a pedigTee—has made a record for years. 
Nearly all of it is grown on our own farms; we give it a 
careful germination test, to prove just how much of it is 
good. When we’ve found that out, we print it on a 
special label appearing on each package, so that 
You can always tell how much 
of our seed will come up 
Think of what that means 1 You 
/jjyin 1 — <: pjVLV* ~1 can tell when you plant it, whether 
- - - * to sow thick or light; you can get 
just the stand you want without 
resowing, without wasting any 
seed, and, most important of all, 
without wasting any time. 
Our free Catalogue contains 
valuable information about Gar¬ 
den, Field and Flower Seeds. 
Write for it NOW. 
JOSEPH HARRIS CO. 
__ ... 1 Moroton Farm, Box 31 
3° S yf 3> <*"&***. \ CO LOW AT E R, H. Y. 
- A - 
Van* - 
