ess 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
May 13, 
Hope Farm Notes 
Strawberries. —The picture on page 
583 shows a frozen potted strawberry 
plant which has had what I call a 
strange history. Last Summer was so 
dry that our plants would not grow. We 
kept putting them in pots as late as Sep¬ 
tember, hoping for a wet Fall—which 
did not come. The result was that 
nearly 1,000 plants were still in the pots 
and apparently making no growth when 
late November suddenly froze the 
ground. These pots remained in the 
frozen ground all Winter. When Spring 
came- the upper part of the soil froze 
and thawed as usual. These pots were 
lifted out by the frost and left on top 
of the ground. A few were broken, and 
1 had no thought that any of them could 
be alive. When we came to pick up the 
pots we found most of the plants strong. 
Like the one shown in the picture, they 
had made long new roots which ran out 
through the hole at the bottom of the 
pot. Over 6 oo of them were set out to 
fill some missing places in the field, 
which was planted late last Fall. In due 
time I hope to show what we can do 
with such frozen plants. Now we do 
not recommend any such plan. Freezing 
is good for rhubarb roots, but all our 
teaching has been for covering straw¬ 
berries through the Winter. Yet here 
are plants thrown out with roots ex¬ 
posed. We are all likely to learn a lot 
about strawberry growing yet, and the 
strawberry plant is the best teacher. . 
. . The two-year-old hill plants were 
cultivated April 28 . As a rule we do 
not believe in Spring culture, but these 
plants are weedy, and we want to get 
the weeds out. The cultivator rips 
them out of the middles cheaper than 
we can do it by hand. Chickweed has 
become a great nuisance in part of our 
fields. In some situations this can be 
cleaned out by spraying a solution of 
iron sulphate, but I think you will injure 
the strawberries by using any strength 
that would hurt the chickweed. 
The Milk Question. —Our cow is 
steadily gaining. The second week she 
gave 188 pounds. It takes a nervous 
cow right out of a big herd some days 
to get used to her new home. She is 
now out on the rye most of the day. 
We began an hour at a time and gradu¬ 
ally worked her up to a steady pastur¬ 
ing. She will go on grass next week, 
and then will be picketed on a piece of 
Alfalfa—grazing back and forth from 
one end to the other. Of course a dairy¬ 
man would think this small business, but 
fruit growers and gardeners cannot keep 
large herds. With one or two good 
cows they can make sure of their own 
milk supply. A cow under such condi¬ 
tions is a scavenger, living mostly on 
wastes—cornstalks and garden surplus. 
If you figure cost of production of such 
milk and value it at what the consumer 
would have to pay you would have a 
wide margin. An acre of Alfalfa on a 
fruit or garden farm will prove a great 
help in keeping the cow. On land of 
high value it will not pay to grow or¬ 
dinary crops of Timothy hay, but Al¬ 
falfa under such conditions ranks with 
the high producing crops. That is why 
it will pay any farmer or gardener to 
start a patch of square rods or acres. 
Farm Notes. —The first potatoes were 
planted April 26—at least two weeks 
behind former years. This is a sort of 
“patch” crop with us this year—put in 
small patches here and there between 
trees or as preparation for later crops. 
We plant more of Irish Cobblers than 
any other variety. This is a good crop¬ 
per and early. The quality is not high. 
For our own use we like Sir Walter 
Raleigh, but the Cobbler is all right 
when eaten fresh from the ground, and 
by coming on early they fit in well with 
our plan of double cropping. We are 
starting a new asparagus bed with po¬ 
tatoes between the asparagus rows. I 
thought this was an old story until some 
25 questions came. We make deep fur¬ 
rows six feet apart and put in the as¬ 
paragus roots. Then midway between 
these rows deep drills are made for the 
potatoes. The asparagus roots are only 
lightly covered, but the season’s cultiva¬ 
tion gradually fills in the furrows. By 
Fall the soil should be level and the 
asparagus shoulder high. The potatoes 
come out in August and then the middle 
can be seeded to clover, rye or vetch. 
. . . The peaches began showing pink 
the last few days in April. They are 
loaded with buds, and unless we have a 
late freeze there should be a good crop. 
I understand the Southern crop will be 
very short. In some parts of New Jer¬ 
sey the chances are for failure. There 
was a fair crop last year, but the soil 
was so dry that the trees could not re¬ 
cover. At this writing our prospect for 
a crop of all fruit never was better, and 
we intend to feed and work our trees to 
the limit. Spring may be late, but it 
seems to me that she never looked hap¬ 
pier or prettier than when at last she 
came dancing up our valley. That’s 
about the way I feel every year, and it 
is certainly one of the things which one 
cannot get tired of admiring. For when 
the trees finally start into life and burst 
—first with a little shimmer of green 
and then into full bloom—it is enough 
to make the coldest of 11 s realize that 
life has taken a" happier turn and that 
youth has come back. 
Crows and Corn. —This same old dis¬ 
cussion comes out every year about 
fighting crows and feeding them. Here 
is. the latest feed advocate: 
I remember over 50 years ago my father’s 
neighbor scolded because he fed the crows 
and brought all crows far and near to his 
cornfield. I also remember his neighbor’s 
cornfield had all kinds of scarecrows and 
string around the field on stakes, and still 
the crows would pull his corn. This tar 
business is a fake; a crow is just wise 
enough to pull corn for spite. I have made 
a practice bf feeding the crows, and I don’t 
have any trouble with their pulling corn. 
You don’t have to sow corn all over the 
hill ; put in the dead furrow in a number 
of places, just before the corn comes up 
and the crows will sing your praises. 
G. H. it. 
And here is John Gould with further 
testimony for the crow as a hired man: 
I notice what you have to say about 
feeding the crows to “hire” them from 
pulling the sprouting corn, your impres¬ 
sion being that the free corn must be scat¬ 
tered all over the field, and will be culti¬ 
vated in and lost—to the crows. Tor 20 
years I have protected myself against the 
crows pulling corn by sowing a few quarts 
of corn at a time for a couple of weeks, 
and while I harbor, not a large family of 
crows, they are all very much alive. Very 
little corn has been pulled, many years not 
any, and a half bushel per year would be 
the outside limit used. The habits of a 
tame crow revealed to me that they never 
eat dry corn, but first carry it away 
and “plant” it, and then when soft, pull 
it up. Corn does not need to be scattered 
very much. I usually scatter it along in 
a couple of dead furrows, or between two 
marked rows. The crows find it very 
quickly, and proceed to pick it up and carry 
it away, a few kernels at a time, and as 
soon return for more. I think it a far 
better way than erecting scarecrows, or 
trying to gun them, which usually results 
in' few scalps, for the exertion. 
Ohio. JOHN GOULD. 
“Corned crow” may answer, but tar¬ 
ring is not a “fake” with us. I have 
no faith in scarecrows, but I know that 
in nine years out of 10 the crows have 
let our fields alone after a few trials 
at tarred seed. I have known people to 
use poisoned grain, but I would not ad¬ 
vise it. An English farmer was fined 
$50 for.scattering poisoned wheat in his 
field. A neighbor’s pigeons came and 
ate the wheat and were killed. Under 
the English law the farmer was liable 
even when birds came from outside bis 
farm and took the poisoned grain. The 
law is not so strict here, yet I would 
not advise poisons. Tarring usually 
protects our crops! 
Mushrooms. —Some of these “agricul¬ 
tural” questions are white-haired with 
age—yet they pop up with more than 
the spirit of youth. Here is one: 
I have been told I have an excellent place 
to raise mushrooms—so became interested. 
Will you let me know where I may buy 
a book of full particulars and where good 
seeds may be obtained? t. m. 
New York. 
The inquirer lives in the shadow of 
one of the most famous agricultural col¬ 
leges in the country—where all sorts of 
gardening operations are going on. 
There are books on mushroom growing. 
The best one is by William Falconer, 
price $1. The United States Department of 
Agriculture sends a good pamphlet free. 
You may have a fine place for growing 
them, but that is only a small part of it. 
A lawyer or a doctor might have a 
beautiful office, but who would risk life 
or property unless the man had experi¬ 
ence and skill ? It will require nearly as 
much experience to grow mushrooms 
profitably as to handle a successful case 
before a jury. The mushrooms are not 
grown from seeds but from spawn. That 
very question shows how unprepared 
this questioner is to branch out into the 
business. Of course I shall be accused 
of throwing cold water on a scheme to 
develop a home business. The fact is 
cold water is the most useful thing you 
can have on such enterprises, h. w. c. 
What’s Your Earning Power? 
I S YOUR income sufficient and in 
keeping with the earning power 
you are capable of ? Are you 
able to support yourself and family 
and enjoy the little luxuries of life ? 
Can you draw a check on your bank to 
tide over the proverbial “rainy day’ ’ ? 
If you want to be a man of bigger 
earning capacity, a 
Buckeye 
Traction Ditcher 
will accomplish that end for you. It’s 
a machine that pays for itself in a 
short time—a machine that can work 
almost the year round. 
The Buckeye Traction Ditcher, 
with a small amount of capital in¬ 
vested, will net you from $15 to $18 
a day digging ditches in your neigh¬ 
borhood. No trouble keeping the 
machine busy, as farmers everywhere 
are insisting upon Buckeye ditches* 
because they are truer, of perfect 
level and cost twenty-five to fifty 
per cent less. The old expensive 
hand-dug ditches are a thing of the 
past. The Buckeye digs from 100 to 
150 rods a day. Our catalogue No. 
3 for the asking. 
The Buckeye Traction Ditcher Co., 
Findlay, Ohio. 
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JOS. BICK MFC. COMPANY 
1426 West Tuscarawas St. Canton, Ohio 
Complete With 
Fenders and 
4 -Shovel Pin 
Break Gangs, 
Complete With 
Fenders and 
6 -Shovcl Pin 
Break Gangs, 
It. F. D. No. 6 . Box 2, Milford, Ill. 
Sears, Roebuck and Co., Chicago, Ill. 
Gentlemen:—My Little Jap is far ahead of any 
cultivator 1 have ever seen. The seat bar guiding 
motion is the best tiling out, and the advantage of 
being able to raise and lower the gangs with the 
balancing lever after having set them to exact 
depth with the raising levers makes it superior to 
all others. This is saying a good deal, but it’s true. 
Tlie good features of the Little Jap make me feel 
like striking out with it and working in fields 
along the road, so as to convince people of its 
superiority over all other makes. 
Yours truly. 
CHARLES TANSEL. 
PRICES 
INCLUDE 
FENDERS. 
The David Bradley 
LITTLE JAP CULTIVATOR 
is your own idea of what a cultivator should 
he; the perfect implement you have been 
wishing for since you plowed your first field. 
So far ahead of tiny other that it really 
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cultivator. Every other manufacturer hop¬ 
ing for success is trying to copy its exclu¬ 
sive patented features. We only name them 
here. Our catalog tells all about them. 
Pivot Axles and Seat Bar Dodging Lever; easiest, 
quickest, widest dodge. A clear view of the row at 
all times. The one successful cultivator for hillside 
work. No drifting; gangs work parallel and at even 
depth. 
Balance Frame; adjustable for rows of any width. 
Seat and stirrups adjustable for boy or man, and ma¬ 
chine adapts itself to heavy or light weight operator. 
Depth Regulating Lever for each gang, and 
Combined Gang Raising and Balancing Lever that 
hits both gangs at end of row without disturbing 
depth adjustment. 
Short Hitch and Direct Draft; easy on team. 
Draft helps lift gangs, also keeps shovels in ground. 
Sixteen Styles of Gangs. Pin break or spring trip 
shovels, surface blades, spring teeth or discs. Level- 
ers, rakes and other attachments. Buy one culti¬ 
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Wheels 42 inches high; wide tires; staggered 
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Materials throughout the best that money can buy. 
Highest grade steel and malleables used. $100.00 
couldn't make it belter. 
Send for our Book of David Bradley Farm Implements, or see our big General 
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We can always furnish repairs for any LITTLE 
David Bradley implement made since 1832 and 
ship the day we receive the order. 
JAP 
DISC 
CULTIVA¬ 
TOR. 
Complete, 
R. F. D. No. 1. Mt. Vernon, Iowa. 
Sears, Roebuck and Co., Chicago, HI. ,,, 
Gentlemen:—I am fifty-two years old and did my 
first plowing with a single shovel plow, then the double 
shovel, next the walking cultivator and then the sulky 
plow. Have used more different kinds of cultivators 
than most men, and think I can plow corn as good as 
any man living, and I must say that the Little Jap is 
the best 1 ever used for good work and easy running, 
both on man and team, it is the only cultivator for the 
hired man. You regulate it and send him into the field 
and he has simply got to plow corn. 
Yours truly, 
A. H. KNAPP. 
SEARS.R0EBUCK 
ANDCQ 
CHICAGO 
