THE RURAL, RE W-YORKER 
880 
Hope Farm Notes 
Fruit Notes. —When wc first planted 
apple trees we made some mistakes with 
varieties. I did not realize until the trees 
began to hear what a serious thing it is to 
advise a beginner. No man should eve* 
rely entirely upon the word of a stranger 
in this matter, lie ought to go about the 
locality and talk with fruit growers and 
see what the apples look like. For exam¬ 
ple, I was told that Wealthy was an applo 
of late September or Fall. Wo began pick¬ 
ing our Wealthies by August 10. This 
means that we went over the trees and 
picked the largest apples—leaving the 
smaller ones to mature. The large apples 
were ready to come off and as we could 
get 35 and 40 cents for a peach baskfet full 
it seemed like good business. The high 
winds which prevail here in early Septem¬ 
ber will throw down many ripe applet 
Thus Wealthy with us comes in ahead of 
Fall Pippin. McIntosh is about 10 days 
later. A good succession of apples on our 
hills would be Astrakhan, Williams Early, 
Wealthy, Fall Pippin, McIntosh, Koine 
Beauty, Baldwin and Black Ben liavis. 
These are all dark-colored except Fall Pip¬ 
pin—which is the best of the lot. As for 
peaches the last of the Carmans were off 
by August 10. Following them came Belle 
of Georgia, Mountain Kose and Elberta. I 
shall plant more Carmans. It is the most 
profitable peach we have. At first custo¬ 
mers did not care for a white peach, but 
after tasting it at its best they want more. 
We grow them with a brick red cheek that 
attracts attention anywhere. 
Moisture. —We had two soakers that did 
the peaches and apples a world of good. 
In one orchard we are trying mulch against 
culture. On the half where the trees were 
plowed and cultivated the wood growth is 
great. By July 15 this growth was so 
heavy that 1 did not dare let it go on, so 
we stopped cultivating. It was too dry to 
sow a “cover” crop, but weeds and grass 
came in as if by magic. It was largely 
ragweed and foxtail. The ragweed 1 re¬ 
gard as a good fertilizing plant. llow 
ihose weeds did jump up! Then came the 
showers, followed by high winds. Two 
years ago 1 went down to see the famous 
ltepp orchard in South Jersey. It is plant¬ 
ed on light soil. Mr. liepp fertilizes heav¬ 
ily in Spring, plows shallow and gives the 
most thorough culture up to July. Then 
he does nothing more but permits the 
weeds to do as they please. They grow 
shoulder high, stop the wood growth on 
the trees, utilize the plant food and pro¬ 
vide humus of the cheapest sort. Go to 
ltepp’s orchard in June and you would call 
him the most careful cultivator. Go there 
in August and his orchard looks like a 
sloven’s. Yet what fruit he does get. It 
always struck me that he would get more 
fruit and save fertility by cutting that 
weed growth off during August. This year 
I had a chance to test this theory. By 
August 19 I had one crop at least equal to 
Kepp’s—that was weeds. The Carmans 
were all picked but the Belle of Georgias 
were loaded and just coloring. 1 reasoned 
that the weeds and the high winds would 
soon get the water out of that soil, while 
if the weeds were cut and left on the 
ground we should have a mulch l'oi pro¬ 
tection. It was impossible to work such 
an orchard with the mowing machine, so 
we went in with sharp scythes and cut 
the trash under and around the trees which 
carry fruit. We expect this to hold the 
moisture while another crop of grass and 
weeds will come in. This can be left or 
plowed under for rye seeding. 1 would 
rather leave it. Last year we disked late 
for rye, started a late growth and lost 
most of our buds in Winter. The sod part 
of this orchard presents a great contrast to 
the cultivated part. The sod trees are no 
more than two-thirds the size. The fruit 
is a little smaller, darker colored, better 
flavor and ripens earlier. Except for spray¬ 
ing one man can take care of three sod 
trees to one under thorough culture. 
Farm Notes.— They got that wooden 
part of the old house safely across the 
lawn and located it in position behind the 
new house. Now it will be- attached. It 
was interesting to see this house slide 
gently along the greased timbers. They 
took it along chimney and all, hardly shak¬ 
ing out a bit of plastering. When 1 was 
a boy we helped move buildings on wooden 
rollers and usually shook them half apart. 
. . . The cow was sailing along at her 
record with 30 pounds a day when sud¬ 
denly she fell off. In 36 hours she was 
down to three pounds, refusing her grain 
and spending the night bellowing. When 
at this season a cow acts that way 1 look 
for sour apples, and sure enough there 
was a small seedling tree- in the pasture 
with the apples falling. The cow did not 
bloat or fall down, but she simply quit. 
We finally coaxed her back to about 24 
pounds. She is now picketed on the Al¬ 
falfa—moving her twice a day back and 
forth across the field. At night she has 
an armful of sweet corn stalks. This 
ought to bring her back, but it is hard to 
iecover entirely when the cow nearly stops 
her flow. Keep on the watch for too many 
sour apples. . . We are sending a one- 
horse load to market practically every 
week day. Bob and Broker take turns 
hauling. Peaches and apples make the 
bulk of these loads, with tomatoes, pears 
and crabs for good measure. Prices are 
fair. Many people are out of work and 
cannot buy freely, yet we always get rid 
of the goods. Potatoes are high, and I 
think prices will be kept up, though I ex¬ 
pect foreign potatoes to begin coming soon. 
There are not many of them in our coun¬ 
try. The fruit crop is good and we are 
handling more than we ever did before. 
. . . Many of you will understand with¬ 
out my telling the satisfaction we feel in 
seeing our young orchards burst into fruit. 
It is hard to think of any part of farming 
which gives more solid comfort. For an 
orchard means a permanent investment. 
Y’ou planted the little trees—mere sticks. 
Friends and even your own family smiled 
or scoffed at your arguments and your 
hope. You had nothing but faith and 
vision as you spent your money and your 
time through the long years of waiting. 
Now you are in a way to justify your 
claims. The trees are shaking themselves 
and the ripening fruit is peeping out 
through the foliage! I wish I could have 
you on my hill this Sunday afternoon that 
we might consider some of these things. It 
is a glorious day ; clear and bright, with just 
a suggestion of “nip” in the air to make 
people of our years realize that the end of 
Summer is near. We could look far off 
across the purpling hills and realize how 
they rise on and on one ridge after an¬ 
other to the end of the earth—just about 
as we have found life. For it has been a 
long climb out of one pleasant valley up 
the ridge and then down the other side. 
Yes, I wish I had you here to-day with 
the sun sparkling over the valley and na¬ 
ture in the pride and strength of its full 
growth. We would not worry over the fact 
that we know the destroyer is crawling 
down from the North to put the hand of 
frost upon all this beauty. We would 
rather look at these sturdy young trees and 
know that they are to come through the 
sleep of Winter stronger and more produc¬ 
tive than ever. I can think of nothing 
more satisfactory for the Sunday after¬ 
noon of a man of middle years than sturdy 
young trees on the hill and children play¬ 
ing in the valley. 
“Women Farmers” and Work. —Here is 
a question which ought to be discussed. 
There are many women who must hire 
their work done. What should they pay 
for labor? This case is in northern New 
York: 
“Will you please • tell ‘women farmers’ 
how much they ought to pay, per acre, to 
have land fitted thoroughly and sown with 
Winter wheat? The land is near the barn, 
easy to work and is now oat stubble; we 
furnish grain and grass seed for seeding 
down ? j. e. 
This is a very local question, depending 
on the custom of the locality, the charac¬ 
ter of the farmer and the force of the 
women. In our section the charge is made 
by the hour—50 cents per hour for man, 
team and tools. On a hot day some men 
might sit on the plow handles and let the 
horses rest. Their excuse would be a text 
—“A merciful man is merciful to his 
beast.” When the women farmers paid for 
such mercy at the rate of 50 cents per 
hour they might justly conclude that the 
quality of it was “strained.” The most 
practical figures I have seen are those 
worked out by Prof. II. E. Cook at the 
Canton Agricultural School. Here is the 
cost of fitting one acre for various crops: 
Corn (plowing and harrowing). $3.49 
Potatoes (plowing and harrowing).. 5.91 
Oats (plowing, harrowing & seeding. 3.99 
Wheat (plowing, harrowing and 
seeding) . 5.90 
In this wheat account it cost $3.38 to 
plow an acre, $1.97 to harrow and 55 
cents to seed. I think it will cost the 
average farmer more than this to put in an 
acre of wheat properly. In this case the 
work was well done, the yield being over 
25 bushels per acre. The total cost, in¬ 
cluding seed, fertilizer, harvesting, etc., 
was $27.92 per acre, and the income in 
straw and grain was $44.75. In our coun¬ 
try with our small and rough fields it 
would cost nearly $7.50 to hire the work 
done and put in an acre of grain properly. 
That is rather more than it is worth. I 
think this oat stubble could be fitted well 
and seeded to wheat for about $5 per acre 
if a man has a good team and a con¬ 
science in fair working order. 
Fall Seeding Oats. —This comes from a 
man who lives within a dozen miles of 
Hope Farm : 
“Will you tell me which time is the best 
to sow oats for hay, the Fall or Spring? 
I have just cut rye from the ground where 
the oats are to be sown.” 
September 2, 
It is strange how people get the habits 
of grain mixed up. It would lie nonsense 
to sow oats this Fall, expecting to cut it 
for hay next year. Oats will no more live 
through the Winter than corn or potatoes. 
The crop would grow until freezing and 
then it would fade away. There is a 
Winter eat used in he South, which will 
live through the Winter in Southern 
Virginia and farther South. We have 
seeded it here on the hope of carry¬ 
ing it through, but while it made 
a heavy Fall growth there was not 
a plant left in Spring. It would make a 
good pasture for the Fall, or might do to 
sow among the strawberries to serve as 
mulch, but there is no kind of oats that 
will live over Winter and give hay in 
Spring. I know that some of the liars 
who go about selling seeds claim to have 
an oat grafted on clover roots which will 
live anywhere and never suffer. Do not 
pay any attention to such frauds, but if 
you want hay for next year sow either 
rye or wheat now. The wheat will make 
better hay, but rye is a surer crop in our 
country. 
Motor Cars and Farms. — I hardly like 
to think what my grandfather would have 
said could he have lived to see' this ad¬ 
vertisement, which actually appeared in a 
New York paper: 
Farm, about 30 Miles from N. Y. City.— 
Prefers water front in Long Island or 
Connecticut; in exchange for practically 
new, high class automobile; will add cash. 
■-, Brooklyn. 
The suggestion that some land owner 
will trade a 30-acre farm for an automo¬ 
bile is a new one to me. A motor truck 
would be a different matter. I think such 
trucks are to play a large part in farming . 
of the future. Bight in our own commu¬ 
nity are perhaps a dozen farmers who 
make individual trips to market. This 
means at least 20 horses and 10 or 12 
men on the road at slow trips, sometimes 
with light loads. A good auto truck could 
carry through the week practically all 
these teams now haul, get the stuff into 
market faster and with less shaking, and 
leave eight or 10 men at home to get more 
loads or pick or do farm work. I can 
actually conceive of the dozen men lumping 
their property and exchanging 30 acres for 
such a truck and doing a good stroke of 
business. This is one of the things we have 
got to come to. H. w. c. 
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Save every cent you can. _ The total will be worth while. We carry in stock more than 125,000 articles 
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Buys 
This 
Chair 
This chair is a laTge, comfortable, up¬ 
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Stoves and Ranges 
at a Saving ol 1-2 
Perfect stoves, 
perfect ranges, 
are the only kind 
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every way because wo 
control the output of 
stove foundries. Thus 
we can inspect every 
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goes into the making 
of them. We buy 
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ranges in solid train¬ 
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Buy Your Groceries at Wholesale 
Prices 
MontjomeryWanf&G). 
CHICAGO wo KANSAS CITY 
CHICAGO AVE.BRIDGE * CHICAGO 
PRICE LIST N0.53? 
Economize on your 
grocery bills, but do 
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Here is a chance to 
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—or better, for less 
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grocery department 
is complete in overy 
particular. In every 
nrticle we give 
full weight and full 
value. We make 
many articles our¬ 
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be certain they will 
be pure. The prices 
we ask are really 50 per cent lower than those 
you have been paying the local dealer. 
New Grocery List Every 2 Months 
It is not going to cost you anything: 
to write to us and tell us to put your 
name on the list to receive our special 
grocery catalogue every two months. 
Just send to us today for Book No. 11; we will 
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reeeiv^th^^rocerUist^ver^wc^monbh^ 
and SPECIAL BARGAINSfop 
SEPTEMBER*" OCTOBER 
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Check the Book You Want 
Let us show you, free of all cost, how 
ou can save money on everything you 
uy to eat or wear or use in any way. 
^ Montgomery Ward & Co. 
I 19th and Campbell Sts. Chicago Avenue Bridge I 
KANSAS CITY CHICAGO 1 
Please send to my address below the books I m 
have checked absolutely free of cost. 
19 Sewing Machines 
Fall and Wiivter 
Necessities 
at Bi<3 
Savings 
Pay Manufacturing Cost Only 
lor the Best Carpets and Rugs 
Cover the “empty looking” spofu 
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your rugs and carpets from us. 
Send for Book No. 15. 
1 Paints 
2 Pianos 
8 Organs 
4 Trunks 
5 Roofing 
6 Vehicles 
7 Furniture 
8 Incubators 
9 Wall Paper 
10 Typewriters 
11 Grocery List 
12 Feed Cookers 
13 Tank Heaters 
14 Wire Fencing 
15 Carpets, Rugs 
16 Building Plans 
17 Baby Carriages 
18 Men’sFur Coats 
20 Gasoline Engines 
21 Cream Separators 
22 Building Material 
23 Stoves and Ranges 
24 Underwear Samples! 
25 Automobile Supplies 
26 Bicycles—Motorcycles 
27 Baby’s Dress and Toilet 
28 Women’s Tailored Suits 
29 Circular and Drag Saws 
30 Women’s Fashion Book 
31 Rain Coats, Rubber 
Coats, etc. 
32 Tombstones, and Monu¬ 
ments 
33 Men’s Clothing 
34 W’omeu’s Furs 
Name. 
Post Offioe.. 
“ State. 
Send CoupoiHo the Nearest Address. 
Two New Clothing Books 
Save 1-2 on Your Fall and Winter Clothing 
Dress comfortably and stylishly [this 
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In two special books we offer you the oppor¬ 
tunity to do this. They are tho ‘’Women’s Fall 
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We know that our clothes are made of the 
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the manager of our tailoring division keeps 
closely in touch with the leading fashion cen¬ 
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We know that our prices are lower than you 
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clothes in great quantities. We get right down 
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Get an early start and have your selections 
made before tho fall and winter season is upon 
you. _ Send for the book you want—women's 
fashion book is No. 30, men’s book is No. 33— 
and make your choice without delay. (?■ 
Bobsled and Cutter Time is Almost Here 
You can afford a new cutter or sleigh 
this winter. Our special vehicle catalogue 
<Book No. 6) will make this possible because of 
exceptionally low prices. Send for it. 
Winter Farm Supplies at Factory Prices 
Feed cookers, tank heaters, incu¬ 
bators and brooders and winter farm 
necessities we can Bell you at a great saving. 
Select the books you want from the list. Send 
us the numbers of them. 
Get a Cream Separator that is 
Guaranteed for a Lifetime 
I 
1 
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I MONTGOMERY WARD & CO. 
We know that we have the best cream 
separator on the market because ours was 
made especially for us. It combines all the 
good features of every cream separator and 
has many additional ones. It is because 
we are so sure of every detail of its con¬ 
struction. so sure of its lasting efficiency 
and durability, that we are able to guar¬ 
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separator from the maker at one profit. 
We tell you all about our cream separator 
in the special catalogue (Book No. 21). 
Men’s Fur Coats and Heavy 
Winter Clothing Special 
JUST OFF THE PRESS -Fur Coots 
for $13.65 and up. Fur gloves and caps, 
heavy mackinaw and sheepskin lined coats. 
This catalogue of special interest to all 
men who have to go out in cold weather. 
Our fur coat sales are about the largest of 
any house in America. This catalogue 
prices dog coats at $15.95 and up, raccoon 
at $48.50 and up, muskrat lined at $48.50 
and up. lamb at $25.75 and up, coats for 
doctors, automobilists, lumbermen, farm¬ 
ers and liverymen. Also containing com¬ 
plete line of heavy underwear and outer 
clothing. Ask for book No. 18. You will 
find it interesting. 
19th and Campbell Sts., Kansas City 
Chicago Avenue Bridge, CHICAGO 
