ueo 
my story long enough to give a word of advice to 
those who propose to run a farm on insufficient capi¬ 
tal. Never do a thing to impair your credit. Be 
absolutely honest and straightforward in all your 
dealings, for there will be plenty of times when you 
cannot pay cash, and a good reputation will help out 
mightily in a time of trouble. 
The first income of importance came from the 
dairy. The calves, except four heifers, were fattened 
and sold for veal, then the milk taken to the cheese 
factory. The sale of a few Spring pigs at $2.50 each 
added to the income, and by early Summer the finan¬ 
cial stress was much relieved. However, cheese sold 
for a rather low price, and as few of the cows were 
old enough to have reached maximum production, my 
half of the dairy money scarcely paid running ex¬ 
penses. In order that I might in course of time have 
a good dairy of my own, I purchased a purebred 
Guernsey bull calf. I believe that this was a good 
investment, for while none of his stock has yet begun 
producing, they have all the promise of becoming fine 
dairy cows. 
The field crops were six acres of potatoes, five 
acres of sweet corn, 15 acres of oats, two acres of 
Canada peas, and five acres of corn for the silo. The 
crops all came on well, fully up to the average of 
those of the experienced farmers, and our hopes be¬ 
gan to rise. In early • August, however, one field of 
potatoes began to die, and continued to go down 
very rapidly. They had been thoroughly sprayed 
twice, and the spraying was continued, though I do 
not believe the trouble was blight. This field of three 
acres yielded 205 bushels of marketable potatoes, 
which were sold at 67 cents a bushel. The other 
three acres turned out 585 bushels. From these were 
saved the potatoes for family use and for seed and 
the remainder sold, part at 68 cents a bushel, and 
some later in the Winter for 85 cents. The sweet 
corn gave us 18 tons of ears, sold at $7 per ton, not a 
large yield. The other crops were mainly fed out on 
the farm. 
Sheep and hogs were low that year, so instead of 
selling some shotes and lambs in September at six 
cents a pound I kept them until November and got 
4]/ 2 . The year’s clip of wool from the 20 sheep was 
held until the next Spring and sold for 28 cents per 
pound. From the orchard we got 121 barrels of 
apples, which sold for $233. 
On figuring up the year’s accounts I found that 
the total sales footed up to about $1300, not very bad 
for a beginner, yet after paying the hired help and 
my share of the other expenses, besides our living, 
my $650 looked woefully small. 
One item I hardly know how to audit, a fine son 
who came to us in January. These little ones cer¬ 
tainly make quite an addition to the expense account, 
but the credit side must be expressed in something 
finer and higher than dollars and cents. The second 
year found us much as we were a year before, with¬ 
out much money,' but with lots of hope. The plan 
was about the same as for the year before, except 
that I put in about nine acres of potatoes, and no 
sweet corn. I also had four acres of Winter wheat. 
Most of the crops came along in good shape. The 
cows did better than during the previous year, and 
cheese was higher. The apple crop, however, was al¬ 
most a failure, and the potatoes were not very prom¬ 
ising, partly because of mismanagement on my part, 
and partly because of other troubles, including an 
early frost. The total yield was 1350 bushels, with a 
good many small and grub-eaten ones. The price was 
also low, from 40 cents down to 25. The hogs and 
sheep brought a little more than in the year before, 
but were still rather cheap. 
While generally speaking I had done a better job 
at farming that I had the first year, still the receipts 
were no greater, and I was actually a little behind 
the game, financially. However, another son was 
added to the family, so we felt that even though our 
bank account was not piling up rapidly, still we might 
some day be able to solve the hired help problem. I 
must confess that I began the third year with spirits 
somewhat diminuendo, and there were times when I 
almost wished myself back at my old job, with a pay 
day twice a month, and nothing to worry about after 
4.30 p. m. However, my wife always soothed these 
attacks of the blues with encouragement and praise 
(which I felt I did not deserve), and I resolved at 
least to die game, and accordingly went in still more 
heavily for help, feed and fertilizer. 
The cows did still better than formerly and cheese 
was much higher, so the income per cow was nearly 
double what it had been the first year. Hogs were 
very high, and as there was a ready sale for Spring 
pigs at four weeks old for $4 each, I sold them all 
at that age rather than take the chance of a drop in 
the Fall. The corn and oats were fine, and the seven 
acres of potatoes promised to be a bumper crop. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Again my hopes were on the upward climb. Late 
frosts had killed most of the apples, but everything 
else looked fine. When the potatoes were dug we 
had over 2,000 bushels of as fine tubers as one could 
ask for, but alas! most of them brought only 35 cents 
a bushel. Still, there was a small balance, after pay¬ 
ing all bills. The hired help bill had been particu¬ 
larly large, not only out of doors, but in the house, as 
my wife had met with an accident which compelled 
her to go on crutches for over 10 weeks. 
As our third year on the farm was drawing to a 
close I felt that some change must be made. The 
buildings and fences were becoming more dilapidated, 
and I was getting very tired of renting on the share 
system. I wanted to buy a place, but the state of my 
finances was an obstacle. At last my father told me 
that if I would buy the old farm for $40 per acre, 
and such stock and tools as I wanted at a price we 
could agree upon, he would throw off $1,000, anc I 
accepted his offer in about three seconds. 
This year we have continued our farming along the 
same lines, with the dairy and potatoes as the main 
source of income. Some of the needed repairs have 
been made, such as new roofs, a shed for implement 
storage, concrete floor and swing stanchions in the 
cow stables, and partitions to shut off Winter 
draughts from the stock. Several new implements 
and two good young horses have been bought. The 
books show a substantial profit over running ex¬ 
penses, though on account of the various repairs and 
ieplenishments, the financial pinch is not yet over. 
But we can put up with many inconveniences now 
with better grace than we could when we were ten¬ 
ants. Ownership has given a new interest to our 
farming operations, for where we formerly planned 
for a month or a year it is now for a lifetime, mak¬ 
ing an improvement here and another there which 
SICK CORN. Fig. 485. 
shall make our work more profitable, or our sur¬ 
rounding^ more enjoyable; and above all, making a 
home for ourselves and the four sturdy little ones 
who are growing up so happy and strong in Goff’s 
free air and sunshine. 
It is a hard problem to advise others in the matter 
of leaving a sure thing in the city for the chance of 
success on a farm, but as for ourselves, I am glad we 
are here. There has been plenty of hard work, and 
some worry and discouragement, and there is still 
some in the future, but we think we can at least see 
the borderland of prosperity, and we know that we 
have escaped from the thraldom of working for a life¬ 
time under a “boss,” and from the four narrow walls 
of a city flat. Chester l. mills. 
Allegany Co., N. Y. 
THAT BIG CORN YIELD ONCE MORE. 
Last week we mentioned that yield of over 70 tons 
of silage corn per acre, grown by Mrs. H. Will Harris, 
of Lenawee Co., Mich. Mrs. Harris tells us that from 
25 to 30 tons of cow manure were used on the two 
acres. In addition to the prize acre three other acres 
yielded about 57 tons each. The figures and the record 
seem to be accurate and well backed by proof. What 
actual feeding value does this yield of 140,800 pounds 
carry? With the usual analysis of silage corn there 
would be in this acre crop about 1700 pounds of pro¬ 
tein, 17.000 pounds carbohydrates and 450 pounds of 
fat. That is equal to the protein in more than 50 tons 
of wheat bran, or the carbohydrate in 12 tons of corn- 
meal ! Of course it could not be expected that all of 
this great weight of green stalks could be made avail¬ 
able as food in any form. If it gave 50 tons of actual 
silage in the silo it would do well, allowing 40 pounds 
per day. This would feed one cow 2500 days, or not 
quite food for seven cows one year. If five cows got 
their year’s roughage off the acre it would be a re¬ 
markable thing. There has been considerable argu¬ 
ment as to whether a big yield of this sort of corn is 
better than a smaller yield of a variety which matures 
December 16, 
ears. Mrs. Harris grew Eureka corn and with a very 
favorable season obtained a good crop of ears. As 
usually grown in the North this variety does not make 
grain, but does develop a tremendous stalk. Some 
dairymen say they prefer a variety of corn which 
will make 15 to 18 tons per acre of well-eared stalks. 
These ears, cut into the silo with the stalks, make a 
silage with a higher analysis ton for ton than that 
from a variety like Eureka. On the other hand the 
advocates of the larger cornstalks claim that they get 
so much more stalk and so much more silage per acre 
that they can buy wheat, bran or cotton-seed meal to 
feed with it cheaper than they can grow the ears. 
Still another class of farmers who are growing Al¬ 
falfa claim that the heavier corn should be grown. 
A good example of their argument is given in the fol¬ 
lowing note from C. M. Jarvis, of Connecticut: 
For example: 1 have all the Alfalfa hay that I need; 
that is, I raised 60 acres of Alfalfa this year and had a 
yield of about five tons to the acre. The question in my 
mind is whether it is not economy to put this corn that 
gives the heavy yield into the silo and then feed large 
quantities of Alfalfa hay with this silage? It is con¬ 
tended that the great benefit of silage is that it gives the 
succulent feed that cowfc like and they eat large quantities 
of it. Now then, if a man can raise five tons of Alfalfa 
hay per acre, it is more economical for him to turn his 
land into Alfalfa than it is into corn with a yield of 50 to 
60 bushels of shelled corn to the acre. In other words, 
raise Alfalfa and buy corn. On the other hand, if he can 
raise 40 tons of silage to the acre, it seems to me the prob¬ 
lem is a good deal different. You certainly will confer a 
great deal of benefit on your readers by following up this 
matter, because beyond any question of doubt corn and 
Alfalfa is the salvation of farming in the East. 
THE QUESTION OF FALL PLOWING. 
Oive a discussion of Fall plowing, the benefits and losses 
which attend its practice on different soils. Also, what 
harm will result from plowing when the soil is too wet, 
and what may be used as a test to determine when the 
soil is too wet for plowing? j. t. h. 
Pennsylvania. 
Fall plowing is seldom practiced on Ohio farms 
for the reason that Fall is the busiest time of the 
year, and there is fear of erosion or washing during 
the Winter. Winter plowing of sod fields is in high 
favor and largely followed when the weather favors. 
On reasonably level fields with clay or clay loam 
soils, and if in sod. Fall or Winter plowing will have 
the advantage of getting the work done before the 
rush of Spring comes on, and the freezing of Winter 
will greatly improve the mechanical condition of the 
soil. For light soils or hilly fields there is too much 
danger of leaching and surface washing to practice 
Fall plowing. Surface washing or erosion is the 
most important reason for not Fall-plowing land, but 
for heavy soils, and particularly in the Northern 
States, it is practical, and instead of being injurious 
to the soil may be highly beneficial. Fall plowing 
decreases leaching somewhat, and cannot increase 
loss of fertility in the drainage water, which would 
be about the same whether the soil was plowed or 
not. When plowing in the Winter it matters little 
how wet the soil is so long as the plow scours and 
the horses can walk. Our soil seems to have been 
made by glacial action from limestone largely, and 
to overlie limestone, and except where stiff and clayey 
it does not seem to be injured by plowing wet; this is 
especially true if we can get a freeze before the soil 
dries out. This refers to early plowing, and where 
there is a fair proportion of humus present in the 
soil. If a poor clay soil be plowed late and wet, and 
dries out before being worked down, the results, will 
be disastrous for that season, but the injury does not 
appear to be permanent. Plowing land when too dry 
is about as bad. To determine when land is too wet 
to plow when plowing after freezing is over take a 
handful of soil and squeeze it together in the hand; if 
it sticks together and seems pasty it is too wet, but if 
it falls apart readily it is all right. This applies to 
sods in fair condition, and not to very poor soils, nor 
to very rich peaty or alluvial soils. 
Ohio. w. E. DUCKWALL. 
Many of our readers can remember when Iowa was 
a frontier State. When a settler wanted fresh meat 
he went out and shot a deer. Time flies, as we may 
realize from the following: 
Cedar Rapids, la., Oct. 25.—Special r State Fish and 
Came Warden George A. Lincoln of this city lias returned 
from Avoca, where he went in response to a complaint 
from a number of farmers, who claim the wild deer 
which infest the country around about Avoca are ruining 
their fields. The farmers cannot shoot the deer because of 
the State laws and since the fields and other haunts are 
barren of feeding spots, the deer have descended in large 
numbers on the Alfalfa and corn fields. Mr. Lincoln will 
attempt to round up the deer and then will send them to 
parks in Iowa, which have made requisition for animals. 
We will guarantee Mr. Lincoln a job in rounding 
up all the deer in Iowa. This thing of protecting 
deer in order that they may live on a farmer’s crops 
is getting beyond endurance. In New England the 
deer have become a nuisance. One man claims to 
have the figures to show that there are more deer east 
of the Hudson than were at the time of King Philip’s 
War! He could not prove it, but without question 
the deer nuisance is, to-day, the worst handicap that 
New England fruit growers have to carry. The 
most exasperating part of it is that the deer are 
“protected” through the influence of men who merely 
want them to' gratify a few days of bloodthirsty 
“sport.” 
