002 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
May 11, 
SPRING WORK, ON A SOUTH JERSEY 
TRUCK FARM. 
A Late Season. —The truck farm is 
always a busy place in April but this 
year was exceptionally so, because much 
of the March work was delayed. Not 
for years has early Spring work been 
so much behind. Heavy rains made 
many fields usually considered dry alto¬ 
gether unworkable. The only thing up 
to the average season was plant grow¬ 
ing in hotbeds and cold frames. We 
were unable to plant onions, cabbage, 
peas and strawberries in March or to 
prepare ground intended for tomatoes, 
sweet potatoes, melons, etc. To catch 
up will require plenty of help and a will¬ 
ingness on the part of all to pay strict 
attention to business besides close plan¬ 
ning so as to keep the horses busy all 
the time on work that will count; for 
the progress of other work hinges on 
the rapidity with which team work can 
be done. 
Planting Stock. —We have over 18,- 
000 tomato plants, 3,000 pepper plants 
and 4,500 eggplants, set four to five 
inches apart each way under glass; be¬ 
sides two sweet potato beds in which 80 
baskets of sweets have been laid. The 
frames are covered every night with 
rough hay to prevent injury from frost. 
In the morning this is removed and 
glass swept off to remove any litter that 
might shade the plants. When required 
a fire is kept going under the potato 
beds. Both frames and beds must be 
aired and watered regularly. In water¬ 
ing we save lots of time by having a 
wind-mill and tank with water pipes 
leading to the beds. It requires prac¬ 
tically the entire time of one man to 
give these beds the careful attention they 
must have in order to grow good strong 
plants. This work is usually assumed 
by Mr. Trucker himself. 
Asparagus. —In the field work one of 
the first things was to set the new as¬ 
paragus bed. A three-acre field was 
planted. We mark out the rows live 
feet apart with a drag marker, then fur¬ 
row out deep by running the two-horse 
plow twice to the furrow, once in each 
direction. Then we fasten chains tied 
with cords about six feet long, 2 l / 2 feet 
apart on a 15-foot pole. Two men carry 
this pole back and forth across the field 
going at right angles to the furrowed 
rows, thus cross marking the field in 
rows 2 l / 2 feet apart. We have our own 
roots grown from seed sown the middle 
of last April. They were on rich ground, 
well fertilized, and in spite of a dry 
Summer most of them made a good 
growth. As we have an abundance of 
roots all but the largest and best will be 
discarded. In planting the roots are 
placed eyes up, in the bottom of the 
furrowed row at the intersection of the 
cross marks. Only enough soil is pulled 
in to cover them about two inches deep. 
Later, at the first cultivation, a little 
more soil is worked in the furrow, but 
it is not entirely filled until late in the 
Summer. The established asparagus 
beds were harrowed before any shoots 
appeared, to loosen the soil, work in 
the manure applied last Fall and to clear 
out the stubs left from last year’s 
growth. We use a disk harrow and go 
first right down the top of the row and 
then in the middles between the row. 
This leaves the field with a low ridge 
over the row. We have tried putting up 
high ridges before shoots appeared and 
found it unfavorable for an early start. 
By having low ridges at the start we 
get “grass” earlier. We can make them 
higher at any time during the cutting 
season by using the ridger. Ridging is 
usually done after the Saturday cutting; 
there is then no loss if Sunday should 
come out warm. 
Soil Preparation. —This year prac¬ 
tically all land intended for truck crops 
was marked out in April. On a large 
farm this takes time, and we avail our¬ 
selves of all the short cuts possible. 
Until a few years ago we used the Dar¬ 
nell marker drawn by two horses, but 
that has been discarded, and we do all 
of our marking with a drag marker. 
Only one horse is required for this; 
ground can be covered much faster; 
the hoes are easily shifted and much 
time is saved in regulating to work at 
various distances. Land intended for 
cantaloupes and cucumbers is marked 
out as soon as possible four to A l / 2 feet 
apart each way, and furrowed out one 
way with a one-horse plow; then a 
large shovelful of hog manure is placed 
in each cross or hill. If hog manure is 
unavailable then fertilizer is used, but 
on our sandy soil nothing seems to equal 
good hog manure. This is covered im¬ 
mediately either by a sweet potato biller 
or by throwing a furrow from each side 
with a one-horse plow. About April 
20 the hills are well firmed and the 
first planting is put in; this is followed 
in a few days by a second, a little to 
one side of the first. Sometimes a third 
planting is necessary to insure a stand. 
We usually have our own seed and put 
12 or more to the hill at each planting. 
Shipper’s Pride cantaloupe and Perfec¬ 
tion Spine cucumbers are the varieties 
grown. When cut-worms are present 
we use a small quantity of poisoned 
bran at each hill before plants come 
up, placing it three or four inches 
from where plants are to appear. If 
placed directly over them the poison will 
injure the plants. 
Sweet Potatoes are one of the main 
crops. This year we have about 12 acres. 
They are mostly grown in drills and 
ground intended for them is if possible 
marked out before April 20, so the fer¬ 
tilizer can be distributed in the row a 
few days before ridges are made. Rows 
are marked rather shallow, 2 l / 2 feet 
apart and 600 to 800 pounds of a 2-8-10 
fertilizer is distributed with a drill hav¬ 
ing a harrow tooth attached to mix the 
fertilizer with the soil. In common 
with most growers in this section, we 
like a rain to wash the injurious salts 
out of the fertilizer before any ridging 
is done, otherwise there is danger of 
injury to the young plants by burning. 
Ridging is done if possible when the 
soil is moist and a few days before 
planting, with the regular sweet potato 
hiller. This insures a solid ridge, which 
is a distinct advantage should it be 
dry at planting time. 
Tomatoes, Eggplants and Peppers.— 
Near the last of April the tomato 
ground is marked out in checks A/ 2 feet 
apart each way; but no furrowing is 
done until time to set the plants. We 
usually risk some tomato plants in the 
field between April 25 and 30, but wait 
until after May 1 for the bulk of the 
crop. On the high, sandy fields we fur¬ 
row out as deep as we can go with a 
two-horse plow just before plants are 
set. This deep furrowing is a distinct 
advantage in the time of drought, and 
by waiting until ready to set the plants 
there is no chance for the soil to be¬ 
come dry. The field intended for egg¬ 
plants is marked out the same distance 
as for tomatoes and furrowed the same 
way. No manure is placed in the hill 
for either crop. Ground for both had a 
rye cover crop through the Winter and 
10 tons of manure to the acre was 
spread on top of it. This will furnish 
an abundance of plant food after the 
plants get started, but to start them off 
a large handful of a 4-8-10 fertilizer is 
scattered where each plant is to stand. 
Plants are grown in cold frames, each 
plant in a block of soil and manure 
four to five inches square and five inches 
deep. When transferring to the field 
care is taken not to break this block, 
otherwise the roots will be disturbed 
and the plant wilt. Peppers are treated 
exactly as tomatoes and eggplants only 
they are planted four feet apart each 
way. Eggplants and peppers arc sel¬ 
dom set in the field before May 5. 
TRUCKER, JR. 
“Loving Cups” or Cash. 
Enclosed I send you an entry blank to 
the New England Corn Exposition. On 
the back of the sheet is an engraving of a 
“Trophy” or silver cup, valued at $200. I 
would like to know what earthly use a 
farmer would have of this tiling, unless he 
were to put in in safe keepnig to be placed 
on the donor's tombstone, as a truism of 
the saying in regard to the bread and the 
stone. Would not the $200 set the farmer 
up much better than anything he will get 
in the cup? E. 
Massachusetts. 
There are probably some farmers who 
would prefer a cup or a medal to tne cash, 
but by far the greater number would take 
the money. The object of offering the cup 
is no doubt to give something that will be 
kept as evidence—both for the winner and 
the giver. It certainly is not of great, 
“earthly use to a farmer,” especially one 
who must work for a living. We would 
gladly see the cup and medal tokens given 
up and the solid cash substituted. East 
year Mr. White, of Connecticut, won both 
the Bowker and the Coe-Mortimer prizes 
for great corn yields. We are glad to say 
these prizes are in cash and they enabled 
Mr. White to pay for his farm. Had thov 
been cups or medals he might have lost 
his home. 
Our Av erage Profit on No-Rim-Cut Tires 
Is 8/2 Per Cent 
Last year our average profit on No-Rim- 
Cut Tires was 8/4 per cent. Every penny 
we got, save a profit of 8/2 per cent, went into 
size and quality. 
That in a factory with the largest output 
and most modern equipment ever known in 
this industry. That in a risky business, with 
fluctuating materials, on a tire that’s guar¬ 
anteed. 
You will never get more for your money—■ 
more mileage per dollar spent—-than in 
Goodyear No-Rim-Cut Tires. 
Far Outsell All Rivals 
Goodyear No-Rim-Cut tires now 
hold the topmost place. They far 
outsell all rivals. 
In the past 24 months the demand 
has increased by over 500 per cent. 
Over one million of these tires have 
been tested, on some 200,000 cars. 
The demand today—after all that 
experience — is three times larger 
than one year ago. 
That astounding record — rarely 
excelled in all the history of busi¬ 
ness— marks a tire, Mr. Motorist, 
which you ought to know. 
10 Years Spent 
Getting Ready 
/ The success of this tire is a sudden 
sensation. But we began to perfect 
it 13 years ago. 
We started with the idea that he 
who gives most will get most. 
So we surrounded ourselves with 
experts—the ablest men we could 
find. And we told them to secure 
the maximum mileage, without any 
regard to expense. 
It was years before we approached 
tire perfection. It was ten years from 
the start before tire buyers realized 
what the Goodyear concern had 
done. Then came this avalanche of 
trade. 
Mileage Tests 
To learn facts quickly wo did two 
things. 
We put Goodyear fires on thou¬ 
sands of taxicabs—where mileage is 
known, where conditions are ardu¬ 
ous, where comparisons are quickly 
made. 
And we built in our shops a tire 
testing machine. There four tires at 
a time are constantly worn out, 
under all road conditions, while 
meters record the mileage. 
Thus we compared every fabric 
and formula, everygradeof material, 
every method of wrapping and vul¬ 
canizing. 
Thus every idea which our experts 
developed was put to the mileage 
test. Thus rival tires were compared 
with our own. 
Thus year after year Goodyear 
tires were made better. In the 
course of time we got close to finality. 
Rim-Cutting Ended 
Then we found a way to end rim¬ 
cutting— a method controlled by 
our patents. 
We examined thousands of ruined 
old-type tires, and we found that 23 
No-Rim-Cut Tires 
With or Without Non-Skid Treads 
per cent had been rim-cut. By end¬ 
ing this trouble—at vast expense— 
we saved that 23 per cent. 
In seven years’ experience with 
No-Rim-Cut tires there has never 
been an instance of rim-cutting. 
Adding 25 Per Cent 
to the Mileage 
Then we found that extras added 
to cars were overloading tires. 
So we made these tires—No-Rim- 
Cut tires—10 per cent over the rated 
size. 
That meant 10 percent more air— 
10 per cent added carrying capacity. 
And that, with the average car, adds 
25 per cent to the tire mileage. 
With thesetiresof maximum qual¬ 
ity— made oversize, made so they 
can’t rim-cut—we met the prices of 
other standard tires. 
Investigate These Tires 
In view of these momentous tire 
facts, don’t you think, Mr. Motorist, 
that you ought to investigate Good¬ 
year No-Rim-Cut tires? 
Send for our 1912 Tire Book, 
based on 13 years of tire making. 
THE GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY, AKRON, OHIO 
Branches and Agencies in 1.03 Principal Cities We Make Al! Kinds of Rubber Tires, Tire Accessories and Repair Outfits 
Main Canadian Office, Toronto, Ont. Canadian Factory, Bowmanville, Ont. 
(634) 
