604 
THE) RURAb NEW-YORKER 
May 11, 
Hope Farm Notes 
A New Farm Scheme. —As you know, 
we have all sorts of calls for help. They 
are not confined to the poor and needy. 
Sometimes the well-to-do need help in 
caring for a white elephant. 1 print 
the following as a novel proposition. 
We never heard of one just like it be¬ 
fore. The farm mentioned is in New 
England and covers 500 acres - 
There are 100 to 150 acres of good 
cleared land, large barn.and stable. Good 
farm house, poultry, ice, tool and outhouses; 
implements, stO( k, and everything, including 
silo, engine, etc., also 150 bearing fruit 
trees somewhat neglected of late. We 
rented the place at $300 per annum to a 
man who has skipped without paying his 
rent for last six months. The taxes and 
fire insurance amount to close to $300, not 
allowing for repairs of buildings and fences. 
We would like to find an honest man who 
understands fruit and has some capital to 
move in right away on some fair basis, so 
that we would have our property well 
looked after. We cannot pay any salary 
but want to work out a plan by which the 
man in charge, by the use of our plant, 
can earn enough to get his own living, and 
make liberal repairs, and cover back to us 
our taxes and fire insurance, in part or in 
toto, according to the season. 
Now I call this a “white elephant,” 
yet to the man who knows how to w5rk 
or exhibit an elephant the color would 
he an advantage. We just give this as 
an illustration of the curious problems 
which are developing in farming. 
Should any man care to try this farm 
he may have the address. 
Selling Water. —Here is another one 
that will be new to many: 
Will you give me the addresses of those 
who handle spring water? 1 have a spring, 
I think it is as good as can be had, no 
surface water running in ; it comes out 
from under high hill and shell rock, very 
cold. 1 would like to have some one sell 
it, and I will ship it to them, all they want; 
can run a carload a day. D. L. D. 
Dutchess Co., N. Y. 
It. looks easy—this selling water. A 
man comes to New York and finds that 
in most of the great offices no one 
drinks public water. There are great bot¬ 
tles on tap—all supposed to be brought 
from some country spring. In the 
building where The R. N.-Y. is printed 
probably $3,000 is spent each year for 
drinking water. In some of the large 
office buildings this probably runs to 
$25,000. Seeing this great business it 
seems easy to go back and ship the water 
from the old spring on the farm. Our 
folks drink the water and believe it is 
pure—why not others? It seems like a 
shining road to wealth to tap this spring 
and sell the water for as much as milk 
brings. 
I looked up this trade some years ago, 
and found there was more to it than I 
thought. You cannot sell spring water 
until you gain the confidence of your 
patrons. How else can you make them 
believe you are not pumping the water 
out of an ordinary well? They can test 
your milk for butter fat or empty your 
apple barrels but they must take the 
spring water on faith. Let any farmer 
start out with “the evidence of things 
unseen” and see how far he gets until 
he can show something! I should have 
that water analyzed by some well- 
known chemist. Have some sanitary ex¬ 
pert come and examine the ground and 
tell how to put up a spring house and 
the appliances for clean handling. You 
will have to come to this sooner or 
later, for such water will be inspected 
and rightly so. Then start in your 
nearest town or city and develop a trade. 
It will cost some money, for from its 
very nature, spring water cannot be 
sold like potatoes or cordwood. There 
have been frauds in the business, and 
you must make a reputation before you 
can deal with the regular trade. 
Farm Work. —The main job right 
now is tree planting. We are putting 
in about 700 trees of all sorts. When 
it came to digging holes we thought 
of dvnamite, but the three little boys 
came forward with a proposition to dig 
the holes themselves. After some figur¬ 
ing we agreed upon a price of one cent 
a hole, and the young fruit growers 
went at the job. They dug 36 each the 
first day—which included some playing 
with the dog, several trips after water, 
and also several “rests.” I shall let 
them dig as .many as they will. Dyna¬ 
mite will make a larger hole and make 
it quicker, but these little fellows will 
have a personal interest in these trees 
as long as they live—for did they not 
start the foundation? We do not use 
a large hole, for, as you know, our ex¬ 
periments convince us that a compara¬ 
tively small hole with roots well pruned 
and the soil packed hard will give us a 
■deeper root system. I am still ready to 
be convinced that the big, wide hole 
will give a more permanent tree. At 
any rate the little boys enjoy their work 
and line up each night with blistered 
little hands to receive their money. They 
are saving their money, and will open 
a bank account. Later I hope to ar¬ 
range it so that each boy can buy a 
share in the local building and loan as¬ 
sociation. Then, too, each boy is to 
have half a dozen bearing trees to care 
for. 
We still plant peach trees 16 feet each 
way. “Too close,” the wise men say, 
but we have been able to cut our trees 
back so that they have fair room. With 
the apples we plant “fillers.” The en¬ 
tire field is marked 20 feet each way 
and the permanent varieties put in every 
other hole—that is, 40 feet each way. 
For such permanents we use McIntosh, 
Delicious and Baldwin. For fillers, 
Wealthy is best with us. Its habit of 
growth makes it a good one to occupy 
a central place. With its broad head 
McIntosh would begin to crowd at 10 
years, while Wealthy would go on for 
five years more. Black Ben Davis 
would make a good filler also. If I had 
known what I do now and had planted 
Black Ben as fillers nine years ago, the 
fruit from such fillers would have been 
worth about $600 last year—while the 
“permanents” gave hardly $100. Of 
course 1 am speaking of our particular 
locality, where Wealthy does well. In 
other places the variety would not fit in. 
There is one trouble about giving ad¬ 
vice. The fact is experience has taught 
me to have little confidence in this gen¬ 
eral advice about varieties. When I 
planted my orchard 1 took such advice 
from people who never lived here, and 
who knew nothing of the soil and the 
surface of the country. The result is we 
loaded up with some unfit varieties. 
Within half a mile were fruit growers 
who could have named the proved va¬ 
rieties and left us to try the new ones 
on a small scale. I used to wonder why 
people will go to some far off stranger 
for local advice when they can get it 
with their eyes right over the stone wall. 
Yet while I was wondering I did about 
the same thing. 
“The Redheads.” —There are six of 
them on the farm, three little humans 
and three on four feet. The latter are 
Jersey Red pigs, and they belong to the 
three little boys. We have those pork¬ 
ers as an experiment. They are kept in 
a little house mounted on runners so it 
can be hauled back and forth. Attached 
to it is a portable yard for the pigs to 
run in. The plan is to haul this outfit 
up and down through an orchard row. 
In about three days the pigs tear up the 
soil within the yard, then they are 
hauled ahead to fresh ground and the 
soil the)' have left seeded to oats and 
rape. By the time they get to the end 
of the row this seeding will give 
some feed and will be worked through 
the row again. This will give “thor¬ 
ough culture” and make pork. We 
feed these pigs on the dish-water with 
ground feed added. They are on clean 
ground most of the time and are grow¬ 
ing like weeds. Thus far it looks like 
a good scheme to dispose of weeds and 
sod and make pork at a fair price. I 
am told that in California this plan is 
followed with hens—kept in light 
houses and yards and pulled through 
the peach orchards. With redheads to 
dig holes and four-footed redheads to 
turn sod and dish-water into pork, 
Hope Farm may yet obtain a patent on 
new kinds of farming. But all the red¬ 
heads and the Hope Farm man, too. are 
full of hone as Spring at last comes 
preening herself up our valley. On the 
last Sunday afternoon in April I walked 
over our hill, and it seemed good 
to be in the world. There were bunches 
of white here and there where the plums 
and cherries had burst into bloom. A 
dash of pink showed the daring of some 
early and precocious peach, and a shim¬ 
mer of green was starting on the apples, 
while the rye and the grass along the 
streams had put on their Spring clothes. 
It seemed to me that Spring never did 
come in so gently and hopefully before. 
I think I have said that over and over 
for the past dozen years. It has always 
been true, and the glory of it is that it 
is true now. 
Quality Apples. — I presume the fol¬ 
lowing question has occurred to many: 
Your statement in “Hope Farm Notes" 
that some varieties of apples are better 
suited for growing in sod than others was 
very interesting. We would be glad to know 
what varieties are thought to be suited and 
what are most unsuited. What is known 
of the behavior of the following in this 
respect: York Imperial, Grimes Golden, 
Stayman Wlnesap, Ben Davis and Jona¬ 
than? w. n. B. 
I merely meant to give my belief— 
not any settled conviction. The most 
striking difference is with Twenty 
Ounce. Some years ago we grafted two 
wild seedlings to this variety. The trees 
have never been cultivated; the brush 
and weeds being cut and left on the 
ground. Now these apples are superior 
in color and flavor to any other Twenty 
Ounce we have on the farm. They are 
somewhat like the new Hitchings apple, 
which is evidently a “sport” from this 
old variety. I think Hitchings is distinct, 
but these Twenty Ounce on the mulched 
seedlings are certainly superior. Mc¬ 
Intosh, with us, also gives darker col¬ 
ored fruit, and of higher quality in sod. 
With this variety, too, the sod apples 
seemed to run as large in size as those 
in cultivated ground. Our experience 
certainly is that this variety is specially 
adapted to sod culture. But under¬ 
stand that by sod I mean the whole 
thing—natural grass land, a heavy grass 
crop and every bit of it left on the 
ground, with more if you can get it to 
haul in and spread. Northern Spy is an¬ 
other variety which has done well in sod. 
These apples are, with us, far superior 
to the cultivated fruit. Mr. Hitchings, 
the sod champion, will plant 10,000 more 
trees this year, and 3,500 will be North¬ 
ern Spy, all in sod. Baldwin, with us, 
gives darker-colored and finer-flavored 
fruit in sod, but larger fruit and a much 
heavier yield under cultivation. Proba¬ 
bly Baldwin will stand as much neglect 
as any standard variety, but he would 
be a foolish man who started in to see 
how much he could neglect an orchard. 
Ben Davis certainly gives us the best 
fruit in sod. I am not familiar enough 
with the varieties named to give an opin¬ 
ion. I must make it clear, however, that 
when we talk about “sod” we do not 
mean an orchard where the hay is taken 
out and the trees left to take care of 
themselves. 
Skunk Hunters. —It is about as hard 
to hide a city set on a hill as to hide a 
little note tuckpd away in small type in 
The R. N.-Y. Here is a case: 
On page 100 there was a note to the ef¬ 
fect that Northern New Jersey was overrun 
with skunks. I am a trapper, but fur¬ 
bearing animals here are very scarce. I am 
a young married man and a farmer—need 
money very badly to buy a good young 
horse and a few other things this Spring 
and lots of spare time during the next 
six weeks, and am in a position to go away 
for a week or two at a time. Could you 
tell me what county or counties are over¬ 
run, and what railroad town is nearest said 
locality? What is the general run of color 
of said skunks? o. n. D. 
Pennsylvania. 
Now I fear that report was bogus. 
We live in Northern New Jersey, but 
there is no great abundance of skunks 
around us. I have hardly seen one in 
five years. Our friend the trapper would 
starve at his trade in our section. For 
my part I do not want the skunks killed. 
I think they do more good than harm, 
especially in killing white grubs, which 
are a great pest in strawberry growing. 
To show how people differ, here is an¬ 
other reader who comes forward as a 
friend of the skunk: 
You ought to take up the cudgel against 
a. bounty on skunks in New Jersey. I think 
there is no one bird or animal that equals 
the skunk in value to the farmer as aa 
exterminator of mice and June bugs, etc. 
c. L. M. 
I think that is correct. I admit that 
the skunk has a bad reputat-ion, but not 
one in 500 has ever considered his good 
qualities. They are many. h. w. c. 
you only knew 
what splendid 
music the 
Victor 
brings into your 
home, you wouldn’t 
be without one for 
a single day. 
There is a Victor dealer 
right in your neighbor¬ 
hood who will gladly play 
your favorite music. Write 
us today for his name and 
address and we’ll also send 
you complete catalogs of 
the Victor ($10 to $100) 
and the Victor-Victrola 
($15 to $200). Easy terms 
can be arranged with the 
dealer if desired. 
Victor Talking Machine Co. 
20th and Cooper Sts. 
Camden, N. J. 
Berliner Gramophone Co., Montreal 
Canadian Distributors 
Always use 
Victor Rec¬ 
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with Victor 
Needles—there 
is no other way 
to get the un¬ 
equaled Victor 
tone. 
The Service Coat that 
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Even the front of this Slicker is 
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Edges , out of sight when coat is 
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Used cars rebuilt and guaranteed by manu¬ 
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A high-grade high-powered car for very little 
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Stsddard Mater Ce., 229 W. 57th St., NewYerh 
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•KPT. 14, tfgf 
IMACRE-AN-HOUR SIFTER 
applies dry insecticides to Potatoes, etc., 
as fast as a man can walk. At dealers, 75c. 
Prepaid by us, $1.00. Endorsed and sold 
by the Bug Death and Slug Shot people as 
the best. Farmer says: 11 Saves Its cost 
first time you use It.” Another: “Worth Its 
weight in jcold if I couldn’t get another.” 
5 Sales increased 1300^ over 191 1. Won’t di8- 
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' Acre-an-Hour Sifter Co., Po'keepsie, N. Y. 
“Bedad, the nixt automobolist who 
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WE BUY OLD BAGS 
Sound...3—4—5 Cents 
Torn Z—3—4 Cents 
We Pay the Freight 
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725 BROADWAY, BUFFALO, N. Y. 
E. FRANK COE FERTILIZERS 
1857-THE BUSINESS FARMERS’ FAVORITE FOR OVER FIFTY YEARS-1912 
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International Apple Shippers’ Association’s Cup Silver Shield for Best Exhibit of Rhode Island 
for Best Commercial Exhibit of Packed Fruit. Won by Greenings offered by Gov. Pothier, of Rhode 
Conyer’s Farm, G. A. Drew, Manager, Connecticut. Island. Won by T. K. Winsor, Rhode Island. 
Silver Cup for Best Display of Baldwin Apples Sweepstakes for Best Box of Apples Packed 
offered by Gov. Foss, of Massachusetts. Won by for Market, $75.00. Won by Conyer’s Farm, 
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THE C0E-M0RTIMER CO. 51 Chambers St. New York City 
