704 
UHE RURAI> NEW-voRKSR 
June l&, 
Hope Farm Notes 
Student Labor.—I have had -many 
letters from farmers or fruit growers 
about these college students as farm 
workers. There is need of help, but 1 
lind that some farmers fear the students 
will not prove equal to the regular hired 
man. I have asked a large number of 
fruit growers about it. and perhaps the 
fairest reply is the following from Sen¬ 
ator H. M. Dunlap, of Illinois: 
I liad a Tittle experience in this matter 
and the question of students or not de¬ 
pends almost altogether upon the individual 
himself, who is seeking employment. Most 
of the oollege boys, however, do not mix 
wall with ordinary help upon the farm, 
and where a number of men are employed 
they are apt to be in a class by themselves, 
and for that reason are not especially satis¬ 
factory. For employment upon a farm 
wlhere they can be made useful according 
to their experience they would probably 
prove satisfactory. As a rule they want 
more privileges and more days off than 
the ordinary men and are averse to taking 
hold of jobs that are likely to soil their 
hands or clothes. On a l'ruit farm like 
mine I have had a number of them that 
were excellent help. If raised in the coun¬ 
try they usually make exceptionally good 
hands. If city bred they are not very de¬ 
sirable, as farm work is apt to be entirely 
new to them. This is not very definite, and 
to put it more concisely would say that if 
a college hoy were from the country I 
would not object to hiring him on account 
of his education ; if he were from the city 
I would approach the matter of his em¬ 
ployment with a great deal of hesitation. 
Illinois. H. M. DUNLAP. 
That probably expresses the feeling of 
fruit growers who have tried this kind 
of labor. It may be a hard jolt to some 
of these college boys who have never 
really worked on a farm, but sooner or 
later they must learn the difference be¬ 
tween farming and agriculture. The 
in May 185. They were idle pretty much 
all Winter, hut will lay on more or less 
through Summer and Fall. When a 
Brahma gets broody she has a bad at¬ 
tack and will fight like a bulldog 
against any effort to “break her up.” 
The picture, Fig 272, shows a group 
of our birds. The business poultrymen 
laugh at the Brahma. y 7 et I think they 
have their place. They 7 are beautiful 
birds for a lawn or yard, with the black 
trimming around their necks. They are 
the best breed I know for a backyard 
hen plant, since they are good-natured 
and clumsy, and can be easily kept in a 
small yard. They lay the largest egg 
we have seen—dark brown in color. 
True, they are fearful eaters, but when 
you dress and cook one of them you 
“have something.” I keep them for two 
reasons. When I was a boy near Cape 
Cod every farmer kept Brahmas, and I 
like old friends and associations. Now, 
in that section, the R. I. Reds have 
chased the Brahmas off the earth, but I 
like to have a few around. They 7 are 
the best hatchers and mothers we have 
except for those clumsy great feet. 
They give a fine carcass of dressed 
meat, and where you have as big a fam¬ 
ily as mine you need something beside 
bone and “nerve.” The Leghorns are 
all right for those who like excitable 
people. I like something that will sit 
down and think now and then. 
Farm Notes. —We finally finished the 
spraying as the wind went down to take 
new 7 breath. The season is late, and 
many a plan must be changed. The rye 
hay is in the barn—in better condition 
than ever before. We cut it earlier 
this y r ear—before the stems could harden 
up. Our horses eat it quite well, and 
A BUNCH OF HOPE FARM BRAHMAS. Fig. 272. 
way to become rulers over many farm 
things is to foe faithful as a hired man. 
Rapid Planting. —Another thing that 
has stirred up discussion is this matter 
of transplanting with '“puncher and 
tongs.” Our correspondent, “Trucker, 
Jr,,” told wfoat the farmers do with this 
simple outfit, but many of our people 
come right up and say they do not be¬ 
lieve it. I planned to go down to South 
Jersey and see some of the experts 
“punch” a few plants in, but I could 
not make the trip, and so "“Trucker, 
Jr.,” finished his job and sent the fol¬ 
lowing report: 
“Ws‘ had a -shower heavy enough to soak 
the soil. After it cleared we decided to set 
plants on the four rows we had saved for 
ymir visit. There was space foi" 1.010 
plants set 18 inches apart. My brother 
was - home from school, and as he is qui<-k 
at -such work I asked him to do the drop¬ 
ping and to do his best to keep me supplied 
with 11 hints. The plants had not been 
sorted, but aside from that everything was 
favorable. He dropped the 1.010 plants and 
I set them in exactly. 20 minutes. 1 men¬ 
tion this to you simply to show what it is 
possible to do with the puncher and tongs 
under favorable conditions. Truckers here, 
however, -do not value these tools because 
of the big records that eau be made by 
their use; but they do prize them highly 
because of the speed and ease with which 
plants can be set under average conditions. 
And alter ail, auy tool that has stood the 
test of .actual use by average farmers under 
average conditions has withstood the su¬ 
preme test. The punclu-r and tongs, al¬ 
though not well known outside this section, 
belong in that class.” 
I am sure this is a correct statement. 
I am equally sure that 1 could not set 
one-third -of -these plants in the same 
time, because I do not know how to 
handle these tools. A man becomes an 
expert without knowing how. It is right 
to demand actual proof, but not correct 
to judge the ability of another by what 
we, ourselves, can do. 
The Brahmas. —We have 12 Light 
Brahma Feus and one rooster in a little 
house. Thev are hopper-fed and drink 
at the brook, requiring little care. In 
April these 12 hens laid 155 eggs and 
in this year of high hay the rye fodder 
certainly pays. I notice that all over 
the country people are cutting some rye 
and wheat to use as hay. With an¬ 
other short hay crop, which now seems 
possible, every ounce of fodder will be 
needed. The following question comes 
from Rhode Island: 
What could I use this Fall to seed with 
vetch for early green feed next Spring for 
two Jerseys'? We had some with rye which 
we found came in very handy this Spring, 
as we have no pasture, hut I will not use 
rye again, as it heads out too soon and 
gets coarse just when the vetch is really 
in its prime. 
That is the trouble with Tye. When 
the head forms the straw gets too tough 
and hard. I should use wheat instead 
of rye. You cannot seed wheat as late 
in the Fall, and it will not make as 
much fodder as rye, but it makes a 
more tender feed and can be cut through 
a longer period. . . . We began 
planting field corn May 31. This was 
on the hill in a young apple orchard. 
We make no effort to put corn close to 
the trees—better not within four or 
five feet. The corn is well fertilized 
and cultivated. Those trees are eight 
and nine years old—large enough to get 
their share of the feeding and working. 
I would not care to put corn in a very 
young orchard unless the soil was very 7 
wet. Really we have no place for grow¬ 
ing field crops except among the trees, 
as all except a few acres of the cleared 
land has been put in orchards. . . . 
On our steeper side hills I conclude 
that “thorough culture” does not pay 7 . 
The wash and gullying is too great. I 
like strips of sod across the face of 
such hills. Shall these strips be left 
along the tree rows or in the middles 
with clean culture near the txe.es ? I 
have come to prefer the former, and 
our plan is to leave such an unplowed 
strip eight feet wide with the trees at 
the center. The grass on this strip and 
the crop in the middles can be thrown 
around the -trees as mulch. You are in 
no danger of barking or wounding the 
tree with the cultivators as y 7 ou are 
when plowing and cultivating is carried 
up close. We now have rye growing in 
the middles. This is cut witli the mower 
and piled around the trees. Then the 
rye stubble is plowed or disked and 
drilled to Soy beans or fodder corn— 
with ry r e again at the last cultivation. 
On a steep hillside where some culture 
•is demanded, this is a good system. . 
. . We have planned to demonstrate 
several different methods on our hill 
this Summer. The New Jersey Horti¬ 
cultural Society plans to hold a field 
meeting in this neighborhood on July- 
17. At that time we hope to show, on 
the same hill, “clean culture,” unclean 
culture, corn among the trees, mulch 
and the strip culture mentioned above. 
I feel sure that the fruit growing of 
the future will be largely done on hill¬ 
side land and that some new system of 
cultivation must be worked out. . . . 
■Our strawberries are not in any condi¬ 
tion which enables us to “point with 
pride.” The continued wet weather 
drove us out of the field and we could 
not clean up. As a result our berries 
are foul with weeds and grass. The 
yield promises well, howtever, since 
there is plenty of moisture in the soil 
for all. They are bad to look at, but 
will deliver the fruit. If the rains start 
up again, however, there will be trouble 
with soft and mushy berries. The first 
mess of berries came June 2 from a new 
seedling. Thus far this season has 
proved the most contrary of any 7 we 
ever recorded. It would seem as if 
there were nothing really seasonable 
about it. yet our trees, our grass, and 
our gardens were never more promising. 
It seems that the “mulchers” have not 
all been driven out. Here is a question 
like many others: 
I have an apple orchard on niy farm, 
trees being about 14 years old. all in pretty 
fair condition now. When we moved here in 
1910 this orchard bad been seeded to oats ; 
we took this off for fodder. I then fertil¬ 
ized it well and seeded to Cow-born turnips 
and Crimson clover in the Fail of 1910. 
This was turned under in 1911, and that 
Fall vetch and rye was seeded and plowed 
in this Spring. Do you think it safe now 
to put this orchard back into sod this 
Fall? If so. will you advise me as to the 
best kind of grass to put in this orchard? 
I do not intend to rob it of the grass, 
but to cut it and let it lie around the 
trees. I desire to get it in grass to cut 
down the expenses, also as 1 wish to make 
it a yard for about 75 bens. 
There is no use trying to keep an 
orchard in sod unless it is on natural 
grass land , inclined to be moist. I can 
show on my farm a block of trees on a 
spongy hillside which are doing well in 
sod. On the same farm on thinner soil 
I abandoned this sod method as a fail¬ 
ure. If this orchard of y 7 onrs stands in 
strong loam soil, holding water well, I 
should be willing to trust the 14-year- 
old trees in grass. I should sow an 
even mixture of Timothy, Blue grass 
and Red-top, and let other natural 
grasses come on, also add some Alsike 
and White clover seed. This, with fair 
feeding, ought to give y 7 ou a fair sod. I 
should clip it at least twice during the 
season, rake the cuttings and pile around 
the young trees—in the Fall raking 
them away. With the hens running in 
this orchard, handled in this way, you 
ought to get good growth, but if the soil 
is light and grass does not come in 
naturally do not attempt this sod plan 
expecting success. h. w. c. 
Good Neighbors and Bad. 
We all like to hoar about the “neighbors" 
and leaving the weather the prices and the 
crops to them I will report on a few of 
them. The worst is the orange hawk-weed, 
and the manager of a hog farm in town 
says that his stock prefer this weed to all 
other plunts and dig the ground thoroughly 
for its roots. Among the more desirable 
neighbors, which thrive wonderfully in the 
rather Short and cool season of Northern 
New England, is the purple violet, succeed¬ 
ing the arbutus which so quickly follows the 
disappearing snow. The fields in this local¬ 
ity are covered with them, and parties 
are often seen gathering spiendid bunches of 
them. Later the air is heavy with the odor 
of Sweet-scented Vernal grass, which is 
able to crowd out many other grasses and 
densely cover the fields. 
The White clover or honeysuckle, friend 
of the bee, is another (welcome invader. 
In early baying the mower runs through 
beds of strawberries and Potcntilla. a near 
relative, which gives to hay its most at¬ 
tractive smell. All these plants are able 
to bold their own as the tame grasses run 
out. against about everything but hawk- 
weed and vetch, and in combination fill the 
barns with pleasant odors such as never 
came from the best cured Herd's grass and 
clover. On one occasion, while mowing in 
an old field, I counted the weeds and 
grasses, many of which I knew, and many 
more which I could distinguish. There 
were 84. Among them little willows, pines, 
elms and maples .a few inches tall. The 
land is damp day loam, not seeded for 15 
years, which is called “natural grass land.” 
No trouble to get a fine lawn here, though 
I saw on the grounds of a public library 
in a city on the coast, a sign “Keep off the 
Grass,” when “Keep off the Dandelions” 
would have been much better, as there was 
little else to be seen. G. s. **. 
Winslow, Me. 
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