814 
July 27, 
Hope Farm Notes 
. Drought Struggles. —When Nature 
struggles against herself you have a hard 
conflict. By the middle of July in our 
country the drought had baked the hills 
like a brick. In the valleys where the 
cultivators had run freely you could 
still kick up dark-colored damp soil, but 
on the hills you could not kick the soil 
at all. There are streaks here and there 
where the ledge comes to within three 
feet or less of the surface. We are 
trying to develop the orchards on some 
of those streaks. The drought gets right 
down to the bone unless the surface is 
kept stirred up or covered. 
It seems as if Nature understood this, 
and would like with half her will, to 
send us a soaking rain, while the other 
half insists that for some reason we 
need a little more scorching. So day 
after day while the hard soil is crack¬ 
ing, clouds gather and a few drops of 
rain may fall. The windmill may wave 
its long arms for a few turns like an 
excitable man tossing his hat, but all of 
a sudden the clouds break and there is 
the hot old sun as of old ready to do a 
little more drying. We had one light 
shower which barely dampened the sur¬ 
face, yet day after day the clouds gather, 
talk things over in deep mutterings, and 
apparently conclude to form a new party 
and go sailing off before the sun. At 
any rate it gives a great test of the 
mulch system. The answer on our hills 
seems to be the same as before. If you 
can get mulch enough you can make' 
apple trees do well. “Mulch enough” 
means a good-sized haycock to each 
tree. We can get that by ripping up the 
middles of the alleys in August and 
seeding rye. I should consider it use¬ 
less to try to practice the mulch system 
except on natural grass land—a little 
moist if possible. On such soil I should 
be willing to set trees right in the sod 
and cut all the grass and pile it around 
the trees. That would give one man 
command of a large orchard. As for 
peach trees—I think they need culture. 
While we have some still in mulch those 
that are cultivated are evidently su¬ 
perior. 
I purchased some strawberry plants last 
Spring and set them out on the intensive 
plan. Quite a number died. Now I wish 
to fill the vacancies, and think I might do 
it from runners. Would I better do it from 
the first runners coming out, or cut these 
off and use later ones? ■ F. M. c. 
New Jersey. 
This “intensive” plan means setting 
the plants in beds one foot apart each 
way. You can use the runners to fill 
these vacancies or for new beds. We 
regard the first runners as best. They 
are strong and by getting them out early 
you have more time for them to grow. 
As the runner starts put a little stone on 
the tip. This holds it down and helps 
form the root. If left to itself the run¬ 
ner will form a plant at the joint and 
throw out more plants. Nip off this new 
plant. The parent plant will feed the 
runner until it is well rooted. Then, 
while the ground is moist cut off the 
stem from the parent plant, dig up the 
young plant and put it where needed. 
Properly handled such “layers” are as 
good as potted plants and for short 
transportation are very satisfactory. To 
make your “intensive” plan a success, 
you must keep all the runners cut off. 
We are having slow work with our own 
strawberry crop. The drought has 
baked the soil hard, and it is almost im¬ 
possible to clean up the beds, and of 
course potted plants are out of the 
question. Every move this Summer 
shows the need of some system of irri¬ 
gation. 
Cover Crops. —Here they are once 
more with a good old subject: 
When should the last cultivation be given 
to corn? What is the best crop to put in 
at the last cultivation? How much seed 
to the acre? Can you give me some idea of 
the worth of wheat sheaves per stack of 
about 25 pounds? M. x. G. 
New York. 
I have no definite rule to give. We 
try to work the corn as long as we can 
go through without breaking stalks. This 
year corn is late and will be worked 
close up to September. As a rule with 
us we stop working about August 15, 
and put in the cover crop. This makes 
k too late for Crimson clover to do its 
best. Our plan for cover crop seeding 
is to scatter the seed evenly all over 
the field among the corn. This is usual¬ 
ly done by hand, though we have had 
THE RURAL NBW-YOKKER 
fair results scattering from a horse’s 
back with a broadcast seeder. Hand 
seeding is best for us. Having scat¬ 
tered the seed on the ground we take a 
light cultivator or one-horse harrow and 
go both ways if the corn is in hills, 
or twice in a row in drills. You will 
do a better job by wiring a piece of 
plank or joist so it will drag and scrape 
along behind the cultivator, thus smooth¬ 
ing and pressing in the seed. You do 
not say how far North your cornfield is. 
In Northern New Jersey we have come 
to regard rye as the foundation for seed 
mixtures. This tough plant will give 
a crop under almost any conditions. 
Formerly we advised Crimson clover as 
a legume, but it is too tender and we 
think Hairy vetch safer. Use 25 pounds 
vetch seed and one-half bushel of rye 
per acre. If your field is not too near 
the house use in addition one pound per 
acre of Cow-horn turnip seed. The tur¬ 
nips will decay in a mild Winter and 
make a bad odor—otherwise they are 
good as a cover crop. My best advice 
about the sheaves is to thrash out half 
a dozen of average size and weigh the 
grain and straw. 
Young Stock. —These are great days 
for the children. They run through the 
fields or over the lawn, or sit under the 
trees and play. They have their little 
jobs of work too—picking fruit or hoe¬ 
ing, or now and then on the market 
wagon. The little salesmen lined up at 
Fig. 339 did well with strawberries, and 
they are ready for the peach trade when 
that starts. A farm without children 
would seem badly out of joint, while 
children without a farm would have too 
many joints to suit me. Day after day 
our little folks roll out of bed ready for 
bread and milk and fruit and vegetables. 
show' pictures of these trees later to give 
an idea of their growth. It is quite pos¬ 
sible to produce a good orchard by 
mulching but you cannot do it unless 
you are willing to feed each tree what 
amounts to a fair sized haycock. 
Trouble. —Here is one rock upon 
which farm combinations often split: 
I am going to work for a farmer. I get 
good wages and prompt pay, and want to 
use him well. He is willing to give me 
a piece of land for a garden, but he did not 
say anything about a pig or some chickens. 
I want to stand the expense of keeping a 
pig, and about 25 chickens. Will you tell 
me about what it would cost a year to 
keep one pig and 25 or 30 chickens? I 
intend to buy feed, etc., from the farmer. 
Do you think it may lead to any trouble 
if I keep any live things? h. j. 
I have seen trouble arise like a Sum¬ 
mer storm over the workman’s pig or 
chickens. They will get out at times, 
and rip open the most pleasant relations. 
Such live stock handled well would be 
great help to the workman, for they will 
use up swill and wastes and make cheap 
meat. Where you buy all the grain it 
would cost $8 or more to raise a pig, or 
about $1 to feed a chicken one year. I 
would not take chances on pig and chick¬ 
ens unless I knew the boss agreed to it 
and understood all about it. h. w. c. 
Fertilizers With Manure. 
I live in a suburb where fertilizing ma¬ 
terials, except complete mixtures, are hard 
to get. I can get stable manure and hen 
manure, but these 1 understand should be 
added to, fertilizers being used which will 
furnish phosphoric acid and potash. What 
is the best way for me to procure these 
two ingredients, in quantity for a half-acre 
garden, and in such shape that they can be 
kept for occasional use from Spring till 
frost? I use three two-horse loads of stable 
manure per year and six barrels of carefully 
preserved hen manure. g. w. 
Bergen Co., N. J. 
THE STRAWBERRY SALESMEN. Fig. 339. 
They have little or no meat and are far 
better for it. They run all day through 
the dust, and at night wash it off and 
rest for another round. Now and then 
I meet people who say that children are 
a nuisance and bother—nothing else. 
Those people put the blame all on the 
children. They are wrong, for the 
trouble is in themselves—not in the chil¬ 
dren. The college boy seems to have 
hit a place where they give him a prac¬ 
tical course. He gets up early and stays 
at it late, with no time to dream in be¬ 
tween. That is good. The Northern 
growing season is short and no man can 
hope to make farming pay unless he 
gets up with the sun and stays right 
with him. Science may change many 
things from farming to agriculture but 
the foundation of it all will be labor— 
good hours and good measure. 
The manures are relatively rich in nitro¬ 
gen, but require potash and phosphoric acid 
-.o produce the best vegetables. For the 
quantity you mention we should buy 150 
pounds sulphate of potash, and either 300 
pounds of fine ground bone or 400 pounds 
of acid phosphate. These chmicals may be 
mixed with the manure and used that way, 
or the manure can be plowed or spaded 
under and the chemicals spread over the 
ground or along the rows. 
Horses, .$150 to $250; new milch cows, 
$45 to $75; Spring milkers, $25 to $45; 
yearlings, $15 to $30 : fat calves, live, nine 
cents per pound; hogs, live, 7% cents; 
fowls, live, 12% cents. Hay, last year's, 
$20 per ton. Wheat, $1.10 per bushel: 
corn, 85 cents; oats, 45 cents. Eggs. 22 j 
cents; butter, 30 cents. Milk at statiou. 
$1.17 per 100 pounds. c. i,. -ii. 
Cato, N. J. 
“For the Land’s Sake, use Bowker’s 
Fertilizers; they enrich the earth and 
those who till it.”— Adv. 
Has More Uses 
Around the Farm 
Than a Sewing 
Machine in the 
House 
DEYO PORTABLE ENGINE 
JUSES LESS GASOLENE 
FURNISHES MORE POWER 
Than Any Other Farm Engine 
In five minutes we can convince any fair 
minded man that he cannot afford to run his 
farm another month without a Deyo Engine. 
Just write today for facts that will open your 
eyes on the engine question, and our illus¬ 
trated catalogue. 
Deyo-Macey Engine Co., 22 Washington St., Binghamton,N.Y 1 
S. Woodhouso, 1.S9-191-195 Water St.,*\4V 
Kendall & Whittier, Portlaud, Maine 
M. Hough. 402 W. ‘Jth Avc.,Columbus,Ohio* 
Or Our Factory 
Sales Agents 
' Kei 
!i>. 
Master of 49 Jobs 
on your Farm and 
around your Home 
is this 2 h.p. Engine. 
Let us 
send you 
convincing 
tacts. 
Pumping, spraying, running a dozen 
and more kinds of mills, shredders, etc., 
giving fire protection, helping you, your 
wife, the boys and girls— therejs not a 
man or any other piece of 
machinery around the farm 
that will do as much work 
or do it as well as this 
Sturdy 
Jack 
2 H. P. Engine . 
A small engine built on the same plan as a 
big one, and it will do four-fifths of the work 
a big one does. For one cent’s worth of 
fuel, will pump enough water for a day’s 
use on an ordinary farm. Runs on a gallon 
a day. Runs equally well in cold and hot 
weather. Air- or hopper-cooled. Truck- 
mounted. Easily moved from one job to 
another. Does not have to be propped up— 
it is not the lean-to kind. Send and get 
information about the engine that is making 
a revolution in gas engines because of its 
completeness and all-round usefulness. 
JACOBSON MACHINE MFG. CO. 
Dept. D Warren, Pa. 
Have Abundant Water Supply 
Water delivered any height and dis¬ 
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Send for Catalogue J 
AQUARAM ENGINE COMPANY 
221 Fulton St.. New York City 
Inoculated Alfalfa Soil 
75o. per 100, or 810.00 per ton, f. o. b. cars Asbville, 
Pa. Send for free booklet. “How to Grow Al¬ 
falfa.” DR. H. SOMERVILLE, Chest Springs, Pa. 
GUARANTEED ALFALFA SEED 
Absolutely pure; tree ol weeds; vigorous; 
hardy. Endorsed by Experiment ata- 
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your land. Big money-maker. Free 
samples and cultural instructions. 
HENRY FIELD SEED C0„ 
Box JG Shenandoah. Iowa. 
Three Excellent Books 
Swine in America desfriSion^^breedi! 
methods of handling, diseases, etc.; 600 pages, 
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All These Books THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Are For Sale Bu 409 PEARL ST., NEW YORK CITY 
Mulching/ —We spent July 6 fixing 
our latest planted apple orchard. This 
is a field of some 300 McIntosh and 
Wealthy, planted in May. The field is 
one of our old “loafer fields”—formerly 
grown up to brush and briers. It was 
cut off and burned and given rough cul¬ 
ture in corn. Last year we seeded oats 
and followed with buckwheat and Alsike 
clover and volunteer buckwheat. The 
yearling trees were set 20 feet apart 
right in the clover, and were not touched 
until July 6. Then we loosened the 
soil around each tree with a hoe, cut 
the clover with the mower and trimmed 
along the rows with a scythe. Then all 
the clover was raked up and piled 
around the little trees. It made a small 
haycock for some of them, and in a 
year of high hay prices you hate to 
leave it there. But the trees need it. 
This field is at the back of the farm— 
unhand}' to get at, and so we feed the 
hay to the trees rather than to the barn 
stock. The trees have made fair 
growth, and by Fall will be in good 
condition. You will see that such cul¬ 
ture requires but little labor. I will 
CABBAGE WORMS Destroyed by Dust - 
fag with HAMMOND’S SLUG SHOT 
So used for 30 years. SOLD BY ALL SEED DEALERS. 
For pamphlets worth having write B. HAMMOND, PIshkill-on-Hudson, New York, 
NEW YORK STATE FAIR 
SYRACUSE, SEPTEMBER 9-I0-II-I2-I3-I4,1912 
Dept. A—Horses J' 
“ B—Cattle I 
ENTRIES CLOSE 
Dept. G— Dairy Products 
“ H—Fruits 
C—Sheep h Aug". 12 
D—Swine 
IE—Poultry J 
F—Farm Implements and Machinery Sept. 9 
I—Flowers 
J—Farm Produce 
K—Domestic 
Aug. 24 
Aug. 31 
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