430 
TOE RUKAIi NEW-vq^KER 
March 22, 
VANILLA BEANS. 
J. B. L., Dover, X. J .—Will you give me 
the name of one or two firms in New York 
City who sell vanilla beans? I wish to buy 
only a few just to plant for trial. 
Ans. —The vanilla “bean” is not a 
bean, but the pod-like fruit of a tropi¬ 
cal orchid, Vanilla planifolia. The plant 
is a climber, often growing to a height 
of many feet, like ivy; it has thick 
laurel-like leaves and aerial roots, grow¬ 
ing alternately. The flowers are rather 
insignificant, greenish yellow, followed 
by a pod-like fruit five to 10 inches 
long. It is a native of Mexico, but is 
cultivated in Guiana and other parts of 
tropical America, also in Ceylon and 
India. In commercial culture Vanilla 
plants are usually trained on trees, 
though posts and trellises are some¬ 
time used. They begin to bear about 
three years after planting, and continue 
to fruit for 30 or 40 years. The pods 
are picked before fully ripe, and dried. 
Like other orchids, the Vanilla depends 
on insects for its pollination, and as in 
most places where it is cultivated the 
special insects that pollinate it in its 
native place are lacking, this work has 
to be done by hand. Imitation vanilla 
is made chemically, from a variety of 
materials other than the real plant. 
“CHEAP FARMS.” 
For sale: A farm of 33 acres, three 
acres woodland, balance tillable soil. House 
nearly new, fine water, poultry house, 
wood shed, granary, pigpen, work shop, 
etc. This little farm containing fruit trees, 
berries, currants, etc. Will be sold to a 
quick buyer for $800. Part cash, balance 
on easy terms. 
The above would be my idea of ad¬ 
vertising a farm in this section were I 
in the real estate business. Now, let us 
examine the farm and see if I would 
have misrepresented: There are 33 
acres, as stated, but the neighbors would 
tell you that the farm had been 
“skinned” for years. From one field of 
10 acres there have been taken at least 
10 successive crops of oats, 100 pounds 
of a low-grade fertilizer (in most cases 
acid phosphate) having been used to 
the acre. The farm is situated in a cold, 
windy place, and the land slopes mostly 
to the north. The wood on the three 
acres of “woodland” consists of a few 
knotty pines and some brush and small 
saplings, which would possibly furnish 
fuel for two or three years. The house 
is nearly new, but is small. The poul¬ 
try house, granary, pighouse and work 
shop consist of a somewhat worn-out 
building about 12x20 feet. The fruit 
trees are found on the roadside. The 
berries were set out several years ago and 
have not been molested since. The 
present owner is anxious to sell at $500. 
I would not state in my advertisement 
that the place is located six miles from 
the railroad, over one of the worst 
“trails” in this section, nor that the 
cross-road on which the place is located 
drifts full in Winter, and the occupants 
are frequently shut in for two or thre'' 
days at a time. 
A few years ago I went to look at a 
farm which was advertised by a local 
real estate agent. From his description 
I learned that the ’farm contained 50 
acres; that there were five acres of 
standing pine timber; that there was a 
good house, new henhouse, barn, stables, 
etc.; that the farm was pleasantly situ¬ 
ated, the land sloping to the south; and 
that the place would be sold for only 
$1,800, owing to the fact of the owner 
having been taken to an institution for 
the insane and his wife, who was aged, 
had gone to live with a son. Well, I 
came near, reaching the place on a bicy¬ 
cle. The first object that caught my 
eye as I came in sight ^of the place was 
a little building, which*'must have done 
duty as a dwelling house, for on the 
wall of # the second room (there were 
two) w*as a “motto,” which read, “Put 
out the cat.” As far as I could see, the 
agent had not misrepresented the house, 
for it seemed to be nearly new and sub¬ 
stantially built. I crawled up the hill 
to take a look at the pine timbers, which 
I found to consist of a few acres of 
saplings, few of them fit for fence posts. 
I found the barn, also the henhouse, a 
building about 7x9, but the “etc.” I did 
not find. The land was stony, very 
stony. Even in the garden, which was 
the only level piece of ground I saw, 
there were bowlders half as large as a 
kitchen range. In one particular I must 
give that agent credit for entire truth¬ 
fulness. The land surely sloped to the 
south. Oh, my, how that farm did 
slope! When I had ridden half a mile 
on my homeward journey I could not 
keep from looking back to see if it was 
not going to fall on me. 
As I look about here I see many 
cheap farms for sale; but there is in 
most instances a good reason. Not 
many of the improved farms are for 
sale, and the cheap, unimproved, run¬ 
down farms would prove the most ex¬ 
pensive in the end. There are farms 
for sale in this section, with fairly good 
buildings, for $8 and $10 an acre, but I 
should not call them bargains. I have 
in mind a farm near, from which the 
timber is being taken, which will prob¬ 
ably be sold at almost any price the 
buyer will offer. The land is fairly 
good, somewhat hilly, and the buildings 
are in fairly good condition. But the 
farm is situated on a hill about one- 
half mile from the main road; there is 
not much water; several wells have 
been dug, but they dry up in Summer. 
Stock has to be driven half a mile to 
drink, and even the water for drinking 
purposes has to be drawn the same dis¬ 
tance. I should strongly advise against 
purchasing a farm in a run-down con¬ 
dition, with poor buildings. A fairly 
good farm was recently sold out here— 
good land, pleasantly situated, with 
good buildings—for less than the orig¬ 
inal cost of building the house. Many 
of these cheap farms are so exposed to j 
the wind as to make life a burden in ! 
Winter. Many a farm has been bought 
out on the hills by some city-bred back- 
to-the-lander who, had he visited the 
farm on some cold, windy day in Win¬ 
ter, would not have bought it; and the 
chances are he would still be in town. 
Schoharie Co., N. Y. a. j. hill. 
NOTES AND COMMENTS. 
In regard to painting the concentrated 
lime-sulphur on hot water pipes, I found 
years ago that the self-boiled lime sul¬ 
phur would have the same effect in pre¬ 
venting mildew. 
The Difference. —Mr. Kimball sells 
oranges in Florida for 50 cents a box, 
and here we have to pay $3 a box. Surely 
he does not get his 35 cents. Then too, 
there is a great discussion going on as 
to the future of apple culture and whether 
apples are going to pay. They must be 
paying somebody, for I have not been 
able to buy good apples for less than 60 
cents a peck this Winter. If the growers 
got half of that they would soon become 
bloated plutocrats. 
The Colorado farmers might well have 
added to their resolution “Papers whose 
advertising cannot be bought by fakers 
and promoters who cheat the farmers.” 
Plaster and Manure. —Some men read 
bulletins very carelessly. for certainly 
neither Cornell or any other station ever 
said that plaster would release ammonia. 
My practice when in the live stock busi¬ 
ness. was to put a thick coat of plaster 
in the stable gutters every morning after 
cleaning out the manure, and this went 
out with the manure the next morning to 
a covered shed, where it was soon loaded 
and sent out to be spread on the land. 
Some have a notion that dry plaster will 
absorb ammonia from the air of a stable, 
but in order to have any effect it must 
be well mixed with the manure and urine 
to have any chemical action. Kainit con¬ 
tains potash as a sulphate, hut associated 
with large amounts of chloride of sodium, 
and its action seems largely the retention 
of moisture to prevent firing. I prefer 
acid phosphate, which not only prevents 
loss but adds greatly to the effectiveness 
of the manure. 
Spring Grass Seeding. —Years ago I 
had in the Virginia mountains conditions 
similar to those T. W. W. describes (page 
348) I had a field with a run-out sod. I 
covered it with manure and plowed it deeply 
with manure and plowed it deeply and 
then subsoiled in November. In the early 
Spring it was well disked and oats drilled in 
and grass and clover seed sown. I had the 
finest stand of grass in the whole neigh¬ 
borhood, and got as good a sod as I ever 
saw. I was then managing a large stock 
farm and growing only such crops as I 
could feed, no raw products were sold. 
Hence I had no wheat in the Fall with 
which to sow grass, but I never failed to 
get a good stand of grass and clover on 
oats in Spring. But in doing this for the 
purpose of starting a new sod, I always 
manured heavily. The instance given was 
the only time I ever sowed oats on a sod, 
but in that instance the sod was pretty 
well rotted by the Fall plowing. 
I would add to what Mr. Van Deman 
says that in using Bordeaux mixture to 
prevent rot in grapes a pound of lead 
arsenate added to 50 gallons with a pound 
of glucose as a sticker, will bo the best 
means for destroying the rose chafer that 
often swarms on our grapes. I have used 
the concentrated lime-sulphur made very 
dilute with the lead arsenate and glucose 
for the rosebugs with success too. 
Maryland. w. f. masses’. 
“For the Land’s Sake, use Bowker’s 
Fertilizers; they enrich the dearth and 
those who till it.’’— Adv. 
'No more repair bills 
for that Roof ” 
Think of the money you could 
have saved if your buildings had 
been covered with a roofing that 
never had to be coated, graveled or 
repaired! You’ll never have to spend 
a cent for coating or repairs if you use 
J-M Asbestos Roofing 
It is the cheapest-per-year roofing on the market. 
J-M Asbestos Roofing is mineral throughout—layer upon layer of pure Asbestos 
(rock) fibres everlastingly cemented together with Trinidad Lake Asphalt—literally 
a sheet of pliable stone. Contains no perishable substance. Has been in service on 
hundreds of buildings for over a quarter century and is sound today. 
Keeps buildings cool in summer, warm in winter, and affords perfect fire protection. 
Anyone can apply it. Don’t take a substitute. Our nearest Bi anch will ship direct if your 
dealer can’t supply you. Write today for Sample and Book No. 2548 
H. W. JOHNS-MANVILLE CO. 
Albany 
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Montreal Winnipeg Vancouver 1964 
STRENGTH—EFFICIENCY—DURABILITY 
are most essential points in a Hay 
Carrier. You do not want to wait 
for repairs during the haying season. 
The above points are combined m 
The Rochester 
Reversible Hay Carriers 
which are unequaled for their per¬ 
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For fork and sling. For wood and steel track. 
Draft can be run in as soon as it clears the loa d. 
SATISFACTION GUARANTEED 
Write us for a complete catalogue 
The Ricker Manufacturing Co., 
300 N. Water Street, ROCHESTER, N. Y. 
LITTER CARRIERS 
FEED CARRIERS 
HAY CARRIERS 
DIVISION STALLS 
STANCHIONS 
WATERING BASINS 
Tools 
that take 
away drudgery' 
Get better results in your 
r field or garden with half the 
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besides. You can do it with 
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Planet Jr 
Di°:. 14 ] Planet Jr Double Wheel Disc 
Hoe, Cultivator and Plow is new; popu¬ 
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Carries new-design prong teeth. 3 
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f No - 81 1 Planet Jr Horse Hoe, Culti¬ 
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vnrn An instructive 64-page 
rHEJjl illustrated catalogue 
Every farmer and gardener | 
should have its valuable hints 
to right implements. You 
can’t afford to miss itl Send to 
postal for it today! 
is L ALLEN & CO' 
Box 1107V 
Philadelphia 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and a 
“square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
GARDEN 
TOOLS from 
The Garden State 
'C'OR the best go where the best 
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If you want a garden tool. 
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Can bo 
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in simplest form 
and attachments 
added as 
needed. 
Ph • I e 
Grenloch 
Ask your dealer 
to show you 
Iron Age No. 6 
fin ado at Grcnloch, New 
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source of 
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tools. 
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i Hill Seeder, 
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r Single Whoel 
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Write to-day 
for special booklets. 
BATEMAN M’F’G CO. 
Box 102-J Greuloch, N. J. 
Complete 
line of 
farm, gArden 
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tools. 
Plant Food — Spring, 1913 
The subject of Plant Food should interest 
every intelligent farmer Right Now —in con¬ 
nection witli 1913 crops, so soon to be 
planned for. Don’t throw money away on 
inferior fertilizers because they are cheap. 
Make this year’s crops Bigger and Better than ever before. We can helpyou 
Write today for our booklets, “Soil Fertility,” “The Grass Crop,” “The Apple” 
and Hubbard’s Bone Base 1913 Almanac, which contains much valuable infor¬ 
mation about soil, fertilizers and other farm subjects. Sent free to any address. 
THE ROGERS & HUBBARD CO., Department A, Middletown, Conn. 
