4 74 
THE KURAL NEW-YORKER 
April 16, 
Hope Farm Notes 
“Play Ball.” —Those who under¬ 
stand the game know how the umpire 
orders the players to proceed to busi¬ 
ness. Spring has called the game 
earlier than usual this yerfr. As a rule, 
Spring comes up our valley reluctantly, 
with many a halt and protest. This year 
it was different, for Spring came danc¬ 
ing out of the South as if eager for 
her duty. It seemed as if the crab 
apple trees burst into green in a single 
night. The sap came surging up in 
the old apple trees so as to nearly swamp 
out our grafts. As a rule, through 
early April we stand about waiting for 
a chance to start the plows, but this 
year on April 1 Spring stood on the 
hills and shouted, “Play Ball!” And 
it was no April fool joke either, for 
the soil was dry and the air was warm. 
And so the season has begun and we 
are going to bat. Drought will pitch 
against us with rain behind the bat. 
Insect, blight, weeds and rocks are in 
the infield, while bad judgment, put 
things off and that tired feeling are in 
the outfield. That is a hard nine to 
play against, but we think we are ready 
for them. 
And the true game of baseball influ¬ 
ences farming more than most of us 
like to admit. When the season fairly 
opens the average farm boy knows far 
more about the “league race” than he 
does about the price of farm produce. 
Ten to one he can tell you more about 
some baseball hero than about nitrogen 
or potash or the chemistry of lime and 
sulphur. Of course the latter is more 
useful, but have you lived all these 
years and failed to learn that the useful 
is not the most appealing thing to the 
imagination? No sir, do what you will, 
baseball will have more or less influ¬ 
ence on your farming. I confess that 
I like to see a game, and that I believe 
it is a good business proposition to let 
boys have a little time for the sport. 
1 could go on the diamond for a few 
innings still if you let me play first 
base. That seems to be the last refuge 
for a “has-been.” When I was a boy 
they put a doubtful proposition like a 
man of my age in right field. That is 
now one of the important places in the 
game. Judging from my own arm, I 
think 1 can stop anything you older 
boys could throw my way. Now, friends, 
the season’s game is on, “Play ball” 
with plow and hoe, and when you get 
rusty go out on the diamond with the 
boys! 
Advice Wanted. —During the year 
I probably get 500 letters from people 
who want to decide about trying farm¬ 
ing. Here is one of the hardest: 
1 am 25 years of age, and am married 
to a wideawake sensible farmer’s daughter. 
1 am at present receiving from a city trans¬ 
portation company $25 per week, moderate 
prospect for promotion. Farming education 
consists of knowing how to milk only. I 
have good natural ability. If I will board 
my father, who owns the farm, and pay 
him $100 per year, I can have the use 
for five years or longer of 50 acres, well 
fenced, rough land, high ground, all tillable. 
It has been idle for 10 years and I can 
also have use of a registered Jersey bull 
and live Jersey cows with two Fall calves ; 
one-half of increase from herd of cows will 
he mine. Buildings on the farm were all 
burned, except a 28-foot poultry house, 
which could be used for a stable. No 
farming implements, three miles to railroad 
station, eight miles to three towns, combined 
population 45.000; 45 miles to New York 
City. I can have assistance of my father, 
who is desirous to have me take up dairying. 
He is able-bodied, and up-to-date in dairying, 
and is disposed to help me all he can. I 
could probably borrow $1,000, perhaps more. 
Will you advise me what it is best to 
do? i wouid have to rent a house nearby. 
$10 per month. a. n. y. 
I think it would be a very wise man 
who would undertake to give direct ad¬ 
vice in such a case. I can put myself 
in this young man’s place so far as his 
inclinations go, but there I stop, for 
no outsider can grasp the things which 
will make success or failure of such a 
scheme. I take it this young man has 
no capital. He must put up buildings, 
buy team and tools, seed and fertilizer, 
and all the other needs of a farm. He 
may not need a house at once if he can 
rent, but later he must have one, and, 
of course, such buildings become real 
estate and a part of the farm. I think 
this young man would have too heavy a 
burden to carry. It will be a great 
risk to give up his sure income of $25 
per week and assume a debt in such a 
farming enterprise. Without knowing 
more of the man I should not advise 
him to try it until he had more capital 
of ( his own. He wants advice, and so 
do others like him. I would like to 
hear from people who can back up 
their opinions by experience. No use 
giving such a man guesses and theory— 
he can make all that himself. Would 
you advise him to go? 
“Hard Hands.” —To show you how 
things go, here is another note from a 
would-be farmer: 
I am a green band and do not know 
touch about farming. Can you tell me 
what I can do to prevent my hands from 
blistering when I try farm work? 
I find that this man lives in the city 
and is one more of the great army who 
thinks he would like to own a farm. 
The only way I know of to keep blisters 
off my hands is to keep the hands away 
from work. That is a sure remedy for 
blisters, and also for success on a farm. 
The best remedy I have found for blis¬ 
tered hands is to put some soft oint¬ 
ment on them and keep right on work¬ 
ing. The blisters break and pass off 
and if you keep at it you become a 
“horny-handed son of toil.” A pair of 
stout pliable gloves will help with some 
kinds of work, but in general a “green” 
farmer must find blistered hands a reg¬ 
ular part of the job to be gone through 
with, like measles or whooping cough. 
I give these things as specimens of the 
questions we get. They are not absurd 
or trivial, but represent the real thing 
in the minds of thousands of people in 
town and city. You see we have come 
upon a new period in farm history 
when there is to be a mighty movement 
away from the town, as there was from 
the East to the West years ago. There 
may be serious consequences if the peo¬ 
ple who are thinking of going do not 
understand what the true conditions 
are. I think there has been about 
enough said in the way of enticing peo¬ 
ple “back to the land.” We should now 
try to tell them just what they can hope 
to find there without frills or foolish¬ 
ness. 
A “Butter Merger.” —I take it the 
following note is from an honest man 
who means just what he says: 
In your issue of March 12 my attention 
was drawn by an article regarding the 
“Home Butter Merger,” in which the writer 
made a very feeble attempt to answer a 
question. After commenting on the several 
statements which the manufacturers of this 
machine make in their circular, the writer 
concludes by saying: “A fake- let it alone.” 
It is very evident to me, that the writer 
has not purchased one of these machines 
and therefore does not know what he 
is talking about. I wish to say right here 
that its product is perfectly satisfactory in 
every way. If pure milk, and good butter 
will merge together (which they certainly 
do with this machine) you must have a 
pure food product, and a very wholesome 
one at that. I have been an owner of one 
of these machines, for about three months 
and in that time I have saved $7. Quite 
a profitable fake, isn't it? Now. if our 
friend knows of a few fakes whereby I 
can actually save $2.35 1-3 per month on 
my living expenses, with a very small first 
cost. I am on the market for rft least 20 
if they do it with same satisfaction that 
the “Home Butter Merger” does. c. w. v. b. 
Any man who says he can make but¬ 
ter for four cents a pound is a fake. 
When he talks about making the “butter 
and milk globules expand until they 
merge” he is worse yet. Our friend 
wants a few more such “fakes” to save 
money. Here they are. Let him take 
a quart of milk at eight cents and pour 
in a quart of skim-milk at three cents. 
Shake them up together and he has two 
quarts of “milk” and has saved five 
cents. Let him buy a loaf of dry bread 
weighing one pound for seven cents, 
and put it over warm water until it 
absorbs eight ounces of water. He has 
made 3% cents more. Let him take a 
piece of beefsteak, weighing one pound, 
and add water until lie has beef stew 
weighing two pounds. He has saved 
the price of a pound of meat. Instead 
of giving l*is horse 30 pounds of dry 
grain let him take five pounds and add 
five pounds of water. Feed this to the 
horse and save five pounds. We could 
easily make up the 20 “fakes” our good 
friend calls for. Every one would be 
like that “merged” butter, for that con¬ 
tains 50 per cent of water, when legal 
butter contains 15. If any man is satis¬ 
fied to spread water on his bread and 
call it butter, there is no reason why 
he should not do it. 
The gardens were plowed April 1. First 
we put a heavy coat of manure on the 
ground and plowed it under. You may 
get an idea of how heavily we manure 
when I say that we wintered seven 
head of stock and have put practically 
all the manure on 1% acre. This ma¬ 
nure was put under with a heavy plow. 
Then we broadcast basic slag at the 
rate of about 800 pounds per acre, and 
harrowed and harrowed until the soil 
was fine. On April 4 we began plant¬ 
ing peas, Nott’s Excelsior being first. 
More will go in in a week, and then 
other varieties will follow. We use 
many peas in our family, and sell and 
give away many more. The peas are 
put in drills three feet apart, and well 
worked. About the middle of May we 
make between the pea rows hills 0x6 
feet, put manure in the hills and plant 
Hubbard squash. Sweet corn or staked 
tolnatoes can be put six feet apart be¬ 
tween the squash hills if needed. The 
corn and tomatoes get up above the 
squash and give a two-storied crop. We 
keep the ground well tilled and in early 
August can sow Crimson clover and 
turnips. H. w. c. 
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