ee2 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
.Tune 18, 
Hope Farm Notes 
June 4 was our nearest approach to the 
rare days that the poet sings. It was rare 
in the fact that we actually had some sun¬ 
shine. It was also rare in the sense that it 
was not well done, since a raw cold wind 
blew from the North. It was more like 
an April day in comfort, yet the sun and 
wind are weed killers. So we went out 
at that potato field in the forenoon. You 
remember .this is on a thin sod of Alfalfa 
—the potatoes in hills three feet each way. 
With Jerry and Nellie each on single culti¬ 
vators we started first north and south. The 
cultivators were narrowed and we went 
back and forth in each alley. The object 
was to run as close as possible to the right 
at each round, working the outside tooth up 
to the hills and throwing a small quantity 
of earth to the vines. With a steady horse 
and by watching the outside tooth you can 
save much hand hoeing. Nellie has the 
disposition of one of these nervous and 
cranky ladies who place a great value upon 
their services and think they have done 
work enough. Having given us two colts 
Nellie thinks she should be pensioned. I 
do not, and I thoroughly enjoy making such 
characters realize that they are to “act 
in the living present.” Jerry is more like a 
fussy and important old man, willing to 
work, but his way is the best and only 
method worth considering. You may have 
some choice in associating with such char¬ 
acters—I took Nellie. 
We ran through the rows north and 
south, then opened the cultivators wide 
and ran once east and west across the first 
work. This left a little place about eight 
inches square around the hills with some 
grass and weeds. With our hoes we can 
cut out the grass and larger weeds and pull 
a small hill of earth up to the plant to 
cover the small weeds. This will smother 
them. All over the field we find plants of 
Alfalfa growing—unbilled by the plow and 
harrow. Great roots as large as your 
thumb where they were cut off by the 
plow. In all we spent five hours cultivat¬ 
ing that field. Later 2% hours were spent 
hoeing. We will therefore add all told 
$2.15, making a total of $34.95 cost thus 
far. It is possible that a good crop could 
be grown with less labor, but you must re¬ 
member that our plan is to kill out this old 
sod, so that strawberries may follow the 
potatoes. Part of this labor cost should 
not be charged to the potatoes, yet in a 
series of years it all is accounted for, and 
I do not just see how we can divide the 
cost between several crops fairly. My 
present plan is to dig the potatoes early, if 
possible; ditch the feed and put the sur¬ 
face stones in these ditches. Then work 
up the ground and set large layer plants 
of strawberries. By June 4 the potato 
vines stood from 8 to 15 inches high. Ex¬ 
cept for flea beetle injury they were very 
satisfactory. Very few hard-shelled potato 
bugs are yet to be seen, but the slugs will 
be upon us in due time. It is great satis¬ 
faction to see this old field coming into 
line and promising to stand up with the 
best. 
It was a still more satisfactory job to 
plant the sweet corn in the afternoon. This 
was in the field where we first intended to 
set strawberries. The wet Spring gave the 
grass such a start that I knew we could 
not keep the berries clean with any mod¬ 
erate cost. For years this field has been 
an eyesore. It never produced but one 
good crop—that was cabbage planted on sod 
plowed after haying and in a dry season. 
The field is below our spring—the little 
stream from it running along two sides. 
Last Fall we spent about $50 opening deep 
ditches around this field. This carried the 
spring water rapidly away and prevented 
any overflow. We also put a stone ditch 
through the worst part of the field. We 
were finally ab’e to plow’ it and the soil 
turned up mellow and black. After plow¬ 
ing the Cutaway harrow’ was used and then 
the Acme up and down and across until 
the surface w r as reasonably fine. Then the 
field was cross marked three feet each w r ay 
and Evergreen sweet corn planted. We got 
in about 5,000 hills after dinner, and it was 
a satisfactory thing to see that field at last, 
level and smooth, back in the ranks of pro¬ 
ductive workers. We shall give that corn 
good culture and see how sweet corn com¬ 
pares in profit with our flint. On the new 
farm we have plowed a piece of old sod, 
planted sweet corn and put in Hubbard 
squash about six by nine feet. This will 
be a good place for our chicken manure. I 
know that the chicken yards become very 
rich after a few years of use. I thought 
to go in with a plow’ or cultivator, cut 
up the first few inches and haul it out 
to spread as manure. We have finally 
adopted what seems a better way of cul¬ 
tivating these yards. The breeding season 
being over, the hens are all run together in 
a large yard. Then by teaiing u' and rak¬ 
ing these breeding yards w r e can drill car¬ 
rots, w’hich, I think, W’ill be a great crop 
to take the fertility out of the soil and 
clean it for next season. 
I have another field in which w r e have 
just finished putting the tile and stone. 
This field contains our big spring and ex¬ 
cept in very dry times it has been like 
black mush. When it finally dries up it 
bakes like a rock. We used it as a pasture. 
This made it necessary to keep up inside 
fences and W’e barely got $10 worth of poor 
feed out of it. Whenever I said that this 
was the best soil on the farm our folks 
usually looked at me in mild wonder, some 
with open scorn, for it was an unpromising 
place. Last 'Fall I w’ent at it and first 
changed the course of the spring brook. 
We led it along the boundary fence and 
out of the field. Then ditches were dug at 
good grade, part have now' been filled with 
stone and others with tile. They have 
sucked the field dry even in this wet season, 
and the soil turns up deep and black as a 
stove. For many years plant food has been 
accumulating in this field like money in a 
bank, and w’e can now utilize it. The plan 
is to plant late sweet corn in hills, w’ork it 
both ways and kill out the sod. Then we 
shall plow it late and leave the furrows 
exposed to Winter. On such new soil, al¬ 
ready stuffed with humus, the freezing 
and thawing will do more good than a 
cover crop. Then if we like next Spring 
we can manure the field, fit it and plant 
onions. This field has cost so much to 
drain fhat I hesitate to give the figures 
until the results can also be given. I will 
give the statement later. I feel surer each 
season that a farmer who moans to live on 
or by his farm cannot invest his money to 
better advantage than in draining the wet 
land. 
I took a little time late in the afternoon 
after picking berries for supper to look 
around and figure things up. We had our 
first berries on Decoration Day, but they 
were very sour and not much of a credit to 
us. They did their best, without sunshine, 
but I should hate to sell such fruit. The 
plants never were finer and they are loaded 
with berries, but unless we have more sun 
they will be most suitable as pickles. It 
Is hard to see them just begging for the 
sun, while another rainstorm rolls up in the 
West. I expected by this time to have 
three tons or more of rye hay in the barn, 
but day after day has brought rain, and 
not a forkful could be cut. I fear it is now 
too hard. However, straw is worth $20 or 
more and we need the grain. The trees 
are safe and will not suffer if we do not 
have a drop of rain before July 4. Many 
of the young apple trees have made 18 
inches or more of wood already. As for 
clover and grass, we never had anything 
like it, and there is every reason to expect 
twice as much corn as u’e ever had before. 
While the rain may hurt the berry crop 
it will be the most glorious thing for our 
plant trade, for runners are sprouting like 
weeds. So, why grumble? We may take 
the weather as it comes since we are not 
responsible for it We are probably all 
children of a larger growth. The baby, 
unlike most children, has never sung “I 
want to be an angel!” As the cherries 
grew ripe he had the privilege of getting 
what he could reach from the ground. That 
would seem like a poor privilege to any one 
who could look up and see the top of .the tree 
red with fruit. Then he asked if angels 
had wings. So after mature deliberation 
little red-bead declared that he would like 
to be an angel. It is a very different mat¬ 
ter to say that as a deliberate wish instead 
of singing about it, for bow many people 
mean what they sing? When asked for his 
reason the child wanted to be an angel so 
he could fly to the top of the cherry tree 
and carry his privilege of eating all he 
could reach with him. When informed that 
angels were not supposed to eat, he said if 
that was the case he did not want to be 
one! When it comes down to the essence 
of things most of us are more or less like 
the child. I hope the sun went down with 
all the Hope farmers reasonably well con¬ 
tent. The rains have brought us both good 
and evil, for there is a surplus of the latter 
anyway. The good needs such help as 
thought could give it. Very likely Tommy, 
the lame cat, will applaud that sentiment. 
We found him with his leg crushed and 
torn. Some dog must have caught him un¬ 
awares, but I imagine he put up a good 
fight. Most people would have thought it 
a good plan to get rid of another cat, but 
our girls brought him up! They carried 
him to a doctor and had the leg set and put 
in a splint. He will get well, but life is a 
burden to him just now. We have five 
other cats, but I w’as glad to see the girls 
save this one as they did. Tommy is a use¬ 
ful Hope farmer. He certainly shows more 
philosophy than “Champ,” the white gob¬ 
bler. While Crescent, his favorite wife, is 
busy with her brood, she very properly pays 
no attention to him. It may be this treat¬ 
ment which induces him to stand on one 
foot in the center of the lawn with a soak¬ 
ing rain washing through his feathers! 
h. w. c. 
Destroying Ants. —I saw a recent re¬ 
quest in your columns for instructions in 
treatment of troublesome ants. If they are 
like New Hampshire ants a few cents’ worth 
of tartar emetic in a dish with a little 
sugar and water placed in the pantry will 
make them leave for parts unknown. 
Pembroke, N. H. mus. e. s. g. 
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