800 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
August 20, 
Hope Farm Notes 
By August 6 the long drought had 
continued for about 50 days. During 
that time a few light sprinkles had fallen 
—hardly enough to lay the dust for an 
hour. During most of this period we 
have had high winds, which have licked 
the moisture completely out of our hills. 
Coming as they did just after the long 
rains, these dry winds found the growth 
of plant and and tree soft and open, and 
thus they have been more damaging 
than otherwise. On August 6 I had a 
good chance to look around and compare 
notes. The soil in the rye or oat stub¬ 
ble was as hard as a brick. This is 
where we planned to seed Alfalfa, but 
there is no possibility of getting a plow 
into it. It could not even be broken up 
into lumps, and Alfalfa seeding becomes 
a serious problem, for there now seems 
no chance of getting it started during 
August. The corn fields are dry dust 
as far as we can work with cultivator 
or plow. It would be folly to put a 
“cover crop” into them, or to work with 
a cultivator. Most of the corn began 
to shoot up the tassel when about two 
feet high. This is our dwarf Hint, and 
it may make a crop of ears yet, though 
it looks doubtful. We gave up cultivat¬ 
ing corn and simply cut the weeds off 
with a sickle. The best corn I have is a 
field which has had the poorest treat¬ 
ment—according to the books. It is an 
old “loafer field'’ at the back of the farm. 
We blew out stumps with dynamite, cut 
off sprouts and plowed. The corn was 
planted late and we were able to culti¬ 
vate it only twice, yet it is far ahead of 
any other field. Near by is another field 
which was cultivated six times and 
heavily fertilized, yet it is far behind. 
I am sure that we have overdone the 
cultivating business this year for corn. 
As the drought started in I think the 
feeding roots were formed near the sur¬ 
face. The constant cultivating ripped 
them out. Had there been plenty of 
moisture -in the soil new roots might 
have formed, but with this dried-out 
soil the feeding roots could not recover 
fast enough. My belief is that in such a 
season as this we are better off to let the 
soil alone and keep the weeds cut off as 
they grow. 
On half of our sod peach orchard we 
plowed and planted corn. The other half 
was left in sod, with the grass cut and 
left on the ground. We cultivated 
enough to help the corn, but not as 
much as many peach growers advise. As 
a result the cultivated part has a little 
better colored foliage and I think a little 
more wood growth. The fruit also will 
average a little larger, while that on the 
sod has a higher color. Our peach crop 
will be short this year. The drought will 
cut off much of it—in some cases the 
peaches literally dry up on the trees. As 
usual Carman gives us our best crop. 
This peach is condemned by many grow¬ 
ers because it is a cling, and because it 
rots badly. It has never troubled us 
seriously from rotting, and when fully 
ripe separates from the pit very well. 
We think so highly of it that we expect 
to take this variety for our little nursery 
business. Our plan is to handle one 
variety each of strawberry, peach and 
apple, so there can be no chance for a 
mix up. We are planning for Marshall, 
Carman and McIntosh Red as good ones. 
In spite of this fearful drought the hill 
strawberries have made about four 
inches growth since we cut them off. 
Where they get the moisture is more 
than I can tell, but they certainly do get 
it somewhere. These big plants have 
deep roots. I have looked at some ber¬ 
ries in matted rows in nearby fields, and 
they are sad-looking things. Some were 
not even clipped off, and they are rusted 
as an old boiler. . . . Our garden is 
nearer a failure than ever before. At 
present we can pick snap beans, potatoes, 
beets, cabbage, cucumbers, hot peppers, 
turnips and a few tomatoes, onions and 
sweet corn, but they are all dry and in¬ 
ferior. The soil is baked hard and it is 
impossible to get small things started. 
Yellow turnips seeded two weeks ago are 
not yet out of the ground. And so I 
might go on and write the record of dis¬ 
aster, but “what’s the use?” On the 
whole we shall have a fair average year. 
The hay and rye beat the record, the 
cabbage and potatoes are above the aver¬ 
age, the strawberry plant trade is fair, 
and our young orchards have made far 
more growth than last year. As the chief 
object of our work and care is to pro¬ 
duce an apple orchard, we ought to be 
satisfied—and we are. The effect of the 
drought upon humans makes a curious 
study. The sun can make the peach tree 
and the corn “dry up,” but I do not find 
this effect in some of the good ladies who 
preside over the kitchens. The men 
folks are very likely to have their varied 
and numerous failings clearly presented 
to them while this dry weather lasts. A 
man of discretion should remember this, 
and approach hot weather subjects with 
some diplomacy. I came home the other 
night and found the yard a waving for¬ 
est of white clothes. There was a wash 
woman’s strike or some “walk-out” or 
other, and here was evidence of a decla¬ 
ration of independence. I expected to 
find a very tired woman, and hastily ran 
over the things I had omitted to do, so 
as to be prepared with excuses. To my 
surprise our women folks were all smiles 
and praise. Not for me, unhappily, but 
for the washing machine. That faithful 
member of the family beats me. Mother 
told with great satisfaction how she 
soaked the clothes over night with a lit¬ 
tle washing powder in the water. In the 
morning these clothes were touched up 
with naphtha soap and then with a child 
on the handle that machine took out the 
dirt without any backache or tearing a 
shred. Surely a # good washing machine 
is superior to an average husband in a 
dry time. 
Abater - Works. — But the husband 
ought to supply water for the house. It 
will take all the joy out of the washing 
machine if the woman has to carry the 
water and then try to heat it with green 
wood. Our water system has worked 
quite well. The deep well is between 
the house and barn, with a windmill over 
it. There is a large wooden stave tank 
at the barn and a smaller tank at the 
top of the bouse. The pipes are arranged 
so that we can pump direct to either 
tank, or let water run from the large 
barn tank to the house as desired. The 
barn tank being higher than the house 
tank we can use the former for storing 
water. When the wind is light or un¬ 
even, we pump direct to the house, so 
as to keep the house tank full. This 
tank supplies bathroom, kitchen and 
house heater. 
The outfit ran well for 10 years, and 
then the barn tank began to leak, ap¬ 
parently at the seams. The best advice 
we could get was to let the water out, 
clean the tank and let it dry. Then 
pound down the hoops as we could and 
cover the outside with two good coats of 
metallic paint, which I understand is 
iron and oil. This seemed on the whole 
better than smearing the inside of the 
tank with pitch or tar. This painting 
has been done, and we shall let the 
water in and see what happens. I do 
not like a tank in the barn, and my plan 
now is to build a concrete tank some¬ 
what like a silo on a high point of ground 
and pipe the water where I want it. In 
this case I shall want a small gasoline 
pumping outfit to help the windmill. 
You are likely to have more trouble 
with the other end of the system—the 
drainage. We dug a cesspool—a large 
bottle-shaped hole with stones at the 
sides laid up without mortar. The theory 
was that the liquids would soak out 
through the stones and leach off into the 
soil. They did so for a while, but the 
grease from the kitchen sink seems to 
have filled in the chinks with a smear 
which holds the water. There is no 
drainage from the cesspool, and we were 
obliged to pump out the contents every 
month or six weeks. 1 finally bought a 
piece of land across the road. This is a 
hillside sloping abruptly to the east. We 
dug a ditch down hill and put in stones 
like a stone drain, and then connected 
it with the cesspool by running a pipe 
under the road. This works well. The 
liquids run away and spread out through 
the stones under ground, and the solids 
can be taken out once or twice a year. 
A water supply' in country houses is a 
great convenience, but the cesspool will 
become a nuisance unless it is well 
planned. If I were doing it again I 
would run a number of ditches off away 
from the cesspool and fill with stones. 
These would carry off the liquids with¬ 
out trouble. H. w. c 
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OR COAT OF ARMS 
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DAIRY DEFT. Earlville, N. Y. 
m 
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NEW YORK STATE FAIR 
SYRACUSE, SEPTEMBER 12TH TO 17TH 
Agricultural and Industrial 
Exposition 
Educational Features in all 
Departments 
* 
Instructive and Entertaining 
Live Stock Exhibit to Excel Previous Years 
The exhibit of Farm, Breeding and Draft Horses seen in greater numbers than ever, 
will be one of the greatest in the history of the fair. DAIRY PRODUCTS. The new features added 
Noted herds have been entered in the Cattle this year have proven to be popular and an unusual 
classes, insuring a large exhibit in the various large entry has been made in each section, 
classes. The Fruit, Farm Produce, Flower and Domestic 
Agricultural Machinery and Labor Saving I>e- Departments promise to excel previous exhibitions, 
vices for use on the farm and in the home will be Enteries in these departments close September 3d. 
Monday', Sept. 12th Tuesday, Sept. 1.3th Wednesday, Sept. 11th 
PRESIDENT’S DAY EMPIRE STATE DAY GRANGE DAY 
Thursday, Sept. 15th Friday, Sept. lGtli Saturday, Sept. 17th 
MILITARY DAY PRIZE WINNERS DAY AUTOMOBILE DAY 
Band Concerts each day by Arthur Pryor’s Famous Concert Band of 40 Artists. 
Grand Circuit Races. Great Open-Air Horse Show. Glenn Curtiss Aeroplane will 
make daily flights. Automobile Races Saturday. The Greatest Drivers and Fastest 
Machines are to compete. 
SEINm FOR. PRIZE LIST 
NEW YORK STATE FAIR COMMISSION, SYRACUSE, NEW YORK 
