THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
March 21, 
The Home Acre. 
Cucumbers on New Land. 
Can I grow cucumbers profitably, 
other conditions being favorable, on 
ground just cleared of oaks, chestnuts, 
locusts and wild cherries, after giving a 
heavy coat of lime and fertilizing liberally V 
New Monmouth, N. J. s. E. G. 
I have seen good crops of cucumbers 
grown on new land, and have also seen 
some complete failures. The proposition 
is a game of chance, and whatever suc¬ 
cess is attained will depend upon how 
well the land is prepared for the crop, 
and the rainfall during the growing sea¬ 
son. New land (unless naturally moist) 
never retains the moisture as well as it 
will after it has been farmed a couple of 
yeai*s. I would not advise you to put 
too much dependence on this land as a 
cucumber producer. I believe you will 
be better off financially if you crop it to 
corn this year. It will then be in a fair 
condition for cucumbers the following 
year. If you decide to risk cropping this 
land to cucumbers this year, you should 
break it up as deeply as possible, after 
which apply one-half ton of air-slaked 
lime and harrow in, and if available, 
use two shovelfuls of well-rotted stable 
manure to each hill, incorporating it well 
with this soil, which may be supple¬ 
mented with benefit, by a small handful 
of pure bone meal to each hill, giving good 
clean cultivation. If the season should 
prove favorable it is possible the under¬ 
taking may return you a profit. K. 
Keeping Accounts. 
How many of us are making the same 
mistakes year after year, putting the 
corn in too early, doing something too 
late, just because we forgot when that 
same thing was done last year with the 
same poor results. Every farmer, gar¬ 
dener, florist or grower of plants for 
house and yard should keep a more or 
less detailed account of work done. Each 
row of plants, box of seeds, flower pot, 
etc., should bear a label. On the label 
should be, first, the name of plant. It 
is educational if both the common and 
botanical name are put down, thus, “Cas¬ 
tor bean, Ricinus.” Also put on the la¬ 
bel the date of seed planting, and in 
case of transplanted things, the date of 
putting in permanent quarters. Later, 
the date of first fruit, harvesting, etc., 
can be added. These labels at the close 
of the season should be gathered and 
packed away, or the records thereon 
copied into a book. The coming Spring 
these records should be all read over 
when the planting is to be again taken 
up and the lessons shown should be 
heeded. 
The labels will show some interesting 
facts. They will set the times for plant¬ 
ing such vegetables as are to be used in 
succession, or if you planted at the 
wrong times will indicate that fact and 
enable you to make due correction of 
planting time. They will show how long 
it took the seedling tomatoes to grow 
from seed to setting, and thereby indi¬ 
cate when to get cold frames and hot 
beds ready. Many other valuable con¬ 
clusions will suggest themselves from 
these records. 
The above is about the simplest means 
of keeping track of things, but if you 
want to go into details, keeping account 
of soil, weather conditions, cultivation, 
insect pests, as well as the facts noted in 
the first method, a card index or book re¬ 
cord can be kept. Use the labels as be¬ 
fore, but all that need be put on them 
is the name and a number. Carry the 
same number in your book or on the 
cards and you can make as many entries 
as you desire. A fact not found in seed 
catalogues is the length of the germina¬ 
tion periods of various seeds. These 
periods for a given kind of seed will 
vary from four to 28 days according to 
moisture and temperature conditions, but 
you can determine these periods for 
yourself. For instance, when planting 
indoors a seed you know will come up in 
four days, you do not need to worry 
about watering until growth commences, 
but if you happen to be planting parsley 
it is well to know that the seed should 
be soaked some hours before sowing, and 
that it takes about two weeks to come 
up. These facts can all be ascertained 
by dating the labels with time of sowing 
and time of coming up. Then the fol¬ 
lowing year this information will result 
in more intelligent preparation of the 
seed bed and care of it till plants ap¬ 
pear. 
The information of years of record¬ 
keeping is what will reduce your work 
to a system, make far better farming, 
better gardens, more beautiful home, save 
days and weeks of lost motion. Every 
business is now being or has been re¬ 
duced to system and haphazard methods 
have had to go. The written record of 
acts done is the key to system, and the 
arranging of these facts and records is 
the perfecting of the system. Just a 
word about labels. In the first method 
use a six-inch label, in the second a four. 
For indoor and cold frame work the 
labels may be used alone, but where used 
in the garden or field tie the label to a 
stout stick, driving the stick into the 
ground at the marking point, at an angle 
of 40 degrees, with the label on the un¬ 
der side. In this way storms will not 
affect the writing. p. l. w. 
Watering Fine Seeds. 
In starting early seeds, especially seeds 
that are very small, great care must be 
exercised in watering. There are several 
methods of keeping the earth in proper 
condition of moisture for good germina¬ 
tion. For seeds of quick germination, 
such as cabbage, cauliflower and Aster, 
a thorough watering of the seed box be¬ 
fore planting will generally bo sufficient. 
The seed should be planted across the 
box in rows about an inch apart so that 
after the plants appear watering can be 
done without knocking over or washing 
out the tiny plants. I)o this watering 
between the rows with a can having a 
nail hole at one side of the bottom; fill 
it with water and carry it back and 
forth between the rows across the box 
giving splendid results. 
For seeds requiring a longer period 
of time to germinate such as peppers, 
tomatoes, parsley, pansies, and nearly 
all perennial seeds, a different method 
must be used. Water thoroughly as in 
the first method, and plant in rows also, 
but the seed box should then be covered 
with a glass and placed in good heat and 
strong light, but during the brightest 
part of the day a single thickness of 
paper should be placed over the glass. 
When watering finally becomes necessary 
(as the soil must never be allowed to 
become thoroughly dry) a whisk broom 
dipped in lukewarm water and shaken 
over the surface will provide moisture 
without washing out the seed. In case 
of very fine seed, such as primrose. Lo¬ 
belia, Begonia, etc., the water should 
nearly all be shaken off the broom before 
using it on the box, which is done by 
drawing the hand across the bristles, 
causing a very fine spray to be thrown 
on the dirt. 
Still another method is to so construct 
the seed box that the bottom is quite 
full of holes, then by setting it in a 
larger vessel containing water, moisture 
can be applied from below. Care should 
be taken, however, that the holes in the 
bottom of the seed box are not large or 
the dirt will wash through, dropping the 
surface of the seed bed. This is prob¬ 
ably the best method of all, when right¬ 
ly used. I do not allow the water to 
come to the surface of the seed bed before 
taking out of the water in which it is 
standing. A plant label stuck in tin' side 
of the box is used as a gauge to show 
how high the water is in the box and 
when it is within a half inch of the 
surface of the seed box, take it out of 
the water as plenty of moisture will 
later come to th’ top. Permitting the 
water to come to the top before remov¬ 
ing from the vessel of water, is apt to 
make the soil soggy and cause seed to 
rot, or green mold to form on the sur¬ 
face. Still another method is the use 
of a good atomizer, which throws a fine, 
concentrated spray and will never wash 
out any seeds. p. l. w. 
Michigan. 
Harry: “I understand Gertrude Gad- 
alotte married a man who made a big 
fortune by a lucky speculation in soap. 
Grace: “Yes; and he disgraced her while 
they were on their honeymoon.” Harry: 
“How did he do it?” Grace: “Gertrude 
wanted the other passengers to think an 
ocean voyage was an old story to them, 
when her husband, the first crack out of 
the box, pointed to a row of life preserv¬ 
ers and asked the captain what was the 
idea of all the extra tires.”—Life. 
Are you the Best Farmer in your Community ? 
Alfalfa Plant on left Tnncnlaterl with Fercn- 
son'a Ifartcjia, on the ri.;ht not Inoculated. 
From Government Bulletin No. 159. 
Are yeu in touch with modern methods ol crop growing 
and way* and mean* of increasing the productive 
power of your soil ? 
FEITGrUSOKT’S 
NITROGEN 
B ACTE H X J\. 
will work for you ! These bacteria collect nitrogen from the air and 
by converting it into plant food, supply the plant with nutriment for a 
successful growth. Adapted for use on all legumes (Alfalfa, clover, 
peas, beans, cowpeas, vetch, etc. 
Ferguson’s Bacteria is a composite liquid culture easiest to apply. 
Made from the formula of Dr. Meade Ferguson, State Bacteriologist 
of Virginia—an assurance of its value. 
Order now for Spring seedings. $2 for one acre; $9 for five acres. 
SEND FOR SPECIAL BOOKLET 
Homewood Nitrogen Company 51 Liberty Street New York City 
“RAIN-TIGHT 
Rubber Roofing 
over your buildings is fj: 
equal to lifting a section of a 5E 
city street and using it for a 
roof—it is made of the same p 
Trinidad Lake Asphalt, the standard Asphalt of the world. It is as near indestruc- P 
~ tiblc and everlasting as any roof can be. 
Ej Remember the so-called “cheap roofings’’ that must be repaired and replaced p 
^ frequently are dear at any price. You will save money, trouble and eventually I; 
P expense by buying “Rain-Tight” at the start. 
H Our brand of “Perfect Roofing” is the same as “Rain-Tight” with mica flakes P 
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p lightning and insures against fire from sparks falling on the roof. 
|y Perfect Resin Sized Sheathing and Perfect Tarred Felt are Best for Sheathing Pnrpeses p 
If you need a new roof for any building, now or in the future, 
it will i>ay yon to send for samples and booklet — write, us today. 
p Maurice O’Meara Co., 448 Pearl Street, New York City §E 
TRY THIS EXCELSIOR AT OUR RISK 
We. want every reader of the Rural New-Yorker 
to know about the wonderful Excelsior engine. 
Any reliable fanner can take one of these engines 
on ids farm and sat isfy himself that it is the best 
engine he ever saw before he needs to pay a 
cent for it. We want you to set this engine 
at work on the hardest job you have to 
do. See the small amonut of gasoline it 
takes and how smoothly and easily it 
runs, no matter how hard you work it. 
You cannot afford to farm without the 
Excelsior engine, because it makes you 
money by saving money. Write us today. Tell 
us the size farm you have and get special pro¬ 
position from us on theengine that yon need to 
do your work. ])o not put it off. Write today. 
R. CONSOLIDATED GASOLINE ENGINE 
202 FULTON ST., 
NEW YORK CITY 
THE DRAWBAUGH 
HYDRAULIC RAM 
Pumps water without cost from 
spring or stream; simple, com¬ 
pact, reliable, inexpensive; will 
last a lifetime. 
Write for Illustrated Booklet 
Harrisburg Hydraulic Mchy.Co. 
39 North Third St., Harrisburg, Pa. 
Good CIDER 
that will make you big profits, is made 
with the Mount Gilead Cider and Grape 
Juice Pres*. Sizes 10 to 400 bar¬ 
rels daily. Hand or power. 
All power presses have stool 
bourns and sills. Wo mako 
cider evaporators, apple-but- 
torcookors. vinegar generators, 
ciilor and vinogar filters, etc. 
Fully guaranteed. Write for 
catalog. Wo can show you how 
$1200 a yoar can bo tnado iu 
the cider and vinegar btminoss. 
HYDRAULIC PRESS MFG. CO. 
137 Lincoln Ave., Mt. Gilead, Ohio. 
Or Room us L 39 Oortlandt 8t.. Now York, N. Y. 
When You Buy “Ball-Band” Rubber Footwear 
You Buy Dry, Comfortable Feet 
The cold, wet ground becomes like a carpet of wool 
and rubber to the man who wears “Bail-Band” Boots or 
Arctics. “Ball-Band’’ Footwear gives long wear and stands 
up under rough service. It is made for the man who wants 
the best rubber footwear he can get. Boots in knee, storm 
king, sporting and hip lengths. 
tMoe 
The cost of rubber footwear never worries the man who ia care¬ 
ful to get “ Ball-Band.” That Red Ball on the knee of your boot 
or the sole of your arctic means that the men who made it were 
building up to a standard, not down to a price. 
Over 45.000 dealers sell “Ball-Band.” A Red Ball in the window 
is the sign of a “Ball-Band” store. Look for it. Buy your rubber 
footwear where you find it. If your dealer can’t supply, write us. 
Writ a for Free Illustrated Booklet 
Mishawaka Woolen Mfg. Co., 333 Water Street, Mishawaka, fnd. 
“ The Bouse That Pays Millions for Quality" 
V-Tf TV«r 
Mloi 
IDT 
V 
When you write advertisers mention The R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a 
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