812 
THE R URAL NEW-YORKER 
June 13, 
FARMERS’ CLUB 
[Every query must be accompanied by the 
name and address of the writer to insure 
attention. Before asking a question, pleaso see 
whether it is not answered in our advertising 
columns. Ask only a "ew questions at one time. 
Put ouestions on a separate piece of paper.' 
PRINCIPLES OF SALESMANSHIP. 
<£T BELIEVE a neat well-painted 
A wagon is an essential to success in 
huckstering, as a neat well-arranged store 
front is needed by the grocer to command 
trade,” is the opinion of Jay Bates of 
Ashtabula County, Ohio. ‘‘If one is go¬ 
ing in the business, he should see that his 
stock is clean, well arranged and is free 
from defects or injury,” declares Mr. 
Bates. “The young man who engages in 
the business not only should possess a 
neat-looking wagon and team but should 
dress well himself. The clerk in the city 
grocery, should he be poorly dressed and 
should he be unkempt and uncleanly 
about his appearance would lose business 
for his store, and the huckster who goes 
about in his gardening garments would 
soon gravitate toward a low-class trade, 
and this would finally fizzle out. It is 
a principle of salesmanship that good 
appearance paves the way for good sales, 
will keep old customers and add new 
ones. I believe in wholesaling as much 
as possible. I have the town divided, 
and on one side of a certain railroad I 
often does the same thing. Such mate¬ 
rials as muriate of potash, kainit. nitrate 
of soda, calcium nitrate, etc., absorb 
water, and mixtures in which they occur 
are liable to harden upon standing for a 
few weeks. Fertilizer companies pre¬ 
vent this by properly combining water¬ 
absorbing materials with those that do 
not, but often they use some inert mate¬ 
rials that will hold water and prevent 
caking. For this purpose there is per¬ 
haps nothing better than fine dry muck 
or peat. For the farmer there is perhaps 
nothing better than gypsum, fine dry 
sand, dry coal ashes, cinders, dry 
sawdust and even fine dry earth. Lime 
or wood ashes should never be used un¬ 
less the farmer is sure he knows what he 
is doing. When a mixture contains con¬ 
siderable quantities of bone meal or cot¬ 
tonseed meal, no filler or drier will be 
needed. 
Why Not Cover Crops? 
Enclosed is a Hairy vetch plant which 
we grew for the first time on our farm 
last Winter, along with clover, rye and 
turnips. The plant sent is comparatively 
small, but shows a larger nodule than 
most of them. Some of the plants are 
above the knees at this date (May 10) 
and all are well filled with nodules. So 
far as we know, vetch has never been 
grown on this place before, neither has 
Crimson clover. The ground has not 
been inoculated; still a two-horse plow 
will not cover it without a chain. I will 
MAKE THE HUCKSTER’S WAGON NEAT. 
wholesale, and on the other side, such 
goods as I may have left I retail. In this 
way I do not compete with the dealers 
who buy from me. It is as unethical for 
the huckster to sell in territory where he 
wholesales, as it is for a wholesale house 
to retail in territory in which it supplies 
local dealers.” Walter jack. 
Ohio. 
Cement Wall. 
How much gravel should be mixed with 
a bag of cement for a cellar wall, to fill 
the form with large rocks? How thick 
should the wall be to support a cottage 
on rocky soil? A. h. d. 
Gray, Me. 
A good proportion for such a wall is 
one part of cement, 2*4 parts of sand and 
five parts of gravel or broken stone, these 
proportions being by measurement, or 
bulk. Sometimes bank gravel may be 
had, which contains sufficient sand to 
make it unnecessary to add this as a 
separate ingredient; in that case, use one 
part of cement to five of the natural sand- 
gravel mixture. Ten inches is a standard 
thickness for cellar walls, but eight inch¬ 
es would be ample in rocky soil and for 
a medium-sized house. By permitting the 
use of larger stones as filling, the wider 
wall might be more satisfactory than the 
narrower one. Such a wall should rest 
upon a footing course, or a layer of con¬ 
crete six to eight inches thick and ex¬ 
tending the same distance from the wall 
upon either side. m. b. d. 
Filler for Homemade Fertilizer. 
What can I use as a filler to keep 
home-mixed fertilizer from absorbing 
moisture and getting lumpy? Salts like 
nitrate of soda, ammonia sulphate and 
muriate of potash seem to make mixture 
this way. Would land plaster help? 
What do fertilizer companies use as a 
filler? j. n. 
Glenarm, Md. 
The experience of J. H. in having his 
fertilizer lump and harden after mixing 
is one of the disadvantages of home¬ 
mixing of fertilizer when only high-grade 
materials are used. However, this trou¬ 
ble . is not confined alone to the home- 
mixed fertilizer—that sold on the market 
back you in your statement on page 60S, 
as I believe mine will equal it. 
May's Landing. N. J. T. w. K. 
This vetch measures IS inches from the 
ground to the tip. It was a vigorous 
plant, and the roots were well covered 
with nodules. Such a crop as this would 
without question take the place of five 
tons of stable manure, and in connection 
with the other crops will easily cover the 
Hope Farm man’s claim of giving the 
value of 10 tons of good farm manure. 
There is no question about the value of 
such a crop when plowed under. It 
grows right on the spot, the roots work 
all through the ground, it adds no weed 
seeds to the soil, does not require hauling 
or spreading, enables a farmer to plow 
the ground earlier than he otherwise 
could, and gives him encouragement in 
half a dozen other ways. Thus it is 
strange that our Eastern farmers will 
ever permit a corn field, or a potato field, 
to remain bare through the Winter. The 
loss from leaching is so evident, and the 
gain from putting under the cover crop 
is so easy to see. that it seems astonish¬ 
ing that farmers will not adopt this sim¬ 
ple plan of letting nature play the part 
of manure spreader and manure giver. 
A Farm in Vermont. 
The R. N.-Y. has an article, on page 
305, headed as above. Vermont is over 
one-half mountain; along the base of 
these high mountains run foot hills at an 
elevation of 500 to 1,000 feet. On those 
foot hills is good land for potatoes and 
grass, oats, buckwheat and clover, but 
above 500 feet elevation corn seldom gets 
ripe. The evergreen timber line is about 
1,000 feet elevation, and above that cul¬ 
tivation stops because of the short Sum¬ 
mer and the early and late frosts. Past¬ 
ures run up to 2,000 feet elevation and 
are good perpetual pasture. 
The valleys are about 100 to 200 feet 
elevation, and are very rich, warmer and 
productive, but narrow, and the land is 
worth $100 an acre, while the foot hills 
and mountain sides, when the timber is 
gone, are worth scarce $5 an acre. 
There are thousands of farms for sale 
for less than the house and barn are 
worth. These farms are cold sour land, 
all worn out and abandoned. Vermont 
is the best watered State—cool springs, 
mostly soft water, with pure air and scen¬ 
ery unsurpassed. But you should see a 
farm in Summer, when the crops are 
growing to see what it is. Apple or¬ 
chards on our mountain sides are not a 
success. A. L. B. 
So. Dorset. Vt. 
May 30. Our nearest markets are 
Wilkes Barre and Scranton; following 
prices are what we farmers receive: But¬ 
ter 35 at customers. Potatoes S5 to $1; 
apples 50 to $1.25: eggs 25 in Summer. 
40 in Winter. Hay $15. Cattle $40 to 
$75. Chickens 14. live weight. Veal 
calves 8% to 0; pork 9; horses $225 to 
$250, heavy draft horses. A. h. r. 
Vernon, Pa. 
May 29. Apples blooming generally 
full, although the crop was large in this 
section .last year. Pears are the same or 
more so. Peaches, in this immediate 
vicinity generally show a good set. and 
hardly any blossoms seem to drop. Cur¬ 
rants are looking very well. The recent 
very warm weather has broken the price I 
of asparagus, which has kept up remark¬ 
ably well. 12 cents being low, but it is 
now two or three cents below that. Cut¬ 
worms appear to be less troublesome 
than during the last three or four years. 
West Barrington, It. I. f. t. ,j. 
May 23. Secretary Whately of the 
Virginia State Horticultural Society re¬ 
ports that the general prospect is for a 
large apple crop in Virginia. A heavy 
drop of some varieties is reported as now 
in progress in some localities heard from, 
and this may quite possibly be general. 
However, many reports say trees are so 
heavily loaded that thinning will be ne¬ 
cessary unless a considerable number 
drop off. Condition of crop is generally 
good. Twig blight is reported from some 
districts, especially on Pippin and York 
Imperial trees. The export season is 
now just over. In the season 1913-14 
there were 1,764,163 barrels exported, 
against 2,764.409 barrels in 1911-12. and 
2.959,633 barrels in 1912-13. 
May 16. Land is selling from $125 to 
$200 an acre; there was a small place j 
sold for $250 per acre. Horses $125 to 
$200 apiece. I saw a team of brood 
mares sold at auction for $650. Beef 
cattle $6.25 to $6.75 per cwt. Calves 
714 cents per pound ; milch cows $50 to 
$80. Cream around 26 cents per pound; 
dairy butter 23; eggs 17. Old hens about 
12 cents a pound; hogs $7.25 to $7.75 | 
per cwt. Apple trees did not bloom very 
full around here; cherries and plums 
bloomed very full. Strawberries shipped 
in selling at 15 cents per box. Hay $10 
per ton. Corn 60 to 05 cents per bushel. 
Oats 35 to 40; potatoes, old. at $1.20. 
The corn is not all planted as yet; it 
has been cold and wet here. c. G. h. 
Anamosa, Iowa. 
COMING FARMERS’ MEETINGS. 
Pennsylvania State Horticultural As¬ 
sociation. Summer meeting. State Col- , 
lege. Pa., June 17-1S. 
Massachusetts State Board of Agri¬ 
culture. Annual Summer Field Meeting. 
Hood Farm, Lowell Mass., June 24. 
American Association of Nurserymen. 
Cleveland. Ohio. June 24-20. 
Georgia State Horticultural Society, 
Summer meeting. Griffin. Ga.. August 
5-6. 
Annual Poultrymen’s convention, Massa¬ 
chusetts Agricultural College. Amherst, 
July 22-24. 
National Dairy Show. Chicago, Ill., 
October 22-31. The following meetings 
and conventions will be held in connec¬ 
tion with the show: American Associa¬ 
tion Creamery Butter Manufacturers, 
Oct. 26. IIoistein-Friesian Association 
of America, Oct. 26. International Milk 
Dealers’ Association. Oct. 26 and 27. 
Conference, Secretaries of State Dairy¬ 
men’s Associations, Oct. 27. Official 
Dairy Instructors’ Association. Oct. 27. ! 
National Dairy Union, Oct. 28. Ameri¬ 
can Dairy Farmers’ Association. Oct. 28. 
Council of the National Dairy Show, Oct. 
28. National Association of Creamery , 
Managers and Owners. Oct. 28. Ameri¬ 
can Jersey Cattle Club. Oct. 28. Na¬ 
tional Association of Ice Cream Manufac¬ 
turers. Oct. 28, 29 and 30. International 
Association of Dairy and Milk Inspec¬ 
tors. Oct. 29. American Guernsey Cat¬ 
tle Club, Oct. 29. Congress of Market¬ 
ing. Oct. 29. Milk Producers’ Associa¬ 
tion. Oct. 30. 
Annual show of the Paterson. N. .T.. 
Poultry. Pigeon and Pet Stock Associa¬ 
tion. November 18-21. 
Indiana Apple Show. Tomlinson Hall, 
Indianapolis, Ind., November 18-24. 
“I SEE you have announced me as the 
world-renowned orator.” said the gifted 
speaker. “Yes,” replied the chairman. 
“We had to do something to make you 
seem important. Nobody around here 
ever heard of you.”—Washington Star. 
“For the Land’s Sake, use Bowker’s 
Fertilizers; they enrich the earth and 
those who till it.”— Adv. 
Ferguson’s 
NITROGEN BACTERIA 
has produced wonderful results in strengthening alfalfa 
crops. It in no experiment hilt a proved success, as 
we can show you by the testimony of thousands of 
users. Plants must have Nitrogen. There ih lota of It 
in the air, hut too little in most soils. Ferguson’s 
Bacteria gather Nitrogen Iroin the air and si ore it on 
the roots of the plants. They store up such a quantity 
that the plants need only a part ofit for food, and the 
Balance Is left in the soil to enrich it. 
Alfalfa is not the only thing that should l*e inocu¬ 
lated with Ferguson’s Bacteria. Used for Peas, Beans, 
Clover, Vetch, any legume, the results are wonderful 
iu almost every case. The same bottle contains all the 
varieties ol Bacteria necessary for the inoculation of 
any legume. 
Saves the cost of fertilizers ; Does better work 
Quarter-acre quantity, f»0«* : 1 acre, $2; 5 acres, $9. 
Lot ns explain why you need Nitrogen Bacteria ami why 
Ferguson’s is best. Write for special booklet N—five. 
HOMEWOOD NITROGEN CO., 51 Liberty Street, New York City 
We want aoents—a very liberal offer 
DRY YOUR FRUIT 
and Vegetables on the “Granger” Fruit and 
Vegetable K\apomtor. ( Reaper than canning— 
No loss—Dries fruit in two hours. Cost. $0.00, $fi.00 
and $8.t0. Send for catalogue. EASTERN MFG. 
COMPANY, 259 So. 4lh Street, Phila. Pa. 
CIDER MAKING 
Can be made profitable it the right kind of machinery 
is used. WE MAKE THE EIGHT KIND. 
Send lor catalogue. Established 1872. 
BOOMER & BOSCHERT PRESS CO. 
312 West Water Street, Syracuse, N. Y. 
BINDER TWINE 
sV.r ll>. Want farmer agents. 
Ciivular and sample free. 
Tlieo. Hurt & Suns, Dlelrose.Obiti 
VEGETABLE PLANTS 
CELERY. CABBAGE, CAULIFLOWER, TOMATO, PEPPER. EGG 
PLANTS. Special Prices on Large Lots. Catalogue 
Free. HARRY L. SQIIRI'.S, Iicmscnburg, N. Y. 
SWEET CLOVER SEED JS 
and circular how to 
grow it, sent on request. E. Barton, Box 29, Falmouth, Ky 
PI A WTC— thousands and thousands 
* ^ of Tomato Plants fa) $1 per 
1,000. 10,000 or more, 90c. per 1,000. Also Cabbage, 
Flat Dutch Snrehead, Danish Ballbead, $1 per 1,000; 
10,000 or more, 90e. per 1000. Celery, very best—Gold 
en self-blanching. Also White Plnme. We can fill 
yonr orders quick. ROMANCE SICKI) AND 
PLANT FA KM. Caleb Boggs & Son, Cheswold, Delaware 
PahhaO’Q Planio - ‘All varieties, 1,000. $!; 10,000,$8.50; 
Oduua&c I 1 ail 10 (ino. 30e. ; 500. SI. postpaid ) Plant 
catalog free. GLICK'S PLANT FARMS, Smoketown, Pa 
Tomato, Cabbage, Pepper & Celery Plants 
Good quality at lowest prices. C. E. FIELD, Sewell, N. J. 
S WEET POTATO, TOMATO, CELERY, EGG. PEPPER and 
CABBAGE PLANTS List Free. C. BECKER, Vineland, N.J. 
STRAWBERRY PLANTS 
For July, August, September Planting, Runner and Pot- 
Grown. Catalog Free. Harry L. Squires, Remsenburg, N.Y. 
CRIMSON CLOVER 
The great soil improver and valuable forearly 
green food, grazing and hay crop. Special 
circular free, also sample and price of seed 
sent on request. 
Alfalfa 
High-grade American grown seed. Write for 
sample and price of seed also a copy of our 
Alfalfa Leaflet, free. If in need of Farm Seeds 
of any kind, please write to us for prices. 
HENRY A. DREER 
- PHILADELPHIA, PA. - 
FRUIT 
AND VEGETABLE 
BASKETS 
or ALL DESCRIPTIONS 
Writo for free catalogue and price list. Buy direct 
from the Manufacturer and save money. 
WEBSTER BASKET CO. 
Box 14 ... Webster. Monroe Co.. N. Y. 
The BALL Lightning 
CELERY BLEACHER 
Most perfect method ever invented. No 
banking' with soil. Cheaper than boards? 
or strips of rooting paper. Bleaches quicker 
and makes a more beautiful product. Big 
money and labor saver for the market 
grower. Handy, neat and equally good for 
the private gardener. 
Write for Free sample of‘Bleacher and Cir¬ 
cular describing a wonderful little device 
that enables a boy to put on 5,000 of these 
bleaching tubes a day. It means dollars to 
every celei*y grower. 
FRANCIS BALL M’F’G CO. 
Dept. K Glenside, Montgomery Co., Pa. 
