406 
THE IN UK AL N1CW-VORKER 
March 13, 
Hope Farm Notes 
I HAVE two peach orchards, planted 
1911 and 1912. They have not yet 
borne fruit. The trees are planted 
ISxlS feet and inter-cropped with corn, 
squashes, root crops, etc., leaving space 
of about eight feet for harrowing about 
trees. In this space, August 1, I sowed 
peas and barley for cover crop. After 
roots, squashes, etc., are off I plant Win¬ 
ter rye. I have fertilized fairly liber¬ 
ally with chemicals <nitrogen in three 
forms) more particularly for the crops 
than trees. The trees have made rapid 
growth. I fear this last season too much 
wood growth. What do you think of 
this practice? If wise I want to con¬ 
tinue inter-cropping, but do first of all 
what is best for the trees. The fruit 
buds are plentiful and so far uninjured. 
I intend thinning the fruit of course but 
to what extent would you advise, this 
being the first bearing season? 
Massachusetts. r. x. c. b. 
Every problem of this sort is a per¬ 
sonal one an outsider can give only a 
guess or estimate. How much do you 
need the crops grown between the trees? 
Is the orchard on hilly or on strong, 
level ground? Is there a good local mar¬ 
ket for peaches? Our own plan has been 
to stop growing the “inter-crops” when 
the peach trees come well in bearing. 
We plant a peach orchard for the peach¬ 
es. The other crops are merely to help 
pay the bills until the peach trees come 
on. Tf we owned this orchard, therefore, 
we should wait until the danger from late 
frost is over. If the buds then gave evi¬ 
dence of a crop, we should not plant any 
other crop. Feed moderately, cultivate 
until late .Tune and then sow a cover 
crop or let the weeds grow for the rest 
of the season. We should thin the peach¬ 
es in June and give the entire field to 
this crop. If the buds or most of them 
are killed we should crop with corn and 
squash once more. It is therefore a per¬ 
sonal problem. The general rule is to 
stop inter-cropping when the trees are 
ready to produce peaches There are ex¬ 
ceptions to the rule, but in most cases 
if we plant peach trees at all we should 
give them a full chance when they fruit. 
Ts it possible for a person to pick 25,- 
000 quarts of strawberries from one acre 
planted the way Mr. Ivevitt does, with 
good care? w. j. M. 
New York. 
This plan means setting the plants in 
beds one foot apart each way. With a 
little extra space for alleys this will 
mean about 40,000 plants to the acre. 
While some of the plants if well handled 
will give one quart each they will not 
all do so. One foot apart is too close. 
The berries will not form properly and 
in a wet season there is great damage 
from rot. We once set Marshall plants 
one foot by 15 inches and picked at the 
rate of about 9,000 quarts per acre. 
When you read this be sure and get these 
four words in. That quartette of short 
words has made many a back-to-the- 
lander give up his hard-earned coin. I 
hear about these big yields, but I know 
that when any man picks 12,000 quarts 
of berries from a measured acre he has 
the one time in 100 when soil, planting, 
varieties, season and man are all at their 
best. There are some cases where over¬ 
head irrigation will work wonders, but 
I speak of such culture as most of us can 
give. If I get 5,000 quarts of Marshalls 
to the acre I am very well pleased. It 
is said that “all things are possible,” and 
some one may have performed this 25.- 
000-quart feat. I never did, and I would 
travel some distance to see it done. 
What about the agricultural college 
in relation to residents of the State 
actually engaged in farming operations? 
T understand of course, that the primary 
“object” is the education of young men 
for agricultural pursuits. But beyond 
this, has the college any obligation to 
furnish to farmers information and ad¬ 
vice on problems that confront them; or 
is such information, etc., given only as a 
matter of courtesy, and in the discretion 
of the officers of the institution? In other 
words, if I write the college requesting 
advice or information along certain lines, 
am I asking for something due me. or 
am I asking a favor? B. D. 
New York. 
I do not understand that the college or 
the experiment station is under any legal 
obligation to answer questions. It is, 
however, under moral obligations to do 
so if it can, for it is a State and na¬ 
tional institution combined—supported 
by the people. I think the college author¬ 
ities will be willing to help in all reason¬ 
able matters. If they have ever refused 
to answer fair questions I should like to 
know particulars about the cases. I can 
imagine farmers asking a service of the . 
college or the station which could not be j 
easily performed, though it might seem 
easy and reasonable to the man asking 
the question. Probably most of our read¬ 
ers will testify that they have received 
fair and courteous treatment from the col¬ 
leges. I hardly think it worth while to 
demand such service. It could be ob¬ 
tained elsewhere. I should want to know 
what the desired information was before 
judging. At any rate both the college 
and the station will do well to have a 
good “correspondent” on its staff—one 
who can write a pleasant and helpful 
letter which will carry conviction and 
not make people "tired.” 
History Of Farming. —As you know. 
T have spoken several times of the heed 
of a. strong history of American farming. 
Several people have written to say that 
they think of trying it. They want to 
know about what it ought to be. The 
very question shows that they do not 
appreciate the size of the job. No one 
should take this work up who is not a 
natural historian. He should give his en¬ 
tire time for at least five years to read¬ 
ing and studying every record of Amer¬ 
ican farming from the accounts of the 
earliest settlers to the latest government 
reports. It would be the slow, laborious 
method employed by Francis Parkman 
in his history of the early French set¬ 
tlements or by Prescott in preparing his 
wonderful histories of Mexico and Peru. 
This is not a book to be dashed off in a 
few months—giving merely personal ex¬ 
perience or impressions—but a full study 
of a great development. There are parts 
of McMaster’s History of the People of 
the United States which would serve as 
a model, and it should be as interesting 
as Watson’s “Story of France.” No job 
for the amateur here—but a life work 
for some big mind who wants to leave 
an imperishable monument. 
Why Sucn A History? —Because we 
have come to a time when American 
farming needs it. History and poetry do 
not appeal to many practical and suc¬ 
cessful men. Yet they could not have 
won all their success if some one had not 
appealed to the imagination of the plain 
people who made their success possible. 
Many a politician will sneer at histories ; 
and poetry, yet he holds the voters of his 
party together by an appeal to “national 
spirit” or patriotism—which is poetry 
and history (often prejudiced) combined. 
One trouble with farmers is that they do 
not fully understand their own story. It i 
is the most wonderful story of human en¬ 
deavor—how the pioneers who were the 
freest men on earth, have through their 
descendants slowly given tip most of their 
rights into the hands of privileged class¬ 
es and emptied their own pockets that 
their rulers might grow rich and power¬ 
ful. Now what I want some great man 
to prepare is a calm, true story of just 
how it has all happened. We have had 
attempts at this. Good men, demagogues, 
narrow minds, politicians, rich men and 
others have had a chance at it, but what 
we now need is a strong story like 
Knight’s “History of the English Peo¬ 
ple.” or dozens of others I could name, 
getting right down to the historical events 
which have produced the modern Ameri¬ 
can farmer. T find that many people 
have pet schemes for helping the farmer. 
Most of them seem to call for some big 
appropriation. I want this great history j 
so that we may know clearly and without j 
prejudice what has really happened to j 
us in the past and what we should have ; 
done to stop it. 
Home Notes. —All well with the scar¬ 
let fever patients. They are still under 1 
siege and as good-natured as imprisoned 
children can be. There has been no 
spread of the disease thus far.A 
cold blast from the North struck us the 
latter part of February, and the peach 
buds concluded not to wake up after all. 
They are all right thus far and 1 hope the 
cold weather will continue until Spring 
sees fit to come for good. Pruning goes 
on steadily. It looks like a great fruit 
year with us if we judge by the buds. 
We are cutting out the peach trees which 
we planted originally as “fillers” in an 
apple orchard. They 'should have come 
out last year. No one likes to take out 
a healthy “filler” even when it is evi- j 
dent that the permanent trees are too 
close. ~ ' * rr. V. o. 
Millions of Bushels 
Not Millions of Acres 
J'WENTY million men are mobilized in Europe. 
I hey have come in a large proportion from the 
farms of the warring nations. They have ceased to be 
producers, but are consumers and destroyers of food. 
Yet the world must be fed, and the law of supply and 
demand is unchangeable. 
It is your privilege to help America feed the 
world. Do not however, attempt more than you can 
carry through successfully. Millions of bushels not 
millions of acres should be your slogan. 
The editor of one of our leading farm papers 
writes: “It seems to me that the eastern farmers’ sal¬ 
vation is to buy plant food and grow Corn, Wheat, 
Oats, Barley and Buckwheat.” The Breeders’ Gazette 
says editorially: “The place of good commercial 
fertilizers as an efficient aid to increased production 
... is too firmly established to admit of discussion. . . . 
There are times when quick action is a straight road 
to profits.” Wise farmers buy 
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“Missing hills” kill profits. Grade your seed Com evenly to 
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the acre of E. Frank Coe’s Corn Fertilizers, insuring a sound 
crop. Do not waste time and labor in growing soft com. 
Top dress your Wheat fields with 200 to 500 lbs. to the acre 
of E. Frank Coe Fertilizers; then roll and follow your roller 
with a light harrow; a “weeder” is best. Run it lengthwise of 
the rows. 
Run your seed Oats through a fanning mill, and get rid 
of light Oats and weed seed. Test your seed Oats for germin¬ 
ation. and give them the “formalin treatment.” Provide 400 
to GOO lbs. of E. Frank Coe Fertilizers for each acre. 
Top dress your Hay fields with 300 to GOO lbs. to the acre 
of E. Frank Coe’s Grass Top Dressing as soon as the frost is 
well out of the ground. Three tons of hay require no more 
labor for mowing and raking than one ton. 
Select uniform seed Potatoes of medium size, free from 
scab; give them the “formalin treatment,” and dust with 
Sulphur and Plaster when cutting. Space your rows 32 inches 
apart and drop seed pieces 9 to 10 inches apart in the row. 
Use from 10o0 to 2000 lbs. of E. Frank Coe Potato Fertilizers 
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although prices may be low just now. 
Millions of Bushels Mean Millions of Profits 
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THE C0E=M0RTIMER COMPANY 
51 Chambers Street - New York City 
