694 
fannors .should have a half-holiday Saturdays. 
"With oue or two exceptions I can't reinember a 
Saturday afternoon when I have not worked as hard 
as I have on any other afternoon. Before Roins fur¬ 
ther, I may say that, so far as I can determine, this 
is a dairy farm. We keep fouideen cows, around 
ten head of young stock, three or four hor.ses, pigs, 
chickens, and turkeys. 
TjONG days.—W ithout any break we have risen 
sometimes befoi’e five, sometimes shortly after, vary¬ 
ing with the season. Ever since that fateful first 
of April from •five in the morning until seven at night 
the days have Iteen well filled with farm work; only 
five nights in the year have 1 spent off the farm, 
'^riiere have never been more than two men, which 
includes myself, to do the Avork on the farm, even 
in the harvest Avhen aa’c also harvested the hay on an 
adjoining farm on shares. For two Aveeks at corn 
husking and ])otato digging time I ran the farm 
alone; that is, I did the chores. Avhich includes milk¬ 
ing those 14 coAvs alone and hired a man by the day 
so that by the time he .shoAved.up I had the chores 
done in the morning and Avas r(“ady to go to A'/ork 
Avith him, and then hu'. the pleasure of doing the 
Avork at night after he had left. So, as far as farm 
Avork goes. 1 know more about it than I did a year 
ago, and haven't killed myself yet, either. Admiring 
friends .say that I look better uoav tban I have in 
years, but then this remarkalile Winter (so delight¬ 
ful for the first Winter for a “back-to-the-lander”) 
has been so cold, Avith snoAV and crust so deep that 
very little Avoi-k could be done, and I liuA-e been very 
bountifully fed Avith ]irime buckwheat cakes and 
sausage. 
ALWAYS SOMKTlIIXCf TO LKABN.—I ajii :i4 
years old, and have, as old men say, in my time 
turned my hand to almost everything; but this 
farming job seems to me to require more of both 
ability and main .strength than any other thing I 
have tackled. It is a Avonderful job, every new day 
brings some ncAV job, Avhich, to a greeidiorn, re- 
quii-es considerable energy. Take the matter of 
ploAving or cultivating. I thought I knew hoAv to 
do both of the.se. but each in itself is really an art 
Avhich takes considerable experience to acipiire. As 
I go along the i-oad noAV and look at faiams, I see 
them Avith different eyes than I did a year ago; 
I can tell a good farmer from his ploAA-ing or from 
his cultivating, or from his farm buildings, or <'ven 
from his team of horses, and this year has changed 
so much my idea of farmers. 
THE VEBSATILE FAKMEB.—Of course. I am 
]»rejudiced now, being a farmer; but I think the Xoav 
York State farmer is one of the most ver.satile peo¬ 
ple on the face of this earth, running his gas engine 
or his rea]MT or his grain drill; each by itself in 
MJiother Avork Avould be considei'cd a calling by it.self; 
but in addition to mastering the details of these com- 
jdicated machin<*s, he must study his ,>< 01 ^, test his 
.seeds, spniy his fruit, tight abortion in his coavs, 
lieal the sick of his anijnals, and tinker Avith the 
broken machines, and build and mend and change 
ever.vAvhere. It can't be denied that it is one of 
the most versatile and interesting of ])rofessions. I 
Jiave tried to forget these preconceiv('d ideas I had 
and to start aneAA' Avith a mind open to the i)ractical. 
and I don't believe I have made the mistake of think¬ 
ing I AA'as going to teach the farmers around here 
hoAv to shoot. I have tried to keep my mouth shut 
and learn as much as pos,sible from them, and many 
a valuable le.s.son have I thus gained. I can find 
farmers Avithin a half mile of here Avhose farms are 
models of etliciency, Avhose day’s Avork runs off like 
<dock Avork. Avith an accuracy that is not surpassed 
in any factory or otlice that I have seen, and any 
one of the fool conimis.sions that are ai)pointed in 
these Avar days that thinks they can tell these farm¬ 
ers hoAV to run their farms more tdliciently is making 
a bigger fool of itself than the man did Avho ap¬ 
pointed them. 
THE FAKMEK’y SCANTY SHAKE.—After a year 
on the farm, the only thing I have to complain of is 
that the farmer does not get suflicient money value 
for his Avoi-k. In all my life I luiA-e never found a 
person Avho Avorked so hard and had to lay out so 
much capital to get so little in return. It is di.s- 
couraging to .say the lea.st. It is discouraging to Ijave 
your help leave you Avhen he likes farming; but 
Avhen he can go to the city and earn three or four 
times as much as you can pay him it is asking too 
much of human nature to expect him to stay. Then 
there is that eternal middleman, the farmer’s high- 
Avay robber, leach and overlord. Until the farmers 
can combine, classify their products and get them 
directly to the consumer Avithout the office of the 
middleman .squeezing the profits out. there is not 
much help for them and there is not much satisfact- 
tion to a one-year farmer in knoAving that these 
multitudinous commissions are making a botch of 
IShe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
the food business and are discouraging the farmers 
Avho remain. So far as I can see. though, this thing 
Avill go on until more yet of the hired men and boys 
have left the farms and there is a scarcity of food 
even in ])eace times, and then, possibly, .<ome of our 
rulers Avill find that they must, much against their 
Avill. cut out .some of the middlemen. But before 
this hapi»ens I am afraid that there is bound to be 
a great deal of misery and sulfering for lack of 
food. Farming is not ])rotitable comi»ared Avith any 
other line of avoiL. and it is only love of the Avork 
and love of the home that keei) many of the farmers 
on their farm.s. m. 7). 
Use of Limestone in Tennessee 
Part I. 
A LOCAL SUPPLY.—Fi’om time to time, covei’- 
ing a ))eriod of ten or a dozen yeai’s. ]»ossibly 
more, the Avidter has submitted to q'liE K. N.-Y. 
notes telling Avhat Ave AA'eiv doing and had been do- 
An Orchard Jirufsh Burner. Fit;. 3//.'/. 
ing on CroAvell Faiin, located ii7 a jiicturesque 
]imest(7ne valley of Eastern Tennessee. We have 
told that Ave fii'st quarried out the limestone ledges 
in our fields; that Ave cultivated, built this stone 
into a lime kiln; that AA-e afterAvards buriied into 
lime and applied the same to the fields from which 
Ave had quarried the stone, and other fields as well. 
We have told hoAV Ave aftei-Avards decided that to 
gi’ind this limestone into ground lime AVould be less 
exi)ensive in the first place, moi-e easily a])plied in 
the .second instance, less liable to injui’e our soil in 
the thii-d, more enduring in the fourth. We have 
told hoAv Ave had to jouimey all the Avay from East¬ 
ern Tennes.see to Massachu.setts in order t(» shoAV 
the manufactui'ers of rock i-educing machinei-y hoAV 
to combine into one machine that Avas portable si 
i‘ock crusber and one other machine that Avould 
Touiatocs Trained to Bean Poles. FUf SJ/o. 
take pieces of limestone of (pnari-y sizes and I'oduce 
at one operation into sizes from one-half inch doAvu 
to dust or i)OAVdei-ed limestone. We have told hoAV 
Ave applied this foian of lime to our soiLs, and Ave 
have also told hoAV Ave applied the burned lime. 
We have told Avith tolerable accuracy. Ave hoite, 
the good 1‘esults from applications of the tAvo forms 
of lime. These have been published and as a re.sult 
of their publication Ave have received many hun- 
di’eds of letters addre.s.sed to us privately. We 
have taken the time to ansAver each one of these 
inquiries as best Ave could in a letter addressed to 
each impiirer. 
KNf)X DOLOMITE.—But in order that the read¬ 
er may have a more clear conception of the situa¬ 
tion in Eastern Tennessee, the comjtosition and kind 
of limestone mo.s't abundant, Ave think it best to 
say that our lime.stone is dolomitic, locally knoAA’n 
Miiy IS, 191S 
as Knox dolomite, and is a continuation of a de¬ 
posit beginning in Southwestern Ncav York, coming 
through Pennsylvania into Maryland, from thence 
into Virginia and Tennessee, extending into por¬ 
tions of Noi*th Geoi'gia and Alabama. The AA'ord 
dolomite as applied to this limestone means double 
carbonate.s, or, in other Avords, it is composed of 
the tAVo carbonates of lime and inagnesium, varying 
in jiercentages of each all along the line through 
Avhich it passes. It is a well-knoAvn fact among 
men Avho have had experience in quarrying lime¬ 
stone that dolomite limestone is much more diffi¬ 
cult to (piarry successfully than is pure limestone, 
Avhich is niarble; that it takes more time to drill a 
hole a given depth into a dolomite deposit than it 
does to drill a like hole in Ji imre limestone deposit. 
It is also Avell knoAvn that it takes a heavier charge 
of dynamite to (piari-y a giA-en amount of dolomite 
than of pui'e limestone. 
VALUE DF DOLOMITIC LIME.'^TONE.—It is 
also knoAvn by scientist.-:, and most of them are 
agi'eed that dolomite limestone Avhen bui’ued into 
calcium and magnesium oxide, or ground into 
ground limestone and apiilied as ground calcium 
cai-bojiate and magnesium carbonate, that the add¬ 
l'd cost of quari-ying and i-educing in either ca.-e 
this dolomite limestone is in lai’ge measure oA-er- 
come from the fact that Ave ai-e applying to our 
soils at one and the .‘^ame time tAA*o very e.ssential 
chemical elements, that of calcium and miignesiiDii. 
It makes no difference Avhether Ave apply these tAvo 
elements in a form of oxides or in the form of car¬ 
bonates. Oi’, to make more idain, .so that we may 
not be misundei’stood, Avhen dolomite limestone is 
bui’iied or gi-ound for agiacultural purposes and 
aiiplied to soils in need of lime. Ave are killing tAvo 
bii’ds AA'ith one stone, though I am aAvai’e that there 
ai’e men Avho are con.-:idered authoi-ity Avho claim 
that pure calcium oxide or calcium cai’bonate is 
more A’aluable Avhen applied to .soils than is dolo¬ 
mite limestone. Be this as it may, our i-eason for 
using dolomite in our case Avas that all of the lime¬ 
.stone deposits on our farm Avei’e dolomite depo.sits. 
.<0 Ave had no choice. So I say unhesitatingly to all 
Avho may read thi.s, if you have dolomite limestone 
deposits in your fields that ai’e at pi’esiuit in the 
Avay of cultivation and should be taken out of the 
fields, that you may add the space they occupy by 
just so many square feet to the producing soils of 
that field; it Avill pay you for this alone. But if 
your soils need lime, you need not hesitate to burn 
or grind this dolomite and make free use of it on 
your soils, and expect results. 
BUKNED LIME.—Ileie again comes up another 
vei-y important question, that Ave dare not iiass over 
unexplained. Can Ave burn this dolomite limestone 
into bui’iied lime and apply it to our fields in unlim¬ 
ited (lu.-intities, and exjiect .good, and no bad I’e- 
.sults to folloAv? To this question I .say no. It has 
been knoAvn for over 2,fK)0 years that Avhen dolo¬ 
mite Avas burned into lime it Avas of double sti’engtli 
fi-om the fact it Avas composed of tAvo chemical ele¬ 
ments, that of calcium and ma.gnesium. The term 
liol lime Avas apjilied to it, and soil tillei’s Avei'e cau¬ 
tioned not to make too free use of it at one applica¬ 
tion or they might expect bad, instead of good re¬ 
sults to folloAA'. My oAvn experience in using burned 
dolomite on our oavu farm .shoAvs this to be a fact 
lieyond doubt. But Avheu ground into lime this 
.same dolomite can be applied in unlimited amounts 
Avithout any bad results Avhatever folloAving. We 
have applii'd four tons an acre, eight, 20, 40, SO 
and even 100 tons to a .single acre, afterAvards seed¬ 
ed to Alfalfa, Avith .success on each plot. And the 
only diffei’ence Ave could .see in the several jilots 
Avas that in each instance Avhere Ave had increased 
the amount of limestone up to and including 100 
tons an aci-e, the Alfalfa groAV stronger and strong¬ 
er, until Ave reached the plot that had the most 
limestone, and there greAV our strongest and best 
Alfalfa. It is gratifying to report that the experi¬ 
ments carried on scientifically by our Agricultural 
Exiieriment .'Station at Knoxville fully corroborate 
our expei-iments on Ci'OAvell Farm in regard to 
ground dolomite limestone. o. p. R. F, 
Tennes.see. , 
Possibilities of a Backyard Garden 
T he picture at Fig. ‘Mii shoAvs hoAv a Massachu¬ 
setts man increa.sed the yield of his small gar¬ 
den by training everything possible up to poles. In 
the cut he is shoAvn standing beside a tomato plant 
.something over seven feet tall. Last year we .saAv a 
patch of 50 tomato plants tied to long bean poles in 
this Avay, and every one taller than a man’s head. 
The tomatoes did not ripen any sooner than tho.se 
Avith the vines spraAvled over the ground, but it en¬ 
abled the groAver to get at least three times as many 
bearing plants in the space. 
