920 
•ShB RURAL NEW-YORKER 
July 27, 1918 
HOPE FARM NOTES 
The Turkey Kusixess. —There are 
now eight of the young turkeys left. Four 
of them just faded away. It would be 
hard to say just what killed them. They 
simply got discouraged and retired* from 
life. The Ked hen and the old turkey 
have each lost two. The remaining eight 
are strong and active, but rai.sing turkeys 
is pretty much like canning snowdrifts for 
Summer use. The fading away of a 
young turkey is a stereotyped perform¬ 
ance. One little bird begins to lag be¬ 
hind the re.st. His feathers droop and 
ruffle, and he stands at times with his 
head down and his eyes shut—swaying on 
bis trembling legs. You pick him up and 
warm and feed and dust him or dose him 
and he seems fo revive a little. For a 
time he runs with the rest, but soon he 
lags as before and finally, in spite of all 
your care, he fades away. Our children 
always call this little laggard “Sickety,” 
and he lives up to the name. 
Fowl Xati:re. —The other morning I 
looked out of the window and there was 
the “Sickety” of that period standing at 
the front door—a forlorn and neglected 
figure. If you have ever lived in the 
South in a swamiiy country you may 
have seen one of the “poor whites.” full 
of malaria and made inert by hookworm, 
.standing beside his weedy cornfield while 
his wife frees her mind. Well, “Sickety.” 
before the front door, made me think of 
that unfortunate citizen. The hen and 
the other poults had wandered off after 
earthworms and other delicacies, and poor 
“Sickety” could only remember that food 
and care and warmth came to him 
through that front door. There is no such 
thing as love in feathers. The brothers 
and sisters and the Red nurse of poor 
“Sickety” leave him to die and go hunt¬ 
ing worms. “Sickety” only knew that 
somewhere inside that door there were 
little humans who loved him and would 
give him tender care. It is right to say 
that the higher you go up in the scale of 
intelligence the more you find of love 
for the living and reverence for the dead. 
It is said that in a wild state the lower 
form of monkeys will on the death of 
one of their number shun the spot and 
leave the body unprotected. Some of the 
higher forms of apes on the death of a 
family member bring stones and limbs of 
frees and cover the body, thus giving it a 
form of burial. 
A Ru.sy Xt’kse. —The Red hen gave 
her family of poults the best service 
she could muster for about a month, and 
then began to lay. She selected a good 
jilacc under a big rose bush on the lawn, 
and there we put a nest egg to remind her 
of her double duty. Day after day for 
eight days she laid her egg—then skipped 
a couple of days and started again, this 
time with a set of big, double-yolked 
“fruit.” It was a great thing to see the 
children run across the lawn to get that 
egg. The poor hen hardly had time to 
lay in comfort before the children were 
tipon her. And while their nurse was 
doing double duty the young turkeys 
gathei-ed Inffore the house and screamed 
in concert—calling her back to the ignoble 
job of babying a lot of youngsters that 
ought to be out earning their own living! 
The hen keeps on laying and tries to 
escape her charges, but they hang to her 
like leeches. A brood of chickens would 
take the hen’s hints and get out, but 
the.se young turkeys are not to be de¬ 
nied. They stick. 
PoiH.TKY Xews. —The girls are con¬ 
vinced that they have induced this hen 
to lay the big eggs through certain feed¬ 
ing. They make a sort of cake for the 
turkeys composed of one part each bran, 
cornmeal middlings and “horse feed.” 
This last is a mixture of corn, oats, oat 
hulls and oil meal! Since they began 
feeding that “cake” and skim-milk to 
the hen she has laid those big eggs regu¬ 
larly. When they stop feeding this ration 
she goes back to the smaller egg. The 
^irls, therefore, think they have a sure 
case of cause and effect here. As for the 
turkey hen nurse, you can hardly get 
close enough to her to ask her any ques¬ 
tions. Her poults seem smaller than the 
others, but are more active. She leads 
them far away through the potato fields, 
and we are now sure that they eat potato 
beetles, for we have seen them do it. 
The turkey never brings her brood near 
the house except in a rain. Then she 
comes to the short grass on the lawn. 
’File Hope Farm Reds at the Vineland 
egg-laying contest still keep us in the 
limelight. I>ast week they went to the 
front and led all the Red pens up to date 
this .year. Polly has laid over .“luO eggs 
since she started as a pullet, and is still 
at it. 
Farm Xotes. —^Ye began digging and 
selling potatoes July 8. There was one 
small piece of Irish Cobbler where on 
one side blight had struck in. The vines 
were doomed, and though they might have 
lived 10 days longer, we started digging. 
The price was $2 per bushel and likely to 
fall with a (juick droj^. So we thought 
it best to hustle those Cobblers out and 
get the land i*eady for beans. The yield 
was fair and the other potato fields are 
in good shape—likely to run 150 bushels 
to the acre. It requires nice and quick 
judgment to- decide about selling such a 
crop. Which is better to sell, three- 
fourths of a full crop at a high price or 
a full ci'op at a low price? We took the 
former chance this year on that one field. 
Beans will be planted to follow the po¬ 
tatoes. The sweet corn looks well and 
the first of the Cory ought to be ready 
by July 25. There is a heavy planting 
of sweet corn all over our country, but 
I think the price will keep well up. for 
with the present bread ration in force 
many people will eat sweet corn in place 
of corn bread. In fact, our crops gen¬ 
erally never looked better at this season, 
though there is trouble with the rye 
harvest, and we cannot give the orchards 
just the care we would like. 
Fruit Xotes. —Of course we have no 
peaches this year—there may be six fruits 
on 500 trees! Many of the trees are 
dying—killed, as I think, by the hard 
Winter. It will be some years before we 
can hope to get back into peaches as we 
had the orchard two years ago. The 
apple crop will be fair only. The Bald¬ 
wins are shy this year, though, by rights, 
they ought to be full. The early fruit like 
the sweets. Porter and Xyack, is making 
a good showing and we expect to sell it 
all to advantage this year. In many 
seasons the sweets have no sale, but this 
year almost anything inside an apple skin 
will sell. When I say that I refer to 
local markets and quick delivery. I think 
this will be a very poor .season for ship- 
jiing windfalls and tender fruit or for 
bulk shipments. It is, however, a good 
year for selling almost anything in the 
local markets provided people know what 
they are getting. All sorts of things will 
be canned and preserved this year—to¬ 
matoes and cabbage in particular. We 
have a fair crop of AVealtliy and McIn¬ 
tosh apples. We never had enough of 
the latter to satisfy customers, and this 
season we shall not ship any barrel orders 
of this variety. The fruit will all be sold 
in baskets. There is more in it for us 
this way. and we are able to let many 
have a few. which is better than letting 
the few have many. The cost of jiackages 
has shot up this year, and every other 
cost has jumped iirojiortionately. This 
will compel us to put uji the jirice of the 
finer apples until they rank as luxuries— 
which they really are. 
The Dust. —You remember that in 
consequence of the labor shortage we gave 
up liquid spra.ving this year and took our 
entire chance with the dust. It is a mix¬ 
ture of sulphur and dry ar.senate of lead. 
We just blew it with a power “duster” 
into the windward side of the tree and let 
the wind do the rest. I have waited until 
the apples reached fair size before esti¬ 
mating the value of this dusting. As the 
early fruit begins to come off we find it 
remarkably free from worms. I should 
say the dust was as effective against these 
worms as the liquid was. There is. I 
think, a little more scab where the du.st 
was used. It is too early yet to say 
definitely, but I should think the dust is 
safe and sure for the worm. AVait until 
the .season is over before deciding fully. 
AA’e tried some of this same dust for 
potato beetles. It was simply sifted on 
the vines like any other dry mixture. It 
killed the bugs proinjitly, and now here 
comes a strange thing. As far as we 
went with the dust the potato vines are 
bright and green. Alongside, where no 
dust was used, the vines have started to 
go down with blight. As it so happened 
this sulphur dust was put on some rows 
where we used a fertilizer containing an 
extra quantity of nitrogen and a little 
potash. The blighting vines received no 
dust, no potash, less nitrogen and far 
more phosphorus. Xow what has staved 
off the blight^—-the nitrogen, the potash 
or the sulphur on the vines? That’s a 
good que.stion. . . . But here comes 
Cherry-top with a war message for me: 
''Will non donate old Jioh tomorrow for 
the }oh of collecting old junk for. the Red 
Cross r 
Surely I will donate old Rob’s services 
or labor. Xot the old hoi-^ie himself, 
though he is near the scrai) pile after all. 
There is junk enough in this neighborhood 
to save many a life in France. By all 
means collect it. n. w. c. 
Sowing Rye and Buckwheat 
I wish to sow rye with my buckwheat. 
I expect to sow it with a seed drill. Do 
you think it would be better to mix the 
seed and sow it together, or would you 
go over the ground twice with the drill, 
sowing each crop separately? i. r. 
Carrison-on-IIudson, X. Y. 
Usually whore time and labor are very 
important the two grains are mixed and 
seeded together. You do not in this way 
obtain an even srand for either grain. It 
would be better to drill the buckwheat 
one way—say east and we.st’—and then 
drill the rye north and south. This re¬ 
quires an extra drilling, but will give a 
more even stand. You will, of course, 
realize that in order to make this double 
seeding a success the soil must be rich 
and fine, and there must be a full .supply 
of moisture. It is a chance, but one 
worth taking this year. 
Dishorning Fruit Trees 
I am 81; not many years ahead for 
fruit trees. My fruit ground is about GOx 
70 feet, planted mostly to peach three to 
five years ago, 10 feet apart. I thought I 
could keep them small by shortening in. 
They grew so last year I could not do 
that; they beat me. I>ast AAlnter I cut 
alternate ones down to near stumps. In 
the Spring, when late frost killed the 
fruit buds. I cut them all down to near 
stumps, with this notion : Xo fruit any¬ 
how this year; may as well keep the trees 
small by cutting off most of the wood that 
is never going to bear any fruit, and 
grow fruit-bearing wofxl near the trunk 
and low. So all the trees are now grow¬ 
ing fruit-bearing wood for next year, and 
the trees are a quarter or fifth or sixth 
as large as they would be by nature ; may¬ 
be an eighth. I know nothing of farming 
or gardening or fruit growing. A neigh¬ 
bor. who knows a lot more, says I have 
done the right thing. I fancy it is new, 
and, if right, no harm to tell of it in The 
R. X.-Y. I not only reduced the trees to 
near stumps, but rubbed off all sprouts, 
except where I want a bearing limb. I 
thought I rubbed oil" a good many, but, 
when they had grown a little, I rubbdd off 
as many more, and now they are over¬ 
thick ; shall have to thin them still more. 
I am speaking more of peach and apple 
than of pear and plum. Cherry is less 
tractahle. 1 have one apricot; worse yet, 
it blossomed freely on^ north side, not 
south, but no fruit set. AA’here a limb is 
shortened a thicket grows. .T. E. P. 
This plan is followed by some growers 
with fair results. They call it “dishorn¬ 
ing.” The late J. II. Hale used to tell 
how one sea.son just as his great peach 
orchard in Georgia was in bloom a hard 
freeze not only ruined the flowers but 
killed the newer wood. AA'ithin 24 hours 
Mr. Hale had a gang of men at work 
sawing off the tops of these trees. They 
probably cut out two-thirds of the tree. 
Then in between the rows they planted 
corn or melons and got a paying crop. 
The “dishorned” trees made a good growth 
of new wood and came back the following 
year with a good crop of peaches. Some 
years ago we took a block of peach trees 
that were not growing as they should and 
cut out half the tops. They came back 
with fine new wood and the next year we 
cut out the other half of the old top, with 
like results. So long as the trunks are 
kept clean and free from borers the tops 
will make new wood and grow fruit, un¬ 
less, of course, some disease strikes it. 
Ten feet apart is too close for anything 
except dwarfs. Due way to handle such 
trees is to keep them in fan shape. For 
example, the buds on limbs on the east 
and west sides may be kept off this year. 
That will give a flat, narrow head, with 
limbs growing north and south, with an 
open space in the east and west alleys.. 
Then another year this flat head can he 
formed east and west, if desired. Y'’ou 
will get some good fruit in this new wood 
if you can cut it back .so as to let air and 
sunshine in between the trees. 
New York 
State Fair 
WILL HAVE MANY NEW 
FEATURES—BUT THE 
BIGGEST FROM VIEW- 
POINT OF FARMERS AND 
MANUFACTURERS WILL BE 
A Farm Tractor 
Show 
Forty Acres of New land 
AVAILABLE FOR DEMONSTRA- 
TIONS OF FARM MACHINERY 
—FIXED AREA TO BE ALLOT- 
ED TO EACH EXHIBITOR 
The Tractor is the big thing in 
Agriculture today—it has passed 
the experimental stage and is 
doing the work. It solves two big 
problems—the Shortage in Farm 
Labor and Draft Horses. 
If is fo fhe Inferesfs of 
Manufaefurers of Trac- 
fors fo be Represenfed 
Farmers owe it to tbeir country 
and to themselves to witness the 
real tests and avail themselves of 
the most useful machinery the 
market affords. 
Cattle, draft horses, sheep, swine 
and poultry departments bigger 
than ever — many increases in 
premiums. 
Fair will be National as well as 
State in scope. Five Cabinet De¬ 
partments of Federal Government 
—War, Navy, Agriculture, Com¬ 
merce and Interior—represented 
by Extensive Exhibits, 
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9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 
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i i 
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^SUBSCRIPTIONS to Tho Rural New-Yorkor 
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Will be mailed to any address upon receipt of 7Sc 
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