<lht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
853 
slabs of whole wheat; 1," >ad and butter. 
You should see the quan k, .ties of potatoes, 
asparagus, lettuce, watercress and tur- 
,ps they put away, and he gallons of 
rhubarb sauce that go to .help fill r I- 
These little ones have < . in plenty, hut 
very little meat, and it . ild p. ’se you 
to see how they put on !:' >om a v - 1 in as 
they run about in tin •' l, r< ' n the 
grass and dig in the sa J The uay they 
found the big goose eg} \ mu h like ft 
holiday. Sometimes they rne.s the old 
pony into the little cart d go on “cr- 
lands.” You see them a’ 1 , g the road— 
Peter stopping now and t’ “it t«> eat grass 
by the wayside. Our two little girls have 
much of the care of Rosa and little 
.Tames. They do this work cheerfully and 
have become perfect little housekeepers. 
I would today trust a baby in the hands 
of these eight and 10-year-old gins before 
I would let it go to sumo women f know. 
What finer accomplishment can .* woman 
show than the ability to care for . child? 
1 have an old friend who does not like 
children. He is constantly asking me if 1 
know how much it costs to raise and edu¬ 
cate a child. Having handled a good 
many of them. I ought to know, and I 
tell him. lie looks over the six or more 
we happen to have on hand and says, 
“You can't afford it! It doesn’t pan’." 
T was thinking of this when little James 
looked in through the door-'-very shyly at 
me. This little fellow came out of a 
hot. close flat in the stilling city. All 
through this beautiful day he has been 
pLaying in the sunshine, care-free and 
well fed. He has left his play and come 
to look at me—hardly sure if he can tell 
mo what he wants to do. So he stands look¬ 
ing at me for a moment, and then makes a 
rusk, puts his arms around my neck, gives 
me a “bear’s hug" and goes singing and 
dancing out into the sunshine. "Doesn't 
pail," did you say? Well, then, what does I 
pay? II. w. c. 
Thinning Onions; Greenhouse Soil 
1. What about thinning onions on muck 
soil ? They tell some big stories here of 
great crops grown with but little thin¬ 
ning. In my experience under the "new 
culture” I have usually set them about 
three inches apart and have grown some 
good crops. My idea is that on this lan 1 
two inches would be about right. Will 
you advise me? 2. Will you give me a 
formula for preparing hothouse soil? The 
house was started with common garden 
soil. I*' is not doing well, the plants 
being stunted in different parts of the 
beds. Should not such soil be prepared 
by composting a year ahead? B. F. M. 
Canaan. N. Y. 
1. It is possible that setting onions two 
inches apart or thinning to that distance 
from seed sown in the field may make 
good onions by pushing each other side- 
wise. But I bdieve that better crops and 
finer onions can be made by thinning t<> 
three inches. Onions will often grow to 
fair size when crowded so that they can 
only keep roots in the soil. We often 
have onions sown thickly for sets to 
make a good many fair-sized onions, but 
I would rather give the crop room to de¬ 
velop easily. 
2. Greenhouse soil should he frequently 
changed, as it soon gets infected with 
fungus germs. To prepare soil for next 
Winter cut sods just as for sodding, 
about two inches thick. Place them grass 
side down. Cover over with manure 
about same thickness. Then another 
layer of sods and manure, and in this 
way build up a square stack as long and 
high as needed. About midsummer chop 
it down, cutting from top to bottom, and 
mix well. Build this stack square and 
flat, and not a conical heap, and in chop¬ 
ping down and repiling scatter raw bone- 
meal liberally through the heap, using 
about 100 lbs. to a cord of the soil. Turn 
once more in September. w. F. m. 
Fruit Crop Prospects 
I have looked at buds on all of my dif¬ 
ferent fruits and am glad to say they look 
all right so far. I was greatly worried 
during the storm, as it seemed that it 
would surely finish everything for this 
season, but I feel greatly encouraged now. 
There has probably been considerable 
damage—it is impossible to tell so soon 
just how much, but I am hopeful that 
along the lake we have escaped a very 
serious loss. Our local Farm Bureau 
manager is reported as stating that 50 
per cent of the sour and sweet cherries, 
and from r>0 to 80 per cent of plums are 
killed, with peaches damaged from 25 t<> 
50 per cent. 1 do not think it is as bad 
as that along the lake, where the heaviest 
acreage is. but I may be too optimistic; 
certainly my buds look to be iu pretty 
good shape. Of course we shall know 
definitely in a few days. The damage 
away from the lake may have been—it 
often so happens—very much more seri¬ 
ous. S. J. T. BUSH. 
Monroe Co., N. Y. 
Jack : “Everything on earth has its 
mission.” Jim: “How about mosquitoes?” 
Jack: "They make us think more kindly 
of Hies.”—Credit Lost. 
The MOST expensive 
crops ever grown in this 
country are now being 
planted—expensive because 
of high-priced fertilizer and 
labor. They also promise 
to be the most valuable 
when harvested. Protect 
them by thorough spraying. 
Whatever the crop, there’s an 
Iron Age Sprayer that will fully 
meet your requirements. Our 
Sprayers have been perfected 
through experience gained by 
years of actual use on the Iron 
Age Farms. The new Duplex 
and Triplex Pumps represent the 
most important advances of re¬ 
cent years in sprayer making. 
We also make a full line of 
hand and power-operated spray¬ 
ers for small and large orchards, 
and sprayers for home gardens. 
Send today for illustrated booklets 
Bateman M’f’g Company 
Makers of good implements since 1836 
Box 966 Grenloch. N. J. 
Canadian Factory: 
The Bateman-Wilkinaon Co., Ltd. 
96 Symington Ave., Toronto, Can. 
For Spraying 
Melons 
Cucumbers and similar vine crops, 
use the Iron Age Combined Pickle 
and Potato Traction Sprayer. 
Equipped with the 
new Triplex Pump.it 
will spray seven 
rows four feet apart. 
Can be quickly 
changed to the Iron 
Age Six Row Spray¬ 
er. The immense 
swe.'p of this mach¬ 
ine greatly reduces 
the vine-parting necessary to 
make way for the wheels. 
For Spraying Potatoes 
For Spraying Tomatoes 
there are several types of Iron Age 
Sprayers—the Drop Bar Sprayer 
shown above, the Six-Row Trac¬ 
tion Sprayer shown 
on the left, and the 
Ten-Row Sprayer 
shown below in mel¬ 
on field. When fast 
work is necessary to 
save your crop from 
blight, bugs, etc., the 
keen satisfaction ot 
owning an Iron Age 
Sprayer is not to be calculated in 
mere terms of money 
For Spraying Cabbages 
and similar truck crops, use Iron 
Age Four and Six-Row Traction 
Sprayers. The Four- 
Row Sprayers may 
be had with Single- 
Acting or Duplex 
Pumps; the Six-Row 
Sprayers with Du¬ 
plex or Triplex 
Pumps. 
use Iron Age Four or Six-Row 
Traction Sprayers. The special 
Tomato Spray Bar 
shown here provides 
for under-leaf spray¬ 
ing of this valuable 
crop. The poison 
cloud is driven 
around every leaf 
and stem. 
Tom 
Thrift 
.Says; 
“I’ve noticed that 
when a man need* 
new harness he generally needs it 
pretty bad. When he buys he 
wants high-grade material and long- 
wearing qualities. That is what 
I have found in the Richland Qual¬ 
ity Harness." 
See Page 806 of "Your Bargain Book." 
There is one standard buggy harness of un¬ 
usually high grade for $27.30. Others range 
from pony size to heavy chain trace plow 
harness. Each is sold at actual cost plus 
only one profit. The saving is yours. 
“Your Bargain Book" is FREE. Send for 
your copy today. 
The Charles William Storey, 
348 F^TTrgf N«wYo«*.CUy «■» 1 
r s Best 
Roofing 
Freight 
Paid 
“Reo” Cluster Metal Khingl<__. . _,. _ 
gated. Standing Seant. Painted or Galvanized Roof¬ 
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at Rook-Bottom Factory Prices. Positively greatest 
offer ever made. We Pay the Freight. 
Edwards “Reo” Metal Shingles 
cost less; outlast three ordinary roofs. ' No painting 
or repairs. Guaranteed rot. tire, rust, lightning proof. 
Free Roofing Book 
Get our wonderfully 
low prices and free 
samples. We sell direct 
to you and save you all 
in-between dealer’s 
profits. Ask for Book 
No. 573 
LOW PRICED GARAGES 
Lowest prices on Ready-Made 
Fire-Proof Steel Garages. Set 
up any place. Send postal for 
Garage Book, showing styles. 
THE EDWARDS MFG. CO., 
S23 S73 film SI.. Cincinnati, 0. 
BARKER 
WELDER, MUbCHER 
CULTIVATOR 
Weed and Mulcb 
Your Garden In 
One-Tenth the Time 
with a 
BARKER 
Weeder, Mulcher 
and Cultivator 
Destroys weeds and breaks the crust into 
a moisture-retaining mulch, insuring against 
drouth. Women and children operate it 
with case. Works close to plants. lias leaf 
guards; also shovels for deeper cultivation. 
Three tools in one. "Best'weed killer ever 
used." Write for illustrated booklet and 
factory-to-user offer. 
Barker Mlg. Co.. Dept. 16. David City, Neb. 
JUDGING FAI\M ANIMALS, by C. S. 
Plumb; $2.25. A Practical Manual on this 
subject. For sale by Rural New-Yorker 
