987 
both in receipts and in expenses. Many of the trees 
were killed in 1918, although several hardy varieties 
bore fairly well. In several of these years the crop 
was nearly all sold to a canning factory without sort¬ 
ing. The orchard is now said to be in good condition, 
and many of the trees are likely to continue yielding 
live or six more crops. It is said that the first peach 
orchard on this land produced 12 crops. The second 
orchard was pulled out when four years old. being 
severely damaged by the freeze in October, 1900. A 
full study of the bulletin would interest many of our 
peach growers, as of course only the details can be 
given here. The orchard is said to he an average one 
of the better class, having the advantage of soil and 
location. It has received intelligent and thorough 
care. It did not come 'into bearing unusually early, 
and has lived through several severe Winters, so 
that, taken as a whole, the orchard has paid a good 
profit. A summary of the total cost of handling this 
orchard for a full 12 years is given below. The 
heaviest expenses Avere in 1914, in which year 
$1,292.77 was expended. The chief items that year 
were $419.53 for packing, and $184. for picking. This 
statement is very interesting and valuable to fruit 
men. We have got to learn about such things, which 
include the'actual cost of production and income, be- 
‘Ihe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
son most of the work animals get little more than 
enough work to give them needed exercise, if, indeed, 
that much. Under these conditions heavy grain feed¬ 
ing is not only expensive but even dangerous. This 
is where the carrot comes in so well. 
IDEAL RATIONS.—For some time past we have 
been feeding carrots twice a day, about four quarts 
at a feed, and grain only once. This is because we 
happened to have a- good crop of carrots last year, 
which, owing to the warm Fall, did not keep as 
well as usual. My ideal feed would be oats once a 
day, carrots once, and dent corn on the ear once. 
With this feeding I do not hesitate to ask a team to 
do any ordinary work required. Too heavy feeding 
may induce scouring, especially toward Spring, when 
decay begins to set in, but Aye seldom experience any 
trouble in this line. I have never been without car¬ 
rots for Winter feeding since I have owned horses, 
unless some accident prevented us from growing a 
crop. 
GROWING AND HANDLING.—We have learned 
some things I i growing and handling this crop which 
may be of value to others. The first one of impor¬ 
tance is to he settled when making out the order for 
seed. I always grow the short variety, known as 
Guerande or-Oxlieart, not because it is the host nor 
time to get the seed as nearly right as possible at 
first. I like to sow as soon after a rain as the 
ground is in good condition. A heavy rain soon after 
sowing may pack or wash the surface so much as to 
greatly injure the stand. I usually set the marker 
for rows 14 inches apart. The seed should be co\ r - 
ered rather shallow. The young plants are small 
and delicate, and the first weeding is slow and tedi¬ 
ous work, 't here is no help for it but to take a good 
Avlieel hoe with a knife which does not throw the 
earth toward the row, then get on your knees with 
hand weeders and clean out the rows. This is the 
most objectionable feature connected with the crop 
under average farm conditions. It needs a man or a 
boy who can and will move to do this work. Many 
men who may do a fair day’s work at regular farm 
work may be almost worthless here. Boys soon tire 
of the job; men, too, for that matter. It is work 
which needs to be done promply, for the expense in¬ 
creases rapidly with each day of neglect. About the 
best way when possible is to get all the help that can 
be mustered for the job and hustle it through in 
short order. If that can be done nobody gets really 
tired and the task seems an easy one. If this first 
weeding is done thoroughly and Avell the later work 
will not be troublesome. If the wheel hoe is run 
The llai/ Loader at Work on a Pennsylvania Farm. Fig. 210. 
fore we can ever hope to know what we are doing in 
our farm business: 
Trees and planting. $157.95 
Corn crop. 124.38 
Dormant spraying, material and labor.... 285.49 
Summer spraying, material and labor. 135.84 
Pruning and removing brush. 614.43 
Hoeing and boring . 70.25 
Plowing and cultivation. 665 86 
Fertilizer, manure and application. : G 11 
Cover crops, seeds and planting. 42 07 
Thinning . 1 54.30 
Picking . 907.69 
Trucking to packing house. 232.60 
Packing . 471.05 
Hauling to shipping station. 560.00 
Packages . 1,842.08 
Equipment charge. 71.00 
Interest on land. l.OtfO.OO 
Incidentals . 19.27 
Totals. $7,831.37 
Feeding Carrots to Horses 
r llEORY AND PRACTICE.—A recent inquiry in 
The R. N.-Y. regarding the feeding of carrots 
to horses, and (he somewhat theoretical answer, 
leads me to write our experience in this line. From 
the standpoint of chemical analysis alone it is doubt¬ 
less true that no high feeding value can be attributed 
to carrots, but from the standpoint of practical ex¬ 
perience we value them highly as a Winter feed. 
This applies to farm horses doing light work only. 
With teams required to do steady hard work the 
outcome might be different, though I feel that even 
under those conditions the addition of some carrots 
to the ration would be beneficial. One of the diffi¬ 
cult problems in farm management is to balance the 
team labor needed during the busy season. The 
usual result is that during much of the Winter sea- 
the most productive, but because the choice of this 
variety naturally cuts down the cost of harvesting, 
which is one of the two expensive operations in 
growing the crop. The choice of a spot in which to 
grow them is the next essential. This is a fine gar¬ 
den crop, requiring close hand work at the first 
weeding, hence land should be selected which is free 
from stones, mellow and easily worked with a wheel- 
lioe and hand weeders. It should be fertile and well 
enriched, for a large product can be grown on a 
small area, and it does not pay to work over more 
ground than is necessary. This should be plowed 
early in Spring, or the Fall 'before, then worked over 
early and often enough to get all the Aveeds possible 
to sprout before the seed is sown. It costs very little 
to Aveed this piece of ground Avith a team and liar- 
roAv before Ihe crop is on it. but it is sIoav, back- 
aching and expensive to do it when the young plants 
are there; therefore, it pays to do just as much as 
possible beforehand. With good land, well enriched, 
the seeding may be delayed until the first of June 
here in Northern Pennsylvania and a good crop be 
obtained. Too early sowing also tends to overgrowth, 
Avith too many burst carrots, Avliich are tough and 
undesirable. 
PREPARATION AND SOWING.—In preparation 
for soAving the ground should be avcII prepared and 
leveled with a float, as for any small garden seeds. 
In setting the drill do not trust to any printed direc¬ 
tions on the plate. Try it out on a board or else- 
Avhere until you feel sure you have it set as you want 
it; then Avatch the machine constantly to see that it 
is soAving as it should. Carrot seeds are light and 
irregular and it is difficult to get them sowed just 
right. Thinning is expensive and it pays to take 
through them once or twice at frequent intervals the 
plants Avill soon be large enough to shade the ground 
and keep down most AA'eeds. If a second weeding is 
needed it will not be a serious task. 
HARVESTING.—Next comes the harvesting. First 
take one or Iavo light, convenient hoes to the vise and 
sharpen them well with a file. Next get the ordinary 
one-horse diamond-toothed cultivator and remove all 
but the middle tooth at the rear of the frame. Hitch 
a steady horse to this. I choose one without shoes 
for this work, as shoes injure the roots more. We 
Avork our mules and horses Avhose feet will stand it, 
av it bout shoes during the Summer. Take the hoes 
and with quick, careful strokes, clip the tops from 
about four roAvs of the carrots. Then take an or¬ 
dinary wooden-toothed hand rake and rake the tops 
to one side. The horse or mule is then led or driven 
along each i-oav and the single cultivator tooth loos¬ 
ens the carrots. I often go tAviee on the same row, 
for at best the tooth will dodge some roots the first 
time. Here is Avhere Avisdom in choosing the right 
variety Avlien ordering the seed becomes apparent. 
With a deep-rooted sort all this digging must be done 
by hand, which is a slow, back-aching operation. 
When loosened in this Avay Avith the cultivator tooth 
nothing remains but to pick them up and take to the 
cellar. Much depends upon the condition of the 
ground, however. If Avet, so that the earth sticks to 
the roots, much time must be spent in knocking this 
off. Here Ave are at the mercy of the weather, and 
some seasons the work is much more easily done 
than others. One cannot give too much heed to the 
weather, for much of the best growth of such root 
crops is made in such cool weather, and it is unwise 
to cut this groAVth short. feed av. card. 
