7ht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1369 
Points From a Potato Meeting, 
A Virginia Berry Patch In Bloom. Fig. Jflo 
Selling Farm Products By the Roadside. Fig. J/16. (See Page 1370) 
Harvesting Onions. Fig. 1/17. (See Page 1370) 
C ROP PROSPECTS.—After all, when you attend 
a meeting, it is the people you meet and talk 
with, the real farmers, from whom you get the most 
interesting items. Men from various parts of the 
State, and from adjoining States, report that the 
production of potatoes is likely to be high. One 
farmer from the northern part of the State, who 
thinks he is a small grower, having only 20 acres, 
intimates that he would not be greatly displeased 
if the late blight should appear. lie wouldn't do 
anything to bring it on if he could, but he thinks 
that unless the blight does come pota¬ 
toes will sell this Fall at a price too 
low for profit. What about holding? I 
suggested. His reply was that he is 
prepared to hold, and if the crop of the 
country is under four hundred million 
bushels he will do so. 
CERTIFIED SEED.—“You want 
certified seed potatoes, do you?” said 
one grower to a visitor from Southern 
Pennsylvania. “Not necessarily certi¬ 
fied.” was the reply, “but disease free.” 
There you have it. Potato diseases are 
so numerous and intensive potato pro¬ 
duction so develops them that many 
growers desire to go out where there is 
as little disease as possible to find and 
buy seed. The certification by the Col¬ 
lege of Agriculture seems, generally 
speaking, to be a drawing card. 
COST OF GROWING.—Some growers 
appear to have a very good idea of the 
cost of growing potatoes. The expense, 
said one producer, who seemed to know 
liis business pretty well, is right around 
$200 an acre. This man uses 700 or S00 
pounds of fertilizer, and he prefers a 
2—8—10 if he can get it. lie was able 
lo obtain it this year, but says he 
doesn’t know how good the potash is. 
The cost was $67 a ton. and seed cost 
$3 to $4 a bushel. This cost of $200. 
as I understand him, is up to the 
time of harvest, the harvest being in 
addition to the estimate. One grower 
said he is looking for a production of 
200 bushels per acre, but his usual 
yield is around 150. He added that in 
Maine they may get 300 bushels, but in 
his section of New York it doesn’t pay 
to try for such yields, half that amount 
being more profitable than to try for 
the extreme. It really looks as though 
$1.50 a bushel will hardly make any 
profit to the average good grower. 
CULTIVATION.—In talking with one 
grower I got a new idea (to me) about 
the cultivation of potatoes. lie said 
that his potatoes had made a very rank 
growth this season. Had they stood up 
they would have reached the height of 
a table. They fell down, of course, and 
practically cover the ground. Cultiva¬ 
tion had to cease earlier than he de¬ 
sired, and the hilling is not as much as 
lie wants. By hilling them up both 
ways he prevents the roots extending 
so far and gets the potatoes more in a 
clump in the hill. The writer has 
always grown some potatoes, but has 
never really thought about some of 
these points and reasons. 
DIGGING.—When it comes to dig¬ 
ging. I found that nearly all of the 
growers who do any considerable 
amount of business use the digging 
machines. Occasionally a man, even of 
those who own diggers, is in doubt using them at 
oil times. “The ground may be too wet,” observed 
one. l suspect this may depend somewhat on the 
lype of soil. Then it was suggested that there may 
be so many weeds that the machine does not work 
well. Here again came in my friend who had been 
unable to cultivate fully on account of the big 
growth. He thinks that the tops will be so rank 
Unit the digger will fail to do satisfactory work. 
Mi here good systematic spraying has been done the 
vines will stay green until frozen. Then again, the 
digger goes out only a certain width. When tubers 
form almost all over the ground hand digging is 
essential. The machines will do most of the work. 
yet there will be a good deal of hand digging of 
potatoes. 
A RAILROAD FARMER.—Seeing a farmer wait¬ 
ing by himself I went over and talked with him. He 
told me that be worked on the railroad 26 years, 
but he likes land and crops. He is doing some car¬ 
penter work in town, but he hired 10 acres for pota¬ 
toes. Evidently he is not afraid to work, and that 
goes a long way in making a successful farmer, lie 
asserted that he is willing to have anyone inspect 
liis field and sees no reason for failing on his crop. 
the boy is good help, but with an excellent worker 
to lead off. They have three or four acres of pota 
toes, keep 18 cows, grow some other crops, including 
65 tons of hay. With a side-delivery rake the hay 
is brought together. The team do their own driving 
and the farmer and his boy helper handle the hay 
from the loader. Such instances as these show the 
efficiency of the present-day farmer. 
ONE WAY OF RETIRING.—On the other hand 
was an old man who has gone out of business, he 
thinks, and lets the two boys conduct the farm 
They have 112 acres, keep several cows, 
grew 1.500 bushels of potatoes and 
about $4,000 worth of cabbages last, 
year. The boys had a third, and “they 
did well enough.” said the father. “1 
work right along.” he said, “but that 
we didn’t count.” His broad shoulders 
his strong frame and his movements 
indicated that I do not care to tire him 
out on a farm job. He said they hit 
the cabbage market about right, but 
missed it a little on potatoes, selling 
for about $2.75 a bushel. They turned 
something over $8,000. Pretty good for 
a hundred cleared acres In Central New 
York. Of course a man cannot do that 
every year. h. h. l. 
A Virginia Berry Crop 
T HE recent articles by Mr. Hartman 
of Florida have started up a crop 
of reports from other growers, some of 
whom have obtained remarkable re 
suits in berry growing. The picture at 
Fig. 415 shows a berry patch in Vir 
ginia owned by Fred Harvey of Ches 
terfield County. The picture was taken 
when the plants were in full bloom 
There are 13 rows in the patch, each 
S40 feet long. It was set in the Spring 
of 1911). and this Spring Mr. Harvey 
says that he got nearly 5.000 quarts of 
excellent berries, which sold on the 
Richmond wholesale market for $1,040. 
He says that William Belt was the best 
yielder. This variety gave 141 quarts 
to a row at one single picking. Besides 
being horse-cultivated 10 times, these 
berries were hand-weeded five times 
last Summer, and this gives an idea of 
the amount of work necessary to pay 
as the price of a good berry crop. 
After all this cultivating and weeding 
the berries were mulched with wheat 
straw, and thus carried safely through 
the Winter. The best price this Spring 
was $11.25 a crate, the lowest price 
being $6. We shall have some little 
stories of crop yield as the result of 
Mr. Hartman’s article, and those who 
read them want to remember than an 
immense amount of work was required 
in order to bring these crops through 
to success. 
With seed and fertilizers at the prices of last Spring 
lie will have a good deal invested, and with low 
prices he may have to work on the potatoes at low 
wages. With good prices he will do well. 
A SOUTHERNER COMES NORTH.—Next to me 
was sitting a farmer who came North not long ago 
from West Virginia. He likes it here much better 
than in the South. His experience with potatoes and 
with cows had been very limited before coming 
North, but he knew how to work. He hires a boy 
of 18 at $52 a month and board, and estimates that 
the boy breaks about $52 a month more. He calls 
him a good boy. though, with no more than the 
average boy’s failings. From his talk 1, too, think 
Damage From Oil Flooding 
Wo just had a very severe storm in 
this section. The high water from the 
creek flooded our land, and during this 
flood the oil pipe broke and covered all 
my crops with crude oil, which I fear will 
destroy them all. The crops include about 
five acres of potatoes, about 12 to 16 
inches high, and at least a 95 per cent, 
stand in coming up. A heavy rye sod 
was plowed down when about IS to 20 
inches high for this crop of potatoes, and 
fertilizer was sowed at the rate of 500 
pounds to the acre. The potatoes are 
selected Russet seed. One acre of man¬ 
gels. which were just weeded and thinned out. and 
looked fine, about 12 inches high ; one acre of early dent 
corn, about 30 inches high: one acre of Telephone peas, 
which were to be picked today, a very fine crop, the local 
price being $1.50 per bushel : half an acre rye. ready to 
cut; one acre of wax beans, ready to pick: two acres 
of cabbage, just starting to head, which looked tine: 
two acres Alfalfa, second crop, about 12 inches high; 
two acres pasture and three acres of meadow, which 
have been cut. Some of my neighbors claim that the 
oil will injure the crops for a few years to come. At 
what figure would you estimate my loss, and how would 
you advise me to collect my damages? The water 
covered these crops and was all off again in six hours, 
leaving everything full of oil. h. 0. 
W E have referred the matter of damage to your 
crops by crude oil to our chemist, who says 
that tUc crops will !)C wore or less injured, and that 
