The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
February 5, 1921 
■ 88 
■—■—I ■ ir 
You Can Make Your 
Farm More Profitable 
Once you take up power farming you will find many new ways 
to make more profit. With a tractor you can arrange your 
fields so as to cultivate them faster, better and more easily 
and you can utilize all the waste corners that you will have 
as long as you use horse-drawn implements. 
Thousands of Sartov/u-' Iodel “M” 
Tractor users who have made these 
profitable changes say this is one of 
the reasons why they showed a 
profit last year, and why they are 
sure of a profit this year. They 
make a big cut in operating expenses 
and provide a larger margin between 
producing and selling costs. You 
can do the same. 
You can get the gain that comes by 
replacing slow and expensive horse 
tillage with the speedy, powerful 
Samson. You can get rid of an 
excessive number of horses and use 
the feed and pasture for profit-pay- 
; ng beef and dairy cattle. 
The Samson will do your tillage 
work better, faster and cheaper 
than you ever could do it before— 
%nd at the right time. 
Finer crops result. They command 
the best market prices— all at lower 
cost. The Samson also provides the 
most economical and most depend¬ 
able power for belt-driven ma¬ 
chinery. 
Power farming will come to every 
farm, sooner or later, taking the 
place of horse farming—just as 
modern farm implements have 
taken the place of the crude tools 
of years ago. It is the only logical 
solution of the farm profits prob¬ 
lem. 
You will benefit by getting this 
Samson power viewpoint—it opens 
up greater opportunities—shows you 
sources for profit that you (did 
not know existed on your land, and 
makes farm life something more 
than drudgery. 
Want to Cut Your 
Operating Costs? 
Write Us 
We have some information 
bearing on Samonized Farms 
that will help you. Now is the 
time to get ready to make your 
land pay every dollar that is in 
it. Send us a postal. No 
charge and no obligation. Do 
it today. 
'AMSON TRACTOR CO., 512 Industrial A ve., Janesville, Wi*. 
Division General Motors Corporation 
Slanufocrurers of Tractors, Trucks, Power and Horse-Drawn Implements 
TRADE MARK REGISTERED U.S.PATENT OFFICE 
i uuwj/yy/A 
Big Reduction in ^ 
Prices of Crown ^ 
Grain Drills < 
Take advantage of the large price 
reduction on the CROWN Line of 
Grain Drills and Lime Sowers. 
We are giving the farmers every ad¬ 
vantage in the cost of our line for the 
Spring Sowing. 
New Needham Crown Drills are 
equipped with the improved Wizard 
fertilizer feed. This feed with the 
famous Crown Grain feed makes the 
New Drill the besti _ . _ 
in the market today. I LfOWn lulg. I/O. 
Xf in need of aGrainOrill | 112 Wayne St. 
write uj for catalog. | Phelps, New York 
* 
* 
A LIFETIME ROOF 
Here !s a guaranteed pure iron roof that resists rust. Our 
catalog explains why it is lightning proof and fire-proof. 
ARMCO IRON ROOFING , 
Most economical you can buy. Write today for free cata¬ 
log, 
American Iron Hooting Co., 
,51a. 34 Middletown, Ohio 
Not Steel 
If Your Dealer does riot' handle 
Write LeRoy Plow Co., LeRoy, N. Y. 
MR. FARMER 
IT’S WORTH YOUR WHILE TO GET 
SOME INFORMATION ABOUT 
BARIUM- 
PHOSPHATE 
AN ALKALINE FERTILIZER 
Containing 
28% PHOSPHORIC ACID 
7% BARIUM SULPHIDE 
Write for booklets describing this 
material and its use on various 
crops. Carloads and less. 
NITRATE OF POTASH 
Analysing 
42% ACTUAL POTASH 
15% AMMONIA 
One ton of this material contains S 
much Potash as 1750 lbs. Sulphate 
of Potash and as much Ammonia as 
1650 lbs. of Nitrate of Soda, 3400 lbs. 
of the two combined, and you save 
$30 to $40 per ton. Carloads and less. 
GROUND PHOSPHATE ROCK 
Containing 32% Phosphoric Acid 
NITRATE OF SODA and TANKAGE 
CARLOAD LOTS ONLY 
Get our prices before you order 
your fertilizers this year. 
Witherbee, Sherman & Company 
2 Rector Street, New York City 
When you write advertisers mention 
The Rural New-Yorker and you’ll get 
a quick reply and a “square deal.” St 
guarantee editorial page. 
See 
] 
Farmers’ Markets. —If people in the 
cities want farmers’ markets to be con¬ 
tinued they will have to fight for them. 
As a rule the local storekeepers discour¬ 
age these markets, and in some places 
have succeeded in having them done away 
with. Recently an effort of this kind 
developed in Cambridge. Mass., where the 
market in the square has proved very suc¬ 
cessful. But so many protests poured 
in that the farmers were allowed to re¬ 
sume business. It is only here and there 
rhat the markets have lived up to their 
original promise, but in several instances 
they have made good in such a decided 
manner that the value of the plan, when 
properly carried out, is fully demon¬ 
strated. The market at Quincy, Mass., 
started during the war, has persisted ever 
since, and is now apparently a permanent 
institution, with a long, covered, open 
shed, where the farmers congregate twice 
a week. This market was continued un¬ 
til Christmas, at which time fruit, ever¬ 
greens, eider, etc., were sold. The out¬ 
door market at Cambridge is still being 
carried on, and at a few other places the 
farmers meet their trade regularly. 
Business Methods Needed. —The one 
danger which seems most apparent is that 
hucksters will get control of the situa¬ 
tion. The selling must be done by the 
farmers themselves, if the scheme is to 
endure. In Pennsylvania it has been 
necessary to make rules which prevent 
forestalling; that is, the buying up of 
produce by dealers early in the mornin^. 
Some such rule may be required before 
the New England markets are firmly es¬ 
tablished. It seems a pity that farmers 
in many instances are so blind to their 
own interests as deliberately to sacrifice 
the goose which lays the golden eggs. 
Instances have multiplied rather rapidly 
where farmers have gouged the public in 
an endeavor to squeeze out every cent 
possible. In the long run this doesn’t 
pay. The public expects to get at, least a 
little lower price when buying from farm¬ 
ers, and all things considered, their po¬ 
sition seems wholly tenable. The road¬ 
side markets have suffered something of 
an eclipse the past season, and the ten¬ 
dency to charge all the traffic could bear 
is no doubt largely responsible. This 
may seem like taking the side of the con¬ 
sumer rather than that of the farmer 
himself, but there is no reason why we 
shouldn’t be fair in the matter, especially 
as it is the farmer himself who will suffer 
in the long run if his methods are not 
based on principle. 
Satisfying Customers. — Dr. It. .T. 
McFall, a specialist ir marketing, who 
has been- studying the situation, reports 
as follows: “The most effective advertis¬ 
ing comes through making customers sat¬ 
isfied. This is easily possible by selling 
good, fresh products, giving pleasant ser¬ 
vice, and charging moderate prices. The 
farmer should remember that the city 
man is just as tired of high prices as he 
himself is of his large expenses, and the 
main reason the antoists stop to buy is to 
save their money. The farmer who recog¬ 
nizes this rispd splits the difference be¬ 
tween wholesale and retail prices is the 
man who is going to make the most 
profit.” More or less dissatisfaction has 
been expressed by farmers who sell by the 
roadside, and some of them think that 
this line of trade has had its day. T am 
sure they are mistaken. There are too 
many real economies _in £he system for 
it not to last, and even to grow. It sim¬ 
ply remains for the farmer to study con¬ 
ditions and deal with them as would 
any business man trying to build up a 
permanent industry. 
The Other Side. —It is very interest¬ 
ing. by the way, to get the other side of 
things occasionally. Not long ago I 
passed a store in a suburban town which 
bore a large sign, reading: “Farmers’ 
Outlet.” I stopped to ask the proprietor 
what it meant. I found him in a state 
of extreme disgust. He said that he had 
set out to sell farm produce, buying it 
directly from the grower instead of going 
into the Boston market and getting it 
from the middleman. “But, do you 
know,” he said, “they want to charge me 
the same prices that they would get at re¬ 
tail. Moreover, they won’t bring it to 
me unless they are particularly hard up. 
They tell me if I want it. I can come and 
get it.” He stopped long enough to rub 
a spot of mud from his front window, 
then spat across the sidewalk and shook 
his finger in my face. “Talk about the 
down-trodden farmer,” he exclaimed, “why 
they are the biggest hogs on earth.” I 
didn’t wait to hear any more, and as¬ 
sumed itliat this particular gentleman 
was somewhat prejudiced ; but after all, 
there are many things which the farmer 
can learn in his relations with those who 
handle his goods. 
Starting Seeds Indoors— Fong ex¬ 
perience has shown that starting seeds in 
che house is very necessary in order to 
have early crops. It is to be hoped that 
vou have saved a little good soil to be 
used for the purpose. It doesn’t require 
much space to start several hundred 
plants, if you use little fiat boxes, such 
as are employed by market gardeners. 
They shouldn’t, be over two feet square, 
nor over two inches high. It isn’t neces¬ 
sary to have especially rich soil for start¬ 
ing seeds, but you should have good soil 
for the pots or flats into whieh you trans¬ 
plant the seedlings. You will find it well 
worth while to bake the soil used in the 
fiats in the oven. You can do this be¬ 
fore the boxes are filled or afterwards, if 
the flats are not too large. This baking 
destroys any insects that the soil may 
harbor, and likewise a myriad of weeds 
and grass seeds, so that it becomes much 
easier to handle yonr seedlings. Before 
the seeds are sown firm and smooth in 
the earth in the flats with a brick or block 
of wood. Then make very shallow drills 
with a pencil or sharp stick. Do not have 
the rows i o close together, nor plant too 
thickly. 
Watering.— There are several ways of 
applying water, but the best method which 
I have found is this: A pieee of tissue 
paper is cut slightly smaller than the in¬ 
side dimensions of the box. This paper 
is laid on the soil after the seeds have 
been sown. Water is then poured lightly 
onto the paper, through which it soaks 
without washing out the seeds. It isn’t 
necessary to remove the paper, because 
after one or two waterings it will become 
so well soaked that the seedlings can push 
themselves through it without difficulty. 
Transplanting. —Don’t forget to label 
each row of seeds so you will know what 
they are when they come up. If you have 
a lot of seeds to sow, probably it will be 
better to use a hotbed, but the average 
amateur gardener will find a hotbed dif¬ 
ficult to handle, and not at all necessary. 
Tt will be wise, though, to have a coid 
frame into which the started plants can 
he transplanted. In such a frame they 
have good opportunity to harden off and 
can be kept growing until it is time to set 
them in the open ground. 
Betting Seeds Early. — Orders for 
seeds ought to be put in right away. It 
is curious to find that even farmers of 
experience often neglect to place their 
orders until almost planting time. The 
result is that the seed houses are con¬ 
gested late in the Spring, and innumer¬ 
able mistakes are made—mistakes which 
would have been avoided if orders had 
been placed earlier. One big seed house 
is trying to relieve the situation by offer¬ 
ing a marked reduction in prices during 
the months of January and February. 
Growers, and this includes backyard gar¬ 
deners as well as farmers, ought to have 
their seeds on hand before the first of 
March. When this is done there is plenty 
of time for testing the seeds, something 
which ought not to be overlooked. 
Seed Variations. —While seedsmen 
doubtless are doing their best to put out 
high-grade seeds, many mistakes are made 
and much of the seed offered does not 
measure up to expectations. It is not at 
all difficult to test seeds, and the work 
ought to be done before the first of April, 
because with some kinds it is necessary 
to allow IS or 20 days in order to learn 
whether they are really fit for planting. 
The extent to which seeds vary as to vi¬ 
tality and •" ity is not commonly real¬ 
ized. Prof. II. F. Tompson of the Mar¬ 
ket Gardeners’ Experiment Station at 
Lexington, said the other day that lie 
had found a variation of from 000 to 1.000 
bushels of carrots per acre because of 
the difference in the quality of the seed 
used. Moreover, carrots four inches long 
have required the same seed cost, fertilizer 
and labor as have carrots which have 
grown eight inches long and weigh 40 per 
cent more. As conditions are now, it is 
almost imperative for successful market 
gardeners to test their seeds and make 
every effort to obtain those whieh will 
give a maximum yield. While it is a lit¬ 
tle more difficult for the home gardener, 
even he cannot afford to plant seeds of 
inferior quality when he can test them 
easily and quickly in the house. 
The Use of Lime. —I think I never 
knew a time when so much attention was 
being given to the use of lime, particu¬ 
larly by n ’ t gardeners and amateurs. 
It wasn’t lohg ago that lime was prac¬ 
tically ignored by the average farmer and 
gardener. It has now come to be consid¬ 
ered so important that at an early meet¬ 
ing of the Market Gardeners’ Association 
of Boston practically the whole time is 
to be given over to a discussion of lime 
as applied to the growing of market crops. 
It has been found that there are acid 
soils all over New England, and this 
acidity must be corrected when garden 
truck is to be grown. Most of the root 
crops, particularly beets, require lime, 
and so do peas, beans, tomatoes and most 
greens in order to give a maximum yield. 
Lime is of value in growing cabbages and 
cauliflower, because it does away with 
many soil diseases which otherwise would 
impair or damage the crop. It is well to 
know that Mine can be applied at almost 
any time, even when the ground is frozen 
or covered with snow. It can be put on 
just as well now as later. In fact, it is 
better to apply lime separately from the 
fertilizer, and to plow or harrow it in 
before fertilizer of any kind is put in. 
Doubtless the best form of lime for the 
amateur or the market gardener to use is 
ground limestone, and 150 lbs. for every 
1,000 square feet is about the right aver¬ 
age amount. Many amateur gardeners 
who spend their money freely for manure 
or commercial fertilizers will do well to 
use a little of this sum for limestone. 
Their fertilizer money will go farther and 
give better results. e. t. farrington. 
