284 
February 19, 1921 
1 HOPE FARM NOTES 
This has been an “open” Winter thus 
far, with few storms and little really cold 
weather. It has given n good chance for 
outdoor work. We hauled out the Sum¬ 
mer's accumulation of manure and spread 
it under apple trees which promise to 
bear this year. I would rather have 
waited until Spring for this work, but it 
is better to have it out of the way. In 
the Spring we intend to put phosphate 
on this manure. The trees thus manured 
are in sod which will not be plowed this 
year. Most of our Winter work is in 
the woods. I have told how, when we 
bought this farm, we found 30 acres of 
chestnut timber growing on it. In those 
days I thought we had a life insurance 
in those fine trees. Every “expert” ad¬ 
vised me. to let them grow. My own 
feeling was that they should be cut at 
once and sold to pay the mortgage. I inal- 
ly 1 gave way and listened to expert ad¬ 
vice. First we knew the chestnut blight 
crept into these trees, and almost before 
we realized it they were dead or dying. 
Then there came a craze for concrete 
building, and the town authorities com¬ 
pelled the telephone companies to put all 
wires underground. This killed the de¬ 
mand for poles. So we watched our 
beautiful chestnut trees fade away >ow 
they stand up like bare, scarred fingcis 
on the hand of nature. 
4 & ❖ # # 
This year there has come a little spurt 
of new values. There is some demand 
for fence posts, and we are cutting up 
this dead chestnut for that material. 
There is quite a little life left in a dead 
chestnut post. There promises to be a 
great interest in poultry keeping as a re¬ 
sult of the new poultry contest near us. 
This will mean a new demand for fencing 
material, and we feel the effect of it. 
Then there seems to be some increase in 
livestock keeping around here, and all this 
makes demand and value for the dead 
chestnut. We find it r'ather difficult to 
settle the selling value of a fence post. 
Of course, there is no standard market 
value, since it is not a regular trade ar¬ 
ticle. like sawed timber. I found that 
an S-ft. 4-in. post brings all the way from 
10 to 40 cents, depending on the locality 
and what it is wanted for M e are sell- 
in*'' a number for vineyard work toi, in 
spite of the fearful disasters to grape¬ 
growing foretold as a result of piohi- 
bition. grapevines are still being P^ted 
freelv. Thus the value of our dead chest¬ 
nut trees are returning to some extent, 
but if I were eoing through it again l 
would take no chances, but cut the timber 
at ouce and pay the mortgage. 
* # -fi * *8* 
Some of these larger chestnuts (are 
sound enough to cut into boards or scant¬ 
ling. and we shall haul a few logs to the 
mill for sawing. It is remarkable liow 
big: chestnuts bold their wood fiom 
decav There is much prejudice against 
dead chestnut as fuel, though we burn 
15 cords or more every year. Most peo¬ 
ple call for oak or hickory, but in oui 
country these woods are too v ? lll ‘ abl * 
burning. A few farmers seem to do fauly 
well .at splitting dry chestnut and selling 
for kindling. When T first came here 
it seemed as if our woods were of solid 
chestnut. As we cut the dead trees out 
we find a thick sprinkling of harder 
woods, which will leave a fine grove. I 
am tempted to cut the whole thing off 
clean and plant 3,000 apple trees on the 
on ,, crPS Mv people think I have trees 
enough ns it'is—far better take care of 
what we now have! We tried to buy 
one of the abandoned buildings at Tamp 
Merritt, about 10 miles from our place. 
The idea was to tear this building down, 
cart the lumber home and put it up again 
as a storage house for apples. ■ t was a 
good scheme, but they wanted too much 
for the building. Tins is no time for 
paying big prices for anything I think 
we should spend our money freely foi 
barqa'ms whenever they show up. but vo 
have got to know what things are worth, 
and refuse to pay more than a fair valua¬ 
tion, which will leave us a chance to get 
out whole. That is what the farmers in 
our country are doing I or many years 
we have all bought feed, fertilizers and 
nearly everything else without, knowing 
what they are really worth. Now we are 
going to quit doing it. 
We have a farmers’ buying association 
covering two counties of New Jersey. 
It has just brought in a big outfit of grain 
and feed. We bought oats, brail and corn 
at a saving of at least 35 per cent over 
local retail trade. In doing such busi¬ 
ness. farmers must pay cash before the 
goods come. Too many of our people 
have formed the habit of buying one bag 
of feed at a time, and having it charged. 
They pay perhaps every month or (10 
days. In such cases, of course, the price 
includes the cost of retail handling, .inter¬ 
est on the credit extended, and also bad 
debts. We are none of us “doing busi¬ 
ness for our health,” except some poetic 
baek-to-the-landers who make their living 
outside the farm. A feed dealer must 
expect to write off from 10 to 30 per cent 
of his accounts as uncollectible—though 
he must pay for the goods he orders. It 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
is no more than human nature, therefore, 
for such a dealer to got these losses back 
by charging a price large enough to make 
it up out of those who pay. This system 
seems to be followed up bv everyone in 
the business, from the feed manufacturer 
to the local dealer. The only people who 
are unable to have a hand in the system 
are the two most important classes—the 
Western farmers who produce the grain 
and the Eastern farmers or feeders who 
use it. Thus 00 per cent of those inter¬ 
ested in grain handling must take what 
the other 10 per cent offer them. 
* * * * * 
In our own case we read how some 
of those Western farmers are facing ruin 
with corn at 55 cents a bushel. We want 
some of that cheap grain, but before it 
gets to us we pay nearly $2. When we 
go direct to those Western farmers for 
some of that 55-cent corn, w'e cannot get 
it. Very properly, as I think, they re¬ 
fuse to sell. They will bold it for a dol¬ 
lar or more. We need it as badly as 
Joseph’s brothers did when they traveled 
to Egypt after grain, but we do not get 
quite the same treatment. What we 
have evidently got to do is to combine at 
both ends of the line. Here in New Jer¬ 
sey we have the money with which to buy 
the grain direct. Our farmers sell their 
crops for cash, and in spite of “deflation” 
most of them have cash or credit with 
which to buy supplies just as soon as the 
price to us shows a fair margin over 
original cost. Before the Involution a 
group of judges in one of our New Jersey 
courts gave some decisions against both 
law and fair dealing. A company of Jer- 
seymen went to the court house and 
pulled the judges off the bench ! Many 
of us are thinking of those old days as 
we study local prices for feeds and fer¬ 
tilizers and other supplies, and then find 
out.what Western farmers are offered for 
grain and what chemicals can be bought 
for in large lots. MV have the money 
and we are willing to pay. MV know we 
must pay cash, and we are willing to do 
it if we can get the goods at a fair price. 
Now whore are those M Vs torn farmers 
with their cheap grain? 
***** 
I shall buy more grain this year, as we 
are to change our farming somewhat. In 
the past 10 years we have not paid great 
attention to livestock, as farm crops paid 
better. Now comes a change. I can see 
no prospect for high prices for such crops 
as we have been growing. There is, of 
course, much talk about cutting down pro¬ 
duction, but I doubt if the total will be 
much less than the average. I know of 
some large farmers who. while advocating 
less production for others, are quietly 
preparing to produce more than ever! 
As usual, it will be the smaller farmer 
who will grow less. I propose to make 
every dollar and every day’s work count, 
for most of us have to give up all our 
old plans. MV have a good flock of Tou¬ 
louse geese, and T have just bought a pair 
of White Chinas. MV shall fence in the 
orchard of old apple trees near the house, 
and another wet field near by, hatch out 
every gosling possible and let them run 
inside this fence. Last year our geese 
paid better than any other stock on the 
farm. Maybe we cannot repeat on a 
larger scale, hut we arc out to try it. 
These wet fields have never paid for the 
labor, hut I think the geese will got profit 
from them. People write for breeding 
stock of geese, and for information re¬ 
garding their keeping. MV cannot sup¬ 
ply either. MV have no birds for sale, 
and every egg we can find will he used 
here. As for information, all we know 
is that last year we let the goose alone. 
■She found a place to lay her eggs and we 
gathered them. She and a Bed hen d ; d 
the hatching. MV fed them and just let 
them alone, with a place to swim and a 
good range. MVether we can repeat with 
more goslings remains to he seen. 
***** 
I also think the Black Jersey Giants 
are to he money-makers for the next few 
years. There is. unquestionably, a de¬ 
mand for these birds. At the big poultry 
show the Giants gave a good account of 
themselves. I firmly believe that they 
are superior as an all-around fowl to any 
of the heavy breeds. There is no sense 
in comparing them with Leghorns—they 
are in a different class from “Beds” or 
“Bocks.” and they are not yet fully 
“fixed” in type or breeding. T still think 
they are best suited to extensive farming 
where the birds have a wide range, and 
pick up waste grain and seeds. Under 
such conditions the Giants will lay a fair 
number of eggs and produce fine meat. 
At the poultry show there was one Giant 
capon weighing 21 pounds. T did not 
weigh him. but. he certainly “looked the 
part.” I am told that Giant capons are 
bringing $fi.50 to $0 in the Now York 
market. M T hile I think some of the prices 
demanded for these birds are excessive, 
the breed has merit and will be 'a money¬ 
maker for some years. / hove no stock 
or cf/f/8 for sole, e.rcept two or three 
cockerels. 
***** 
These 20 “favorite hens” at the Bergen 
County egg-laying contest are slow to 
start. They laid 43 eggs during the 
twelfth week, hut most of them are very 
lazy. I have this note from the owner 
of one bird : “Not having received any 
report as yet for the twelfth week of 
the laying contest at Westwood. I wish 
to say that if our pullet has not. laid yet. 
T wish you would go there and chop that 
•.pullet's head off and oat her for your 
Sunday dinner. It seems to me there 
must he something physically wrong with 
Uste“hor3e £ens'e”in buying 
your FurnaCe 
Your furnace is either an asset or a 
• liability. The fuel it eats is either 
turned at once into warmth and 
comfort, or a large percentage goes 
up the chimney as waste.’-^Buy 
your furnace as you do your horse. 
Look under the casing as you look 
under the horse blanket. And see 
that it's sound in all those details 
that mean long life, the details you 
find in your 
P Sterling Furnace 
‘The One Register Furnace 
Its excellent construction eliminates 
bothersome repairs. It costs a few dollars 
more, but in fuel saving, long life and 
satisfactory service soon repays this 
many times. 
A postal will bring you full informa- 
tion on Sterling construction and Ster¬ 
ling saving. Why not mail it today T 
SILL STOVE WORKS 
ROCHESTER, N. Y. 
The Best Crops Require the Use of 
Wilcox Fertilizers 
Our customers call them “fertilizers that fertilize.” 
They know, qnd we want you to know the advantages 
of using our goods,—quality and condition second to 
none. Ask us about them ! 
We suggest that you put your crop feeding problems 
before us. They will have our immediate attention. 
THE WILCOX FERTILIZER COMPANY 
Mystic - - Connecticut 
N. 
Maple Syrup Makers! 
Profit by Adopting theM GRIMM SYSTEM 
S ectional pans with 
high partitions. 
Light and heavy cannot 
intermix insuring: high¬ 
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fuel and labor. 22 dif¬ 
ferent sizes. Write for 
catalog and state num¬ 
ber of trees you tap. 
GRIMM MANUFACTURING CO. 
619 Champlain Ave. Cleveland, O. 
"WOOD PIPE= 
Why not use Wood Pipe for carrying Spring 
Water to your house and barn. It can be in¬ 
stalled for one-ha if the cost of iron pipe. It will 
not rust, clog or taint. It the water becomes 
frozen it will not burst. Bored from White 
Pine Timber, t he water is delivered as sweet 
and pure as at the source of supply. 
Write for Catalan ue and Priors 
A. WYCKOFF & SON COMPANY. Elmira, N. Y. 
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This is the most useful and practi- //// "' /// hiiiiiii 11 i ical garden tool made. It is really 
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