830 
Jhe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
May 31, 1924 
Believe me, we needed to look at the distant land¬ 
scape to find beauty. The “close-up” stuff was far 
from beautiful! The farm buildings were in mighty 
poor condition. The land too, rented for over 20 
years, was all run down and in need of expert care. 
We knew this partly; that is, we realized the -need, 
Last year (here was something of a sunflower contest 
among our readers, and some remarkable plants were 
produced. Here is one grown by Mrs. H. Rothe, of 
Westchester Co., N. Y. It was 12 ft. 10 in. high, and 
the flower was 13 in. in diameter, weighing 6^4 lbs. 
Raising a big sunflower is one of the easiest of horti¬ 
cultural jobs 
but we had no idea what a long, difficult task it 
was. We had it all figured out! We would he con¬ 
tent to “get along” for a while with just a few 
necessary repairs and wait until we were “on our 
feet” a little more securely, before we made any 
really important changes. Our assets and liabili¬ 
ties would have looked something like this: 
Assets: 100 acres of land; wet of farm buildings in 
poor condition; a team of three-year-old colts; six 
cows; four cows (paid for); 20 hens (paid for); 
youth and ambition. Liabilities: $3,000 mortgage; note 
for $300; note for $250; ignorance and inexperience. 
And we had made plans to "fix up” the house 
and barn, build up that worn-out soil, pay those 
notes and mortgage—all in five years! Ignorance is 
bliss, isn’t it? We were very indignant when my 
father advised us how to have the payments fixed 
at a certain amount on the mortgage. We allowed 
him to have it his own way; $50 on the principal 
each year and the interest. How many times we 
have thanked him for his forethought! He knew 
what we were “up against” a lot better than we did. 
lie was not a rich man, but his credit was good, 
and he helped us to establish our own credit. In 
fact I sometimes think we would have been better 
oft if our “sense” had been allowed to develop a 
little more, before our credit. 
A COLD HOUSE.—That Winter of 1910 was one 
we will always remember. When cold weather 
came, we found the old house almost impossible to 
heat. It was not so strange either, for there was 
little besides the plaster and paper between us and 
out-doors. The clapboards were old and loose, so 
they certainly made music on a windy night. We 
“banked up” the house all around, and 1 caulked 
the doors and windows with strips of cloth in the 
largest cracks. There was plenty of ventilation 
then! But by some miracle we managed to keep 
well, and even the baby never had a cold. 
'MAKING MILK.—About our only income that 
Winter was the milk check. There was one little 
red inulley cow that really deserved most of the 
credit for our first checks. She freshened in Oc¬ 
tober and was a winner. From an old account book, 
I take the following: October, $65.45 (grain bill 
$42.82) ; November. $74.88 (grain bill, $33.15) ; De¬ 
cember, $72.44 (grain bill, $25) ; January, $88.49 
(grain bill, $40.70) ; February, $113 (gi’ain bill 
$41.40); March, $99.30 (grain bill $35); April, 
$81.30 (grain bill, $37); May, $97.13’; June, $84; 
July, $88.78; August, $83.45; September, $93.07. From 
that record you can readily figure what was left to 
pay in on the grocery bill. Then one of our young 
cows had pneumonia and died. One of the old 
cows was condemned by the milk company’s veter¬ 
inarian and we had to sell her for whatever we' 
could get, after wintering her. Of course we had 
not figured on these things, and it was surprising 
how much could really happen that was entirely 
unexpected. We began to think that there was a 
mighty big IF in farming. 
WATER NEEDED.—Then there was the water 
supply! We have one of the finest springs in this 
vicinity. The water is cold (48 F. at the spring) 
and there is always an abundant supply but the old 
pipeline was out of commission. There was no time 
that year to put in new pipe, so our water had to 
be brought up from a spring in the cellar. We had 
no milkhouse either, and cooled the milk all that 
Winter by setting the cans into tubs of water in 
the big back room. The milk company would al¬ 
low that method only until a milkhouse could be 
built in the Spring. We had intended to repair the 
house first of all, but what could we do? We were 
depending on the milk checks for most of our in¬ 
come, and a milkhouse and water line were neces¬ 
sary to sell the milk. 
THE SUGAR HARVEST.—W e were glad it was 
an early Spring that year. Bill hired his brother 
to help with the sugaring, and they tapped the 
sugarbush on the eighth of March. It kept us all 
busy then. We had 400 trees tapped, and they had 
to boil the sap down in a big old-fashioned pan. 
They had to keep it boiling evei-y minute, night and 
day to keep ahead. They took turns at night work 
mostly, but sometimes it took them both to keep 
wood a-plenty cut up and watch the pans too. After 
it was brought to the house, I had it to cleanse and 
can in gallon cans. We made 200 gallons that year, 
and sold it at a dollar a gallon. That was too cheap, 
but it helped out a lot even at that. 
A New York: State Faiimer’s Wife. 
(To Be Continued) 
Use of Seaweed as Manure 
Can you give me some advice as to treatment of 
sandy soils such as are found on the beach resorts on 
Great South Bay, between the bay and ocean, in order 
to raise the ordinary garden fruits and vegetables? I 
have seen corn, melons and radishes growing there in 
what looked like pure sand, and I understand that 
potatoes are also grown there successfully, with the 
aid of seaweed. What would be the value of seaweed 
as a source of humus, and would the Halt in the fresh¬ 
ly gathered seaweed be harmful to crops unless par¬ 
tially washed out? What kind of fertilizer would be 
best for soil of this kind? e. ii. A. 
HERE is no question about the value of seaweed 
as manure. The Connecticut Experiment Sta- 
tion has printed 
a bulletin 
(No. 194) on 
the sub- 
jec-t. It give the 
following 
comparison of 
com post- 
tion: 
Water . 
New York Cow Manure 
Seaweed Horse Manure with Litter 
. ... 75.00% 08.83% S0.8 % 
Organic matter .. 
_ 17.04 
27.12 
Mineral matter .. 
. . . . 7.30 
4.05 
.... 
Nitrogen . 
100.00 
100.00 
0.62 
0.46 
Phosphoric acid .. 
.... 0.13 
0.42 
0.41 
Potash . 
_ 0.09 
0.58 
0.03 
Lime . 
0.52 
Magnesia . 
_ 0.34) 
0.24 
.... 
Tlius it appears that the mixed seaweed has less 
organic matter, less nitrogen and phosphoric acid 
and more potash than stable manure. 
The first thing needed is phosphorus in some form. 
From the beginning of fertilizers the soil farmers 
within easy reach of the ocean have used seaweed. 
The writer can well remember as a boy how after 
a heavy storm the farmers would drive their oxen 
to the shore and drive back with seaweed. It was 
usually spx-ead on sod to be plowed under for corn 
and Fall or Wintei' application gave best results. 
Some samples of seaweed contain many small shells 
which help supply lime. Direct use of seaweed on 
potatoes does not give best results, as there is too 
much salt applied. If the seaweed can be used 
several months in advance, so most of the salt is 
washed out before planting, there will be a good 
crop. The various kinds of seaweed differ in ferti¬ 
lizing value—rockweed and kelp are best. In the 
case mentioned we think i-oekweed would give great 
results in such a soil as is mentioned. We should 
use a fertilizer of high gi-ade—say 5-8-7, depending 
for the first few years on the rockweed to provide 
humus. It will be better to collect the rockweed in 
Fall and Winter and let it stand for several months 
before putting in the soil. That will wash much of 
the salt out of it. Of coux-se the seaweed is too 
bulky to make hauling it far from (lie sea profitable. 
Ownership of a Line Tree 
A has a tree on his side of line between his property 
and B’s, and it leans over on B’s property .so one-half 
of the top crosses the line. A claims the tree. B claims 
the part that leans over the line. Who owns this tree, 
and who has the right to cut the tree? f. t. h. 
HIS is another of those perennial questions. We 
have explained this a dozen times, yet “still 
they come.” A ti-ee belongs to the owner of the 
land out of which its trunk grows. That appears to 
be a well-settled point of law. If this tree grows 
out of the land clearly on A’s side of the line it be¬ 
longs to A. B cannot claim any part of it, even if 
if lean over the line on his side. If he can show 
that the leaning tree is an injury or danger to him, 
B can compel A to remove the part which hangs over 
the line, but B cannot claim any part of it as his. 
It all belongs to the owner of the land out of which 
it grows. Another side of this matter is presented 
in the following: 
The following is copy of a letter just received. It 
was sent by a neighbor whose property adjoins mine. 
Can you tell me what “legal rights,” if any, he has? 
“I wish to notify you that such shrubs as are lo¬ 
cated on the southeast corner of your lot adjoining 
mine, where the branches now extend over the line on 
to my property, must be cut back or removed from my 
premises at once or I whall be compelled to assert my 
jegal rights in the matter. I also notify you that any 
shrubs, trees or other matter planted near the prop¬ 
erties’ dividing line must be at a proper distance or 
their branches kept from extending over onto my prop¬ 
erty ; otherwise I shall assert the same legal rights.” 
New York. r. h. 
As stated above, the shrubs or trees belong to the 
owner of the land out of which they grew—even if 
it he but a few inches over the line. When the 
branches extend over the line to the injury of your 
neighbor he has the legal right to cut them off at 
the line if you will not do so. This neighbor is 
within his rights, and has taken the reasonable way 
of pi’oceeding. If you do not trim the shrubs and 
thus “keep them at home.” he can legally do so. He 
cannot dictate to you where you shall plant shrubs 
The little girl shown in the picture is Thelma A. Kib- 
ler. two years old. She is standing beside her grand¬ 
mother’s rocking chair, 50 years old, and wearing her 
mother’s dress which is 25 years old. This was worn 
by her mother when she was three years of age at a 
church wedding where she officiated as flower girl. Thus 
it is that little Thelma represents in her dress some¬ 
thing of the past while in hex-self she represents the 
future. This little girl and both her parents were 
farmers, now returned to the city. 
or trees. You can put them anywhere on your own 
premises, but you must take the consequences if 
they grow over your neighbor’s line. 
There is often great trouble about fruit trees on 
the line. The tree and its fruit belong to the owner 
of the land where the tree starts. If a limb grows 
out over the neighbor’s land and beai-s fruit the 
neighbor has no right to pick such fruit. It belongs 
to the tree owner. l"et the owner of the ti-ee cannot 
legally go on his neighbor’s land to pick the crop, 
while the neighbor has the i-ight to saw off the limbs 
close up to the line if he can show that they damage 
his property. Yet he cannot legally hold the wood 
thus cut off! • 
