The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
41 
Back  to  the  Land  Once  Mo r e 
Some  years  ago  I  bought  a  small  farm  in  North  Jer¬ 
sey.  When  I  went  up  there  I  knew  somewhat  less  than 
nothing  about  the  work,  and  so  I  copied  my  neighbors. 
That  section  is  devoted  to  the  dairy  business,  and  my 
place  was  too  small.  I  had  a  scant  20  acres  of  plow 
ground,  most  of  it  very  rough  and  requiring  drainage. 
It  was  no  place  for  stock,  but  I  was  so  green  it  took 
me  two  years  to  find  it  out.  When  I  went  up  there 
five-acre  fields  looked  big  to  me  after  a  city  lot.  I 
managed  to  make  a  living.  The  place  fed  four  cows 
and  a  team.  I  cradled  my  grain  and  flailed  it  out.  I 
also  cut  my  grass  in  good  part  by  scythe,  as  some  of 
my  land  was  too  rough  for  an  old-fashioned  mower, 
which  will  stand  most  anything.  I  worked  by  the  day 
among  my  neighbors  also.  I  made  a  living  after  a 
fashion.  I  can  do  any  manual  thing  there  is  to  be  done 
in  the  line  of  general  farming,  even  to  ringing  a  two- 
year  boar  alone,  or  loading  him.  either,  but  I  want  m> 
more  of  it.  I  am  through  forever  with  general  farming. 
I  came  back  to  the  city  two  years  ago  and  took  a  job. 
But  I  like  the  country,  which  is  the  reason  I  went  up 
there  in  the  first  place.  I  have  50  acres,  as  I  said ; 
about  20  clear.  The  rest  is  woodlot,  no  timber  to 
speak  of. 
My  plan  is  to  try  again  in  a  different  way.  I  want 
some  poultry,  not  too  many,  so  I  can  take  good  care  of 
them,  using  some  trap-nests  for  breeders,  etc. ;  some 
bees,  a  fine  large  garden  for  plenty  of  Summer  and 
Winter  vegetables,  for  which  I  seemed  to  have  no  time 
before,  and  for  a  money  crop  I  want  to  put  in  berries. 
It  is  a  natural  berry  country,  and  there  seems  to  be  a 
ready  market  at  good  prices  all  the  time.  I  wish  to 
ask  you  a  few  questions  about  berries.  There  will  be 
am  somewhat  competent  to  give  the  information 
required. 
If  I  knew  the  nature  of  his  soil  I  would  be  more 
competent  to  advise  him.  H.  W.  It.  says  most  of 
his  plow  ground  is  “rough  and  needs  draining.”  I 
take  it  that  it  is  stony  and  wet.  The  first  thing  to 
be  done  (if  that  is  the  case)  is  to  put  down  some 
tile  or  open  some  ditches,  so  the  necessary  drainage 
can  be  done.  I  would  say  to  give  his  whole  atten¬ 
tion  and  care  to  about  two  or  three  acres  that  are 
best  adapted  for  the  growing  of  vegetables  and  ber¬ 
ries.  Select  a  half  acre  that  is  free  from  stones,  or 
if  not,  pick  them  off.  and  set  it  to  strawberries  in  rows 
4  ft.  apart,  and  the  plants  18  in.  apart  in  the  row.  I 
would  set  the  following  varieties :  One-third  Suc¬ 
cess,  one-third  Big  Joe,  one-third  Chesapeake.  Then 
sow  three  rows  of  Victoria  spinach  between  the  rows 
of  strawberries,  1  ft.  apart,  on  two-thirds  of  the  bed. 
On  the  other  third  set  lettuce  plants  1  ft.  apart  be¬ 
tween  the  strawberries.  This  entire  bed  can  be 
worked  with  a  hand  cultivator.  The  lettuce  and 
spinach  will  be  cut  off  before  the  strawberries  begin 
to  run.  and  the  setting  of  the  plants  and  sowing  seed 
Then  I  would  plant  about  two  acres  to  peaches, 
rows  15  ft.  apart,  and  plant  sweet  corn  between  the 
rows.  This  has  been  an  excellent  paying  crop 
around  this  section  for  some  years.  A  farmer  near 
bore  planted  one  acre  of  sweet  corn  last  year,  and 
on  one  day  pulled  7,000  ears,  loaded  on  truck,  ran 
it  into  Newark  and  got  $15  per  1,000  for  it. 
The  chicken  proposition  is  good.  I  keep  about  40 
hens  the  year  around;  have  to  be  kept  in  a  small 
yard  most  of  the  time.  I  have  to  buy  all  their  feed, 
and  yet  I  clear  $3  a  hen,  besides  having  all  the  eggs 
and  chickens  we  want  to  eat. 
Now  with  working  the  average  as  I  have  described, 
growing  vegetables  for  own  use  and  feed  for  chick¬ 
ens,  horse  and  cow,  H.  W.  It.  will  have  his  hands 
full,  and  that  is  what  he  wants  from  the  tone  of  his 
letter.  william  pebkins. 
Canker  Growth  on  Foot 
I  wish  advice  regarding  a  growth  in  the  frog  of  the 
forefoot  of  a  horse.  It  is  shaped  like  an  inverted  cone. 
Where  it  starts  at  the  heel  it  is  about  an  inch  through, 
and  spreads  to  about  2 y2  in.  About  %  in.  of  the  out- 
f'  0-  W0 
■  -  > 
Substantial  Inhabitants  of  the  Farm 
three  of  us.  We  cannot  rely  on  pickers  up  there.  They 
are  not  to  be  had;  so  instead  of  putting  in  a  lot  of  one 
kind,  my  idea  is  to  plant  at  least  three  kinds  that  will 
form  a  succession,  thereby  giving  us  a  chance  to  harvest 
them  ourselves,  say  strawberries,  black  raspberries  and 
blackberries.  Is  this  all  right,  or  can  you  suggest  any¬ 
thing  better?  Can  you  tell  me  how  much  of  each?  I 
want  to  put  in  all  we  can  take  care  of  and  pick.  I 
have  thought  of,  say  one-eighth  acre  of  each  the  first 
year.  Can  any  of  these  be  planted  in  Fall  to  bear  the 
following  year?  What  are  the  best  yielders  and  ship¬ 
pers  for  the  market?  I  want  to  get  started  right,  and 
then  perhaps  put  in  quite  an  acreage  later  and  get 
pickers  from  Phillipsburg  and  Easton,  which  is  only 
10  miles  away,  with  a  hard  road  all  the  way.  I  shall 
have  a  flivver  truck.  Will  you  also  tell  me  what  de¬ 
partment  at  State  College  to  write  for  literature  on 
berries  or  books  on  the  subject?  If  I  can  spare  time 
from  hunting  coal  this  Winter  I  aim  to  read  up  on  the 
subject.  I  know  there  is  a  ready  sale  for  berries  every¬ 
where — country  as  well  as  city.  h.  w.  b. 
New  Jersey. 
HW.  R.  brings  to  mind  the  adage,  “If  at  first 
•  you  don't  succeed,  try,  try  again.”  I  like  liis 
spirit,  and  with  his  pluck  to  try  again  am  sure  he 
will  come  out  victor  in  the  end.  I  do  not  think  any¬ 
one  was  up  against  a  harder  proposition  than  I  was 
33  years  ago.  when  I  rented  a  poor  run-down  farm 
and  started  to  make  a  living  by  growing  berries  and 
vegetables.  Neighbors  said  I  would  be  in  the  poor- 
house  inside  of  two  years.  I  made  a  success  of  it, 
and  am  on  “Easy  Street”  today.  So  I  feel  as  if  I 
can  all  be  done  at  one  time — April  I.  This  ground 
has  probably  got  enough  weed  seed  to  keep  one 
working  constantly,  so  do  not  add  more  by  coating 
-it  with  manure,  but  sow  one-half  ton  of  complete 
fertilizer  on  the  one-half  acre  after  plowing,  and 
harrow  it  in. 
I  would  put  in  one-half  acre  of  asparagus,  after 
plowing  and  fertilizing  plot;  plow  furrows  4  ft. 
apart,  12  or  15  in.  deep;  set  plants  18  in.  apart  in 
furrows,  and  cover  the  crowns  about  2  in.  deep. 
After1  the  shoots  begin  to  appear  keep  pulling  in  the 
soil  until  ground  is  level. 
Set  one-eighth  acre  to  red  raspberries,  Cuthbert, 
one-eighth  acre  to  black.  Gregg,  and  one-eiglith  acre 
to  Ratlibun  blackberry.  Set  the  blackberries  next 
to  your  fence;  then  the  black  raspberries,  then  the 
red,  then  the  asparagus,  and  next  the  strawberries. 
Between  the  rows  of  raspberries  and  blackberries 
could  be  grown  peas,  beans  and  potatoes.  The  first 
year  I  would  plant  one-half  acre  of  peas,  Hundred¬ 
fold.  I  have  always  advocated  planting  Gradus, 
but  last  year  I  tried  the  Hundred-fold  for  the  first 
time,  and  found  it  far  superior  to  Gradus.  I  would 
not  plant  many  the  second  year  unless  I  could  get 
pickers,  as  the  peas  and  berries  would  need  to  be 
picked  at  the  same  time. 
side  is  hard  and  the  inside  core  is  soft.  When  on  the 
ground  it  becomes  raw  and  bleeds.  Thrush  has  set  in 
at  the  foot  of  it.  The  horse  is  shod.  h.  i. 
Thrush,  caused  by  the  horse  standing  in  wet  and 
tilth,  _  is  the  primary  cause  of  a  growth  such  as  you 
describe.  It  constitutes  canker  of  the  frog,  and  the 
tendency  will  be  for  the  sole  to  become  similarly  af¬ 
fected  until  it  is  covered  with  soft,  fungus-like  growths 
which  sprout  overnight  when  cut  off.  As  the  disease 
has  not  yet  spread  to  that  extent,  it  may  perhaps 
quickly  respond  to  the  following  treatment :  Have  the 
blacksmith  cut  off  the  growth  by  means  of  a  hatchet¬ 
shaped  firing  iron  heated  cherry  red  hot.  The  horse 
will  have  to  be  restrained  for  the  operation,  and  it 
would  be  best  of  course  to  employ  a  veterinarian  to  do 
the  work,  as  he  will  inject  a  cocaine  or  eucaine  solution 
upon  the  trunk  nerves  of  the  foot  to  prevent  suffering. 
However,  it  so  happens  that  such  growths  often  are  not 
very  sensitive,  and  it  is  also  a  fact  that  the  hot  iron, 
after  the  first  contact,  may  deaden  the  sensibility  of 
the  parts  or,  as  has  been  alleged,  “the  firing  iron  is  its 
own  anesthetic.”  Personally,  we  prefer  to  inject  a  local 
anesthetic  when  operating  upon  a  horse’s  foot,  as  pain 
is  very  liable  to  result  from  cutting,  no  matter  what 
disease  is  present,  and  it  is  unfair  to  subject  any  dumb 
animal  to  unnecessary  agony.  Following  removal  of 
the  growth  apply  powdered  alum  freely  after  a  prelim¬ 
inary  disinfection  of  the  wound  with  a  l-to-500  solution 
of  corrosive  sublimate.  Keep  the  alum  upon  the  part 
by  means  of  a  layer  of  sterilized  cotton,  above  which 
fit  a  slip  of  thin  metal,  each  end  of  which  should  be 
tucked  under  the  shoe.  Renew  the  application  of  alum 
twice  daily  and  cause  pressure  upon  the  part  by  making 
the  covering  of  cottqn  as  thick  as  the  strip  of  metal  will 
allow.  a.  s.  A. 
