The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
1491 
sold  and  the  money  -collected.  In  co-operative  mar¬ 
keting  it  is  expected,  as  a  matter  of  course,  that 
the  final  net  returns  to  the  members  will  be  equal 
to  or  greater  than  they  would  receive  by  marketing 
as  individuals.  Unless  this  is  the  ultimate  result, 
at  least  after  the  co-operative  agency  has  become 
established,  something  is  radically  wrong  with  the 
management,  or  with  the  whole  principle  of  co¬ 
operative  marketing  of  farm  produce.  Farmers 
must  acquaint  themselves  with  these  added  respon¬ 
sibilities  which  they  voluntarily  assume  when  they 
join,  if  they  hope  to  develop  the  enterprise  of  co¬ 
operative  marketing  to  a  successful  conclusion.  ' 
FACTORS  FOR  SUCCESS.— Successful  co-opera¬ 
tive  marketing  of  the  farmers’  crops  will  ultimately 
depend  first  on  definite  agreements  between  mem¬ 
bers,  second,  definite  acreage  of  crop  to  be  marketed, 
and  third,  certain  delivery  to  the  agency  of  all  of 
the  crop  produced.  In  no  other  way  can  the  direc¬ 
tors  of  a  co-operative  intelligently  anticipate  ex¬ 
penses,  solicit  trade  connection  and  make  plans  for 
handling  the  product.  Similiarly  ad¬ 
vantageous  purchases  of  supplies  by  a 
co-operative  will  depend  first  on  the 
assembling  of  definite  orders  for  im¬ 
mediate  or  future  delivery,  second,  as¬ 
surance  that  a  member’s  order  cannot 
be  voluntarily  cancelled,  and  third, 
handling  a  large  volume  in  order  to  re¬ 
duce  the  overhead  expense  of  operat¬ 
ing.  Unless  the  members  will  admit 
and  show  their  mutual  responsibilities, 
little  hope  can  be  held  out  for  really 
successful  co-operation. 
F.  E.  ROBERTSON. 
milking  machine.  So  I  hope  it  will  be  with  aspara¬ 
gus  bunchers.  A  machine  that  would  enable  one  man 
to  sort  and  bunch  1,000  bunches  of  asparagus  a  day 
would  meet  with  a  ready  sale  at  $500  each.  A  sat¬ 
isfactory  onion  set  planter  is  also  needed  and  it 
looks  as  though  that  need  would  soon  be  filled. 
IMPROVING  THE*  PACKAGE.— Another  com¬ 
mendable  tendency  becoming  more  pronounced  each 
year  is  the  effort  growers  are  making  to  put  up 
a  better  package  of  produce.  We  are  finding  that 
the  benefit  from  growing  a  good  article  is  lost  un¬ 
less  it  is  sent  to  market  in  proper  shape,  and  that 
the  repeat  sale  benefit  from  that  good  package  is 
lost  also  unless  the  grower’s  name  or  farm  name  is 
plainly  shown  on  that  package.  It  appears  as 
though  the  next  few  years  will  see  much  progress 
along  this  line. 
CHANGING  SENTIMENT.— There  is  much  to  be 
thankful  for  and  much  to  look  forward  to;  but  to 
me  the  best  thing  in  sight  is  a  change  in  sentiment 
that  is  already  upon  us.  Calamity  howlers  tell  us 
the  boys  are  leaving  the  farms,  and  agriculture  is 
doomed.  It  is  true  many  boys  are  leaving.  That 
is  just  as  it  should  be.  It  is  poor  policy  to  spoil  a 
good  electrician  to  make  an  indifferent  farmer.  But 
what  about  the  boys  that  do  stay  on  the  farm?  Have 
you  noticed  any  change  in  their  attitude  towards 
their  work  in  the  last  10  years?  I  may  be  wrong, 
but  I  think  I  see  a  fine  bunch  of  young  farmers  com¬ 
ing  along  who  are  full  of  enthusiasm  for  their  work. 
They  take  an  interest  in  things.  They  may  be  fewer 
in  numbers,  but  interest  and  enthusiasm  are  what 
count  in  the  making  of  history  and  progress.  To 
such  agencies  as  The  R.  N.-Y.  should  go  much  of 
the  credit  for  this  awakened  enthusiasm  for  the 
greatest  job  in  all  the  world — farming,  trucker  ,tr. 
The  Truck  Grower  Considers 
Things 
Systematizing  labor.— Truck 
growers  have  had  a  strenuous 
year.  What  are  some  of  the  outstand¬ 
ing  lessons?  As  the  planning  time  for 
3924  has  arrived,  we  can  profit  by  tak¬ 
ing  a  little  time  to  consider  some  of 
the  many  changes  that  are  taking 
place.  Truckers  here  feel  keenly  the 
great  and  growing  shortage  of  skilled 
labor.  But  stop  to  think.  Where  is  the 
shortage  in  marketable  vegetables  that 
would  naturally  result  from  such 
shortage?  It  just  does  not  exist.  A 
single  individual  is  now  producing 
more  than  double  what  he  could  a  few 
years  ago.  Things  are  being  systema¬ 
tized  and  labor-saving  devices  are 
coming  into  general  use  on  truck 
farms.  We  have  our  water  systems, 
which  aid  greatly  in  starting  young 
plants.  Tractors  do  the  heavy  field 
work  and  leave  the  horses  fresh  for 
the  work  of  cultivating  which  needs  to 
be  done  quickly.  Dusters  and  power 
sprayers  are  being  used  in  our  fight 
against  insects  and  diseases.  The  de¬ 
mand  is  for  efficient  machines  that 
save  labor. 
ASPARAGUS  BUNCIIER  NEEDED. 
■ — I  wonder  what  the  next  few  years 
will  bring  forth?  One  of  the  greatest 
helps  right  now  would  be  for  some 
young  Edison  to  endear  himself  to  as¬ 
paragus  growers  everywhere,  and  at 
the  same  time  enrich  himself,  by  sup¬ 
plying  us  Tvith  a  device  for  sorting 
and  bunching  asparagus.  Surely  that 
would  not  be  difficult  for  those  who 
have  the  power  to  make  machines  do 
their  will.  To  a  layman  such  a  ma¬ 
chine  would  not  seem  to  be  nearly  as 
elaborate  as  we  see  in  many  mills  and 
factories  making  cloth.  And  there  is 
not  the  least  question  but  what  there 
would  be  a  great  call  for  such  a  ma¬ 
chine,  and  the  manufacturer  could  de¬ 
mand  almost  any  price.  The  next  few 
years  are  bound  to  see  a  great  increase 
in  the  production  of  asparagus,  and 
it  is  going  to  be  very  difficult  to  get  it 
sorted  and  bunched.  I  have  great 
faith  that  the  need  will  produce  the 
machine.  We  noticed  that  just  as  the 
peach  borer  reached  the  point  where 
hand  work  was  no  longer  effective 
along  came  the  gas  treatment.  As  the 
aphis  got  beyond  control  along  came 
nicotine  dust.  When  dairymen  could 
no  longer  get  milkers  along  came  the 
Clintondale  Fruit  Growers  Association  Display  at  Apple  Show.  Fig.  GG2 
Estimating  Farm  Produce  By  Measure 
THERE  are  many  questions  about  how  to  esti¬ 
mate  the  amount  of  hay  in  a  stack  or  mow, 
the  silage  in  a  silo  or  the  weight  of  a  steer  by 
measurement.  Of  course  all  such 
things  are  little  more  than  good 
guesses,  though  they  will  answer  at 
times  when  it  is  not  possible  to  put  the 
produce  right  on  •  Tie  scales.  A  ton  of 
hay  will  vary  from  480  to  520  cubic 
feet — depending  on  the  kind  of  hay, 
the  way  it  is  packed  down  and  how 
green  it  is.  Probably  about  500  cubic 
feet  will  be  a  fair  estimate  for  hay  as 
it  is  packed  in  the  ordinary  mow  or 
stack.  As  for  silage,  a  cubic  foot  will 
average  about  40  lbs.  in  weight.  Nat¬ 
urally  a  foot  at  the  top  will  weigh  less 
than  a  foot  at  the  bottom  of  a  30-ft. 
silo.  The  cubic  contents  in  feet  multi¬ 
plied  by  40  will  come  close  to  it.  In  re¬ 
gard  to  measuring  a  steer  many  rules 
have  been  given  but  the  following 
printed  in  a  circular  from  the  Missis¬ 
sippi  Agricultural  College  seems  sen¬ 
sible  : 
Sometimes  a  farmer  may  have  a  few 
fat  steers  that  he  would  like  to  know  the 
approximate  weight  of,  but  does  not  have 
the  necessary  facilities  for  weighing  them. 
It  is  possible,  however,  to  ascertain  this 
by  measurement  of  the  body  in  the  fol¬ 
lowing  manner,  provided  the  steer  is  of 
ordinary  size,  and  the  measurement  is 
taken  correctly.  There  are  several  rules 
m  existence,  of  which  the  following  is 
one : 
Measure  with  a  tape-line  from  the  top 
of  the  shoulder  to  the  tail-head,  which 
gives  the  length ;  then  measure  around 
the  body  immediately  behind  the  shoul¬ 
der,  which  gives  the  girth. 
Supposing  that  a  steer  is  5  ft.  in 
length,  between  the  points  mentioned, 
and  <  ft.  in  girth,  multiply  the  square  of 
the  girth  in  inches  by  the  length  in 
inches ;  then  divide  the  sum  by  524,  and 
the  quotient  will  approximate  "the  weight 
desired  in  pounds.  For  example  : 
Interior  View  of  Clint ondale  Exhibit.  Fig.  663 
Square  the  girth  in  inches 
Multiply  by  the  length 
in  inches 
7056 
60 
524)423360(808 
Smallest  Apple  Here  2%  Inches — 150  Bushels  Slioion.  Fig.  664 
Divide  by 
lbs.  approximate. 
Accurate  measuring  would  easily  be  ac¬ 
quired,  and  the  result  would  always  be 
practically  correct,  were  the  form  of  the 
steer  always  perfect,  which  it  seldom  is, 
the  fore  and  hindquarters  being  frequent¬ 
ly  unequal  and  degrees  of  condition  va¬ 
rious,  which  requires  judgment  to  make 
allowance  for  those  differences. 
However,  the  method  suggested  gives  a 
fairly  close  approximation,  and  in  any 
case  is  better  than  guesswork. 
Going  South  to  Raise  Potatoes 
I  would  like  your  opinion  on  the 
chances  of  making  a  profit  by  growing 
early  potatoes  the  coming  season  in 
Florida  or  Texas,  considering  labor  con¬ 
ditions,  land  and  rent,  and  freight  rate 
on  carlots.  I  was  growing  potatoes  in 
Texas  14  years  ago,  but  conditions  may 
be  quite  different  now.  My  idea  was  to 
spend  the  Winter  in  a  warmer  climate 
and  pay  expenses.  I  know  the  potato 
growing  game  thoroughly,  and  have  had 
success  with  28  acres  this  season. 
Ontario.  w.  A.  b. 
THIS  general  plan  is  actually  fol¬ 
lowed  by  a  few  people.  They  go 
South  about  November  and  raise  a  few 
acx-es  of  truck  crops,  practically  camp¬ 
ing  out  meanwhile.  Some  of  them  own 
a  little  truck  farm,  and  when  they 
leave,  engage  a  neighbor  to  keep  an 
eye  on  the  buildings  and  equipment. 
When  hot  weather  begins  these  Winter 
farmers  go  back  to  farming  or  other 
business  in  the  North.  The  Hastings, 
Florida,  potato  crop  is  mostly  planted 
around  December  1,  and  marketed  in 
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