472 
American Agriculturist, June 2 ,1923 
^Beasons inside 
There is something goes into 
the Silvertown Tire from which 
the farmer reaps service. It is 
as real as the seed that goes 
into the ground from which 
grow his crops. 
You see it in Silvertown’s rug¬ 
ged body—tough, slow-wear¬ 
ing, anti-skid tread—and side- 
walls extra fortified with tread 
rubber to protect them from 
the road ruts of dry, hard-pan 
weather. 
The experienced farmer invests 
in quality in whatever he buys 
for the farm, with a weather- 
eye on the ultimate cost. 
That’s why he should buy 
Silvertown, the tire with a 
pedigree. 
THE B.F. GOODRICH RUBBER CO. 
ESTABLISHED 1870 
Silvertown Cord- 
“‘Besfe in tiu Lon^ RmC' 
IN ALL SIZES FROM 30X3H UP 
.Prices 
World's Best 
Roofing 
Claster Metal ^ineles, V-Crimp, 
gated, Standinsr Seam. Painted or Galvanized Roof- 
ingR, Sidings, wannoara, raints, etc., direct to you 
at Rock-Bottom Factory Prices. Save money—get 
better quality and lasting satisfaction. 
Edwards “Reo” Metal Shingles 
have great durability—many customers report 15 and 
20 years’ service.Guaranteed fire and lightning proof. 
Free Roofing Book 
Get our wonderfully 
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samples.Wesell direct 
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profita AskforBookj 
No ' 
162 
LOW PRICED GARAGES 
Lowest prices on Ready-Made 
F're-Proof Steel Garages. Set 
up any place. Send postal for 
Garage Book, showing styles. 
THE EDWARDS MFC. CO. 
612-662 Pike St. Cincinnati, 0 . 
Samples & 
Roofing Book 
KENTUCKY NATURAL LEAF TOBACCO 
Chewing, 5 pounds, $1.75; 10 pounds, $3.00; 20 pounds, 
$5.25. Smoking, 5 pounds, $1.25; 10 pounds, $2.00. 
Send no money. Pay when received. FARMERS’ CO¬ 
OPERATIVE TOBACCO UNION, Paducah, Ky. 
Engine Prices'*A*.2 
HIT BOnOM M 
i H-P., 31. 5 and 7 H-P.GetnrsIed- 
ule of low prices. Remember you are getting these 
O TTAWA e wgiwe 
The moat dependable engine. Starta eaay, 
pulls moreBIG BOOK FB£E. Write. 
OTTAWA MFC. CO. 
1051 wKing Street, Ottawa, Kansas 
Desk 1061-w Magae Bldg., Pittsburgh, Pa 
Green Mountain 
s Y ES 
«*aana / write for circular 
I The Creamery Package Mfc.Co. 
I iSlWEstST. Rutland.Vt. 
FARM WAGONS 
High or low wheels— 
steel or wood—wide 
or narrow tires. 
Wagon parts of all 
kinds. Wheels to fit 
any running gear. 
Catalog illustrated in colors free 
Electric Wheel Co., 2 Elm St., Quincy, Ill. 
SLUG SHOT 
Used from Ocean to Ocean for 35 years 
Sold by Seed Dealers of America 
Saves Currants, Potatoes, Cabbage, Melons, Flowers,Trees and Shrubs from 
Insects. Put up in popular packages at popular prices. Write for free 
pamphlet on Bugs and Blights, etc., to B. HAMMOND, Beacon, New York 
Muckland Makes Money 
But Muckers^^ Also Have Their Sorrows 
T he great ice sheet 
that centuries ago 
covered the northern part of our coun¬ 
try gave the vegetable grower of the 
present a rich asset. It happened like 
this. In one 
way and another 
the glacier goug¬ 
ed out hollows, 
dammed valleys, 
and piled debris 
about ice-masses 
which later melt¬ 
ed. All of these 
processes result¬ 
ed in the forma¬ 
tion of ponds 
and lakes. Thou¬ 
sands of which 
still remain to 
lend an incom¬ 
parable charm to 
the countryside. 
Others have 
been gradually filled by plants which 
grow and die leaving their remains 
but partially decomposed beneath the 
water which keeps out the oxidizing 
air. Not a few ponds may be found 
to represent even now the various 
stages in muckland building. 
While muckland gardening is inten¬ 
sive, highly specialized and almost 
diametrically opposite to the methods 
of the general farmer, these areas are 
responsible for no small proportion of 
the 36,000 farmers in New York who 
are recorded as growing miscellaneous 
vegetables to sell. A farmer passes a 
few of the patches where the vivid 
green of celery or lettuce stands out 
against the dead black of the muck. An 
inquiry or two brings him stories of 
large returns per acre and he says, 
“Why, I have four or five acres like 
that.” In hundreds of cases this is the 
beginning of a venture in a new style 
of farming, frequently successful, often 
not. Chances are much better if near¬ 
by “muckers” have established outlets 
for the produce and have become skilled 
in the practices. 
Clearing Is a Big Job 
The clearing of muckland is a big 
job. Growth is often dense an.d a world 
of roots and snags must be eliminated. 
Often the grade is bad and some years 
are usually* required to bring it into 
good shape. Lands overgrown with 
deciduous trees such as elm, ash and 
alder, usually yield a better muck than 
those covered with conifers such as 
tamarack and arbor-vitae or white 
cedar. Clearing is often taken as a 
winter job and Italians are sometimes 
offered the privilege with the under¬ 
standing that they are to grow and own 
the crops for the first two or three 
years. If one is willing to develop the 
land somewhat gradually, corn makes 
a good first crop. This may be followed 
by potatoes for seed and then it'should 
be ready for one of the vegetables. 
The leading muckland crops are 
celery, lettuce and onions, though car¬ 
rots and spinach are also planted. Of 
the three leaders the onion is the most 
staple. Maturing at one time, and 
being less perishable, an isolated grow¬ 
er can more readily find market facili¬ 
ties for this than the others. Lettuce is 
very much of a gamble, both as regaiMs 
the crop and its sale. Unfavorable 
weather may ruin a fine looking patch 
almost over night. Prices fluctuate 
widely on the various markets and the 
high quoting city is usually speedily 
made a dumping ground. The Umpire 
State Vegetable Growers’ Association 
is composed of four associations of 
lettuce growers and its officers are 
looking forward to the building of a 
State-wide system of distribution. 
Setting Late Cabbage 
The middle of June will find Central 
New York farmers busy setting cab¬ 
bage. There are many factors to con¬ 
sider in deciding on the date. Domestic 
cabbage and Danish for fall shipment 
may be set a bit earlier than cabbage 
to be stored. Much more is lost by 
failure of heads to fill out and make 
full weight than from bursting. If 
heads tend to burst, a careful twist will 
loosen the roots just enough to cheek 
them without causing them to . wilt. 
Another way is to set in a spade beside 
the maturest plants, 
Too early setting oc¬ 
casions some danger from maggots 
after they are in the field. 
Cabbage may be set by hand, by hand 
transplanter, and by transplanting 
machine. The former is as good and 
probably as cheap as any, but the gen¬ 
eral farmer does not like to work that 
way. The two horse machine requires 
a large crew if it is to be kept going 
steadily—three on the machine and two 
men with another horse to keep it 
supplied with plants and water. The 
hand transplanter which drops a wee 
bit of water at each root, is in high 
favor with many growers who claim 
that two men setting and one serving 
can keep up with a machine crew, and 
do a better job with less replanting. 
When the seedbed is screened against 
maggots, the cover should be removed 
a week or ten days before setting to 
permit the plants to harden off. 
Cutworms 
The cutworm is a selfish fellow. He 
takes a bite out of the stem of a plant, 
near the surface of the soil and leaves 
his victim prostrate and beyond re¬ 
covery. He is fond of tomatoes, musk- 
melons, cabbage and in fact a wide 
variety of garden crops. He seems to 
prefer those that are tender and suc¬ 
culent. Hence thorough hardening 
appears to be a factor. Cutworms are 
worse after sod, and fall fallowing is 
recommended to discourage the laying 
of eggs. The best control measure is 
the use of poisoned bran mash made by 
mixing dry, twenty pounds of bran with 
one pound of paris green. Two quarts 
of a cheap syrup are dissolved in three 
and a half gallons of water and with 
this the bran is moistened. The mash 
is dropped late in the afternoon near 
the plants or along the row of closely 
planted crops. On limited areas, a 
careful search is not without value. 
Well does the writer remember the in¬ 
struction of a well-known Jersey gard¬ 
ener who taught him how to find a tiny 
ridge near the melon plants that had 
been felled. 
Nine Hundred Years on 
the Same Farm 
{Continued from page 467) 
Through all the centuries, it has been 
the humble farmer folk, like the Poub- 
lans, who have made the history of 
France so glorious. Without them, the 
beauties of Versailles, the glories of 
Paris, the wonders of French literature 
and art, would never have existed. It 
is they who sow the grain and harvest 
the wheat th^t feeds France. Un¬ 
spoiled by' the .vice and hypocrisy of 
cities, they have cultivated their fields, 
exemplifying the cardinal virtues of 
sobriety, industry and loyalty. Ignor¬ 
ing the lure of the unknown, the appeal 
of adventure, the charm of the far 
away, they remain in their own little 
corner of France, performing each 
daily duty as it comes. Perhaps they 
lack polish, wit and charm, but they 
are rich in the qualities which caused 
Goldsmith to write: 
But a bold pea.santry, their country’s pride, 
When once destroyed can never be supplied. 
During the World War, it was they 
who furnished the poilus that kept the 
German at bay during two and a half 
years before youthful America entered 
the conflict. They go piously to the 
church on Sunday. They provide the 
man-power, which in turn produces the 
money, necessary for the establishment 
of government, the encouragemen.t of 
art, science and literature. In their 
hearts, there is no lust for power, no 
exaggerated ambitions, no hankering 
for the unattainable. And it will be a 
sad day for P’rance if they ever disap¬ 
pear. Having peace, work, a humble 
home, something to eat and drink and 
wear, they are content. 
To them may be applied the words 
written by Cato, the Roman, even cen¬ 
turies before the first Poublan: “The 
agricultural population produces the 
bravest men, the most valiant soldiers, 
and a class of citizens least of all 
given to evil designs.” 
By PAUL WORK 
