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the FA HM

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C.CBOWSFIEL

MAKING THE FARM PAY

MAKING THE FARM PAY

BY

C. C. BOWSFIELD

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CHICAGO

FORBES & COMPANY
1913

COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY
FORBES AND COMPANY

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CONTENTS

PAGE

The Modern Farmer's Opportunity 9

One of the Great Questions of the Day 12

Arguments for Diversified Farming. . . 16

Farming More Profitable Than Ever 20

Aim to Get Above the Average 25

City Men Succeed on Farms 29

Results Which May Be Attained 33

Succession Crops Feasible 38

Earning Capacity of Land Requires Study 40

Learn How to Go Back to the Land 46

Avoid the Single Farming Interest 51

Getting the Most Out of an Acre 53

Plans to Keep Young People Interested 57

Profit Sharing with Fruit and Vegetables 64

New Vocation for the City Family 66

Good Selling Is a Farmer's Need 7°

Parcels Post Brings Dinner Fresh from Farm .... 77

Soil Improvement and More Profitable Farming . . 80

Soil Conservation Easy to Understand 86

Lime as an Adjunct in Farming 88

Phosphorus as a Soil Preserver 9°

272034

6 CONTENTS

PAGE

Making the Most of Manure 93

Growing Legumes for Soil Betterment 96

Large Profits in Potatoes 102

Growing Sweet Potatoes in the North 106

Money Making from Pork 108

Making a Dairy Farm Pay 114

Forage Problem Demands Attention 117

Cows Kept at a Loss 124

Importance of Cow Testing Associations 127

Dairy By-Products Are Important 130

How to Obtain a Good Stand of Corn 134

The Culture of Broomcorn 139

The Sugar Beet Industry 142

Irrigation by Wells Profitable 148

Advantages of Concrete on Farms 151

Important Points in Building Silos 155

Chance for Big Profits in Novelties 1S9

Pin Money in Pickles 164

The Lowly Onion a Profitable Crop 168

Give More Attention to Fruit 171

Care and Skin in the Orchard 176

Common Fruits Return Liberal Profits 179

Fruit Raising Suited to Amateurs 183

Small Fruits Pay Well 187

Have Early and Late Strawberries 192

Commercial Handling of Strawberries 196

CONTENTS 7

PAGE

Thorough Cultivation Makes Gardening Pay 200

Practical Study of Gardening 204

Commercial Value of Garden Flowers 214

Making and Care of Hotbeds and Coldframes .... 221

War on Field and Garden Pests 225

Enemies of the Corn Crop 232

Wealth in Honey Under Skillful Management. . . 235

Care and Marketing of Extracted Honey 241

Management the Key to Poultry Success 244

Winter Egg Production 249

Egg Type in Hens 252

Preservation of Eggs Until Prices Advance 256

Favorite Breeds of Ducks 259

Disease Injuring Turkey-Raising Industry 263

Parasites Cause Heavy Poultry Losses 266

Poultry Diseases and Remedies 270

Useful Hints for Everyday Farm Life 275

Dates for Planting Vegetables 291

Insecticides and Fungicides 293

Fertilizers for Farm and Garden 295

Index 297

I

MAKING THE FARM PAY

The Modern Farmer's Opportunity

Modern farming, as the author views the subject, re-
quires varied information as well as unflagging zeal and
industry. It needs the application of commercial ideas.
Real success in agriculture can only be attained by keep-
ing up with changing conditions and developing a well-
balanced business programme to go with the tilling of
the soil.

The average land owner, or the old-fashioned farmer,
as he is sometimes referred to, has a great deal of prac-
tical knowledge, and yet is deficient in some of the most
salient requirements. He may know how to produce a
good crop and not know how to sell it to the best ad-
vantage. No citizen surpasses him in the skill and in-
dustry with which he performs his labor, but in many
cases his time is frittered away with the least profitable
of products, while he overlooks opportunities to meet a
constant market demand for articles which return large
profits.

Worse than this, he follows a method which turns agri-
cultural work into drudgery, and his sons and daughters
forsake the farm home as soon as they are old enough
to assert a little independence. At this point the greatest
failures are to be recorded. A situation has developed as a
result of these existing conditions in the country which is
a serious menace to American society. The farmers are
deprived of the earnest, intelligent help which naturally

9

10 THE MODERN FARMER'S OPPORTUNITY

belongs to them, rural society loses one of its best ele-
ments, the cities are overcrowded and all parties at in-
terest are losers. The nation itself is injured.

Farm life need not be more irksome than clerking or
running a typewriter. It ought to be made much more
attractive and it can also be vastly more profitable than
it is. Better homes and more social enjoyment, with
greater contentment and happiness, will come to dwellers
in the country when they grasp the eternal truth that they
have the noblest vocation on earth and one that may be
made to yield an income fully as large as that of the aver-
age city business man.

This whole subject of making agriculture more profit-
able and enjoyable is approached in a spirit of sympathy.
The author resides on a farm and has long been a land
owner. He knows the difference between book farming
and the actual work of tilling the soil or taking care of
live stock. No one appreciates more fully than he what
a great fund of information a person must possess to be
even an ordinary farmer. As a rule people who dwell in
the country are also well posted on political affairs and
are patriotic citizens. They are above the average in
these respects.

In the effort to show that farmers are lacking in com-
mercial skill it is permissible to repeat that they are the
only business people who have nothing to say either in fix-
ing the prices which they get for their own goods or which
they pay for other people's. This want of market ability
is a result of their isolated life and the old method of
raising a single crop, such as wheat or corn. With steady
improvement in transportation facilities and other mod-
ern conveniences there will come greater diversity in agri-
culture and a general betterment in rural affairs. The
tiller of the soil will be a business man, who will not only
devote his land to products which naturally pay best,
but who will have something to say about price making.

THE MODERN FARMER'S OPPORTUNITY H

Prices of agricultural commodities are now on such a
high level that land owners may enter upon a period of
money making. It is not true, however, that farmers
are to any great extent responsible for the high cost of
living. Producers are not overpaid. High prices are
mainly due to business conditions for which people in the
rural districts have no responsibility. Consumers are
at the mercy of a system which involves unreasonable
expense and too many middlemen.

It would be to the advantage of farmers, however, to
have the expense of handling agricultural commodities
lessened. They may help toward the attainment of this
end by adopting better methods of marketing than now
prevail. Consumers as well as themselves would benefit
by such a movement.

This book is published in the hope of assisting farmers
to improve their position. There is a widespread and in-
telligent movement toward more diversified and intensive
farming, which I heartily endorse. By this system the
farm can be made to pay better than it does, because it
aims at greater production on each acre cultivated and
at meeting special market requirements. The one great
point in commercial farming is to produce those articles
which pay best.

There is a continual and expanding market for numer-
ous products that are easily raised, and which, by their
very diversity, are a guarantee against failure. The
market has never been oversupplied with fruits, broilers,
mushrooms, honey, squabs, berries and the like. There
is the keenest sort of demand today all over the country
for extra nice butter, eggs and poultry. The need of
parsnips, beets, carrots, lettuce, cucumbers, beans and
other kinds of vegetables is incessant, and in all of these
lines there is a profit far exceeding that gained from
large single crops or big dairies.

One of the Great Questions of the Day

In common with thousands of others I am strongly
impressed with the belief that the subject of better farm-
ing in America is the most important now occupying the
attention of the commercial world. By better farming
is meant a system that will produce larger profits and
an easier living for those who till the soil, as well as a
greater acreage production.

In discussing this subject I have in mind these salient
propositions: Farmers who are not capitalists occupy
too much land. They would do better farming and
attain better results on smaller tracts. The little farm
requires less drudgery than the large one.

It affords a more enjoyable existence and tends to stim-
ulate the interest of the young people in progressive
agriculture. To reduce the size of farms will make it
easier for poor men to acquire land, consequently the
number of owners must increase.

With more owners and renewed interest, our rural
population will be augmented. By increasing the pro-
duction of commodities per acre, we will have heavier ex-
ports, and the prosperity of the nation will be enhanced.
These considerations are worthy of our attention and
highest intelligence.

The little-farm proposition is appealingly strong, both
to the man in the country and the resident of the city. It
is, in fact, the hope of the American farmer, and of the
business world today. Through this modern system the
rural family is to escape much of its drudgery, and the
city family is to obtain commodities at lower prices. By
the new method of intensive and diversified agriculture,

12

ONE OF THE GREAT QUESTIONS 13

country life is to become easier and more attractive,
both to the young and to the old.

Big farms are all right for those who are equipped to
handle them properly, but they are not desirable for peo-
ple who have not capital enough to hire plenty of help,
and organize in a businesslike way, to secure good re-
sults.

It is the evolution that bothers the average farmer.
How can he make the change without losses? If he sells
off half his land to enable him to farm in the modern,
intensive fashion, has he any guarantee that he will not
fail in this, and so find himself at the end of a few years,
minus both land and capital?

He can best satisfy himself on this point by making
an easy comparison of crop values. Such a comparison
will startle some of the old-fashioned agriculturists,
who persist in running large farms on the one crop idea.

It requires methodical work and business methods to
make any kind of a farm pay. As land increases in
value the person with limited means will have to be con-
tented with a small tract, and he must learn his business
so well that a few acres will yield enough for a living.
Better farming is the need of the hour.

The soil should be so handled that it will produce twice
as much as it has in the past. Otherwise this nation will
become an importer of foodstuffs instead of an exporter.
The importance of diversified farming and intelligent
agriculture cannot be overestimated.

It has been shown by competent authorities that the
wheat crop of the country returns an average profit of
much less than $10 per acre. In fact, many people agree
that when the expense of equipment, the value of the
land, the cost of seed, and the worth of labor are con-
sidered, there is no profit whatever in raising wheat.

The American farmer, as a rule, does not count his

14 ONE OF THE GREAT QUESTIONS

own time, the value of his land, or the cost of his horses
and machinery, in estimating his profits on grain.

If he has a crop of ioo acres of wheat that will clear
$500 for him after reckoning the value of seed, the cost
of help and the expense of threshing, he puts it down at
$500 profit, though he has put most of his year's time
into it, besides maintaining the land and an equipment of
horses and machinery worth several hundred dollars.

The following table showing the relative value of crops
is based on my own experience :

Gross Net

Wheat per acre $ 15.00 $ 8.00

Field-corn 30.00 20.00

Sweet potatoes 150.00 110.00

Potatoes 125.00 75-oo

Onions 250.00 150.00

Cucumbers 200.00 1 50.00

Strawberries 300.00 200.00

Cherries 200.00 150.00

Apples 250.00 200.00

Clover 25.00 20.00

Alfalfa 45-oo 30.00

Timothy 20.00 15.00

Millet 25.00 20.00

Live stock and dairying can be figured on the acreage
basis, just as easily as grain or fruit. If a farmer with
50 acres handles 25 cows and clears $1,000 after paying
for help, his net profit is $20 per acre.

A man with 20 acres can easily handle 100 hogs a year,
which will net $1,000 to $1,500. A profit of $10 per head,
or $1,000, is $50 per acre. This is at least treble as much
as can be made from grain, and the work is a great deal
less.

If the small farm will serve to render rural life more
attractive, shorten the workday and arouse interest

ONE OF THE GREAT QUESTIONS 15

among the young people, it is the right system for the
average person to adopt. If it will keep the young folk
away from the cities and make them love their homes,
it beats the old method immeasurably.

Furthermore, if these results are accomplished, the
help question will no longer be a serious one. To gain
so much is worth the best efforts of the American
farmer.

With the ordinary family no help is needed on a little
farm except where there is a considerable crop of fruit
or vegetables, for which there is a ready cash return
sufficient to meet the expenses of operation.

The old method is driving young people away from
the farm and it has become next to impossible to keep
hired help. Men will not work on a farm when they
come to understand that they can get employment in
town or on the railroad at higher wages and with shorter
days. Nine or ten hours a day will not do on the old-
fashioned farm. It is fourteen or more and seven days in
the week at that. The average in the city, taking all
classes of employment together, is about nine hours.

Then again, clerkships are very alluring to boys and
girls, especially after they have had a taste of farm life,
where the family labors from daylight to dark. Under
existing conditions it has come about that the farmer
finds himself, in many cases, without hired help or the as-
sistance which is ordinarily expected from his sons and
daughters.

Arguments for Diversified Farming

Farming is becoming a more serious proposition year by
year. A long succession of drouths in certain localities
and the consequent waste of a large acreage are forcing
landowners to consider crop diversity.

The one weak spot in modern farming is the disposi-
tion to do big things with a single interest, such as
wheat raising or dairying. When there is a failure either
through seasonal causes or accident, the loss is heavy,
discouraging, disastrous. The growing cost of land and
labor and the increasing importance of the farmer's time
cry out against the single crop idea.

I am confident that those who have in large part lost
their wheat crops through drouth will give attention to
my plea for a greater diversification on all farms.

Milk producers whose pastures are dried up by the
intense heat of summer are also likely to be ready
listeners. Furthermore, the young farmer and the
student of agriculture who are observing the conditions
described must soon reach the conclusion that it is bad
policy to depend on a single crop.

While grain raising is an attractive scheme when
figured on the basis of a dollar a bushel and twenty
bushels an acre, it never has been a safe proposition for
the person of limited capital. Capitalists in many cases
have made it profitable, because through operating ex-
tensively the acreage cost is reduced and they are able to
wait a year or two for profits.

There are also numerous instances of men of small
means being fortunate enough to escape droughts and
other destructive agencies and gaining substantial returns

16

ARGUMENTS FOR DIVERSIFIED FARMING 17

from a wheat crop of one or two hundred acres. This
does not prove it a safe enterprise, however. It is always
hazardous; always more or less of a gamble. I am allud-
ing, of course, to non-irrigated lands.

Within the range of my own experience and observa-
tion a farmer with 200 acres feels that he is doing well
when he clears $500 to $1,000 a year either from grain
or a dairy. How many can show this profit, either in
cash savings or substantial improvements?

The man on such a tract of land who produces for
market 100 hogs, 20 beeves, 200 sheep, 500 chickens and
a variety of vegetables, with a small grain crop, will
double discount the exclusive wheat grower. Instead of
risking his year's time and his whole investment on one
product he divides his risks into eight or ten parts. There-
fore, if his grain is a failure he can stand the loss be-
cause he has various other interests to fall back on. If
he has bad luck with his hogs and chickens, he still has
an assured income from many other sources. ^.

Another almost equally important point is the dis- ty
tribution of labor over the year. The extra labor re-
quired during seeding and harvest on a grain farm eats a
big hole in the ordinary profits.

When one considers the teams and machinery involved,
together with the upkeep, it becomes doubtful whether
there is any actual profit in wheat raising. The invest-
ment in land, teams, machinery and labor is substantially
the same whether the yield is ten bushels or twenty.

With the other principle established, the amount of
labor required is pretty much the same at one time of
the year as another. Nobody knows better than the
farmer how vexatious and costly the uncertainty of labor
has become.

I claim without fear of successful contradiction that
the farmer who diversifies his products will accomplish
more on one hundred acres than a grain grower or milk

18 ARGUMENTS FOR DIVERSIFIED FARMING

producer will on two hundred. For an illustration I will
give a list of products which come within the capacity of
ioo acres in a season.

ioo hogs $1,500

20 beeves 1,200

200 sheep 1 ,400

1 span horses 350

500 chickens 300

Eggs 250

1,000 bushels potatoes 500

Total $5,500

The intelligent farmer can decide for himself whether
it is possible or not to raise the fodder for this amount
of stock on 100 acres, and whether any figures given are
unreasonable. About $1,000 must be deducted from the
gross amount for labor, and the help should be the same
throughout the year. The program can be varied to
suit tastes and conditions. A few acres might be de-
voted to strawberries, cherries, apples, sweetcorn, cucum-
bers, cabbage, etc.

There is immense profit in these lighter crops, and the
acreage is so small, comparatively, that in a drought it is
possible to save the product with well or slough water.
There is a constant demand for fruit and vegetables at
fair prices. This is also the case in regard to poultry and
eggs.

Diversified farming cannot be carried on without intel-
ligent effort. There is no end to the work, but even in
this respect it beats a dairy, and for a certainty it makes
for smaller investment, less risk, and greater chance to
take advantage of market conditions.

Fruit raising and mixed farming make a good combina-
tion. The wheat is in the bins and the corn in the shocks
or silos by the time the apples are ripe and fit for harvest.

ARGUMENTS FOR DIVERSIFIED FARMING 19

Dairy farming and stock growing form an excellent
combination, and one that will improve the fertility of
the farm. Dairying and potato growing make another
good combination. The potatoes may be grown in the
same rotation of crops that is practised in growing food
for the dairy cattle. The work may be done with the
same help that is required to care for the dairy, and
very little horsepower is needed to handle the additional
crop.

Take the ordinary crops of corn and wheat as ex-
amples. The western farmer who grows a large acreage
of corn and wheat finds he must plant his corn early and
push its cultivation so as to have it well out of the way
by the time the wheat is ready to harvest. Late planted
corn and wheat need attention at the same time, and one
or the other must suffer.

A second consideration in diversified farming should
be to grow a rational rotation of crops, a rotation adapted
to the needs of the live stock, and one that will not
diminish the fertility of the soil for future crops. Corn,
wheat and clover constitute an excellent crop rotation,
and this may be lengthened a year to admit a cash market
crop.

Farming More Profitable Than Ever

Viewed as a financial proposition, farming is more at-
tractive today than ever before. All staples are selling
at figures which give liberal profits. While the farmer
is not being overpaid, compared to business people gen-
erally, he is in a position to make money faster than it
has heretofore been made in agriculture. He is inde-
pendent and secure.

A well located farm of ioo acres ought to show a net
profit of $2,000 a year. It will do this if operated with
fair business sagacity. It can be made to do more in the
hands of a person who is able to apply scientific knowl-
edge together with good business methods.

A person starting with sufficient capital and going
in for fruit, flowers, fine poultry and some of the other
fancy lines will clean up $2,000 or more on a tract of
twenty to forty acres. This is being done in a few cases,
and market demands are such that it can be accomplished
by thousands of others.

Location may not determine the success of a farmer,
but it has much to do with the kind of produce which is
raised. Near a large city it is profitable to give special
attention to dairy and poultry products, fruit, vegetables
and flowers. In cases of less favorable location, when
shipping is more difficult, live stock, grain, potatoes,
onions and hay are the best staples to cultivate.

It is the general belief that farmers should diversify
their crops, so that a failure of one crop or low prices for
that crop would leave him other products to fall back on.
There are other reasons. There is no single crop that
keeps farm labor busy all of the time, but by a proper com-

20

FARMING MORE PROFITABLE THAN EVER 21

bination of crops, employment of labor can be extended
virtually throughout the year.

A dairy helps to balance up the labor of a farm. The
milk herd requires attention morning and night through
the summer, say an hour and a half each time, and the
middle of the day is spent in cultivating fodder crops.
In winter the work of feeding and cleaning takes more
time than in summer, but there are still several hours to
be devoted to the care of poultry, the marketing of
produce and other incidental labor. Hogs and poultry go
nicely with the dairy, not only to distribute the labor, but
for the profitable use of skimmed milk or other surplus.

This diversity works well in many other ways. It is an
advantage to raise early potatoes, and after this crop has
been taken off, onions, cabbage, beets, corn, millet, cow-
peas or soy beans can be grown on the same land. There
is a cash demand for all such staples which improves with
the growth of cities. The market improvement is due to
the steady development of a non-producing population.

A few years ago garden truck was so cheap that farm-
ers could not afford to give their time to it. Today a
fine income is assured the person who has five or ten
acres devoted to such common products as cabbage,
onions, beans, lettuce and celery. No crops are more
certain than these and with a variety of them the failure
of one or two does not ruin the tiller of the soil.

No crop is easier to handle than strawberries or rasp-
berries, and there is no investment for machinery or
power in connection with their production, yet berries
pay hundreds of dollars per acre, while grain crops
which require expensive equipments return $10 to $30 an

acre.

The increase of transportation facilities is another
large factor in making farming profitable. The lack of
train service in years past was a great handicap to farm-
ers. This improvement not only helps farmers to do

22 FARMING MORE PROFITABLE THAN EVER

quick and regular marketing, but enables city people to
live in the country. It has such an influence on the
prosperity and comforts of rural life that land becomes
a most desirable investment, being certain to advance in
value.

If you are starting a country home, or planning to
do so, make up your mind that farming as an avocation
can be made both pleasant and profitable. Confine the
work to reasonable hours and have such a variety of
products that something will appeal to every member of
the family.

This is necessary if boys and girls are to be held in the
country. Farming has been plain drudgery in too many
cases, and ambitious young people have been driven to the
cities. Unmistakable signs of a change in this tendency
are seen. The country eventually will be attractive both
as to occupation and home-making.

There has been real progress in recent years in agri-
culture and the development of a broader and more hope-
ful rural life. Actual results are being accomplished
along these progressive lines. It is apparent that the
financial side of farming has reached a higher plane than
it occupied five years ago.

Questions of selling and buying are receiving more
attention than ever before, and the principle of co-opera-
tion is being applied in these and other matters pertain-
ing to the farmer's business.

Telephones are breaking in upon the isolation and
monotony of rural life ; good roads can bring neighbors
still closer and the outside world nearer by encouraging
rural mail delivery. With a care for beauty in home
surroundings, even on the prairie a vast change can be
wrought — a change that not alone will increase the value
of the farm, but with other conveniences will make a
farm home ideal.

Just at present those living in cities, large and small,

FARMING MORE PROFITABLE THAN EVER 23

consider a day or a week in the country a privilege.
They are looking for but a glimpse of natural beauty
that can be part of the farmer's home surroundings
during the entire season.

At present 2,000 American high schools are teaching
agriculture ; 37,000 students in these schools are studying
this subject. There is a great shortage of well-prepared
high school teachers of agriculture, and such teachers re-
ceive 50 to 100 per cent greater salary than do teachers
of other subjects. There is no reason why a part of the
studies carried on in the agricultural colleges today
could not be given to pupils in properly equipped rural
schools, a greater portion of which equipment would be
an experimental plot.

We now recognize the need not only of knowing the
general laws of nature and their application to methods
of culture but that each farmer should be able to
make the application under his peculiar conditions of soil,
climate, topography, market and transportation facilities.
So long as there are unsolved problems lying before our
farmers, which can be solved only in the light of knowl-
edge which the average farmer can not gain for himself,
then the schools must help.

There is the problem of distributing products once
grown; nearness to market, transportation, character of
market, competition for the market, function and rewards
of middlemen, development of agricultural credit, busi-
ness co-operation among farmers, etc. These economic
considerations, just because they are vital to the success
of agriculture, are a subject for thorough investigation.

Our greatest concern is with the quality of people de-
veloped by the rural mode of living. Hence, the condi-
tions of rural life — moral, religious, recreational — are
of significance. Because these things are vital to the wel-
fare of the nation they must be studied.

Next to this is the recognized need of stimulating

24 FARMING MORE PROFITABLE THAN EVER

agricultural production in order to meet the growing call
for supplies at home and abroad. The rapid growth in
American cities has created a consumptive demand which
is increasing far more rapidly than the output of the
farms. The effect of this has been to cut down our ex-
port to such an extent that we have come to depend on
the cotton crop and manufactured products to maintain
the nation's balance of trade.

The wheat crop of this country is raised on 50,000,000
acres and averages 13.7 bushels to the acre, while sev-
eral countries of Europe, on thousand-year-old farms,
average 26 bushels. We have as good, or better, land,
tools, brains, etc., but we are not yet properly employing
any of these factors.

The corn average is only 28 bushels per acre, and yet
in some twelve experiments last summer a yield of 100
bushels or more was easily secured.

If the farms of the corn belt were kept clean of weeds
there would be a great deal less trouble with insects, is
the opinion of Frank I. Mann of Gilman, 111. There are
a number of times during the year when there are no
crops in condition for the insects to live on, and these
times are tided over for them by the growth of weeds
where they do not belong. A few of the insects, such as
grubs, root lice and corn root-worm, can be controlled by
a crop rotation which introduces a year of clover or some
such crop upon the roots of which the insects cannot
live. An evidence of the possibilities in insect eradica-
tion is the Mann farm at Gilman. For a number of
years the men from the state entomological department
have been examining the Mann fields every year to see if
any injurious insects could be found, and except for
grasshoppers they have found none. Mr. Mann at-
tributes this entirely to the systematic rotation of crops,
the keeping out of weeds, and the use of strong seed
which produces plants with power of pest resistance.

Aim to Get Above the Average

The actual moneymaking on a farm comes when we are
above the average in quality and production. Those who
stand on the common level will get a living, but not much
more. Farming needs individuality of character and pur-
pose just as running a store or a factory does.

If the usual profit in a flock of hens is $i each, above
the cost of food, the aim should be to increase egg pro-
duction and the sale of broilers or other kinds of fancy
poultry so that there will be a profit of $2 for each hen
kept. This is to be accomplished by selecting pullets from
the best laying mothers and by breeding up with full-
blooded males.

If the cows in a dairy herd are paying an average of
$100 a year, make an effort to raise it to $200. Perhaps
the quickest way to gain this end is by discarding all
animals that fail to give five gallons of milk per day for the
greater part of the year. The stock may be gradually im-
proved by selection and breeding. It may be possible also
to sell a part of the milk or cream to private customers
who will pay double the wholesale rate.

It is not necessary that the farmer should replace all of
his grade cows with high-priced, pure-bred Holsteins,
Jerseys, Guernseys or Ayrshires. However, for success-
ful and profitable dairying it is absolutely necessary that
he realize the remarkable difference in productive capacity
of the individual cows in the same herd, though these
cows are cared for by the same man and are consuming
practically the same amount of feed.

Recently a herd of hogs from the northwest was sold

25

26 AIM TO GET ABOVE THE AVERAGE

in one of the central markets for $8.50 per 100 pounds. A
herd of similar size from a so-called corn belt state sold
in the same market on the same day for $7.95. The
northwestern hogs were fed a variety of food, including
barley, a liberal amount of alfalfa, a little ground wheat,
some corn and some sugar beet sirup. The other herd of
hogs was fattened almost exclusively on corn.

Not only did the northwestern hogs bring a higher
price per 100 pounds, but they put on flesh more rapidly
and economically than the others and were in every way
more satisfactory. With the present knowledge of alfalfa
growing no farmer, even in the strictly corn states, can
find a reasonable excuse for not having some of this to
feed his hogs.

Hogs need to run at large in a field where there is for-
age. This may be clover, alfalfa, rape or artichokes.
In this way they attain growth and put on flesh better
than they will if penned up. If they can have whey or
skimmed milk once a day this will assist the economical
production of meat. The aim must be to bring the hog
up to 200 or 300 pounds at such a moderate cost that
there will be a liberal profit when it is marketed.

With an abundance of hay and corn there ought to be
good profit in fattening beef animals, few or many, accord-
ing to the size of the farm. It would appear that with
the judicious selection of feeders, with the careful han-
dling of the animals while in the feed lot and with an
even break on other conditions, cattle feeding ought to
be fairly profitable.

Farmers have come to realize the value of maintain-
ing soil fertility and are using manure as liberally as
possible. Land, to be made a source of continuous profit,
must be kept fertile. The proper rotation of crops, com-
bined with the raising of live stock, will contribute largely
in the maintenance of soil fertility.

A few wise farmers in the Chicago district receive

AIM TO GET ABOVE THE AVERAGE 27

$2.50 to $5 a bushel for all the corn they raise. They
understand the selling end of farming as well as the pro-
ducing end. One is about as important as the other.

These farmers buy 60-cent corn for feeding. They can
not afford to use their own product for this purpose. Be-
ing careful, systematic men they raise corn of a high
type, uniform and prolific, and they are becoming wealthy
by this kind of brain work. There is a lesson for all
farmers here.

Raise a first-class article, whether grain, vegetables,
chickens or pigs, and there will be no difficulty in find-
ing people who want your product if you will but let them
know what you have and what you sell it for.

I have often seen men going from store to store with
a tin bucket and an old rag sticking out under the cover
asking the merchants if they wanted butter, and at every
place they would be told that it was not wanted, when
in fact those very merchants were getting print butter
all the way from Wisconsin or Iowa. They knew the
character of the butter in the tin buckets and did not
want that sort. As with butter, so it is with all products
of the farm. It is quality ihat makes the article sell.

Conditions are right for money-making by the agri-
cultural class. It simply remains for the farmers them-
selves to develop methods of selling by which they can
take advantage of the improved markets. The rapid
growth of cities, and the sharp demand for all kinds of
produce are substantial evidence of this improvement.

Co-operation is the first step. Organization may be ap-
plied not only in shipping, but in forming neighborhood
clubs among city customers to whom regular quantities
of produce may be delivered at stated intervals at prices
which are reasonable and fair to both sides.

Abroad farmers market and dispose of their produce
profitably through agricultural co-operative associations.
They improve their methods, widen their markets and

28 AIM TO GET ABOVE THE AVERAGE

reduce their transportation expenses through co-opera-
tion. "Why can not our farmers do likewise?

When a farmer is located near a good market, the
thing for him to do is to sell to private customers. As
his business enlarges he can furnish supplies to hotels and
restaurants as well as residences. He can obtain any
price in reason so long as his goods are choice.

When producers are too far from a good market to
drive in frequently the proposed method of co-operation is
excellent. A number of them, working together, can
agree to ship regularly a given quantity of produce to
city consumers and the latter can best handle the business
by means of an organization of some sort.

There are many reasons why waterfowl are not more
popular for the table than they are, but the chief reason is
that they are so poorly fitted for the market. The big
duck farms of the east are the only ones to give the
proper finishing of ducks for the market the whole atten-
tion it deserves. They have educated the market to an
appreciation of good waterfowl, and have been rewarded
in price for the effort expended.

It pays well to be able to furnish in their season such
articles as strawberries, currants, cucumbers, cherries,
apples, raspberries, sweet corn, cabbage, honey and other
products of the kind. These pay ten times as much as the
grain crops. An acre of cherries or apples will net about
$150 after paying for the labor of picking and marketing.
The others are equally profitable or nearly so.

A farmer raising fruit should make contracts with
private customers or grocers as early in the season as
he can ; that is, as soon as he can tell something about
what the yield is to be. He will thus get better returns
than by shipping to a large produce market. The same
method is best in marketing poultry, eggs and vegetables.

City Men Succeed on Farms

In many notable cases city men are succeeding as farm-
ers. If they do not know all about raising grain and
handling livestock, they are able, as a general rule, to
apply business methods to their undertakings.

Successful farm management must include a knowl-
edge of buying and selling. In this particular the city
man is apt to be ahead of his rural neighbor. It is
essential to know what consumers require, what the usual
retail prices are on farm commodities and the facilities
available for transporting and selling. The man of city
experience understands these things and he goes in for a
line of produce like onions, beans, potatoes, ducks,
chickens and carnations and asters, on which he gets big
profits.

It would not be like a city man to raise wheat at 75
cents a bushel and twenty bushels to the acre when he
can get 90 cents a bushel for onions and 250 bushels
to the acre. This illustrates the whole idea, and no truth
is more striking than the fact that city men are needed in
agriculture.

It is difficult to estimate offhand the economic impor-
tance of the much-talked-about movement of families
from the city to the farm. The "back to the land"
exhortation to all intents and purposes is a "go west,
young man," motto redressed. So far as migration to
the farm interests men with money and intelligence, the
whole idea is splendid and can only lead to success.

It is not all a matter of settlement or numerical in-
crease on the land. The country demands introduction
of new crops or products, establishment of new enter-

29

30 CITY MEN SUCCEED ON FARMS

prises and bringing forth of conveniences and commodi-
ties which farming districts lack.

There is also an opportunity for a man with capital to
establish himself in a rural community and supply farm-
ers with live stock or other equipment in cases where
they are short of means. Money is needed in making
the switch from old methods to new. It is also required
to aid city residents in getting started on the farm. In-
vestments of this character are safe. The returns enrich
both the man with money and the farmer with the stock,
who stands sponsor for the returns. There is enough
security in the farming business to permit the man with
money to unite with the farmer for mutual advantage.

There are other common opportunities, such as
establishment of nurseries, production of high-class seeds
and manufacture of mill products. The list is in fact
long and the opportunities many. The successful oc-
cupancy of the land is in fact only the first phase of a
greater movement which must follow.

The need of the day is for diversification in agricul-
ture, and this is merely another way of saying that busi-
ness methods are required on the farm. A more scientific
cultivation of the soil is called for and it is equally neces-
sary for any rural community to adapt its products to
the market conditions surrounding it. Advantages in selling
may be gained by securing private customers and
handling all commodities in a tasty, businesslike way.

There are many difficulties in farming, but the advan-
tages of an agricultural life must not be overlooked. In
the first place, the farmer, if he is at all successful, has
no fear of being displaced. He commands his own time
and leads an independent life. In the second place, if
he is wise, he may himself produce nearly all the food
necessary for his family.

It is best to go in for a variety of products, but not on
an extravagant scale. A start is easily made with poultry,

CITY MEN SUCCEED ON FARMS 31

vegetables, flowers, bees and pigs. For this sort of farm-
ing only a small tract of land is needed, and no large
outlay is required for horses, barns, machinery and tools.
These facts have to be observed because it is more diffi-
cult at the present time to break away from city employ-
ment and establish oneself on the land than it was a
generation ago.

At that time there was plenty of land to be home-
steaded. Especially in the middle west, where most of
this land was available, the soil was rich and its fertility
needed no attention. It did not take long for the beginner
to learn how to grow crops successfully on this rich
virgin soil, and the advance in land values made the en-
terprise distinctly profitable.

When good land was thus available for the taking,
thousands of farm homes were successfully established
by men having little previous knowledge of the business.
At present there is practically no desirable land left for
homesteads. Therefore it is a good plan for the city
man to begin without investing heavily in buildings,
machinery and power.

If he will take a few acres close to a large town, or at
least convenient to transportation, he can carry on truck
farming with small outlay beyond the first cost of land.
One horse and a little light machinery will suffice at the
start. Vegetable raising requires patient labor for six
months in the year and yields a fine return on time and
investment.

Flower farming is as simple as anything else and may
be pursued with pleasure and profit the year around, if
the farmer will put some of the proceeds of his surplus
land into a greenhouse and steam heating plant. A half
acre in carnations or roses will yield a regular monthly
income amounting to more than fifty acres of corn or
wheat. Perhaps, also, it would supply an element of

32 CITY MEN SUCCEED ON FARMS

refinement and beauty that would be sufficient to keep
the young men and women at home.

The time has come in this country — and it came long
ago in other parts of the world — when a tract of ten
acres insures comfort and independence.

This is owing to the large markets which exist every-
where and the development of railroads. When the
country was sparsely settled, and everybody could own
land, it was hard to dispose of produce for enough to pay
for handling it. Cash was scarce and markets were in-
different Today the great cities all around us are calling
for farm products at prices which afford large profits.

Last season a Michigan man put in four and three-
fourths acres to cabbage. The ground was plowed about
the middle of May and with the plowing a good coat of
manure was turned under. Then the plot was topped
and dressed with muriate of potash, using about ioo
pounds to the acre. The seed was drilled in the row and
the plants were thinned out when large enough for that

work.

The heads were cut the first week in November and
about the middle of January ninety-three tons, all from
this patch, were sold in Grand Rapids. Twenty-five tons
were sold at $23 a ton and the remaining sixty-eight
tons brought $25 a ton. This is a total of $2,275 from
four and three-fourths acres of land — not all profit, of
course, but a good per cent of it is.

The owner had land enough left, supposing his farm to
be ten acres, to maintain a herd of swine and a flock of
poultry.

Results Which May Be Attained

It ought to be the aim of every farmer to accomplish
these definite results :

Increase profits by enlarging production at a fixed ex-
pense.

Diversify crops and all other profits so as to distribute
labor evenly throughout the year.

Secure a regular income at all seasons by supplying
customers with poultry and dairy products, vegetables,
beef, pork, etc.

Shorten the work-day to ten hours, provide a comfort-
able home, improve the appearance of the premises and
try to make life enjoyable.

Let the young people have a little money from the pro-
duction of fruit, flowers, vegetables and experimental
crops. Teach them to plan work for themselves and to
love the country.

There are farmers who have delightful homes and who
give the young people all reasonable advantages, but they
are an exception to the rule. Country life is made dull
and distasteful, as a general proposition, by long hours,
drudgery and a lack of social interests. This explains
the large exodus of young people to town, when they
could be happier and more prosperous in the country.

The American farmer, however, has not been doing
justice to himself. He has stuck too closely to those
products which pay the smallest profits, and he has not
sold his goods to the best advantage. By a lack of
diversity in production he has continually borne a risk of
total failure.

The difference in yield between the land properly

33

34 RESULTS WHICH MAY BE ATTAINED

farmed and the land poorly farmed is so great that
scientific farming experts are now calling the attention
of farmers by communities to the urgency of taking up
the study of certain crops and demonstrating the great
loss that is being sustained throughout the country in not
making closer study in requirements of cultivation for
large grain yields. It is rotation and diversity that are
lacking — the former to keep up the farm and the latter
to keep up the profits.

Every practical rotation must contain crops that use
nitrogen and crops that gather it. For example, in the
common rotation of corn, wheat and clover, the first two
use nitrogen and the third gathers it. In fact, clover is
a user and a gatherer of nitrogen. Do not think because
a legume adds nitrogen to the soil that it does not use up
plant food ; in fact, leguminous crops use more potash
and phosphorus than most any of the grain crops. A
large amount of nitrogen is also used, but it is taken from
the air, and in addition an extra amount is stored up in
the soil.

Now let the farmer push this diversification far beyond
the corn, wheat and clover crops. Cowpeas and oats
sown together make splendid fodder and benefit the soil.
They can be harvested by midsummer, and a crop of mil-
let grown on the same land by fall. Rye and clover sown
together in the fall can be cut for fodder by June I, and
potatoes, corn, rutabagas, millet or cowpeas grown the
same season.

While farmers are making $20 to $30 an acre on heavy
grain crops, they should not overlook such products as
onions, beans, potatoes, sugar beets and fruit, which re-
turn a profit of $100 to $200 an acre. These are the
things which bring the large profits and place agriculture
on a business basis.

Some of the easiest money in this country is made by
watching cows and hogs grow up. The man who has

RESULTS WHICH MAY BE ATTAINED 35

enough feed for 200 head of cattle and pigs can make
big profits. This system solves the labor question better
than anything else, as it gives work to hired help the en-
tire year and avoids rushes even in haying. Cattle and
hogs belong in the general scheme of diversified farming
with poultry and vegetables.

The system on many farms could be changed so as to
raise more live stock and give employment to one or two
men all the year around. I do not believe there is much
trouble in keeping men where they are well treated, well
paid and given steady employment. Farmers have to
compete with manufacturers, railroads and other large
employers of labor, and they can not expect to pick up
good men at any time of the year they happen to need
them.

In addition to the ordinary farming, which contem-
plates a system that is best for the land, it should be the
aim of all farmers to so diversify and manage their
crops that they can take advantage of the keen market
demand which exists for a variety of products other than
grain and live stock.

There are large profits in fruit and vegetables, as well
as in the furnishing of choice supplies of poultry, honey,
butter and a line of commodities which may come under
the head of fancy farming. An amateur can safely en-
gage in the production of various articles which pay bet-
ter than wheat, corn or milk.

Among some of the highly profitable crops which farm-
ers commonly neglect and which may be grown in all
parts of the country are grapes, raspberries, strawberries,
apples, plums, cherries, pears, tobacco, onions, beans, cab-
bage, celery and a host more which have an attractive ap-
pearance to the person who studies the markets. Alfalfa
also sells readily at prices which make it more profitable
than grain.

The large profits per acre that can be derived from

36 RESULTS WHICH MAY BE ATTAINED

tobacco make the growing of this crop a temptation to
farmers. It belongs in crop rotation schemes and thus
becomes a factor in soil improvement. Tobacco is suc-
cessfully grown all over the south. It has been crowded
out by grain farming and dairying in most of the north-
ern states. The crop pays well, however, in New England
and is exceptionally fine there. It is also profitable in
parts of Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Iowa,
although it does not receive any great amount of atten-
tion in the central west. Any farmer having clover,
sugar beets, potatoes, cabbage, onions and the usual rota-
tive crops ought to give tobacco a trial.

In February, 1912, 2,500,000 bushels of potatoes came
here from Ireland and other European countries. Dur-
ing the eight months ended in February, breadstuffs to
the value of $10,000,000 were imported by us, against
$3,000,000 worth of similar commodities in 1902. Onions,
beans and fruits to the value of millions of dollars are
brought in every season. This proves that our farmers
have been remiss and that their vocation will pay better
when they fully supply their home markets with commodi-
ties which can be raised anywhere in this country.

In 1870 there were engaged in agricultural pursuits,
approximately, 47.36 per cent of the population; in 19 10,
only 32 per cent. From this, it is apparent, the farmer
now is producing to feed two citizens beside himself,
whereas forty years ago he labored to feed only one.

Any state could add from $250,000 to $1,000,000 to the
revenue of each of its counties annually by an average in-
crease of five bushels per acre in its yield of corn and
wheat. If each acre of improved agricultural land in this
country could be made to yield only one additional bushel
of produce, 12,500 extra trains of fifty cars each would
be required to move the aggregate increased yield. Eighty
bushels of corn will make more net profit in one year
than a fifty-bushel acreage for four years — for about

RESULTS WHICH MAY BE ATTAINED 37

forty bushels yearly is required to come out even on high-
priced land. Truths of this sort are what our farmers
need to grasp, for the ten-year average yield of wheat
in this country is fourteen bushels per acre, while Ger-
many's is twenty-eight bushels, England's thirty-two
bushels, and Denmark's more than forty bushels.

Of course farmers who wish to diversify and get a
large percentage of retail prices must consider the matter
of location. Transportation facilities and the nearness
to large markets are two of the first questions. Nature
does 90 per cent of the work in producing from the soil —
man does all the work in transporting that which is pro-
duced to the market where it can be turned quickly into
money.

The farmers of Jefferson county, Wisconsin, realize
from their cows, in milk product, over two million dol-
lars annually, while from the sale of cows and heifers
they receive about $700,000. This combining dairying
with dairy stock breeding and raising, makes of the
farmer a much better equipped man all around, while it
enhances his profits. Most of the milk is handled in
creameries, and the skimmed-milk product, with the
abundant corn crops, and alfalfa and clover, enables the
farmer to turn a fine pork crop every year.

This all-around dairy farming pays well, when intelli-
gently managed, with the added advantage that the
farmer is more his own master, and his calling educates
him more broadly and more completely.

Dairy farmers must become better stock raisers than
they have been, whether they operate east or west, if they
want larger profits and a larger share in what they earn.
A few men can not control the butter market, or pork
market, and the market for cows and heifers, as they do
the milk market in large cities.

Succession Crops Feasible

A branch of farming that affords more than ordinary
pleasure and profit is that of studying out schemes for
succession crops. It is quite feasible to raise two or
more crops in one season on ordinary soil. It will be
found that this kind of intensive farming is good for the
soil. There has to be free use of barnyard fertilizer,
and the plowing, disking, harrowing, rolling, and per-
haps hoeing, must be in proportion to the amount of pro-
duction required of the land. Such treatment will build
up instead of wearing out a plot of ground. These ex-
amples may be varied as circumstances suggest.

Lettuce, radishes, onions, peas, carrots and string beans
may be grown and supplied to customers between the
ist of May and the middle of June. The ground can
then be prepared in a few days for the succeeding crops,
and it will be found that between the ist of July and
the ist of October a full crop of these products can be
grown: Celery, sweet corn, late potatoes, beets, cucum-
bers, cabbage, lettuce, spinach, onions and turnips.

At first glance it would seem that there are not many
vegetables on the list that could be sown successfully as
late as midsummer, but those tested form quite an array.
Bush beans, carrots, lettuce, beets, corn, parsley, peas,
radishes, spinach and turnips all give satisfactory results
when sown as late as August. They should be put in as
near the ist of July as possible to make all growth possi-
ble before frost. The hardy ones cause no anxiety, as
they endure light frosts. The tender sort, such as beans,

38

SUCCESSION CROPS FEASIBLE 39

cucumbers and spinach, may be saved from the cold by a
covering of old rugs and similar material.

As the gardener can not duplicate the cool, moist con-
ditions of spring for the germination of August seeds,
he must do the next best thing and firm the soil well
after sowing. This helps to draw the moisture in the
soil where the seedlings can use it. When they have made
a start the surface is to be stirred to form a mulch.

Bush beans sown as late as August 10 have been suc-
cessfully harvested by October 15. In another case an
August 1 sowing of peas yielded full-sized pods in less
than seven weeks. These were an extra early sort. The
crop, however, was not so heavy as from spring-sown
seed.

Lettuce planted in early August bore leaves large
enough to use before the middle of September and well
formed heads from the first week in October until the
ground was cleared.

This is only a suggestive outline of the scheme of grow-
ing succession crops. There are wide possibilities along
that line, and it is feasible to go still further and sow
rape as soon as the vegetables are off in September and
October. By November 1 this will be in condition for
forage. Hogs and sheep can feed from this field of rape
for several weeks before winter sets in, and it is again
ready for them in the spring.

So far as the effect on the soil is concerned, it is possi-
ble to continue the double cropping of vegetables indefi-
nitely. The land will most likely show improvement
under such methods of cultivation, but a rotative scheme
is advisable on small tracts as well as large ones.

Earning Capacity of Land Requires Study

Farmers, as well as their financial friends in town, are
vitally interested in the earning capacity of land. There
is more money to be made in farming today than there
has been in the past because of the permanent high
prices for produce and an improvement in transportation
facilities. Live stock and field products bring nearly
twice as much now as they did ten years ago.

But what is the earning capacity of land? A farm of
ioo acres can be managed so as to maintain ioo hogs, a
dairy of 20 cows, half a dozen brood mares, a large
poultry plant, a garden, an orchard, and an apiary. An
income of $5,000 on a total expense for wages and family
maintenance of $1,500 would be a fair estimate. Out of
the $1,500 expense fund the farmer who is operating on
business principles will allow himself and family $500 as
wages. He must consider that he owes himself as much
as he would any other man for a like amount of work,
and his wife is entitled to her share in cash.

This would mean intensive, systematic, businesslike
farming, but the figures are conservative, and any intel-
ligent person can obtain these results if such a plan is
adopted. By doing more with hogs and poultry, the net
earnings might be increased considerably. It would pay
to still further diversify by the production of beans,
onions, and like crops, for which there is always a good
cash market.

To gain from fifty acres an income equal to the
figures given above one would have to drop the dairy and
go in mainly for hogs, poultry, onions, potatoes, strawber-

40

EARNING CAPACITY REQUIRES STUDY 41

ries, cabbage, beans, and perhaps cucumbers and sweet
corn. Four brood mares could be kept on a fifty-acre
place to do the work and raise horses for market. After
two seasons there would be three or four horses to sell
every year.

It is reasonably certain that any business man who
runs a diversified farm as carefully as he conducts a store
can clean up a satisfactory income from year to year,
keep up his place in proper order, and have a delightful
country home. He also will gain considerably in the
appreciation of land, and he has always the satisfaction
of knowing that his investment is perfectly safe.

Let us consider what .two farmers in Illinois are
doing to show the earning capacity of land. One of
these farmers has 32 acres at Wayne, DuPage County,
and operates a dairy of 30 cows, besides carrying a fair
variety of poultry, hogs, etc. He also maintains a team
of brood mares on the place to do the work.

This man has observed that cows waste a great deal of
land. In a drought they scarcely get a living from the
grass no matter how much of a range they may have, so
he gives them a small field to run in, and feeds them the
year around. He puts most of the place into corn and
fills a silo especially for summer feeding. He buys
never to exceed $200 worth of mill stuff per year, and
pays about $300 for wages. His income for milk, pork
and poultry is not less than $3,000. Under his system
he cleans up $2,000 a year above living and operating
expenses.

In the other case referred to, the farmer started in an
experimental way on 40 acres. He found that ten good
cows would give an income of $100 per month, but that
he had to feed them in the midsummer about the same
as in the winter. He carried this number for two sea-
sons, with one hired man. He began with equal caution
with hogs, raising from 30 to 60 each season. Then he

42 EARNING CAPACITY REQUIRES STUDY

increased the dairy to 20 head, and at this time is operat-
ing one of the most diversified little farms that anyone
could plan. Two hired hands are employed the year
around. The 40-acre farm now has 20 cows, 50 hogs,
400 chickens, 16 hives of bees, 4 horses and a sufficient
variety of young stock to keep the place up to the present
basis. An acre of land is devoted to strawberries every
summer and another to cucumbers. There also have
been some interesting experiments with alfalfa, alsike
and such forage crops as rape and artichokes. This little
farm returns a gross income of nearly $5,000 a year, less
than $2,000 of which is expense.

In running a dairy of say 30 cows, two men are needed,
but this is a sufficient force for much other work along
the line of fancy or intensive farming. I have seen it
demonstrated over and over that an acre of strawberries
will pay the yearly wages of a hired man, and the picking-
is done at a time when there is no pressure of other work.
Cucumbers are a still surer crop and pay enormously.
They are harvested after corn planting, and do not inter-
fere with the regular work of the farm. It is important
to have the work so distributed that the men who must
be kept for the dairy shall have profitable employment for
the entire day. This is gained by having a diversity*

The method of management on a 15-acre farm that
raises all the roughage for 30 head of stock, 17 of which
are cows in milk, can not fail to be of interest to farmers
in all parts of the country. The farm in question is situ-
ated in southeastern Pennsylvania, near a city. About
13 acres are in cultivation, the remaining 2 acres being
occupied by buildings, yard, etc. This farm came into
the possession of a new owner in 1881 with a mortgage
of $7,200 upon it. For the first year the farm lacked
$46 of paying expenses. During the next six years the
mortgage was paid.

Upon assuming management of the farm the owner,

EARNING CAPACITY REQUIRES STUDY 43

a minister with no previous experience in farming, began
to read what agricultural literature was available. One
of the first books secured was Quincy's little book on
the soiling of cattle. As in many parts of this country
the practice of "soiling" is not common, it is permissible
to state that it consists in cutting and feeding green feed
in summer instead of allowing the animals to run on a
pasture.

The system of handling manure is such that none is
lost, either liquid or solid. No commercial fertilizers
have ever been used, and no manure has been hauled from
the city. The crops are all fed, and are thus largely re-
turned to the land in the manure. Of course much valu-
able fertilizer is added to the farm annually from the
rich mill products fed the cows. The roughage is all
raised on the farm, but all the grain is bought.

The cows are fed balanced rations every day in the
year. Every feed consists of three parts. A portion of it
is some succulent material — silage in winter; and rye,
timothy and clover, corn, peas and oats, or some other
green crop in summer. A second portion consists of dry
hay or fodder. This is used to give the manure proper
consistency and adds much to the convenience of caring
for the cows. A third portion consists of mill products,
of which three kinds are used — bran, oil meal, and gluten.

The soiling crops used are as follows : Green rye,
beginning about May i, and continuing about four weeks,
or until the rye is ready to cut for hay. Then timothy
and clover are fed till peas and oats are ready. When
the latter is cut for hay, the silo is opened (about July
4), and silage is fed till early corn is ready. Enough
early corn is planted to last till late corn (planted about
June 22) is ready. Late corn is then fed till it is time to
put it in the silo. From this time forward silage is fed
daily till green rye is available in the spring. No abrupt

44 EARNING CAPACITY REQUIRES STUDY

change is ever made in the system of feeding. Even the
change from green corn to silage is made gradually.

Every particle of roughage fed on this farm, including
hay and all soiling crops, is cut in quarter-inch lengths.
Even the bedding is cut in this manner. There are two
round silos on the farm, each 10 feet in diameter and
34 feet high. These together hold about ioo tons of
silage, and this quantity of corn silage is produced on 4
acres.

We have given the account of a pioneer farmer, start-
ing in with no experience, but going to work in a method-
ical manner to learn what he could from the experience of
others, making a careful study of surrounding conditions,
and adjusting himself to those conditions. This farmer,
by applying scientific principles and business methods, has
blazed a path into a region of great possibilities. The
most important lesson to be learned from his achieve-
ments is that it is possible to cause land to yield twice or
three times as much as the present average from what are
considered good methods. The place has returned a
gross income of upward of $2,500 a year, with a total
expense of about $1,000. It would be feasible to raise
poultry also on this place.

Many a farmer fails to get adequate returns from his
farm because he stays at home too closely, puts in too
many hours a day following the plow, and does not often
enough visit good farmers in his neighborhood or other
sections of the country where good farming is done.
Furthermore, a man physically exhausted from a long,
hard day's work is in no condition to follow and get
much out of the literature of his business as reported
in farm papers, agricultural bulletins, reports, and books,
and without the advantage of all the information available
from every possible source he will find awkward situations
when he comes to replan his farm for profit.

Success in farming calls for the very best effort in a

EARNING CAPACITY REQUIRES STUDY 45

man along all lines. That best effort is called for in
replanning a farm for profit. The farmer who is dis-
satisfied with his income from the farm needs to think
seriously as to whether or not his farm is planned right
for the largest returns, remembering that good farming
calls for keeping up the productiveness of the farm while
getting maximum crops economically from the soil.

There should be a cement cistern in connection with
every dairy barn, for holding the liquid manure. The
gutters and yard should drain into the cistern. An ordi-
nary pump will do for raising the liquid to a wagon tank,
made like an ordinary water sprinkler. It is easy to give
the land valuable fertilization by this inexpensive outfit.
This liquid may be put on the bare land or on growing
crops. It may be hauled to the fields early in the season,
or even in the winter. For garden plants, also, it has
great value after they have begun to grow, as well as in
the preparation of the soil. Few farmers in Europe allow
liquid manure to go to waste.

Beef farming is attractive, both from the standpoint
of net returns and because it favors permanent agri-
culture. The practical feeder home-grows most of the
roughage and a considerable portion of the grain that he
feeds, purchasing such concentrates as cottonseed meal,
which has a high protein content and is an efficient pro-
ducer of market bloom and a fat carcass. In addition
to feeding all that the farm produces and deriving the
fertilizing value of the resultant manure, fertility is also
added to the farm in the form of the purchased feed-
stuffs.

Learn How to Go Back to the Land

Continued difficulties have caused an influx of city
people to the country. Some prosper and are happy.
Others find that the "turkeys do not grow on trees and
already roasted." Those who have been accustomed to
earning five dollars or more a day see the cash supply
come slowly, and become discouraged. They do not know
the principles of farming, and many mistakes are made.

There are always plenty to advise some great improve-
ment which will require a goodly outlay of labor — these
same advisers ever standing ready to do this work at their
own price. The principle may be correct, but the labor
bill is liable to be excessive.

No farmer would expect to go to the city and launch
into a new business without losing money at the start.
The sane way is to commence gradually, study conditions
and methods thoroughly, and then advance with caution.

Many a city man has gone back to the crowded life
discouraged, just because he did not know how to com-
mence. Had he rented a small plot of ground and spent
his spare moments in making a garden, there would have
been renewed strength in the exercise, and he would
have been better prepared in a single season to undertake
the larger proposition.

His business principles would enable him to grasp the
subject with comparative ease; but he should no longer
follow the time-honored sentiment that the man who does
not know how to do anything else can farm.

Farming is now a many-sided proposition. No other
occupation requires so varied a knowledge. No other
develops more fully the best that is in man.

46

LEARN HOW TO GO BACK TO THE LAND 47

The good and bad years will average up pretty well,
after yielding returns more or less remunerative, as deter-
mined by the amount of knowledge possessed by the
grower and the degree of skill with which this knowledge
is brought to bear upon the problems incident to the
business.

The factor of market is one that enters largely into the
problem of securing adequate returns for our labors, and
with such perishable products as small fruits under cer-
tain conditions, the problem ofttimes becomes a serious
one.

The value of a product at any given time is determined
by the law of supply and demand. The consuming class
of any prescribed district will use but a certain quantity
of any product at a value which will allow the grower
exceptional remuneration. The demand at such values
will always be within a prescribed limit, as an exceptional
value causes any food products to become a luxury.

To illustrate : The strawberries on a certain market are
selling freely at 15 cents per box. There is just about
an even balance between supply and demand. We will
suppose that the supply of such fruit on the market be
increased 50 per cent. Will the entire amount then sell
at 15 cents? Most assuredly not!

Drop the price to 12^ cents, however, and the increase
in consumption will provide a market for the increased
supply, for those who have been eating 15-cent berries
will eat more freely of this fruit, and some who cannot
afford to buy at the higher price will begin to do so at
the lower figure.

A still greater increase in the quantity of such fruit
placed upon the market will cause a still further decline
in values, in order to maintain an even balance between
supply and demand.

To be sure, when united in an association, growers
may, through this association, often maintain more equa-

48 LEARN HOW TO GO BACK TO THE LAND

ble values ; but the sphere of such influence must always
be within prescribed limits.

The most important factor, perhaps, in demoralizing
prices of products, such as small fruits, is the farmer
grower who has but a small area devoted to their culture,
and who sells the surplus for what can be most readily-
obtained, by cutting prices to the limit.

If the entire output of such stuff could be handled
through an exchange, extreme slumps in values, market
conditions extremely annoying to regular growers, might,
at times, be avoided, for such extreme lowering of prices
is ofttimes entirely unnecessary to make the demand keep
pace with supply.

This manner of disposing of or preventing such unde-
sirable conditions is, however, beset with not a few obsta-
cles. To insure the success of such a plan requires
exceptional ability on the part of the promoters.

As between the home and distant market, the former is
the safer proposition. So between the larger and smaller
centers of population, the former usually affords the safer
market. In deciding upon a location, then, these points
should be deeply considered.

One of the most prominent school officials in the north-
west received his start in life as a result of a venture in
fruit growing. He was born on a farm in Michigan and
the conditions surrounding his boyhood days were hard.
The father and his two boys toiled early and late on a
farm of ioo acres. They had a poor bit of land, and both
crops and prices were disappointing. Debt hung over the
family like a pall. They could not sell their place at any
reasonable figure. One day the father said :

"Boys, we'll either lose everything we have, or get out
of this rut. I know of sixty acres that would be just right
for fruit. We can buy it on easy terms, and by selling
off some of our stock we can make a fair payment."

They took the place and set out ten acres of fruit trees

LEARN HOW TO GO BACK TO THE LAND 49

the first season. In six years they were out of debt and
the boys were entering college. They have risen to dis-
tinction in professional life. The aged father still owns
the two farms and is in comfortable circumstances, but he
has never made any money from grain raising.

Had it not been for some special lines such as fruit and
poultry, which he was driven to by dire necessity, he
would have lost what he started with and would have
been forced to cast his sons adrift without even a
common-school education. The sons are city men, but
they own farms and conduct them on diversified lines.
They have their land to fall back on in case of reverses
in their other vocations.

This story could be duplicated in ten thousand cases
where farmers failed abjectly until they began to diver-
sify. The special opportunity just now is for a line of
produce which finds a ready market in large cities. The
constant cash demand and the good shipping facilities
give farmers in the older states an advantage over those
who are located farther from the trade centers.

A person of limited means, who is operating a small
tract near a city, should aim to supply a given number of
customers with fresh eggs every week the year through.
If hens are properly cared for, a flock of 200 will yield
a revenue of $25 per month in eggs and $10 in broilers.
Add to this $35 an income of $15 from ducks, making
the poultry department earn a total of $50 per month.
Chickens and ducks are delicacies when eight to ten weeks
old, and help to distribute the profits over the season.

About once a month, through cold weather, there ought
to be dressed pork for private customers. Pigs that
weigh 150 to 200 pounds are desirable for this class of
trade, and command good prices. They can be disposed
of in sections. There is a keen demand for country
sausage, and the small farmer should make it now and
again in winter. Twenty pigs will net $300, or an average

50 LEARN HOW TO GO BACK TO THE LAND

of $25 a month. A farmer, man or woman, who uses a
little good judgment in conducting a small tract, will
make five acres produce $600 worth of potatoes, onions,
beans, cabbage and celery. These crops distribute the
summer work nicely and supply a line of produce for
which there is a steady demand.

The items named furnish a living income without half
testing the capacity of a tract of twenty acres. There
could be as much more from strawberries, apples, cher-
ries and honey. There is work for a span of horses, and
if a couple of mares are kept, it is feasible to raise colts,
which is another source of income. If the place amounts
to as much as forty acres, a dairy of ten or twelve cows
may be kept. This yields a substantial profit after allow-
ing $400 a year for wages. By leaving out the dairy, an
ordinary family can do most of the work on a small farm.

I have a yard of bees which worked in a field of buck-
wheat containing about 10 acres. No other buckwheat
was within reach of them. They brought in over $200
worth of buckwheat honey from this small field.
This is an average of over $20 per acre. The flow of
basswood honey, secured almost entirely from the yield
on an adjoining farm, netted several hundred dollars.
These yields may surprise many, but they are not ex-
cessive. I have, during an exceptional year, secured a
yield treble the above from buckwheat, and have har-
vested a crop of $480 worth of honey from a basswood
grove of less than 10 acres. Honey represents one of the
largest crops, and nine-tenths of it is allowed to go to
waste. It might be harvested at less expense than any
other crop produced. The reason why farmers have not
kept abreast of the times in bee keeping is hard to find.

Avoid the Single Farming Interest

The unsatisfactory condition of the dairy business shows
the folly of depending on one commodity for success. If a
farmer will give some of his energy to raising pork, beef,
mutton, poultry, fruit and vegetables, he can gradually
draw out of the production of milk, and will find his
profits steadily growing.

It ought not to be difficult for a farmer owning a herd
of cows to push forward a lot of hogs, calves and beef
animals. He need not give up live stock raising because
one branch of it is unprofitable. A fair proportion of
horses, cattle, sheep and swine is advisable in order to
keep up soil fertility. The needful thing is to avoid any
single farming interest. Diversity is the order of the day,
and will bring big profits to the farmer who makes his
operations conform to market requirements.

As beef is extremely profitable just now, owing to a
general scarcity, this is a safe line of enterprise for
farmers, especially those who have dairy herds.

The feed problem is less difficult in this channel than
in dairying, and all farmers ought to aim to keep up with
the times in providing both early and late fodder crops
and silage.

Any who have determined to turn from dairying to
beef production, wholly or in part, should get a good
Hereford or Shorthorn sire and develop stock suitable
to the new programme. These breeds will make beef
more cheaply than most of the others. In buying cattle
to fatten for market, none will pay better than the breeds
named.

There is a great future for the silo in this country. By

51

52 AVOID SINGLE FARMING INTEREST

enabling farmers to keep a much larger number of ani-
mals, there will be no excuse for worn-out land. The
increased amount of manure, combined with careful rota-
tion of crops, will result in larger producing capacity.

Cattle are not the only animals to which silage can be
fed. I have fed it to dairy cows, sheep, hogs, calves and
horses. It is a great aid in the production of beef and
pork as well as milk.

Raw ground beans are valuable as a feed for fattening
cattle, particularly if used with corn or corn silage and
some clover or alfalfa hay. The analysis of field beans
shows 23.2 per cent protein, 54.9 of starchy material, 5.7
of ash and 1.5 of fat. Compared to cottonseed meal,
which is so widely used by feeders, the beans contain
about half as much protein and one-sixth as much fat.
Soy beans are a good deal richer than field beans in feed
value, being closely compared to cottonseed meal. Up to
four or five pounds a day per 1,000 pounds live weight
should be profitable, and would go best with some corn.
About half that amount of soy bean meal would supply
the same amount of protein, but would require more corn
to balance it up.

Men differ as to the best methods of feeding and best
feeds as much as they differ on a great many other sub-
jects. The more we raise on our farms for feed for
steers, the better we are off, and I think that fact is fully
realized. It is an easy matter to purchase large quanti-
ties of expensive feeds, but will the final account justify
the act? We should have a variety of feeds, and use
them in a way that will be to the best interest all around.

Getting the Most Out of an Acre

The most intensively cultivated region in Europe is that
part of the province of Valencia, Spain, which lies be-
tween the mountains and the Mediterranean. It has a
rainfall of only about seventeen inches a year, but so
fertile is the soil and so skilled are its workers that it
produces crops worth an average of $640 an acre. There
are districts where 100 acres support 160 families and
where single families live on the product of four-tenths of
an acre. Farms are rented at about $30 an acre, and the
tenant pays 48 cents an hour for pumped water, which
flows in a stream of 200 gallons a minute. Almost all
farming is done by hand, as minute attention is given to
crops and even to individual plants. The average produc-
tion of the principal crops is as follows, in metric tons of
2,204 pounds: Oranges, 400,000 tons; olives, 65,000;
carob beans, 72,000; peanuts, 13,500; melons, 36,000;
grapes, 87,000; peppers, 12,000; tomatoes, 27,000; wheat,
62,000; barley, 18,000; corn, 38,000; rice, 200,000.

Denmark contains only some 15,000 square miles. It
maintains 2,500,000 persons and exports annually about
$150,000,000 worth of butter, bacon and eggs. Danish
butter invariably brings the highest price of any offered
in the British market, and the quantity of these three
exports is maintained equally with its quality, summer
and winter.

Dr. Maurice Francis Egan, our Minister to Denmark,
says : "Today the Danish farmer buys nothing individu-
ally. He uses no seeds till they have been tested by the
experts furnished by the co-operative society. He buys
his fertilizers, soya beans from Manchuria, cotton and

53

54 GETTING THE MOST OUT OF AN ACRE

meal from the United States, through the co-operative
society. He never kills his own hogs — though there are
500 hogs to every 1,000 persons in Denmark — but sends
them to the co-operative bacon factories, which were
founded some time in the 8o's, when Germany refused
the Danish hog because of an outbreak of swine fever.
The Danes instantly founded, with the assistance of the
Government, large co-operative bacon factories. In order
to make dairying possible, the Dane had to regenerate the
land exhausted by the lack of scientific treatment.

"Being an educated man, he was an open-minded man,
and he induced his Government to furnish scientific
experts who could finally answer any question he might
ask. As an example, let us take the small farmer, with
three cows, three hogs, four head of cattle, and a horse
or two. He farms perhaps twelve acres. Now, it is a
question with him as to the rotation of his crops; it is
a question as to the amount of butter fat that each
cow should produce. He has, through the co-operative
society, the use of a scientific expert, who visits his farm
every eighteen days and answers all these questions, after
consultation with him.

"Furthermore, he keeps a duplicate set of books for the
farmer, so that the farmer knows exactly the amount of
butter fat each cow yields every week, when the cows are
expected to calve, the value of the service of every bull
in use, and the exact position of the farmer, economically
and agriculturally. For this service the farmer pays the
expert 30 cents yearly per cow, the Government paying
the rest of the expert's salary, the expert being attached
to the Royal Danish Co-operative Society."

These little farms of ten or twelve acres in Denmark
commonly return the owner $800 to $1,200 profit in addi-
tion to family expenses and all costs of operating. It is
not unusual for tracts of vegetables and flowers to pay
$300 to $500 per acre.

GETTING THE MOST OUT OF AN ACRE 55

Joseph Gould, an Illinois truck farmer, has for years
cleared an average of $150 per acre on his land, in the
western part of Cook county. Mr. Gould last season had
a profit of $1,800 from ten acres, and his experience
attracted general attention.

An acre of celery brought upward of $500, and before
the celery plants were put out the same land produced a
nice crop of earlier vegetables. The beets, carrots and
tomatoes have been below the average in price, or his
income would have been larger, for the yield was heavy.
Mr. Gould has produced three crops of radishes and let-
tuce in a single season, and his land is kept in perfect
condition. Nearly the entire tract raises two crops of
vegetables within five months.

No ground is allowed to be idle ; intensive cropping is
practiced ; early vegetables are carefully looked after, and
a home market direct to the consumer for the greater part
of the products is made by honest and courteous treatment.

His specialties before celery time are early peas, toma-
toes, onions, radishes and lettuce, all of which grow rap-
idly enough so that the land can be used twice. Sweet
corn, squashes, cucumbers, turnips and popcorn are grown
every season, and for two years he has experimented with
peppers. These thrive finely.

Crop rotation is methodically followed by Mr. Gould,
in order to obtain the results noted. This is important for
other reasons. It helps to destroy insects and fungous
diseases, and provides fresh organic matter which decays
quickly in the soil and by its stimulating action liberates
from the soil itself more plant food than would otherwise
be available. This successful truck farmer studies out the
best methods of money-making and helps his neighbors to
place their land on a paying basis.

Illinois florists with an investment of $10,000 or less for
greenhouses and heating plants are able to clear $5,000 to

56 GETTING THE MOST OUT OF AN ACRE

$8,000 from the production of flowers. They do not
require more than two or three acres of land.

Orcharding is an attractive proposition. With sixty
trees to an acre, of either apples or cherries, a nice income
is secured from a small tract, with less labor than is
required in other lines. A return of $250 to $400 per acre
may be expected. Other fruits do equally well or better.

The following figures on production of apples were
compiled by Mr. James O. Read, himself an expert horti-
culturist, while in the capacity of president of the State
Board of Horticulture of Montana. While the figures
given are based on the productiveness of the Mcintosh
Red apple, which takes first place in Mr. Read's state,
they apply equally well to the popular Jonathan, which
still strongly rivals the Mcintosh Red and other fine vari-
eties. From his experience as a fruit grower, and from
other growers in the same district, Mr. Read places pro-
duction of apples per tree at three-fourths of a box for
the fifth year, one and one-half boxes for the sixth year,
three boxes for the seventh year, four boxes for the
eighth year, five boxes for the ninth year, and six boxes
for the tenth year. On the foregoing basis is compiled
the following statement of annual net profits from a
standard apple orchard of ten acres, eighty trees to the
acre: Fifth year, 600 boxes at $1.10 net, $660; sixth,
1,200 at $1.10, $1,320; seventh, 2,400 at $1.10, $2,640;
eighth, 3,200 at $1.10, $3,520; ninth, 4,000 at $1.10,
$4,400; tenth, $4,800 at $1.10, $5,280.

Plans to Keep Young People Interested

One of the problems that is all the time tugging at the
heart of the farmer of this country is the absence from
the farm of the young man. There are many neighbor-
hoods in which not one in ten of the male members of
the community may be truthfully called a young man. It
used to be thought that the time of the young man
belonged to his father till he was "one-and-twenty" ; but
the day of his departure has gradually dropped until now
long before he is of age he is away at some other kind of
business. With all the drift toward the country that we
hear so much about today, it is a drift of men quite well
along in years, and not a movement which takes the boys
and young men back to nature. The shops, the factories,
the stores and the offices are swallowing up sturdy young
fellows everywhere.

Some of the best farmers of this country are rinding a
solution of the young-man question in the plan of settling
their sons early on the farm. If these farmers are fortu-
nate enough to be the owners of large farms, the problem
is easier of solution ; for then they may cut the old home-
stead up into two or three good-sized farms, build houses
on these, and have their children near to them as long as
they live.

This is a happy method of working out the problem.
As the father and mother grow old, and less able to carry
on the farm work themselves, they may have within easy
call their boys and girls. Where a spirit of harmony and
love exists between the different members of the family
this state of affairs may be said to be almost ideal.

57

58 TO KEEP YOUXG PEOPLE INTERESTED

In case the old farm cannot be thus parceled out, it is
nearly always possible to buy lands not far away upon
which the young people may be located. The father may
assume the responsibility of the purchase of these farms,
giving the children a chance to pay for them on easy
terms, and after a long lease of time, if desired, or if his
own financial condition will permit, he may buy the lands
desired, and give the deed to his children. This has a
great point of advantage in the fact that thus the father
and mother may, to a large extent, be the administrators
of their own estates. This prevents much of the strife
that comes up where the matter of settling up the estate is
left until after the death of the parents.

The extension of this plan of settling the young people
on nearby farms would do more than any other one thing
to give us a satisfactory answer to the question: How
shall we keep our young people on the farm? Let the
children understand that when they are of legal age they
shall have a place, either with the parents on the old farm
or on a farm near the homestead, and the drift away from
the country will receive a decided check.

Young men who have an ambition to conduct a farm
on progressive lines ought to have the earnest support of
their parents — not only because modern methods pay, but
because they will be likely to hold the interest of a studi-
ous and energetic boy.

The modern farmer is not simply a corn planter, a
wheat grower, a cattle breeder, a sheep feeder, or a poul-
try raiser, but often all of these and more combined. His
farm, therefore, must be planned with reference to all of
these operations and the harmonious dovetailing together
of the different parts. In planning his farm for profit,
the farmer must see all the different problems in a com-
prehensive way at the outset, omit the features that do
not pay, and strengthen those that do.

He will soon perceive that his sons and daughters, if

TO KEEP YOUNG PEOPLE INTERESTED 59

|
they are reading people, are keenly interested in every
move that indicates progress. They will co-operate in all
betterment projects and will in time come to appreciate,
the advantages of their country life and vocation. It is
important for young people to see that they have fine
opportunities right at home.

The entertaining stories that are published from day
to day about persons who have accomplished astonishing
things by moving to some other part of the country do
not always serve a good purpose.

It depends mainly on the man himself whether he is
going to prosper anywhere or not. The many alluring
things which are published to attract farmers are designed
first of all to sell the land. They are not issued from
philanthropic motives, and the individual will always find
that success depends on his own efforts and intelligence,
no matter what his environments may be.

It is interesting to learn of old friends who have "made
good" in a new locality, and it is pleasant to think of the
good times we might have in some other climate or on
some other kind of farm ; but we must not forget that the
lure of the big farm, the fruit ranch, the mild winters,
and other far-away things have been fatal to scores where
they have drawn one to affluence.

When a man is east, he is apt to think that the west
offers him golden opportunities. When he is west, he sees
the advantage of the eastern markets and transportation.
If he has been drawn south, he may discover that the
warm climate takes the tuck out of him, while in the far
north it may turn out to be too cold for a comfortable
living. The truth is that all sections of this republic are
good, and all have special advantages.

A practical farm mother in Wisconsin has solved a
problem which had become the most serious of her life.
Incidentally, she may have conferred a benefit on the
farming community generally.

60 TO KEEP YOUNG PEOPLE INTERESTED

Her growing children, a son and a daughter, were
becoming tired of the old home, and had an ambition to
try city life. Having acquired a dislike for the farm,
they were planning to go out into the world and do for
themselves.

The more animated these young folks became over
their new ambition, the more painful the subject became
to their parents. Mother love and sense finally found a
way to settle the question in a manner pleasing to all.

It was proposed to try some experiments along the line
of modern farming and to give the boy and girl an oppor-
tunity to own something for themselves and enjoy the
profits resulting from their efforts. The mother offered
to furnish the capital necessary for raising squabs on a
large scale, with the understanding that the son and
daughter would care for the birds, and the three share in
the proceeds.

The sagacious proposition aroused interest at once, and
the project was launched. Every day brought new and
interesting developments, and, with some modification of
the other labors which had been required of them, the old
farm became an attractive place to the young folks.

The squab industry has now been growing on their
hands for two years, and is highly profitable. The
resourceful mother has brought forward other ideas for
stimulating the interest and energy of her children, who
are today happy in their country life. All idea of going
to live in town has been abandoned. Mother wit has
saved the boy and the girl for the farm.

Either individual ownership or profit-sharing is a good
thing to institute among the young people in the country.
If the working day can be made shorter and the drudgery
of the farm lessened, boys and girls will not be so eager
to go to the city.

If the average farmer worked about one-half as much
land, and diversified his efforts so as to secure an income

TO KEEP YOUNG PEOPLE INTERESTED 61

every month of the year, he would be better off and his
family would be happier.

For instance, an acre of ground under greenhouses
devoted to flowers would yield better returns than fifty
acres of wheat or corn, besides affording a delightful
occupation for the family. An acre of strawberries will
ordinarily return larger profits than ten acres of grain.
The market for truck and fruit grows better yearly. The
little things give variety and spice to life on the farm —
and they pay better from every point of view.

Many boys and girls might be saved from the follies
and misfortunes of city life if their parents would put
some thought into new plans for arousing their interest
in home affairs. Give them plots of ground for their
own use, and encourage them in making experiments with
vegetables and fruits. A delightful way is for the young
folks to form a partnership if they are old enough to do
useful work about the farm. The girls should have
charge of poultry and flowers, while the boys manage
vegetables and fruit.

Young people who live in a city, and would like to try
country life, have an excellent opportunity to gain a valu-
able experience and earn money during vacation by tilling
the soil. No plan could be better than this for the many
who are working their way through school. The produc-
tion of vegetables and flowers is immensely profitable, as
there is a constant cash demand in every town, big and
little.

The pleasure of such an experiment, if rightly con-
ducted, would be hard to exaggerate. It is nearly always
possible to obtain a small tract of land convenient to a car
line. One point to be considered is that there is little time
to waste in walking. The rent would be $10 to $20 for
two acres.

Boys or girls who already live on a farm, and who have
an ambition to test their ability in some fancy line of pro-

62 TO KEEP YOUNG PEOPLE INTERESTED

duction, should get up a profit-sharing scheme. Undoubt-
edly they would find their parents as willing and eager as
themselves, not merely to develop additional sources of
revenue but to stimulate a love for farming among their
sons and daughters.

For young people who wish to see what they can
accomplish with land, a partnership of two is best. This
is because there is a great deal of work in connection with
raising and marketing flowers and vegetables, and the
enthusiasm is most likely to be kept up when there are
partners to share the labor and planning.

It is best to begin the enterprise by arranging for a
little help from some one who can furnish a team at odd
times. There will be some hauling of vegetables all sum-
mer, but perhaps the team would not be required more
than twice a week. It would be quite feasible to rent a
horse and wagon for the season or even to buy them.

If such vegetables as lettuce, radishes, onions, beets and
carrots are planted during May, the first crop can be
taken from the ground in July, and a second crop
put in. Celery, onions, beets and cabbage work nicely
into this scheme. A good crop of potatoes ought to be
secured between June I and September 15. The late
vegetables will require some attention after school opens,
and a little help may have to be hired.

I would advise renting the land for two or three sea-
sons, for a lot of preparatory work can be done in
the spring, on Saturdays and at odd times, enabling the
young farmers to raise two crops. A study in double
cropping is advisable, for it means extra profits. An
enterprise of this kind, properly conducted, on a couple
of acres will return an income of several hundred dollars,
besides affording a vast amount of pleasure and valuable
experience.

Make an effort to keep the weeds out of the land and
do not allow the soil to become caked. After the first lot

TO KEEP YOUNG PEOPLE INTERESTED 63

of quick-growing produce has been taken off, stir up the
land with disk or cultivator, and replant. Nearly all suc-
cessful gardeners make their land produce two crops of
vegetables in a season. On a tract of two acres, a plan
something like the following should be adopted :

Plant one acre to potatoes, half an acre to lettuce, rad-
ishes, beets and carrots, and half an acre to onions. For
the second part of the season, put out a quarter of an
acre of celery, a quarter of an acre of beets, an acre of
late cabbage and half an acre of onions. If the young
farmers find the season going too fast for them, they
should not attempt two crops that year, but get ready to
follow the programme outlined for the next summer.

All of the products named return large profits. Cab-
bage ought to pay at the rate of $200 an acre; celery,
$400; onions, $250; beets and carrots, $100; potatoes,
$150. There is no exaggeration in the figures given. Any
industrious youth can gain a fine income in this way.
The only capital required is for seed, rent of land and
such team work as must be done. I will say frankly that
there will be mistakes and accidents which will upset some
of the calculations, but these will be few after the first
season. Hence I advise taking the land for two or more
years.

A farmer reports that in a single season seventeen acres
of pickles and thirty-one acres of onions and onion sets
cashed in far more than the market value of the expensive
land on which they grew. Last year he broke the record
with $4,600 from ten acres of onions. For five years he
has averaged $190 an acre from pickles.

Profit Sharing with Fruit and Vegetables

The difficulty of keeping young people interested in farm
work and rural life has made me an advocate of profit-
sharing. After taking part in a number of experiments
along this line, I am firmly convinced that the principle
is a good one to put in force. It need not be very exten-
sive at first, but when boys and girls are growing up and
deciding on a vocation, the profit-sharing system ought
to be adopted, and include the whole farm.

While the young folks are putting in about half their
time at school, and rendering substantial help through the
summer, and perhaps nights and mornings, they are apt
to feel the drudgery of farm life, and begin making plans
to get away as soon as possible.

This is a critical period, and many parents fail to
bring the minds of their sons and daughters back to an
enjoyment of their farm home. It is usually the long
hours of seemingly thankless toil that cause the boys and
girls to dislike agriculture and rush to the cities. I con-
tend that profit-sharing is one of the first steps necessary
to remedy this great difficulty in the country. It not only
has the element of fairness and justice in it but it may
serve to stimulate interest in agricultural pursuits, and so
mold the entire career of a young man or woman.

I would begin by allowing the boys and girls to have
a share in such things as poultry, bees, live stock and fruit
— most particularly fruit. For one thing, this would
result in the production of more and better fruit on the
average farm. Orchards are shamefully neglected by
most people who carry on general farming. The work

64

PROFIT SHARING 65

required to keep trees in proper condition is of a kind
that can be put off, and in the pressure of other things
during the fall and spring rush, it usually is deferred until
the orchard is an unsightly waste. It is much the same
with all kinds of small fruits. This, also, is looked upon
as a side issue, and therefore neglected.

Apples, cherries, berries and various other fruits can
be grown with profit in all parts of this country, with the
possible exception of two or three of the most northerly
prairie states. Can any one say that apples or cherries
pay less than grain, or require more work?

The truth is, they pay far better per acre than any of
the ordinary farm crops. It is only through neglect that
they fail to return liberal profits, and if each farmer
would get up a profit-sharing plan with regard to his
fruit, and bring in the entire family, including the hired
help, there would be a lot of pleasure in the project, and a
nice sum of money for every individual concerned.

In one case that I have in mind, an old orchard of about
twenty apple trees was extended until it occupies four
acres, and there is an additional acre of strawberries and
raspberries near by. This five-acre fruit tract is a joint
family enterprise. The head of the house gets his share
for furnishing the land and the money required to buy
the young trees. He has been investing about $20 a year
in young trees, to secure new varieties and increase the
acreage. Last year alone he received $300 as his share
of the profits on five acres. Two sons and his wife and
daughter get a like amount each, there being a revenue
of $1,500. It was a favorable fruit season, and the
returns may be less on an average. However, there is an
abundance of pin money in that family, and the young
people are receiving some wholesome training. They are
learning to raise fruit in a businesslike way ; to care for
the trees; to meet market needs, and to handle money
that comes to them as a result of their skill and industry.

New Vocation for the City Family

The city family taking a little farm should be impressed
with the fact that the novelty is pretty sure to wear off
and leave the work irksome and in some cases unsatisfac-
tory. For this reason, every step must be carefully con-
sidered. The location is the first thing to be determined.
If city employment is to be continued, it is imperative to
have the farm home within an hour's run. Otherwise, too
much time is wasted in traveling back and forth and too
much money spent for transportation. .

A farm located within the range of suburban service
permits city employment, affords good market facilities,
insures school and social advantages, and is quite sure to
advance in value, so that the investment may be profitable
in case circumstances ever compel a change.

It would be well to do with a very small tract — say,
twenty acres — for the sake of the advantages enumerated.
This land is worth, ordinarily, $4,000, and house, barn
and other improvements will make the aggregate $6,000
at the very least. If there are resources in the family, it
would be wise to make the investment about $7,000, in
order that the dwelling might be tasty and comfortable.

The earning power of such a place, devoted to poultry,
vegetables, fruit, etc., is $2,000 a year and upward. This
is a large interest on the $7,000 invested. If the average
salaried man can clear $2,000 in addition to the main part
of the family living, he can afford to give his whole
time to the farm, even if he has to pay interest on the
investment.

With most people getting started on a little farm, it has

66

NEW VOCATION FOR CITY FAMILY 67

to be a straight business proposition. The head of the
family must count his or her time worth at least $1,000
and another $1,000 is to be reckoned for investment and
improvements, if any progress is to be made. Granting
that visible conditions are in line with these suggestions,
the owner need not be afraid of a farm enterprise. If
he has a little capital, and is known as a man of sense and
character, any banker will carry the necessary debt for
him, and give him a chance to work out the problem to its
logical conclusion. If members of the family have the
taste and ability to handle poultry, flowers, vegetables and
fruit, there need be no doubt about ultimate success.

A line of work must be chosen which will appeal to the
young people. It is a safe proposition that no little farm
project will fail if the boys and girls of the family are
interested. If they enjoy their work on the land, they will
soon come to appreciate the possibilities of this location.
Once they see that it can be made to pay better than the
ordinary city employment, their interest will be stimulated
and they will be contented with country life.

The diversity of products on a twenty-acre tract can
be sufficient to give to each member of the family a
certain responsibility as well as a share in the profits.
Such lines as live stock, poultry, gardening and floricul-
ture appeal strongly to young people, and, fortunately,
there are large profits in these features. If bees, squabs,
mushrooms or other novelties that possess practical value
can be added, so much the better.

If it is desired to have a tract larger than twenty acres,
the same investment, or even a smaller one, will do by
locating farther from the city. When a place is chosen
several miles from a station, a line of products must be
handled which will not require quick marketing. It is
practicable to raise poultry, hogs, potatoes and fruit when
the location is so far out that not more than one trip a
week can be made.

68 NEW VOCATION FOR CITY FAMILY

Occasionally city people who have saved a little money
consult me about getting started on a farm. It is neces-
sary to have some capital, and the more the better, but
the situation is always hopeful for the family that has
prudence and energy sufficient to accumulate $1,000.

To move from the city to the country, with no capital,
would appear to be a serious undertaking, and the writer
would not advise city people to undertake it. However,
if a small capital has been saved up, the move can be

made.

A good method of procedure for the man with $1,000
would be to select ten acres close to some suburban
station and within an hour's ride of the city. The price
would be $1,500 to $2,000. He could get a banker with
whom he has had business relations, or a personal friend,
to finance the project to the extent of $3,000 or $4,000.
It might be best to retain city employment for the first
year, while equipping the little farm and getting things

started.

Substantial progress can be made in this first year.
The family may start a good garden, an orchard, a
flock of poultry, keep a few cows and pigs, and grow most
of their own table supplies.

If the wife knows how to prepare food and understands
how to be frugal, the actual money expense for the farm
living may be made very small, while at the same time the
standard of living, from the standpoint of food, may be
much higher than is possible even with wealthy people in

the city.

At first the principal aim should be to produce truck
crops for home consumption. As experience is gained,
the industry may be enlarged and a market established.
Many men have made the transition in this manner;
others have started with one or two cows, and have let
the business grow from the profits obtained in it ; others

NEW VOCATION FOR CITY FAMILY 69

have succeeded by beginning in a small way with poultry
or fruit.

The knowledge gained in this way, both as regards the
details of farming and concerning methods of market-
ing, finally enables the beginner to abandon his city
employment.

Another method that might be almost equally satisfac-
tory would be to buy an equipped farm of forty or fifty
acres, at a price around $5,000, paying $1,000 cash. In
such circumstances, it would be necessary to give up city
employment, as there would be plenty of work to occupy
the entire family. Any industrious man getting this kind
of a start will succeed. The principal care must be to
raise a line of produce for which there is a good cash
demand and which will give the owner something to sell
every week in the year. An orchard of 200 trees and a
large poultry plant, from which features an additional
$3,000 might be cleaned up, could be added. Instead
of the orchard, he might prefer to erect two or three
greenhouses, and produce flowers. The profits then would
be still larger. Potatoes, onions, beans, strawberries,
celery and asparagus pay nicely.

The degree of success depends largely on the man and
his family. Any industrious person can secure a fair
income and a comfortable living on ten acres. He can do
it in various lines, but a diversity is the surest way.

A plan that would distribute the work evenly over the
season, and insure a fair income, would include three
acres of corn, two of pasture, two of fruit, two of
vegetables and one for buildings. This contemplates a
horse, a cow, chickens, ducks and a few pigs. Something
is to be gained by using the orchard land for vegetables,
and the fruit trees will be benefited by this regular and
thorough cultivation.

Good Selling Is a Farmer's Need

Nine-tenths of the writing on agricultural subjects is
devoted to production. The other tenth has to do with
selling. It is time to reverse this system of giving infor-
mation to the farmer. There should be more light on
methods of selling produce, and less on the way to raise it.

The farmer needs to be shown how to obtain the larg-
est possible returns on the things he has ready for market.
His proportion of what the ultimate consumer pays is
altogether too small. That is where he needs advice. A
little practical help along this line would be appreciated by
men and women who know more about the producing end
than the writers who are so prolific with ideas on how to
run a farm.

As a rule, farmers make poor bargains. They buy
wrong and sell wrong, and are apt to be imposed upon by
glib brokers, agents, merchants and other city people with
whom they have to do business. The farmer needs a cer-
tain kind of coaching. He may be an expert at one end of
the business, but after he has raised a nice lot of hogs or
chickens, or a crop of potatoes and corn, he is at the mercy
of city people who deal in such products. The city man
fixes the price on all the farmer has to sell, as well as on
all he has to buy.

A berry grower in Cherokee county, Kansas, sold his
last season's crop for 90 cents a crate. In one crate he
placed this note : "Will the buyer of this crate of berries
inform the undersigned, who grew them, how much he
paid for them ?" In due time a reply came from an ulti-
mate consumer, in Detroit, Michigan, saying he paid $2.40

70

GOOD SELLING IS A FARMER'S NEED 71

for the crate. Middlemen got $1.50 for finding a buyer
for these berries, while the farmer, who did all the work
of growing them, received only 90 cents.

The Kansas Agricultural College, by the establishment
of a co-operative buying and selling bureau for all Kan-
sas farm products, will undertake to save the unneces-
sary middlemen's profits to farmers in that state. This
announcement, made by President Waters, before 800
farmers in the co-operation meeting held in connection
with the State Farmers' Institute, was greeted with cheers.
By resolutions, unanimously passed, the meeting, after
considering many plans, with a determination to do
something, had just asked the college to establish such
a bureau. The announcement by President Waters,
promptly granting the request, came as a surprise.

A co-operative bureau at the agricultural college will
be the first of that kind in the United States. When
developed to its highest efficiency, which may take several
years, it will mean a saving of millions of dollars to
Kansas farmers annually. It will shorten the distance
between the producer and the consumer, thus promoting
direct selling. For instance, a farmer with a carload of
potatoes to sell need not dispose of them to the local
commission man. Instead, he would list his carload with
the co-operative bureau. This bureau, in touch with
markets all over the United States, would immediately
place him in communication with a market for his pota-
toes. Whereupon the farmer would ship his product
direct to the buyer.

That such a bureau would be successful was apparent
after the organization of a clearing house for apple grow-
ers and apple buyers, a year ago. The college had helped
farmers to find good seed and good breeding stock, but
the clearing house was the first assistance offered in
marketing produce. Upon the announcement, last fall,
that the college was again prepared to open a clearing

72 GOOD SELLING IS A FARMER'S NEED

house for apples, 140 letters from buyers and sellers were
received in one day. Between 300 and 400 cars of apples
were sold through this department of the extension divi-
sion last fall. Since then plans for the organization of
the co-operative bureau have been under way.

An illustration of what women may accomplish in mar-
keting produce is furnished by the experience of a mother
and daughter who own 40 acres near a provincial town in
the central west. The entire responsibility for the man-
agement of the place and the care of the family fell to
their lot recently, owing to the protracted illness of the
husband and father.

The following table will show in itself about how the
farm is divided as to crops, fruits, pasturage, and the way
the work is diversified. The figures represent one year's
gross earnings :

Milk from ten cows $1,400

Three hundred pounds honey, at 20 cents 60

Ten hogs fattened, at eleven months 225

Eggs from 200 hens 240

Fruit and vegetables 160

Surplus poultry sold 75

$2,160

About $600 may be deducted from this total for wages,
groceries, repairs and mill feed ; but their apiary, orchard
and dairy herd are worth several hundred dollars more
than at the beginning of the year.

These women have their horse and carriage, and par-
ticipate in most of the social affairs of the neighborhood.
Their life is not all work, but is strenuous enough even
for these days, when there is a premium set on people
who do things.

They say that if they were farther from town, and
could not have private customers for their produce, they

GOOD SELLING IS A FARMER'S NEED 73

could make up the loss by raising more hogs and potatoes
or such products as do not require too great a proportion
of man labor.

By adding a half-acre of cucumbers and an acre of
strawberries, they are now able to hire more help for the
out-door work, without decreasing the net earnings of
the little farm.

These women farmers, one of whom was equally suc-
cessful as a schoolteacher, use their brains as well as
their hands, and their affairs are systematically managed,
so that each class of work gets proper attention at the
proper time.

I have found that the production of market cream pays
well. It is always salable, costs less to ship than the whole
milk, and returns more than can be gained by any other
method of handling.

The eight-gallon can of milk brings $i to $1.25 at
wholesale, but the cream from the same quantity brings
$1.50, besides leaving more than six gallons of warm
skimmed milk for calves, pigs and poultry. There is a
further saving in hauling and expressage.

If the producer serves private customers only, he gains
the profits of both retailer and wholesaler. The increasing
demand for cream for family use, ice cream and cooking
forms a desirable outlet for dairy products. There is
no danger of over-production. Separating machinery is
cheap and simple.

The easiest way to increase an income without greatly
increasing cost is by raising the margin of profit by pro-
ducing products of high quality, marketing them at the
right time, at the right market, and in a neat and attractive
manner.

The expense of marketing poultry products is rela-
tively small, as they contain a high value in small bulk,
and can be shipped considerable distances with very little
loss. The best trade in the large cities pays the highest

74 GOOD SELLING IS A FARMER'S NEED

premium, and where one can ship a guaranteed amount
for the entire year, or during the season, of a product
such as broilers, he can safely try for such a market ; but
where his output is limited, it is a waste of time. There
is often a home market which, with a little care, can be
developed in a satisfactory manner, and will pay the small
producer much better than the larger city markets.

According to the poultryman's location and production,
he may choose any of the following methods of disposing
of his products :

Selling direct to the consumer.

Selling direct to the retailer.

Selling to the commission merchant.

Selling direct to the consumer offers the greatest returns
for the products, as all expenses of commission, etc., are
eliminated. This market is, however, usually limited,
unless a parcel post trade is secured in a city or village,
in which case he can usually develop a retail patronage
which will take his entire output.

The most satisfactory method of selling direct to con-
sumers is to supply hotels, restaurants and clubs, they
usually contracting for the entire output, for which they
are generally willing to pay a premium, and it is much
easier to ship the entire production to one place at certain
definite times than to spend much time and labor in divid-
ing the same amount among many small consumers.

In many cases it will be possible to sell one's eggs and
dressed poultry direct to some retail grocer, who in turn
will be glad to get them and pay a good price, as he can
sell them to his high-class trade, and, knowing that they
are perfectly fresh, can develop a good business for the
poultryman. It may be necessary to go to some distant
city or distributing point to find this market, but it will
always pay, when once secured.

Make every customer a friend, and each will bring
you another customer. The endless chain will then be

GOOD SELLING IS A FARMER'S NEED 75

begun, the possibilities of which no one cares to limit.
To make every customer a friend, it is necessary to treat
him well, to have the stock sold a little better than it has
been described, to give full value and something over on
each order. Sell only first-class stock. Don't let the
temptation of a few immediate dollars lead you to send
out stock that will not be a good advertisement for you.
Every fowl sold is a good advertisement, if the fowl is
good — a bad advertisement, if the fowl is a bad one.
Don't use a cull, even if you sell it for a cull. The buyer
will say to some one that he bought the specimen of you,
and will be sure to forget to add that he bought it as a
cull. Culls are a bad advertisement — trade-killers, not
trade-bringers. They will help to bury you in obscurity,
not to bring you prominence. Be strictly honest. Tell
things as they are. Get a reputation for doing just what
you promise to do, of selling just what you offer to sell.
Be prompt. People like promptness in business. If you
say you will make a shipment of fowls on Monday, ship
them on Monday, so as not to disappoint the customer.
If the shipment is unavoidably delayed, write the cus-
tomer and tell him the fact and the reason for it.

The most prosperous farmers are those who have had
the good sense to organize in communities, to control the
supply of their products, to market them intelligently, and
place them on sale at a time when the demand is normal
and at fair prices. Slowly the benefits of organization are
becoming recognized ; but not until it has been generally
adopted, and its power exercised in its broadest sense, will
the farmers of America come to that prosperity which
their industry and their importance entitle them to.

It requires more business ability, a higher executive
faculty, to run a fruit farm than to run a grain farm. If
you have a hundred bushels of wheat, oats, potatoes or
corn to sell, you take it to the nearest market and accept
whatever you are offered. It is not always so with fruit,

76 GOOD SELLING IS A FARMER'S NEED

for you can retail the fruit or can more often fix the price
for the fruit than you can for ordinary farm produce.
Business ability is required in learning where is the best
market for fruit of a certain character or kind. It is a
fact that while a certain fruit may be cheap in New
York, it may sell at a profitable price in Boston, Pitts-
burgh, or in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Chicago or St. Louis.

The man who sells fruit should be thoroughly posted on
its value, and should inform the purchaser of the extra
quality of certain varieties.

There are many dishonest commission houses. It is not
safe to send fruit to a commission house which is not
highly recommended to you or with which you have not
had satisfactory experience.

An Associated Press dispatch says: "Unskillful
handling of poultry and eggs costs the people of the
United States $45,000,000 annually, is the conclusion of
the Kansas State board of health, after six months' in-
vestigation, in which expert produce men from the de-
partment of agriculture were used. The price of eggs
is high, says the report, and competition is keen, but the
producer gains nothing, not because there is a combina-
tion to keep the original price to the wholesaler down,
but because of the manner in which eggs and poultry are
handled. Because of the large number of farmers who
are careless in marketing their eggs, the careful farmer
is forced to accept the same price as is paid his less in-
dustrious neighbor. In Kansas alone, this loss is estimated
at more than $1,000,000 a year."

Parcels Post Brings Dinner Fresh from Farm

Farmers living anywhere within fifty miles of a city may
send packages of ten pounds to their customers for 32
cents. They do not have to haul them to an express
office three or four miles away, but the rural route wagons
pick them up and they are delivered in town almost as
promptly as are letters or other mailable articles. The
new law allows the transportation of any kind of produce,
provided it is securely wrapped. Eggs, honey, berries,
butter and cream are not excluded, but they must be so
packed that they can not damage other mail matter. Such
products are to be marked "Perishable."

The system of handling country produce has been both
expensive and bad. Fresh eggs, pure cream and dainty
things like broilers and sausage have been hard to get at
any price. Such articles are only an aggravation when
they are stale and handled in promiscuous lots. Under
the new plan, a ten-pound Sunday dinner, or such a ship-
ment any day or every day, will go straight from the
farmer to the city family, at a cost of 32 cents for postage.
This 3 cents a pound added to the price of the products is
a trifle compared to the transportation and middlemen's
charges under the old system.

The parcels post will prove a boon to city housekeepers
in enabling them to deal directly with producers and
secure fresh goods for table use. The postoffice depart-
ment fixes eleven pounds as the maximum for parcels.
This is sufficient to carry the main ingredients of a Sun-
day dinner for a city family, and there is nothing to pre-
vent the forwarding of more than one package. It is not

77

78 PARCELS POST BRINGS DINNER

only in the line of economy to thus deal with producers,
but the quality of edibles consumed by a household will be
improved.

In nearly all discussions of the parcels post scheme the
advantages to city housekeepers have been obscured by
questions affecting country merchants and express com-
panies. The vital thing with a majority of people is the
effect on the cost of living. It is entirely feasible for tens
of thousands of families in large cities to establish direct
buying connections with producers. On the other hand,
the important thing to the farmer is not his ability to get
goods from mail-order houses more conveniently, but the
establishment of facilities by which he can obtain approxi-
mately the retail rate for miscellaneous produce. The new
system will enable him to go into mixed and intensive
farming, and make daily cash sales to consumers at fair
prices.

There has been a constant outcry among farmers
against the alleged extortions of middlemen. The unsat-
isfactory handling of poultry and eggs, fruits, honey,
squabs and other delicacies has driven many farmers out
of these lines. They have missed the big profits because
of bad selling facilities, and in a sense have been forced
to confine their operations to one or two staples like grain
or milk. With producers in a helpless condition, the large
buying companies have controlled the trade, much to the
disadvantage of farmers generally.

The widespread movement just now to correct unjust
conditions in the milk industry is one indication that
American farmers are trying to get out of the rut and do
things as business men would do them.

The earning capacity of land is fully twice as much in
mixed farming as under a dairy or grain system. There
should be a balanced programme of poultry, hogs, cows,
vegetables and fruit. These things belong together, and
insure an even distribution of labor and a regular cash

PARCELS POST BRINGS DINNER 79

income. The consumptive demand is keen and seems to
be growing more urgent year by year. Prices for a
variety of commodities are on such a high level that
liberal profits are assured as soon as selling arrangements
are right.

A factor that should have a marked influence in im-
proving the farmers' chances of finding good markets for
new laid eggs is the parcels post now in experimental
operation. Doubtless it will not be long before enter-
prising manufacturers will follow the lead of German
manufacturers and place upon the market boxes suitable
for carrying even so fragile things as eggs safely through
the mail. When these are obtainable and when the parcel
post service gets in good working order, farmers in
even out-of-the-way places, but with first-class eggs to
sell, can easily work up trade with special customers in
nearby or even in distant towns and cities. The out-
look for such developments has never been better.

The celery growers of Kalamazoo, Mich., in one year
grew 800,000 boxes of celery, each containing six dozen
stalks. The value of this crop is $800,000 — one dollar a
box.

Soil Improvement and More Profitable

Farming

Grain crops in America are altogether too light and
uncertain for profitable agriculture. This is largely due
to lax methods of cultivation. In nearly all cases where
soil impoverishment is the direct cause of unsuccessful
farming, it can be shown that fertilization and the rota-
tion of crops have been neglected.

This is true on thousands of farms where the equip-
ment is ample and the work of plowing and seeding is
quite thorough. The proof is clear that many land-
owners do not give attention to soil conservation. It is
owing to this that much of the best land is deteriorating.
In the newer states of the west, where large farms are the
rule, and the soil is still rich, a common fault is improper
methods of tillage.

Despite the fertility of soil and the benefits of climate,
the wheat yield per acre annually is less than 14 bushels,
while England's is 32, Germany's 28, Holland's 34 and
France's 20. Oats make an equally distressing showing
in comparison ; and potatoes yield 85 bushels to the acre
in this country, against 200 or more in Great Britain,
Belgium and Germany.

The average yield of corn per acre is 28 to 35 bushels,
as shown by official statistics ; but in all contests, no mat-
ter where held, a yield of 100 to 125 bushels is commonly
obtained. In many instances of competitive corn-raising,
tracts which had formerly produced 25 to 50 bushels per
acre have in the hands of experts yielded upward of 100
bushels.

80

SOIL IMPROVEMENT 81

These are powerful arguments in favor of careful and
intelligent farming. Landowners ought to perceive that
the real profits in grain production only come when crops
above the average are raised. Agriculture is a sorrowful
spectacle when men with a suitable equipment of animals
and machinery secure 10 to 12 bushels of wheat and 20
to 25 bushels of corn to the acre on our rich virgin soils,
while in European countries the average is twice or three
times as much. It must be remembered that when the
average of a crop is 14 bushels a great many farmers fall
below this figure and these constitute failures which
are both pitiful and unnecessary.

A number of essential principles must be adopted by
farmers if they are to raise profitable crops. It is neces-
sary to supply nitrogen for corn and wheat by growing
legumes, but before leguminous crops, such as clover and
alfalfa, can be grown, nearly every acre of land must be
limed to correct the acidity. Fortunately there is an
abundance of lime. Crushed lime rock can be purchased
in carload quantities at a cost not to exceed $3 per ton
laid down at any railroad station.

The physical condition of the soil is injured by loss of
organic matter. As the organic matter is destroyed the
soils become less mellow, they plow up hard and lumpy,
they crust severely after rains and cultivate with greater
difficulty. The crusting of the soil, due to the lack of
organic matter, is perhaps the most serious physical de-
fect. When soils crust badly it becomes almost impossi-
ble to successfully start such crops as alfalfa and grasses,
and difficulty is sometimes experienced in securing a
good stand of crops like wheat and corn.

The liberation of plant food from the soil is directly
dependent upon the supply of organic matter. Organic
matter is also the food of a countless number of beneficial
bacteria that inhabit every fertile soil. These bacteria
are largely responsible for the liberation of plant food

82 SOIL IMPROVEMENT

from the soil particles. It therefore follows that as the
supply of organic matter becomes less the number of
beneficial bacteria decreases and less plant food is made
available. Soils deficient in organic matter hold less
moisture than those well supplied with humus. Humus,
or organic matter, is spongy in nature and when incor-
porated in the earth holds the soil grains apart, giving
large openings into the soil for water to enter, and at the
same time the spongy nature of the organic matter holds
the water within the soil after it has entered. It is esti-
mated that ioo pounds of sand will hold approximately
22 pounds of water, and ioo pounds of clay about 55
pounds of water, but 100 pounds of humus will hold 143
pounds of water. It is therefore evident that the more
humus a soil contains the greater its water holding
capacity.

The organic matter or humus must be supplied either
by plowing under leguminous crops and straw and corn-
stalks or by using for feed and bedding all the crops
grown on the farm and returning the manure to the land
with the least loss possible.

A rotation suggested is corn with one-half the field
seeded to a legume such as sweet clover or alfalfa, fol-
lowed the second season with barley or oats, with one-
half the land in cowpeas or soy beans where the winter
catch crop has been plowed under; third year, wheat or
rye, in which clover or meadow grass has been sown;
fourth year, clover, or clover and timothy; fifth year,
wheat and clover, or timothy and clover; sixth year,
clover or mixed grass crop. In succeeding chapters
other combinations suitable to mixed farming are set
forth.

In grain farming most of the coarse products should be
returned to the soil and occasionally a crop of clover
clipped and left on the ground. To avoid clover sickness
it may sometimes be necessary to sow red clover or alsike

SOIL IMPROVEMENT 83

for about every third rotation. Where the growth of
corn is not too rank, cowpeas or soy beans make a satis-
factory catch crop and these may well be used in suc-
cessive rotations to prevent insect or fungous pests ob-
taining a foothold through the too continuous use of
clover. It should be remembered that the roots of clover
contain one-half as much nitrogen as the tops and the
roots of cowpeas only about one-tenth as much as the
tops. In grain crops about two-thirds of the nitrogen
is deposited in the grain and one-third in the stalk and

roots.

On all lands not subject to overflow phosphorus should
be applied in considerably larger amounts than are re-
quired for the need of the crop actually growing at that
time. The fine ground natural rock phosphate can be
used successfully and is the most economical form of
phosphorus in all crop systems. The first application
should be at least one-half ton per acre, and a ton would
be better. Subsequently one-half ton applied every four
to six years will suffice until the total phosphorus con-
tained in the soil reaches 2,000 pounds per acre. This
will require a total application of five to six tons of raw
phosphate.

For quick action and in emergencies steamed bone meal
or acid phosphate may be used, but this is a much more
expensive form than the ground natural rock. Good
phosphate direct from the mine in carload lots costs about
3 cents per pound, while steamed bone meal costs 12
cents per pound, and acid phosphate 12 cents.

The loss of phosphorus by leaching is very small un-
less the land is subject to overflow or excessive drain-
age, so that erosion losses occur. Phosphorus applied
is not removed except in the form of mature crops.
Phosphorus and limestone may be applied at any time
during the rotation, but the limestone is best applied on
plowed land so that it may be worked into the soil dur-

84 SOIL IMPROVEMENT

ing the process of cultivation. Phosphate is best applied
either with manure or spread on the land broadcast just
before a clover crop or clover stubble is plowed under.

Farmers have been taught that the conditions existing
in land that has been newly brought into cultivation from
forest conditions are due to the fact that the soil abounds
in humus, or organic decay, and that this humus, while
containing plant food, has a larger office in the darkening
of the soil and thus rendering it more retentive of
warmth. It makes the soil mellow and prevents its crust-
ing and baking hard, and above all makes it retentive of
moisture so that crops are carried through a dry spell
more successfully.

In most of our old soils the long continued and care-
less cultivation has robbed the soil of this valuable humus
and any effort towards its improvement must depend on
the bringing back of the conditions that existed in the
freshly cleared soil.

The legume crops then not only enable us, through
bacterial life that exists with them, to gather the nitrogen
that floats as a gas in the air and get it combined in the
soil for the use of crops, but they enable us to restore
to the soil the humus making materials that were
formerly supplied by the forest growth.

With cowpeas and crimson clover the whole face of the
country has been changed in many localities where for-
merly the soil was virtually worn out. There are splen-
did farms and farmers growing rich on lands formerly
thought to be worthless.

The humus restored to the soil through these legumes
has enabled farmers to use commercial fertilizers more
profitably, because the moisture-retaining nature of the
organic decay dissolves the fertilizer that would have
been almost useless, and the growing of truck and small
fruits for the leading markets has developed in a won-
derful way.

SOIL IMPROVEMENT 85

The old sandy fields were almost destitute of humus,
but the cowpea and the crimson clover have restored it,
and hence there has been success attending the efforts of
the farmers.

Through growing legumes and feeding them to stock
and returning the manure to the ground, we can profitably
restore the new soil conditions.

The cowpea will grow on the poorest of soils and over
all the south is the most valuable of legumes, and in the
north it can be profitably used to get the moisture-retain-
ing humus in the soil and thus help in the restoration of
the conditions that formerly existed when clover did
flourish and where it now fails.

After a crop of rye or oats is taken off in the early
summer there is plenty of time to disk or plow the field
and sow soy beans for a late summer crop. It can be
used as pasturage or for hay.

Plants in their growth make use of thirteen chemical
elements, nine of which they secure directly from the soil.
These are called the mineral plant foods ; they are phos-
phorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, iron,
silicon, chlorin and sulphur.

Soil Conservation Easy to Understand

It is easy to grasp the main essentials of soil improve-
ment, and it is important that considerable study be given
to this subject. Many farms now on the market are run
down and need a little scientific attention, and thousands
of farmers are wishing that they knew how to build up
the fertility of their land.

One of the first essentials is a rotative scheme which
will tax the land less severely than exclusive grain grow-
ing does. A variety of crops not only increases the
amount of cultivation, but adds numerous good elements
as the stubble or plant growth is plowed under.

Then, as all our lands have become deficient in phos-
phates, wheat should always have a good application of
acid phosphate. This will suffice if the preceding culti-
vated crop has been planted on a clover sod on which
farm manure has been spread. In fact, where there is a
good, short rotation and plenty of legume crops are
grown and fed, there will never be any need for the pur-
chase of nitrogen in fertilizer.

Rapidly growing crops require an ample supply of
potassium in a form available to the plants, that is, soluble
in water. Where a good rotation is practiced it has been
found that the cultivation of a crop like corn or tobacco
during the summer makes the best possible preparation
for wheat, oats or barley. After the cultivated crop is
off the best preparation is the rapid and frequent use of
the disk harrow.

One of the most valuable uses of lime and plaster is
to release the insoluble potash in the soil and the accumu-

86

SOIL CONSERVATION EASY 87

lation of organic decay with its humic acids will also
have a good effect in rendering the potash available.

The farmer on upland clay soils who practices a good
rotation and maintains and increases the humus-making
material in his soil, will seldom need to buy potash or
nitrogen if he limes his soil once in four or five years, for
the legumes will give him the nitrogen and the lime and
organic decay will help release the potash.

A good fertile soil is one that has a considerable
proportion of organic, that is, vegetable and animal mat-
ter in it. The most of this is in a dead and disintegrated
condition, but some of it is in living forms that we call
bacteria. These minute living organisms exist in the
decaying particles and could not live in this soil without
them, and when they are not there the soil is called dead.
Heat and water, when excessive, will kill them, and this
sometimes occurs. They need both heat and moisture,
but only in moderate degrees.

To maintain the needed bacteria there must be a con-
tinuous addition of decaying as well as living vegetable
matter for them to live and multiply upon. In other
words, there must be plenty of humus in the soil, for
humus is decaying organic matter. The nitrogen con-
tent of the soil is largely dependent upon and often exists
in proportion to the amount of humus there. And nitro-
gen we know to be one of the most needful elements upon
which all plants, whether large or small, feed.

The legumes contain a larger proportion of nitrogen
than ordinary vegetation. There are some soiling crops
that may be considered as specially valuable. Buckwheat,
rye and the cowhorn turnip are of this character. They
will tame and benefit wild and barren soil and flourish
over a wide range of climate. The rye must be turned
under promptly in springtime before it drains the soil of
moisture.

Lime as an Adjunct in Farming

Without doubt the judicious use of lime on the fields
will greatly increase the aggregate yield of crops. That
this liming must be done intelligently is evidenced by the
fact that there are some plants that grow better on soils
in which there is an abundance of acids than on soils in
which the acid has been neutralized by the application

of lime.

These plants, however, are in the minority ; and, taking
the plant creation as a whole, far more is gained by
liming than not liming. When, however, the subject is
sufficiently studied, it will be found possible to leave
some areas unlimed on which to grow the plants that do
best in an acid soil.

For the growing of all leguminous plants an acidy soil
is objectionable. This is because the minute forms of
vegetable life that we call bacteria are destroyed by the
acid in the soil, if that acid exists in considerable quanti-
ties. These forms of vegetable life are necessary to the
development on the roots of the legumes of the little knots
or protuberances that we call nodules. In these nodules
the bacteria live that take the gas nitrogen and reduce it
to a tangible form that can be dissolved in water and thus
become plant food.

It is evident that if these vegetable forms of life can-
not live in the soils on account of the acid no work of
transforming the nitrogen can go on. In that case plants
that bear pods will grow well only so long as they are
supplied with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium from
the soil or are given their nitrogen in the form of

88

LIME AS AN ADJUNCT 89

manures. But they do not render any service in securing
nitrogen from the great storehouse of the air. But that
is one of the main things for which we grow pod-bearing
plants.

The man who sows clover on a well-manured field can-
not tell whether his clover crop is getting any nitrogen
from the air or not and many a farmer is deceived in this
way. He grows the clover for a year or two and then
turns under the clover sod, believing that he has thus
added to the nitrogen in his soil. But as the soil had in it
much acid, the bacteria did not exist and the farmer had
really been removing nitrogen from his field in the clover
and hay crops, leaving the soil with less nitrogen in it
than it had before he sowed his clover.

If a man wishes to find whether his soil contains too
much acid for leguminous (or pod-bearing) crops, let him
sow his clover seed on soil that has not been manured at
all or that has not been manured for many years. Better
still, let him buy some seed of sweet clover and sow
that. If this plant grows well he does not need lime;
for it will not grow where there is a large amount of
acid in the soil. But many soils will be so acidy that
these plants will not grow at all or will make a sickly
growth.

In that case lime should be applied. It is safe to apply
it at the rate of a ton to the acre, and if in the form of
carbonate of lime more can be used without any injury
to the crops or the soil. Lime can be applied either in
the form of quicklime or in the form of carbonate of lime.

Phosphorus as a Soil Preserver

When the University of Illinois thrashed its wheat on
an experiment field in McLean county, agricultural his-
tory was made. Upon the plots on which phosphorus
was one of the fertilizing ingredients the crop was more
than doubled, a record believed to be without precedent.
In the plots in which the phosphorus treatment bore a
part the average yield was more than fifty-eight and a
half bushels an acre, an average gain of thirty-four and
a half bushels an acre, which was mainly brought about
by phosphorus fertilizer.

In these experiments the standard application of phos-
phorus in steamed bone meal has been at the rate of
twenty-five pounds an acre for each year in the rotation.
When raw rock phosphate is used about three times as
much is applied, which adds three times as much phos-
phorus to the soil but at about the same cost for the
bone. After two or three rotations the amount of rock
phosphate to be applied will be reduced to one-third of the
present applications.

"The key to permanent agriculture is phosphorus,"
said Dr. Hopkins. "To maintain or increase the amount
of phosphorus in the soil makes possible the growth of
clover and the consequent addition of nitrogen from the
inexhaustible supply in the air, and with the addition of
decaying organic matter in clover residues and in manure
made in large part from clover, hay and pasture and
from the larger crops of corn which the clover helps to
produce, comes the possibility of liberating from the im-
mense supply in the soil sufficient potassium, when sup-

90

PHOSPHORUS AS A SOIL PRESERVER 91

plemented by that returned in manure and crop residues,
for the production of crops for at least thousands of
years."

Then he sounds this warning note to American land
owners :

"If the supply of phosphorus in the soil is steadily
decreased in the future in accordance with the present
most common farm practice, then poverty is the only
future for the people who till the common prairie lands
of Illinois. And this does not refer to the far distant
future only, for the turning point is already past on many
Illinois lands."

Average barn manure carries 10 to 15 pounds nitrogen,
5 to 9 pounds phosphoric acid and 10 to 15 pounds potash
to the ton. This plant food is in a fairly soluble condi-
tion, and is readily taken up by the plant. For market
gardening purposes it may be balanced and supplemented
by suitable fertilizers in case the yield is not up to ex-
pectations. In soggy spots slacked lime should be used.
Where the crops are light on land that has had barnyard
manure and good cultivation it is well to try phosphorus.

Nitrogen is free as air, and potassium is abundant in
nearly all of the soils. Both nitrogen and potassium re-
main in the straw and the stalks, and in the farm manure
to a considerable extent.

Phosphorus, on the contrary, is present in nearly all
soils in limited amounts and it is being continually re-
moved from the land.

While it is true that some forms of soil bacteria prefer
to live in the absence of free oxygen, the large mass of
soil organisms can only carry out their life processes in
the presence of a plentiful supply of oxygen. Every
phase of soil management therefore which affects in any
degree the amount of air supplied to the soil is a regulator
of the bacterial activities in the soil. Among these im-
portant phases of soil management are tillage, includ-

92 PHOSPHORUS AS A SOIL PRESERVER

ing plowing and cultivation, and drainage. It is obvious
that plowing to a depth of four inches will not supply
the soil with the amount of air which plowing to twice
the depth will. It is likewise clear that when a soil is
water-logged, or partially so, or, in other words, when
its pores are filled wholly or partly by water instead of
air. we cannot expect that a sufficient supply of oxygen
will be maintained there for crop production, and these
facts hold true for bacterial development in soils. Our
study therefore of the oxygen needs of soil bacteria
serves to emphasize more clearly the necessity for
rational methods of tillage and drainage.

No farm should be without its experiment plot, for it
has been by experimental work only that anything in agri-
culture has become known. Knowing the history of a
soil, the plot or field experiment, supplemented, in some
instances, by chemical and physical analyses, tells the
farmer the best plan to follow with the particular soil
to restore it to full power. The ratio of straw to grain
tells its story to the critical eye. If for several years the
straw production is abnormally high and the grain pro-
duction is low, these facts point to phosphorus being
needed. If the leaves of the grain are long, loose, hang-
ing and fluttering and the stems too long for their thick-
ness, the soil probably requires calcium. A bright green
to yellowish colored foliage with the tips of the leaves
brown or reddish in color, indicates want of nitrogen.

Broad-leaf plants, like burdock and nettles, indicate
moisture, while narrow-leaf plants indicate dryness.
Nitrogen is abundant where chickweed and red pimperel
grow, while lack of nitrogen is indicated by jagged chick-
weed, field chickweed and vernal whitlow-grass.

Soil that is rich in nitrate of soda is indicated by the
presence of goose foot, oraches and burning nettle, Fox-
gloves, spurry and corn marigolds indicate calcium.

Making the Most of Manure

Farmers who live near enough to cities or villages to
warrant them in buying stable manure are often surprised
when they attempt this to find that the available supply
has been engaged by gardeners, nurserymen and seed-
men, and at higher prices than they can pay. Each of
these works land that is much richer than that usually
devoted to farm crops. They can afford to buy to make
rich soil still more rich, while the farmer whose land is
much poorer cannot afford to buy to bring it into condi-
tion for cultivation. This only shows that soil fertility
tends to increase, while the soil that is already poor, if
cultivated, almost inevitably grows still poorer. The use
of commercial fertilizers, with which a small amount
fertilizes a large surface, to some extent offsets this dis-
advantage of the poor farmer. It costs a great deal less
to drill with a grain crop three to four dollars' worth of
mineral fertilizer than to cover the surface with stable
manure. Besides, the commercial fertilizer can always be
furnished in quantities limited only by the ability of the
farmer to buy. The commercial fertilizer is easily ap-
plied, and for the single crop it produces results quite as
good as would the stable manure. Its defect is that it
does not add to soil fertility as the manure must do, and it
is on increase of productive power in the soil more than
on the gain from single crops that profit in farming must
depend.

The man whose land is already rich is the one who can
best afford to buy commercial manures. If he buys them
he can only save himself from loss by putting a part of

93

94 MAKING THE MOST OF MANURE

their plant food into a permanent addition to the fertility
of the farm. So far as possible the clover and grass
together with coarse grain and corn-fodder should be
fed on the farm. To do this requires capital, for it im-
plies choice stock which will pay for its feed and leave
the manure pile as profit. It also generally requires that
the farmer on rich land shall grow something that only
rich soil can be made to grow, or whose production is
unusually difficult. Markets are always glutted with
crops that can be grown on poor land and with the least
labor. It is only by growing something that pays better
than the staple easily-grown crops that money can be
made in farming under present conditions.

Valuable lessons are obtained from European methods.
The city of Berlin covers an area of 20,000 acres, and the
sewage farms owned and conducted by the municipality
cover an area twice the size. The sewage disposal prob-
lem has nowhere reached the development that is found in
Berlin. The city will ultimately sell this land at great
profit and then turn to some biological method of meet-
ing the problem or secure more land and go on with the
work of land reclamation in connection with the disposal
of the city's accumulations. The prevailing mode of dis-
posing of sewage by pouring it into streams is exceed-
ingly wasteful. It represents so much nitrogen which
has been extracted from the soil, and which ought, by
right, to be returned to the soil. If it could be advan-
tageously used, it would represent a value of about
$200,000,000 a year to England alone. This, however,
is distributed over a quantity of three billion tons. Sew-
age is so complex in its nature that the recovery of its
chemical constituents would be almost a hopeless task.
That, however, is no reason why some method should
not be devised of utilizing it as a fertilizer. Farmers
have endeavored to use the sludge as a fertilizer ; but that
is not always practicable, partly because of the chemical

MAKING THE MOST OF MANURE 95

character of the sludge and partly because of the farm-
er's distance from the dumping ground.

We are slowly learning to use the millions of tons of
corn fodder which used to rot in the furrow, but we
have scarcely begun to comprehend what we are wasting
by the negligent care of our manure crop or of the inex-
haustible store of nitrogen which envelops the earth and
which could be put into the soil by sowing leguminous
crops like clover, alfalfa and cowpeas more liberally. We
are wasting our land by not farming to its last pound of
productivity. We are wasting even our weeds, by not
carrying a band of sheep on every one hundred acres.
We are wasting our time by sowing year after year un-
selected seed on partially tilled soil, by milking inferior
cows which don't pay their board; we are guilty — all
guilty more or less — but, fortunately, we know it, we
are ashamed of it, but not ashamed to admit it. And we
are going to do better.

If any of our young men from the farms are contem-
plating a professional career, we suggest that before they
join the ranks of lawyers or physicians, they consider
whether the science of agriculture has not greater attrac-
tions. In a few years we prophesy that every progressive
farming community will have in its service an expe-
rienced soil doctor, whose employment will not only be
lucrative to himself, but will pay immense dividends to
his employers.

Growing Legumes for Soil Betterment

Along the Atlantic coast as far north as New Jersey and
south at least to Georgia, crimson clover, frequently called
German clover, thrives as a winter annual. Like all the
legumes it stores up much nitrogen and greatly enriches
the soil in this element. This crop deserves a much wider
field of usefulness than has yet been accorded it. In the
northern part of its territory it should be sown in July.
In the South, September is supposed to be the best time to
sow it. It is best adapted to sowing in corn or cotton. In
sections where it has not previously been grown it fre-
quently fails, apparently from lack of its proper bacteria.
It is therefore well to inoculate the seed when it is sown
the first time.

This crop furnishes valuable winter pasture, makes
good hay if cut when just coming into full flower, and is
valuable as a green feed in spring. It helps to fill the gap
in the soiling system between green wheat and early corn.
Perhaps its greatest usefulness is in a green manure. It
may be plowed under any time in the spring and be fol-
lowed by corn or potatoes.

In this connection, the practice of a farmer near
Hagerstown, Md., is of interest. Ten years ago he be-
gan sowing crimson clover in corn at the last plowing,
covering the seed with the cultivator, and using 10
pounds of seed to the acre. In the spring the clover was
plowed under and another crop of corn planted. Ten
consecutive crops of corn have been taken from this field,
a crop of crimson clover being plowed under each spring.
The yield of corn has increased during that time from

96

GROWING LEGUMES FOR SOIL BETTERMENT 97

about 35 bushels, in the beginning, to about 50 bushels
at the present time. Evidently the practice was a good
one in this case.

Those who are not familiar with crimson clover should
try it on a small scale at first, as there have been many
failures with it. The following five-year rotation is a
good one on stock farms in middle latitudes, and shows
one way of securing the benefits of crimson clover as a
green manure: Corn with crimson clover sown at last
cultivation, corn, oats, wheat, clover (common red).

The vetches can be made to occupy a somewhat similar
place as a green manure, at least in the South.

It seldom pays to turn under a crop of cowpeas in the
green state. It is better practice to make hay of them,
feed the hay, and put the manure back on the land. As
is the case with all legumes, the roots of the cowpea crop
add a great deal of nitrogen to the soil, and have a marked
effect on fertility. If a heavy green crop of cowpeas is
plowed under in the autumn it is best not to plant the
land until the following spring. A very good plan for
bringing up the fertility of a worn-out field is to sow
rye in the fall, plow this under in the spring, harrow
thoroughly, let the land lie a month, and then sow cow-
peas. Cut the peas for hay and sow rye again. A few
seasons of such treatment will restore fertility to the
soil. Fortunately, both of these crops will grow on very
poor land.

Almost any crop may be used as a green manure, as
occasion demands. Those previously mentioned are
more generally used for this purpose than others. In
plowing up clover sod, many farmers, particularly on
fields most in need of manure, wait until the clover is
nearly ready to cut for hay before plowing, in order
to get the additional nitrogen and humus thus produced.
Buckwheat is frequently grown as a green manure. This
crop is planted in early summer or late spring and turned

98 GROWING LEGUMES FOR SOIL BETTERMENT

under in the autumn. Even corn and sorghum have been
used for this purpose. They produce large amounts of
humus when thickly planted. Sufficient time should be
given after plowing in such rank growth to allow the soil
to settle and the resulting acids to wash out of the soil
before planting another crop. In southern California,
fenugreek and Canadian field peas are used extensively
as winter cover crops in orchards. They are then plowed
under in spring as green manure.

The quickest way to build up a worn-out soil when
barnyard manure is not plentiful is to give it a course
of treatment like that just described; then grow only
forage crops, buy grain to feed with them, and return
all the manure thus produced to the land. Dairy farm-
ing permits such a system to be practiced. No other type
of farming builds up land so rapidly.

Another type that gives fairly quick results is to grow
a succession of pasture crops for hogs, keep the hogs on
these pastures and feed them a fourth to a half ration of
grain.

There are three general methods of supplying humus
to the soil. The first and best is the addition of stable
manure. When properly managed it adds large quantities
of both plant food and humus. But manure is not always
available. When such is the case, the best thing to do
is to make it available. Raise more forage, keep more
stock, and make more manure. But this takes time and
capital, so that other means are sometimes necessary.
When stable manure is not to be had, we may plant crops
for the purpose of turning them under, thus adding
large quantities of humus at comparatively little cost.
Plowing under green crops is called green manuring.
Under certain conditions this is an excellent practice.

A third method of adding humus is to grow crops like
clover and timothy. These crops are usually left down
for two years or more. During this time their roots

GROWING LEGUMES FOR SOIL BETTERMENT 99

thoroughly penetrate the soil. Old roots decay and new
ones grow. When the sod is plowed up, more or less
vegetable matter is turned under. This, with the mass
of roots in the soil, adds no small amount to the supply of
humus. Another advantage from the cultivation of
clovers and alfalfa is found in the fact that they are deep-
rooted plants, and when their roots decay they leave
channels deep into the earth, thus aiding in the absorption
of rains and letting in air to sweeten the soil

Properly handled, stable manure is by all means the
best remedy for poverty of the soil. Very few farmers
handle manure so as to get even as much as half the
possible value from it. There is probably no greater
waste in the world than in connection with the handling
of manure by the American farmer. Five-eighths of the
plant food in manure is found in the liquid part of it.
This is usually all lost. Not only is this the case, but the
solids are piled beside the barn, frequently under the
eaves, where rains wash away much of their value. Fer-
mentation in these manure piles also sets free much of
the nitrogen to escape into the air.

In order to produce a ton of dry hay on an acre of
land it is necessary that the growing grass pump up from
that acre approximately 500 tons of water. In order to
supply this enormous quantity of water, the soil must not
only be in condition to absorb and hold water well, but
it must be porous enough to permit water to flow freely
from soil grain to soil grain. The presence of large
quantities of decaying organic matter (humus) adds
enormously to the water-holding capacity of the soil. One
ton of humus will absorb 2 tons of water and give it up
readily to growing crops. Not only that, but the shrink-
ing of the particles of decaying organic matter and the
consequent loosening of soil grains keep the soil open and
porous.

Furthermore, humus of good quality is exceedingly

100 GROWING LEGUMES FOR SOIL BETTERMENT

rich in both nitrogen and mineral plant food. The main-
tenance of fertility may almost be said to consist in keep-
ing the soil well supplied with humus.

The cultivation of leguminous crops is one of the most
important and economical means of maintaining a supply
of nitrogenous plant food in the soil. Nitrates may, of
course, be supplied in commercial fertilizers ; but fer-
tilizers containing nitrogen are very expensive, and it
usually pays better to supply nitrogen by growing
legumes or by the application of stable manure, which is
rich in nitrogen when properly handled. In good farm
practice both stable manure and leguminous crops are
used as sources of nitrogen.

Improper methods of tillage add very greatly to the
evil effects that result from lack of humus. In many
parts of the country the land is plowed only 3 or 4 inches
deep. Below the plowed stratum the soil becomes sour,
densely packed, and unfit for plant roots. When such
soils are plowed deep and this sour packed subsoil is
mixed with the upper portion, the growth of many crops
is greatly retarded. This has led many farmers to be-
lieve that deep plowing is ruinous. Some farmers have
tried to remedy the difficulty by subsoiling. The subsoil
plow breaks up the packed layer but does not throw it
out on top. But while subsoiling does break up the hard
layer into chunks it does not pulverize it or put humus
into it. In most cases work done in subsoiling is prac-
tically wasted, and it is doubtful if it ever pays. A much
better method is to plow a little deeper each year until a
depth of 8 or 10 inches is reached. This gives a deep
layer of good soil, particularly if the supply of humus is
kept up.

When new soil, or that which has lain undisturbed for
several years, is broken up, it is always best to plow deep
from the beginning, for the deeper layers will be about
as fertile as any, except the top inch or two. It is wise,

GROWING LEGUMES FOR SOIL BETTERMENT 101

too, never to plow the same depth twice in succession.
In general, fall plowing should be from 7 to 9 or 10
inches and spring plowing from 5 to 7 inches deep. There
are special cases in which these rules do not apply, but
their discussion would take us too far from the purpose
of this chapter.

We plow the soil in order to loosen up its texture and
get air into it ; also to turn under stubble, manure, etc., to
make humus. Killing weeds is another object ac-
complished by plowing. After a soil has been thoroughly
pulverized to great depths, so that there is no danger of
turning up packed clay, the deeper the plowing the better
the crops. But the cost also increases with depth, so that
ordinarily it does not pay to plow more than about 10
inches deep.

Some crops prefer rather a loose seed bed. Millet is
such a crop. Farmers sometimes plow a second time in
order to sow millet on freshly plowed land. Other crops,
such as wheat and alfalfa, prefer a fairly compact seed
bed ; hence, frequent harrowing and rolling after plowing
is good practice before seeding to these crops. Never-
theless, it pays to plow the land for them, even if we have
to compact it again before seeding. The plowing aerates
the soil and helps to set plant food free.

Large Profits in Potatoes

All progressive farmers who can bring their plans into
the right shape are going ahead with potatoes. Prices
continue on a high level and the market demand is so
keen that foreign producers are making large shipments
to this country. If American farmers are wise they will
control this market and reap the big profits which are to
be gained from potato culture.

The fact should be kept in mind that the proper kind
of cultivation will give a yield of about 200 bushels per
acre, whereas the average in this country is under 100
bushels. The yield in parts of Maine as well as in the
northwest often runs upwards of 200 bushels, while in
Germany it is close to 200. England and Ireland fall a
little behind Germany.

For nearly two years now the price per bushel to
American farmers has been $1 to $1.50, where they have
sold to private customers, and 75 cents to $1.25 when
shipping to commission men. It is well to compare this
price and yield to wheat figures. In raising the grain
farmers are in great luck if they secure twenty bushels
per acre and receive $1 a bushel.

Potatoes do not require the richest of soils. They will
thrive in a sandy loam. Soggy land is bad for the crop
and if any such has to be used it ought to be drained.
Regular moisture in light quantities on any ordinary
farm will insure a good crop of potatoes.

An irrigated farm has advantages over any other, but
where the rainfall is insufficient a dust mulch should be

102

LARGE PROFITS IN POTATOES 103

kept around the growing crop for the purpose of con-
serving such moisture as there is. It is unwise to let
potato ground harden and bake in the sun. By giving
reasonable attention to the product along the lines indi-
cated success will be attained in almost any section of the
United States.

Potatoes do well in rotation with clover, millet, corn,
beets, rutabagas, cabbage, etc. It is feasible to dig a crop
of early potatoes in June or July and then immediately
sow millet, rye or fodder corn on the same ground. It
is also a good plan to plant late potatoes on land from
which clover, cowpeas, rye or any other early crop has
been taken.

There are sixteen states in which the cultivation of
sugar beets is already well established in this country.
Practically all of these states are large producers of
potatoes. More significant still is the fact, recently
brought out by an exhaustive inquiry, that the use of
sugar beets in rotation with potatoes, corn, wheat and
other crops increases the yield of every one of these
crops from 25 to 50 per cent. In the case of potatoes the
increase was 46.2 per cent.

Early Rose, Triumph, Early Michigan and Early Ohio
remain standard early varieties, while some of the best
late ones are Burbank, Peerless, Peachblow and Green
Mountain. There are many variations in these types, but
for all practical purposes the potatoes can be recom-
mended as named above.

It is necessary to be on guard against disease and insect
pests. A healthy growth of potatoes can hardly be ex-
pected on soggy land or where spraying is neglected.
Good seed is of the highest importance, and with this
point settled thorough cultivation will insure a crop five
years out of six.

The potato scab is a disease that remains in the soil
from one year to the next as a fungus and if potatoes

104 LARGE PROFITS IN POTATOES

are grown in consecutive years on the same soil the
disease must necessarily increase.

The potato bug or beetle is destroyed with paris green
at the rate of one pound to the acre in twenty-five gal-
lons of water. Arsenate of lead applied at the rate of
six pounds to the acre in fifty gallons of water will prove
equally efficacious. Scab and blight are controlled by the
bordeaux mixture, which is best applied a week or two
after the bugs have been disposed of.

Potatoes are so hardy that they are raised to advan-
tage in the most northerly states, and even in Siberia and
other cold countries. Seed produced in the north will
show good results in southern states, but this is a rule
that will not work both ways. Tubers originating in a
semi-tropical climate have to be acclimated in the north
before returning satisfactory crops.

On any farm in the country some parts are much better
adapted to potatoes than others. Sandy soil is not a
moisture-retaining soil, and in wet weather there is little
danger of tubers rotting in the soil. In dry seasons
mulching is highly beneficial, as it tends to hold and con-
serve the little moisture available. Seeds grown under
mulch and those grown with the best cultivation have
been compared and the former found to produce 50 per
cent better yields. If clover is raised after potatoes
grown with a mulch a surprisingly good stand is obtained.

The time to mulch is just as soon as the first crop of
weeds has been destroyed by cultivation. A thick layer
of leaves or straw is required. This will save the soil
from surface washing and will keep down the weeds. It
conserves moisture and adds humus.

Plow in plenty of manure in the fall. When the
weather becomes favorable in the spring use a disk un-
less the ground happens to be dry, in which case harrow-
ing is better, as it will tend to conserve the moisture.
If the land is not perfectly level the rows should con-

LARGE PROFITS IN POTATOES 105

form to the slope, so that in case of heavy rains the water
will run off without washing out the crop. If mulching
is thought to be unnecessary the tract must be cultivated
two or three times.

The studious farmer tills the soil in an intelligent man-
ner, knowing the reason for and the effect of every opera-
tion. He aims to get water into the soil and hold it there
for future use. Certainty of crops depends almost abso-
lutely on proper handling of the soil. Without it the
soil moisture is not stored in proper quantities and is
allowed to escape, and drought gets the crop that other-
wise could be saved and made profitable.

A study of the potato question will be a good thing
for American farmers, especially those who are just en-
gaging in agriculture. The whole subject of supply and
demand, of production and selling, is opened by the
existing potato problem.

Here are a couple of good axioms which apply to the
situation: Never trust to one crop for success, even
when prices are high; do not devote all your land and
effort to a single interest, no matter what the rate of
profit was in a previous season. One reason is that you
may fail to produce a satisfactory crop, and another is
that thousands rush to raise a product for which there
seems to be an unusual demand. This breaks the market.
It would be easy for American farmers to raise so many
potatoes that they could not get fifty cents a bushel for
them. However, when the market gets too low to afford
a profit, this product is excellent food, when boiled, for
poultry and hogs.

Growing Sweet Potatoes in the North

While the sweet potato is generally regarded as a south-
ern crop, it is grown with great success in many places
in the north. The Island of Muscatine in the Mississippi
River is largely given up to sweet potatoes and melons.
The former do well in any light, sandy soil, where the
season is not too short.

Miss Gertrude Coburn, teacher of domestic science in
the University of Iowa, has collected some valuable data
regarding the table merit of the different kinds of sweet
potatoes grown in the north. Mr. Theodore Williams,
of Benson, Neb., and F. D. Wells, a Michigan grower,
have been successful in the cultivation of the potato ; and
the results of the work of these investigators are briefly
summarized here.

In Miss Coburn's investigations the soil on which the
crop was grown was not rich, having previously grown
nursery stock. It was not manured, but thoroughly pre-
pared. Mr. Wells says that the soil best suited to sweet
potatoes is a warm, moderately rich sand. If it is too rich
there will be excessive growth of top at the expense of
the root. Before planting, the surface of the ground
should be ridged, and the plants set in the usual way
about the first week in June.

The most common way to grow the plants is in a hot-
bed. After the first heated period is over, the tubers are
placed quite closely together, but not touching, and
covered with manure ; they are then covered with three
inches of soil, the bed covered with glass and watered as
often as necessary.

106

GROWING SWEET POTATOES 107

The buds or shoots which develop should be trans-
planted to the field only when the ground is quite warm.
Although plants are generally set in ridges, some grow-
ers prefer to set on a level. The ridge system is probably
most desirable in the north. The center of the ridges
should be about 3J/2 feet apart, and the plants set 18
inches in the row. Good cultivation is necessary. This
should be frequent and shallow to save moisture, and it
will also add to the yield.

Southern growers have changed their method some-
what, and now do not believe it is necessary to move the
vines to prevent rooting, except under unusual circum-
stances. Northern experiments show that there is not
so much difference between rows in which the vines were
undisturbed and those in which the vines were moved

twice.

Potash is one of the most important fertilizers for
sweet potatoes, although in New Jersey, horse manure at
the rate of 10 to 20 tons per acre is used. It should be
well rotted. Attention to the vines, says Mr. Wells,
does not stop with the end of cultivation. They should
be lifted occasionally to prevent their taking root, and this
work can be quickly done by the use of a pitchfork. Once
a week is often enough.

In the north the black-rot affects sweet potatoes, and
this is soon seen on the sprouts. Whenever a plant
shows a leaf that is black, it should be dug up and
destroyed. Potatoes from affected plants will rot quickly
after being dug. As the germs of the disease remain in
the soil over winter, the ground should not be used again
for this crop.

Money Making From Pork

Farmers who do not raise a lot of nice pork every year
are not living up to their opportunities in money making.
At the average price of hogs in the last five years this
product pays well.

The present is a good time either for making a start or
enlarging operations. Even a very small farm should
have a few pigs, as they work nicely in any scheme of
diversification.

The sow's rations should be reduced about one-half
shortly before farrowing, and it should consist of sloppy
feed that will tend to loosen the bowels. An abundant
supply of water should be before her. She ought to be
separated from other animals a week before farrowing.
In extremely cold weather the young pigs are likely to
become chilled and may die if they do not receive extra
attention. A little care at this time will save the lives
of many pigs and pay excellent returns for the slight
effort involved. A few bricks should be heated, wrapped
in a sack and placed in a basket. Any pigs which appear
chilled or are too weak to nurse should be placed in the
basket. An hour or so of this treatment should serve
to revive the young porker and after he gets to nurse
his chances of reaching maturity are increased fourfold.

If sucking pigs are seen to be scouring, give the sow
fifteen to twenty drops of laudanum in her feed for a few
days. If her feed is reduced this usually checks the
scours. If there is no laudanum at hand use powdered

charcoal.

As soon as the pigs are old enough to eat I give them a

108

MONEY MAKING FROM PORK 109

separate trough where they can eat without being dis-
turbed by the mother. They are given a mixed feed of
middlings, corn meal or other ground feed softened with
water. They thrive all summer on forage crops and
need little grain until a month before marketing time.

Mineral matter such as phosphorus, calcium, sulphur
and iron is very necessary to the best development of a
pig. It is needed in the body to carry gaseous products,
such as oxygen, from the lungs to the tissues of the
body ; to maintain acidity in the blood and tissues ; to aid
in the movement of liquids through the body ; to aid in
the digestion of proteids and fats ; and in addition to sev-
eral minor functions to aid in the formation of muscular
and bony tissues. A pig fed on ground corn and water,
and provided with plenty of mineral matter will gain
twice as much in weight as one fed on ground corn and
water alone.

Rape, artichokes, red clover and alfalfa make good
forage for hogs. Carrots are excellent food also, either in
summer or winter. It is not best to let hogs have the
entire run of a large pasture. Confine them within
movable fences, giving them access to a part of the field
at a time. Such fences are not expensive. They save
much waste of grass, secure a large growth of feed from
the land and cause the hogs to make rapid gains.

Vermin are a pest and cause heavy losses. Nothing
holds back growing pigs more than lice. It is necessary
to fight them as long as one remains on the premises.
Coal tar dips are a great help in keeping hogs healthy,
and where a sprayer is used it is a good plan to spray the
litter that the hogs sleep in, and kill the lice there also.
Lime is a help if sprinkled over the litter. Black oil
poured over the pigs will kill lice effectively. A mixture
of lard and kerosene when rubbed in, answers the pur-
pose. Do not use kerosene alone, as it blisters. Good

110 MONEY MAKING FROM PORK

insect powders can be bought, but they are hardly neces-
sary if the other remedies are used.

Hogs require attention regardless of conditions, age
or sex, but the brood sows require particular attention,
and to the feeder's skill in feeding and managing his
brood sows, provided they have been properly selected,
will be due in large measure his success.

Pasture and forage crops should be provided for the
pregnant sows, because of the cheapness of this method
of feeding and the desirability of keeping the sows in
good form by exercise, fresh air and sunshine. Along
with the pasture and forage crops some grain should be
fed especially as pregnancy advances, for best results,
since the pasture and forage crops provide only about a
maintenance ration. The forage crops that are especially
suited to pregnant brood sows are the clovers, alfalfa,
peas, beans, vetches, rape, etc. The ordinary pasture
grasses also provide a suitable pasture for brood sows.

Keep the sow in fair condition but not excessively fat.
She should receive a nutritious ration at all times, but
care should be taken not to feed a too concentrated
ration close to farrowing time, as the sow is likely to
become constipated. This is a disorder that should be
carefully avoided during pregnancy and especially at the
time of farrowing. To overcome this disorder the greater
part of the grain ration should be given in the form of
a slop all during pregnancy, and toward the close of the
gestation period some laxative feed such as bran, oil meal,
roots, or a small amount of flaxseed meal should be intro-
duced into the ration. It should be remembered that the
digestive tract of the hog is small and that a very bulky
ration cannot be used to best advantage.

It is well to remember that the main demands upon
the brood sow are those for building up new tissue, and
that the kind of feed is important. To build up new
tissue the sow must have protein in her ration. This

MONEY MAKING FROM PORK HI

may be supplied by feeding any one of a number of
nitrogenous feeds. The young sow requires more of this
kind of feed in her ration than the old one because she
is still growing when her first litter is born. A variety in
the feeds is necessary to good results with swine. With
brood sows it is particularly true that several feeds com-
bined give better results than any single one.

For a few days previous to farrowing the feed should
be limited in quantity and of a sloppy nature, and, as has
been previously stated, the tendency to become consti-
pated at this time must be overcome. A box of charcoal,
salt and ashes should be kept where the sow can get at it
at all times, summer or winter. These materials tend to
satisfy the hog's craving for mineral matter and act as
a vermifuge and preventive of disease. If brood sows
are given free access to the above mixture and are fed
a varied ration which contains a sufficient amount of
protein, the breeder will not be likely to be troubled with
sows eating their pigs at farrowing time.

The quantity of feed for several days after farrow-
ing should be small. The sow should not be offered any
feed of any kind until she gets up of her own accord
after farrowing and for the first day or two a thin slop
will be sufficient to quench her thirst and provide all the
nutrition required. Within a week or ten days after
farrowing the sow should be getting a good ration of
nutritious milk producing food. If skim milk can be had
at this time and fed with a ration of equal parts corn
meal and shorts, good results should be obtained. About
three weeks after farrowing the sow should be getting
a full ration and during the whole remaining period
during which the sow is giving suck to her pigs she
should be fed heavily, for the gain thus produced in the
suckling pigs indirectly is made at a low cost for the
feed consumed. Generally a sow with a large litter will
lose in weight and condition even when given the best

112 MONEY MAKING FROM PORK

of care and feed. These essentials should receive the
greatest of attention at all times.

Farmers need to learn the merits of rape, carrots,
Canada peas and alfalfa or clover. Hogs can be brought
along nicely for the first six months without much
corn if they can have a nice patch of forage such as
alfalfa or rape. Skimmed milk is a wholesome and cheap
addition. They can be finished on peas or corn, as cir-
cumstances dictate, and will show a large profit at 8 to
10 months. Animals fed in this way produce extra fine
pork and it is possible to have private customers who
will take the dressed carcasses, wholly or in part, at
fancy prices.

While hogs grow into money fast, the question of
economical feeding must not be overlooked. If the feeder
does what he should for his hogs on grass he will feed
some corn or other grain along each day to furnish the
pig more nutrients than he can secure in his grass diet
and also to help concentrate his ration.

If this is kept up to the time in the pig's life when
he is 6, 7 or 8 months of age he is then a large pig,
growthy and strong, but not in any condition to market.
He has built up his frame and muscle work large enough
so that by feeding six weeks or two months longer he
can be finished off on corn into the prime pork the market
pays the long price for.

This last period is called the finishing or fattening
period, but this does not mean that the pig, which has
been allowed to roam over a grass pasture (or, better
still, a clover pasture) and been fed perhaps a pound or
two pounds of corn or other grain in the evening just to
keep him growing fine, should be kept in an 8xio foot pen
and stuffed on corn. He will not do best under these
conditions. He wants some good clean soil to eat every
day as he had all the rest of his life. He wants a fifty-
yard straightaway where he can scamper and shake up

MONEY MAKING FROM PORK 113

his intestines, which are as full as a city boy at grand-
mother's on Thanksgiving day.

Now corn alone and a place to scamper in will not be
all that is necessary for finishing these hogs. They are
still to grow some, their growth requires protein mate-
rial, and this protein material must be in excess of that
found in the corn. Nothing could be better than the
clover field or the alfalfa field, but when these are frosted
or covered with snow, the Canadian field peas can be used
that should have been thrashed out some weeks before.
These should be ground for best results and fed in slop.

If this slop could be made of the fresh separated milk,
so much the better. The ration of corn, should you have
it ground, and the field peas, which ought to be ground,
is very well mixed and makes a good ration when about
five parts of corn are fed with one part of pea meal,
mixed in a fairly thick slop. Should the feeder not have
the pea meal and has only the skim milk, it is well to
purchase shorts and make a good slop of the shorts and
milk and feed all the pigs will clean up without leaving
the trough.

Rape is one of the most satisfactory crops for early
hog pasture when clover is not available. It closely
resembles cabbage in appearance and manner of growth,
except that it does not produce a head. It has large,
coarse, succulent leaves, and ordinarily grows from 20
to 30 inches tall. It is a cool weather plant and can be
sown early in the spring — as soon as there is no further
danger of severe frost. It will endure a pretty severe
frost in the fall without injury and may be used for
pasture late in the fall, provided the hogs are kept off
when it is frozen.

Making a Dairy Farm Pay

There is much to be said in favor of dairy farming, no
matter what the size of the place may be. It is an excel-
lent system for providing a monthly cash income, and
may be managed so as to yield a high rate of profit, par-
ticularly if there are good transportation facilities or the
farm is located near a large town. Soil fertility is best
maintained on a place that has considerable live stock.

A dairy is a good basis for operations in a case where
a city family takes land, for it affords an immediate
income with which to meet the expense of hired help and
the cost of getting started. On any place beyond the
dimensions of a garden or orchard it is best to start with
an experienced man. Possibly after one season the family
may manage the work.

Fifteen to twenty cows are not too many for fifty
acres. Ten cows may be kept on thirty to forty acres.
The modern plan is to restrict the pasture to a few acres
and feed with silage or soiling crops. Summer feeding
is necessary to keep up a regular output of milk, and it
is best to begin with this fact settled, so time and effort
will not be wasted in experiments, nor an undue amount
of land given up to pasturage.

A fact in favor of the dairy is that the owner can esti-
mate both income and expense with reasonable certainty.
Prices on milk and butter change little, especially where
there are private customers. Any one who has a suitable
location can command top-notch prices for dairy prod-
ucts which are handled with taste and skill. The demand
is continual, is never exceeded by supply, and high prices

114

MAKING A DAIRY FARM PAY 115

are willingly paid for choice goods by a large class of
customers who place quality above cost.

To get the advantages of dealing with this class of
trade, one should be located convenient to transportation.
After securing a good equipment, and learning how to
produce and sell, it will be easy to find private customers
who will pay 25 to 50 per cent more than market quota-
tions for products that they know to be right. If located
near a provincial city, the marketing may be done by
team.

Good marketing means the difference between success
and failure. In Europe, by means of co-operative asso-
ciations, the middleman is cut out and the farmer and
consumer get together. There is no reason why that plan
may not succeed in this country.

Selection is more important than breed in starting a
dairy. See that the cows come up to requirements in
milk production, and are healthy. Then guard against
dirt and disease, and feed systematically. Alfalfa, alsike,
millet, shredded cornstalks, ground oats or corn, beets,
bran and shorts are the best articles of fodder. Corn
silage is excellent, winter or summer, and oilcake may be
needed for its digestive qualities when stock is not on
grass.

No dairy is on the right basis if not earning at the rate
of $100 a year for each animal. Considerably more than
this will be earned if good selling connections are estab-
lished. I have personal knowledge of a ten-cow dairy
that has advanced steadily from $60 to $125 a month.

Observant farmers know that while the income from
milk is large, it does not represent the entire value of a
dairy. Hogs fed with skimmed milk and corn gain
faster than if fed with corn alone, and skimmed milk is
also an aid in poultry raising. Thus the dairy stimulates
two other important branches of farming, and many a
worn-out and almost worthless farm has been restored to

116 MAKING A DAIRY FARM PAY

a highly profitable state by the fertilizer returned by the
cattle.

The selection of feeds is of prime importance in the
profitable management of a herd of dairy cows, and, next
to the selection of cows of the proper type and breeding,
is the factor of greatest importance in profitable dairying.
Feed cows daily one pound of grain for every three
pounds of milk produced ; from 25 to 40 pounds of corn
silage, and what clover or alfalfa hay they will eat.

Do not turn cows out to remain and suffer in cold,
stormy weather. Allow them to have water which is not
colder than that from a deep well twice or three times
daily. It is a good plan to heat their drinking water in
the tanks or troughs. Brush cows daily if you can pos-
sibly find the time, for it pays better than does grooming
of horses. Keep cows in clean, well lighted, properly
ventilated stables.

Do not try to save feed by turning to pasture too early.
Provide plenty of pure, fresh water, shade and protection
against flies during the heat of summer. Supplement
poor pastures with corn silage or green soiling crops like
rye, peas and oats, green corn fodder, cabbage and other
available feed.

Treat cows gently and avoid excitement. Be regular
in time of feeding and milking. Weigh the milk of each
cow at milking time.

Get your neighbors to share with you in owning a Bab-
cock milk tester, and test the milk of each individual
cow. Discard the cow which has failed at the end of
the year to pay market price for all the feed she has
consumed.

Breed your cows to a pure-bred registered dairy bull,
and raise well the heifer calves from the best cows.
Breed heifers to drop their first calves at 24 to 30 months
of age. Give cows six to eight weeks' rest between lacta-
tion periods.

Forage Problem Demands Attention

Farmers who are after the dollars should settle the ques-
tion of summer forage at once and for good. With the
increased value of land, larger pastures cannot be main-
tained without loss. Frequent droughts also help to make
them unprofitable.

It has come to a point where owners of dairies, beef
cattle, horses, or any kind of live stock, frequently lose as
much money as a result of light pastures during three
months of dry summer weather as they can make in the
rest of the year. A total abandonment of pasturage
is not recommended, but the grazing fields should be
improved and silage and soiling crops made an auxiliary
for summer feeding.

One reason why so many pastures become short or fail
altogether in summer is that they do not contain enough
variety of grasses for forage plants. The ordinary pas-
ture is a timothy meadow which has been run as a
meadow for several years. This one grass plant is soon
killed out, and nothing remains but chance grasses and
weeds, all of doubtful forage value.

For a pasture to be good all through the season, it
must contain a variety of grasses and good forage plants.
Some of these will come in early in the spring, then
become dormant, to again revive and grow for fall and
early winter use. While these early grasses are dormant
in midsummer, other grasses will be at their best.

The following makes a good mixture on ordinary soils :
Orchard grass, redtop, timothy, English and Italian rye
grass, red clover and alsike.

It is important to seed or reseed the pasture every

117

118 FORAGE PROBLEM

second year, and this may be done at almost any time,
preferably in late summer, so that the young plants will
have cool weather for starting growth. It is a good plan
to harrow the pasture once each year to break up large
manure masses and to scratch the surface soil.

By all means, have two or more pastures, so that they
can be used in rotation, allowing one to rest and renew
growth while the other is in use. Continuous eating and
tramping will kill out any pasture. Give each pasture two
or three periods of rest during the growing season, and
where the area is limited, grow soiling plants for green
feeding when the pasture is short and needs rest.

Whether for keeping up the milk supply or pushing
the growth of meat animals, it pays to raise cowpeas and
oats together, cutting them for use as a green fodder
before the oats have ripened. Other crops having special
value are millet, vetch and rape. The latter is particu-
larly good for hogs and sheep. A patch of artichokes will
also bring these animals along nicely.

Live stock is good property. Every farm should raise
and mature for the market all that it can safely handle
and maintain in thrifty condition. Cows, sheep and hogs
are of special advantage on the small farm. The market
value of good breeding animals may be made two or
three times that of common, ordinary grade. All kinds
of farm stock is in good demand. High prices prevail
and an oversupply can not be anticipated for years to
come. The average farmer should keep a variety of ani-
mals so as to have something for the market all through
the year. The dairy and poultry features should be
pushed to the limit.

The Siberian alfalfas are found growing in abundance
in dry regions, where the mercury freezes in the ther-
mometer, often with no snow on the ground. The sum-
mers are so dry and hot that camels find a congenial
home. If we could clothe our hillsides and plains with

FORAGE PROBLEM 119

these wild Siberian alfalfas, we would increase their pres-
ent feeding capacity for stock from four to eight times.

Seeds and plants for these hardy varieties are obtain-
able in a limited way, and if they prove as vigorous here
as they are in their native home under trying conditions,
they will soon become a leading feature of our flora, and
add immensely to our agricultural wealth. The trans-
planting of alfalfa plants, although new to us, is some-
thing that has been practiced for centuries in parts of
India and South America.

The modern idea of a hardy alfalfa is one that will take
its place as a wild plant and hold its own with buffalo
grass and other wild grasses ; one that will cover our
steep bluffs and hillsides, now barren ; one that will
flourish in our gumbo soils in western localities ; one that
will make our rough land and "sheep quarters" immensely
more valuable than at present.

Where the common blue-flowered alfalfa does not
suffer from the winter at any time, it is wise to "let well
enough alone." But north of this line is a vast region,
stretching clear to the Arctic circle, where these Siberian
alfalfas will reign supreme in the near future, and they
may find a congenial home in the high mountain regions
in the Rockies far to the south.

Some people are inclined to shut their eyes and ears
to the fact that the common alfalfa is sometimes winter-
killed, and blame the farmer for all the failures; such
people like to tell only about its successes and to dis-
regard the failures. This is not the best way. The other
extreme would be to wait until the seed of perfectly hardy
plants is obtained in commercial quantities.

Either view is extreme and unwise. We would plant
the best seed obtainable, taking care that it is as free as
possible from weed seed. Turkestan alfalfa, which was
brought over for the first time in 1898, has made good
over a wide area.

120 FORAGE PROBLEM

Alfalfa is so valuable that even one good crop is a
paying investment. But we must not place all our hopes
upon it as absolutely safe, since even our most enthu-
siastic growers admit that the plant winter-kills on cer-
tain soils and under certain conditions. Some think that
a perfectly hardy alfalfa is not to be expected. But why
not ? Does buffalo grass ever winter-kill ?

American experimenters have brought alfalfa from
Sweden and Russia and are greatly pleased with the
extremely vigorous, upright habits of growth, quick re-
covery after cutting, many stems and large leaves, the
abundant seed production, and the fact that the seeds are
tightly retained in the pods instead of shelling prema-
turely. The flowers vary greatly in color from blue to
yellow, ranging into green, dark violet and purple.

This hybrid condition of the plants should be main-
tained in order to get the greatest amount of forage per
acre. From many successful experiments has come the
belief that the complete solution of the hardy alfalfa
question is in sight.

No movement for the betterment of agriculture is more
general or extensive than that to provide silage for cattle.
The system has been slow in gaining a hold, but it is
coming with a rush now. For a time some of the large
milk dealers objected to silage as feed, but this opposition
was not justified, and has been withdrawn.

Beef cattle are brought along faster and better with
silage for fodder than by any other method. Of course,
in all cases a light percentage of dry feed or roughage is

needed.

The silo has its use on a farm of any size.^ It brings
system and certainty into the farmer's affairs, and is
profitable from any point of view. A field of corn goes
about twice as far in silage as in the old method of

feeding.

It is generally conceded that silage which is several

FORAGE PROBLEM 121

months old is better than newer feed. Some feeders pre-
fer silage that is six months to a year old. Silage is
strong in carbohydrates, the principal food requirement
for all animals, but needs protein to balance it. Alfalfa
hay is perhaps the cheapest and best for this purpose.
Throughout the dairy sections it should form a part of
the ration where silage is used. This makes it possible
for the feeder to gain a greater economy in his opera-
tions, and at the same time give the animal a wholesome,
balanced ration.

Corn silage may be fed out of doors, in bunks, in the
stall, or in any place where animals can eat it without
waste. In severe weather it is best to feed silage inside,
as some will freeze, and this will be hard for the stock to
masticate, although the feeder need not be alarmed over
feeding freezing ensilage. It will not injure the animals,
but frozen food is not easy for them to consume.

In feeding milch cows, it is a good plan to give the hay
in a rack outside, where the animals will not waste it, and
feed the ensilage in the barn after milking. It may be
given twice a day in rations from ten to fifteen pounds
at a feeding, or twenty to forty pounds per day. Some
large animals will take as high as fifty pounds of silage
per day and make good use of it. Feed the ensilage so
that the animals will eat it up clean, as it spoils when
exposed to the air for several days.

In some of the most carefully managed experiments
ever made, silage has surpassed the usual grain feeding
in bringing on beef cattle. The ease and rapidity with
which gains are made, the greater efficiency of the feed
when given to young animals, the larger number that can
be handled, and the splendid quality of the finished prod-
uct, are points which strongly appeal to feeders in favor
of silage for making beef.

Even when it comes to the finishing process in the last
month of feeding, it is found that silage is suitable for

122 FORAGE PROBLEM

the morning and evening rations, while dry corn may be
used at noon. The stock will require a certain amount of
hay, and should have access to this as desired. Nothing
else is needed except the usual allowance of cottonseed or
linseed meal.

Sand vetch is also known as hairy vetch. The plant
produces many slender branches, 6 feet long, and the
leaves and branches are covered with a coat of fine hairs.
The seeds are small and black. If the field is not pas-
tured too closely, the seed pods burst open when ripe and
reseed the field.

Spring seed should be sown the last of April to the
middle of May. If grown for forage, it is well to seed
vetch with oats and wheat. The reason for this is that
the grain keeps the vetch off the ground. If the seed is
drilled, sow one bushel per acre. If broadcasted, iy2
bushels per acre. Seed also one bushel of oats as a nurse
crop.

The name implies that it is best grown on a sandy loam
soil; however, it grows well on poor soils — and so do
cowpeas or clover. All stock relish the green forage and
cured hay. Experiments show that it yields between two
and three tons of hay per acre.

Soy beans make a rich late summer pasturage, a good
soiling crop, a splendid ensilage crop, and a cured hay
equal in palatability and feeding value to alfalfa hay.
They yield twenty to thirty bushels of seed per acre, worth
$2 to $3 per bushel, and can be ground into meal that will
take the place of cottonseed meal, oil meal, tankage,
gluten or other high-class concentrates, at much less cost.

Owing to their rapid growth, soy beans are an admi-
rable catch crop to follow wheat, oats, crimson clover,
potatoes or other early crops. They greatly improve the
condition of the soil upon which they grow and enrich its
store of nitrogen and humus.

As compared with the valuable and widely popular

FORAGE PROBLEM 123

cowpeas, soy beans have a wider range of usefulness,
are more easily cured for hay, much more easily har-
vested and thrashed for seed, yield more seed, ripen more
evenly, are more nutritious, command a better price, are
less sensitive to frost, lose less in handling of the hay,
crack less in thrashing, are less likely to be attacked by
weevil, and the roots and stubble leave more nitrogen
and humus in the soil. Cowpeas have the one superior
virtue of making a heavier yield on a poor, sandy soil.

As a main crop, sow soy beans ten days after corn
planting time, as a catch crop, as soon as the prior crop
is off the land. If drilled in rows to be cultivated, one-
third of a bushel will seed an acre; if drilled solid, like
wheat, use six pecks.

For hay, cut when the pods are fully formed ; for seed,
cut when the plants begin to turn yellow, cure as for hay,
and thrash. The thrashed forage will be eaten greedily
by horses and cattle and they will thrive on it. At
present prices soy beans are one of the most profitable
crops that can be grown, and they fit admirably into
almost any good system of crop rotation.

A still newer crop of great value to live stock owners
is called guar. If this fodder crop proves to be all that
is claimed for it, some of the others will be relegated to
the background. Guar is described as an erect annual
reaching a height of three to four feet in an arid country
and five to seven feet in the rain belt. As a land im-
prover it ranks with the cowpea, and as a forage plant it
is said to equal alfalfa. Just imagine the amount of
forage in a crop of alfalfa six feet high ! Guar is said
to produce enormous quantities of seed — twenty to thirty
bushels per acre, even in a dry country, and proportion-
ately larger yields in humid countries. In the cultiva-
tion of any of these legumes there is something to be
made in producing seed, as well as hay.

Cows Kept at a Loss

E. V. Ellington, in charge of dairy production, Idaho
experiment station, discusses herd testing and the dairy
industry in that state as follows :

While there are many high producing cows in the
Northwest, the average production of cows being milked
is low. Figures from the last census show that there
are in the state of Idaho approximately 80,000 cows being
milked that are classed as dairy cattle.

The value of dairy products produced in the state of
Idaho is only $2,000,000. These figures indicate that
many cows are being kept at an actual loss to the farmer.
Records that the writer has kept on different herds over
the state during the past year show that 20 per cent of
the cows were not paying for the feed they consumed.
For every dollar expended for feedstuffs some animals
were only giving returns of 75 and 80 cents.

The dairy cow may be compared to a machine. Raw
material is furnished her in the form of alfalfa, oats and
barley, and milk is the finished product. Milk production
is a question of dollars and cents and if the machine for
the manufacture of milk cannot be operated on an
economical basis then it should be disposed of.

There is only one means whereby the profitable cow
may be detected with certainty from the unprofitable one,
and this method consists in weighing and testing the
milk and keeping a record of the feed consumed for the
entire lactation period.

Keeping daily records of milk is a very simple and inex-
pensive task. All that is necessary is to have some form

124

COWS KEPT AT A LOSS 125

of scales and a ruled sheet whereby the milk weights may
be recorded daily. It is well to use spring balance scales
that will weigh from one-tenth to thirty pounds.

The fat test should be made at least once a month, the
testing to be done at regular intervals. Samples from
both morning and evening milking should be used. For
the small herd a four-bottle Babcock tester is of sufficient
size and may be secured at small cost from any creamery
supply company and includes full directions for conduct-
ing the test. The manipulation of the fat test is very
simple, but the directions should be carefully followed.

Guesswork is expensive to the dairyman. No person is
able to go into a good sized herd and pick out all the best
cows by examination. The highest degree of success
cannot be attained unless the dairyman knows accurately
the record of each cow. Success in dairying will depend
upon the farmer's ability to lower the cost of producing
a pound of butter-fat.

With increased cost of every item which goes into the
maintenance of a dairy herd, from wrapping paper to
hay, and from the fencing around the farm to the labor
required in every operation, has come the absolute
necessity of getting every part of the dairy on a paying
basis or else facing a deficit either in money, which is
likely, or in depreciation of the farm land, or in under-
paid labor. All of which is primary and fundamental
experience with the eastern cow-man.

For this fact remains: Well-tilled land will produce
crops sufficient to pay a fair return on labor and invest-
ment even if sold in the open market. The feeding of
the farm crop to a dairy cow, and the production by that
cow of milk, and its further handling on the farm into
butter and cheese — provided always that the cow is a sat-
isfactory dairy animal — is proven to be the most profit-
able way of disposing of products of the farm, under
existing conditions of demand and cost of transportation,

126 COWS KEPT AT A LOSS

and at the same time returns the largest possible con-
servation of fertility to the land itself. What, then, is the
answer?

First, the cow must be a satisfactory dairy animal.
Second, the manner of the farm management must be
such as to get a maximum of the best food possible out
of the soil to use as raw material for the cow machine
to produce milk from.

Here hinges the question of dairy pre-eminence. The
state whose farmers learn best to produce the most valu-
able and effective feeding materials from their land, and
who learn how to build their dairies up with the best
possible dairy cows, will lead the world in the excellence,
the volume, and the value of its dairy products. Den-
mark is the shining example of the entire world, and in
Denmark the key to the result is the cow-testing asso-
ciations.

For in dairying, as in fruit culture, the ultimate profit
depends upon the profit of each individual, cow, or tree,
or vine. The value of a dairy herd is measured not by its
best member in her best month, but by the average of all
its members for twelve months, and this average is pulled
down by its poorest member, as much as it is raised by its
best, and there is no way known to know just what each
cow is doing but by actual test. Without fear of success-
ful contradiction it can be asserted that the dairy expert
does not exist who can tell the best cow in a herd except
by the scales and the Babcock tester, nor the value of a
cow without an experience covering months.

This is a plea for the organization of cow-testing asso-
ciations based upon actual experience which has come
under the observation of the writer. First of all, why an
association — why not individual testing? The only rea-
son is because the average individual will not start and
continue the test, and it must be thorough and complete
to mean anything.

Importance of Cow Testing Associations

The difference in dairy profits is not so much a difference
in market advantages as in the handling and manage-
ment of the cows. One farmer keeps cows that turn
out a quantity of milk that puts the gross returns well
above the cost of keeping the cows, while the other's
milking herd is giving a supply the value of which is
just running along on or near the same line as the cost
of production. In the one herd quite frequently are
found some cows that are turning in large profits and
cows that are barely paying for their keep. The average
profit from such a herd will depend entirely on the pro-
portion of cows in each class.

The University of Nebraska, in a bulletin issued re-
cently, shows clearly through the results of a cow-testing
association in a county of Nebraska, that it is the amount
of milk produced by the cow that determines her value
and the value of dairying as a business. In part, this
bulletin reads :

The good cow judge can generally tell the difference
between cows of high and low productive capacity, but
very few judges, if any, can always tell by type or con-
formation the cow producing 300 pounds of butter-fat
from the one producing only 200 pounds. As a matter
of fact, the only accurate way of discovering the un-
profitable cow is with the scale and Babcock test. The
truthfulness of this statement has been brought out in
many instances. The former owner of Jacoba Irene,
keeping no records of her production, considered her
only an ordinary cow and sold her for an ordinary price.

127

128 IMPORTA\TCE OF COW TESTING

Her worth was only determined after her owner took
steps to have her tested. These figures revealed the re-
markable fact that in less than a year she produced i,iii
pounds of butter, or more butter than is being produced
by seven average Nebraska cows.

Dairymen need a variety of fodder crops. With sum-
mer drouths always possible, it is a good plan to have a
field of rye and clover sown in the fall. This, like the
first cutting of alfalfa, will be ready quite early. For
midsummer emergencies it is well to have soy beans, cow-
peas, millet or alfalfa. Cowpeas and oats may be sown
together for a late hay crop.

Just west of Omaha, in Douglas County, is located a
very prosperous, progressive farming community. Here
the price of farm land is already in the neighborhood of
$200 per acre. In this locality and in this connection it
is of interest to note that the farmer who years ago could
not be forced into dairying, has now turned to it and is
getting satisfactory results. These farmers fully realize
the importance of keeping accurate records of the amount
of milk and fat produced by each cow in the herd. They
also realized that through a co-operative cow-testing asso-
ciation the expense of obtaining these records would be
very materially reduced and the Douglas County Cow-
Testing Association was organized. The members of
this association entered 21 herds, comprising some 435
cows. The work of the tester consisted in keeping ac-
curate records of the amount of milk and butter-fat pro-
duced by every cow in the various herds and also in mak-
ing careful estimates of the feed consumed by these
cows. To do so he had to spend one day each month
with every herd belonging to the association. In addi-
tion to this work this man was ever ready with sugges-
tions as to how the rations could be improved for eco-
nomical milk and butter-fat production.

The following table shows the difference between ten

IMPORTANCE OF COW TESTING

129

good cows and ten bad ones. An accurate account of
feed and milk production was kept:

Ten most profitable cows.

1 $123.58

2 116.96

3 Io8-74

4 108.10

5 IQ4.i5

Ten least profitable cows.

1 (Loss) $1373

1.62

6

7
8

9

10

96.66

95-59

94-97
92.11

92.02

2

3

4

5
6

7

2.84

3.85
7.10

9.09

10.27

8 11. 14

9 12.07

10 13-57

Total $1,032.88 Total $85.28

From this table the reader will notice that a herd com-
posed of 10 of the best cows would yield a profit of over
$1,032. Compare with this the meagre profit of only
$85 that would come to the dairyman as a result of a
year's work with a herd composed of 10 of the poorest
cows, and there is at least one evident reason why the
farmer who keeps no record of the amount of milk pro-
duced and who thinks it of no importance to test the milk
for butter-fat fails to make dairying profitable.

Dairy By-Products Are Important

The value of the dairy by-products of the country for
one year amounts to more than fifty million dollars, ac-
cording to an estimate made by the Department of Agri-
culture; and this is a conservative estimate. The item
of dairy products is one of vast importance, and is well
worthy of careful attention and study.

Skim-milk is by far the most important by-product
from the dairy, and the best adapted to varied and profit-
able uses. Skim-milk, as a human food, is unappreciated
by most farmers; but it has been tested under various
conditions, by food experts, and has proven a useful
portion of an everyday diet for many people. The use
of skim-milk ought to be encouraged, and would result
in finding city markets for a large amount of this val-
uable by-product.

A report from one of our leading colleges contains the
following :

"Skim-milk has all the protein and half of the full
value of the whole milk and is in most localities the most
economical source of animal protein. The food elements
in skim-milk are equal in physiological value to those of
meats and are far less expensive."

As an article to substitute for water, in the preparation
of various dishes, as well as for others that are made
mainly of milk, there is no waste, but a decided gain in
food-value. In making bread, skim-milk will add to the
weight and nutritive value of the loaf. Used in place of
water, sufficient flour may be saved to pay for the milk,
and yet produce a loaf of equal weight, and of more
actual food value.

130

DAIRY BY-PRODUCTS ARE IMPORTANT 131

Milk bread is richer in fatty matter, and superior in
flesh forming elements, which is scientifically explained
as being due to the casein of milk being incorporated with
the fibrin of the flour.

The sale of skim-milk to bakers and confectioners
should be encouraged, and is capable of being largely in-
creased. Used in this manner, it may be made to net the
consumer one dollar a cwt., or more than a large per
cent of the farmers and dairymen realize for their whole
milk.

As a food for domestic animals skim-milk occupies
the most conspicuous position of any food-stuff, espe-
cially as a feed for young and growing animals. The
facts which seem to have been proven by the various ex-
periments are as follows :

"Skim-milk gives the best returns when fed to very
young animals, constituting the larger part of their
rations.

"It is next best for animals making rapid growth, but
which need other feed than milk, mainly of a carbona-
ceous nature.

"Except for very young animals skim-milk gives the
best returns when used in combination with other foods
generally grains.

"No class of live stock will give larger returns for
skim-milk than poultry of various kinds."

At the New York Experiment Station chickens were
grown successfully on a diet composed mainly of skim-
milk, although they were allowed a run of the fields dur-
ing the time when they were being fed this ration.

It was estimated that at the test, after allowing from
25 cents to 50 cents per hundred for the skim-milk, and
some other feed in proportion, the cost of producing one
pound of live weight was less than six cents at the time
when the birds weighed three pounds.

During this time the milk was fed sweet; but it has

132 DAIRY BY-PRODUCTS ARE IMPORTANT

been found equally satisfactory when fed thick and lop-
pered, and the waste is less in the latter form.

If a premium were offered for the most rapid gains in
pig feeding, my opinion would be that some man skilled
in feeding skim-milk with other foods would carry off
the prize. Professor Henry, of Wisconsin, a high au-
thority on feeding domestic animals, says regarding the
value of skim-milk as a food for swine:

"Skim-milk has a value as a feed for stockmen that
is higher than merely serving as a substitute for grain.
All of the constituents of milk are digestible and this
valuable by-product of the creamery is rich in bone and
blood building constituents."

When we consider the use of this food for bone and
muscle building, and also remember its easy digestibility,
and that by adding a variety it makes other food articles
more palatable, and probably assists in their digestion,
we must hold skim-milk as occupying a high place in the
list of feedstuffs available on most farms.

Authorities seem to differ as to the merits of sweet
and sour milk as a feed for swine. My experience con-
vinces me that either is desirable ; but the sudden change
from sweet to sour, and from sour to sweet, must be
avoided in feeding any kind of domestic animals.

Calves appear to be the next in favor, as profitable
consumers of skim-milk, and some feeders appear to
think that they can feed their skim-milk to calves, and
derive more profits from it than by feeding it to swine ;
but this depends, to a large extent, upon the good qualities
of the animals that are being fed.

In feeding skim-milk to calves one cent's worth of oil-
meal will take the place of a pound of butter fat that
has been removed from the milk, besides, when the milk
is fed warm from the separator, it is better for the calves
than milk that is cold and sour.

A young animal that is fed on skim-milk, with mill

DAIRY BY-PRODUCTS ARE IMPORTANT 133

feed or grains, may be made to weigh almost as much as
one of similar breeding and fed on whole milk with the
same kind of grains, at one year of age.

Calves, for veal, mav be started on whole milk, and
then gradually changed to skim-milk, and fed for awhile,
and then made ready for market by feeding for a week
or two on whole milk to put on a smooth finish and im-
prove their sale.

In feeding skim-milk to calves, overfeeding is dan-
gerous, and must be avoided. Calves are more easily
made sick by being fed poor milk than pigs. Skim-milk
has also been fed to lambs, horses and colts with success.

Cheese may be made from skim-milk, and could be
made a profitable outlet for large quantities of the by-
product. A product called Dutch cheese, or pot cheese,
is also made from skim-milk, and finds a ready sale in
many cities or villages. With this, there seems to be no
established price; but some claim to be able to make a
dollar's worth of this cheese from ioo pounds of skim-
milk.

Buttermilk ranks close to skim-milk in feeding value;
but its physical condition requires that more care be
exercised in feeding it than is required in feeding skim-
milk.

As a human food it is excellent, and for cooking it is
in demand ; but it has been the common practice for many
city dealers to sell poor skim-milk for buttermilk, after
it has become soured and unfit for use ; this has had the
effect of decreasing the demand for buttermilk.

Good buttermilk, fresh from the churn, is more val-
uable for cooking purposes than whole milk.

How to Obtain a Good Stand of Corn

A perfect stand of corn is that which produces the
greatest possible yield. This is affected by the number
of stalks and their arrangement on the surface of the
soil.

Of course, a perfect stand for one soil might be only
half a stand for another, while a perfect stand for a
wet season might be too thick a stand for the same soil
in a dry season.

However, no absolute rules can be laid down which
will enable the corn grower to decide how far apart he
shall make his rows, or how thick the stalks or hills shall
stand in the row.

No one can foretell what the season will be. The
number of square feet of soil required to support a hill
or stalk of corn varies with the soil fertility, cultivation,
rainfall, and other seasonal or climatic conditions, the
variety of corn, and many other factors.

While it is probably impossible to secure a perfectly
even distribution of stalks or hills, recent experiments
and experience combine to indicate that each stalk or hill
should stand as nearly as possible in the center of a square
of soil from which it draws its food.

The size of this square will, of course, be determined
by the distance between stalks in the row and between
rows.

What this distance should be under the conditions ex-
isting in the different corn-growing States may be sug-
gested, if not finally determined, by the tests carried on
in the different States.

At the Nebraska Station, corn grown in hills 44 inches

134

HOW TO OBTAIN GOOD STAND OF CORN 135

apart, each way, produced the highest yield of grain
when planted at the rate of four kernels per hill, but
five kernels produced an almost equally high yield of
corn and a slightly greater yield of stover.

Two kernels per hill produced the largest ears, and
one kernel per hill the greatest number of two-eared
plants, tillers, and ears per hundred plants. The per-
centage of barren plants increased with the number of
plants per hill.

These facts sometimes lead seed growers to plant very
thinly in the hope of producing very large ears for seed,
but the opposite practice is found to result in seed having
the greatest producing power, as it may result in the
elimination of barren plants, and those that do not pro-
duce well under adverse conditions.

Corn grown at three rates, namely, at I, 3 and 5 plants
per hill, for three years, showed an average producing
power of 3.6 bushels more for the thickest planting than
for the thinnest.

At the Kansas Station, corn was grown in rows, 2,
2lA> 3, 3J<2 and 4 feet apart, and from 4 to 20 inches
apart in the row ; both listed and surface-planted corn
were tested in rows 3^ and 4 feet apart, but all narrower
rows were surface planted.

Both listed and surface-planted corn gave the best re-
sults when the rows were 4 feet apart, and the stalks
16 inches apart, while in 1891 the best results were ob-
tained when rows were 2^/2 feet apart, stalks 16 inches
apart.

The average results for three years' work at the
Missouri Station indicate that the maximum yields from
corn planted in hills 45 inches apart each way, was ob-
tained from planting 3 or 4 grains per hill, 4.3 bushels
per acre less being secured from planting 2 grains per
hill. Lower yields were secured in hills 45 by 22*^2 , or
45 by 15.

136 HOW TO OBTAIN GOOD STAND OF CORN

On good land the largest yield of 704 bushels per acre
was secured by leaving 4 stalks per hill, in hills 45 inches
apart each way, while on poor land the largest yield of
36 bushels per acre resulted from thinning to 2 stalks
per hill.

Four stalks per hill gave a yield of 6.6 bushels less per
acre, more than half of which was unmerchantable. One
stalk per hill produced almost as large a yield on poor
land as did 4, and almost every ear was merchantable.

In all cases the thicker the planting the larger the yield
of stover and the greater the proportion of nubbins.

Eighty-five per cent of a stand produced 2.y2 bushels
per acre more grain than did 85 per cent of a stand in
which the missing hills were replanted, and 12 bushels
more than when the entire plat was planted over. Ninety-
four per cent of a perfect stand produced 2.2 bushels
per acre more than 85 per cent of a perfect stand.

At the Ohio Station, one grain every 12 inches, or 2
grains every 24 inches, produced better results than
three grains every 36 inches, or four grains every 48
inches. One grain every 18 inches proved insufficient to
secure a maximum crop, but produced the largest per-
centage of ears. Four grains every 42 inches proved en-
tirely too thick for best results. The work was continued
for three years.

Ten years' test at the Indiana Station showed that in
seasonable years the yields of both corn and stover are
greater from thick planting, but that in the very dry
year of 1894 the yield of corn was less and of stover
greater from thick planting.

At the Maine Station, one acre of land fertilized with
10 two-horse loads of stable manure and 750 pounds of
commercial fertilizer produced, respectively, 5,246, 5,390,
and 4,448 pounds per acre of dry matter when kernels
were planted 6, 9, and 12 inches apart, but the ears were

HOW TO OBTAIN GOOD STAND OF CORN 137

larger when the planting was at a distance of 9 and 12
inches.

At the Louisiana Station, stalks 18 inches apart in five-
foot rows, produced the largest results, although a closer
planting might have proved more profitable during a
more favorable season, but is not recommended as a
general practice.

At the Alabama Station, on poor and sandy land, to
which complete fertilizer was added at the rate of 320
pounds per acre, the yield was largest when the constant
area devoted to each plant produced, was a perfect square
in shape; that is, when 15 square feet was so planted
that the distance in the drill was about equal to the dis-
tance between rows.

The highest average yield for two years resulted from
single plants three feet, nine inches apart, in rows four
feet apart, but plants three feet apart in rows five feet
wide, were more cheaply cultivated.

A row of cow-peas should be planted between corn
rows on very poor land, in which case the corn rows
should be at least five feet apart.

At the Georgia Station, ten years' experiments indicated
that land capable of producing 25 to 40 bushels of shelled
corn per acre should be so planted as to grow 3,630 plants
per acre.

This number may be secured by planting 32 inches
apart in 4>4-foot rows, 36 inches apart in 4- foot rows,
or 42 inches apart in 3^ -foot rows.

Soil capable of producing 15 to 25 bushels per acre
produces its maximum yield when 16 square feet are
allowed per plant, or 2,722 plants per acre.

This number should be secured by planting 38^ inches
apart in 5-foot rows, 32 inches apart in 4^ -foot rows,
or 48 inches apart in 4-foot rows. Soils capable of pro-
ducing 10 to 15 bushels per acre, give their maximum

138 HOW TO OBTAIN GOOD STAND OF CORN

yield when 18 to 24 square feet per stalk is allowed, or
from 2,420 to 1,850 hills to the acre.

Eighteen square feet per stalk may be secured by
planting 36 inches apart in 6-foot rows, or 43 inches
apart in 5-foot rows, or 4 feet, 3 inches apart each way.

At the Texas Station the highest average yield for five
varieties tested, resulted from planting 4 feet by 2J/2
feet apart, while the planting 3 feet by 2^ feet apart
stood second, 5 by 3 third, and 4^2 by 3 gave the lowest
yields. Golden Beauty and Learning produced the best
yields from close planting, while Thomas, 100-day Bristol
and Forsyth Favorite, did best in 4- foot rows, planted
2.y2 feet apart in the drill.

The increase of 2.2 bushels per acre which the work
at the Missouri Station indicated would result from im-
proving the stand from 85 to 94 per cent. A perfect
stand would, if secured for each of the 108,771,000 acres
devoted to the corn crop in 1909, secure an increase of
$142,620,535.20, at the farm value of 59.6 cents per
bushel.

As a matter of fact, however, comparatively few fields
have even 85 per cent of a perfect stand. In view of
the opinion of prominent authorities on this subject, that
the average corn field has not over 66 per cent of a per-
fect stand, while in many cases the percentage is less
than 40, it is difficult to compute the loss resulting to the
corn-growers of the United States from this cause.

The Culture of Broomcorn

The principal crops of broomcorn are raised in Kansas,
Oklahoma and southern Illinois, although this crop will
grow in other sections of the country where soil and
climatic conditions are favorable.

It is a profitable crop, as the price per ton for the
brush usually ranges from $50 for the lower grades that
are damaged by the weather up to $200 and over for the
very best. The prices for 1910 ranged from $140 to $190
per ton.

In the Southwest it is becoming more important as a
forage crop, and it is used to a considerable extent after
the brush has been removed. The seed has but small
feeding value.

The two best types of broomcorn grown in the South-
west particularly are the Dwarf and the Standard. The
Dwarf is much liked because it grows only from four to
six inches high, with a brush of from 12 to 20 inches,
however. This type is better suited to the semi-arid
regions and to the uplands of the broomcorn section in
the Southwest.

The soil should be plowed in the fall or early in the
spring, so that it will retain as much moisture as pos-
sible. About two weeks before planting, the land should
be disked and harrowed, and, if necessary, harrowed a
second time before planting. Broomcorn is a good sod-
crop.

Broomcorn plants are very tender, and make the most
rapid growth in warm weather. They will not stand the
cold of early spring like corn. The seed will rot before

139

140 THE CULTURE OF BROOMCORN

germinating, or if the plant germinates the growth will
be retarded by continued cold.

When large areas are planted, the most convenient way
is to divide the field into sections of about ten acres each,
and plant at intervals of about a week. The crop demands
prompt attention, and if this system of planting is fol-
lowed, there is not so much danger of damage to the
brush from rain, or becoming too ripe.

In case farm hands are scarce, the scarcity is not so
keenly felt, for there is not a very large crop that
demands attention within a period of a few days. A
few hands can take care of comparatively large fields,
and it is much more convenient than to plant the whole
field on a single day.

The method of planting is about the same as for Kaffir
corn. Plant in rows about three feet apart, and four to
five inches apart in the row. The Standard, due to its
large growth, is planted in rows about three and a half
feet apart.

Selecting good seed is very important. Good seed
should give a germination of 90 to 95 per cent, and seed
should not be used that falls much below this standard.
By using seed that gives a germination test above 90 per
cent, one bushel is sufficient quantity to plant twenty
acres ; or two quarts of seed will plant an acre.

The soil should be in good condition when seeded;
then the cultivation should begin early and be repeated
frequently to prevent the weeds from getting a start of
the slow-growing plants. A sharp-tooth harrow is some-
times used just as the plants are coming up.

After one good harrowing, the field should receive
about two cultivations of medium depth, then the rest
of the cultivation should be shallow, so as not to injure
the root system.

In this way the soil is finely pulverized, forming a dust
blanket which aids in the conservation of moisture.

THE CULTURE OF BROOMCORN 141

Broomcorn is a crop that will not stand in the field
without great damage after it is ready to harvest. It
should be harvested just as the plants are coming into
full bloom, or when the anthers are falling from the head.

The head of the Dwarf is enclosed in a sheaf or "boot."
It is more convenient to pull the head than to cut it, after
which the boot is removed. The heads are usually pulled
and piled in bunches along the row. The brush from
three or four rows is piled together, and after drying
for two or three days, is gathered and stacked in small

ricks.

Because of the greater height of the Standard broom-
corn, it is necessary to bend the heads over to make them
easy to cut. The stalks are bent at a height of about
three feet.

Two adjacent rows are bent diagonally across the inter-
vening space so that the portion of the stalks above the
sharp bend is supported in a horizontal position, with the
seed-heads of one row extending about two feet beyond
the opposite row.

This method is called "tabling." One man can table as
fast as two can cut. In cutting, the operator walks along
the spaces between the tables, and cuts the heads six or
eight inches below the attachment of the straws.

The brush as cut is laid by handfuls upon every second
table, making it very convenient for loading on a wagon.

After drying, the brush should still retain the green
color. To accomplish this, do not dry it in the sun, as it
will be bleached to a light-brown color. By curing in
sheds the original green color can be retained to a large
extent, and as a result the brush will command a much
better price. The average time of drying is about thirty
days. It is then threshed and baled.

The Sugar Beet Industry

In the general scheme of diversified farming the sugar
beet may become one of the most profitable features.
Sugar is an article of such general consumption that
for economic reasons it ought to be produced in this
country.

While politicians may wrangle over the economic prob-
lems of a tariff, it might be well if we would bear in
mind that homely, but wise, answer given by the im-
mortal Lincoln when asked his opinion on the tariff. He
said: "If we buy from Europe a ton of rails, we get
the rails and Europe gets the money; but if we produce
the rails, we have both the rails and the money."

At the present time we have about seventy factories
in the United States, of which ten are in California.
In 1897 there was produced in the United States 45,000
tons of beet sugar, while there was produced in 191 1
560,000 tons. If it were not for the unfortunate agita-
tions that come up over the sugar question, the sugar
beet industry would by this time have become much
larger than it is.

There is land suitable for beet culture that could be used
to produce all the sugar we need in America. The present
consumption of sugar amounts to about four million tons,
about one-sixth of which is produced in the United States,
the balance being imported raw from foreign coun-
tries where cheap labor is available, and the cost of re-
fining the sugar in the United States is only about one-
half cent per pound. If we imported all the sugar we
used, and merely refined it in this country at that re-

142

THE SUGAR BEET INDUSTRY 143

fining cost of one-half cent a pound, it would contribute
to the American industry only about twenty-three million
dollars, whereas to produce the same amount of sugar
from American grown beets would contribute close to
three hundred million dollars to the American industry.

But there are other and more important reasons why
the beet sugar industry should be fostered in the United
States, and one of these is on account of the beet's value
in crop rotation. In European countries where beet-
growing is practiced it is found that they get much
larger yields of crops per acre than we do in this coun-
try. Take for example barley. Our greatest barley
states are California, Minnesota and South Dakota; and
from the four million acres of barley we harvest about
ninety-two million bushels, while Germany harvests
from about the same acreage one hundred and sixty mil-
lion bushels, or seventy per cent more than we do. The
same is true of other crops. Our average yield of wheat
per acre is about fourteen bushels against Germany's
twenty-eight bushels; our average yield of oats is about
twenty- four bushels against Germany's fifty-eight; our
average yield of potatoes is ninety-five bushels against
Germany's two hundred and five.

Moreover, European economists say that if cane and
beet sugar could be produced side by side, the cane sugar
at a cost of two cents per pound and the beet sugar at a
cost of four cents per pound, it would be cheaper for the
nation to raise the beet sugar on account of the indirect
agricultural advantages to be obtained through rotating
the land with sugar beets.

Good drainage and deep plowing are necessary in the
cultivation of sugar beets. Instead of the ordinary fur-
row four or five inches deep, it is best to make it ten to
fourteen inches. The reason is that the root of the plant
is fed from the nitrogen of the air and the water from
the soil. Very little nutriment is secured from the soil,

144 THE SUGAR BEET INDUSTRY

the larger part of the beet being water and the nitrogen
which is caught by the leaves and absorbed by the root.
But in the plowing, several methods are employed by
industrious raisers. Some use an ordinary breaking
plow and follow that with another plowing in its furrow,
thus necessitating covering the ground twice. Others use
a subsoiler. This is an attachment which is built into an
ordinary breaking plow and its function is to break up
the subsoil. This leaves the ground loose for the re-
quired distance.

The more progressive farmers are now adopting the
deep tillage plow. This is a late invention that can be
be adjusted to plow from 16 to 24 inches in depth. It
takes from a 12 to 16-inch furrow in width and ac-
complishes its work as fast as the regular plow. By
using the subsoiling method of farming the use of about
three times as much land is possible and the value of the
productive possibilities is enhanced considerably.

The plowing should be done as late in the fall as possi-
ble and the land allowed to lie thus all winter. As soon
as you can get into the fields in the spring give the land
an extra good harrowing, and then cross-harrow it. In
fact, put a garden finish on the field and the work of
seeding will be materially lightened. Every hour and
dollar expended on preparation will be well repaid in the
reduced cost of cultivation later in the season. The man
who plows deep and gives the field a thorough dressing
is sure to get a good crop.

The seeding is done with a special beet drill and the
average distance between the rows is 20 inches. This
is often varied, however, and some fields have given good
yields with the rows only 16 inches apart. Others plant
2 feet apart. It is merely a matter of the productive
capacity of the land and the degree of wealth the farmer
wants from the crop. The drill seeds the land in much

THE SUGAR BEET INDUSTRY 145

the same manner that oats or other small grain is drilled
and the rows show up in the same manner as they do.

The small plants are allowed to grow thus for a period
of 10 days or two weeks and then the farm help go
into the field and commence thinning. This is a double
operation. The first is done with a wide hoe, the work-
men going along a row and at equal spaces cutting out
the intervening plants, thus leaving a small bunch of
plants at regular intervals along the row. This work is
accomplished as soon as possible so that the small plants
will have plenty of room to grow. The second opera-
tion is the thinning of the bunches down to one plant.
The workmen go along to each bunch and pick out all
the plants but the most lively one, and then the most care-
ful attention is given this plant, for if it dies there will
not be time to grow another to maturity in its place. The
beets require as early planting as possible and are sel-
dom harvested before the first frosts.

The cultivation of the beet crop should be given great
care and the attention it needs at the time it needs it.
Beets are cultivated at least once each week by a special
cultivator which handles two rows at each trip across
the field. Shallow cultivation will prove to be the best if
the work is done frequently. It is impossible to cross-
work the field, so it will be necessary to go through the
field about two or three times during the season with the
hoe and cut out all weeds. The elimination of weeds
is necessary to give a proper beet growth.

The beets are harvested as soon as they are ripe by
the use of a lifter. The size of the beets precludes the
possibility of pulling them by hand successfully. It will
be found advisable to clean off the soil to a certain extent
so that no losses may be had through inaccurate tare
weight at the factory. The beets may be left in the field
where thrown out by the lifter until the topping process
can be reached as frost will not have any injurious effect

146 THE SUGAR BEET INDUSTRY

on the sugar values if not repeated too often. Repeated
freezing will ruin the beet as the thawing of the beet
releases a part of the sap and sugar that it carries.

The topping is done with an ordinary knife, the opera-
tion being to cut off the top of the beet so that all the
green sprout is removed. If the topping is not done close
enough the weigher will deduct a percentage for tare on
account of the fact that the green top does not contain
any sugar values. The beet need not be cut square across
but just close enough to remove the green sprouts. After
the beets are topped they are thrown into convenient piles
where they await loading for transportation to the fac-
tory. Generally the order is sent to the grower just
when the factory desires him to start getting in his beets.

In reference to the yields that may be expected it may
be said that the yield will fluctuate in proportion to the
care given the crop. One farmer having just as good
land as the man across the road may only get a third
of the yield owing to his slipshod methods of cultivation.
In figures the minimum is close to six tons to the acre
and the maximum is about 40 tons. The average may
be close to 18 or 20 tons to the acre and at the contract
price of say $5 per ton for 16 per cent beets you can
figure the profits for yourself. This is not taking into
consideration any of the indirect profits which accrue
from this crop. Briefly speaking it may be said that time
and again it has been shown that when beets re-rotated
once each four years with oats, corn and wheat, it in-
creased the yields of the other crops a considerable per
cent. Just why, is a story in itself.

Probably the cheapest fertilizer that you can get for
beet land is the tops after they have been cut off the
beets. Leaving the tops on the ground to rot through the
winter and then plowing them under in the spring will
be found to give a good coat of fertilizer and one that
will be strong enough to nurture the crop. Stable manure

THE SUGAR BEET INDUSTRY 147

is excellent if you have it, but it should be well rotted and
evenly spread over the field. The purchase of com-
mercial fertilizers is made to some extent but the cost of
the product has led to its being slowly adopted. It will
hardly get any lower in price and if you have no fertilizer
of any kind it will probably be best if a small amount is
used. If any other method of fertilizing is available by
all means use that.

The rotation of the crops will be advantageous for it
will give the land a rest each season. The necessities
of the various plants are different. By rotating corn,
wheat and oats after a crop of beets an increase in all the
crops will be found. Some farmers find it profitable to
rotate a crop of potatoes with the small grains. For the
past ioo years the farmers of France have raised sugar
beets and rotated their crops in the above manner and
they have succeeded in building up the once barren
wastes of France into the most productive areas in the
world. The reason given for this is the thorough
cultivation demanded by beets. And then almost uncon-
sciously the same methods are adopted in the farming of
other crops, to the added profit and advantage of the
grower.

The pulp resulting from the extraction of the beet
sugar possesses great feeding values for stock and in
almost all cases it is hauled off by the farmers as soon
as it is thrown out at the factory.

Irrigation by Wells Profitable

No feature of western agriculture, except probably dry
farming, has had as hard a struggle for recognition and
commercial standing as that of irrigation from wells.
Ten years ago it was hooted at as a chimera and a play-
thing. Even today, scores of successful agriculturists
in the west contend that it is utterly impracticable and
unprofitable except in a few favored instances. Well
irrigation has more enthusiastic advocates and more bit-
ter critics than almost any measure affecting the pros-
perity of the west.

About 15 years ago, J. L. Bristow, now a United States
senator from Kansas, sought to interest the farmers of
the central west in a movement for well irrigation. Start-
ing in the midst of a cycle of dry years, the movement
sprang into immediate favor and assumed considerable
proportions. "Pump the underflow!" was Mr. Bris-
tow's slogan. Subsequent wet years rather checked the
movement as a country-wide proposition, yet much of the
well irrigation in western Kansas and Nebraska and in
Colorado of today may be traced back to Bristow's plan
to redeem the entire west from the drought tyrant.

Following this movement, the government, a few years
later, began experiments which resulted in the institu-
tion of a reclamation project at Garden City, Kan., the
source of water supply being the underflow of the Ar-
kansas River. This is now the most extensive well irri-
gation district in the United States. More than 250 wells
are drained by electric power generated at a central
power plant. The wells are in 28 groups, a pumping

148

IRRIGATION BY WELLS PROFITABLE 149

station being maintained at each group. The series of
stations cover a distance of five miles, the water flowing
into a huge concrete conduit, which carries it to the
laterals radiating into the fields. About 10,000 acres of
land are watered from this plant, mostly devoted to sugar
beets and alfalfa. The cost of the water to the farmers
is $3 an acre yearly, with some small fees additional, and
after a series of years, following the plan of all gov-
ernment projects, the great system will become the prop-
erty of the landowners.

At the time of the Bristow movement, not 500 acres
in the United States were under well irrigation. Now
the area so irrigated, including rice irrigation in Louisiana
and Texas, is 750,000 acres. In California alone 200,000
are under water from wells, the lift in many places be-
ing as much as 200 feet. Critics of the new departure
contend that water cannot possibly be lifted more than
20 or 30 feet at any profit. California agriculturists,
however, lift water up to 200 feet, carry it for miles in
cement ditches, and find the growing of alfalfa, which
sells for $15 a ton, profitable. Barley, wheat and all
manner of crops are grown with this same expensive
water — water which costs from $5 to $10, and even as
high as $15 an acre for the year.

In portions of the rice-growing sections of the South,
water from wells is now used for flooding, in places, in
preference to bayou or creek water. In the rice coun-
ties of Arkansas wells furnish the water exclusively for
a profitable industry. Rice culture requires many times
the amount of water necessary for ordinary irrigation,
but the crop is highly remunerative, thus making prac-
ticable the heavy cost of pumping.

It is manifest that large works, like the Garden City
project, would only be feasible where large bodies of
subterranean water exist. Such underflows, however, are
not unusual, and in practically every region the ordinary

150 IRRIGATION BY WELLS PROFITABLE

well is available. True, the depth to the water varies
and is often great and the supply may not be inexhaust-
ible, but each in its degree will aid in the growth of crops,
and is a valuable acquisition to any farm where the supply
of moisture is inadequate.

Well irrigation is especially adapted to small tracts
of from 20 to 40 acres, but like all enterprises, large
operations can usually be conducted more economically
than small ones. Given the possibility of securing a good
well, it costs approximately $25 an acre to place small
tracts under such irrigation. In a section in New Mexico
where a strong underflow is encountered at depths vary-
ing from 15 to 100 feet, it is calculated that a plant can
be installed for $2,000 which will be capable of water-
ing 200 acres. The annual cost of operation will average
smaller as the scale of operations increases. There are,
however, many advantages for the small farmer, and in
the end his profits will doubtless be large.

Power is the most important and the most expensive
item to take account of. Where electricity is unavailable,
gasoline engines must be resorted to and the high cost
of fuel, especially in the remote localities, is a serious
obstacle. In this New Mexico locality it costs from $3
to $4 an acre foot to produce water, and under present
conditions 2 feet or more are necessary to produce a
crop. The endeavor now is to combine the irrigation
and dry farming methods, thus reducing the quantity of
water necessary. Wind power is used to some extent
and is less expensive than any other, but it can only be
utilized in connection with large storage tanks or reser-
voirs. It often happens that the wind ceases to blow
just the time when water is most needed.

Advantages of Concrete on Farms

Farmers of all classes will find it profitable to have con-
crete buildings, troughs, tanks and walks on their prem-
ises.

Persons starting in agriculture should not neglect the
opportunity to have substantial and fireproof structures.
It is easy to go ahead on this line from the beginning,
though hard to change after a start has been made with
frame buildings.

Concrete is as cheap as lumber for building purposes,
and even cheaper, if sand, gravel and labor are largely
furnished on the place. An ordinary farm hand will be-
come expert in the use of concrete with a few days' expe-
rience.

Silos, barns and other buildings made of this material
are much safer than wood against fire and storm. There
is satisfaction in knowing that live stock, machinery and
crops are not in danger of being destroyed by the flames.
It is a pleasure also to have the snug shelter and
tasty appearance that may be obtained from cement
construction.

The largest part of concrete is the gravel or crushed
stone. This should be clean; that is, free from loam,
clay or vegetable*matter. The best results are obtained
from a mixture of sizes graded from the smallest, which
is retained on a one-fourth inch screen, to the larger ones
that will pass a one and one-half inch ring. For heavy
foundation and abutment work, larger sized pebbles and
stones might be used, while for reinforced concrete work

151

152 ADVANTAGES OF CONCRETE ON FARMS

pebbles larger than those passing a one inch ring should
not be used.

In the selection of sand the greatest care should be
used, and critical attention should be given to its quality,
for sand contributes from one-third to one-half of the
amount of the materials used in making concrete. Sand
may be considered as including all grains and small peb-
bles that will pass through a wire screen with one-fourth
inch meshes, while gravel in general is the pebbles and
stones retained upon such a screen. The sand should be
clean, coarse, and, if possible, free from loam, clay and
vegetable matter.

In mixing materials for concrete use two and a half
times as much sand as Portland cement, and twice as
much gravel or stone as sand — that is, one part cement,
two and a half parts sand and five parts gravel or
crushed stone. Use just enough water to get the consist-
ency desired. If the sand is very fine the cement should
be increased from 10 to 15 per cent. When the mixture
does not have a uniform color, but looks streaky, it has
not been fully mixed.

If the mixture does not work well and the sand and
cement do not fill the voids in the stone, the percentage
of stone should be reduced slightly, but the concrete
should first be properly mixed. Concrete that is poorly
mixed may present features that are entirely eliminated
by turning it over once or twice more.

Concrete wet enough to be mushy and run off a shovel
when being handled is used for reinforced work, thin
walls, or other thin sections. Concrete just wet enough
to make it jellylike is used for some reinforced work and
also for foundations, floors, etc. It requires ramming
with a tamper to remove air bubbles and to fill voids.
This concrete is of a medium consistency.

Sometimes bank or creek gravel, which will answer
the purpose of sand and gravel combined, can be ob-

ADVANTAGES OF CONCRETE ON FARMS 153

tained, and it is frequently used on the farm and in small
jobs of concrete work just as it comes from the pit or
creek. Occasionally this gravel contains nearly the right
proportions of sand and gravel, but in the majority of
sand pits and gravel banks there is a great variation in
the sizes of the grains and pebbles or gravel and in the
quantities of each. This is due to the fact that all the
deposits are formed in seams or pockets that make it im-
possible to secure anything like uniformity. Therefore,
to get the best and cheapest concrete, it is advisable to
screen the sand and gravel and to remix them in the cor-
rect proportions.

Dirty sand makes a weak concrete. Crushed rock is
much better than screened gravel because of the rougher
edges.

As a test of sand, rub it in the hand and if there is
much dirt left on the hand discard that sand.

If, when a large handful of the same is thrown into a
pail of water, it leaves the water muddy, discard it.

Following are the four recognized mixtures for con-
crete :

Rich mixture — One part Portland cement, two parts
of clean, coarse sand, four parts of crushed rock. This
is used for floors, fence posts, and the like.

Medium mixture — One-half and one and two-fifths
parts respectively of cement, sand and crushed rock.
This mixture is used for walks and thin walls.

Ordinary mixture — 1-3-6 for heavy walls, piers, abut-
ments, etc.

Lean mixture — 1-4-8 for footings and in places where
volume and not great strength is needed.

When gravel is used, the proportions are one part of
cement and from six to nine parts of gravel, according to
the amount of sand in the gravel.

To make one cubic yard of concrete the following
respective amounts of cement are required: Rich mix-

154 ADVANTAGES OF CONCRETE ON FARMS

ture one and one-half barrels ; medium mixture one and
one- fourth barrels ; ordinary mixture one and one-eighth
barrels ; lean mixture seven-eighths of a barrel.

In construction work such as floors, barns, fence posts,
bridges, reinforcements of iron are absolutely necessary.
The beginner will need the supervision of an expert in
using reinforcements.

Measure exact amounts for each part. Mix thor-
oughly and not too long before applying the water.
Cement will set in 20 or 30 minutes and if disturbed after
that loses its strength.

Spread the sand and cement on a mixing board and
mix thoroughly, adding enough water when mixed to
bring the mixture to the consistency of mortar.

Add the proper quantity of crushed rock and mix all
together, after which it is ready for use. In this manner
the sand grains are all covered with the finer particles of
cement and the crushed rock when added has all the
voids filled with temperate mixture. This undoubtedly
gives the greatest strength for materials used.

A very common method, however, is to mix all three
parts at once while yet dry and then to mix with water
until the mixture will pack well, and handle with a
shovel.

Get the form walls rigid and do not use lumber that is
too dry, as it takes up moisture and changes its shape so
as to injure the concrete in setting.

Do not allow concrete work to dry out fast, as cracks
will appear. It should be protected from the sun for
three or five days and sprinkled with water to insure even
setting throughout the concrete.

In two weeks concrete gains strength sufficient for ordi-
nary use, but 60 days should elapse before it is given a
full load.

Important Points in Building Silos

It is a common mistake in building silos to construct
them without sufficient depth of foundation. In northern
states the frost line may be five feet from the surface, and
unless the wall is put down to this depth, the structure is
apt to be thrown out of plumb and possibly ruined at the
breaking up of winter.

The weight of the silo walls makes little difference, but
the damage is most serious where cement or brick has
been used. Even with wooden frames there is no reason
why the foundation should not be five feet or more in
depth. The silo itself may be dug to any reasonable
depth in the ground, so far as preservation of fodder is
concerned. There is no material damage from water set-
tling at the bottom, most of the liquid being held in the
silage. This is merely a question of convenience, and it
would seem wise to make the cavity as low as it is neces-
sary to put the walls — that is, three to five feet.

Farmers are turning from wooden silos to those of
cement and brick, in order to gain security, many of the
lighter structures having been destroyed by wind. They
do not gain security, however, unless the foundation is
right, and as the average cost is higher with cement or
brick, it seems like a foolish risk to have any but the most
durable work.

In nearly every case where silo walls are seen to be
cracked or out of plumb, it will be found the trouble
started with a poor foundation. The necessity of making
repairs in a new silo is not only aggravating but it is
expensive, if thoroughly done.

155

156 SILOS

There are other features of silo building which deserve
consideration in order to prevent early damage. In brick
construction there is danger of rushing the work too fast
to allow for settling. A small affair like a silo goes up
quickly with two or three skillful men on the job, and the
walls will settle perceptibly for days after the job is com-
pleted. This rapid construction should not be allowed.
There is little of this kind of danger in building walls for
a large house or store.

The quality of the brick is worth mentioning also. A
number of cases are known where brick plants were
started up in a convenient place to supply the commodity
in a hurry to a few transient customers. When it was too
late, it was found that there was considerable lime in the
clay, as a result of which the wall cracked in a short time,
and much loss followed. It is economy to use brick of a
high grade.

Those building wooden silos need to look well to the
foundations also. Where it can be done without incon-
venience, the silo should be placed south or east of the
barn, to lessen the danger from wind. It is possible to
anchor one of these lighter structures with three or four
iron rods. Such an addition to the expense of construc-
tion is not more than $10 or $15, and it may save the silo
from destruction in case of a heavy storm. No invest-
ment on the farm makes bigger returns than that em-
ployed in providing a good silo, but without proper
construction money is wasted instead of being gained.

For the past fifteen years, practically all silos built have
been round in shape, and this is the only style to be rec-
ommended at present. The essential things in silo con-
struction are to have an air-tight wall, smooth on the
inside so the silage can settle properly, and a structure
sufficiently strong to hold the enormous pressure of the
silage, and durable enough so that it will not be necessary
to replace it for some time. Successful silos have been

SILOS 157

built in a variety of ways and of a variety of materials,
including wooden staves, concrete, wood plastered with
cement, stone, wood, brick, iron and tile. It is not the
purpose in this article to give details for construction of
silos, but rather to give information regarding the sub-
ject in general and the advantages of the first three types
mentioned.

The most common silo found in America is that known
as the stave silo. This is built on the plan of a stave
water tank. It is purchased ready to put together, requir-
ing only that the foundation be made. A foundation is
built of concrete. The walls should be about eight inches
thick. A stave silo 16x32 feet will cost about $300. The
foundation is not included in this estimate. The cost of
a concrete block or solid wall silo of the size given is
from $300 to $500.

The concrete silo may be built of blocks or with solid

walls. The latter is sometimes called monolithic. The

kind most to be recommended is the solid wall structure.

The advantages of a concrete silo are that when once

properly built it is a permanent structure, and is not

damaged by fire or wind, or from drying out. It does

not preserve the silage any better than does one with a

wall of wood. On the other hand, if the concrete wall is

properly constructed, so that the air is kept out, the silage

will be preserved in perfect condition. The objections

that are often raised to the concrete silo, especially by

those interested in the sale of the stave silo, are that it

will crack and fall down, and, furthermore, that it will

not preserve the silage. It is quite true that both these

conditions have been met with in many cases. If the

structure is properly reinforced, there is not the least

danger of it cracking or falling down. If the walls are

made of a mixture containing sufficient cement, so that

the wall is not too porous, the silage does not spoil. It

requires some skill to properly build a concrete silo. A

158 SILOS

farmer who has had no experience in concrete work
should secure the assistance of some one who has had
such experience before attempting to build a concrete
silo. Cement blocks may be bought in all parts of the
country, and they enable a farmer to put up a silo in a
few days, at moderate cost.

The two things to be especially regarded in building the
concrete silo are to have an abundance of iron for rein-
forcement and sufficient cement in the mixture to make
the walls impervious to air. It is a good plan to go over
the inside wall of a concrete silo each year, or at least
every second year, before filling with a mixture of cement
and water. The mixture should be about the consistency
of whitewash. This helps to close up the pores of the
wall and to exclude the air. If a concrete silo stands
empty during the summer, the walls become very dry.
When the moist silage is put in, the walls absorb the
moisture from the silage. This may result in white
mould forming near the outer edge. This condition,
when present, indicates that the concrete has been made
too porous. The trouble may be avoided, in case the wall
has been made too porous, by applying the cement and
water mixture as described. It is also well, where the
concrete has been made too porous, to wet the walls with
water as the silage is put in, to prevent the absorption of
water from the silage.

The forms for building a concrete silo cost about $50.
It is desirable for a number of farmers to club together
and build the forms. One set of forms may be used for
several silos, and in this way the cost of construction can
be reduced.

Chance for Big Profits in Novelties

With a keen market demand for vegetables and fruit,
farmers have a chance to secure far larger profits than
they can gain from grain growing or dairying.

Mixed agriculture is the need of the times, with smaller
farms and better cultivation. There should be the great-
est possible range of production when markets are easily
reached. Farmers and their sons and daughters should
aim to produce novelties, or at least articles which are
not commonly understood by landowners, and for which
good prices are paid.

A few gardeners make a large profit from salsify, some-
times called vegetable oyster. This is one of the
neglected products for which there is a quick sale. Many
prefer it to the oyster, whose flavor it has a hint of, with
all the disagreeable features of the bivalve flavor left out.

It can be cooked in many ways. As a soup, served with
bread or crackers, it is delicious. Fried, either by itself
or in a batter, it is quite as appetizing as the real oyster
when cooked in that way.

Boiled, sliced lengthwise when tender, and fried in but-
ter, like the parsnip, it soon becomes a favorite.

Especially is salsify a valuable addition to our some-
what limited list of winter vegetables, because it can be
dug in the fall and stored in the cellar, or it can be left
in the ground over winter and dug in the spring, when
it will be found deliciously fresh and of fine flavor.

The culture of this plant is of the simplest. It likes a
rich garden loam, made mellow to the depth of a foot and
a half. Sow it in rows for convenience in cultivating,

159

160 CHANCE FOR BIG PROFITS

and keep down the weeds. If the seedlings stand too
thick in the rows, thin them out so that the plants will be
at least two inches apart. Sow early in the season.

Watch the catalogues of reliable seed houses for nov-
elties. The Trophy marked a new era in tomatoes, and
was really the first with smooth exterior and solid inside.
We had had smooth tomatoes before, but they had big
seed hollows inside, and all that we had with solid meat
were very rough, like the mammoth Chihuahua.

But the production of the Trophy was a success,
because it put this solid tomato inside a smooth skin, and
ever since it has been the effort of breeders to keep it
there. The best efforts of the breeders should now be
devoted to the maintenance of the earliness of the extra
early sorts, with increased smoothness. This has been
attained in the Earliana, Globe, Success and others.

Then there are the cucumbers, of which every seeds-
man has his special strain. Of these I have found that
there is nothing better than the combination of the White
Spine and Long Green, known as the Davis Perfect. It
is longer and slimmer than the White Spine, and earlier
than the Long Green, and in my opinion deserves its
name.

Never follow the fall crop of lettuce with lettuce, for
it is sure to be attacked by the wilt. This crop needs a
change of soil as often as possible. It is easy to raise let-
tuce in the winter in a room that has an even and moder-
ate temperature. This is better than midsummer lettuce
and sells at fancy figures. Lettuce is raised with least
trouble in spring and fall.

When soil can be worked in the spring, lettuce, rad-
ishes, onions and peas should be planted in the open gar-
den. All of these can stand considerable frost. It is
well to put in some early potatoes. The early vegetables
bring big profits.

The Logan berry, a hybrid of the blackberry and rasp-

CHANCE FOR BIG PROFITS 161

berry, is getting a start. This fruit is originated by
Judge Logan, of Santa Cruz, Cal. It is proving to be the
easiest and best producing berry that can be grown on the
Pacific coast. It is especially free from disease, is a rank
grower, and yields enormously. It is steadily gaining in
favor with the lady experts of cooking. It is especially
adapted for pie cooking and jam. It is one of the many
twentieth-century agricultural achievements.

Many products now generally overlooked can be turned
into cash. Seven children in one family in Areola, 111.,
made $300 one winter peeling broomcorn stalks and sell-
ing the pith to warehouses, there to be shipped to jewelers
and watch factories. It is used by them for cleaning
their wares. It contains no grit nor hard fiber, and will
absorb oil or dirt without danger of scratching. Quite
a number of the women and children around Areola
make some money on the side this way every winter.

After the crop is harvested, the women and children
gather armfuls of the stalks and pile them up back of
the house to dry. Then, during the evenings or on rainy
days, they peel one joint at a time and take out the clean,
white pith. This is made up into round bundles, holding
two or three pounds each, but nearly as large as a wash-
tub. The price received is 25 cents a pound. There is not
a large or unlimited demand for this material, but it pays
quite a few dollars each wTinter into the pockets of the
Areola people.

The dasheen, like the potato, is a native of South
America, but is not a member of the botanical group of
plants to which the potato, tomato, eggplant and pepper
belong. It is closely related to the tanier of the southern
United States and the taro of Hawaii.

It is said that dasheens are even more nourishing than
the potato. In flavor they suggest boiled chestnuts. At the
recent annual banquet of the National Geographical
Society, their edible qualities were thoroughly tested.

162 CHANCE FOR BIG PROFITS

They have also received a favorable report of the house
committee of a well-known New York club. It is de-
clared that half an acre in Florida yielded 225 bushels of
dasheens, which were richer in flavor than baked
potatoes.

The woman who does not raise her own strawberries
is losing a lot of pleasure, for they grow so rapidly and
so luxuriantly, as if they thought to be allowed to live
were a grand privilege, and it is rare sport to watch
them.

Sauerkraut is easily made on the farm, and pays well.
There are two essentials which must be observed in mak-
ing sauerkraut : First, it must be remembered that if too
much salt is used, the kraut will not sour as it should,
and the quality will be impaired.

Again, some salt must be used in order to preserve the
cabbage till it sours sufficiently to preserve itself. When
kraut gets sour, it is like pickles, and there will be no
further decay.

To make the best kraut, a slicer should be used, though
it may be sliced with a knife, coarse, or fine, as suits your
taste.

Use a clean barrel or jar, put in a layer of cabbage, cut
fine, then a little salt, using not more than a quart of salt
to a 40-gallon barrel of kraut.

If you like the flavor, add a little dill seed or caraway.
When the vessel is full, fit a clean board inside, and
weight with a clean stone, never a piece of iron.

If your cabbage is early, and going to waste while it is
yet warm, make the kraut and keep in a cool cellar.

This early kraut will rot a little on top. Remove this
every few days, and wash off the inside of the barrel and
weight with warm water, to remove the germs of decay.

Weeds, herbs and roots have a market value that is
surprising to persons who do not happen to have informa-
tion on the subject. Wholesale drug houses quite gener-

CHANCE FOR BIG PROFITS 163

ally buy these things, and any local druggist is able to
give the address of a reliable firm to whom such plants
may be sent. The following prices per pound are quoted :

Cents

Bayberry bark 4

Beeswax, prime yellow 29

Black haw bark of root 12

Bloodroot 6

Cherry bark, thin 7

Clover tops (red) 5^2

Cohosh root (black) 2T/2

Culvers or black root 8 J/2

Elm bark, select slabs 12

Ginseng root $3 to $5

Goldenseal root $4

Honey, pure Sp. Needle 7

Ladyslipper 18

May apple root AZA

Pink root 25

Poke root 4

Prickly ash bark, Northern 15

Sassafras bark of root 10^2

Senega, Northern 45

Snakeroot button

Snakeroot, Texas (Serpentaria) 25

Spikenard root 12

Wahoo bark of root 30

White pine bark 3/^

White poplar bark

Wild ginger 12

Yellow dock root 3/^

Full directions as to how to cure medicinal plants and
prepare them for market will be sent by the purchasers
of herbs to any person seeking the information.

Pin Money in Pickles

Pickles come only partly by nature — they are born of
work and worry. But they fetch in money — if the work
and worry are properly expended. Notwithstanding the
efforts of the professional pickle growers, there is every
season more and more room for the non-professional. If
the non-professional is a woman with a knack of season-
ing and a dozen or so time-honored and individual familv
recipes, she may treble her profits by herself putting up
the yield of the pickle garden. If she lacks time or
strength or skill or facilities for that, she can at least put
the pickles in brine or sell them fresh-cut to her neigh-
bors, the handy huckster or her nearest grocer.

In planning a pickle garden, first look over your
ground — this literally and metaphorically. The literal
side has to do with site and soil ; the metaphorical one
concerns the possible demand for the supply to be created
or the possibilities of creating a new demand for some-
thing different. Pickles worth eating are worth also a
fair price. Resolve to be satisfied with nothing less.
Take account here of individual taste. Hearty laborers
relish big salt green cucumbers, but sniff disdain of fancy
relishes and unwonted tangs or mixed flavors, such as the
mangoes and picalilli, whose appeal to educated palates is
irresistible.

If the soil of the pickle garden is thin, it had better be
devoted to cucumbers. The long green variety is best ; it
can be cut at little-finger length, or left until almost full
grown, and still be marketable. Have the ground made
light and fine.

164

PIN MONEY IN PICKLES 165

Keep the hills light and clean, also the whole space
between them. Plows can run between the hills until
the vines begin to spread. Once they fairly cover the
earth, what grass comes up will not hurt them. Rooted
in the rich hills, they can easily give odds to anything
growing in poor soil. When plowing is no longer pos-
sible, a little hoe work and hand-weeding may be in order,
but take care neither to bruise the vines nor to throw
loose dirt upon the leaves, especially while the dew is on.

Unless there is a ready market close at hand, get the
brine barrel ready as soon as the first flowers appear. It
must be clean and sweet before the brine goes in — old
pork and fish barrels always taint their later contents.
Empty whisky barrels or molasses barrels do excellently,
but should be well painted outside with red lead, to pre-
vent the ravages of wood worms. Make the brine of soft
water and clean salt, strong enough to float an egg. A
little brown sugar or molasses improves the keeping qual-
ity. Bring it to a boil, and skim clean after everything
is dissolved. Pour it into the barrel boiling hot, let stand
a day, and skim again before putting in pickles.

The net result is very nearly the same whether the
pickles are cut small or at full growth. Decide in the
beginning which size it shall be, and stick to the decision.
Cut the pickles every morning, while the dew is on —
thus they are plump and cool, in the best condition for
keeping. Use very sharp shears for clipping, and take
care to leave the least bit of stalk to each pickle, but
never to wound, bruise or break the vine. If by accident
a vine is bruised or torn, cut it off remorselessly, so it
shall not decay and set up disease in the whole plant.
Be careful of bruising the pickles. In washing, use
plenty of water, and drain them well before putting them
into the brine. Keep a weighted wooden cover floating
on top of the brine, thus insuring that the pickles shall
stay covered. Put only one sort and size of pickle into a

166 PIN MONEY IN PICKLES

vessel. If saving various sorts, use brine crocks instead
of a barrel, thus making separation easy.

Gherkins, or prickly cucumbers, are grown in the same
way, and yield enormously. The vines are hardier than
those of the cucumber, will endure more handling, and
bear a third more fruit. They need to be carefully
watched, as old gherkins are hard and tough. In cutting
them, snip about half way the long fruit stalk. Never
lift a vine of anything from the ground in cutting. No
matter how carefully the lifting is done, the laying down
disturbs tendrils and fibers.

String beans make excellent pickles. Plant and tend
as though for boiling, pick when the beans are just fairly
forming, wash and put in brine. The curious plant known
as the Martynia bears seed pods well worth pickling. So
does the nasturtium, if given a cool, moist, very rich
place to grow. Both make excellent substitutes for
capers. They are not, however, very well worth while
commercially, unless one puts up pickles one's self for a
special trade.

Green peppers are fine for pickling, especially in man-
goes. Use the big bullnose sort, and clip the pods with
longish stalks just as they are on the point of turning red.
Muskmelons, both long and round, can be pickled at all
stages, from the size of an egg to the edge of ripeness.
When full grown, it is best to cut out a segment and
scrape away the seed before putting them in brine. If
they are meant for mango-making, tie in the cut piece
with a soft string, and pack them well down toward the
bottom of the barrel or crock.

Do not plant muskmelons, cucumbers and gherkins side
by side in a pickle garden — bees will carry pollen back
and forth, tainting each with the blood of the other.
With space for all three, keep them apart, planting them
at opposite edges of the garden, with beans or cabbage
or cauliflower in between. Cauliflower in itself is an

PIN MONEY IN PICKLES 167

excellent pickle. It can be put in brine the same as any-
thing else. Very young corn, with grain unfilled, makes
a pickle much relished by not a few epicures.

There is good money in freshly cut cucumbers at 50
cents a peck. This is for the big fellows. Very small
ones, adapted to fine work, should be worth three times
as much, and the intermediate sizes, a finger length and
under, 75 cents to $1 the peck. In brine, pickles are
commonly sold in bulk. Barrel prices vary tremen-
dously according to the season, but are seldom low
enough to prevent a fair margin of profit.

Too much cannot be said about the opportunity for
profit in growing cauliflowers. The market desires snowy
white heads, so that protection is universally practiced to
accomplish this purpose. Three methods are used : ( 1 )
the breaking of half a dozen or more leaves over the top
of the cauliflower head. The stems of the leaves are not
severed entirely, so that the leaves remain green. (2)
Breaking or bending over the leaves as just explained,
and pinning with toothpicks or small pins. This is a very
satisfactory method for all sections. (3) Bringing the
leaves together over the head and tying. This is an ex-
cellent plan, but requires more time than securing with
the toothpicks. The protection should begin when the
heads are about an inch and a half in diameter. Cauli-
flower is considered a delicacy on most tables, and it
pays to exercise special care in the marketing. Although
barrels are often used, crates or baskets are better. A
package which will not hold more than a dozen or, at
most, two dozen heads, certainly has an advantage over
the barrels.

The Lowly Onion a Profitable Crop

Onions are to be classed among the surest and most
profitable of crops. There is a constant demand for
them at prices which give a return of $200 to $400 an
acre. It is a product that the beginner need not fear to
experiment with to the extent of several acres.

Seed onions are of better flavor and keep longer and
are more profitable to grow than sets, though some fail to
grow them in the home garden because they are more
difficult to keep clear of weeds.

The best way to grow onions from seed is by sowing
the seed in a bed or cold frame early in the season and
transplanting later to the row where they are to grow.
A small section of the hotbed will grow 1,000 plants till
they are the size of quills, or they can be crowded. By
that time the ground will be warm, and all seed will have
germinated so that the plants may be set in clean ground
that has been worked over to kill all the young weeds.

If one lacks for room in the hotbed, the seed may be
sown in a sheltered place — an old brush heap, ash bed, or
some place where the soil is good. If there is room to
sow the seed in drills six inches apart, they may be
worked some to keep them growing before they are
transplanted.

When ready to transplant them, wet the ground and
pull the plants and then cut off about half the top and
slightly tip the roots. Set the plants from two to three
inches apart in the row and in rows fifteen inches apart.
If very dry, use water when transplanting, and every one
will live.

168

LOWLY ONION A PROFITABLE CROP 169

If the soil has been well fertilized with stable manure
or poultry droppings, and worked over several times
before the onions are transplanted to the rows, there will
be but few weeds to contend with, and the plants will not
be checked in growth.

Onions should follow potatoes, beans or corn. The
land should be well plowed in the autumn, disked and
harrowed in the spring, until it is as fine as garden soil.

Always manure heavily before breaking up the land in
the fall. On new land, cowpeas are excellent for bringing
the land into shape.

Onions should be grown under a system of crop rota-
tion, but the crops used in the rotation must be those that
will not exhaust the high fertility necessary to onions.

One of the most important things in onion culture is
to mix the fertilizer with the soil. On land that is not
thoroughly drained, plow in beds, leaving a double furrow
between the beds to carry off surplus water.

The disk harrow puts the land in fine condition after
it has been thoroughly plowed in the fall. Never use
manure, except that which is well rotted. Bermuda onion
growers use as high as twenty tons of sheep and goat
manure per acre every three years. Often, in addition to
this, they use 1,000 to 2,000 pounds of cottonseed meal,
and sometimes a top dressing of nitrate of soda.

Seed is sown as early in the spring as possible, but
never before the land is in the best possible condition.
Seed may be sown by hand drills in rows from twelve to
fourteen inches apart. Where horse culture is employed,
the distance should be at least two feet. It requires about
four pounds of seed per acre where it is drilled fourteen
inches apart.

As soon as the plants are growing well, the cultivator
should be started and kept going in order to keep the soil
in good condition and to prevent weeds.

A great deal of the art in securing a large yield

170 LOWLY ONION A PROFITABLE CROP

depends upon the quality of the seed. It has been found
in some districts that home-grown seed from selected
bulbs is to be preferred to seed secured from seedsmen or
from foreign markets.

Cultivation should be more or less continuous from the
time the plants show above ground until the crop matures.
Some growers make a practice of cultivating the land
once each week. This cultivation should be with either
a wheel hoe or the so-called hand cultivator. The onion
is a more or less shallow feeder, so that cultivation should
only be to a depth of from an inch and a half to two
inches. From two to three hand weedings are usually
necessary. It is quite possible that a certain amount of
thinning would be advisable.

The yields obtained on the soils that are adapted to the
cultivation of the onion are from 250 to 450 bushels per
acre.

From five to eight acres is all that one farmer should
expect to care for during the season.

Many gardeners do not properly estimate the advan-
tage of thinning their crops. If this plan were strictly ad-
hered to, the yield would be increased and the quality
greatly improved.

Give More Attention to Fruit

There should be a more general production of fruit in
the central states. This can be made one of the best
features of mixed farming. Market advantages in the
middle states, surrounding the larger cities, exceed those
of the newer western states and climatic difficulties are
much the same in one section as another. Apples, pears,
cherries, plums and berries give a larger profit per acre
than almost any other farm product.

Experts state that more money can be made per acre
from apples and cherries in the central states than in the
mountainous sections farther west. The older states are
far ahead in market advantages and are practically equal
in soil and climate.

Horticulture has been pushed aside by the dairy inter-
est in some of the middle states. This is a mistaken
policy which should be changed. The great cash markets
and cheap and convenient transportation ought to mean
more than they do to those farmers who are devoting
their energies to a single interest. They enable land
owners to diversify their crops and place their affairs on
a business basis.

The stories of orchard possibilities in the lake region
are not imaginary. Some of the big successes in horti-
culture have been achieved around Lake Superior, where
climate and soil are thought to be less favorable than in
localities farther south.

There are many localities where orchards exist, but
where fruit production is not equal to the home consump-
tion. Farmers owe it to themselves, to change this condi-

171

172 GIVE MORE ATTENTION TO FRUIT

tion and make their orchards a source of pleasure and
profit. A little intelligent care will enable them to do so.

It is the tendency of large farmers everywhere who
have their minds given up to grain or dairying to over-
look such matters as spraying their orchards, pruning,
mulching, etc. The small land owner does better with his
fruit.

About sixty trees to the acre are sufficient. They
should be purchased from the nurseries when one or two
years old and placed in even rows on land that has been
thoroughly fitted for the purpose. Any fair quality of
loam will answer the requirements of an orchard, but,
if possible, the owner should select a piece of land that
has a clay subsoil, twelve to eighteen inches below the sur-
face. He should avoid gravelly land, because it does not
permit tree roots to obtain sufficient hold, and it carries
off the water too closely. It is necessary to plow in plenty
of barnyard fertilizer and cultivate thoroughly before
planting.

It is feasible to use the orchard either for gardening or
the growing of common leguminous crops. This makes
the land pay something while the trees are maturing, and
is good for the soil. The rows of trees should be far
enough apart so that a team with plow or harrow may be
used.

Therefore it is worth while in localities where horticul-
ture is not flourishing to make a more thorough test of
methods for guarding the fruit crop than has been made
by farmers generally. Twice in ten years, in some
regions, owners of orchards have lost apple and cherry
crops by freezing weather late in the spring. This is one
crop in five lost through unfavorable climatic conditions,
and it would be discouraging but for the facts that four
successful crops in five years make fruit highly profitable,
and that such losses are, to a great extent, preventable.

The practical farmer will take steps to see that his trees

GIVE MORE ATTENTION TO FRUIT 173

are not frosted while budding. A cheap oil heater is
made for this work. The total expense of providing
heaters for an orchard of ten acres would not exceed
$300. They would not be used more than two or three
nights in the year, and therefore the outlay for oil would
be trifling.

Another excellent plan that I have tried is to raise the
temperature on a cold night with smudge fires. This
is only necessary when a freeze sets in after the trees
have shown their blossoms. A little ridge of dry manure
or rubbish should be placed around the orchard, or at
least on the windward side, with possibly a line or two
of it through the center, in case of a sharp frost. The
material to be burned is to be almost covered with dirt,
in order to make a slow flame. In the evening, if it looks
like a frosty night, start the fires and keep the tempera-
ture up to the point of safety. This may be a sort of
mean job for a night or two, but the result will justify
the effort — and it is a job that may not have to be per-
formed more than once in five years. Keep a thermome-
ter in the orchard.

Frost is so apt to come during the budding period, that
farmers and orchardists have a keen appreciation of the
danger which confronts them, and yet few have any
definite method of guarding their interests in this par-
ticular. Thousands of neglected and worthless orchards
in the middle west, particularly in the lake regions, show
that owners have become discouraged through periodical
losses. When we consider that an acre of fruit is worth
from $200 to $400, the trouble of keeping up a few little
fires around the orchard for six or eight hours seems
trifling.

Spraying the trees in October and during the budding
period in the spring is necessary to keep the orchard free
of insect pests, which are ruinous if allowed to work.
Pruning is another essential to give the trees uniformity

174 GIVE MORE ATTENTION TO FRUIT

and to prevent them getting too much height or develop-
ing abnormal growths.

In many cases it will be found that the old trees have
exhausted practically all the available nutritive material
contained in the soil, and they need considerable nitrogen
in order to produce new wood and to put new vigor into
them, and therefore they will stand lots of stable manure.
But if they were young, bearing trees in their prime they
would need only a light dressing of manure.

While the actual fertilizing material contained in a ton
of average stable manure is small, not much above
twenty-eight pounds, if lime is not considered, it is a
great humus producer. Humus adds lots of moisture,
and humus and moisture working together release the
nutritive material already in the soil and put it in shape
so that those little hungry feed roots can gather it in and
send it on its mission of supplying leaf, bud and branch
with life and vigor.

If one should want quicker and better results than just
stable manure alone will give, phosphate rock, ground
bone and potash may be added in the proportion of ioo
pounds of phosphate, 200 pounds of ground bone and 100
pounds of potash, but the user will have to be the judge
of just how much to apply to the acre, as there are so
many different conditions to be taken into consideration
that the same quantity will not answer for all.

As cultivation is needed anyway, it is well to raise
vegetables in the orchard, thus making the land pay a
good acreage profit even if the fruit has a bad season.
Weeds are to be kept out of an orchard as zealously as
out of a garden. It is also important that we practice a
good system of shallow cultivation in young orchards.
The trees respond to good tillage just as the corn and
other cultivated crops do. Barn-yard manure, cowpeas
and clover are three great fall cover crops for a young
orchard. Trees ought to stand about thirty feet apart.

GIVE MORE ATTENTION TO FRUIT 175

Good drainage is important in the apple orchard as else-
where. The apple does not like "wet feet." For that
simple reason it succeeds more often on naturally well-
drained rolling land than in low, soggy places.

Just after the leaf buds in the spring and before the
blossom buds open the old orchard should be given a
good spraying with the regular Bordeaux mixture and
paris green, or lime-sulphur and arsenate of lead ; another
one just after the blossoms drop, and a third some time
later if troubled with the coddling moth, which is almost
sure to be the case in an old orchard. This fight against
the coddling moth must be unrelenting. The worm is
migratory, traveling surprising distances in its work of
destruction. Spraying should be done in any part of the
season when pests are seen. A spraying after the fruit
has been gathered in the fall is recommended in orchards
where pests are numerous.

Constant cultivation of old orchards has taken from
the soil mineral elements that must be supplied by arti-
ficial means. This soil was at one time rich in vegetable
and mineral matter, and the trees yielded an abundance
of fine apples. Soil and climatic change is not an un-
common occurrence, and experiments have been made to
introduce the right trees and to improve the soil.

The Northwest requires trees of a very rugged nature,
and they can be adapted to the soil by experiments. We
need more of this work by farmers and practical or-
chardists. Too much is left to the experiment stations,
the nurserymen, and to scientists. Every orchardist
should have his own stock, and each season some test
should be made of new varieties, selecting of course, those
most naturally adapted to his locality.

To be successful in fruit growing more attention must
be given to secure fruit of high quality. If only first-
class fruit be offered for sale the demand for it will be
enormously increased.

Care and Skill in the Orchard

If the new order of farming contemplates a larger and
more general production of fruit, people must learn how
to care for their orchards. There is no profit in neglected
trees, but there are returns of $200 to $400 an acre from
fruit where a good system of pruning, spraying and culti-
vation is followed.

The fruit crop depends largely upon the efficiency with
which the pruning is done in the fall. The uniform dis-
tribution of branches, height of branches, height of trees
and the health in general of all parts of them left for
bearing fruit — all have their influence. Branches should
not be left so long and slender that they will not support
a goodly burden of fruit.

As a rule, all water sprouts, those straight shoots run-
ning directly up from the main branches, should be re-
moved. Limbs that are seen to be partly dead or decayed
should be cut back until one is sure no part of them is
left, as it would but invite further decay, and the sus-
tenance drawn by them would be a useless drain on the
vitality of the trees.

All tall, thick or topheavy trees demand close and care-
ful pruning. Fruits which are reared high in mid air are
not as exempt from the action of the wind as if they
were lower down. The top of the high tree itself is apt
to be caught in the wind and damaged, perhaps ruined
by being broken down.

The low down, uniformly pruned tree also will produce
more fruit, and of a quality superior to that of the tall
tree, while the ease with which the fruit is picked from

176

CARE AND SKILL IN THE ORCHARD 177

the low trees recommends them. After all rotten apples,
pruned limbs and other refuse have been cleared up about
the orchard, the tree should be given a thorough spraying.

If possible, one should choose a warm day for this
operation, so most of the insect pests crawling out to lie
in the sunlight will be exposed to the action of the spray-
ing solution. Special attention should be given old knots
and rough spots about the trees, as in these places the
fruit pests deposit their eggs for next season's crop and at
the same time many of these pests themselves are har-
boring: safe retreat till winter is over.

There are several reasons for this fall spraying. It not
only destroys the insect pests, but their eggs, also, which
have been laid. After the spraying, the trees will be left
healthy and clean and free from the pests, while they are
developing their next season's crop.

Fall is the best time in which to fertilize the orchard, as
a goodly portion of the fertility elements will have pene-
trated down to the root of trees before the ground freezes
up and the work of rejuvenation will have been well be-
gun when the spring opens.

Where the orchard is young it will, of course, have to
be plowed after giving it a good coat of manure, straw,
cornstalks, etc. This is much more productive of good
results the following season than where the orchard is
fertilized during the spring.

With the exception of raspberries, which should be at-
tended to early in the spring, all the small fruit bushes
should be pruned, sprayed and fertilized during the late
fall months. This will include gooseberries, currants,
blackberries, grape vines, etc.

All fruit bushes or orchard trees which are where rab-
bits can reach them should be wrapped in thick paper,
gunny sacks, cornstalks, screen wire or the regular tree
protector, made of veneer, this protection extending
twenty-four inches from the ground.

178 CARE AND SKILL IN THE ORCHARD

The pear orchard should be cultivated every year, be-
cause it is unsafe to apply the large amount of stable
manure to pear trees when in grass that is needed to keep
them thrifty. We can keep an apple orchard in grass and
top dress it heavily enough to offset this drain on the
soil.

In liming the soil of an apple orchard it should be ap-
plied at the rate of about one ton per acre at one time,
which need not be repeated oftener than once in three or
four years. It should be definitely known that the soil
needs liming before taking any steps to do it. No great
quantity should be put near the trees but the whole of the
soil evenly supplied, which would give a very small por-
tion about each newly set tree.

Hardwood ashes are good for trees of all kinds but
they contain no nitrogen and in case they are applied,
something that contains this element should be added.
Nitrate of soda contains it but some kind of coarse
manure is better, because there is humus, which loosens
the soil as well as furnishes nitrogen. If a mixed fer-
tilizer is used it should be made of about 500 pounds acid
phosphate rock, 200 pounds muriate of potash and 100
pounds nitrate of soda for each acre. It may be applied
with benefit at any time of year, but about April or May
it will be quickly available and be taken up by the tree
roots during the growing season.

Common Fruits Return Liberal Profits

Profits in common fruit are easily five times as much as
in grain farming. Farmers often fail, however, with ap-
ples, cherries, plums and the like because they treat them
as a side issue and give no real work or intelligent at-
tention to their orchards.

Every farmer should have from two to twenty acres of
fruit and the trees should be cared for systematically.
If this is done the profit will amount to $200 an acre or
more, three seasons out of four.

Plums will grow on any land suitable for the produc-
tion of ordinary farm crops. It should be sloping or have
good drainage. The Japanese sorts do best on light soils.
Many are self-sterile, therefore varieties should be
planted intermixed. Set the trees close, say eighteen feet
apart. They do best under tillage and will be good for
twenty years or so. They need more water than many
other kinds of fruit. Feed the trees and thin the fruit;
also cut out black knot. Spray with lime-sulphur solu-
tion and arsenate for most troubles. The best plums for
commercial planting are obtainable from all reliable

dealers.

The German prune is subject to black knot, but this can
be fairly well controlled by cutting out. Italian and
German prunes are best of all for cooking. They ship
well and will long remain standard commercial plums.

In Europe the plum takes the first place among fruits ;
here it is considered comparatively unimportant ; and its
culture is confined within narrow limits. It can be made
very profitable.

179

180 FRUITS RETURN LIBERAL PROFITS

The cherry is easily grown. It is attacked by few in-
sects. Rabbits seldom molest cherry trees. In preparing
the soil, I advise heavy manuring, deep plowing, with
thorough cultivation the year before planting. Use two-
year-old trees, well branched, and plant 18 feet apart, giv-
ing thorough cultivation for three years.

After that, seed to clover and when your orchard comes
into bearing, mow all grass and weeds a couple of times
during the season. Leave the grass on the ground to
form a mulch. It will have a tendency to hold moisture,
and also helps to keep the ground loose. The less a
cherry orchard is plowed after it comes into bearing
the better, as the feeding roots are very near the surface.
Roots broken off are not quickly replaced, as the cherry
is one of the most backward of fruit trees in putting out
new growth where old growth has been broken off.

Cherries can be grown wherever the apple succeeds —
north, east, south or west. There is no fear of over-
production, as canning houses stand ready to contract the
crop ahead at good prices, while private customers may
be secured by all growers who live near a city.

Apples surpass other fruits in money-making, because
they are hardier and allow a longer time for handling.
An orchardist ought to consider apples the foundation of
his enterprise, but he should not neglect pears, plums,
cherries and berries.

Spring planting is to be recommended in preference
to fall planting. Get the trees out just as soon as the
frosts seem to be at an end, placing them thirty feet apart
each way. This leaves a great deal of land that may be
used for raising vegetables and flowers. This constant
cultivation is good for fruit trees, which should have
mulching placed around them late in the summer.

The trees should be mulched with straw, grass or
leafage of some description. This mulching should not
be crowded around the stem, its object being mainly to

FRUITS RETURN LIBERAL PROFITS 181

create moist and cool soil conditions, and to encourage
a free root establishment. The mulch material should
be occasionally stirred and no weed or grass growth
should be permitted to accumulate.

Where mulching material is not available, a frequent
earth mulch should be given by constantly stirring the
soil within a few feet of the trees. In addition to mulch-
ing it will be beneficial to spray young trees with water,
particularly on hot or windy days.

Many of our orchard soils are rich chemically in nitro-
gen, phosphorus and potassium, but oftentimes lack
humus. By humus we mean the completely decayed or-
ganic matter, which can be obtained by the plowing under
of some green manure crop, such as alfalfa, clover, vetch,
oats, rye, cowpeas, soy beans, etc. Whatever care and
attention are given to young trees will be amply repaid
to the grower in after years, owing to the vigor, sturdi-
ness, and other qualities thus imparted to them. The
trees begin to bear about six years from planting and at
ten years should be in full bearing.

In regard to overproduction, it should be said that this
is not a new question. Fifty years ago a pessimistic wail
was going up that the apple business would soon be over-
done, and would cease to be profitable. At that time, not
more than one-tenth as many apples were raised for com-
mercial purposes in the United States as are raised to-
day. One hundred years ago apples were but little raised
for commercial purposes; now, trainloads and shiploads
move from the orchards to our great centers of trade,
and across the ocean to England and other parts of
Europe. Asia is calling for our apples. Australia is
taking thousands of boxes of our best fruit, and is calling
for more. Our highest grade apples cannot be duplicated
on the face of the earth, so we have the world for a
market for our best fruit.

Northwestern orchardists receive fancy prices for their

182 FRUITS RETURN LIBERAL PROFITS

fruit, not that it is any better than that produced in other
sections, but because they are not afraid to spend money
liberally to grade, pack and advertise properly, the prod-
uct of their orchards.

Senator H. M. Dunlap, of Illinois, tells how he man-
aged several large orchards. He found the best manner
of cultivation was with the orchard disc and harrow.
With these tools he pulverizes the ground thoroughly.
He has a 3-ton truck, run by gasoline motor, for hauling
the apples to market, and he uses this power to run a
double disc harrow, it is quicker and better than horse
power for the purpose. Manure and the legumes are his
fertilizers. Work and spray, is his motto. Thorough
spraying gives the most perfect fruit. It is the essential
thing in controlling insect pests and fungus growth. He
uses smudge pots when frost is liable to damage the young
fruit in the spring.

Fruits, either fresh or preserved, must not be counted
as a luxury, but rather as a necessity, and indeed in these
days more and more people are coming to recognize their
food value. Available statistics show that fruits consti-
tute a by no means unimportant part of the diet of the
American people. They supply to us nearly five per cent
of the total food and about four per cent of the total
carbohydrates of the food supply of the average family
of this country. It has been amply demonstrated that a
fruit and nut diet will maintain health and strength of an
individual indefinitely.

Fruit Raising Suited to Amateurs

An amateur who is about to take a farm can not do bet-
ter than to establish an orchard. Market advantages in a
thickly settled state are too important to be disregarded.
The keen demand for all kinds of fruit, not only in cities,
but in every small town, insures large profits.

It would be wise to devote at least one acre in ten to
fruit. Thus on a farm of fifty acres there ought to be
a five-acre orchard. It is best to proceed with modera-
tion, for one needs practical experience. The proportion
of fruit may be increased as the owner acquires skill. It
is equally wise for the established farmer to give some
attention to horticulture.

Cherries, apples and pears are among the hardiest of
the fruit crops and yield large returns. Late varieties
are safest in the north, as losses frequently result from
frost after trees have blossomed. Some varieties bud two
weeks later than others.

The temperature can be controlled by artificial means.
The cost of heating per night depends on several condi-
tions. The cheapest and most reliable fuel is crude oil.
I have investigated several methods and have found that
the cost of running ioo burners one night is between
$2 and $3. At wholesale rates the heaters cost about 32
cents each. They will last for several years. I know of
one fruit crop worth $400 per acre which was saved at a
cost of $3 per acre.

To be on the safe side, watch the temperature and start
the heater when it goes down to 32 degrees. This would
not happen more than once or twice in a season. Smudge

183

184 FRUIT RAISING SUITED TO AMATEURS

fires also may be used with good effect around fruit trees
on a frosty night and cost nothing but a little work and
watchfulness.

Of the sour cherries Montmorency is about ten days
later than Richmond, and the fruit is larger. Other good
sorts are English Morello, very dark colored, and Late
Duke, a good late variety. Slikeman and Downer's Late
Red are both worth consideration on account of their
lateness ; the former is the latest cherry we have ; both
are of good quality.

Of the early sweet cherries, the black varieties are the
highest flavored, and as a table fruit they excel. Black
Tartarian is one of the best; Schmidt's Bigarreau is
another good sort; Mercer is a good dark red cherry;
Rockport Bigarreau and Governor Wood are both light
red varieties, with little to choose between them. Coe's
Transparent is a large light red; handsome, very meaty,
but not quite so luscious as some of the others.

There is no more prolific tree than the plum, and the
fruit can be used for many purposes other than as a table
fruit. The trees are strong growers and outside of serv-
ing as a prey for the San Jose scale, a condition easily re-
lieved by spraying, the trees give no trouble after planting.
And moreover, you don't plant only for your children ; as
the trees bear in three to four years. It is peculiar that
the Japanese varieties seem to do better than our own and
the European varieties.

In late pears Buerre d'Anjou should be one selection. It
is not what might be called a pretty pear, but when ripe,
is excellent for the table, having a distinct flavor ; the tree
is a good bearer, and the pears are extra large. Sheldon
ranks high as a table pear ; the fruit is of fair size, brown-
ish, of good shape and flavor. Duchess d'Angouleme is
a good all-around late pear. Lawrence is the best late
pear ; it will keep well into the winter ; it is a good cropper
and the fruit is of a fine quality.

FRUIT RAISING SUITED TO AMATEURS 185

In late varieties of apples the Baldwin ranks high in
several essentials. It produces large crops and is a good
keeper. Ben Davis, another good keeper, is the prettiest
apple we have, according to many judges, and the quality
is fairly good on a light soil. Newton Pippin still holds
the lead, as a high quality late keeper, but Rhode Island
greening is the best keeping green apple to date. Rox-
bury Rust is the best russet apple, and keeps late.
Twenty Ounce is one of the extra large apples which is
not lacking in quality.

Yellow Transparent is classified as an excellent apple
in Cincinnati, and by some of the dealers in Indianapolis
and Louisville it is regarded as very good.

Duchess is regarded as excellent in Buffalo, Chicago,
Louisville, Pittsburg, Columbus, Indianapolis, Philadel-
phia, Toledo and St. Paul.

Wealthy is generally a good apple in reputation. The
only market classifying it as poor or fair is Mobile.

Alexander is generally fairly well spoken of ; it is re-
garded as poor by part of the trade in Boston and as a
fair apple by part of the trade in Buffalo, Indianapolis,
Kansas City, Louisville, Memphis, New Orleans, Nor-
folk, Richmond and St. Louis.

Maiden Blush is an apple with a good reputation ; it is
excellent in Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, Columbus,
Louisville, New Orleans, Pittsburg, and sells well in other
markets.

Pound Sweet is ranked as excellent by some dealers in
Boston, Buffalo, Chicago and Detroit.

Tolman Sweet is ranked as excellent in Boston and De-
troit and as good by part of the trade in other cities.

Holland Pippin is regarded as very good by Columbus,
New York, Philadelphia and Toledo.

York Pippin is regarded as good by Columbus, Mem-
phis, New York, Philadelphia and Toledo.

Snow is a poor apple to send to Kansas City, Louis-

186 FRUIT RAISING SUITED TO AMATEURS

ville, Memphis, Mobile, New Orleans and Norfolk. In
fact, it is not appreciated in southern markets ; it appears
to be in highest esteem in Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cin-
cinnati, Detroit and New York.

Apples are not a tender fruit and may freeze slightly,
though they should not be allowed to freeze hard. Gather
apples in the first cool days of fall, though it is some-
times necessary to gather a little earlier if they are falling
badly.

It will be much better to gather a little early and let
them lie in the pens than to remain on the trees when
they have started to fall. When they are gathered, put
in rail pens and cover with boards, and if there are warm
days they should be in the shade.

When the weather becomes so cold that they are likely
to freeze even when protected with straw, it is time to
store them for the winter, although a great many apples
are lost by storing them too soon.

There is no doubt about pits being superior to a cellar
for apple storage. Select a well drained spot, and scoop
out a depression not over a foot deep, put straw in the
bottom of this pile, then the apples in a conical heap,
cover with more straw or hay, then with dirt. They will
keep plump and tender this way when they would shrivel
in a cellar, though a few for immediate use should be
stored in the cellar, on the floor.

Small Fruits Pay Well

Land owners who think they haven't time to attend to
small fruit ought to make a comparison of profits. It is
as easy to raise berries as wheat, oats or corn, and these
fruits return a clean profit five times greater than that
from grain.

The strawberry should be widely cultivated by farm-
ers, who with plenty of land and dressing seem to have
no excuse for not having their tables well supplied with
this appetizing berry, besides earning $200 to $300 an
acre on such ground as they devote to the product. There
are similar profits in other small fruits.

If the soil is not already fertile, it can be made so by
the addition of stable manure or commercial fertilizers.
To avoid grubs, sod ground should not be used, and to
avoid weeds, a hoed crop should precede the strawberries.
Cow peas or soy beans make a good preparatory crop.

Fall plowing is desirable, the soil being loosened up
in the spring with a cultivator or harrow. Under special
conditions strawberries may be set in the fall, but for
the amateur grower spring setting is to be recommended.

The single hedge system may be adopted if desired,
and rows may be made three feet apart, and the plants
set twelve to sixteen inches apart in the rows. Under
this system the grower will permit the maturing of two
runner plants from the mother or original plant set, and
these plants will be layered in line with the mother plant
in the row.

This will give the grower three plants for fruiting in
the season following instead of one plant, and as there

187

188 SMALL FRUITS PAY WELL

will be ample room for sunshine and air, there probably
will be an actual increase in the quantity of fruit as com-
pared with the hill system, although it is claimed that
the hill system is the one which will yield the greatest
number of large berries.

Currant and gooseberry bushes, red and black rasp-
berry plants and grape vines, can be planted successfully
any time in the fall before winter sets in, but I always
recommend spring planting.

The most important thing connected with gooseberry
culture is judicious pruning. This work, which cannot
be neglected, is done from late autumn to early winter.
Many of the vigorous-growing shoots and branches are
annually removed, and only a moderate supply of young
growing wood is left. The bush is made to assume a
cup-shaped top, with slightly drooping branches. The
cultivation and manuring are like that for the currant.

In the cultivation of raspberries keep the canes pinched
off as they reach a height of four feet. This is easily
done, and makes them grow outside shoots on which ber-
ries will grow the next spring. Cut out all the canes of
raspberries which bear fruit as soon as the crop is
gathered. These canes are useless for further bearing.

The raspberry is a prolific bearer. The first year it
makes canes, and the second year fruit. Private cus-
tomers can be secured for the fruit, or it may be sold to
grocers.

The currant can be grown to great perfection north
or south, and large yields can be obtained. The hilling
of the bushes should be avoided, and level and shallow
culture practiced.

Gooseberries require an open, airy situation, and clean
culture. The tops must be kept well thinned out to in-
sure good fruit. They should be dressed with well-com-
posted manure, and no weeds should be allowed to grow

SMALL FRUITS PAY WELL 189

in the rows. These precautions are necessary to ward off
mildew.

No other fruit can take the place of grapes during
their season. They afford an abundant supply of de-
licious and strengthening food for nearly five months
during the year. We should grow grapes and eat freely
of them.

Blackberries come late in the summer and furnish
excellent fruit for canning, preserving and making de-
licious pies. There is a good market demand for them.

Late in the fall secure roots of the right variety ; place
them where they will be protected from the freezing
weather, or they may be taken up in the spring, but not
allowed to dry out. Prepare the ground as for potatoes,
and every third row rake for the berry rows, planting
the other two rows with potatoes. Cut the roots into
pieces three inches long and plant them one foot apart
in the row. Cover level with the ground.

When the canes appear destroy all but one in the hill,
which may be done by cutting with a knife or sickle.
In this way a stalky cane with plenty of laterals will be
obtained. Cut back these laterals to secure a bush form.

The red raspberry differs greatly in character from the
black cap raspberry. While the black cap is propagated
' from tips, the ends of the canes when buried taking root
and forming the new plant, the red raspberry propa-
gates from suckers that spring up from the roots of the
parent plant. With some varieties, especially the Cuth-
bert, these suckers are thrown up so freely as to interfere
with the productiveness of the parent plants, making it
necessary for the plantation to be renewed after it has
borne fruit two or three years. Other varieties, like
the Loudon and Syracuse, are less inclined to send out
sucker plants and therefore remain in fruit much longer
than the Cuthbert. But any variety may be kept in fruit

190 SMALL FRUITS PAY WELL

for many years if the young suckers, when they first
appear are clipped off with a hoe, the same as weeds, but
this work must be done each week.

The average red raspberry is not quite so hardy as the
black cap raspberry, but the Culbert, Marlboro, Ruby,
Herbert and Syracuse have proved fairly hardy.

The fruiting canes of the red raspberry are not so wide
spreading and thorny as the black cap, therefore, it is not
necessary to plant the red raspberry quite so far apart
as the black cap, but it is well to give all small fruits
plenty of room. In most instances raspberries, black-
berries and currants are planted too closely in the row
and between the rows. I favor planting the red rasp-
berry 4 feet apart between the rows and 3^ feet in the
rows, so that the plant may be cultivated both ways.

The young canes are usually cropped off to about 3^2
feet at the time they appear above the old bushes. The
old canes are removed immediately after the fruit is
harvested, by means of sharp hooks with long handles,
and pulled into the alleys, and later removed with horse
and rake, the rake being made for that purpose. Some-
times, if a plantation gets grassy and weedy while the
fruit is being picked, we give it a thorough cultivating
after the old canes are removed, and sometimes even plow
the ground lightly between the rows, following the drain-
age slope and always throwing the furrow up to the
bushes.

The cultivation and growing of red raspberries afford
a pleasant and profitable occupation. While the pro-
duction of profitable crops seems more difficult than in
former years, the higher prices paid more than repay our
additional efforts, while the demand for this variety of
fruit is steadily increasing.

The Cuthbert can be grown on any soil, but a deep,
moist, sandy loam will produce the best crops. An abun-
dance of moisture is absolutely necessary in the produc-

SMALL FRUITS PAY WELL 191

tion of a good crop. Thorough but shallow cultivation
is essential, and will aid immensely in conserving mois-
ture, and prevent loss by evaporation during dry weather.
Use plenty of well-rotted manure, spread around the
bushes in winter if possible. This will invigorate the
bush, insuring larger and better fruit the next season, and
will aid in the production of strong young plants for
future crops.

I would like to say a word about the treatment of
anthracnose. It is a disease that can be overcome. We
are liable to have years when anthracnose is severe, and
then again it disappears. This plan of treatment strikes
me as the most favorable, and I think will be found suc-
cessful in general practice: When you lift the canes in
the spring of the year treat with bordeaux mixture ;
make it double strength, and cover the canes with it soon
after they are lifted. When the young growth appears
and is about eight inches high, spray again, but use the
mixture weak, just half the strength you did before.
The theory is this : The spores are thrown off by the
canes early in the spring from these infected spots, and
when they are covered by a thick bordeaux mixture it
prevents these spores being thrown off. You cannot
prevent injury to the old canes, but you can prevent in-
jury to the young canes, and if you spray you can make
the young canes grow well the first season without any
serious damage — but spray the second time when the
young canes are about eight inches high.

Currant and gooseberry bushes are often injured by
the borer. The egg is laid about June 1st. When hatched,
the young borer works its way into the cane, and remains
until the following spring, eating out the pith and caus-
ing death of cane. As soon as the leaves start, the af-
fected parts are easily discovered, and should be cut out
and burned.

Have Early and Late Strawberries

Great strides forward have been made in strawberry
culture. It is not only possible to grow a profitable crop
within twelve months from the date of setting out plants,
but there are notable achievements with what is known
as the ever-bearing variety.

Successful experiments are being made in extending
the strawberry season so that this fruit may be picked
both earlier and later than heretofore. The principal
point gained is in getting more time for marketing a
perishable commodity. Profits already are high, but they
will be increased.

While the ever-bearing variety will produce fruit at
the same season as the ordinary strawberries and keep on
bearing until frost, to get the best results, the blossoms
should be kept pinched off until August i, so as to con-
serve the energies of the plant for the fall crop.

By planting in the latter part of April, a good crop will
be obtained the same year and every year. Picking will
begin about the middle of August and continue right
along until winter sets in. The blossoms must be pinched
off until the supplies of common varieties are pretty well
exhausted, and the market demand for fresh stock begins
to get keen.

One grower, by that method, gathered nearly 400
quarts from 500 plants set out in the spring. The quality
was superb and the size good, but not up to the large
June berries, because of the season at which they were
borne.

The autumn strawberry is going to give us more money

192

HAVE EARLY AND LATE STRAWBERRIES 193

to the acre because late prices will be highest, and this
new variety of berry is both hardy and prolific.

Those who have tested autumn strawberry culture have
been able to market the most delicious fruit up to the
middle of November in northern regions. These late
grown berries are readily taken at 20 to 30 cents a quart,
and evidently it will require years to create an oversup-
ply. Ordinary frosts have little effect on them.

All large plant and seed houses are ready to furnish
this new strawberry, a fruit which is likely to create
something of a furore.

While the autumn strawberries will blossom and yield
fruit from June till November, the best results are gained
for the producer by raising common stock for early trade
and reserving the new product for fall business. It will
be found that the late berries command a price about twice
as high as that paid for early ones, as the market becomes
glutted in June and July.

These autumn strawberries are known to the trade as
the ever-bearing variety. They yield fruit as early as any
other kind, but the point to be kept in mind is that by
holding back the berries of the new variety a heavy yield
is insured for the latter part of the season when the com-
mon kinds do not yield. The method of pinching off
blossoms to retard fruit bearing is quite simple.

Another valuable peculiarity of the new strawberry
is that its first fall crop, grown the same season that the
plants are set out, will be one of the heaviest it will ever
produce. Common strawberries to be a success must be
retarded until the second year. The second year's crop of
the ever-bearing variety is apt to be as satisfactory as the
first, provided cultivation and winter mulching have not
been neglected. Each season adds new plants, so that the
stock can be kept in a vigorous state. After two or three
seasons it may be best to discard old plants.

In getting ready for the new or the common variety it

194 HAVE EARLY AND LATE STRAWBERRIES

is advisable to take a piece of land that has borne some
such crop as clover, cowpeas or turnips and which has
had a lot of well-rotted manure plowed in. A bit of land
that has had rather more than ordinary cultivation is best
of all. A gentle slope is desirable, or the land may become
soggy at a time when the young plants need warm, loose
soil. Drained land usually answers the purpose well. Fall
plowing is recommended. Then in the spring, before
planting, the soil should be stirred up with a disc or har-
row, after which a roller ought to be used.

Occasionally a successful grower is found who sets
out strawberry plants late in the summer in order to get
fruit the next season, but spring planting is preferable.
Plant as early as the soil can be worked or as soon as
the danger from frost is over. Rows should be three
feet apart to permit the use of a horse cultivator, and
plants are to be twelve to sixteen inches apart in the rows.

Commence cultivation as soon as the ground is dry
enough and let it be thorough, once every week during the
summer. As the row begins to widen the farmer should
each time narrow down the cultivated space between the
rows, and after the row has attained the proper width con-
tinue to cultivate to prevent plants forming in the center
of the rows.

Do not let the fields become matted, but maintain an
open center between the rows. Matting may be allowed
in the rows, as this is a natural growth for the straw-
berry. Better results are obtained by growing in matted
rows than under any other method.

The plants must not be allowed to suffer for water in
the fruiting season and a mulch will be found to be of
great advantage. High cultivation is essential for the
best results in all crops, and in growing these straw-
berries a little extra trouble will pay well.

Pot-grown strawberries are superior to the ordinary
ground layers usually sold, as there is no loss of fine

HAVE EARLY AND LATE STRAWBERRIES 195

roots in taking them up and they can be shipped safely
to distant parts and be transplanted at any season, and it
scarcely checks their growth.

After the late crop is off, about the middle of Novem-
ber cover the bed to a depth of three inches with hay,
straw or leaves. In April, as soon as the plants show an
indication of growth, push the covering away so that
the plants may come up through. This "mulching" pro-
tects the plants from cold in winter and the heat in sum-
mer, keeps the fruit clean and prevents the growth of
weeds.

For illustration of what the late-bearing strawberry
will do the following statement of an eastern expert is
quoted :

"In the spring of 1910 I purchased 250 plants each
of Americus and Francis, and set them in carefully pre-
pared rich ground about May first. They were set in
rows 3J/2 feet apart, with the plants one foot apart in
the row. They occupied just about one twenty-fifth of
an acre.

"They were given good care, well fertilized and hoed,
and the weeds carefully kept out. The blossoms were
kept pinched off until about August 1, and on August 23
we picked four quarts, and they continued to yield berries
until November II, when the last three quarts were
gathered.

"During the week of September 12th to the 17th we
picked nearly 100 quarts, which were shown at the State
Fair in Syracuse, N. Y. The largest single picking was
48 quarts, gathered September 29."

Commercial Handling of Strawberries

There are few products that equal the strawberry for
profit. It is a sure crop and gives quick returns. The
yield is nearly always upwards of $200 an acre and it
may run to double this figure.

The best time to set a strawberry bed is the early
spring, as soon as the land is in good condition and the
plants can be obtained. There is more moisture as a rule
at that time, and this, combined with the cool weather
of spring gives better growing conditions than fall plant-
ing. Plants may also be set in the fall, if extra attention
and care are given them.

Strawberries require a rich soil, hence it is well to
thoroughly manure the land that is to be used for the
crop in the fall, and plow under from four to six inches
deep. In the spring, disc, drag and smooth thoroughly.
This gives a loose soil in which to set the plants, and
a firm sub-soil to hold the moisture, and yet open enough
to let the roots through.

Any land that will grow a good crop of corn will grow
strawberries. Sod land should never be used, as it is
likely to contain grubs and cut-worms, which will eat
off the roots of newly set plants.

Plants having a small crown and a large number of
white fibrous roots, are best for planting. It is not a
good plan to use plants that have borne fruit, as they
are weaker. The best plants are obtained from planta-
tions that have not been allowed to fruit. Their roots
are white, while the roots of the old plants are brown.

Before planting, all dead leaves should be removed.

196

COMMERCIAL HANDLING OF STRAWBERRIES 197

The roots should be pruned back to about 3 or 4 inches.
All flowers should be kept off the plants the first season,
as this provides a stronger growth. It is best to get
the plants from a nurseryman or strawberry specialist,
as they are not as likely to be mixed as when obtained
from a neighbor.

The method of planting in common farm use is the
matted row system. When the land is in good condi-
tion to work, harrow smooth, and mark out rows three
feet apart and as long as possible. Then set the plants
at 18-inch intervals in the rows, and cultivate often
enough to keep the weeds out and the soil loose until Sep-
tember. If the plants are then vigorous growers, the run-
ners should be about 6 inches apart. It is desirable to
train the runners the long way of the rows, cutting out
plants that crowd.

An ordinary planting trowel or spade is used to set
the plants. A spade is an easy implement to open the
ground with. Strike it into the ground and work it back
and forth, draw out the spade, spread the roots of the
plant and set it so the crown comes just to the surface
of the ground. Firm the soil well about the roots of the
plant. This method requires a man to handle the spade
and a boy to set the plants.

As soon as possible after setting the plants, cultivation
should commence and it should continue at frequent in-
tervals till fall. Keep the weeds down and the top soil
loose. If the runners get too thick, cut out part of them,
leaving about 6 inches between them. Runners may be
encouraged to root by putting an inch or two of soil
over each one, near the end.

It requires about 7,000 strawberry plants for an acre,
and these will bear 25 to 50 bushels the first season if
allowed to do so. The custom is to pinch off all blossoms
the first year. A crop of 100 to 200 bushels may be ex-
pected the second summer. Clean straw or grass makes

198 COMMERCIAL HANDLING OF STRAWBERRIES

the best winter mulch. The rows are covered 2 to 4
inches deep. This winter mulch should be raked from
the plants and left between the rows as a protection to
the fruits and a safeguard against drouth in the fruit-
ing season.

Winter killing of the strawberry appears to be more
often due to alternate freezing and thawing, together
with the consequent drying out of the surface soil, than
to the low temperature itself. Thus in beds where severe
winter injury has occurred, the roots are often found
to be killed for a short distance below the crown, while
farther down they are alive. In such cases the plants
frequently start into growth in spring, but die down in a
short time.

The strawberry plant, as well as the bramble plants,
can and do endure drouth and ask little aid from man
in their season of barrenness, but during the very brief
period when their fruits approach and reach maturity
they demand more ready moisture than slow maturing
field crops. For this reason the fruit grower is at a dis-
advantage.

Crops that demand highly intensive culture and make
high returns for the area planted may render irrigation
an economical measure. For example, the new fall-bear-
ing strawberry is generally the victim of the fairly regu-
lar heat and drouth of August and September. A method
of irrigation that would provide it with a full supply of
water might with reasonable assurance be counted on to
insure an annual crop. This granted, other conditions
affecting success would have consideration.

The center of the most important strawberry industry
of New York State is at Oswego. The leading natural
advantage of this region for the commercial production
of strawberries is the lateness at which the crop matures.
When the berry season of New Jersey and southern New
York is past, the Oswego berries are in their prime.

COMMERCIAL HANDLING OF STRAWBERRIES 199

Lateness is still further emphasized in the selection of
late varieties, as Atlantic, Parker Earle and Gandy. The
season opens about June 20 and continues for three
weeks.

The question is often asked, What does it cost to grow
an acre of strawberries ? Growers in the Oswego region
have given figures of actual cost as follows: Rent of
land two years, $11 ; plowing and fitting, $6; plants, $15 ;
setting plants, $4; cultivation, $16; straw for winter and
fruiting mulch, $15; labor, hoeing, pulling weeds, etc.,
$10. Total cost, %yy.

Many growers raise berries at much less cost, and a
few exceed this sum, especially when located near a large
town, where rents are high ; but it would be safe for one
about to engage in strawberry growing to figure close
to this total, aside from the cost of fertilizer.

Thorough Cultivation Makes Gardening Pay

Whether gardening is conducted for profit or merely
for exercise and pleasure, one needs to do the right thing
at the right time. It may be taken for granted that a
majority of those who take up the work desire both profit
and pleasure.

A common source of failure is sourness of the soil,
which is found in places almost wholly shaded during the
months which intervene between the growing seasons
and which also lack a free circulation of air. Wood ashes
and slaked lime are good for this and also are a most ex-
cellent fertilizer. A peck of ashes well mixed with a
wagon load of soil is the gardener's rule, but for small
beds, spade the ground deeply and after breaking up the
lumps and raking thoroughly, scatter ashes or lime evenly
over the surface until it is as white as after a light snow-
fall ; then rake in well. This should be done before plant-
ing time, or as soon as the ground can be worked. It is
best to have the plowing done in the fall.

Success in the vegetable garden depends largely upon
thorough and frequent tillage. The tillage should be-
gin as soon as the plants can be seen, and should be re-
peated at intervals of about one week throughout the sea-
son. Much labor will be saved by substituting a wheel
hoe for the hand hoe for stirring the soil close about the
plants, while they are small and by using a horse for culti-
vating between the rows wherever there is sufficient
space. If these methods are employed, the most irksome
features of vegetable gardening — the weeding and
tedious hand tillage — will be eliminated.

200

THOROUGH CULTIVATION 201

As soon as the heavy frosts are over and the ground is
tillable we may plant onions, lettuce, spinach, radishes,
beets, parsnips, carrots, parsley and peas. The normal
season for planting these crops is when the farmer is
sowing his oats.

The warm season crops are subject to injury by frost
and can not safely be planted until the weather is com-
paratively warm. The different crops in this group, how-
ever, differ in respect to the intensity of heat they re-
quire. Thus, sweet corn and string beans are usually
planted early in May; lima beans, tomatoes, cucumbers,
melons and squashes are planted from one to two weeks
later, while sweet potatoes and egg plants should be kept
in the hot-bed until the last of May or the first week in
June.

Lettuce can be grown successfully on poor soil, but
only through the early spring and the late fall, as the
ground becomes so hot that it will burn in the head, and
then it is ruined for market. On rich land there is always
a certain amount of moisture that remains in the soil, and
then the evening dews help to keep the ground cool. Keep
the land free from weeds. The more frequent the culti-
vation the larger the yield.

Where garden peas and beans are grown, earliness and
tenderness are greatly desired, as well as flavor. These
qualities will be found where a good supply of nitrogen
and phosphoric plant food are available. A suitable fer-
tilizer for these crops is 600 pounds per acre carrying 4
per cent nitrogen, 8 per cent phosphoric acid and 10 per
cent potash.

Tomatoes, corn and potatoes enjoy a medium long sea-
son of growth, therefore it is necessary that they have a
sufficient supply of the correct food elements to satisfy
their requirements throughout their growing season. The
market demands a smoothly formed, solid, well-colored
tomato, and juicy yet well-filled corn.

202 THOROUGH CULTIVATION

Potato growers of the famous Aroostook district of
Maine, practice a three-year rotation of corn, clover and
potatoes. By this means it is evident that the organic
matter of the soil is maintained. When the potatoes are
planted it is the custom to apply as high as 1,500 to 2,000
pounds per acre of a fertilizer analyzing 4 per cent nitro-
gen, 6 per cent phosphoric acid and 10 per cent potash.

Cabbage is an excellent crop for profits and for soil
preservation. The large drum-head type is used for the
early family trade and for making sauerkraut. It usually
produces a heavier tonnage per acre than the Holland or
Danish ball type, but sells at a lower price.

The Holland variety produces a head nearly round, and
very hard. It is used for winter storage, and is in de-
mand late in the fall. The later it can be stored, the less
loss for the buyer, so this should be grown for late de-
livery.

This may be somewhat of a guide as to what type to
grow. In either case see a buyer in the spring, and ar-
range for marketing, and then, when the time for harvest
nears, let him know about what time the crop will be
ready and its prospective amount. The average farmer
cannot so profitably store his cabbages as he can potatoes.

In setting the plants for a cabbage crop, set in rows —
both ways for easy cultivation — and be careful to get the
rows even distance and in straight lines.

Use a fine, spike-tooth cultivator. Cultivate as long as
you can get through the rows. After the plants are well
established in growth, and begin to reach out, do not
work very deeply, as the root system of the plants com-
pletely fills the soil.

Put on the wide sweeps so you can reach under the
leaves and yet not cut many roots. For the last time take
off the two back shanks and use only three plate teeth.

Plan your field so you can drive with one wheel in the

THOROUGH CULTIVATION 203

ditch and straddle one row of cabbages. This makes it
easy to harvest.

Other crops which the farmer can grow profitably in
many sections are carrots and rutabagas. Both are ex-
cellent stock feed, and all small or imperfect ones can be
used on the farm, as well as any surplus.

You should look up the prospective market in the
spring, before planting, then use the best varieties and
deliver only choice stock, well trimmed and honestly
packed.

Horseradish is commonly grown from sets and not
from seed. Some claim they have the best success grow-
ing it as a second crop after the early cabbage, beets,
etc. The crop is dug in the fall, the small roots removed
and cut into sets four to six inches long. The top end is
cut square and the bottom slanting so as to make no mis-
take in planting. These are tied in bundles and kept
over winter in sand. In the spring after the cabbages are
set out, a row of horseradish is set in between the cab-
bage rows. Small holes are made with a light crowbar or
long stick and the sets dropped in and covered two or
three inches deep so that they do not come up until
July first. Any deep, rich, well drained soil will answer
for horseradish.

The humble peanut was grown in this country in 1909,
according to recent official figures, to the value of over
18 million dollars. The area under this crop was 870,000
acres, a third greater than in 1899, and the production
nearly 20,000,000 bushels. The leader in acreage was
North Carolina, followed in the order named by Georgia,
Virginia, Florida, Alabama, Texas ; others scattered. The
average farm value per bushel of peanuts increased from
61 cents in 1899 to 94 cents in 1909.

Practical Study of Gardening

I wish to call the attention of gardeners and farmers
generally to the wisdom of saving the seeds of all extra
choice home-grown products. It is the quickest way of
securing a variety just adapted in all respects to the soil
and climatic conditions, and one knows at planting time
just about what to expect from his crop. Melons, espe-
cially, vary to such a marked extent, that whenever an
especially delicious one is cut, its seeds should be carefully
saved, and labeled in some way to indicate their special
merit. Squash, pumpkins, tomatoes, peppers, and any
other vegetables which are normally picked ripe, should
have unusually perfect specimens selected for the seed.
Of course it does not pay to save the seed except from
unusually good specimens, because even then, many will
be produced inferior to the parent stock, and a few, prob-
ably, much superior to the parent stock. Vegetables, and
such fruits as the melons, usually come fairly true from
seed. Other fruits are customarily budded or grafted,
and seed selection is useless except for experimentation.
Leave the very best of the vegetables to thoroughly ripen.
The seeds will be worth much more during the year to
come than the single specimen which produced them.

Gardening is profitable to any family that has the ad-
vantage of lands. It also may be a source of pleasure as
well as profit. For the benefit of beginners, who may be
unfamiliar with the quantities of seed needed to plant a
garden of a given size, the following tabular statement
is inserted. It represents the quantities of seeds which
should be purchased for planting gardens suitable to the

204

PRACTICAL STUDY OF GARDENING

205

needs of the ordinary country home. Any person of
practical ability who wishes to raise vegetables ex-
tensively for market can enlarge the quantity of seed or
roots to any extent :

Farmer's
garden.

Asparagus 100 roots

Beans, green podded 1 pt.

Wax 1 pt.

Lima 1 pt.

Beets 2 oz.

Cabbage, early 1 pkt.

Second early 1 pkt.

Late 1 pkt.

Carrot 1 oz.

Cauliflower 1 pkt.

Celery 1 oz.

Corn, sweet, extra early 1 pt.

Second early 1 pt.

Late 1 pt.

Cucumber 1 oz.

Eggplant 1 doz. pi. Yz

Lettuce, leaf 1 oz.

Head 1 pkt.

Muskmelon 1 oz.

Onion seed 2 oz.

Sets, bottom 1 qt.

Sets, top (perennial) 1 qt.

Parsley 1 pkt.

Parsnip 1 oz.

Peas, extra early smooth 1 pt.

Early dwarf wrinkled 1 qt.

Late wrinkled 1 pt.

Pepper 1 pkt.

Radish 3 oz.

Rhubarb 1 oz.

Spinach 1 oz.

Squash, summer 1 oz.

Winter 1 oz.

Sweet potatoes 200 plants

Tomato 2 pkts.

Turnip 1 oz.

Watermelon 1 oz.

Suburban
garden.
50 roots
Hpt.

XA pt.
j^pt.

oz.

pkt.

pkt.

pkt.

pkt.

pkt.

pkt.

£pt.

Spt.

j^pt.

oz.

doz. pi.
pkt.
pkt.
Vz oz.
oz.
qt.

pkt.
pkt.

Hpt.
^2pt.

pkt.

oz.

oz.
pkt.

pkt.

pkt.

2 oz.

In growing asparagus the most satisfactory method to
pursue is that of propagating from seed. The plants
should be grown in the seed-bed the first year and trans-

206 PRACTICAL STUDY OF GARDENING

planted to a permanent bed the second spring. As this
bed will last for a number of years, great care should be
taken to see that the ground is thoroughly prepared.
Upon this rests your success. The land should be deeply
plowed and heavily manured with well-rotted stable
manure the fall before planting. In planting, the rows
should be six feet apart and the plants two feet in the
row. Furrow out the rows to a depth of eight inches
and plant in the bottom of the furrow. The roots should
be covered lightly at first, packing the soil well, however,
around them and filling in the furrow as the stalks appear
above the surface. It is better not to gather any crops
until the second spring after the plants are put out, and
then it should not be cropped heavily. The first two years
frequent tillage is important, but after that the ground
is sufficiently shaded and mulched to give little trouble
from weeds. In growing asparagus, occasional applica-
tions of salt will stimulate the growth as this is a sea-
shore plant. Among the best varieties are Conover's
Colossal and Palmetto.

About the middle of May I plant cucumbers in rich,
loose soil, the ground having been laid off in small hills
six feet apart, with several holes in each of these hills.
The holes need to be three inches deep and each should
contain a half-dozen seeds.

After every rain, or in a week at the outside, rake over
the surface of the hills, in fact, the whole plot devoted to
cucumbers. By that time if the weather has been warm
the young plant will be breaking through the ground.
After that, continue to cultivate as often as necessary to
maintain the soil mulch, and please observe that this is the
most important part of the season's operation. Of course
if you cultivate properly you will not be troubled with
weeds.

Just as soon as the cucumbers appear above the ground,
take a shovelful of wood ashes and in the early morning

PRACTICAL STUDY OF GARDENING 207

while the dew is still on the plants, sprinkle them care-
fully. Repeat this after every rain, or when for any
cause the ashes have been blown or washed off the leaves
of the plant. This will absolutely prevent damage from
the cucumber bug and you ought to have no loss from that
source. The ashes not only do no harm but are a decided
benefit in that they contain valuable fertilizing material
in the shape of potash. Don't use coal ashes. Always
use wood ashes. If you haven't any wood ashes a light
application of air-slaked lime will be of great benefit.

Ordinarily cucumbers are allowed to run along the
ground. I have found that the output from a small tract
is very greatly increased if a trellis is provided and the
vines are trained up on this. This accomplishes a num-
ber of purposes. In the first place the vines are off the
ground and are not injured during the process of culti-
vation or picking the cucumbers. This is exceedingly im-
portant. Furthermore, it is then easily possible to see
every cucumber when it attains the proper size for pick-
ing/ If the vines are on the ground, some which are
overlooked ripen and this to a large extent weakens the
vitality of the plant. This trellis is very easily made,
costs practically nothing, and the only attention that must
be given is that as soon as the vines are 2 feet or so long
they will have to be tied up to the trellis. After that
they will practically take care of themselves.

The most distinctive feature of the garden on the farm
should be the reduction of hand labor to a minimum. In
planting the garden, therefore, it should be laid out in
long rows, sufficiently far apart to permit the use of a
horse and cultivator in tending the crops.

The arrangement of the garden as to length of rows
and time of planting, is not the only labor saving feature
that should characterize the typical farmer's garden.
Field methods should be practiced in preparing the land
for planting, and as much preliminary work done in the

208 PRACTICAL STUDY OF GARDENING

fall as is possible, for the sake of both securing an early
garden and reducing the amount of labor in spring.
After the land is cleared of refuse from preceding crops,
it should be heavily manured, and plowed in the fall. The
amount of manure to be applied will depend somewhat
upon the fertility of the land, but more largely upon the
trueness of the farmer's conception of the plant food
requirements of garden crops. The best gardens are
possible only where plant food is supplied much more
liberally than is considered ample for field crops.

The most tedious labor in the ordinary garden is the
hand weeding of the small vegetables. By proper man-
agement of the garden a large amount of this labor can
be eliminated. One way to avoid excessive labor in hand
weeding is to keep weed seeds out of the garden as much
as possible, by avoiding the use of manure containing
such seeds, and by destroying all weeds in and about the
garden before they go to seed, even if they appear after
the crops are harvested. But in spite of all that can be
done there will always be weed seeds present in garden
soil. The way to prevent these from producing weeds
that are larger than the vegetable plants and endangering
the life of the latter, is to keep them from starting growth
before the vegetables have a chance to start. This is
done by working the soil immediately before the vegeta-
ble seeds are planted, thus killing any weed seedlings that
are about to appear above the surface, and giving the
vegetables an even start with the weeds that may develop
from seeds germinating later. Still another way of re-
ducing the amount of hand weeding is to cultivate very
close to the rows with a wheel hoe as soon as the vege-
table seedlings appear.

Some crops demand special training or other manipula-
tion to enable them to grow to the best advantage or de-
velop the most desirable product. Common Lima beans
and tall growing peas require artificial support in the

PRACTICAL STUDY OF GARDENING 209

form of poles and brush or wire netting respectively.
Except in a region where native timber is abundant it
may be inconvenient or expensive to provide these sup-
ports, to say nothing of the labor of preparing and in-
stalling them. Therefore, it may be advisable in some
cases to resort to the use of dwarf varieties exclusively.

Other crops demanding special handling are cauli-
flower, leeks, celery and endive, all of which require
blanching to develop a satisfactory, edible product. In
the case of the cauliflower, the head must be protected
from the sun by tying the leaves or otherwise securing
them over the top. Endive likewise is blanched by tying
up the outer leaves so that the inner portion of the plant
will be protected from the sun. With both these crops,
the blanching plants must be closely watched, so that they
may be used when they have reached the right stage of
development. Leeks and celery are usually blanched by
hilling up with earth, though an early crop of celery is
sometimes blanched by means of boards placed edgewise
along the row. When earth is used, care must be ex-
ercised to avoid getting dirt down in the "hearts" of the
plants, and repeated bankings are necessary. This is a
somewhat laborious process unless a person is equipped
with special tools, and at best there is much labor and
expense involved in the production of a good crop of
celery.

The labor of growing some crops is enhanced by the
necessity of transplanting. The crops usually trans-
planted are cabbage, cauliflower, celery, eggplant, pepper,
sweet potato and tomato ; and an early crop of any of
these sorts cannot be secured without it, for the seed must
be started in hot-beds long before the weather is suitable
for planting these crops in the open. The making and
care of hot-beds in which plants are usually started en-
tails considerable labor, as well as the process of trans-
planting. Late crops of cabbage and tomatoes are some-

210 PRACTICAL STUDY OF GARDENING

times grown from seed sown where the crop is to mature,
and late cauliflower and celery may be started in care-
fully prepared seed beds in the open, thus obviating the
labor involved in the care of a hot-bed.

There is a tendency for some gardeners to leave the
plants of carrots, onions, and similar vegetables too thick,
or to defer the thinning too long, with the intention of
making use of the thinnings. Usually this is a serious
error, except in the case of beets, which can be used quite
young for greens. The crowded seedlings do not reach
edible size as soon as they would if not crowded; and
the removal of part of the crowded plants when they are
wanted for the table is likely to seriously disturb and im-
pair the growth of those which remain. A better plan is
to make at least a preliminary thinning as early as possi-
ble, leaving the plants perhaps twice as thick as they are
eventually to stand ; and then to pull out every other plant
after they reach edible size. This method of thinning is
especially adapted to beets, carrots, lettuce and onions.
The other root crops, like parsnips and salsify, should
be thinned to the full distance at the first thinning.

Celery is an exceedingly profitable crop and one can
make it pay either by starting with seed or procuring
plants. The latter may be set out in July or August after
some other crop has been raised on the ground.

The best location for celery is a moist, cool spot, of
rich loamy soil protected from the wind. Enrich the soil
heavily with well-rotted stable manure. Give deep plow-
ing and cultivate thoroughly, in order to have the ground
mellow at the time of transplanting.

Setting plants in furrows, in trenches and on the level
surface are methods employed by various growers. Good
results have been attained in the following way: Mark
off rows four feet apart and furrow with stirring plow,
turning the ridges in the same direction. Set the plants
six inches apart in the side of the furrow next the ridge

PRACTICAL STUDY OF GARDENING 211

and a little above the bottom. In subsequent cultivation
keep the furrows open and use them as ditches for water
in case of drought.

Thorough cultivation should be the rule from the start.
Permit no weeds to grow. The ground should be culti-
vated after each application of water.

When the plants have attained the proper size for use,
the leaves are brought into an upright position by boards
placed on either side of the row, so that they slope toward
the plants at the top, or else by dirt drawn against the
plants and packed firmly around them. The object of this
is to cause the leaves to take an upright position and ex-
clude the light from the heart of the plant, so that the
latter growth is white or "bleached." The process of
bleaching requires from two to four weeks, depending
upon the variety and time of year.

After the bleaching process is carried as far as de-
sired, the plants may be dug. For early celery this may
be done in September, but the late crop should not be
taken up until there is danger from freezing. The plants
are usually lifted with a spade or potato fork, and the
decayed outer leaves removed. They are then ready for
storing.

Beets, carrots, turnips, rutabagas and Irish potatoes
can be stored in outdoor pits, but they must be covered
sufficiently to prevent freezing. One of the best ways of
handling these crops is to place them in a conical pile and
cover first with six or eight inches of hay or straw, then
with earth to a similar depth.

Celery may be stored in various ways, but one of the
most satisfactory methods for home use is to dig the
plants with the roots on, and plant them in moist earth
placed on the cellar floor, or in boxes to be placed in the
cellar. In either case, the cellar must be cool, the ventila-
tion good, and the earth surrounding the roots kept moist
by repeated applications of water. In applying the water,

212 PRACTICAL STUDY OF GARDENING

care must be taken to wet only the roots and not the tops
of the plants. If the cellar is kept dark, all new growth
made during the winter will be thoroughly blanched.

Cabbage intended for late winter use will keep better
in an outdoor pit than in a cellar. The same is true of
parsnips, salsify, horseradish and some of the other root
crops. Except where the ground is especially well
drained, the pits are usually made entirely above ground.
For storing cabbage in this manner, the plants are pulled
with the roots and leaves on, and placed upside down in
regular order on a level piece of ground.

Onions intended for winter use should be cured as soon
as possible after harvesting, by being kept in a dry place
where the air can circulate freely about them. Some
growers spread their onions in a thin layer on the floor
of the corn crib ; others place them in shallow, slatted
trays stacked under an open shed, or exposed to the sun
during the day and placed under cover at night. The
bulbs may also be spread thinly on the floor of a barn loft
or the attic of a house. No matter where they are placed,
they must be kept dry and have a free circulation of air
about them.

Tomatoes, cabbage, sweet potatoes and other vege-
tables and garden plants and especially those which are
started under glass and transplanted, are subject to
serious injury by cutworms. They appear sometimes in
great numbers in spring and early summer and frequently
do severe damage before their ravages are noticed. The
method of attack is to cut off the young plants at about
the surface of the ground, and as these insects are of
large size and voracious feeders they are capable of de-
stroying many plants in a single night, frequently more
than they can devour. During the past two years these
insects, working generally throughout the United States,
destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of
crops. By the timely application of remedies, however,

PRACTICAL STUDY OF GARDENING 213

it was found that these insects could be readily controlled,
large areas being successfully treated. The usual method
of control is by the use of poisoned baits.

Take a bushel of dry bran, add one pound of arsenic
or Paris green, and mix it thoroughly into a mash with
eight gallons of water, in which has been stirred half a
gallon of molasses. After the mash has stood several
hours, scatter it in lumps of about the size of a marble
over the fields where injury is beginning to appear and
about the bases of the plants set out. Apply late in the
day so as to place the poison about the plants over night,
which is the time when the cut worms are active. Apply
a second time if necessary. Where garden maggots or
other small insects have appeared, treat the soil with
tobacco or kerosene emulsion.

Cucumbers and squash have the same enemies, but the
beetle will leave the cucumber for the squash, which
induces some growers to plant a few squash-vines near
cucumbers in order to trap the beetles.

Late blight of potatoes causes extremely heavy damage
some years, the extent depending largely upon weather
conditions. It is most likely to appear during damp,
sultry weather in August and September. Where the
disease has been prevalent in recent seasons the only
safe method is to spray thoroughly throughout the sum-
mer so as to ward off possible attacks. The disease is
caused by a parasitic fungus which attacks the stems
and under portions of the leaves, spreading in favorable
weather with extreme rapidity and sometimes wilting an
entire field in the course of 48 hours. It can scarcely be
checked by spraying, but its appearance can be prevented
by this method.

Commercial Value of Garden Flowers

Nearly all the common, hardy flowers have great com-
mercial value. It is possible for farm families to greatly
increase their income by raising such a variety of flowers
as can be grown on an acre or less.

The aster is a favorite in the markets and is a money-
maker for those who have taste and skill in gardening.
The evolution of the aster in the past five years has been
something wonderful.

Persistent effort on the part of growers induced the
plain, unpretentious little China Aster of our grand-
mothers' day to bestir itself with most gratifying results.

The magnificent chrysanthemum-like blooms of the
present day bear little resemblance to their Chinese an-
cestors. To become familiar with the possibilities of this
old friend in its new development, it is only necessary to
look at the displays in florists' windows during August
and September.

This will suggest, too, many commercial possibilities of
aster culture. Last year an acquaintance of mine mar-
keted nearly $300 worth of asters, grown on the rear of a
city lot.

There is nothing difficult or complicated about aster
culture. The plants are usually free from bothersome
insects, and if given half a chance they attend strictly to
business, and flower within two months after they have
been transplanted to the garden.

It is not best to raise them two successive years in
the same soil, and one should have well rooted plants

214

COMMERCIAL VALUE OF FLOWERS 215

ready to set out by the first of July, earlier if blossoms
are desired before September.

Procure seed of the large variety from some reliable
seed house. Plant in April in boxes of sifted earth. You
will find cigar boxes just right for this purpose, as they
will be light to handle, and are just right for standing
upon a window-sill, if one has to grow them in the liv-
ing room.

Make four drills about a quarter of an inch deep,
the length of the box. Put about eight seeds to the inch
in the drill, and cover with earth. Pat down and keep
moist. The boxes may be placed near the heat, where
the earth will be kept warm, if the top is kept well mois-
tened.

It is a good plan to keep covered with wet moss,
or if moss cannot be had, place a cloth over the box
to prevent evaporation. If the seed is fresh, and the
earth kept warm, the plants will appear by the fourth day.

The box will then be uncovered and placed in a strong
light, or the little plants will grow long, weak stems.
Aster-plants cannot be given too much sunlight. As often
as the weather will permit, place the boxes of young plants
outside in the sunlight, but sheltered from the strong
wind.

When the plants have their fourth leaf, they should
be transplanted. Place them an inch apart in flats — boxes
containing earth two inches in depth. As soon as they
are well established in these new quarters, give an abund-
ance of water, and their growth will amaze you.

They should be kept outside all of the time after being
placed in the flats. Watch out for frosty nights, how-
ever, for aster-plants will not stand even a little frost.
Meanwhile, during the time that the plants are growing
in the flats, we must be preparing the plot in the gar-
den. Any rich soil is suitable for asters. Of course the
richer, the better.

216 COMMERCIAL VALUE OF FLOWERS

Spade or plow them deep in April. Keep working it oc-
casionally until time to place the plants in it. If at trans-
planting time the soil seems at all hard, spade again.

You will find that all of this preliminary working of
the land will make the subsequent cultivation easy.
Nearly all the weed growth has been destroyed.

The plants will only need attention after every rain,
when it will be necessary to break the crust to prevent
too rapid evaporation. In case of drought, keep the top
soil well stirred.

If you water at all, give a thorough wetting, and pro-
ceed after it the same as after a rain. This plan is bet-
ter than a daily sprinkling. The plants should be about
ten inches apart in the row, and the rows can be as close
together as will permit of proper cultivation — twelve to
fifteen inches.

If you are growing your asters for the market, or for
large blooms and long stems, rather than for a mass of
blossoms, you should remove all but six branches from
each plant. Remove them as soon as they appear.

Six flowers are all that one plant can mature and
give you large, long-stemmed blossoms. If you are work-
ing for still larger flowers, let each plant bear only three.

You will find that on these remaining flower-stalks
there will be a bud form at the base of every leaf. These
must be carefully removed. This disbudding operation
is really about all the work there is to aster cultivation,
after the plants have been transplanted into their per-
manent quarters.

As a cut flower the aster has very few rivals. Its
keeping qualities are not surpassed even by the chrys-
anthemum. Its range of color is nearly, if not quite,
equal to that flower. For three seasons now I have
found a ready market for choice, long-stemmed asters,
at fifty cents a dozen. The demand seems unlimited.

While asters are easier to manage than other flowers,

COMMERCIAL VALUE OF FLOWERS 217

it will be found that dahlias, gladioli and nasturtiums fit
naturally into the gardening scheme and give great pleas-
ure.

Dahlias can be raised from seed, or from small plants
supplied by dealers, but neither of these methods is as
satisfactory as starting them from dormant tubers. Do
not plant an undivided bunch of tubers. Best results are
obtained from placing one, never more than two, tubers
in a hill. If two are used they are not separated.

Plant them two and a half or three feet apart each
way. Place the tubers about four inches in the earth.
Let only one sprout or plant grow from a hill. Some
tubers will send up several, but they must be removed as
soon as they become visible above the surface of the
ground. Stake early and tie plants to the stake with
strips of cloth. It is imperative that they be kept well
tied to their support. While the plants are self-sup-
porting, they are full of sap and very brittle. A wind
storm will ruin dahlias if they are not tied securely to
their stakes.

From each tuber planted in the spring you should in
the fall have a clump of from three to five with which
to start your next season's plants.

Keep top soil loose around your plants, but do not cul-
tivate deeply after they have commenced to make rapid
growth. Dahlias throw out a network of threadlike roots
quite near the surface, and in cultivating great care
should be taken not to injure these roots. In midsum-
mer supply a top-mulch of barn-yard manure if you can
procure it; if not, use lawn clippings. Make this dress-
ing as thick as you can, up to eight inches. Your dahlias
will need no further care other than to keep them prop-
erly tied to stakes and the blossoms well cut.

Gladioli have been termed the poor man's orchids.
Anybody can grow them and in almost any soil, although
they have a special liking for rich loam. Many of the

218 COMMERCIAL VALUE OF FLOWERS

newer sorts are wonderfully beautiful, and one of the
advantages of the gladiolus is the fact that the blos-
soms will last for two weeks or more when cut, if the
cutting is done just before the first flower on the stalk
opens. Then, day after day, the other blossoms will un-
fold, until the stalk is full of glorious color.

The bulbs should be planted four inches deep, and
care should be taken to have them go in the ground
right side up. If the soil is kept stirred, less water will
be necessary, and the plants will respond with extra fine
flowers. If one desires a long blooming season of
gladioli, plantings should be made every two weeks from
April to June. They may be planted in rows eighteen
inches apart and six inches in the row. One particular
advantage of the gladiolus is the fact that it is seldom
attacked by insect pests or plant diseases. These flowers
also have commercial possibilities. One has only to study
florists' windows during the summer and fall to be con-
vinced of this fact.

Pansies prefer a partly shaded location and salvia
thrives best in full sunshine. A late mulch benefits salvia.

Keep your pansy blossoms picked. Let no seeds form.
In early winter cover with a layer of leaves and place a
few branches on top to prevent the wind from blowing
the leaves away. Remove the covering early in the spring
and you will probably find buds already showing color,
and it will not be long until you have plenty of these
charming blossoms. Start mignonette and nasturtiums in
the plot where they are to grow. Both varieties are rapid
growers.

The beautiful lily-of-the-valley succeeds outside, in
almost any location, but prefers shade and plenty of
moisture. When it is once planted and becomes estab-
lished, the crowns keep increasing, the large ones flower-
ing each year without any attention beyond the applica-
tion of a top-dressing of manure or rich soil in the fall.

COMMERCIAL VALUE OF FLOWERS 219

Lilies-of-the-valley may be propagated by seeds, which
ripen freely if allowed, and should be sown in the spring
outside. The usual method of propagation, however, is
by the numerous crowns which form at the joints of
creeping roots, or underground stems. If the crowns are
allowed to grow undisturbed, they become too thickly
crowded, and do not produce such fine flowers as when
more space is afforded.

Select and prepare a piece of ground in a border, with
either an east or west aspect. It should be manured and
well trenched. The crowns should be lifted in the fall, or
at any time before growth commences in the spring, and
placed together, according to their size.

In planting, a shallow trench should be cut out, the
crowns placed upright in it about two inches apart, so
that their points are just below the surface, and the soil
filled in. Other trenches may then be prepared and
planted in a similar way, leaving a space of about nine
inches between them. Hoe occasionally to keep the sur-
face open and clean, and watering in dry weather, until
the leaves dry away, will be all that is necessary after-
ward. Crowns thus treated may be lifted for forcing the
following winter, if required, but they are much stronger
if allowed to stay until the second year. The crowns to
be used for early forcing should be placed rather thickly
in pots or boxes, and a little light soil shaken among the
roots; but not over the tops. They should be covered
with moss.

Another plan is to insert them similarly in propaga-
tion frames, and pot up as they come into flower. The
roots do not grow during this period, consequently it is
immaterial which method is adopted. Plunge in a bot-
tom heat of about 85 degrees, and if possible maintain a
surface temperature of 10 degrees less. This will en-
courage the production of leaves and flowers and at the
same time — conditions not readily obtained with the

220 COMMERCIAL VALUE OF FLOWERS

earlier supplies. If pots or boxes are used, empty ones
of similar size may be inverted over them to keep the
crown dark. This is considered beneficial in assisting
to start them into growth.

It is important that the soil be placed as lightly as
possible around the roots, in order that the heat may
pass through readily. Water of the same temperature
should be given to keep the whole well moistened. The
very earliest batch sometimes fails ; but if the crowns are
good, and proper attention is given in forcing, each of the
later ones may be relied upon to produce flowers.

Grown in pots, and forced into flower early in the
spring, the lily-of-the-valley constitutes an invaluable
subject for decoration. The natural flowering season is
May. By obtaining a plentiful supply of crowns, and
forcing carefully, the season may commence in January,
and a succession of flowers be secured thenceforth until
June.

Making and Care of Hotbeds and Cold Frames

The cold frame and hotbed are worthy of much wider
attention than they now enjoy. With their aid the autumn
season can be prolonged and the spring season hastened.
They will yield herbs and salads in variety in early spring
and hasten the starting of summer crops. To the flower
lover they are a real necessity for the carrying of many
things through the winter, and few people indeed have
ever fully developed the possibilities of pleasure possessed
by an ordinary glass-covered frame.

The function of a cold frame is to ward off cold winds,
to keep the ground clear of snow, and in the spring to
increase the feeble heat of the slanting sunbeams, and
thus foster plant growth.

The construction is simple. The back board is usually
twelve inches and the front eight inches wide. The two
are connected by a tapered board twelve inches wide at
one end and eight inches at the other. Standard sash are
3x6 feet, and it takes a box of 6x8 inch glass to glaze
three sash. The frame work can be readily made by a
local carpenter or any one handy with tools; and when
complete the frame is set in a sheltered, well-drained
position, usually near the house.

A cold frame is simply a frame having sash, but no
other means of heating. Fill the frame with soil 6 inches
deep in front and 8 or 9 inches at the back ; make shal-
low drills, 3 inches or 4 inches apart, across the face of
the soil in the frame, and in these sow the seeds, covering
them thinly and tamping them gently; then water mod-
erately through a fine hose. Now put on the sash, and

221

222 MAKING AND CARE OF HOTBEDS

keep all snug and warm until the seedlings appear, when
the sashes should be tilted up during the day to admit
fresh air freely and make the plants sturdy. As the
seedlings wax in strength, remove the sash both day and
night, in fine weather, but replace it as a protection
against wet, muggy or cold weather. As soon as the
plants are big enough, transplant them into the open
garden.

In sowing in a cold frame, carefully observe that the
kinds of plants are of somewhat the same nature,
strength and time of germinating. When this is not the
case, or there is any uncertainty about it, better sow in
pots, pans or flats, and set these close together in the
frame; as the seedlings appear in the pots or flats, re-
move these to the lightest, sunniest place in the frame,
and the ungerminated ones keep by themselves. After-
wards as regards transplanting, treat as directed above
in the manner of seed sown in the frame.

A hotbed is a cold frame placed upon a quantity of
fermenting manure. The hotbed is usually made ready
in February or March. In the preparation of the manure
it is best to collect the requisite amount from the horse
stable, and make it into a compact heap, watering it if
dry. In a few days active fermentation will be in prog-
ress, when the heap should be turned, watering again if
necessary, shaking out the lumps. The aim is to induce
an active and uniform fermentation of the whole mass,
and to have it continue for some time after the soil is
placed on it.

Select a well-drained spot, and make the pile of manure
eight or nine feet wide by whatever length is necessary,
with a depth of fifteen to eighteen inches ; or a foot of
soil may be dug out and filled in with manure, well
tramped down. Place the frame on it. Then put three
or four inches of good soil uniformly over the surface.

MAKING AND CARE OF HOTBEDS 223

Some manure or soil can be thrown up against the outer
boards, which will help to hold the heat ; put on the sash
and keep tight for three or four days. There should be
a thermometer kept in the hotbed, and when the tem-
perature falls to 70 degrees seed may be sown with
safety. The temperature in a hotbed should not be
allowed to go above 70 degrees in the day, nor below 50
at night. Seeds may be sown in it in the same way as
specified in the case of a cold frame, but it is safer for
the amateur to sow in pots, pans or flats than to sow in
the earth-bed of the hotbed. While a hotbed is new
it is well to always keep a chink of ventilation to allow
the discharge of "steam" or ammonia; if not, a damp
mould will spread over the seed-pots or the seedlings will
rot off. Keep the sprouted seeds by themselves, and the
pots of unsprouted ones by themselves; give increased
light and ventilation to the former. As regards harden-
ing off and transplanting, treat as for cold frames. A
hotbed should be covered overhead with straw mats or
carpet at night in cold weather to conserve the heat, but
this covering should be removed in the daytime.

With a hotbed the amateur can start almost any kind
of vegetables or flower seed. By sowing such vegetables
as eggplant, pepper, tomatoes, etc., and such flower seeds
as heliotrope, scarlet sage, vinca, verbenas, etc., along in
March, it is possible to have nice stocky plants ready to
set out as soon as the weather conditions are favorable,
insuring early returns from the vegetables and a long
season of bloom from the flowers.

I know of no better way of getting the youngsters in-
terested in agricultural matters than that of teaching
them how to make and care for the hotbed.

The preparation of the manure is not such a particular
job as is generally supposed, but the simple principle in-
volved is not generally known.

224 MAKING AND CARE OF HOTBEDS

The yeast fungus, when once introduced into a manure
heap suitable to its development, spreads rapidly, and
soon has the whole mass in a state of heat.

If the manure is very hot, the soil should be put on at
once, but if not, the sash should be placed over the
manure for a few days, until the manure is well heated,
then the soil put on.

The bed should be watched, and as soon as the seed of
weeds which are in the soil begin to come up all over
the bed, it is time to plant the garden seed.

Planting the seed is one of the most fascinating parts
of the work. To put the tiny seed into the mellow earth,
and in a few days see the little plants shove their heads
up to the light of day is well worth while.

The bed should be marked off into perfectly straight
rows that run toward the rear from the front of the
frame, the depth of the rows to correspond with the
varieties of the seeds planted.

The seeds of eggplant, tomatoes and peppers are thin,
and require more moisture than the seed of cabbage and
other vegetables that have the thick or round seed, and
should be planted deeper.

The main object is to plant just deep enough, so that
the seed will not dry out after they germinate, and be-
fore they are well up and started. The soil should not
get very dry any time after the seeds are planted, or even
after the plants are up and growing.

War on Field and Garden Pests

It takes a lot of vigorous effort to make a successful war
on field and garden pests, which annually wipe out a
large part of farm profits.

The cutworm seems to have been about as destructive
as ever in recent years, and some orchardists and gar-
deners have felt like giving up in despair. Fungous
diseases and other destructive agencies also have gained
ground.

The war against them should go on, however, and land
owners need to study methods. There is a great deal at
stake, and this is no time for discouragement. Plant
diseases and insects may be increased by continuously
planting one crop upon the same field. Every crop has
its peculiar insect enemies, and it is natural to assume
that these enemies will be more numerous the second,
third or fourth year the same crop is grown.

The cutworm has not only a wide distribution, but it is
a promiscuous feeder as well. Scarcely any crop of field,
garden or orchard is not subject to attack. It may clean
vegetable and truck gardens absolutely. It not only takes
potatoes, sweet potatoes, lettuce, beets, carrots, etc., but
all the ornamentals fall before its voracious appetite.
When very numerous it destroys, or at least damages,
alfalfa. Apple, pear, peach, currant, blackberry, rasp-
berry, gooseberry, grape and all fruit trees are victims
of this gourmand.

Spraying with paris green, one pound to ioo gallons
of water, to which five pounds of freshly slaked lime
has been added, will often save vegetables. Spraying

225

226 WAR ON FIELD AND GARDEN PESTS

alfalfa or other succulent vegetation with this same mix-
ture, or with two pounds of lead arsenate to fifty gallons
of water, has often been used with marked success.

A poison bran mash has been used by many gardeners.
A pound of paris green to forty pounds of bran should
be sweetened either by use of cheap sugar or molasses
and sufficient water added to make a stiff mash. Place in
small bunches near the plants likely to be attacked.

Spray orchard trees late in the summer, after the fruit
has been gathered, while the days are still warm. They
also need spraying just after the blossoms have fallen in
the spring. In bad seasons a third spraying is necessary.
Use both an insect poison and a fungus poison, applying
both at once. Use lead arsenate or paris green for the
insects and bordeaux mixture or lime sulphur wash for
the diseases. Better buy the lead arsenate and lime sul-
phur already prepared unless you have had experience
in making these mixtures.

The codling moth, principal cause of wormy apples,
is responsible for an annual loss in the United States of
$12,000,000 in fruit and an expenditure of $3,000,000 to
$4,000,000 for sprays and labor for spraying. However,
spraying with arsenical sprays saves 90 to 95 per cent of
the crop.

Spraying machines are as much a part of modern
orchard and garden tools as pruning shears and culti-
vators. There is not an orchard, garden or farm that
would not be better for their use. Indeed, in some cases,
it is almost a question of abandoning the cultivation of
certain crops or the use of spraying machines for their
protection. It is quite feasible for neighbors to co-oper-
ate in the purchase of an outfit.

He who does not spray from this time on will be left
behind in the race for success in the market and his sup-
ply of fruits will be deficient in both quantity and quality.

WAR ON FIELD AND GARDEN PESTS 227

There are those who have taken advantage of the aids to
practical horticulture, and their fruits are known in the
markets as being clean, smooth and sound. Anyone
knows how poor a chance for sale wormy, knotty or
scabby fruit has beside that which is nearly perfect.

Many experts declare they cannot raise fruit success-
fully unless they spray at the end of the blossoming
period and again after the fruit has gained some size.
The cutworm is particularly destructive and hard to fight.
These insects eat the buds and young foliage only during
the night. During the day they hide at the base of the
tree, going down a few inches into the soil.

The best treatment for this pest is to scatter poisoned
bait close to the tree. This is made by mixing one
pound of paris green to twenty pounds of bran, then
adding one or two quarts of molasses. Work up with
enough water to make a stiff mash. Do not let chickens
have access to this poisoned bran. As a supplement to
this treatment spray the trees with bordeaux mixture.
The same scheme of treatment will answer for the garden
cutworms. The bordeaux mixture will help to protect
plants. When cutworms attack corn or other crops the
poisoned bran scattered in the fields will prove effective.

For successful coping with the codling moth it is
essential that all fallen and diseased fruit should be
gathered and destroyed. Where bandages are used these
should be removed and thoroughly cleaned or destroyed.
The poison used with best results in killing codling moths
is arsenate of lead. Bordeaux mixture or a lime-sulphur
wash is added as a fungicide.

The potato beetle is one of the worst insect enemies
of potatoes. They come in small numbers, first laying
clusters of orange-colored eggs on the under side of the
leaves. Then is the time to begin to destroy them, before
they have had time to do much injury. The eggs hatch

228 WAR ON FIELD AND GARDEN PESTS

in about a week, hence if the plants are promptly sprayed
with poison the young will be killed and the pest reduced
or destroyed altogether.

Paris green at the rate of one pound to the acre in
twenty-five to forty gallons of water is a common remedy.
It is also used in connection with bordeaux mixture, the
latter killing the blight. Lime should be used with the
paris green. Perhaps a better insecticide for potatoes is
arsenate of lead, applied at the rate of five or six pounds
to the acre in about fifty gallons of water or bordeaux
mixture.

The cottony maple scale is one of the best-known in-
sects because it heavily infests several common shade
trees, and because the cottony masses beneath the body
of the adult female in summer make it a conspicuous
object. These large white masses are a deposit of waxy
threads within which are the minute, oval, pale yellowish
eggs. The soft maple is the tree most generally infested
by this insect. The boxelder is also subject to injury, and
next to this, perhaps, the linden or basswood.

Among the other trees and woody plants often more
or less injured are the elm, honey locust, black locust,
walnut, sumac, willow, poplar, beech, hawthorn, bitter-
sweet, grapevine and Virginia creeper. The common
kerosene emulsion, made by mixing kerosene with one-
third of its volume of strong soapsuds, is a satisfactory
spray and should be applied twice in the summer. Where
caterpillars are usually numerous apply arsenate of lead
freely.

The government has shown that insect pests cause a
loss of about ten per cent on nearly all crops. The an-
nual damage is placed at $420,000,000. The cinch bug
wheat pest sometimes costs us $20,000,000 a year.

The boll weevil costs the cotton planters $20,000,000 a
year.

WAR ON FIELD AND GARDEN PESTS 229

The tree-insect pests cost the nation $100,000,000 a
year.

The grasshoppers, cutworms, army worms, wire-
worms, leaf-hoppers and other insects cost the nation,
annually, more millions than can be counted separately;
but the total for all insect pests is $420,000,000. Now,
have we not paid this price about long enough?

The value of the birds destroyed as "game" and for
"food" is not a fraction of the value they would save to
the national wealth, if permitted to live. Regarding the
slaughter of our birds, the increase of insect pests, and
the losses they inflict upon us, the great mass of the
American people are sound asleep. The situation is
illogical, absurd and intolerable.

In preparing the lime-sulphur mixture this plan may be
followed: Sulphur, 15 pounds; unslaked lime, 20
pounds; use an iron kettle, thirty to sixty gallons, and
some sort of a tank equally large that will hold hot water.
In the iron kettle heat to boiling five gallons of water.
Add the lime broken into small pieces, but not pulverized.
Add immediately the sulphur, stirring it in as the lime
slakes. Add hot water as necessary to keep from boiling
over. Boil constantly from the time the lime is put in
until the mixture is done. Boil for an hour or more un-
til properly cooked, when it will be of a dark amber
color. Color does not change when mixture has suf-
ficiently cooked. Add hot water until you have forty-
five gallons, keep stirred and strain through a fine
strainer into the barrel or tank. Spray onto trees imme-
diately. Apply when the leaves are off, during winter or
in early spring. Never let the mixture stand over night
or until cold before applying it; it will not do the work
when allowed to stand. Remember to keep it boiling all
the time while cooking. Where desirable, steam may
be used for cooking this mixture, but the mixture must
be constantly stirred during cooking process.

230 WAR ON FIELD AND GARDEN PESTS

For the arsenate of lead mixture use the following:
Lead arsenate, 6 pounds; water, 120 gallons. This mix-
ture stays in suspension better than paris green, but is
more expensive and has little advantage over paris green
except where rains are frequent it is less likely to burn
the foliage. Arsenate of lead will adhere to the foliage
longer and therefore should be more valuable for the late
sprays or for leaf-eating insects.

After five years of experimenting with different spray
material in apple orchards, the New Hampshire station is
just out with suggestive conclusions. The work was con-
ducted on different farms in different parts of the state,
and the sprays were used primarily as fungicides. Prof.
Charles Brooks, author of the bulletins, reaches con-
clusions a bit contrary to the general spraying verdict.
While lime-sulphur is advocated as the best all-around
spray, Prof. Brooks says : "No fungicide has been found
that holds diseases in check as well as bordeaux. When
showers follow soon after an application of bordeaux,
the leaves are likely to be spotted and the fruit somewhat
rusted. However, the injury to fruit is seldom great
enough to be of importance when apples are sold in
barrels. If extra fancy fruit is wanted for sale in boxes,
the use of bordeaux under New Hampshire conditions
seems questionable."

Second thought will indicate that Prof. Brooks is not
so far from the general advice given on spraying. People
want fancy fruit, hence they substitute lime-sulphur. It
is largely to avoid spray injury that lime-sulphur has
replaced bordeaux. No one ever questioned the high
value of bordeaux as a fungicide. The trouble is it does
too well, reaching the fruit as well as fungus. In New
Hampshire experience, no commercial bordeaux has been
found as satisfactory as home-made. "The best formula
of bordeaux for the apple orchard is 3-3-50, that is, three

WAR ON FIELD AND GARDEN PESTS 231

pounds each of copper sulphate and lime to 50 gallons
of water."

Regarding lime-sulphur, Prof. Brooks says: "It
proved a satisfactory substitute for bordeaux in most
cases. It caused little or no injury, and in some seasons
controlled the diseases as well as bordeaux. In 19 10,
two sprayings of lime-sulphur were entirely inadequate
to hold scab in check. When diseases are serious and
the season a rainy one, more applications of lime-sulphur
will be required than of bordeaux. As a poison for in-
sects, arsenate of lead is the only thing that has proved
satisfactory for use with lime-sulphur. The iron sul-
phide mixture gave good results the one season it was
used, and is apparently worth further trial. The Bald-
win is apparently more susceptible to spray injury than
the Mcintosh.

"The number of sprayings required will vary with the
season and the diseases and general care of the orchard.
The removal of all cankers will greatly decrease the leaf
spot, and the destruction of the fallen leaves is of value
in controlling both scab and leaf spot. The application
of a strong fungicide before the leaves are out, and one
of a regular strength just before the flower buds open,
will decrease the number of sprayings needed later."

Enemies of the Corn Crop

The corn root-worm has ruined thousands of acres of
corn during the last thirty years, and yet it is one of the
easiest species to control, when once the farmer becomes
acquainted with its habits. Like most insects of this class,
it is useless to attempt to hold it in check by the applica-
tion of poisons ; it covers too much territory, and, during
the period when it does its injury, it is concealed beneath
the surface of the soil. As one becomes better ac-
quainted with its life history, therefore, the more evident
it becomes that the application of good common sense in
the farming operations is the only remedy needed.

This insect is closely related to the striped cucumber
beetle, belonging to the same genus, is about the same
size and shape, but the color is a light green. The adult
beetles may be found feeding upon the silk and pollen of
the corn during the last of July and through August until
the corn plants approach maturity, when they lay eggs on
the base of the stalks, just below the surface of the soil,
and pass the winter in the egg state. The eggs hatch in
late spring or early summer, and at first eat the smaller
roots, but, as the plants develop the larvae bore out the
larger roots, causing the plants to dwindle and die, or to
become so dwarfed as to amount to nothing. The full
grown larvae are white, chunked invididuals, about one-
tenth of an inch long, and nearly as thick. They pupate
in small oval cells in the ground and the beetles appear
soon after.

As the larvae do not feed upon anything but the corn
roots, it is evident that if a regular rotation of crops is

232

ENEMIES OF THE CORN CROP 233

practiced, so that corn is grown on the same soil only once
in three or four years, there will be no chance for the
insects to increase. The trouble invariably comes from
planting corn after corn, except on river bottoms, which
are overflowed several times during each year. I have
seen corn grown on the bottom lands along the Wabash
river near LaFayette, every year for the past twenty-
eight years, and I have never known a crop to be in-
jured by this insect. But on the upland, black prairie
and muck soils, where corn is the principal crop that can
be successfully grown, this insect is sure to give trouble.
On such land oats and grass should rotate with corn.

The corn root-aphis is a different proposition, as it
belongs to the suckling class or true bugs, but like the
other, it does its work on the roots under ground, and
so is difficult to reach. These lice are usually attended
by ants, as the latter are very fond of the "honey dew"
which is given out by the lice through two little tubes,
which are situated on the back of the adult insect. The
ants even gather up the aphis eggs and store them in
their nests where they are cared for during the winter.
During April and May, as soon as the smart-weed and
fox-tail grass make their appearance, these eggs begin to
hatch and the ants carry their young wards and colonize
them on the roots of these plants. As soon as the young
corn plants are well started, the second brood of lice be-
gins to appear and the ants transfer them to the corn
roots where they continue to increase with great rapidity,
and to suck the life out of the corn plants.

It is evident from the above, that the land seldom be-
comes infested with these lice until the second or possibly
the third corn crop. If, therefore, a three or four-year
rotation is practiced in which corn appears only once,
there will be but little, if any, damage done by the aphis.

Then, too, the proper fertilization of the soil is of great
importance, as it enables the corn to make a crop in spite

234 ENEMIES OF THE CORN CROP

of the lice. A heavy dressing of stable manure is gener-
ally preferable for this purpose. A dressing of kainit
drilled in the row, at the rate of ioo pounds per acre at
the time of planting has been found to almost completely
protect the plants from the attacks of the lice. This
material is used quite largely in some sections.

As the ants protect the eggs in their nests during win-
ter, it is a good plan to plow the field which is intended
for corn the second or third year, as late in the fall as
possible, and as deeply as possible, in order to break up
the ants' nests. This will also assist in destroying the
weeds which serve as a starter for the lice in the spring.
By dipping the seed corn in a solution of wood alcohol
and oil of lemon before planting, the number of lice and
ants may be greatly reduced, but this will prove true only
when the weather conditions are just right. If heavy
rains follow the planting, the material is washed off and
so loses its force. With our present knowledge, there-
fore, rotation, late fall plowing, early and thorough cul-
tivation, and the use of kainit are recommended.

Wealth in Honey Under Skillful Management

It has been asserted that a thousand dollars can be
cleaned up easier in the production of honey than in
almost any other line of farm activity. Whether such a
statement is literally true or not, it is certain that bee-
keeping belongs in the line of mixed farming, and is
worthy of general attention.

A few persons develop a large business in bee culture,
and grow wealthy from the sale of honey, whereas the
majority who start apiaries fail to realize enough from
them to pay for the time and trouble involved.

There is a seeming inconsistency here, which is ex-
plained by the fact that the losers have been neglectful
of vital points, while the winners have given skilled care
to such questions as food supply, disease, protection from
cold, and marketing the product. It is a business that
calls for much reading and watchfulness.

It pays to winter the apiary in dry, snug quarters, and
the shed or house ought to be ready by November I. It
is a common mistake to place the colonies in a cellar at
the approach of winter. They are pretty sure to suffer
from dampness or a lack of ventilation. The ordinary
granary will answer the purpose, if space can be spared.
It is essential to keep the hives free from wind. An even
temperature is necessary, or moisture may accumulate
from the alternate freezing and thawing.

Moths are usually prevalent in the hives after rainy
weather of the fall, and many dead bees can be picked out
of the combs when it comes time to prepare for winter.
One diseased swarm will have a bad effect on the entire

235

236 WEALTH IN HONEY

apiary. If there are any colonies affected with moths or
foul brood, they should be kept separate from the others.

It is best to take out all the honey where there are indi-
cations of disease and give the bees a clean hive, with a
fresh supply of food. Wash and fumigate the old boxes
before they are used again. It is important to have clean,
well-made hives, with joints so tight that worms cannot
secrete themselves out of reach of the bees.

Owners of apiaries who are not satisfied with the
appearance of their swarms in spring will be wise to intro-
duce a new lot of Italian queens bought from reliable
dealers. This, with clean hives, will be apt to bring
success again.

A vigorous swarm will gather ioo pounds of honey in
a season, in addition to its own food supply, provided the
distance to travel does not exceed a quarter of a mile.
This product is worth $14 to $20, according to whether
the producer sells at retail or wholesale. Call it $15 for
the sake of the illustration. One hundred colonies would
earn $1,500. Letting the food supply be governed by
chance, a colony will produce thirty-five to seventy pounds
in a good season. One hundred colonies will earn about
$750. Owners need to provide a patch of buckwheat or
alsike near the apiary. This will insure honey-making in
bad seasons and save the bees a great deal of travel.

It is easy to handle bees when you know how. Undoubt-
edly a beekeeper often gets stung; it would be useless to
deny it, and it is scarcely consoling to a novice to tell
him he will get used to being stung; but after a time a
beekeeper really does become inoculated, after which,
although the momentary pain may be sharp, there are no
disagreeable after-effects, such as swelling, etc.

The fear of stings prevents many from liking the
work, and yet, when properly protected with a bee-veil,
and working only in the warm part of the day, and never

WEALTH IN HONEY 23/

when cloudy, rainy or cold, and with the use of a good
smoker, one need rarely be stung.

In many cases the sting of a bee is attended with much
pain and swelling, while in others there are no ill effects
produced whatever, and there is no doubt but that the
system may become inured to the poison so that no bad
effects are produced.

It is much easier to prevent the anger of bees than to
stop it after it has begun. If you mismanage a colony of
bees and arouse their anger, it is quite likely that this
disposition will remain with them for a few days.

A bee away from home, or laden with honey, never
volunteers an attack.

Thus, in order to render bees harmless, it is only nec-
essary to cause them to fill themselves with honey, and
this is done by frightening them with smoke. When
smoke is driven into a hive through the entrance, the bees
at once begin filling themselves with honey.

But with them, as with human beings, it is the most
experienced which are slowest to take fright, so when
the old bees are all at home, it is more difficult, and takes
more time to compel them all to fill themselves.

For this reason it is much safer to handle bees during
the warmest part of the day, or at a time when the
greater part of the old bees are in the field.

The bees which compose a swarm are usually filled with
honey for the journey which they expect to take, and
they are harmless unless crushed, or very much irritated
by the anger of others, and the smell of the poison.

An expert may open a hive without smoke and without
danger, and may handle the combs and return them to the
hive without getting a single sting, by being quiet, steady
and fearless. It is a fact that the fearless apiarist may
often be entirely unharmed, while others a rod away may
be stung.

238 WEALTH IN HONEY

When you wish to open a hive of bees, arm yourself
with a smoker, cover your head with a veil, and step
boldly to the front of the hive ; send the smoke through
the opening for half a minute, then stop, and repeat the
operation after another half-minute, or until they make a
steady hum, which will show that they have given up the
desire to fight. Then open the hive, smoke gently, and
you may lift the combs, one after another.

I do not like the plan of building a repository in the
side of a hill any better than I like a cellar under the
dwelling. With either plan there are bad results, and a
frame building, high and dry, is in every way preferable.
Outdoor wintering is not generally successful, but some
experts use chaff hives with sawdust cushions over the
top of the brood chamber.

In case of outdoor wintering, it is well to have all hives
facing southward, so the sun can shine on the entrances
and keep them free from ice. After a heavy fall of snow,
always sweep in front of the hives, leaving the snow
banked around the other three sides, as it will do no
harm there, but will help to keep off the prevailing winds.

Bees will take an occasional flight during warm days
in winter, and sometimes many are seen lying about dead
on the snow, but such are generally the old ones that are
easily chilled and fail to get back to their hives. Such
losses are not serious.

With too small an entrance, in a damp climate, there
will be moldy combs, and more than the proper amount
of dead bees. The trouble becomes aggravated in the
course of the winter by the clogging of the entrance with
dead bees. Let the full entrance be given as in summer,
and see that the dead bees are cleaned from it every few
weeks.

During heavy storms in winter, it frequently happens
that hives are entirely buried in snow. While the snow is
light and porous, air will penetrate it and reach the

WEALTH IN HONEY 239

entrances of the hives; but should the snow become
crusty or ice form at the front, the bees would be in
danger of suffocating.

Some people are of the opinion that if we have a cold,
steady winter, in which the bees remain confined to their
hives for several months, there is less danger of winter
losses, because fewer of the bees wander away and get
lost. There would be a point in this, if it were not for
the danger of the overloading of their bowels with fetid
matter, which they cannot discharge in the hive without
greatly endangering the life or health of the colony.

Diarrhoea is often brought about during the winter
season. It is no doubt caused by fermented or extremely
thin honey. It has been found that bees located near
cider mills or cane mills will contract the trouble from
feeding too much on the apple pomace or cane juice.

Cold weather, dampness or a sudden change of tem-
perature has been known to bring on the disease. As
soon as the outbreak is noticed, the bees should be kept
as warm as possible, and the hive should be well wrapped.
During the cider season the pomace should be removed
and fed to the hogs, where the bees cannot partake of it.

During the winter the bees are huddled close together
in a compact cluster, the interior of which is at a normal
temperature, while the space outside of it may be even
below freezing.

As the season advances, and the weather gets warmer,
the cluster expands itself, brood rearing begins, and
honey is brought in, but all the work done is only inside
the cluster, as the temperature is too low outside of it
to admit of anything being done.

At no time of the year does skillful treatment and care
of the bees yield a greater reward than during the spring
months. A great mistake is often made in taking the
bees out of winter quarters too early in the spring, as the
weather is unsettled at this time, and a cold snap of a

240 WEALTH IN HONEY

few days will be apt to cause the colony to dwindle to
almost nothing, if it does not entirely succumb.

I would advise setting them out about the time soft
maple and elm trees begin to bloom. If there are only a
few hives, they can all be set out at once. Select a pleas-
ant day, so the bees can enjoy a cleansing flight. Bees
often become badly mixed up if a great number of hives
are set out at one time, some of the hives getting too
many bees, and some not enough.

If the bees are disposed to dysentery before setting out
time has actually arrived, they may, with profit, be set out
some pleasant day for a flight, and then placed back
toward evening, when they will be able to endure a much
longer period of confinement.

As soon as the warm weather approaches, go over the
entire apiary and examine each hive, to ascertain the con-
dition of the bees. You may find a few colonies where
the queen is absent. This is quickly noticed by the dis-
concerted action of the bees themselves ; and then, look-
ing further, it may be noticed that no brood is present.
Such hives place under other hives, with free access
between them. The queenless bees will readily unite with
the colony over them.

Care and Marketing of Extracted Honey

The care and marketing of extracted honey require con-
siderable special knowledge. There is a continual demand
for this commodity, and apiarists should take advantage
of it. Imperfect combs may be used up in this way,
provided the quality of the honey is good. An almost
unlimited retail trade can be worked up for extracted
as well as comb honey. Extracting is strongly recom-
mended in working colonies for large returns, for much
work is saved the bees and more honey is obtained.
Much that would otherwise be used in the production of
wax for building the combs is carried up into the super,
thus adding considerably to the surplus. Honey, unlike
many other commodities, will keep good almost indefi-
nitely, if properly taken and stored. Fermentation and
the consequent spoiling of honey should be avoided by
making sure that all honey, when taken from the hive, is
ripe. If it is allowed to remain in the hive until there
is no doubt of its ripeness, there need be little fear of
fermentation. This is said to be caused in some instances
by the presence in the honey of pollen grains, but if the
brood nests are properly managed, it is seldom that pollen
will be found at all in the supers.

When the heat in the brood chamber, generated by the
bees, has extracted the superfluous water from the honey
by evaporation, the sealing of the cells takes place,
because the honey is then in a condition which the bee-
keeper terms ripeness.

On removing the super, it should be placed in a warm
room, and if the work of extracting can be carried on at

241

242 CARE AND MARKETING OF HONEY

once, while the honey is warm, it will he an advantage, as
it will flow more freely than if allowed to get cold by
standing a day or so in a cold room.

The cappings, or cell covers, should be shaved of! with
a sharp knife, warmed by standing it in a pitcher of hot
water, and if cut from the bottom with a sawlike motion,
while the top of the frame is held forward, the cappings
will remain in a sheet and fall into the pan held below.

When the uncapped combs are put into the cages of
the extractor, they should be so placed that the bottom
bars go around first, for thus the honey is more easily
thrown out as it leaves the cells in the direction of the
pitch given them by the bees when they are building their
combs.

It is always advisable to return combs wet with honey
in the evening, so that the excitement they cause may be
over by the morning. Returning such combs at unsuit-
able times, and placing scraps of comb about for the bees
to clean, are undoubtedly the cause of much robbing.

Before putting honey into kegs, place the kegs in a
dry place, driving up the hoops occasionally. Through
tin and glass no moisture can pass. The wood can be
made a little like glass by paraffining it. Have your kegs
hot by standing in the sun or otherwise; pour two or
three pounds of hot paraffin into the keg, bung tight, roll
the keg over and over, tipping it on each end, then knock
out the bung and pour out the paraffin.

If you have been lively about it, you will get most of
your paraffin back, but a thin coating will be all over the
inside surface.

About the worst thing you can do is to have the wood
of the keg soaked so the hoops are very tight before put-
ting in the honey. The honey will suck all the moisture
out of the staves, loosen the hoops, then ferment, and
perhaps burst the keg.

There are other things besides bees and hives needed

CARE AND MARKETING OF HONEY 243

in producing extracted honey. A honey house becomes
a necessity, even when the apiary is very small, though of
course if one has only a half-dozen colonies or so, a
small room may be used in lieu of a house specially built
for the business, particularly when comb or section honey
is produced.

Extracted honey, production needs a larger equipment
of tools and appliances than does comb, and needs more
care and labor in getting it into proper shape for market.
So far as the handling of the product is concerned, there
is more labor in the extracted, but in the preliminary work
or management of the bees, the comb takes both greater
skill as an apiarist and more labor.

Our attention in the future should be given more to
the practical management of bees, to reduce the labor
and expense to the minimum. The more the work is
simplified, the more we shall feel we are advancing. Bet-
ter results are obtained from working for both comb and
extracted honey, and it will be observed that there is a
steady demand for each kind.

Management the Key to Poultry Success

Poultry dealers are learning to make money. Success
is measured by the dollar standard in all commercial
enterprises. Ducks and chickens are fed and housed, not
for their beauty, but for their earning capacity.

This fact will not be disputed, and it is clearly proven
by the developments in the poultry industry. Capital is
being invested quite freely and thousands of new plants,
large and small, are being put on a business basis, so that
they will return reasonable profits. No branch of busi-
ness shows greater progress.

One of the most successful poultry raisers in Illinois
has only five acres of land. He keeps from 600 to 2,000
chickens, and raises wheat and corn enough for them on
about three acres. He buys the refuse from a hotel, pay-
ing merely a nominal price. It may not be very profitable
to feed chickens exclusively on corn worth 75 cents a
bushel, but by providing a variety of cheaper food, the
question of feeding becomes less serious.

In order to get a good supply of eggs in the winter,
conditions for the hens must be made as nearly like
summer as possible.

To do this, one thing necessary is plenty of green food
for the hens to eat. There are various ways of supplying
this.

If there is a field of winter wheat, rye or alfalfa, where
they can help themselves, the green-food problem is
solved, when there is no snow on the ground and the
weather is warm enough so that the hens can be out.

During cold and stormy weather, when they are shut

244

MANAGEMENT THE KEY TO SUCCESS 245

up in the houses, clover or alfalfa, cut into short lengths,
is a good green food. The hens will eat them dry, but
relish them much better if steamed. To steam, cut into
short pieces and pack in a tub or bucket, pour as much
boiling water over them as they will absorb, and cover
tightly for thirty minutes before feeding. It may be fed
either by itself or mixed with a mash.

Sprouted oats are a good green food. To prepare
them, soak the oats in warm water for twenty-four
hours, then spread in shallow boxes and keep in a warm
place. Keep them moist by sprinkling with warm water,
and they will soon sprout.

When the sprouts are about two inches long, cut the
oats out in chunks and feed to the hens. They will eat
with relish both the sprouts and the oats.

Another way of furnishing green food is to feed vege-
tables. Turnips, beets and mangles should be cut in
halves and fed raw. Potatoes may be fed either raw or
cooked and a little bran mixed with them.

Cabbage heads should be hung up where the hens can
pick them. Giving the hens regularly any one of these
green foods will make a noticeable gain in the production
of eggs, but of course the hens will relish a variety of
green foods, as well as of grains.

About thirty years ago, when poultry farming was
young, as a business, a cry arose that it would not be long
before there would be such a surplus of stock that prices
would go tumbling; but notwithstanding that, there are
ten successful plants today to every one thirty years ago,
and the demand is not half reached! With the increase
of supply came the increase of demand, and today we are
no nearer meeting the demand than we ever were.

However, there is a change in the market which must
not be lost sight of. Almost anything in the poultry line
sells, but the choice prices are alone given to the "fancy
goods."

246 MANAGEMENT THE KEY TO SUCCESS

The word "fancy" implies more than appearance. It
means also quality. Poultry and tgg buyers are becom-
ing particular, but they are willing to pay for their goods.
If they want the brown eggs, they will not take white;
and if they prefer the white, the brown ones offer no
temptation. The market today demands choice, plump,
fresh stock. Have you got it? If so, the market is wait-
ing for you.

We have today quite a number of breeds, and all, to a
certain extent, are practical. But they will not any one
of them fill all the purposes ; therefore, it is necessary for
a man to select only such breeds as will best serve his
customers.

Of the entire list of breeds, none will meet the demands
of Americans so satisfactorily as do the American varie-
ties, and in this class the most popular are the Wyan-
dottes, the Plymouth Rocks, with the Rhode Island Reds
closely following; also our American strains of Light
Brahmas and Leghorns.

The Brahmas belong to the Asiatic class as a breed,
but the Light Brahma, as bred by our people, is so
different from that bred in England that one would
hardly suppose them to be of the same family. This is
also true of the Leghorns, which belong to the Mediter-
ranean class.

It will cost the farmer no more money to raise thor-
oughbred poultry than it will to grow scrubs. The pure
breeds will not only bring more money in the wholesale
market but it is a fact that poorly graded poultry lose
more heavily in shrinkage than do those that are of
pure blood. Commission men say that there is a marked
improvement in the quality of the poultry that now comes
to the city markets, and say that this improvement has
been influenced by buyers who collect poultry from farm-
ers and ship it to market.

The shippers can pay a higher price for a better quality

MANAGEMENT THE KEY TO SUCCESS 247

of poultry and then make more money, for the reason
that they get better returns.

Juiciness in broilers is due to pure food and rapid
maturity. As a broiler cannot be secured on free range,
and as it can attain the required weight in a given time
only by a systematic feeding of pure foods, it carries with
it a reputation and demand on account of its juiciness,
tenderness and purity.

At the Ontario Agricultural College, in a test with
different rations for fattening poultry, a mixture of 2
parts corn meal, 2 parts ground buckwheat and I part
ground oats, with an equal weight of skim milk, gave a
pound of gain for less than 2>lA cents a pound. Four
parts corn meal, 2 parts each buckwheat and ground oats,
with an equal weight of milk, made the cost a trifle over
4^2 cents per pound ; while ground oats alone, with equal
weight of milk, made the cost nearly 5 cents per pound.
A very good fattening ration consists of 100 pounds of
corn meal, 100 pounds of wheat middlings and 4 pounds
of animal meal, with an equal weight of skimmed milk.

If the fowls are confined in small pens and kept quiet,
they will fatten much quicker. Give all they will eat
three times a day, with plenty of pure water to drink.
Separate the cockerels early from the pullets. In half an
hour after feeding, remove the drinking and feeding ves-
sels. Two weeks before marketing them, feed with corn
and corn meal. Keep before them a box of sharp grit.
There are two kinds of broilers or fries ; the smaller are
known as squab broilers, weighing from three-fourths
to one pound each. The demand for these is not great.
The average broiler weighs from 2 to 3 pounds, and sells
for from 20 cents to 50 cents per pound, according to the
season of the year and the purchaser. During June and
July the price falls rapidly, and at the end of July in
the open market frequently falls to 12 or 15 cents per
pound. In preparing fries for the market, when nearly

248 MANAGEMENT THE KEY TO SUCCESS

large enough, put them in a pen, having a shady run;
give them fresh water twice a day and all the fattening
food they can eat. Muscle and bone-making food for
this class is not required ; therefore, feed corn in various
forms — cooked corn, mashed corn, ground corn, whole
corn, warm potatoes and bread crumbs, and any kind of
milk. A little sugar and fat meat will help along the fat-
tening process, and this should be concluded as fast as
possible, for during these days the chicks will eat con-
siderable, and unless they put on flesh rapidly, there will
be no profit in raising them.

There is already a fair demand for guinea fowls, espe-
cially in New York and other cities in the eastern part of
the United States, and this condition will soon obtain in
all leading markets if present indications count for any-
thing. As the demand for guinea meat increases, as a
substitute for game or other birds and fowls, guineas
ought to become a source of considerable profit to poultry
raisers generally. Very young birds for broilers bring
good prices early in the season, while the older fowls are
readily salable throughout the autumn and winter. In
recent years the varieties have been improved. The birds
are good rangers, and do well with comparatively little
care — even when young are hardy and healthy.

The first thing to do in taking up poultry as a business
is to find some breed adapted to the locality, then stock
up with that breed and study it. Personality enters into
the success of the poultry industry to a large extent. A
man must be good-natured for one thing, and willing to
give his time and patience to detail work. For these
reasons a man who takes up this business for pleasure
often succeeds much better than the man who goes into
it for purely the money it brings him. Success in this
business comes slowly. It must be built up. It requires
patience, but when success does come, everything after
that is easy and the profits are good.

Winter Egg Production

During the months of October, November and December
of each year there is a scarcity of fresh eggs, and the
prices, in consequence, go up. This scarcity is due to the
molting period for old hens, the lack of early hatched
pullets, and the general failure to so feed and manage
chickens as to secure winter eggs.

The utmost care should be taken to select early pullets.
Those hatched in March and April may be depended on
for a liberal egg supply from the time they are seven
months old. The hatching should have winter egg pro-
duction in view, and therefore it is important to select the
eggs of fowls that are prolific layers and which have
good constitutions.

The great thing is to get the eggs during the months
of November, December and January, and this can be
done with early pullets. The older hens will not do much
for a couple of months after molting, but will help out the
supply after the turn of the year. The demand for
strictly fresh eggs is so keen that prices remain high all
winter.

A poultry house should be so constructed that it can be
opened during the day, that the warm sun and fresh air
may disinfect it. An open front is the approved modern
idea. It gives fresh air without draughts. The opening
should have bars to keep out animals. The place needs
to be large enough so that the scratching floor is apart
from the nests and roosts.

A common mistake with beginners is in having too
many varieties. In their enthusiasm they cannot content

249

250 WINTER EGG PRODUCTION

themselves with a single breed. They read what breeders
of every variety have to say, taking in every word, and
forgetting that these breeders have axes to grind. But
the beginner is not long in seeing his mistake. He sooner
or later cuts down to a single variety.

Some, too, grow tired of the variety they have chosen,
and are continually changing. That class of poultrymen
hardly ever get beyond the hobby stage of the industry.
Select a single variety, and stick to that.

Inbreeding is another bugbear. There is nothing that
will so quickly ruin stock as this. The house must be
dry and free from lice ; the warmer the house the better,
but there must be no draughts.

Regular feeding is also an important point. Fowls
soon learn to know when their feeding hour arrives, and
will be in a more or less anxious state until they are fed.
Have a bill of fare, and stick to it. But see that that bill
of fare is composed of a variety. To endeavor to keep a
flock on a grain diet will soon breed all sorts of trouble.

Ground bone, sunflower and millet seed, culled potatoes,
scrap meat, stale bread soaked in whey or skimmed milk,
cabbage leaves, and all table leavings, are good food for
fowls and help to form the needed variety. For a regular
grain diet, wheat and corn are favored. If oats are fed,
they should be chopped. A daily mash composed of bran,
middlings, ground oats, linseed meal and boiled potatoes
is excellent. It is best when moistened with milk, but it
should not be sloppy. Grit and charcoal are needed at all
times. Crushed oyster shells or bits of old mortar help to
supply the lime that hens need.

Some kind of green food is necessary for a large pro-
duction of eggs, though it is not essential in fattening. If
it is not easy to furnish a variety, a little alfalfa or clover
hay will do nicely. Beets, turnips, carrots, potatoes and
cabbage are easily supplied on any farm, and they are a
valuable food, either boiled or raw. Give all the clean

WINTER EGG PRODUCTION 251

water the fowls will drink. It should be kept in vessels
that they cannot upset.

At night, feed corn and wheat, sometimes one, some-
times both, enough to fill their crops. Now, this is the
way I feed, but I do not guarantee it to produce eggs
unless combined with some details of more or less impor-
tance, and all directed by an intelligent interest that is
quick to note and to provide for special conditions.

The morning feed should be given early, for fowls are
early risers, and should not be kept waiting for their
breakfasts. It should not be necessary to say that the
warm mash should not be thrown in a dirty or muddy
place, but on planks or a firm, hard spot. Shallow
troughs are better yet. Perhaps it is best to give the
mash in the morning, while through the day the hens
should be compelled to take exercise by hunting for grain
in a litter of straw or hay. If they can be allowed the run
of a barn through the day, it will help to keep them

active.

Hens dread the snow, and will not walk through it
unless forced. Therefore, on snowy days, sweep a path
from their house to the barn or shed where they can take
their exercise. If you don't see to their daily exercise, the
hens will stand around in their house, shivering and
miserable, and the eggs will shrink.

This is one of those details that good judgment should
approve. It is impossible to enumerate them all. Elabo-
rate directions are thrown away unless there be a critical
and judicious eye to administer them.

The amount of brain and muscle work used in the man-
agement will give a proportionate profit, and of the two,
brain work counts first in this, as in all work.

Egg Type in Hens

Many poultrymen claim there is an egg type in fowls,
and that they can pick out the good layers as well as the
poor ones in a flock. This claim is based on the theory
that certain peculiarities of form or shape, such as long
body, wedge shape, broad rear, small head, etc., indicate
good laying qualities.

A statement in the last United States census report of
1900 reads : "It has been discovered that there are 600
embryo eggs in the ovary of a hen. It has been further
ascertained that two-thirds of this number can be secured
in the first two years of the hen's life, provided suitable
measures are employed." Concerning these statements,
Prof. James Dry den writes :

"One of our hens has already exceeded this limit, hav-
ing laid 568 eggs the first three years, and to July 31 of
the fourth year she had laid a total of 670 eggs, and was
still laying, having till November 1 to complete that year.
A Brown Leghorn hen has also exceeded the 600 limit,
having laid up to the same date 628 eggs, with prospects
of many more.

"As to the other statement, that two-thirds of 600 eggs
may be secured in the first two years, or 400 eggs, in our
experience only one hen has reached it, having laid 442
eggs in the first two years. Furthermore, no records have
been reported from other stations of 400 eggs in two
years. Three Barred Plymouth Rock hens of like age,
and fed in the same pen, laid 145, 144 and 212 eggs,
respectively, the same year, and 40, 116 and 181 the
second year, one lacking seven eggs of making 400 the

252

EGG TYPE IN HENS 253

first two years. This one has the wedge shape, is medium
long in body, rather long in neck, with small head. She
laid a small egg.

"In view of the great variation in layers, the question
as to whether there is an egg type becomes very impor-
tant. If the good layers can be picked out of a flock by
reason of some characteristic shape or form, the question
of improvement becomes a simple matter. With a view to
testing the theory held by many that there is such an egg
type, Prof. Dryden sent a number of photographs of good
and poor layers to poultry breeders and judges, whom he
asked to pick out good and poor layers in a certain group,
and give their reasons for the selection. Some of these
gentlemen had expressed publicly their belief in the egg
type theory. It may be, as some of the gentlemen pro-
tested, hard to decide the question from photographs, but
a side-view photograph should show if the hen has a long
body and a wedge shape, the two points most relied upon
by those who say they can pick out the good layers. It
must be conceded, however, that the photograph does not
offer the same opportunity for a critical study as the hen
herself would. The replies received did not seem to offer
much support to the theory. They showed a varied col-
lection of guesses."

Common-sense management means success and liberal
cash returns ; indifferent methods of work result in fail-
ure. Fowls must be kept healthy ; feed bills must not be
allowed to equal the income, and there should be a con-
stant weeding out of old and poor stock. Every summer
and fall it is necessary to select the most vigorous and
promising pullets for winter egg production, and these
fowls need to be fed and managed with that end in view.
They are not to have the same feeding and housing as
birds that are being fitted for the poultry market. Unless
owners are able and willing to give thorough attention to

254 EGG TYPE IN HENS

these details and bring their flocks up to proper condition,
there is no profit in poultry.

If a landowner has wheat, barley or rye, these grains
may be substituted for corn and oats, but when it can be
done without great expense or trouble, ground corn and
oats should be the staples for fattening as well as for egg
production. Do not feed whole oats at any time. After
the fowls that are to be marketed are placed in the fatten-
ing pens, it is essential to feed them regularly and abun-
dantly three times a day. Clean water and grit should be
constantly supplied. To the diet of grain and vegetables
it is well to add a little scrap meat, with some fat.

A greater variety of food is required for egg produc-
tion. In addition to the grain rations mentioned, it is well
to give such articles as millet seed and sunflower seed,
with a regular supply of meat scraps and ground bone.
Clover, cabbage and boiled vegetables of all kinds are
valuable. Hens make use of old mortar and oyster shells
and it is not difficult to supply such articles. Where a
good deal of the food has to be purchased, it is feasible
to procure stale bread at city bakeries. This is sold at a
low figure. Table refuse obtained from hotels and res-
taurants make a good diet in itself, but is improved by
the addition of grain. Laying hens need exercise, and
should be let out on every dry day, but never when it is
wet. Their housing must be managed with intelligence
and care. It is ruinous to have fowls on damp floors or
in drafty rooms. Filth is equally dangerous.

Many flocks of hens are totally ruined by lice and dis-
ease. To keep them free of vermin, it is necessary to have
dusting corners to which they can have access at any time,
winter or summer. By using insect powders on the birds
and washing roosts and walls with kerosene, lice can be
conquered. Afterward the hens will not be troubled with
them if there is plenty of dust at hand. Ordinary loose

EGG TYPE IN HENS 255

road dirt should be spread under the roosts once or twice
a week. This will help to make valuable compost.

Losses in the poultry yard are heavy enough in many
cases to wipe out all possible profits. Chicken raisers who
mean business will give intelligent care to their stock at
all ages and in all seasons. The most common mistake is
that of allowing young birds to run about on wet ground.

Perhaps the reader has noticed that deaths are most
frequent immediately after rain storms. Nearly all such
fatalities are due to young chickens becoming chilled on
wet ground. They are as sensitive as children, and are
attacked with a variety of ailments in much the same way,
if not kept dry and comfortable.

In rainy weather see that the young flocks are kept in
snug pens or houses where the floors can not become
damp. Some warming foods are desirable. This kind of
care is good for matured fowls, also. While houses need
to be clean and warm, they must be ventilated. Do not
allow drafts to hit the fowls. Ventilators should not be
over the roosts. It is safest to have them low in the walls
and some distance from the roosts.

For real success and money-making from the flock, it
is necessary to keep a close watch; to provide all com-
forts ; to prevent disease by never allowing filth to accu-
mulate; to keep the fowls busy, hence happy; to not
overcrowd, and to give an everyday careful oversight.
The comforts mean the right rations in plentiful supply,
good housing, grit, charcoal and clean water.

To the man who wishes to enter the poultry business
at a small expense, I would advise stocking with a dozen
hens of some good breed. It is well not to try to do
much until the beginner has learned how to make a small
flock pay. I find it profitable to market eggs where they
must be guaranteed fresh, working up a good trade for
the produce at a fair price.

Preservation of Eggs Until Prices Advance

In the production of eggs for market, farmers should
aim to have them to sell in fall and winter, when prices
are high. Extensive experiments with the use of water
glass (sodium silicate) prove that spring and summer
eggs may be kept in perfect order for months, with little
trouble or expense.

The fiscal supervisor of the State of New York, Charles
Dennis McCarthy, has been following this plan in pro-
viding eggs for various public institutions, and has saved
a great deal of money. The eggs are purchased in the
spring, when prices are low, and stored until winter, so
that the state institutions avoid paying high prices. A
year ago it was suggested to all institutions reporting to
the fiscal supervisor to preserve eggs for use in the
months when the market price is the highest — December,
January and February — and a statement was enclosed to
each institution, relating to preservation of eggs in water
glass, furnished the department by the New York State
College of Agriculture. A number of institutions acted
upon the suggestion of the department and preserved a
considerable number of eggs in liquid glass, which proved
successful beyond expectation.

Water glass provides an excellent means of preserving
the surplus spring and summer eggs for fall and winter
use. These eggs do not take the place of fresh laid ones
for table use, but are satisfactory for all cooking
purposes.

Dilute the commercial "N" grade of water glass with
nine times its amount of clear water. Keep this solution

256

PRESERVATION OF EGGS 257

in tight earthen or wooden jars. Only fresh, clean eggs
should be used. The level of the liquid should always be
kept above that of the eggs by adding water as needed.

For twelve dozen eggs, it requires a four-gallon jar,
one and one-half pints of water glass and fourteen pints
of water.

In considering how to handle poultry for profit, does
it not become plain that the overproduction of eggs in
spring and summer is a serious mistake ? Eggs become so
cheap at times that farmers cannot afford to haul them to
market. There is a good profit in poultry, however, the
year round, especially in broilers about 2 months old.

Instead of allowing the overproduction of eggs to drive
the market down to 8 or 10 cents a dozen, why not keep a
big incubator running, hatching out chickens ? A broiler
will bring 40 to 60 cents, three-fourths of this being net
profit. Such farming is worth while. An ordinary sized
poultry yard will clean up $1,000 a year if it receives a
reasonable amount of attention, and only an acre or two
of land is needed for the enterprise. It takes a great
many acres to net $1,000 in regular farming.

The selection of eggs for incubation is important. Do
not use eggs for this purpose which have rough shells, or
are unusually large or small. Hold the eggs before a
strong light and look through them. If they have a
matted appearance, they are not fit to produce strong
chicks, and as a rule they are not fertile.

Soft-shelled eggs will not produce strong chicks, be-
cause in growing the chicks the lime from the shell pro-
duces the bones and muscles. If the shell is weak, the
chick will be weak also. Soiled or washed eggs should
never be used for hatching.

Eggs should be kept in a temperature of about 45
degrees, if possible, and should never be kept where the
wind can blow on them, or where the sun shines strongly.

258 PRESERVATION OF EGGS

If the draft is too strong, the eggs will dry down. If
eggs are dried down before hatching, the chicks will be
dried down, small and weak.

Eggs for incubation should not be laid longer than a
week. The older the egg, the lower the vitality of the
chick. Usually the cellar is the best place for keeping
eggs, for here the temperature is more even, and it is not
too dry.

The first two or three days after the setting of the incu-
bator are vital. The heat should never get higher than
102 degrees; a little below will do no harm. For the
first two days the eggs should not be turned, but there-
after turn every morning and evening until the eighteenth
day, when they should not be touched until all fertile eggs
are hatched.

Have both ventilation and moisture in hatching rooms.
The cellar is usually about right where there is a floor,
and if there is an outside entrance it should not remain
open.

Chicks hatched where there is moisture are stronger
than dried-down, non-moisture ones. Do not allow strong
sunlight or too much draft in the hatching room.

The last few days, do not handle the eggs, and keep the
temperature not higher than 105 degrees, nor below 103.

Sometimes the chicks, after they are dried off, open
their mouths and seem to want air ; then open some venti-
lator or open the incubator door a little.

In gathering eggs for incubation, give the hens enough
good, clean food and exercise and clean quarters. They
should have free range, if possible. Meat scraps, lime,
milk, ground bone, oyster shells, wheat and bran mash
are excellent for laying hens. Plenty of fresh, clean
drinking water should be within reach. Green or cooked
vegetables are also good for the health of the hen, and
make healthy chicks.

Favorite Breeds of Ducks

Less disappointment will be experienced, perhaps, in
raising ducks than any other line of poultry. Ducks grow
into money fast, and this is the main consideration. They
are less subject to disease than chickens, and make less
trouble than either turkeys or geese.

If possible, give them the range of a patch of clover,
but if they have to be confined to a yard, let them have
a swimming hole and a variety of greed food. Pekin
ducks are in great favor, and are good layers, beginning
in midwinter, and furnishing twelve to fifteen dozen
eggs.

The Indian Runner will lay at four and a half to five
months old, if fed for that purpose. Some have been
known to reach 250 eggs a year, but the general run is
about 200. They are non-sitters, will lay ten months in
the year, and are profitable because of their wonderful
laying qualities. It does not require any more to feed
them than it does to feed a flock of hens of the same
number.

Hatching by incubator is the best method, and the busi-
ness ought to be in progress by March 1. With this kind
of planning, young Pekins can be furnished to customers
from the middle of June till fall, and possibly the year
round. The young ducks should be fed both for growth
and quality. For one day after hatching no food is to be
given. Then light 'rations of moistened bran and corn
meal will do nicely. Heavy feeding is to be avoided at
first. When spring opens and they begin to get free exer-

259

260 FAVORITE BREEDS OF DUCKS

cise, they should have all the food that they will clean
up. They also require a clean swimming hole or pond.

Fatten them on clean, wholesome food, such as shorts,
boiled potatoes, ground corn or oats. Ducks are in great
demand when from two to four months old, if they have
been carefully fed. They are as profitable at this age as
later, for they are heavy feeders, and in fattening at the
age of eight or ten months they eat a lot of grain. Not
only is this the case, but at two or three months they com-
mand from 25 to 35 cents a pound, against 18 to 20 when
full grown.

In fattening more mature ducks, whole corn or wheat
may be fed to some extent. Boiled potatoes, carrots, beets
and various other vegetables are excellent. Bran or shorts
moistened with skimmed milk also makes an economical
food. Articles of this kind save high-priced grain and
answer the purpose nicely in fitting poultry for the

market.

For the flock that is to be kept for breeding purposes,
more green food is necessary. Alfalfa, either whole or
ground, and corn silage, are recommended, with one
ration a day of wheat or corn. Always feed soft food in
long troughs, and have plenty of them, to avoid crowding ;
and when the meal is over, stand the troughs on end
against the wall to keep them clean for the next meal.

While ducks are the healthiest of domestic fowl, espe-
cially if allowed considerable freedom in summer, they
require clean and comfortable pens in winter, with a rea-
sonable amount of room. It is bad policy to allow ducks
or other fowl to be disturbed by live stock. The laying
quarters at least should be free from noise and all other
disturbances.

The opportunity is at hand for money-making from
ducks, as farmers are able to send dressed fowls to city
customers by mail, so that the usual trouble and expense
of marketing are eliminated. Fresh fowls may go daily

FAVORITE BREEDS OF DUCKS 261

or weekly to town people, without the necessity of driving
to an express office. The postal wagons on all rural
routes will collect such packages, and Uncle Sam does all
the work of transporting and delivering. To make good
profits, therefore, from poultry, there should be incu-
bators going all the time, hatching either chickens or
ducks, which will sell readily for meat at from two to
six months of age. Such poultry meat is a great deli-
cacy, and commands liberal prices.

Pekin ducks at two months are worth rather more than
chickens of the same age. Either class of birds will sell
at 40 cents to 75 cents apiece, according to weight. Ducks
eat more than chickens, and gain in weight proportion-
ately. Ten to 15 cents is ample to allow for feeding a
fowl up to two months of age. This allows a large profit.
Birds fattened at six or seven months have consumed 15
to 25 cents' worth of food, according to the advantages
of raising or buying it. They are then worth $1 to $1.50
each. There is more profit in meat than in eggs.

In order to succeed with ducks, it is necessary to have
eggs from strong, vigorous stock, and they must be fresh
— not over one week old. Other duck eggs may be differ-
ent, but the Pekin's eggs are worthless for hatching pur-
poses when ten days old.

Duck eggs, as a rule, require four weeks to hatch.
They may be hatched with either incubators or hens.
Only large hens are suitable. If an incubator is used,
keep the temperature as near 103 degrees as possible,
turning the eggs regularly twice a day. They should be
allowed time to cool a little once each day until the
twenty-sixth day, or two days before they are due to
hatch.

When ducks begin to pip the shells, the temperature
may be allowed to rise to 104 or 105, but be careful not
to let it go higher. Protect the ventilators from cold
drafts, but don't shut out all the air.

262 FAVORITE BREEDS OF DUCKS

Don't bother the eggs while they are hatching, unless it
it is absolutely necessary, because it lowers the tempera-
ture every time the inner door is moved. Of course, in
the mild weather it is safe enough, but even then the door
should be kept closed as much as possible. If the little
ducks do not come out shortly after they pip the shells, do
not become alarmed. They do not come out as soon as
chicks, as they require more time after breaking the shell.
In this respect they are more like goslings.

Sometimes they will break the shells twenty- four hours
before they are ready to come out. But they seldom need
any help. A duck egg presents a queer appearance at a
certain stage of incubation, for when held before a
bright light the shells appear to be nearly half empty.

Don't throw the eggs away. They may all contain live
ducklings. When the fowls hatch, they should not be
taken from the incubator until they are thoroughly dried
off and able to hold up their heads. Then they should be
placed in a brooder or some place where they will be
comfortable. If placed in a brooder, see that they have
fresh air. Fresh air, however, is not essentially cold air.

Have the brooder floor covered with some clean litter.
Cut straw or hay is best. Don't use sawdust ; the young
ducks will sometimes eat it. However, it is not necessary
to keep ducklings in a brooder except at night, after they
get a start. Even while they are very small, they seem to
prefer sunshine in the daytime to the brooder heat. The
Pekin ducklings soon outgrow the brooder. A number of
duck houses should be provided, with dry floors and good
ventilation.

Green food is essential from the start. If there is
plenty of grass in the yard, that will do, although they like
it best when added to their grain food. Use green clover,
green rye, cabbage, dandelions, onion tops, etc. Green
oats are also good for this purpose. All should be cut
small enough for growing ducks to eat with ease.

Disease Injuring Turkey Raising Industry

The turkey-raising industry has been almost destroyed by
disease. Not only in New England but everywhere in
this country the commercial production of the turkey has
been reduced to small proportions.

That dread disease known as blackhead is the cause,
and as it is rapidly spreading throughout the country, it
is a matter of serious concern, not only to professional
breeders but to farmers as well. For some years previous
to 1893 the poultrymen in New England complained that
their young poults died in large numbers, and very few
birds lived to be older than five or six months. Samuel
Cushman, the poultryman at the Rhode Island Agricul-
tural Station, gave the symptoms, described the conditions
of the diseased organs, and suggested the communicable
character of the ailment. He was the first man to call it
blackhead in literature, a name used by the farmers for
the reason that the heads of the turkeys became dark-
colored. Other names for the disorder were "liver
trouble," "spotted liver" and "cholera." A close observer
is pretty sure to detect the ailment.

Prof. Leon J. Cole and Philip B. Hadley, of the Rhode
Island Station, assisted by William F. Kirkpatrick, have
made an exhaustive study of the disease, and their find-
ings have recently been published. The main features
of the results of their investigation are as follows : Black-
head, in whatever species of bird, presents three symp-
toms which are invariable: First, diarrhoea at some
stages of the disease; second, a condition of increasing
languor or stupor and a disposition of the bird to keep

263

264 DISEASE INJURING TURKEY

away from the flock ; third, loss of appetite and more or
less prolonged emaciation.

The first course which the disease may follow is seen
in young birds, in what is commonly known as "white
diarrhoea," frequently causing great mortality among
poults from five days to three weeks old, although deaths
may continue much beyond this period. In these cases,
death is sometimes preceded by a period of a day or two
of stupor, in which the bird remains by itself and refuses
food. This acute form is more likely to attack the
younger birds, and frequently causes the death of 90 per
cent, and occasionally the entire flock will be wiped out.

If the disease does not show until after the birds are
three weeks old, it is likely to remain latent in them or
change into a slowly progressive form which may not
cause death for several months. In the typical chronic
form, the birds often hold their own against the disease
for a year or more, during which time emaciation gradu-
ally increases. In these birds, the disease is ultimately
fatal in the majority of cases.

One of the most important features of this disease is
that turkeys having a chronic form of the disease are
especially susceptible to the effects of unfavorable con-
ditions. Quick fattening of a flock of turkeys for the
market, especially if the young birds are fed much corn,
often brings about a marked increase in the mortality.

The organism which causes blackhead is a minute para-
site belonging to the lowest group of animal life, and is
called a cocidium, and is akin to the parasites of hydro-
phobia and malaria. The infection of the bird begins in
taking up, along with food and water, some of the para-
sites described. These may undergo a partial development
before being taken into the body of the bird, and after
entering the alimentary tract, where they liberate the orig-
inal infecting elements. These are able to impart infection

DISEASE INJURING TURKEY 265

to other birds, which take up particles along with their
food. The same organism has been found in guinea fowls,
ducks, pheasants, quail, grouse, pigeons and sparrows.

The chief danger lies in the fact that where domestic
poultry is kept, the ground is contaminated and rendered
unsuitable for the raising of turkeys. For this reason it is
never safe to allow turkeys and other poultry to use the
same yard. The investigators say that it cannot be
doubted that the common English sparrow has dissemi-
nated this disease throughout the country, and it is still
carrying it from one locality to another.

Poultrymen and farmers are advised not to waste their
money on so-called remedies and cures for blackhead,
but to follow the preventive measures indicated below :

Protect the yards and flocks which may be infected
with blackhead, by careful examination of all new stock,
whether turkeys, fowls, geese or other domestic birds.

Keep the turkeys on ground which is as fresh as can
be obtained. Change the range at least every year or
two, and, above all, keep them isolated from other
poultry.

In fattening birds for market, begin to increase the
rations gradually. If birds show a loss of weight in suc-
cessive weighings, there is no use to attempt to fatten
them. Overfeeding does not cause blackhead, but it does
frequently cause the sudden death of birds in which
blackhead is present.

When birds have died of blackhead, their bodies must
be promptly burned or buried very deep, in order to pre-
vent rats or other rodents from eating them and thus
spreading the disease. In the early stages of acute cases
of the disease, if the bird is isolated from the flock and
placed in a dry, well ventilated location, free from drafts,
and fed sparingly on soft, light food, with little corn, it
will have a beneficial effect.

Parasites Cause Heavy Poultry Losses

Vermin are exceedingly destructive to poultry, and in
many cases cause such heavy losses that the business
becomes a failure. An unrelenting war against parasites
is a necessary part of a farm program.

Lice and other parasites increase very quickly in the
warm weather, and we should get a start of them by
exterminating the parent stock that has survived the win-
ter. In this way, the work will be much easier, and more
pleasantly done. The necessity for their extermination
will be more plainly seen if we understand just how they
affect the poultry.

There are a great many different kinds of lice that
attack the fowls, but we can consider them all under
three classes, as they attack in the three different ways.
These three classes are body lice, head lice and mites. The
body lice are on all parts of the fowls' bodies, but more
especially in the soft, fluffy feathers. They usually remain
on the fowl, and they increase very rapidly. It has been
estimated that within eight weeks one of the lice will have
125,000 descendants. You will see from this how much
easier it is for one to destroy these pests before they get
well started in the spring.

Body lice are not blood-suckers, but live on the roots
of the feathers and scales of the skin, causing irritation.
In getting rid of them, nothing equals a good insect pow-
der. Hold the fowl by the legs, head down, and dust the
powder into the feathers near the roots, rubbing it well
into the feathers and skin with the hand.

Head lice are true blood-suckers. With their long bills,

266

PARASITES CAUSE HEAVY LOSSES 267

they puncture the skin and the blood vessels beneath.
They are a constant drain on the health and strength of
the adult fowls, fastening themselves on their heads and
sucking the blood from a position over the brain. As the
chicks are hatched, these lice leave the old hen and fasten
on the chicks. If you pick up a droopy chick and examine
its head, you are almost sure to find these lice fast by
their bills, busily sucking the blood. You must look close,
or you will mistake them for pinfeathers. They cause
such extreme weakness that often the bodily organs are
unable to perform their functions properly, and people
think the chicks are dying of cholera or other diseases,
when it is really the head lice that are killing them. To
destroy these, rub some sweet oil or lard well into the
feathers and skin on the heads of the chicks, and of the
older fowls also.

Mites are even worse than these others. They hide
during the day in the cracks and crevices of the hen
houses, especially about the roosts, and attack the fowls at
night, after they have gone to roost. Mites are very small,
and if you see them, you are likely to mistake them for
dust, for they have that appearance. They, too, are
blood-suckers, and rapidly deplete the health and strength
of the fowl. To destroy them, a liquid is much better
than a powder. Paint the roosts and spray the dropping-
boards and walls with a preparation of crude carbolic
acid and coal oil (kerosene), mixed half and half.

There is another parasite belonging to this family,
called the depluming mite. It usually appears in the
spring and summer, and attacks the roots of the feathers,
causing them to break off and leave a bare spot.

The mite is quickly passed from fowl to fowl, and soon
spreads through the entire flock. You will not see any-
thing suspicious on the bare spots, but if you will pull out
some of the feathers and examine the roots, you will see
these mites.

268 PARASITES CAUSE HEAVY LOSSES

Spray the houses as for the other mites, and rub car-
bolated vaseline into the roots of the feathers. It is also
a good treatment to dip the fowls in a tea made from
tobacco leaves.

The stick-tight, or hen flea, is a great pest in some of
the southern states. It generally attaches itself to the
comb or wattles of the fowl, burying its head in the flesh.
Sometimes they crowd around the eyes, and cause blind-
ness until removed. They stick so tightly that they cannot
be pulled out. Mix ten drops of carbolic acid and some
sulphur with a teaspoonful of vaseline, to make a soft
paste. Rub this well into the feathers and skin of the
head and wattles of the fowls.

The premises must be cleaned of the fleas also. Burn
all litter and trash, and spray the ground, nests and houses
with the coal oil and crude carbolic acid preparation.

There is another parasite that causes the disease called
scaly leg by boring under the skin of the feet and legs of
the fowls. They cause a powderous secretion which
enlarges the feet and legs of the fowl, giving them a
rough, ugly appearance. Dip the feet and legs in coal oil,
rubbing with the hand, and allowing it to soak well in.

You cannot make a success of your poultry if they are
troubled with lice. To be a good layer, a hen must be kept
comfortable and happy. This is impossible if she is
fretted and annoyed by these pests. Imagine a flock that
fights head lice and body lice all day, with perhaps hen
fleas and scaly leg in addition, going to roost at night, to
be tortured by mites which swarm from the hiding places
and cover them. These are apt to be the conditions in a
dirty poultry house, where the filth is allowed to accumu-
late under the roosts and in the corners. The fowls, with
their vitality weakened and their strength sapped by these
parasites, take cold easily, and quickly succumb to disease.
They are always in poor health, although eating heartily ;
and the poultryman finds that while his feed bill is no less,

PARASITES CAUSE HEAVY LOSSES 269

he gets no eggs, his poultry does not sell well because it
is poor, and his young chicks die. Such a man says there
is no profit in the poultry line, and indeed there is none
for him.

Cleanliness is one of the greatest aids in bettering this
condition, for these parasites breed in the filth and dirt.
Give the house a thorough cleaning. Burn the old litter
and nests, scrape the floors clean, paint the roosts and nest
boxes, and spray the walls and floor with crude carbolic
acid and coal oil.

Put insect powder on the fowls, grease their heads, and
dip their feet and legs in coal oil. It will be time well
invested.

The hens will help you in this work of extermination,
if you will see that they are kept supplied with a good
dust bath. Mix ashes with the dirt for the bath. All this
may seem like a great deal of trouble, but success is never
attained in any business without painstaking care and
faithful work.

In the matter of diet, the first thing needed is water,
and it must not be chilly. Some coarse, clean sand should
be placed in the water each time, or in some shallow vessel
near the feed or water. They need both grit and water
while eating.

Hens that have been confined closely for months, and
have been laying in the winter months, or that are poorly
fed, and are kept in dirty houses, where lice and mites
prevail, cannot produce healthy eggs, and will produce
only poor, weakly chicks.

Poultry Diseases and Remedies

When fowls are closely grouped or kept in filthy or
draughty buildings there is apt to be a development and
rapid spread of destructive ailments. Climatic changes,
floor dampness and wet grounds are severe on chickens.
Attention to health and feeding will not only prevent
losses but will bring profits.

Usually the first symptom of tuberculosis noticed is
emaciation, or "going light," accompanied often though
not always with a pale appearance of the comb and wat-
tles and the skin about the head. There is frequently,
though not always, a persistent diarrhoea, the drop-
pings appearing of a green or greenish-white color.
Lameness in one or both legs may occur, due to infection
of the joints. In the latter stages of the disease, the
feathers become dry and ruffled, the bird becomes weak
and mopy and moves but little. The eye is bright and
the appetite is usually good throughout the sickness and
the affected fowls may eat ravenously until a few days
before death occurs.

Probably the commonest method of spread of tuber-
culosis from flock to flock is by the transfer of infected
birds. A hen may be quite seriously affected without
showing any external symptoms of the disease, and such
an individual when introduced into a flock can serve as
a source of infection for other fowls through the medium
of the droppings.

To guard against tuberculosis give the best care to all
fowls that can reasonably be given. Keep their houses
clean, well ventilated and free from draughts. Furnish

270

POULTRY DISEASES AND REMEDIES 271

a regular supply and good variety of food. See that they
exercise sufficiently and have a healthy, vigorous appear-
ance. Use only sound stock for breeding, and try to
select a line of birds possessing superior qualifications.
This is the only way to handle poultry for success, and
such management will ward off nearly all diseases.

Asthemia, or "going light," has symptoms like tuber-
culosis. If the owner of the flock is in doubt and cannot
get an expert's opinion it will be safe to give quarter-
grain doses of calomel three times a day in mash. In-
stead of this castor oil may be given three times a day in
tablespoonful doses. Two days of this treatment or a
week of the calomel treatment ought to suffice for clear-
ing out the bacteria, and afterward the food should be
more than ordinarily stimulating.

Cholera is first detected by noticing yellow excrement.
This is a deadly infection and goes rapidly through a
flock. Birds with cholera have a high fever and become
thirsty. They soon become weak and in three or four
days expire. When cholera gets into a flock the first
move should be to separate the well from the sick.
Thoroughly disinfect all buildings. A pound of sulphuric
acid in fifty quarts of water makes a good disinfectant.
For medicine a tablespoonful of carbolic acid for each
quart of water in the drinking vessels may prove effica-
cious. For flocks of any size the following cholera
remedy should be procured as soon as possible after the
disease appears: One ounce capsicum, one ounce asa-
fetida, one ounce pulverized rhubarb, one ounce sulphur
and three ounces Spanish brown. Mix and place in an
air-tight can. Twice a day feed an ordinary warm mash
in which there is a teaspoonful of the mixture for every
quart of the food.

When white diarrhoea appears the worst cases should
be killed and burned, any seemingly affected _ removed
from the well ones, the quarters cleaned and disinfected

272 POULTRY DISEASES AND REMEDIES

and a very little creolin given in the drinking water. Two
drops of creolin in a teaspoonful of water is recommend-
ed. However, a somewhat weakened solution will prove
effective in slight cases. Another good remedy is to
scald a cupful of sweet milk to which has been added
a pinch of black pepper. Allow it to cool and give noth-
ing else to drink until all of the birds have had a drink
of it.

When blackhead attacks a flock of turkeys the sick
birds will have to be killed and burned and all buildings
and feeding vessels disinfected. Turkeys exposed to the
disease may be saved by giving them a few doses of
pepper and ginger in sour milk or Dutch cheese.

Gapes in chickens are caused by worms in the wind-
pipe. These worms may be removed by using the tip of
a feather which has been moistened with oil of cloves
and sweet oil. Insert the feather in the windpipe, twist
it around several times and then withdraw it. Clean
and disinfect the premises.

Roup is a common ailment among chickens, and re-
sembles a severe cold in a human. A simple remedy is a
little kerosene placed in the nose passages. Carbolic acid
may be used in the same way — one part of the acid to
fifty parts of water. Use the Douglas mixture in drink-
ing water. This Douglas mixture is made as follows:
One-half pound sulphate of iron, two ounces sulphuric
acid and two gallons soft water. After this has been
mixed let it settle overnight and then pour into bottles.
Add a tablespoonful to each quart of drinking water.
This is a good general tonic as well as a preventive of
disease.

Venetian red placed in drinking water is of great value
in the poultry house. Use a tablespoonful of this powder
in two quarts of drinking water. The water can be re-
newed from day to day without using any more of the

POULTRY DISEASES AND REMEDIES 273

Venetian red until it has all disappeared from the bottom
of the vessel.

Owners of poultry must provide dust heaps and change
the dirt as it seems necessary to do so, using a con-
siderable amount of wood ashes with the dust if ob-
tainable. Tobacco in nests and whitewash around build-
ings help to destroy vermin. Put a little carbolic acid in
the whitewash. An occasional fumigation with sulphur is
good. There are efficacious insect powders for sale at
drug stores. If lice are on the premises rub vaseline or
lard on the heads and under the wings of young chickens
as a preventive. This or insect powder should also be
applied where vermin are observed on the birds. Keep
buildings and yards as clean as possible, using consider-
able slaked lime on floors and throughout the yard.

Nor can there be success if poultry is so housed that
the birds cannot escape taking cold, the common causes
of which are dampness and draughts. The ordinary
attacks of cold and influenza develop into various fatal
diseases unless they are properly treated. Instead of
using the roup remedy, as many do, owners of large
flocks ought to keep on hand the following: Prepare a
solution of two per cent permanganate of potash, by dis-
solving two ounces of the permanganate crystals (bought
at any drug store at about thirty cents per pound) in
three quarts of water. Keep this solution ready, and
when a bird shows the first signs of nose or throat trouble
take enough of the solution to allow the head of the fowl
to be submerged and put it under until the bird nearly
chokes. Remove the bird's head from the liquid and
allow it to sneeze and sputter, forcing the liquid into all
the air passages. Repeat this three times before you let
the bird go, and repeat it twice a day until the fowl no
longer shows signs of disease. The operation is simple
and in the majority of cases entirely sufficient. Potas-

274 POULTRY DISEASES AND REMEDIES

sium permanganate is an excellent disinfectant and can be
given to the birds to drink with the result that many
other cases will be warded off. When given in drinking
water, only enough should be placed in the water to give
it a claret color. The birds can be given water thus
treated for three or four days at a time. No other water
should be placed where they can get it, otherwise they
will prefer the untreated water to that containing the
drug.

The greatest advantage that I see in raising chickens
artificially is that the chicks can be kept free from lice
from the moment they are hatched until they are full
grown, provided the poultry raiser will exercise cleanly
methods of management. By this means, the loss of
chicks from lice can be reduced to nothing and the fowls
will be stronger and healthier than when their blood is
pumped out by parasites. The ordinary nest in which
chickens are hatched under hens is usually so foul with
parasites that chicks have small chance to live.

In order to facilitate cleanliness in the poultry house
and to greatly reduce the amount of filth, dropping boards
should, by all means, be used. By using a little precau-
tion in placing the dropping boards so as not to obstruct
the light the entire floor space beneath can be utilized
for a scratching floor. At least six inches should be
allowed between the dropping boards and the roosts, the
distance depending entirely upon the arrangement of the
roosts. If the platform is made in sections it can be
handled much more easily, as it is frequently found de-
sirable to remove them in cleaning. Smooth boards are
the most desirable to use.

Poultry is subject to the same general laws of health
as human beings are, and we should not overlook this
fact in caring for them. Pure air, pure water and pure
food, as well as thorough cleanliness, are all essential.
The fowl's power to resist disease is due to these.

Useful Hints for Everyday Farm Life

Hens are helping to lift a good many mortgages now-
adays.

The lack of organic matter is the greatest trouble we
have in the vineyard",

The finer the soil the better the vegetables, both in
quantity and quality.

Dry air, good feed and plenty of exercise are neces-
sary for winter eggs.

Work the surface soil over after each rain, and thus
retain all the moisture.

Fowls need plenty of fresh, pure water. Thoroughly
wash their dishes every day.

As a rule, hens that lay steadily during cold weather
are indifferent hot weather layers.

Winter eggs do not come by chance. It takes planning
and work to get them, but it pays.

Make a hot bed and have some early plants ready to
set out when the weather is warm enough.

If you think of setting out an orchard and have had no
experience, hire a good man to show you how.

275

276 USEFUL HINTS

Vegetables delight in having warm, deep, rich and mel-
low soil and will pay generously for the privilege.

Saltpeter water — one ounce of saltpeter to a gallon of
water — is a good spray for rust on bean vines and bushes.

Some day we are going to find that as good a way as
any to use the surplus sour milk is to give it to the hens.

Three rules for success in gardening are: Freedom
from weeds, thinning out, and keeping the ground mel-
low.

Do not forget that the fowls need green food. If a
change of yards is not possible see that some is fed them
daily.

A few bad eggs in a case is sufficient to give the whole
lot a bad name. Be careful that every egg is strictly
fresh.

Poultry raising offers to women an excellent means of
making money because the work is not too taxing for their
strength.

Don't crowd the chicks. Give them room to exercise
and grow in. See that they are kept comfortable and
well fed.

Much can be done to prolong the life of trees. Fill
up the decayed places with cement after scraping out all
the decay.

The ground should never be allowed to become baked,
as in this condition a great deal of moisture is lost un-
necessarily.

USEFUL HINTS 277

Are there any old apple trees in your orchard bearing
undesirable fruit? It is easy to graft good varieties
upon them.

Give the hens plenty of lime and charcoal. A dishful
kept where they can help themselves is a valuable addition
to the houses.

Money can be made from small fruits. The area is de-
creasing year by year, and this means the prices will keep
getting better.

Cultivation is a moisture conservator, but if the ground
is dry, don't run the cultivator teeth deep. Keep the top
soil stirred only.

Keep an egg record and do not fail to make entries
daily. The successful poultryman must be business-like
in every respect.

The poultryman who fails to keep an accurate account
of his transactions is traveling over the road of uncer-
tainty that leads to failure.

It is poor economy to feed spoiled food to the poultry.
They may contract disease or become poisoned. Burn all
decomposed food stuff at once.

The old family orchards are rapidly disappearing, so
that in the future commercial orchardists will supply the
rural as well as the city population.

Truck crops suffer least from fungi in seasons that
open with a cool spring and end with a very hot summer,
with a rainfall below the average.

2/8 USEFUL HINTS

No more simple or efficient method for the improve-
ment of the egg supply of the country could be adopted
than the production of infertile eggs.

We prune grapevines to produce larger and better
fruit, maintain vigor, to keep vines within limits, and to
cause ease of cultivation and spraying.

It is useless to try to grow vegetables upon ground that
is poorly drained. For this reason a clay loam with a
goodly portion of sand is to be desired.

It pays better to milk a four-gallon cow and sell her
when dry for two cents a pound than to milk a two-gallon
cow and sell her for four cents a pound.

It would not be easy to find a fruit that can be more
rapidly improved by careful selection, or run out more
rapidly by careless handling than the tomato.

Whey is a by-product of cheese, and possesses more
or less feeding value when fed to swine in a judicious
manner. Most feeders prefer to feed it sweet.

Ducks are great feeders and they are also great grow-
ers, so where does the loss come in? A few ducks will
help keep the income up to the required standard.

The farmer not prepared with woven wire fencing,
with ample alfalfa or clover pastures, is not properly
prepared for the economical production of pork.

The fact that eggs are cheap at any season of the
year does not lessen their value for the family table.
Even when the price is high they are cheaper than meat.

USEFUL HINTS 279

When you have found for a certainty that a hen is un-
profitable dispose of her at once. Some hens are never
good layers but they eat as much as the best of the flock.

Some farmers demand upon the table — at least once a
week — a good old onion stew — to keep them healthy.
The chickens will be all the better for just the same every
week.

Keep the poultry out of the barn. As well turn a pig
into the parlor. Many men allow fowls to find their own
quarters, and then they wonder why they are not a good
investment.

The best work that can be done for fowls in winter is
to lay in a good supply of litter and dry dirt under shel-
ter. It is scratching in the winter that keeps them in
best laying condition.

Don't confine ducks to one kind of feed. They like a
variety. Cornbread is good for young ducks, but it is
fattening, and the wisest thing is to mix it with oatmeal,
bread crumbs or potatoes.

Perhaps you have heard an undue commotion among
the hens at roosting time. They were scrapping for the
higher places, so build them on a level, and never have
one placed over the other.

If you have not found pork production profitable, buy
some woven wire fencing and make a hog pasture in your
alfalfa field where there will be shade and water, and no
longer say it don't pay to keep hogs.

The hens need plenty of shade. Keeping them exposed
to the scorching rays of the sun is little short of cruelty.

280 USEFUL HINTS

A shelter can easily be rigged from old burlap or a few
armfuls of fir boughs, if there is no natural shade.

It often is your fault that hens get to eating eggs ; but
after they do contract the habit, lay the axe at the root
of the tree — in other words, stop the business, short off.
Then change your bill of fare. Something is lacking in
the feed.

Vaccine is effective in guarding against hog cholera.
The common vaccine is blood serum from the body of an
immune hog. The double vaccine treatment is the use of
virulent blood serum from the body of a hog in the last
stages of cholera.

It may be possible to have poultry live without any
animal matter, but for profit and thrift it is necessary
that they receive a certain per cent of meat in the daily
bill of fare, especially when they are confined to runs, or
to houses in winter.

One reason why women usually succeed with poul-
try is because they are considerate of the wants of the
fowls. Women have more patience naturally than
men, and it requires a great deal of patience to make
a success of poultry raising.

If farmers and others engaged in the production of
eggs would market their male birds as soon as the hatch-
ing season is over, a large saving would be made, as prac-
tically every infertile egg would grade a\irst or second
if clean and promptly marketed.

The fact that dairymen have devoted more attention
to other phases of their dairying than to the breeding and
development of the cow is one of the reasons why so many

USEFUL HINTS 281

of our dairy herds are not capable of returning a profit
from their food and cost of care.

The average hen outlives her usefulness in two years
and is more profitable sent to market. There are at times
good hens in the third and even fourth year, but the
average limit is two. Old hens are more likely to con-
tract diseases than the younger ones.

More chicks are killed every year by coarse food than
in any other way. Their bowels are tender, so give food
that will be easy to digest. Well-dried and crushed bread
crumbs, lightly moistened, are as good as anything. Mix
in a bit of fine-cut lettuce or onion.

Pick grapes, if possible, during the heat of the day, for
then the stems are less brittle and fewer berries will split
and be torn from the branches. Never pick them after a
rain and before the bunches have dried out, if you can
avoid it, for that tends to cause the fruit to mold badly.

Ten grains of nitrate of potash in a little milk (warm),
three times each day will greatly assist in overcoming
rheumatism in hogs. This dose is for the grown hog.
If given to pigs or growing shoats, about three grains
for each hundred pounds of live-weight will be sufficient.

A large part of the heavy loss from bad eggs can be
obviated by the production of infertile eggs. This has
been demonstrated beyond a doubt by the investigations
concerning tlL improvement of the farm tgg which dur-
ing the past two years have been conducted in the Middle
West.

It is an invariable rule that animals receiving proper
care are much better able to resist disease than are those

282 USEFUL HINTS

which are poorly housed and improperly fed. Cleanli-
ness is of first importance with all live stock. Next are
clean water, a variety of wholesome food and com-
fortable beds.

Eggs contain all the elements necessary to supply the
human body with nourishing food. This is not true of
any other article of food. One-half of an egg is nutri-
ment, while not more than one-fourth of meat is so; thus
it will be seen that one pound of eggs is equal, in food
value, to two pounds of meat.

Ireland is the greatest poultry growing country in the
world. It is far ahead of France, though we have always
adopted the latter as the leading country in this industry.
Ireland, with a population of not quite 5,000,000, has
14,000,000 fowls, while France with a population of seven
times greater has only 40,000,000.

When pigs are once afflicted with "bull nose" there is
no cure. The disease may be arrested by smoking with
camphor-gum. This is done by confining the animals
in a tightly covered box, and placing a little camphor-
gum on a red-hot stove-lid. They will inhale the fumes.
The trouble is, no doubt, infectious.

There is an insistent market demand for high-class
horses, especially for draft horses, that cannot be sup-
plied. On the other hand, the country is flooded with
common ordinary "plug" horses. They do not fill any
particular requirement or demand, hence the very low and
profit-killing prices for which they must sell.

Northern Minnesota is fast becoming a dairy section
and the raising of hogs is receiving increased attention.
Conditions that are favorable to the dairy industry are

USEFUL HINTS 283

favorable to hog raising. Clover that produces milk so
abundantly produces meat equally well and the dairy
farmer can produce no meat so profitably as pork.

Hiccoughing in pigs is caused by a derangement of the
stomach. One of the best ways to correct the trouble
is to change the sow's ration, feeding less corn and more
of such feed as ground oats and bran. If the trouble does
not cease, give each pig eight drops of tincture of
asafoetida twice a day till the hiccoughing ceases.

For colic in horses : Chloroform, one ounce ; laudanum,
eight ounces; sulphuric ether, two ounces; Jamaica
ginger, eight ounces; raw linseed-oil, two pounds. Mix
well and divide into ten doses and give one each hour
until relief comes. This remedy is used at the fire sta-
tions in a number of the cities, and has rarely been known
to fail.

A successful sheep grower writes : "I have found that
the great trouble with most sheep-dips is, they are too
strong, and cause irritation of the flesh. For each 10
sheep I use only one-fourth pound of plug-tobacco. This
I boil in about 30 gallons of water, and dip the sheep
therein as soon as cool. I make an application once each
week until the trouble is overcome."

As a stock food we have found buttermilk better
adapted for pigs than for any other animals; but would
not advise feeding it to very young pigs. As a feed for
swine our experience has led us to believe that it has
about the same feeding value as skim-milk We would,
however, prefer skim-milk on account of its being less
liable to derange the animal's digestive system.

The following is an excellent remedy for a cough that
follows distemper in horses: Granulated sugar, one

284 USEFUL HINTS

pound, in which mix powdered chlorate of potash, eight
ounces, and powdered lobelia, two ounces. Mix well to-
gether, place a teaspoonful in the feed-box before feed-
ing, and place the grain-feed on top of it, or, if you are
feeding meal mixed with the hay, mix it with the ration.

For the first twenty-four hours to thirty-six hours after
they leave the shell little chicks want warmth sufficient
for comfort, fresh air to breathe and a chance to sleep
without being disturbed. When they are sufficiently
rested and thoroughly dried out and fluffy, stand strong
on their legs and begin to persistently make the "hungry
cry," they are ready to go to brood coop or brooder for
their first feed.

It will surprise most dairymen to learn that carefully
kept cows are given four ounces of salt each, daily, mixed
with their feed. They eat their food better, and the
owner thinks they do better when given this amount than
when the allowance is smaller. The cows are fed three
times a day, and the salt is divided between the three
feeds. Fine table salt is invariably used ; the cows prefer
it to coarse salt.

A hog coming down with cholera is sluggish and re-
fuses food. The eyes are inflamed and the hair be-
comes rough. A cough and weakness are other symp-
toms. An inexperienced owner needs the help of an ex-
pert in such cases. Veterinarians usually know how to
procure and use the serum, and it is best to employ
them if they can be reached. Nearly all states have pub-
lic veterinarians

The guinea fowl is a native of warm countries and
has a natural fear of snow, so when guineas are caught

USEFUL HINTS 285

out in a storm there is a good chance for trouble if we
undertake to force them to walk through snow to the
poultry house. The guineas will take to flight rather than
wade in snow and rather than light on the ground when
covered with snow they will alight in trees, or if there
are no trees they will light on the tops of buildings.

Many times a severe cough in a horse can be cor-
rected by the use of the following remedy: Nitrate of
potash, three drachms ; tartarized antimony, one drachm ;
powdered digitalis, three- fourths drachm; camphor, three
drachms. Mix well, divide into two equal parts, and
make each into a ball with a little raw linseed-oil. Give
one dose in the morning and the other in the evening.
Continue each alternate day until relief is noticed.

To rid swine of worms, give one dose made up of 4
tablespoonfuls of oil of turpentine, one-half teaspoonful
of liquor of erri dialysatus and 6 ounces of raw linseed
oil. This is suitable for an animal weighing 100 to 150
pounds ; for larger or smaller stock change the dose. Re-
peat in four days if necessary. Kidney worms are not
directly reached by any known remedy, but the treat-
ment and management outlined above will have a good
effect.

One of the best methods to take care of the steel plow
is to grease the mold board, share and land slide just as
soon as the plowing is done. Leaving a highly polished
surface exposed to the weather for one night starts a rust.
Paint must be scraped off with some sharp instrument,
while grease can be wiped off with a cloth, or not infre-
quently the farmer can hitch to the plow without touch-
ing the share, the dirt pushing off the grease. Paint is
a good preservative of wood, but should not be applied
to metal which has wearing or bearing surfaces.

286 USEFUL HINTS

People ought to know that the very best thing they can
do is to eat apples just before retiring for the night. Per-
sons uninitiated in the mysteries of the fruit are liable to
throw up their hands in horror at the visions of dys-
pepsia which such a suggestion may summon up, but
harm can seldom come by the slow eating of ripe and
juicy apples before going to bed. The apple is excel-
lent brain food because it has more phosphoric acid in
easily digested shape than any other fruit.

The first step in determining the freshness of an egg
is to know that the hen that laid it was not mated while
the egg was in the oviduct ; to be sure about this, separate
from laying hens all male birds at the close of breeding
season. Each egg should be candled. In candling, a
fresh egg appears unclouded, almost translucent; if in-
cubation has begun, a dark spot is visible. A rotten egg
appears dark colored. A settled egg is one in which the
yoke appears attached to one side of the shell. With in-
terested observation one may become expert in selecting
fresh eggs in a short time.

Wean pigs when eight to ten weeks old. After wean-
ing, feed the following ration : Soaked corn, two parts ;
barley, two parts; middlings, two parts; meat meal, one-
half part, and roots in liberal quantities. When the
weather becomes cold feed dry corn and barley. Make
a thick slop of middlings, meat meal and water, but use
milk instead of water if you have it. The farmers of
the United States have not yet appreciated the value
of roots, such as mangels and sugar beets. Next year
try an acre; you will grow more afterwards. For pigs
they should be cut up with a pulper. The chief value
of roots lies in their succulence. They are a substitute
for grass.

USEFUL HINTS 287

To develop a laying strain of hens a fancier says that
owners must not keep fowls in large flocks; not over
fifteen to the flock, and each of these must be known
individually by toe marks, leg bands and trap nests. He
says that the hen which often gets broody is most often
the hen that lays most eggs, if you break her up im-
mediately she gets broody. The laying hen carries a
business air that soon shows her worth. The laying
strain must be pure-bred ; the male of this strain and for
this strain must have comb well developed and large for
his breed, and be an early and persistent crower, both
showing extra good development.

Speaking of lumpy jaws in cattle, G. G. Graham says:
"The most satisfactory way is to remove the growth
with the knife when in the tissues only. The animal is
thrown; the head then held in a favorable position, the
skin is cut over the tumor, and the swelling removed
by cutting around it in the healthy tissues." If
hemorrhage is large the vessel may be tied or taken up
with the forceps ; bleeding from smaller vessels may be
seared with a red-hot iron. The wound should be washed
with an antiseptic in I per cent solution after the tumor
is removed, and then packed with antiseptic gauze or
cotton, and the wound stitched up. The next day remove
the stitches, and treat as an open wound.

When the goose becomes broody, if I wish her to lay
another litter I shut her up a few days, and in the
course of two weeks she will generally commence laying
again. If I wish to set her on the first litter I give her
not more than 15 eggs. At the same time I replenish
the nest with straw, and then keep away. If she has free
range and plenty of water, she will need no other care.
In about 30 days she will come off with the goslings.
These I keep close at hand for a few days, until they get

288 USEFUL HINTS

strong, but allow them to nip the tender grass at will. A
shallow dish of water is given them to drink from. They
are kept out of rains until they are well feathered. I
feed a little cracked corn at night to coax them home.

The amateur farmer does not need expert advice to en-
able him to keep his hogs in clean yards and buildings.
Without much scientific knowledge he can see the wisdom
of allowing them to range in grass or clover. They need
a change of pasture and grounds now and again. It takes
only a little systematic effort to provide clean troughs
and fresh water. A shed is needed for shade in summer
unless there are trees, and winter pens and yards should
be kept in a sanitary condition. All these things count
largely in warding off disease and in making a good
quality of pork. The charcoal and wood ashes which are
valuable aids to the health of swine, will help to a great
extent in warding off cholera. Corn given in a green
stage is one of the causes of cholera and this kind of
feeding should be avoided.

Sheep are easier to winter than any other stock. That
is, of course, providing they have sufficient shelter and
plenty of fresh water. The barn in which I keep my
sheep is completely inclosed, and as warm and tight as
any of the buildings for the rest of the stock. It has
plenty of windows, and openings in the windows for
ventilation. I feed timothy or upland hay at night, and
straw liberally during the day, with a little ground oats
and shorts, mixed, in the morning. My feed racks are
built a foot from the floor. They are a foot wide at the
bottom, 23/2 feet high and 2 feet wide at the top. The
sides are made of boards 8 inches wide and 6 inches apart
up and down. Besides a system of window ventilation,
I have ventilators in the roof, so that I am sure at all
times of the sheep having plenty of fresh air.

USEFUL HINTS 289

At the Missouri Station bone meal was fed with corn
to hogs in a fattening test with very good results. About
an ounce of the meal was fed to each hog per day. At
the Nebraska Station four lots of pigs were fed to de-
termine the value of wheat shorts, tankage and steamed
ground bone, as supplements to corn meal. These hogs
were pastured on alfalfa, and for this reason the lot fed
on corn alone made about as satisfactory gain as any,
although the lot which was fed bone meal in addition to
the corn had the strongest bone. Shorts strengthened the
bones some, and tankage with corn produced much
stronger bone than corn alone. Where mixed grain ra-
tions are given, or skim milk or good pasture, all of
which supply ash material, it is doubtful whether bone
meal is of much value other than for the purpose of
strengthening the bones.

Measles are common with small pigs. Since it is a
contagion, it spreads very rapidly when once there is
an outbreak in the herd. Some of its more common
symptoms are coughing and sneezing. The eyes are red
and watery, and there is generally a discharge from
the nose. The appetite is generally impaired, and there
is a desire to remain in the nest or bed. On the fourth or
fifth day a red rash appears on the skin, first in small
pimples and later in large spots, which rise above the sur-
rounding surface of the skin. The elevations are the
same on infected pigs whose skins are white as on the
dark-skinned animals. The pig should have a dry bed in
which to sleep. Perhaps the most simple remedy is a
half pint of boiled flaxseed with the soft feed, once each
day. Ten grains of nitrate of potash in the drinking
water is also good.

Many experts claim that the open-front house will give
the best results in ventilation, although it seems hard to

290 USEFUL HINTS

convince the average poultry owner of this fact, in spite
of the proof in the operation of the same by some of the
largest commercial plants in the country. With the north,
east and west side bottle-tight, the south side open from
two to three feet from the door, so that no drafts will hit
the fowls and with muslin curtains to lower on stormy
days, there is no need of ventilators. This type of ventila-
tion is fast coming to the front as the most practical. A
house sixteen feet wide and eight feet high in the front,
which faces the south, or as near south as possible, and
five feet high in the rear, allowing the sun to reach the
back sill of the sixteen-foot floor some time during the
day, offers ideal conditions. With such a house, properly
managed, there will be no colds or roup to cause failure.

Special thermometers fixed in the ground a few inches
deep show that an orchard cover crop keeps the soil
several degrees warmer than a bare soil close by, in an
experiment now going on at Indiana Agricultural Col-
lege. It is also being found that there is more moisture
under the crop than there is where no crop has grown.
Rye, millet, wheat, rape, crimson clover, soy beans, cow-
peas and vetch have been planted over different orchard
acres to see which gives best results for the cost of plant-
ing, which, if any, is most practical. So far vetch has
given excellent results but the seed is pretty expensive.
Cowpeas will not grow unless they are put in early, in
an average year. Rape grows well after frost, and seems
to be a good practicable crop. Millet, because it is inex-
pensive to put in, is considered one of the most practica-
ble. Chickens, calves and pigs may be pastured safely in
the orchard, but other stock are liable to injure the trees.

Dates for Planting Vegetables

Asparagus. Plant between 20th of March and 15th of
April, according to locality and season. Plant in trenches
with rich soil, placing roots three feet apart.

Beans, Lima. Plant April 10th to 25th. Plant 2 inches
deep, 6 inches apart, in rows 2 feet apart. This is for bush
beans. For pole crop set poles 4 feet apart and plant 5
beans to each pole. Pinch off when vines reach top of poles.

Beans, String. Plant 1st to 15th of April, in rows 2 inches
deep, about 4 inches apart in row. Plant frequently a few
at a time to extend crop over the season.

Beets. Plant April 1st to 15th, placing seed thinly in drill
1 inch deep. Thin out as needed.

Cabbage. Set plants May 1st to 15th. Can buy plants
as needed or start seed indoors a month earlier.

Cauliflower. Plant early in May. Buy plants or start
seed indoors.

Carrots. Plant April 1st, thinly, y2 inch deep in rows.
Thin out as needed by pulling largest.

Celery. Plant seed in hot-bed during early spring; trans-
plant when season is well advanced. Plants can be set out
in July or August for fall and winter use.

Corn. Early and late varieties can be planted beginning
about the middle of April, the later kind up to the middle
of July.

Cucumbers. Plant April 20th to May 1st, in hills 4 feet
apart, a number of seeds in each hill.

Eggplant. Plant any time in May, according to weather,
plants 2 feet apart.

291

292 DATES FOR PLANTING VEGETABLES

Lettuce. Plant early varieties about April 1st, and late
about July 1st to August 1st, and pick as required for table
or market.

Melons. May 1st to 15th. Plant in hills 4 feet apart each
way, 12 seeds to hill. Thin to 2 vines to hill. To check
striped beetle cover each hill with box cheesecloth top, or
plant radishes with melon seeds. To guard against insects
spray with arsenate of lead every two weeks. Pinch vines
back when 3 feet long.

Onions. About April 1st. Plant sets 2 inches deep in
rows 2 feet apart.

Parsley. April 10th to 20th. Soak seeds, cover lightly
with soil.

Parsnips. April 1st to 15th. Scatter seeds thinly in rows.

Peas. Early varieties about April 1st. Scatter manure
in trench, sow peas directly on this and cover 3 inches deep.
Plant late crop June 15th to July 1st.

Pumpkin. Plant May 15th in hills 6 feet apart.

Radishes. April 1st and every 2 weeks, planting seed y2
inch deep.

Spinach. Plant about April 1st, 1 inch deep, rows VA
feet apart.

Squash. Plant early in May in hills 4 feet apart, 12 seeds
to hill.

Tomatoes. Plant early in May, setting plants 3 feet apart.
Pinch back to 1 stalk; tie to stake or trellis.

Turnips. April 1st to 15th. Plant seed T/2 inch deep.

Insecticides and Fungicides

Approximate Cost Is Given

Ant Exterminator. A powder. 25 cts., 50 cts. and $1.00.

Aphine. The insecticide that kills plant lice of every de-
scription; a strong nicotine extract. 1 qt., $1.00; 1 gal., $2.50.

Aphis Punk. A nicotine paper. For fumigating. Box,
60 cts.; 12 boxes, $6.50.

Arsenate of Lead. For elm-leaf beetle and caterpillars.
1 lb., 25 cts.; 5 lbs., 90 cts.; 10 lbs., $1.65; 25 lbs., $3.75; 100
lbs., $14.00. 1 oz. to 1 gallon of water.

Bordeaux — Arsenate of Lead Mixture. A combined
fungicide and insecticide. For plants, trees and shrubbery.
Three ozs. to 1 gal. of water. Apply as a spray. 1 lb., 15
cts.; 2 lbs., 26 cts.; 5 lbs., 60 cts.; 10 lbs., $1.15; 20 lbs., $2.15;
50 lbs., $5.12; 1000 lbs., $10.00.

Bordeaux Mixture Paste. The supreme remedy against
fungus, rust and all kinds of rot. Five ozs. to 1 gal. of water
is standard strength. 1 lb., 11 cts.; 2 lbs., 18 cts.; 5 lbs., 40
cts.; 10 lbs., 75 cts.; 20 lbs., $1.35; 50 lbs., $3.12.

Bordeaux Mixture (Liquid). By simply adding water and
stirring it is ready for use. 1 qt., 40 cts.; 1 gal., $1.00; 5 gals.,
$4.50. One gallon will make one barrel of liquid.

Bordeaux Mixture (Dry). For dusting plants affected
with mildew and all fungous diseases. 1-lb. box, 20 cts.;
makes 5 gallons spray; 5-lb. box, 90 cts.

Copper Sulphate. For early spraying and making Bor-
deaux. Lb., 15 cts.; 10 lbs., $1.25; 25 cts., $2.25.

Kerosene Emulsion (Concentrated, Liquid). For plant
lice and aphis. 1 qt., 40 cts.; 1 gal, $1.00; 5 gals., $4.50.

Kerosene Emulsion (Paste). Used as a summer wash
against scale, plant lice and aphis. Ready for use by simply
adding water. 1-lb. can, 15 cts.; 5-lb. can, 60 cts.; 25-lb. can,
$2.50.

293

294 INSECTICIDES AND FUNGICIDES

Lemon Oil. For all insects and soft scale; one of the best-
known Insecticides. V2 pt., 25 cts.; pt., 40 cts.; qt, 75 cts.;
y2 gal., $1.25; gal., $2.00; 5 gals., $9.00.

Lime Sulphur Solution. A perfect scale and fungus
destroyer; special for plum and peach trees, which need fall
and spring treatment; cures peach leaf curl. Use during dor-
mant period. Protect the hands with gloves when applying.
Dilute with 10 parts of water. 1 gal., 75 cts.; 5 gals., $2.25;
10 gals., $3.75; half-bbls., $6.00; bbls. of 50 gals., $10.00.

Nicoticide. Fumigating compound. 1 pt., $2.50; Vi pt.
$1.25; 4 ozs., 70 cts.; vaporizing apparatus, 50 cts.

Nikoteen. An economical and powerful nicotine extract.
One part to 600 of water is sufficiently strong to kill all in-
sects except scale, for which use 1 to 400. Pt. bottle, $1.50.

Pruning Compound. A specially prepared thick paint,
with a rubbery, elastic film. Just the thing to use after
pruning trees. 1 qt., 40 cts.; 1 gal., $1.20.

Rat Corn. Sure death to rats and mice. A new scientific
discovery; not poisonous to other animals. 25 cts., 50 cts.
and $1.00 size cans.

Scalecide. Recommended for scale as a winter spray. Di-
lute 1 gal. to 20 gals, of water. 1 gal., $1.00; 5 gals., $3.25;
bbl., 50 gals., $25.00.

Slug Shot. One of the cheapest and best powders for
destroying insects. 1-lb. carton, 15 cts.; 5 lbs., 30 cts.; 25
lbs., $1.40; 50 lbs., $2.75; 100 lbs., $5.00.

Soluble Oil. An excellent scale remedy. Specially good
for lawn trees and hedges, as it will not stain. Mixes per-
fectly with water. Use during dormant period. Dilute with
15 to 20 parts of water. 1 gal., $1.00; 5 gals., $3.65; 10 gals.,
$6.65; half bbl., 60 cts. per gal.; bbl. of 50 gals., 50 cts per gal.

Sulphur, Powdered. For mildew. 1 lb., 10 cts.; 5 lbs., 40
cts.; 10 lbs., 60 cts.; 50 lbs., $2.50; 100 lbs., $4.00.

Tobacco Dust. 1 lb., 10 cts.; 5 lbs., 25 cts.; 100 lbs., $3.50.

Tobacco Soap. For plants, trees, cattle and all insect in-
fested animals. V2 lb., 25 cts.; 10 lbs., bulk, $3.00.

Tree Tanglefoot. (Caterpillar Paste.) A remedy against
caterpillars and all tree-climbing insects. 1 lb., 30 cts.; 3 lbs.,
85 cts.; 10 lbs., $2.65; 20 lbs, $4.80.

Fertilizers for Farm and Garden

Approximate Cost Is Given

Animal Base and Potash Compound. For all crops. Su-
perior for broadcasting in spring prior to harrowing. 2 per
cent, ammonia, 8 per cent. A v. Ph. Acid, 2 per cent, potash.
Per sack, 200 lbs., $3.00; per ton, $23.50.

Bone Flour. Ground fine; excellent for pot plants or beds
where an immediate effect is wanted. 5 lbs., 25 cts.; 100
lbs., $2.50; bbl. of 200 lbs., 4.50; ton, $40.00.

Pure Bone Meal. A standard fertilizer for all purposes,
safe and effective. 3 lbs., 15 cts.; 5 lbs., 25 cts.; 25 lbs., 75
cts.; 50 lbs., $1.25; 100 lbs., $2.00; 200 lb. sack, $3.50; per
ton, $33.00.

Ground Bone. A little coarser than above; excellent for
grass plots, gardens, etc. Apply 400 to 600 lbs. to the acre.
5 lbs., 25 cts.; 25 lbs., 75 cts.; 50 lbs., $1.25; 100 lbs., $2.00;
sack of 200 lbs., $3.50; per ton, $33.00.

Coarse Bone. Ground coarse, for grape borders and
poultry. A superior fertilizer to use when planting shrub-
bery and trees. 5 lbs., 25 cts.; 50 lbs., $1.25; 100 lbs., $2.25;
200-lb. sack, $4.00; per ton, $35.00.

Fine Ground Bone. Contains 3 per cent, ammonia, 16 per
cent, phosphoric acid. 100 lbs., $1.75; 200-lb. sack, $3.25; per
ton, $30.00.

Cattle Manure, Shredded. For garden, lawn and green-
house, and especially good to mix with compost and for
water lilies. 100 lbs., $2.00; 500 lbs., $9.00; 1,000 lbs., $16.00;
per ton, $30.00.

Hard-wood Ashes. Indispensable as a lawn dressing, or
to apply to orchards. Should be applied late in fall or
early spring at the rate of 1000 to 1500 lbs. per acre. 5 lbs.,
20 cts.; 10 lbs., 35 cts.; 25 lbs., 60 cts.; 100 lbs., $1.50; per bbl.,
$2.50; per ton, $22.00.

Kainit (German Potash Salt.) Analysis: 12 per cent,
actual potash. Excellent to apply in fall or winter on lawns
or vegetable garden. Apply at the rate of 1000 lbs. per
acre. 100 lbs., $1.25; 200 lbs., $2.00; per ton, $15.00.

295

296 FERTILIZERS FOR FARM AND GARDEN

Land Plaster. Much used in composting or mixed with
guano, etc. 100-lb. bag, $1.00; 200-lb. bag, $1.50: per ton,
$10.00.

Muriate of Potash. 80 per cent, pure, equivalent to 48 to
50 per cent, actual potash. A high grade fertilizer, and one
of the best orchard fertilizers known. 25 lbs., $1.00; 50
lbs., $1.75; 100 lbs., $3.00. Original sacks of 200 lbs., $5.50.

Nitrate of Soda. A fertilizer for all crops. It is very-
quick in action and hastens maturity of crops fully two
weeks. Being quickly soluble, it should not be applied until
the plants are above ground, when 200 to 300 lbs. mixed
with land plaster is sufficient per acre. Nitrate of Soda does
not exhaust the land. 5 lbs., 25 cts.; 25 lbs., $1.25; 50 lbs.,
$2.00; 100 lbs., $3.50. Large quantities, prices on application.

Peruvian Guano Substitute. For potatoes and all vege-
tables. Since it is difficult to procure pure Peruvian Guano,
we recommend this brand as a good, all-round fertilizer. 5
per cent, ammonia, 6 per cent, available phosphoric acid, 7
per cent, potash. 50 lbs., $1.50; 100 lbs., $2.50; sack of 200
lbs., $4.00; ton, $36.00.

Potato Manure. One of the most successful potato ma-
nures ever put on the market. Its great potash content
makes it valuable for use on all root crops, also on fruit
lands. It works well on grass and fruit in connection with
bone meal, and makes a valuable and lasting top-dressing.
2 per cent, ammonia, 5 per cent. Av. Ph. Acid, 10 per cent,
potash. Per sack, 200 lbs., $3.50; per ton, $28.00.

Sheep Manure, Pulverized. A pure natural manure, un-
equalled for mixing with potting soil for lawns, general
vegetable and flower garden fertilizer, for making liquid
manure water or for any purpose where quick as well as
lasting results are wanted. 2-lb. package, 15 cts.; 5 lbs.,
25 cts.; 10 lbs., 40 cts.; 25 lbs., 75 cts.; 50 lbs., $1.25; 100 lbs.,
$2.00; 500 lbs., $9.00; 1000 lbs., $16.00; ton, $30.00.

Tobacco Stems. An indispensable lawn covering for
winter. It not only acts as a protector, but imparts large
quantities of ammonia and drives away insects and moles.
Bbl., $1.00; bale, $2.00; ton, $12.00.

Wheat Fertilizer. This brand combines in available form
the necessary elements for the growth of all grain and grass.
Ammonia, 2 per cent.; phos. acid, 8 per cent.; potash, 2 per
cent.; nitrogen, 1.65 per cent. Sacks of 200 lbs., $3.00;
ton, $23.50.

INDEX

PAGE

A

Advantages of farm life 30

Agriculture to be more profitable 10, 20, 27, 35

Aim to exceed the average 25

Alfalfa; hardy varieties 118

Apples; market demands; storage 185, 186

Arguments for mixed farming 11, 16, 159

Avoid Single Crops 51

B

Bacteria of the soil 87

Beef production 26

Broomcorn 139

Butter marketing 27

C

Cabbage raising 32

Cattle feeding 51

City men as farmers 29, 46, 66, 68

Chemical elements for plants 85

Cherries — Late varieties safest 183

Concrete on farm 151

Co-operation among farmers 27

Corn, how to obtain good crop 134

Cow testing 127, 129

Crop combinations and diversity 18, 21, 36f 118

Crop rotation 19, 34, 82

298 INDEX

PAGE

Crop succession 38

Crops — relative value 14

D

Dairy by-products 130

Dairy cows compared 129

Dairy management and profits 25, 37, 114, 124, 127

Dates for planting vegetables 39, 291

Deep plowing 100

Diversity reduces risk 17, 20

Duck raising 259

E

Earning capacity of land 18, 40, 53, 72

Education for the farm 23

Egg preservation 256

Egg production 244, 249

Egg type in hens . . . . • 252

Exports and prosperity 12

F

Farm facilities improving 10

Farm home betterment 10, 33

Farm hours too long; labor 15, 17, 22, 31, 35

Farm improvements a vital question 12

Farm life more hopeful 22

Farm work irksome 9, 10

Farmer lacks selling knowledge 9, 26, 27, 70, 76, 115

Farming opportunities 9, 30, 46, 63

Farms are too large 12

Fertilizers 295

Floriculture; commercial value 31, 61, 214

Fodder crops; new 122, 123

INDEX 299

PAGE

Forage problem 117

Fruit farming; suits amateurs 48, 56, 65, 171, 176, 183

G

Gardening a source of profit 21, 200

Grain yield in Europe 24, 36, 80, 143

Grain yield low 24, 36

H

Honey production 50, 235

Hotbeds and coldframes 221

Humus for land betterment 81

I

Insect pests; remedies 225, 232, 293

Insecticides 293

Investments in the country 30

Irrigation by wells 148

L

Labor problem on farm 15, 17, 21, 22, 31, 35

Legumes benefit land 85, 96, 122

Lime a farming adjunct 81

Little farms of Europe 53

Location important 20

M

Manure; value of liquid 45, 93

Moneymaking ideas 25

O

Onion growing 168

Orchard heating 183

P

Parasites cause loss 266

Parcels post aids farmers 77

300 INDEX

PAGE

Pasture waste 41

Phosphorus an essential 83

Pickles 164

Population changes 36

Pork production 25, 26, 108

Potatoes 36, 102, 202

Poultry diseases and remedies 270

Poultry management 49, 244, 274

Prices of farm products 11

Profit sharing 61, 64

Profits in novelties 159

Pruning important 176

S

Silo construction and use 155

Small fruits pay 187, 196

Soil improvement 80, 98

Strawberries, early and late 192, 197

Sugar beets 142

Sweet potatoes 106

T
Turkey raising 263

W

Weeds cause work and loss 24

Weeds have market value 163

Women farmers 73

Y
Young people on farm 9, 12, 22, 33, 57, 67, 161

THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE
STAMPED BELOW

AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS

WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN
THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY
WILL INCREASE TO 50 CENTS ON THE FOURTH
DAY AND TO $1.00 ON THE SEVENTH DAY
OVERDUE.

FEB 241935

LD 21-100m-8,'34

)0 net "

—\

272034

E

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY

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