CHAPTER XXXIII.

A FEW PRACTICAL “DON’TS.”

Don’t imagine that you cannot do anything with a bit of ground. You can.

Don’t run away with the idea that the farmer’s life is all fun or all labor. It isn’t. It is a mixture of both, and fun and labor are equally healthful and profitable.

Don’t think that breaking up the surface soil for an inch or two is the same as plowing. It is not. The old proverb is good advice for the farmer—“Plow deep while sluggards sleep.” To plow in the fall is to lessen your spring work by at least a third. Spring plowing is easier because of it, and the work of the harrow is lighter.

Don’t begrudge manure. All forms of life require food. If you want your plants to grow, feed them.

Don’t plant tiny, tender seeds in hard, cold, lumpy soil and expect them to grow. They won’t. Pulverize your soil, warm it with sun, air and manure; make a cosy little bed for your seeds, and while they snuggle into it, they will be sending out little sprouts all the time to see what the rest of the world is like. Just as it is good business policy to treat your hired help as if they were human beings with feelings, instead of mere tireless machines, so it pays to make your seeds comfortable.

Don’t forget that your plants like air, and that what they get by their stems and branches is not enough. The roots have to breathe. So keep the earth about them stirred somewhat, that the air may get to them.

Don’t skimp the supply of moisture. Although you don’t want to drown out the seeds by soaking the ground, yet you must so till it that it holds all the moisture the plant needs. You find your craving for water greater in summer than in winter, especially if you are working hard. Well, the plant is working hard, if it is growing. See that it has its drink of water always at hand.

Don’t decide to let the weeds on the roadside grow, just because they seem “nearer the other fellow’s plot” than yours. There are no “other fellows” in a matter of this kind. It does not take long for the weeds he has to get to you. If he doesn’t know the importance of cleaning even the road, and you do, just set him the example. He’ll soon ask you why you did it. After that, he’ll probably do his share. At any rate you will have done yours.

Don’t try to grow more and better crops than your neighbor, just for the “fun of getting ahead of him.” Grow them to prove how much can be done with your facilities, and to show him, as well as yourself, how much more pleasure and profit he can find in gardening than he has known before. Next year he’ll probably show you a thing or two.

Don’t think you have to emigrate to some far-away spot to make a living from the earth. All soil can be made to produce if you use brains as well as labor. Begin where you are, no matter how small the plot. Learn to do it in little before you try it in large. If you have no plot where you live, try to get the use of a vacant lot in your town or city. Put up a tent and live in it. You and your family will be the better for roughing it a bit. There’s lots of fun in camping if you go about it in the right spirit.

Don’t be afraid to ask advice from the Department of Agriculture. They are conducting their experiments for your sake, if that’s the sort of knowledge you want. If it were not for you and thousands like you, they would not need to discover so many of Nature’s secrets. Get the benefit of their discoveries.

Don’t think you can farm without proper tools, any more than a man could print a paper without a printing press. The old-fashioned, small hand-press, would stand a poor show beside the new power presses. So with old-fashioned, hand-gardening tools. You can do more work with a wheel-hoe than with ten hand-hoes, and it isn’t so painful either. Get only the tools you need, but be sure to get them, and get the best of their kind.

Don’t let your tools stand out in all weathers, and don’t forget to clean them and see that they are oiled. A dirty farm implement may mean the spread of disease; unoiled bearings may mean injury from rust or breakage. Save time and expense by a little care.

Don’t expect eggs from dirty or ill-fed fowls. The natural returns from such conditions are vermin and sickness; and you’ll get them.

Don’t expect to take everything out of the soil and put nothing back. The soil is like a bank account, so long as you keep adding to it, you may draw from it. But if it is all “draw” and no “add,” then you will soon come to the end of your resources. Feed your soil and it will feed you.

Don’t plant poor seed. You can’t afford it. The best is cheapest. If you have poor seed on hand, throw it away—or perhaps it might do for the chickens. No loss can be so great as the loss of planting it.

Don’t forget that women are apt to make good gardeners, because they are willing to “fuss over” necessary small matters. If you do not like to attend constantly to “little things,” if you “hate details,” you will be unlikely to make a big success of intensive culture. The man who does best is the one who loves to compare soils and fertilizers and seeds, and to try how many seeds sprout and how long they take; who is interested in the temperature of every hot-bed; who watches for just the day to use the wheel-hoe on this row and the hand-plow on that; who finds the time only too short while he sets out onion seedlings; who enjoys putting up nice bunches of vegetables or packages of fruit. In short, the man or woman whose interest is in watching the crops instead of the clock, is the one who succeeds in garden work.

Don’t delude yourself into thinking that you must have a fine house before you can take up gardening. A shack is as good as a palace, and better, if you can afford the one and not the other. Anything that can be ventilated and made weather-proof will be enough. After you have made your fortune, if you have not in the meantime learned the value of simple living, build your fine house, and be as splendidly uncomfortable as even the worst Philistine could desire. But while you are earning your fortune, be comfortable. It pays.

Don’t think you must throw up your job and rush into farming for a living, unless you have had some experience, or have a snug little bank account to depend upon while you are learning. Get your experience on a small piece of land first, while still holding down your present job. Be sure you like the work and that you are willing to give all necessary time and attention to it.

Don’t think that this list exhausts all the “don’ts,” practical or otherwise. There are dozens of others. But it is well to leave something to the imagination and to experience. You’ll learn them for yourself and remember them better for it. Nevertheless, it will do no harm to attach the rules for farm buying submitted to the American Jewish Association. They run as follows:

Don’t think about buying a farm if your wife won’t live in the country.

Don’t believe in agents when they tell you gold-brick stories.

Don’t chase after big farms.

Don’t buy a farm unless you have money enough left to buy a cow.

Don’t run too much in debt when you buy your farm.

Don’t pay a deposit on your farm until you have consulted a lawyer.

Don’t forget to insure your farm buildings in a reliable company.

Don’t buy a farm unless you are able to meet the mortgages.

Don’t buy a farm unless you have consulted those who know.

Appendix I.

The island of Guernsey in the English Channel, only from four to seven miles long, and three to four miles wide, supports a permanent population of 41,000 and an additional visiting population each year of about 30,000 persons. Only 11,623 acres are under cultivation, but if the glass houses and frames were placed in line they would extend for twenty-eight miles, or all around the island, and up the centre for almost its entire length, and would average about 10 feet in width. The farming lands are valued at twelve hundred dollars ($1200) an acre, and are rented at 10 per cent. of their value. The exports of this land in fruits, vegetables, flowers and cattle, amount to more than two and three-quarters millions ($2,752,000) annually. In addition to this, the farmers produce all that the 71,000 persons consume, as well as hay, oats and forage for horses and cattle; and about $500,000 worth of butter, poultry, eggs, pork and beef. At a conservative estimate, the island produces about four and a half millions’ ($4,500,000) worth of farm and garden stuff each year, or a little less than four hundred dollars’ ($400) worth to the acre.

Don’t you think we Americans, with our improved machinery and intelligence, can get much more out of our land—when we try?

If the State of New York were all cultivated and populated at that rate it would produce nearly $15,000,000,000 worth annually and sustain 233,641,473 people, or about three times the population of the entire United States. So we are not going to suffer from “over-population” or “pauper labor” just yet.

Appendix II.

French Gardening, and Other Gardening Under Glass.

Intensive cultivation reaches its climax for the present in what is called the French System, in vogue in and about Paris, and in some parts of England, where rents are so enormously high that even an inch of space counts, and must be made to produce its utmost. It has not been in favor in this country, because, so far, the pressure of rent has not compelled people to look so much after the inches. But, if the present land-tenure system continues, there is no telling when the French system of cultivation will become a necessity. In its simplest terms, the French system is hot-bed cultivation with perfect fertilization and irrigation, usually without artificial heat. The secret of it is—manure, unlimited quantities of it, of the finest quality and rotted to about the condition of leaf-mould. The beds are made on the top of the earth, the foundation being fresh stable manure that has been turned several times and thoroughly sweetened. Cover an area sufficient to accommodate the number of frames you intend to use, with great quantities of manure, so that after it has been tramped, pressed and rolled flat, it will be from 6 to 8 inches deep at least. Sometimes it is made two feet deep. The frames are then placed on this bed, the manure extending well beyond them on every side, and a distance of 18 inches is left between the rows of frames. A layer of fine, rich, dark soil, mixed with manure that has been rotted during the previous season, is then spread on, to the depth of six inches, pressed down and raked. The bed is then ready for planting. Generally four crops are grown in each frame, radish, lettuce, carrots and cauliflower being the usual combination.

The radishes are sown first, quite thinly, then a thin layer of carrot seed. These are covered with about half an inch of fine soil well pressed down. Cabbage-lettuce is next set out, the plants being placed nine inches apart, and, so far, three crops are growing at the same time. The fourth, cauliflower, is not planted until the radishes are off,—in about three or four weeks,—the lettuce has been cut and the carrots are showing well above the ground. Then three or four cauliflower plants are set in each frame between the carrots.

But one of the most interesting parts of this work is the growing of the lettuce and cauliflower plants for transplanting to the hot-bed frame. These are grown under “cloches” or bell-shaped glasses 17 inches across the bottom and 15 inches high, on a seed-bed prepared just as the hot-bed was prepared, except that the manure foundation is anywhere from 12 to 15 inches deep after being pressed down. These beds are not covered with frames, but the cloches are placed on them in two rows, and within the circles made by them the seed is sown.

As soon as they come up, they may be transplanted from the cloches to the hot-bed direct, or they may be pricked out under other cloches, four plants to a glass, usually one Cos lettuce and three cabbage-lettuce. These are again transplanted to the hot-bed where the radish and carrot seed were sown, and follow the radish in being picked. Lettuce seed is also sown in cold-frames about the first of October and successive sowings are made until the end of that month.

Immediately after the lettuces are picked the bed is watered and weeded, and among the growing carrots the cauliflower is set out. Cauliflower is grown under cloches, the seed being sown as lettuce seed is, under the glass or in the open seed-bed, from October to November, and pricked out under the cloches as soon as the plants are well up. They can be planted out in the hot-beds in February, and are ready for market between the middle of May and the first of June. About April the process of hardening begins, and by the end of that month the frames and sashes are removed and the beds stand in the open. During the time the crops are growing under glass, they need a great deal of attention, that neither the sun nor the frost may injure them. For this reason they are covered, uncovered and recovered several times during each day with mats or frames.

When the cauliflower is off, the bed is forked over and planted with endive, spinach, celery or other garden crop. When the season’s crop has been harvested in October, the soil is gathered up in a great heap, and the beds are topped with decayed manure in the leaf-mould state. This is the best thing to plant in, and if one had enough of it, the crops could be grown on a concrete floor; because in such soil plants find all that they need.

To bring it down to the fine point, the French system consists of manure, more manure, irrigation, availing of every ray of sunlight, and unremitting care. It requires three years to get the system in good working order, and here such intensive cultivation seems unnecessary. It shows what man will do in the way of developing the possibilities of nature, when by law or custom he is debarred from free access to the land, and must needs make a very small portion yield a great return.

We are not in much danger of Malthus’s over-population, and the much-talked-of “pressure of population.” Where so tiny a piece of soil can be made to support so many and give them a good living, too, it is foolish to argue that the cause of poverty is found in the increase of population. This country alone could support many times the population of the whole world today if natural opportunities were free. It has been said that 80,000,000,000 could then be more comfortably supported here than 80,000,000 now are. To find the cause of most of the poverty, and even crime, in the world, we must look beyond the population statistics to the restrictions and monopolies that prevent population from providing for its own needs from natural sources. And when once you begin to investigate monopolies, you will find the mother of them all—Land Monopoly.

* * * * *

A new sash for use in hot-beds and cold-frames has been placed on our market within a year or two, for which its makers claim many desirable things. It seems as if their claims were being well sustained by the experience of those using the Sunlight Double Glass Sash, as it is called. The frames are made of red cypress and are fitted with rustless springs and stops to hold the glass in the grooves and thus do away with the expense and bother of glazing. There is a space of dead air between the two layers of glass, which resists the cold from without, and prevents the escape of heat from within. The sash are sufficiently air-tight for ordinary weather, and when the thermometer falls, the moisture which has gathered between the two layers of glass, freezes and seals the sash practically air-tight.

The makers claim that Sunlight Double Glass Sash save more than half the labor, worry and expense of growing plants in cold-frames and hot-beds, and insure better plants, and, therefore, better crops, than can be secured under the same conditions from single-layer sash. They do away with the necessity of covering the frames with mats or boards, being warmer than the single-layer sash even though covered with mats or boards. Frames or beds filled with half-hardy plants, such as lettuce, cabbage or cauliflower, need no extra covering even in zero weather; and as far north as northeastern Ohio, with the thermometer nearly down to zero, even tomatoes, peppers and eggplants have been raised without additional covering, although this may not always be done. Light is never excluded from the growing plants by night or day, and in the short winter days of this climate, there is some advantage to that. Even when snow and ice lie on the sash, there is some light getting to the plants, and in clear weather the heat from the sun’s rays during the day is stored up in the bed and held by the double glass with the air-space between. That is why even in zero weather the half-hardy plants need no extra covering.

It is quite possible that the gardeners of this country may make a system of their own for intensive cultivation, to equal and perhaps excel the French system with its repeated covering and uncovering of the frames. The sash are made in Louisville, Ky.

Appendix III.

At Maylands, Mr. Joseph Fels’ “colony” in England, all the land is under intensive cultivation, and the rules for getting the best results from hot-beds are simple enough for anybody to follow. They emphasize the advice given in this book and are, therefore, printed as an appendix, so they may be easily consulted. They are furnished by the superintending gardener of Maylands, Mr. Thomas F. Smith, Maylands, Essex, England, for this book, and are as follows:—

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS TO MAYLANDS SMALLHOLDERS.

“It is possible to put the frames to a variety of profitable uses during the winter and spring, but under the special circumstances of our community, and the arrangement for co-operation, it will be best for all to follow one plan, and the produce can then be handled in bulk. To this end, I suggest that the frames be used for radishes and cabbage-lettuce, then cleared for pricking out tomato plants; afterwards, during the summer, used for cucumber or melons.

“During the last week of September, prepare a bed of about a square yard by digging. Break it up fine; cover it with two inches of prepared, sifted, well-rotted manure and soil in equal proportions. Sow broadcast, thinly, a few inches of cabbage-lettuce seed—Watkin & Simpson’s Early French Gold Frame will be very suitable. Cover with ¼ inch prepared soil and press evenly all over. Place a wooden framework round the bed and cover with a sash. Do not water. If the sun shines brightly in the middle of the day, cover the sash, and uncover as soon as the sun’s power is gone. In 4 or 5 days the plants will be up, and as soon as they can be handled they must be pricked off in frames standing on beds prepared in a similar way to the seed-bed, except that the soil inside must come half way up the board. Prick them out 2 inches apart, and do not water. They will stand here during the winter and the work now is to watch them carefully, remove any decayed ones or any showing mildew. If any mildew shows, dust over lightly once or twice with flowers of sulphur. Keep as dry as possible. In hard, frosty weather cover the frames with mats, but remove these whenever possible, and give air on very mild days.

“Towards the latter end of January prepare the hot-beds, by mixing well together equal quantities of old, dry manure and fresh manure. In both cases this must be ‘long.’[13] Shake out the lumps and lay the manure down to the depth of 18 inches. Keep level and beat down gently with the back of the fork. Make the beds wide enough to extend at least 9 inches beyond the frames. Tread the manure down and level up any hollows. Lay the frames on straight and level. Fill up inside one-third the depth with similar manure to that used for the bed, then add 2 inches or so of the prepared soil. Rake the soil well, to leave it level and remove lumps. Put on the sashes and cover with mats. Any of this work must be finished the same day it is begun and covered up. This is of importance, as frost, snow, or rain might set in, and spoil the bed. The remaining beds must be made in the same way, all joining up so as to form one entire bed without any spaces between. The frames are butted together at the ends, and are set 1 foot apart between rows.

“Two or three days after finishing the first bed, it will begin to get warm, which may be seen by the damp inside the glass. Now sow radishes (French Breakfast Radishes—white-tipped) thinly broadcast. Cover them up lightly with dry prepared soil, well sifted; press down evenly. Set out the whole bed with lettuces at 9 in. apart. Before planting, the lettuces must be carefully examined, all decayed leaves removed, and doubtful plants rejected. Use only the strongest plants. Handle very tenderly, so as not to bruise them. Cover the bed every night with mats. When the radishes are up, give a little air on the opposite side to the wind, but be careful not to overdo this, as the lettuces thrive better with very little air. If any decayed leaves are seen on the lettuces, remove them. If the heat in the frames slacks, as may be seen by the radishes not moving quickly enough, place littery manure all round and between the frames up to the lights. The radishes will be ready for gathering the fourth week from sowing, and should be cleared off a bed within 10 or 12 days. When they are all gone, water the bed well between the lettuces with a fine ‘rose’-nozzle hose. Choose a dull, mild day for this, between 11 and 12 o’clock. The lettuces will be ready for marketing five or six weeks after planting, which will be about the middle of March.

“About the beginning of March, make up a hot-bed for one frame of three lights or sashes. Make it two feet thick, and at least a foot beyond the frame all round. Fill up the inside as before, and pack round outside. When the heat is steady, sow the tomato seed, thinly, in rows about 1½ inches apart, keeping at least ½ inch between the seeds. Cover and press down, then scatter lightly all over, a sifting of fine rotted manure. Water well, cover up, putting mats on. In seven or eight days the seed should be germinated. Keep a watch on it and remove the mats the moment it is seen to be breaking through. Water gently with a fine rose, using chilled water. Give all the light possible now, and water as required, keeping the soil just nicely moist. As soon as the first pair of rough leaves show, begin to prick off; if the pricking off is not commenced early the plants will be getting ‘drawn’ before it is finished.

“After cleaning the beds from which the lettuces were taken, fork over lightly and add 3 inches more soil; press all down very firmly and prick out tomato plants 3 inches apart. Do not water. Keep close for a few days until the plants begin to move, and cover at nights. As the plants show growth, water gently and give air on mild days, gradually giving more water and air until the first week in May, when the lights may be taken off on all mild, genial days. By the middle of the month leave air on at night, and the last week the lights may be removed altogether. The weather must be carefully watched, as May is a very changeable and treacherous month; it is very usual for frosts and cold weather to return about the middle of the month, and protection must be given if necessary.

“The ground where the tomatoes are to be set out, should have been prepared during the winter by digging or deep ploughing; a moderate dressing of natural manure should have been added if the ground is poor, but the ground which has previously been heavily manured and cropped with vegetables will be preferable, no manure being added for the tomatoes. After digging, give a dressing of basic slag 10 cwt. to the acre. Have all finished not later than end of February.

“About the middle of May, if the ground is dry, dress with sulphate of potash 1 hundredweight and sulphate of iron, ground fine, ¼ hundredweight to the acre, then go over all with a hoe and chop down all weeds and level all hollows; do not rake. At each end of each row, where it is intended to plant the tomatoes, drive in a pointed stake of 2 by 4 in. broadway to the row, at a slight angle away. The stake should enter the ground 2 ft. and stand out 1 ft. 9 in. Then in direct line with the stakes, at intervals of 10 ft. drive in studding boards ¾ inch × 2 in. × 2 ft. 6 in. long, to stand out of ground 1 ft. 9 in. The narrow way of the board should be in the line of the row. Now fix 16s gauge galvanized wire to the stake at one end, and draw tight and fix to stake at the other end. Fix wire to top of stakes by small wire staple. This should all be done before the plants are set out.

“During the last week in May and first week in June, the plants should be set out. Water well in the frame, then gently pull the plants and place as many upright in a basket as it will hold. Drop about twenty at 18 in. apart; then one person with a small, thin graft, or a garden trowel, should insert it about 4 in. into the ground at an angle, and press upwards, slightly raising the soil without disturbing it. A second person should insert the damp roots of the plant in the nick and tuck them carefully to the bottom, into the damp soil; remove the tool gently and press the soil firmly on to the plant with the heel. Do not water. I have tried many ways of planting tomatoes in the fields, and this I found to be the best method where large numbers have to be planted. Where only a small quantity are being handled it is best to grow them in strawberry baskets or pots, and put the plants out with the roots undisturbed.

“In a week or two, if the weather is genial, growth will be observed, and then a dressing of nitrate of soda may be given, about 2 hundredweight to the acre. It should be crushed fine and mixed with three times its bulk of dry earth or ashes. At the end of June the plants should be thoroughly sprayed with strawsonite. After spraying, it will be time to go over the plants, and remove all the side shoots, keeping the plants to one stem only. When the plants have grown long enough to reach 6 in. above the wire, they should be again trimmed of shoots and tied to the wire, resting the stem of the leaf on the wire before tying. Leave the tie rather slack for expansion of stem. After trimming and tying, spray again with strawsonite. This work should all be completed by the beginning of August, if the season is suitable to growth. If rain falls immediately after spraying, repeat it.

“The fruit should begin to show color by the middle of August, but this varies considerably with the season and the age of the plants when set out.

“As soon as the fruit shows pink, it should be gathered and taken to the packing shed. Do not gather the fruit green if it can be helped, but wait for a change of color. These gatherings should be continued at least twice a week so long as the fine weather continues. If the weather changes to wet after a long dry spell, it is very probable that many of the fruit will crack, and then it is advisable to gather the fruit green, if quite fully matured; this will save them from cracking. If the weather is cold and dull, the plants should be sprayed with Evans’ Aseptic Spray. This will not leave a stain on the fruit. After the second week in August, the plants may be topped, as this will help the fruits to swell, and fruit setting after this date will probably be useless. Keep the side shoots removed, and remove and shorten bottom leaves to let the sunlight into the plants. Remember this: plants allowed to grow close and crowded are much more liable to disease, and spraying does not thoroughly cover them; also plants with many shoots make less fruit, of a smaller size, and take longer to ripen; therefore anyone taking the trouble to raise plants and set them out, and neglecting them afterwards, is acting very foolishly.

“Continue to gather the fruits as ready, keeping a sharp look-out after the end of September for signs of frost. When this is feared, gather all the full-grown fruit on the plants whether green or not—they will ripen in-doors; but exercise some judgment, and do not gather fruit which is not full grown. This may color, but even if it does, it will be shrivelled and a bad color, and will spoil the market for better fruit. It is better to leave the immature fruit on the plants, as the frost may pass without doing any material damage, and there may be several weeks more of mild weather, which will give several more pickings of full-grown green fruit. I have picked in this way until the first week in November, some years.

“The fruit must be graded into ‘best smoothing,’ ‘small smooths,’—which description does not include very small fruits, but only those just too small for an even sample,—‘seconds,’ and ‘thirds.’ Seconds are good sound fruit, but include all the misshapen ones. Thirds are sound odds and ends—it is better to avoid the grade if possible. The fruit is sent to markets in baskets.

“Tomatoes may be obtained from the open in July by sowing the seed a month earlier, and growing on with more room in pots. If each plant has 9 in. square of space, and is properly attended to, it will have small fruits set when planted out, and ripe fruit can be gathered in July.

“_Ridge Cucumbers._ Prepare a good hot-bed as for tomato seed, and on the last day of April, sow the cucumber seed, two together, at 1½ in. apart all over the bed; cover with soil, press down, do not water, close up and cover with mats. The seed will be up in 2 or 3 days. Give water, plenty of light, but no air; cover at night. Have ready a mild hot-bed—the bed the lettuces were removed from, if forked over, will probably do. As soon as the rough leaves are showing, lift each pair of plants gently with a little soil and pot into large 60s, burying up to seed leaves. Water as required. Harden gradually by end of May, and plant out first week in June at 2 ft. apart in rows, and 4 ft. between the rows. A bed into which a heavy dressing of manure has been dug during the winter will do very well. As soon as set out, the plants must be protected by some means, such as placing a flower-pot at night over each plant, or with paper cones pegged down. It is also advisable that hurdles covered with straw be run down every 3 or 4 rows to break the wind. If the plants are helped in this way for a week or two, they will repay it later on. After planting they should be watered, and this should be repeated if the weather continues dry. Before they begin to run, mulch all down each side of the rows with long straw stable manure. Fruit should be ready middle of July.

“For using the frames after the above plants have been removed, I recommend Frame Cucumbers. Melons would do equally well, but are rather more difficult to grow, and I advise cucumbers for a year or two until experienced. Make up a hot-bed precisely the same as for Ridge Cucumbers. Fill as many 60s pots as are needed half-full of prepared soil after covering the drainage hole with broken china. Put one seed of Telegraph Cucumber on the soil in each pot, fill half the remaining space with soil and press down with the bottom of a pot. The soil should be of a nice dampness when used, as the seeds are better unwatered; the pots, if new, should be soaked in water before use. Cover up close and keep mats on until seed is up, then only mat at night. Give no air, water with tepid water as required, shade from strong midday sun and keep interior of frame moist by dewing over early each morning. Give the plants room for the leaves to spread. As frames are emptied of the tomatoes and ridge cucumbers, without waiting for all of them, fork them over lightly and raise slightly in centre; on this mound put half a bushel of prepared soil, which should consist mainly of chopped sod with the grass removed, a little decayed manure, and a little finely sifted burnt earth or old mortar rubbish. Cover up close for a day or two for the sun to warm the soil, and then put two plants in the middle of the light, about 6 in. apart. Pinch out the centres, allowing only one shoot to grow from each plant. These should be taken from one plant upwards and the other downwards in the frame. Keep the growth thin; remove old leaves, one now and then; avoid overcrowding; if this seems likely, cut some of the shoots right out. Keep the frame moist, give plenty of tepid water, whiten about half the glass in the centre and splash the remainder. If these instructions are carried out, there will be an abundance of cucumbers to cut for market.

“The frame cucumbers are packed in flats, numbered according to size, but usually 3 to 4 doz. Put a little hay at the bottom, then cover with paper, put one layer of fruit very carefully on this and a sheet of paper over, a little more hay, another sheet of paper, then a layer of fruit and so on. Three layers generally fill the flat.

“Ridge cucumbers are generally sold by count or in bushels, but when grown especially fine may be sent in flats as above.”

FOOTNOTES:

[13] NOTE.—“Long” manure contains a good deal of litter that has not decayed, so that the manure does not break up into fine particles as “well-rotted” manure does.

Appendix IV.

The _Farm Journal_ for November, 1908, gives the following condensed list of the short courses offered by the various State Agricultural Colleges:

Specialized knowledge is the keynote of modern farming success. Why not give your boy or girl a chance to acquire some of this knowledge? In winter there will be a let-down of farm activity, and many of Our Folks could, if they tried, attend one of the short agricultural courses provided free by nearly every State. In many cases the only expenses are for board, books, etc., and the total cost of a few weeks’ course is thus very small. Many grown farmers attend these courses; there is no age or citizenship limit in most States.

For catalogues and full information write to any of the addresses given, mentioning this book. For instance, if you live in Alabama, direct your letter as follows: “J. F. Duggar, Alabama State Agricultural College, Auburn, Ala.”

Alabama. J. F. Duggar, Auburn: Offers a nine-month course in agriculture, and a two-year course.

Arizona. R. W. Clothier, Tucson: Offers a two-year course in irrigation, engineering, farm management, dairying and vegetable gardening, designed especially to equip students for farming under Arizona conditions.

Arkansas. John N. Tillman, Fayetteville: Short winter course in agriculture begins first Monday in January, lasting two weeks.

California. E. J. Wickson, Berkeley: Five different short courses covering special branches of farming. Write for particulars.

Colorado. B. O. Aylesworth, Fort Collins: A short practical course in agriculture and domestic science is offered by this institution.

Connecticut. C. L. Beach, Storrs: Dairy and creamery short course of twelve weeks. Pomology course of twelve weeks. Poultry course of six weeks. All courses open Tuesday, January 5th. A six-week forestry course begins November 2d.

Delaware. H. Hayward, Newark: Offers a six-week special course, from January 4th to February 15th; and a special “Farmers’ Week” from January 4th to 8th, inclusive.

Florida. Andrew Sledd, Gainesville: A two-year course specially adapted to the farmer’s boy. The instruction is of an applied nature with sufficient technical research to lead the student to question well the reasons for the various farm operations. College moved from Lake City to Gainesville.

Idaho. H. T. French, Moscow: Short courses are offered in dairying, extending one year; and farmers’ short courses in dairying and horticulture, extending six weeks, beginning about middle of January.

Illinois. Eugene Davenport, Urbana: Offers a two-week course in agriculture, and also in household science, beginning January 13th.

Indiana. J. N. Skinner, Lafayette: Four courses of eight weeks each, beginning January 18th, as follows: Agriculture and horticulture; animal husbandry; dairying; household economics.

Kansas. E. R. Nichols, Manhattan: Offers a ten-week farmers’ short course, beginning January 5th; a ten-week short course in dairying, beginning January 5th.

Kentucky. Clarence W. Mathews, Lexington: The college is now occupying its new building; offers a ten-week business course in agriculture, beginning January 4th. Tuition free to residents of the State.

Maine. W. D. Hurd, Orono: Offers an eight-week course in dairying, farm crops and horticulture; a special poultry course; and a “Farmers’ Week.”

Maryland. R. W. Silvester, College Park: Ten-week course in agriculture begins Tuesday, January 5th. Terms: Board, $40 for whole course; tuition free.

Massachusetts. J. A. Foord, Amherst: 1, dairy farming; 2, horticulture; 3, general agriculture; tuition free; begin first Wednesday in January and continue ten weeks. Bee culture; begins fourth Wednesday in May and continues two weeks.

Michigan. R. S. Shaw, East Lansing: Eight-week courses in general agriculture, horticulture, creamery and cheese making, beginning January 5th. No charge for tuition; board and lodging cheap.

Minnesota. E. W. Randall, University Farm, St. Paul: Farmers’ short course opens January 15th and continues four weeks. Dairy school opens November 16th and continues four weeks.

Nebraska. A. E. Davisson, Lincoln: The winter course opens January 4th and closes February 20th.

New Hampshire. Fred Rasmussen, Durham: A ten-week course in dairying begins January 5th.

New Jersey. E. B. Voorhees, New Brunswick: Offers three short courses, beginning December 1st and closing March 5th, as follows: General agriculture, dairy farming, market gardening and fruit growing.

North Carolina. C. L. Newman, West Raleigh: The seven-week course in agriculture begins January 11th; the one-week course in agriculture, January 4th.

North Dakota. J. H. Worst, Agricultural College P. O.: Winter short courses in cooking and sewing are offered for the young ladies. Also winter lecture courses for the men about farming, stock raising, etc.

New York. L. H. Bailey, Ithaca: Five winter courses, in general agriculture, in dairying, in poultry husbandry, in horticulture and in home economics. These courses begin December 8th, close February 24th. (See also New Jersey.)

Ohio. H. C. Price, Columbus: Offers a ten-week course in agriculture, and a similar course in dairying; both begin January 11th. Also a four-week course in domestic science, beginning February 1st.

Oklahoma. J. H. Connell, Stillwater: Several instructive short courses are offered. Write for particulars. Five hundred students attended these courses last year.

Pennsylvania. Alva Agee, State College P. O.: Five winter courses in agriculture, beginning December 1st and continuing for twelve weeks. Write for particulars.

Tennessee. H. A. Morgan, Knoxville: An excellent series of short courses are planned for the new year. Write for particulars.

Texas. S. E. Andrews, College Station P. O.: A two-year course in practical farm work. Send for details.

Utah. Registrar, Agricultural College, Logan: Offers winter courses in agriculture or forestry, domestic arts or mechanic arts, beginning January 5th.

Washington. E. E. Elliott, Pullman: Offers an eight-week course in dairying and a twenty-week course in agriculture.

Wisconsin. H. L. Russell, Madison: Offers a twelve-week dairy course, beginning November 4th; a general course (fourteen weeks), beginning December 5th, and a ten-day farmers’ course, commencing February 2nd.

Wyoming. J. D. Towar, Laramie: The winter course of eight weeks begins January 4th.

Information regarding the short courses of several State colleges was not received in time for insertion here, and so such States are necessarily omitted from the foregoing list.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE

Illustrations in this eBook have been positioned between paragraphs.

Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and consultation of external sources.

Some hyphens in words have been silently removed, some added, when a predominant preference was found in the original book.

Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text, and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained.

Pg 111: ‘LEEK’ replaced by ‘LEEKS’. Pg 112: ‘cultivaiton’ replaced by ‘cultivation’. Pg 272: ‘profitble’ replaced by ‘profitable’. Pg 282: ‘cions’ replaced by ‘scions’.