June 15th, 1894 thru June 16th, 1894

I will not be transcribing each entry since most of Bert's diary is pretty clear. You can read the original more easily by clicking on the image above to view a larger version. I will be including this paragraph, or something similar in each entry so that new readers will know they can click the image to enlarge it for easier reading. Also, there will be some links to the right of the page with relevant information that may be of interest. If you follow Bert's diary regularly, you can skip this paragraph. My notes will include the basics of what Bert talks about each day, along with my own personal thoughts, research, information gleaned from past or future entries, etc. If you have information or suggestions that may help my research, please e-mail me.

Friday, June 15th, 1894 - Short entry - more dragging, marking, dropping and covering potatoes! Plus of course chores.  Since this is a short entry, this might be a good time to talk a bit more about growing potatoes.  I  talked some with Dad last night, and then did some internet research.  Basically, potatoes grow very shallow in the ground, and need to be grown in such a way as to prevent the formation of chlorophyll, which will result if the potatoes grow out of the soil.  Thus, the potatoes are hilled - a process of piling up soil over the newly planted pieces of potato, and evidently going back and re-hilling ( not sure of the proper term) as they grow.  Thus Bert's mention of "covering" the potato pieces  that will grow into plants.  A picture below of one horse drawn implement for hilling potatoes, and then a link to a video of hilling fairly young plants.

Above - an implement specifically for hilling potatoes - below - doing the same job with a horse drawn plow.

Below - link to a nice video of the process.

hilling up spuds from Chandler on Vimeo.

Saturday, June 16th, 1894 - More covering potatoes for his boss - Russell Dye, in the forenoon, and then Bert goes over to Sheldon Fishers for four hours of covering some of his potatoes, and then tilling and planting corn.  He then helped with chores, probably back at Russell Dye's place, and then went over to visit Herman Babcock, his brother, and parenthetically, my great grandfather!  Bert spends  the night at Herman's place.  Bert seems to like  to make the most of his day off on Sunday, thus the starting of his Sunday visiting on Saturday night!

June 13th, 1894 thru June 14th, 1894

I will not be transcribing each entry since most of Bert's diary is pretty clear. You can read the original more easily by clicking on the image above to view a larger version. I will be including this paragraph, or something similar in each entry so that new readers will know they can click the image to enlarge it for easier reading. Also, there will be some links to the right of the page with relevant information that may be of interest. If you follow Bert's diary regularly, you can skip this paragraph. My notes will include the basics of what Bert talks about each day, along with my own personal thoughts, research, information gleaned from past or future entries, etc. If you have information or suggestions that may help my research, please e-mail me.

Wednesday, June 13th, 1894 - I love the beginning - "A warm day. I shed my drawers for the first (this) Spring"  Bert certainly has a way with words!  Probably talking about long underwear?  Bert's time info seems off, but he starts the day plowing with 3 horses until Russell needs one horse for a trip to Naples.  Bert does the chores alone tonight.

Thursday, June 14th, 1984 - Today is more on the Hot side, and Bert continues plowing and dragging land for potatoes, and also prepares some space for a garden.  In those days a garden would probably have been a pretty good sized plot.  He also prepares a flower bed.  I find it interesting that it is quite late in  the year to be tilling the garden, etc.  This area of upstate NY, is at a fairly high altitude, and thus has a quite short growing season. Average first frost seems to be about October 1st, and average last frost in the spring seems to be in late May.  Thus only about a 4 month growing season can be counted on?

June 11th, 1894 thru June 12th, 1894

I will not be transcribing each entry since most of Bert's diary is pretty clear. You can read the original more easily by clicking on the image above to view a larger version. I will be including this paragraph, or something similar in each entry so that new readers will know they can click the image to enlarge it for easier reading. Also, there will be some links to the right of the page with relevant information that may be of interest. If you follow Bert's diary regularly, you can skip this paragraph. My notes will include the basics of what Bert talks about each day, along with my own personal thoughts, research, information gleaned from past or future entries, etc. If you have information or suggestions that may help my research, please e-mail me.

Monday, June 11, 1894 - Russell Dye and Bert work more on planting and tilling land at Milo Dye's place - Russell's Dad.  They mark and plant corn and potatoes.

Tuesday, June 12, 1894 - A hot and sunny day - Bert hauls 8 loads of manure - I presume it was spread on the fields to be planted.  He then plowed land for potato planting.  Russell went over to Mr. Hiler's to get Dakota Potatoes for planting. (I can't find any definite info about what sort of potatoes these were.... there are several varieties of modern potatoes with names like Dakota Rose, etc. but all are recent introductions.) A thunder shower that night, and Bert mentions chores again - he hasn't mentioned chores for a little while, but we can presume they continue to be part of the daily routine - feeding, milking, and general care of the animals on the farm - there hasn't been much of any mention of exactly what animals there were - except for the horses of course.

June 9th, 1894 thru June 10th, 1894

If you follow Bert's diary regularly, you can skip this paragraph. I will not be transcribing each entry since most of Bert's diary is pretty clear. You can read the original more easily by clicking on the image above to view a larger version. I will be including this paragraph, or something similar in each entry so that new readers will know they can click the image to enlarge it for easier reading. Also, there will be some links to the right of the page with relevant information that may be of interest. My notes will include the basics of what Bert talks about each day, along with my own personal thoughts, research, information gleaned from past or future entries, etc. If you have information or suggestions that may help my research, please e-mail me ..... especially with input on Bert's coded entries?

Saturday, June 9th, 1894 - Bert  and Russell go back to Milo's place, and do more dragging and marking for planting corn and potatoes.  Bert mentions marking for corn - the picture below shows the tool used for marking corn.

An old corn row marker ... the large wooden implement with 4 vertical
posts on the wall - the triangular piece below is probably the draw bar
for hooking it up to a horse? . Dragged both ways behind a horse this would
mark the rows of corn for planting. Then the farmer would go back
over those same marked rows with a planter to plant his corn seed.  I assume that a similar tool was used for marking to plant potatoes, with different distance between the vertical boards.

Sunday, June 10th, 1894 - Bert describes the day as "Hot! Hot!! Hot!!! Hot!!!!  I love  the way Bert capitalizes "Hot". repeats it 4 times, and adds an extra exclamation point on each successive one! Bert went to visit his father John for the day.  His Dad didn't live that far away, so I'm not sure why it took about 3 hours to get there?

June 7th, 1894 thru June 8th, 1894

If you follow Bert's diary regularly, you can skip this paragraph. I will not be transcribing each entry since most of Bert's diary is pretty clear. You can read the original more easily by clicking on the image above to view a larger version. I will be including this paragraph, or something similar in each entry so that new readers will know they can click the image to enlarge it for easier reading. Also, there will be some links to the right of the page with relevant information that may be of interest. My notes will include the basics of what Bert talks about each day, along with my own personal thoughts, research, information gleaned from past or future entries, etc. If you have information or suggestions that may help my research, please e-mail me ..... especially with input on Bert's coded entries?

Thursday, June 7th, 1894 - Bert, Russell Dye, and G. Spers (?) go over to Mr. Avery's to plant potatoes.  Bert dragged the field - final tilling stage, and Russell marked the field in one direction and Bert marked it in the other direction.  "Marking"  is done with a horse drawn implement with vertical parts that make grooves in the soil.  Marking in both directions leaves a grid that locates the places to plant potatoes the proper distance apart, and in even rows that will allow cultivating the weeds later. They then drop small cut russet potato pieces that will grow into plants. Bert mentions "mudding in" the potatoes - a term used when planting in muddy soil instead of the preferred drier softer soil.  That fits with the fact that he mentions it is a rainy day.

Friday, June 8th, 1894 - A nice day today, and Bert and Russell go over to Milo Dye's place to plow and drag another field for planting.  Milo is Russell's father.  It rains in the evening.