136 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[ Septembei", 



ate from my other wheat and threshed eighty 

 bushels of a No. 1 article. There was uo 

 chinch bugs on the three acres, while the 

 Other portion of the Held was nearly destroyed 

 by them, as were all my other fields that year. 

 In 1877 I sowed clover seed on all my fields 

 and treated all but one four-acre field with 

 salt and plaster. The result was all the land 

 thus treated produced a luxurant crop of clo- 

 ver, a fine crop of grain and the finest possible 

 pasture in the fall. In consequence of the last 

 my animals all got fat, and 1 had a fine coat 

 of manure ou my fields to plough under. On 

 the four-acre field, not dressed with salt and 

 plaster, the clover killed out in spots, and the 

 wheat ripened prematurely in spots. On ex- 

 amination I found these spots black with bugs. 

 But, on the whole, I got a fair crop of wheat 

 from the field. I hold therefore that clover is 

 the sheet anchor of success to the farmer in 

 renovating and enriching his land, and salt 

 and plaster compose tlie great balance-wheel 

 that will crown all his efforts. I mix the 

 salt and plaster on the barn fioor in a box, at 

 the rate of two bushels of salt and 100 pounds 

 of plaster. When mixed 1 put it in my wagon- 

 box, and, driving slowly over the field, apply 

 the mixture from the rear of the wagon with 

 liberal hand. 



COAL ASHES AND CURCULIO. 



I have for several years saved my plums 

 from the ravages of the cm'culio by the use of 

 coal-ashes. They become so completely dis- 

 gusted with it that they leave for other parts. 

 Just so soon as the blossoms fall I commence 

 with my ashes. I take a bucketful of the ashes 

 under my arm, and with the other hand I dash 

 the ashes all over and through the trees, cov- 

 ering the plums completely with ashes ; and 

 go around every few days and give them an- 

 other dose. If the rain washes it ofl:', I re- 

 new the dose, and keep at it until my plums 

 are ripe, when I am well paid for my trouble. 

 I had last year eight bushels on seven small 

 trees which I sold for thirty-two dollars. I 

 have several trees of the Rheine Claud variety, 

 upon which I did not use the ashes, because 

 the plums were so scattered I thought it would 

 not pay ; but there was one limb of those trees 

 that was close to those I put the ashes on. It 

 got its share of ashes, and that limb ripened 

 up all its plums ; but not a plum was left on 

 the other part of the tree or on any of the 

 other trees of that variety. This was conclu- 

 sive evidence to me that it was the ashes that 

 saved my plums. When I first commenced 

 the ashes, my brother told me that I would 

 not succeed. That he made sure of saving 

 his plums by placing a sheet under his trees 

 and catching them on the sheet and killing 

 them. But when plums were ripe I had plenty 

 and he had none. — Worrall, in Ohio Farmer. 



^ 



EXPLOSIVE DUST. 



The American Miller, in a recent discussion 

 of the causes of flour mill explosions, remarks : 



"Not only is there no essential difference in 

 the explosive character of different kinds of 

 flour dust, but other substances, equally as 

 harmless in themselves as flour, become explo- 

 sive when diffused in a cloud. Witness the 

 destruction of the candy factory on Barclay 

 street, in New York city, by an explosion and 

 fire that took place last December. Any in- 

 flammable substance contains within itself the 

 requisite materials for an explosion if the cir- 

 cumstances are favorable. Fine particles of 

 cotton, wool, or any other similar material, if 

 floating in the air in sufficient quantities to 

 ignite quickly on the application of heat, are 

 all explosive or rather supply the conditions 

 for an explosion. If any solid inflammable 

 substance be reduced to powder and diffused 

 through the air in such a manner that each 

 particle has sufficient oxygen to enable it to 

 burn under the most favorable circumstances, 

 the application of heat will cause an explosion 

 more or less violent. If the dust is diffused 

 through an atmosphere confined within re- 

 straining limits, the explosion may be quite as 

 terrific, proportionately, as that vvhich-destroy- 

 ed the Washbm-n milt Richards lias the fol- 



lowing in one of his works : ' The inflamma- 

 ble and explosive nature of wood dust is not 

 generally known, but few being aware that it 

 is a fulminate, like gunpowder. Any dust of 

 cumbustible material, even that of cast iron, 

 when floating or thickly distributed in the air, 

 explodes or burns up with great force. To 

 prove this, let any one hold a candle beneath 

 a girder or beam in a wood shop, and sweep 

 oft' the fine dust from its top so as to fall on 

 the light, and they will be convinced of its ex- 

 plosive nature.' " 



In directing attention to the subject of ex- 

 plosions, the North Western Liiraberman, of 

 Chicago, speaks as follows : " Wherever there 

 are liable to be accumulations of fine dust 

 there is danger of an explosion ; and it must 

 be admitted that in wood-woiking factories, 

 and particularly those converting dry material, 

 it is rare indeed that dust is not to be found 

 in abundance. It is true there have been but 

 few if any tires in wood-working factories 

 traced directly to this cause ; but it will not 

 do to argue from this that none have occurred. 

 A large proportion of the fires in planing 

 mills, and similar institutions, are of unknown 

 or accidental origin, and it is far from unrea- 

 sonable to suppose that many of them would 

 be found, if it were possible to investigate the 

 matter, to have been the result of explosions 

 of this character. There are many ways in 

 which the necessary combination ot dust and 

 air might be effecte'd, and the fire to ignite it 

 supplied, while the chances of discovering just 

 how it was done after the mill is destroyed are 

 very small indeed." 



We quote the above opinions to show that 

 an explosive character is not peculiar to flour 

 dust, but common to all substances which 

 have an inflammable nature. It is well to re- 

 member this fact when alarmists are attempt- 

 ing to show that flour mills are little better 

 than powder mills, so far as safety is concern- 

 ed. It is doubtless true that New Process 

 milling, by making finer and drier flour, and 

 making a greater number of separations, may 

 materially assist in bringing about explosions ; 

 but the conditions may exist quite as well in 

 any mill where dust and air are mingled in 

 certain proportions in a confined atmosphere. 



— ■- ^ 



WINDMILLS ON THE FARM. 



Hon. Lewis F. Allen writes to the Country 

 Oentlenum a very interesting account of the 

 use of windmills on Grand Island, for the 

 purpose of raising water for farm purposes. 

 After describing the topography of the island. 

 Mr. Allen says of windmills : 



" These have been so perfected within the 

 past few years, and of various kinds, that it 

 is not worth while to specify any one as 

 superior to another. They are made all over 

 our northern and western States, widely ad- 

 vertised in the papers, and each one who has 

 them can best judge of their working quali- 

 ties. I only name tliem in a general way, and 

 speak alone of my own trial of one of them. 



"Although accommodated by access to the 

 river, with water for all my household build- 

 ings, as well as stock purposes at the barns 

 and stables, my convenience for all were not 

 satisfactory. So, two years ago, I sank three 

 diflerent wells — one at the main barn, where 

 the principal stock is kept, another at the 

 farm house, convenient to the horse barn, and 

 still another at a dwelling half a mile from 

 the latter, all near the river shore. These 

 wells were severally .52 feet at the farm barn, 

 42 feet at the farm house and 20 feet at tlie 

 dwelling above named, all yielding pure, good 

 water, touching only the surface of the rock 

 at the bottom, where abundance of water was 

 found. I should also add that a foot or two 

 from the surface of the ground a hard red 

 clay was penetrated until within a foot or two 

 of the rock, when a layer of gravel and sand 

 was reached, and on the surface of the rock a 

 stream of water flowed, which formed the 

 supply. All these wells were bored and socket 

 pipe tiles inserted, as above stated, and into 

 each one was inserted a good iron pump, with 

 about one and a quarter inches delivery, pro- 

 ducing a suflicient stream to fill a common 



bucket in a minute's operation. I ought to 

 say that in each one of the wells the water 

 has a standing level within ten feet of the sur- 

 face. So the wells stood, and now stand, 

 sufficient for all practical uses. 



" But finding too much hard labor neces- 

 sary to pump water for forty or fifty head of 

 cattle aud horses at the main farm barn, I 

 last fall had erected a windmill over the pump 

 in the barn yard. It is 40 feet high, with a 

 revolver 12 feet in diameter, costing about 

 $150 complete and in working erder. The 

 revolvers are usually only 10 feet in diameter 

 for farm use; but wishing to be perfectly sure 

 in supply of water I chose the large size, and 

 at some $2.5 more expense than the other. It 

 has thus far worked to a charm, pumping all 

 that the stock have needed, and working but 

 a few hours, more or less, as the wmd may 

 serve, during the day. A tank or trough, 16 

 feet long, 16 inches wide at the bottom, and 

 flaring two inches wider at the top, and 16 

 inches deep, securely tongue-grooved and 

 iron-bolted, placed near tlie pump, where the 

 cattle can drink at will, makes all the accom- 

 modations complete, and infinitely better than 

 to drive them to the river sixty rods away, 

 particularly in winter, when its shores are 

 frozen (the river never freezes only along the 

 shores a few rods out), and ice has to be cut 

 away for access to the water, but in the ex- 

 pense of manual labor, and convenience and 

 comfort to the cattle. 



REMEDY FOR THE HESSIAN FLY IN 

 \A^HEAT. 



The farmer who recommends this remedy 

 is a Virginian, and he writes to a local paper 

 as follows : 



"I hear there is much 'fly' in the wheat 

 that was sown early this fall. To correct this 

 evil I offer the following remedy, which I and 

 others have successfully tested for a good 

 many seasons. Sow of air-slaked, or water- 

 slaked lime, one or two bushels per acre 

 broadcast over the wheat in the early morning 

 on the dew, or over night on a clear evening, 

 when there is reason to expect dew or frost. 

 As it dissolves it will form a lye, which will 

 follow the leaf towards the root and destroy 

 the chrysalis of the fly near that point. 



"The sower must always sow with the 

 wind, else the lime will be blown back into 

 his face and eyes and on his clothes. And he 

 must grease his hands, face and nostrils with 

 lard, which renders contact with lime innocu- 

 ous. If two or more sow, they should sow en- 

 echelon, at such a distance that the rear shall 

 casL no lime ou the front. A very good, but 

 not indispensable, plan is to use tea scoops- 

 diminutive sugar scoops — that will hold a 

 double handful. It enables one better to take 

 up and measure the quantity to be applied. 

 This is an application so simple and cheap as 

 to discredit it with many who are often look- 

 ing to be told 'some great thing. ' I can only 

 isay that I know it to be effectual as a remedy 

 and that in no case can it do harm." 



A WINGED HOST OF SENNECHARIB. 

 Two fly traps stand on the bar of the Cen- 

 tral hotel, opposite the Desbrosses street 

 ferry. The traps are the shape of coffee pots. 

 The meshes are of wire, and the whole thing 

 resembles the cage used at the dog pound. A 

 little beer is poured upon the bottom of the 

 traps. The flies enter from the counter 

 through little gateways, fill themselves with 

 beer, and pass up into the trap through a 

 round hole something like tlie entrance to the 

 sugar-loafed mouse trap. Once through the 

 hole they leave hope behind, for they never j 

 know enough to retrace their steps. The I 

 traps are plunged in the water three times a 

 day, and the prisoners drowned. Wishing to 

 ascertain the number drowned, Capt. Water- 

 man, one of the proprietors of the hotel, yes- 

 terday asked the barkeeper to count them. 

 The dead flies were dumped on the counter, 

 and the barkeeper counted until his head 

 ached, when the job was turned over to Gen- 

 eral William Turner, a Fifth ward mathema- j 

 tician. After counting until his head swaai^ , 



