1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
653 
mother,  and  not  from  limited  experience  either.  This 
spring  for  weeks  I  had  on  an  average  from  25  to  40 
hens  sitting  at  once,  and  in  no  instance  was  there  dis¬ 
played  so  much  intelligence  by  any  breed  as  by  the 
Single-comb  Brown  Leghorn.  The  hens  covered  their 
eggs  better  than  those  belonging  to  the  larger  breeds, 
usually  hatched  a  day  earlier  and  seldom  broke  any 
eggs.  Late  in  the  season  one  hen  was  given  a  large 
brooder  for  a  coop  with  40  chicks  of  which  she  took 
most  excellent  care.  Another  had  19  chicks  in  April, 
and  lost  only  one,  and  sat  a  second  time,  bringing  up 
a  nice  family.  Another  has  just  left  a  brood  of  16 
Plymouth  Rocks  half  as  large  as  herself.  I  might 
give  many  more  instances  of  this  season’s  experiences. 
I  have  used  Plymouth  Rocks,  Langshans,  Buff  Cochins 
and  Leghorns  for  sitters  and  mothers,  and  the  last 
have  done  the  best.  Any  one  who  makes  poultry¬ 
raising  a  business,  will  note  the  superior  intelligence 
of  some  individual  birds  in  every  breed.  A  serious 
trouble  in  depending  on  Leghorns  wholly  for  mothers 
is  that  they  seldom  want  to  sit  until  late  in  the  spring, 
while  it  is  the  early-hatched  chicks  that  at  the  end  of 
the  year  bring  up  the  profits.  f.  l.  a. 
Keeping  Southern  Potatoes. — I  have  grown  Irish 
potatoes  for  35  years  in  North  Carolina  and  during  the 
entire  time  we  have  had  them  in  good  eating  condi¬ 
tion  during  winter  and  until  the  new  crop  comes  in. 
I  dig  as  soon  as  the  vines  show  signs  of  dying — the 
last  of  July  or  first  days  of  August — and  spread  them 
in  dark,  dry,  airy  rooms,  not  more  than  two  deep  ;  a 
barn  loft  or  any  place  of  the  kind  is  suitable.  Let 
them  stay  in  that  condition  until  danger  of  freezing  is 
over;  then  remove  them  to  a  dry  cellar  and  place  them 
on  shelves  as  recommended  by  Prof.  Massey  in  a  late 
Rural,  not  over  a  foot  deep.  A  fall  crop  is  good,  but 
in  most  sections  of  North  Carolina  a  good  crop  cannot 
be  obtained  in  case  of  a  dry  fall.  The  cellar  should 
be  aired  early  in  the  morning  and  late  in  the  evening 
and  darkened  in  day  time.  N.  w.  craft. 
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at  one  time.  Put  questions  on  a  separate  piece  of  paper.] 
Pneumatic  Tires  on  Light  Wagons. 
Is  It  probable  that  the  rubber  tires  that  have  proved  so  successful 
on  trotting  sulkies  will  come  Into  Immediate  use  on  buggies  or  ether 
light  driving  vehicles  ? 
We  think  that  for  a  sulky  they  are  good  things, 
but  something  else  must  be  got  up  for  road  business, 
as  the  rubber  on  these  same  wheels  on  rough  roads 
would  soon  be  cut  all  to  pieces.  Our  opinion  is  that 
some  day  a  suitable  tire  will  be  made,  but  we  think  it 
will  be  iron  outside  with  rubber  under  it.  The  iron 
will  stand  the  wear  on  rough  roads,  and  the  rubber 
under  it  will  give  the  needed  elasticity.  We  hardly 
think  that  the  pneumatic  tire,  such  as  used  on  sulkies, 
will  ever  come  into  general  use  on  buggies. 
THE  CROTON  CARRIAGE  CO. 
We  have  not  yet  given  any  attention  to  the  subject 
of  pneumatic  rubber-tired  wheels  for  carriages, 
and  in  all  probability  will  not  experiment  in  that  line 
until  they  have  been  further  perfected,  and  at  the 
present  time  we  do  not  feel  qualified  to  express  any 
opinion  on  the  subject.  pioneer  buggy  co. 
Pneumatic  rubber-tired  wheels  are  certainly  a  suc¬ 
cess  on  sulkies  when  used  on  a  dry  and  smooth  track, 
but  we  think  not  a  success  on  a  heavy  or  muddy  track. 
We  cannot  see  how  they  can  take  the  place  of  the 
present  wheels  on  carriages  or  buggies  either  for  city 
or  country  roads.  First,  their  height  is  against  them 
for  carriages,  and  were  they  made  higher,  their 
strength  would  be  very  much  impaired  ;  second,  in 
muddy  roads  they  certainly  would  be  useless.  No 
doubt  some  smart  manufacturing  company  will  pro¬ 
duce  a  wood  carriage  wheel  with  rubber  tire  and 
ball  bearings  that  will  be  the  coming  wheel  for  all 
vehicles.  We  cannot  see  why  such  contrivances  could 
not  be  a  success.  d.  f.  sargent  *  son. 
It  would  not  become  any  one  in  this  day  and  age  to 
say  that  anything  could  not  or  would  not  be  done. 
There  seem  a  great  many  things  in  the  way  of  making 
a  successful  four-wheeled  vehicle  with  this  style  of 
wheels,  outside  of  the  cost.  bradley  &  co. 
We  have  serious  doubts  whether  the  pneumatic  rub¬ 
ber  tires  can  ever  be  successfully  used  on  a  buggy  in¬ 
tended  for  general  purposes,  for  the  reason  that  the 
tires  are  too  easily  punctured  and  damaged.  Unless 
the  liability  to  puncture  and  some  other  features  can 
be  successfully  overcome,  we  have  serious  doubts 
whether  the  pneumatic  rubber  tires  will  be  the  kind 
used  for  the  bicycle  in  the  future,  though  they  may 
be  used  by  racing  men  and  others  who  will  take  un¬ 
usual  care  of  the  wheels  and  guard  against  puncture 
in  the  tires.  We  cannot  see,  however,  why  the  ball¬ 
bearing  may  not  be  judiciously  applied  to  light  vehi¬ 
cles  and  so  lighten  the  draft.  We  have  no  particular 
knowledge  of  the  recent  improvements  that  have  been 
made  in  either  of  the  above  directions,  excepting  in 
the  case  of  the  pneumatic-tired  sulky.  We  understand, 
however,  that  a  thorough  test  of  pneumatic  tires  is  to 
be  made  on  a  light  buggy,  with  electrical  appliances. 
luthy  &  co. 
In  our  opinion  the  pneumatic  wheels  so  popular  on 
speeding  sulkies  will  never  become  popular  on  driving 
vehicles  until  they  have  undergone  many  changes. 
The  pneumatic  rubber  tire  at  present  is  very  easily 
punctured  and  very  difficult  to  repair.  None  of  them 
will  retain  a  uniform  high  pressure  of  air  longer  than 
three  or  four  days.  They  give  the  best  results  on 
wheels  28  inches  in  diameter.  On  larger  wheels  the 
column  of  air  is  lengthened,  of  course,  and  requires  a 
higher  pressure  to  give  the  necessary  firmness  to  the 
tread.  The  danger  of  puncture,  the  trouble  in  keep¬ 
ing  them  inflated  and  the  annoyance  of  repairing 
punctured  tires  must  necessarily  exclude  them  from 
general  use  on  any  vehicle  for  road  purposes. 
ELKHART  CARRIAGE  ANI)  HARNESS  MFG.  CO. 
The  Cost  of  Wide  Tires. 
Have  you  any  facts  bearing  upon  the  cost  and  efficiency  of  wide 
tires  on  farm  wagons?  What  would  be  the  extra  cost  of  putting  wide 
tires  on  the  average  wagon?  Would  the  manufacturer's  prottt  be 
largely  increased  by  making  wide-tired  wagons? 
Of  course  our  experience  has  taught  us  concerning 
the  cost  of  tires,  but  as  to  their  efficiency,  the  man 
who  has  had  experience  with  both  kinds  can  express 
an  opinion  better  than  the  manufacturer.  The  extra 
cost  for  wide  tires  on  the  average  farm  wagon  is  at  the 
rate  of  about  $3  per  inch  for  excess  of  width,  that  is  to 
say,  the  ordinary  width  of  tires  onal^or  2-ton  wagon 
is  inch.  Now  if  tires  four  inches  wide  were  sub¬ 
stituted,  the  additional  cost  would  be  $7.50  to  the 
dealer,  and  we  think  the  custom  is  for  the  dealer  to 
furnish  wide-tired  wagons  to  the  user  at  about  the 
same  additional  charge  he  pays  the  manufacturer.  In 
some  spring  mud,  a  wide-tired  wagon  will  haul  a  little 
harder  than  a  narrow-tired,  but,  as  a  rule,  we  think 
the  wide  tire  would  have  the  advantage.  The  increase 
of  profit  would  be  very  slight  if  any,  for  the  change  to 
wide  tires.  the  champion  wagon  company. 
Approximately  the  cost  of  a  set  of  wide  tired  wheels 
for  a  heavy  wagon  is  $25.  This  amount  would  vary 
more  or  less  according  to  the  width  of  the  tires,  the 
size  of  the  wheels,  etc.  As  to  the  draft  of  wagons 
with  wide  or  narrow  tired  wheels  under  varying  con¬ 
ditions  of  road  bed,  the  following  extract  from  a  re¬ 
port  of  a  trial  made  at  the  road  improvement  conven¬ 
tion  held  at  Chillicothe,  Mo.,  August  16-19th  ultimo, 
will  doubtless  afford  the  information  desired. 
A  level  strip  of  ground  was  selected  and  made  mel¬ 
low  with  a  disc  harrow.  Then  loading  the  wagons 
equally  with  sacked  grain  to  about  4,900  pounds  and 
attaching  a  dynamometer,  the  test  was  made  with  the 
following  results: 
Width  of  Tire.  Soft  Earth.  Grass  Sod. 
1J4  Inch . ti()3^  units . 347J4  units 
3  Inch . 473  units . 255  units 
4  Inch . 401  units . 242  units 
This  shows  nearly  200  units  of  power  or  about  one- 
third  in  favor  of  the  wide  tires.  It  is  evident,  there¬ 
fore,  that  for  heavy  teaming  the  wide  tires  are  much 
more  favorable  to  the  teams  on  the  ordinary  dirt  roads 
of  the  country,  but  by  far  the  most  important  conse¬ 
quence  from  using  wide  tires  would  be  the  saving  from 
destruction  of  the  road  surface;  for  the  increase  in 
draft  of  the  narrow  tires  is  due  simply  to  cutting  into 
the  earth,  thus  causing  ruts  along  which  the  water 
runs  the  length  of  the  hill  side,  forming  large  gullies, 
and  on  level  places  collecting  the  water  in  mud  holes. 
Those  who  witnessed  the  test,  without  exception,  so 
far  as  heard  from,  expressed  themselves  as  favorable 
to  the  use  of  wagons  with  wide  tires  for  heavy  teaming. 
As  to  whether  wide  tired  wheels  can  be  used  to  ad¬ 
vantage  on  carriages,  it  would  of  course  be  possible  to 
do  so,  but,  commonly  speaking,  it  is  important  to 
make  carriages  as  light  as  possible  consistently  with 
the  necessary  strength.  We  see  no  grounds  for  sup¬ 
posing  that  any  increase  of  profit  to  the  manufacturer 
would  result  from  a  change  of  tires.  On  the  contrary, 
while  we  stand  ready  as  manufacturers  to  supply  wide 
tires  to  the  trade  if  demanded,  it  is  nevertheless  true 
that  it  is  much  more  difficult  to  obtain  timber  for  wide 
than  for  narrow  felloes.  studebacker  bros. 
For  the  same  diameter  the  cost  of  a  wheel  with  five- 
inch  tires  as  compared  with  that  of  one  with  three-inch 
tires  would  be  about  15  per  cent  more.  In  deep  spring 
mud  we  think  the  draft  with  the  wide  tires  would  be 
heavier  than  with  narrow,  unless  backed  up  by  good 
deep  felloes.  We  can  see  no  possible  chance  for  in¬ 
creased  profit  to  manufacturers  from  the  change. 
BETTENDORF  METAL  WHEEL  CO. 
We  believe  that  wide-tired  wagons  are  a  success : 
first,  they  are  very  beneficial  to  the  road  ;  second, 
they  will  run  lighter  in  a  muddy  road  than  the  nar¬ 
row-tired  kind,  and,  third,  they  will  be  a  great  saving 
to  roads,  as  they  will  not  cut  them  up  so  badly,  and 
they  will  help  to  smooth  them  quicker  than  the  ordi¬ 
nary  wagon.  Manufacturers  of  wagons  have  usually 
charged  $1  an  inch  for  a  tire  of  extra  width,  which  is 
about  the  cost,  so  we  do  not  believe  that  the  change 
would  increase  the  profit  of  the  manufacturers.  We  do 
not  believe  wide  tires  would  be  practical  on  buggies, 
as  they  would  increase  the  draft  because  it  would 
be  so  much  heavier.  stayer  *  Abbott  mfg  co. 
Does  It  Pay  to  Mulch  Wheat  P 
C.  P.  H. ,  Chagrin  Falls,  O. — Have  any  of  the  readers  of 
The  Rural  ever  had  experience  in  mulching  wheat 
with  straw;  if  so,  with  what  success?  Here  many 
have  more  straw  than  they  have  any  use  for  ;  conse¬ 
quently  they  let  it  rot  down  in  stacks,  or  sell  it 
for  from  $1.50  to  $2  per  ton.  Now,  a  large  stack  of 
"traw  will  make  very  few  loads  of  manure,  if  allowed 
to  rot  down  of  its  own  accord,  and  will  bring  very  few 
dollars  if  sold  at  the  above  prices.  Being  impressed 
with  these  facts,  and,  having  a  surplus  last  year,  I  re¬ 
solved  to  experiment  a  little  just  for  my  own  satisfac¬ 
tion.  I  selected  a  field  of  about  seven  acres  for  the 
trial.  The  soil  was  a  clay  loam,  partially  under¬ 
drained,  which  had  previously  grown  oats  after  corn. 
Three  acres  at  one  end  were  lightly  top-dressed  with 
barnyard  manure,  at  the  rate  of  about  15  two  horse 
loads  per  acre,  and  also  received  175  pounds  of  super¬ 
phosphate  per  acre  when  drilled.  One  acre  in  the  mid¬ 
dle  received  nothing  but  225  pounds  of  phosphate  when 
the  wheat  was  drilled.  The  remaining  three  acres  re¬ 
ceived  225  pounds  of  phosphate,  and  also  about  a  ton 
and  a  half  of  wheat  straw  per  acre.  The  latter  was 
applied  within  a  day  or  two  after  the  wheat  had  been 
drilled,  the  first  week  in  September.  I  did  all  the  scat¬ 
tering  myself  to  make  sure  that  no  bunches  should  be 
left  to  choke  the  young  wheat.  It  took  two  of  us  a 
day  and  a  half  to  “carpet”  the  three  acres.  We  also 
mulched  two  strips,  each  one  rod  wide  and  ten  long, 
on  the  part  that  was  top-dressed  with  manure. 
Now  for  the  results :  The  fall  was  exceptionally  bad 
and  all  wheat  made  a  very  small  growth.  No  differ¬ 
ence  was  observed  until  freezing  and  thawing  began, 
when  it  was  to  be  seen  that  the  part  which  had  been 
blanketed  with  straw  was  apparently  holding  its  own, 
while  that  which  had  received  nothing  but  phosphate 
was  being  seriously  injured.  In  this  way  it  continued 
until  nearly  the  1st  of  April,  and  I  felt  that  the  straw 
problem,  as  far  as  I  was  concerned,  was  solved.  But 
during  a  few  very  warm  and  growing  days  just  at  this 
time  the  strawed  wheat  started  and  grew  very  fast 
for  a  few  days.  Then  the  weather  changed  and  con¬ 
tinued  cold  and  dry  for  nearly  four  weeks  freezing 
almost  every  night,  and  seemed  to  freeze  the  very  life 
out  of  the  tender  plants.  For  weeks,  yes  in  fact  until 
it  began  to  head,  one  could  distinctly  trace  the 
“  straw  line  ”  as  far  as  the  field  could  be  seen.  Even 
the  narrow  strips  on  the  manured  portion  had  the 
appearance  of  strips  of  stubble  when  seen  from  a  dis¬ 
tance.  It  rallied,  however,  and  at  harvesting  time  no 
perceptible  difference  was  to  be  observed,  either  in 
straw,  grain  or  clover,  over  that  which  received  phos¬ 
phate  alone,  while  the  three  acres  which  were  man¬ 
ured  yielded  fully  one-third  more  straw  and  grain  and 
the  clover  was  50  per  cent  better. 
Now,  was  my  failure  due  to  the  extraordinary  sea¬ 
son  ?  I  am  inclined  to  believe  it  was ;  or  does  my  ex¬ 
perience  show  that  nothing  is  gained  by  mulching  ? 
Let  us  hear  from  others  on  this  subject. 
Ans. — The  R.  N.-Y.  prints  this  target  here  for  its 
readers  to  shoot  at  with  the  bullets  of  experience. 
Let’s  hear  from  you.  Will  it  pay  y<m  to  put  the  sur¬ 
plus  straw  on  the  wheat  and  when  is  the  best  time  to 
place  it  ?  If  it  does  not  pay  to  mulch  the  wheat, 
what  is  a  more  profitable  use  for  it  ?  Former  reports 
of  experiments  with  mulching  have  been  contradic¬ 
tory,  largely  due,  as  we  believe,  to  differing  seasons 
and  soils. 
Miscellaneous. 
J.  1.,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. — The  Paragon  plant  is  a 
hardy,  herbaceous  perennial,  and,  we  fancy,  will  so 
prove  with  you. 
Eliot  Early  Pear  — To  many  applicants  for  buds  or 
cions  of  Dougal’s  Early  Eliot  Pear,  The  R.  N.-Y.  must 
say  that  until  it  can  get  permission  from  relatives  or 
heirs  of  Mr.  Dougal,  it  evidently  has  no  right  to  com¬ 
ply  with  such  requests. 
Poisonous  Grass. — J.  A.  M.,  Flagstaff,  A.  T. — The 
grass  you  send  is  Lolium  temulentum— Bearded  Dar¬ 
nel — Poisonous  Darnel.  This  grass  is  distinguished 
from  all  other  grasses  by  its  noxious,  if  not  poisonous, 
seeds.  Gray  says  it  is  almost  the  only  instance  of  the 
kind  among  grasses. 
Paint  for  Wagons,  etc. — E.  D.  G.,  Ashburnham,  Mass. 
— To  learn  all  about  paints  for  farm  wagons,  plows, 
cultivators,  etc.,  as  well  as  about  boiled  oil,  raw  oil, 
etc.,  you  had  better  buy  a  copy  of  “Everybody’s  Paint 
Book,”  price  $1,  which  contains  all  the  information 
you  ask  for,  with  much  more  in  the  same  line.  It  can 
be  obtained  from  The  Rural  Publishing  Company, 
Times  Building,  N.  Y. 
