252 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
MARCH 28 
WE WANT TO KNOW. 
(Here we propose to print, from time to time, ques¬ 
tions which stem to demand a general discussion. 
Many questions cannot be answered properly by any 
single lnd vidual. They very properly demand a 
wide discussion, and the answers will be valuable 
when made up from the actual exp< rlence of observ 
lng men. We respectfully call upon our friends to 
aid us In solving these problems. Be kind enough to 
send us a brief account of any experiences you may 
have had In these lines.— Eds] 
Life of a Windmill.—How long will 
any of the ordinary standard windmills 
last, provided it is regularly oiled and 
allowed to run all the time in this climate, 
which is very windy ? J. J. 
Brownwood, Tex. 
Why Don’t They Grow t —I wish to 
grow some willows on the bank of a brook. 
I have put them in with and without 
sharpening, and in both cases they have 
died. W. V. 
Nutley, N. J. 
Corn Cart Wanted.— What we lack 
in corn culture is a handy way of hauling 
the crop. We use two wheels and two 
poles, and the device is handy in unload¬ 
ing, but has some disadvautages, as it is 
too heavy in mud and too shaky on frozen 
ground. M. W. B. 
Alta Vista, Kan. 
R. N.-Y.—We all want such a cart. 
Soft Maples for Sugar ?—I see con¬ 
siderable this winter about maple sugar 
and syrup; why do not farmers plant small 
orchards of the Soft Maple ? It will make 
just as good syrup as the Hard Maple. 
While living in Iowa, for several years, I 
tapped a few trees in the yard, as did some 
of my neighbors, and it made excellent 
syrup and the sap ran freely, and, as most 
people know, the trees are of very fast 
growth, I believe farmers could in a few 
years begin to make maple syrup for them¬ 
selves. J. s. 
Valley Mills, lnd. 
How to Handle City Manure ?— I 
want to hear from others on the best 
methods of caring for city manure. From 
necessity we are compelled to purchase this 
and have it brought to our nearest landing 
place in November, so that we may cart it 
home in the winter. About what loss 
would theie be in it if we pile it in a large 
htap as wecartlt? Would there be more loss 
by this method than if we were to spread it 
immediately as carted, on a sandy soil 1 I 
think we, sweet potato growers, will have 
to economize in our methods. By our 
present plan we pile the manure and fork 
it over two or three times and then plow it in 
hills, a costly job all the way through, and 
I think we could grow just as good crops 
by applying it broadcast and incorporating 
it well with the soil, also perhaps using 
some commercial fertilizer. If we can—and 
I mean to try It this year on a small scale— 
we can save considerable money. White 
potato growers have, I think, found this 
plan all right. E. G. B. 
Penn’s Grove, N. J. 
WE KNOW. 
That Michigan Muck Ground. 
In answer to H. F. M., of Grove P. O., 
Michigan, I want to say that muck ground 
is very difficult to handle from a distance. 
Some muck lands are thick; others shallow; 
some will retain sufficient moisture for the 
growing crop through a season of drought; 
others burn up; the latter will have to be 
irrigated or be worthless. The land must 
be well and deeply drained. It must be 
well pulverized, then must be made com¬ 
pact by the use of a roller. Muck contains 
an excels of nitrogen with little or no phos¬ 
phoric acid or potash, consequently these 
must be added if one expects to raise any 
crops containing them. Sand mixed with 
the muck is one of the cheapest ameliora¬ 
tions; so are wood ashes, tan yard scrapings, 
and one need not be afraid he will put on 
too much. Frost will find muck land later 
than upland in the spring and earlier in 
the fall. All root crops, onions, celery, and 
any of the cabbage varieties, lettuce, all 
salads and tomatoes will thrive there; but 
melons, squashes and cucumbers if they can 
be grown at all will te failures. Buck¬ 
wheat, if sown as soon as danger of frost is 
over, as well as extra early corn and pota¬ 
toes will do well. All will be from two to 
thiee weeks later than on the upland when 
planted at the same time. Go slow in muck 
land farming; take a email piece and try 
the above crops on a small amount of land. 
One half of tne muck land is worthless no 
matter how much wtrk or money is ex¬ 
pended on it. The other half can be made 
the most valuable land in cultivation. 
Three years ago I commenced the cultiva¬ 
tion of a swamp supposed to be worthless, 
last year I raised over $300 worth per acre net 
Brooklyn, Mich. L. F. T. 
Experience With Rubber Roofing. 
M. F., of Media, N. Y., wants to know 
about rubber roofing. I am getting to be 
an old man, and have had considerable ex¬ 
perience with different kinds of cheap 
roofing. I use steel and do not let it suf¬ 
fer for a coat of paint and it will last a life¬ 
time. w. v. 
Five years ago, requiring roofing mater¬ 
ial, and having been attracted by a adver¬ 
tisement in an agricultural paper, I wrote 
to the concern for samples and prices, 
which came with pamphlets, attesting the 
great cheapness and durability of this 
make. This and the low price (being about 
one-half the price of good shingles) induced 
me to invest. 
I covered a barn, 45x60, a shed,100x16, a 
cottage, 30x16, and a tenant house, 20x12, 
with so-called rubber roofing and, to at¬ 
tain a perfectly smooth surface, used 
dressed boards. 
The roofing was put on by good mechan¬ 
ics, and every precaution taken to get a 
good roof; two coats of paint were applied, 
and when finished I congratulated myself 
on having nice-looking, good and cheap 
substantial roofs. They were tight the 
first year, the second year several leaks 
were noticed and they were promptly 
patched. After this breaks occurred fre¬ 
quently. I had all the roofs thoroughly 
overhauled and painted again. They were 
tight for six or eight months, when new 
breaks and leaks appeared. While in New 
York City a little over a year ago, I called 
at the office of the manufacturers to see if 
anything could be done, and was advised 
by them to patch the old breaks and that 
they would furnish me paint at half price 
to paint them over again, but they would 
not guarantee a lasting tight roof. This 
settled the matter in my mind. On my re¬ 
turn home I had the shed recovered with 
shingles, and next week all the other 
buildings, which have for the past years 
been covered with canvas, tin, etc. (and all 
to no purpose) will be covered with shingles. 
This is my experience with so-called cheap 
roofing material, and I give It to my 
brother farmers for what it is worth. 
GEO. F. PABST. 
An Acre of Cabbages. 
R. A. P., Pittsfield, Mass.— In reading 
The Rural of March 14, I came to an arti- 
cal on page 206 asking the readers to tell 
J. H. G. of some crop on which he could 
realize more than $100 per acre, and in re¬ 
turn for the information he promised a re¬ 
ward. Now, I think he may double the 
stated income with less labor and at less 
expense than by raising small fruits. The 
supposition is that the land will produce a 
good crop of any kind put into it; as he 
does not specify any particular crops to be 
raised; I would, therefore, set it to early 
cabbages. By figuring the matter out, he 
will find that he can set 7,260 plants on one 
acre three by two feet apart, and if they 
have been set out early enough to be ready 
for market by the first of July, he will get 
no less than six cents per head, and there 
will be at least 5,000 good heads on an acre, 
which will net him $300 per acre; while 
the small ones will be good to feed to milch 
cows or other stock, and will nearly pay 
for the work of raising the whole crop; 
but if he should have to put in winter 
cabbages, the profits would, of course, be 
somewhat less ; for they would bring only 
about four cents per head, which would 
bring the profit to $200. By this manage¬ 
ment therefore he will double his income, 
and this is no extravagent calculation; but 
what is done here in New England every 
season by a large number of farmers. If 
this plan does not meet the case, if he will 
tell me for what crops his land is best 
adapted, I will try again ; for I think that 
I can meet his case without much trouble. 
H. T. W., GROVE P. O., Mich., states that 
he has three acres of black muck land 
which was seeded down three years ago 
and then cultivated two years ago, and he 
wants some of the readers of The R. N.-Y. 
to give their opinions as to what is best to 
raise on such ground, and whether it will 
produce good onions and cab Page. It is 
impossible to answer his questions from the 
facts stated. Black muck land does some¬ 
times hold moisture well and will produce 
almost any kind of crops. Again, it may 
be badly affected by very moderate dry 
weather and be entirely unfitted for any 
kind of garden crop. In regard to its pre 
sent fertility, no person can judge better 
than the owner, and he had better rely on 
his own judgment than on what anybody 
can tell him Irom the facts given. J. A. L. 
Quaker Street, N. Y. 
New York StandardWatch. Nos. 3-4. 
IVA TCHES 
FOR OUR SUBSCRIBERS. 
The Rural New-Yorker, gratified by 
the flattering responses to its offers of 
watches to its subscribers, has made a thor¬ 
ough revision of its watch offer, and pro¬ 
poses to supply its subscribers with the best 
watches in the world at prices from 25 to 
50 per cent less than those usually charged 
by retail jewelers. The Rural New- 
Yorker wishes to have it thoroughly un¬ 
derstood that, since the watch companies 
have come to their senses and are no longer 
trying to boycott the newspapers, it is no 
longer making war upon them, but, on the 
contrary, by new arrangements it can offer 
watches to its subscribers at rates fully as 
favorable as those formerly advertised. 
Our object in making these offers is to 
give our subscribers good watches at low 
prices, to advertise The Rural New- 
Yorker, and to get new subscribers as per 
special offers at the foot of this column. 
We believe that there is not a 
poor watch in the list. .JgEj fl 
The watches we sent to our subscribers 
on our previous offers have surprised us 
greatly. 1, As to the high-grade demanded 
in most cases; cheap watches were not 
wanted. 2, On account of the great num¬ 
ber called for. Only one or two complaints 
have reached us, and many have expressed 
great satisfaction with the watches re¬ 
ceived. 
The watches will be sent in connection 
with subscriptions on the following terms: 
In each case either a renewal or new sub¬ 
scription may be included. If you have 
already paid for 1891, the paper may be 
sent to the address of a new subscriber. 
Any watch in th% list will be sent in con- 
lection with a subscription (on the same 
>rder) for $1.25 in addition to the amounts 
above named for the watches. 
We send the watches pre paid by regis¬ 
tered mail to any part of the United States. 
Watches sent to Canada are subject, of 
course, to Custom House restrictions. 
THE RURAL PUBLISHING CO., 
Times Building, New York. 
Scribner’s Lumber and Log Book. 
Given for Two Trial Subscriptions at 25 Cents. 
Nearly a million copies of this book have 
been sold. A partial table of contents fol¬ 
lows : Loading Logs; Log and Lumber 
Measures of all Kinds; Table of Prices; 
Stave and Heading Bolt Table; Wages, 
etc.; Weight of Woods; Speed of Saws and 
Power; Size of Nails; Cost of Fences; 
Hardness of Wood ; Strength of Ropes; 
Shingles ; Growth of Trees; Cord Wood on 
an Acre ; How to Saw Valuable Timber; 
Splitting Rails ; Charcoal; Felling Timber; 
Cubic Measure, Cubic Weight, etc; Care of 
Saws, etc.; To Measure Height of a Tree ; 
Weight of Iron; Strength and Elasticity 
of Timber and Shrinkage; Tables of Dis¬ 
tances ; Interest Tables; Business Law, 
etc. Price, 35 cents. Given for two trial 
subscriptions at 25 cents. 
SPECIAL OFFERS : MENS’ SIZE. 
No. 1. A genuine New York Standard move 
ment: 7 jewels, safety pinion, com¬ 
pensation balance, stem wind and set; 
in a solid nickel silver case, open face; 
a really excellent watch and far su¬ 
perior to any other cheap watch 
we have seen.$ 6.50 
No. 2.—Same movement as No. 1, in gold-filled 
case. 15-year guarantee, open face.... 12 00 
No 3.—Same as No. 2, hunting case (see cut 
above) . 15.00 
No 4.—Same movement as No. 1, in a solid gold 
14k. hunting case, weighing 40 dwt.... 37.50 
RURAL SPECIAL BARGAINS. 
No. 5.—A genuineWaltham movement; 7 jewels. 
compensation balance, safety pinion, 
stem wind and set; in a solid nickel- 
silver case, open face. 7.25 
No. 6.—Same movement as No. 5, in gold filled 
cise, guaranteed to wear 15 years, 
open face. 14.00 
No. 7.—Same movement as No. 5, in hunting case 
same as No. 6. 16.00 
No. 8.—Same movement as No. 5, in solid 14k. 
gold hunting case, weighing 40 dwt... 38.00 
No 9.-A genuine Waltham full jewel move¬ 
ment. compensation balance, safety 
pinion, stem wind and set, patent reg¬ 
ulator, Breguet hair spring, hardened 
and tempered in form, in open face, 
nickel silver case. 11.00 
No. 10.-Same movement as No. 9, In gold filled 
case, guaranteed for 15 years, open 
face .... 16.25 
No 11—Same as No. 10, hunting case. 19.25 
No. 12.—Same movement as No. 9, In solid 14k 
gold hunting case weighing 40 dwt. 
A very handsome watch. 41.CO 
ladies’ size. 
No. 13.—A genuine Waltham ladies’ watch with 
jewels, compensation balance and 
safety pinion, stem wind and set; in a 
solid coin silver case. 11 50 
No. 14.—Same move¬ 
ment as No. 13, in 
a 15 year guaran¬ 
teed gold-filled 
hunting case §15.25 
o. 15.—A beautiful 
11 jewel move¬ 
ment, full nickel, 
in a handsomely 
engraved hunting 
case made of 14 k. 
U. S. Assay solid 
gold, usual retail 
price from $50 to 
Si5. One of the 
prettiest watches 
for a lady that we 
have ever seen. 
The illustration 
shows the case in 
exact size and 
style.$25.00 
A Book of Grain Tables. 
Given for Two Trial Subscriptions at 25 Cents. 
This book has over 20,000 different calcu¬ 
lations and is in fact a “ ready reckoner ” 
of weights and measures of grain, hay, 
produce, feeding, wood, tanks and cisterns, 
ropes, etc. It is useful to everybody. 
Price, 30 cents. Given for two trial sub¬ 
scriptions at 25 cents. 
The Kodak Camera. 
Given for 20 New Subscriptions. 
Everybody has heard of the famous and 
efficient little Kodak Camera for taking 
photographs of any¬ 
thing under the sun ; 
landscapes, babies, 
cousins, uncles, ani¬ 
mals, flowers, trees, 
boats and birds, etc. 
We have arranged to 
offer the Kodak in 
two ways; as a pre¬ 
mium for 20 new subscriptions at $2; and 
also in our list of premiums for the largest 
clubs to be announced later. Price, $25; or 
given for five new subscriptions at the 
club price of $1.50 and $17 additional. De¬ 
scriptive circular of the Kodak will be sent 
on application. 
[gp“Z/ your own subscription is already 
paid for 1891, you can sell the subscrip¬ 
tion to some other party. 
One cent will mail this paper to 
your friend in any part of the United 
States, Canada or Mexico, after 
you have read it and written your 
name on the corner. 
