i89t 
327 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
FARMERS’ CLUB DISCUSSIONS. 
[Continued.] 
the frame I used two courses of rough hem¬ 
lock boards with paper between them. 
After I had put on the first course of 
boards I cut thick building paper into 
strips about three inches wide, and with 
these I battened every crack and stopped 
every crevice or place where there seemed 
to be any chance for air to get through. I 
consider this served as good a purpose as 
though the lumber had been matched, and 
It was much cheaper. Next I put on a 
course of thick paper over the whole sur¬ 
face, and then the other course of boards. 
I think it preferable to plane both courses 
of boards though this is not necessary. 
The size of my silo is 16 by 21 feet by 
21 feet in depth. For six feet below the 
surface of the ground it is built on one side 
and end of masonry ; the side and end to¬ 
wards the barn are of wood entirely. I 
had no trouble in uniting the wood and 
masonry with mortar, using the latter next 
to the wood as though the mason y were 
continued. The masonry faced two inches 
inside of the silo so that when the boarding 
was on and the pointing done the whole 
side of masonry and wood presented a 
smooth, plain surface. In the frame I 
used both studding and joists, studding 
2x4, on the outside; joists, 4x4, on the inside. 
I used Novelty siding on the outside at $15 
per 1,000 feet. The bill was about as fol¬ 
lows : 
Novelty siding, 600 feet. 
3,000 shingles at $3 per II .9-OJ 
450 feet roof boards.f so 
1,200 feet Inside boarding.l^.oo 
PllDGP •••*« D.5U 
Shingle nails 40 cents, large nails $2.00.2.40 
1,50'J feet frame timber at $11 per M.- 1° 5) 
Total.*59-90 
This does not include the work or the 
material or construction of the lower six 
feet of the silo. As I did all the work 
myself and did not keep an account of the 
time, I cannot give an accurate estimate 
of the labor. The masonry cost me in cash 
only for lime and cement. 
Now a word about cut or whole ensilage : 
I put my ensilage in whole first—about 
30 tons of mature State corn; on top of 
that I put about 20 tons of Learning 
Corn which had been planted on J une20, and 
retarded by dry weather so that much of 
it had not set ears. The Learning ensi¬ 
lage came out a very little acid; there 
was but little waste at the sides or ends of 
the silo. The State corn ensilage is very 
much better. My cows will hold out their 
milk and even make a gain on it, while 
with the Learning ensilage, I had to sub¬ 
mit to a shrinkage in the milk. With the 
State corn ensilage there is a heavy waste 
at each end of the silo, owing undoubtedly 
to the fact that as it was mature the fiber 
did not break sufficiently to force the air 
out as much as would be necessary for its 
preservation. About two feet of tne ensi¬ 
lage at each end of my silo is entirely 
spoiled, which is about one-fifth of my 
ensilage—altogether too much. I shall cut 
my ensilage next year, first, to economize 
room, and, second, to save waste by rott ng. 
I am inclined to think there is more waste 
owing to this cause, especially with whole 
ensilage, than is known, or rather men¬ 
tioned. 
How To Handle City Manure. 
A. W. Smith, Sumter Co., Ga— As I un¬ 
derstand “ E. G. B page 252—he wishes 
a reply applicable to the handling of stable 
manure for sweet potatoes. I would open 
furrows by running Boy’s Dixie, or some 
other good one horse plow twice each way 
in the row, then I would haul the stable 
manure directly from the landing and place 
it in open furrows, and cover it immedi¬ 
ately by going once on each side of furrows 
with the same plow, throwing the earth 
back. This treatment will not only allow 
the manure to thoroughly decompose and 
thus to become the best of sweet potato 
food, but while decomposing it will act on 
the adjacent earth so as to bring about ben¬ 
eficial changes in it. At planting time let 
him run the same plow once each way in 
the furrow containing the manure, then re¬ 
turn throwing the earth back forming a 
bed or ridge with four furrows, two from 
each side. The higher the ridge the better, 
and all he will have to do is to stick his 
slips deep in the freshly plowed earth, so 
as to leave only an inch or two showing, 
and every plant will live and flourish, even 
if there be no rain for weeks. I use stable 
manure largely for melons, moonflowers 
and other vines, and always open out my 
furrows and cover the manure in November 
or early in December, though I may not 
plant until April or May. To spread stable 
manure broadcast for sweet potatoes is 
wasteful in several ways. One day and 
night of sun or wind dissipates much of the 
nitrogen and also renders the manure so 
dry that fermentation will never be so vig¬ 
orous as if It were turned under fresh. Again, 
I plant on ridges formed on furrows three 
feet apart, by throwing four furrows, two 
from each side to the opened furrow. This 
takes the whole land, leaving no middle. 
I plow out my potatoes and I have never 
fonnd roots of sweet potatoes extending 
into the middles, or even to the outer edges 
of the ridges. To place manure in the 
middles would simply encourage grass and 
weeds without doing the potatoes any good. 
One important item in sweet potato grow¬ 
ing Is to prevent running vines from tak¬ 
ing root in the middles, as their doing so 
will detract from the growth of the pota¬ 
toes in the ridges. Another point—I never 
plant slips or plants after I can get cuttings 
from the vines; but after the vines make a 
good growth I cut them up into one foot 
lengths and these when stuck down into 
the freshly plowed ridge, with a stick, so 
deep that only one or two buds show, do as 
well I know, and better I think, than 
plants from a bed. So soon as the slips or 
cuttings show growth, I take a small turn 
plow and plow down the ridge by going 
close to the plants once on each side, throw¬ 
ing earth from the plants ; then return, 
forming a ridge again by throwing earth 
back with the turning plow, when the vines 
will so cover the ground that no other cul¬ 
tivation is needed, except to run a scraper 
in the middles to loosen any vines that may 
have taken root. By this method the hoe 
is seldom needed and the best crops are pro¬ 
duced with the least labor. I gathered 
over 18 pounds from one vine last year. 
Does Charity Begin And End At 
Home. 
F. B. R., Cumberland, Md.-I look upon 
The R. N. Y. as a very wise counsellor and 
usually I can agree with all it has to say, as 
well as our good brother A. L. Crosby. 
But in recent issues, I have been compelled 
to disagree with both. I refer to The 
Rural’s advice as “ to home giving, rather 
than to send money to a far-away people, 
who may be more or less needy, but in 19 
out of 20 cases are less:” and then it asks, 
“Are we right ? ”, To the foregoing Mr. A. 
L. Crosby gives his hearty approval. Now 
if this is charity, love or Christianity, then 
all the instruction bestowed on me has 
been in vain and I have been in the dark all 
my life. Our country owes its greatness to 
Christian civilization, but whence have we 
derived this type of civilization? I answer, 
first, from Jesus Christ, who denied him¬ 
self, laid aside the robes of heaven and the 
glory which He had with the Father before 
the world was. He came to earth, “to far¬ 
away people,” not serving self first, but 
giving Himself to a people who in 19 out of 
20 cases, did not feel the need of His help- 
in fact wholly rejected Him. I know He 
first came to His own, but He did not con¬ 
fine his ministry to his own. I know His 
word says, “ He that provideth not for his 
own household is worse than an infidel,” 
but He also commands us all, “ Go ye into 
all the earth and preach my gospel to every 
creature.” I might go on giving Scriptural 
proofs as well as common sense reasons 
why we should not do as advised by The 
Rural and Brother Crosby, but I will con¬ 
tent myself by answering a few statements 
made by the latter. He says, “ I have often 
wondered what the heathens say, or think, 
when they come here and see our millions 
of heathens and then read of the millions 
of dollars sent to convert the foreign 
heathens.” 
It is not at all probable that an enlight- 
ened heathen coming to our country would 
foim any such notions as these ideas sug¬ 
gest ; but if an unenlightened heathen 
should come to our shores, is it to be won¬ 
dered at if he should be surprised when 
a man like Mr. C. cannot understand the 
conditions ? I verily believe that the 
thing that puzzles the heathen most is the 
inconsistency of our people In sending 100 
barrels of rum to curse them, while we send 
one missionary to Christianize them. Mr. 
C. further says : “ It costs more than a 
dollar to get a dollar to the far-away peo¬ 
ple.” Now I thought that extremely fool¬ 
ish and false idea had been exploded 
in the days when Mr. Crosby’s fore¬ 
fathers thought their scrub cows were 
just about as good as the Jerseys. If 
Mr. C. will take the trouble to in¬ 
quire, he will find that for every dollar 
given for foreign missions, 95 cents reach 
the heathen. Now, another point I want 
to make is that, on general principles, I 
have found that the man who gives to 
foreign missions is the man who can be 
counted on every time to help home mis¬ 
sions. And the man who argues against 
foreign work, or giving, is the man who 
never gives to either home or foreign. 
Self-denial without doubt is one of the 
chief corner-stones upon which the super¬ 
structure of Christianity stands Christ 
said, not self first, but, “If any man will 
be my disciple let him take up his 
cross daily and follow me,” so that 
I conclude that while we are to pro¬ 
vide for our own households, which I 
believe includes religious instructions, 
family worship and all necessary com¬ 
forts, vet we are not to stretch the word 
necessary, so that we have nothing where¬ 
with to help others. 
SPIRIT OF THE PRESS. 
Respecting the new rose Mrs. De Graw, 
The Rural New-Yorker of August 10, 
1889, said (page 527), alluding to a recent 
visit to Dosoris, the beautiful island home 
of C. A. Dana, that, though the rose sea¬ 
son was over, this pink ever-blooming 
Bourbon rose was loaded with flowers, and 
it was pronounced by both Mr. Dana and 
Mr. Falconer the best garden rose in the 
entire collection. 
Those who without much experience 
are planting hardy roses this spring should 
bear in mind that dormant plants should 
be planted early. Few plants suffer more 
from being set out late. Ellwanger & 
Barry (among our bsst authorities) tell us 
that before or immediately after planting, 
every stem should be cut back to two or 
three buds. Many plants are lost by neg¬ 
lect of this Important treatment. Roses 
that are pot grown and in leaf should not, 
of course, be planted until there is no 
longer danger of frost. 
JAPAN MAPLES 
In writing to advertisers please always 
mention The Rural. 
Thrifty 
young 
plants 
of the 
choicest 
kinds—our own propagation—which will transplant 
successfully; also other rare trees and shrubs in great 
variety. Exceptional opportunity to secure good 
plants of these beautiful trees. Address 
ELLWANGER A BARRY, IfffiiiWiffi"'.'!?'' 
EVERGREENS 
FRUIT & FOREST TREES 
150 , 000,000 trees for spring trade. 
• Send for our Catalogue, mention this 
' paper, and you will receive a valu- 
i able work (How to Grow Evergreens) 
and coupon good for 5llc. worth of 
_ _ i Free. Priceslowerthanthelowest. 
Address The E. H. RICKER CO.. Elgin Nur*erie», Elgin, III. 
FOREST TREEl 
Catalpa Speciosa, 
White Ash, European 
Larch, Pines, Spruces, 
Arbor Vita;s, etc., etc. 
•' Catalpa Speciosa Seed. 
Forest and Evergreen 
Seeds. 
R,DOUGLAS & SON, 
Waukegan, HI 
ABSTRACTS. 
-Dr. Paul Wagner: “It is of the 
greated importance to provide the plants 
with a sufficient supply of phosphoric acid 
and potash. You may manure cereals, 
potatoes, turnips, etc., with nitrogen in 
the form of nitrate of soda or ammonium 
salts, the manure will have no effect, the 
expensive nitrogen will be wasted as soon 
as the soil is deficient in phosphoric acid 
and potash.” 
-Dr. T. H. Hoskins, in Vermont Watch¬ 
man : “ A few years ago the editor of The 
R. N.-Y. announced his belief in the possi¬ 
bility of growing potatoes on small plots, 
and possibly on a larger scale, at the rate 
of 1,000 bushels to the acre. This announce¬ 
ment met with a flood of ridicule from the 
agricultural press.” 
-N. Y. Herald : “ Nearly every one 
rates himself at his true valuation, but he 
is careful not to take the world Into his 
confidence.” 
-N. Y. Tribune : “ When customers 
refrain from purchasing, dealers will stop 
offering novelties ; not before ” 
M y specialty for 34years 
' Vines of 100 best kinds. 
| Concord, lv" Moores 
'Early, Lady “ockling- 
I ton, Dela ware, Wood ruff Rcil.Gre&f, Mountain, 
Colerain, Brilliant, Moore’s Diamond, Moyer, 
Champion, Eaton, etc. Industry,Triumph and 
other Gooseberries. Currants, Raspberries, Straw¬ 
berries and Blackberries.Best stock. Low priceB.Cat¬ 
alogue free. GEO.VV, CAMPit ELL, Delaware, Olilo. 
GRAPE VINES 
Plants of Boat duality. Warranted truo to namo. Lowost 
Prlcos. Largost Stock and AsBortmont of Old and How 
Variotios. Send for Prioo List. 
BUSH & SON & MSigSHSB, Bnshtorg, Mo. 
Six days earlier than 
any variety te.tod attho 
Agrlcuit’l Ex. Grounds 
at Gt neva, N. Y. Color 
greenish white; pulp 
tender, sweet and de¬ 
licious. The only grape 
that ranks first both in 
earliness and quality. 
Each vine sealed with 
our registered trade- 
_ mark label. Send for 
mg lurim r Informal ion. Agents wanted 
SPHfcN HOYT’S SONS, New Canaan, C*. 
circular.-. 
Address 
ALFALFA CLOVER SEED 
By the car-load or in any quantity. 
Write to VV. A. HAWS, 
Las Animas, Bent County, Colorado, U. S. A. 
Bee-Keepers’ Guide. 
Sixteenth 1,000 just out. Price reduced to 
$1.00. Every Farmer and Bee Keeper should have It. 
It Is plain, practical and scientific. Liberal discount 
to the trade. Address 
A. .1. COOK, 
Agricultural Colic -te, Michigan. 
BEES m HONEY. 
e Factory |n the world 
of CLEAN INCS IN 
BEE CULTURE (* 
$1 illust’d ecml-moDthlj), 
and a 44 pp illus. Catalogue 
, ofBEE KEEPERS’ 
(SUPPLIES. (fJ*Our 
Jf A B C of Bee Culture 
< is a cyclopedia of 400 pp. and .‘J00 cuts. Price $1.26 
ention this paper. A. I. ROOT, Medina. 0« 
For Shed or Poultry Building 
Excellent roof complete. Anyone can lay It. 
$2 per t OOSq. Feet. 
LOW PRICE, 
SHE 
ATHING PAPER. Water, wind and 
damp proof. Keeps building cool in 
summer, warm in winter. 
GOO Square Feet, #,‘1.00. 
DURABLE, FIRE PROOF. 
Rubber roofing is unequalled for house, barn and all build¬ 
ings; costs half the price of shingles, tin, or iron. 
It is ready for use, easily applied by any one on steep or flat 
surface, or over old shingles, and is guaranteed wator tight. 
STATE SIZE OF ROOF 
and we will mail special low estimate and full particulars. 
SAMPLE FREE IF YOU SEND STAMP. 
Write at Once. Indiana Paint and Roofing Co., New York. 
PERFECTION 
?O.K 
OUTFIT 
EXCELS 
THEM ALL. 
IN BU TTER MA KING. 
O l/ LI I I rj ^1 Has Improvements over 
. r\ . W nUnll the best. Easy to clean, 
EASY TO OPERATE. Made of White 
Oak. Cover Castings will not break./ 
O.K. BUTTER WORKER 
Made on scientific principles. Adjustable bed. 
Preserves the grain of the butter. Solid 
wood roller. TIIE MOST PERFECT 
Butter Worker ever put on the market. 
J0@r Send for O. K. Catalogue. “64* 
JOHN S. CARTER,Sole Mf’r, SYRACUSE, N. 
SPRAY YOUR FRUIT TREES AND VINES. 
Wormy Fruit and Leaf Blight of Apples, Pears, Cherries, Plum Cur- 
culia prevented by spraying with the EXCELSIOR SPRAY 
PUMP GRAPE and POTATO ROT prevented by using EXCELSIOR 
KNAPSACK SPRAYER; also injurious insects which infest 
Currants Gooseberries, Raspberries and Strawberries. PERFECT 
fruit always sells at good prices, 
Catalogue showing all injurious insects to fruits mailed free. Large 
stock of Fruit Trees, Vines and Berry Plants at Bottom Prices. .2 
Address, WM. STAHL, Quincy, Illinois^ 
