49o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
July 22 
(Under this heading we propose to print questions that seem to call 
for a variety of answers. We earnestly ask all who have any experi¬ 
ences or suggestions U&offer to talk into The R. N.-Y.'S ear at once - ) 
Pump Strong Enough. —I have a good spring of 
water about 175 feet from the house, which is 35 feet 
higher than the spring. There is not water enough 
to allow me to use a hydraulic ram. Is there a pump 
that will raise the water easily ? If so, what is it 
and what size of pipe should I use ? Is the rustless 
iron the best ? What would be the cheapest and best 
way to get the water to the house ? A, j. p. 
Johnstown, N. Y. 
A Water Question. —My barn is about six rods 
from the well that supplies my house, and this is 
nearly full all the time, and is four to six feet above 
the barn floor. What is the best plan to get the water 
to the barn in winter and at other times by means of 
a pipe. Can I put the pipe under ground to prevent 
freezing ? Must I have an underground tank to hold 
the water at the barn or the well ? I use the common 
wooden bucket at the well, but have a chain pump. 
Who sells rustless pipe? c. g. hager. 
Why Tread the Ensilage ?—I notice that your 
“Scribe” makes Mr. Baker say, page 460 in The R. 
N.-Y., that a man should be kept in the silo not to 
tread it, but to keep the outside a foot higher than 
the center. I would like to know why. Wouldn’t 
this tend to force the ensilage from the sides and 
leave a space for air and decay between the walls of 
the silo and the ensilage ? I should be inclined to do 
the reverse and keep the center a foot higher than 
the sides. What say others ? J. j. D. 
Tank Irrigation. —I want to put up a windmill and 
tank to irrigate, in a dry spell, about two acres of 
sandy soil planted to asparagus, celery and other 
small stuff ; how much water would be required to 
irrigate the lot well, and how often should it be 
applied ? What should be the size of the tank ? What 
should be the size of the timbers to support it 30 feet 
high inside of a building, and what would be tbe best 
means of applying the water to the ground ? 1 don’t 
think furrows would answer, as the water would sink 
in such light soil and not run far enough. The water 
is to be taken from a driven well in clear sand ; would 
a well point of coarse or fine gauze be best ? c. f. 
Some Apple Questions. —Have any of my fellow 
orchardists discovered that apple trees make a more 
vigorous and thrifty growth when the ground is culti¬ 
vated in sweet potatoes than in any other crop ? By 
the way, I followed the advice of The Rural, too 
literally a year or two ago, i. e., “ sell water.” I 
bought an ice-house and ran the business one season 
with this result: A net profit of $35. Why is it that 
the apples in an old uncultivated orchard run down 
rapidly, when the same orchard heavily cropped with¬ 
out manure and furnishing two crops instead of one, 
improves in quality and quantity of fruit ? I have 
demonstrated this. Soil thin loam, subsoil red clay. 
Hickman, Ky. d. w. d. 
Roots in a Drain. —Four years ago I laid a long 
main drain of three to four-inch tile from three to 
four feet deep. About 40 rods ran through a 15-year- 
old apple orchard. In digging a side drain this spring, 
I found the main stopped, as the apple roots had grown 
in the joints and completely filled the tile. I removed 
the obstruction, but the drain does not work well, and 
I have no doubt that it is nearly full below. Is there 
any remedy? Can any chemical be poured in at the 
upper end that will kill the roots, or will the tiles 
have to be taken up, and, if so, what will hinder the 
drain, when once more put down, from growing full 
again, as the joints cannot be laid very tight unless 
cemented, and, in that case, water cannot get in. 
Again, I have a field I intended to sow to oats, but the 
weather hindered ; will it pay to sow to Canada peas 
at $1.25 per bushel, and let the crop go back on the 
ground, and plant the piece to potatoes next spring ? 
Monroe County, N. Y. geo. j. iiusii. 
HOT WATER IN THE FARMER’S KITCHEN. 
A friend of mine has not only carried water into the 
kitchen in pipes, but with his own hands has made a 
connection for the kitchen stove, which heats an 
abundance of water for all household purposes with¬ 
out lifting and without any danger of explosions from 
steam. 
A box holding 4 to 20 gallons of water must be 
mounted near the sink and lined with copper or tin ; 
or a strong iron-bound keg will do. In either case it 
must not have a tight-fitting lid, or an explosion of 
confined steam would result. To fill the tank, a short 
piece of pipe or trough is placed so that water will 
run from the cold-water faucet into it. (See A, Fig. 
169.) Another faucet for the water from the tank 
makes the work easier than dipping it out. The heat¬ 
ing is done as follows : The water tank is higher than 
the kitchen stove. A pipe connected with the box at 
the bottom is carried along the wall to the back of the 
stove, enters it through the pipe above the collar, 
turns in several coils just over the oven, and passes 
out as it came, ending midway in the side of the box 
close to the wall. With tight joints all the way, no 
leakage—a very annoying thing in any kitchen—will 
occur. The coldest water falls to the bottom of the 
box always, whence it finds its way to the stove, and, 
being heated, retuins, entering the top of the tank 
by the other pipe. The arrows in the cut show the 
motion of the water. Instead of expensively drilling 
the side or back of the stove, a slot is merely cut in 
the stove pipe, which is easier, and just as effective 
for the entrance of the water pipes. Galvanized pipe 
is not needed in the stove, and probably it will be 
necessary to get a length coiled for the purpose by a 
plumber, as this is a difficult job to do without spoiling 
it. If one be fortunate enough to own a stove or 
range with a water front, of course the pipes may be 
simply connected with it. Two pairs of pipe-nippers 
will be required to screw on the joints, but these can 
easily be borrowed where the pipe is bought. After 
taking measurements, t'le different lengths of pipe 
can be cut and threaded in a short time at the same 
place. The only soldering required will be for the 
tank and lining and pipe attachment. If a keg be 
used, a strong oak one should be selected, and the 
pipe screwed into holes bored a trifle too small and 
painted. When wet, the wood will swell and make a 
tight seam about the pipe. Galvanized pipe, connec¬ 
tions, elbows and faucets may be bought so cheap 
that it is a shame not to have many country houses 
arranged for comfort in at least the simple manner 
shown, that the time and strength of the ever-too- 
busy farmer’s wife may be saved. One will be sur¬ 
prised to see how quickly and easily the work may be 
done after the arrangements are completed, and will 
wonder how he ever lived previously with so small a 
supply of hot water. By using a larger tank, water 
for a bath-room may be always warm and ready, and 
be conveyed thither by a separate pipe. h. sage. 
HARDINESS OF DORSET SHEEP. 
LOTS OF GOOD QUALITIES. 
In The Rural New-Yorker of July 1, page 455, I 
notice an inquiry from “ Subscriber,” Gasville, Ohio, 
as to the best breed of sheep to use for crossing upon 
common ewes for early-maturing lambs, to which 
the reply was made that the Shropshire would be 
better than the Dorset Horn, unless he had warm 
and comfortable barns. 
Now I have bred nearly all the English breeds upon 
common ewes, and have followed this for a good many 
years, and for early-maturing lambs (that is, winter 
lambs, as I understand the term) there is no compari¬ 
son between the Dorset Horn and Shropshire. The 
Dorset ram will get 50 per cent more very early lambs 
than the Shropshire, and with 100 ewes will get from 
10 to 20 per cent more lambs any way. And, further, 
the cross-bred Dorset lamb will come much stronger, 
thrive faster and “ get there ” quicker by far than the 
Shropshire cross. 
The Dorset is a native of the extreme south of Eng¬ 
land, and does not seem to be affected by our hot 
summer weather, as are all other English breeds. I 
have seen the thermometer 90 degrees or more, and 
all the black-faced rams lay panting in the shade, 
while the Dorset rams were as active as though it 
was October. As I have said before— I think in The 
R. N.-Y.—we put, in 1890, with each flock of 126 com¬ 
mon ewes a Dorset, Shropshire and Hampshire ram, 
all of about the same age and vigor, and all thorough¬ 
bred. They were put with the ewes the last of May, 
and the flocks were turned into good pasture, but 
where they could have no care save a weekly salting; 
out of the first 62 lambs dropped only three had black 
faces, and of the whole get much more than half— 
nearly three-fourths—were of the Dorset cross, and 
considerably more than three-fourths of the twins 
showed Dorset blood. As to hardiness, the Dorset is 
not in any particular behind the Shropshire. In Eng¬ 
land the Dorsets run in very much larger flocks than 
Shropshires, and are never housed or petted, while 
the Shropshires get more than three times the atten¬ 
tion. 
I do not wish to advocate the keeping of sheep 
without care. I would advise every one intending to 
raise early lambs to provide “warm and comfortable 
barns for the lambs,” or keep out of the business. 
No lamb ever did its best or got to a $12 or $16 mar¬ 
ket, fattened in the shade of a wire fence in our 
Northern winter. No, no 1 Provide good quarters, 
or leave the business to those who will do so. 
If “ Subscriber ” wishes lambs for fattening when 
coming a year old, then I would advise neither the 
Dorset nor Shropshire cross, but by all means the 
Hampshire as a sire. If he will carefully study the 
reports of fat stock shows or the English market re¬ 
ports, he will 6ee that cross-breds with Hampshire 
blood always “get there” at a jear old or less. Of 
course, the Hampshires are larger sheep than either 
the Dorsets or Shropshires, and are great for early 
maturity. This may be the result of the way in which 
the Hampshires have long been bred. Unlike any other 
breed, more than 99 per cent of all the rams used on 
the flocks of this breed in England are lambs. It is 
hard to find a ram one year old or over unless kept 
for the show ring. When in England, I saw many men 
in both Hants and Wilts Counties who made ram rais¬ 
ing a specialty. In each of several flocks I saw more 
than half a thousand ram lambs which were receiving 
extra care to fit them for the annual ram sale to be 
held in August or September, and before March fol¬ 
lowing nearly all would have been used in the flocks 
and sent to the shambles for mutton. 
One of the very desirable things in a flock of cross¬ 
bred lambs for winter feeding is their uniformity, both 
in size and appearance. In this respect those of the 
Hampshire cross will far excel the Shropshires. They 
will be uniformly larger and more symmetrical, and 
their legs and faces will be much blacker and more 
evenly colored. Another great point in the Hamp¬ 
shires’ favor is tbe fact of their having heads very dif¬ 
ferent in shape from those of the Shropshire descent, 
while their heads are long and graced with big Roman 
noses that are not nearly so thick between the eyes, 
and consequently do not so endanger the ewes in 
lambing as do the Shropshires, whose heads are a 
medium between those of their parents, the Hampshire 
and South Down. With good March-dropped cross¬ 
bred Hampshire-Merino lambs, well cared for and fed, 
there is no trouble in putting them into market the 
year following, when a year old, at an average of 120 
pounds with the wool off, and they may be made to 
do much better. j. s. woodward. 
“ THUNDER ” AND LIGHTNING SALES. 
It must be remembered that I am a “reformed” 
mechanic and don’t know much about general farming, 
but in horticulture I am bound to “get there.” I 
raised 7,500 boxes of strawberries on an acre and a 
quarter of $5 land and sold them at 10 and 12 cents per 
quart. Inclosed is some of my “ thunder” that scared 
people into paying that price. c. t. s 
Swanton, Md. 
strawberries. 
Do you like them? We do not mean the Eastern or Southern pro¬ 
duct, picked green, covered with sand, packed In dirty, perhaps 
cholera-seeded old baskets, and shipped long distances by the side of 
tobacco, fish, petroleum, etc., (no wonder grocers often lose on such 
berries) but to our own mountain product, picked ripe, still kissed by 
the morning's dew, packed in clean, new dishes, which are never used 
a second time and which you do not have to hunt up and return, and 
reaching you a few hours after leaving our gardens. 
Do you remember the wild berries of your youth? Their wonderful 
flavor was due principally to their being ripe when picked and eaten 
before their aroma had escaped. 
Such berries In such packages sell at a good price—always will—but 
their popularity has been so great that we have been induced to in¬ 
crease our gardens till we n'.w have plants enough set to produce 
12,000 quartBnext year. Why, merchants actually commenced nego¬ 
tiating for the control of our entire crop last December. 
Mount Pomona berries are all packed in flats of nine one-pound 
boxes and two to six flats are crated together as desired. If you can¬ 
not get vour merchant to supply these berries order directly of us. 
We fill first t ie orders of those who take a certain quantity each week, 
random orders afterward. 
EARLY PLANTS. 
No one can grow his own plants of as good varieties, as thrifty and 
healthy, as well hardened off, as well rooted by frequent transplant- 
lngs and other processes known to the professional grower, as he who 
makes It his regular business, and has a house adapted to the purpose. 
This is so, because seedsmen’s catalogues mislead in varieties, and 
you cannot afford to pay 10 times as much for the best periodicals 
and books as the plants would cost, nor sit up nights to produce a 
summer temperature, nor do many other things necessary to the pro¬ 
ducing of tine plants. 
No, you can raise another sheep, another turkey, or knit a few 
more socks, If necessary, and buy your own plants much more easily. 
