44o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
July 1 
water will not penetrate down, or the moisture up. 
The clay is from two to four feet deep. Underlyinj? 
this is a bed of sand. Late planting is necessary. 
Crops make a vigorous growth while the soil retains 
its moisture, hut our dry midsummer burns them up. 
I have open ditches and some wooden under drains, 
but they do not dry the land for the reasons named. 
What can I do with it ? Is there no grass with roots 
long enough to penetrate through this clay ? Will 
melilotus do it ? If so, where can the seed be ob¬ 
tained ? J. M. p. 
Corning, Ark. 
THE WORK WITHIN AN EGG. 
KABLT DEVELOPMENT OF A CHICKEN. 
How the Egg Is Put Together. 
After a close and careful study of eggs and their 
changes, and comparing results with the results of 
many investigators, I do not hesitate to say that fer¬ 
tile and infertile eggs are always outwardly alike, 
and cannot be distinguished. But remove the shell 
and on the surface of the yolk is a white spot, the 
germ disc, the vital part of the egg. The yolk is the 
ovum or female cell. Ova have their origin in the 
ovary of the hen. An ovum has from its beginning 
what is called a nucleus. At the time the ovum is 
ripe and breaks through the wall of the ovary to 
enter the oviduct, this nucleus is large and distinct. 
The yolk is full sized. In the upper part cf the oviduct, 
the ovum comes in contact with the male cell or 
spermatezoon and fertilization takes place at once. 
The appearance of the nucleus now changes. Segmen¬ 
tation begins. The outline of the nucleus becomes 
indistinct. During this time, the egg is moving down 
the oviduct. The upper thick walls secrete a white 
substance called albumen. This is deposited around 
the yolk. The two white twisted masses on each side 
of the yolk are called the chalaza and are caused by 
the twisting movement of the egg in the oviduct. 
They also serve as pads to hold the yolk in place. 
Later in the lower or thin portion of the oviduct, the 
shell substance is deposited and hardened. Sixteen 
or eighteen hours from the time the ovum entered the 
oviduct, the egg is laid and development ceases. At 
this stage, the germ disc, in a fertilized egg consists 
of two concentric rings separated by a transparent 
space and having clear spaces in the center of the 
inner ring. If it is not fertilized, only an irregular 
white mass will be found. 
The Changes That Take Place. 
I studied eggs that had been sat on by a hen. It 
was not until after eight hours thali I noticed much, 
if any, change. After that, changes were quite marked 
and rapid. The first change was a translucent ap¬ 
pearance around the disc. Then the whole disc began 
to enlarge. About the 12th hour, a light streak was 
seen extending part way across the disc. It was the 
primitive streak, and when the egg is held with the 
big end toward the left hand, the head of the streak 
will be away from the observer. Six hours later, a 
V-shaped ridge appeared in front of the head of the 
streak. It is called the medullary ridge or ridges be¬ 
cause of the two arms of the V. This was what finally 
became the spinal cord of the embryo and around 
which the body was developed. I found the move¬ 
ments of the ridges to be about as follows : At first, 
the apex of the V rounded out while the arms ap¬ 
proached each other ; thus the first cerebral brain ves¬ 
icle was formed and the medullary groove between 
the ridges. The primitive streak begins to disappear 
about this time, and the brain vesicle to enlarge and 
a second one forms back of it. At the end of the first 
day, the medullary groove is well developed, and the 
brain vesicles—one and sometimes the second—are 
prominent, while on each side of the medullary ridges, 
small squares may be seen. These have a close rela¬ 
tion to the later formed vertebra. Changes have also 
taken place outside of the germ disc. That part which 
at first began to look clear, toward the close of the 
first day begins to have a vascular appearance. From 
the head fold of the embryo a part on the underside 
grows back and forms a tube branching at the back 
part so as to reach the vascular area on both sides of 
the embryo. This was the heart, and it begins to beat 
even before the blood becomes a decided red. The 
average time for the heart to begin to beat, is about 
30 hours after incubation begins. At this stage, the 
heart may be seen projecting out from the right side 
near the head. 
Six hours later the four brain vesicles were well 
formed. Budding from the first were the optic ves¬ 
icles which would become the eyes; also from the 
fourth vesicle arose the auditory pits, which would 
later become the internal ears. The whole embryo 
was not one-quarter of an inch long at this time. 
During the later part of the second day, the changes 
became very rapid and marked. The medullary groove 
closed over, and a little later the brain vesicles. The 
growth of the dorsal part of the embryo was so much 
more rapid than the ventral, that it crowded the head 
down so that it curled under the rest of the embryo. 
At this stage, the head was one-third the whole em¬ 
bryo. At the close of the second, or first of the third 
day, the head began turning on its left side, curving 
more and more. The optic vesicles put on the form 
of eyes, and the brain vesicles became more rounded. 
The alimentary canal began to be formed, and signs 
of the closing of the body cavity were seen. Generally 
by the end of the third day, the heart is inclosed in 
the body cavity, and the body begins to turn after the 
manner of the head. The changes are now mostly in¬ 
ternal, and can be studied only by cutting the embryo 
into thin sections, and studying the section systematic¬ 
ally. The end of the fourth day is when the legs and 
wings generally begin to bud out. At first they look 
just alike, but after a day or so become somewhat 
differentiated. About this time, a sac called the allan¬ 
tois, grows out from near the tail of the embryo, and 
finally lies in close contact with the shell inclosing all 
the white or albumen. This acts principally as an 
organ of respiration, but may also extract lime from 
the shell, and deposit it in the bone. The vascular 
area reaches out and incloses the whole yolk, and 
through this system the embryo feeds upon the yolk. 
About the eighth day, projections in the skin may be 
seen ; these are rudimentary down feathers. On the 
fourteenth day or so the chick changes its position so 
as to lie lengthwise in the egg. Six or seven days 
later, the chick thrusts its beak through the chorion 
and shell membrane into the small air chamber in the 
end of the egg, and begins to breathe the inclosed air. 
Pulmonary circulation begins at once, and the chicken 
is ready to step out into the world. 
A Brief Review of the Matter. 
Briefiy, these are the points to hold in mind : The 
egg is 16 or 18 hours old when laid. Fertilized germ 
discs have two concentric rings. Unfertilized germ 
discs have only an irregular white mark. The primi¬ 
tive streak is only a forerunner of the medullary 
ridges and has no known function in the development 
of the embryo. The medullary ridges become the 
walls of the cerebro-spinal system, and the part around 
which the body of the embryo will develop. The heart 
begins to beat during the second day—about the 30th 
hour. Six hours later the head of the embryo begins 
to turn on its side. The body cavity becomes inclosed 
toward the end of the third day. Legs and wings 
appear during the fourth or fifth day, rudimentary 
feathers toward the eighth or ninth. The final change 
in the position of the whole embryo takes place dur¬ 
ing the latter part of the second week. Pulmonary 
circulation begins generally on the 20th or 21st day. 
Almost immediately, the chick begins to pick on the 
shell and try to get out. The time given for certain 
changes is only approximate. Internal and external 
conditions have great influence on time of develop¬ 
ment. For the benefit of those who may wish to look 
deeper into this most interesting subject, I would 
recommend “Vertebrate Embryology” by Marshall, 
and “Elements of Embryology” by Foster and Balfour. 
Hamilton College. w. n. everett. 
THE SOFTENING OF A HARD JOB. 
A TOOL THAT SAVES TIME AND TUSSELING. 
The Osborn lever-set harrow The R. N.-Y. sent for 
a club of 30, is an effective tool. I hardly know where 
I got the names, a copy handed to a farmer friend 
here, a word there, and it was done ; no real outlay 
of time or money, yet I would not take any money for 
the premium if another could not be obtained. I have 
always used a spring-tooth harrow, and have often 
left a spot without sufficient, or rather the right 
harrowing, because it was such a job to change the 
set of the teeth. Two hours were none too long for 
the job, and then they were always slipping, being 
hard to hold in place. The black muck spots are soft 
and let the harrow into the frame, while the clay 
knolls were hardly penetrated by the teeth. Now all 
is changed. The teeth are bolted fast and cannot stir. 
One touch of the lever and the teeth have to go in full 
length, no matter how hard the surface. A pull the 
other waj and it glides over the muck. When cross¬ 
ing sod ground, a few trials gave the right depth to 
do all the work possible and not tear up the sod. One 
piece of ground which dries out quickly, requires the 
grass seed to be harrowed in. Setting the teeth to 
run an inch deep, was the work of five seconds, and 
the surface was left as smooth as any smoothing har¬ 
row could do it. The frame which surrounds it, slides 
along like a sled runner, and gives an easier draft. 
It’s no trouble to move it as the lever lifts the teeth 
clear from the surface and it moves like a hand sled. 
My potatoes were covered with it, to perfection. By 
crossing the trenches and changing the set, I fill them 
partially or completely as desired. By taking out one 
or two center teeth, I can cover by harrowing length¬ 
wise the trenches, which does not tear down the-soil 
on the lower side of the hill. This applies to hill¬ 
sides which are planted across the hill and cannot be 
harrowed up and down for fear of washing. It is so 
easily and quickly adjusted I shall harrow all my po¬ 
tatoes with it until they are several inches high. Cul¬ 
tivation aids chemical changes, and where such good 
work is being done, one is tempted to harrow more, 
thus adding fertility to the soil. In the orchard of 
small trees, 1 found that the rounded corners of the 
frame would slide off and not peel the bark, so one 
could drive plump up to them without injury. I would 
rather risk the frame than my hired man’s judgment. 
Several acres of small fruit needed cultivating. The 
rows are six to eight feet apart and require three or 
four bouts to the row to pulverize the surface finely. 
It’s a slow job, especially on our hillsides, where the 
cultivator must be held by main strength up against 
the row if we get anywhere near it, on the lower side. 
I shall not set my plants so far apart in future. Can 
any one tell what benefit there is in having five feet 
of waste surface between each two rows ? The cur¬ 
rants, red and black raspberries, and blackberries 
when properly pruned, do not fill more than two to 
three feet. The rest of the space keeps one busy to 
keep down weeds. If set closer, the path for the 
horse and pickers is shaded and clean. The bushes 
should be thick enough practically to shade every 
inch. I took the harrow apart and hitched one horse 
on each half. Everything but the strawberries was 
harrowed. When driving close to the plants, the 
teeth were set shallow, in the center of the row whole 
length. The frame striking against a currant stalk 
or berry cane was turned away and no damage was 
done, as the teeth are inside the frame. For some 
reason, which I do not quite understand, it did not 
work down the hill as badly as the hand cultivator, 
and a rope tied to the back end of the frame enabled 
me to pull it back when needed. But this was, 
although but little, more than I wished to do, and I 
tried an experiment. With the one-horse plow, a fur¬ 
row was turned down the hill so as to leave just the 
width of the half harrow between the furrow and 
upper row. With a short whiffletree, the horse can 
walk close to the row. The frame of the harrow 
strikes against the furrow and cannot slide down the 
hill. It worked beautifully. I sat on the fence and 
was happy, while nine-year-old Ed. rode the horse 
back and forth. The harrow did the rest. Our friend 
who inquired a short time ago how to manage “ black¬ 
berries on a side hill,” will find this an excellent plan. 
As the spring tooth does not throw the earth down 
the hill like a cultivator, he can kill the weeds close 
to the plant without being torn with the thorns. Best 
of all he can regulate the depth so as not to injure the 
roots. The grape-vine row was harrowed on both 
sides until there was only an 18-inch strip to hoe. If 
this harrow is used often enough, no other tool would 
ever be needed for work between the rows. I see by 
the circular which came with it that a pair of handles 
can be obtained of the company, but I think it would 
be rather heavy work to handle it. I would rather 
depend on skill in driving the horse close to the row, 
on proper preparation of the surface, and a rope. 
_c. E CaAPMAN 
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SECOND-CROP POTATOES. 
Facts About their Culture and Value. 
THE QUESTIONS. 
1. How late may second-crop potatoes be planted in vour section so 
that they will mature ? 2. Do they mature ? 3. If not. Is not the 
variety weakened by Immature seed 1 4. How long will a variety 
stand such treatment? 5. What varieties do you find best adapted to 
this second cropping? 6. What Is the difference between second-crop 
potatoes In the South and Northern seed kept in a cool place and 
planted late? 
The Crop In North Carolina. 
1. The middle of August is about the best time, or, 
rather, about the latest they should be planted here, 
but in exceptionally late autumns, X have had volun¬ 
teers that came up the middle of September make a 
crop, 2. They do not reach the fullest maturity in¬ 
dicated by the dying of the tops. The vines are 
usually still rather green when cut by frost. On 
uplands they are seldom cut down before the middle 
of November, and twice I have had them live until 
December 2 The tubers, however, seem to be mature, 
the skin tight and perfect, and their keeping quality 
is extraordinary. I have now (June 27) potatoes of 
last fall’s crop in perfect tuber condition, not an eye 
started. 3. We have never seen any sign of weaken¬ 
ing. On the contrary, the growth is always stronger 
than that from Northern seed 4. 1 cannot say ; I see 
no reason why they should run out at all. One grower 
in Georgia wrote me that he had been using one stock 
