931 
Live-stock  and  Maintenance  of  the  Soil 
The  Value  of  Green  Manure 
Part  V. 
HERE  crop  residues  are  inadequate  and  stock 
manures  are  unavailable  or  inadequate  to 
keep  up  the  supply  of  organic  matter  in  the  soil, 
dependence  must  be  placed  in  the  growth  of  crops 
for  manorial  purposes.  Since  those  are  usually 
plowed  under  green  they  are  commonly  known  as 
green  manure  crops.  They  may  at.  the  same  time 
serve  other  purposes.  Planted  in  the  late  Summer 
or  Fall  when  the  land  would  otherwise  he  hare  they 
collect  and  hold  the  available  plant  food  and  be¬ 
come  also  a  catch  crop.  If  it  is  left  on  the  land 
during  the  Winter  to  protect  the  surface  the  green 
manure  becomes  a  cover  crop. 
GREEN  VS.  STABLE  MANURE. — There  are 
two  ways  of  looking  at  green  ma¬ 
nures.  One  is  their  adequacy  as 
compared  to  manure  to  keep  up  the 
soil.  The  other  is  the  relative  cost 
of  the  two  methods.  I  suspect  we 
have  placed  undue  emphasis  on  sta¬ 
ble  manure  because  we  have  not  ap¬ 
preciated  its  cost,  regarding  it  as  so 
much  waste  material.  Perhaps  we 
have  been  misled  as  to  its  value  by 
its  bulk,  forgetting  it  is  more  than 
three-quarters  water.  Also  because 
we  have  gotten  the  notion  that  a 
crop  grown  is  to  be  harvested.  To 
a  large  extent  prices  of  farm  crops 
have  been  attuned  to  soil  robbery  in 
the  sense  of  depletion  of  productive 
capacity.  The  margin  lias  been  so 
low  that  every  crop  was  required  to 
keep  the  farmer  going  for  the  pres¬ 
ent.  Every  crop  turned  hack  to  the 
soil  is  so  much  charge  against  the 
crop  taken  off.  The  man  in  the 
city  cannot  avoid  taking  his  re¬ 
sponsibility  for  a  share  in  soil  de¬ 
pletion,  since  liis  demand  has  been 
for  the  low  prices  that  force  that 
depletion.  The  day  of  reckoning 
must  come  from  such  a  system,  and 
a  new  adjustment  made.  The 
farmer  must  be  paid  the  cost  of 
maintaining  the  soil  as  well  as  for 
liis  labor.  Any  other  system  will 
ultimately  be  suicidal  to  society. 
SOT L  M  ATNT  E  N  A  N  C  E  BY 
GREEN  MANURES.— The  capacity 
of  green  manure  crops  to  keep  up 
the  productive  capacity  of  the  soil, 
when  properly  supported  by  other 
conditions,  might  he  illustrated 
from  many  farms  and  from  a  va¬ 
riety  of  experiments.  The  well- 
known  potato  grower  of  Ohio,  T. 
B.  Terry,  with  his  rotation  of  pota¬ 
toes,  wheat  and  clover,  did  just  this 
thing.  E.  Ti.  Smith,  in  Northern 
New  York,  on  a  poor  sandy  soil,  lias 
obtained  yields  of  potatoes  running 
up  to  over  400  bushels  per  acre 
without  stable  manure.  Mr.  Lee 
and  others  in  these  columns  have 
illustrated  the  value  of  crops  turned 
under.  For  specific  figures  in  this 
connection,  the  results  of  an  experi¬ 
ment  just  published  from  the  New 
Jersey  Station  as  Bulletin  289  are 
particularly  pertinent.  It  covers 
seven  years’  results  on  eight  types 
of  soil  embracing  as  many  different 
series.  The  rotation  was  corn,  po¬ 
tatoes,  oats  and  rye.  For  our  pur¬ 
poses  the  results  are  particularly 
suited,  because  they  show  the  rel¬ 
ative  value  of  minerals  and  manure  as  compared  to 
green  manure,  and  the  analyses  and  yields  show 
what  has  happened  to  the  crops  and  the  soil  nitro¬ 
gen  as  a  result  of  such  a  system.  The  investiga¬ 
tion  was  carried  out  in  metal  tanks  or  rims  sunk 
in  the  ground  in  the  open  where  they  had  normal 
climatic  conditions.  The  summary  of  the  treat¬ 
ments  and  the  average  results  for  all  soils  was  as 
follows :  Total  Total 
seven  year  nUrnseii 
yield  of  recovered 
dry  matter  in  crops 
jier  pot.  harvested 
grains  grams 
I.  Lime  .  4.86  4.20 
II.  Lime  and  minerals .  561  4.72 
III.  Liffle,  minerals  and  nitrate  of  soda  723  5.00 
IN'.  Lime,  minerals  and  green  manure.  S32  7.32 
Yr.  Lime,  minerals  and  stable  manure  607  5.43 
RESULTS  FROM  ORGANIC  MATTER.— While 
there  is  considerable  variation  in  the  natural  pro¬ 
ductiveness  of  the  eight  types  of  soil  used,  the  re¬ 
■Ehe  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
suits  are  all  In  the  same  direction  for  the  various 
treatments.  Manure  and  green  manure  iu variably 
give  better  results  than  a  complete  fertilizer  with 
lime,  thereby  illustrating  the  value  of  organic  mat¬ 
ter  as  distinct  from  plant  nutrients,  already  empha¬ 
sized  in  these  articles.  Leguminous  green  manures 
throughout  give  better  results  than  stock  manures. 
Manure  was  applied  at  the  rate  of  fifteen  tons  every 
two  years.  The  arrangement  of  green  manures 
was  as  follows: 
1.  Corn  plus  Crimson  clover  sometimes  with  vetch. 
2.  Potatoes  plus  cow  peas  or  Soy  beans. 
3.  Oats  plus  cow  pens  or  Soy  beans. 
4.  Rye  plus  cow  peas.  * 
Naturally  the  green  manure  crops  did  not  reach  an 
advanced  growth.  While  analyses  of  the  soil  at  the 
beginning  and  at  the  end  show  some  loss  of  nitrogen 
from  all  treatments,  and  much  the  largest  where  no 
Cutting  the  First  Swath.  Fig.  359 
nitrogen  was  supplied,  the  green  manured  plots  have 
not  lost  more  than  those  receiving  stable  manure. 
ELMER  O.  l-TCPIN. 
Selection  and  Care  of  the  Mower 
Part  T. 
IIE  FIRST  MOWERS.— It  is  interesting  to 
trace  the  development  of  the  mower  from 
Kotehum’s  crude  machine,  patented  in  1817,  which 
had  but  one  wheel  and  a  rigid  finger-bar  and  was 
really  as  much  a  reaper  as  it  was  a  mower,  up  to 
tlu1  handy,  smooth-running  machines  of  the  present. 
Bulletin  103,  Office  of  Experiment  Stations,  tells  us 
of  its  evolution  along  with  that  of  other  harvesting 
machinery.  American  brains  coupled  with  the  need 
of  some  means  of  quickly  harvesting  the  immense 
areas  of  hay  possible  have  done  much  in  the  devel¬ 
opment  of  this  machine.  Along  about  Civil  War 
time,  or  slightly  before,  it  reached  a  stage  where 
it  embodied  practically  all  of  the  principles  made 
use  of  today  and  since  that  time  there  has  been  a 
constant  refinement,  of  details,  manufacturers 
strengthening  a  part  that  has  proved  defective, 
lightening  another  that  seems  stronger  than  neces¬ 
sary,  simplifying  and  improving  the  machine  in 
every  way  possible  in  the  effort  to  make  it  easy  for 
both  man  and  team  to  handle. 
CHOOSING  A  MOWER.— Because  of  the  high  de¬ 
gree  of  perfection  to  which  the  mower  has  been 
brought  there  seems  little  to  do  in  buying  one  other 
than  to  write  out  the  necessary  check  and  take  the 
first  one  offered.  There  are.  however,  a  few  features 
that  make  for  long  life  and  convenience  and  a  ma¬ 
chine  should  he  chosen  embodying  as  many  of  them 
as  possible.  To  operate  the  cutting  mechanism  of  a 
mower,  power  is  taken  from  the  drive  wheels  and 
to  secure  the  necessary  traction  for 
them  they  are  usually  provided  with 
lugs.  These  should  be  put  on  in  a 
zig-zag  fashion  or  present  an  un¬ 
broken  band  entirely  around  the 
center  of  the  wheel.  This  arrange¬ 
ment  will  not  lessen  their  traction 
and  will  add  much  to  the  operator’s 
comfort  when  the  machine  is  being 
transported  over  a  hard  road. 
TRANSFERENCE  OF  BOWER. 
— From  the  wheels,  the  power  is 
delivered  to  the  main  axle  through 
a  system  of  pawls.  These  take  the 
place  of  the  differential  in  an  auto¬ 
mobile  and  are  necessary  to  permit 
backing  up  and  to  secure  proper 
motion  of  the  cutter  bar  when  turn¬ 
ing  a  corner.  They  insure  a  fast 
moving  knife  at  all  times  as  the 
power  is  always  taken  from  the 
wheel  that  is  turning  the  faster.  To 
insure  that  the  knives  start  quick¬ 
ly — a  very  desirable  feature — these 
pawls  must  engage  the  ratchet  at 
once  when  the  machine  starts  for¬ 
ward,  there  must  he  no  lost  motion. 
This  can  be  tested  by  moving  the 
pole  of  the  machine  from  side  to 
side  slightly.  A  click  should  be 
heard  on  the  slightest  side-wise 
movement.  As  a  further  guarantee 
of  a  quick  and  sure  motion  at  the 
knives  there  should  be  very  little 
lost  motion  in  the  gears.  Usually 
the  drive  is  more  positive  in  a  ma¬ 
chine  in  which  the  power  is  taken 
from  a  large  gear  wheel  connected 
to,  or  placed  near,  the  left  hand 
traction  wheel  of  the  mower.  A 
large  wheel  here  permits  the  secur¬ 
ing  of  the  necessary  speed  without 
so  many  gear  wheels  being  required 
in  the  train  and,  as  a  slight  back 
lash  is  needed  between  every  pair  of 
gears,  it  follows  that  the  fewer 
gears  in  the  train  the  more  direct 
and  positive  the  drive.  These 
wheels  should  be  true  and  have 
wide  faces  so  that  the  load  is  dis-’ 
trilnited  over  a  large  surface,  les¬ 
sening  wear. 
PITMAN  AND  CONNECTIONS. 
— A  long  pitman  or  connecting  rod 
is  desirable  and  straight-grained 
hickory  wood  is  preferred  by  many 
to  steel.  Due  to  the  constant  vi¬ 
bration  steel  pitmans  frequently 
crystallize  and  break.  Wood  pit¬ 
mans  sometimes  break  but  when 
they  do  they  are  more  easily  re¬ 
paired  in  the  farm  shop.  Probably 
no  better  means  has  been  devised 
for  connecting  the  pitman  to  the  crank  and  scythe 
head  than 'the  ordinary  ball  and  socket  arrangement 
found  on  so  many  of  the  good  mowers  of  today.  It 
permits  perfect  flexibility — a  necessary  feature — 
and  at  the  same  time  can  be  kept  perfectly  tight  so 
that  there  is  no  lost  motion  and  pounding,  and  pre¬ 
sents  an  ample  wearing  surface  that  can  be  effi¬ 
ciently  oiled. 
THE  CUTTER  BAR.— To  secure  the  lightest 
draft  the  cutter  bar  should  extend  at  right  angles 
to  the  crank  shaft  of  the  machine  when  the  mower 
is  in  operation.  The  manufacturers  usually  esti¬ 
mate  that  the  knives  will  be  forced  back  from  an 
inch  to  an  inch  and  a  half  when  at  work,  conse¬ 
quently  iu  a  correctly  adjusted  machine  the  outer 
end  of  the  cutter  bar  will  be  this  distance  ahead. 
This  can  he  tested  by  stretching  a  string  parallel 
with  the  pitman  and  noting  how  the  cutter  bar  lines 
Advantage  of  a  High  Foot  Lift  on  Raugh  Land.  Fig.  360 
Foot  Lift  Relieves  Horses’  Necks  When  Turning.  Fig.  361 
