952 
■Uhe  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
upon  so  that  the  cutting  point  has  the  same  or 
slightly  greater  speed  forward  as  does  the  machine 
itself.  If,  due  to  long  use,  the  section  is  ground 
down  to  a  more  obtuse  angle,  this  relation  is  de¬ 
stroyed  and  there  is  a  pulling  and  dragging  effect 
on  the  cutter  bar.  Like  the  shears  again,- the  mow¬ 
er  will  not  cut  well  unless  the  cutting  edges  slide 
closely  over  each  other — the  sections  must  fit  close¬ 
ly  down  on  the  ledger  plates.  The  first  essential  to 
secure  this  condition  is  that  the  guards  shall  he  in 
line.  This  can  he  tested  by  sighting  along  them 
and,  as  they  are  malleable,  they  can  be  trued  up  by 
tending  without  danger  of  breaking.  It  goes  with¬ 
out  saying  that  Ihey  as  well  as  the  sections  must 
be  kept  tight.  A  section  will  sometimes  get  bent 
upward  or  broken,  due  to  a  small  stone  or  root  get¬ 
ting  between  the  guards.  Such  a  condition  is  usu¬ 
ally  indicated  by  the  mower  leaving  a  narrow  strip 
of  uncut  grass  or  tall  stubble,  and  the  remedy  of 
course  is  obvious — replace  flic  section  or  bend  it 
down.  If  the  section  gets  bent  downward  it  may 
hold  the  sections  on  either  side  of  it  up  from  their 
work,  although  it  is  more  likely  to  cause  the  cutter 
bar  to  lock.  Although  not  so  easily  detected  the 
remedy  is  the  same  as  for  the  trouble  previously 
mentioned — bend  the  section  until  in  line  with  the 
others.  The  cutter  bar  is  provided  with  wearing 
plates  and  buttons  on  the  back  whose  purpose  is  to 
hold  the  knives  down  in  contact  with  the  ledger 
plates.  As  wear  loosens  the  knife  they  should  he 
adjusted  to  take  it  up.  The  wearing  plates  are 
usually  reversible  so  that  they  can  be  renewed  by 
turning  them  over  while  the  buttons  can  he  tight¬ 
ened  by  pounding  down  with  a  hammer.  The  knife 
should  be  moved  after  every  tap  and  the  buttons  not 
drawn  down  tight  enough  to  hind  it,  but  should  be 
brought  down  as  closely  as  possible  without  binding. 
Mower  knives  should  be  kept  sharp  and  good  re¬ 
sults  are  obtained  from  the  use  of  one  of  the  high 
speed  grinders  advertised  so  commonly  in  the  farm 
papers.  Some  farmers  carry  a  file  in  the  tool  box 
and  claim  good  results  from  an  occasional  touching 
up  of  the  edge  by  filing. 
LUBRICATION. — In  connection  with  proper  ad¬ 
justment  must  go  sufficient  lubrication.  The  state¬ 
ment  “Machine  oil  is  the  best  horse  feed,”  is  true 
when  the  oil  is  applied  properly  to  a  machine  for 
which  the  horse  is  furnishing  the  motive  power. 
The  mower  has  some  fast  moving  parts  and  these, 
with  the  exception  of  the  cutter  bar,  should  he  oiled 
frequently  with  a  medium  weight  oil.  Light  ap¬ 
plications  of  oil  made  frequently  are  better  than  the 
same  amount  applied  at  less  frequent  intervals. 
Mower  hearings  are  seldom  finely  finished  and  the 
introduction  of  some  finely  ground  or  flake  graphite 
into  them  will  do  much  toward  smoothing  them  up. 
A  wire  should  he  carried  in  the  tool  box  and  the  oil 
passages  kept  open  to  insure  that  the  oil  reaches  the 
point  for  which  it  is  intended.  Filling  the  oil  cups 
with  wool  will  also  help  in  keeping  out  dirt  and  se¬ 
curing  a  steady  flow  of  oil  to  the  hearing.  Much  less 
dirt  will  find  its  way  into  the  hearing  if  the  excess 
oil  is  kept  wiped  from  the  outside.  The  cutter  bar 
itself  should  be  well  oiled  at  the  points  where  it 
comes  in  contact  with  the  wearing  plates  except  in 
cases  where  oil  would  he  likely  to  gather  grit,  as  in 
mowing  along  a  roadside  or  in  a  sandy  field.  Under 
these  conditions  the  oil  might  do  more  harm  than 
good.  Keep  a  supply  of  rivets,  sections,  guard  bolts, 
etc.,  in  stock  and  use  them  as  occasion  demands.  A 
good  coat  of  paint  on  an  old  mower  will  do  much  to 
secure  the  respect  of  the  help.  Robert  h.  smith. 
The  Inheritance  of  the  Farm-Raised  Boy 
AP.GR  AND  EFFICIENCY.— I  was  much  in¬ 
terested  in  the  article  on  page  465,  in  which 
the  author  speaks  of  the  advantages  of  the  college 
man  as  a  farmer,  and  also  of  the  benefits  accruing 
from  practical  experience.  In  the  main.  W.  S.  C. 
is  right;  however,  it  is  never  safe  to  generalize  too 
broadly,  for  in  so  basic  an  industry  as  farming- 
profession  is  generally  a  better  word — the  individ¬ 
uality  of  the  farmer  is  very  often  the  controlling 
principle.  In  the  case  of  the  Italian  laborers  cited 
the  comparison  is  by  no  means  a  parallel  case.  The 
handler  of  a  pick  and  shovel  acquires  all  the  skill 
he  can  ever  use  in  a  short  time,  hence  improvement 
stops  at  a  definite  point  which  is  often  far  removed 
from  maximum  efficiency.  In  farming,  on  the  other 
hand,  a  complex  set  of  operations  is  constantly  car¬ 
ried  on  and  considered  purely  from  the  mechanical 
standpoint  they  vary  widely  and  also  call  into  ex¬ 
istence  a  wide  range  of  mechanical  dexterity  of  far 
greater  variety  than  used  by  the  laborer.  Of  far 
greater  import  in  differentiating  the  two  cases  is  the 
mental  factor. 
CONTRASTING  CITY  AND  COUNTRY.— In  dis¬ 
cussing  the  advantages  of  the  city  man  who  is  edu¬ 
cated  versus  the  advantages  of  the  uneducated  but 
practically  trained  country  brother,  the  balance  of 
favor  may  and  generally  is  on  the  side  of  the  city 
man,  but  here  again  it  is  dangerous  to  generalize,  for 
as  stated  above  the  individuality  of  the  men  must 
control.  Now  individuality  is  in  this  case,  in  a  large 
measure  the  result  of  environment  supplemented 
by  inherited  traits.  The  inherited  traits  may  be  equal 
hut  the  environment,  and  above  all  the  very  early 
environment,  is  always  in  favor  of  the  farm  reared 
hoy.  As  an  example  of  early  environment  being  of 
greater  value  than  any  training  that  can  he  secured 
at  a  later  date,  it  is  interesting  to  note  the  etficiency 
and  skill  in  handling  farm  stock  as  evidenced  by 
the  farm-reared  boy  as  compared  with  that  shown 
by  one  who  may  never  have  had  experience  with 
farm  horses  aside  from  an  occasional  livery  hire. 
The  farm  hoy  at  20  years  often  lias  had  10  years 
of  association  with  animals,  and  this  at  an  age  when 
his  perceptions  and  sympathies  are  most  plastic  and 
receptive.  He  is  ready,  resourceful  and  apt,  not 
only  does  he  know  how  to  “haw,”  “gee”  and  “back,” 
hut  a  multitude  of  other  principles  are  ingrained 
into  his  being  that  qualify  him  as  a  manager  of 
horses  in  and  out  of  the  stable,  in  sickness  and 
health;  in  life  and  death,  for  it  is  a  fine  quality  of 
mercy  to  know  when  to  kill  the  faithful  friend  of 
the  family  instead  of  allowing  it  to  linger  and  suf¬ 
fer.  The  city  bred  college  graduate  may  get  on  the 
farm  at  the  age  of  say  24  years.  It  is  ludicrous  to 
assume  that  it  will  take  him  16  years  to  learn  how 
to  manage  stock,  but  it  is  equally  fallacious  to  as¬ 
sume  that  at  40  years  he  will  be  as  efficient  as  the 
country  brother,  or  that  he  will  ever  be  as  efficient. 
Of  course  there  are  many  individual  exceptions  but 
it  is  a  cross  section  of  the  classes  that  tells  the 
tale.  That  he  will  reach  a  certain  degree  of  skill 
is  certain,  but  it  is  equally  positive  that  he  will 
never  acquire  that  degree  of  skill  that  would  have 
been  his  had  lie  grown  to  manhood  with  constant 
animal  association. 
CITY  TRAINING. — If  the  comparison  were  with 
animals  only  the  case  would  not  be  so  dark  for  the 
city  brother;  however,  the  same  principle  of  psy¬ 
chology  applies  to  all  work  in  farm  life.  Aside  from 
a  favored  few,  the  city  hoy  is  not  trained  to  indus¬ 
try.  If  is  true  that,  he  often  sees  more  of  the  out¬ 
side  activities  of  commercial  life  than  the  farmer 
hoy;  however,  the  passing  of  many  drygoods  stores 
in  a  day,  or  the  watching  of  the  delivery  cart  of 
the  greengrocer,  will  not  make  hiai  a  salesman  nor 
a  gardener,  lienee  his  view  is  often  from  the  outside 
where  he  is  the  equal  of  the  country  hoy.  He  may 
he  and  often  is  more  skilful  at  marbles  or  baseball 
but  he  is  usually  a  stranger  to  the  handicraft  arts 
of  everyday  farm  operations;  in  short  he 'lacks  ex¬ 
perience  and  initiative.  The  situation  resolves  it¬ 
self  into  this;  lie  is  not  manually  dexterous  nor 
mentally  ingenious  in  the  thousands  of  hidden  ways 
needed  to  furnish  farm  efficiency.  Were  manual 
dexterity  and  mental  ingenuity  purchasable  commo¬ 
dities  the  city  brother  might  outstrip  his  country 
competitor,  but  alas,  there  is  no  royal  road  to  effi¬ 
ciency  or  understanding. 
SPECIFIC  CASES. — The  above  conclusions  are 
not  premised  on  hearsay  but  upon  a  decade  of  ex¬ 
perience  with  young  men  of  both  the  above  classes. 
In  further  support,  of  my  contention,  two  of  many 
instances  will  be  cited.  A  boy,  aged  18.  of  unusual 
intellectual  capacity,  a  high  school  graduate  from 
one  of  the  largest  and  supposedly  one  of  the  best 
high  schools  in  the  United  States,  a  victim  of  man¬ 
ual  training,  and  with  plenty  of  experience  in  camp¬ 
ing  was  obtained  to  assist  the  writer.  This  father 
was  a  man  of  nation-wide  ability  as  an  editor,  states¬ 
man  and  internationally  as  a  philanthropist.  Cer¬ 
tainly  this  ultra  bright  youth  should  speedily  put 
a  farm-bred  hoy  to  shame  if  anyone  city-bred  could 
so  do.  The  youth  had  driven  the  horse  for  several 
days,  and  knew  how  to  manage  affairs  if  nothing 
disturbed  the  even  tenor  of  roadway  existence;  lie 
had  watched  me  hitch  and  unhitch  repeatedly  and 
uncheck  the  horse  to  water  at  streams.  I  request¬ 
ed  him  to  drive  to  a  branch  to  water  the  horse,  and 
on  his  return,  lie  reported  the  trip  as  useless;  that 
the  horse  would  put  his  head  part  way  down  to  the 
water,  jerk  it  up  disgustedly,  look  around  as  much 
as  to  say,  “Why  did  you  waste  time  bringing  me 
here.”  He  was  then  asked  why  he  did  not  uncheck 
the  horse  so  that  drinking  would  he  possible,  and 
his  reply  was,  “How  do  you  do  it?”  In  another 
case  an  equally  bright  youth  who  possessed  the 
keenest  pereeptives  of  any  person  1  have  ever  known, 
was  similarly  employed.  His  ancestors  were  not  so 
illustrious,  but  he  had  recently  received  a  diploma 
from  his  State  college  certifying  to  his  degree  of 
civil  engineer.  Most  assuredly  this  youth,  with  his 
naturally  keen  pereeptives  and  manual  dexterity 
of  the  machine  shop  plus  a  liberal  reading,  should 
soon  learn  to  manage  animals,  repair  harness  or 
July  8,  1916. 
adjust  it  if  it  did  not  fit.  After  considerable  ex¬ 
perience  in  seeing  me  perform  the  above  operations, 
he  was  left  with  a  request  to  hitch  up  the  horse 
and  meet,  me  at  a  certain  cross  roads  below  later 
in  the  afternoon.  ITe  did  not  appear  in  due  season, 
and  I  found  him  standing  in  front  of  the  horse  hold¬ 
ing  the  bridle  in  both  hands  and  in  coaxing  tones 
imploring,  “Come  on  now,  horsey,  take  the  bit,  step 
up  and  take  the  bit.”  On  seeing  that  an  explana¬ 
tion  was  in  order  for  his  non-appearance,  he  with 
an  air  of  duty  well  attempted  and  thoroughly  per¬ 
sisted  in,  turned  to  me  and  sought  to  justify  his 
ludicrous  helplessness  by  saying,  “This  horse  must 
have  an  obstinate  disposition  with  strangers  who 
attempt  to  bridle  him  for  the  first  time.  He  stands 
here  stubbornly  and  refuses  to  walk  up  and  take 
the  bit  in  liis  mouth.” 
Had  either  of  these  bright  likable  fellows  lived 
their  early  youth  on  a  farm,  had  they  petted  the 
chickens,  doctored  the  sick  poultry,  fed  the  calves, 
watched  the  young  pigs  grow,  and  clmsed  them  in 
when  they  escaped  from  the  lot,  had  they  viewed 
with  pride  the  growth  of  a  colt  that  was  to  be 
theirs  as  soon  as  they  earned  the  money  to  pay  for 
him,  had  they  at  the  age  .of  five  Summers  rode  old 
Dobbin  bareback  and  bridleless  with  one  or  two 
children  clinging  to  them,  had  they  learned  the  need 
of  watering  an  animal,  of  proper  seasonal  feeding 
and  care,  h  id  they  been  on  Intimate  terms  with  the 
things  that  creep  and  crawl,  that  sing  and  gambol 
about,  that  work  and  willingly  wait  for  the  care 
of  the  owner;  and  then  left  the  farm  and  gone  for 
the  education  would  they  not  have  known  many 
things  of  life  and  living,  and  of  the  fulness  thereof, 
that  they  must  now  forever  miss?  H.  c.  s. 
Experiences  With  the  Com  Planter 
HE  two  pictures  on  page  053  (Figs.  360-367) 
tell  a  thrilling  story  of  farm  life.  They  were 
taken  in  New  Jersey,  for  on  many  Atlantic  Coast 
farms  the  very  best  of  machine  planting  and  har¬ 
vesting  machinery  can  he  used.  This  has  been  a 
hard  and  backward  season.  The  constant  rains 
have  made  it  almost  impossible  to  fit  the  soil  prop¬ 
erly.  Corn  planting  was  late,  and  it  was  neces¬ 
sary  to  rush  it  with  all  speed  when  once  llie  soil 
was  in  fair  condition.  The  first  picture  shows  one 
of  the  happy  times  in  a  farmer's  life,  for  after  a 
hard  struggle  he  has  fitted  the  land,  and  now  with 
a  machine  in  operation  the  corn  is  going  in  like 
magic.  The  planter  is  working  well,  and  even  the 
horses  show  by  the  way  they  carry  themselves  that  • 
(hey  enjoy  the  work.  The  regular  click  of  the  ma¬ 
chine  in  checking  the  corn  rows  is  music  to  their 
ears,  and  on  they  all  go  through  the  bright  day 
thinking  that  at  least  most  of  their  corn  troubles 
are  over.  Alas!  for  the  uncertainties  of  human  life, 
as  they  go  on  their  way  there  comes  a  snap  and 
the  machine  has  broken  down.  It  is  a  bad  break, 
ioo  serious  for  the  farmer  to  tackle,  though  he  is 
self-reliant  and  is  enough  of  a  mechanic  to  handle 
an  ordinary  job.  He  sees  at  once,  however,  that 
this  is  too  much  for  him,  and  there  is  nothing  to  do 
but  make  a  hurried  trip  to  the  village  for  an  ex¬ 
pert  machinist  to  come  and  fumble  into  the  works 
of  that  planter  and  set  it  straight.  It  is  easy  to 
see  by  the  way  the  farmer  rests  his* hand  on  that 
machine  that  he  is  going  to  lose  half  a  day  at  a 
critical  time.  There  is  no  getting  around  it,  and 
nothing  to  do  but  wait  until  that  planter  gets  over 
its  balky  streak  and  goes  on.  It  would  probably  be 
a  bad  time  to  approach  that  farmer  to  try  to  sell 
him  a  gold  brick,  but  the  machine  is  finally  patched 
up  and  on  it  goes  again  to  finish  the  planting.  It 
all  comes  in  the  season’s  work,  and  requires  bright 
and  sound  philosophy  to  get  through  it  properly. 
Loading  Outfit  for  Spraying 
Fig.  .368  shows  a  spraying  tank  and  outfit  located 
on  a  little  stream  in  Western  New  York.  In  the 
busy  spraying  season  there  must  be  an  abundant 
supply  of  water  close  at  hand,  and  prompt  facili¬ 
ties  for  loading  the  sprayer.  In  this  case  a  little 
dam  has  been  thrown  across  the  brook,  so  as  to 
make  a  pond  for  a  full  supply  of  water.  This  as  we 
see  is  pumped  into  the  tank  above,  where  the  chem¬ 
icals  may  he  put  in,  the  sprayer  backed  up  under 
the  pipe  and  loaded  in  this  way.  In  the  building 
under  the  high  platform  the  chemicals  and  small 
tools  can  be  stored.  Wherever  there  is  a  stream,  or 
even  a  spring,  fairly  well  located  on  a  fruit  farm, 
a  device  of  this  sort  is  very  useful.  It  is  as  neces¬ 
sary  to  have  the  water  and  materials  needful  in 
spraying  time  as  it  is  to  have  the  artillery  and  am¬ 
munition  where  they  are  needed  in  time  of  battle, 
and  the  arrangement  here  shown  is  an  excellent  one 
tor  helping  along  efficient  work. 
