enough  application,  while  land  plaster  and  acid 
phosphate  are  good  application  under  these  condi¬ 
tions.  In  addition  to  being  a  needed  food  element 
in  such  cases,  the  sulphur  also  has  a  good  effect  in 
the  prevention  of  certain  kinds  of  disease.  We 
think  it  is  a  wise  thing  to  dust  sulphur  over  the 
seed  pieces  of  potato  when  planting  them.  It  has 
some  effect  in  preventing  the  scab,  and  certainly 
acts  to  preserve  the  seed  piece,  especially  in  wet  sea¬ 
sons  when  there  is  danger  from  rot.  A  quantity  of 
sulphur  drilled  in  with  onion  seed,  or  with  the  seed 
required  for  transplanting  later,  will  usually  pay. 
The  Wisconsin  scientists  appear  to  doubt  the  wis¬ 
dom  of  using  sulphur  directly  as  a  fertilizer — 
though  plaster  gives  results  in  some  soils. 
The  Work  of  Auto  Trucks  * 
I  am  inclined  to  think  you  lot  “Trucker,  Jr.,'”  “put 
one  over  on  you”  on  page  1068.  What  about  that 
auto  truck  that  is  to  make  five  round  trips  to  market 
per  day?  Twenty-two  miles  from  Gloucester  Ferry, 
844  %-bu.  baskets  per  load,  44  miles  per  trip,  five  trips 
per  day,  means  five  hours  on  the  ferry  boat,  and  algo 
five  hours  in  the  city.  Also  it  would  take  at  least  throe 
hours  to  load  that  truck  five  times,  even  if  the  produce 
was  all  ready  in  one  pile  ready  to  load,  and  help  plenty. 
That  would  leave  1  I  hours  actual  running  time,  not. 
figuring  any  delays:  that  means  an  average  of  20  miles 
per  hour,  light  and  loaded.  He  would  have  to  pass  every 
vehicle  he  saw  on  the  road,  and  where  would  he  go 
when  lie  left  the  top  of  the  road  at  a  speed  of  20  miles 
per  hour  and  a  topheavy  load  on  that  truck?  All  the 
farm  produce  that  comes  from  Gloucester  County  by 
wagon  or  motor  truck  comes  through  Westville  to  get 
to  Gloucester  or  Camden  ferries,  and  there  is  no  road 
so  good  that  the  truck  could  be  run  at  a  speed  of  20 
miles  per  hour  more  than  half  the  distance  he  would 
have  to  go.  Ask  Trucker,  Jr.,  what  he  thinks  about  it? 
Westville,  N.  J.  E.  C.  P. 
HE  article  referred  to  (page  10GS)  was  not 
written  to  make  a  big  story  for  speed  of  auto 
trucks  nor  with  any  intention  to  put  one  over  on 
(he  readers  of  The  R.  N.-Y.  What  1  really  intend¬ 
ed  t  >  show  was  the  convenient  means  it  afforded  us 
for  getting  our  produce  to  market,  and  that  it  really 
brought  the  outlying  farming  sections  within  cart¬ 
ing  distance  of  Philadelphia. 
We  have  shipped  a  large  amount  of  produce  to 
Philadelphia  by  auto  truck,  but  thus  far  have  never 
made  the  trip  ourselves.  We  have  no  truck  of  our 
own.  Several  persons  here  make  a  business  of  haul¬ 
ing  produce  at  a  set  price  per  basket  (usually  8e) 
and  we  send  ours  that  way.  It  works  out  satis¬ 
factorily  to  both  parties. 
Before  writing  the  former  article  I  asked  a  coll¬ 
ide  of  our  local  truck  drivers  how  long  it  took  to 
make  a  round  trip  to  Philadelphia  from  here  (about 
25  miles)  when  everything  worked  well.  They  told 
me  four  hours,  and  I  stated  that  in  good  faith.  I 
also  timed  a  few  loads,  and  found  they  made  the 
trip  in  about  five  hours.  The  truck  load  of  toma¬ 
toes  referred  to  in  the  article  actually  made  the 
trip  in  the  time  stated.  That  particular  load  had 
about  125  baskets.  Other  loads  timed  had  from 
100  to  150  baskets.  I  did  not  see  any  of  the  big 
loads  E.  C.  P.  seems  to  assume  are  the  average. 
The  record  of  that  load  of  344  baskets  was  given 
in  a  clipping  embodied  in  my  article.  The  clipping 
was  taken  from  the  “Gloucester  County  Democrat,” 
and  I  have  every  reason  to  believe  the  statement  it 
contained  was  true.  But  I  would  not  assume  that 
every  load  would  he  so  large.  Fact  is  most  of  the 
trucks  here  are  built  for  light  loads  of  150  baskets, 
ZT/>e  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
or  thereabouts,  and  have  more  speed  than  the  heav¬ 
ier  trucks. 
Since  receiving  E.  C.  P.’s  letter  I  have  made  in¬ 
quiries  and  have  been  informed  by  other  truck 
drivers  that  while  it  is  possible  to  make  the  trip  to 
Philadelphia  and  back  in  four  hours  it  is  not  done 
on  the  average.  Most  of  them  consider  five  hours 
for  a  round  trip  very  good,  and  would  put  the  av¬ 
erage  at  about  six  hours.  T  refer  now  to  trucks 
hauling  about  150  baskets.  Those  carrying  300  or 
more  would  he  longer  on  the  road.  I  'am  also  in¬ 
formed  that  when  they  desire  to  make  a  quick  trip 
they  do  not  patronize  the  Gloucester  ferry.  They 
go  to  Camden  and  cross  from  there  and  are  thus 
able  to  make  better  time  with  less  delay  from 
wagons. 
The  more  I  think  of  it  the  more  I  am  convinced 
that  the  auto  truck  is  destined  to  work  a  great  eco¬ 
nomic  change  here  in  South  Jersey.  Outlying  farms 
are  going  to  become  more  valuable,  and  will  be 
brought  to  a  higher  state  of  production.  Many 
illustrations  could  he  given  showing  just  how  farm¬ 
ers  are  being  benefited  financially  by  having  motor 
truck  service.  One  will  suffice.  Last  week  our 
Lima  beans  in  our  local  market  (Chester,  Pa.)  sold 
for  75c  to  SOe  a  basket.  The  freight  to  Chester  by 
boat  is  2c  per  basket.  In  Philadelphia  they  sold  for 
$1.10  straight.  The  freight  to  Philadelphia  by  motor 
truck  was  8e.  The  difference  in  net  returns  is  our 
profit  from  motor  truck  service.  trucker,  jr. 
Improving  Heavy  Clay  Soil 
My  garden  is  heavy  clay  soil,  and  quite  low.  It  is 
very  fertile,  but  hard  to  work,  packs  down  hard  and 
cracks  open  in  dry  weather.  What  would  be  the  best 
way  to  improve  this  condition?  Would  filling  in  with 
sand  and  mixing  with  the  clay  be  satisfactory? 
Geuverneur,  N.  Y.  M.  A. 
HERE  are  three  principal  methods  of  improv¬ 
ing  the  texture  of  such  hard  clays — the  use  of 
sand,  lime  or  organic  matter.  In  some  cases  sand 
of  medium  coarseness  is  spread  on  the  clay,  and 
either  plowed  or  harrowed  in.  We  have  known  coal 
ashes  to  serve  this  purpose  well.  The  sand  mixes 
with  the  clay  and  thus  improves  its  texture  by  open¬ 
ing  it  so  as  to  admit  water  and  air  more  freely.  A 
dressing  of  slaked  lime  worked  into  the  clay  will 
act  to  break  it  up  and  make  the  soil  particles  coars¬ 
er.  The  familiar  illustration  of  this  work  is  to  find 
a  mud  puddle  full  of  yellow  water  and  scatter  lime 
into  it.  After  a  time  the  water  clears  and  changes 
its  color.  It  was  “muddy"  because  full  of  very 
small  particles  of  clay — so  small  that  instead  of 
sinking  to  the  bottom  they  floated  for  a  time  and 
thus  colored  the  water.  The  addition  of  lime  caused 
these  fine  particles  to  “flocculate,”  that  is.  unite  to 
form  larger  and  heavier  particles.  These  would 
not  float  as  the  smaller  ones  had  done,  so  they  fell 
to  the  bottom  and  cleared  the  water.  In  much  the 
same  way  the  lime  works  in  the  soil,  combining  the 
particles  of  clay,  and  thus  making  them  larger  so 
that  the  soil  becomes  more  porous  and  admits  water 
and  air.  Throw  lime  into  clay  used  for  brick  mak¬ 
ing  and  the  bricks  would  not  bake  solid,  but  would 
come  out  brittle  and  porous.  Thus  after  plowing 
lime  may  be  put.  on  the  furrows  and  harrowed  in. 
We  have  known  of  cases  where  a  heavy  clay  soil 
was  plowed  when  too  wet.  Then  came  hot,  dry 
1175 
weather  and  the  clods  baked  into  bricks  so  hard  and 
tough  that  they  could  hardly  be  fined  with  ordinary 
farm  tools.  In  such  eases  a  ton  of  slaked  lime  was 
spread  over  the  field  just  before  a  gentle  rain.  In 
a  week  these  hard  chunks  fell  apart  and  could  be 
smashed  with  a  drag  or  disk.  In  addition  to  the 
lime  such  soils  shoulil  be  well  filled  with  organic 
matter  or  humus.  This  holds  the  soil  open,  en¬ 
ables  it  to  retain  water  and  air,  while  the  chemical 
action  of  the  decaying  organic  matter  helps  break 
up  and  fine  the  soil.  Heavy  dressings  of  Stable  ma¬ 
nure  should  be  used  if  possible,  and  a  full  system 
of  cover  crops  worked  out.  The  soil  should  never  be 
left  bare,  but  some  living  crop  should  be  left  in  it 
at  all  times,  and  every  vine  or  blade  worked  into 
the  soil. 
Tricks  of  the  Poultry  Trade 
WE  have  told  a  few  of  the  poultry  tricks  played 
in  this  City,  but  the  list  has  hardly  been 
started.  Here  is  one  report  of  an  eye  witness: 
While  waiting  for  an  8th  Avenue  car  T  saw  the  rea¬ 
son  why  farmers  complain  commission  men  return  for 
less  than  they  shipped.  A  little  ruffian  jumped  on  the 
hack  of  one  of  these  huckster's  wagons,  only  he  had 
it  filled  with  crates  of  live  poultry.  Some  one  called 
to  the  driver  that  there  was  “a  hitch  behind.”  He 
turned  and  yelled  to  the  little  fellow  to  get  off.  That 
j  oungster  deliberately  pulled  a  hen  out  of  the  crate 
and  jumped  off,  and  ran  for  all  he  was  worth  across 
8th  Avenue  and  down  through  2!)th  Street.  And  he 
was  not  more  than  12  years  old,  I  should  judge. 
A  recent  issue  of  the  N.  Y.  Evening  Sun  con¬ 
tained  the  following  letter: 
Who  Ate  These  Chickens  ? 
My  attention  was  attracted  to  an  odd  proceeding  yes¬ 
terday  morning.  I  was  crossing  Desbrosses  Street 
ferry  from  Jersey  City  in  a  car.  Right,  alongside  of  us 
was  a  huge  motor  truck  loaded  with  crates  of  live  chick¬ 
ens.  The  driver  loosened  a  slat  oa  a  crate,  and,  to  our 
surprise,  pulled  out  a  chicken  which  lie  huddled  into  a 
long,  narrow  box  underneath  the  truck  between  the  two 
rear  wheels.  The  crate  was  nailed  up  and  another  one 
tackled,  and  so  on  till  one  bird  apiece  had  been  confis¬ 
cated  from  eight  or  10  crates.  Then  they  were  nailed 
in  securely  in  their  new  more-suffocating  home  What 
think  you  was  to  be  their  fate?  r.  b.  m. 
They  made  chicken  pie  a  little  later.  This  is  a 
little  side  graft  about  as  common  as  house-flies  in 
New  York.  Under  the  present  system  of  sale  and 
distribution  everyone  in  the  business,  from  the  office 
boy  up  to  the  boss,  is  looking  for  graft  in  some  form. 
It  all  goes  to  show  the  fearful  size  of  the  job  of 
trying  to  clean  house. 
The  Gasoline  Hired  Man 
E  have  bad  many  notes  about  the  “strong- 
arm”  or  gasoline  hired  man.  It  mounts  var¬ 
ious  kinds  of  farm  machinery,  reaches  out  a  pow¬ 
erful  hand  and  runs  the  working  parts.  This  leaves 
the  weight  of  the  machinery  for  the  horses  to  han¬ 
dle.  This  little  engine  has  been  mounted  on  grain¬ 
harvesting  machinery  for  some  years — doing  suc¬ 
cessful  work.  Now  it  is  operating  potato  diggers. 
The  picture  at  Fig.  475  shows  a  couple  of  Iron  Age 
diggers  on  Seabrook  Irrigation  Farm,  Bridgeton,  N.  J. 
Two  horses  can  handle  these  diggers  because  the  little 
engine  is  able  to  run  the  working  parts,  pull  out  tlie 
vines,  throw  out  the  stones  and  lift  and  shake  the 
potatoes  free.  But  for  this  “strong-arm”  all  (his  work 
would  be  put  upon  the  horses,  and  in  many.  hard. 
j 
Potato  Diggers  with  Working  Parts  Run  by  Gasoline  Engine.  Fig.  475 
