642 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Hoplomhpr 12 
Two Sides To the Story. 
ThP qupstinn has two sides to it. In the first place 
if hp has neighbors so he can change in hauling milk 
or can get his milk hauled to factory without much 
expense take slock. On the other side, living three 
miles from factory and having to haul my own milk 
myself, taking my own team off the farm every fore¬ 
noon. 1 should buy a hand separator and make my 
own butter. This would be my advice for a small 
dairy. If he had a large dairy he could get enough 
more out of his milk to pay him to draw it, but with 
a small dairy he cannot get enough more to pay him 
foV his time in hauling. Each man must be a judge 
of his own conditions, if my family was well and 
could keep only eight or 10 cows I should buy a hand 
separator before ! would drive six miles every fore¬ 
noon to factory, as time is money. \\m. iic.nt. 
Pennsylvania. 
Diversified Farming Best. 
1 take it for granted that the one asking this ques¬ 
tion is a beginner. In the matter of the farmer with 
a dairy of eight cows joining and patronizing a co¬ 
operative creamery three miles distant, having no 
other business calling him in that direction, 1 should 
consider making seven trips per week over country 
roads (none too good at their best), in all kinds of 
weather the year round, taking a quarter of a day for 
each trip for a man and team, or even one horse, 
would cost or $(1 weekly. Add to this $4 per head 
for eight cows, and it makes a sum of over $300 for 
one year. In this case 1 should say it would not pay 
me. but should I have a large dairy I would indorse 
the cooperative creamery plan by all means. However, 
as a rule, butter made from a small dairy cannot be 
made as profitably, neither will it command as high 
a price, so after looking at the matter from every 
I'oint of view, the inconvenience and expense of haul¬ 
ing to creamery and the prices one would be com- 
pelled to take for butter, were I the farmer 1 should 
try diversified farming. I should make up a stock 
something like this; seven good cows, 10 good ewes. 
(wo good breeding sows, 50 hens and all the calves 
I could profitably fatten. I should feed pure milk to 
calves at first, and all the time if veal brought a good 
price, unless butter was high. Make all the fertilizer 
possible by the use of sawdust, straw and Autumn 
leaves. By this method one retains all the fertility 
from the production of the farm, and in 10 years’ 
time the farm will have produced double and the 
farm will be doubled in value. I should read Thk 
U. N.-Y. before the New York daily paper, and at¬ 
tend all the farmers’ institutes within reach. 
Koxbury. N. Y. _ 
CHEMICALS WITH STABLE MANURE. 
A short time ago an article appeared in a gardenin.v 
imblication to the effect that if anyone used a handful 
each of kainit and acid phosphate on the droppings of 
either a cow or horse for each day, it would con.serve 
the ammonia and double the value of the manure. Tt 
said it would amount to using about 400 pounds to each 
2,000 pounds of manure. The value or cost of 2,000 pounds 
of manure here is about $.i. If we add 400 pounds kainit 
and acid phosphate to it we add in value about $.3.50 to 
$4 in cost. -The <iuestion is. then, will the whole 2.400 
pounds be worth $1.3..50 or $14, that is, double the manure. 
$10 plus the cost of the two ingredients? T wish to do 
something to make horse manure more effective, and to 
stop its heating if po.ssiblc. 
Wellesley, Mass. 
l.et, US see what we have in the mixture; 
E. J. S. 
2,000 i)Ounds manure . 
200 “ kainit . 
200 “ acid phosphate 
Total . 
Nitro¬ 
gen. 
..10 
10 
Ph’os. 
acfd. 
0 
2S 
34 
Pot- 
ash. 
13 
25 
33 
The addition of the chemicals helps the manure 
111 
two ways. The kainit and phosphate both act to 
save or hold the ammonia. When manure begins to 
ferment ammonia ajipears in a form liable to escape 
into the air, and thus be lost, unless substances are 
liresent to make a new combination with it. As this 
ammonia contains the nitrogen, or most valuable part 
of the manure, it means a great loss to let it pass 
away. When the ammonia meets these chemicals a 
change occurs, and the ammonia takes the form of a 
solid instead of passing off as a gas. Besides doing 
this the kainit and phosphate add potash and phos¬ 
phoric acid to the manure, and give it a better ’‘bal¬ 
ance.” that is a better iiroporlion between these ele¬ 
ments and the nitrogen. Manure is valuable chieflv 
for the nitrogen which it furnishes. It is not always 
the most economical form in which to bny plant food, 
because many plants on average soils require more 
potash and phosphoric acid than nitrogen in order 
to make a full growth. On the average with high cul¬ 
ture for garden crops it seems good practice to use a 
mixture containing three times as much phosphoric 
acid and at least twice as much potash as of nitrogen. 
You will see from the composition of manure that it 
contains less phosphoric acid than nitrogen, and in 
order to provide enough of the former in manure we 
must use far more of the nitrogen lhan would be re¬ 
quired. Much the same is also true of the potash. 
You will see that by adding the kainit and acid pros- 
phate, neither of which contain nitrogen, you obtain 
a better “balance” between the three elements of 
plant food, and have a more economical mixture. A 
fair commercial value of plant food is obtained by 
figuring the nitrogen at 16 cents a iiound and the pot- 
?sh and phosphoric acid at 414 cents. These figures 
represent about what such plant food costs when 
bought in the form of chemical fertilizers. On this 
basis your ton of manure is worth $2.45 and your 
2,400 pounds with the kainit and acid phosphate added 
will be worth $4.84. Your figures are wrong in as¬ 
suming that the chemicals double the value of the 
manure. How can that be when they add nothing to 
it except the potash and the phosphoric acid which 
they contain? They cannot possibly add any nitro¬ 
gen. All they do is to prevent the escape of some of 
the nitrogen in the manure, but they can add noth¬ 
ing to it. The price you pay for manure ($5 per ton) 
is twice its actual value as plant food. The manure 
has other values besides the actual iilant food which 
the chemist or the plant finds, but $5 per ton is too 
much to pay for it. and by using the chemicals you 
will be able to get along with less manure, because 
the manure is the most expensive form in which to 
buy jiotash or phosphoric acid. 
TALKS ABOUT BUILDING. 
Concrete for a Poultry House. 
I cDiiteinplate building a poultry house of concrete, 
fail get I’orlland cement for $3.75 a bai'rel atifl the 
Louisville at $1.50. Would the latter give .satisfaction? 
In what proportion must 1 mix the cement, sand and 
HIPPEASTRUM AULICUM. Fig. 243. Sek Rcuai.isms, Page 64C. 
gi-avel? How thick should T build the walls, which will 
be about six feet high? I have an abundance of sand and 
creek gravel one-quarter mile distant. b. c. b. 
Missouri. 
You should buy “Portland” cement at less than 
$3.75 per barrel. ’Phis may be imported, which will 
cost more, but is really no better. The American 
brands are selling from $2 to $2.25 per barrel, accord¬ 
ing to amount purchased. The “Louisville” is no 
doubt a local brand of cheaper cement. The price in 
the East upon cheaper grades other than Portland 
ranges from 65 cents to $1 per barrel. They are for 
under-surface work often as good. For a building I 
should use only Portland. The gravel if free from 
dirt, that is water washed, mixed about one part ce¬ 
ment to six of gravel, will make a good wall and no 
sand will be necessary. Six inches thick will be strong 
enough or perhaps better still begin a seven-inch wall 
at the surface of the ground and taper gradually to 
five inches on top. The depth of foundation will de¬ 
pend upon the character of the soil; the builder will 
know. A 4x4 scantling may be bedded into the top of 
the wall while still soft, which will serve as a plate 
to which the roof may be attached. I should also set 
the window frames while the cement is soft. Build a 
form tight enough so that the mixture will not leak 
out and raise it as fast as the concrete hardens. The 
only secret in work of this kind is to be sure that the 
cement and gravel or sand when used is thoroughly 
mixed. Cement must come in contact with every par¬ 
ticle of gravel or sand in order to form a complete 
union. 1 should in a cold climate build an air cham¬ 
ber in the wall, but in your State the temperature 
may not go low enough to make it necessary. Twist¬ 
ed wire is kept especially for use in binding concrete 
walls together, epabling one to build a very thiq dou¬ 
ble wall having great strength with a rainiramn 
amount of concrete. These walls are cheaper, when 
made of equal sustaining power, than brick. I think 
it will be necessary to have a good system of ventila¬ 
tion, perhaps by opening the windows or a tube run¬ 
ning from fioor out through the roof. These cement 
walls will be absolutely airtight and the house, if not 
so provided, will be very damp. ii. e. <■. 
Refrigerator and Butter Room. 
I want to build an ice house and refrigerator and. if 
pns.sible in same building, have a room for churning and 
place for separator and butter worker. I know nothing 
about constructing such things, and any advice or in¬ 
struction you can give me would be thankfully received, 
Northport. Afich. i>. h. s. 
If the capacity was given we could more accurately 
figure. I should build in the form of a parallelogram, 
flooring only that part used for churning, etc. The 
end used for ice .should, of course, have good drainage. 
In one end or corner of the butter room next to the 
ice house partition off a refrigerator of the size de- 
.sired, building not less than three air chambers, us¬ 
ing matched boards and paper. The top and bottom 
should also be insulated. An air space of one inch 
will be sufficient. Make door in the same manner, 
and have it a trifle smaller on the inside so it will 
shut very tight. Put an ice box fastener for closing 
it that will open from either side. In one end nexi 
to the ceiling build a slat box with a galvanized iron 
drip, full size of bottom inclined and connected with 
a pipe or tile to carry off waste. Have this open into 
the ice house with doors that may he closed tightly 
through which ice may he quickly and easily pa.ssed. 
This forms the cheapest and most easily handled re¬ 
frigerator possible to build. A temperature of 40 de¬ 
grees Fahrenheit is easily maintained. If you desire 
to carry a freezing temperature put in a galvanized 
tube one foot in diameter for a room eight feet square 
and eight to nine feet high or this equivalent of air 
space, huild of heavy iron and have it open on a floor 
above where space and conveniences are at hand for 
breaking the ice. Coarse cheap salt is easily mixed 
with the ice and shoveled into this tube. This will 
require extra time and expense but will reduce (Ip- 
temperature rapidly. If one is desirous of w'orking 
the butter in a low temperature this room can he en¬ 
larged and worker lun in it. The whole building 
should be two stories. This provides a deep place 
for ice and a store room above the butter room for 
tubs and anything else for which a clean dry room 
is required. Did I know the amount of work to be 
done I would make a diagram and scale, but no doubt 
1). H. S. can easily figure it out. ir. e. c. 
NOTES ON WELL DRILLINO. 
I li.'ivo .seen a spring pole used in prospecting for coal 
in West Virginia with which they drilled 100 feet or more, 
I believe they call it "kicking a well." Could this he 
used for driving a well by anyone who could not afford 
to spend $100 or $150 for a driven well? ‘ r. p. i,. 
Ktist Setituket, N, V. 
Unless you have certain necessary tools such as an 
inch rope as long as well is to he deep, a drill and 
sand bucket you cannot drill a well with a “spring 
pole.” A drill with a six-inch bit will cost at the very 
least $25. A “sand pump” or "bucket” with the rope 
will probably cost at least $15. If you drill in .soil 
instead of rock it is necessary to case the well with 
iron pipe from four to six inches in diameter, and un¬ 
less you drill a hole at least tw’o inches larger than 
the pipe it will be exceedingly difficult to drive the 
casing without a derrick or special apparatus. In us¬ 
ing a hand apparatus it will require vastly more labor 
and time to drill a well six inches in diameter than 
one smaller. You might be able to drill through a 
soft shale or a crumbly sandstone; I wou'ld hardly 
dare attempt a harder rock; in fact, .some kinds of soil 
are harder to drill than rock, and the drill might get 
fast in a sand bed and require much power to pull 
it out. A fair price for a machine-drilled well less 
than 200 feet deep is $1 per foot of cased well. You 
ought to get inch galvanized iron pipe at eight cents 
per foot, and your pump would not cost over $5. Or. 
if you are familiar with well-drilling methods, have 
plenty of time and ambition, are willing to risk the 
usual accidents, and your soil is of the right character 
to drill easily you can drill a well with a “spring 
pole.” As I know nothing of your soil I cannot say 
whether you could drill a deep well or not. Of course 
the deeper the well the slower the work; barring acci¬ 
dents you would average drilling from three to eight 
or 10 feet per day. 
If you are sure of finding enough water at less than 
30 feet why not buy inch galvanized or wrought iron 
pipe, fit the end with a steel-pointed perforated cap 
and “drive” a well? A suction pump can be attached 
at frequent intervals in order to find when enougli 
water is reached. The “spring pole” method is used 
in places difficult of access by machinery, or by small 
operators or farmers in western Pennsylvania, Ohio 
and West Virginia in the soft coal regions, where ii 
ia only necessary to drill through h shallow depth of 
