October 10 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
7o6 
catch than where no such manure was used. It is 
thought that the bacteria which work on Sweet clover 
are much the same as those on Alfalfa. That being 
so a farmer could dig up the soil around such clover 
plants and use it to inoculate Alfalfa fields. All 
this shows what wonderful progress agricultural sci¬ 
ence is making. ___________ 
ALFALFA IN APPLE ORCHARD. 
L. H. Knapp, of Syracuse, N. Y., has a 14-year-old 
apple orchard in Alfalfa. The trees are models of 
thrift and business-like shape—in fact this orchard is 
noted throughout centi’al New York. It may well be 
a model orchard, for Mr. Knapp has watched and 
tended it with more care than many farmers give 
to their children. The branches are trained up with 
a spreading habit, which opens the tree to the air 
and sun. Many of the trees were partly girdled by 
mice, and Mr. Knapp has shown great skill in bridge 
grafting. The most remarkable feature of the Oi-- 
chard is the thick sod of Alfalfa, which is cut three 
times during the season and hauled to the barn for 
hay. The manure resulting from, feeding it is hauled 
back and spread around the trees, and under this 
system the orchard has made a wonderful growth. 
It must not be thought that the Alfalfa was seeded 
when the trees were planted. For eight or 10 years 
the orchard was plowed and planted to crops like 
corn, beans or potatoes, which require thorough cul¬ 
tivation. It was then seeded to Alfalfa, and since 
then the practice has been to remove the Alfalfa hay. 
feed it and bring back the manure. Mr. Knapp con¬ 
siders this, for him, a more reasonable plan than the 
Hitchings method of leaving all grass to rot on the 
ground. The chances are that if the Alfalfa were 
seeded when the young trees were planted the lattei^ 
would be stunted and fail. The older trees stand 
it because their roots are deeper, and the manure gives 
them both mulch and food. There is a large barn 
on Mr. Knapp’s farm. We thought at first that it 
was a relic of old days when sheep or cattle were fed 
on the place. On some fruit farms in central New 
York these great barns are to be seen—empty. Years 
ago these farms kept a large number of live stock. 
Now. having been given up to fruit the barns stand 
idle. This was not the case with Mr. Knapp’s barn, 
for it was built to hold the Alfalfa which is cut in 
the apple orchard. We never before heard of a cast 
where the hay crop from an apple orchard has foiced 
a farmer to build a barn. Mr. Knapp was quite em¬ 
phatic in saying that many failures with Alfalfa were 
due to a lack of bacteria in the soil. He believes 
that it will pay well to inoculate by adding soil from 
a field where Alfalfa succeeds. 
IMPROVING A COUNTRY ROAD. 
Much intcre.st is taken in the article by Elmer G. Tuft.s 
which was ])rintecl on page 657. A number of fpiCslions 
h:!V(' been asked, which Mr. Tufts answers below: 
The crusher used in our township is a Gates, and 
cost $1,100. The township does not own its own 
power, but hires an engine that is used to run a 
thrasher. The cost of the engine is usually $5 per 
<lay of 10 hours, which includes coal and the cost of 
hauling water. The first cost of this crusher is more 
than the others tried, but in our county, at least, it 
has done better and more work, and at the same time 
requires less repairing and has lasted better. This 
crusher is mounted on wheels and is moved either 
with the engine or four or six horses, from one place 
to another as the road is made. Thus the stone is 
hauled the shortest distance possible, which helps to 
decrease the cost of the road. It is also moved to dif¬ 
ferent parts of the township each year. Blue lime¬ 
stone is used. Some is surface stone, being picked 
up from the surface of the soil or from large piles in 
the hollows of fence corners, where it had been 
thrown in former years. This is softer, and does not 
make as good a road, as it does not wear as well as 
stones that are quarried. Some of the stone used 
would make the best of building material. 
The stones used are of different sizes. Those picked 
from the field are usually small flat ones from one to 
three inches thick and from four inches to a foot or 
more square. The other stones are thicker and heav¬ 
ier. The stones are broken up in pieces so that they 
can be fed into a crusher. The crusher will take a 
stone from the smallest to one about six inches thick, 
10 inches wide and any length. The finer they are 
broken before put into the crusher the faster they will 
be crushed. The stones are crushed so that the largest 
will pass through a two-inch ring. They should be 
so crushed that there will be a large amount of very 
fine stone and dust, which is mixed all through the 
crushed stone and cements the stone together when 
on the road. The stones are never screened, but put 
on the road just as they come from the crusher. 
This road, which is seven m.iles in length, including 
by-roads, is made on a yellow sticky clay soil. The 
road as said before was graded in the Spring, making 
a well-rounded crown, and by FaU tLo road bed has 
been worn smooth and hard. Upon this surface the 
crushed stones are put. After each load, which holds 
VA perch is dumped, it will be about 20 inches deep 
in the center and about 15i/^ feet wide. After it has 
been traveled over, packed down and cemented to¬ 
gether the stone will be about eight feet wide and six 
to eight inches deep at the crown, and slopes gradu¬ 
ally each way. The tax alone will not build and main¬ 
tain good roads. The farmers and city merchants 
must donate, and donate liberally for this cause. 
Indiana. elmeh g. tuets. 
CEMENT STONES FOR BUILDING. 
Comparatively inexpensive machines have been 
produced which, when used by even the ordinary 
laborer, can produce cement stone of varying sizes 
at a cost of 15 to 60 per cent less than kiln-run 
brick, and in the East at the same cost as lumber. 
A CJOOD WHITE LEGHORN PULLET. Fig 265. 
The stone can be made to resemble cut stone, thus 
giving aji added beauty to the building. Three hun¬ 
dred pounds of cement and one yard of gravel will 
make about 37 stones 8x10x20 at a cost of 10 cents 
each, $3.70. even estimating your labor at $1.50 pet- 
day, which will take the place of 800 brick at a cost 
of $8 per thousand, $6.40. Any farmer can make 
them. It costs less to lay these stones than it does 
brick or stone. The inside of the wall can be plas¬ 
tered with a thin coat of cement, thus making the 
wall and floor one unit. It, therefore, must be abso¬ 
lutely airtight. Cement stones do not decay, will 
endure for generations, are impervious to moisture, 
are cheaper than any other building material save 
lumber, and taking into consideration their enduring 
qualities are even cheaper than lumber, and can be 
made by any ordinary farm laborer. The building 
does not require painting, wdiich is *a saving in ori¬ 
ginal construction and maintenance. The use of ce¬ 
ment stone for building purposes is no experiment, 
as many large factories, power houses, cold-storage 
plants, and residences have been erected of cement 
BUILDING STONES OF CEMENT. Fig. 266. 
stone. The dairy building at the Toronto Industrial 
Exposition, Toronto, Canada, is constructed of Port¬ 
land cement stone, and is highly recommended by 
the Canadian Commissioner of Agriculture. 
The composition is usually six parts sand and one 
part cement. Secure good, sharp gravel, which con¬ 
tains a small amount of sand. Do not screen. Do 
not use sand or gravel that has any surface dirt, 
hardpan or clay or any particles of decayed wmod or 
other foreign substance. For an economical founda¬ 
tion wall, the by-products of a stone quarry, or even 
cinders or refuse from mines may be used. This 
means a source of revenue where before the disposal 
of this waste w-as an expense. Place 60 shovelfuls 
of sand and gravel upon a platform, spreading it out 
three or four inches thick, and then spread over it 
100 pounds of Portland cement. Mix thoroughly by 
shoveling to the center, making a ridge six or seven 
feet long and twm feet wide. Rake it down, and shovel 
it as before, and by handling it two or three times 
it wil be wmll mixed. If it does not show a good even 
color, give it another turn, for much depends upon 
getting the cement evenly distributed. Hollow out 
the top and put on water enough to moisten it thor¬ 
oughly. Then shovel as before. It should have w-ater 
enough to give it the appearance of freshly-dug earth. 
The mixture is now ready for the cement stone ma¬ 
chine. There are several machines upon the market, 
covered by different patents, operated by various de¬ 
vices, some molds w-hich are hand tamped, and others 
by pressure, making the blocks either hollow or 
solid. The hollow blocks are advocated for the venti¬ 
lation throughout the entire wall, making it warmer 
in Winter and cooler in Summer, and reducing the 
cost of manufacture. Some face the stone with a mix¬ 
ture of tw'o parks sand and one part cement, thus 
making an extra strong concrete, greatly adding to 
the beauty and increasing the impervinusness to 
moisture. Samples of the stone are shown in Fig. 
266. The stones are removed from the machines upon 
wooden pellets and placed in the shade and out of the 
w-ind and allowed to cure. Each day they are given 
all the w'ater they will hold. This is continued for 
10 or 15 days, when they are ready for use. By vari¬ 
ous pigments, they resemble brown and other stone. 
M. F. c, 
DRILLED OR DRIVEN WELL? 
Lacking water on my place, lam desirous of obtaining 
an ample and unfailing supply at the least expense. I 
am predisposed to a driven well, but doubt that the 
topographical and soil conditions are favorable to the 
successful driving of a well. I am located on the shores 
of a lake 65 or 70 feet above the surface of the water. In 
the past, several unsuccessful attempts have been made 
to dig a well; but the soil, being drift sand and gravel, 
with some quicksand, would cave in before the sides 
could be stoned up. There are no ledges or rocks what¬ 
ever in the soil. Under the conditions which exist, would 
a driven well be practicable? Could it be made to lift, 
by any method or device now employed, the water the 
required height, say 70 feet? If the ordinary driven well 
is impossible., or impracticable, would a drilled well pro¬ 
vide a supply? If one or the other, or both, are practi¬ 
cable, describe, in detail, the methods and materials used 
in putting them down and the (probable) comparative 
cost. R- R- L. 
Massachusetts. 
A shaft for a mine or a dug well, can be sunk in 
any kind of soil provided the sides are suitably sup¬ 
ported to prevent a cave-in. This is expfnsive, and a 
job for an engineer or a well-digger of more than the 
usual experience. It can be done, however, if expense 
is not thought of. Owing to mechanical imperfections 
the power of the ordinary suction pump is limited to 
28 feet. However, water may be raised from a well 
70 feet deep provided the water pressure is sufficient 
to raise the water to within 28 feet of the top. If the 
lake shore is a steep bluff, and your well is near it, I 
would hardly advise a driven well unless you know 
at what depth you can find a water supply. If the 
well is back several hundred feet from the shore and 
the land slopes gently to the lake your chances of 
getting a supply from a driven well are favorable. At 
the best only a limited supply can be obtained from 
a driven well, enough, however, for ordinary farm use. 
Without knowing more definitely about the nature of 
the case, and whether there are higher hills farther 
• back from the lake that would tend to make a porous 
reservoir of your land, in which case it will be filled 
with water percolating to the lake, I cannot advise 
definitely. After having studied the chances of an 
available supply you can decide whether a driven well 
will suffice. Such galvanized pipe provided with a steel 
pointed perforated cap ought to be got in convenient 
lengths for eight cents per foot. A suction pump can 
be had for $1.50 or $3. In such land as yours it could 
be easily driven by a man. The pipe could be easily 
withdrawn if you failed to find water, and another 
locality chosen. A driven well is always a success in 
porous alluvial soil where the water-bearing stratum 
is within a few feet of the surface. I doubt whether 
you could get force enough to drive a pipe to so great 
a depth without “buckling” the pipe, in which case it 
would be useless. A drilled well is more expensive 
and more certain. With it you are certain of striking 
water, and you may not have to go to the lake level. 
To drill a well requires an engine and drilling ma¬ 
chine, and there should be one in your vicinity. The 
probable cost for a well less than 100 feet deep with 
five-inch casing will be not over $1.50 per foot; it 
ought to be less. In this casing a pump and pipe will 
have to be placed at additional expense. You could try 
driving a well; if unsuccessful, pull out the pipe and 
use it inside a drilled well. If labor is cheap and you 
can get an experienced man you might drill a well 
with a spring pole. I cannot here describe the latter 
method, nor will I advise it, as a drill might easily 
get stuck in the quicksand and lost before it could 
be drawn out. 
Ithaca, N. Y. _ 
LIME AND SUI-PHUR WASH —I have had some ex¬ 
perience with lime-.sulphur-sait mixture hoiled togcin 
for two hours, and find it very effective for ®un 
scale and a certain exterminator of all fungus 
have never used potash to boil it with, but I do not 
lieve it would bring nearly as good results, for the 
that the composition must be thoroughly boilea 
two hours to make it effective. T do not condemn i 
potash method, but have v'ery little confidence m 
Pennsylvania. T. h. lEDT. 
