398 
•Tune 9 
The instructor had a collection of our most common 
fertilizer chemicals in bottles, and asked the students 
to pick out the different fertilizers by examining 
them. In this they showed more skill than many 
farmers, who are using large quantities of fertilizers 
every year, would have displayed. Many of the boys 
come from the dependent classes of the larger cities, 
and have no conceptions regarding practical agricul¬ 
ture. Some have had little previous school training. 
In such cases the boys are generally admitted at the 
age of 12 to 14 years, and are given one or two years’ 
training in what is aptly called the “forging class,” 
before they are fitted to take up the work of the 
regular course. This being the formulated period in 
the boys’ development, by proper training his in¬ 
clinations are readily turned towards agriculture. 
The institution has had a marked effect in improv¬ 
ing the agriculture of the whole region. At first sus¬ 
picion and opposition was manifested by many farm¬ 
ers, but this soon gave way, and only general praise 
is now heard. The respect of the older class of 
farmers was won largely through the fine exhibits 
of products that have been made for several years at 
the local county fair. Nearly all of the prizes for the 
past two years have been awarded on products from 
the school. Diplomas were also awarded at the an¬ 
nual fair of the Hebrew Literature Society of Phila 
delphia. The school is too young as yet to expect 
great results from her graduates. At first most of 
the students were from the families of Woodbine, and 
these are in many cases either working upon their 
parents’ farms, or as mechanics in the town. Two 
graduates have taken full college courses, and are 
now holding important positions. Several are filling 
positions as assistants or foremen on farms, or as 
florists and gardeners. While the institution is open 
to all classes, it is doing an increasing amount of 
charitable work. It is destined to make a self-sup¬ 
porting and producing class out of an element in our 
body politic, which might otherwise tend to increase 
the numbers in the dependent classes of our over¬ 
burdened cities. c. s. phelps. 
A COUNTRY DIRT ROAD. 
How to Build It; Machinery. 
We are having a discussion In our county about good 
roads. I have advocated the use of a road machine and 
heavy steam roller, as most of our roads will, of necessity, 
be dirt roads for a good many years to come, but I have 
never had any practical experience with the road ma¬ 
chine or steam roller. So I want the opinion of practical 
men who have used one or both of these tools. What 
do they cost, and what is the average cost of dirt roads 
constructed with them? The following is our road prob¬ 
lem in this county: Our soil is a light one, with a large 
proportion of sand, in places underlaid with a loose yellow 
clay, with sandstone a few feet below, the sandstone 
cropping out in all the rough ground, and some places on 
the level. We have no limestone or granite except two 
small areas of the blue limestone. Some of the sand¬ 
stone is quite hard, some being slightly impregnated with 
iron, so stone roads are out of the question for us, ex¬ 
cept in some few favored localities. We are situated on 
the Cumberland Plateau, with the Crabb orchard range 
in the eastern part of the county. c. e. b. 
Crossvilie, Tenn. 
Road machines can be purchased from $175 up¬ 
ward, according to style and weight. Horse rollers, 
weighing two to five tons, cost about $100 per ton. 
Steam rollers are not desirable for country dirt roads. 
They generally weigh from 10 to 20 tons, and are too 
heavy. In practice we find a 314-ton roller, which can 
be weighted to 514 tons, to be the best for country 
roads. Four horses will draw such a roller, increas¬ 
ing the weight as the ground hardens. These two 
articles, with a common drag harrow, will form a 
good equipment for country earth roads. 
CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE—The pro¬ 
cess of improving a dirt road is this: First, go over 
the road with the road machine, adjusting it so as to 
take off the grass, weeds, leaves, loose stones, etc. 
Then cart this to some dump; do not leave any on 
the road surface. The stones might be separated to 
fill up deep holes or washes. Then with the machine 
draw the earth to center of road, so as to form a 
crown. If there are still loose stones, or grass sods, 
leaves, sticks, etc., found mixed with the earth, use a 
common steel-tooth harrow to draw them in piles, 
and this harrowing will also mix the earth, sand and 
clay. Having got rid of loose stones and trash, then 
put on the roller, and roll until the surface is hard 
and firm, increasing the weight as the rolling pro¬ 
cess. The crown of the road depends upon the 
grades and width. On level, or nearly so, one-half to 
three-quarters of an inch fall to every running foot 
from center of road to side ditches; on grades in¬ 
crease the fall, so as to have it greater, if possible, 
than the grade of the road longitudinally. This is 
necessary to cause the storm water to flow off the 
roadbed to the side ditches, and does away with 
crossways or water breaks, excepting on grades of 
10 feet rise in the 100 feet of length. As water is 
'IIE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
■ 
the destroyer of roadbeds, it is very important to keep 
the road at all times well crowned up, and hard as 
possible. This cannot be done well without a road 
machine and roller. The side open ditches should be 
deep and wide enough to carry off all storm water, 
and kept at a grade so as to carry off all the water. 
No water should be allowed to remain in these 
ditches, as it will in a short time be likely to seep 
under the roadbed and soften it. 
DRAINAGE.—Tf the earth is light and sandy, it 
may have what is called natural drainage; that is, 
an open soil under the surface consisting of coarse 
sand or pebbles, or loose stones. If the earth should 
be found to be more compact and solid underneath the 
surface, then the storm water falling on the roadbed, 
which does not flow to the side ditches, will soak 
downward until it comes to the more compact earth. 
STUDENTS WEEDING ONIONS. Fiu. 120. 
where the voids in the earth are fewer than at the 
surface, and will remain there; the teams will work 
this into mud. In this case, artificial drainage is 
necessary. This is done by putting a drain in the 
center of the traveled roadway, or better two, about 
eight or 10 feet apart. Land drain tile is found to be 
the cheapest. The drains should be from two to 
three feet deep, with a grade of three inches fall to 
the 100 feet of length. It is better to discharge the 
water into side ditches about every 400 or 500 feet; 
three to four-inch common earthen drain tile will 
answer. If stones are plentiful, use them to fill up 
these ditches to near the top. Keep this fact in mind: 
drainage of storm water from the road differs from 
storm water land drainage in this respect—In land 
drainage only what is called superfluous water is 
carried off by drain tile; therefore, the tile are put 
in four feet deep and wide apart, so that storm water 
COW PEAS ON DE HIRSCH FARM. Fig. 121. 
is retained in the earth to nourish plant life, and all 
that is not necessary for this is carried off by drain¬ 
age. On roadbeds all water may be called super¬ 
fluous, and should be removed as quickly as possible, 
hence downward or direct drainage is the most effec¬ 
tive. 
SPRING OR UNDERGROUND WATER is that 
which comes to the roadbed from underground 
streams. Sometimes these have their rise at a con¬ 
siderable distance from the road, coming from land 
more elevated than the roadbed. Sometimes they are 
at the sides of the road and in the roadbed itself. 
When they come from the high lands along the road, 
or on the road side, a drain should be placed along 
the side of the road from which the water comes, and 
thus cut it off from the roadbed. When the springs 
start apparently from or in the roadbed, they can 
generally be cut off by a ditch cut nearer the source, 
as spring water flows along through a stratum the dip 
of which is found to run with the grade of the hill 
or land; we go up the hill or grade from the spring 
or wet place in the road, and cut off that which makes 
the wet or soft place in the roadbed, and run the 
drain to the side ditches or nearest natural waterway. 
In all cases the drain tile should be laid before the 
roadbed is improved, as first mentioned, and it should 
be done some time before, so as to allow for settling 
if earth which fills the ditches. When there is V 
good material for artificial covering for roadbed, and 
the cost is too great for their construction, the com¬ 
mon earth roads can be greatly improved as above 
indicated. The cost will depend upon the amount ot 
work to be done, and price of teams and labor. 
E. G. HARRISON, 
United States Special Agent and Road Expert. 
CRIMSON CLOVER HAY. 
On May 16 my Crimson clover field was just in full 
blossom—that is, the blossoms were nicely colored 
the full length of the head. The blossoms near base 
of head were just beginning to fade in color. That is 
just the stage of maturity that I want Crimson clover 
for hay. If left to stand even two or three days later, 
the stems begin to become tough and woody. It so 
happened that May 16 was a piping hot day—with 
mercury up to 78 degrees by 9.30 A. M., when we 
began cutting. We completed cutting just after noon, 
and at 3 P. M. started the tedder, and kept it busy 
until six o’clock. Next morning but little dew, and 
another ideal hay day, with good stiff breeze. Start¬ 
ed tedder at 8 A. M., and at 10 o’clock began raking 
into windrows—with several men to throw the rows 
into bunches. Began hauling to barn at one o’clock, 
just 24 hours after finishing the cutting. Result, a 
nice mow of splendid clover hay, green in color, leaves 
all on, and even some red still showing on the cured 
blossoms. I am now feeding this hay to four work 
horses, who leave their grain nearly every feeding 
until the Clover hay is consumed. In cooler or cloudy 
weather, more time would be required properly to 
cure the hay, but thorough exposure to the air by 
tedding, as soon as thoroughly wilted on top, greatly 
accelerates the curing process. 
The field in question bore a very heavy crop; so 
heavy, in fact, as to stop the mowing machine at 
times, and was so very thick that it would have taken 
many days to cure it without the tedding. I consider 
Crimson clover hay fully equal to that from Red 
clover, if cut in season and properly cured. I have 
some of the 1899 crop of Crimson clover hay still in 
my barn, and in excellent order, still carrying all the 
leaves, and perfectly sweet and bright. 
Dover, Del. __ _ _ e. g. Packard. 
WHITE SPOTS IN BUTTER. 
I. M. writes us that he had a Jersey heifer, the 
butter of which was injured by white spots, supposed 
to be due to minute clots of curd. The condition was 
remedied by giving, every night, one-half tablespoon¬ 
ful of cooking soda. We have submitted this to Pro¬ 
fessor Law, of the New York State Veterinary Col- 
lege, who says, if the white spots are really minute 
clots of curd, the explanation can be made on a purely 
chemical basis. The most common cause of clotting 
is the development of acid in the milk, and the pres¬ 
ence of an excess of salts of lime. The lime salts 
especially determine a firmness and insolubility in 
the coagulum. The giving of bicarbonate of soda in 
small doses tends to increase the secretion from the 
stomach, and thus to improve digestion, assimilation 
and secretion, including the condition of the milk. 
The increased secretion from the stomach implies a 
greater flow of hydrochloric acid, but in the presence 
of soda this is soon resolved into chloride of sodium, 
or common salt, which is no longer acid. The sur¬ 
plus soda salt circulating in the blood and secreted 
with the milk, to a certain extent bars the early for¬ 
mation of acid in the nulk and the resultant souring. 
Again, the soda has stronger chemical affinities than 
lime, ana tends to take to itself the acids that go to 
make up the salts of lime, and thus to diminish the 
amount of lime present in the milk, and the tendency 
to firm clotting. Even supposing the white spots 
should have been due to the growth of a ferment 
(bacterium), this must be a germ that finds its proper 
home in a sour (acid) medium, and the increase of 
the alkaline soda, by hindering souring, would for a 
time keep the medium in a condition in which such a 
germ fitted for acid media could not grow. 
Harrowing Oats.— It has been done quite a little this 
year to break a thick crust that was formed by heavy 
storms. But outside of some such unusual reason as 
that it is seldom done under irrigation. Where the at¬ 
tempt is made to grow grain under a small rainfall, with¬ 
out irrigation, harrowing is one of the most important 
parts of the whole operation, in order to keep ‘‘dust 
mulch” on top and save evaporation. 
Colorado. prof. w. w. cooke. 
