734 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
November 3 
ADVICE ABOUT PAINTING. 
One of our readers says he has to paint 10 farm build¬ 
ings, large and small. He wishes to do it economically 
by home labor, and do a good job. Would you buy mixed 
paints, or try to mix them yourself? 
MIX YOUR OWN PAINT.—If I had 10 farm build¬ 
ings to paint I should certainly buy the oil and dry 
paint separately, mix them myself, and do the work 
by home labor, if possible, as all painters will tell you 
that the chief expense in a job of painting is the labor 
of putting it on. We painted one of our barns about 
20 years ago, using linseed oil and Venetian red, giv¬ 
ing it two coats. It is looking well yet. There is no 
better color for farm buildings than red. A man who 
owns 10 farm buildings ought certainly to be a Gran¬ 
ger. Members of this order, at the present time, can 
buy of their wholesale houses pure linseed oil at 70 
cents per gallon. Dry Venetian red can be bought for 
three cents per pound. The two have only to ue mixed 
to the right consistency and the paint is ready. We 
have seen ready-mixed paints for farm buildings ad¬ 
vertised as low as 55 cents per gallon. This shows on 
the face of it that a cheap grade of oil was used, as 
pure linseed oil cannot be bought at wholesale for less 
than 68 cents per gallon in barrel quantities. Raw 
linseed oil costs about two cents per gallon less than 
boiled, is much longer in drying, but usually wears 
longer for outdoor use. We advise the inquirer to buy 
good wide brushes, three inches wide at least. Trim 
the corners of buildings and around doors and windows 
with white. w. a. bassett. 
New York. 
POSSIBLE CHEAP PAINT.—Inexperienced hands 
usually get a better job if they use mixed paints, but 
these are more expensive. The cheapest serviceable 
paint is made with yellow ochre mixed with sweet 
skim-milk. English Venetian red may be used instead 
of the yellow ochre if that color is preferred. It must 
be kept wen stirred when painting; m fact, all paints 
should be stirred up frequently while being used. On 
a farm we recently purchased we found that the dwell¬ 
ing had not had paint for 27 years. The siding is of 
poplar of good quality, but had become slightly 
checked and in places covered with fuzz. To paint 
with ochre and linseed oil would have cost about $15 
for oil alone at present prices. We used the skim- 
milk, and have a good, solid surface with greatly im¬ 
proved appearance at the cost of the ochre alone, in 
addition to the labor of one hand six days. While I 
would not recommend the use of skim-milk for a new 
dwelling or expensive building, yet mention this fact 
for the benefit of farmers who may have old buildings 
long in need of paint, and who do not care to en¬ 
courage the oil trust by buying oil at present prices. 
For earns and outbuildings one may use Venetian red 
or yellow ochre alone, or the colors may be brightened 
by adding some white lead. The same colors may be 
darkened by using lampblack. Lampblack and white 
lead may be combined to make gray or ash, a very 
durable paint. Red and white may be combined to 
make pmK. Many such variations are thus secured. 
When you have decided upon the exact shade desired 
mix in a keg enough paint to cover at least one side 
of the building, for fear tnat in mixing up another 
batch you do not get exactly the same shade. 
For the dwelling I would use white lead with just 
enough Prussian blue to give a bluish tinge to the 
paint, if I wanted pure white. The blue fades out and 
leaves the walls white as alabaster. Without the blue 
the paint frequently gets a yellowish tinge. More blue 
may be added if sky blue is wanted. A little more 
and you have blue indeed. Care must be taken not 
to use too much blue. A little Venetian red added to 
the white lead gives cream color, a little more gives 
pink. Add a little lampblack and you have lavender. 
Use a little Japan drier. Better none than too much. 
Some use turpentine instead. This is very much 
cheaper, but not quite so good, as the paint is more 
inclined to crack. Use good brushes; keep the paint 
well mixed while using; brush out thoroughly, going 
lengthwise of the boards until you reach the ends. 
Use safe ladders. Use the hands lively. Do not take 
too many boards at one course, joiin l. shawver. 
Ohio. 
FAIR WAGES FOR A GRAFTER. 
What Should He Charge ? 
What should a good grafter charge for his work? One says 
he furnishes wax, scions and tools, and charges one cent 
per scion, cash down, when the job is done. He says 
that he does not care to assume the responsibility of 
having the scions injured by stock or insects before Fall. 
ftMherwise he would be willing to take two cents per 
YffPP coun t those left alive, say in September. At 
s tS8o?§& t 3?> aI<1 in the s, »ring he says he can make fair 
'wages,, varying, of course, with the nature of the tree. 
Imv^^aftPa good grafter by the hour, he charging 20 
ffcedtS’emfi Jr//nisHfng his own wax and tools. 
tolHftfttEfrsp© ESTIMATE.—I should say from 30 to 40 
JftSfts-’jiefc'HSiftY^ab&'&dlttg’.to his skill and rapidity of 
thN&fstvbiQtiwdr&ten?rather unsatisfactory thing 
to3$&ftjMa%e-'6n, 5 as thr&fe^6r§ftffipftimes as many scions 
can be set in some stocks as in others, and work of 
this kind depends so much upon being well done, that 
I believe it is better to get a good man and pay him 
fairly liberally for his time. Of course it is all right 
to pay by the graft, either guaranteed or not as the 
party can agree, but just what the price per graft shall 
be would need to be figured out on each special job. 
High-topped old apple trees where a good deal of lad¬ 
der work has to be done, might take double the time 
HOW TO LAY a STONE GUTTER. Fig. 279. 
that of lower trees where a man could work from the 
ground. As to the proportion of scions that ought to 
live with ordinary care, that is also a local question, 
depending upon the season and time the work is done, 
and the man who does it. j. h. hale. 
Connecticut. 
HIRE BY THE HOUR.—I question the expediency 
of having grafting done by me job or piece-work. I 
think I have seen in some instances a failure of work¬ 
ing on these lines. The tendency of most men in get¬ 
ting their pay by the number of scions set is to put 
in a superabundance of scions, to the detriment of 
the man who owns the trees. On the other hand, my 
m 
i 
ACIDANTHERA BICOLOR. Fig. 280 See Ruralisms, Page 738. 
idea is that a sensible way is to employ a good, reli¬ 
able grafter who will furnisn his own tools, the owner 
of the orchard to furnish wax and scions and pay him 
a reasonable price per day for his work. This would 
be the way I should adopt, and which I have practiced 
for years. I do not think that 20 cents per hour is at 
all exorbitant where the workman furnishes his tools 
and w r ax. The proportion of scions that ought to live 
with ordinary care would depend greatly upon the 
varieties to be put in. If on apples or pears, 90 to 95 
per cent, provided the trees to be grafted are healthy 
and the scions used have been kept as they ought to 
be—perfectly dormant. There are so many conditions 
attached to all of this that it is difficult to see exactly 
what the results will be. s. d. willard. 
New York. 
HIRE A GOOD MAN.—One cent per scion is a fair 
price w'hen the grafter furnishes his own wax. I have 
had one expert workman set 500 scions a day in large 
trees; ordinarily not more than half that number 
would be set. On very young trees 100 would be a 
good day’s work. Of well-set scions 90 per cent ought 
to live, if the trees are well cared for. I do not blame 
a man for not wanting to take risks on owner’s care¬ 
lessness. I have had a man (an excellent hand) do 
more or less grafting for me for a number of years, 
and I pay him $1.75 a day, without board, I furnishing 
the wax, which would be but little below this 20 cents 
per hour you speak of. edwakd van alstyne. 
New York. 
PRICE PER STUB.—The right price, and the one 
I have paid, is two cents a stub; that is, one cent a 
scion, m some cases the growth of the scions is guar¬ 
anteed. In such cases each stub which has one scion 
growing at the end of the year is counted, and the rate 
of two cents a stub paid. It depends very much on 
circumstances whether grafts ought to be guaranteed 
or not. Some men are careless grafters when their 
work is not on their own responsibility. On the other 
hand, some trees are so poor, or get such poor care, 
that it would be an injustice to a good graftsman to 
ask him co guarantee his grafts. An expert graftsman 
with a good helper can set 400 to 500 stubs in a day, 
making a liberal count. This makes good wages for 
both men. But there are many more graftsmen who 
will set only 100 to 200 stubs in a day. For such the 
rate of two cents a stub is not large wages. “Among 
neighbors,” where day’s works are not expected to be 
very long nor very well paid, the rate of two cents a 
stub is still a fair one. [Prof.] f. a. waugh. 
LAYING A STONE GUTTER. 
It frequently becomes necessary to take measures 
to prevent the washing of drives and walks around 
farm buildings. An otherwise fine drive or walk may 
be rendered unsightly by the washing of deep ditches 
along the edges. This may be prevented, and a fin¬ 
ished appearance given, by a well-constructed stone 
gutter. The proper performance of the work is an 
art the knowledge of which is not possessed by all. 
Wherever a gutter is needed it may be taken for 
granted that the grade is sufficient so that an instru¬ 
ment will not be required to establish it. The stones 
selected for the work should be what are known as 
cobblestones. They should be roundish in shape, and 
the size should be from four to five inches in dia¬ 
meter. Flat stones will not answer for the work, 
neither will soft or half-rotten stones. They must be 
tough, roundish or oblong cobblestones. The general 
direction of the gutter is usually established by the 
edge of the driveway or walk. The excavation for the 
stones should be to a depth of from six to eight inches 
and 15 inches to two feet wide, according to the 
amount of water which will probably be carried. The 
bottom of the ditch, if of clay or other hard soil, 
should have from two to three inches of sand upon 
which to set the stones. If set in the soft sand they 
can be easily brought to a uniform surface by being 
driven down with a hammer. The center of the gut¬ 
ter should be established by means of a line; this line 
also fixes the level for the surface of the center row 
of stones, which should be laid first. After the center 
course is laid for a distance then the other courses 
should be brought up. The outside courses should 
rise gradually from the center, so that the water will 
be held in its course. In laying the stones their sur¬ 
faces may be somewhat higher than it is desired they 
shall be when the gutter is completed. This will give 
opportunity to drive them home with a maul. The 
crevices between the stones should be filled with fine 
sand, and the stones driven firmly in place. Fig 279 
shows a stone gutter being laid on the grounds of 
Cornell University._ l. a. clinton. 
Sii.aqe Corn in Maine.— Our silage corn is in the 
silos, and we can now say which varieties have done the 
best up to the present time. Last year we planted Red 
Cob, Stowell's Evergreen, Learning, Sanford and North¬ 
ern Yellow corn. Red Cob was discarded because the- 
season was too short to mature the ears. None of them 
came into the milk stage. All the others but the Learn¬ 
ing were abandoned, because they did not produce suffi¬ 
cient quantity to the acre. This year we planted Learning, „ 
Sibley’s Pride of the North, White Dent, Forty-Ton 
Silo, Blount’s Mammoth and a variety recommended by 
a friend. Learning has done by far better than any 
other, and is our favorite at present. Blount’s Mammoth 
proved itself by no means desirable; it is a variety that 
grows large and tall stalks, but matured no ears. Forty- 
Ton Silo has grown about the same amount of stalks, 
with a prospect that in years with less drought there 
would be many ears passed the milk stage. White Dent 
is about the same as the Forty-Ton Silo. Sibley’s Pride 
of the North has not grown sufficient amount of stalks; 
the ears were fine and long and ripened sufficient for 
seed. These three last will be planted another year 
further to prove their value. What each variety will do 
in years with plenty of rain can be told better after a 
trial. Wet ground at planting time caused many ker¬ 
nels to rot, and the dry season delayed the growth so 
that our stoutest corn weighed only from 17 to 21 tons to 
the acre. J- H - R - 
Portland, Me, 
