1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
469 
ELECTRICITY ON THE FARM. 
The papers have printed many articles lately about 
an experiment with electric power on the farm of 
Mr. G. R. Beardsley, in Herkimer County, N. Y. These 
articles stated that the first object of the electricity 
was for farm use. Mr. Beardsley tells us, however, 
that the farm work, instead of being the primary use 
for the electric plant, was merely an incident. There 
is a water power near his place where the water makes 
a drop of 120 feet in the East Canada Creek. An elec¬ 
tric plant was established there for the purpose of 
supplying light and power to St. Johnsville, a little 
more than three miles east. The electricity will soon 
be supplied to Ft. Plain, also, nearly six miles far¬ 
ther away. 
The use of electricity on the farm was an incident 
only. Wires were run so as to have lights in the 
houses and barns, and a 10-horse power induction 
motor was used to cut ensilage, to thrash, to grind 
feed, and to run a sawmill. A one-horse-power motor 
is also used for the milkroom. This runs a separator 
and the churn. 
In the house, experiments have been made with 
electricity for heating purposes. The electric flat¬ 
irons have proved a grand success. Little stoves are 
also used. These attach anywhere to a lamp socket, 
and are a great convenience. Another excellent de¬ 
vice is the hot pad, which is a substitute for the old 
hot-water bag, and is a great improvement on it. 
They also have two small radiators in use, and so far 
as they go, Mr. Beardsley says that they are successful. 
He says it is quite possible to milk by electricity, 
but it has not yet been done on his farm. On a farm 
near by, a milking-machine is used, which is run by 
an engine. This apparatus milked 10 cows at a time, 
but it did not pay for the steam employed. Perhaps 
the most remarkable part of this system is the equip¬ 
ment for the milkroom. The arrangements there 
are quite complete. For instance, small bracket 
heaters are placed in a cupboard, where the cream is 
cured at any desired temperature. There is, also, one 
of the little stoves on which a kettle is kept con¬ 
stantly boiling, to be used in scalding all the milk 
utensils. One objection often raised to the use of the 
gasoline engine is that it does not provide a proper 
supply of hot water for dairy purposes. As will be 
seen, this electric device covers this objection fully, 
as by means of the little stove, a constant supply of 
hot water can be provided. 
KNOCKED OUT BY DROUGHT. 
WHAT SHALL WE PLANT TO BE BAYED ? 
All through the eastern dairy sections, the cry Is still, drought 
comes I The hay crop Is ruined. There will be no fodder in 
the barn next Winter unless something can be sown that will 
make a crop before frost. What can we plant ? 
Nothing Ahead of Corn —In my opinion, there 
is no one crop that can be sown now or later, that is 
superior to corn for the purpose of providing forage 
for the Winter. The difficulty, now, however, is that 
no crop can be planted, as there is too little moisture 
to permit germination, but we found last year that 
corn planted as late as July 20 gave us a yield of 
nearly eight tons of green fodder per acre. For later 
Summer feeding, cow peas and millet are excellent, 
though they should be seeded not later than August 
1. With the exception of last year, barley and peas 
have proved a very desirable late Fall crop ; they may 
be seeded as late as September 1, and make a good 
crop by November 1. We have found but little differ¬ 
ence between sorghum and corn in their drought- 
resisting power. I have never tried the Spring seed¬ 
ing of Orchard grass, and I believe that it is a good 
plant for droughty seasons, mainly because it comes 
so early as to make its growth before hot and dry 
weather sets in. e. b. voobhees. 
New Jersey Ex. Station. 
Even Turnips Useful.— I suggest that the fields 
in the districts where the hay is poor and has 
ripened prematurely on account of the drought, be 
cut, and plowed as soon as moisture will permit, 
thoroughly fitted and planted to corn, provided such 
planting can be done before July 4. If not, then sow 
millet. There is ample time for it to grow, and it 
makes good roughage, the only precaution being 
necessary not to feed it exclusively, and to cut it before 
it gets very ripe. My experience is that one-half of 
the roughage may be millet. Sorghum does resist 
drought better than corn, but does not make as good 
roughage when cured ; in fact, it is almost impossible 
to cure it It starts slowly, and is more expensive to 
raise than corn. It is not yet too late to sow barley 
and peas, 1 % bushel of the former to one of the latter, 
per acre. Barley withstands the hot weather very 
much better than oats. Orchard grass does stand the 
drought better than most other grasses, or rather it 
is so early that it is ready to cut before the d oughts 
appear in almost every case. Orchard grass is not 
likely to make a good crop the same season when 
sown in the Spring. It is extremely hardy, and 
should be sown in the Fall, although I have seen some 
good crops the same season where it was sown very 
early on rich ground. 
It is not yet too late to plant mangels, and turnips 
can be planted until the middle of July. True, the 
dairymen may not want to feed turnips to their cows, 
but they are most excellent for the young stock, and 
could be made to piece out the shortage. Finally, 
then, it may be said, cut the hay early, plow as soon 
as possible, fit well, fertilize reasonably, and plant 
every available spot with corn and millet, barley and 
peas, and after the last cultivation of the corn, with 
a hand drill, sow turnips between the rows. Many 
bushels of turnips may often be secured at almost no 
cost if the season is favorable. i. p Roberts. 
Cornell Experiment Station. 
LESSONS FROM THE FREEZE. 
TWO WAYS OF HANDLING FROZEN TREES. 
What the Experts Said. —Before the thermometer 
went down to 20 degrees below zero, we had about 
400 thrifty young peach trees on our farm—half one 
year old and half two years old. After the freeze, 
the question was how many of these could be saved, 
and the best course of treatment to follow. Practical 
experience along this line seemed entirely lacking in 
this section, on account of the unusual severity and 
almost unprecedented character of the damage, and 
no one appeared really to know what ought to be 
done. In the midst of this state of doubt, nearly 
every one eagerly watched the bulletins and papers 
for news and information suited to the crisis. A care¬ 
ful reading of everything that appeared on the sub¬ 
ject, showed one of two things very plainly—the trees 
must either be cut off at the snow line (about a foot 
from the ground), or the limbs be severely pruned 
and cut back. The former course was strongly ad¬ 
vised for all trees with injured trunks. 
The theory of this advice was that these short stubs 
would sprout above the bud, and soon form a new 
tree. It certainly looked reasonable, and so I tried 
the plan—on both sides. Half of the one and two- 
year-olds were cut off a foot from the ground, or at a 
point where the wood and bark looked green and 
healthy, this being done early before growth com¬ 
menced. The stubs were sealed over with thick paint, 
as per instructions, to prevent drying out, and then 
the land was duly plowed and harrowed. 
How it Came Out.— The other half of the trees 
were pruned back to mere stubs of branches, but 
treated the same otherwise. As to the condition of 
the wood and bark at the time this was done, it is 
only necessary to say that the inner portion of trunk 
and limbs, of nearly every tree in the 400, was badly 
discolored ; that the case looked bad from every point 
of view, and that when the sap did start, it had a 
sour, offensive smell far from encouraging. 
As to results, nine tenths of the trees left with a 
portion of the branches have started nicely ; the new 
shoots are growing vigorously, and the damage 
appears to be on the repair at a rapid rate. But of 
tne trees cut off near the ground—the stubs —not more 
than two or three out of the 200 have sjyrouted above the 
bud, though quite a number have sent up shoots 
below this point. The moral is plain. A fair share 
of the older (bearing) trees, where properly pruned 
and cared for, are doing well, and in certain localities 
and on certain varieties, some fruit has set which, it 
is hoped, may reach maturity. w. E. Andrews. 
Van Buren Co., Mich. 
Events of the Week. 
Domestic.—At Houston, Tex., 500 negroes were duped by an 
evanvelist, who prophesied that the town would be destroyed by 
a flood of scalding water and ignited oil. Their meetings were 
broken up by the police June 10, having become a public nuis¬ 
ance. . . Mr9. Meyer, the Christian scientist at Newark, N. J., 
who was convicted June 8 of causing the death of a woman she 
had treated, was sentenced to 12 years in State prison. . . A 
large fireworks factory on Long Island was practically wiped 
out by an explosion June 8; 20 employees hurt. . . At Rock 
Hollow, Ark., 28 men were engulfed by a landslide June 8; the 
men were graders on a railroad, and it is feared that none sur¬ 
vive. . . June 7 a cloudburst in Texas caused numerous floods. 
At San Saba, eight persons were drowned; the entire town is 
under water, anil the river a raging torrent one mile wide. At 
Menardville 13 houses were swept away, and many more fell 
into the torrent; 17 persons were drowned. . . June 8 train 
robbers near Birmlngnam, Ala., stole a locomotive and went to 
meet a passenger train, after binding and gagging a night 
watchman. Owing to shortage of fuel and water, the wreckers 
were obliged to leave the engine and escape without the wreck 
intended. . . June 8, 17 deaths and 20 prostrations from heat 
were reported in New York. The heat extended over the south¬ 
ern and Atlantic 8tates, causing much suffering; In the South 
the temperature was 102 degrees June 8. . . The schooner Geo. 
A. Howes was capsized by a tornado on the Jersey coast June 8; 
six lives lost. . . Bernard Norris, of Brooklyn, N. Y., cele¬ 
brated i is 107th birthday June 10. He is a native of Ireland . . 
The cup defender Columbia was launched at Bristol, K I , June 
10. Eight persons were badly hurt at the launching by the ex¬ 
plosion of flashlight powder, used in takirg a photograph of the 
launch. . . The street-car strike continues at Cleveland, O.; 
14 lines are tied up, and the strikers intimidate non-union em¬ 
ployees and the public. . . A tornado at Salix, la., killed four 
persons June 11. There was great property damage. This is 
the sixth tornado in that locality this season. . . A special 
train bearing a wedding party crashed into the rear end of a 
regular train on the Long Island railroad June 12, while crossing 
the trestle over Jamaica Bay; 18 persons injured. . . While a 
charivari party was serenading a newly-married pair at Wa- 
tonga, O. T., June 9, one of the party pointed his gun at the 
young couple and fired, filling the bride’s face and breast with 
buckshot. She died an hour later. The bridegroom was also 
shot in the face, but not mortally. . . At Manchester, Ky , the 
entire community is being terrorized by the Baker-Howard feud ; 
many respectable citizens have been driven away, and the courts 
are afraid to try the ruflians responsible. Some of the murder¬ 
ers have been taken to jail under heavy military guard. In Har¬ 
lan County, the Taylor-Lee feud is causing similar conditions. 
. . . Baby Clarke, who was stolen in New York by kidnappers 
last month, has been seriously sick with measles, contracted 
while in the hands of the child-stealers. . . A terrific tornado 
passed over parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Nebraska June 
12. The damaged district is isolated, wires being down, and 
railroads destroyed. Cloudbursts and floods followed the tor¬ 
nado, great damage being done at Elroy, La Crosse, Sparta, 
Viola, and New Richmond, Wis., Winona and Galesville, Minn. 
New Richmond, Wis., was totally devastated; property loss 
$750,000; dead 113; wounded over 300. Fires followed the tornado, 
many persons being burned to death. There is urgent need for 
aid. At Herman, Neb., the entire town was wiped out, loss 
$136,000; 11 persons killed and many injured. At Winona, Minn., 
damage by overflowing streams amounts to $200,000. . . At 
Beaumont, Tex., June 11, the mayor issued an order prohibiting 
all churches from holding services, on account of the severe 
epidemic of scarlet fever prevailing. . . The steamship Old 
Dominion struck on the rocks near Richmond, Va., June 13, and 
was beached; no lives lost. . . During a heavy fog on the New 
Jersey coast, June 13, the Old Dominion Line steamer Hamilton 
ran down the Ward Line steamer Macedonia. The Hamilton re¬ 
turned to New York badly Injured, with some of the crew of the 
Macedonia, which sank within a few hours. Every one on board 
escaped. . . In St. John Parish, La., a negro was discharged 
from jail, where he had been imprisoned under suspicion of rob¬ 
bery, for lack of evidence; he was ve-y ill, and was going to 
friends for care and nursing, when he was seized by a mob and 
lynched. . . H. O Havemeyer was examined June 14 by the 
Industrial Commission investigating trusts. He declared that 
the mother of all trusts was the customs tariff bill, which pro¬ 
vided inordinate protection. . . Riots over the street-car strikes 
grow in Cleveland. Union men are attacking the cars. June 15 
three non-union employees were shockingly beaten, and pas¬ 
sengers were also Injured. . . Colorado smelters have gone 
out on strike, inconsequence of the eight-hour labor law just 
passed. The men want 10 hours’ pay for eight hours’ work; 
15,000 are now on strike, and the number will be increased. . . 
Cloudbursts caused much damage in Texas June 15. The town of 
Brackett was under water for 36 hours. Negro cavalry from Fort 
Clark rendered great assistance, and few lives were lost. 
Farm and Garden.—Prof. F. W. Mally, of Hulen, Texas, has 
been elected State Entomologist and Professor of Entomology 
in the Texas Agricultural College. . . Chicago officials are 
alarmed over the reported prevalence of tuberculosis, and ar¬ 
rangements are being made for a convention of Chicago physi¬ 
cians to consider the spread of the disease. . . All crops on 
Long Island are threatened with failure for want of rain. . . . 
The Missouri State University will add courses in agriculture and 
horticulture to its Summer school thi 9 season. . . Boston has 
been making stricter regulations for the care and distribution 
of milk within the city limits. . . The drought in Orange 
County, N. Y., is causing great loss to farmers. Dairymen are 
suffering the loss of pasture, and will be short of feed next Win¬ 
ter. . . Heavy rains in the Central South were reported, June 
12 , to have damaged the wheat crop to the amount of $250,000. . . 
Crops were damaged In parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin by a 
terrific tornado and cloudburst June 12. . . The General Con¬ 
ference of the Mennonite Church has interdicted the use, grow¬ 
ing, or manufacture of tobacco. This is felt as a great Injus¬ 
tice by Virginia Mennonites, who are largely tobacco farmers, 
while many of their young people are employed in tobacco fac¬ 
tories, and they will disobey the order. The eastern Mennonites 
say that the anti-tobacco order was passed in the Conference 
by western delegates who do not raise this crop. . . The Ameri¬ 
can Association of Seedsmen at its convention at Cleveland, O , 
June 14, unanimously adopted a resolution protesting against 
the Government’s present policy of free distribution of seeds. 
The committee on postal matters was instructed by the resolu¬ 
tion to endeavor in every way to have the Government issue 
fractional currency. 
Philippines.—Gen. Luna, Aguinaldo’s rival, has been assassi¬ 
nated. . . June 10 Gen. Lawton again scattered the rebels, 
with a loss of four killed and 30 wounded; rebel loss, 400. . . 
June 13 the hottest fight of the war occurred at Zapote Bridge. 
The rebels made a brave stand, but were driven back by Law¬ 
ton’s men. The rebels fought from daylight till noon, in spite 
of heavy artillery and naval fire. . . The town of Imus sur¬ 
rendered after Gen. Lawton’s victory at Zapote. A third of the 
rebel forces were killed, wounded or captured. June 15 a body 
of insurgents entered the rear of the American lines, aud de¬ 
stroyed the telegraph line and a portion of the railroad track. 
Fighting was resumed. Reenforcements are to be sent from the 
United States without delay. 
Cuba.—Gens. Wood and Carpenter disapprove of the proposal 
to give oxen and houses to destitute Cubans, thinking it would 
be better to employ them on public work. . . Spaniards 
precipitated a small riot in Havana June 10, but no one was 
seriously hurt. . . The strike of cabmen in Havana causes 
much inconvenience, and numerous small fights. 
General Foreign News.—The conference between President 
Kruger, of the Transvaal, and the British High Commissioner 
has been a failure, the Boers refusing to remedy the grievances 
of the Uitlanders. . . The Alaska boundary dispute has been 
settled by a provisional arrangement for two years, which may 
become permanent. . . The plague is again raging in China. 
. . . Serious religious riots are occurring in British India. 
81ml ar riots occur almost every year at this season between 
Mohammedans and Hindoos, who hold rival religious processions. 
. • • A terriflc storm in Valladolid, Spain, wrecked 150 houses 
June 10; many lives were lost. . . A fire in the Elswick gun works, 
Newcastle, England, June 11, caused a loss of $500,000, and throws 
2,000 persons out of employment. . . Public feeling in Paris is 
still excited. June 11 President Loubet was guarded by 15,000 
men on his visit to Longchamps. June 12 the Cabinet resigned 
after an adverse vote in the Chamber of Deputies regarding the 
conduct of the police who guarded the President at Longchamps. 
. . . Conditions in the famine districts of Russia continue 
very bad. In the eastern provinces, more than 5,000,000 people 
are in the last stages of suffering with disease and want, and 
owing to the high prices which the government charges for seed 
grain, the peasants cannot till the ground. 
