36 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
January 15 
or bite a hog. Coons and foxes we have none, and 
woodchucks are scarce. 
When I have painted the dog in all his uselessness, I 
have only begun to give the reasons why I never owned a 
dog. I don’t know that any of my ancestors were ever bit¬ 
ten by a rabid dog ; but I do know that there is planted, 
or was planted in my mind (when my mind was planted, 
I think) a terrible and, perhaps, superstitious, dread 
of hydrophobia. This alone is sufficient reason why I 
would not have a dog among my children, or my 
children among dogs for all the “ thousands” they will 
ever bring. Every man or woman who loves his dog 
“knows” and declares “ they will never bite”; but 
they do bite, and thousands of innocent and precious 
lives have been tortured, Oh ! how cruelly tortvuced to 
death by this awful and almost unequaled agony ! I 
know that there are millions of dogs, and the cases of 
hydrophobia are a meager per cent in comparison ; 
but how many (even good dogs) would pay us for a lost 
child or friend, to say nothing of the untold suffering 
and the crushing grief that follow ? 
The dog, I believe, is a fit companion for man in his 
uncivilized condition, and is a faithful friend and pro¬ 
tector in many circumstances; but in our advanced en¬ 
lightenment, his field of usefulness has nearly disap¬ 
peared. The sheep and the cattle can get along with¬ 
out him ; and a dog that isn’t worth enough to stand 
a tax of $5 or $10 a year should be legislated or rele¬ 
gated to another country. jerry Spaulding. 
Ionia County, Mich. 
IS THERE ANY PROFIT IN WHEAT? 
A field estimated at 9% acres produced, in 1893, 240 
bushels of oats and peas ; in 1894, 144 bushels of oats 
and peas, thrasher’s measure. From harvest in 1894, 
to the middle of July, 1895, the field was bare of any 
crop except weeds and thistles. I then obtained per¬ 
mission to sow the field to wheat. I hired the ground 
plowed. The thistles were about four feet high and in 
full bloom ; the man that did the plowing put in three 
teams, and I furnished chains to chain the crop under. 
Considering the time of year and the nature of the 
ground (a west side-hill and shale rock and hard heads 
close to and half way out of the surface), he did an 
excellent job of work. As to the cost of the crop, I can 
figure it very close : 
Plowing 12*4 acres at $2 per acre. $25.00 
Rolling. 7.29 
Pulverizing. 4.12 
Harrowing, three-liorse, spring-tooth wheel harrow. 17.25 
Picking stone. 1.50 
Drilling. 3.50 
Seed wheat. 19.00 
Grain for horses. 3.00 
Binding twine. 1.43 
Cutting, self-binder. 10.00 
Shocking. 2.00 
Hauling in barn. 3.00 
Thrashing by bushel. 3.69 
Labor. 2.63 
Cleaning and delivering. 3.00 
Total.$106.41 
Credit by 123 bushels of wheat.$110.70 
The plowing included three acres more of flat land 
in a separate field, it being a White-daisy sod. This 
three acres produced one load of wheat and straw, not 
over 10 bushels of grain. You will see that the ex¬ 
pense of fitting is excessively large, especially the har¬ 
rowing. The crop would, perhaps, have been as large 
with less work, but at that time, I did not think so. 
Several years previous, the side-hill field, which is 
quite steep, was plowed up and down the hill in six- 
foot lands ; that is, six furrows were thrown together, 
and a row of corn planted on the ridge and a drill of 
carrots or a row of potatoes planted in the dead fur¬ 
row. You will, doubtless, say that this was a peculiar 
proceeding. The man that had it done, was a peculiar 
man ; he was a near relative of the owner, and had 
charge of the place. He used to spend his Winters in 
the South, and he brought the idea of bedding up the 
corn ground from that section, as that is the mode of 
preparation in the South both for corn and cotton. In 
this case, the results did not fulfill the anticipations, 
for the first rain made a little river in each dead fur¬ 
row, and the carrots and potatoes were deposited on 
a meadow at the foot of the hill. In fitting it for the 
wheat, I got the benefit of that experiment,, for I put 
on the extra amount of work to get the surface of the 
ground level, and fill up the gullies, in which I suc¬ 
ceeded very well, when a hard rain washed it so badly 
that I had to fit it nearly all over again. 
The Winter of 1895-6 was very bad for wheat, and 
this field was no exception to the rest of the country. 
In the Spring of ’96, I sowed Alsike clover on this 
field, using on the 9% acres, 64 quarts, also 40 quarts 
of Timothy. I never sowed Alsike before, and am told 
that I used too much seed ; but I am satisfied with the 
results, and would use the same amount again. Some 
of the wheat did not produce one bushel per acre, and 
other parts would have produced over 30 bushels. In 
June, 1897, I cut 16 loads of clover on this field, and in 
the Fall, could have cut at least eight more loads, but 
did not. When the blossoms were dead in the Fall, I 
turned the cows in for two or three weeks, and let 
them wallow it down ancl eat what, they would, my 
object being to get a permanent sod on the field to 
stop the washing, if possible. No fertilizer of any 
description was used. I wish that you could see some 
of this Alsike clover. My neighbors say that I cut it 
three weeks too early ; it was in full bloom, and was 
cured and housed with only one shower, and that be¬ 
fore it was wilted This is where the tedder makes 
the hay whether the sun shines or not. Some of the 
clover was three feet long. I hired a team to cut it. 
The owner uses the team to haul a thrashing machine 
that weighs 5,900 pounds, and the clover was so thick 
that, in places, it stopped the team on a five-foot-cut 
mower, so I think that there may yet be a profit on 
that 9% acres. A hired man. 
Cayuga County, N. Y. 
HOW TO HANDLE LIQUID MANURE. 
DOES IT PAY TO SEPARATE FROM SOLIDS? 
One of our readers in Canada wants to know how he can best 
apply liquid manure. His present method is given in the follow¬ 
ing language : “ Having built a cistern for holding urine, we 
would like some better way of emptying it into the cart than with 
a pail. The way we have been emptying it on the ground, is 
from a bung-hole in the end of the cask, which is very incon¬ 
venient, for there is no way of regulating it, and we have to get 
off the cart to pull out the plug.” He wants details of an appar¬ 
atus that will regulate the discharge of the manure from a cart, 
and also a pump for lifting the manure from the cistern. Will 
you tell us whether you know of any such apparatus, also 
whether you have found in your experience that it pays to 
separate the liquids from the solids in this way ? 
How It Is Done in Holland. 
The permanent meadows of Holland are quite gen¬ 
erally fertilized with liquid manure. Not only the 
urine, but much of the solid excrement is mixed with 
water till it flows readily, and is sprinkled on the 
grass land. The Hollanders have rectangular tanks 
mounted on four wheels, in which to draw the liquid 
manure to the field. A sloping platform is built out be¬ 
hind about three feet, and extends to either side some¬ 
what past the wheels. A hole about six or eight inches 
square is cut in the rear end of the tank, so as to dis¬ 
charge the liquid on to the sloping platform, and is 
closed by a sliding gate operated by a lever near the 
driver’s seat. The platform has a number of cleats 
nailed on it, radiating away from the opening in the 
tank in such a way that the stream of liquid manure, 
as it flows over it, is divided and subdivided till it 
falls on the ground in quite a number of streams, 
effectually sprinkling the area passed over by the 
sloping platform. See Fig. 15. In this apparatus, 
there are no pipes to clog ; if anything should lodge 
at the gate, it is opened wider for an instant, and all 
obstructions are washed away. The rate of applica¬ 
tion is controlled by raising the gate little or much. 
A pail with a long handle fastened to it in the form of 
a large dipper is used for filling the tank. 
If your correspondent’s cistern is deep in the 
ground, a large boat pump may work better for 
filling the tank than the pail dipper ; but it is doubt¬ 
ful whether he can find a better rig for distributing 
liquid manure than that described. Where the land is 
not level, it is necessary to drive directly up and down 
the grade while sprinkling to prevent more of the 
liquid going to one side than the other. It is doubt¬ 
ful whether the system of liquid manuring is econom¬ 
ical. No doubt grass lands will respond to this treat¬ 
ment admirably, but, as much water must be added 
to the urine to prevent rapid decomposition if held for 
a time, and to keep it from injuring the foliage when 
applied, the labor of handling becomes as great as, or 
greater than, it would be were absorbents used to take 
up the liquid excrement. c. d. s. 
A Long Islander’s Convenient System. 
One cistern for collecting urine is not sufficient; it 
fills up with semi-solid matter, and obstructs the 
pump. A second cistern should be built six or more 
feet from the first, to receive the overflow from the 
first cistern. Connect them near the top with a glazed 
drain tile. If these cisterns are of ample size, they 
need not be emptied when one is busy with other 
pressing work. We have used the pitcher-top suction 
pumps, cucumber lift pumps with large three-inch 
bore, and rubber-bucket chain pumps. The chain 
pumps are the only ones that will be in order when 
needed. To convey the liquid from the pump spout 
(this spout should be large and straight out), we use 
two troughs made telescope style, so as easily to ad¬ 
just them to the opening in the cask on wheels. 
To convey the liquid to be spread to the fields, we 
now use a square frame bolted under the hind axle of 
a farm wagon, and fasten upon this frame a 120-gallon 
whale-oil cask, in a horizontal position. When in use, 
a pair of farm wagon wheels are slipped on this hind 
axle, and the front part of this square frame is chained 
up to the axle of a pair of front wheels. A square 
hole 10 x 12 inches on top of this cask allows the liquid 
to flow in from the trough ; a piece of heavy sail can¬ 
vas serves as a lid to this opening. A plug about four 
feet long goes through the cask from the top side down 
to and in a hole in the bottom of the cask at the lowest 
point. The cask is inclined down in front, so that 
the plug is near the operator. The discharge hole is 
two inches in diameter; the upper hole is 2% inches 
in diameter, and a short 2%-inch iron pipe is screwed 
into this hole ; this pipe prevents slopping, and serves 
as a guide to the plug. We have used a two-inch brass 
stop-cock, molasses gate, and other devices for plugs ; 
none has been satisfactory except this last arrange¬ 
ment. A knob fastened on the upper end of this long 
plug allows of knocking the plug up or down with a 
billet of wood. A lever could be arranged to operate 
this plug, and thus regulate the discharge. 
A V-shaped trough six feet long is placed under the 
discharge hole across and under the frame. Six holes 
one inch in diameter are bored in the sides of this 
trough four to six inches up from the bottom of the 
trough ; this allows of quite even distribution of the 
liquid. Six small holes in the bottom of the trough 
soon choke up ; one or more is necessary, however, to 
drain out the trough. A galvanized pipe two inches 
in diameter, with a series of holes % inch in diameter, 
was not a success; cow hairs, bedding material, and 
fiber from the manure, obstructed the holes, as well 
as the stop-cock. Owing to the strong odor of this 
liquid, we select fields a good distance from the dwell¬ 
ings and where cows may be at pasture, as we have 
known it to give the milk a taint of the odor. The 
odor disappears soon, especially after a rain. As we 
use but little bedding for absorbents, one cannot save 
and utilize the urine in any better way. 
With a large overflow cistern, a large rubber-bucket 
chain pump, with a straight spout, telescope trough 
or pipe to convey to a large cask mounted as described 
above, the cost of spreading urine from the stables is 
not excessive, or so very unpleasant a task. The ap¬ 
plications on grass land show a marked effect. The 
experiment stations should demonstrate to us the cost 
of collecting and applying this liquid manure from 
dairy stables, and its value upon grass and other crops, 
from careful field experiments. Should a dairy farmer 
buy absorbents for the excess of liquid in his manure 
trenches, and if so, what is the limit of price for them ? 
In market garden districts, straw is usually in demand 
at high prices. _ e. iiicks. 
A TENNESSEE FARM PROBLEM. 
WIIAT SHALL THIS FARMER DO? 
I have 100 acres of land, one-half cleared, about 85 acres a red 
or brown limestone, of a very good quality; the other 15 acres are 
what we call slaty land, on which it is hard to get a stand of 
clover or grass, but it really makes a better quality of wheat 
than the strong land, but not so much of it. I want to know how 
to manage this land so as to make a fair j>rofit on it, and keep up 
the fertility of the soil. The land is slightly rolling, but not r 
much so that it cannot easily be kept from washing. I intend 
build a silo next summer, and have four acres of creek bottcu. 
which I intend to plant to corn to fill it. I owe $200. Will it be 
safe to go deeper in debt and run the beef cattle business on a 
small scale ? I live 22 miles northeast of Chattanooga. We can 
get from 2% to 3*4 cents per pound for good fat steers in the 
spring. Eggs are 12*4 cents per dozen, and butter 20 cents per 
pound the year ’round, delivered to the consumer. I don’t object 
to using fertilizers if there is a profit in them. t. r. 
Cecilton, Tenn. 
A Silo ; Beef Steers, Dairy and Wheat. 
I would clear all the land except 15 acres, and would 
divide the red or brown limestone land into 10-acre 
fields. I would advise a rotation of crops so T. R. can 
work the land without hired labor as nearly as possible. 
I would keep one of these fields in Timothy and clover 
for hay, and two in Orchard grass, Blue grass and 
clover for pasture. In sowing a mixture of grasses, I 
sow almost as much of each as I would if I were sow- 
