6 o8 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
September 3 
The foliage of President Wilder and Prince Albert so 
far seems perfectly healthy. It seems that the limit 
of profitable currant production has been reached, 
and that there is but little encouragement to enlarge. 
Orange County, N. Y. w. r>. barns. 
FALL-PLANTED CABBAGE; SPRING SETTING. 
Several readers have asked how Fall-planted cab¬ 
bage is handled for Spring setting. E. 15. Darlington, 
superintendent of Burpee & Co.’s trial grounds, says 
that this method was largely used by truckers before 
the South began shipping early cabbage. It is still 
somewhat used by dealers and truckers who desire 
the earliest plants. The best varieties are Early Jer¬ 
sey Wakefield and Winnigstadt. Seed of these varie¬ 
ties is sown outdoors from September 15 to October 1. 
Date in October, the young plants are transplanted 
to cold frames. At this time, they should be about 
two inches in height and of short, stocky growth. 
The plan is to set them in rows two inches apart in 
each direction. The bed or cold frame is just an in- 
elosure of plain boards set on edge. These boards 
inclose the sides, and support the covering during the 
Winter. It is not desired to have these plants in¬ 
crease in size before Spring ; the idea is to keep them 
in as nearly a dormant condition as possible. There¬ 
fore, no covering should be used until there is danger 
from severe frost. It is not necessary to use glass 
sashes, although these are the best. Shutters made 
of half-inch boards, reaching from side to side of the 
frame, will prove satisfactory. 
It is necessary to give an abundance of fresh air on 
every possible occasion. This is done by removing 
the sashes or covering so as to keep the plants hardy 
and stocky. The frame ought to be on high, well- 
drained soil. In very cold weather, additional pro¬ 
tection is given by placing manure around the out¬ 
side of the frame, and laying old carpet or straw mats 
over the sash or shutters. In case of storms, snow 
may be allowed to remain over the frames several 
days, but on the first clear, mild day they should be 
dug out and given fresh air and sunlight. 
These plants are well hardened from their manner 
of growth, and in the Spring may be set out as early 
as the ground can be dug or plowed. Near Philadel¬ 
phia, they are generally planted from March 20 to 
April 1, if the weather is at all suitable. They will 
not be injured at all by a light frost. 
FILLING THE SILO. 
DEVICE FOR SCATTERING ENSILAGE. 
It has been my study to dispense very largely with 
the labor generally given to scattering and tramping 
the ensilage in the pits, for I quickly discovered by 
practice, that both were largely unnecessary, if the 
ensilage, when it went into the silo, could be made to 
fall pretty nearly level upon the surface. The weight 
of each ton of ensilage was quite as great a settling 
force as a man who weighed only about one-fourteenth 
as much, and it was quickly found that bad ensilage 
in the corners disappeared in the future feeding, if 
very little or no tramping w r as done in the corners. 
Our first attempt to solve this self-distribution was 
a fair success, and pretty nearly dispensed with the 
labor of scattering the ensilage. A pyramid made of 
light boards four feet on a side at the base, and four 
feet six inches high, was set on two scantlings placed 
across the top of the silo. Over the pyramid, a hopper 
box was placed so that the ensilage must fall upon the 
apex of the pyramid, and the slant of it gave the en¬ 
silage a shunt which sent it to the walls of the silo. 
By partially turning it, the corners of the silo would 
be pretty nearly filled, so nearly that but little fork 
work was required. Nearly over the hopper, a header 
board was set, so that the ensilage, as it was thrown 
from the end of the carrier, was arrested in its flight 
and made to drop into the hopper ; by this means, the 
cut ears were not thrown all on one side of the pit, 
but dropping upon the apex with the lighter stalks, 
Avere pretty well mixed. The labor of keeping the 
ensilage distributed was greatly lessened, until the silo 
was pretty nearly filled, wdien the slant would only 
partially accomplish its mission, and then more hand 
work had to be done. By reference to Fig. 284, it will 
be seen that A is the header board to be placed in 
front of the carrier to make the ensilage fall into the 
hopper B ; C is the pyramid resting on the two scant¬ 
lings EE, and D is the silo pit. 
The next device to accomplish the work was to take 
the same hopper and header board, but instead of the 
pyramid, a “hose” made of five or six phosphate 
sacks with bottoms cut through and ends sewed to¬ 
gether, was fastened to the under side of the hopper. 
On the lower end of this baggy hose, a cord was at¬ 
tached, and as the ensilage came down the chute, a 
boy leads the end of the bag around here and there 
in the silo, keeping the surface level, or sides the 
highest at the walls if so desired, and the grain is 
left exactly where it falls. As the pit fills, a sack is 
taken off now and then, and the filling proceeds. By 
this plan, there is no lifting or forking until the silo 
is so full, that there can be no further fall in the hose. 
In Fig. 283, A is the end of the carrier discharging 
the cut ensilage, B the header board, C the hopper, 
and D the hose made of sacks suspended under C. 
Yet another plan is to suspend under the hopper, a 
slanting board, hung by four cords so as to give it a 
sharp slant, to a swivel above, where it is turned about 
by a cord, so as to throw the ensilage where wanted 
much as in the case of Fig. 283. 
It is understood that some of the manufacturers 
are attempting to attach a rotary “thrower” to the 
end of the carrier, and the ensilage is thrown into 
the pits with a downward direction. A Canadian now 
has a “blower” so fixed that the ensilage is distrib¬ 
uted about the pit with an even sort of a breeze. All 
of these ideas are as readily adapted in round, as 
square silos. Where none of these plans is adopted, 
it will be found a most wonderful labor-saver to have 
a small platform located on top of the silo, and allow 
the ensilage to fall upon this ; then it is forked from 
the top to any part of the pit with little exertion, and 
if the farmer must have the ensilage trodden down, 
let him get a big Finn or a Folack, put him below the 
platform and tell him to be lively or the Spanish fleet 
will furnish him with an object lesson of sudden dis¬ 
appearance. _ JOHN GOULD. 
ROCKLAND FARM ECONOMY. 
Second-Crop Potatoes.— This year, I planted a 
half acre of second-crop potatoes obtained from Somer¬ 
set County, Md. Whether owing to the drought or 
not, I can not say, but the vines commenced dying 
about July 10. I dug them and got 32 bushels of large 
A 
A BLOCK ENSILAGE DISTRIBUTER. Fig. 284. 
size (sold for 75 cents) and six bushels culls (sold for 
50 cents). The yield was small, but Early Rose (north¬ 
ern-grown seed) planted side by side, yielded so much 
smaller that I decided not to dig them, and two of my 
neighbors report that their potatoes are, so far, hardly 
worth digging, so that I am very well satisfied with 
the result of my second-crop seed. One especial feature 
of the second-crop potatoes was the smoothness of the 
tubers. It was really a very pretty shape, while my 
others were knobby to an extreme degree. 
The Point of View. — I have a grass field that is 
to be plowed for corn this Fall, and I was debating 
whether I should leave the aftermath to help make a 
corn crop, when it occurred to me that, in so doing, I 
was using good hay as a fertilizer, and if that is the 
best use I can make of hay, I would better stop farm¬ 
ing. Therefore, I expect to shave every spire of grass 
from that field, feed it to my boarding horses and put 
it back after I have made a profit out of it. I have 
been told by pretty good farmers that, on a big farm 
where it is impossible to manure a large proportion of 
it every year, the second crop should always be plowed 
under for corn ; I had come more or less to believe it 
until it struck me that it was a poor rule that did not 
work both ways, and if it was so good to plow under 
the second crop, it ought to be better to plow under 
the first crop, and thereby save all the worry of har¬ 
vest. 
Oil ; Use Oil !—The binder that I just laid away 
was used on this farm for 14 years, and I believe that 
the reason that it did service so long was because my 
father taught me always to use plenty of oil. But 
lard oil at 75 cents or $1 a gallon is an expensive item ; 
this year, I bought five pounds of beef suet at five 
cents a pound and, after melting it, added enough coal 
oil (kerosene) to keep it liquid, and had a gallon of oil 
for 30 cents. It miy not have been economy, and if 
any one that knows happens to read these lines, I 
would like to be corrected, but it certainly answered 
my purpose this year, and so far as I could see, I had 
no more trouble with bearings heating than when I 
used expensive oil. If all bearings on machinery were 
provided with oil cups, then we could use the most ex¬ 
pensive oil, for none would be wasted ; but the aver¬ 
age w'ay of oiling farm machinery is to point the oil 
can at a small hole, press the button and have more 
run on the outside of the hole than goes in. In this 
case, I would rather waste cheap oil than expensive. 
An Outing. —Perhaps some one will want to know 
where is the economy in spending money for a trip 
away from home when there are already so many de¬ 
mands for the aforesaid money. I did not at one time 
believe there was any, but I have now changed my 
mind, as will every one else, I believe, who actually 
tries it. Get away from your farm; get aw r ay from 
yourself, and when you come home, it will be with a 
lighter heart and a clearer head to take up the bur¬ 
dens that you left bebiDd for a few days. You may 
not believe it, but try and see for yourself, and you 
will be the very one to advise others to do the same. 
My trip was to that land of hospitality and good liv¬ 
ing—“Eastern Sho’” of Maryland. Imagine a land 
where a rise in the land of a few feet is called a hill; 
a ’and where a stone is unknown save for a few that 
are treasured for boundary marks ; a land with the 
water so close to the surface that a tall man could 
stand in most of the wells and look out of the top ; a 
land so level that ditches have to be cut to carry off 
the rain, and you will have some idea of the Eastern 
Shore of Maryland. Water plays an important part 
of even the farmers’ living. Crisfield, their principal 
town, of which I doubt whether even the Editor of 
The R. N.-Y. has heard, ranks third, I am told, in the 
list of shipping cities in the United States, and nearly 
every farmer has his bateau or canoe in which he goes 
fishing, crabbing, oystering or sailing, as the case 
may be. _ p. b. crosby. 
HOW TO PRESERVE FENCE POSTS. 
On page 544, an Illinois subscriber asked certain 
questions about fence posts. Mr. J. C. Senger, of 
Virginia, thinks that our experiment station profes¬ 
sors did not make the thing clear enough. He says 
that trees may be cut at any time during the Summer. 
The best time is during a drought, and a cool spell is 
to be preferred, as the sun will not then readily scorch 
the leaves. The branches and leaves should not be 
removed. They live on the sap in the trunk, pump it 
out and thus dry the wood. After the leaves are quite 
dry, is the time to cut up the tree for posts. Stove 
wood thus treated will produce more heat than when 
cut in the ordinary manner. Of two posts equally 
sound, the one with the most heart-wood will outlast 
the other. The heart-wood is a finished product of 
nature ; the sap-w T ood is living material. When the 
tree is cut down, it is killed, and the wood containing 
the most sap will decay first. 
Removing the bark improves the appearance of the 
posts and makes them dry quicker. Posts ought al¬ 
ways to be well seasoned before being set. Air-drying 
helps posts, but not so much as when they are brought 
to a high temperature by means of a fire to expel all 
moisture. A well-seasoned post will last longer than 
a green one, and when a seasoned post is soaked with 
some material that excludes moisture, it will last that 
much longer. 
In preserving dead animal matter, common salt is 
universally used. The same antiseptic has a similar 
effect on dead vegetable matter as with pickles or 
sauerkraut. When a post heated and charred in the 
fire is immersed in brine, it absorbs more or less of 
the salt. As long as it is thus saturated, rot is out of 
the question. In the course of time, the salt passes 
away. The saturation may be continued after the 
post has been set, by using a long auger, boring holes 
as nearly vertical as possible on the side where no 
