1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 639 
eaten off by sheep or hogs, or cut and fed in the barn¬ 
yard while green. 
Testing' New Strawberries. —Fruit farmers of 
New York State seem to be getting closer and closer 
to the experiment stations at Cornell and Geneva. It 
was quite remarkable to see how many of these men 
are personally acquainted with Prof. Beach and Mr. 
Ilunn. They try to visit the station at least once a 
year to talk over varieties and new methods of cul¬ 
ture, and whenever they have any doubts regarding 
their methods, they feel free to go to the station 
people for advice. This is a very satisfactory state of 
affairs, and it must be gratifying to the station 
authorises to feel that they have the confidence of 
the farmer. I like the advice evidently given from 
the station regarding the varieties of strawberries. 
Oftentimes a farmer wonders why an expert cannot 
name offhand, six or eight varieties that are sure to 
do well on his soil. The station people give only 
general advice in such matters and, as a rule, advise 
the farmer to give a dozen or more varieties a good 
test, and not to be satisfied with one season’s test 
either. A man might try a variety one year, fail to 
give it the conditions that are needed for its develop¬ 
ment and then discard it, when, really, more careful 
trial would prove it to be just what he is after. 
The Use of Potash. —The German Kali Works 
had a building of their own on the fair grounds, and 
they gave an interesting exhibition of potash and the 
results to be obtained from its use. They showed 
the different forms of 
potash in the crude, un¬ 
finished state, also gave 
pictures of the crops 
grown on poor sandy 
soil. It was interesting 
to hear farmers talk 
about the use of potash 
in New York State. The 
fruit farmers are, ap¬ 
parently, the first to 
use it in large quanti¬ 
ties. Fruit growers rec¬ 
ognize the fact that, on 
most lighter soils, pot¬ 
ash is absolutely neces¬ 
sary if they are to ex¬ 
pect continued crops of 
firm, high-colored fruit. 
Grain farmers are not 
yet using potash in large 
quantities. They are 
satisfied to apply a 
superphosphate at the 
time of seeding to 
wheat. One farmer, 
however, at the fair, 
said that he noticed that, 
wherever he had used 
potash on corn, the ears 
were plumper and more 
solid. I think that 
farmers are talking 
less about “phosphates” 
and more of complete 
fertilizers. They seem to be getting more of an idea 
of the value of the different ingredients. 
One farmer told how his father formerly used 
nitrate of soda on strawberries. One Spring, they 
decided to make a change and use a “phosphate” 
instead. The result was that the berries did better 
that year ; therefore, he concluded that the nitrogen 
in the “phosphate” was better than that in the nitrate. 
The fact is that, probably, the phosphoric acid in the 
phosphate was just what the plants demanded. They 
were on naturally a heavy soil which had been 
fertilized chiefly with stable manure. Phosphoric 
acid was the element most likely to be lacking in such 
soils and also in the manure. This shows how easy 
it is for a farmer to go wrong in experimenting. The 
German Kali people say that, in eastern New York 
and New England, farmers are beginning to use 
potash in connection with stable manure. They will 
use from 50 to 75 pounds of muriate to the acre with a 
fair dressing of manure, and this has given excellent 
results. h. w. c. 
A PROMISING GUERNSEY COW. 
The picture of a remarkable Guernsey cow is shown 
at Fig. 295. This is of Lily Ella 7240, who gave, as a 
three-year-old, 19.47 pounds of butter, in seven days. 
She is the property of Jas. H. Beirne, Oakfield, Wis. 
She was dropped October 19, 1893, and dropped her 
first calf, a heifer, March 12, 1896. Her milk has tested 
as high as 7.9 per cent fat, the lowest single test being 
4.8 per cent. She has given as high as 50 pounds of 
milk a day, and a record as a three-year-old after her 
first calf, is 598.72 pounds of butter in one year. The 
owner writes that the picture shown was taken seven 
hours after milking and does not^show the udder to 
its full size, also that the milk veins do not show up 
as they should. This is certainly a phenomenal yield, 
both of milk and of butter. The pedigree of Lily 
Ella shows that she traces on her sire’s side to the 
noted Fernwood strain, and through the dam, to Sir 
Champion, Worthy Beauty and Yauxbelets strain. 
The American Guernsey Cattle Club are doing good 
work in offering premiums for butter tests for Guern¬ 
sey cattle. They are offering these both for cows and 
herds making the best three records for butter fat for 
one yeai\ These prizes are for individual cows, $50, 
$30 and $20, and for herds of five cows each, $100, $60 
and $40. The conditions of the test, in full, will be 
sent on application to the secretary of the Club, Wm. 
II. Caldwell, Peterboro, N. H. This test must prove 
of great interest to breeders of Guernseys as well as 
to those of the other breeds of cattle, and many breed¬ 
ers should avail themselves of the opportunity for 
making public guaranteed records of their animals 
and herds. 
A DISCUSSION OF GRAIN DRILLS. 
AN INDIANA KAKMNK S VIEWS. 
Objection to Hoe Drills .—There are three ob¬ 
jections to hoe drills for small grain : It is impossible 
to regulate any sharp-pointed plow that has no bot¬ 
tom so as to control the depth. The seed-bed is sel¬ 
dom perfect. There are some depressions and round 
points for the wheels, and in the soil are many irregu¬ 
larities of firmness and trash obstructions. In most 
seed-beds, if you follow a hoe drill, you will notice 
that the hoes occasionally jump nearly or quite out of 
the ground, and plunge in again entirely too deep. 
If you watch closely, you will also see that, as the hoe 
rises, the bottom end is thrown backward enough so 
that most of the wheat for six inches at the drill 
mark, is doubled over that last sown, leaving a few 
scattering grains on the six inches. In plung¬ 
ing in again, the momentum of the drill hoe’s weight 
together with the suction, sends it too deep for a few 
inches. This churning and plunging certainly means 
very irregular sowing. The seed grain is so small 
that it does not have starch enough to push the plum¬ 
ule very far to the light. Where the hoe jumps a 
space, the seed is scattered on top of the seed-bed, and 
often wasted. 
The Shoe Drill is used by several and is liked. 
In buying, one should see that it is so constructed that 
the shoes can be forced in deep enough to cover the 
wheat; also, avoid the shoe being too narrow so as to 
drop all the seed in a narrow line. I have a drill the 
back end of whose shoes is 1% inch wide. The front 
end is higher so that the bottom of the drill mark is 
left rounded, and the wheat scatters to the sides and 
all over it, and comes up so as not to be in one very 
narrow l : ne. This wide shoe leaves the ridge between 
the marks as high as it will lie. Spreaders to push 
clods aside like those used in corn-planter shoes can¬ 
not be used on wheat drill shoes, because they run so 
near together. One should crush all large clods. 
Most farmers here do not object seriously to several 
small lumps not larger than a hen’s egg. It is thought 
that these melt down and feed in around the roots of 
the plants. They also prevent puddling as soil does 
when very fine. 
The Press Drill (wheels following in the drill 
marks) is used a little here. My neighbor has one 
with a very narrow shoe. If the soil is about right as 
to moisture, there are only a few hours’ difference in 
the time of coming up. The wheel in firming the 
soil, makes the surface nearer the grain, and also 
may dampen the grain more quickly. In a very dry 
time, I would prefer the press, but only one year in 
10. The wheels add to the weight and clumsiness. 
One objection to shoe drills is that they require the 
seed-bed in better condition, and especially more 
level than for a hoe drill. If the seed-bed is very 
loose (which, of course, is a mistake), the deep horse 
tracks are not as well filled by the shoe as the hoe, as 
it divides the soil instead of plowing through it. In 
all these small depressions, the wheat may show. 
But it will all be covered if all works right, and I 
have noticed that such wheat is usually hidden by 
morning, whether a shower passes or not. I have 
never seen as nice and really good a job of sowing 
done by any drill as by my wide-heeled shoe drill in a 
good seed-bed, and the wheat did not come up in a 
line, but in a strip an inch wide. 
Objection to Shoes. —The shoe drill does not ride 
over trash very well, unless the surface has been 
broken ahead and become dry. If a little dust flies, 
it will not bother by clogging. My man carries a 
forked stick, and if trash gathers, pushes it against 
the earth so the shoe slides over it. This is not much 
trouble except in damp soils. A shoe drill is nothing 
near so hard to clean as 
a hoe drill. It slides over 
the trash fixed in the 
seed-bed, much of which 
would be torn out by 
the hoe. There is one 
drill which is neither a 
shoe nor a hoe; it is a 
disk. It rolls over all 
trash and, set a little 
quartering, lifts the soil 
on one side, forming a 
ridge. The grain is 
dropped close behind, so 
that enough earth falls 
back to cover the seed. 
This machine I have 
never used. Of course, 
the depth would not be 
as uniform as with a 
sliding shoe, but would 
not be so irregular as 
with a hoe. If I were 
buying a drill, I would 
give the disk a trial. 
Defects in Feeding. 
—We used to sow five 
pecks per acre, but since 
we cannot get a uniform 
feed, we sow six pecks. 
Four pecks would be 
enough if evenly distrib¬ 
uted. For this reason, 
we see the saving we 
might make if we had 
a better feed. The gravity feed has been abandoned 
long ago. The force feed is so far quite imperfect. 
In sowing four pecks, one can see the wheat 
grains, as they are brought over by even the spiral 
cogs, gather a second, and then crumble down 
quite freely, then hesitate, and only a few grains 
fall. The feed cogs turn too slowly. If the open¬ 
ing were smaller, and the feed shaft turned much 
more rapidly, it would avoid that halting. If one 
look crosswise of the drill marks after the wheat is 
well up, he will see that it is thick and thin. Some 
blame this to the “keeping step” of the horses, and 
work a small horse and a large one to avoid it. This 
is helpful, but not a sufficient remedy. We need a 
faster gear. I have looked in vain for such a gear at 
our fairs for years. 
In this section, fertilizers are coming in fast, and 
any new drills should have an attachment for sowing 
them. My shoe drill has a sweep that brushes across 
holes in the bottom. This drops the stuff in bunches. 
Be sure to get one with a rotary motion and constant 
feed, with glass plates that cannot be rusted by the 
chemicals in the fertilizer. Of course, in any modern 
drill, both grain and fertilizer distributors are thrown 
out of gear by lifting the shoes, and the latter should 
he easily thrown out separately. If possible, get an 
iron wheel to all farm machinery. E. n. cox.LINS. 
Central Indiana. 
Hoe Drill vs. Press Drill. 
It is a fact, well known to every experienced Winter- 
wheat grower in this State, tbat high ridges between 
the rows of wheat do afford considerable protection 
to the plants during the Winter. This protection is 
rendered even more effective if the ridges run north 
GUERNSEY COW LILY ELLA 7240, A. G. C. C. (Side and Rear View). Fig. 295. 
Record, 598.72 Pounds Butter as a Three-year-old after First Calf. 
