1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
367 
‘‘What else besides can be done with the oil?” 
“One would think this is enough: but if you like, 
you can make, a fine wagon grease out of it. Fill an 
iron kettle half full of oil and set it on fire. Let it 
burn itself half way out. Then spread a sack or 
blanket over it to stop the fire. The oil is now heavier, 
and j r ou have an excellent oil for all kinds of ma¬ 
chinery. If you want it still heavier, add tallow 
when the oil is hot, stir until cool, and you have a 
heavy wagon grease. I am sure that crude oil, at its 
present price, is of more actual value to farmers than 
most people are aware. For my part, I would not 
think of running a farm without it.” 
THE IMPORTANCE OF THOROUGH SOIL 
PREPARATION. 
COMFORTABLE AND UNCOMFORTABLE BEETS. 
Figs. 159 and 160 show sugar beets grown under 
proper soil conditions, and Figs. 161 and 162 show beets 
grown in improperly prepared soil. These clearly 
illustrate that, in the growing 
of beets, success depends very 
largely upon the soil prepara¬ 
tion. One has only to look at 
the illustrations to see which 
beets were made comfortable, 
and which were so cramped and 
hampered that they were com¬ 
pelled to throw out feeders, or 
“ fingers and toes.” In Cornell 
University Experiment Station 
Bulletin No. 143, from which 
these cuts are taken, is described 
the manner in which the soil 
must be prepared in order to 
make the beets comfortable. 
Fleshy, rapid-growing roots as 
the beet, or tubers, as the pota¬ 
to, in order to expand and grow 
naturally in the ground, must 
have the soil so mellow and loose 
that, in growing, they will not 
be crowded out. In the case of 
the beets with the prongs, the 
subsoil had not been properly 
loosened so that the root could 
develop in it, and as growth 
progressed, feeding roots were 
thrown out in the direc¬ 
tions of least resistance, 
and the result is a mon¬ 
strosity. It has been found 
that a plant will send out 
feeding roots in the direc¬ 
tion of the most available 
plant food. Where fertilizer 
was applied to beets as a 
top-dressing, a large per 
cent of the crop was ill¬ 
shaped. The sugar beet re¬ 
quires, for proper growth, 
a deep, mellow, well- 
drained soil. If these con¬ 
ditions are not present 
naturally, they must be 
produced artificially by 
those who would succeed in 
growing beets for the 
factory. 
What is true of the crop 
just mentioned, is true to a 
greater or less extent of all 
farm crops. Certain con¬ 
ditions are required to 
make the plants comfort¬ 
able, and these conditions 
vary with different crops. 
A successful feeder of stock 
makes a study of each ani¬ 
mal under his care. The 
likes and dislikes are noted, 
and the animal is humored 
and treated in a manner which 
seems to require. Plants 
There are certain things which maybe accomplished 
in the preparation of the land for a crop of which no 
amount of after tillage or no application of fertilizer 
can take the place. The plow, if properly used, is 
the most effective weapon of the farmer in reducing 
the soil to a state of subjection. It destroys undesir¬ 
able plants, it aerates the soil, it presents new sur¬ 
faces for the roots of plants to feed upon. By pulver¬ 
izing the soil, it increases its moisture-holding 
capacity, it enables the plant roots to come into 
intimate contact with the soil particles; in other 
words, it tends to produce conditions which will make 
the plant comfortable. The extent to which these 
conditions are produced depends very largely upon 
the skill of the operator. There is no line of investi¬ 
gation and study which promises better returns to the 
farmer for the energy 
expended than a study 
of the soil and of the 
crops and their feeding 
habits. L. A. CLINTON. 
TOO MUCH OUT OF GROUND. Fig. 159. 
AS IT OUGHT TO GROW. Flo. 160. 
RESULT OF TRANSPLANTING. Fig. 161. 
COMFORT AND DISCOMFORT IN 
RESULT OF A HARD SUBSOIL. Fig. 162. 
T1IE BEETS’ SEED-BED. 
its individual taste 
should be studied with 
equal care, and until they arc so studied, they will 
never give their best returns. 
In potato culture, one question which is asked more 
than all others combined, is “ What makes the pota¬ 
toes grow out of the ground ?” We are informed that 
the potatoes must be hilled in order to keep the tubers 
from becoming sunburned. A rapidly growing tuber 
must have a mellow soil on all sides in which to 
expand, if it is to expand uniformly. If the lower 
side of the potato rests upon hardpan, or upon soil 
which has not been well fitted, it must of necessity 
expand in an upward direction. If the soil be prop¬ 
erly fitted and the potatoes properly planted, they 
will grow out of the ground only in exceptional cases, 
where these conditions are not entirely observed. 
WHAT THEY SAY. 
BRIEF NOTES FROM READERS. 
A WRITER in Maine finds a cheap food for his hens 
in clams, which are dug at the shore and thrown to 
the fowls. lie says that birds are crazy for them. 
We notice that hens and hogs are both exceedingly 
fond of fish. It ought to be possible to raise a good 
deal of hen food in some of those neglected ponds and 
streams. 
Several readers advocate the plan of drying off the 
hens in May, June and July, when eggs are always 
cheap. Their plan is to withdraw feed the latter part 
of April, and give only a small quantity of corn at 
night to hens, with a fair range. Then early in 
August, they would begin feeding heavily again on a 
well-balanced ration, in the hope of securing a fair 
number of eggs in September, October and November. 
There are, apparently, very few facts to show how 
this method would succeed. Our experience convinces 
us that it will take, at least, 60 days to feed a neglected 
hen into the condition that would warrant her in lay¬ 
ing many eggs. J. E. Stevenson thinks that this im¬ 
provement in condition can be made in six weeks, but 
our experience does not support this statement. 
Some of the best manufacturers of dairy supplies 
make a skim-milk weigher for creameries, which 
works on the principle of the nickel-in-the-slot device. 
A patron brings his milk to the creamery, and receives 
a check representing the number of pounds of whole 
milk delivered. He drops his check in the slot, and 
the exact amount of skim-milk belonging to him runs 
out Competent judges say that these machines work 
well, and are giving satisfaction 
wherever introduced. They con¬ 
tribute a good deal to the com¬ 
fort and speed in creamery man¬ 
agement, and few men would 
care to quarrel with the ma¬ 
chine if they thought they did 
not receive the amount of skim- 
milk that was due. 
Every now and then it is re¬ 
ported in the papers that the 
Department of Agriculture at 
Washington has discovered that 
creameries are using an emulsion 
of cotton-seed oil which they add 
to the cream, and thus increase 
the amount of so-called butter. 
The Assistant Chief of the Dairy 
Division says that this practice 
is heard of from time to time, 
but the Department has not been 
able to locate any particular 
place where such forms of adul¬ 
teration are carried on. The 
most accurate, and in fact, about 
the only method of detecting 
such adulteration would be by 
chemical analysis. 
In answer to the question as 
to which causes the greater 
amount of trouble and suffer¬ 
ing, laziness or overwork, E. L. 
Small, of Massachusetts, 
votes for overwork by a 
large majority. He says 
that a large part of sup¬ 
posed laziness is simply 
Nature’s reaction from 
overworked parents. 
“ Born tired,” is not a jest 
only, but a serious fact. He 
also makes the remarkable 
statement that, in his 
opinion, overwork is re¬ 
sponsible for more alcohol¬ 
ism than prohibition has 
prevented, and that tea and 
coffee are doing as much 
injury as tobacco. 
Prof. Harrington, of the 
Texas Experiment Station 
(College Station), has been 
investigating to learn 
whether cotton-seed oil can 
be used in place of linseed 
oil for mixing paints. The 
cotton-seed oil being con¬ 
siderably cheaper than the 
linseed, quite a saving 
would be effected if it could 
be substituted. He con¬ 
cludes that, in the warm, 
dry climate of Texas, cot¬ 
ton oil, crude or raw, can 
be used for rough outside 
work in Summer weather. 
The cotton oil will never give the luster or hardness 
given by linseed oil, though it may be more durable. 
It is not likely, however, that in the North, cotton oil 
will ever prove satisfactory. This bulletin gives the 
following example of a cheap paint used by the Penn¬ 
sylvania Railroad Company for their freight cars : Red 
ochre, 50 per cent by weight; gypsum, 45 per cent by 
weight; carbonate of lime, five per cent by weight. 
To 75 per cent of this mixture, add 25 per cent of raw 
linseed oil. It appears that a very large proportion of 
our paints are adulterated, and we should buy only 
the standard goods made by reliable makers. 
A reader wants to know whether it would pay him 
to make clover ensilage in barrels for Winter use for 
poultry. We would much prefer to make the clover into 
good hay, chop it, steam it in tubs or barrels, and use 
it for the afternoon feed. Mr. Johnson cuts clover hay 
