478 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
.July 9 
mony and critical inspection, he selected three pullets 
and three hens. I knew them, because they were 
marked in the web of the foot. T asked him how he 
could distinguish pullets from hens. Picking up a 
hen, he proceeded to explain the difference between her 
and a three-year-old lien in the yard, and to show how 
he could pick out pullets every time, and without the 
least difficulty. A man who buys thousands of fowls 
every year, and pays one to two cents per pound more 
for pullets than hens, tells me that the only way that 
he can distinguish a pullet from a ben is by the breast¬ 
bone. He says that he takes hold of the posterior 
end of the bone, and if it bends easily, the bird is a 
pullot; if it is stiff and hard, the fowl is a hen. When 
I mate up my birds early in January, I would have a 
time separating the early-hatched pullets from the 
hens if they were not marked. I couldn't do it.” 
On the whole, all this goes to show that some of the 
simpler things about poultry keeping arc the things 
that we need to know most about. A good many of 
our poultry teachers want to begin on us at the top 
and work down. In reality, we need to pay more at¬ 
tention to the simpler things, and many of the little 
things that seem so simple on their face, will be 
found hardest of all when we really try to follow them 
up and give definite information about them. 
WHAT THEY SAY. 
Beks and Grapes. —A. M. Bowman, manager of 
that great Virginia orchard described on page 298, 
says that he has used the ordinary paper sacks used 
in grocery stores for bagging grapes. They are not 
satisfactory in wet seasons. He says that, last year, 
the bees cut through many of them and destroj'ed the 
grapes. He says that beekeepers claim that bees will 
not break the skin of a grape, but he has carefully 
watched them, and actually seen the bees cutting 
holes through common inanila bags. 
Mapks on Poultry. —O. W. Mapes, the electric hen 
man, says he has learned two or three things recently 
about poultry. He has moved his houses closer to¬ 
gether to save labor in carrying food to the birds. He 
says that one may safely put these small houses 1(5 
feet apart, and the hens will know their own homes, 
and stay in them after a short time. He says that he 
bought 50 hens on March 10, and they have laid 202 
dozen eggs in three months, paying for themselves at 
50 cents each ; but before four months are over, they 
will have settled their feed bill, also, from the present 
outlook. Spring, he says, is the time to buy old hens. 
A Suspension Foot Bridge. —Near Prattsville, N. 
Y., is a suspension foot bridge. The total length is 
355 feet, the span over the creek about 200 feet. Each 
pier consists of two heavy timbers set firmly in the 
ground, with a cross-piece on the top. The four cables 
are three-fourths-inch wire rope ; two pass over the 
top of the piers about three feet apart, the others, 
about six feet below, support the planks of the foot 
path, and are guyed to the upper cables. The cables 
are fastened to a large tree at one end. and anchored 
in the ground at the other. The bridge sways con¬ 
siderably in crossing, but is perfectly safe. The cost 
was about $700. w. h. 
The Carman Potato.—A reader in Missouri says 
that he has now three acres of Carman No. 1 potatoes 
which have come from the seed sent out by The 
R. N.-Y., three years ago. Part of these potatoes are 
on sod land, and part on an old strawberry bed. . The 
former seem to be growing faster. This man says 
that he finds something wrong with the Carman, 
which he cannot understand. Every year, there will 
be a lot of “ runty hills ” in every row, no matter how 
rich the ground may be. These hills seem to set 
tubers the size of large marbles, and then down they 
go. He wants an explanation, but it will be hard to 
supply it. 
Sheep-Shearing Machine.— We have several times 
spoken of the machines for shearing sheep. In Austra¬ 
lia, on the large sheep ranches, some of these ma¬ 
chines have proved very satisfactory indeed. In this 
country, a small hand-power machine was introduced 
several years ago, and now seems to be giving good 
satisfaction. It was first used as a horse-clipper, and 
finally a new set of knives were arranged, and experi¬ 
ments were made in shearing sheep. It is now in 
quite general use in certain parts of the country. A 
picture of the machine is shown at Fig. 215. It will 
be seen that one man or boy is needed to turn the 
wheel, while another holds the clipper. Farmers 
using the machine write us that it is much faster and 
easier to operate than the old-fashioned sheep shears, 
while there is less danger to the sheep in the hands 
of a careless man. It is estimated that it would need 
a flock of 75 or 100 good sheep in order to make the 
machine pay for itself. By putting in another set of 
knives, it can be used for clipping horses. In almost 
any neighborhood, farmers would find use enough for 
the machine to pay good interest on the investment. 
Government-Tested Seeds. —Speaking of the pro¬ 
posed tests of seeds, James Vick’s Sons say : “ Buying 
seeds ‘ on the market ’ might injure an innocent seeds¬ 
man through the carelessness of the dealer who kept 
his goods over from year to year. At almost any 
grocery or general store in a village, can be found 
California Food, rolled oats, and cracked wheat, neatly 
put up, that have stood on the shelves for months, 
and are almost alive and not fit to eat: but are we to 
understand that the manufacturers of these foods are 
to be advertised as frauds because of careless store¬ 
keepers ? ” 
Manufacturing Big Egg Records. —Here is one 
way of doing it : “ The egg year begins, we will 
assume, March 1, and we have 400 fine pullets 
which are ready to do their best. They will 
lay sometimes nearly 400 eggs in a single day, for a 
time, and the egg record grows rapidly. As soon as 
they begin to stop laying in the Fall, they are sold, 
and early-hatched chicks which will begin laying in 
October and November are put in their places. There 
is the same number of hens for the whole year, but 
not the same ones. Many times, the original hens 
would not lay five eggs per month during Winter, 
while the pullets may do well.” c. k. chapman. 
Small Steel Elevators. —A reader in Manitoba 
says that he has observed the steel grain elevators 
which are being built by the Canadian Pacific Rail¬ 
road. They are circular, riveted together like a boiler. 
He thinks small tanks made of light metal might be 
as cheap for a farmer's granary as a wooden building. 
A SHEEP-SHEARING MACHINE. Fig. 215. 
since lumber is very high in that Province. On con¬ 
sulting manufacturers of steel tanks, we find that 
they have done little in this line. The Kelly Foundry 
Company, of Goshen, Ind., have made a number of 
galvanized steel granaries for use inside of a barn. 
These granaries are rat and mice-proof, and have 
given excellent satisfaction for indoor usage. It is 
not known how such granaries would work out of 
doors. The American Steel Tank Company think the 
cost would interfere with any large use of outdoor 
steel granaries. Steel tanks could be used without 
being soldered together, and one large enough to hold 
(500 bushels of wheat would cost $(50 to $75. 
Irrigation for Strawberries.— A friend in Ohio 
says that he came out in debt this year for lack of 
moisture enough to perfect his strawberries just at 
the time when they began to ripen. This has been 
the story in many parts of the country this past sea¬ 
son. The early part of the Spring was very wet, and 
the strawberries made a heavy growth and started a 
large crop of fruit. Just when the plant most needed 
rain, there came a dry spell, and the result was that a 
large part of the berries could not mature. It becomes 
more and more evident, as we study the plant, that 
the strawberry is peculiar in its habits of feeding. 
It must have food and drink close up to the roots just 
when they are needed, as its roots rarely extend more 
than a foot away from the crown. Thus irrigation 
pays better, perhaps, with the strawberry, than with 
any other small fruit. 
Potatoes and Frost. —J. C. Senger, of Virginia, 
claims that the Sir Walter Raleigh potato possesses 
the ability to resist frost, to a remarkable degree. 
Last November, he planted specimens of these pota¬ 
toes in a single row about 15 inches apart. Beside 
them, were planted two other varieties. By March 1, 
the Sir Walter Raleighs were several inches above 
ground, and a perfect stand. A severe freeze followed, 
and the day before it came, Mr. Senger drew a heavy 
mulch of forest leaves over the potatoes ; all came 
through it safely. In the first week of May, another 
heavy frost occurred ; the other two varieties were 
bitten down to the mulch, but Sir Walter Raleigh 
showed no traces of injury ; not even the flower buds 
were touched. We know that the vines and leaves of 
the Carman potato are unusually tough and leathery. 
They resist attacks from bugs better than many other 
varieties. There seems to be quite a difference in the 
ability of various potato vines to withstand insects 
and frost. 
Use of a Grain Header. —Since the advent of the 
Russian thistle in these parts, the header has gained 
steadily. Short straw and plenty of weeds made it a 
hard job to secure the crop with a binder ; but when 
the straw is of sufficient length, many still use the 
binder. Most of the headers sold now are combina¬ 
tion machines, on which a binder attachment can be 
placed and used, if one so desires. I consider heading 
far ahead of any other way of handling the wheat 
crop so far as labor is concerned, for when one is done 
cutting, he is also done stacking, and this, perhaps, 
saves one-half the cost of labor. But the thrashing 
men claim a better yield from grain cut with a binder, 
because wheat cut with a header must be fully ripe, 
and if high winds come up at the time, it shells more 
or less. Stacking is done in few cases ; even when 
grain is cut with a binder, shock thrashing is prac¬ 
ticed by nearly all. but when wheat is stacked, it is in 
the old-style round stack. I think that, at least one- 
half of the crop in this section of the country will be 
sold in the Fall, regardless of prices, and if prices 
are good, more will be sold in proportion. K. c A. 
Aberdeen, S. D. 
R. N.-Y.—Probably, most of our readers have never 
seen a header.” It is a wide machine which gathers 
in the heads and about 18 inches or more of the straw, 
cuts them off and loads them on a wagon which travels 
at the side. The horses walk behind the header. The 
stubble is left long. The heads are stacked like hay. 
In California, headers with a cut 50 feet wide are 
pushed by traction engines on level fields, or hauled 
by 16 to 20 mules. 
Hard Life of the Hired Man. 
In The R. N.-Y. of June 18, you seem to be in love 
with the idea of man anti wife working out on a farm 
together, and try to make a comparison between the 
project and the situation of a salaried city man at 
$1,000 per year. .Just think what a privilege it would 
be to lie in bed till 4 o’clock, the w'ife having the 
same privilege ; then proceed to the dingy stable and 
kitchen to delve away for an hour of two before eating 
a hasty breakfast, w'hile some one casts hasty glances 
towards the clock, and wonders how you can eat so 
much and be so long doing it. Then listen to the, 
“ Hustle up, John, or we shall never get that team 
started!” “Hurry up, Maria, with those dishes, for 
we must get at that washing or baking !” Then keep 
up the tension till the sun has set, then go the round 
of chores, eat your supper, then take the lantern and 
get the wagon ready for the morrow', while wife cleans 
up the supper table and gets the pork and potatoes 
for breakfast. Then retire at 9:30 or 10 o’clock, lazily 
to await the stroke of four, then arise and repeat, and 
so continue till Sunday, when you can recreate by 
cleaning out the hogpen, hunting up the young cattle 
and salting them, washing and oiling the harness, and 
caring for the team when “my lord and lady ” have 
returned from church. In the meantime, all wife has 
to do is to set the dining-room and parlor to rights, 
for some friends may call, get a good dinner, and 
have it all hot, for Mrs. Caller is a fine housekeeper. 
Then if both are spry, you can clean up and have 
nothing to do but idle and visit from 3 till (5 o'clock. 
In addition to those six hours daily that you have 
spent in sleep and idleness, you will, also, have time 
to figure out that you and wife have worked only 
about 130 hours out of the 188 [Connecticut weeks must 
be long ones. Eds.] in the week, for which you are 
to receive the sum of two and seven-tenths (2.7) 
cents each per hour in addition to board, to say noth¬ 
ing of the privilege you have enjoyed of sleeping in 
the attic or w'oodhouse chamber, or as one party I 
knew, in the chamber over the hogs. 
Further, you figure in for your city man quite an 
expense for laziness ($75). You. also, talk about 
doctors’ bills, church expenses, etc. Does the city 
man need to ride any more than his country brother ? 
Who pays the laborer’s doctor’s bills ? Certainly not 
the man that hires, but the laborer must pay, also, 
board for the time that he is idle. Then you figure 
$125 for groceries, and call it modest. I do not believe 
that one-fourth part that amount of groceries has 
been furnished for any farm laborers in New Eng¬ 
land, if they had been bought at city prices, for any 
one year, in the last five years. As for meats, we 
don’t get lamb chops and porterhouse steaks, unless 
something accidentally dies. One that has worked 
out by the month, and knows about it. G. L. G. 
Connecticut 
R. N.-Y.—Several parties have already written to 
