1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
833 
churns in a skillful manner, the losses in the two 
operations should not exceed five pounds of fat. The 
overrun will be fully 15 per cent—moisture, salt and 
foreign matter in the finished product—or 70 pounds 
more commercial butter than pounds of test fats. But 
the probabilities are that the 500 cows will not yield 
over 300 pounds of butter per day, so that the overplus 
would not be over 45 pounds a day, possibly not over 
40. The rule is to give for a pound of test fat pretty 
nearly the top price of a pound of Elgin butter, Elgin 
quotations ; and it is for him to say whether he will 
base the price for fat on Elgin, or his own quotations. 
At a distance, I would say that it would not be far 
from right to pay—if the price is guaranteed at 25 
cents—22 cents for a pound of fat, and he have the 
three cents and the overplus for work, furnishing, 
and profits, the patrons having 80 per cent of their 
milk back as skim-milk. 
All revolving churns are about alike. Write to 
three or four extractor firms, and you will be sur¬ 
prised to know how soon you will be in possession of 
a mass of separator information. Whatever one is 
decided upon, it should be put in on trial. Dr. Neal, 
of the Delaware Experiment Station, can give many 
items of valuable advice. 
What profit such a concern should return is a prob¬ 
lem which only actual running of a creamery can de¬ 
termine. It is just like all other manufacturing 
plants. There is the market with all its fluctuations 
to encounter, prices to adjust with patrons, and 
patrons t: hold, for the erection of a creamery and 
an “ open door ” do not end the creamery man’s list 
of anxious concerns. With good patrons, a fair supply 
of milk, pretty uniformly distributed through the 
year, and a good market, I have heard it hinted that 
SI,000 is a pretty fair profit. 
Covering Crimson Clover Seed. 
if. S. L., Washingtoji, D. C. —Mr. Geo. T. Powell, in speaking of 
his experience with Crimson clover, says that he never fails to 
get a good catch when the seed is lightly covered. Will he tell 
how he covers the seed ? 
Ans.—I n using Crimson clover on other crops, the 
seed is sown last, and we use a light smoothing har¬ 
row, which covers at just the right depth. In corn, 
potatoes, or any cultivated crop, at the last tillage, 
the wheels are let down on the cultivators, so as to 
run very shallow, which covers the seed lightly. 
Millet is a difficult crop to seed with. It uses up 
moisture very rapidly, even weeds not being able to 
grow on the same ground after the millet gets started. 
Want of sufficient moisture may have been the cause 
of the failure. geo. t. powki,l. 
Cow Peas for Hog Pasture. 
A. T. C., Clarksdale, III. —We are the only farmers in our county 
who grow cow peas, they being a new thing in our country. Our 
hogs seem to like them as well as they do corn. We have thought 
of sowing thick, allowing the peas to go to seed, turn the hogs In 
on them, and after pasturing with hogs and cows, turn the re¬ 
maining vines under the next Spring, and by so doing, get the 
full benefit of them. How will it work ? Do you advise sowing 
Crimson clover for hay ? 
Ans. —Hogs are fond of cow peas, and will eat not 
only the seed, but a fair portion of vine as well. In 
our experience, we have not found cows very fond of 
either the vines green or when cured as hay. The 
plan of hogging down the cow peas is a good one, and 
this will leave the soil in excellent condition. We do 
not advise any one to sow Crimson clover for hay. 
While this clover makes hay of fair quality, when 
cut just at the right time, we are most likely to have 
bad weather at the time of cutting, and you are sure 
to be busy with other more seasonable work. We 
would use the clover either for pasturage, or for green 
manure entirely. 
Starting Cucumbers in Hotbeds. 
E. 3., Littleton, Col .—How can I raise cucumbers in a hotbed ? 
When should I plant f Do they have to be transplanted from one 
hotbed to another ? If so, at what time ? I want them for the 
early Spring market. 
ANSWERED BY FREDERIC CRANEFIELD, WIS. EX. STATION. 
It would scarcely be practicable to produce cucum¬ 
bers for the early Spring market by hotbed culture, 
at least, in this section, as March 15 is about the 
earliest date when hotbeds may be started here. 
Further, in order to mature cucumbers under glass, 
conditions are required that would be very difficult 
if not impossible to obtain in hotbeds. However, the 
cucumber season may be materially advanced by plant¬ 
ing the seeds in small boxes, flower pots, or on in¬ 
verted sods in a hotbed or cold frame. When danger 
of frost is past, the plants may be transplanted into 
the field with but little disturbance of the roots. I 
have found this an excellent plan for growing early 
muskmelons as well as cucumbers. The seeds should 
be planted from four to six weeks in advance of the 
date when it is considered safe to transplant into the 
field. Three-inch flower pots are excellent for this 
purpose. In these, place one-half inch of cinders, 
potsherds, or gravel for drainage, then two inches of 
light, rich earth ; plant three or four seeds—always 
flatwise—in each pot, and cover lightly; plunge the 
pots to - their rims in a hotbed or cold frame ; later 
thin the plants, leaving but one in a pot. It is desired 
to force the plants, and plenty of heat and water 
should be given after the plants appear. 
It is well to harden the plants a little for a few days 
before planting out, by removing the sash as much as 
the weather will permit. I believe better plants will 
be obtained by the plan of growing but a single plant 
in a smaller pot, than if three or four are grown in a 
larger one. It is possible to have plants with runners 
of considerable length, and blossoms set before trans¬ 
planting time, by this method. 
In case flower pots are not available, sods are almost 
if not quite as good for the purpose. Old tough pas¬ 
ture sods are best, and can be cut in strips and rolled 
as for sodding lawns, but are best cut rather thicker 
than is necessary for sodding, say 2 to 2K inches. 
Place these, grass side down, in the hotbed, and plant 
the seeds in little hollows cut out with a trowel; when 
transplanting time comes, cut the sods into squares 
with a sharp spade or knife, and pack snugly in shal¬ 
low boxes for removal to the field. 
Another method of growing cucumbers in hotbeds 
is to plant the seeds with the first crop of vegetables. 
The cucumber plants will not interfere with the other 
plants, and when these are removed, the cucumbers 
are allowed to remain and occupy the whole space ; as 
the season advances, the sashes are removed entirely, 
and the vines trained over the bars. I have had no 
experience with this method, but consider it entirely 
practical. 
If I might enter a step into the field of after culture, 
it would be to say that the time-honored custom of 
planting in hills does not seem to me as good a plan 
as planting in rows, especially if extra manure is 
added at planting time. Turn furrows with a garden 
plow six or eight feet apart, put the manure in these 
and turn back the furrows. The plants may be set 
IK to 2 feet apart in the rows. 
Sheep in the Apple Orchard. 
A. N. li., Marshfield, Vt .—What Mr. J. S. Woodward says on page 
737 would be a great help to us if true. It is very disagreeable to 
plow and cultivate in an orchard when the trees get to be of 
much size. Shall we take Mr. Woodward as good authority for 
the statement that sheep, managed as he proposes, will take the 
place of cultivation in an orchard ? 
Ans. —Several of your subscribers seem to question 
the reliability of what I said about pasturing an or¬ 
chard with sheep. If they had come to our farms this 
Fall, I could have shown them the very plain, practi¬ 
cal demonstration of its truth. Part of our orchards 
is under constant cultivation, and another part has 
not been plowed from “ time out of mind,” but has 
been sheeped as there described. The most apples 
we had, and the best fruit were by far on the sheeped 
orchards. But one thing should not be forgotten, 
that is the absolute necessity of overstocking , so as to 
make it necessary to feed plenty of supplemental food. 
I have often visited people who have said to me, 
“ I have tried your plan with sheep, and I can’t see that 
my orchard improves.” On examination, I have found, 
likely, 25 to 50 sheep in 10 to 20 acres of orchard, and 
the grass and weeds half as high as the sheep’s backs. 
When calling their attention to the wide discrepancy 
between my teaching and their practice, they have 
seemed surprised that I would think that 100 sheep 
could be kept on 10 acres of orchard. 
It is only a question of how much feed the owner is 
willing to give the sheep, as to how many sheep can 
be kept upon a given field. We don’t hesitate to put 
100 sheep in a yard of one-fourth acre or less, and keep 
them there all Winter. It can be just as well done in 
Summer, and so can the sheep be kept in the orchard, 
and the more they are fed, the more fertility will be 
put upon the land, and the more effectually will all 
grass and weeds be kept down, and all worm-infested 
fruit eaten as soon as it reaches the ground. Let any 
doubter put 20 sheep into an acre of apple orchard, 
and give them plenty of water at hand and one pound 
of wheat bran each daily, and my word for it, his 
sheep will thrive, and he will see that orchard putting 
on new life. 
Several have asked me where bran could be bought 
for $12 or less per ton. Nowhere in the East now, 
but it could have been had for that in July, when it 
should have been bought. Bran is now quoted in 
Buffalo at $13 for Spring, and $14 for Winter-wheat 
hran. j. s. woodward. 
Building an Ice House. 
J. 3. It., Colliers, }V. Fa .—I have an ice house, size 10 x 12, and 11 
feet high, roughly lined with three inches of sawdust packed in 
the space. Last year, the ice kept only till the middle of June; 
this year, it melted away by the first of August. Will you advise 
how to pack it properly, and all particulars thereto ? I might 
add that the ends of the top of the square are open in order to let 
air pass over the ice. 
Ans. —The trouble with this icehouse is the too thin 
proportion of sawdust between the walls. Three 
inches is altogether too small for a protection against 
the heat of the Summer. It will do if six or eight 
inches of dry sawdust are packed around the ice inside 
of the house. This, with the packing between the 
walls, will be sufficient. It is proper to have the gable 
ends open in such a way as to permit a free current of 
air over the body of the ice, or rather over the cover¬ 
ing of it, and this covering should be amply thick to 
protect the ice under it. A foot is not at all too much, 
and two feet would be better than one. Also the 
sun must not shine in on the covering; this is pre¬ 
vented by open shutters which will let the air pass 
readily, such as the Venetian blinds made of slats 
sloping downwards, between which the air will pass 
but the sun cannot shine. 
A sufficient bed of the packing should be placed 
under the ice, and the floor should be air-tight. The 
safety of the ice depends on three things ; a dry, air¬ 
tight floor, perfectly drained, but in such a way that 
air cannot reach the ice; non-conducting protection 
around the ice which must be packed solidly and with¬ 
out spaces for air to pass through the mass; and 
ample ventilation above the ice. To get a solid body 
of ice, the blocks should be cut of even size and of 
such a size that the blocks may cross each other, as 
for instance, 12 x 18 inches or 16 x 24 ; these sizes will 
permit the spaces between the blocks to cross for each 
layer, and in laying the blocks, the cracks between 
them must be filled by sweeping the dust and small 
fragments into the cracks at each layer. In fact, the 
body of ice is to be as nearly as possible a solid block, 
and unapproachable by the air, as well as to be free 
from water passing through it. If these simple re¬ 
quisites are secured, the rest is quite unimportant; 
that is, any kind of house or a pit, or a stack out of 
doors will do, if the kind and manner of packing are 
right. Ice may be kept in a dry well, or in a cave, or 
in a stack properly covered. Ice has been found, for 
instance, in the middle of a stack of straw in August, 
when it was taken down for use, and in manure heaps, 
stacks of tan bark at the tanneries, and indeed, in the 
ground, although the air has been warmed up to 80 or 
100 degrees. The principles of the process of keeping 
ice being precisely followed, the means may vary as 
may be convenient. 
Sulphate of Iron as a Fertilizer. 
T. W. M. N., Strafford, Pa .—On page 789, in reply to I. C., you 
say that copperas (iron sulphate) has no value as a fertilizer; in 
fact, is usually injurious to plants. I would be delighted to 
know your authority for this statement. I will wager that it has 
never proved injurious upon Hope Farm or upon your own trial 
grounds. Of course, I can understand that an excessive appli¬ 
cation might, like too much of sodium nitrate, or any other 
good thing, prove harmful; but rationally applied, I cannot be¬ 
lieve it ever to have been injurious. My attention to its value as 
a fertilizer was first attracted by some agricultural work which 
I cannot now recall, which recited a series of experiments in one 
of the New England States, I think Massachusetts or Connecti¬ 
cut, in which an application of 50 pounds per acre had increased 
the yield of potatoes about 50 per cent, and that of hay from 
to 2)4 tons per acre. The following year, I tried two acres of 
millet adjoining, and part of the same field, placing the same 
fertilizer upon each acre excepting that, upon one acre, I sowed 
50 pounds of copperas, and on the other, none. Result, double 
the yield of millet upon the acre receiving the copperas. The 
line of division was well marked, the millet upon the copperas 
plot being fully six inches higher than the other. Iron, as you 
know, is one of the essential constituents of all green plants, the 
formation of chlorophyl, without which plants cannot mature, 
being in some strange and, I believe, unknown manner, impossi¬ 
ble without it. Of course, most soils contain iron, but many do 
not contain, in a form that plant life can utilize, even the small 
amount required for a maximum growth, and upon such soils, 
the application of 50 pounds of copperas per acre will be magical 
in the result. 
Ans. —Several years ago, The R. N.-Y. experimented 
with copperas, using 440 pounds per acre on pota¬ 
toes. The results showed that it was an injury 
rather than a benefit. A report of this experiment is 
given on page 72 of the New Potato Culture. Prof. 
H. J. Wheeler, of Rhode Island, tells us that sulphate 
of iron has been tried in England, France and other 
parts of Europe with varying results, in some cases 
proving fatal to plant growth, lie says that it seems 
to be well agreed that it is safe to use copperas only 
where the soil contains considerable lime or magnesia 
in the form of a carbonate. On an acid soil, or where 
carbonates are lacking, it would not be safe. The 
scientists state that iron may exert a favorable in¬ 
fluence upon the development of the green coloring 
matter of plants, but Prof. Wheeler thinks that most 
soils contain enough iron without it. He says that 
the chief action of sulphate of iron is the following : 
It is gradually oxidized, thus liberating sulphuric 
acid. This reacts upon carbonate of lime in the soil, 
producing land plaster, and liberating carbonic acid. 
Carbonic acid exerts a solvent influence upon inert 
forms of plant life. The gypsum also acts slightly 
upon insoluble silicates containing potash, the pot¬ 
ash uniting with the sulphuric acid and the lime, tak¬ 
ing its place in the silicate. Thus, the sulphate of 
iron acts somewhat like land plaster. It unlocks and 
makes soluble some potash which was formerly in in¬ 
soluble combinations. Again, the iron sulphate may 
act as a remedy for certain plant diseases which have 
their seat on the roots within the soil, so that there 
may be some cases where iron salt will accomplish 
what the gypsum will not. On an acid soil, as before 
stated, the iron sulphate would, undoubtedly, prove 
injurious. 
