1904 
HIE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
379 
ROUND OR “HORSESHOE” TILE . 
WHICH SHALL WE USE ? 
Round Glazed Tile Seems Preferable. 
There are many farmers in this section who will not 
use the round tile, believing they get out of place easier, 
clog quicker; and do not have the “draw” that the 
horseshoe tile has, and that much water finds its way 
into the drain directly through the walls of the tile; and 
that a porous tile is better than a vitrified tile. In our 
own practice we lay horseshoe tile on a board and cover 
with straw before filling in ditch. We would like to hear 
from others on this subject. o. b. s. 
Red Creek, N. Y 
In earlier days all our drainage was accomplished 
by the use of horseshoe tile. Later years and our ex¬ 
perience in the past has led us to use round tile in 
seconds of terra cotta pipe, for the following reasons: 
Unless we could have sufficient depth under all cir¬ 
cumstances, the horseshoe tile would freeze and disin¬ 
tegrate, and leave us with closed drains. Quite fre¬ 
quently new tile was necessarily quite near the sur¬ 
face. The tile would be displaced and cause stoppage 
of the drain. Since we have used the terra cotta pipe 
we avoid either trouble, and with large open joints in 
the sockets there is no trouble about proper drainage. 
New Jersey. i>. c. lewis. 
The first tile I ever laid, nearly or quite 50 years 
ago on the farm on which I now reside, were horse¬ 
shoe, some of which are doing good service at the 
present time. For many years I have only used the 
round tile, for I consider them much stronger as a 
rule, and more durable, their construc¬ 
tion enabling them in a measure to be 
self-supporting, whereas the horseshoe 
tile being open at the bottom, is more 
liable to spread and break, not being as 
well able to resist, the pressure of the 
earth above. Again where quicksand or 
other soft material prevails in the bot¬ 
tom of the ditch, the horseshoe tile rest- 
only on its two narrow edges often re¬ 
quire boards or other material to sup¬ 
port them, while the round tile partially- 
overcome this difficulty. For many 
years we used only unglazed round tile, 
not that we believed their porous con¬ 
dition to be of any perceptible advan¬ 
tage in the matter of drainage; it was 
because at that time there were no 
glazed tile in market. In recent years 
we have used glazed tile whenever avail¬ 
able, finding they are not so easily 
broken in handling, least susceptible to 
injury from action of frost, and equally 
effective in removing surplus water from 
the soil. 
The theory advanced that water enters 
through the pores of the tile sufficient to 
be of any decided benefit is a fallacy 
that should be at once dispelled. Pro¬ 
vided the tile are of required capacity, 
water will enter at the joints (however 
closely laid) in sufficient volume to do 
the work required. The fact should be emphasized, 
however, and experience teaches that in order effect¬ 
ually to save a crop, much larger tile than are com¬ 
monly used are required for removing speedily the 
volume of water that often fills the lower depressions 
on many of our fields. irving d. cook. 
Genesee Co., N. Y. 
I long since abandoned the use of the so-called 
horseshoe tile. While drains constructed of that kind 
of tile were far better than no drain, and even better 
than many stone drains, yet they were never entirely 
satisfactory, from the fact that unless laid upon 
boards their edges soon sunk into the soil at the bot¬ 
tom of the ditch. Thus the size of the throat became 
gradually diminished, finally obstructed and its effi¬ 
ciency destroyed. The cost of a board foundation 
was also quite an item, generally necessitating the 
digging of a much wider ditch in which to place the 
boards. With round tile the necessary width of th ? 
ditch is reduced to a minimum. A skillful man, with 
proper tools, will dig a three-foot ditch and not ex¬ 
ceed four inches in width at the bottom of the same. 
In laying, round tiles may be turned so as to form 
close joints, thus preventing the entrance of soil. This 
is quite essential, and cannot always be done with 
either horseshoe or sole tiles. There is no danger in 
making the joints as close as possible. There will 
still be plenty of space for water to enter, and nothing 
but water is wanted inside the channel. Nearly all 
the water enters the drain at the joints, and not 
through the body of the tile, and other things being 
equal, a glazed tile would be as effective as a porous 
tile. But glazed tiles are usually two feet in length, 
while the common or porous tiles are but. 12 or 12 
inches, so there would be twice as many joints in the 
latter case as in the former, which might seem to ac¬ 
celerate the entrance of water into the drain. I have 
several miles of tile drain on my farm, and in all cases 
the main drains are second quality glazed sewer tile 
from three to eight inches in diameter. These were 
used for the reason that better connections for the 
inlet of laterals could be obtained. In several in¬ 
stances these glazed drains, in order to reach an out¬ 
let, run many rods across the fields, taking the place 
of the ordinary lateral drain of porous tile and I can 
see no difference in the results obtained. The glazed 
tiles 24 inches in length with collars, remove the sur¬ 
plus water from the portion of the field through which 
they pass just as rapidly and effectively as do the 
porous tiles 12 inches long. I would .however, use 
for lateral drains the porous or brick tiles, where a 
good foundation of clay or hardpan exist, as they 
cost less. But for main drains, where provision for 
connecting with numerous laterals must be made, and 
in cases where the foundation is unstable as in case 
of quicksand or muck, I would prefer the sewer tile, 
a second quality of which can often be obtained at 
very reasonable prices. These tiles have collars on 
one end and once laid properly cannot get out of 
place. It is very unwise to fill a drain over the tiles 
with small stones, expecting by so doing to facilitate 
the entrance of water into the tiles. Such a proce¬ 
dure certainly does facilitate the entrance of soil and 
fertilizing matter to be carried away and lost but 
does not help to lower the water table for a distance 
of 20 feet or less each side of the drain. The best 
medium on which to lay tiles and with which to sur¬ 
round them is clay through which little else but clear 
water can pass. This should be packed solidly 
around and over the tiles and will effectually hold 
them in place. When so laid the water discharged 
from a system of drains will be clear and cold like 
that from springs, and the work of such drains will 
continue to improve and become more efficient for 
many years, and the drains practically permanent. 
Monroe Co., N. Y. feed ei. gctt. 
I prefer the round as they may be turned so as to 
make a better fit. I used the horseshoe 25 years ago, 
and found that when a tile did not properly fit it was 
necessary to try others; this required time. The 
round tile may be turned until a good fit is secured. 
I have placed several thousand feet of tile in hard 
and soft ground, and much prefer the round. As to 
the glazed or unglazed, I am not so well prepared to 
decide. My horseshoe tile were not glazed; they 
worked well. Round tile (glazed) work equally well. 
I have no doubt water in very small quantities will 
pass through unglazed walls of tile, but the object 
sought in tiling is rapidly to take in and carry away 
the surplus water. This can be accomplished only 
through larger openings (the joints.) As to ease of 
laying the different styles of tile„,it depends on the 
way the ditch is finished. For round tile, the bottom 
of ditch should be finished concave and about the 
width cf tile, which is easier to finish than a flat bot¬ 
tom. J- b. draime. 
Stark Co., 0. __ 
One burdock plant bears as many as 400,000 seeds. 11 
you cut out its rosette of big leaves the first year, you 
avoid all risk of those 400,000 seeds the second. 
“This is from one of your old stick-bys,” writes a 
friend who has taken The R. N.-Y. for many years. 
That is the sort of pluator that heals without a blister. 
TREATMENT OF BLIGHT AND MILDEW. 
Is there any difference between blight and mildew, and 
would potassium sulphide do to spray potatoes to prevent 
blight? w. jh. s. 
Howell, Mich. 
The terms “blight” and “mildew” are applied to 
certain kinds of fungi. Mildew is somewhat more re¬ 
stricted. It is used to designate those kinds of fungi 
which cause a gray or white color on the outside of 
the foliage or objects of attack. Blight is a term ap¬ 
plied to almost any fungus disease of plants. Potas¬ 
sium sulphide has long been used as a fungicide, and 
doubtless would answer for spraying potatoes against 
blight, though I do not remember that any trials 
of it have been made. Potassium sulphide dissolved in 
water would soon wash off the plants and would not 
be as good as Bordeaux Mixture on that account. 
Potassium sulphide and lime have not to my knowl¬ 
edge been used on foliage, and I do not know whether 
it would cause injury or not. Probably if well diluted 
it would not cause very much injury. Personally, 1 
have never used liver of sulphur, or potassium sul¬ 
phide for fighting any plant disease except rust on 
carnations in the greenhouse. I do not feel quali¬ 
fied to state whether it can be used with Bordeaux 
Mixture or not. I have never tried it, but should be 
interested in watching such a test. w. e. britton. 
Conn. State Entomologist. 
BUILDINGS AT PROSPECT HILL FARM. 
'Fig. 159 is an illustration of some of the buildings 
of Prospect Hill Farm. Part of the 
farmhouse is considerably over 100 years 
old. The horse barn has stalls on 
main floor for five horses, also room for 
harness and wagons, etc., holding about 
eight wagons and carriages; upper story 
for hay and grain. A basement is divid¬ 
ed into three compartments, one for 
fertilizer, one for shavings, a large quan¬ 
tity of which are obtained during Sum¬ 
mer for Winter use, and a room special¬ 
ly fitted for fruit and used at other times 
as storage place for grain in the sack. 
The dairy barn is 112 x 30, with an ell 
24 x 30. In this there is stable room 
for 62 cows, two box stalls, a bull stall, 
and an iron grain bin holding over a 
carload. Under part of this barn is a 
manure cellar, but manure is hauled 
every few days right to the field when 
conditions permit. About two loads per 
day are made, and the liquid manure 
is largely saved by the use of absorbents. 
In the floor above the cows is the hay 
storage. As the barn is on a side hill 
that is reached by the rear on a level. 
A hay fork runs both ways from the 
middle floor, easily carrying hay to any 
part of the barn. There are four open¬ 
ings below to allow hay to get down 
handy for the cows. Under the main 
driveway is a trap door to grain bin, 
also a compartment for shavings with door 
below, so there is no lost room. At each 
end of the barn is a silo, the first one, built in 
1890, square with corners knocked off, holding* 100 
tons; the second built in 1893, octagonal in shape 18 
feet in diameter. Adjoining the cow barn, but not 
visible, is stable for young cattle and two additional 
horses and wagon shed. Next is the creamery and 
ice house adjoining. Here the milk is separated, but¬ 
ter made and the ice cream manufactured. A shed ad¬ 
joining has a circular saw, so that the one engine 
furnishes power and steam for a good many purposes. 
The fifth building is the chicken house, tool shed and 
another two-carload iron grain bin. Sixth is the 
slaughter house, also used as shed for tools and ma¬ 
chinery. Next is a sap house, but now used only for 
wagons and sleighs. Across the highway, but not in 
the picture, are the two houses of the sons who run 
the business. ii. g. Manchester. 
HAY SLINGS AiND HAY LOADERS.—Hay slings are 
used in certain sections of the country, but have not 
come into general use, as the double harpoon fork has. 
We do not know what the objections to the slings are, 
but would judge that the fact of carrying them on the 
hay rack, stopping the team in loading:, and spreading 
them down, would be one of the objections used; while 
with the harpoon fork the load is put on and then driven 
to the barn, and the fork used to unload without any 
bother in handling the slings. Yet the writer personally 
believes that the slings are as good, if not better, for 
the reason that if three slings are used the load can be 
unloaded at three drafts by the team, and take the hay 
up cleaner from the rack than with the use of the fork. 
Some use the four-tine double-grapple fork, which is 
used more in the East than here in the West, and which 
gives excellent satisfaction to the farmer. We sell a 
great many hay loaders, and in the use of the hay loader 
the load is put on very rapidly, and it would bother 
the farmer more to have to stop and level down the load 
and let down the slings, and as the loader packs the hay 
together the double-harpoon fork takes off the load very 
rapidly, lifting as much as 600 to 800 pounds of hay at a 
time. The great scarcity of farm laborers has forced 
the farmer to buy hay loaders, with which to make his 
hay, where a few years ago. labor being plenty and 
wages much lower than now, loaders were less needed. 
Dayton, O, THE OHIO RAKE CO. 
KALM1A LATIFOLIA Oli MOUNTAIN LAUREL. Fig. 161. 
See Ruralisms, Page 382 
