874 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
December 10, 
suits when we fed a noon ration, or fed three times 
daily. The important point is to use the same system 
during the feeding season, for cows are creatures of 
habit, and it takes time for them to become accus¬ 
tomed to changes of any kind. During the transition 
they shrink in milk flow. Theoretically F. D. R.’s 
plan of feeding cows twice daily and giving them a long 
time to lie down and ruminate, or chew their cud, 
is in the line of economical milk production. But 
while it is true that all exercise takes energy or burns 
up a certain amount of fuel in the form of assimilated 
food, and detracts to some extent from the cow’s ability 
to produce milk; yet if F. D. R. is a close observer 
he will notice that in practice it is hard to detect, at 
the pail, the effect of a limited amount of physical 
exercise. Just how much exercise a cow should have is 
an open question. What does affect the cow seri¬ 
ously is excitement or annoyance of any kind. If we 
recognize the fact that the cow has two nervous sys¬ 
tems—the one under control of, and acting in harmony 
with, the will, the other, the sympathetic, causing the 
organs of the body to perform their work without effort 
on her part, we shall readily see why annoyance is far 
more serious than exercise. The one set of nerves 
comes in play when the cow wills to eat, or walk, or 
kick, while the other causes the heart to beat, the di¬ 
gestive tract to perform its functions, the udder to 
secrete, etc. We all know how a fright affects the 
action of the heart, or how anxiety or excitement affects 
the appetite or hinders digestion. So with the cow. 
Anything that annoys her is sure to interfere with the 
working of the various organs of the body and will 
affect the milk flow. I have yet to find a dairy that 
produces heavily if the cows are in the habit of being 
fed a little and often. Every time anyone steps into 
the stable they jump up and call or look with anxious 
expectancy for something to eat. It is the anxiety 
rather than the exercise that has a deleterious effect. 
Better have them lie quietly and chew the cud. Still, 
while I would not awaken a baby just so a curious 
neighbor or friend could see it, still I must confess to 
very little compunction about gently driving up a fine 
1 lolstein cow for some one to admire. Within two 
minutes she should be busy again chewing her cud. 
Having had no personal experience with feeding cows 
wet feed, I could not give any positive statement. How¬ 
ever, I would say that it would not materially affect 
the amount of water the cow would take into her sys¬ 
tem in the 24 hours. The only questions that would 
present themselves to me would be: “Am I compell¬ 
ing the cow to eat dirt and filth that may have got into 
the manger with the feed?” and “Do the cows show a 
preference for cither the wet or dry feed?” For some 
reason the question of palatability of the foods cuts an 
important figure at the pail, and it always pays to cater 
to the cow in these matters. E. t. 
New Berlin, N. Y. 
An Interesting Feeding Test. 
After consulting a number of the best feeders about 
here, I find only a few who approve of allowing seven 
or eight hours’ time during the day for a cow to “chew 
her cud and make milk.” Our own practice is to give 
the last feed in the morning at about nine o’clock, when 
the cows are watered, and not feed again till 3 or 3 :30 
in the afternoon, thus giving four or five hours be¬ 
tween the finish of the morning’s feed and the afternoon 
feeding. So few of the dairymen in this vicinity have 
tried long periods between feeds that evidence is hard 
to get. I remember one test some years ago. One of 
two neighbors fed his cows only twice a day, while 
the other fed at frequent intervals. The one who fed 
in two feeds got his cattle through in the best con¬ 
dition, but this was not a Winter dairy. One other 
farmer that I know feeds only twice a day, and ap¬ 
proves the plan. So far as I am aware, all who have 
approximated the plan of feeding set forth by the ques¬ 
tion approve. One other instance I want to mention. 
There is a test going on in this town that bids fair to 
become one of prominence. Dr. Evans entered two 
Guernsey heifers for advanced registry last Spring. 
Both are likely to complete the test in a very satisfac¬ 
tory manner. They are fed at six in the morning, and 
at six at night, with no feed between. The doctor thinks 
the cows would not do so well if fed oftener. One of 
them is making a phenomenal record, producing over 
400 pounds of butter the first seven months. Should she 
continue to perform as well the remainder of the year 
her record will surpass any yet made by any animal of 
any breed at the age of two years. As regards grain 
fed in water, I have had too little experience to say 
much about it. Some years ago, when making butter 
on the farm, we fed grain wet in skim-milk, and got 
most excellent results, but I cannot say that it was the 
method of feeding; in fact, I strongly suspect it was the 
use of skim-milk that made results so good. Some 
two years ago we fed malt sprouts, and gave them a 
good soaking for 12 hours. We thought favorably of 
that feed. Further than this I have always considered 
feeding grain dry the best method. h. h. lyon. 
Chenango Co., N. Y. 
ALL ABOUT LIMOID AND KEROSENE. 
An Interview with Prof. C. P. Close. 
Since The R. N.-Y. began mentioning the K.-L. (kcr- 
osene-limoid) mixtures, a number of questions have 
been asked regarding them. The questions and an¬ 
swers are given herewith. 
How is limoid made? 
The magnesian stone lime is run through a grinder 
A WINDMILL AUTOMOB 11,E. Fig. 407. 
which reduces it to a coarse powder or ground lime. 
The ground lime passes to a mixer and slaker where 
just enough water is added and mixed into it to dry- 
slake it to a very fine powder, which is the limoid. This 
is passed through an airblast sifter, which takes out 
whatever lumps and unslaked particles are present. 
Can the fruit grower substitute ordinary lime for 
limoid ? 
Some recent tests show that a good grade of stone 
lime answers this purpose admirably, provided it is suc¬ 
cessfully dry-slaked. Compared with limoid it absorbs 
an equal amount of kerosene, but makes a little coarser 
“sloppy mass” when mixed with kerosene; it makes 
equally good K.-L. and flows as easily through a Ver- 
morel or “Mistry” nozzle without clogging. 
Will the use of stone lime dry-slaked reduce the 
cost of K.-L.? 
That depends upon the price of lime. Limoid re¬ 
tails for about $10 per ton in Delaware. 
Is it necessary to have lime containing magnesia, that 
is, will a pure lime make good K.-L. ? 
Some recent tests with a good grade of stone lime 
containing less than five per cent of magnesia made 
as good K.-L. in every apparent respect as did the mag¬ 
nesian lime. From this is seems that magnesia is not 
absolutely necessary. 
What proportion of limoid is magnesia? 
About one-third. 
How do you dry-slake stone lime? 
Break the lumps into pieces about the size of walnuts; 
spread them on a tight floor and sprinkle a small amount 
of hot water over them; stir with a hoe and add a little 
more water. Endeavor to moisten the surface of each 
lump and as soon as the slaking action begins draw 
the lime into a heap and in a short time much of it 
should break down into powder. Run this through 
a fine sieve and reject everything but the very finest 
powder. The coarse portion may be moistened again 
and heaped up as before. Practice on a small amount 
and be careful about adding too much water; the slak¬ 
ing powder must be absolutely dry. If it is slightly 
moist, 50 per cent more of it will be required, and it 
will not make a satisfactory mixture. 
\\ hat three precautions are necessary in making 
K.-L. with dry-slaked lime? 
Have the lime absolutely dry; have it reduced to the 
finest kind of powder; agitate the mixture from one to 
two minutes longer than when limoid is used. 
Is it desirable to use caustic soda with K.-L.? 
Caustic soda has been used in a 20 per cent mixture, 
and an exceedingly fine-grained product resulted. This 
was sprayed on apple and peach trees November 21. 
1 he only objection to it was the caustic action of the 
mixture upon the hands and face. 
How long will the K.-L. stick to the trees? 
I hat depends upon the weather; heavy rains might 
wash most of it off in a week’s time, but usually this 
does not occur. We have had some stick to the 
trees for two or three months. The length of time it 
adheres to the tree is probably not very important, be¬ 
cause it seems to do its deadly work on the San Jose 
scale within 48 hours after being applied, although 
many insects do not shrivel and dry up sooner than 10 
or 12 days. The important point is to spray thor¬ 
oughly and cover every insect with the mixture. 
Do you think 20 per cent or 25 per cent K.-L. will 
kill all of the San Jose scale it covers? 
\ es, I certainly think so, but I may be mistaken. Some 
of the tough, well-protected individuals might die like 
a certain German’s wife did, or rather did not. One 
morning between puffs at his pipe, the German greeted 
the attending physician by saying: '‘Last night”—puff, 
puff—"my wife”—puff, puff—“she died”—puff, puff—“al¬ 
most.” 
Have you done any spraying this Fall with 25 per 
cent K.-L.? 
Yes, on three pear trees which were badly infested 
with San Jose scale. The trees were pruned,- that is, 
surplus branches were cut out and the others headed 
back a little. One tree was sprayed with ordinary 
K.-L.. the second with K.-L. using rosin soap for an 
adhesive, and the third with K.-L. made with dry- 
slaked lime. The spraying was done at midday on Sat¬ 
urday, November 12. During the night there came a 
terrific rain, snow and windstorm of about 24 hours’ 
duration. On the northwest side of the limbs and 
trunks where the storm beat violently the mixture and 
scales were washed off. The K.-L. seemed to have 
soaked into the scale coverings enough to loosen them, 
and the beating rain washed them off. On the other 
side the spray adhered well, with a slight difference 
in favor of K.-L. with rosin soap. A careful examina¬ 
tion of these trees on November 25 failed to detect any 
scale insects that could with certainty be said to be 
alive. There was perhaps a fraction of one per cent 
which had not yet discolored or dried up enough to be 
absolutely pronounced dead, but the others, more than 
1)9 per cent, were dead and dried up. 
Would you spray peach trees in the Fall? If so, with 
what strength K.-L.? 
Yes, especially if the infestation is more than very 
slight. I should use 20 per cent K.-L.; have recently 
made some tests with 15, 20 and 25 per cent K.-L. on 
peaches. On peach trees sprayed with 15 per cent K.-L. 
in August neither the fruit buds nor leaf buds were in¬ 
jured, and the foliage was only slightly injured. 
Can K.-L. be satisfactorily made with a hoe, as de¬ 
scribed by the Hope Farm man on page 815? 
I am now ready to admit that good K.-L. can be made 
with a hoe, provided the mixture is agitated most vig¬ 
orously and violently. Since reading page 815 I have 
made 20 per cent K.-L., agitating it three minutes, five 
minutes and seven minutes respectively, and the differ¬ 
ence in time made no difference in the mixtures; they 
were all equally good and held the kerosene perfectly. 
However, use a spray pump for this purpose if possible. 
When a drop of kerosene emulsion strikes a limb it 
spreads on the bark very noticeably; does K.-L. spread 
in the same way? 
It does. It will spread from one-sixteenth to four 
or five-sixteenths of an inch from where the spray 
strikes the bark. c. p. close. 
Delaware. 
A WINDMILL AUTO.—The picture shown at Fi 
407, this page, is redrawn from an engraving in Popular 
Mechanics. Farm Implement News thus describes the 
“auto”: 
The frame on which the tower is built is a triangle, the 
center beam is a 2x0, 12 feet long, resting on the guide 
wheels at the front and on the axle at the rear. Two 
2x4’s extend from this beam at about half the distance to 
the outside of the rear. Ten inches in front of the axle 
is another 2x0 extending crosswise and resting on the beam 
and side bars, thereby forming a triangle that will not rock. 
Two legs of the tower rest on each beam. The wheel is au 
S-foot steel pumper, remodeled into a geared mill by using 
some old gear. The windmill is all built of old gear, and 
it was quite a task to find the right sizes and kinds. At 
first the vane was used, but as this would not hold the 
wheel in the wind when it was pulling hard, the gear was at¬ 
tached in such a manner that now the wheel cau be regu¬ 
lated with the left hand and the speed also. There are 
times when both hands are needed, and so a screw is used 
for a steering device and it will stay where it is set. 
This machine runs best against the wind. Of course, 
it will move sidewise to the wind or with it, but always 
the best against it. In a good wind it will move about 
three miles an hour and it could be made to run faster. 
The machine is 12 feet long, 9 feet wide and 12 feet 
high, weighing about 800 pounds.. The inventor does not 
take the machine on the road often, as it frightens horses. 
