402 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
June 19 
found that the crops needed more water, the shovel 
plow was run through the rows and the same furrows 
again were opened, and the water was run as be¬ 
fore. To-day, June 3, while our neighbors’ fields 
look wilted and have stopped growing, our crops that 
had been irrigated have not suffered, and their growth 
was not checked. Our strawberries (several acres), 
did not set a very heavy crop in spring, but every 
berry developed to perfection, making it a full crop ; 
while the berry picking has gone on a month to-day, 
the fields are white with blossoms and loaded with 
young fruit. Our strawberries received no mulch, 
yet the fruit is as clean and bright as a new pin. 
Georgia. c. dkckner 
Value of a Windmill. 
I have had no experience with a gasoline engine 
for the purpose of pumping water for stock, but have 
used a windmill successfully for many years. I think 
P. C. will have no trouble in procuring a constant 
supply of water, also, providing the conditions are all 
properly arranged. In the first place, a first-class 
mill and pump are required, pipes for conveying 
water to and from the storage tank well protected 
from frosts during the most severe weather, and the 
tank of sufficient capacity to insure water for his 
amount of stock, even during a period of three or four 
days if necessary, when there is not wind sufficient 
to run the mill—instances that seldom occur, how¬ 
ever. Our own mill, which has faithfully performed 
its work during the summer’s heat and winter’s 
storms for nearly 17 years, without a dollar’s expense 
for repairs, is running this morning in as good con¬ 
dition, apparently, as ever. 
A near neighbor, after considering the matter a 
year or two since, decided to replace his old mill with 
another with later improvements (instead of testing 
a gasoline engine), and at the present time, it is fur¬ 
nishing an abundance of water for about 50 fatten¬ 
ing cattle, 200 or more fattening lambs, besides a 
number of horses, cows, etc. The large storage 
capacity enables him to keep this amount of stock, 
and I see no reason why F. C. should not have the 
same success if the proper measures be taken to 
secure it. From ray own experience and observation 
regarding the matter, I should assume that he will 
find no cheaper or pleasanter method of furnishing 
the amount of water required for his stock. 
New York. irving d cook 
An Argument for Windmills. 
It is true, as F. C. says on page 155, “ The windmill 
sometimes fails,” but I have tried both ways, and am 
sure that it is by far the best and cheapest way he 
can supply his place with water. “The windmill 
sometimes fails,” but the gas engine always fails un¬ 
less he furnishes the gasoline, and then he has to be 
there to start and stop it. What is needed with a 
windmill is a tank large enough to hold a two or 
three days’ water supply. With such a tank he need 
have no fear of a water famine. With a good gaso¬ 
line engine there is very little danger of accident or 
fire, if carefully handled ; but the engine costs a good 
deal of money ; it makes lots of noise ; and the gaso¬ 
line costs money, but it will get the water all right. 
The windmill has these advantages : It is cheap ; it 
is durable. The power to run it doesn’t cost a cent. 
“The wind bloweth where it listeth,” and when it 
listeth, and it is going to blow whether we use it or 
not, and all we have to do is to furnish the harness 
(windmill), and keep it well oiled, and the work will 
be done, and, with the tank as mentioned, well done. 
The man who has water to be pumped, and stands 
hour after hour and pumps by hand, or who buys 
gasoline to run an engine for pumping when thou¬ 
sands of horse power are wasting over his head in 
the force of the wind, is not wise, to put it very 
mildly. 
By a system of floats in the tank, the miJl can be 
made to shut itself out of wind when the tank is full, 
and start again when any desired portion is used out. 
With such an arrangement, all one need to do is to 
oil the mill once a week and let it alone. There isn’t 
a doubt that, in the near future, we are going to light, 
and I wouldn’t be surprised, warm our houses and 
light our barns with electricity generated by wind¬ 
mills. Dynamos for generating the electricity can 
be run now with windmills, and all that is needed is 
some economical storage plant. 
On my own farms, I have had four wooden wind¬ 
mills and four steel ones, and now have three 
aeromotors in successful operation. I have had the 
aeromotors from nine down to four years, and not one 
of them has cost a cent for repairs in all that time. 
On two farms, we have the water not only in the 
barns, but in the houses as well. On one farm, the 
mill, an eight-foot one, supplies four barns, the horse 
stable and house, with hydrants in the garden. On 
another, it supplies a barn 96 x 160 feet and the house 
and garden. It is strange to me that so few farmers 
have the water in their houses. Many have tanks 
and supply the stock, but not one in fifty of these 
takes it to the houses. There is no reason why a 
farmer may not have all the water conveniences of a 
city house. By putting a large tank up high enough 
to bring the water all over the house, he may have 
hot and cold water and a water closet in the house 
at a very small cost. If the tank is put into some 
building or covered, and an overflow put to it, so that 
the mill can be let to run a good part of the time—to 
keep water cool in hot weather, and warm in very 
cold weather so it will not freeze—the water will be 
good to drink. 
I remember when we put up our first mill and tank, 
that in going to the horse barn, we came very near 
the house, and so concluded to run a pipe to the 
house, never thinking that we would ever use the 
tank water for drinking, as there was a good well 
within 30 feet of the door. But in less than a year, 
we began drinking the tank water, and soon after 
took the pump out of the house well and filled it up. 
On another farm, we have a well close by the kitchen 
door, but not a pail of water has been pumped from 
it since the water from the tank was brought to the 
house. It costs us about 25 cents per year for oil on 
each of our mills, and if F. C. doesn’t think that is 
economical pumping of water, let him try a gasoline 
engine for a year, and he will come to that conclusion. 
New York. ,r s. woodward. 
GOOD AND BAD FIELD ROLLERS. 
I wish to protest against the roller figured on page 
338 of Tub R. N.-Y., because it will bear down so 
hard on the horses’ necks. It will do this because 
the hitch is so high above the line drawn from the 
end of the tongue to the center of the roller, and while 
the horses are pulling, a large proportion of the 
power applied to the double-trees is exerted in 
forcing the end of the tongue down. , This must be 
counteracted by lifting up on the neckyoke, thus 
causing a double waste of power. To balance the 
weight of tongue and double-trees, a seat is usually 
placed on the back of the roller, and the driver, as 
the horses are resting at the end of the row, shows 
his neighbor how nicely it is balanced, and that there 
is no weight on the horses, by swaying back and forth 
in his seat and making the neckyoke rattle. But let 
him try to rattle the neckyoke when the horses are 
pulling, and he will find that he cannot do it. I know, 
for I have tried. I notice, also, that most of the 
advertised rollers have the same defect, and it is a 
very serious one. I positively would not use such a 
roller, at least on any considerable job. 
It is not hard to construct a roller properly. Ilere 
is the description of one that I made several years ago, 
and that gave good satisfaction : 
A frame of 4 x 4 oak was made and the tongue 
placed as shown at Fig. 174, which also shows the 
braces and the gudgeons or pins which held the rollers 
in place. The logs were solid, 334 feet long and 18 
inches in diameter. Gudgeons about 16 inches long 
were driven into the ends of the logs. These were 
1 M inch iron squared for 12 inches of their length and 
driven into one inch holes, leaving the four inches 
round part to project. One log was set four inches 
ahead of the other in the frame. To keep the frame 
from tipping back quite so much, the tongue was 
placed over the front 4x4, and under the hind one. 
An old mower seat was fastened on the back part of 
the frame. No trouble with this roller bearing down 
on the horses’ necks ! Also, it was pheap, easy to 
turn, was just the right width to go between the 
rows of cor©, and last but not least, it would do bet¬ 
ter work than a large roller, because, instead of 
riding over the big clods as a large roller would, it 
would push them ahead of it, grind away at them 
and, probably, break them in several pieces before it 
mounted them. A large roller of the same weight 
would run easier, but a small one will break up more 
clods, and that is what a roller is for. A large roller 
strikes a clod nearly on top. and simply pushes it 
down, while a small one strikes it on the side and gets 
several whacks at it before it is done. 
There are very few rollers in this neighborhood, 
and I do not have one myself. One reason of their 
scarcity is because no fall grain is sown, and spring 
crops do not often need a roller. Of course we do not 
have any stones to push into the soil. Still there are 
times when a roller would come very handy. 
Newton, Iowa. k. b w 
GRINDING MOWING-MACHINE KNIVES. 
Every farmer that I ever saw grinding mowing- 
machine knives held them out at arm’s length, and 
ground them on the top of the stone, similar to the 
way that a scythe is ground. This is not only a slow, 
laborious way, but as good an edge cannot be got as 
where a proper rest for the knife section is used. I 
use a flat board rest for grinding mine, which is made 
by simply nailing a board about seven or eight inct es 
wide on top of the frame that the stone is hung upon. 
The stone should be trued up so as to run true, and the 
edge of the rest should come close to the surface of 
the stone, so as not to permit the knife section to be 
drawn down between the stone and rest. My stone 
is bung upon the common friction wheel bearings 
which raise the center of the stone just high enough 
from the frame so that an inch-board rest on top of 
the frame makes it just about right for grinding the 
mowing-machine knife when the back of the knife 
section rests on the rest. Fig. 173 gives an idea of 
how the thing is managed. 
One side of the knives has to be ground on one side 
of the stone, and then the other side on the other side 
of the stone, on account of the crank being in the 
way of the end of the section. The stone should 
revolve towards the knife, and the knife should be 
held with the point pitching a little toward the stone 
and at such an angle to the face of the stone as will 
bring it to a proper cutting level ; this position can 
readily be ascertained by the operator in one or two 
trials. The knives are held in position with one 
hand, and with the other are pressed against the 
stone. After becoming accustomed to this way of 
grinding bevel-edged tools, one will wonder how he 
ever got along with the old way. Chisels and similar 
tools can be ground in this way. Whenever grinding 
tools that do not reach across the face of the stone, 
they should be given a side-ways motion, so as to 
prevent wearing the stone unevenly. 
In grinding my mowing-machine knives, I always 
grind three or four of the end sections on the side 
of the stone next to the crank end, so as to wear that 
side of the stone down with the other ; this with 
what scythe and other grinding we have, seems to 
keep that side of the stone worn down even with the 
other. f. A. i\ 
Dudley, Mass. 
CRIMSON CLOVER FOR SEED. 
HOW THEY HARVEST THE CROl’ IN DELAWARE. 
Crimson clover seed is one of the most difficult 
crops to save in good order. Those who have tried it, 
realize this already, and those who try it this season 
for the first, will agree with me fully after the 
season’s experience. I have been growing this clover 
for seed, eight years ; and have much to learn about 
it yet. There is a golden time to cut the seed, which 
is just as soon as it becomes fully mature and hard, 
but before it begins to loosen from the stem. 
It requires experience to be able to determine this 
stage of growth exactly. If cut a day or two too soon, 
the seeds will not be as large and plump ; while if 
allowed to stand a little too long, much of it will 
drop and be wasted. 
When I began saving this seed, I cut it with a com¬ 
mon mowing machine, doing the work very early in 
the morning, and late in the afternoon, while it was 
damp, and following immediately with a wire tooth 
horse rake, drawing it into small windrows. When 
partially cured, the rows were bunched in small piles. 
When treated in this way, in good weather, I have 
hulled it out in four or five days after cutting. For 
the past four years, 1 have used a self-rake reaper for 
cutting, and find that much less seed is wasted than 
when a mower is used. In ordinarily good clover, I 
set the rakes to drop a gavel every second rake. This 
makes the bunches so small that they cure nicely 
without turning, if the weather is favorable. As 
soon as perfectly dry, it should be hulled out or 
hauled to barn or stack. It is desirable to secure it 
without rain , for even a moderate amount of rain 
after cutting, will stain the seed, and one or two days 
