1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
583 
Barley as Food for Chickens. 
F. P., California. —I have used barley 
for this purpose for a long time, and 
since the price of wheat has risen, my 
full-grown hens have received barley as 
the evening feed for 12 months past, or 
more during the summer, with corn 
added for winter feed. When meat or 
blood meal, linseed (oil cake) or cooked 
meat is given them in their soft food 
once a day, or when green cut bone is 
used instead, I believe that barley serves 
the same purpose for fowls as wheat 
would. I use by preference Beardless 
barley. Young chicks will learn to like 
this very soon. I crack it in the begin¬ 
ning for a few weeks ; when four weeks 
old, they eat it whole. It must, how¬ 
ever, be kept stored in bins, because 
mice, rats or other rodents also like it in 
preference to other grain, even to oats. 
Barley and Peas for Soiling. 
W. W. C., South Wales, N. Y.—For 
two seasons, we have used oats and peas 
for summer feeding, and could get more 
milk than with sweet corn or fodder 
corn of any kind, and could raise two 
crops during the season. This year, we 
had ensilage until about July 9, for our 
20 cows, then used oats and peas, then 
clear oats until they were ripe, and also 
some second crop clover, but are now 
feeding barley and peas, and getting 
five gallons more of milk per day with 
the same grain ration as we used with 
the other green feeds. We are not used 
to having our cows gain in flow of milk 
at this season of year. Would you at¬ 
tribute it to the barley, or has a steady 
feeding of grain during summer kept 
them in good condition to make a gain ? 
Our pasture is only medium in quality, 
mostly poor side-hill. We have been 
feeding more salt of late, but have salted 
once a day all summer, so I think barley 
and peas are the best summer feed we 
have ever used. 
Cheap Cookers Wanted. 
W. T. S., Uwchland, Pa. —One of the 
needs of the farm that I never see adver¬ 
tised, is a fire-box surrounded by a gal¬ 
vanized iron water-jacket, with a pipe 
to conduct the steam to a tank in which 
to cook feed or vegetables for cattle or 
pigs. Some such article used to be on 
the market for heating water for hog- 
scalding, only lacking the steam pipe, 
and was sold at a moderate price. There 
are plenty of cookers offered for sale, 
but with a steamer attachment, are too 
high-priced for the times. Very few 
people care to cook vegetables directly 
in water after having tried steaming 
them. The refuse potatoes and other 
vegetables, if cooked, and a little meal 
added, make an excellent winter food 
for pigs. 
More About Alfalfa. 
F. E. S., Manlius, N. Y.—I have raised 
Alfalfa for the last five or six years, and 
find it a good crop for me. The first that 
I sowed was one acre, and the first crop 
was about three tons. The next crop 
was ton, and the next about one ton; 
that was all raised in one year. I have 
learned by experience that the best way 
for me to get a crop started is to sow as 
early in the spring as I can. I sow one- 
half bushel of Alfalfa seed to the acre, 
then sow one bushel of oats to the acre, 
and harrow well. When the oats head 
out, I cut it for hay ; it makes good feed 
for any kind of stock. It will grow on 
any good soil, the richer the land the 
better the crop. My land is a gravelly 
< You must have just one neigh- 
( bor or friend who wants 
The Rural New-Yorker. 
) Then just call his attention to this 
( suggestion: We will send him the 
paper for the rest of this year for 
25 Ct 8 ■ \ 25 cents. 
s 
To 
Jan. I 
Next 
for 
loam, with one corner of red clay. I 
sowed that, then put some barnyard 
manure on it, and got a fair crop from 
it. Use any fertilizer that is good for 
any spring grain, say oats or barley. 
Fresh or Rotted Manure—Which ? 
F. S. N., Vineland, N. J.—A writer 
on page 434 says, “ It should never be 
the question, of how to store manure, 
but how to apply it * * * manure 
is worth more when first made than 
it ever will be worth again.” From 
the point of its chemical composition, 
this is, undoubtedly, true, but many 
writers on the use of manure lay 
much stress on “thorough decomposi¬ 
tion”, “have it well rotted down”, etc. 
Nurserymen object to fresh manure, and 
for the formation of flower beds, and 
especially, for greenhouse use, gardeners 
will use only manure that has been well 
rotted and worked over. While there 
must be a great loss of nitrogen from 
evaporation, and of potash from leach¬ 
ing, it is evident that there must be 
some gain from some cause, or some of 
our best authorities in plant culture 
have gone wrong. 
Allen, in Bulbs and Tuberous Rooted 
Plants, insists on the use of manure that 
has been thoroughly decomposed. The 
same may be said of every authority 
on flower culture with which I am 
acquainted. Durand and Fuller would 
never use fresh manure for strawberries, 
unless for a winter mulch, and then the 
well-rotted would be preferred. It is a 
well-known fact that only black and 
slimy fungi will grow on a pile of fresh 
manure, while rank weeds and useful 
plants flourish on an old rotten manure 
heap. 
We use nearly all our manure in a 
fresh or undecomposed condition; in 
fact, to let it rot down, we should feel 
that we were losing from one-half to 
two-thirds of it. I hope that The R 
N.-Y. will draw out a full discussion on 
this point, to the end that we may know 
where and when to apply fresh manure 
and where not. Voorhees barely men¬ 
tions the subject on page 57 in the 
First Principles of Agriculture. Frank 
Sempers discusses fermentation, decom¬ 
position, and the best methods to accom¬ 
plish the work, but says nothing about 
what plants require decomposed manure 
for the best results. 
Common tarred paper was all 
right for your grandfathers to use 
as inside lining and outside cover¬ 
ing of their buildings, — in fact, it 
was all they had to use; but in 
this age of advancement a fabric 
has been produced which appeals 
to every farmer, florist, or gardener. 
It is known as the Neponsct 
Waterproof Red Rope Fabric. It 
is a splendid roof and side cover¬ 
ing for outbuildings, and takes the 
place of back plaster in dwellings. 
It is proof against wind, water, 
frost, and insures warm, dry build¬ 
ings ; costsonly $5.00for 500square 
feet at the factory, with the neces¬ 
sary nails and tin caps. Any man 
with a hammer and pocket knife 
can put it on. 
For inside lining Ncponset Black 
Building Paper is very inexpen¬ 
sive. It also is water-proof, odor¬ 
less, and clean. Hundreds of far¬ 
mers are using this paper to-day, 
and repairing buildings at slight 
cost. 
Full particulars and 
samples free. Write 
F. W. Bird & Soil, 
East Walpole, Mass. 
For sale by Dealers 
in Hardware, Lum¬ 
ber, and Building 
Supplies. 
ARMSTRONG & McKELVY 
Pittsburgh. 
BEYMER-BAUMAN 
Pittsburgh. 
I) AVIS-CHAMBERS 
Pittsburgh. 
FAHNESTOCK 
Pittsburgh. 
ANCHOR ) 
> Ciucinuati. 
I 
Now York. 
ECKSTEIN 
ATLANTIC 
BRADLEY 
BROOKLYN 
JEWETT 
ULSTER 
UNION 
SOUTHERN 
SHIPMAN 
COLLIER 
MISSOURI 
RED SEAL 
SOUTHERN 
JOHN T. LEWIS & BROS CO 
Philadelphia. 
MORLEY 
Cleveland. 
SALEM 
Salem, Maas. 
CORNELL 
Buffalo. 
KENTUCKY 
Louisville. 
GNORANCE in regard to 
paint materials or painting 
| wo uld seem in this age to be in- 
< 
excusable, when full information 
can be had free. If interested, it 
will pay to get pamphlet and 
color cards, also twelve pictures 
of houses painted in different 
shades or combinations of colors, 
free. Send your address. 
National Lead Co., 1 Broadway, New York. 
Chicago. 
St. Lonia. 
KEMP'S 
MANURE 
SPREADER 
16 YEARS ON MARKET, 
IM PROVED FOB ’97. amPdoes 'u'better 
than It can be done 
by hand. An ideal machine for top dressing; 
grain, pastures and meadows. It fines the 
manure as it spreads Hand makes it easily avail¬ 
able for plant food. Sent to any party who 
furnishes satisfactory references or responsible 
commercial rating;. Illustrated catalogue 1-'KKK. 
Largest and oldest manufacturers of Manure Spreaders in the world. 
KEMP & BURPEE MFC. COMPANY, Box 38, SYRACUSE, N. Y. 
S Unequaled for 
ull purposes. 
Stock, hog 
T sheep d 
poultry 
fence 
O combi, 
nat’n, 
M’de ; 
In 6 
halgi 
X. + hta 
of 
K best 
Gal- 
van- 
A ized 
Stoel 
Wire 
D No. 13. 
Protects 
against rab- 
E bits. Meets all 
olimatio changes. 
Hartman Mfi 
Manhattan Bldg., O! 
"No I 
Sag- 
Bing | 
In sum- 
_ mer, 
Send for catalogue, etc. 
.. Co., Ellwood City, Pa. 
ioago. 2T1 Broadway, N. Y, 
PEACE WITH TURKEY. 
"Another year's experience with the Page Fence 
simply more tlrmly grounds me In the belief that it 
Is the best fence on earth. * * * * 1 am certain 
that quite a number of your agent's sales here this 
year are due to the satisfaction which this fence 
misgiven me.” F. K. DAWI.EY. 
(Director New York State Bureau Farmers insti¬ 
tutes and proprietor of ill acre turkey yard, Fayette¬ 
ville). Send for cut and particulars. 
PAGE WOVEN WIRE FENCE CO., Adrian, Mich. 
Do you have trouble to get the boys or 
hired man up in the morning ? Perhaps 
you have the same trouble with your- 
STEEL P 
^ n n n r 
GKET LAWN FENCE, 
steel eates,steel postsand rail, also Field and 
Hog Fence Wire, single and double farm gates. 
For further Information, write to the 
UNION FENCE CO., De Kalb, III. 
A FENCE THAT 
is the KEYSTONE FENCE. It is con 
structed with a special view to taking up all 
slack by expanding and contracting as 
required by any degree of heat or cold. It Is 
25 to 58 inches high and will turn anything 
hut wind and water. Book on fence 
construction sent free. 
4 KEYSTONE WOVEN WIRE FENCE CO., • 
• No. 19 Rush St.., PEORIA. ILL. • 
BOWEN 
CABLE STAY FENCE CO 
<T I n For a machine to build 
4 ) I U the cheapest strongest 
and best fence made of wire. 
No royalties, no farm rights, 
machine easily and quickly 
operated by any farmer. 
Bead for large circulars 
N OR WALK.O. 
self. The alarm goes off, but you lie 
just a minute longer, and go to sleep 
again and miss the train. What you 
want is this long-alarm clock. It will 
ring 15 or 20 minutes, and make life a 
burden to you until you get up and 
switch it off, which you can do, and stop 
the alarm at once. It is nine inches 
high, cast metal case finished in oxi¬ 
dized copper, and makes a nice appear¬ 
ing clock. The price is $3 30. Send us 
one new subscription and $2.65, and we 
will send you the clock, and the paper a 
year to the new subscriber. In this 
way, the clock will cost you only $1.65 
R unyon’s Pat. Gauge 
Si Lock Wire Fence. 
New plan by which farm¬ 
ers can build and weave 
fence cheap and rapidly 
without machine. Town¬ 
ship rights and farm 
rights for sale cheap. 
LKWI8 M. RUNYON, Allaiuuchy, N. J. 
j WO VEN 
1 wire FENCE 
*. Bent on Karth. Home-high, Bull- 
| ntrong,Pig andfhle^en-tlghL With 
. our DLTI.KX AUTOMATIC flMhSne 
IWiWAWM’ 
J you can make 80 rods a day for 
. 12 to 20 cts. a Rod. 
, Over SO aljrle*. Catalogue Free. 
i KITSELMAN BROS., 
- Km 108. Ridgevllle, Ind. 
\mmnmnm 
mWWWW\ 
jMvwWW 
and express. We will send it for a club 
of six new subscriptions. When you get 
it you wouldn’t take $4 for it. We are 
giving old subscribers these bargains for 
their interest in securing new subscrip¬ 
tions. If you want to be sure about the 
time to get up, and sure to get up, you 
want this clock. 
The Rural New-Yorker, New York. 
Spraying Crops. 
Prof. Clarence M. Weed. Why, When and How 
to Do It. Illustrated. Covers the whole field 
of the insect and fungous enem ies of crops for 
which the spray is used. Paper.25 
The Kural New-Yorker, New York. 
