772 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
November 27 
ground is frozen, or when there is snow on the ground, 
that it is almost out of the question to spread the 
lime properly. As to the amount, I would prefer 25 
bushels per acre twice as often, to 50 bushels for the 
longer period. I have had no experience in its ap¬ 
plication during the winter to wheat and, so far as I 
know, it is not thus applied in our State. 
Pennsylvania. thos. j. edge. 
Best on the Wheat Stubble. 
I have had no experience in applying lime on wheat, 
but as I understand the action of lime upon the soil, 
it would hardly seem to be the right time to apply it. 
Lime acts to decompose the vegetable matter in the 
soil, making it available as plant food. But little lime 
has been used in this neighborhood for many years, 
but as a boy, I was quite familiar with its use ; it 
was then almost always applied upon the wheat 
stubble, sometimes upon the upturned sod for corn, 
being well harrowed in, the idea being, as I under¬ 
stood it, to decompose the sod. thomas shabpless. 
Chester County, Pa. 
Beware of Unslaked Lime. 
As hardly any wheat is grown in this State, we 
have had no experience in the matter. We have, 
however, secured some very good wheat of four dif¬ 
ferent varieties the past season, the best -yield being 
at the rate of 27 bushels per acre from small plots 
which had been well limed. A number of previous 
attempts without liming had utterly failed to pro¬ 
duce any grain worth thrashing, and I am satisfied 
that wheat can be grown on our Rhode Island soils 
with the use of lime and a suitable amount of fer¬ 
tilizer. As the effect of lime on acid soil is largely a 
chemical one, its influence depends mainly upon the 
thoroughness with which it is mixed with the soil 5 
but we are not prepared to say t hat an application on 
the surface as a top-dressing will not do some good, 
and we would hardly suppose that, when applied as 
a top-dressing on snow, it could do any harm to the 
young wheat plants. Unless very thoroughly air- 
slaked, we should hesitate about using it in the spring 
as a top-dressing as, if the lime be imperfectly slaked, 
any caustic lumps would, doubtless, injure the young 
plants with which they come in contact. We find 
this.to be true when imperfectly si aked lime is worked 
into the soil and followed by immediate seeding either 
to grain or grass. Whatever seed is in the immediate 
vicinity of the lump of caustic lime, is killed by it, 
and a bare spot in the seedin g results. If, however, 
a few days including a rain elapse between the time 
of application and the time of seeding, no harm re¬ 
sults, as the lumps become slaked before the seed is 
sown. We have, the past fall, commenced an experi¬ 
ment to test the comparative benefit to be derived by 
applying the lime as a top-dressing in one case and 
thoroughly worked into the soil in the other case, 
the test being made with fall-sown grass. 
Rhode Island Experiment Station, chas o, fi.agg. 
HORTICULTURE FOR THE CHILDREN. 
ABOUT NUTS AND NUTTING TIME. 
Pabt II. 
Where the wild nut trees and bushes have borne 
well, I hope plenty of nuts have been gathered by 
The R. N.-Y. children. As the long winter nights 
come on, it is a*good time, not only to crack nuts and 
enjoy eating them by the home fireside, but to learn, 
as well, some of the useful and interesting things 
about them. It may be that some wish to plant some 
nuts, and do not know just how to treat them so that 
they will grow. One of the most important things is 
that the nuts should not be allowed to become dry, or 
they will lose their vitality. Every good seed has a 
little live plant wrapped up inside, which needs only 
the right conditions to enable it to expand and burst 
the shell or skin, and come out. Nuts are nothing 
but big seeds. They are nearly all very sensitive to 
dryness and heat, and the latter causes the oil in them 
to become rancid. Nature causes them to fall on the 
ground, where they are soon covered with leaves, 
which keep them moist and cool. The squirrels bury 
a great many for food just beneath the soil, which 
they never find, and these are therefore planted in 
the very best manner and season. 
No time should be lost in getting the nuts planted ; 
as a rule, the sooner after falling, the better. Mice 
and some other animals are likely to eat nuts planted 
in the fall; therefore, it is a good plan to wait until 
spring in some cases. But the nuts must be carefully 
and properly treated until spring. If mixed with 
their bulk of sand or soil in some old cracked earthen 
crock or iron pot, or in a leaky tin bucket, and buried 
in the earth, they will keep naturally moist and cool. 
Anything that will hold water would, probably, in¬ 
jure them, for nuts must not be water-soaked. A lid 
or cover of wire netting, or a flat stone, will admit 
water enough, and keep out mice, etc. Each variety 
should be marked by a plain wooden label in case of 
a desire to plant separately. 
Early next spring, the nuts must be taken up and 
planted, either in nursery rows or where the trees are 
to stand. They must be planted very shallow, for if 
deep, they will not come up well. A good plan is to 
drop them along a line stretched on the top of fresh¬ 
ly-plowed soil, and press them just out of sight with 
the foot. If only a few are to be planted, it is often 
best to plant them where they are to grow, and pro¬ 
tect them there in some way. 
Although nuts, like fruit seeds, will not come true 
to the varieties, yet it is wise to plant only the 
choicest kinds to be found, unless the seedlings are 
to be grafted. While they are not likely to produce 
the same kinds from seed, good nuts are quite sure to 
produce better kinds than poor ones. Chestnuts, 
hickory nuts, pecans, walnuts and butternuts are the 
leading nuts to plant, but it may be well to select a 
few of the largest and biggest-meated hazel nuts. 
They will come up readily if no t allowed to dry too 
much. An out-of-the-way c orner planted to thrifty, 
bearing hazel bushes would be a nice thing to have 
where wild ones are not very plenty. Of all kinds of 
nuts, select not only the largest varieties, but those 
of the thinnest shells, the largest and best tasted 
meats, and those which have kernels that come out 
easily. h. e. van deman. 
HOW TO MOUNT A GRINDSTONE. 
Probably not more than once in a lifetime does one 
have to make a grindstone frame and hang a grind- 
HOW TO MOUNT A GRINDSTONE. Fig. 328. 
stone ; but when the time comes for it to be done, it 
should be done well. A grindstone properly mounted 
is always a comfort; if not so mounted, it is exasper¬ 
ating whenever used. Very little trouble will make 
it satisfactory, and no one who cares for a good stone 
will grudge the trouble ; the trouble will be lessened 
if one know something about how to do it before 
beginning. 
Fig. 328 shows a frame that has proved very satis¬ 
factory, and it will be found equally as durable and 
well proportioned as one bought from a hardware 
store, which, with the stone, will cost several dollars. 
A saw, hammer, brace and bit, nails, and a chisel are 
the only tools required, and any one who can handle 
these tools can make such a frame as the one shown, 
almost entirely of scraps picked up about the place. 
The fixtures and axle, bearings and handle, come in 
sets, and a good set can be bought for 75 cents. The 
pedal arrangement for turning the stone without help, 
should be attached, as it is not always convenient to 
have some one turn the stone. A piece of telegraph or 
other heavy wire, and a plank for the pedal are every¬ 
thing required, and with it, light grinding can be done 
with ease and comfort. 
Next, the stone has to be centered. Like swimming, 
this is very easy to do when one knows how to do it. 
There are several ways of centering a grindstone; 
here is one satisfactory way : Fit a piece of hard 
wood into the hole in the center of the stone and 
wedge it tightly, but not so tightly as to split the 
stone. Then saw off the ends of the plug and wedges, 
flush with the stone on both sides, using an old saw, 
as the stone will injure a good one. Then lay the 
stone flat, draw on it three lines—AB, CD, EF—Fig. 
328, each of any length, but about as shown in the 
cut, say 12 inches long. Measure half of each of 
these lines, and from the halfway points and square 
with the lines, draw three lines beyond the center of 
the stone; if the measurements be carefully taken, 
these lines, if accurately drawn, will cut each other 
in the exact center of the stone. 
There is little now to be done but to bore the hole for 
the axle on which the stone hangs. This, however, 
is not as easy to do exactly right as would appear, as 
it is hard for any one who is not a carpenter, to bore 
a hole true and plumb unless with a boring machine 
and, as these are not usually kept on a farm, it will 
be found satisfactory to bore half of the hole from 
each side of the stone. If these two borings do not 
coincide exactly, a long-bladed knife, if no better 
tool be convenient, will answer to smooth out the 
hole. If the foregoing directions be carefully fol¬ 
lowed, the stone will hang and revolve true and 
plumb; but if it do not, very little trimming and 
wedging will put it in proper shape. 
In selecting a stone for general farm use, me¬ 
dium grit will prove most satisfactory, and a stone 
3% or 4 inches thick, and weighing about 75 
pounds, will be found a convenient size. A grind¬ 
stone should not be allowed to stand out in the 
weather, as its action will rot the frame and rust the 
metal bearings, which should always be kept oiled. 
The frame should be painted; cheap roof paint or 
any common paint will answer. Neither should the 
stone be allowed to stand in water, as it will soften 
and wear more quickly on the damp side, and thus 
become lop-sided. 
All grinding should be done on each side of the 
center of the cutting face, which will form a ridge in 
the center as shown. If this section be preserved, 
grinding can be done better and more quickly, and 
the stone will keep in better shape. The entire cost 
of a stone, mounted as described, should not be over 
82, while almost any hardware store will charge from 
85 to 88 for it. julien a. hade. 
STEAM OR GAS ENGINES IN THE DAIRY. 
There has been some controversy as to the best power to use 
on a dairy farm. The gas-engine people praise their power, and 
the steam-engine folks claim superiority, because they always 
have a good supply of steam on tap. Which do you prefer, and 
why ? 
Steam Best for the Dairy, 
If power alone is considered, gas, water or animal 
may, under various conditions, be quite as economi¬ 
cal as steam. But steam is so useful an agent in the 
necessary cleaning work of the dairy that, under 
most circumstances, it is the most desirable form of 
power also. Hitherto, the odor of the gases accom¬ 
panying the use of oil and gas engines has been a 
serious objection to their use, but I believe that has 
been overcome in the more improved forms. 
New York. h. h.owing. 
I consider the gas engine the most economical where 
labor is considered and steam is not needed for other 
purposes than for power. For a small plant, where 
power and steam were both needed, steam would, 
probably, be the most economical. Though at my 
farm I use a boiler for steam (heating water for cows 
and for washing bottles and utensils, also for the 
sterilizing room), and a gasoline engine for power, I 
think very much of my two gasoline engines. 
Illinois. H. B. GUBLEB. 
It hardly seems to me that the choice between 
steam and gasoline engines for dairy purposes admits 
of any argument. It is, probably, true that gasoline 
is the cheaper, so far as fuel cost is concerned ; but 
this will be, to some extent, overbalanced by the 
larger first cost of the gasoline plant. Then, too, the 
fact that a gasoline engine is always ready at a 
moment’s notice without waiting to get up steam, is 
some advantage. But after all, the great considera¬ 
tion in the use of the steam engine is the fact that 
one has always an abundant supply of steam on tap, 
and this is almost absolutely indispensable if real clean¬ 
liness and disinfection of milk utensils is desired. No 
matter how thorough the washing, no milk can can 
be called really clean until a jet of live steam has 
been turned into every corner of it. The importance 
of this feature of steam power cannot be over-esti¬ 
mated. Then for, at least, six months of the year, 
the dairy room must be heated, and if gasoline be 
used as power, we must simply maintain a separate 
fire, when we might as well combine heat and power 
from one fire. On a farm, there is much rubbish 
which can be burned in an engine which would hardly 
get burned elsewhere. We have, within a few days, 
put in a new steam engine, our old one being, at least, 
20 years old, and of poor pattern. An engine is a very 
desirable piece of machinery, and unless we enlarge 
our business, we consider that the question of power 
is settled for many years. For the man running a 
private dairy, a two-horse power rig will be sufficient, 
and such from a reputable manufacturer will cost 
just about 8100. JARED VAN WAGENEN JB. 
