1901 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
675 
count of stiff hard straw, but as a general thing these 
are of an inferior milling quality, and therefore un¬ 
desirable. We shall sow No. 6 the same as last year, 
as there is a great demand for it by the shredded 
wheat biscuit manufacturers as well as for general 
milling purposes. I practice heavy fertilizing, but do 
not believe that we can push the wheat out of reach 
of the fly, since one of the most complete failures in 
this neighborhood followed a heavy top-dressing of 
manure and a heavy application of phosphate. 
Monroe Co., N. Y. s. w. wAmTAMS. 
FARMING IN SOUTHWESTERN NEW JERSEf 
Fertilizers to Start Stock Farming. 
Part II. 
Last week I mentioned briefly the system of farm¬ 
ing followed on the home farm of Mr. I. J. Black- 
well. Here we have land that for nearly 60 years has 
been well cared for. Such a farm will carry many 
head of stock, and, since only fruit, meat and wool 
are really removed from it, and, besides the hay and 
grain, lx)th fertilizers and feed are added, it is com¬ 
paratively easy to keep up the rotation. In order to 
carry out a definite rotation successfully the soil of 
a farm must be even and in good heart. 
But what of a farm that has not been well cared 
for? What can be done with it? Mr. Blackwell has 
another farm of 107 acres, with about 12 acres taken 
up by timber and brook, which has begun to answer 
this question. By common consent this farm was ‘‘so 
poor that crows would fly over it.” That expresses 
just about the depth of agricultural poverty. Two 
former tenants had failed to make expenses. Mr. 
Blackwell says that this farm represents a cost of 
$3,500, while the highest offer he could get for it was 
$1,500. Here as elsewhere the value of farm land w^- 
reckoned on the basis of the products it would turn 
off. As the chief farm products of this section are 
meat, milk or wool, when this farm failed to produce 
grass and grain its value ran down. 
What can be done with a farm in a stock country 
which will not produce stock food? In such sections 
the argument is that live stock will increase the fer¬ 
tility of the land, but farm animals restore land only 
through what they eat, and this farm could offer 
them nothing. Should manure be hauled from other 
farms? No, for it was needed at home. Few farmers 
ever think it wise to haul manure from one farm to 
anoither. 'Should grain and fodder be hauled from 
outside and fed on the farm? That might be done, 
but it would be a slow and expensive way of restoring 
a farm under a tenant system. 
Mr. Blackwell decided to start at once with fer¬ 
tilizers, believing that in this way he could quickly in¬ 
crease the amount of grain and fodder and thus work 
this poor farm into a profitable rotation. So he began 
at once with the Mapes fertilizers on wheat, grass 
and corn. The old sod was plowed and fair dressings 
of the fertilizer used. The farm was 'too wet in places 
to raise good crops, and considerable draining has 
been done. In starting the acreage of corn was large 
^hat is, more of it was planted than there will be 
after a full rotation can be carried out. That was 
wise, because corn gives more stock fodder in one sea¬ 
son than any other plant in the rotation, and also 
does well on sod with a fair dressing of fertilizer. 
This year’s crops cannot be given yet, but last year’s 
statement was about as follows: 
200 bushels of wheat.$130 
800 ‘‘ “ corn. 400 
600 “ ‘‘ oats. 150 
Total.?680 
In addition to this grain, there were about 30 tons 
of hay, while the stalks from the corn gave an im¬ 
mense amount of fodder. This was only the second 
year of using fertilizers, and it must be remembered 
that two years before the tenant was told that he 
would surely starve. It will take two years more to 
complete the rotation—that is, get fully over the farm 
with clover and chemicals. Bach year increases the 
production of straw, grain and grass. All this is fed 
to stock, so that each year the number of animals will 
be increased and still more manure put on the corn. 
Of course the rotation has not yet been fuliy 
worked out, but enough has been done to show the 
possibilities of this plan of restoring run-down land 
by means of fertilizers. Few potatoes are grown here, 
but the great object is to increase the crops of stock 
food, for when a farm can carry its full force of 
stock and all 'their manure is well saved and used 
the question of farm fertility is pretty well settled. 
On his home farm, which has for years carried its 
full share of stock, Mr. Blackwell still finds that it 
pays him to use fertilizers on the wheat and oats. 
He says that even after years of good tillage, and 
manuring he can always tell, in the wheatfleld, where 
the fertilizer was shut off. The story of this poor 
farm is a striking one, showing as it does that there 
are conditions under which a bag of fertilizer may be 
made to grow into a manure pile. In this case the 
fertilizer was cheaper, quicker and more effective 
than purchased grain and fodder would have been, 
and I have no doubt there are many places where 
much the same methods could be followed to ad¬ 
vantage. H. w. c. 
GASOLINE ENGINE FOR USE ON THE FARM. 
The question of power is ever a very important 
one on the farm, when it has not been solved satis¬ 
factorily. We all need mills to grind our feed, to¬ 
gether with corn shredders, feed cutters and the like, 
and to operate them successfully we need a good 
THE early spring PROMISE. Fig. 306. 
power. Horse power, be it tread or sweep, will not 
answer all purposes, neither is it the most economical 
power. It may do for a corn crusher, when the farm¬ 
er’s time doesn’t count for much, or when he does 
his own work, but when labor is employed and there 
is considerable work to be done, we need something 
that will push the work along rapidly. 
On the farm steam power is not what is wanted. 
Unless one is an expert engineer, it is very dangerous 
to operate, and to buy fuel and hire an expert every 
time we want to operate machinery makes it expen¬ 
sive. Then it is not a convenient power in Winter, 
for boilers must be filled and emptied every time the 
engine is started, and in spite of everything pipes are 
freezing and bursting, and something is ovt of order 
nearly every time we want to run. Machinery that 
is heavy enough to turn off work expeditiously can’t 
be run economically with horse power. The farmer 
needs an engine or power equal at least to six horses, 
if he would have his work done satisfactorily. After 
an experience of 20 years with most ail kinds of 
powers we can say that nothing equals the gasoline 
engine for convenience, economy and expedition of 
work. We have had a six horse-power engine in use 
for five years. It is always ready for work, and can 
be started in two minutes when needed. We knew 
nothing at all about this kind of engine when it was 
HOW THE PROMISE FAILED. Fio. 307. 
See Page 677. 
bought, but with the printed directions for operating 
and keeping engine in repair we have run it up to 
this time without a cent out for repairs. We fre¬ 
quently hear it said that a gasoline engine is a com¬ 
plex machine, and liable to get out of repair, and this 
may be true of some makes for aught we know, but 
this has not been our experience. We operate it at 
an expense of a little less than 10 cents an hour. The 
fuel to run a steam engine will cost considerably 
more than this, to say nothing about an expert to 
operate it. We run corn crushers, bone grinders, fod¬ 
der shredders and feed cutters at all times of the year, 
and our engine has never failed to do its duty, when 
the battery was in good condition. It costs about $4 
a year to renew the battery, but we have had batter¬ 
ies to last a year and a half. 
We wouldn’t advise anyone to buy less than a six 
horse-power engine, and always have it mounted on 
trucks. You frequently need to shift it around from 
place to place in the barn, or from one barn to an¬ 
other. In almost any neighborhood the farmer can 
make good wages shredding fodder or running ma¬ 
chinery for his neighbors. In fact, if we were so 
minded we could operate our engine in this way a 
good portion of the year. When a farmer doesn’t 
feel able to buy an engine himself, he can usually 
find some of his neighbors who are willing to join 
with him and use it together. It is quite convenient 
to have heavy machinery in partnership, as a few 
farmers living close together can help each other in 
handling crops, and save a considerable outlay of 
money, which the larger farmer pays out when ho 
owns and operates his own machinery. Farmers are 
lieginning to realize what the corn fodder crop is 
worth when it is properly handled early in the sea¬ 
son, but it is rather expensive to hire outfits, as they 
go alx)ut through the country, to do the work. The 
only remedy we know of is combination, and when 
power is needed secure a gasoline engine. It is no 
longer an experiment, and you run no risk in putting 
your money in one. w. w. stevkns. 
Indiana. 
SKIM-MILK AND LIME PAINT. 
One of the chief methods for improving the ap¬ 
pearance of buildings, is by painting, which is ex¬ 
pensive, and soon fades. It costs quite a sum ito 
cover buildings with two coats of lead and oil, when 
planed boards are used, and is beyond the poor man’s 
means when buiidings are old and rough boarded. 
The worst of it is that paint is not durable. A few 
years ago I paid about $60 for patent prepared paints, 
and in two years but little remained on the house. A 
painter acquaintance told me the trouble was with 
the paint, and advised the use of lead and oil, to be 
mixed at home. The best white lead I could get was 
bought, a supply of oil obtained, and a first-class 
painter secured. Then my troubles began, for the 
painter insisted on mixing small quantities at a time, 
claiming it should be put on soon after mixing. 
Three-quarters of his time was spent mixing paint, 
and no two batches were exactly alike in color or tex¬ 
ture, but then it was all “hand painted”; nothing 
cheap about it, and I dared not complain, for painters 
are too scarce to take any back talk. The space cov¬ 
ered with paint each day was but little larger than 
the bill for the work. This preparation has lasted 
better than prepared paint, but cost enough more to 
make up the difference, and after a fev/ years begins 
to show considerable wear. 
This experience clearly demonstrated the fact that 
a poor farmer could not afford to keep barn and hen 
houses of unplaned boards painted with such paints, 
and I was induced to try “government whitewash,” 
which nearly every paper in the country has given a 
free advertisement. It made a paint easily put on, 
and came off as easily as it went on. It cost quite a 
good deal for material, required some time to make 
it, and; was money thrown away, as it did not last a 
year. It covered up everything it was put on, leav¬ 
ing the surface so white and dazzling that the glare 
hurt the eye, and no defect could be seen for the 
short time It remained. I imagine it is the kind used 
in investigations, and derived its name from that 
source. 
Thirty years ago a building was painted with skim- 
milk and stone lime and looked quite well—^traces of 
that mixture still remain, and the boards have been 
well protected. In the Spring of 1900 I used a milk 
and lime mixture which is wearing well, and is very 
cheap in both material and time required in putting 
on. We used sweet skim-milk, water lime colored 
witlh yellow ocher, using Venetian red for the doors. 
The mixture must not be too thick with lime, for it 
will form a crust, instead of penetrating, which will 
crumble off after a freeze or a hard jar. When right 
it will show the grain of the wood through it and 
cannot be rubbed or scraped off. There is too little 
of it to crack off, and a pretty shade of color is ob¬ 
tained by using the ocher. The shade can be varied 
to suit the tas,te, and to secure uniformity a large 
quantity should be mixed at one time, using a large 
tub or barrel to mix in. Measuring both milk and 
lime also aids in getting satisfactory results. The 
durability does not seem to be affected by the amount 
of rubbing in given, and where we used an old half- 
worn broom it seems to stay as well as where we 
spent more time, with ordinary paint brushes. It 
looks a little smoother on close inspection, but not 
enough 10 feet away to pay for extra time required. 
I would use brushes four to six Inches wide, and slap 
it on lively, keeping the contents of the pail well 
stirred, as some of Ibhe lime will settle to the bottom. 
Compared with other paints, this mixture, which 
really looks well, costs so little one could afford to 
put on a coat each year, but I think from present 
appearance it will last many years. The effect of a 
straw-colored building with red doors, as seen 
through the green of the plum trees, is pleasing, and 
as this mixture sticks to any old board it can be used 
on fences, hen parks, and small buildings, at a very 
slight expense. There are none so poor they cannot 
afford to paint and beautify their premises with this 
mixture. The color should be added to avoid mo¬ 
notony, and is more pleasing than the universal white 
buildings and fences of Delaware, or the red barns 
and white windows of central New York. Do not put 
it off, thinking it a big job, for it is easily and quick¬ 
ly mixed, and a man can paint a large building in 
one day. The entire cost of painting a good-sized 
barn need not exceed $5. c. R. ruArM VN. 
