i89o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
567 
Business. 
GRANGE DEALING WITH GRANGE. 
The question is again being agitated whether it is feas¬ 
ible to do away with middlemen and let the producer deal 
directly with the consumer. As has been stated in The 
Rural, the Grange is studying this question with a view 
to the direct interchange of commodities between different 
parts of the country. It seems very easy in theory, but 
there are many difficulties in the way of its actual accom¬ 
plishment. One of the greatest of these is the want of 
practical, business education among farmers. A majority 
of them are not posted in regard to supply and demand, 
and are at sea in regard to values of their products. I have 
known cases where farmers were offered higher prices for 
certain products than they would have thought of asking, 
but the very fact of their being offered a higher price 
seemed to frighten them into a refusal to sell. I am 
located in a village near New York, and have occasion fre¬ 
quently to visit the wholesale markets in that city. I have 
often observed the slovenliness and carelessness with 
which much of the produce received there is graded and 
packed; the wonder is, not that it sells for so low a price, 
but that it sells at all. Should the manufacturer or mer¬ 
chant exercise no greater care in the display of his goods 
ruin would inevitably follow in a large majority of cases. 
Last fall a grocer in our village wished to buy several car¬ 
loads of fine potatoes for a very discriminating trade. 
Potatoes in New York, the usual source of supply, were 
high in price and poor in quality. I happened to know of 
several potato growers in different Western States who 
had large crops of flue potatoes and were unable to sell 
them at anything but a nominal price; some of them were 
unable to sell at any price. I thought it would be a good 
deed to put these parties in communication with the gro¬ 
cer, and accordingly gave him the names. He wrote to a 
number of them, asking prices by the car-load. In every 
case they gave him prices nearly or quite as high as New 
York quotations. As the freight for such a long distance 
would be heavy, no purchases were made. Many of the 
farmers in those same localities have reported little or no 
sale for potatoes at any time during the winter and spring, 
and many thousands of bushels wore a total loss. Doubt¬ 
less they expected to get all they asked, but a careful study 
of the situation and the application of plain business prin¬ 
ciples would have enabled them to appreciate an opportu¬ 
nity when they saw it. The want of these caused them a 
loss. OBSERVER. 
ABOUT SUB-IRRIGATION. 
M. M. L., Goshen, Ind.— It is claimed that sub-irriga¬ 
tion greatly economizes water—a matter of no small im¬ 
portance with us. Iks effects have been shown in several 
ways on my farm during the present severe drought. A 
lot of uuderdrains have been conducted into a “ well ” 
and in order to facilitate getting the water iuto a trough 
it has been allowed to rise within one foot of the surface, 
and has been then couveyed in ordinary tile for about 40 
feet. Along the whole route the grass has been abundant 
and as green as it could be; while on both sides there is 
nothing but dust. No water was discharged into the soil. 
How deep and how far apart should be sub irrigation pipes 
be ? In the early history of our town our only dependence 
in case of fire was on two large cisterns at the intersections 
of the stieets, and these were kept constantly full by the 
drippings from two pumps with which they were con¬ 
nected. Why could not the drip from an ordinary kitchen 
pump be utilized to store water for irrigating purposes ? 
Severe droughts we always have had and always will 
have, and some means of protection must be devised 
agaiust them. 
ANS.—There can be little reason to doubt the value of 
this system of equalizing the distribution of water in the 
soil. Of course, in order to make it successful, one must 
have a perfect supply of water and a set of pipes or drains 
perfectly arranged. In countries where stones abound a 
Blmple system of sub irrigation is quite common. Or¬ 
dinary ditches are dug at needed distances apart and filled 
with small atones to within 18 inches or so of the top, 
thick plank being laid at the bottom. These serve to 
drain the land in wet seasons and to hold moisture in 
droughts. In very dry weather water can be run into the 
upper part of this system of drains and allowed to run 
down through. In hot, dry countries where few stones are 
found perforated pipes are used. Mr. W. S. Marshall of 
Texas, thus describes a system in quite general use in sec¬ 
tions of that State. “ The water is distributed by means 
of pipes placed in the ground below the reach of the plow. 
These pipes may be of thin, perforated metal, of» clay til¬ 
ing, or they may be made of cement in a continuous line, 
and the sides perforated at intervals to allow the water to 
run out and soak into the soil. Sub-irrigation by this 
method effects a great economy of water; all that used 
goes just where it is wanted to produce the best results; 
there is no baking of the surface, and comparatively little 
loss from evaporation; 1,000 gallons will water properly 
and sufficiently as many trees or plants by this method of 
distribution, as would 6,000 gallons by surface applica¬ 
tion. The wind-mill is located outside of the lot; water 
is conducted in an iron pipe to the reservoir, a cypress 
tank with a capacity of 6,000 gallons. This is located in 
the center of the plot irrigated. See Figure 232 in which O 
represents the tank or reservoir, 3 3 and 4 4 small pools 
in which the header pipes terminate, 5 5 and 5 5 header 
pipes and * * * distributing pipes. Figures 5 5 are four-inch 
header pipes made out of cement; they connect with 
pools 3 3 and 4 4, located near the reservoir. These pools 
are common kerosene barrels. The lines * * * are the 
lateral pipes; these are two-inch cement pipes and are 
perforated, a three-sixteenth inch hole being made every 
eight feet, alternately on either side. In applying the 
water a full tank is drawn into one of the pools, whence 
the water runs evenly over the section covered by the 
system of pipes connected therewith. As will be seen, 
there are four sections of pipes to cover the whole lot; 
each section covers about an acre. The lateral pipes * * * 
are 16 feet apart, are closed at one end, as are the header 
pipes; there is no outlet to the pipe except the small 
punctures along the laterals. It will be seen that a tank 
of water discharged into the pool, 3, is at once conducted 
evenly over the section connected therewith. Peach, 
apricot and other fruit trees are set along the lines of the 
pipes, and grape vines between the rows. The pipes used 
in this system are of cement perforated at intervals.” 
The R. N.-Y. believes that this plan could be success¬ 
fully worked on small garden spots with comparatively 
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Sub-Irrigation Plans. F g. 232. 
little expense. We do not know that it has evor been 
practiced on a very large scale except perhaps by the late 
A. N. Cole, who described his method in a book called 
“ The New Agriculture.” He constructed a series of 
ditches on a rather steep hillside and filled them with 
stones. These held moisture and in time of severe drought 
water could be run in from a hydrant. 
IMPLEMENT NOTES. 
Barrel Carts. —Last year Mr. T. B. Terry told us about 
his barrel on wheels, which he used for carrying swill and 
slops from the kitchen door. Since then there has been 
quite a lively desire on the part of some of our readers to 
know how these barrels are worked. At Figure 233 we 
show an arrangement made in the West. As will be seen, 
the hook can be placed on any barrel. All the operator 
has to do is to back up his wheels and “ catch on.” It is a 
great convenience in hauling heavy barrels. 
Corn Cutting Machines. —Cutting and shocking corn 
fodder is about the hardest work connected with corn 
culture. Planting, cultivating, husking, shelling and pre¬ 
paring it for the silo are all done by machinery, but on the 
majority of farms the corn must all be cut by hand. Is it 
not possible to devise a machine for doing this work ? 
There is a great demand for such a device. The Keystone 
Manufacturing Co. sends us the following note: “ A 
successful machine for cutting corn is not yet on the mar¬ 
ket. Some of the self-binders have been used for that pur¬ 
pose, but of course the work can be done only while the 
corn is green aud the stalk not so hard as it should be when 
cut. It is too heavy work for the self-binders to stand. 
We have been at work on a corn harvester for three years, 
aud think we have about hit the thing; but we shall not 
be able to place it on the market this fall, as we wish to 
give it further test.” 
Prof. Geo. E. Morrow comments as follows: ** No ma¬ 
chine for cutting coru stalks in the field has come into 
general use. In some cases, especially where the corn is of 
the smaller varieties, or has been drilled thick, a self- 
xaking or self-binding reaper has been used. For large 
coru, with large ears and fairly matured, these machines 
cannot be expected to work very satisfactorily, although 
there seems no good reason why a machine of greater 
strength, with narrow platform and dropping arrange¬ 
ment, should not work well where the corn stood up well. 
The machine of which I have heard most in the last two 
years, and which has strong testimonials in its favor, may 
be described as a sled drawn by one horse between two 
rows of the standing corn. The platform of the sled ex¬ 
tends over the sides, with a knife blade inclined backwards 
on each side, which cuts the stalks, which two men riding 
Barrel Cart. Fig. 233. 
on the sled catch as cut. When fair-sized bundles are col¬ 
lected, the horse is stopped and the bundles set up, tied or 
untied, as preferred. This machine is low-priced and not 
complicated. I have not seen it at work. Cutting the 
corn with a corn-knife is hard, slow work. There certainly 
would be a good demand for a thoroughly satisfactory ma¬ 
chine to do it. No other grain crop needs nearly so much 
hand labor in harvesting as does Indian corn.” 
New Silo Contrivances.— There is a considerable ad¬ 
vance in the invention of silo machinery. Six-knife cut¬ 
ters are now advertised. Carriers are e ow made to work 
without breaking up whenever a good start has been made 
for a ** big run,” and now and then an inventor announces 
a machine for cutting the fodder in the field. A circular 
before me advertises a cheap $25 machine, to be drawn by 
one horse and operated by one man, warranted to cut and 
lay in good gavels eight acres of corn per day. What is 
wanted most is a loader, a machine that will pick up the 
fodder and lay it on the wagon without tangling it. so that 
it can be easily taken off and put directly on to the feed 
rolls. That the cutter should stand outside the silo build¬ 
ing and on the ground, so that the wagons can be driven 
close to it and unloaded down on the cutting table, with¬ 
out any swinging and throwing on the part of the man on 
the load, is of great assistance in the rapid handling of the 
fodder. Then the feeder can dispose of one bundle while 
the other man picks up another from the wagon. I have 
many a time so timed the work with the man who un¬ 
loaded that we two could cut a ton of fodder in eight 
minutes. By my plan, one unloads and one feeds the ma¬ 
chine. The work will be very much easier for the feeder 
if the table attached to the machine is at least 16 feet, with 
an incline of at least two feet to the feed rollers. The 
fodder should always go into the machine tops first, and 
when the butts reach the rollers, instead of trying to push 
or crowd them, the hand should be slipped under them, 
and if they are lifted up a foot or so they disappear with¬ 
out further effort. As the stalks are lifted up, the feeder 
should, with the other hand, reach for the bundle just 
dropped on the table, slide it down and under the fast dis¬ 
appearing butts, and the feeding will then be continuous, 
and can be done with little exertion compared with that 
needed for the usual up-hill, “ pull-and-haul ” often ob¬ 
served in feeding the machine. JOHN GOULD. 
Portage Co., Ohio. 
Prizes for Inventors. —At many of the large fairs 
prizes are offered for the most useful new tool invented dur¬ 
ing the past year. These prizes should go to stimulate the 
production of the smaller hand machines and devices, and 
farmers should be encouraged to exhibit the home-made 
contrivances that are so helpful to them in their every-day 
work. 
Dairy Supplies. —In passing from the barn to the con¬ 
sumer’s mouth butter must, of necessity, run through a 
good many different machines and packages. It is an in¬ 
teresting process, this drawlug the firm, hard, solid butter 
out of the liquid milk. There are good tools and poor 
tools for doing the work. It is not at all surprising that 
inventors have spent much time in seeking the best tools 
for making butter. A glance at the catalogue issued by 
the Vermont Farm Machine Co., of Bellows Falls, Ver¬ 
mont, will show much of the progress that has been made 
lu this line. Anything that is needed to make good butter 
and cheese may be found described here. Our readers 
should send for this catalogue. 
OREGON HORTICULTURISTS. 
Rapid progress of horticultural improvements of late; 
renovating old, and planting new orchards; work of 
the State Hoard of Horticulture; benefits of horticul¬ 
tural discussions; horticultural go-aheads and 
mossbacks ; proposed experiments in fruit culture. 
Horticulture has made vast improvements in our State 
during the past few years ; yes, even during the past two 
years; and our horticulturists likewise have made giant 
strides forward during the same time. The old-time in¬ 
difference to fruit culture as a leading occupation has 
nearly disappeared. We are on the eve of a very promising 
new era. From ’42 to the latter part of the “ sixties ” apple 
culture was very profitable in this State, aud especially in 
