J89o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 629 
Business. 
GRANGE DEALING WITH GRANGE. 
Since The R .N.-Y. began to agitate this matter, Granges 
East and West are taking hold of it in earnest. Grain and 
feed have risen in price from 15 to 30 per cent, and it is evi¬ 
dent that Eastern farmers will find their grain bill a more 
serious item than ever before, unless something is done to 
lower the price. The plan we have proposed is for Granges 
in the East to buy directly from Western Granges In car¬ 
load lots, so as to avoid all middlemen’s charges. Mr. R. 
L. Holman, a member of the Executive Committee of the 
Ohio State Grange, has spent a great deal of time and study 
in devising a plan for bringing Granges together in this 
way. In a recent letter he says: “I have been in corre¬ 
spondence with the Masters and purchasing agents of the 
Grange In the New England States; also with those in some 
of our Western States, and several plans have been sug¬ 
gested. The most plausible, which looks as if it would ac¬ 
complish the desired object, comes from Maine. I Inclose a 
copy sent me last spring. 
To the Farmers of Knox County. 
In consequence of the great number of combinations 
which operate against the farmers, compelling them to sell 
their products at just such prices as buyers are pleased to 
give, and in buying to pay whatever sellers see fit to ask, 
some of the more prominent members of the Granges in 
Knox County have been discussing the propriety of organ¬ 
izing a Farmers’ Exchange with headquarters probably in 
Rockland. This exchange will be a place where farmers 
can buy andjsell some of the more important articles which 
they are obliged to deal in, and where they can learn the 
condition of the markets at home and abroad. Such a 
company would be controlled exclusively by the farmers, 
and would avoid middlemen as much as -^possible. It has 
been shown that $4 per ton on shorts have been saved by 
this method. A great saving is also made on other things. 
This is a subject that deeply concerns every farmer In this 
county. All are Invited to participate. It is proposed to 
organize a stock company with shares placed at each. 
Over $1,000 are already pledged by members of the Grange. 
A series of meetings are soon to "be held in different places 
to discuss plans and to receive subscriptions for stock. 
Public notices of such meetings will be given, and every 
farmer Is earnestly invited to attend. Please give this 
matter your candid consideration. Let us all come together 
and see if we can do anything to Improve our condition. 
* United we stand, divided we fall.’ 
Per order of 
POMONA GRANGE COMMITTEE. 
A letter was received this week from the same party 
asking if we had perfected a plan so that they could rely 
on us in Ohio for their supply of grain the coming season. 
Their plan is to establish exchangas in the West and East 
where the farmers can sell or store their grain, so that 
any exchange may be in readiness to fill orders in car-load 
lots. I find in the plan a trouble in making the grades 
so that both purchaser and seller may know just what is 
meant. We badly need a law of National scope to estab¬ 
lish the grades of all kinds of grain; then all could tell 
just what to expect. Another plan suggested is that the 
National Grange should invest with the State Granges and 
also with subordinate Granges or take stock in building 
and controlling the exchanges. I have written to many of 
our State Executive Committees asking them to join in a 
call for a meeting this fall to be held at some convenient 
point where most of the interested States could send one 
or more members of their Executive Committees to 
arrange some plan that would be satisfactory to all. I 
have had answers from several, approving of the call. I 
have already arranged for a supply of cotton seed meal and 
linseed meal at Cincinnati, Ohio. I find that in the pur¬ 
chase of mill feed and grains by our Eastern Granges the 
goods in some instances have passed through from three 
to four different agents. If a co-operative plan were 
adopted, all this could be avoided and we in the West 
could ship directly to the Eastern consumers.” 
The R. N.-Y. hopes the Grange will be able to develop 
this business. There is money in it. As we have several 
times pointed out, Patrons, both East and West, must 
learn to be fair to each other. The object is to save the 
** middleman’s share.” If it is to be saved, who is to have 
it ? The seller must not demand it all; neither must the 
buyer insist that it be all taken from the price he is called 
upon to pay. There must be a fair and honest division. 
The ability to recognize the justice of such a division con¬ 
stitutes the true secret of successful organization. 
IMPROVEMENTS FOR FARM IMPLEMENTS. 
The R. N.-Y. receives, each year, a great many letters 
from farmers who have invented some new device which 
they think will add greatly to the comfort or profit of farm 
life. Many of them are evidently not practical or useful ; 
others are good and would evidently with a little change, 
prove valuable. We generally refer the latter class of ap¬ 
plicants to one of our leading implement manufacturers. 
We have always been rather curious to know where the 
manufacturers go for new ideas and designs of new tools. 
The following note was sent to some of our leading manu¬ 
facturers. The answers will doubtless prove interesting 
to those who have these designs for sale : 
“ Do you have many applications from persons who 
want to sell you patents on machine improvements t 
Will you be kind enough to tell us about how many in¬ 
ventions are submitted to you during the yearf Are 
many of them practical f Do most improvements that 
you tunc hold of come from strangers? Are suggestions 
from farmers usually practical and useful.” 
Belcher & Taylor write: “ We have not had as many 
within the past few years as we used to have previous to 
five years ago. Probably we now receive 20 a year. The 
majority are not practical. Most of the improvements 
that we utilize do not come from strangers. We cannot 
afford to take hold of a device until it has been well tested. 
No farm tool should be put on the market before it has 
been severely tested in the hands of several farmers. Al¬ 
though a tool may work well in the smooth lands of the 
West, it is not certain to be strong enough for our rough 
New England soils, so the Western tools often fail for 
want of strength in New England. Suggestions from 
practical farmers are generally useful if they have used 
the Implement or machine. Inventors, as a rule, are not 
practical, but visionary. They lack business qualifica- 
Grazlng Muzzle for a Horse. Fig. 273. 
tions, and for that reason rush their inventions upon the 
market before they have been properly tested, and, of 
course, they often prove failures. Seldom is a patent pre¬ 
sented that is ready for manufacturing, and if the manu¬ 
facturer takes the patent from the inventor without having 
carefully tested it, in nine cases out of 10 it proves a par¬ 
tial, if not a total, failure. It is expected of the manu¬ 
facturer that all the goods he offers for sale are perfect; 
English Potato Plow. Fig. 274. 
therefore all new inventions should be severely tested 
before they are put on the market by the manufacturer. 
Kemp & Burpee write : “ There are scores who wish to 
sell their patents. About one out of 100 is practical. We 
receive letters from all over the country, more particularly 
from patent-right venders, who make money out of the 
advance fees from the patentees, on the representation 
that the trade is closed or nearly so.” 
The Ames Plow Company reply : “The matter of new 
inventions and patents is constantly before us. We could 
A Calf Nose Ring. Fig. 275. 
not give an idea of the number of suggestions, Inventions, 
patents, etc., each year; but there are a great many; some 
are practical; many are no better than existing devices, 
and many are of no use at all. Our improvements are 
mostly worked out by our own men, and are based upon 
practical tests or devised to obviate complaints. We have 
many useful suggestions from farmers, and always 
examine them and sometimes find a crude idea that can 
be enlarged upon and used to advantage.” 
The Keystone Manufacturing Company sayEach 
year a good many inventions and improvements are offered 
Barrel on Wheels. Fig. 276. 
to us, but it would be guesswork to say how many, as we 
do not keep a record of them. It is only once in a great 
while that any of the inventions or suggestions are at all 
practical or of value, and of the few that are valuable a 
large majority are from practical mechanics. In our line 
of goods, the farmer inventors seem to take most kindly to 
automatic check-row attachments for corn planters, and 
every season a considerable number are offered. The idea 
is the most impractical imaginable, and our advice 
always is: ‘ Unless you have money you want tc lose, let 
that alone.’ Some very good inventions come from farm¬ 
ers, but, as stated before, a large majority come from other 
sources. That is our experience.” 
The Perkins Windmill and Axe Co. say: “No. 
Probably not more thau a dozen a year. Very few amount 
to anything. Few of our improvements come from 
strangers. Nearly all are the results of our own study. 
Oftentimes suggestions from farmers are good, but gener¬ 
ally they are of a very crude nature. If they are ever 
adopted, experiments have to be made with the devices and 
these have to be so changed, as a rule, that the original 
suggester could hardly recognize his idea in the final 
product.” 
SOME IMPLEMENTS AT THE ELMIRA FAIR. 
The buildings are covered with broad, ribbed steel-roof¬ 
ing, over 160,000 feet being used. I saw many buildings in 
this section covered with this roofing, and believe farmers 
should investigate this subject. 
A scraper, for digging and hauling dirt a short distance, 
is just wbat I have long wanted. It is a common hand 
scraper, so arranged, on a frame with wheels, that it loads 
and unloads automatically. It can be set to any depth, and 
requires only a driver. It was shown by S. W. Hall, Elmira. 
dhe Planet Jr. cultivator has always been my favorite 
for good work. The side rods for lifting the potato vines 
in late cultivation, and the large shovel for trenching are 
new ideas. It can be used for almost every form of known 
cultivation. 
The hay carrier shown by the Janesville Hay Tool Com¬ 
pany, Wisconsin, has no springs to wear out, goes either 
way, can not twist the rope, and has a patent clutch to 
prevent slipping in case of accident. These are important 
features in any carrier. 
An iron fence post shown by Watkins & Ash, Lima, N.Y., 
looks as if it might be a good thing. Some form of iron 
has to be used in the future, as timber gets scarce, A 
piece of gas-pipe is bent double and the ends are flared out 
and fastened by a cross-piece. A trench is dug and the 
post is put in, and earth and stones are packed on top of the 
cross-piece. Holes in the pipe allow wire or rails to be 
fastened to it. 
1 he Bemls transplanter is intended for setting out 
plants of all kinds. Two men seated on low chairs place 
the plants in a pool of water left in the bottom of the 
trench by the machine which makes it, and fills in the 
earth firmly around the plant, at the same time leaving 
dry earth on top. Tobacco, cabbage, strawberries, rasp¬ 
berries, etc., could be planted by this device at lightning 
speed, and better than by hand. It was shown at work by 
W. B. Leonard, Big Flats, N. Y. 
The Estruscan coffee-pot has a receptacle which holds 
the ground coffee, and also raises it out of the liquid after 
it has been steeped, so as not to give out its astringent 
properties.__ c. E> chapman. 
IMPLEMENT NOTES. 
Anti-Browsing Muzzle. —The picture shown at Figure 
273, illustrates a device said to be in considerable use in 
Florida. It is a simple arrangement, yet it will prevent a 
horse from eating the foliage of trees and shrubs. When 
ue puts his head to the ground the wires are pushed back 
and he Is able to eat grass; when his head is raised, the 
wires snap back and the muzzle covers his mouth. 
English Potato Plow.—The R. N.-Y. has had a good 
deal to say about American machines for digging potatoes. 
At Figure 274, we show a machine largely advertised in 
England for ‘ lifting ” this crop. Our readers will notice 
t hat it is a plow with prongs differing in shape and size 
from those placed on the American machines. It is claimed 
that with a pair of stout horses these plows will “ raise” 
from three to four acres per day. Prices in our currency 
are as follows: Machine weighing 194 pounds, $20.70 ; 210 
pounds, $23.72 ; 244 pounds, $24.35. Compare these figures 
with those asked for American potato plows. 
A Calf Nose Ring.— Many devices are offered to prevent 
calves from sucking cows. Some heifer calves get into this 
bad habit and will not give it up even when they become 
old enough to have calves of their own. If the cow 
will stand, ’ the calf will suck. It is sometimes advised 
to put some bitter substance, like aloes, on the cow’s teats, 
but this seldom answers for several reasons. The best plan 
is to put something on the calf’s nose that will prick the 
cow whenever it comes too close to her. The latest device 
of this sort we have seen is shown at Figure 275. Mr. J. 
M. Drew, who sends the illustration, says this about it: 
The spike Is riveted in one set of holes and after the ring 
has been placed in the nose, the bolt is fastened in the other. 
When the calf attempts to suck, the cow will move away.” 
Barrel on W heels. —The picture of this device shown 
on page 56<, is not quite clear. There does not seem to be 
any axle connecting the wheels. I suppose there is one, 
but it is bent. Will The Rural explain the matter in 
another issue f g. g. groff. 
R- N.-\. This is made clearer in the picture which we 
print at Figure 276. It will be noticed that there is no long 
axle connecting both wheels. A steel rod eight or 10 
inches long is fastened to each side of the wooden frame. 
These rods are passed through the hubs of the wheels and 
held in place by pins instead of nuts. Thus the wheels are 
readily taken off when desired. This cart is made by the 
Sandwich Manufacturing Company, of Sandwich, Ill. 
The castings and the arrangement for attaching to the 
wheels are covered by a patent. 
COW-YARDS ON A “LEACHY” FARM. 
MANURE AND CLOVER CLOG THE SIEVE. 
An article, by Professor I. P. Roberts, on page 315 in 
the issue of May, 1890, prescribing for a“leachy,” run¬ 
out, unprofitable Michigan farm, reminded me of the ver¬ 
dict of the original settlers in this neighborhood, that the 
soil was “ leachy.” They gravely declared that it was use¬ 
less to manure it; that clover would winter-kill and was 
not to be thought of; and they proved the sincerity of 
their words by abandoning their homes when they could 
not sell them. One such farm is now mine. The former 
owner never had more than half-a-dozen poorly fed scrub 
