THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
March 14 
176 
a dollar now paid out for repairs in wagon and har¬ 
ness. On a road of this description, one horse could 
pull as much as, or more than, 20 , and with greater 
ease, than on roads of the present time. What a vast 
amount could be saved in freight charges ! I know 
men that pass my place with loads of produce to 
Youngstown twice a week when roads are good, that 
live as far as 25 miles away. Now they haul their 
stuff to the nearest railroad station, from three to 
five miles over bad roads. It would be easier to drive 
the 25 miles on steel plates, than five miles to the 
station over bad roads. Now they pay freight, next 
car fare for themselves ; when they get to town, they 
hire a livery rig to deliver the goods, and pay carfare 
home again. Little, if anything, is left for them, 
but they have to come to keep up their trade. Why 
good men will continue making bad roads, and pay 
good money and labor every year all to no purpose, 
in the face of such facts, is beyond comprehension. 
Ohio- J. BOLLINGER. 
CRIMSON CLOVER AND ENSILAGE IN MASSA¬ 
CHUSETTS. 
I am trying Crimson clover under various condi¬ 
tions. In August, from five acres of light sandy loam, 
oat hay was taken. The ground was then harrowed 
with a spring-tooth harrow. Upon one-half, Hun¬ 
garian and clover seed were sown, and upon the other 
half, Crimson clover alone. A good shower was 
timely, and the seed came forward in quick time. At 
the time of cutting millet, both lots of clover were of 
about the same height. In the one case the clover 
was cut off with the millet, and it could not recover 
from the shock. When winter appeared, both lots 
looked well, but the one with only clover, was much 
the better; the ground was almost entirely hidden 
from view, and the clover was over the shoe as one 
walked through it. Where this fine show of clover 
was, the soil is not good, and in 30 years of my crop 
growing upon it, I have never seen anything to com¬ 
pare with this. 
Another field of 10 acres of stronger, gravelly loam 
which had been in pasture for several years, was 
treated as follows : One portion was planted to corn 
in May. At the last cultivation, Crimson clover seed 
was sown. A second portion was plowed in August 
and sowed to barley for fodder, and with it clover. 
Very soon after 2 % acres were well manured and 
sown with a mixture of Crimson clover and White 
Globe turnip seeds. In November, from 1,000 to 1,200 
bushels of turnips were harvested, and strange as it 
may seem, after the turnips were taken off, the field 
at a little distance looked as green with clover, as an 
adjoining field of rye. It seems almost incredible 
that so many turnips left room for so much clover. 
The corn field showed the least growth, for the corn 
grew so large as to leave little sunlight for clover. 
The field had been so long in pasture, that the crops 
had almost no weeds to contend with. And now, 
what next? We must wait till spring for a reply. 
I have had many years’ experience in feeding cows 
upon various foods. I am now feeding 40, and for the 
first time, using ensilage. I am greatly pleased with 
it, and intend to add another silo next season. It 
saves work and feed, and I think that it gives as good 
results as if corn were cut and fed as cut from the 
field. Heretofore, corn has been put in shock, birds 
will waste some, mice not a little, the weather its full 
share, and cows ditto, if not more. Cows eat ensilage 
with a relish, are looking finely, and are giving more 
milk on account of the ensilage. The corn was of all 
stages of ripeness, as it was not intended for the silo. 
A portion was green field corn, some sweet corn 
nearly ripe from which many ears had been picked. 
Another lot was common sweet corn which had been 
shocked a week or more and intended for husking. It 
was mixed as much as convenient, and the result is 
good feed without waste. 0 . w> H 
Rochester, Mass. 
THE MAKING OF A SMOOTHING HARROW. 
A LITTLE OF GRUNDY’S “TINKERING.” 
An enthusiastic advocate of drag-harrow cultiva¬ 
tion persuaded me that a young crop of corn, even 
though torn into ribbons by cruel harrow teeth; 
would rise, Phoenix-like, from the ash-like soil of the 
veriest drought, such were the advantages of drag- 
harrow adversity. He claimed that potatoes liked the 
discipline even better. By studying the quotations on 
smoothing harrows, and examining the mucous mem¬ 
brane of my pocketbook, I discovered a deficiency of 
gastric juice. But I had on hand a small supply of 
skilled labor worth 25 cents per hour, some 2x3 chest¬ 
nut lumber of home production, less the saw bill, and 
an old iron pile. An examination of some harrows 
owned by neighbors assured me that I could make a 
market for some of the raw materials on hand. I 
went on an exploring expedition to the city. One 
iron store, had no harrow teeth, but plenty of bar 
iron from which I could get teeth made, I was told. 
The first hardware store knew nothing about the sub¬ 
ject. The second displayed a broken box of round 
Thomas smoothing harrow teeth at 15 cents each. 
While these teeth were just the thing individually, 
there were not enough of them, and 48 teeth would 
cost $ 7.20 with a very small discount. Hardware 
store No. 3 rose to the occasion, and offered me har¬ 
row teeth of half-inch square iron, nine inches long, 
at five cents a pound. We counted out 48 teeth, and 
they weighed 31 pounds. The dealer put in a %-inch 
bit for 25 cents to bore the holes for the teeth. 
Up to this point, my expedition had been one of non¬ 
committal investigation. Now I was in for it to the 
tune of nearly $ 2 . Visions of young corn and potato 
plants torn into shreds, and bright new leaves spring¬ 
ing from every shred, appeared before my eyes on the 
homeward journey Going into the shop after dinner, 
I cut eight 2x3 chestnut strips four feet long. My 
plan was for two sections of 24-tooth harrow to be 
jointed together, the teeth to be 8x9 inches apart. 
Four different visitors that afternoon deprecated the 
use of chestnut for a harrow frame ; but I had no oak 
lumber for sale, and I sawed away. Four cross pieces 
of 2x4 chestnut, 30 inches long, were fastened to the 
former sticks by shallow gains. Four iron straps, 
each 33 inches long, with an eye in one half twisted 
end for hinge rod, and drilled to correspond with the 
bolt holes in the 2x4 cross pieces, cost $1 at the black¬ 
smith’s. Each section was bolted together with iron 
below, and cross piece above the four-foot 2x3’s. To 
prevent racking, a brace was bolted cornerwise across 
each section. 
Having settled upon the slant of the teeth and its 
relation to the line of draft, a carpenter’s bevel was 
fixed at the required angle and a short pointed rod 
like a lead pencil, was tacked into the stick to be 
bored at a corresponding angle, and used as a “ sight” 
in boring. With bevel, rod, and five-eighth inch bit, I 
passed rapidly from hole to hole previously marked 
on the stick. The half-inch square iron teeth drove 
snugly into the five-eighths hole, and in a year’s wear, 
none has loosened. The timber was well seasoned. 
The teeth were driven so as to present a corner to the 
line of draft, that is, to draw cornerwise. The binge 
rod was an old wagon rod, and the clevis came off 
from an abandoned one-horse plow. 
I predicted a ten-hour job in the flush of beginning ; 
cold figuring at the end, made it finished fairly inside 
of 11 hours, not counting the trip to the city. We 
raised 12 acres of corn last year, ranging in yield 
from seven or eight to over 20 tons per acre, 101 tons 
in all. On any ground well cleared up, this harrow 
drawn by one horse, has rapidly taken care of the 
crop until it was three inches high. And corn clean 
at three or four inches high, is well on the road 
towards cheap production. This harrow has done all 
I hoped for it. The expense account is as follows : 
27 feet lumber at 3 cents. 
48 Vi-ircli teeth, 31 pounds at 5 cents. . . 
20 4 14-inch bolts at 1 *4 cent.. 
16 3-incli bolts (to prevent ends of sticks splitting) at 2 cents 
4 iron straps. 
1 %-incli bit. 
11 hours labor 25 cents. 
5 .81 
1.55 
.30 
.32 
1.00 
.25 
2.75 
Total cost. 
Domestic material sold 
$6.98 
3.56 
Cash outlay. ^ 
One man who had used a round-toothed harrow, 
thought the round teeth less injurious to the corn. 
For heavy or rough work, the oak frame would, of 
course, be better, and by adding another section, one 
would have an excellent two-horse smoothing harrow 
for all work. The straight width of this harrow is 
5% feet, and when drawing obliquely, it works a little 
over six feet. e. c. birge. 
Connecticut. 
The Deaf Hear.— On page 857, J. W. B., of Frank¬ 
lin, Tenn., inquires about the audiphone. About 12 
years ago, I had what was then called the denta- 
phone, a word meaning, sound by the teeth. The 
present name signifies, hearing by sound, but I think 
that the instrument is used in the same manner, by 
placing against the upper teeth and giving it a partial 
spring, as described in the answer to the inquiry. I 
do not know whether the audiphone or auraphone 
is an improvement on the dentapbone or not; but the 
dentaphone gave me a good deal of satisfaction or 
benefit, as I could understand a great deal in that 
way which I could not without. Especially was it 
helpful where there was noise, as in a railway car, or 
on the street. In such place, I could hear or under¬ 
stand conversation as well as those with ordinary 
hearing, and some thought better. At that time, the 
large size cost $ 10 , smaller size, $ 6 . I think that the 
present price is $4 or $5. J. W. B. can ascertain 
whether the instrument will do him any good by 
placing his upper teeth against a table or other solid 
substance, and with pin or pocket knife picking against 
the piece at the farther end. If he can hear plainly 
in that way, the instrument will help him. Other¬ 
wise, I think not. am 
Moonlight, Kan. 
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see whether it is not answered in our advertising columns. Ask 
only a few questions at one time. Put questions on a separate 
piece of paper.J 
Electricity From Windmill Power. 
H. L. D., Morristown, Tenn. —Sometime since, I was informed 
that an electrical dynamo had been invented, the power being 
furnished by a windmill, the dynamo being sold for about $75. 
The electricity was generated for the purpose of furnishing light. 
Do you know whether anything of the kind is on the market, and 
where is it made ? 
ANSWERED BY PROF. R. C. CARPENTER. 
It is practicable to generate electricity by a dynamo 
operated by a windmill. I have not at hand the cost 
prices of small dynamos ; but it is quite possible that 
one of a size suitable for operation with a windmill 
could be purchased for the price named. The power 
which can be derived from a windmill is, however, 
much less than is usually supposed. I found, by actual 
tests, that a 10 -foot mill running in a breeze of 10 miles 
per hour, developed about one-tenth of one-horse 
power. The power is believed to increase with the 
cube of the velocity of the wind, and with the square 
of the diameter of the wheel, so that with a breeze 
somewhat greater in amount than the rate stated, the 
power would be very much increased. A wind moving 
at 10 miles an hour, is termed a moderate breeze, and 
is probably equal to the average velocity, at least for 
places east of the Mississippi. With a 12-foot wheel, 
and with a breeze moving 12 % miles per hour, we 
would, probably, get one-fourth of a horse power. 
These powers seem very small, no doubt, to those who 
have not actually made any tests, and who have used 
the windmill simply for operating a pump. The work 
of a horse power, if applied in raising water, would 
lift 16% tons of water one foot per minute, or it would 
raise a proportionately smaller amount a greater dis¬ 
tance. I think that those who are familiar with the 
work of windmills will note that the actual work 
realized as compared with the standard expressed in 
these terms, is very small. It requires a great deal of 
power to produce an electric current of any service in 
lighting. It usually requires one-horse power for 
each 8 or 10 incandescent lights ; hence the power of 
an ordinary windmill would, under ordinary circum¬ 
stances, operate only one or two lights. It is, how¬ 
ever, entirely possible to store electricity by use of a 
storage battery ; this would receive the current pro¬ 
duced by the generator, and hold the electricity until 
required. With this apparatus, it would be practi¬ 
cable to use a windmill of a very low power, since 
the current which may be produced by its operation 
throughout the whole day, would be available for 
use for a few hours during the evening. II. L. D. 
would have to experiment somewhat before his system 
would be entirely satisfactory ; but there is no doubt 
that the system as outlined is feasible, and would, 
undoubtedly, give success if properly installed. 
An Examination of Two Fertilizer Analyses. 
M. Y. T., New Albion, N. Y.—l. In the analysis of fertilizer No. I, 
what does ammonia actual and potential, mean V Would not 
potential ammonia be an uncertain thing to buy ? Would not the 
ammonia in leather scraps answer that description? 2. In the 
same analysis, what does the KjO after potash mean ? Is it only 
to show the particular form of potash used, or does it express a 
combination of potash with something else, of which there are 
eight to nine per cent, leaving the per cent of real potash much 
less than the figures given ? 3. Do the letters and figures after 
the word potash, in the analysis of No. 2, mean the same as in 
No. 1 ? They are given a little different. 4. Is muriate of potash 
good to put on potatoes ? 5. From the analyses, which fertilizer 
would you think worth most? 6. How do crushed dry bones, 
burnt bones and egg shells, compare in value as food for laying 
hens ? 
POTATO FERTILIZER No. 1. 
Guaranteed Analysis. 
Ammonia, actual and potential, derived from 
animal matter ... . 3 to 4 per cent. 
Av affable phosphoric acid. 7 to 9 « 
Potash, K a O.8to 9 •< 
Equal sulphate of potash.14 to 16 “ 
POTATO FERTILIZER NO. 2. 
Guaranteed Analysis. 
Nitrogen—Derived from sulphate of ammonia, ni¬ 
trate of soda and animal matter. 
Equivalent to ammonia. 
Total phosphoric acid (derived from animal bone). . 
Available phosphoric acid.. 
Soluble phosphoric acid. . 
Reverted phosphoric acid. 
Insoluble phosphoric acid. 
Potash (K 3 O) (derived from high grade muriate).... 
No kainit used. 
1.81 to 2.47 
2.20 to 3.00 
12.00 to 13.00 
9.25 to 11.00 
7.00 to 8.00 
2.25 to 3.00 
2.75 to 3.75 
4.00 to 5.00 
Ans. 1 . ‘ Potential,” in this case, is a meaningless 
word, and is no guide to the value of the fertilizer. 
Certainly the ammonia in leather scraps may be 
called “ potential,” though it is also impotent so far 
as useful work is concerned. The description of the 
nitrogen in No. 2 is much better, though it is well to 
remember that leather is “ animal matter.” 2 . K>0 
refers to the form in which the metal potassium is 
found. Two parts of this metal and one part of 
