4i6 
r h h 
RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
June 20 
ought not to exist in a new machine, is the wearing 
of the spindles or their bushings, so that they no 
longer run “close.” The fit of a separator bearing 
must be very exact; any slight “ play ” due to wear 
or inaccurate work in turning up the spindle, will 
cause shaking of the bowl, and heating of the bear¬ 
ings, more power will be required to run it, and it 
must be remedied. Sometimes a new bushing may be 
all that is required, or if the spindle itself be worn, 
it will have to be turned down to a new diameter, 
and a special “ repair size ” bearing put in. Of course, 
any springing of a bowl spindle, from a fall or other 
accident, will make it impossible to run it. Milk let 
into an empty bowl while the speed is very low, will 
often cause most violent jarring, and any large ma¬ 
chine will start more smoothly if the bowl be first 
filled with water or milk, because every bowl when 
made, receives its final balancing when filled with 
water. The disarrangement of the plates or other 
skimming device, may cause a bowl to shake by 
throwing it out of balance. It is a safe rule to follow 
that our machine must not jar, as it affects the skim¬ 
ming unfavorably, is unpleasant and consumes a great 
deal of power. jabed van wagenen jk. 
Hillside Farm. 
CIVIL ENGINEERING FOR BOYS ON THE FARM. 
•Pabt IV. 
How to Use the Leveling Instruments. 
We will suppose that you have a level mounted on 
a tripod such as has been described, and a graduated 
rod, or their equivalents in some form, and that you 
wish to find the difference in height between two points. 
Set up the level at about equal distances from the 
two points, either in line between them, or wherever 
the ground is most favorable for the purpose. When 
setting it up, spread the tripod legs so that the instru¬ 
ment will stand firmly, and, at the same time, 
have the top as nearly level as you can guess. Turn 
the cross-bar with the level tube so that it will point 
toward one of the points whose difference in level 
you wish to learn. Then level up the cross-bar as 
nearly as possible. A glance over it toward the hori¬ 
zon will indicate whether it is nearly level or not. 
Then pour the colored water into the tube, filling it 
till the water rises into plain view in both the glass 
ends of the tube. If the instrument be not level, the 
water will show it at once, and it may be adjusted 
accordingly. 
Now an assistant, whom we will call a rodman, 
holds the rod up plumb, with its lower end resting on 
the point from which we wish to get a level and with 
the marked side toward you. The rodman moves the 
target up or down on the rod as you direct, until it is 
exactly in range, hence on the same level with the 
surface of the water in the instrument. The distance 
from the target down to the bottom of the rod, shows, 
of course, how much that point is lower than the in¬ 
strument. If the rod be properly marked, that dis¬ 
tance can be read right off from it. It is called the 
rod reading. If the rod is not marked, of course you 
will have to measure it with something. The rodman 
now takes the rod to the other point, sets it up, and 
you take an observation on that in the same way. 
These two rod readings tell just how much each point 
is lower than the instrument, and their difference is 
the difference in height of the two points. The point 
with the greater rod reading is the lower. If the rod 
reading at point A, be 7.24 feet, and that at point B, 
be 4.18 feet, then B will be 3.06 feet higher than A. 
You might go on and take rod readings at as many 
points as could be reached from the instrument, with¬ 
out moving it except to swing the cross-bar around as 
the occasion demanded, and the difference between 
any two of the rod readings, would show the differ¬ 
ence in height of the points at which they were taken. 
That is all there is of leveling—all else is simply 
doing the same thing over and over again, and keep¬ 
ing the figures correctly. 
How to Run a Line of Levels and Keep the Figures. 
To illustrate this, we will work out a case. We will 
suppose that you have a pond that you would like to 
drain, and wish to learn whether you can do it or not, 
and if you can, how far you must go, how much dig¬ 
ging you must do, and how much tile you need to carry 
away the water. Naturally, you will look the ground all 
over carefully the first thing you do, to see what prom¬ 
ises to be the best route for an outlet. Then you will 
measure the water to find how deep it is in the deepest 
place. Next, stake out the line where you wish to do 
the leveling. You will need a lot of stakes for this, 
about two feet long, sharpened at one end to stick in 
the ground, and flattened smooth at the other end to 
be marked. These are to be driven at equal dis¬ 
tances along the line. The line should be as straight, 
and have as few angles in it, as the circumstances of 
the case will permit. If you prefer to keep your dis¬ 
tances in rods, four rods is a handy distance to space 
the stakes. If you prefer feet, set the stakes 100 feet 
apart. That is the distance usually adopted by engi¬ 
neers. If you have no chain or tape with which to 
measure, a light wire such as was formerly used with 
the grain binders, makes a good substitute. 
Set the first stake at the point where you wish to 
start the levels, either at the deepest place in the 
pond, or if the water be too deep, at its margin. Mark 
this stake, 0, and drive a short stake down beside it, 
so that the top of the stake will be even with the sur¬ 
face of the water, or of the ground, as the case may 
be. This short stake or hub is to stand the rod on, 
when taking the levels. It should set firmly in the 
ground, so that, in case you have occasion to take the 
level over again, you will be sure of having the same 
starting point. In figuring up the depth of the ditch 
or tile, it will be measured from the top of the hub. 
For this reason, the hub ought to be squared off at 
the top, and set firmly enough so that a man would 
not crowd it deeper in the ground if he should happen 
to step on it. 
Now go on and stake out the line where you think 
it ought to go, setting the stakes at equal distances 
apart, and numbering them consecutively, No. 0 at 
the beginning, No. 1 at the end of the first space, 2 at 
the end of the second, and so on as far as you go. Then 
the number of any stake will tell you how far it is 
from the starting point. Suppose you make the 
spaces between stakes 100 feet; then stake No. 6 is 
600 feet from the starting point. Put the stakes in 
the straight line, and drive a hub to the surface be¬ 
side each one, to take the levels from. Some pickets 
to set up along the line, will aid in getting it straight. 
These pickets should be sharpened at both ends, one 
end to stick in the ground, and the other to sight over. 
They should be high enough when set up, so you can 
just see over the top of them, and range the line by 
the sharpened points. If you set them at such dis¬ 
tances apart that you can see three of them at once, 
you can run a line rapidly and very truly. Make as 
few angles in the line as the nature of the ground 
will permit. If an angle come between the regular 
stakes, drive a stake at the angle, and mark it as a 
plus station giving the distance from the preceding 
stake. Suppose that the angle comes 46 feet beyond 
stake No. 8 ; mark the stake at the angle, 8 + 46. If 
the ground is rough, you would better put in plus 
stakes wherever the slope of the ground changes, and 
take levels from them also. frank hodgman. 
Michigan. 
ALL SORTS. 
Alfalfa in Ohio. —We cut our Alfalfa May 26, and 
June 1, the first being the four-year-old plot, which, 
apparently, gets better each year. The last was the 
seeding of April, 1895, which endured the most severe 
drought of many years, vastly better than any other 
crop on the farm, but suffered from winter freezes to 
some extent, not having made sufficient root growth 
the previous season. It made at the rate of one ton 
to the acre of very excellent hay, being two to three 
feet high, and in full bloom. We expect to cut it the 
first of each month, as the old plot made a growth of 
one inch per day during the very dry seasons of 1894 
and 1895. It will thus produce at the rate of four or 
five tons per acre, and next year do even better. I 
have faith in the future of Alfalfa for Ohio farmers. 
Crimson clover has not been successful with us. 
Seven different seedings made in 1894 and 1895 were 
all failures, more or less. One plot did nicely up to 
the March freezes, which killed it outright. Sagha- 
lin and winter oats have failed utterly, but might do 
better in more favorable seasons. 
Shady Nook Farm. john l. shawvek. 
Tby IIome-Gbown Seed. —I sowed several pieces 
of Crimson clover in 1895, but drought, grasshoppers, 
etc., destroyed all but one; this % acre was sowed 
in fodder corn at the last working. The soil was the 
poorest on the farm, stony, but not gravelly or loose, 
partly on a hill. The ground was worked repeatedly 
until it was nearly as fine as flour, the catch was 
good, the growth slow, probably, on account of dry 
weather and poor soil; but the ground was well cov¬ 
ered before winter set in, but not very high, perhaps 
six inches on an average. When the snow went off, 
the clover was there as fresh and green as one could 
wish; but it began to die at once, and at present, there 
is not enough on the piece to cover one square rod of 
ground; I do not think that it was killed by heaving. 
We had very warm weather when the snow melted, 
followed by hard frosts. The coldest weather we 
had during the winter was 36 degrees below zero; but 
the ground was well covered with snow at the time. 
I shall let the thickest of the clover stand until the 
seed is ripe, for the sake of getting a few seeds grown 
at home. a. b. t. 
Pulaski, N. Y. 
Cbimson and Red Cloveb. —July 20 last, I sowed 
10 pounds each of Crimson and Red clover seed on an 
acre of grouqd, on which was growings heavy crop 
of corn. A timely rain brought it up promptly, 
though the fall was very dry. The corn was cut and 
shocked, and the clover had no protection but the 
corn stubs and what grass escaped the cultivator. 
The winter was a mild one, the temperature going 
down only to zero ; yet I regarded it as a rather hard 
winter on clover. The spring was very early, warm 
and dry. During the fiistweek in May, the whole 
acre was a rich flower garden ; so completely was the 
ground covered with the Crimson bloom, that I 
thought the Red clover had failed, or been choked out 
by the Crimson. However, as the Crimson bloom be¬ 
gan to fade, the blooms of the other began to show, 
and by May 20 the whole field was even more densely 
occupied with the blooms of the Red, than it had 
been with the Crimson. I cannot see by this test, 
but one variety is as hardy as the other ; but it seems 
to me that this experiment raises the important ques¬ 
tion, whether the Red clover may not be sown in 
July, at the laying by of the corn crop, and answer the 
same purpose as the Crimson. Has anybody tried it ? 
White Hall, Ill._ A. w. F. 
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FIGHTING INSECT FOES. 
ANSWEBS BY M. V. SI.INGEBLAND. 
Sulphur as an Insecticide. 
If. C. S., Huntington , Long Island. —How does sulphur act as 
an insecticide ? Flowers of sulphur is insoluble in water, but 
vaporizes at a certain degree of heat, and forms either sulphur¬ 
ous acid or sulphuric acid, according to the degree of heat. The 
latter is known to be a deodorizer, and to stop decay. Is it sul¬ 
phurous or sulphuric acid that is the remedy ? Will you help us 
to form some opinion when to apply it ? 
Doubtless tons of sulphur are used in California 
every year in the making of the lime, salt and sulphur 
wash so extensively used on the fruit trees. The dry 
powder, or flowers of sulphur, is also often recom¬ 
mended to be used alone for insects. Yet, I do not 
know that any one has ever explained how it acts to 
kill insects. I have often wondered how it could, 
knowing that, as H. C. S. says, it is perfectly insoluble 
in water, and that it may be freely taken by human 
beings without deleterious effect. The only effect I 
can imagine it may have on insects, is that it might 
be applied thickly enough to coat them over, and 
thus close the breathing holes along the sides of their 
bodies; or it may act as a too violent purgative if 
enough were eaten. When the lime, salt and sulphur 
wash is made, the sulphur is boiled a long time, but 
no amount of boiling will change the sulphur. If the 
flowers of sulphur be melted and boiled over a fire, 
the vapor simply corresponds to the steam arising 
from boiling water, that is, the sulphur vapor is 
readily converted back into the dry powder from 
which it came. To get sulphurous acid, it is necessary 
to burn in the fire the sulphur ; the fumes given off 
are known as sulphurous dioxide which, dissolved in 
water, gives the acid. To get sulphuric acid, it is 
necessary to use violent heat and add nitrogen ; the 
commercial acid is not obtained in this way. Sul¬ 
phurous acid, not sulphuric, is the deodorizer. It is 
quite probable that the sulphurous acid fumes from 
burning sulphur, will kill insect life, but the applica¬ 
tion is limited to confined areas, as the rooms of a 
house. 
I doubt the insecticidal properties of the flowers of 
sulphur used as the dry powder, or boiled in water. 
Even if it is, I believe that we have other insecticides 
that will prove much more effective. I wish that 
some one would explain its insecticidal properties if 
it has any. 
How to Kill ‘-June Bugs.” 
O. 11. J., Missouri. —Does tbe common June bug—I think it is 
the adult of the White grub—do any damage to apple trees or 
apple blossoms? Every warm night when the orchard is in 
bloom, it is tilled with June bugs, millions of them ; their humming 
and buzzing can be heard five rods. I notice that they are 
attracted by a light, and if they are injurious, would it be 
practicable to destroy them by a large tire built in the orchard 
after dark, into which they would fly ? Could not the White grub 
be kept in check through the same means—the killing of the 
adult ? 
Yes, tbe May beetles or June bugs often do serious 
damage in an orchard. I have known them to eat all 
the blossoms and nearly all the foliage from a young 
plum orchard. They fly and feed only at night. 
While it is true that they are readily attracted to 
lights, it is also a fact that it is the male insects that 
are attracted in much the larger numbers. It is very 
doubtful whether enough would be killed by a bon¬ 
fire in an orchard, to pay for the wood used to make 
