1896 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
431 
yet an answer. But if the straws continue to blow 
in the same direction, next year, I shall try to profit 
by it. B. BUCKMAN. 
Sangamon County, 111. 
A Safe Tether. —Fig. 142 shows a tetber which I 
have been usiDg, and found safe for any of the farm 
animals. The old way of driving a stake into the 
ground, and tying a rope, is very dangerous ; many a 
horse has had a foot made sore from burning with 
the rope, besides very often being thrown. I have 
seen a horse lie down, roll, get up and have a good 
play while hitched to the tether. I kept a horse 
hitched out all last summer, with one, because it 
could not be caught when turned loose. It will be 
found very convenient when only one cow is kept. 
It is made as follows : “ A is the pole, 13 feet long 
by 1}4 inch thick and five inches wide where the pin 
passes through, which should be at one-fourth the 
length of the stick from the end. The long end may be 
tapered down to two inches. As there is no strain on 
the pole sidewise, it need not be very strong. B is a 
block of hard wood, 16 inches long, four inches 
square, with a slot cut in for the pole to play in. 
The bottom end has a hole bored five inches deep so 
that it will turn freely on the end of the iron bar 
which is driven into the ground. Should the animal 
be headstrong, and the ground soft, the bar might be 
pulled over. If a piece of tubing be driven into the 
ground a few inches, and the bar set inside, it will 
not be tipped out. A short rope is on the end of the 
pole for convenience to hitch to. D is an iron bar, E 
a short piece of tubing, F a pail or kettle with weight 
sufficient to balance, which is easily set 
off when moving. I use an ordinary 
iron bar which is found on most farms, 
and may be stuck by hand. Only in a 
very few instances, when the ground 
was soft, have I found it necessary to 
use the tubing, E. l. d. gale. 
Chautauqua County, N. Y. 
A Pretty Shrub.— Gordon’s syringa 
(Philadelphus Gordonianus) is a very vig¬ 
orous growing species, attaining a height 
of from six to ten feet, and from all the 
strong, erect shoots, slender side shoots 
are produced which give it the appear¬ 
ance of being a shrub of drooping habit. 
The leaves are opposite, ovate, and of a 
bright green color, and the flowers 
which are produced in dense clusters 
during the month of July, are large, 
pure white and slightly fragrant. As 
the flowers are produced a month later 
than those of the other syringas, it cer¬ 
tainly is a very desirable addition to our 
list of ornamental flowering shrubs. To 
enable it to develop properly, it should 
be given a very deep, well-enriched soil, and while 
the plants are small, grass or weeds should not be 
permitted to grow up around them. Large and well 
established specimens should be given a top-dressing 
of well-decayed manure every two or three years. 
This should be applied late in the fall. As the ten¬ 
dency of this syringa is to make strong and rambling 
shoots, pruning must be resorted to in order to pre¬ 
serve a natural grace and beauty. As it flowers on 
the wood of the preceding year’s growth, it should 
not be pruned in winter or spring ; but as soon as it 
ceases blooming, the old wood should be shortened 
back in order to promote the growth of the new for 
another season's bloom. It will be well to thin out 
the old wood occasionally, and to remove all root 
sprouts as soon as they appear out of place. Propa¬ 
gation is effected by cuttings, and, occasionally, by 
careful divisions of the older plants, c. e. parnell. 
the spindle or springing it, roughening the bearing 
and, perhaps, making a “cold weld” between the 
shaft and bearing, so that it will require several 
thousand pounds pressure to force it out. I saw a 
bearing so “stuck” to the spindle of a Danish-Weston, 
that blows with a heavy hammer would not start it, 
and when put in a testing machine, it required over 
4,500 pounds pressure to force it off. In this case, the 
bearing which was rigidly set into a cast-iron frame, 
was turned around in its place so as to grind a con¬ 
siderable amount of iron into a black powder. No 
harm is done so long as a bearing does not get exces¬ 
sively hot, so hot that one cannot bear the hand on it. 
When there is liability to heat, bearings must be kept 
dry, and any water in them aggravates the tendency. 
Sometimes a beginner is troubled by milk leaking 
down into the frame of the machine. This is caused, 
either by the bowl being adjusted too high, or too 
low, so that the milk does not fall into the receiving 
cover, or else the rubber ring is worn or frayed, or 
the cover is not screwed down enough to make a tight 
joint. The proper adjustment of the height of the 
bowl is not a difficult matter. A new bowl cover ring 
will be tighter at first if well soaked in warm water 
before using the first time. 
Sometimes, there is trouble in getting a uniform, 
even flow of cream. There are mach ines in which 
there are radical defects of construction, making 
them liable to clog with cream so as to stop the flow 
entirely, or else to make it excessively thick at times, 
and very thin at others. The better known makes of 
machines will not do this, however. If the cream is 
equal, the richer the cream taken, the greater the 
liability to imperfect skimming. 
It is a remarkable thing, if it be true (and I certain¬ 
ly believe it), that every machine has its individuality 
in skimming—that is to say, that of two bowls made 
from the same specifications and drawings, made so 
nearly alike that it would be hard to distinguish one 
from the other, one will prove much the better 
skimmer or, perhaps, require less power than the 
other to keep it up to speed. If so, this is a queer 
fact. Consequently, if I were to buy another 
machine for my own use, I would be particular, not 
only to get the best style, but also a bowl of good 
individual qualities. 
In cleaning a separator, it is best to wash, at first 
in merely warm water, not hotter than the hands can 
bear, because boiling water coagulates and cooks the 
slime fast to the surface of the bowl, making it very 
much harder to remove. Whirl the parts quickly in 
warm water, using a stiff brush in the corners where 
required, and then steam thoroughly or plunge into 
boiling water for a few minutes; then wipe lightly 
the thin tin parts, and place in a dry, warm place, 
where the heavier fixtures will dry themselves 
thoroughly by the heat remaining in them from the 
steam or hot water. Cleaning will be facilitated if, 
instead of using skim-milk to flush the separator 
when the run is completed, there be used a quantity 
of pretty warm water, say three or four times the 
capacity of the bowl. Warm water flushes the bowl 
far more completely than does skim-milk, and re¬ 
duces the loss of fat in the “ bowl-slop.” 
These are a few of the most important 
points to be observed in the use and 
care of cream separators. While they 
are the simplest of machines, like every¬ 
thing else, to become masters of them 
at all times, will require a good deal cf 
experience and common sense. 
JARED VAN WAGENKN, JR. 
Hillside Farm. 
GOOD 
THAN 
completeness of 
worth using on 
old or sour, or 
leave not more 
USE AND CARE OF CREAM SEPARATORS. 
SOME CAUSES FOB POOR WORK. 
Part II. 
In the way of saving of fuel, and wear and tear on 
the machine, it is important that a separator run as 
easily as possible, and this is especially needful if the 
machine is to be run by hand. To secure this, it is 
necessary that the bowl run smoothly, that all bear¬ 
ings be accurately fitted, yet not absolutely tight, and 
that all bearing surfaces be free from dead oil, gum, 
and grit, and kept supplied with a light, free-running 
grade of oil. Loose bearings can generally be found 
by the noise made when running. If the machine 
runs unduly heavy, but still smoothly, flush all bear¬ 
ings and pinions with kerosene to cut out gum. If 
some shaft is dry of oil, or tight, or out of line, the 
place may generally be found by feeling for warm 
bearings with the fingers. Sometimes, an oil groove 
may get stopped up with gum or burnt oil, so that the 
oil does not reach the shaft, causing the machine to 
run hot, even if it is apparently well lubricated. Grit 
of any kind in the oil may heat a tight bearing, 
stopping a large separator almost instantly, burning 
HOW TO TETHER AN ANIMAL IN SAFETY. Fig. 142. 
too thick, either the adjustment of the regulating 
device is wrong, or the speed is too high, or the milk 
is too warm, or the machine has been run too long 
without any milk running through it, thus packing 
the cream so hard as partially to clog the cream 
opening. 
A most important point is the 
skimming. Any separator that is 
milk in good condition, that is not 
partially skimmed already, should 
than one-tenth of one per cent of fat, although the 
usual factory practice will not average as good work 
as this. When skimming milk warm from the cow, 
it is not impossible to skim down to three-hundredths 
or five-hundredths of one per cent. However, the 
ordinary Babcock test bottle is of no use in estimat¬ 
ing amounts below one-tenth of one per cent. But 
with the double-necked O. & W. bottle, we can read 
fairly accurate to two-hundredths of one per cent. 
The work of the machine should be kept track of by 
occasional tests with the Babcock. If the skimming 
be poor, either the milk is too cold, or the speed is 
too slow, or the capacity has been unduly increased, 
or the milk is out of condition, or the machine itself 
is at fault, out of order or of a poor style or of indi¬ 
vidual demerit. Most machines separate best at a 
temperature of not less than 80 degrees, while above 
100 degrees has, probably, a prejudicial effect upon 
the butter. Of course, no machine can be expected 
to do good work at a speed slower than that recom¬ 
mended by the makers, and a speed somewhat higher 
than this may be necessary for complete work. 
Regard must, of course, be had for the “ safety 
limit” of bursting. 
The capacity of a machine will vary widely with 
temperature, age, and condition of milk, and in those 
machines where the rate of inflow is not permanently 
fixed, the operator must use his own judgment, 
checking his results by the Babcock test, and remem¬ 
bering that it is generally bad economy to crowd a 
separator. Any good separator ought to take a very 
thick cream, say up to 50 per cent fat, and still do 
practically perfect work ; but other things being 
GRASS IN LESS 
A YEAR! 
I send you a 17 ounce package of Timo¬ 
thy cut June 1, 1896, the product of one 
square foot. This grass was sown last 
September. July 15, 1895, after securing 
four tons of hay to the acre, I took up 
10 acres of my grass field, working the 
land every few days with the right lap 
Cutaway and two other tools made by the 
Cutaway Harrow Co. The total outfit 
cost me less than $50. The seeding was 
finished September 1, 45 days after 
the work commenced. The field was so 
thoroughly cultivated in that time, that the old scd 
was entirely annihilated. Previous experiments had 
led me to believe that grass seed should be rolled, 
not harrowed, in. Four acres were thus seeded; later, 
six acres were harrowed and rolled in. The harrow¬ 
ing was done with a flue-tooth, special, smoothing 
harrow, by going over it in half lap, in four different 
directions, thus thoroughly mixing the seed with the 
surface to the depth of 1% inch. 
In addition to this thorough cultivation, to secure 
more positive action, I used 660 pounds of bone and 
potash to each acre when seeding, and except for the 
fact that the four acres were not so thoroughly culti¬ 
vated and the seed worked in, each division had the 
same treatment, and they were of similar condition of 
soil. The seed on the four acres, with the first shower, 
washed out of place and came up in bunches ; that 
together with the lesser cultivation, spoiled the stand, 
and it will have to be re-seeded. The six-acre field 
made a perfect stand. 
If you will examine the package of grass sent, you 
will find much of it over two feet high, and as fine 
as silk. I think that it fairly represents the field, and 
if so,there are now standing on the six acres, something 
over 23 tons per acre of grass grown from seed sown 
in September, 1895. This settles the question fully as 
to sowing grass with grain or other crop. No time 
is saved, both crops are injured, the grass will not 
only be coarse, but will never produce more than two- 
thirds as much thus sown. This is a bad year for 
grass, yet I ought to get over four tons per acre from 
this six-acre field. If you cannot come, send your 
friends to see it. 
Of one thing I am certain—with the latest im¬ 
proved machinery, a grass crop can be continued in¬ 
definitely on wet or dry land. My field is one of the 
worst; it had a very tough, hard sod of six and seven 
years’ growth. Some of it was very wet; in fact, much 
of it was afloat all winter, yet with perfect cultivation 
and grade, not a yard winterkilled. With the com¬ 
mon plow and harrow, it would have taken years to 
subdue that field ; yet with these improved machines, 
every green thing was killed, the new seed sown and 
