1896 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
453 
CIVIL ENGINEERING FOR BOYS ON THE FARM. 
Part VI. 
We will assume that the line of levels of which the 
notes and figures were given in Part V., was run for 
the purpose of putting in a tile drain to carry of the 
water from a pond hole, and that the stakes were set 
100 feet apart. Suppose that we wish to put the tile 
in at stake 0, three feet below the bottom of the pond. 
As the water was one foot deep at that point, the tile 
will have to go four feet below the top of the hub 
which was set there, and as we called the height of the 
hub 100 feet, the height of the tile will be four feet 
less, or 96 feet. Put that down opposite Sta. 0, in the 
fifth column (marked Grade Height). Now suppose 
that at Sta. 10, we find that we can put the tile down 
three feet below the surface and have an outlet for 
the water. We found the height of the ground at 
Sta. 10, to be 97 feet, and if we put the tile three feet 
lower, its height will be 94 feet. As the height of the 
tile at Sta. 0 was 96 feet, and at Sta. 10, 94 feet, there 
is plainly two feet fall, which is to be uniformly dis¬ 
tributed through 10 stations of 100 feet each, or .2 foot 
per station. So we now commence with Sta. 0, height 
96 feet, and subtract .2 of a foot for each fall station, 
and a proportionate amount for the half stations be¬ 
tween stakes 6 and 7, and put each remainder in its 
appropriate place in the column for grade heights. 
We now have in parallel columns, the surface height 
or elevation of the ground at each stake, and the 
grade height or height of tile (or bottom of ditch as 
the case may be) at the same points. All that is left 
to do is to find the differences between the respective 
numbers in these two columns, and put them down in 
the column marked, Cut, and the work is done. The 
last column tells just how far it is down from the sur¬ 
face to the grade line, or in other words, how deep you 
will have to dig at each stake to take the water off in 
that way. But what about that B. M. ? Those letters 
stand for bench mark, which is the term used to indi¬ 
cate a permanent point of reference in leveling. If 
you had in reality been laying such a drain as we have 
been talking about, and had set workmen to dig¬ 
ging it, one of the most likely things to happen 
would be that one or more, if not all, of the stakes 
you had set, would be removed, and unless you had 
some such permanent point to refer to, you could not 
tell whether the work was being properly done or not. 
Such points should be selected as are readily accessi¬ 
ble and not liable to be disturbed. Wherever con¬ 
venient to do so, the point should be marked B. M., 
and its height marked on it. Of course, the notes 
should show, not only the height of the B. M., but 
tell what it is on, and where it is, so that any one 
else having the field notes could find it readily. 
We have supposed, in this case, that the leveling 
was for a drain, which is one of the most common 
and useful applications which a farmer boy can make 
of the work ; but the method of taking the levels and 
figuring the heights of the various points, is the same 
whatever its object may be, whether for a railroad, a 
canal, a highway, or to find whether water can be 
brought to the house from a distant spring. Lastly, 
you will see that there is nothing in the computations 
beyond simple addition, subtraction, multiplication 
and division, including decimal fractions ; nothing 
beyond what a boy 12 years old can do if he has a 
common school education. There is nothing about 
the tools to be used that a clever boy of 16 cannot 
make if he is any way handy with tools, and even if 
he had to hire it all made, it ought not to cost more 
than $2 or $3. Every boy, whose father’s farm has 
places needing drainage, should fit up some tools and 
do a little civil engineering on his own account m the 
way of laying out drains. It will pay in more ways 
than one. frank hodgman. 
Michigan. 
NIAGARA GRAPES IN VIRGINIA. 
IS IT SAFK TO PLANT THEM ? 
Would a small vineyard of Niagara grapes be likely to prove a 
good investment, that is, if set now ? This is a good grape coun¬ 
try. I understand the growing of first-class grapes, and can put 
them on the market in No. 1 shape. Are the prices for Niagaras 
likely to be good in the future in the northern markets at the time 
our fruit will go on the market? From present knowledge, is 
there any white grape that would, all things considered, prove 
more profitable than Niagara ? How is the Green Mountain or 
Diamond ? The Niagara will turn out more pounds of marketable 
grapes than any other grape that I have seen grow South, is a 
good shipper, fine looking, and doesn’t crack. a. f. a. 
Claremont, Va. 
J. W. Kerr Gives an Opinion. 
As A. F. A. understands how to grow “ first-class 
grapes,” and “can put them on the market in No. 1 
shape,” being situated in a “ good grape country,” he 
controls a majority of the indispensable requisites for 
successful operations in grape culture ; but as to what 
prices are likely to be four years hence, he can tell 
with as much accuracy as anybody, for it is simply 
guessing. He would get Niagaras into northern mar¬ 
kets before the glut of the northern crop, but not 
before Moore’s Early and even Concord, grown at 
points between him and such markets. Hence, he 
would be compelled to cater to a select demand—a 
business proceeding that hinges its success upon 
shrewd, pointed energy. However fine may be his 
goods, and their condition on reaching market, a 
large per cent of the profit in the enterprise will be 
governed by the business tact, and the intelligently 
—I would say, shrewdly—directed, vigorous energy 
in management of the sales. Growing good fruit is 
an art of itself, and vastly different from marketing 
it to the best advantage. Combine the two in one 
individual, and he will succeed in growing grapes or 
almost any other kind of fruit. If there is anything 
in the “ early bird catches the worm,” why would it 
not be better for A. F. A. to divide his eggs and put a 
part of them in a Moore’s Early basket, instead of 
confiding all to the Niagara ? For a white, market 
grape, I doubt if the Niagara has a superior in the 
whole list of white varieties, outranking not only 
Green Mountain and Diamond, but all others that I 
have seen, in size of berry and cluster, and prolificacy 
as well. 
A White Grape Not Profitable. 
I think that if I were going to plant white grapes, I 
would select Niagara. But I do not believe that a 
white grape will, as a rule, bring more money than a 
good black grape. Having this in view, I have made 
my main plantings of Moore’s Early and Concord. 
For a white grape, Niagara is, no doubt, the best- 
tested sort, lacking somewhat in flavor, but having 
most other desirable qualities. At the same time, 
Diamond may prove better, and A. F. A. may find it 
well to plant a few for trial. Green Mountain, so far 
as tried, is one of the very best early white grapes, 
and ought to be tested thoroughly; still, I would 
hesitate to plant these two sorts extensively until I 
knew what they would do in this particular locality. 
CHARLES WRIGHT. 
Virginia Grape Growing of Doubtful Profit. 
A. F. A. appears to be well informed as to the char¬ 
acter of the Niagara grape, and his opinion corres¬ 
ponds very closely with mine. I consider it one of 
the most valuable white grapes grown in the South. 
I doubt if we have a white grape that surpasses it as 
a general-purpose variety. The Green Mountain is a 
better grape, but not so hardy. Diamond is quite as 
hardy, larger and a trifle earlier, but I am not cer¬ 
tain that it will bear as well. I do not see that I can 
offer any opinion as to the probable future profits 
of growing this or any other white grape in the 
South, as this question hinges entirely upon the com¬ 
petition which the fruit must meet on the Northern 
markets, and I am aware that grapes are very largely 
grown in the Carolinas for the Northern markets, and 
that they will come on the markets earlier than our 
Virginia grapes and, possibly, continue so as to affect 
the value of our crop. The last few years have not 
been years of success to grape growers in Virginia, 
and my advice would be to grow grapes in a small 
way, that is, a few hundred baskets, first, and try the 
markets, rather than to plant largely without experi¬ 
ence as to results. A. F. A. lives in Tidewater Va., and 
will be able to ripen grapes much earlier than we can 
in this part of the State ; and he is certainly favor¬ 
ably situated, so far as earliness of crop is concerned, 
if there is any favorable locality in Virginia. It is 
quite beyond my ability to predict what market con¬ 
ditions will prevail for our early grapes in the future. 
_WM. B. ALWOOD. 
WHAT IS A "BARREL " ? 
Great trouble has been experienced by dealers, and 
loss has resulted to shippers, during the recent potato 
glut, on account of the small-sized barrels used by 
many. This is not a new difiiculty, and losses are 
often experienced by shippers of different kinds of 
produce from the same cause. Neither is the trouble 
confined to this city, but other markets have been 
fighting the same trouble for years. Some shippers 
seem to think that a barrel is a barrel regardless of 
size, and that it makes no difference, so far as selling 
produce is concerned, whether it is packed in a regu¬ 
lar, full-sized barrel, or in a small or “ pony ” barrel. 
Further, our conviction is that these small barrels are 
sometimes used with dishonest intent, the sellers 
vainly imagining that a small barrel will sell as 
quickly and for as much as a large one. But there 
never was a greater mistake. 
The wholesale produce dealers of this city, Boston 
and Baltimore have recently sent out circulars ex¬ 
plaining why the use of these small barrels involves 
them in loss, the gist of which we give. The outlet 
for shipments to these cities is, of course, to the retail 
dealers, many of them out of town. These dealers use the 
term, barrel, as a unit of measure, and they demand 
full measure. If they order 10 barrels of potatoes, they 
want 10 barrels, and to send them 10 of the so-called 
barrels which some shippers use, would be to give them, 
in reality, about nine barrels. This is about like giving 
the man who orders a ton of coal, 1,800 pounds. What 
farmer would consent to receive such a ton? The 
result is that the demand is greatest for the large 
barrels, and as demand controls price, the price of 
the barrels is relatively higher. It is estimated that, 
on the average, the small barrels contain about 15 
per cent less than the large ones, but they usually 
sell for 20 to 25 per cent below the price of large ones. 
Is this profitable to the shipper ? Of course, when 
there is a scarcity of anything on the market, the 
buyers are less particular. But, in case of an over¬ 
supply, the large barrels are in greatest demand, are 
sold first to the best trade, and the small ones must 
be sold later for what they will bring ; or, as is often 
the case, are not sold at all, and are a total loss. In 
any event, delayed sales mean more or less deteriora¬ 
tion, and reduced prices. 
Another point against the small barrels is the fact 
that, in paying freight, cartage, and often commis¬ 
sion, the charge is the same on a small as on the large 
barrel. The shipper cannot consistently object to 
this, for does he not insist on calling these diminutive 
packages barrels ? The cartman who charges five 
cents per barrel for carting the potatoes, won’t deduct 
anything for pony barrels. The railroads estimate 
the 'freight as so much per barrel regardless of size. 
The commission merchant will handle a large barrel 
of potatoes or other produce for the same price as a 
small one ; in fact, he would sooner handle the large 
barrel, for it is less work to sell it. The small barrel 
is a source of annoyance, dissatisfaction and loss all 
around, and the loss must fall upon the user, whether 
he use it through carelessness, ignorance, or a delib¬ 
erate intention to cheat. Isn’t it strange that so 
many still cling to its use, when there is so much to 
be lost and nothing to be gained thereby ? Some 
certain parts of the country are more culpable in this 
respect than others, and their products suffer in con¬ 
sequence. The standard barrel recommended by the 
produce trade of this city, measures 17 inches in diam¬ 
eter of head, 19% diameter of bilge ; length of stave, 
27 inches ; length between heads, 25% inches. This 
is what is known as the standard flour barrel. 
BUSINESS BITS 
One of the most beautiful businesses iu this world is that of 
Macbeth, the lamp-chimney maker, of Pittsburgh. Beautiful, 
because it has grown to great proportions and protitableness by 
satisfying the requirements of every lamp in use, whether known 
to its users or not. 
It has heretofore been thought that potato diggers would not 
work on sidehills; but the Hoover digger has been provided with 
spurs to put on the wheels, and reports state that the machine 
does excellent work on sidehills. The manufacturers, Hoover <& 
Prout, Avery, O., will send information about this digger, than 
which there is no better. 
T. J. Dwyer, of Cornwall, N. Y., sends us his summer and 
autumn list of seasonable stock grown at the Orange County Nur¬ 
series. Mr. Dwyer is his own superintendent, and gives personal 
supervision, not only to the growing, but also to the selection, 
packing and shipping of goods. It is this painstaking care in all 
details of his business, that has earned for him a reputation 
second to none in the small fruit nursery business. 
This is the season when the horse’s neck and shoulders are 
likely to become chafed and galled. Every one of actual experi¬ 
ence knows that this condition is not only very trying to the 
animal, but often involves much loss in the busy season from 
inability to use him. To effect a quick and sure cure, Moore 
Bros., Albany, N. Y., have put upon the market their famous gall 
powder, a remedy of undoubted merit. Moore Brothers are spe¬ 
cialists in veterinary science, and in addition to a large personal 
practice near Albany, treat cases successfully by mail. 
There are a host of uses to which a windmill may be put, when 
not employed in pumping water. It would seem that, when a 
man is purchasing a windmill, it would be well enough to secure 
one of sufficient size to meet all these uses ; there are the shelling 
of corn, the cutting and grinding of corn, churning butter, saw¬ 
ing wood, turning the grindstone, etc , all of which labor might 
be performed while the mill is not employed in pumping water. 
The Perkins Windmill Co., Mishawaka, Ind., make a strong, dur¬ 
able mill, and also manufacture a full line of steel and wood 
house and stock tanks, pumps, etc. Their catalogue, which con¬ 
tains much valuable information along these lines, will be sent to 
any one interested in the subject. 
The R. N.-Y. has had a great deal to say about “ corn hay” for 
the past several years, and it is glad now to see that it is meeting 
with favor from feeders all over the country. It is sure to have a 
boom in those sections of the East and Middle States this year, 
where the early droughts have rendered the hay crop so much of 
a failure. “Corn hay,” of course, is nothing more or less than 
corn stalks torn into fine sl^eds like hay. This is done by 
machinery similar to the feed or ensilage cutters. In fact, they 
are ensilage cutters simply with a shredding cylinder instead of 
the knife cylinder. The Smalley Mfg. Co., Manitowoc, Wis., make 
cutters with interchangeable cylinders so that you can use one 
cylinder for shredding, and the other for cutting. The Smalley 
people will be glad to send catalogues free on application. 
The bicycle is going to help the free deliver y of mail in country 
districts. At all events, it is going to make it easier for the boys 
and girls of the farm to dispatch and deliver mail matter. Where 
one would hesitate to walk two or three miles to the post office, or 
to hitch up and drive, even once a day, the boy or girl can make 
the trip twice a day on the wheel in the time required by the 
average man to hitch up and unhitch the horse. Besides, the 
spin to town on a wheel will be a restful, exhilarating sport in 
contrast with the ordinary labor of the farm. We believe that 
the time will come when a bicycle will be considered as much a 
necessity on the farm as a buggy. Take it all in all, just now we 
believe that the Hartford is the most economical wheel to buy. 
This is made as a second-price wheel by the Pope Mfg. Co., Hart¬ 
ford, Conn., the makers of the Columbia high-grade wheel. The 
price of the Hartford has just been redticed, and we believe that 
it is now the best wheel on the market for the money. Prices run 
from $45 to$65 ; and you have the advantage of the guarantee of 
one of the best hotises in the country, which is no small item in a 
wheel at these prices. 
