1896 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
527 
tirely. The willow posts cost only the getting, and 
that is less than the making of the other posts. If we 
have to drive a peg to hold down the patent post, 
why not make the peg a little longer, throw the pat¬ 
ent post away, and nail the panel to the peg ? The 
willow post will last as long as the fence is needed in 
one place. If willow is seasoned before it is used, it 
will last several years. Green willow will rot off in 
one year. 
For horses and cattle, the portable fence in general 
use here is the barbed wire. Light posts are driven 
two rods apart, and two wires are put up. Only the 
end and corner posts need bracing. It is cheap, effi¬ 
cient, easily put up, and, if well done, fairly safe, and 
comes near to being a model temporary fence. 
Newton, Iowa. k. b. w. 
The Workshop on the Farm. 
A room for doing odd iobs of repairing, is a place 
for saving many cents, if not dollars. Of course, 
some men have no knack or faculty for repairing or 
making things ; but the average farmer should have 
a place for some carpenter’s and blacksmith’s tools, 
some bolts of various sizes, extra nuts and washers, 
and a small quantity of band iron. He should also 
have pieces of wood of various dimensions, white ash 
being one of the best. It is also well to have pieces 
of leather, copper rivets of various lengths, iron lasts 
and brass clinch nails, and wire nails of various 
lengths. One of the handiest tools I have is an iron 
vise and anvil combined. It is large enough for all 
ordinary purposes, and costs only $1.25. If farmers 
knew how convenient such a tool is, they would not 
be without it. It is exceedingly convenient, many 
times, for a farmer to be able to bore holes in iron. 
Every one should have a good bit brace. A ratchet 
brace is a great convenience. After buying a cheap 
brace and finding it good for almost nothing, I pur¬ 
chased a good, strong, ratchet brace 
for 80 cents, which works perfectly. I 
find the Syracuse twist drills to be the 
best for boring iron. Do not try to bore 
thick iron with a small drill. One must 
bear on heavily, and a small drill will 
be sure to bend or, rather, break. But 
it is best, if one is able, to have a set of 
twist drills. They bore wood, iron, or 
stone, and if one hits a nail in boring 
into wood, it does no harm. 
It is also very convenient to be able 
to saw iron, and a Star hack saw can 
be got for 15 cents, which answers every 
purpose. But one needs to be very 
careful in using it, for if the blade be 
cramped, it will snap off, or a nick 
will break out. I sawed off a mowing 
machine cutter bar with one without in- 
juring it, but broke it on a large wire. 
New blades cost at the rate of 55 cents 
per dozen to fit the cheap frame. They 
are also good to saw wood. A cold 
c hisel is often very handy, so are 
files, rasps, a draw knife and a heavy steel rivet¬ 
ing hammer. Cronk’s pliers and wire cutters are 
very convenient tools. A steel prick punch can 
be used to make holes in hoop iron, and a reamer 
can be used to make it larger. Nuts often jar loose 
on farm machinery. I screw them down tight, 
then put the point of the prick punch against the bolt 
where the threads first appear above the nut, strike a 
few blows, and it will not work loose again until 
wanted. An old file can be used as a punch by 
sharpening the handle end, and striking on the top 
of the file. Flat-headed bolts are a nuisance, gener 
ally, but there is a new bolt called the patent agricul¬ 
tural bolt, which has a flat head and no shoulder, 
but has coarse threads which keep it from turning. 
Screws of various sizes can often be used where nails 
will not do. A countersink which will cut wood or 
iron, I find very handy, as it lets the screw in so that 
the head does not project. Wire nails make good 
rivets, and hold where a nail would be useless. 
Washers should be used on wood. j. w. newton. 
Vermont. 
Power from an Old Mower. 
I have made use of an old mower frame on my 
farm in constructing a power to operate the churn, 
separator and other machines, and find it quite a use¬ 
ful contrivance. It requires but little expense to rig 
up the frame into a serviceable power. At Fig. 167 is 
shown the appliance set up all ready for business. I 
first took off the cutter-bar, seat and pole, and re¬ 
moved the ratchet from the right wheel—if it is a 
left-hand machine, remove the left one. I set the 
frame up on the loose wheel, in a convenient place to 
operate, and fastened firmly to the ground by means 
of forked stakes, driven deep ; also, drove down two 
4 x 4-inch posts, one on either side of the gear frame, 
and bolted firmly. If preferred, one might twist a stout 
wire around the tops, and this will hold the frame 
securely. Next I clamped the pole on to the top 
wheel by means of clevis bolts, as shown in Fig. 167. 
The driving rod, or shaft, will have to be extended, 
and a gas pipe 1)4 inch in diameter, and long enough 
to clear the sweep, will answer very well. 
Arranging the pulley wheel on one end and attach¬ 
ing the gear at the other, is the only operation that 
may require outside help ; but every rural community 
has a blacksmith that is hankering for just such a 
job, for a small consideration. The machine should 
be set up on level ground, and the line shaft shored 
up with pillow blocks so as to obviate any vibration 
on the pulley. The speed of the movement can be 
regulated by the size of the pulley. Better start with 
a pulley 24 inches in diameter, and if too fast, cut 
down smaller, or else put on a larger pulley on the 
churn. Any one familiar with applying belts to pul¬ 
leys, will soon get just the speed desired. This 
power is no better than a specially-built machine for 
that purpose, possibly not so good; but it has the 
recommendation of being economical, strong, and 
easily operated. c. w. scarff. 
Vermont. 
“THE NEW CELERY CULTURE 
SOME CHANGES THAT IMPROVE IT. 
In my market garden, in which I grow from one to 
two acres of celery each year, I have been experi¬ 
menting for three or four years v, ith what is called 
the New Celery Culture. The results of my experi¬ 
ments have not been very satisfactory until this sum¬ 
mer. I am now satisfied that I can grow good, 
marketable celery in rows at an average distance of 
one foot apart, with plants six inches apart in the 
rows, and blanch it on the ground where it is grown. 
In my other experiments, I tried growing different 
varieties in rows from one foot to six inches apart, 
and found that, with irrigation, I could get a good 
growth with rows one foot apart, and adopted this 
plan for the most of my winter celery. This would 
blanch in the trenches when stored for winter. I 
found it very inconvenient to use boards in blanching 
my White Plume and Golden Self-blanching celery 
for summer and fall use, for there was but little room 
to walk between the rows when placing them. I had 
read about growing the plants so close together that 
they would blanch by their own shade. My experi¬ 
ments with this plan gave me small bunches, and 
these at a distance of six or eight inches apart each 
way, would blanch very imperfectly, and would not 
sell in market, when celery was offered that was 
grown by the system of banking with soil. 
This year, I have used the following plan, which 
has produced good, marketable early celery, with the 
rows at an average distance of one foot apart, and 
plants six inches apart in the row. The plot of 
ground used had been heavily manured for several 
years with stable manure, and it also received a 
dressing of the same this year. After the soil was 
put in good condition, the plants were set May 1. 
They were set in double rows six inches apart, with 
a space between the double rows of 18 inches; this 
space was cultivated with a wheel hoe, and the bed 
was kept clean until the plants were 8 or 10 inches 
high. Then boards were set on both sides of the 
double row, with stakes on both sides of the 
boards to keep them from falling on the plants. The 
space between the boards was mulched with stable 
manure. 
Near the brook which flows through my farm, I 
have a large tank. The water from the brook is 
lifted into this tank by a large hydraulic ram. Iron 
pipes are laid in different directions from the tank 
over the farm. With hose attached to one of these 
pipes, the plot of celery was frequently watered, 
The mulching of manure retained all the moisture, 
prevented the soil from baking, and the weeds from 
growing. My neighbor, who lives near it, said that 
he could see the celery grow. The result at the pres¬ 
ent time is a very large growth. 
When the plants became large enough to blanch, I 
crowded the boards closer to the rows, so as to bring 
the tops of the plants close together. The celery, 
which is the White Plume, seems to be blanching 
finely. From one-fifth of an acre, on which I am 
growing celery after this plan, I expect to get 10,000 
marketable bunches, which I expect will net me $200, 
or at the rate of $1,000 per acre. I get but very few 
culls when I grow celery by irrigation. I can blanch 
it in less time, and it is not tough, stringy, or hollow, 
but is very tender and crisp. Only one-half the num¬ 
ber of boards is required that there is when it is grown 
in single rows, which is a considerable saving in 
money and time. There is no washing to be done, 
which, for me, is the most disagreeable part of the 
work in growing celery. 
For winter celery, where I can irrigate it, I set all 
the rows one foot apart, with some 18-inch rows in 
which to stand when hoeing or weeding. This is 
placed in the trenches for winter use without any 
banking or handling, and I find this late crop nearly 
as profitable as the early one, especially the portion 
that I keep until spring and sell when celery is not so 
plenty. 
This plan of growing celery cannot be made a suc¬ 
cess except on very rich soil, and with irrigation, and 
a good deal of water is needed, too. I find that an 
inch stream of water flowing continually, will go but 
a little way towards irrigating my two-acre field of 
celery ; but I prefer to keep a part of it thoroughly 
wet, instead of distributing the water over the whole 
of it. The irrigated portion has made a much larger 
growth, and I expect to find it profitable to sell 
water in the form of celery. 
Delaware Co., N. Y. w. h. jenkins. 
RENEWING OLD STRAWBERRY 
BEDS. 
I was much interested in the ques¬ 
tion asked by Subscriber in The R. N.- 
Y. of June 27, as to whether there is 
any way by which he can set straw¬ 
berry plants in August and be sure of 
a fruit crop the following spring, and 
in the various replies thereto. There 
seem to be various opinions about the 
matter, and some of the plans to accom¬ 
plish the desired result seem to involve 
much more expense than any possible 
crop would pay for. I think August 
rather late to make any such attempt ; 
but if July be substituted for August, it 
can be done if one have a bed of his own 
to take his plants from, but not other¬ 
wise. Some of the answers suggested 
potted plants. In my humble opinion, 
potted plants are a delusion and a snare. I know 
that all the catalogues tell us that, set out in 
mid-summer, they will produce a fine crop in the 
spring. Possibly they will, but not the next spring. 
I know that writers on strawberry culture advise 
plowing weedy or grassy beds, planting late pota¬ 
toes, cabbage or other crops, and in the spring 
resetting; but unfortunately, that does not suit my 
case. If I had plenty of land, that plan might do ; 
but as I have only a limited amount suited to the 
three crops I grow (strawberries, onions and celery), 
I cannot afford to lose a whole year with potatoes or 
cabbage, both of which, nine years out of ten, would 
bring me in debt. 
Last year, I found myself confronted with this 
problem : My bed of Gandys was very foul, so much 
so that plowing out the middle, and then hoeing out 
the row, gave me no promise of success. How should 
I keep it in fruiting ? After thinking the matter 
over, I set the reversible plow at work, and plowed a 
strip about 20 feet wide on one side of the field. This 
was thoroughly harrowed with the Acme harrow, 
and marked out in rows 3)4 feet apart with the plow. 
The men were then set to work with spades taking up 
plants from the unplowed portion, with instructions 
to get a generous portion of soil, and to avoid as 
much as possible disturbing the roots. These were 
carried across and slipped from the spade into the 
furrow, and the earth drawn to them with the hoe. 
Afterward we put the plants into a cart, and drove 
along the rows where they were to be planted. 
I instructed the men to select the young plants, 
those which had not borne, as far as possible. A few 
rows were set out in this way, and while watching 
the work, I kept thinking, and the result of this 
thinking was that I could see no common sense in 
taking a young plant that yet needed some months of 
growth to establish itself before it could be ready tQ 
