57o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
July 27, 
individual case. Last year, after cutting ceased and we 
were growing tops, we had very little rust. This prob¬ 
ably accounts for a fair yield this cold Spring. The in¬ 
come from an acre of asparagus depends largely on the 
soil where planted, how it is planted, how it is fed and 
cared for, the variety set, and last but not least, the man 
who grows the crop. This makes a wide range in net 
THE ROAD DRAG AT WORK. Fig. 279. 
earnings, varying all the way from $150 to $300 per 
acre; $200 would be a fair average, but $300 has been 
exceeded. c. c. hulsart. 
Monmouth County, N. J. 
PERMANENT LABELS. 
I notice in a recent issue that H. E. Cook recommends 
Carbolineum as a wood preservative, and I want to add 
my testimony. In planting hundreds of varieties of 
plants and bulbs we mark them with large pot labels 
stuck in the ground, in addition to strong stakes that 
cannot be displaced by the cultivator. For good reasons 
we do not always want the name on the stake. Our 
way was to write the name on a newly painted label 
and stick the end in the ground for two or three days, 
until the paint was dry, and then push it clear down. 
We found that a common pine label would often decay 
in one season, even when painted. A few years ago my 
attention was called to Carbolineum. I obtained a quart 
for 30 cents, and found it to be all that was claimed 
for it. When a label was wanted it was stuck into the 
liquid an inch or two, and the surplus preservative was 
spread with the finger. If two were needed orte was 
dipped and then rubbed against a dry one, till both were 
covered. Later on I procured a small, flat brush that 
stands in the jar under the cover, and with it I can take 
up what is needed and apply it without soiling the fingers. 
In planting time we keep treated ones on hand. If 
written upon with a lead pencil before they are dry— 
and this requires some days—the writing becomes indel¬ 
ible, and will remain so for at least five years, even if 
buried in the ground. I have yet to see the first signs 
of decay in a label treated with Carbolineum, and as 
long as the label stands the writing is there. Every 
nurseryman knows that a lead pencil will not “bite” 
on a smooth, unpainted label, but this is not so with 
one treated with Carbolineum. It makes a blue-black 
mark that is pleasant to see and is there to stay. There 
is more in this for horticulturists than appears at first 
Sight. M. CRAWFORD. 
Ohio. _ 
THE CELLAR BOILING SPRING. 
We were purchasing a residence, and the owner re¬ 
marked : “There is a boiling spring in the cellar, and 
I would advise you to have a brick curbing put around 
it and then you can pipe to it and have nice cool spring 
water to pump all the time.” I was extremely busy, 
and knowing the seller to be absolutely trustworthy, I 
gave the matter no attention beyond sending a mason 
to do as he suggested. Some days later I glanced into 
the spring, after the mason had completed his work, 
and to my surprise found it perfectly dry. Procuring a 
lamp, I made what I should have done in the first place, 
a careful examination of the cellar. When I left the 
house almost the first man I met was the late owner. 
“Well,” I remarked, “the curbing has been placed 
around your boiling spring.” 
“I am glad to hear it,” he answered. “A good spring 
like that furnishing clear cold water in the cellar, adds 
to the value of the property. We appreciated it, and 
I know you will also. Say, what in the world are you 
laughing about?” 
“We have Ideated the source of the spring,” I said. 
“What do you mean?” 
“You remember you had a molasses gate in your 
cistern in the cellar?” 
“Certainly.” 
“Well, it leaks.” 
“Why—why—” 
“Yes,” I replied, “that is all right, but that leaky 
molasses gate supplied the water to the boiling spring!” 
Maine. r - c - c - 
BLOAT IN CATTLE. 
I have clover pasture for 12 head of cattle, which 
causes them to bloat. I have tried every way that 1 
could to prevent it; viz., by giving them corn on ear 
before turning them out, by giving them straw or hay, 
and waiting until the pasture is dry from the effects of 
rain or dew, and all have failed. 
I have sometimes had to treat six or seven head a 
day for bloat, and have been bothered about seven 
weeks. At present I turn them on the clover 20 min¬ 
utes, then bring them back into the yard, and keep them 
in from one-half to one and one-half hour according 
to how full they look. Imagine how well I can keep 
up my farm work alone, and have to let my cattle into 
the pasture six or eight times a day, and get them out! 
1 have had two cases of bloat in spite of their being 
in so short a time. For bloat I turn a tablespoonful of 
pine tar into a tin cup and warm it, and turn it into 
the cow’s mouth, and I sometimes give two tablespoons 
of turpentine in a quart of warm water, but do not like 
to give it for fear of choking them. Is there any safe 
remedy that I can give them to prevent their bloating? 
Cass Co., Mich._ J. c. n. 
THE USE OF THE KING DRAG. 
In reply to query as to the use of the King drag, I 
will say that on our soils the best time to run it is not 
immediately after a rain, but when the ground becomes 
partially dry, and before it becomes hard. On a clay 
soil the ground is too sticky right after a rain. It will 
not slide off the scraper, but will clog it. I can speak 
from experience in this matter, having made and put in 
successful operation the first King drag that I know of 
in these parts. A neighbor, seeing it under construction, 
CLEMATIS HENRYI AND MME. ANDRE. Fig. 280. 
said: “That may be all right out West, but it won’t 
work here.” Another said I would have to put handles 
to it or it would jump out of the row. I must say, 
however, that it has been a success. I have quite a long 
lane to the public road, and have had no end of trouble 
in keeping it in good shape. Since using this scraper 
on it and going over it occasionally I have succeeded 
in giving the roadbed a hard rounded surface that sheds 
water like a duck’s back, and that is the secret of main¬ 
taining a road—keeping water from entering the 
roadbed. 
There is one precaution, and that is, you must dig 
out any projecting stones which may catch the shoe of 
the scraper; otherwise you may get a fall. Stones are 
no good in the road anyway, and the quicker you get 
them out the better it will be. It is not intended that 
this small scraper drawn by two horses is to be used in 
building roads, or for moving much earth at a time. 
Still I have found it practicable to use it after the plow. 
By running a spring-tooth harrow and the drag alter¬ 
nately a lot of work can be done with it. In cases like 
this it is best not to ride, but to tie on it a flat stone 
weighing about 100 pounds. The work of the scraper 
can be regulated by the manner of adjusting the chain 
which draws it. If you wish to scrape out a plow fur¬ 
row or clean out a ditch, the short end of the chain 
wants to be very short in comparison with the long end, 
and the weight on the scraper placed near the outer end. 
My drag is not made out of a split log, but out of oak 
plank. I do not say which is the better, but planks are 
easier to get and work up. The successful working of 
the scraper depends largely on the shoes and the manner 
of putting them on. I used a discarded tire off a drill 
wheel. I took it to a blacksmith’s shop, had it cut in 
proper lengths and pierced with holes about one foot 
apart, made to take tire bolts with heads sunk even with 
the surface. The diagram shows a sectional view, and the 
manner in which the shoe is put on, and also the man¬ 
ner in which the scraper is braced. The bolt tying the 
two planks is near the outside end of the scraper. Here 
is the most strain, and, at the same time it is somewhat 
out of the way of the moving dirt. 
I believe it would pay the township authorities to 
place a King drag in each township by way of exper¬ 
iment. The large four to six-horse road machines are, 
as a rule, run over the road but once a year, or at most 
twice. In the meantime, no matter how well the work 
lias been done, there will form depressions where the 
wheels travel. This depression holds water, and on 
slopes the water follows the wheel track, doing all kinds 
of damage. The object of the King drag is to keep the 
wheel ruts filled by running over the road at intervals, 
and especially after a rain has softened the ground. 
This is a simple contrivance, costs but a trifle, and I 
know from experience that it is capable of doing much 
good. _ GRANT DAVIS. 
CLIMBERS FOR THE PORCH. 
There is no cheaper, easier and prettier way to dec¬ 
orate the exterior of a house than to have a variety of 
climbing vines around the porch. They not only pro¬ 
vide a beautiful screen, with the green of the leaves 
painted by flowers of varying hue, but exclude the hot 
sun and enable one to enjoy an easy chair in the open 
air when otherwise the sun’s hot rays would render it 
impossible. The objection is sometimes heard that 
vegetation rots the woodwork which it shades, but this 
damage, if any, is not worth mentioning, and only calls 
for an occasional extra coat of paint. Of all the climb¬ 
ers the family of Clematis arc the most refined and deli¬ 
cate in their growth and beauty of flower. They are 
true aristocrats among the climbers, but on account 
perhaps of their usually high price and the more than 
usual care sometimes required to start them, they are 
not seen as often as could be desired. The purple Jack- 
manni is the best known, and is well distributed, but 
there are several other meritorious varieties that are 
seldom seen. Madame Andre is a crimson variety that 
I prize very much. It is a constant and profuse bloomer 
and has only one defect, and that is its dwarfish growth. 
After three years it is only a little over four feet high. 
Instead of a few separate vines that grow several feet 
in a season, it forms rather a mass of short vines that 
expend all their strength in blooming. Its flowers are 
large, about four inches in diameter, but never attain 
the size of the full-grown Jackmanni. Occasionally 
there are situations where a dwarfish grower would be 
preferred, and there Madame Andre would give perfect 
satisfaction. A third variety that is blooming this Sum¬ 
mer for the first time is the white Henryi, and I am very 
much pleased with it. It is as rapid a grower as the 
Jackmanni and is also perfectly hardy so far as tried. 
It begins to bloom early, and its flowers are immense 
in size. They seem to continue to grow after they 
open, until they attain a diameter of full six inches. 
This is no guesswork, but I actually laid the rule 
across several of the blossoms. They are a fine, creamy 
white. Henryi appears to be fully equal to Jackmanni 
A FARM “KING” ROAD DRAG. Fig. 281. 
in every desirable quality and may surpass it in vigor 
of growth. Fig. 280 shows the white Henryi and the 
crimson Madame Andre growing together, but the lat¬ 
ter on account of its color does not show well. 
Missouri. _ l. r. Johnson. 
The evidence in favor of vetch as a green manuring crop 
seems conclusive. The only objection we have is that the 
seed may mix with grain. This seems to be one of the 
crops that make you a present of two bags of nitrate of 
soda to the acre. 
