586 
August 3, 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 1 
but I do know that in the 50 groves that have come 
-under my notice they have not flown far. The sugges¬ 
tions that ona wash the trunks with a poison soap or 
hire children to pick the beetles off the goldenrod or 
squirt carbon bisulphide into the bore holes—they are 
only admissions that the suggester has no remedy. And 
there has been proved no practicable remedy, unless it 
be, keep locust groves clear of goldenrod. 
Some one may ask why not let the locusts go to the 
borers and raise some species freer from pests. True, 
there are several other quick growing, profit-making 
trees, but none so good as the locust. A small plant- 
SECTIONS OF LOCUST POSTS. Fig. 288. 
ing, about half an acre growing under average condi¬ 
tions, made in 40 years 400 trees to the acre worth 
(taking lowest figure from preceding estimate) $3.32 
each. Can any farmer give for comparison the average 
net annual return from a regular rotation on a dairy 
farm? A planted grove in Ohio, 19 years old, 490 
trees per acre, has made posts that if sold would make 
a return of $17.98 per acre for each year they had 
been growing. This estimate is based on prices actu¬ 
ally realized on the preceding lot. The Pennsylvania 
Railroad has in the last five years planted hundreds of 
thousands of locust for tie timber, and has just recently 
employed an expert forester to look after this work. 
Here is evidence enough of the value of the locust, and 
justification enough for anyone for trouble taken to 
remove or at least regulate the one prohibitive pest. 
Plant locust as you would corn, even with the corn 
if not too close, or save a year and plant the one-year- 
old seedlings, procurable at about $5 per thousand. 
Here again it is to the advantage of the trees to plant 
corn in the alternate rows, for tjiis will insure culture, 
and the crop will pay for the work. I am planting half 
locust and half Catalpa for denser shade. You cannot 
keep locust from growing. The only pruning needed is 
to prevent the forking of the main stem. The shade- 
killed branches will fall off. Distance apart should be 
regulated by the prospect of a profitable thinning. To 
grow rapidly a tree must have room gradually to ex¬ 
tend its leaf crown. Trees standing 12 feet high and 
spaced four feet by four feet are being stunted. A good 
healthy growth in the plant is one of the best insurances 
against disease and insect attacks. I plant 6x6 feet 
and expect to thin for small round fence posts. Closer 
planting would be made possible by certain demand 
for bean poles and garden stakes. Locust bean poles 
would not rot off in half a season and they would likely 
be rough enough for the vines to climb easily. And the 
closer you plant and the more carefully you thin the 
more actual value you will get from your crop. 
Only one “Don’t.”—Don’t plant a locust grove along¬ 
side of the cornfield, or especially if you have any re¬ 
spect at all for the proper preservation of your self- 
control don’t plant a locust tree alongside of the garden 
or your wife’s flower bed. And perhaps one other—if 
you have locusts growing in such situation and want to 
LOCUST SHOWING BORER CHANNELS. Fig. 289. 
be rid of them don’t cut them now or in the Winter or 
you’ll have no end of trouble with suckers. If cut in 
August a little past the middle—the dead season for 
plants—there will be very little root suckering. The 
tree has then used its strength for the production of leaf 
and flower, and is not likely to recuperate. s. s. d. 
THE SOIL UNDER HAY COCKS. 
On page 529 of The R. N.-Y., I note the replies to 
G. T. W. No one seems to think of the beneficial effect 
of pulverizing and grinding that hard soil under those 
haycocks received. We look for good crops the next 
year after a dry season, one reason for which I think is 
due to the grinding the soil receives in order to sow and 
plant, which unlocks plant food for succeeding crops 
to use. H. P. M. 
In answer to G. T. W., page 529, rape is a deep-root¬ 
ing plant. We plant it to bring up fertility from a 
greater depth than we plow. The dry soil under hay¬ 
cocks compels the rape roots to go deep down for 
moisture, hence bring up more plant food than the ad¬ 
joining saturated land. G. T. W. has stumbled on a 
positive proof that rape improves the soil in dry years 
more than wet. A. H. w. 
Michigan. _ 
NEW IDEA IN HARROWING. 
Dragging “Dutch fashion” is nothing new; I learned 
it more than 20 years ago, still it may be new to some 
R. N.-Y. readers. Its advantages are that it drags 
neither lengthwise nor square across the furrows, and 
makes easier corners than the ordinary diagonal drag¬ 
ging. Plain Dutch fashion is shown in diagram below. 
Commence by “striking out” from A to B. Turn to the 
right and go back on the left side of first track till you 
reach edge of field near A. Drive across the first track 
and back on the opposite side to the other end. Cross 
over and back on opposite side again. Continue cross¬ 
ing over at each end inside your last track and outside 
the last track along the sides. When half done the 
piece will look like first diagram, and the next trip would 
be from C to D to E to F to C. When done the last 
trip would be from G to H, and the piece will have been 
dragged twice diagonally in opposite directions. This 
works well on pieces that are nearly square or not more 
than twice as long as wide. Of late we have found that 
it is economy in plowing, cultivating, etc., to make our 
lands as long as possible. On these Dutch dragging did 
not work as well, as it was too near lengthwise the 
furrows, so we hit upon what we call “crazy Dutch,” 
shown in second diagram. We “strike out” zig-zag across 
the piece two or three or more times, according to its 
viz: From A to B to C to D. Turn to the right and 
go back on left of first track to C, and drive across it. 
Go on right side to B, then up left side to A. Cross 
over and back on left side to B. Drives straight across 
the first two tracks, turn to the left and go on right 
side to C, where you will cross the two tracks again 
and go on left side to D. Always go straight ahead 
till you get to the edge of the field before you make a 
turn. When half done it will look like the picture, and 
the next trip would be from E to F, G, H, I, J, K, L, E. 
When done the last trip will be from M to N, O, P. 
This looks complicated, but it isn’t half as hard to do it 
as it is to tell about it. At least it seems that way to 
me just now. In striking out we never measure a piece, 
buc guess at the angles. However, the truer you get 
it struck out the better it works out in finishing. 
Chautauqua Co., N. Y. uncle reuben. 
PROTECTING BARHS FROM LIGHTNING. 
There was in a recent issue of The R. N.-Y. an answer to 
a correspondent in regard to protecting farm buildings from 
lightning by use of lightning rods. This is a subject that I 
have been greatly interested in since becoming a farmer, but 
one that I think has been neglected by the farm papers, the 
article referred to being the only one that I have seen that 
gave any in formation in regard to it, all other mention 
of it being only a warning against the “ignorant” and “un¬ 
scrupulous” venders of rods throughout the country. I am 
rebuilding a barn burned by lightning last Fall; It is 36x50 
feet and is covered with a painted iron roof. 1 If I put, say 
two or four heavy wires from the eaves or bottom of this 
roof to ground, and ground them properly, would they give 
as much protection as if extended above top of roof? For 
a barn with shingle roof 30x40 feet, would I get good protec¬ 
tion if I lay a cable or’“strand” composed of one or two 
strands of galvanized barb fence wire, and enough smooth 
No. 7 wire to stiffen it, along the ridge of the roof from one 
gable to the other, and rising, say five feet at each gable, 
then letting the smooth wires extend to the ground at some 
convenient point? Would not the great number of sharp 
galvanized points on the barb wire be a great benefit? 
Virginia. c. c. C. 
There is no doubt of the fact that an iron roof is 
ROADSIDE LOCUSTS FOR NATURAL POSTS. Fig. 290. 
a partial protection from lighting, but it has no sharp 
points projecting upwards, and it is a fixed principle in 
electricity that it passes to and from sharp points very 
rapidly and silently. If C. C. C. would erect along the 
ridge of his barn 50 feet long, say a half dozen uprights 
eight or 10 feet high of three-eighths or one-half inch 
galvanized cable with the upper ends untwisted and each 
wire filed to a point and twined so as to keep it free 
from rust, and the wires at lower end spread out on 
iron roof and soldered to it, and then the roof con¬ 
nected to permanent moisture in the ground from each 
corner with a piece of same kind of galvanized cable, 
his barn would be practically safe from damage by light¬ 
ning, except of the ball variety. If he would unwind 
these upright cables down for a foot or more and insert 
an equal number of copper wires to project up from the 
top and have these made sharp it would add very much 
to the efficiency of the cable, and, better yet, if he would 
take pieces of copper rods one-quarter inch in diameter 
and have points made sharp, and plated with silver. 
If his barn has galvanized conductors, by all means 
make a connection between the lower end of these and 
permanent moisture in the ground. One of the best 
ways to make connection with the ground is to dig a 
hole deep enough to reach moist ground, then get an 
old copper boiler and take one side of it and cut one 
edge into strings the size of shoe strings. Connect rods 
to these pieces and bury them with strings spread out 
in the earth. It would be better yet if a half bushel 
of broken charcoal was put in the hole in contact with 
the copper strips. 
In regard to the shingled roof, on building 30 x 40 
feet, if it had such a cable as before described along 
the ridge, with, say, fou. uprights with points, as said, 
with a cable from each end running down and connect¬ 
ing with eaves trough, and from thence to the 
ground, all as indicated, the barn would be reasonably 
safe. In the construction of protectors, what is wanted 
is the sharp points to afford a safe road for the elec¬ 
tricity, so as to prevent the discharges. C. C. C.’s barn 
protected as described would draw from every thunder 
cloud silently and carry safely to the ground enough 
THE VILLAINOUS LOCUST BORER. Fig. 291. 
electricity to destroy the barn if it came in the form 
of a bolt or strike of lightning. When I was a boy 
I went to school where there was a rod on the building 
which had a place where it could be separated. I have 
often seen, when a thunder cloud was passing over, 
even though there was no lightning or thunder, sparks 
passing between the ends of this rod, as I now remem¬ 
ber, for more than an inch, and of enough intensity to 
make the muscles twitch. j. s. woodward. 
