474 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
June 15, 
are to be planted; these hills mentioned should not be 
above the general level of the soil. After they have 
been properly formed around the poles from five to 
six beans should be planted at a depth of two inches. 
Some authorities advise placing the seed eye down¬ 
ward. pushing them in the soil, while others prefer to 
AN ARIZONA SUN MOTOR. Fig. 224. 
plant them flat on their side. In practice the writer 
has tried both; if conditions are favorable there is but 
little difference. Frequent cultivation and stirring of 
the soil is very important. The young plants will 
grow with great vigor when well cultivated; not more 
than four plants should be left in each hill, thus avoid¬ 
ing too much foliage. A great many gardeners pinch 
the ends of the runners after five or six feet of growth 
is made, but I think it better to reduce the foliage by 
thinning the plants. Plenty of sunshine and a free 
circulation of air is very important in the Lima bean 
patch; we are seldom troubled with blight where this 
is admitted. The Lima bean usually takes the whole 
season to mature; it is therefore advisable to plant the 
very earliest kinds, like the Early Jersey; a few days 
or perhaps a week can be gained in this way. 
Monmouth Co., N. J. t. m. white. 
MUSLIN CURTAINS FOR VENTILATING. 
I expect to bui'cl a barn this Summer. I would like some 
advice about my cow stable as to ventilation. The stable 
will be in a basement with a nine-foot wall on the west side 
and the stable in the south end of the same, and will be 
30x30 feet, with a milk room 6x10 in one corner. I ex¬ 
pect to have room for 16 head of cattle, with eight in the 
row facing each other. Now, how large a flue shall I need, 
and how many intake flues and what size should they be? 
Will Mr. Cook tell what he thinks of the muslin ventilator? 
How would he ventilate the above stable with the same? 
Will one thickness of lumber be enough for the outtake flue? 
If not would it do to cover the same with Ruberoid rooting? 
j. H. j. 
I have given but a year’s careful study to the muslin 
curtain system of ventilation for dairy barns, but I 
feel warranted in saying that the system has decided 
merit. It has become a well-known fact that it works 
well in poultry houses, but somehow I did have some 
hesitation in believing that it could work equally as 
well in the dairy stable. I have yet to see any really 
clean cut, scientific explanation of the working of this 
system. In fact, it seems difficult to explain that such 
complete interchange of air could take place through 
these fine meshes, but the fact remains nevertheless, 
that a damp stable can be dried out in a week without 
greatly reducing temperatures. Most of the experi¬ 
mental work so far has been conducted with muslin 
fastened over the window space and the window re¬ 
moved, because few people would believe until they saw 
with their own eyes what it would do. Dr. E. M. 
Santee, of Cortland, N. Y., now 1 in the employ of the 
Federal Government, has the only data that I have 
been able to obtain, showing relative temperature and 
humidity. The surprising part of the whole scheme 
is the very nearly uniform temperatures which can be 
maintained. I believe that the same careful method 
of control, now well understood in the King system, 
would enable one to hold temperatures under varying 
changes outside, as nearly uniform as with the King 
system. The result of Dr. Santee’s work would war¬ 
rant the statement that two square feet of space per 
cow would be sufficient. This space should be cut out 
between the regular windows, thereby giving the ani¬ 
mals full benefit of the sunlight. While the room will 
not be materially darkened by the use of the muslin, 
of course, the sun’s rays will be entirely shut out. 
My own experience covers the past Winter only. The 
openings upon the east side of the building were ex¬ 
tremely satisfactory in the very coldest weather, while 
on the west side our means of control were not suf¬ 
ficient on the extremely cold, windy days. No latitude, 
probably, would give the system a more severe test 
than northern New York, where the temperatures are 
very low and brisk winds prevail. I am not quite sure 
whether the means of control will be most satisfactory 
if an extra muslin curtain is arranged to slide past the 
one constantly in use, and thereby reducing the chance 
for air passage, or whether a board slide should be in¬ 
troduced in front of the curtain. In brief, I am willing 
to say this much: that if I was building a new stable, 
I should put in the cloth curtains above mentioned 
and test them thoroughly before resorting to any other 
means. If this system proves all that one can anticipate, 
it will be a blessing to the live stock interests of the 
country, because of the ease and economy of introduc¬ 
tion. Dr. Santee sent me figures, going to show that 
the humidity was less in certain comparative tests than 
with the King system. I am, however, unable to quali¬ 
fy fully in regard to this statement because the per¬ 
fection of the King system in that particular instance is 
not known. I regret very much that the Government 
did not inaugurate some test experiments in one of my 
barns, where, I believe, the King system is as nearly 
perfect as it can be and maintain the higher tempera¬ 
tures, namely, 50 to 60 degrees. If J. H. J. does not 
care to speculate with the muslin curtain upon the data 
at hand, he can put in an outtake flue two feet by V/2 at 
some convenient joint in the barn, running from near 
the floor to the highest point of the building, with an 
opening near the ceiling in the stable, to be used on the 
warm days. In order to prevent condensation in these 
flues, I would double-board each side of 2x4 studs and 
fill the space with dry planer shavings. Of course, the 
Ruberoid roofing would serve as one covering, but would 
cost nearly double that of lumber good enough for this 
purpose. The intake flues should start near the sill 
on the outside, pass up through between the boarding 
inside and outside, or entirely inside to a point near the 
GROUND PLAN OF CONCRETE BUILDINGS. Fig. 225. 
ceiling where the air is introduced into the stable. 
The combined area of this intake should equal that 
of the outtake flue . h. e. cook. 
STRAWBERRIES IN THE FALL. 
I have noted the articles in The R. N.-Y. on late 
strawberries. In 1884 I dug up a bed of Manchester 
strawberries that had grown to a sod and were about 
worthless. I shook out a handful of the plants, took 
them to a corner of the field where there remained quite 
a snow bank. I put some sawdust on the snow and 
then snow on the dust, and laid the plants on; put on 
more snow and covered them again with sawdust. On 
the first of June I opened my mound and still found 
plants covered with snow just as fresh as when put 
there. I planted them in a good spot and they did well 
considering the quality of the plants. I had as full a 
crop as though they were planted when dug. They 
ripened in September. One man said I had picked off 
the fruit buds, which made them form a new set, hence 
their lateness; another remarked they were a new Fall¬ 
bearing variety which must have great value. Some 
years ago my neighbor, Silas Devine, tried retarding by 
holding the plants in four-inch pots in cold storage 
and set'ing them in June. About one-quarter acre were 
so retarded with good results. The next Winter the 
same plot was covered about four feet deep with ice after 
the ground was well frozen, and the ice was covered 
with a foot of straw. They were thus held back until 
June 1, when the straw was removed and the plants 
appeared in the best possible condition. The berries 
were a full crop and sold for a fabulous price, but just 
think of the cost oi cutting and hauling ice to cover 
one-quarter acre four feet deep, and then covering that 
with a foot of straw! Mr. Devine told me he had dem¬ 
onstrated that a full crop of strawberries could be 
grown in the Fall, and now he would let some one else 
carry on the scheme, as he was out about $2,000 on the 
experiment; yet he did not care for that, as he had the 
means and his neighbors needed the money they earned. 
I saw a brief account of Mr. Devine’s experiment in 
The R. N.-Y. at the time. I have no doubt that well- 
developed plants can be taken up in the Spring as soon 
as the frost is out of the ground and before the Spring 
growth starts and held in cold storage to such a time as 
may be desired, and then planted and a Fall crop ob¬ 
tained that would pay a liberal profit. It might be 
necessary to irrigate to carry the growth through the 
heat of August. I tried about 20 four-inch pots a few 
years ago, and had a full yield in September without 
any extra water. e. van fradenburgh. 
Sullivan Co., N. Y. 
BITS OF LAW. 
Traction Engine Law. 
Do you know of the law which requires a thrashing ma¬ 
chine owner to send a man an eighth of a mile ahead of 
his traction engine on the public highway? They always 
run slower than a horse walks—and the automobile can 
run a mile a minute if their driver chooses. What about 
their having a man go on ahead to warn people? b. p. n. 
Fredonia, N. Y. 
Yes, the Statutes of 1901 make these provisions on all 
roads of the State. Experience has shown that such pre¬ 
caution inures to the safety of those driving spirited horses. 
It seems to apply alike to engines hauled by horses and 
those moving under their own steam. Automobiles are ex¬ 
cluded from this restriction. 
Wagon Lamps and Sleigh Bells. 
Are rubber tired wagon compelled, by law, to carry lights, . 
at night? Also, are sleighs compelled to use bells, at night? 
New York. t,. t. 
These provisions for the safety of others may be im¬ 
posed by cities and villages as a part of the “police regu¬ 
lations.” There are thousands of such rules for the pro¬ 
tection of society from the recklessness of others. But 
there is no such State law, and it is rare that villages im¬ 
pose these restrictions. In case of doubt, consult the chief 
of police or city clerk. It would be very unwise to require 
such hardships on all the rural roads. 
Ownership of Street Grass. 
A leases farm inside corporation limits of village. B 
lives on opposite side of street. Can A stop B from 
mowing grass on A's side of street? If so, how? If not, 
why? S. D. F. 
New York. 
Clearly B has no right to intrude or trespass on the 
roadside of A. A has a right to all the products grown on 
his s'idc of the road as much as in his fields. The pub¬ 
lic may use the road for travel only, and A may use his 
roadside for crops or grass as long as he does not im¬ 
pede the traffic. A should sue in trespass, setting up all 
the facts and proving value of the grass taken. 
Widow's Dower Right. 
My wife and I bought a piece of property together, with 
both names on deed. My wife after some time signed a quit 
claim deed to me, giving me the right to sell any time. In 
signing that quit claim deed, does she forfeit her rights of 
dower of one-third of my property after my death if I make 
no will? I understand the laws of Connecticut give wid¬ 
ows one-third of husband’s property after death. i\ k. 
Connneetieut. 
The laws of Connecticut provide that In case there is no 
will the property descends as follows: Widow without chil- 
drew gets all the property up to .$2,000 and one-half of the 
balance, if any: remainder to go to nearest of kin. Widow 
with children gets a life estate in one-half of the property, 
CEMENT SILO UNDER CONSTRUCTION. Fig. 226. 
real and personal, balance to children. No will can cut 
off widow’s right of dower without giving her an equal in¬ 
terest. A quit claim deed would release dower right only 
to that particular property. General release of dower 
must be in writing and placed on record. If a man merely 
wishes to transfer land without the presence of his wife and 
her signature he must get from her a power of attorney 
and place the same of recqrd. , 
