:ii2 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
February G, 
TALK ABOUT TURTLES. 
These strange-looldng citizens are found 
floating under water, wandering among the 
bogs or swamps, or traveling on dry land, 
as though they belonged almost anywhere. 
There is something about a turtle that 
makes him always interesting. We may be¬ 
come so familiar with toads, frogs and 
snakes that little attention is given them, 
but wherever a turtle is seen, whether one 
of a retiring disposition, hauling his head 
inside his shell at first sight of an in- 
THE SPECKLED TURTLE 
(ruder, or a defiant snapping turtle, ready 
to face and fight either friend or enemy, 
we look at him with interest as one of 
Nature’s jokes. 
Prof. H. A. Surface, of the Pennsyl¬ 
vania Department of Agriculture, gives in 
Zoological Bulletin 4-5, Vol. 6, an extremely 
interesting account of the turtles of that 
State, two of the illustrations being repro¬ 
duced in accompanying pictures. At least 18 
species of turtles are found in Pennsyl¬ 
vania ,most of them edible, some, such as 
the diamond back and snapping turtle 
being much esteemed as food. The female 
turtle lays eggs in the soft sand along the 
borders of streams. The eggs, covered with 
sand, are hatched by the sun’s heat, and 
the little ones shift for themselves, re¬ 
ceiving no further attention from the 
parents. As soon as hatched they start for 
the water, where they find food and pro¬ 
tection and many of their natural enemies 
find them. Turtles are not particular as 
to diet, eating almost anything that corner 
handy, fish, insects, worms, snails, mice, 
carrion, vegetable matter, including corn, 
mushrooms and berries. In Winter turtles 
hibernate by burrowing deeply in mud or 
soft earth. 
The snapping turtle is one of the most 
widely known species, being found from 
Canada to the Equator and as far west as 
the Rocky Mountains. It is ready to at¬ 
tack anything and hangs on with more than 
a bull-dog grip. A hard bony rim around 
the mouth takes the place of teeth. There 
is an old superstition that when a snap¬ 
ping turtle seizes anything it will hang on 
until sundown or until there is thunder. 
COMMON BOX TURTLE 
They have their enemies, however. Leeches 
get on the exposed parts of the body where 
they cannot be reached, and men are al¬ 
ways hunting them for food. Dr. Surface 
tells of a case where an otter seized a 
live snapping turtle in the water, brought 
him out and ate his head off, a record- 
breaking example of strenuous savagery on 
the otter’s part. These turtles are destruc¬ 
tive in ponds where ducks are raised. The 
yellow feet of the ducks prove tempting 
bait, and many of them are drawn under 
and killed or maimed. Some of the land 
turtles do damage in vegetable gardens, 
biting chunks out of muskmelons and eat¬ 
ing lettuce. The two species illustrated, the 
speckled turtle and the box turtle, are 
very timid. The former spends most of the 
time in water or on wet ground, while 
the box turtle is nearly always on land. 
This is the high-backed turtle often found 
in field and door.vard and used as a pet 
by children. It has sometimes tyeen kept 
in the cellar during Winter, but this is a 
mistake, as the box turtle is unable to 
defend himself and is likely to be eaten by 
rats in a cellar thus Infested. 
Disposing of Bones. 
E. P. R., Packerville, Conn .— In Brevities 
you advise us to save hones for the phos¬ 
phoric acid. Please tell us how best to 
prepare the bones for use. 
Ans. —You cannot prepare them as 
well as the manufacturers do, for they 
have powerful machinery. They first 
steam them at a high heat, and then 
crush and grind. In New England 40 
years ago many neighborhoods had 
bone crushing plants. In some the 
bones were stamped under a trip ham¬ 
mer; in others they were steamed and 
ground in a bone mill. It would pay in 
many localities to buy a bone mill, 
where one has the power, and advertise 
for bones. They would be picked and 
sold by boys. The softer bones can be 
made useful by packing in manure or 
between layers of wood ashes. To do 
this take a box or barrel and put at the 
bottom a layer of unleached ashes five 
inches thick. Then put a similar layer 
of bones, broken as you can with a 
sledge. Then more unleached ashes, 
then more bones and so on to the top. 
Keep the mass wet with liquid manure 
or water. As the ashes are leached the 
lye attacks the bones and softens them. 
After about three months most of the 
bones can be taken out and smashed 
with a heavy spade or maul. The hard 
jaw and leg bones cannot be softened 
so readily this way. Of course this does 
not make the bones as fine as bone meal, 
but they are suitable for many purposes, 
such as working in around fruit trees. 
We bury the larger bones around trees 
and vines, and find that the roots at¬ 
tack them. These harder bones can be 
burned with wood—in stoves or fur¬ 
naces or in piles outdoors. This makes 
“bone ash.” Of course the nitrogen is 
all lost in this burning, but the lime 
and phosphoric acid remain. In the 
fertilizer works sulphuric acid is used 
on bones, but we do not advise the use 
of this dangerous acid on the farm. 
corn 
>ook—it’s free, and I throw in 
samples of seed corn besides. 
I have been growing seed corn j 
for over 20 years, and X proba¬ 
bly sell more seed corn than 
any man in the world. 
I have learned some 
things about corn, and 
this I have boiled down 
in my seed corn book. I 
You can pet my 20 years I 
experience in 20 minutes, and 
get it a whole lot easier than I 
got It. If you want seed corn I 
P Ear or Swelled j 
write for my cor n book and earn- 
pies before you buy. It will be 
worth your while. 
I don’t know it all, but I know 
a few things, and when you see 
the samples you will say I know 
good corn. 
We sell all seed corn on ap¬ 
proval and subject to your own 
test. We sell it ear or shelled. 
We test it, grade it, and guar¬ 
antee it. 
HENRY FIELD SEED CO. J 
Box 26. Shenandoah, Iowa. 
P. S. I haven’t got any 
USS 300 bu. per acre corn. 
■Hr 
SEEDS THAT GROW 
% 
■'you 
Best quality Garden, Flower 
and Farm Seeds, Alfalfa, 
Clover, Seed Potatoes. We 
will send free with cat¬ 
alogue a pkt.. of new 
lettuce seed “M 
King” the best 
head lettuce 
German Nurseries, 
if yr Oy/ilox 187 Beatrice,Neb. 
i for 
Write 
to-day. 
Also have full 
line of Nursery 
s- 'Stock, Roses, Plants 
and Bulbs. 
IF YOU WANT THE BEST FIELD SEEDS, 
for hay, forage, and soil improvement, write today 
for my new wholesale list, and buy direct. It's free. 
ENSILAGE SEED CORN, GRASS 
and CLOVER SEEDS are my leaders. 
PACKARD, Field Seeds Specialist, Dover, Delaware. 
ALFALFA‘"‘GRASS seeds 
m m ■ Northern Grown and of strongest 
vitality. 99 per cent pure. Write for Catalogue No. 23 
• £. WING & BROS., Box 123 MECHANICSBCRG, OHIO 
am 
Iowa grown seed corn is the best. We 
sell Ear or Shelled. Write for our corn 
book and Free Samples. 
FIELD SEED CO., Box 26, Shenandoah, Iowa, 
YELLOW FLINT SEED CORN. 
Twelve rowed, small kernel, well adapted for 
poultry feeding. Eight rowed, Longfellow Strain 
‘Pedigreed.” $2.00 per bushel, shelled: $2 ..t 0, ears. 
Bags and boxes free. Address SYLVESTER M. 
FOSTER, Hokanum Farm, Westport, Conn. 
SEND 
for our special prices of Farm Seeds, 
Oats, Corns and Potatoes. Fine Stock. 
SMITH BROS., Seedsmen, Auburn, N. Y. 
FARM SEEDS. 
We are Recleaners and Dealers in Red, 
Alsike, Alfalfa, Crimson and White Clovers; 
also Timothy, Barley, Seed Oats and Corn and 
a full line of Farm and Garden Seeds. Write 
for price list and catalogue mailed free. 
The Henry Philipps Seed and Implement Co. 
115-1 f7 St. Clair St., Toledo, Ohio. 
Vi 
“No tree too 
, ■&!!£,; Sf e 
k for this king 
of sprayers.” For 
k ‘ orchards, vineyards, 
■ 1 potatoes, weeds, etc. 
No hand pumping re- 
r y quired—works automa¬ 
tically. One man can do 
more work with this ma¬ 
chine than two men with < A 
the old style sprayers. •“ 
Saves labor, time and 
money. 
No-money-in-advance, no-bank de¬ 
posit, shipped direct to you at dealer’s 
Wholesale-prices. Pay us out of the 
“extra profit.” This Man-Power 
Sprayer (shown below) is an all-purpose 
machine for the medium sized growers, 
and durable. 
STEED EOR 
_ Ve pay the freight. Write a 
letter or card to-day— and we’ll send you 
Spraying-Guide, Catalog of all-kinds-of- 
sprayers, and Special-j’ree-Spraycr Of¬ 
fer for first in each locality this season. 
Don’t delay— Write now 
H. L. HURST MFG. CO., 
43 North St., Canton, Ohio 
Compressed 
Air Sprayers 
Holds over 4 GALLONS. Sprays 
trees, vegetables, etc. Saving iu 
labor pays for the SPRAYER 
the first month it is used. Write 
for circulars and price list. 
J. F. GAYLORD, 
Box 78. Catskill, N. Y 
Nitrate of Soda 
Nitrate Sold in Original Bags 
TITRATE AGENCIES CO. 
64 Stone Street, New York 
Kcyser Building, Baltimore, Md. 
36 Bay Street, East, Savannah, Ga. 
305 Baronne Street, New Orleans, La. 
140 Dearborn Street, Chicago, 111. 
Holcombe & Co., 24 California Street 
San Francisco, Cal. 
603*4 Oriental Block, Seattle, Wash, 
Address Office Nearest Yon 
Orders for All Quantities Promptly 
Filled—Write for Quotations 
NATURAL 
FINE GROUND PHOSPHATE 
THE RELIABLE LAND BUILDER 
Iji rotating your crop* don’t fall to apply NATURAL 
FINE GROUND PHOSPHATE before plowing down your 
clover or grain. sod*. This is the best time to apply 
ground phosphate to the soil direct. The right amount 
applied just then will surely increase each crop grow n in 
the rotation from 25 to 75If. It is safe to do this on any kind 
of soil, and the cost will only be from SI.00 to $1.25 per acre 
for each ol’ the crops to follow during the rotation. Our 
Booklet, sent free, will tell you how much to apply and 
will show you that this statement is fully confirmed by 
the leading Agricultural Experiment Stations. Address— 
THE FARMERS GROUND ROCK PHOSPHATE COMPANY, 
ML PLEASANT, TENNESSEE. 
CHALLENGE ALL 
HAY PRESSES 
No “hot air” about this. We’re “ready 
with the goods” to prove that a Spencer 
Hay Press will out-work, out-bale all comers 
competition. Vve 
buy a slow press that chews up your profits: 
or a press,that will break down and need 
constant tinkering to keep it going. Buy and 
run a Spencer—tin n you 11 he lmppy—free from 
worry. Trial free. Catalog free and sent promptlv. 
Write today for it. 
J. A. SPENCER. 
SPENCER 
KAY PRESS 
Dwight, Ill. 
FUMA 
I HA A 99 ^1 Us Prairie Dogs, 
“ w ■ bm *“ Woodchucks, Gophers, 
and Grain Insects. 
“The wheels of the gods 
grind slow but exceed¬ 
ingly small.” So the weevil, but you can stop their 
*with “Fuma Carbon Bisulphide” are doing. 
EDWARD R. TAYLOR, Penn Yan, N. Y. 
Seed Oats 
Bred for 
Lar^e Yields 
IK 
The Lincoln oat holds the record 
fh® largest and heaviest yields 
—174 bu. to the acre, 817 bu. and 21 
>s. from 7 bu. of seed. 
Their earliness, rust resisting 
Qualities, strength and stiffness of 
straw, thinness of hull,heavy meat 
soft nib, white berry, etc., make 
especiifily valuable. Sam¬ 
ple of these wonderful oats mailed 
withou t charge, on request. Price. 
10 bu., $10; 
100 bu., $90, sacks Included, feend 
about Lincoln Oats in our 1909 
catalogue. 
Don’t sow ordinary oats when 
^ OU j C i in genuine, high-grado 
seed from the hardy North adapt¬ 
ed for all conditions and climates. 
Each year we test and improve - 
Inan ^. new varieties of oats- butwedo 
not offer them until we know that they 
are right. It is our business to know 
before we sell. The f rmer ought not 
to experiment, but should buy tested 
seed from a reliable source. 
25th Anniversary Catalogue 
It is richly embellished with numerous 
colored plates and hundreds of fine photo¬ 
graphs—a book of 152 pages filled with useful 
and valuable suggestions. Every planter, 
whether he uses few or many seeds, 
should have this book. We cannot 
afford to distribute them indiscrim¬ 
inately, but will mail fit free upon 
request to those who,buy seeds. 
Send your name and address today. 
N0RTHRUP, KING & CO., Seedsmen,' 
34Bridge Square, Minneapolis, Minn. 
DOUBLE”!OAT SHOP 
“REGENERATED” 
SWEDISH SELECT PEDIGREE OATS 
have Produced (Season 1908) 75 Bushels 
to the Acre of Grain that Weighs 48 Lbs. to 
the Bushel and by far the heaviest yields ever 
recorded in the U. S. Every sale is made tinder 
a Guarantee which Binds. Inspection permitted 
before you pay. Seed is absolutely pure, exactly 
like those samples we exhibited at State Fairs 
of Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and 
Missouri; also at National Corn Exposition, 
Illinois State Corn Exposition and Royal Ameri¬ 
can Horse Show, and pronounced by leading 
agriculturists as the best oat seen in America. 
Weight per stroke bushel, 48 to 52 pounds. 
Read What These Growers Say of 
Their Comparative Results 
Westfield, N. Y.—Albert J. Culver: Regener¬ 
ated Select Oats were 4 inches taller and week 
earlier than ordinary oats. Yield was 53 bushels 
to acre, testing 45 pounds to bushel. 
Monroeville, O.—George C. Peadon: Regener¬ 
ated Swedish Select went 80 bushels per acre 
against 60 bushels of our com mon oats. 
Montezuma, O. — Frank A. Schwietermann: 
Regenerated Swedish Select were one week 
earlier and yielded 65 bushels per acre against 
50 bushels of my o ther oats. 
Grand Rapids, Mich.— John B. Martin: My 
yield was 51 bushels per acre of Regenerated 
Swedish Select. Other oats 24 bushels per acre. 
Write for Reports of Growers in 1908, 
also free sample and Catalog T. 
THE GARTON SEED CO., 177 Illinois St., CHICAGO 
69 cts.! 
aba. 
POTATOES 
See Salzer’s catalog page 129. . 
Largest growers of seed potatoes and early 
vegetables in the world. Big catalog free: or, 
send 16c in stamps and receive catalog and 
1000 kernels each of onions, carrots, celery, I 
radishes, 1500 lettuce, rutabaga, turnips, 100 
parsley, 100 tomatoes, 100 melons, 1200 
charming flower seeds, in all 10,000 kernels, 
! easily worth $1.00 of any man’s money. Or, 
send 20c and we add one pkg. of Earliest I 
| Peep O’Day Sweet Com. 
THE SALZER SEED CO., LaCrosae, W?«. 
LAWN FENCE 
Many designs. Cheap as 
wood. 32 page Catalogue 
free. Special Prices to 
Churches and Cemeteries. 
Coiled Spring Fence Co. 
Box 3X4 Winchester. Ind. 
SPECIAL GARDEN TOOLS 
needed by the home or market gardener. A 
special tool for every purpose. The uneaualed 
f&ATT$f ElWS* universal 
Hand Seeders and Cultivators 
for every condition of truck growing from 
drill and hill seeding to last cultivation. 
Free Booklet gives full description. Write 
The Easy (M Iffjfi ^ it today. 
Running - - 
lane 
I 
CLARK’S REVERSIBLE Of r*\A/ 
CUTAWAY SULKY^^*^ PUUW 
The Only PERFECT REVERSIBLE 
SULKY DISK PLOW MADE. 
Is controlled at the end of the furrow 
by a foot ti - ip lever which releases the 
Turning Disk, so that when the horses 
are brought in good position to continue 
plowing it inter-locks itself without any further us. ' ivers 
or efforts of the driver. Can be used as a right or lei t hand 
plow and is a perfect success. Is mounted ou carry i, ; wneels 
and is as light as is consistent with durability. The best 
results are obtained in plowing fallow land for the Cu away 
blades shake out the edge of the furrow solthat it isn tneces 
-rrrx m - . . , sary to harrow the land after once ploughed with tiii plow. 
Plow When Turning to Right. Send loday for EEEE Booklet with full information. 
CUTAWAY HARROW CO. 839 Main St., Higganum, Conn. 
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