706 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
notice the clover fields of his own neighborhood. 
Some fields that were pastured last year produced an 
excellent crop of hay, while some that were not 
pastured y^ere a total failure, and were plowed up 
for corn. Nothing but a knowledge of one's own 
soil and proper judgment as to how long and how 
closely to pasture the young clover, will in my opin- 
ion determine this. Last Summer and Fall were 
very dry with us, so we pastured our young clover, 
realizing at the time that we were probably ruining 
our chances for a crop of clover hay, but, as we 
needed something to tide us over the drought, and 
the field being seeded also to Timothy, we simply 
shut our eyes, turned in the stock and trusted to 
Providence for results—and received our just reward. 
Had last season not been so dry and the Spring so 
unfavorable, we would have looked for a reason¬ 
ably good crop of hay. The drought caught us with¬ 
out pasture, and we figured that if the hay crop 
promised to be poor we would know it in time to 
grow r something in place of it. This situation added 
another phase—we used the clover when it did us 
the most good. Then, with the clover gone, the 
Timothy had the land to itself, and we secured an 
unusually fine crop of hay from it. After all I have 
written I must admit that I can only advise one to 
use his own better judgment in the matter, adding 
only that one cannot as a rule hope to secure quite 
as much hay as when no pasturing is done. Does 
not this question demonstrate to a •striking degree 
that the farmer must be a man of intelligence and 
possess an amount of good judgment required in few 
other occupations ? j. d. prickett. 
Fulton Co., O. 
For several reasons it will be best to clip the clover. 
I would not mow close, but so all the heads will be 
cut off. If stubble is four or five inches high, it will 
be all right. If pastured the cows are almost sure 
to feed where the clover is the smallest and the land 
most needs it. Another matter not generally thought 
of—or else not heeded—if allowed to go to seed much 
of the clover will die. If clipped before the seed makes 
itself it will live to make seed next year. 
When the clover with the weeds and wheat stubble 
is clipped and all left on the ground, it is a wonder¬ 
ful protection against freezing the clover out. This 
is much better than letting all stand in the expecta¬ 
tion of Winter protection, as it lies close on the 
ground and prevents much injurious freezing, and 
more than this, it makes a clean meadow for next 
year. Very often where clover grows very rank on 
wheat stubble it is all dead the next Spring, and by 
many thought to be smothered out, when the fact is 
it has matured seed, accomplishing the requirements 
of nature; consequently it dies. Clipping before the 
seed is perfected saves to the farmer the growth of 
the second year. - john M. jamison. 
Ross Co., O. _ 
BROWN-TAIL MOTH COMING-BEWARE! 
Experience in New Hampshire. 
I judge from the last week’s R. N.-Y. that there 
is danger of Brown-tail moths in New York State, 
and that possibly they are already there, and the 
warning given meets my most earnest approval. The 
moths appeared here about three years ago in con¬ 
siderable numbers, and have been increasing ever since, 
in spite of the efforts of private citizens and regular 
removal of nests each Winter by the town. The adult 
form is a beautiful little white miller about seven- 
eighths of an inch long, and it is numerous in in¬ 
fested regions during the last two or three weeks 
in July. It takes its name from a brown tail about 
one-eighth of an inch long. Its one purpose in life 
is to lay eggs, which it deposits on the underside of 
leaves of fruit trees, preferably pear trees, and among 
shade trees; the elm iis the most popular. The little 
caterpillars hatch early in August or late in July, and 
immediately begin to eat, removing the green from 
leaves, leaving the brown framework. Sometimes 
they eat the skin of the fruit itself. As a rule the 
damage done in the Fall .is not very bad, but the little 
fellows den up and winter in little tufts of leaves 
which they fasten tightly together and to the limb 
so that they rarely blow off even in the worst storms. 
In the Spring they are out as soon as the leaves come, 
and grow apace, soon becoming an inch and a quar¬ 
ter long. Then they quickly skin the trees unless pre¬ 
vented by proper spraying. Last Winter I cut from 
two apple trees about half a bushel of nests and that 
meant at least two or three hundred. Careful ex¬ 
amination showed 40 or 50 little fellows about a quar¬ 
ter of an inch long snugly tucked away in each 
nest, ready for mischief at the first warm breatl* 
of Spring; but they got their warm breath a little 
too soon in our good kitchen stove. In conclusion 
I wish to add my little toward warning New 
Yorkers to do their level best to prevent the spread 
of this dreadful pest into the old Empire State. If 
it once gets there it will make you sick to see its 
ravages, and perhaps make the whole family, especially 
the baby, itch with the rash caused by the barbed 
hairs from the caterpillars. george h. sellf.ck. 
New Hampshire;_ 
GETTING THE MUCK FROM THAT SWAMP. 
I write to suggest how “H. D. W.” could get the 
muck out of his pond. Build a track three feet six 
inches wide of straight timber 4x6 inches in sections 
12 feet long, the ends to rest on low 7 well-braced 
horses. Make a car three feet two inches w 7 ide to 
run on the track. The car cou'd be made eight feet 
long. End boards bolted to stakes set in iron clamps, 
A RAILROAD INTO A MUCK HOLE. Fig. 438. 
side-boards fitted with three hinges to let down 
for unloading and hooked up to ends when load¬ 
ing. Axles for the car could be made of 1)4 
inch iron shafting (second hand) which could 
probably be found at some factory. Wheels 12 inches 
in diameter, either iron or hardwood plank. The 
track could be made of spruce or hemlock by boring 
three two-inch holes through each stick and putting 
in rungs like a ladder. A strip of hardwood to 
stand two inches higher than the track nailed on the 
outside would keep the car on the track. The 
sections of track should be hooked together. If the 
angle at the top of the incline should be sharp 
enough to cause the middle of the car to drag on 
the track make one end of two sections like the end 
of a sled runner turned bottom up. It might be 
necessary to put a spool at this point for the rope to 
run over, rope 1)4 inch, to run through a snatch block 
(hitched to one of those trees) at an angle that 
w 7 ould give the horse a down-hill walk, which would 
overcome the friction of the rope through the block. 
Set the track so it will line to one of the trees, and 
when all the muck that can be got conveniently from 
first 'stand is hauled out, move to another tree. If 
the car should be made wider, so that the wheels 
could run inside the frame, it would let the side¬ 
boards hang perpendicular when unloading. The 
car can be stopped on the incline by placing a chock 
block with spike in the bottom on the track back 
of the wheels. 
Two men and a boy would make a good crew. 
The men could do the shoveling, and the boy man¬ 
age the horse. As soon as the car reaches the upper 
level, the boy picks up the whiffletree, turns and goes 
back, while the men unload, and run the car back. I 
offer this plan because, being a carpenter, I could do 
it all alone, except the iron work. A smaller rope 
than the one mentioned would hold all the horse 
could draw, but as it would fall on the ground and 
pick up some grit it would wear out faster. 
Connecticut. e. w. Tyrrell. 
I think if IT. D. W. (page 703) would grade a road 
down the bank wide enough for a common flat- 
bottomed stone boat, set a post about 20 feet from the 
top of grade, the one end of an inch rope to the 
post, run it through a pulley on the boat, and hitch 
on his horse, he would have his problem solved. I 
think a 1200-pound horse would draw 1,500 pounds 
up a grade having a rise of one foot in four, using 
this rig. If the bottom of the pond is soft he could 
tow the boat from the bank. If the horse is true he 
need not worry about the long rope. a. b. 
West Pike, Pa. 
I notice H. D. W., New Hampshire, asks for de¬ 
scription of cheap muck carrier. I enclose sketch 
A MARYLAND MUCK CARRIER: Fig. 439. 
of one. Use stakes for cross pieces and fasten them 
with guy ropes and run a ^4-inch wire cable through 
fork and fasten with stakes in the ground to either 
end. Use a Porter hay car made for a cable. Make 
box of one inch boards 3x2 feet deep and put a piece 
of wire rope from each corner to the box pulley in 
car. Hinge one side of bottom and put hooks and 
staples on the other side, so that it can be dumped 
without taking down and turning over. One horse 
can haul 500 pounds with ease. With this rig the car 
costs $3 and rope about $1.50 up, according to dis¬ 
tance. I think the whole outfit for six rods wide 
August 28, 
would cost about $10; then he could use it for stack¬ 
ing hay. He can also let the box down to the ground 
by the trip, which will make it easy to fill. 
Lowell, Md. R. M. JANNEY. 
Tell H. D. W. the best muck carrier is a four- 
wheeled wagon. The less machinery the less to get 
out of order; to make time moving that muck it 
should be handled as few times as possible. I have 
a pond about the same size as H. D. W.’s. The upper 
half of mine was marsh. In a dry time we ran the 
water off, used planks 18 inches wide for a track to 
back the wagon on the marsh; two men would oasily 
move the loaded wagon near shore so we could hitch 
team on. We had a strong team; two wagons, so 
one could be loaded while the team was away wifrh a 
load. Two months steady work hauled the muck all 
out, so we have a good pond with a clean sandy bot¬ 
tom and lots of fish. s. e. russell. 
Oceana Co., Mich. 
THE USE OF A ROLLER. 
There was a time* when we used a roller to quite 
an extent, but the implement got out of repair and 
out of commission, and it has been several years 
since we have made any use of one. There are times 
when we miss the use of a roller, but as a general 
thing we are able to substitute for it quite well; and 
its employment means another bit of expense to buy, 
and a good bit of trouble to house and care for. I 
wish we had one and a place to keep it, but we have 
none, and I suppose we shall get along very well 
without it. We recently plowed up a piece of old 
meadow sod, and if we had had a roller it would 
have been put on. As it was, we put on the Cutaway 
harrow, and did considerable of the work that a 
roller would do with that, and at the same time made 
the surface fine and mellow. A disk harrow ought 
to do the same. The object is, in this case, to press 
down that which was turned up by the plow, make 
the soil more compact, and thus help to rot the sod, 
be means of moisture brought up from deep down in 
the earth. A better seed bed is sometimes made by 
compacting in this way. The greater portion of our 
plowing is done in the Fall, and in that case there is 
less need of a roller. The soil gets well settled to¬ 
gether during the time before Spring sowing, so that 
the roller is not needful. Many people use a roller 
on their land after sowing in Spring, simply to 
smooth the surface, and that was once our practice. 
As for the value of this, I am in doubt. It does 
smooth the surface, which is desirable. In many 
cases it compacts the surface soil, thus tending to pro¬ 
duce evaporation of moisture even to an extent that 
may be harmful. For smoothing the surface, what is 
called a “planker” is as effective. By its use the soil is 
further fined and made with a soil mulch, which 
tends to hold moisture. We seldom find it ad¬ 
vantageous to use a roller after the crop is in, pre- 
fering to use the plank drag instead. Sometimes 
farmers use a roller on the meadows in Spring to 
smooth them and roll down loose stone. I am doubt¬ 
ful whether very much is really gained by this prac¬ 
tice. It may be quite as well to spend a few hours 
removing loose stone, and leaving the meadows as 
open on the surface as possible. A roller has its uses, 
Where land heaves the grass the grass plants may be 
benfited by being set back into the ground by a 
roller, and, as already indicated, the earth sometimes 
needs to be compacted. Where it is desired to com¬ 
pact a field after sowing, the roller may be used, and 
followed by a light harrowing. That will tend to 
break in the capillary action at the surface and pre¬ 
vent some escape of moisture. h. h. l. 
I have not used a farm roller for years, as I much 
prefer a good drag to prepare corn ground. Sod 
plowed early needs no finishing usually, and at times 
must be well disked up in order to fit it properly for 
corn. Some of the farmers here use a roller during 
a dry time after corn planting and before first cul¬ 
tivation, but such usage is now less common than for¬ 
merly. We have needed no roller this year, to say the 
least, owing to abundant rains. When land is plowed 
during the Summer for wheat a roller or a pulver¬ 
izer, made to pack the soil, is used on the land, and 
very properly, too, I think. Such treatment makes 
a compact and satisfactory seed bed. A roller should 
not be used excepting during dry weather, and then 
should be followed by a harrow or cultivator. A 
good drag has the advantage of grinding up the clods' 
and of leveling up the surface of the field; advanta¬ 
ges the roller does not possess. w. e. d. 
Hillsboro, Ohio._ 
Fear makes a mountain out of a mole liill—courage 
changes it back again. 
Tiie Toronto Sun describes how a Canadian Grange 
invited their member of the Legislature to come before 
them and answer questions. lie came and was obliged 
to put himself on record. It would do us good to see 
candidates in New York put through just such a course 
of sprouts. 
