1909. 
THE RURAb NEW-YORKER 
1027 
A SMALL GREENHOUSE. 
S. S. C., Hardwick, Vt .—1 want to build 
a small greenhouse to be attached to the 
dwelling house, and to be used mostly for 
starting seedlings of vegetable and flower¬ 
ing plants early in the Spring, but I have 
no suitable southern exposure. Will it do 
to build on to the east or the west side of 
the house (the dwelling house is IV 2 story 
high), and if so, which is better, the east¬ 
ern or the western exposure? The green¬ 
house may be used in Winter for flowering 
plants. 
Ans.—D uring my experience in green¬ 
house work, I have found that the taste 
engendered by growing plants in rooms 
of our dwellings often results in a de¬ 
sire to have more appropriate quarters 
for the plants and growing stock, and 
usually a greenhouse of some kind fol¬ 
lows. In many cases they are wrongly 
constructed, and therefore prove a 
source of disappointment. A greenhouse 
or conservatory always affords the most 
satisfaction when it is so attached to the 
dwelling that the opening of a door or 
window from the dining-room or library 
reveals the real charms and the glories 
of Our work and care, and in the gloom 
of Winter, when the earth is covered 
with snow, and the trees along the hill¬ 
sides have lost their mantle of green, 
it is then we can enjoy the real comfort 
of a cozy and properly attached green¬ 
house. All kind of flowering and bed¬ 
ding plants can be grown in a house of 
this description, and vegetable plants of 
various kinds may also be started with 
excellent satisfaction. A greenhouse, 
when attached to a dwelling, should al¬ 
ways be on the east or south, never on 
the north side, and seldom on the west, 
unless conditions favor it. It may be of 
any length or width desired. The slant 
of the roof will somewhat depend on 
the manner of construction. If choice 
can be had, however, a rise of six or 
eight inches to the foot will give about 
the right pitch for general use. The 
cost of such a house for erection will 
depend on the character of the work. 
If of JO-foot width it will cost from $4 
to $6 per running foot. This is exclu¬ 
sive of heating, which, if done by hot- 
water pipes, will cost about $4 per run¬ 
ning foot. Thus to complete a conserva¬ 
tory with heating apparatus, shelves, 
benches, etc., 10 feet wide by 20 feet 
long, it would cost about $200. If of 10 
feet wide and 40 feet long it would cost 
about $1,400. It is therefore a safe cal¬ 
culation to allow nearly or half of the 
cost of construction for the heating ap¬ 
paratus. If the house furnace is of suffi¬ 
cient capacity to heat a small green¬ 
house it would greatly reduce the cost 
of construction and lighten the running 
expenses to a fraction.- If the heating 
is to be done independent of the house 
furnace the attachment must be built 
where a chimney is accessible, by which 
to carry off the smoke from the heater, 
just as would be necessary for an ordi¬ 
nary stove, assuming that the heating 
is to be done by a base burner water 
heater, as they are entirely satisfactory 
and exceedingly well adapted for the 
purpose. The fire requires no more at¬ 
tention than any ordinary stove, the 
boiler takes up no more room, and re¬ 
quires no setting. I have used two of 
these heaters; one has been in,,Use for 
20 years, the other abQut 15 years, and 
they are still giving g.. service. 
Monmouth Co., N. J. t. m. white. 
Questions in Floriculture. 
H. D. W., New Hampshire .—What hook 
will assist me in floriculture? I want to 
build a small greenhouse in the near future. 
I have no trouble in getting good flowers. 
In fact sell a good many to the local florists, 
hut wish to get more knowledge. Can you 
also suggest something for a green to put 
with sweet peas? Is there something like 
smilax that will grow in the open? 
Ans.— One of the best books for the 
novice in greenhouse work is the “Flor¬ 
ists’ Manual,” by Wm. Scott, the author 
having been a practical man who wrote 
in plain terms. There is nothing so 
effective with sweet peas as some of 
their own foliage, used as a green; a 
few of the short side growths may be 
bunched with the flowers for this pur¬ 
pose, though ordinarily these flowers are 
bunched for market without any sur¬ 
rounding foliage. 
SOME PROBLEMS IN DRAINING. 
Part III. 
Thus far in our consideration of this 
subject we have encountered no “prob¬ 
lems;” all has apparently been smooth 
sailing. But problems do arise; among 
them is the encountering of a stratum 
of quicksand, and if it is wet here cer¬ 
tainly is trouble. One way in which 
it may be met is to lay boards in the 
bottom on which to place the tile. Pos¬ 
sibly a better one is to dip out or draw 
off all the water possible, and then 
dump in a quantity of dry earth, and, 
quickly leveling and grading it, place 
the tile before it becomes too wet to 
walk on again. But the best way to 
overcome this obstacle of quicksand is 
to postpone all further operations in the 
ditch until the land has dried out; then 
it can be handled in a perfectly satis¬ 
factory way. Another problem is that 
of draining a pond, hole or sag with ap¬ 
parently no natural outlet. But usu¬ 
ally there is a way out, where, within a 
reasonable distance., after tunneling 
quite a ridge possibly, the desired out¬ 
let can be secured. Occasionally a well 
may be sunk in one of these sags; and a 
stratum of gravel or sand may be found 
that will take care of all the surplus 
water. The construction of a trap, or 
manhole, at the lowest spot in this sag 
may be necessary, in order that the vol¬ 
ume of water quickly accumulating in 
time of heavy thunder showers or 
freshets may be cared for in time to 
save the crop which may be growing 
in this old swale (which, by the way, is 
pretty sure to be the best part of the 
field after drainage.) This manhole 
may be made of a large sewer tile 
placed on end, with the upper end about 
two or three inches above the surface 
of the ground, and connecting directly 
with the drain, which enables the water 
to be removed much more quickly than 
by soaking down there two feet or more 
of soil. A heavy plank cover should be 
laid over this manhole to prevent wood¬ 
chucks or other animals from entering 
the drain. The plank, of course, will 
float away and open the manhole as 
soon as the water accumulates sufficient¬ 
ly to require its use. 
On many farms there is a brook or a 
surface ditch which may be dry 
during a portion of the .Summer, and 
these open ditches in selecting their 
course across a farm, seem to have 
little regard for the convenience of 
the man who attempts to cultivate 
the fields, for they flow in wind¬ 
ing curves or diagonally nearly every 
time, cutting up the land into bad¬ 
ly shaped plots, which are hard to 
plow or care for. Here is one more 
problem to solve, and it should be done 
by laying sufficiently large sewer tile, of 
second quality, to carry, this stream 
underground, except during short peri¬ 
ods in time of floods or freshets. This 
gives an ideal place for the discharge of 
small tile ditches, and enables us to 
work the field in long even lands and 
rows, without crossing and recrossing 
an open ditch, each time dragging in a 
little dirt and filling it up to a certain 
extent, or cutting the lot up into small 
pieces, with short rows. This gives a 
great advantage, and one never appre¬ 
ciated until experienced. Both ends of 
this sewer should be laid in concrete to 
prevent them from washing loose, or be¬ 
ing affected by frost, and a grating or 
screen should be placed over the upper 
end to prevent all kinds of trash from 
washing into the tile and possibly ob¬ 
structing it. 
Another problem which discourages 
many is “Who shall I get to do it?” 
This is the easiest nut to crack of them 
all, for you will find that anyone with 
average brains can he a professional 
ditcher in just about 4S hours. Of 
course you wouldn’t care to wear patent 
leather shoes, and a laundered collar 
and cuffs would be a little out of order 
in your costume, but it is no disgrace 
to get dirty if you don’t stay so, and as 
for getting next to nature and mother 
earth, T really don’t know of anything 
like ditching in the early Spring months. 
Many a day have I been in such close 
communion with the inside workings of 
a ditch that I have asked the good wife 
for a “hand-out” on the back porch at 
dinner time, and waited till night before 
attempting to make myself fit to enter 
the house. At any rate, where there’s 
a will there’s a way,” and this applies 
to agricultural drainage as well as any 
other enterprise, and the results are al¬ 
ways sure. It is bound to bring returns, 
some forty, some sixty and some one 
hundred fold. irving c. h. cook. 
New York. 
Guaranteed for 15 Years— 
No More Roof Expense 
When you use Dickelman Extra—your roof troubles are over. Our 15-year guaranty— 
stamped on every roll—and given to you in black and white protects you absolutely. It 
simply means that you will have no more roof expense—no more roof troubles—for at 
least 15 years after the date you purchase. Most 
likely you will never have to roof the same building 
again. 
DICKELMAN EXTRA 
Galvanized Metal Roofing 
We guarantee it for 15 years, but know it will last twice that long. 
We know that our roofing which was put up 25 years ago is still in excellent 
condition —and should last 25 years longer. We do not simply tell you ox promise 
you our roofing will last for 15 years— we guarantee it. Ask your dealer about 
DICKELMAN EXTRA. If he doesn’t sell it, write us at once for sample and 
our valuable roofing book—sent prepaid. Know why we c&n guarantee o\ix roofing 
for 15 years while others make vague promises that mean nothing. 
The secret of the durability of Dickelman Extra lies in the wonderful system 
of galvanizing—and the high quality of the materials used. The metal sheet we 
use for a base is made by a special process which leaves it tough—yet pliable 
and open-grained. So the galvanizing material fills up the “pores”—and actu¬ 
ally becomes a part of the finished sheet. This prevents it from cracking— 
^scaling—wearing or rusting off. 
The Dickelman 
Manufacturing Co. 
62 Gormley St. 
Send 
Now 
Sample 
v - awJS'SSiSSf 
Now for ^BP****' “ - 
Get our book— 
and sample, 
you can test 
to know for 
yourself its su¬ 
periority. 
SWEEP MILLS are triple geared, double acting and will 
do more and better work than any other Mill. 
GRIND ALL GRAINS 
and are especially rapid on ear corn. Free Catalog. 
The FOOS Mfg. Co., 13? Springfield, Ohio fpsaENTiFio] 
Cooked Feed Means Better Slockl 
Profils 
Cooked feed prevents hog cholera and other stock diseases. 
Costs no more to serve than raw. Hogs, cows, horses, sheep, all 
cattle and poultry thrive on it. They need warm cooked food on 
cold days, just as you do. 
Heesen Feed Cooker 
is the simplest, strongest, safest, easiest operating, quickest 
heating food cooker in tho world. Any one can run it. Burns 
any fuol. No special foundation required — sots anywhoro. 
Strong, durable kettle; heavy, seamless steel jacket. All 
sizes—15, 20, 30.45to 75 gallons, full capacity guaranteed. 
Besides cooking feed, the Heesen Feed Cooker is invaluable 
for heating water, boiling syrup, rendering lard, making soap, 
scalding hogs, etc. Over 25,000 sold in 5 years. Not one complaint. 
Try One Ton Days Free 
Writ© at once for details of free trial offer. A postal will bring 
full information. Investigate. It means money in your pocket. 
Write today. Heesen Bros. & Co., Box 51. Tecumseh. Mich. 
RIPPLEYS COOKERS 
y Recommended and used by I 
I Wis., Iowa, Georgia and I 
I Now Mexico State Kxpeii- I 
I mont Stations. Mado of I 
I Cast Iron and Boavy Steel, j 
I Last for years. Run dairy 1 
I separators, cook feed, heat j 
I hog and poultry houses, cto. [ 
I Heat water in tanks or cook 
I feed 260 foot away. Little I 
I fuel needed; burns coal, j 
I coke, wood. Safe as a stove. J 
‘ No flues to rust or leak or 
rfill with soot. Generates steam in twenty minute^ Boils a barrel I 
1 of water in 26 minutes. We manufacture the largest lino of I 
oookers in America. Cooker and Breeders' Supply catalog free. I 
Rlppley Hdw. Co. Mfrs., Box 20 , Grafton. III. 
, For Sale t>y All Bealerf 
COOK YOUR FEED and SAVE 
Half the Cost—with the 
PROFIT FARM BOILER 
With Dumping Caldron. Empties 
its kettle in one minute. The simplest 
and best arrangement for cooking 
food for stock. Also make Dairy and 
Laundry Stoves. Water and 
Steam Jacket Kettles. Hog 
Scalders. Caldrons.etc. £S7”Sen<i 
for particulars and ask for circular J. 
D. R. SPERRY & 00., Batavia, Hi. 
FENCE Mado^-** 
Made of High Carbon Double Strength 
Colled Wire. Heavily Galvanized to 
prevent rust. Havo no agents. Sell at 
factory prices on 30 days’ free trial. 
Wo pay all freight. 37 heights of farm 
aaid poultry fence. Catalog Free. 
COILED SPRING FENCE CO. 
Box 263 Winchester, Indiana. 
S AVE YOUR BACK 
Save time, horses, work 
and money by using an 
Electric Handy Wagon 
Low wheels, broad tires. No 
| living man can build a better. 
Book on ‘‘WheelSense”free. 
|Elactric Wheg*Co. Bi 88, Quincy.HI. 
MONTROSS METAL SHINGLES 
Iffl Itesist wear. Best roofing sold. Made over 20 
years. Inexpensive. Fireproof. Ornamental. 
Catalogue. Hontross M. 3. Co., Camden, N. J. 
Send for Sample of 
PAGE WOVEN WIRE FENCE 
We offer to send, free of charge, an ac¬ 
tual sample of Page Woven Wire Fence, 
just as it comes from tho big looms. Each 
one is “a sermon in steel.’ The tromen- 
dous success of Page Fence which is now on 
its Quarter Centonnial Year, is due to the 
fact that its makers have always given full 
measure of honest value. It is the old re¬ 
liable time-tried wire fence that outlasts 
them all. Admitted to be the strongest 
wire fence in existence. . „ , 
Send today! See tho real Page Wire! Get 
next to the "Pago Knot!” Get tho great 
Quarter Centennial Edition of tho Pago 
Fence Catalog and loam the difference 
between Page Fence and tho ordinary kinds. 
Find what Page Fence means in economy. 
IWriteatonco and both the free sample of 
(Page Fence and the bigCutalog will be sent 
U promptly. Address 
Page Woven Wire Fence Co. 
Box 267K Adrian, Mich, 
Don’t Rust Farm Fence 
Kxtra heavily galvan¬ 
ized. Sold direct to 
farmers at manufac¬ 
turers’ prices. 30 days’ 
free trial. Also Poul¬ 
try and Ornamental 
Wire and Iron Fence*. 
Catalog free. Write 
for special offer. 
Tho Ward Fence Co., 
Box 542, Decatur, Ind. 
Tor Rabbits, 
Chickens, Hogs, Sheep, 
\F Horses, Cattle. 160 styles. Big 
heavy No. 9 galvanized Coiled 
Spring rust proof wires. Will defy 
stock, wind and weather. Free sample 
& cat’g. 15 to 35c per rod. We pay freight 
(V The Brown Fence & Wire Co., 
——" Dept. 59 Cleveland, O. 
