>1 ;: 
[ 1/ i 
I 
lays. ■ *■ ’■-?* 
THE N. Y. STATE BREEDER’S MEETING. 
In the discussions following Mr. Coburn's 
address on Alfalfa, lie stated bis inability 
to tell where good Alfalfa seed might be 
obtained with some degree of assurance 
that the seed he pure and of strong vitality, 
lie seems to believe that adulterated seed 
is the rule and pure seed of stroug vitality 
the rare exception. He also claims that 
there is but one variety—it is Alfalfa, 
nothing more nor less, if pure. In this re¬ 
spect, however, it is interesting to note 
that according to Washington reports the 
Department of Agriculture (Bureau of 
Plant Industry) is testing “a new Alfalfa 
from Siberia,’’ which is said to he extreme¬ 
ly hardy. No complaint, on the other 
hand, has as yet been heard about lack 
of hardiness of our common Alfalfa. As 
to impurities or adulterations found in Al¬ 
falfa seed, the most common admixture is 
probably Sweet or Melilot clover. The 
plants, while young, can hardly be distin¬ 
guished from Alfalfa plants. But Sweet 
clover is not a had weed. The purchaser 
of Alfalfa seed thus adulterated gets less 
Alfalfa seed for his money, and he must 
sow more seed to the acre. But otherwise 
the Sweet clover seed is no particular de¬ 
triment. The roots carry the same nitri¬ 
fying bacteria and gather as much nitrogen 
from the air as Alfalfa roots. Two or three 
cuttings in one season, however, are too 
much for the Sweet clover plants and they 
are soon killed out, leaving the field clear 
for Alfalfa. Mr. Coburn further stated that 
the tendency is toward Summer or Fall 
rather than Spring sowing. August has 
been found about the best time to sow it 
and always without a nurse crop. This re¬ 
minds me that late in June, in 1006, I 
sowed a mixture of Red clover, Alfalfa and 
Crimson clover seed with buckwheat and 
that, while the Crimson clover was all Win¬ 
ter-killed, I had quite a proportion of Al¬ 
falfa in the hay crop of 1907. As a further 
new point brought out in the discussions 
was a statement by Mr. Coburn that he 
finds it profitable and advisable to harrow 
his Alfalfa fields in early Spring with 
either a spike-tooth smoothing harrow or 
a disk pulverizer set rather straight. It 
is an advantage to have the large Alfalfa 
crowns split across in two or four pieces 
by the harrow teeth or disks and the plants 
will make better hay. Alfalfa is in best 
shape for cutting for hay when it only 
just begins to bloom. Twenty pounds of 
seed is a happy medium to sow per acre. 
Hay caps will prove to be a fine invest¬ 
ment for New York State Alfalfa growers. 
More Swine Queries.—M r. Iluson was 
asked what bedding he uses for swine. He 
favors cut wheat or rye straw, never oat 
straw. In feeding his breeding stock he 
goes at it leisurely and avoids forcing. The 
animals are largely fed on whole oats 
thrown on the ground as one would feed 
chickens. He also gives middlings and 
oatmeal, usually with the hulls sifted out. 
The oat hulls are liable to stick in their 
throats. lie keeps his sows until about sev¬ 
en years old and raises two litters from 
two-thirds of them, one litter yhcn about 
one year old and only that one the first 
year; afterwards two litters a year. The 
slops fed to hogs are made rather thick or , 
just in condition to run. Governor Hoard 
is reported as feeding all his brood sows 
on Alfalfa and dairy slops up lo two weeks 
of farrowing and this with better success 
than ever. 
Soil and' Soil Products. —Dr. .T. A. 
Bonsteel, of the Bureau of Soils, Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture, talked on the problem, 
“How to Get the Most from New York 
State Farms.” He lays down the following 
proposition as the first and almost unal¬ 
terable rule for the New York State farm¬ 
er : “You shall produce those perishable 
products which must be consumed near the 
place of production.” The problem in¬ 
volves a study of the adaptation of the 
soil to a particular crop, a study of tillage 
and a study of fertilizers. Most of all, 
however, is needed the breeding up of varie¬ 
ties suitable to our New York conditions. 
We need corn varieties suited for our short 
seasons and varieties of other garden or 
field crops. He asks: “Where are your 
Timothy varieties? Where also is the New 
York State cow?” 
Oats Expensive.—A leading member 
spoke of oats as being too expensive food 
for his horses, lie now feeds them a lit¬ 
tle cornmeal and oil meal, and finds that 
the horses hold their heads up just as high 
and feel just as good and it saves expense. 
About Sheep Raising. —Mr. Campbell, of 
Ontario, Canada, gave an address on sheep 
husbandry in which he told of having paid 
such prices as $200, $400 and even $1,000 
for a high grade Shropshire ram on various 
occasions and found the investment profit¬ 
able. He speaks highly of rape as a Fall 
feed and of beets and turnips as a Winter 
feed. He is afraid of musty clover hay 
and would rather feed good oat straw. 
Musty clover hay is often at the bottom of 
the trouble when breeders suspect stomach 
worms. Don't feed mangels to the ewe in 
lamb, he says. Carrots and a few potatoes 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
43 
are all right. Beginning with a week after 
lambing mangels may safely he given. 
When the first milk fails to get through the 
new-born lamb, he gives a teaspoonful of 
castor oil, after the first suck. That will 
remedy the trouble. For white scours he 
gives a few drops of laudanum with castor 
oil. Cabbage is a good feed for sheep in 
the Fall. Rape is a wonderful crop. With 
the markets New York State has within 
her own borders—in fact, the best markets 
of the world—New York sheep raisers 
should find a gold mine iti the business of 
raising high grade butchers’ lambs, t. g. 
A MICHIGAN STUMP PULLER TALKS. 
On page 029 H. W. G. of New Jersey 
asks for information about, pulling stumps 
of scrub oak and stunted pine. If he has 
never seen this work done it would be a 
good plan for him to make a visit to some 
of his friends in this part of Michigan in 
the Summer or Fall and see the work of 
pulling stumps done by men who are ex¬ 
perts in that line of work, as he would 
learn more in this way than by an encyclo¬ 
pedia of printed instructions. I can, how¬ 
ever, give him a few points and a num¬ 
ber of don’ts, which may be useful. In 
the first place don’t expect to pull stumps 
of any size with anything light; they 
come up hard, and it requires a machine 
of prodigious strength. My farm was 
originally a dense pine forest and the 
stumps are large and pull hard. My ma¬ 
chine is a screw four inches in diameter 
and 16 feet long, supported by three oak 
legs 11x14 inches, 18 feet long, and it is 
none too heavy. The chain used for pull¬ 
ing is made of 1% inch iron, is fastened 
to a double hook made on the lower end 
of the screw, passed under a strong root, 
brought up and fastened to the other part 
of above hook and the thing is started, the 
nut on top end of the screw being turned 
by a lever about 20 feet long with a good 
horse attached to the lower end of lever. 
This chain, usually, pulls anything it is 
hitched to, hut I have broken it a few times 
and once I pulled the screw in two. An¬ 
other kind, a combination of lever, tackle 
blocks, wire rope, etc., is used here and 
works considerably faster than the screw, 
but it costs more and requires three or four 
men and two teams to use it, while the 
screw can he used by two men and a pair 
of heavy horses. 
Now for the “don’ts.” Don’t get a light 
machine : don’t think to use steam or gaso¬ 
line power—it needs a heavy team to pull 
the machine from one stump to another— 
and don't waste any money on any rig de¬ 
signed to get a stump out by pulling side¬ 
ways on it. They must be pulled up to 
have any success with the work. As to 
how many can be pulled in a day it all 
depends on the men and the size and condi¬ 
tion of the stumps. I have known of 40 
or more being pulled in a day and I have 
seen one stump that required a full half 
day with two good men to get rid of it. 
Lastly, unless your stumps are very differ¬ 
ent from anything we have hero, don’t try 
to get rid of them with dynamite; it cost's 
far more than to poll (hem. 
Montcalm Co., Mich. edwin hunt. 
Let Us Send You a Pair of 
Rubberhide Boots 
On Trial 
If, with ordinary care, they do not 
outwear at least two pairs of best all 
rubber boots we refund your money. 
The Rubber Boots with Leather Soles 
Outer sole of heavy rock oak leather, middle 
sole, and welt sole of canvas and rubber, all 
served together (no pegs or nails) so that they 
cannot pull apart or leak anywhere. Inner sole 
of leather. 
Can Be Half-Soled 
or tapped by any cobbler. Protect the 
feet from rough surfaces; do not sweat. 
Great for ditching, spading, stable work, 
etc. Buy a pair from us or from your 
dealer, and irthey do not, with ordinary 
care, outwear at least two fairs of all 
rubber boots 
We Will Refund Your Money 
Will you not try a pair on this guar¬ 
anty? They will save money for you, and 
* J * to your comfort. 
jSend Today for Catalogue 
with prices and guaranty. 
Rubberhide Co., 814 Essex Bldg., Boston, Mass. 
FENCE MadeS- 1 
Made of High Carbon Double Strongthi 
|Coiled Wire. Heavily Galvanixed to 
.prevent rust. Have no agents. Sell at 
factory prices on 30 days’ free trial. 
:Wo pay all freight. 37 heights of farm 
and poultry fence. Catalog Free. 
COILED SPRING FENCE CO. 
Box 263 Winchester, Indiana 
The costliest materials form only about one-third of a paint¬ 
ing bill. The rest of the money is paid for labor. A mistake 
in the paint means not only the loss of what the paint cost, 
but also the loss of the entire expenditure for putting the 
worthless stuff on the building. It is quite worth while to 
test the paint before using it. 
Tfte best paint is that mixed from Pure White Lead and Pure Linseed Oil , 
with the particular needs of your building, wagon or implement in view. 
There is a simple test which anyone can make. 
White Lead is made from metallic lead and can be changed back to that 
metal by applying great heat. Any adulterations, such as chalk, barytes, 
or other counterfeits, mixed with the White Lead, prevent the appearance 
of any metallic lead, no matter how slight the adulteration. Therefore, if 
the sample yields drops of lead, it is pure; if not, it is adulterated. 
We Will Send You a 
Blowpipe Free 
We want property-owners to know 
how to test paint. We welcome 
the test of our White Lead and 
will furnish free a blowpipe (a 
little instrument necessary to se¬ 
cure intense heat) to anyone who 
is in earnest about knowing good 
FULL WEIGHT KEGS 
The Dutch Boy Painter on a 
keg guarantees not only pur¬ 
ity but full weight of White 
Lead. Our packages are not 
weighed with the contents; 
each keg contains the amount 
of White Lead designated on 
the outside. 
paint from bad. Everything necessary for the test, together with beauti¬ 
ful booklet, will go to you at once. Write for Test Equipment 8 Address 
NATIONAL LEAD COMPANY 
in whichever of the following cities is nearest you : 
New York, Boston, Buffalo, 
Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, 
St. Louis, Philadelphia (John T. Lewis 
& Bros. Co.); Pittsburgh (National 
Lead & Oil Co.) 
CARDEN TOOLS 
a No. 6. 
, Ar/No. 12 , 
§ Double Wheel 
tlV 'IQ Hoe. Wheels ad-^ 
j^justable from 4 to ii' 
_ inches apart, 
~and the tool 
. works equally wellj 
astride or between 
rows. A thorough weeder a 
capital cultivator, a neat furrowed 
coverer, and garden plow. 
No. 6. The newest Planet i 
Jr. Combination Hill and , 
Drill Seeder, Wheel j 
Hoe Cultivator and] 
Plow. Adapts itselftol 
almost every kind f 
of seed - p 1 a n t-1 
ing and crop-1 
cultivation, 
v and is in- 
v, valuable all 
through 
the sea- 
^ son. 
Planet Jr Tools are so strongly and carefully! 
I made that we never hesitate to give a broad full 
guarantee. You run no risk. More than a 
[million farmers and gardeners are now enthusi¬ 
astic Planet Jr users. 
Planet Jrs are invented and made by a practi-, 
cal farmer and experienced manufacturer. Theyi 
t do the work of three to six men without them— 
^save time, labor, seed, and give better results. 
Write today for our 1908 catalogue of 
Seeders, Wheel-Hoes, Cultivators, 
etc.—45 kinds—a tool for 
every gardener’s 
„ s ' need - U07-V, 
Al len & Phila ., Pa. 
Quality 
Supreme 
Every ounce of material that goes into a 
Studebaker wagon or buggy has the “Stude- 
— , , , baker Reputation” behind it. Over 50 years’ 
experience has taught us how to make vehicles that last. Every axle—every spoke ©very 
hub—bolt and screw is made by experts. The result—the finest wagons 
possible to produce have made the Studebaker the 
Largest Vehicle Factory in the World 
The absolute reliability of the Studebaker line appeals 
to all careful buyers—those who want honest value. See 
the Studebaker agent. If you don't know one, write 
to us. If you will mention tills paper and enctoso a 
two-cent stamp wo will send you the Studebaker 
Farmer’s Almanac for 1*J08—FREE. 
Studebaker Bros. Manufacturing Co. 
South Bend, Indiana 
If you follow our advice you will make 
money with the R. B. Patent Glass Cone 
Lamp Bu-uer. Guaranteed to give one- 
third more light; uses only one-half as 
much oil ; lasis live times longer. Agents 
sell to nineteen out of twenty families, from one to twelve burners 
each. One agent sold sixty-eight dozen the first week. A boy, 
before and after school hours, cleared $4.50 in two days. A lady 
cleared $’27.25 in sixteen hours. Ask for Circular and Terms to 
Agents. Sample, 30 cts. 
GENERAL SALES CO„ Cleona, Pa. 
Dandy Hay Knife 
Best Hay Knife made. Combination hand 
and foot power. With it one man can do 
the work of two men using any other knife, 
thus saving ono day’s wages. Can be used 
for cutting sod from ditches. Ely’s Hay 
Knife has many advantages over other kinds. 
For sale by dealers. Look for the name 
“Ely’s Dandy” on blade. Write for catalogue. 
THEO. J. ELY MfG. CO. 
Dept, d, Girard. Pa. 
COIL SPRING FENCE 
Made of high carbon Steel Wire 
Horse-high, Bull-strong, Chick¬ 
en-tight. Sold direct to the 
Farmer at lowest manufac¬ 
turers prices on 30 Days Free 
Trial, freight prepaid. 100 page 
Catalogue and price-list free. 
KITSELMAN BROS., 
Box 230 MUNCIE, IND, 
BIG M0NCY MAKER I 
YV ould yon care to sell I 
fence andmake big money? I 
^^Ilere’s your opportunity. Ex-1 
’elusive territory for the sale of the I 
FROST WIRE FENCE, 
given to good men. Easiest to sell because | 
the best fence made. Catalogue free. 
THE FROST WIRE FENCE CO., 
CLEVELAND, OHIO. 
'-I 
