iyos. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
367 
A TALK ABOUT PLOWING. 
In the work of plowing much depends 
on the character of the soil and the crop 
to be planted, and to be sure as to what 
is good plowing depends somewhat on 
the time of year as well as the char¬ 
acter of the soil. Should the land be 
a very heavy clay, with a clay subsoil 
I try to have the furrows stand on edge 
as much as possible, lapping on one an¬ 
other like the clapboards on a house. 
This method leaves an opening under 
each furrow, that acts as a drain, gives 
the upturned soil a chance to drain, and 
in the Spring these furrows will dry 
out very quickly, giving a good chance 
for harrowing a fine seed bed for early 
grains. On light soils this lapping the 
furrow is not so important as naturally 
light soil has good drainage. In Spring 
plowing for a root crop I like to have 
the furrow turned flat over, plow deep 
and turn over flat, because the sod or 
litter or whatever is plowed under will 
rot quicker, and is better hidden from 
the direct sunshine, and of course we 
will not lose so much of that most 
valuable ingredient of fertility—am¬ 
monia (or nitrogen). 
As to laying out the lands, that de¬ 
pends on the kind of soil. In a light 
soil with a good drainage subsoil, the 
method of going around and around the 
field is as good as any and does away 
with the dead furrow, but on heavier 
soils, for Spring plowing ridges 30 feet 
wide, 15 feet each side of center, which 
is the crown of the ridge, are all right. 
For Fall plowing when the heavy snows 
or rains of Winter have to be got rid 
of, a narrower ridge is an advantage, 
say 15 or 20 feet wide. 
Now as to the plow itself and how 
to adjust it, to do good work with 
ease for man and team. First see to it 
that the plow is riding on its bottom the 
full length, like a sled runner f-rom the 
point to the heel; that is what it is 
made for, to run on, and in most plows 
is quite broad and thick. The first is so 
it will have a good bearing and grip of 
the land and will slide steadily, and the 
second is so there will be no spring to it, 
and that it will last longer. When a 
plow is riding true on the bottom, it 
will run easily for man and team; when 
it rides on the point too much it is kill¬ 
ing to the team, when riding on the heel 
it is hard on the plow and man. The 
width of furrow is governed by the 
capacity of the plow, and the width de¬ 
sired, and can be readily adjusted by the 
clevis on beam. Many people regulate 
the depth of the plowing with this clevis, 
but I prefer to adjust the up and down 
clevis so the team will draw the plow 
on the bottom, as described above, and 
this will usually give a four or five-inch 
furrow. Should a deeper furrow be 
required regulate it by the short chain, 
connecting whiffle-trees with plow; 
shorten it for shallow plowing and 
lengthen it for deep plowing. This swing 
chain gives the man the advantage in 
handling the plow, he having more lever¬ 
age than if the team is hooked right 
back to the plow beam. Should this 
chain not be long enough to allow the 
depth I want, I lengthen out the traces, 
rather than change the draft at the 
clevis on the plow beam—most plows 
have a broad wheel on the beam to 
gauge the depth. That is without doubt 
the lazy man’s rig, the man who does 
not care how hard the team has to 
work so long as he does not. Should 
t^e ground be very smooth, no obstruc¬ 
tions, stones, corn stumps, etc., and one 
takes pains to hang the plow right the 
wheel will be no disadvantage except the 
extra weight. But the average hired 
man does not care enough to bother. 
AVe set the wheel the depth we wish 
the plowing done and he does not bother 
his head any more about it, but the 
team! It is safe to say the plow that 
will not work well without a front wheel 
wdl not work well with one. Next 
comes the coulter or jointer. The 
straight and revolving coulter does the 
best work. Set out about one-half to 
three-quarters of an inch from the land 
side, not because the furrow it is cutting 
has any advantage but because the one 
following will fall over easier and 
stay better than if it had a tough grass 
root edge to bear it up. In working a 
jointer instead of a coulter, I set them 
flush with the land side of plow, they are 
really a small plow to bury trash and 
roll it over and under, when the fur¬ 
row goes over—as they are small and 
can only handle so much I conclude di¬ 
rectly in front of the plow is the place 
for them. 
The main points are: Have plow ride 
on shoe made for the purpose; get depth 
of plow from a longer or shorter chain 
between whiffletrees and plow beam. 
Don’t expect the plow to cut and turn a 
12-inch furrow when it is only made to 
turn a 10-inch, and don’t declare the 
plow is no good until you have put a 
little thinking into the adjusting of it. 
One more point I wish to write of and 
emphasize, there is no doubt that the 
traceless harness is the harness for both 
plow and harrow. j. b. b. 
Installing Electric Light. 
M. A. K., West Coxsackie, N. Y. —Could 
I get power enough for electric light from 
a 10 -foot dam; never has less than eight 
feet of water in the driest time, and there 
is only a short time that it does not run 
over? The dam is 170 feet long, with 10 
feet of water behind it, and from the dam 
to the other end is 250 feet, very nearly 
an acre, with an average of about five feet 
of water, and only 320 feet from the house. 
I would like to have an estimate as to cost. 
I would need about 30 lights, but I would 
like to put in a motor for power for differ¬ 
ent things. 
Ans.—I t is very difficult to make 
even a rough estimate of the cost of a 
power installation unless one can see the 
ground, and so form an idea of just 
what will be necessary. For example, 
the excavation of the tail race (that is 
the outlet for the water from the wheel) 
is sometimes a big job. Or again, the 
conformation of the ground and the na¬ 
tural course of the creek bed may be 
such as to make it a trifling matter. I 
would advise a diligent study of some 
turbine catalogues which will give good 
information along these lines. The 
bringing of the water to the wheel is 
frequently an expensive matter. Some¬ 
times it may best be done through an 
open flume, sometimes through a round 
wooden or iron conduit, or again, es¬ 
pecially when the wheel must be a long 
distance below the dam, it will be best 
to carry it in an open trench or race¬ 
way, along the side of the valley on a 
level with the pond, placing the wheel 
where it will be convenient to drop the 
water down into the bed of the stream. 
Old mill sites generally have some of 
these features more or less perfectly 
provided for already, and hence are 
often a valuable asset. In the case out¬ 
lined in the question, we have no in¬ 
formation as' to the size of the stream. 
If the dam has only a five-foot spill¬ 
way, it makes me think that the mid¬ 
summer flow will be very small, and 
under a 10-foot head considerable water 
will be required to carry 25 lights. It is 
July and August weather that deter¬ 
mines the real value of water powers, 
and measurements made in Fall or 
Spring mean very little. So far as the 
electrical side of the proposition is con¬ 
cerned, it will be a comparatively simple 
an'd inexpensive matter. It being only 
320 feet from the power to the house, 
the line wire may be No. 10 insulated 
copper, or a larger size at slightly 
greater expense may be used. This wire 
should be supported about every 125 
feet. Interior wiring of an unpreten¬ 
tious home in a manner that will stand 
the fire underwriter’s inspection will 
range from say $50 to $500, the first 
for drop flexible cord work and the lat¬ 
ter for a first-class job with fixtures. 
These are only guesses—remember. 
J. VAN WAGENEN, JR. 
Days 
Trial 
PLOW THE EASY WAY- 
USE A WINNER PLOW TRUCK 
Don’t touch the handles, walk on the even ground and turn a 
smoother, straighter furrow. Holds plow steady in stoniest 
ground. A light boy or woman can do the work easily. 
3 Days Work In 2 Days 
and all the drudgery avoided. As good on side hill as 
on flat land plow. Saves the plow points and carries the 
plow anywhere. No use for wagon or stone boat. 
Try It 10 Days at My Risk. Write for descriptive 
matter and full particulars. Agents wanted. 
L. B. LEWIS, Mfgr., Box 12, Cortland, N. Y. 
» 
Keystone No. “99 
Cultivator 
Newest and best tool for rowed crops. Has 
every good point of every other cultivator and 
some good points no others have. Gangs 
always run level —size of team can’t pre¬ 
vent that. Depth of shovels and width of 
cut changed at will while operating. 
TheKeystone No.“ 99 ” Cultivator combines both 
Balance Frame and Pivot Axle in the one tool. 
This is a valuable feature — takes weight off 
horses’ necks and prevents pole flyingup when turn¬ 
ing. All steel ancl malleable iron. 
You can’t afford to attempt cropping without this 
Cultivator. Write now for illustrated literature. 
KEYSTONE FARM MACHINE CO., 
1202 North Beaver St., York, Pa. 
Havana Low W agons 
All steel, made to last; wood gears also. Save high 
lifting, hard pulling, avoid cutting up fields. Tires any 
width up to 8 inches. STEEL WHEELS furnished TO FIT 
OLD GEARS. Write for free booklet. 
HAVANA METAL WHEEL C0., Box 17. HAVANA, ILL 
THE HOOVER POTATO 
DIGGER 
The most successful dig¬ 
ger made. Saves 
time, labor and 
potatoes. Sat 
isfaction guar 
anteed. 
Send for 
Catuloicuo 
of 
Plckero 
and Sorter.. 
HOOVER MFG.CO„ Box 56, Avery, Ohio. 
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