e«e 
THE RURAL NEW-VORKER 
May 13, 
WATER LEAKING THROUGH CEMENT. 
.V. B., Xetc Cumberland:, l'a .—I have a 
spring of water that 1 wish to force to my 
house by a ram. It works all right, but 
this spring leaks and I cannot stop it, con¬ 
sequently the water supply is too low. I 
must stop the leaking; cement will not set, 
and the water works through the cement. 
There is a stone wall around the spring. 
1 cannot keep the water from working 
through the cement. We left all the water 
out of the spring, then we cemented the 
wall, closed up the front part where the 
pipe entered, but that remained soft and 
would not set, water soaked through it. 
Potter’s clay resisted the water better than 
cement. I am told you cannot cement a 
spring on account of the water always mov¬ 
ing. What shall I do? 
It is a hard matter to plaster a stone 
wall with cement strong enough to stand 
a very hard water pressure, unless the 
wall has been laid with a cement mortar 
of good quality, then cement plastered 
on sfdes sets firmly to the cement be¬ 
tween the stones and makes a pretty 
good job, but is not as good as brick 
laid in cement plastered on both sides, 
or the regular mixture of concrete. 
If you think the sides of this spring 
are satisfactory, and the only trouble 
is at the outlet., I would put in a form 
of matched lumber one inch thick to 
form the inside face of concrete work; 
the water can be dammed up securely 
by using a little clay at the ends. Then 
build another form for face or outside 
of the wall, leaving a six-inch space 
for concrete. Place the pipe in the 
form just as you wish it to remain, then 
fill the six-inch space with cement one 
part to three of sand, using nothing but 
the best Portland cement, and clean 
sharp creek sand, and I think you win 
have no more trouble, unless it leaks 
through the stone wall. w. a. b. 
RYE FOR THE SILO 
And for Various Other Uses. 
The Hope Farm man has been telling us 
for years about sowing rye at the last cul¬ 
tivation of corn, but there still seems to 
be need of his keeping on with his preach¬ 
ing on this subject, notwithstanding that 
he seems inclined at times to make apolo¬ 
gies for keeping everlastingly at it. It has, 
in fact, been but a short time since the 
editor of a certain agricultural newspaper 
(10 years behind the times) warned his 
readers that the sowing of rye at the last 
cultivation of corn was still in the “experi¬ 
mental stage.” He did not know that right 
here in his own State, rye could be sown 
successfully any time from the early part 
of July until well into the following Winter, 
whenever it is possible to get it into the 
ground; fine crops of it being raised that 
were put in during January, the late sow¬ 
ings not even coming up until Spring. Fur¬ 
ther than that, in the Spring of 1909 we 
had a lot of rye and vetch in bags on the 
barn floor. A nurseryman visiting us asked 
what we were going to do with all that 
seed. I said we wanted that to sow at 
the last cultivation of the corn, to use for 
feed the following year. Mis reply seemed 
to be one of pity, inasmuch as he informed 
me that if it had not been for such fool 
notions as that I might have been a mill¬ 
ionaire. While this may all be true, we 
sowed the rye just the same, the last time 
we cultivated the corn, and have never re¬ 
gretted it. 
That same Fall I told a neighbor dairy¬ 
man that we had a lot of rye coming on to 
put in the silo the next Summer. He liked 
the idea, and said he would put in a lot 
for the same purpose, and probably did so, 
but during the Winter he attended a far¬ 
mers’ institute at Wayland, and as was the 
proper thing to do, put a question in the 
box, asking if green rye would make good 
silage. He was informed that it would not, 
as it let air in, and could not be kept. I 
told him I -would try it anyhow, but knew 
more when I got done than I did before. 
The first trouble was that we waited too 
long before starting to fill silo with the 
rye, as I had read that rye was very suc¬ 
culent and valuable for soiling until it came 
in bloom, and our time of filling was 
planned accordingly, but had we been all 
done a day or two before the time we 
started, we would have hit it about right. 
During the hot weather rye develops very 
rapidly, and one day’s time may ruin it 
entirely for use in silo. It is not a crop 
that can stand a few days extra like corn, 
but must be put in the silo while still 
green, juicy and tender. If one waits until 
rye comes in bloom, he has lost its value for 
succulence, whether for soiling or for silage. 
By “bloom,” reference is made to the time 
the rye actually comes in bloom, not in 
head. When the yellow pollen flies in cut¬ 
ting and handling, it is too late to be of 
much use for silage, and should already 
have been in the silo several days. 
As a rule, it is, no doubt, a mistake to 
go against the advice of authorities on 
such matters, but after one has been 
through the mill a few times, in feeding a 
larger herd than his farm can support, 
either in Winter or Summer, he is willjng 
to risk a little for the sake of the great ad¬ 
vantage of having an abundance of silage 
for Summer feeding, instead of depending 
on pasture, or being everlastingly tied down 
to the job of raising and handling soiling 
crops, which must be attended to whether 
other crops suffer or not, and in rain or 
shine. After one has been through it, he 
can readily appreciate a silo full of rye, even 
though he does have to press the wind out 
of it, to keep it. The objection made to 
putting rye in the silo is that it has too 
much air mixed with it, on account of hav¬ 
ing hollow stems or straw, but when one 
has a silo so located that he can apply 
heavy pressure to the top immediately after 
filling, or can build a small silo for the 
purpose, and weight it down with several 
tons of stone or other material, he can 
surely have rye silage, if the crop is at¬ 
tended to in time, and cut up fine. Even 
though one is not able to apply heavy 
weight to settle the rye quickly and pack 
it tightly, resulting in the loss of some of 
it about the edges, it is not all lost. What 
does the loss of a load or two of rye 
amount to compared with having the feed 
where you want it and when needed? 
Spoiled silage makes good humus. In our 
own case, we simply built of old material a 
pair of small twin silos inside the barn, 
at a cost of about $2 above labor, and 
after filling, piled on a few tons of stones, 
which quickly settled the silage, packing it 
down tightly. The rye cut first, while still 
green and juicy, made nice silage, and the 
loss was slight where silo was tight, ex¬ 
cepting in the corners, but the part put in 
last, especially after it came in bloom, 
spoiled badly, was tough, and cows did not 
like it. Just 48 hours’ time made the entire 
difference between success and failure, 
showing the importance of getting at the 
job in time. 
The best judge of good silage is the old 
cow herself. When wo first started to feed 
the silage from the tough rye, one old Jer¬ 
sey, in her teens, considered it very poor 
stuff, but as we worked down to where the 
rye was young and green when put in, she 
took hold of it in a way to give pleasure 
to the heart of any feeder. The advice is 
often given to have sufficient corn silage 
to feed the year round, but not all dairy¬ 
men can do this, and rye silage makes a 
very cheap feed for Summer feeding. A 
part of the rye cut just as it came in bloom 
was saved for hay, but aside from nosing 
through it, picking out the vetch, which was 
eaten quickly, we had no stock that would 
eat the rye, unless forced or starved t° it. 
Green rye. cut with a binder, is about as 
near perfect for use as a mulch, as anything 
that can be found for this purpose. It is 
clean, free from seeds, easily handled and 
just right. 
Reference was made to our having vetch 
■with the rye, and although there was a 
considerable proportion of it among the 
rye when sown, there was but little of it 
when cut, excepting in spots. There is no 
doubt about the groat value of vetch, but 
its value is for a “later course,” not for a 
start, on all poor soils. We find clover 
even, coming in thick without seeding, on 
land where vetch was almost a failure. Here 
on the hilltop our land is all light, and has 
been badly run with potatoes. Our experi¬ 
ence with Hairy vetch on clay soil further 
down the hillside, where it grew easily, 
and seeded heavily, led us to believe it 
would grow anywhere, but the first attempt 
to grow it here on the hill changed that 
opinion. Nor have any subsequent trials 
been as satisfactory as on the heavy soils, 
excepting jn one instance, when we manured 
a piece of land for Alfalfa, but the season 
continuing dry until too late to sow Alfalfa, 
we put in rye and vetch. On that piece we 
had a very heavy crop of both, but that 
same seed, sowed on land that had been 
manured for silage corn, did not make any 
such showing, excepting in spots that had 
an extra heavy application of manure, most¬ 
ly where the corn was top-dressed during 
early Summer, the top-dressing being heav¬ 
ily applied where the corn itself was poor¬ 
est, immediately followed by a long 
drought, the corn receiving slight benefit. 
There seems fo be no difference whether 
vetch had been previously grown on the 
land or not, as on some of it we had vetch 
for three years, nor did earlier applications 
of lime make any difference that could be 
noticed. The manure did the business. 
Livingston Co., N. Y. I. c. hogers. 
l To be continued.) 
Early Soiling Crop. 
I would like to know the earliest green 
crop to plant for milch cows, to be cut 
green and fed in the barn. Can you raise 
two crops of millet the same season; if 
not at what time should it he planted? 
What are the vegetables benefited by poul¬ 
try fertilizer? I want to know particular¬ 
ly about cow beets and onions—how it 
should be put on in the Spring? I have 
heard it ought to be put on in the Fall. 
Our soil is sandy. G. E. s. 
Parish, N. Y. 
There is nothing better for early sowing 
than oats and peas. Yes, you can grow two 
crops of Japanese millet by sowing the first 
about May 15 and cutting late in July. The 
second crop will not be- large. Poultry ma¬ 
nure is rich in nitrogen and it is usually 
best on the crops which make most of their 
growth above ground like cabbage, corn, 
onions or garden crops. 
Dahlia Treatment. —If A. J. B., Flush¬ 
ing, N. Y., will plant her Dahlia roots in 
coal ashes she will not be troubled with 
the worms and be surprised at their rank 
growth and abundance of bloom. Empty 
the water from the weekly wash on the 
Dahlia bed. This is my success for the past 
two years. E. c. H. G. 
New York. 
Y OU’D rather buy a $150 horse 
than a $50 horse; you know how 
v 
much cheaper the $150 horse is. 
Same way in buying a gasoline engine; you’ll 
pay less for some than for an Olds Gasoline 
Engine; but you’d better have the Olds. 
It is the simplest engine built; .fewer parts; every part made 
in the most perfect manner known, of the best materials; 
doesn’t get out of order. 
We adjust every Olds Engine to run perfectly before ship¬ 
ping; it is ready to run when you get it. 
We’ve been making these engines for 30 years; the standard 
by which all others are measured. 
Send for particulars; and catalogue. 
Seager Engine Works 
908 Seager Street, Lansing, Michigan 
/ Mallalieu & Conrey, 1816 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 
Branch ) Deyo . Macey Engine Co., 26 Washington Street, Binghamton, N. Y. 
Offices ^ Robt. \v. Hart, Mgr. Seager Engine Works, 67 Beverly Street, Boston, Mass. 
