1911. 
THE RUKAh NEW-YORKER 
985 
Concrete Floor and Furnace. 
A. C., Darien Center, N. Y. —1. In put¬ 
ting down a cement floor, three inches thick, 
in a basement, to be used as a horse and 
cow stable, should you first make the floor 
two inches thick and then put on the top 
coat one inch thick, the last inch made of 
a finer grade of gravel and sand, or should 
the whole thickness be put down at one 
time? 2. Would a furnace (to be used to 
make maple syrup) made of cement stand 
the heat? If so, in what proportion should 
the gravel, sand and cement be mixed, and 
how thick? Should any stone be used? I 
could get brick enough to make the arch. 
Would a brick furnace stand the heat if 
properly constructed? 
Ans. 1. I would recommend put¬ 
ting the floor down three inches thick 
all at the same time, using just as good 
material for the bottom as you would 
at the top. I never had much faith 
in a weak and poorly constructed base 
veneered with a thin coat of rich shiny 
cement, and as I have seen the results 
of that method of cementing I now 
have no faith in it at all except where 
the work is not intended for hard 
usage and the rich coat is put on to 
make it more pleasing to the eye, or to 
make the job waterproof, etc. My 
reasons for recommending an equal 
proportion for bottom as well as top 
are that the top coat put on with a 
good material rich in cement, will be¬ 
come very hard and probably brittle, 
and the constant tramping of the stock 
would be likely to loosen it from the 
weaker mixture underneath. Then 
your top coat will begin to break away, 
simply because the bottom is of poor 
quality. It would look just as reason¬ 
able to me to advise you to splice a 
No. 9 and a No. 16 gauge fence wire 
together to make the 16 gauge stronger. 
2. I think a cement furnace would 
stand the heat all right if made a little 
large and roomy, so the walls were not 
burned too severely, but I would not 
use gravel, as the stones are liable to 
crack and burst if heated extremely 
hot. Use a mixture, one of cement, 
two sand, two coal ashes, that have 
been burned to a cinder. 
W. A. BANGS. 
Clarifying Cider. 
M. £>., Morgansville, N. J .—Let me know 
how I can purify cider. We have been 
making some, and it always gets cloudy. 
Ans.—T his trouble may be largely 
avoided by sorting all decayed apples out 
of the cider stock, and thorough strain¬ 
ing of the juice before putting in the 
cask. In the process of “working” a large 
part of the vegetable matter will come 
to the surface, but much of this may be 
removed at once by filtering through 
several thicknesses of cloth. Another 
method of clarifying is to put 1)4 
ounce of isinglass into each barrel. This 
is dissolved in a pint of warm cider and 
when cold poured into the barrel, stir¬ 
ring thoroughly. Let stand for a week 
and then draw into another vessel with a 
siphon, without disturbing the bottom. 
“These Summer boarders are hard 
to please.” “What’s the matter now?” 
“They’re kicking because I ain’t got no 
field of shredded wheat to show ’em.”— 
Washington Herald. 
CONSUMER’S DOLLAR. 
Co-operative Stock Buying in Nebraska. 
Some time ago we told how the Com¬ 
mercial Club of Norfolk, Nebraska, was 
buying Belgian horses for local farmers. 
The club is already extending their co¬ 
operative stock buying operations. They 
are now selling Belgian mares at cost all 
over the State, and expect to include sheep 
and cattle this Fall. 
Picture of a Market Rig. 
With this rig we dispose of our butter, 
eggs, cheese, poultry, etc., to regular cus¬ 
tomers in Trenton, N. J., every Friday; in 
winch way we get the consumer’s dollar; no 
35 cents for us. Our farm contains 140 
acres, hilly and stony, but sure. We have 
12 grade Jerseys that we are very proud of, 
four heifers and one registered bull (having 
raised them all) : 55 hogs, some of them 
registered Berkshires; 25 sheep, four horses, 
two colts and a big flock of chickens. I 
forget to mention the young stock in the 
house; four head as fine as we ever saw; 
no redheads, but three towheads and lots of 
freckles. ' A. kogees. 
Hunterdon Co., N. J. 
Cost of an Acre of Onions. 
Make the plowing and harrowing, all 
the fitting for the crop, a little better than 
is necessary. One and one-half tons high- 
grade fertilizer cost $35 to $38 per ton; 
four pounds the best selected onion seed 
cost $1.25 to $1.35 a pound; sowing, weed¬ 
ing and care for the crop, putting in sacks, 
weighing, sewing sacks, from $60 to $80; 
cost of drawing to cars, 2% cents per 
bushel. The sacks are furnished by the 
person who buys the onions and hold 100 
pounds, or two bushels. The returns per 
acre of onions, yield 500 to 600 and over 
bushels large onions; they are sold from 50 
cents to 60 cents per bushel on cars in Oc¬ 
tober. The few bushels small onions are 
sold at half price. There were over 500 
acres grown in the town of Sunderland in 
1910. There were 2,500 acres (1910) 
grown in the valley here, three towns on 
the west side of the Connecticut River and 
the three towns on the east side of the river. 
Sunderland, Mass. t. l. c. 
Retailers Combining. 
This comes from the Waterbury (Conn.) 
American; 
“Down in New Haven there is a move¬ 
ment on foot among the retail grocers to 
combine for the purpose of getting better 
prices from the farms and truck gardeners, 
and possibly the meat dealers. Their rea¬ 
sons, they say, are the indifference and arbi¬ 
trariness of these purveyors of food supplies 
to constant patronage and prompt payments 
in making concessions on prices, or even in 
consenting to maintain one price for all 
consumers.” 
You see the scheme is for all hands to 
combine so as to “get better prices from 
the farmers.” That means cut the farmers 
down. Why do not these local papers advo- 
cate'city markets and direct trade with con¬ 
sumers? 
We are a little over 30 miles from Cleve¬ 
land by wagon road. With poultry, the rule 
among buyers is to pay three cents less 
than the market quotations. At present 
fowls are quoted at wholesale in Toledo 
at 14 to 17 cents, which would give the 
farmer 11 cents for fowls and 14 cents for 
chickens. Of course the consumer would 
pay 18 to 22 cents; as for eggs they are 
handled on a closer margin. To-day the 
consumer will pay about 25 cents per dozen, 
while the producer gets 18 cents. As for 
berries, one of my neighbors raised about 
75 bushels; when ho got eight cents per 
quart the consumer paid 12 cents. e. b. 
Farming Both Sides of the Equator. 
A steamer sailing from New York, Sep¬ 
tember 20, for South America, took the 
first delegation of what may bo a large 
emigration of Italians, to work through the 
Argentine farming season, which is ex¬ 
actly the reverse of ours. Farm work in 
Argentina begins in October and ends in 
March, and there is great demand for la¬ 
borers at profitable prices. As many as 
20,000 Italians have gone there from Italy 
alone in previous seasons, but this year, be¬ 
cause of cholera danger, Italian ships have 
been quarantined at Argentine ports. Many 
of those who leave New York to spend our 
Winter in farming south of Capricorn are 
expected to return in April, making pretty 
near a continuous performance of farm 
work. 
Vetch and Wheat.—I enjoy the paper 
very much, and am especially interested in 
the articles on vetch, as I am a great be¬ 
liever in it. I have planted it for years 
with wheat for hay, and after that crop is 
off I sow cow peas. It certainly makes 
lots of hay from a small area, and hay here 
in the South is quite an item. w. t. l. 
Tyron, N. C. 
MARKET WAGON READY FOR TRIP. Fig. 393. 
FREE 
this real leather bill fold 
for the Head of the Farm 
(Not for boys — they're all right and their turn 
will come latei—but this is for the bossJ 
Thousands of farmers will buy gasoline engines this Fall and Winter. 
I want to get in direct and personal touch with every one of them, as 
I want them to know about the Olds Engine. 
If you are going to buy an engine, or are thinking about it, you ought to know what an 
Olds Engine will do for you. I want to tell you about them— 
give you just the information you want —so if you will fill out the 
coupon below (or write me a letter) saying what size engine you 
want, whether portable or stationary, and when you expect to need 
one, without asking you to make any promise or obligating you 
in any way, I will send you absolutely free this genuine calfskin 
bill fold, stamped with your name in gold letters. 
It will hold fifteen hills easily. When folded it will go in 
a small pocket. It is very convenient, handsome and useful; 
will last a lifetime. Has no advertisement on it. 
OLDS 
GASOLINE 
ENGINES 
are known the world over and used by farmers everywhere. They are the most satis¬ 
factory engine made for farm work. I guarantee them to do all we say they will—you 
to be the judge. Ask any man who has an Olds Engine. He will tell you. 
We also make complete electric light and water systems especially for farms. 
Write for our prices on corn shellers, corn buskers, feed grinders and cream separators. 
If you are going to buy an engine, put a check mark (X) in the place showing the size and styl e 
engine you want, and when you expect to need it, and mail to me personally at once. Address me 
as below. 
BRANCHES 
1007 Farnam St. 
Omaha, Neb. 
2112 Central St. 
Kansas City, Mo. 
J. B. SEAGER, Gen. Mgr. 
Seager Engine Works 
908 Walnut St., Lansing, Mich. 
BRANCHES 
102 N. Los Angeles St. 
Los Angeles, Cal. 
65C Beverly St. 
Boston, Mass. 
To make quick deliveries, I also have a complete stock of engines and parts in warehouses at 
Houston, Tex. Atlanta, Ga. Decatur, 111. Lexington, Miss. Cairo, Ill. Minneapolis, Minn. Binghamton, N.Y. Philadelphia, Pa. 
NOTICE—If you prefer, write to my nearest branch, and if I am not there, 
my personal representative will attend to it. 
Cut or tear off here 
Seager Engine Works, Lansing, Mich. 
Send me full particulars about the following engine. It 
is understood that I do not obligate myself in any way by 
asking for this information. 
Style wanted: Portable Stationary 
Horse Power wanted: 1)4 3 4)4 6 8 12 15 20 
Expect to need itj: Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. 
Name.. 
Town.R. F. D. 
County...State. 
Sign name plainly, just the way you want it on bill fold. 
908 
