778 
the RURAL NEW-YORKER 
July 13, 
OPEN BARNS AND LIGHTNING. 
On page 700 you say leave the barn doors 
shut as the vapor collects on the top of the 
hay. What if it does! It never does any 
hurt. Then there is another reason for 
leaving open the doors and windows, and 
that is this: A vacant barn is seldom struck 
by lightning, but a barn full of hot hay or 
grain is often struck. My theory for it is 
this: The heat rising from the barn makes 
tho air light and offers a “channel of least 
resistance” for the lightning to travel in, 
so open the doors, keep the barn as cool 
as possible. c. r. g. 
New York. 
Evaporation which takes place at all 
points of the earth’s surface is believed to 
cause electrification of the particles of mois¬ 
ture in the atmosphere. As these particles 
unite to form clouds, the clouds become 
charged with electricity. The potential 
of each cloud rises higher and higher, and 
the earth beneath becomes charged by in¬ 
fluence or, as scientists say, by induction. 
This induced charge on the earth is of 
opposite sign from the charge on the cloud. 
Presently the difference in potential be¬ 
tween the cloud and the earth becomes so 
great that the air between them breaks 
down and a passage of electricity takes 
place. This is the lightning spark. This 
spark discharges only the electricity accum¬ 
ulated on the under surface of the cloud, 
and when that discharge takes place the 
cloud must adjust itself again, and it does 
so by discharges between the parts of the 
cloud, so that there is much internal action 
which accounts for the apparent boiling 
of the upper part of the cloud. W hen the 
cloud is readjusted, further sparking can 
take place from the same under surface, 
which explains why many lightning dis¬ 
charges take place during the same storm. 
Sometimes the cloud, in place of discharg¬ 
ing to the earth, discharges to another 
cloud. If that other cloud is of small 
capacity it may overflow and discharge 
to the earth. These charges are often 
disastrous for reasons given later. 
Now, if there was a conductor, such as a 
metal rod, extending from the cloud to 
the earth, the charges would be equalized, 
without a lightning spark, by a passage 
of the electricity over the rod. As there 
is no such conductor, the spark chooses 
the easiest path to follow—the line of least 
resistance. That accounts for its jagged 
appearance as the easiest path may not 
always be the straightest path. Dust par¬ 
ticles, a current of moist air, a current 
of hot air or a draft is very likely to 
be followed as such are better conductors 
than cold, clean dry air. The protection 
of barns or other buildings from lightning 
involves, then, providing an easy path for 
the lightning to follow to the ground, for 
it must reach the ground, and will choose 
its own way, however disastrous, unless we 
choose for it. 
When the earth is charged beneath a 
charged cloud, the buildings are charged, 
too, and being nearer to the cloud are apt 
to be struck unless the charge is dissi¬ 
pated. It has been found that if an elec¬ 
trically charged body be connected to a 
metal point, the charge rapidly leaks off 
the point. This, then, is the second func¬ 
tion of a lightning rod—to dissipate the ac¬ 
cumulated charge on a building and thus 
prevent it from being struck. This cannot 
be done, however, in the case of overflow 
charges, as described above, because the 
overflow takes place so suddenly. Hence, 
those strokes are particularly dangerous. 
From the standpoint of lightning protection, 
then, if the barn doors and windows are 
left open, there is a great draft which may 
offer a path to the lightning discharge and 
there can be no adequate protection from 
lightning at the doors and windows, if 
they are open. There is, too, considerable 
heated air and some dust passing out which 
offer an easy path for the lightning and a 
lightning charge passing inside the barn 
is sure to set the hay on fire. On the 
other hand, if the doors and windows are 
shut and ventilation provided at the top 
for the steam to escape, there may be two 
crossed arches of metal over the opening 
with a sharp metal point at their joint 
and connected by a direct line to ground 
thus affording reasonably good lightning 
protection should the warm air act as a 
conductor for the lightning stroke. More¬ 
over, the upward flow of moist, warm air 
over the point would help greatly to cause 
any charge accumulated on the barn to 
leak off the point, if the whole system of 
protection was connected to the point. 
Then, if the barn is well rodded and the 
ventilating opening px-operly protected there 
is not so much danger that the hay will 
be set on fire even if lightning strikes the 
barn, as it will reach the ground probably 
without going inside. R. p. C. 
DRIVING A WELL. 
How should I go about driving a well 
in a salt water district, and just what 
implements would I need for it? R. J. b. 
Rockaway Beach, N. Y. 
Fresh (water running underground if< 
usually found between two impervious lay¬ 
ers or strata. It makes no great difference 
whether you are at the seashore or in the 
country. If you tap into that flow of 
water "you will get what you want. The 
problems are to find that flow and to keep 
the sea water- out when you have tapped 
into it. Now, near the sea, if the fresh 
water flow is only a little below the surface 
it may be in communication with the sea 
and so not fit for use. Then you must go 
deeper until you find fresh water or, if more 
desirable, go farther from the shore. Near 
the seashore a driven well would seem to be 
the best, as the pipe shuts out any sea 
water there may be, while only the end of 
the driven pipe taps into the fresh water 
flow. Such an outfit may be bought at 
any large hardware or plumbing supply 
shop. It consists of a number of lengths 
of pipe of the desired diameter, perhaps 
1% or 1% inch, and making up the neces¬ 
sary length for the depth to be driven, per¬ 
haps 20 to 25 feet; a wire gauze covered 
driving point and a cap for protecting the 
end of the pipe as it is driven into the 
ground. Then, of course, there must be a 
pump of any desired kind. The total out¬ 
fit, if the pump is to be attached right at 
the top of the pipe, can be bought anywhere 
between $6 and $10, for a well 25 feet deep. 
If you intend to use the well during the 
Winter, the cylinder of the pump should 
be placed down in the- ground to prevent 
freezing. This can be done by digging a 
hole three or four feet square and five or 
six feet deep. Drive from the bottom of 
this hole, using a post maul to drive the 
pipe down. When one section of pipe has 
been driven in, screw the next piece on, put 
the protecting cap on it and drive that in 
and so until water is reached. Then screw 
the pump cylinder on permanently ana 
cover it over to protect it. The pump will, 
of course, be above ground although the 
cylinder, which is extended, is below ground. 
The distance from the water flow to the 
pump cylinder cannot be over 30 feet as a 
pump will not lift water more than that dis¬ 
tance. R. r. c. 
Trouble with Sorrel. 
I am glad to see that The R. N.-Y. is 
taking up the sorrel question. It is time. 
I have not in many years seen so much 
sorrel in the fields of western New York as 
there is this year, and something ought to 
be done about it. Some fields are colored 
by it as they would be by the orange hawk- 
weed, though the shade of red is a trifle 
different to the practiced eye. When I was 
a boy we used to fight sorrel in hoed crops 
as one of the worst of weeds. Then after 
a while it seemed to disappear, as the vir¬ 
gin soil we had to -work came under more 
regular cultivation. Now xc appears to be 
swinging around the circle that plant and 
insect pests are so often given to, but which 
are so hard to explain and so impossible to 
anticipate. I suppose that there are cer¬ 
tain conditions of soil and enemies that first 
have to change, and then the pest that has 
been held in check comes to the surface 
again. At the same time we are hearing 
more lately of the use of lime in the field, 
and must conclude that either the sorrel- 
infested districts are not getting the extra 
lime or it is not the remedy that it is sup¬ 
posed to be. At the same time I would not 
say a word against lime, for I am sure it 
is very much needed in many soils, if only 
as a solvent. I believe that it is capable 
of making many sour, inert soils produc¬ 
tive, and that it can be used so that it will 
repay cost many times. At the same time 
whether it will unaided solve the sorrel 
problem may require demonstration. c. 
Want to Know. 
I would like to ask your readers if any 
of them have had any experience in using 
wall board. The kind I have reference to 
is composed of a layer of moisture-proof 
fiber, then a layer of waterproofing, then 
a layer of fiber board, then a layer of 
waterproofing then a layer of moisture- 
proof liber, making live layers pressed to¬ 
gether. I would like to know if it is 
moistureproof afid if it is as desirable as 
lath and plaster for a residence. 
North Stephentown, N. Y. B. J. B. 
Pure Food Decisions. —A partial deci¬ 
sion affecting sulphured oats and barley, 
prepared by the pure food board and ap¬ 
proved by Secretary Wilson, allows the sul¬ 
phuring process of weather stained or soil 
stained grain, the quality of which is not 
otherwise injured, pending the decision of 
the referee board as to the effect upon 
health of sulphur dioxide and the result of 
the experiments being conducted by the 
Department of Agriculture as to the effect 
of sulphured oats on animals. The excess 
water gathered in tho bleaching process 
must be removed, and the sulphured barley 
and oats must be so labelled. The sac¬ 
charin rulings of the pure food board were 
modified to permit the use of saccharin in 
medicinal foods when its presence is stated 
on the label. Tho order contains a specific 
provision against the interpretation of the 
modification to permit use of saccharin in 
foods not strictly medicinal. 
Penguin On,.—Consul II. D. Baker of 
Tasmania says that the most southerly 
industry of the world is conducted on Mac¬ 
quarie Island. This island is located half 
way between Tasmania and the Antarctic 
continent. This island forms a roosting 
place or home for penguins. There are 
probably eighty millions of these birds 
to be found on the island, and a business of 
producing penguin oil has been developed. 
The carcasses of the birds are boiled in di¬ 
gesters under 25 pounds pressure of steam. 
After thoroughly cooking the [steam is 
turned off, water pumped at the bottom of 
the digesters, thus causing the oil to rise. 
This oil is sold to the makers of binder 
twine, it being evidently peculiarly adapted 
to that industry. There is a good market 
for it, but since there is. no harbor on the 
island it is difficult to load the barrels of 
oil upon the vessel. We do not advise our 
readers to go to this island for the purpose 
of boiling penguins, but we like to let them 
know how other people make a living. 
Hunting Reptiles. —A new kind of live 
stock business has been developed in Colom¬ 
bia. This is a trade in alligator skins. 
Up to 1910 there was a monopoly in the 
business as one large firm secured the ex¬ 
clusive right to shoot the reptiles and ship 
their skins. Hunting is now free to all. 
There are three different kinds of alligators 
in the [Magdalena River, only one giving 
the kind of hide desired. The skins sell 
at from 20 cents for one to three feet 
long, to $1.50 for six to seven feet and 
over. The alligators are hunted from De¬ 
cember to April, and also in July and 
August. During these months the streams 
run low and many of the alligators are 
stranded on the flats. There the Indian 
hunters kill them in large numbers. There 
is a great and growing demand for the 
skins, over $61,000 worth being brought to 
this country alone last year. There are 
also by-products, such as fat, oil and teeth, 
which can be worked up into useful pro¬ 
ducts. There seems to be no danger of 
the alligator stock running low, as every 
full-grown female is said to lay about 100 
eggs a year. We are not urging our read¬ 
ers to go to central America and shoot 
alligators. This is printed to keep track 
of what promises to be a new industry. 
A Little Talk About Balers 
Our most valuable crop is not wheat, nor corn either. 
Our most valuable crop is the feed crop of grass, hay and straw. 
We have neglected this crop in the past and the next step forward in up- 
to-date farming is to stop the waste of grass, hay and straw, just as we 
have stopped the waste in other lines. 
The waste last year was tremendous. After the harvest there were 
heavy rains that destroyed millions of dollars worth cf hay and straw. 
Then came a hard winter—perhaps the hardest winter since 1 860. 
Hay jumped to $30.00 a ton. High-priced feed had to be bought. 
The stock suffered and farmers lost money. 
This year thousands of farmers will take warning. They will conserve 
their hay and straw and alfalfa. How ? 
They will bale it and store it away. 
A baler is now as necessary to a well-run farm as a mower or a 
hay-rake. 
It saves its own cost over and over. It cuts down the expense of 
storage and often, before a hard winter, it proves to be the best money¬ 
maker you have. 
For these reasons our Company has recently added Balers to its line 
of power-farming implements. 
Better still, we have got the only real self-feeding Baler —the 
sort of Baler that every farmer wants. 
Our Baler cuts out the man on the feed-table. 
No other Baler does this. 
It gives you at last a complete automatic 
machine, at a remarkably low price. 
We have a lot more that we would like to 
tell you about Balers. If you care to have all 
the facts, send us a postal today. 
RUMELY PRODUCTS CO., Inc. 
e ® a s .PAT ° 11772 Main Street La Porte, Indiana 
BUCKWHEAT-ALFALFA' 
Seeding Time is Almost Upon Us 
Why Not Prepare Thoroughly and “ Do it Right This Time? 
99 
BUCKWHEAT will give something of a crop when half-starved. 
Why not realize for yourself the possibility of Buckwheat Profits by 
more than doubling your crop without increasing your acreage ? 
“How?” Use 
IUzE. FRANK COE FERTILIZERS 
(The Business Farmer’s Favorite for Over 50 Years! 
V 
Buy your Fertilizers “Right,” and get the Famous “Coe Quality 
. that Means Economy.” 
ALFALFA has practically the Same Feeding Value as Wheat Bran. 
CLOVER HAY is nearly as good. 
Why not cut your grain bill to its present size by raising 
these wonderful crops ? 
“Won’t grow on your farm?” Don’t be so sure of that. It is 
all in “knowing how” and in having the right things to work with. 
Why not find out from our farm people how to do it on Your 
Farm? 
We can tell you what to use and how to use it to get paying 
results. _ 
M. W. Wright of Salisbury Mills, N. Y., reports:— 
“ALFALFA, third year (1912): First cutting June 10th, 2 Tens per Acre. Soil— 
clay loam; no manure. Fertilizer applied in April. Will cut twice mere this 
season.” __ 
Mid-Summer Seeding is Best 
While you are beginning to fit your land you should be studying our 
special booklets which are sent free if you mention The Rural 
New-Yorker. 
The Coe-Mortimer Company 
51 Chambers Street New York City 
Vhen you write advertisers mention The R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply 
and a “square deal.” See guarantee on editorial page. 
