80(3 
THE RURAL* NEW-YORKER 
August IT 
THE FERTILIZER.—But it was well fed. You 
may work land all Summer and use bushels of seed, 
but the grass cannot grow unless it can find available 
plant food. On these old meadows—long under cul¬ 
tivation—there must be nitrogen, potash and phos¬ 
phoric acid ready for the grass. The thorough work¬ 
ing made the nitrogen in that old sod available, but 
Clark went on the theory that a surplus m the bank 
gives the best credit—so he put on fertilizer freely. 
He used a “top-dresser” made by the Rogers & Hub¬ 
bard Co. We know of farmers who have about 
equalled Clark's yield, and they used a mixture of 500 
' pounds nitrate of soda, 1,000 pounds fine bone, and 
500 pounds muriate of potash. Others use equal parts 
of these three chemicals—about 800 pounds each 
year, half in Fall, after haying, and half in Spring. 
This is a high-grade, expensive mixture, but it will 
make the grass grow. Clark argued against the prac¬ 
tice of top-dressing meadows with manure. The 
chemicals gave no weed seeds and he thought the 
meadows better off without a cover. 
This in brief is the Clark system of grass growing. 
It is adapted only to natural grass land, and to lo¬ 
calities where hay brings a high price. Various modi¬ 
fications of it may be worked out. On many a farm 
where there is only one team or three horses and 
the usual Summer work to do, it would not pay to 
follow Clark’s plan in full. Where hay is baled and 
sold to commission men this expensive preparation 
and heavy fertilizing might make the hay cost too 
much On limited areas and near towns where loose 
hay can be sold, this method will pay those who can 
afford the needed labor and capital. The first crop 
following such seeding will prove disappointing. After 
spending so much time and money people naturally 
expect prompt returns. The first crop is likely to be 
very fine, but short, not two tons to the acre. This 
merely shows the habit of the grass. You cannot ex¬ 
pect full results until the second year. Then it will 
come with a rush, and for years it will continue to 
take such water and plant food as you give it and turn 
them into hay. 
FARM GREENHOUSE CONSTRUCTION. 
Part II. 
Use brass screws always, about No. 9, 1J4 or 
iy* -inch long, rounded head. 
Cut bars to length and give two coats of best white 
paint you can buy before fastening irons to them. 
The pipe for posts would best be galvanized. 
The concrete above ground could be made of one 
part cement and six or seven parts of soft soal ashes. 
If the cinders do not contain a good proportion of 
fine ashes sand must be added. The post braces 
should be set in concrete made of stone or gravel. 
The ridge should be about 2x6 inches and milled 
as shown at E, Fig. 360, the grooves on each side 
being about f^-inch square for inserting glass at top 
to keep rain from beating in. The ventilating sash 
should run continuously the entire length of the 
house and are usually made so that each sash con¬ 
tains six to eight lights of glass 24 by 16 inches wide. 
This makes a sash about 32 inches deep down the 
roof and about eight to nine feet long. The sash 
are hinged to a header rabbeted out for the glass as 
shown on under side at D. Fig. 360. Hinges for sash 
are best put on as shown in Fig. 360. Use a narrow 
butt galvanized hinge having a brass pin and brass 
screws. 
The ventilating apparatus should be purchased 
from some firm building same, or if it is desirable 
to save this expense, the sash could be made with 
three lights of glass instead of six and each one 
opened separately with a flat iron rod having holes 
drilled at intervals of an inch or two, and having 
a heavy spike or bolt to slip these holes on, so as 
to give various sized openings. The eaves should 
be about six feet high and the upper half built 
of glass. A small vent sash, each four to five feet, 
would help keep temperature down during extreme 
hot weather. The posts at side should be spaced 
eight feet apart, and the pipe frame in centre should 
be spaced eight feet also. The centre pipe being 1^2 
inch and set in concrete at base, and screwed to an 
oval railing flange at top, this to be screwed to under 
side of ridge with coach screws about ^x3 inches. 
The side brace pipes extending to each purline, 
should be of one-inch pipe and fastened to upright 
pipe in center, Fig. 360, by an iron bent by blacksmith, 
so that each end about three inches long has same 
angle as side brace pipes and extends i aside brace 
pipe for three inches. This iron should be 5-16 by 
about one inch wide and have two holes punched 
in, so an axle clip can be placed around the upright 
pipe and clamped tight to hold braces in position. 
The purlines should be of 1 J^-inch pipe and 
fastened to each sash bar with a pipe strap and 
fastened to side braces by slipping a tee over the 
pipe that is screwed on the one-inch brace. This 
tee should be l}4-inch round and one-inch outlet. 
If it is desired to build the house narrower than 
shown, the side braces and purlines can be omitted 
if sash bars are under sevep feet long. If a wider 
house is desired, an extra purline will be required 
for each seven to eight-foot length of sash bar 
added. 
The sketch shows concrete benches five feet wide, 
for most vegetables and plants very good results are 
obtained by planting on the soil, over which house is 
erected. The benches are best for cut flowers. To heat a 
house of this size in the latitude of New York, about 
14 runs of two-inch pipe would be necessary to main¬ 
tain 50 degrees at night, using hot water, and hot 
water is the only heat the beginner wants to consider, 
as steam requires too close attention, though it is 
possible to have steam in circulation for six hours at 
a stretch with a large boiler and hard coal. It is* 
difficult to do it with soft coal. 
The boiler is another very important item, and as 
before stated should be larger than necessary actually 
to do the work, allowing at least 2/ 2 to three horse 
power for each 1,000 square feet of glass area. The 
boiler should be of wrought iron construction, and 
by going to a boiler maker’s shop, good second-hand 
tubular boilers can often be bought that are very 
satisfactory. If you prefer a new one have the shell 
tilled full of tubes. This construction makes the best 
possible boiler to be obtained for hot water heating. 
In setting same, allow at least three feet from 
grate bars to bottom of boiler for small sizes, and 
about the diameter of the boiler on larger sizes, as 
it is necessary to have a large combustion space in 
order to burn fuel economically and economy is as 
INEXPENSIVE GREENHOUSE CONSTRUCTION. Fig. 368. 
necessary in connection with a greenhouse as any 
other line of business. Your boiler maker may try 
to dissuade you from setting boiler more than 20 
inches above grate, but if he does, you may be sure 
he is not familiar with the latest and best engineer¬ 
ing practices. 
Recently in Detroit a boiler was given exhaustive 
tests that had a fire box 34 feet high and about four 
times as much cubic content as usually allowed in 
best practice to date. The tests showed the highest 
economy ever attained in commercial steam plants. 
For those reasons do not buy a cast iron boiler 
under any circumstances, no matter zvhat claims any 
dealer or agent may make. The combustion space is 
too small, and the gases are chilled before being 
ignited, and I know of numerous instances where 
sections have cracked and had to be replaced during 
firing season. Many florists that I know are re¬ 
placing cast iron boilers with wrought iron, and in 
my own boiler cellar is over $1,000 worth of cast- 
iron boilers that have not been used for five years. 
We use tubulars entirely. 
Dig a cellar at lowest end of house deep enough 
so that top of boiler is about level with ground, or 
slightly below. For houses over 50 feet long, two- 
inch pipe is best; run the flows uphill from boiler 
to far end of house, and give returns same fall back 
to boiler; be sure your pipe are in a straight line 
from end to end, as any depression would retard 
circulation. Place a barrel, or any other tank 10 
feet or more above the boiler large enough to carry 
as much water as one-twentieth in entire system; 
this is for an expansion tank, and should be con¬ 
nected to return near boiler. Do not have any valve 
in this pipe, as same may accidentally be closed, and 
cause system to burst when heated up. 
At far end of house have each flow pipe supplied 
with an air cock, or better yet a piece of one-eighth- 
inch pipe extending to height equal to top of ex¬ 
pansion tank, when all air generated in system will 
pass out without attention, automatically. It is pos¬ 
sible to get a circulation also, by having highest 
point of system right over boiler and allowing all 
pipes a gradual fall back to boiler. 
Care must be exercised to have pipes always as¬ 
cending and descending; do not raise and then lower 
a pipe, or water will not circulate. I think it best 
for beginners to have high point at far end of house; 
allow one-inch rise to five or six feet if possible. Do 
not allow two returns of same size to be put on one 
flow. If you want more returns than flows use a 
21'2-inch flow for two two-inch returns. If solid beds 
are used, run about four flows on center pipe sup¬ 
ports under ridge, and remaining flows and returns 
on sides of house. If house is benched, put several 
pipes under each bench. 
You will likely want a door in end of house 
farthest from boiler room, and the side pipe should 
be carried across end of house to this door on eith&r 
side. Make plenty of allowance for expansion of 
pipe when heated up, as I have known of a too 
rigid connection to pull pipe apart, and these things 
always occur when we least desire them. 
If you are so situated that steam heat is available 
or more desirable, carry the pipe to highest point 
on entering greenhouse and run all pipes down hill 
till you reach boiler, put air cocks at lowest end of 
return before dropping down to boiler, and have 
a globe or gate valve on each end of each run. One 
and a quarter-inch pipe is best size for steam and 
12 runs would be ample for a 22-foot house. Hot 
water systems require valves on only one end of 
each run, or no valves at all when only one house 
is on boiler. 
If the drip at eaves is undesirable inside house, fas¬ 
ten small galvanized iron gutter to plate B, Fig. 360. By 
adopting any suggestions in this article the beginner 
should have a house of permanent construction, good 
for quite a number of years, the lumber should be 
of cypress, best grade, selected clear of sap and 
knots, and by using sketches in Fig. 360 and Fig. 361 
any planing mill could work it out for you. 
A very cheap house could be constructed of 3x6-foot 
hotbed sash as shown in Fig. 368. The side walls 
could be made of wood and concrete and purlines 
either of wood or pipe, every third or fourth sash 
should be hinged at base and used as a ventilator. 
The heating pipes could be carried on posts and sides, 
about six two-inch pipes being sufficient for such a 
house. The greenhouse has many pleasant features 
connected with its possession, but requires very close 
and continuous application to make a success of 
growing crops that pay therein. elmer j. weaver. 
Lancaster Co., Pa. 
ROUGH-AND-READY HAY CAPS. 
A few weeks ago I had a nice lot of Alfalfa all 
cocked up well; next morning every indication of 
rain and that hay not fit to go in. I had no hay caps 
and I did not like to think of that good hay getting 
soaked. I had a few more grain bags than I needed, 
and a good number of bran sacks. All hands went to 
the barn and we ripped-every one of those extra 
bags and a large number of the bran sacks across 
the bottom and one side. Then we cut some good 
strong cord in about 30-inch lengths and tied the 
two ends of the cord together and looped one of the 
cords over each of the four corners of all the bags 
and most of the sacks. Then we went out into the 
meadow with those make-believe hay-caps, pitchforks 
and a wheelbarrow. One good man took the pitch- 
fork and put two and sometimes three of those half- 
dried hay cocks into one; another man took the 
wheelbarrow to a nearby cornfield, and adjoining 
fence corners and would come back and leave four 
stones to each of the enlarged hay cocks. The others 
of us spread one of those bags or one and sometimes 
two of those bran sacks over a very small stack of 
Alfalfa, and made a loop in the loose end of each of 
those four strings, slipping a stone into it. It Avas 
not long before it looked better, if it wasn’t any 
better. 
Did it rain? Yes, it rained, and would have wetted 
that Alfalfa clear to the ground had it not been for 
those (I was going to say hay-caps) covers. It did, 
didn’t it? Well, I did not know but it had until I 
looked. I found where there was one bag or two 
sacks the hay under Avas not wet one bit, but where 
there Avas only one sack the hay was Avet in maybe 
two or three inches. One of my neighbors said after 
looking at it: “I wouldn’t have believed it, for one of 
those old bran sacks is nothing but a sieve anyway.” 
Orange Co., N. Y. e. l. parker. 
See Iioav trade makes the world grow smaller. Last 
year 257 carloads of tomatoes were sent from Mexico into 
this country. 
The consumption of meat in Germany last year was 23 
pounds per capita. Yet a German farm labor expects 
meat three times a day. 
“Fine feathers make fine birds,” yet the parrot and the 
carrion crow have some very fine plumage. 
Wno is the worst menace to society? He who will not 
do honest Avork, though able to do so. 
