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THE RURAX> NEW-YORKER 
slow-growing. The Autumn of 1911—18 months from 
the time of the first fertilization—brought the results 
in fruit shown in Fig. 213, or 30 barrels from the 
12 fertilized trees and three barrels from the 12 un¬ 
fertilized trees. It would be quite reasonable to antici¬ 
pate, after such a generous yield on the fertilized row 
and scant production on the row left unfertlized, that 
the next year would, at least in a measure, bring a 
reverse in the order of yield; but not so. In Fig. 214 
are shown the same two rows and their respective, 
barreled products in the following year of 1912—the 
picture being taken from almost exactly the same 
spot in the orchard. The yield in 1912 was 20 barrels 
on the fertilized row and seven barrels on the row 
left untreated for comparison. 
To summarize at the close of a test which had 
progressed two years (and is still being continued), 
we have in this particular comparison 50 barrels of 
fine, marketable apples to the credit of the fertilized 
row as against 10 barrels for the unfertilized row. Or, 
in other words, we have a gain of 40 barrels on. 12 
trees in two years, in favor of fertilization, at a cost 
of $4.56 for fertilizers—or a trifle less than 12 cents 
per barrel for the increased quantity of fruit. The 
apples on the unfertilized row, while of a wonderfully 
brilliant color, were quite small in comparison with 
the apples from the fertilized trees. The increased 
vigor of the fertilized trees, their dense, heavy foliage 
and longer growing season naturally detracted some¬ 
what from the coloring of their fruit product as 
compared with the unfertilized row, yet the color of 
the fertilized product was very good. A similar com¬ 
parison and photographic yield record will be kept of 
these two rows for a number of seasons. The orchard 
is located at Torch Hill, Athens County, Ohio. 
F. H. BALLOU. 
FITTING SOD GROUND FOR SEEDING. 
We have often warned our readers against the 
bad practice of plowing under a sod or a cover crop 
and leaving the furrows open and loose. Many a 
promising crop has been killed through this bad 
method of farming. Much of the criticisms of rye 
as a green manure can be traced to this practice. 
Rye is a tough, rank-growing crop. The stems are 
hollow and provide a good chance for the air to work 
into the soil. When the furrows are left loose and 
not fully crushed down, the air rapidly works into 
the soil and dries it out, and at the same time this 
loose organic matter in the soil prevents the rise of 
water which should provide for the crop. In warm 
weather, too, this open condition of the soil invites 
rapid fermentation, and the soil is too sour for 
ordinary crops. We speak of this over, and over 
again, because it is a thing which must be considered in 
using cover crops. A recent bulletin, No. 103, from 
the North Dakota Experiment Station at Fargo, makes 
this matter very plain in its relation with the culture 
of flax. The flax crop is a very profitable one in 
the Northwest. Of late years it has failed in many 
localities, and the Station has been at work study¬ 
ing out . the causes. They were found to be disease 
and a poor method of starting the crop in the soil. 
The flax disease may be cured or nearly so by treat¬ 
ing the seed much as we do oats or potatoes with a 
solution of formalin. The flax seed is spread on 
canvas in the open air, and sprayed with a solution 
of one pound of formalin to 40 gallons of water. 
The flax seed is thoroughly wet with this moisture, 
then dried and is ready for seeding. 
In the preparation of the seed bed usually upon 
plowed sod, care must be taken to supply the needs 
of this crop. It must have a full supply of moisture 
coming from the soil chiefly, and it does best on a 
hard, firm soil, thoroughly compact and without much 
air space. As we all know, when the ordinary sod 
is merely turned over with the underside fitted as 
a seed bed, such a condition as the flax needs cannot 
be attained, for unless the sod is thoroughly packed 
down it cannot be said that the soil is firm, and that 
the air spaces are driven out of it. When the flax 
is seeded upon rough plowed land, without this solid 
packing the seed may sprout and start to grow prop¬ 
erly. As the roots start through the sod they come 
into open air chambers. The air and wind in case 
of dry weather dry these roots out. while in case of 
a damp season these air chambers are filled with 
water, and this condition tends to increase the danger 
from disease. Thus the young roots of the flax are 
unable to work down through this rough sod into 
the subsoil below, and the hot dry winds which pre¬ 
vail in the Northwest quickly put an end to them, or 
greatly reduce their strength and yield. To overcome 
this, flax growers are advised to pack the soil heavily 
immediately after plowing, when a sod has been turned 
under. The two pictures, Figs. 216 and 217, show 
how this may be done on a large scale. Where trac¬ 
tion plows are used, heavy concrete rollers or packers 
are hitched behind the plows of the tractor. The 
roller shown in the picture is a homemade one formed 
from concrete. This roller weighs 280 pounds per 
running foot, and at Fig. 217 we see the condition in 
which it leaves the ground. 
In plowing, care is taken to turn the sods over flat 
so that the grass side will be completely covered and 
at the bottom. Then follows this heavy packer crush¬ 
ing the sods down hard, and squeezing out the air 
spaces, thus making the soil fully compact and firm. 
The smaller picture, Fig. 215, shows a device for 
doing much the same work on a smaller scale, where 
an ordinary team of horses is used in place of the 
tractor. The object is the same, to crush down the 
sod and firm the soil. While in the Eastern States we 
do not have the hot drying winds of the West, and 
while we have as a rule a heavier rainfall during the 
season, the principle of successful handling of plowed 
sod for cover crops is much the same, and a farmer 
should always remember two things about plowing 
such a sod. The object is to prevent the escape of 
moisture, and to prevent too much air from working 
into the sod. To accomplish this two things are nec¬ 
essary. First a thorough crushing or packing of the 
plowed sod, and this should be done as soon as 
possible after the plowing; next a harrowing or 
scratching of the surface soil which will serve as a 
dust mulch or cover to prevent the escape of moisture. 
In many cases farmers are advised to use a roller. 
This is often good advice, yet unless used with good 
judgment the roller might defeat the very purpose 
for which it was intended, for if we simply crush 
down the soil and make it uniformly firm, there is 
danger that the moisture may rise up through this 
■ 
THE OLD STYLE PACKER. Flu. 215. 
soil to the surface and be lost. If after this packing 
we scratch over the surface with a harrow and leave 
a so-called dust mulch on top of the ground, we 
prevent this escape and hold the moisture where it 
belongs, around the seed and the plant. 
MANGELS IN THE SILO. 
I notice W. E. B.’s question in regard to the stor¬ 
ing of mangels. I have been raising mangels for the 
past two years and was in his position, but so far 
as the bulk of the crop is concerned I am satisfied 
that I have solved the question. My men have told 
me that in European countries they pit them. By 
that they mean ranking them up and covering with 
straw, hay or stalks, and then with dirt, but I have 
been afraid to try that, as I feared when I broke 
into the rick the frost would get into the opened 
end no matter how carefully recovered. Both last 
year and this I contemplated putting them in the silo 
at corn-cutting time, but they are so fine for both 
hogs and calves that I could not make up my mind 
to do it. Last year I stacked them on my barn 
floor and fed them out to my milch cows before dan¬ 
ger of freezing; this year I borrowed room in a 
neighbor’s dirt cellar and did not begin to feed until 
along in January, when I think they are much better 
than when fed early. Two weeks ago I had my 
cutter and engine set up at a small silo at my dry 
stock barn where I had a large stack of dry stalks. 
There were three big loads of stalks in the stack, all 
a 2,400-pound pair of mules could draw. We drew 
from the dirt cellar what I estimated to be between 
seven and eight tons of mangels. Some of my men 
laughed, some doubted, and I took the responsibility. 
We started the engine, and as the stalks fed into the 
cutter I, and sometimes a man with me, threw man¬ 
gels onto the table just as fast as we could handle 
them. The stuff went into that silo in a perfect 
stream, and the water ran from every crack and joint 
of the blower and pipe. 
For a few days we were doubtful, as the feed 
turned black, and we found a little mould in spots, 
and the last cutting was lighter, as I did not crowd 
the roots in so fast, but the cattle were crazy for the 
feed all the time, and now that we are down to 
hardpan we have fine feed. In running a mangel 
May 10, 
through a blower nothing is left but a pulp; one 
need not fear any large pieces. Next year if I have 
any dry stalks I shall build a silo of small diameter 
purposely to put them and my mangels in and feed 
to milkers. I suppose some water added would do no 
harm, but we have fine feed without. If they will go 
in a silo successfully with dry stalks W. E. B. need 
certainly have no fear for the result with green corn, 
but / should want the green corn pretty ripe. 
Connecticut. JOHN hunt. 
DANGER FROM ELECTRIC WIRES. 
A transmission line of high tension is about to be 
passed aei-oss my farm and through the orchard. I am 
writing for information as to dangers to life and property. 
For instance, in case of storm in which the wire would 
be broken or knocked down by violence, and the same 
come in contact with the wire fence, which surrounds 
the orchard, what might be the consequences? Would or 
would not the current follow the wire fence? Have I 
any legal authority to prevent their crossing? c. H. o. 
Lancaster, Ohio. 
In some of the States the electric companies can do 
about as they please concerning pole lines, but I 
think you can prevent their locating their poles on 
your property, particularly if construction on your 
property has not yet begun. It would be worth while 
having an attorney who lives nearby and is con¬ 
versant with the nature of their franchise and per¬ 
mits, to look up the rights which they have pur¬ 
chased from the town or county where you live. If 
the high tension wire drops for any reason and hits 
the wire fence, remaining in contact with it, the 
current would flow along the fence under ordinary 
conditions and might kill any cattle or persons who 
happen to come in contact with the fence. To 
prevent such serious results heavy wires should be 
placed at frequent intervals, each wire being soldered 
to each wire of the fence, and one end of the wire 
fastened, by soldering, to a weight or other piece of 
metal or coiled up a number of times, and buried in 
the ground. This is to “ground” the fence so that 
in the case of any accident, the current will flow 
through these wires instead of flowing through the 
person who touches the fence. 
It is also a very dangerous but a common practice 
to string telephone lines or lighting lines on the same 
poles as are used to carry the high tension wires. 
This has been the reported cause of many very 
serious accidents. Then, too, a wire, breaking or 
dropping down on a tree might injure the tree and 
even kill it, under proper conditions. It might injure 
or kill any person or cattle touching the tree. Falling 
on a building, the high tension wire might cause fire. 
There is no doubt whatever that high tension wires 
are extremely dangerous to life and property if any¬ 
thing goes wrong with them. Under no circumstances 
should you attempt to touch or move a wire from the 
ground or fence or building except by using a dry 
stick, and have heavy dry gloves on your hands which 
grasp the stick, or have the stick well wrapped with 
dry clothing of some kind. Also, it would be well 
to put on rubber boots. The thing to be accom¬ 
plished is to prevent the current passing through you 
to the ground or to any metal structure. 
It is only fair to say that the breakage of these 
high voltage lines is not common, as the wires are 
comparatively small and very strong, while the gen¬ 
eral construction of the line, as a rule, is of better 
quality than the ordinary line, where there is less 
danger. There is also, of course, the consideration 
of “the greatest good to the greatest number.” In 
other words, the use of the high tension reduces 
the cost of the installation very much, as much 
smaller wire may be used for the transmission line 
and hence, at least in theory, the cost of the elec¬ 
tricity should be lessened and the consumer should 
benefit. We should do what is reasonable and equit¬ 
able to help in any construction, but not to the extent 
of taking any chances with life. As to danger to 
property, if we could be sure of a reasonable set¬ 
tlement that would not matter much and for the good 
of all, it would be right to take chances. It is worth 
while to know that there are a number of safety 
devices to “break the circuit” when the wire breaks 
or is blown down for any reason. There are switches 
which may be put overhead on any pole, and they 
should be used where needed regardless of cost. 
r. p. c. 
R. N.-Y.—A few nights ago in passing through a 
New Jersey town we saw sparks coming from a tree 
near the sidewalk. A wire had fallen against the tree 
and started a blazing fire. 
We have talked so much about using cover crops that 
tt is time others had a chance. Will any of our readers 
who seeded such crops last Fall tell us how they came 
through the Winter and what will be done with them? 
