600 
with cash crops. Furthermore, the men and horses 
necessary to care for a given number of cows can do 
all the work that these crops involve, and, in addition, 
with practically no more expense, can raise other 
products to sell. The man who sells nothing but dairy 
products is not only not fully employing but is spend¬ 
ing all his time on the particular type of farming that 
is done on a close margin. These statements are no 
criticism of dairy farming. They are merely a state¬ 
ment of the fact well known to practical farmers all 
over the world, that diversified farming with the dairy 
as a part of the farm practically always comes ahead 
of specialized dairying. 
I notice your question as to whether beef produc¬ 
tion can be made profitable in the East. Regardless 
of how cheaply one can raise feed in the East, this 
feed when once raised is too valuable to feed to beef 
animals because it pays better to use it to produce 
human food that cannot readily be shipped from the 
region where feed is cheap.. There is very little dif¬ 
ference in the price that the farmer receives for beef 
in New York and Iowa, but there is a decided differ¬ 
ence in the value of the feed from which this beef 
was prodmeed. 
Many of the discussions on so-called decaying agri¬ 
culture in the East show the same error that Mr. 
Plumb does in his discussion. He states that crop 
yields were once very large because the houses are 
large. As a matter of fact, on much of the poor land 
in the Eastern States the houses and barns were not 
built from 1 profits derived from farm crops, but were 
built from profits derived from lumber, and since 
lumber and labor were cheap, splendid buildings were 
erected. G. f. warren. 
Cornell AgL College. 
THE SPIRIT OF PROGRESS. 
In this discussion of the conservative father and pro¬ 
gressive son we have many letters from young men who 
are facing hard problems on their own farms. One of 
such notes comes from a young man, who- says the 35-eent 
dollar and the college graduate without capital are the 
two great modern country problems. Yet this man is 
gaining. 
Both of these topics come home to me. I have a 
49-acre farm, run down, lacks humus, needs draining 
badly; two-thirds of its cost was secured by mort¬ 
gage;, few tools, no stock and no capital when I 
started a few years ago. I am still pegging away, 
gaining, and I can see success coming. I work hard, 
early and late.. What improvements shall I make first 
—tile to raise Large crops which must be sold off the 
farm? No, live stock to eat up what is grown and 
build up the farm, so I selected Jerseys and Berk- 
shires. This necessitated barn improvements to shel¬ 
ter these, and as yet I have laid no tile; expect to 
begin next Winter. But I have some Jerseys which 
are working; a promising heifer has produced 225 
pounds of butter in six months, first calf. Best cow 
last year, 388 pounds, scales and Babcock test show 
me how. Calves and all, I have 10 head, five pure- 
breds (registered) three grades by registered Jersey 
sire; of the other two one is the 388-pound cow, the 
other made 358 pounds of butter last year. I have 
just purchased a new herd-header, carries 50 per cent, 
of the blood of the bull having more (61) daughters 
in Registry of Merit than any other, living or dead; 
ancestors all producers. But my neighbors won't ap¬ 
preciate him ; are used to paying 50 cents, my former 
registered Jersey sire $1. I know of none who have 
raised his calves. I am tired of being generous and 
this fellow I now have will cost them at least $5 or 
stay away. Berkshires number one boar, three sows, 
15 pigs, all purebred. I am bound to win, but it has 
been a hard row to hoe. 
ACQUIRING PRIVATE ROADS IN NEW YORK 
Is there any legal method in the State of New York 
of acquiring a right of way to land which is entirely 
surrounded by the lands of others, or of acquiring a 
legal right of way without the consent of the surround¬ 
ing land, owners? G. w„ nr. 
Pawling, Ns Y. 
Yes, there is a legal method of opening private 
roads as outlined in. the State Constitution and high¬ 
way laws. The procedure is about as follows: The 
Constitution provides that private roads may be 
opened in the manner to be prescribed by law; but 
in every case the necessity of the road and the amount 
of all damage to be sustained by the opening thereof 
shall be first determined by a jury of freeholders, and 
such amount, together with the expenses of the pro¬ 
ceeding, shall be paid by the person to be benefited. 
Under the highway law an application for a private 
road should be made in writing to the town superin¬ 
tendent, specifying its width and location, courses and 
distances and the names of the owners and occupants 
of the land through which it is to be laid out. The 
town superintendent shall thereupon name an early 
THE RURAL NEW-VORKER 
day and a convenient place when a jury will he se¬ 
lected for the purpose 1 of determining whether there 
is a necessity for the road and to> assess - the damages 
occasioned l>y the opening.. Copies of the application 
and notice must be given to the applicant, who shall 
on the same or next day deliver one copy to each 
owner and occupant affected, or mail a copy if they 
live out of the town. At the time stated in the notice 
the superintendent shall present a list of 36 disinter¬ 
ested freeholders of the town, from which list each 
side may strike 12 names. The balance of 12 make 
the jury. A convenient time for the jury to meet 
shall then he named, at which time all interested 
parties shall meet, the jury shall be sworn, view the 
premises and hear the parties and their witnesses and 
shall then determine whether the proposed road is 
necessary, and, if so, assess the damages and deliver 
their verdict in writing to the superintendent, who 
shall file all the papers in the town clerk’s office. The 
damages must be paid before the road is opened or 
used. If the necessity of the private road is caused 
by the discontinuance of a public highway running 
through the same lands the value of the land in the 
old road to the owner may be considered by the jury 
in assessing the damages. After the road is laid out 
no one may use it but the applicant, his heirs and 
assigns, 
WELLS IN DRAINAGE SYSTEM. 
I would like to secure a criticism of the enclosed plan 
for draining a few acres of low land, having a slight fall to 
the brook, though hardly sufficient throughout the length 
of the run to warrant me in putting in a closed drain. 
The idea of the wells is partly to provide settling basins 
for sand, and enable me to keep the drains clean with 
less trouble than with a long run and slight fall. They 
also allow for placing the drains at a greater depth, and 
so keeping the land drier than would be possible other¬ 
wise. The wells would be tight, and at most times would 
have a good supply of water in them, which might possibly 
be utilized. K - 
Eatontown, N. J. 
PLAN SHOWNUFMKti **»a W4XLS- 
\ 
If the writer correctly understands the case in ques¬ 
tion no wells or similar contrivances would! be al¬ 
lowed, but severely condemned as ineffectual in a 
drain system, however light the falL W ells are ex¬ 
pensive, greatly retard the flow and removal of excess 
water and sediment. Faff is neither gained nor lost. 
With wells the tiles cannot safely be placed ‘■‘deeper" 
than in closed drains, except a submerged grade line 
results, which is a constant menace to the system, as 
silt will not readily wash toward the outlet in dead 
water where little or no current exists. In the sub¬ 
mitted accompanying plan practically the entire drain 
system is submerged (below the dead water line) as 
back-water from the lower well extends in each in¬ 
stance backward (up the tile line) nearly to the next 
well above, with but little of the head end (outlet of 
each well) of each tile line above the line of com¬ 
plete saturation. 
Laterals and mains will successfully receive and re¬ 
lieve the soil of the excess water and deliver it quickly 
and economically at the outlet, at the same time 
wash and carry out the sediment, even on extremely 
light grades of but one inch faff per hundred feet, if 
the system is properly planned' and executed During 
wet periods a- drain system is often fib-wing full capa¬ 
city. Under such conditions the force, velocity, scour¬ 
ing, washing’ and flushing effect of water under pres¬ 
sure in round tile drains is a surprise and marvel, 
almost unbelievable. The grade line should be uni¬ 
form from end to end. without high or low places 
anywhere along the course. Only an engineer or ex¬ 
perienced ditcher equipped with a reliable grading 
device should establish the grade. Where the grade 
is light, the outlet and grade are the two great primal 
points to be kept constantly in mind. Often mis¬ 
sionary work on neighboring property may convert 
a poor outlet into a fairly satisfactory one. The 
writer has one to the tune of 3,900 feet. 
For light grade only straight, square-cut-off tile 
should be accepted. Tile should be carefully laid by 
band (not by a tile hook from the bankl and fitted 
end to end tightly (jointed close) and covered with 
three-inch-wide burlap (fertilizer sacks) strips, dou¬ 
bled and long enough to cover the upper two-thirds 
May 24, 
of tile joint, whatever the size. Burlap strips act as 
strainers and prevent soil particles from entering the 
tile line. While the drain is new the soil is settling 
down on and around tile to normal and - final 
position. After nature has completed this readjust¬ 
ment there is usually little danger of the drain failing 
if properly executed. The burlap will have performed 
its duty, decays and passes away. 
The office of a drain system is to receive and dis¬ 
charge excess zvater. With large open tile joints 
the water enters too freely and rapidly. Close joints 
admit water freely, but hold back the soil, an ideal 
performance. If soil flows and continues to flow 
with the drainage waters, clogging is more or less 
a certainty in the near future. Drains should be so 
constructed, especially in light grades and unstable 
soil that few if any soil particles can enter through 
the tile joints. Drainage is a hidden permanent im¬ 
provement. therefore it should be done right, so it 
will stay right, eternally. t. e. martin. 
HARVESTING HAY IN NO. COLORADO. 
Part I. 
CONDITIONS IN THE CATTLE COUNTRY.- 
The large hay meadows in the cattle country of 
Northern Colorado demand the most speedy way of 
getting hay into the stack, on account of the short 
space of time available between the ripening of the 
crop, and the early snows. If one has but a few 
hundred tons to negotiate a month would be ample 
time, even with a few men, but when your yield runs 
into 1,500 or 2.000 tons primitive methods are out of 
the question. In early days cattle were left to rustle 
during the Winter months. There was more feed, 
and the range open to the cattleman was much larger. 
Now it is imperative to feed, and feed well, to carry 
stock through. To winter a thousand head in the 
Rocky Mountain country one requires 2,000 tons of 
hay for strong Spring cattle, and healthy calf crop, 
hence the large hay harvest in the cattle country. 
From the time when stock were left to seek their 
own salvation until the present era of heavy feeding, 
the increase of necessary hay has been gradual, and 
also the improvement in method of harvesting. 
IMPROVEMENTS IN LOADING.—At first hay 
was pitched by hand, and stacked from wagons. This 
of course was too slow, so in time a very ingenious 
little contrivance was introduced which glories in 
the well-deserved name of go-devil. Its construction 
is simple, and one at all handy could make an excel¬ 
lent one in half an hour. This is the way it is made: 
Take a six or eight-foot log with a diameter of about 
eight inches. At intervals of about one foot saw 
out places for teeth. These teeth are about three 
feet long, one end securely fastened in the sawed 
out places in the log at a slight angle, while the other 
end rests on the ground in front. The end on the 
ground is pointed, and rounded on the bottom with 
a draw-knife so that it will slide along without stick¬ 
ing into the sod. Three or four uprights are set in 
the log or body to prevent the hay from slipping back. 
They should be a little over a foot high. At either 
end of the body rings are set in to which are fas¬ 
tened ropes of about ten feet in length. Tie the ropes 
to single-trees, and hitch up the team so that the 
horses will be eight, or ten feet in front of the go- 
devil, using very long lines. In the center of the 
body, at the rear, is a ring, or rope with which to 
dump. The loading is simplicity itself. After the 
hay has been raked in windrows drive your team witli 
a horse on either side of the windrow and the hay 
will pile up on the teeth of the go-devil. The uprights 
keep it from going over the back, and the single-tree 
ropes hold in the sides. While loading it is well to 
stand on the body, with one foot on a tooth to in¬ 
sure sweeping clean. If the teeth slip over some hay 
pull the machine back, and start on again. When 
loaded one can haul the hay any distance along a 
meadow, without spilling. To dump it you merely 
pull it back a trifle and lift up, start your horses. 
The teeth catch, in the ground, and the whole con¬ 
traption turns a somersault over the hay. It is at 
this time that one appreciates why it received its 
name, and the man who gets bitten by the teetli never 
forgets it. However if one is careful the first time 
he dumps the go-devil he will understand its vicious¬ 
ness, keep to one side, and have no trouble in the 
future. One can easily negotiate in the neighborhood 
of a quarter of a ton at a load, and the loading only 
takes a few minutes. With these machines, ranchmen 
used to haul the hay to the stack and "pitch it up to 
the stacker. Like everything else, it was good until 
something better was found. Nevertheless one man 
with a go-devil will haul in more hay in a day than 
three wagons and five men will in the same length of 
time. R. w. rathborne, JR. 
