1913. 
FARM MACHINERY AT N.Y. STATE FAIR. 
A large exhibit of farm machinery was 
one of the most attractive features of the 
New York State Fair this year, a large 
area being given over to it. A hand 
baler for waste paper and other scraps 
usually burned to get them out of the 
way showed the modern tendency toward 
utilization of wastes, and, while of little 
use to the ordinary farmer, these ma¬ 
chines did contain a useful hint as to the 
necessity of utilizing the odds and ends 
in any manufacturing or commercial 
plant. Such machines in a store or fac¬ 
tory might find their prototype in a com¬ 
post heap upon a well-managed farm 
where weeds and other vegetables wastes 
are turned into valuable fertilizer. 
The rapidly growing popularity of ma¬ 
nure spreaders, so recently come into 
general use, was shown by the number 
of people always gathered about them. The 
most noticeable change recently made in 
these machines was shown in the uni¬ 
versal and highly commendable feature of 
lessened height. Boxes mounted upon 
high wheels have given place to low-down 
bodies which require the lifting of heavy 
manure only a small part of the distance 
formerly required to load it. Two types 
of spreaders were shown, oho where the 
beater is driven by a chain from the rear 
wheels, and another where the beater and 
driving mechanism are all mounted upon 
the rear axle and motion is conveyed to 
the beater through a planetary gear. A 
device for widening the spread of the 
machine was also shown. This consisted 
of two large disks mounted horizontally, 
or in one case perpendicularly, just be¬ 
neath and behind the beater. A curved 
hood over the beater directs the fined ma¬ 
nure upon these disks, and they, being 
rapidly revolved by a chain-driven gear, 
throw it to some distance beyond the 
wheels of the spreader. 
In harrows, the disk type was much 
in evidence. Both plain and cutaway 
disks were shown, and in one double har¬ 
row a set of cutaway disks, set to throw 
the earth in, trailed behind plain ones. 
Disk cultivators and disk seeders showed 
another adaptation of disks to soil work¬ 
ing. The spring-tooth harrow, with ad¬ 
justable teeth, and with or 'without a 
riding attachment, seems to have reached 
the limit of its development, and no par¬ 
ticular changes in this type of harrow 
were evident. Possibly none is needed, 
as an efficient tool for making a seed bed, 
it would be hard to find a substitute for 
it. The spring-tooth has its limitations, 
however, and for fining the surface, peg- 
tooth harrows are much used. Aside 
from the adjustable feature which per¬ 
mits of giving the teeth any desired angle, 
they do not seem to differ materiallv 
from the old-fashioned “butterfly” harrow 
of our fathers. Other well-known and 
valuable types of harrow’s, such as the 
Acme, were not shown, or, at least, were 
not seen by the writer, though no exhibit 
of soil-W'orking machinery could be con¬ 
sidered complete without'them. Even so 
simple a tool as the land roller has its 
variations, and a roller and clod crusher 
consisting of a series of heavy sharpened 
iron disks about a foot in diameter, 
mounted side by side upon an axle, was 
shown. As these disks touch each other 
throughout the greater part of their di¬ 
ameter, they act as a solid roller, while 
their sharpened peripheries cut and 
crush the clods over which they pass. 
The increasing use of lime has brought 
a new tool, known as a lime and ferti¬ 
lizer distributor, into use. This imple¬ 
ment consists of a large hopper, mounted 
upon tw'o wheels, and having adjustable 
openings in its bottom through which a 
revolving feed shaft forces its contents. 
Hie hopper is but a few inches above 
the ground and the lime or fertilizer is 
broadcast very evenly over the surface. 
1 he cover of the hopper is a sieve made 
of galvanized wire with one-half inch 
mesh. Forcing the lime, ashes, or other 
fertilizer used through this mesh breaks 
up the lumps and removes any nails or 
other foreign bodies that would interfere 
with even spreading. Fertilizer attach¬ 
ments to ordinary seeders serve their pur¬ 
pose well but there is increasing need 
tor a distributor that will make the ap¬ 
plication of lime a less difficult and dis¬ 
agreeable job. Two types of hay loaders 
were shown. One picks up the hay from 
ihe windrow made by a side delivery 
rake by means of a revolving reel, while 
the other uses reciprocating forks to serve 
the same purpose. They are evidently 
coming more and more into use as the 
scarcity of farm labor makes such devices 
necessary. 
The coughing and sputtering of nu¬ 
merous gasoline engines served as 
barkers for the machinery tents. These 
engines have become so well standardized 
that one does not expect to find many 
radical changes from year to year in the 
various types. Perhaps the most eagerly 
looked for improvement in internal com- 
busnon motors has been a means for the 
utilization of kerosene as fuel. That this 
improvement has been successfully made 
is the claim of one large manufacturing 
uni that had several.kerosene burning 
engines upon exhibition. The only change 
nmde in the engines is in the form of the 
carburetor, or mixer. The difficulty in 
me use of kerosene has been that while 
THE RURAL, NEW-YORKEH 
it vaporizes at a higher temperature than 
gasoline, it explodes at a lower one. It 
also carries an excess of carbon which 
becomes deposited upon the walls of the 
cylinders and upon the pistons. The 
new carburetors draw a fine spray of 
water in with the kerosene vapor and 
thus retard its premature explosion, 
while more perfect combusition is said 
to obviate carbonizing of cylinders. En¬ 
gines fitted with kerosene mixers still 
have to be started upon gasoline, but, af¬ 
ter being warmed up, they utilize the 
cheaper fuel, and, if the claims of the 
manufacturers can be believed, they are 
entirely successful. Whether or not 
kerosene can wholly take the place of 
gasoline, it is certainly now being used 
in motors varying in size from the gigan¬ 
tic 40 horse-power tractors to the small 
two or three horse-power general utility 
engines. 
A most encouraging sign of the times 
is the application of the gasoline engine 
to the lightening of women’s work. A 
washing machine and wringer mounted 
upon a framew’ork and connected to a 
gasoline engine was shown in operation. 
By the shifting of a lever the washing 
machine was made to turn, or the wringer 
to revolve forward or backward, at the 
will of the operator, so that the heavy 
part of washing need no longer depend 
upon human muscle, and that muscle the 
muscle of the sex least fitted for hard 
labor. The price of this washing machine 
with its tubs and wringer all mounted 
and connected by the necessary gearing 
was given as $30; and few farmers own¬ 
ing gasoline engines, or able to own them, 
could better spent $30 than in shifting a 
work, which should never have been 
woman’s, from muscle to machinery. 
_ M. B. D. 
TWICE TOLD TALES. 
1083 
Here are a few things which need to 
be repeated again and again : 
Crimson clover is a cold weather plant 
Do not seed it as you would Red clover. 
It is now too late to seed it north of 
Philadelphia. 
Rye is the great late cover crop. It 
can be seeded in the latitude of New 
lork up to the first of November, and 
make a fair stand for plowing under 
next Spring. 
When _ we talk of “lime” we mean 
slaked lime, the quicklime which has 
been exposed to water or air. Ground 
limestone is another thing, and we refer 
to it by name when we advise its use. 
Do not under any circumstances mix 
hen manure with wood ashes. The sift- 
cd coal ashes are suitable for this pur- 
Pose, but the wood ash is quite another 
thing, and should not be used with or¬ 
ganic manure. 
Some farmers like to spread the hen 
manure through the Winter over the 
grass lands. This plan gives good -re¬ 
sults, but we think a better way is to 
dry the manure and keep it till Spring. 
Coal ashes, road dust or plaster may be 
used to dry the manure. Keep it in a 
sheltered place, and in the Spring crush 
or^grind it fine. 
The way to kill the bean or pea weevil 
is to put the beans into a barrel or air¬ 
tight box. Then pour a quantity of bi¬ 
sulphide of carbon into a soup plate, and 
put it on top of the beans, throwing a 
blanket over all to keep out the air. The 
bisulphide of carbon forms a gas which 
being heavier than air sinks down 
through the beans, and will destroy all 
breathing forms of life. Keep away 
from these fumes with a flame of any 
kind. J 
There is no danger of losing fertility 
out of stable manure through drying it. 
Thus the manure may safely be spread 
on the sod or upon ground during the 
Summer and Fall. On level ground there 
is little danger of wash. On hilly ground 
there would be some loss. 
Bigs are exceedingly fond of white 
grubs, and will tear soil containing these 
insects all in pieces. A herd of lively 
sliotes will give the best possible prepa¬ 
ration for a crop of strawberries to fol¬ 
low sod ground. The average sod is full 
of the white grubs, and it is a clear invi¬ 
tation to destruction to plant strawber¬ 
ries directly upon such a sod. The pigs, 
however, will clean out the insects and 
ht the ground. 
There are still many people who do 
not recognize the connection between 
plant lice and ants. They see the plant 
lice at work upon their crops, and ob- 
serve the ants running about here and 
there. Sonic think that the ants are also 
eating the plants, while others assume 
that the ants are killing the lice. We 
know of a man who believed the latter 
theory so well that he went about dig¬ 
ging up ant hills and hauled the soil and 
the ants and scattered them over his or¬ 
chard in order that they might kill out 
a big crop of plant lice. The fact is that 
instead of fighting the plant lice, the ants 
take the best of care of them, herding 
them with far more vigilance and skill 
than many a boy who is left in charge of 
a held of cows. The plant lice secrete 
a sweet substance of which the ants are 
very fond, and thus the ants, instead of 
trying to kill the lice, are very anxious 
to save them and have them propagated. 
Our friend who scattered the ant hills 
over his orchard did just exactly the 
wrong thing, for he protected the plant 
lice instead of injuring them. As the 
plant lice are sucking insects, they can- 
not be fought successfully by spraving 
with poisons. One of the so-called con¬ 
tact sprays like kerosene emulsion, or 
whale-oil soap, will generally do the 
business. 
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