.11 12 G 
THE GASOLINE HORSE AT WORK. 
The first page pictures show a new type of gaso¬ 
line tractor, which seems to be very promising. Here 
we have a gear or frame mounted on wheels, weigh¬ 
ing from 2,200 to about 3,000 pounds. This gear or 
frame is chain-driven, and is so arranged that any 
make of gasoline engine can be mounted upon it. so 
that it may be used for driving power. This gear is 
made by the Adams Husker Company, and their idea 
was to prepare a tractor which could employ any 
form of gasoline engine which a farmer might chance 
to have. On many farms there can already be found 
an engine of reasonable power, which is employed to 
turn various kinds of farm machinery. The idea is 
to take this engine when field work is required, 
mount it on the gear, and use it wherever a gas 
tractor may be employed. Then when the field work 
is done, the engine may be removed and used as be¬ 
fore for other purposes. An engine of 10 horse¬ 
power has been mounted on the lighter gear, and a 
16 horse-power engine used on the heavier machine 
for plowing, or for running disk or other harrows. 
The pictures show the various uses to which this 
machine has been put. We see it at work in the 
hayfield dragging a mowing machine. Then it is 
attached to a side-delivery rake for bunching up the 
hay. Here is also a picture showing the tractor oper¬ 
ating a hay-loader, and throwing hay upon the load. 
When this load was completed it was hauled by the 
tractor directly to'the barn, and left with the wagon 
tongue at the door. The tractor then moved round 
behind the load of hay, and by pushing against it 
shoved it directly into the barn. Then the tractor 
was hitched to the rope from the hay-fork, and used 
in place of a team of horses to unload the hay. We 
also see it at work on the road hauling a log, and 
in another place attached to a buzz-saw cutting 
wood. There are other uses to which this machine 
has been put, and under favorable circumstances it 
seems to give a good account of itself. In theory 
this principle of using a truck and detachable engine 
appears to be a good one. We understand, of course, 
that nothing but continued and severe practical trial 
will determine the value of such an implement, but 
it seems evident, however, that the gasoline horse is 
learning how to do farm work, and that its education 
is growing from .day to day. With such an outfit as 
is here pictured, the gasoline horse may be worked 
in the field to advantage, and then we may take his 
bridle off, drive him inside and put him at useful 
work under cover. 
HOW TO BUILD HOTBEDS. 
I wish to obtain some practical information with 
regard to the construction and operation of hotbeds. 
I am building a small bed for raising lettuce, radishes, 
etc., for Christmas, and also to start young plants in, 
such as tomatoes, celery, eggplant, peppers, etc., next 
Spring. About how early would you advise sowing 
such seeds to have the plants for early trucking pur¬ 
poses? About how low an outside temperature will 
a properly constructed bed withstand if it contains 
young plants. M - T. F. 
Hall, N. Y. 
Of the several types of hotbeds in general use. 
the sunken or pit type is, all things considered, the 
best for the raising of early plants from seed. This 
style of bed is constructed by excavating a pit six 
feet wide .and 2% feet deep, and as long as neces¬ 
sary to accommodate the number of 3x6 foot sash 
it is desired to use. The sides of the pit are boarded 
up with rough lumber nailed to posts which may 
be placed three feet or more apart. If some degree 
of permanency is desired, good material will need 
to be used; chestnut lumber is very serviceable and 
reasonably cheap, spruce comes next in point of 
durability and cheapness. The sides of the pit 
should be raised above the surface of the ground 20 
inches at the back and 12 inches in front, this will 
provide ample pitch to the sash for shedding rain, 
and also be of sufficient angle for good construction 
of the sun’s rays and. heat, good sash should be 
used. Those with three rows of 10x12 double 
strength glass are much preferred to those with 
smaller single strength glass, as they are heavier 
and more rigid and are not so liable to damage in 
handling and by hail, besides they admit a larger 
volume of light, and gather more heat from the sun 
than can possibly be secured with sash containing 
a greater number of rows of small glass. 
The location of the hotbed should be chosen where 
the natural drainage is good, and if possible where 
there is a good wind-break at the north side. If a 
suitable sheltered spot is not available, then a tight 
board fence six feet high and extending several 
feet beyond eacli end of the hotbed should be erected 
to break off the cold north winds. Without such a 
wind-break it will be almost impossible to raise early 
plants successfully in the hotbed. The wind-break 
should be about five feet away from the north side 
of the frame. 
The heating material for the hotbed, should be 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
horse manure fresh from the stable, to which should 
be added when accessible one-half its bulk of forest 
leaves. If these are not available straw or hay may 
be used. The manure and added material is to be 
thoroughly mixed, and formed into a conical heap 
to undergo fermentation. In the formation of this 
heap it should be trodden down in successive layers 
of a foot in depth until the heap is four feet, or 
more in height; the base of the heap should be of 
sufficient diameter to insure good fermentation in 
the severest Winter weather. All the material used 
for heating should be well dampened before putting 
ii in the pile, or the fermentation will not be evenly 
distributed. Care must be taken that no frozen 
material is put in the heap, or fermentation will be 
slow, and may greatly interfere with the operator's 
plans of an earjy sowing of seed. 
A few days after the head is formed a lively fer¬ 
mentation should take place. This will be indicated 
by the escaping steam. As soon as this is plainly 
noticeable the heap should be forked over, shaking 
out the material, and re-formed into another, but 
similar pile. In three or four days the second fer¬ 
mentation will take place, when it may be placed in 
the pit to the depth of 2 y 2 feet, spreading the mate¬ 
rial out evenly and beating it down with the back 
of the fork, also treading it to a medium compact¬ 
ness with the feet as the material is put in. Be 
sure to tread carefully around the edges to see that 
there ai’e no uneven or loose soft spots. The whole 
bulk of heating material must be as near the same 
solidity in all its parts as possible, or the top level 
of the soil will be of uneven depth and temperature. 
After the heating material has been placed in the 
pit, the sash are to be placed on the frame, and a 
thermometer plunged into the manure. If the.work 
has been properly done, the heat will rise to about 
100 degrees in a day or two. This is too hot for 
almost any vegetable growth; besides the strong 
steam emitted by the fermenting material should be 
allowed to pass off before the beginning of seed 
sowing. No seed must be sown until the violent 
heat recedes. Watch the thermometer in the ma¬ 
nure and as soon as it goes down to about 90 de¬ 
grees place five inches of soil on the manure. If it 
is desired to sow seed directly in the frame, this 
soil should be compost, made of two-thirds good 
garden loam and one-third well rotted manure, com¬ 
posted the previous Fall and placed und^r shelter to 
prevent freezing, so it will be available when wanted 
for use. When the soil has become warmed through 
seed may be sown. 
Eggplant and peppers should not be sown too 
early, as from their extreme tenderness, they are 
in the early stage very sensitive and are perhaps 
more easily damaged, often fatally, than almost any 
other vegetables grown. If the conditions are right, 
eggplant and peppers should be ready for setting 
out in about 60 days from the sowing of the seed, 
and as the plants should not be put o'ut in the open- 
ground before June 1, the seed should not be sown 
much before the first day of April. Tomatoes may 
be sown at the same time and in the same bed. 
Many gardeners practice much earlier sowing for 
their early or first crop tomatoes, but unless pots 
are available and facilities at hand for the proper 
handling and care of the plants, T could never see 
much advantage in extremely early sowing. 
Early celery will have to be started March the 
first, and only the self-blancliing kinds grown. Seed 
for Fall and Winter crop is sown later. The White 
Plume and other self-blanching sorts may be sown 
April 5-10, and the green sorts May 10-15. The 
April-sown celery will not require bottom heat, 
while the May-sown seed may be made in the open 
ground without any protection. 
The question of how many degrees of outside cold 
eggplant, peppers aud tomatoes will stand depends 
much on the condition of (lie hotbed. If fermenta¬ 
tion of the heating material is going on properly, an 
outside temperature of 20 degrees or even lower 
would do no harm, if the sash are covered with bur¬ 
lap or other good mats, whereas if a low tempera¬ 
ture in the heating material prevails, a tempera¬ 
ture of only a few degrees below freezing will do 
much damage. The beds can be made warmer and 
safer by banking earth up around the outside of 
the ■frame. A night temperature of 68-70 degrees, 
and a day temperature of 80-90 degrees is about 
right for eggplant and peppers, and the nearer this 
temperature is reached and maintained the better 
they will thrive. Tomatoes will also thrive in this 
temperature, but they are more hardy, and quickly 
adapt themselves to a lower and more varied tem¬ 
perature. Celery will germinate and grow better in 
a temperature ranging 55-60 degrees. 
Strict attention must be paid to watering and ven¬ 
tilation at all times. Water only on bright sunshiny 
days, and before noon if possible, being careful to 
October is. 
apply just enough and to get the young plants dried 
before night, as no plant likes to go to bod. figura¬ 
tively speaking, with wet clothes on. All the seed 
houses catalogue frost-proof mats covered with bur¬ 
lap or other material. Everyone operating hotbeds 
should provide as many as required for use on the 
sash on all nights when temperature is likely to go 
down to or below freezing. k. 
LIME AND THE POTATO CROP. 
At different times I have seen discussions in regard 
to the use of lime on land where potatoes were to be 
planted. I am intending to plant some land, newly 
turned sod, next year, and I had intended to lime the 
land well to kill the worms. I would like to know 
what effect this wduld have on the potatoes. Will it 
cause scab? Is there any way to treat the seed pota¬ 
toes to prevent scab? If it will not do to use lime 
what can I do to kill the worms in the sod? A. L. n. 
Cape Cod, Mass. 
Do not use the lime on this land when planting 
potatoes. Lime has very little value in killing in¬ 
sects. It is not likely that the worms would he in¬ 
jured by liming. In fact there is very little in the 
theory of destroying injurious insects by the use of 
lime, ashes or potash unless you use enough to do 
the soil more harm than good. A heavy application 
of lime might destroy some of the earth or “angle'.’ 
worms, but there is no good reason why you should 
try to destroy them, for they are useful to the soil 
and do not injure plants. We have explained tlm 
relations between lime and potato scab many times. 
The scab is a germ disease. It may be introduced 
by germs living on the potato seed or in the soil. 
These germs are more active in an alkaline soil and 
less so where the soil is acid. That is why there 
is usually less scab when a green crop like rye or 
clover is plowed under for potatoes. This green 
crop is likely to sour the land somewhat and when 
it does so the scab germs are less active. On the 
other hand, lime and manure—especially horse ma¬ 
nure act to make the soil alkaline and thus increase 
the scab if any germs of the disease are present. 
It is possible to destroy all or most (ff the scab 
germs which are on the seed by soaking the seed 
tubers in a solution of formalin. Dusting these 
pieces with powdered sulphur will also help. But 
even if the seed pieces are treated in this way should 
there be any scab germs in the soil the crop will be 
scabby if the conditions are right for the germs to 
work. Lime is one of the things which make these 
•conditions right. While thei’e are some reports of 
success in using lime on potatoes as general advice 
we strongly advise lime for other crops. 
A CORN PRIZE FAILURE. 
I have worked hard to have something fine for 
the Corn Exposition this Fall, but without avail. A 
clover sod. a good one. was well turned over late in 
the Fall and, when worked this Spring, had a pro¬ 
ductive look and a wholesome smell, and gave prom¬ 
ise of golden fruitage. This acre—“ray prize acre"'— 
was not neglected. Harrowed five times, enriched 
with the best of fertilizers—1,600 pounds—smoothed 
with a plank crusher and reharrowed, it looked, as 
the girls say, “perfectly splendid.” It was planted 
with the best seed on earth—the seedmau’s word 
but some never came up; it was cold and wet, so 1 
transplanted 200 hills and secured a good stand. 
This I cultivated night and day. The drought came. 
A crust formed; this I pulverized, or tried to. Three 
times I hoed the corn. I thinned it out. I pulled 
off the suckers. I applied liquid manure. I coaxed 
it. I even watered some of it with my tears! I 
prayed over it and asked my neighbors to. But 
that corn, like a balky mule, stood still, it wouldn't 
grow. So here I am without an ear for exhibition. 
I am not a profane man, but, for once, I would 
like the privilege of swearing. At the corn? Oh, no; 
but at clay ground. My acre was clay. It looked 
like good clay, and is, no doubt, good clay to make 
bricks of. My hopes for a prize have all vanished. 
No silver cup with my name inscribed upon it will 
now greet the eyes of my posterity to inform them 
of my corn-raising triumphs. Thus am I humiliated 
by clay; and so I swear—or affirm—that all clay 
land should go to grass and small grains. 
Vermont. l. w. pekt. 
It. N.-Yh—Perhaps that clay soil needs the title 
of L. L. I).—lime, legumes and drainage. Mr. Beet 
had the legumes in the clover, but underdraius and 
lime would change the character of that clay. We 
have known lime to spoil a brick-making clay so you 
could not make it bake hard. 
Never grow turnips, radishes and cabbage in rota¬ 
tion on the same ground, as they are subject to some 
of the same diseases and other enemies. Starve out 
fungi and insects by rotation with non-cruciferous crops. 
A starling’s nest on a sheep’s back was reported re¬ 
cently by an English paper; it was made of twigs and 
moss nestled down in the wool, and contained three 
young fledglings. We are not told liow the parent biros 
kept track of their migratory home. 
