THE R.TJR.A.L NEW-YORKER 
1374 
dition for service, to guard against disease, espe¬ 
cially tuberculosis and contagious abortion, and to 
replace bulls which die, become impotent, or prove 
to be poor breeders. 3. Accurate records should be 
kept of the dam and sire of each heifer calf pro¬ 
duced and of the production of dams and daughters. 
4. As much care should be given to select bulls of 
good pedigree as if they were to be used with pure- 
breds, and it would be advisable for the members 
of the club to obtain bulls from various sources in 
order to avoid too much inbreeding. 
In conclusion, let me say that it would seem de¬ 
sirable to encourage the breeding of high-producing 
grades, and I would suggest a system of grade regis¬ 
tration for females only. This may seem like rank 
heresy to some breeders, but I think it would work 
to their ultimate advantage by increasing the de¬ 
mand for purebred bulls, which now seem to be 
something of a drug on the market. I would suggest 
that grade cows which can fulfill the requirements 
for the advanced registry of purebreds, except for 
pedigree, should be admitted to an “advanced grade 
registry”; that the daughters of such cows and a 
purebred bull should be admitted to the “grade 
registry” until they can be tested for the “advanced 
grade registry”; but if unable to fulfill the require¬ 
ments for the latter, their daughters should not he 
allowed registry unless able to meet the advanced 
registry requirements. In this way no registered 
cow would be more than one generation removed 
from an animal which has fulfilled the requirements 
for the advanced registry in so far as production is 
concerned. subscriber. 
R. N.-Y.—The Guernsey Breeders’ Association vot¬ 
ed to give such grade Guernseys a certificate of 
merit. It would be a good plan to give special recog¬ 
nition to purebred bulls which are successful as sires 
of grade cows. Such bulls show their prepotent 
power even more plainly than bulls which sire good 
purebred cows. 
THE FARMER AND HIS EDUCATED SON. 
I have been a reader of The R. N.-Y. for nearly 
one year. Of the many important topics considered, 
that of the relation of the farmer to his son, edu¬ 
cated in the agricultural college, is primary and 
fundamental. Where there is life there is progress 
and growth. Every age is an advance on the one 
that preceded. Just now there is a greater transi¬ 
tion in all human relations and organizations than 
ever before. In nothing is this change greater than 
in agriculture, and no class, possibly the Church ex¬ 
cepted, is more conservative than farmers. Tradi¬ 
tions and customs have the greatest hold on this 
class. They are more by themselves; they live in 
the sparsely populated districts, and are not con¬ 
nected with social and economic organizations to any 
great extent. Hence the inertia of farmers is pro¬ 
verbial. If therefore those dwelling in the rural dis¬ 
tricts are to outgrow the old methods and customs 
and come into line with the new and scientific views 
and practices, it must be largely through the rising 
and more liberally educated generation. Hence it 
is indispensable that fathers and sons should keep 
together. The son needs the father as much as the 
father the son. 
I must confess that my sympathies are quite as 
much with the farmer as with the boy just out of 
the agricultural school. He must have been a suc¬ 
cessful and progressive farmer to have the means 
and to be willing to send his son to college. I would 
say that there is no reason why this successful 
farmer should give up the management of his farm 
to his son, who has perhaps more technical knowl¬ 
edge than his sire. His father’s experience, knowl¬ 
edge of his soils, his stock, tools and markets is 
worth vastly more than this son’s smattering of 
science. I am intimately acquainted with two up-to- 
date foremost New England agricultural colleges, 
and while I hold their trustees and faculties in the 
highest esteem. I still contend that agricultural 
science is in its early stages, and that the practical 
knowledge and experience of American farmers, as 
a whole, are worth more than all the wisdom of the 
schools. Look over the catalogs of these colleges and 
you will find only here and there a B.A. or M.A. 
Most of these professors are either a Ph.D. or B.Sc. 
These titles have meaning only as you know how 
and where they were received. In some cases they 
mean no more than the D.D. among the colored 
clergy of the South. So I say to the farmers who 
have a well-tilled farm and a few hundred or thou¬ 
sand dollars laid by, keep the reins in your own 
hands until you have proved the capacity of your son 
to become your successor. But you need him, and 
still more he needs you. I have seen too many fail¬ 
ures of these callow youths, some of whom “know it 
all,” to counsel any different course. Patrick Henry, 
in his great speech before the Continental Congress, 
said: “I have no lamp by which my feet are guided 
than the lamp of experience.” And this is the best 
guide that we have to-day on the farm. 
Still the farmer needs this young hlood, the same 
as the business firm needs the junior partner and the 
pulpit the young minister. The two should work to¬ 
gether if the largest results are to be secured. Espe¬ 
cially should the boy get the practical experience on 
the farm during his college course. This should be 
of greater value to him than his professional studies. 
And the father should give him every opportunity to 
A WELL-BUILT ANGUS. Fig. 551. 
(See page 13SS.) 
get this, and should make it worth while. My own 
experience in this line should be of some value to 
these perplexed farmers. I have had a farm for 
more than 30 years. It was at first limited in extent, 
and I bought it to restore my physical vigor and for 
a vacation home for myself and family. It has now 
grown to be 100 acres. Our three boys each took 
their turn in superintending the farm during their 
college courses. I learned after two or three years’ 
experience that I could make only one crop pay 
under our method bf farming. We made hay our 
specialty, and some years the farm paid the boy’s 
expenses in college. 
When I retired from my profession at the age of 
72, my youngest son suggested that he was willing 
to give up his position in a large shoe manufactory 
and take charge of the farm. Of course this was a 
godsend to me. We put two or three weeks’ study 
into the conditions which should obtain and the ways 
and means. The other brothers were consulted and 
the wishes of all the other members of the family, 
and the result was that a careful document was 
drawn up that has perfectly satisfied all parties con¬ 
cerned. This son and I work together in perfect 
harmony, and our farming is a success. Two fam¬ 
ilies are supported from the farm, and we are an¬ 
nually improving the soil and recovering some of the 
waste lands. Some years ago we received a pre¬ 
mium for raising six tons of hay from one acre— 
five the first crop and one the second. This, though 
a dry year, has been one of our best But, best of 
all, we are living a harmonious, ideal life. 
Massachusetts. george l. gleason. 
R. N.-Y.—Let us suggest that not only should the 
son at college keep up with the practical farm work, 
but that father at home may well follow his boy at 
least somewhat in his scientific studies. 
THE GASOLINE ENGINE ON THE FARM. 
I know a farmer who purchased a hundred acres 
for water for his stock. A two horse-power gasoline 
engine with pumping jack, a cement or wood tank, 
all costing within $100. would have provided the sole 
A TYPICAL AYRSHIRE. Fig. 552. 
(See page 138S.) 
object for which this farmer made the purchase. A 
farmer in a hilly country was about to change his 
location. He could secure better land at lower 
prices in the Western Reserve in Ohio. Roads are 
better, other advantages are far superior, but one 
objection stood between him and the locality—the 
absence on many farms of springs and running 
streams. I advised him to buy a level farm, install 
December 27, 
a gasoline pumping outfit. He would have no hill¬ 
sides to farm, and the advantages of the level farm 
would offset the benefit of streams and springs, 
should the pumping outfit be used. 
Many farmers are in doubt regarding the size 
engine to buy. Should a farmer feel he can afford 
but one engine, lie should not get less than a four- 
liorse. A four, five or six horse-power engine seems 
to meet the requirements of the average farmer. 
With four-horse engine grinding, stalk cutting and 
buzzing wood can be accomplished quite satisfactor¬ 
ily, yet a larger engine with greater reserve power is 
appreciated by the farmer. We are using a six 
horse-power engine, and every day we are more 
deeply convinced of our wisdom in securing this 
size engine. This will be the third season the engine 
has been used, and it is doing better service than 
heretofore. Engine experts declare, and our expe¬ 
rience approves, that an engine develops its maxi¬ 
mum efficiency after having been in use some months. 
Onr engine will handle the stalk cutter at full capa¬ 
city and not take an impulse more than once in 
eight or 10 strokes. We have been using kerosene 
of late in place of gasoline, and the engine seems to 
do nearly as good service. It possibly runs slower 
and the exhaust is smoky. It uses a greater quantity 
of kerosene, and in view of the ignition points and 
valves carbonizing, it is a question whether it will 
pay to continue the practice. There are engines with 
carburetors especially designed for gasoline or kero¬ 
sene, and some for the use of crude oil. All these 
seem to be efficient. In the Winnipeg motor contest 
of 1912, one pound of kerosene developed S5 per cent 
the power of the same weight of gasoline. This was 
with large, heavy tractors in the hands of expert 
operators. In pumping, should the farmer have but 
one engine, I doubt if a six horse-power engine in 
doing light work would use more than twice the fuel 
of a 1%-horse engine. 
Could the farmer afford two engines he should 
have not less than a six horse-power plant for his 
grinding and stalk cutting. For work about the 
buildings requiring less power a 1% or two horse¬ 
power engine will take care of it. These small en¬ 
gines are light; they may be moved from place to 
place with ease. They will handle the washer and 
wringer, do pumping, operate a pressure tank, a 
lighting outfit, a sheep shearer, a spray pump, will 
run the churn or the cream separator. It is not 
advisable for the farmer to secure an engine for 
ordinary use larger than eight or 10 horse-power. 
I know a farmer who installed a 16 horse-power 
stationary engine, and he found aside from silo fill¬ 
ing he could use it but little. The possible oppor¬ 
tunities to work the engine were reduced with the 
increased size. 
There is a question in many farmers’ minds which 
type engine to buy—a horizontal or vertical one. A 
manufacturer who built both types advised the hori¬ 
zontal engine, as it was freer from vibration and 
seemed to have a better grip on work than a vertical 
engine. A hopper-cooled engine does satisfactory 
work. An engine may be run all day under a heavy 
load and three or four pails of water will keep it 
cool. If the water boils in the hopper so much the 
better, for the engine will do better service and can 
run on less gasoline when it is well heated. There 
are some air-cooled engines which are doing satis¬ 
factory service, and it is a question whether an air¬ 
cooled engine of small horse-power, if it is to work 
only an hour or two at a time and under a light load, 
is not fully as satisfactory as the same engine water- 
cooled. If an engine is to be worked full capacity 
for hours at a stretch, the hopper-cooled engine is 
advisable. A magneto save batteries, but the extra 
price of magneto will pay for batteries for a long 
time, and anyhow it will be necessary to start on 
batteries. 
A good gasoline engine should last the farmer 20 
years. I know a gasoline engine that worked day in 
and day out for eight years, sometimes 10 and even 20 
hours a day, Summer and Winter, almost continual¬ 
ly under full load, and when it was replaced by elec¬ 
tric power was declared to be in good condition, and 
only a few minor repairs and replacements were 
made during the life of the engine. This engine 
performed more service in that shop than it would 
have performed on the average farm for five genera¬ 
tions. Carefully computed figures show that the de¬ 
preciation on a gasoline engine is 7.35 per cent a 
year, and the average life of the engine is 13*4 
years, and in careful hands lasts much longer. We 
figure that our engine paid for itself the first year. 
Aside from a new set of batteries, it has not cost us 
a single cent for upkeep or repairs, and barring ac¬ 
cidents and the possible replacement of the igniter, 
I cannot see why it will not perform efficient service 
for several years yet without expense. w. j. 
Ashtabula Co., Ohio. 
