imo. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
46 S 
AN EFFECTIVE PLANK DRAG. 
The writer has used several kinds of 
drags on plowed fields, and has seen a 
large number in use, ranging from a 
sled upside down to the lever harrow 
with the teeth set back. Of all the 
devices used for dragging the soil, the 
drag shown in diagram here is prob¬ 
ably most effective. The plank drag 
made by lapping some two by eight-inch 
plank works all right in very dry soil, 
but is all wrong for soils properly 
moist for best results in working. The 
drag shown above will work anywhere, 
and at almost any time. Such a drag is 
easy to make and not at all expensive. 
In the diagrams a and b are 2x6 or 8- 
inch plank seven feet long for two 
horses, or 11 feet for three, a and d are 
2x4 pieces bolted to the plank, c is a 
draft chain, and may be fastened where 
shown or farther back, while xx are 
two short boards nailed in place for 
the driver to stand on. The latter 
pieces, xx, should not be too wide, as 
they might cause the soil to collect and 
END VIEW OF DRAG. Fio. 180. 
pack underneath. The plank a and b 
should be set at angle of 30 degrees to 
d-d; and the joints should be secured 
with two bolts each. This drag is sim¬ 
ple and strong, will stand a lot of rough 
usage in the field, and its use will give 
satisfaction to the user, and particular¬ 
ly where it is desired to level up in¬ 
equalities of the surface. This drag 
cannot take the place of a harrow, roller 
or disk harrow, but it can do a few 
things more easily and quickly and in 
some cases far better. w. E. D. 
Hillsboro, Ohio. 
THE RESULTS OF TILE DRAINAGE. 
The fact that a thorough system of 
tile drainage is becoming more and more 
a matter of interest to the farming pub¬ 
lic, illustrating as it does such wonderful 
and beneficial results wherever it has 
been introduced, it is still more wonder¬ 
ful that everyone having land requiring 
such work does not embrace every op¬ 
portunity possible in engaging in a pur¬ 
suit that promises so much to our ad¬ 
vantage. Thousands of acres here in 
western New York, often referred to 
as the “garden of the State,” will never 
be brought to a condition favorable for 
the profitable growing of crops until the 
at times surplus water is removed by 
under-drainage. While nearly everyone 
is ready to admit the benefits resulting 
therefrom, it is also true that for various 
reasons the work is delayed. The re¬ 
mark is often made: “Yes, I know tile 
drainage is a good thing, but somehow 
I don’t get around to it.” It is quite 
expensive, and then it is difficult to se¬ 
cure the services of a professional ditch¬ 
er. Do not delay the work on that ac¬ 
count. I well remember years ago to 
my sorrow having the most unsatisfac¬ 
tory work done in this line was by a 
“professional.” First be sure of a good 
outlet, then commencing your ditch on 
land most in need of this work, and with 
your own farm help, make a beginning, 
going about 30 inches deep, or better 
still a few inches deeper, and you will 
soon find that without the aid of a pro¬ 
fessional you are doing good work, with 
an increasing knowledge of how the 
work should be done, and increased con¬ 
fidence in your own abilities. I write 
from experience, having now in mind a 
ditch dug more than 50 years ago where 
stones were used instead of tile for the 
purpose of draining a low depression 
that had never been cultivated, where it 
at present is still doing good work, and 
apple trees have been growing there for 
many years. 
From my window, where I write, can 
be seen a field, portions of which were 
so cold and watersoaked that a full crop 
was never harvested, nor expected, which 
is now from the effects of tile drainage 
the most productive part of the field. 
Another incentive to engage in this work 
is that these reclaimed portions of our 
farms are already supplied with elements 
of fertility needful for the growing crop 
for many years. irving d. cooic. 
Genesee Co., N. Y. 
Egg Eaters. —In a recent issue I saw 
some hints about egg eaters. Here is a 
simple and effective remedy: Make a 
vestibule to the nest, one end of orange 
box or whatever it is, with curtain hang¬ 
ing within two inches of bottom of open¬ 
ing. riace on roost or up from the floor 
on wall of henhouse. The idea is a dark 
nest not easily accessible. w. s. w. 
T HIS big 116 page book is free. It tells not only all about painting 
everything around the house, giving full information on the partic¬ 
ular paint for every special purpose, such as enameling your kitchen 
cupboard, painting or varnishing your floors, finishing wood-work, screens 
and porches, but it also covers the entire subject of painting about the farm, 
giving exact information as to just what paint to use on what and why. 
Sher win- Williams 
PAINTS AND VARNISHES FOR FARM USE 
A Concrete House.—A cheap and very 
substantial way of building a house is to 
use field stones for the facing instead of 
concrete blocks, backing the wall with 
concrete made of one part of Portland 
cement to three parts sharp, clean sand 
and -five parts of crushed stone or gravel. 
The writer had never heard of stone fac¬ 
ing such as named above until he used it 
last Fall and has found it superior to 
concrete block construction, better to ex¬ 
clude dampness, more artistic and cheaper, 
perhaps cheaper than wood, where field 
stones are easy to get. The walls of the 
house were made 10 inches thi'ek, four of 
which were of concrete, the rest of stone. 
The method of making the wall was to 
•place 1%-inch boards upright on the in¬ 
side of I he wall; have them well braced 
and “plumb” and then proceed to lay in 
concrete mortar, the stones (of a good, 
hard face) lining the front evenly and 
firmly, after which shovel into the back 
ends of the stones the very soft concrete 
to the top of the back end of the stones, 
and then proceed with another layer of 
stones and again with the concrete as 
before. The foundation must be solid and 
below the freezing line. After the wall is 
finished the joints in the outside should 
be pointed with a concrete mortar of 
sifted sand three parts, one part cement 
and one-half part hydrated lime (or lime 
that has been slaked and allowed to stand 
about in days). A few pieces of strong 
wire placed in the concrete at the back of 
the wall for reinforcement will add strength 
and value to the walls. g. w. thomas. 
New Jersey. 
1 he one way you can be sure you are getting the best paints for whatever pur¬ 
poses you require is to buy Sherwin-Williams’ Paints. Only in the Sherwin-Williams’ 
line do you find a paint especially made for every special requirement. If you want 
to paint your barn, use Sherwin-Williams’ Commonwealth Barn Red; for your im¬ 
plements, Sherwin-Williams’ WAgon and Implement Paint; for your buggies and 
carriages, Sherwin-Williams’ Buggy 
Paint. And so it is, all through the line 
—a special paint for every purpose about 
the farm. The Sherwin-Williams’ dealer 
in yoiw town can furnish you with a 
special Sherwin-Williams’ Paint for any 
requirement. 
Sherwin-Williams 
PAINTS &■ VARNISHES 
Address all inquiries to The Sherwin-Williams Co 
• «S5 Canal Road, Cleveland. Ohio 
In Canada, to 639 Center Street, Montreal 
Make Your Own 
One man can make 300 
to 600 perfect tile a day 
with our 
Tile 
Farmers’ Cement Tile Machine 
At a cost of S3 to $5 per 1 , 000 . The only farm tile machine that 
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catalogue 
Farmers’ Cement Tile Machine Co,, St.Johns, 
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The Four and a Half Million ** Bell** 
Telephones in This Country Are 
WesternEkefr/e Telephones 
The telephones that carry messages from New York 
to Chicago, from Boston to Washington—that transact 
the business of the large cities—all are Western-Electric 
telephones. Knowing this fact, would you, or anyone, 
buy any other instruments than 
Rural 
.iMonrtn Telephones 
especially when they cost no more than inferior makes. 
In all respects they are the same as the “Bell” Telephones. 
Reliable instruments that you can depend upon are 
even more important for rural service than city 
service. You know the reliability of Western 
Electric Telephones—the world’s standard 
telephones. What do you actually know about others ? Don’t let 
yours be the instrument to fail at some critical time in your local service. 
All you need do is to fill out the attached coupon and mail it to our 
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It explains how you and your neighbors can get 
all material and build your lines in a few days 
WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY 
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