■70« 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
July 9, 
value and brings a good price. Think of the gush of 
water this pump forces up. In New Mexico the 
weather is always the same and this water is a neces¬ 
sity. In our country the weather varies. This year 
we are deluged with rain, while last year such a pump 
as is here shown would have doubled our crops. 
Mr. Banks says: “It is a gasoline engine, of 25 
horse-power, and uses 18 gallons or gasoline per day, 
which costs me 15 cents per gallon. I use the water 
to irrigate Alfalfa. This amount of water would 
irrigate 640 acres of land, and is worth in this country 
if one had use for all of it $32,000. I have 240 acres 
of land, only part in cultivation. I cut my Alfalfa 
four times per year, and it makes about two tons per 
cutting per acre, or about eight tons per acre for the 
season. It grows from three to five feet tall, and is 
the finest crop one ever looked at. The outfit gives 
me no trouble at all, and is no more liqjale to break 
down than any good machinery.” 
SMOKE SAVED THE STRAWBERRIES. 
On page 644 E. S. H., Ephrata, Pa., asked about 
orchard heaters for small fruits. I have never used 
manufactured pots, but may in the future, as 1 think 
they are an economy in the use of fuel. I have fired 
to prevent strawberries from being destroyed by a 
freeze, and have saved two crops in this way, while my 
neighbor on higher ground was ruined by the freeze. It 
is the smoke rather more than the heat. For fuel 1 
used wet strawy manure, hard wood chunks, corncobs 
and coal oil. Make a small pile of cobs saturated with 
oil, pile chunks of wood around cobs m a conical 
heap with an opening from top to the cobs. Drop a 
lighted match in on the cobs, lill the opening with 
small wood. Then bank heap with wet manure. In a 
few moments you will have plenty of white smoke roll¬ 
ing out of the crater of the cone-like heap. Or take old 
phosphate sacks, put in some cobs saturated with oil. 
Place in center of sack a round stick about six inches 
in diameter, or smaller will do. Then fill sack with wet 
manure, then draw out stick and drop a lighted match 
in on the cobs. I saved my crop of berries some, years 
ago hv this method of firing. On the morning of May 
16 the thermometer registered 20 degrees above zero. 
1 used 10 fires and saved my berry crop. 1 had about 
an acre in the bed, nearly square. The air was com¬ 
paratively still that night. With six fires on west side 
and four on north end, with the white smoke rolling 
out and settling over the bed, it did the work. I 
worked until four o’clock a. m., renewing fires to make 
as much smoke as possible. It was a hard night’s work. 
The bed was near the barnyard and wood close by. 
The fuel must be wheeled to places of firing. The 
next morning the valley which 1 lived in was densely 
covered with smoke. My neighbor on the hill thought 
my buildings had burned that night. The smoke also 
saved my neighbor’s early potatoes that were in bud. 
Richland Co., Ohio. D. M. T. 
A TURNIP CROP FOR SHEEP. 
Of course English or white turnips are mostly water, 
but water in this shape has greater value to the ani¬ 
mals’ systems than is shown by the table of nutrition as 
set down by the chemist. There is a value in succu¬ 
lence as an aid to digestion, as no one who would be 
successful in the line of live stock industry can afford 
to ignore. Particularly is this true in the case of him 
who would best succeed with a flock of sheep, and 
doubly so if he is trying to raise so-called hothouse 
lambs. And no form of succulence is better or can be 
more cheaply provided for use up to the first or middle 
of February than English turnips. If a pound of seed 
be sown in each acre of growing corn at the last cul¬ 
tivation nine years out of ten the feed grown will 
be worth many dollars to be fed to lambs after the 
crop of corn is harvested. In fact lambs may be safe¬ 
ly turned into the corn as soon as the turnips are 
large enough, as they will not eat the corn to any 
extent. The fact is that to grow a bumper crop of 
turnips will fit the field for oats or barley the follow¬ 
ing year so ideally that very little if anything should 
be charged to the turnips. That this plant needs to 
be sown so late in Summer is of great advantage in 
"aising it. To raise the crop most successfully and to 
get greatest advantage as a preparation for the follow¬ 
ing crop select a clover field and mow as soon as in 
full bloom. Plow it at once and be sure to plow all of 
it, no cutting and covering here. Roll as soon as 
plowed and follow rolling with harrow. A smoothing 
harrow is best. Go over the field with a Cutaway har¬ 
row at least once a week, and after each rain until 
the middle of July here in Western New York. If the 
land is not in good condition an application of manure 
will pay, and anyway from 200 to 400 pounds of 2-8-10 
fertilizer per acre will pay. Work this in with the 
smoothing harrow and sow two pounds of Strap-leaf 
Purple Top turnip seed per acre, and follow with the 
roller, which will cover seed and leave ground in best 
condition. The object in applying so much seed is to 
provide for subsequent treatment. When the turnips 
have developed second rough leaf set teeth of smooth¬ 
ing harrow and go over the field. This will thin the 
turnips and kill all starting weeds. A week later, if 
too thick, go over cross-wise. This will take out 
more turnips and all the w r ecds again. A week later if 
still too thick put narrow pads on corn cultivator, 
open it to full width, and go over the field. If still too 
thick a week later go over crosswise. The turnips 
will soon fill the ground, smother out all weeds and 
give several hundred bushels of fine turnips. When 
pulling time comes take out those large enough and 
let the sheep have the smaller ones, or you may, if the 
season stays open go over later and gather another 
crop that will pay we” The finest crop of barley 
1 ever raised was on a field on which a heavy crop of 
turnips got caught with frost and w r as plowed in for 
crop in Spring. It went 60 bushels per acre. In fact 
this treatment, without harvesting the crop will pay 
every time as a Fall preparation for a Spring crop, 
clearing the land of weeds and giving a big crop. 
_J. S. WOODWARD. 
VENTILATING A BARN. 
N. M. Y., Elk Lick, Pa .—I have a bank barn 40 by 60, 
facing south, stable in basement, 40 by 45 feet, 15 feet of 
east end being used for driveway. Next door above is used 
for poultry, granary and implements, with hayloft above. 
Stable has eight windows, four on each side, south side 
is occupied by stalls for 12 cows, other side for horses, 
box stalls and pigpen. Stable has only single weather¬ 
boarding, up and down and stripped. By keeping every¬ 
thing tightly closed 1 can keep it reasonably warm in cold 
weather, but then it gets very damp inside, and by opening 
it so as to dry out it will become too cold. This is where 
the trouble lies. To remedy this I propose to do the follow¬ 
ing: I expect to plaster the inside with wood pulp wall 
plaster, using two-inch studding for nailing the lath on, 
which leaves four-inch space between plaster and weather¬ 
boarding, and then ’placing muslin curtains, one between 
each window, five on each side, total 10. Will this be 
satisfactory, or could you suggest a better plan. Also, 
what size should I make these muslin frames. I have 
never seen or heard of any stables plastered, but do not 
see why it should not be satisfactory. Fig. 297 will give 
a small sketch of the stable. , 
Plastering the walls as suggested would probably be 
satisfactory so far as warmth is concerned. We would 
suggest as being better and probably cheaper setting the 
studding two feet apart and using No. 28 galvanized 
iron in two-foot wide strips, nailing these directly to 
the studding with galvanized shingle nails. The gal¬ 
vanized sheeting can be purchased in eight-foot lengths, 
and could be put on as quickly as the lath. The wall 
would be airtight, and the service of a mason would he 
avoided. The galvanized iron, if used, should be ap¬ 
plied up and down, nailing both edges into the stud¬ 
ding. If the ceiling of the stable is not tight and warm 
this may be the chief difficulty. It the ceiling leaks 
badly the warm air from the cattle would escape up¬ 
ward, leaving the stable cold. The fact that the stable 
becomes damp when shut up closely suggests that the 
ceiling may be reasonably tight. Ventilation by means 
of muslin curtains should not be attempted. The 
Guelph Agricultural College, Canada, has demon¬ 
strated its unsatisfactory character by rigid experimental 
tests. Ventilation, however, should be provided. The 
intakes for fresh air can be easily arranged by using 
the space between five pairs of studding on each side, 
cutting an opening through the weather boards 4x14 
inches, the long way horizontally and as low down 
outside as practicable at least four feet below the 
level of the ceiling, leaving corresponding openings 
into the stable just beneath the ceiling, In the gal¬ 
vanized iron or plaster. This will allow the fresh 
air to enter and prevent the warm air at the ceiling 
escaping, while the fresh air will be mixed with the 
warmest air of the stable before coming to the floor. 
There must also be provided an outtake flue unless 
one of the hay chutes represented in the drawing can 
serve the purpose, which seems quite possible. If the 
hay chute has tight walls reaching up through the 
second story and up through the haymow and if 
there is a cupola on the barn the middle hay chute 
may serve the nurpose of ventilator also. If the walls 
are not tight they can be made so by tacking on gal¬ 
vanized iron. The openings into the hay chute above 
should he provided with doors and be kept closed ex¬ 
cept when hay is being put down. The ventilator hay 
chute should be provided with a door opening into the 
feed alley so as to close the hay chute completely 
except at the bottom for a distance of 12 to 18 inches. 
The other two hay chutes should be closed tightly 
when not in use whenever the weather is cold, so as 
to prevent the loss of heat from the level of the ceil¬ 
ing. Valves to regulate the opening of the fresh air 
intakes may be provided by hinging boards just be¬ 
neath the opening so as to close upward, letting one end 
rub against a spring which will hold it in any position 
between an angle of 45 degrees and closed. 
_ F. H. KING. 
IS THE TUBERCULIN TEST RELIABLE? 
Will Dr. Alexander express his views on the following 
case in The R. N.-Y. ? Two years ago I found my cattle 
Infected with tuberculosis, ahd had them tested with tuber¬ 
culin by a State veterinarian, four animals being con¬ 
demned. Nearly 10 months later they were retested, one 
cow giving a typical reaction, but after being slaughtered, 
no trace of disease could be found by the veterinary. Five, 
months later, being about May 1 last, I had them tested for 
the third time, as a dry two-year old heifer had a persistent 
cough, and as she had been fed when a calf on milk from 
tuberculous cows, and one raised with her was condemned 
at the first test, I strongly suspected her of being diseased. 
The State veterinary could detect no other symptoms of 
tuberculosis, and she did not react to the test, her temper¬ 
ature running very even, as follows: Before test, 102.9, 
102.5; after, 101.6, 102.4, 101.9, 102.6, 102.4, 102. The 
acting veterinary considered her cough a bronchial trouble, 
and thought she would soon get over it when turned out 
to grass, but it is no better, worse if anything. She is 
doing well and in good condition, but in spite of her three 
tests I am anxious about her, on account of the other cattle. 
I have been informed by a local veterinary surgeon, a man 
of education and experience, and who tests many cattle 
that cattle do not always react to the test when diseased, 
and he tells me that under the circumstances he considers 
this heifer as a very suspicious case. What does Dr. Alex¬ 
ander think about, it?. And what more can I do? Her 
three tests were at the age of eight months, IS months and 
23 months respectively. SUBSCRIBER. 
11 is true that when a cow is far gone with tul>ercu- 
losis she lnay fail to react when tested with tuber¬ 
culin; but in such cases the animal is so plainly emaci¬ 
ated, debilitated and thriftless that one naturally would 
conclude that she might be tuberculous. If your cow 
is in that state better have her slaughtered and a care¬ 
ful post mortem examination made. If she is not 
thin and run down it is improbable that she has tuber¬ 
culosis. Cough might be due to the presence of lung 
worms (strongylus micrurus) in the air passages. The 
test reported would not quite settle the matter in a 
case of doubt, as the preliminary temperatures were 
high and it is considered best to carry on the tempera¬ 
ture taking until the reading drops to normal. Cases 
also are on record where the rise in temperature comes 
late, and so we would have taken more temperatures in 
this suspicious case. Unless the tuberculin used is 
iresh and perfectly reliable, such as is the Government 
tuberculin, reliable results are not always obtained. 
_ A. s. A. 
MAKING A “CHEAP” PAINT. 
Fan you tell me of some cheap way of making red paint 
for farm buildings? My buildings have never been painted 
and are weather-beaten. It will take a barrel of oil, and 
linseed oil is very expensive. Is cotton-seed oil of any 
value to mix with paint? Are any of the so-called cold 
water paints of any value, and will it stay on the wood 
better than whitewash? I have a Government formula for 
whitewash, hut wish a red color. ii. j. 
Raven Itock, N. J. 
'File Government formula you mention can be col¬ 
ored by the addition of “Indian red” until the desired 
shade is secured. Lamp black and raw umber are 
used for other combinations, also yellow ochre. To 
be most effective Government whitewash must be 
made according to directions and applied hot. Your 
buildings being weather-beaten will probably require 
more than one pint per square yard, which is generally 
allowed. It is not claimed to be as permanent as lead 
paints, but it is serviceable and much cheaper than 
paint. Cotton-seed oil being a non-drying oil, will not 
answer to mix with paint. Some of the cold water 
paints form a hard cement-like substance in the bottom 
of the pail a few minutes after mixing with water. 
They are alkaline and applied over a previously painted 
surface would probably cause it to peel off through 
chemical reaction. 1 doubt if it will stay on wood 
longer than whitewash. Should you decide to buy the 
paint or mix it yourself get your materials from an 
unquestionable source. North Dakota Experiment 
Station Bulletin No. 86 on “Some Ready Mixed 
Paints,” has some valuable information for fanners; 
16 of the samples examined contained from five per 
cent to 39 per cent water. Even some of the so- 
called “pure white lead” contains less than 10 per cent 
of that substance. For such reasons farmers must 
be sure of the paint or white lead they buy, particu¬ 
larly if there is no law in their State that requires 
correct labeling and full weights and measures. 
L. R. D. 
R. N.-Y.—The following is the formula for Govern¬ 
ment whitewash: Slake half a bushel of unslaked 
lime with boiling water, keeping it covered during the 
process. Strain it and add a peck of salt, dissolved 
in warm water; three pounds of ground rice put in 
boiling water, and boiled to a thin paste; half a pound 
of powdered Spanish whiting, and a pound of clear 
glue, dissolved in warm water. Mix these well to¬ 
gether, and let the mixture stand for several days. 
Keep the wash thus prepared in a kettle or portable 
furnace, and when used put it on as hot as possible, 
with painters’ or whitewash brushes. 
