818 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
August 27, 
bottom with elbow on inside and coming just flush with 
surface and the other end sticking out about an inch. 
A wood plug can be used to stop jt or a thread can 
be cut on pipe and an iron cap screwed on. If good 
material be used in three days the inside form should 
be taken out and if any cavities have been left they 
should be filled with cement. If inside is perfect or 
after cavities are filled inside should be coated with a 
thick wash of clear cement and one day after the 
trough be filled with water. In 10 days after this the 
outside form may be removed, the water drawn out and 
the trough be ready to use. j. s. woodward. 
COLLEGE STUDENTS ON THE FARM. 
On page 722 J. L. S., of Ithaca, N. Y., endeavors to 
throw a little light into the editorial, printed on page 
648, which reads: 
At one of tbe best mining schools of our country, stu¬ 
dents are required to do actual miners’ work as a part of 
the course. They spend at least one year as a miner 
doing actual work, and the record they make as workmen 
is considered when they graduate. When shall we have 
such a system In agricultural colleges? Why not let the 
student spend one or more seasons on a good farm doing 
actual farm work? Have his record made up from this 
work as well as from his classroom performances. Is 
there anything wrong with the idea? 
Having been a farmer or a farmer’s son for over 
half a century, and having been a farmer on my own 
account for over half that time, employing help every 
day in the year, I beg leave to express my views on 
this student labor question. The last question in the 
editorial on page 648, “Is there anything wrong with 
the idea?” I should say certainly not. In the article 
on page 722 J. L. S. quotes: “At the present time the 
propriety of changing, ‘are urged to spend,’ to ‘are 
required to spend,’ is under discussion.” If I may be 
allowed to express myself I would change “are urged 
to spend,” to “are required to work.” 
Further in the article by J. L. S. he says: “The 
boy who has grown up on the farm, taking part in 
its operations, can usually pass this examination with¬ 
out difficulty upon entering college. The city boy can 
scarcely pass it at graduation by spending his three 
Summer vacations on farms and taking numerous 
courses in college that have practicums that familiarize 
him with the common affairs of the farm.” I think 
the difference here cited between the farm boy and 
the city boy shows quite plainly what is the trouble. 
The farm boy has been brought up and learned to 
work, while the city boy, when he obtains a place on 
a farm, it is with a view of spending his vacation 
there, rather than doing actual farm work. Within 
the last decade, I have had here on my farm quite a 
number of these boys. It is quite amusing to study 
them on their arrival, and take mental note of much 
of their first day or two’s conversation. They think, 
or seem to think, that they are quite capable of manag¬ 
ing a farm on their own account. They can talk to us 
about fertilizers, dairying, handling stock, concen¬ 
trated foods, etc.; but when they come to be put into 
the harness, and you try them at milking, they are 
found wanting. Ask them to hitch up a horse to a 
wagon; they cannot do it. But after the horse is 
hitched to the wagon, can they drive? Oh, yes, they 
can drive, no trouble to drive; but if the horse had 
not forgotten more than they are likely to know about 
driving, there would be trouble in short order. When 
it comes to farm machinery their knowledge is not 
any greater. The simple little hand hoe that is used, 
or ought to be, on every farm in the land is one of 
the hardest little implements for these boys to learn 
how to use. But working on the farm and spending 
a vacation there are two separate problems. I have 
had them arrive here with a well-filled trunk large 
enough for a hencoop. What did it contain? Several 
suits of good clothes, three or four fancy vests, a base¬ 
ball outfit, fishing tackle, and in one instance a croquet 
set, but very little if anything to lead the farmer to 
think they had come for work. Among the first ques¬ 
tions asked were, “Have you a good baseball team in 
this town? How far is it to good fishing and how 
often do you go?” 
The first question one young man asked after getting 
located here was, “What are the principal attractions 
and amusements in this place?” The answer he got 
was, “Work and a plenty of it.” A well-known writer 
and dean of an agricultural college said in print a 
short time ago: “There appeared to be no place for 
boys to get practical experience that were studying 
agriculture, while those studying other professions had 
ample opportunity to get the practice. Young teachers 
were sent out to practice teaching, young doctors went 
into hospitals, etc; but the agricultural student had 
no place where he can get the necessary practice.” 
Under the present way these boys go out on the farms, 
1 believe the statement is true, but were these boys 
made to understand that it was farm work they were 
to perform and not time spent, there would be places 
for every one of them and more. To make sure that 
I was not skeptical on this point, I purposely got in 
conversation with a friend who has had some exper¬ 
ience with student labor on the farm. He tells me he 
has had all the experience that he wants; that what 
young men he has had on his farm showed no dis¬ 
position to want to work. He says he has stopped 
paying any attention to applications for places. A 
certain institute director tells me that in conversa¬ 
tion with a college professor this man was complaining 
of the scarcity of help on his farm. He was asked 
why he did not use student labor. His answer was: 
“I would rather hire a miscellaneous group that we 
find walking the roads, than be bothered with these, 
boys.” Where such language as that comes from an 
agricultural college professor owning a farm there 
is surely something wrong somewhere, and I believe 
it is in wanting to spend a vacation on the farm, 
rather than work. 
Boys, there is room on the farms of this country 
for three times as many boys as there are who want 
places, but start out with the idea of working and not 
spending time on a farm. Take working clothes with 
you and leave a part, at least, of the fancy vests, base¬ 
ball outfits and fishing tackle at home. You will not 
need them if you have to pass a practical examination 
when you are through. c. c. hulsart. 
LATE SPRAYING FOR CODLING MOTH. 
I want a little information in regard to spraying here 
in western New York. I sprayed the apple trees after the 
blossoms had fallen. Will it pay to spray again during 
this month (August) for the prevention of the Codling 
moth ? 1 have the lead to use if it will pay to spray as 
late as this month. c. a. s. 
Itansomville, N. Y. 
It is not easy to say whether it would be profitable 
to make a late spraying for the second brood of the 
Codling moth or not. At this time of year, when one 
sees so many evidences of the “worms” in the fruit, 
it is often asked whether or not a spraying now 
would be profitable in preventing the ravages of the 
second brood of worms. It is quite possible that, in 
cases where the early sprayings were not given at the 
right time or with sufficient care or thoroughness, a 
spraying during the latter part of July or the first 
part of August might pay. Regarding this particular 
point, Professor Sanderson, who has just finished 
an exhaustive series of studies and spraying experi¬ 
ments in the control of the Codling moth in New Hamp¬ 
shire, says: “It might seem that in view of the con¬ 
siderable injury done by the second brood a spraying 
applied the middle of August to kill the larvae of the 
second brood would be advantageous. Although we 
have made some experiments to determine this, they 
have shown either negative results or have not shown 
sufficient benefit to make spraying at that time profit¬ 
able, as far as the Codling moth alone is concerned.” 
The first spraying for the Codling moth, viz., the one 
just after the petals have fallen and while the calyx 
lobes are still open, and the one from three to four 
weeks after that time are the important sprayings for 
this apple pest. When these are done at the right time 
and done thoroughly and efficiently there will ordin¬ 
arily not be enough larvae of the second brood to cause 
serious injury. In fact, it has been shown that the 
second spraying about four weeks after the first has 
given a good deal of protection against the late brood 
of worms. It will be recalled that the older recom¬ 
mendations advise the second spraying to be made 10 
days after the first, but the later recommendations 
advise omitting this and spraying three to four weeks 
after the first. If these later recommendations are 
followed carefully, I believe that the pest can be very 
efficiently controlled. g. w. h. 
BONE FERTILIZERS ON THE FARM. 
I have about two tons of bone. Would you let us know 
what would be the best way to turn it into fertilizer? 
Can I put it in a bone cutter and put it in barrels, and 
sprinkle air-slaked lime over it? Will it make a good fer¬ 
tilizer in that way? The bones are all boiled or baked 
for a hotel. a. c. s. 
Missoula, Mont. 
This question comes up every year. Crushing bone 
into a fine meal is one of the hardest things in fertil¬ 
izer making. The manufacturers steam the bones 
under strong pressure and then crush and grind them 
with powerful machinery. In addition they often 
use sulphuric acid. The value of bone as a fertilizer 
depends on the fineness, and no farmer can expect with 
his home appliances to crush as fine as a manufacturer 
can. We do not advise a farmer to use sulphuric 
acid. He can smash up the soft bones with a ham¬ 
mer and bury the pieces around trees. This is a slow 
way of using them. They may be packed in horse 
manure and softened a little. They can be burned with 
wood. This drives away the nitrogen and leaves 
lime and phosphoric acid in the bone ash. The best 
farm plan is to pack the broken bones with wood 
ashes or lime. Put a layer of bones 10 inches thick 
at the bottom of a barrel or box. Then put a layer 
of unleached ashes or quicklime. Then more bones 
and so on on to the top. Keep this mass wet with 
liquid manure if possible; if not, with water. The 
action seems to be both chemical and mechanical. In 
about three months the bones will be softened. They 
will not be like bone meal, but will make a fair fer¬ 
tilizer. The wood ashes are best, since they add some 
potash to the bone. If you could take these hotel 
bones and boil them in a kettle, with small potatoes 
or other refuse, you would have a good hog food, 
and find it easier to crush the bones. 
ANOTHER SWEET CLOVER STORY. 
During the month of June, 1906, I purchased 10 
pounds of white Sweet clover (Melilotus alba) seed 
and sowed a patch of about an acre, which was in¬ 
fested with Canada thistles; however, it happened a 
drought followed the sowing, hence there was a very 
thin stand. The seed was simply sprinkled over the 
sod and thistles, and no cultivating previously. The 
next year it was mown for hay just before it was in 
bloom, and the few years following it was allowed to 
stand and re-seed itself until now, 1910, it is a thick 
mass, almost impenetrable, and the average height is 
five feet six inches to seven feet. And the marvelous 
thing about it is, the clover grew so fast and so 
thickly that the Canada thistles were choked, and at 
present there are very few to be seen except along 
the edges of the patch. As Sweet clover belongs to 
the legume family, it has gathered nitrogen from the 
air and stored it in the numerous nodules, borne on 
the roots, to be used as an enricher of the soil. 
To sum up, I have killed two birds with one stone, 
viz., choked out the thistles and at the same time en¬ 
riched the land, and last, but not least, it has furnished 
pasture for the bees while in bloom. In raising Sweet 
clover as a forage crop and for hay, prepare the ground 
as for Alfalfa and sow in August quite thickly, pos¬ 
sibly about 25 pounds to the acre. If a good stand is 
secured the next Spring the plants will stool, and if 
it stands thick as it should for hay the stems will not 
be coarse and the cattle and horses will eat it up clean. 
However, at first the horses and cows refuse to eat it, 
but soon get used to it, and afterwards eat it greedily. 
It should be mowed for hay just before it blooms, as 
the stalk gets too woody and cattle will not eat it. It 
is a great plant for green manuring, and when turned 
under produces great crops of potatoes and corn. As 
a weed I do not think it is any worse than the other 
clovers, for it can easily be got rid of by plowing 
under or cutting the stalk while in bloom. 
Sweet clover compared with Alfalfa or other clover, 
I think, stands second to Alfalfa and above the other 
clovers entirely. If mown for hay before the blossoms 
open, it will sprout, and stock can be pastured until 
Fall. As a weed eradicator, soil enricher, honey plant, 
and forage plant, I think it has very few equals when 
rightly handled. Almost any soil will grow Sweet 
clover, the hardest clay and the most barren looking 
soil may grow it, and drought will seldom affect it. 
I think if the farmers learn to know the value of 
Sweet clover they will no longer regard it as a weed, 
and another thing, Sweet clover might just as well be 
grown in waste places and along fence rows as weeds, 
as it is very valuable for the bees for the honey it 
yields, so bee-keepers take notice. In this article I 
have given my experience .with Sweet clover; it came 
to me as a new plant, and I have tried to find the bad 
qualities as well as the good, but they are all good in 
my estimation. e. s. hacker. 
Lancaster Co., Pa. 
In “Hope Farm Notes,” page 758, you speak of finding 
older men in the section of Long Island you visited who 
wished they had hoys to follow them in the fruit or truck 
business. I would like a chance in some place there. I 
would give the best years of my life in hard work and 
study with the prospect of a fair share in the business. 
I am 25 years old, unmarried, and have always done gen- 
eial farm work for my own people, as they were much 
in need of help. They are now in shape so that I con¬ 
scientiously can strike out for myself. l. t. 
Michigan. 
We print this as a contribution to some of the new 
things in farming. It is true that these older men 
regretted that they had no boys of their own to follow 
with the farm. They referred to their own children. 
It is rare that such people would be willing to adopt 
a young man of 25. We have in years past often tried 
to bring elderly farmers and young people together, 
but only in very rare cases has the graft been even a 
moderate success. We have not been able at all times 
to analyze or explain these failures to unite. In theory 
the plan of putting youthful strength and energy and 
ambition with experience and property ownership 
seems ideal, but in practice we regret to say that it 
does not work out. If it would some of the troubles 
of elderly farmers could be remedied. Of course, one 
of the first questions asked will be why this young man 
cannot find his opportunity at home with his own 
parents! 
