434 
THE R.UR.A.L, NBW-VORKER 
In order to provide for any error that may arise 
in the registration of land titles a small percentage 
fee based on the selling price of the property is 
charged for registering the title. This fee goes into 
a guarantee fund that is held to indemnify owners 
of property of which the title is registered if at 
any time in the future it should be proven that the 
title is not good. In Illinois, where the system has 
probably been used more extensively than any place 
in the United States, there has been no case thus 
far in which the State has been called upon to 
make good a defective title that has been regis¬ 
tered. An estimate of the value of the system is 
given in an editorial in one of the leading Chicago 
daily papers as follows: 
The Torrens system is a cheap, simple and easily 
acecssible way of securing an absolutely and perman¬ 
ently secure title to real estate. Under it the owner 
of a given piece of real estate can go to a public 
official, file an application and in about 30 days secure 
a decree from court certifying his title to his land. 
The whole proceeding will cost him about $24. If 
within two years of the time when he gets his certifi¬ 
cate no one conies forward to make a claim that his 
title is defective it becomes incontestable for all time. 
Once registered in this way the possessor of the certif¬ 
icate need trouble himself no further wth costly ab¬ 
stracts and examinations and continuances. if he 
desires to mortgage or sell his land he can do so with¬ 
in a few hours’ time, and the entire cost will be but 
$3, where a sale or mortgage under the present system 
involves an expense of from $15 to $50 for attorney’s 
fees and from $5 to $35 for the continuance of the 
abstract. 
The Torrens system is as safe for the owner of a 
downtown corner as for the owner of a little home on 
the outskirts of the city, but it is the latter who can 
least afford to pay the heavy fees now charged for 
abstracts and examinations. The owners of such prop¬ 
erty will study their own interest and protect their 
own pocketbooks if they take time to investigate the 
advantages of the system, particularly if on the point 
of making a sale or a loan involving an examination 
of title. If they have no such transaction in view it 
will still be to their advantage to ascertain whether 
it is wise to register their land under the Torrens 
system. By doing so they will make sure that should 
they in some time of financial trouble be forced to 
mortgage or sell they can do so inexpensively and 
without delay. Above all, they will be assured that 
at the expiration of two years their titles are clear 
beyond dispute. 
CAUSE OF OPPOSITION.—The opposition to 
the adoption of a system of registration of land 
titles by the State comes principally from the large 
guarantee companies that make a business of guar¬ 
anteeing titles to real estate. It means taking away 
their business. But the private citizen who has no 
selfish interest in the matter cannot understand 
why an officer of the State Government should not 
be authorized to examine titles and guarantee them 
for the State instead of leaving it to wealthy cor¬ 
porations that levy exorbitant charges for their 
services. Why should not owners of real estate 
be able to have their titles examined, and if found 
good have that fact recorded, so that at no time in 
the future will it be necessary to go back of the 
finding? 
Under a system of registration of land title, the 
transfer of real estate is simplified, the cost is only 
a fraction of what it is under the present system, 
the value of real estate as security for credit is 
increased and bad titles disappear. It is a system 
that is of vital importance to farmers, and they 
should demand that their respective States provide 
for it. h. c. price. 
Ohio Agricultural College. 
CONTROLLING THE ELEMENTS SUCCESS¬ 
FULLY. 
Fighting Frost in Ohio. 
We installed the orchard-heating system in the 
Spring of 1911. We constructed a cistern of 20.000 
gallons capacity on top of a bluff, about centrally 
located in the orchard; a pipe from the bottom of 
the cistern extends through the bank, with a faucet 
on the end; the tank wagon is driven under it and 
filled in a few minutes. The oil used is principally 
refined, bought in tank carloads. Much the greater 
part of our trees are 20 years old. Our heaters hold 
three gallons; have a sliding cover that protects 
the oil from the elements, distributed one per tree, 
placed on the northwest side, eight to 10 feet from 
the trunk of the tree. 
The heaters should he filled with oil by the first 
of May; earlier will do no harm, as they must be 
ready on time. In the Spring of 1911 we were all 
ready to apply the torch; the thermometers were 
watched several nights very carefully, hut the dan¬ 
ger line in temperature did not come. After the 
danger period for frost had passed, the oil was re¬ 
turned to the cistern and the heaters stored in the 
dry. 
I am glad to know that the beautiful Spring time 
will come again. A little before the first of the 
following May we were all ready again to battle 
with the elements, if necessary, but the weather 
was favorable; no need of firing the heaters. Again 
the oil was returned to the cistern and the heaters 
housed in the dry. While this work was being done 
I had my partner—a son of mine—bring one of the 
heaters to the yard. We had never seen one lighted 
up, so he applied the torch, and it blazed up fine, 
about three feet high. The day was a little raw, 
and he pulled up an old chair and I sat down. 
He said I could warm my “shins.” 
We talked matters over a little; I made some 
remarks concerning the seeming unnecessary ex¬ 
pense we were to with the heaters. “Well, Daddy,” 
he said, “if we have scared the enemy away by 
having a weapon ready it is much our cheapest way 
out. If we were obliged to fire up it would cost 
us probably $150 a night.” I said: “My son, you 
are all right; I believe in arbitration, if it can bo 
done honorably; if not, then apply the torch.” This 
same doctrine applies to our country: “In time of 
peace prepare for war.” No doubt we will always 
have plenty of steel for all the pruning hooks and 
plowshares and all the cannons this country will 
ever need. I am not in favor of war except to save 
our honor. No doubt a thorough readiness for any 
emergency is a great factor to promote arbitration 
and peace and observance of the Monroe doctrine. 
No doubt our navy is doing good floating about on 
the Gulf of Mexico. 
Well, the beautiful Spring time came again and 
all were ready on time to apply the torch if need 
be. After having quite favorable weather for some 
time, by the 9th of May the orchard was in full 
bloom, except a few of the late bloomers; the or¬ 
chard never looked more beautiful. The weather 
was perfectly clear, as it had been for some time. 
The following morning, which was the 10th of May, 
1913, it was much cooler, with a breeze from the 
northwest, growing colder rapidly. I told the boys 
a blizzard was on, to be sure to be ready for the 
battle to-night. They said “All right, Daddy; we 
will be on hand.” The Chief of the Weather Bu¬ 
reau at Columbus, Mr. Smith, telephoned us that 
day in regard to the frost that night, but we were 
on to our job before we got word. 
Everything indicated frost that evening—clear, 
perfectly still and cold. By seven o’clock the men 
were out with torches and buckets containing a 
little gasoline to facilitate igniting the oil, first fir¬ 
ing in the valleys and depressions, where it freezes 
first. We have lost crops in the valleys when the 
tableland escaped. The work was rapidly done: 
and the orchard all lit up with blazing fires, the 
trees in full bloom beneath a firmament decked 
with stars, made a night picture so unique and of 
such marvelous beauty. I shall not undertake to de¬ 
scribe it. During the night everything was looked 
after, temperature and heaters, to see if the latter 
had burned dry, which they did not during that 
night In the morning I was up a little early for 
me; the registering thermometer indicated 23 de¬ 
grees. A basin of water set in an opening, two feet 
up from the ground, had ice on it one-fourth of an 
inch thick—solid, as the boys say, which made 
things look a little dubious; but a look over the 
orchard made me more hopeful. Not a leaf was in 
motion, the horizon perfectly clear, a dark mist of 
smoke, heat, etc., covered the whole orchard like a 
canopy; the environment around the orchard was 
clear. This indicated that the benefit of the heat¬ 
ers remained in the orchard and saved the crop. 
Am I right? There can be no doubt that this 
system saved the crop. There were no apples in 
this section of central Ohio. It is a question if 
the night had been windy, with a temperature of 
23 degrees as we had that night, what would have 
been the result. The following day the heaters 
were replenished with oil and fired late in the 
evening, but the blizzard had subsided and the 
frost was not severe enough to scare anybody. The 
weather warmed up at once and in a little while 
the tiny apples could be seen growing just fine. 
Certain now that our efforts were crowned with 
victory. The final result was a very fine crop of 
apples, almost a bumper crop. 
Much the greater part of our trees are 20 years 
old. planted in Blue-grass soil. The “grass mulch 
system,” of which I am called the “Daddy,” was 
adhered to from the start. The orchard run per 
tree was 35 to 40 bushels. The old yellow Bell¬ 
flower, and a few others, won't produce as they 
did 50 to 00 years ago, yet we had quite a crop of 
Bellflowers; the price they bring helps make up 
the deficiency—$7 a barrel, and the other varieties 
$0.50 to $5. It does a man good to get his money 
back. 
Some people tell me “You are a lucky fellow.” I 
hardly need say that it’s the man that makes his 
luck, but no doubt kind Providence will smile most 
on people that are trying to help themselves. Our 
apples are keeping fine in our own cold storage. 
March 21, 
I am in my eighty-fifth year, and have lived among 
the trees on this hill-top, in a loop of our beautiful 
Olentangy River, overlooking the classic city of 
Delaware, since 1S34. f. p. vebgon. 
SOY BEANS, COW PEAS AND RYE. 
I note in recent issues that Soy beans are recom¬ 
mended to be sown in drills and cultivated, which 
no doubt is best when team work is not too ex¬ 
pensive. I have a young orchard, but must hire 
all team work done; for several years I have sown 
a mixture of Wonderful cow peas and Mammoth 
Yellow Soy beans about .Tune 10. These are strong¬ 
growing kinds and make a heavy crop but do not 
ripen seed. Then without plowing again the last 
of September I sow rye broadcast. The Fall rains 
sprout this rye, and perhaps two-thirds of it roots 
well; the frost kills the Soy beans and cow peas. 
This rye seems to do well, and in May this has made 
a good growth and is plowed under, the ground 
tilled a few times and again in June the same mix¬ 
ture sown. The trees are making a good growth 
with minimum cost for team work. Part of the or¬ 
chard is now bearing and with three sprayings has 
yielded excellent crops, especially apples, and sold 
locally at $1 to $1.25 per bushel; soil gravelly clay. 
Ohio. w. c. BAIRD. 
R. N.-Y.—This plan is first rate, where the soil is 
naturally strong and well watered. It saves a vast 
amount of labor, keeps the ground well covered aud 
supplied with humus. We should use annual appli¬ 
cations of lime when plowing this stuff under. We 
doubt if the plan can be fully recommended for 
light soils which are naturally lacking in moisture. 
This is another illustration of the fact that the 
owner of the farm must adapt his plan to the soil 
needs, and not depend on general advice without 
figuring out carefully his own conditions. 
USE OF FIRE EXTINGUISHERS. 
T. B. S. asks for information concerning the solu¬ 
tion used in bottles for fire-extinguishing purposes. 
I can help him in that part, although I cannot give 
any information about the use of carbon tetra¬ 
chloride. Twenty years ago the bottles he mentions 
were to be seen everywhere, usually three bottles in 
a wire basket hanging from the wall. They were 
much advertised under the name of “hand gren¬ 
ades.” and demonstrations of their use were given 
in most of the large towns. For these demonstra¬ 
tions miniature buildings were usually erected on a 
vacant lot, and after a crowd had collected, the 
structure was drenched with kerosene and fired. 
Then the fire was extinguished by breaking two or 
three grenades over the blazing surface. 
The fire was never allowed to char the wood 
deeply, and no part of the burning surface was out 
of reach of the falling liquid. There was nothing 
marvelous about the performance, unless we con¬ 
sider the skill of the demonstrator in spreading the 
contents of the bottles where it did the most good. 
This knack was not acquired by the purchaser, as 
many found to their sorrow. The solution used in 
the bottles was simply brine. Common salt, alum, 
sal-ammoniac, or any soluble salt, or a combina¬ 
tion of salts, can be used. Alum is probably the best 
for efficiency; its cost makes it prohibitive in large 
quantities. A mixture of alum and common salt is 
good, say one part of alum to 10 parts or 15 parts 
of salt. Common salt alone is good enough. Silch 
•i solution quenches fire readily; more so than water. 
On evaporation a crust of salt is left on the burned 
surface, which prevents, or hinders, further burning. 
That is the secret of the bottles. They were but 
one of the many fire-quenehiug devices that come 
and go as regularly as the seasons. Many a fine 
building has been destroyed because of too great 
a faith in the efficacy of worthless contrivances. 
The one type of fire extinguisher that has been 
in use for years, and practically the only type 
adopted by the municipal fire departments, is the 
type described by It. P. C., using bicarbonate of 
sodium solution and sulphuric acid. This is the 
solution used in the chemical engines. The patents 
expired long ago, and there are some good designs 
on the market, also a great many cheap, flimsy, 
dangerous affairs. 
For farm use a few barrels of brine, scattered 
around, with a pail near each barrel, gives better 
fire protection than as many extinguishers. The 
action of the carbonic acid gas in quenching fire 
is much exaggerated. It does smother flame, but 
only where it is confined. In an ordinary sized room 
it is carried away too quickly to be of use. The 
acid-soda extinguisher can be made more effective 
by the addition of some heavy sair, as is often done 
to prevent freezing of the chemicals. f. b. l. 
Connecticut 
