194 
THE RURAE NEW-VORKEK 
February 0, 
Sawmill Questions. 
H OW large a saw should we need for 
a sawmill run by a 20 horsepow r er 
gasoline tractor? We are running 
the mill now with a 30-tooth saw. Would 
a 42-tooth saw be all right, as we have 
too much power for the 30-tooth saw? 
Advice from several experienced men 
suggests that a 40 or 42-tooth saw would 
be all right. Can you give advice about 
starting this tractor up? It takes about 
three men to turn the fly-wheel to start 
it, and it is almost impossible to do it 
then on cold days. Is there any self¬ 
starting arrangements that would do this 
work ? B. B. 
Southbridge, Mass. 
There are so many factors entering 
into a problem such as the one outlined 
above that it is impossible to give any¬ 
thing like a definite answer. The diam¬ 
eter of the saw, the rate at which the log 
is advanced against the saw, the gauge 
or thickness of the saw, the condition 
of the saw and the kind and condition of 
the material to be sawed all affect the 
power required probably to as great an 
extent as does the number of teeth. To 
the above might be added the speed at 
which the saw is run and the skill of the 
operator. 
The size of circular saws is usually de¬ 
termined by the size of the logs that are 
to be worked up by the mill. The usual 
portable mill will average around 5,000 
feet per day when using a 48-inch saw 
running at about 450 revolutions per 
minute, and driven by a 15 to 20 horse¬ 
power engine. Running in this way each 
tooth pares a shaving of a certain thick¬ 
ness out of the “kerf,” the thickness of 
the shaving depending on the speed of the 
saw as compared to the rate of feed, and 
the number of teeth in the saw. It is 
easily seen that if the number of teeth 
in the saw were increased, the rate of 
feed could also be increased, and still 
each tooth take no thicker shaving than 
before. The output of the mill and the 
power required to operate it however, 
would be greater. The same effect might 
be obtained by increasing the speed of the 
saw now in use, provided that it is not 
already running at its maximum speed. 
The feed is usually spokes of as so many 
inches per revolution of the saw. If the 
speed of the saw is increased the rate of 
feed ''an be increased and a greater out¬ 
put secured from the mill; it is not rec¬ 
ommended, however, to increase the speed 
above the maximum as given by the man¬ 
ufacturer of the mill. 
I understand the horsepower given for 
the tractor (20 horsepower) to mean the 
draw-bar pull. If this is the case the 
power delivered at the belt would be 
somewhere around 35 horsepower, and 
would make rather more power than is 
necessary for the average portable mill. 
It is a mistake, however, to load a gaso¬ 
line engine too heavily. I would suggest 
that several leading manufacturers of cir¬ 
cular saws and sawmill machinery be 
written to, stating the rated horsepower 
of the engine, the speed of the saw, num¬ 
ber of teeth, rate of feed of saw carriage, 
character and size of lumber being 
sawed, etc., and ask their opinion as to 
the best saw for the purpose. It might 
be well to add the number of explosions 
made by the engine per minute and the 
number it would be possible for it to 
make if it were carrying full load. This 
can be found by securing the number of 
revolutions made per minute and divid¬ 
ing the sum by two, as one explosion 
could be made at every two revolutions 
if the engine were loaded to the limit. 
This will give them an idea of the total 
amount of the engine’s power that is now 
being used and help them in determining 
how heavily it should be loaded. 
In regard to the engine being hard to 
start, I take it that it runs well and de¬ 
velops full power after starting from the 
fact that it is said to deliver an excess 
of power for the mill. If this is the 
case the trouble is probably with the 
compression relief mechanism. A care¬ 
ful examination of this portion of the 
engine will probably locate the trouble. 
A good fat, hot spark is also very essen¬ 
tial for prompt starting in cold weather. 
The engine naturally turns harder in 
cold weather than in warm due to the 
thickening of the oil on cylinder walls 
and bearings. Heating the carburetor 
and intake pipes, or in fact the whole 
cylinder, where this is possible, are great 
aids toward a cold weather start, as they 
make the engine turn somewhat easier 
and help to vaporize the fuel. If the 
engine does not run properly the trou¬ 
ble might be with the piston itself, or 
overtight bearings or some similar cause, 
but such cases would soon call attention 
to themselves. Self starters can be ob¬ 
tained for gasoline engines, but are not 
commonly used on farm engines. By 
writing directly to the manufacturers of 
this engine, giving its number, type and 
horsepower, information could be ob¬ 
tained of a starter that would be adapted 
to this particular engine. 
ROBERT II. SMITH. 
How Much Grain for Seeding? 
are short of oats. The seed is 
VV good, and how much shall I 
plant, if I fit the ground well?” the 
farmer said to his wife. 
This is a condition which faces a lot 
of farmers. A Michigan farmer says that 
he planned using two bushels, but the 
drill did not seem to feed right, and he 
put on about five pecks to. the acre, and 
he declared the crop his best. Ohio has 
studied amount of seed oats to be used 
and at the Mid-Winter Fair at Columbus 
a graphic illustration of the difference in 
yield was shown. Where four pecks to 
an acre were seeded the yield was about 
48 bushels, while from six, seven, eight, 
nine, 10 and 11 pecks, the average was 
about 52 bushels. The use of three 
bushels of seed to the acre caused falling 
off in production. “From seven to 11 
pecks of seed being used to the acre, the 
increase simply pays for the seed, be¬ 
yond that is a loss,” says Mr. Galehouso 
of the Experiment Station. The average 
farmer taking oats from his bin should 
not use less than seven pecks for seed, 
and probably would better use 10 pecks. 
Ohio found the best yield of oats to be 
Siberian, producing 68.2 bushels to the 
acre; Big Four 67.6; Silver Mine 67.1; 
American Banner, Czar of Russia, Green 
Mountain, Improved American and 
Sixty Day were good yielders, while 
those lower in production were Clydes¬ 
dale, Early Champion and perhaps Seiz¬ 
ure producing 59 bushels and Wideawake 
with 5S.2 were at the bottom of the list. 
In wheat a seeding of nine pecks gave 
maximum yield, while where 10 pecks were 
used there was a falling off of about two 
bushels. Three pecks yielded about 25 
bushels to the acre, while the addition of 
two or three pecks in each instance in¬ 
creased the yield about two bushels. The 
best results from seeding wheat were Sep¬ 
tember 22, while the returns from wheat 
sown September 15 and 29 showed bet¬ 
ter results than test plots of earlier and 
later dates. Very poor results were se¬ 
cured from the plots of October 27 seed¬ 
ing, yielding about 18 bushels, while Sep¬ 
tember 22 seeding yielded about 32 
bushels. The best returns in wheat were 
from Dawson’s Early Chaff, Gipsy, Nig¬ 
ger, Perfection, Poole and Valley, while 
the lowest yielding varieties were Turkey 
Red and Velvet Chaff, which was fully 
20 per cent, less than the yield of the 
better producing varieties. “The farmer 
can do much in improving his wheat or 
oat yield by running the grain through 
the fanning mill, blowing out the light 
grains,” was the explanation of a demon¬ 
strator as he turned from the charts. 
W. J. 
A Pumping Problem. 
O N page 69, A. C. L. inquires about 
installing a pump to draw water 
from 1200 feet away, and 50 feet 
up. Quite likely that way would be the 
most convenient, if it could be done; 
but the plan appears quite impossible. 
However, it may be that he does not know 
that a gasoline engine and pump can be 
installed at the well, which would easily 
force the water anywhere in the barn. 
This must be a force pump, not a suc¬ 
tion pump like explained in The R. N.-Y. 
I am no pump expert, but a force pump 
right near me has drawn water out of 
a well 145 feet; the well is deeper than 
this, but I may repeat that the pump has 
actually raised the water 145 feet; and 
that with no material difficulty. This 
does not disqualify any statements made 
regarding the suction pump, which is 
differently made. o. GILES. 
New York. 
Ram for Water Supply. 
I N answer to L. L. F., a ram should 
be placed below a spring at a dis¬ 
tance varying from 25 to 50 feet. For 
every 10 feet that you wish to elevate 
the water, the ram must be placed one 
foot below the level of spring. Should 
you wish to elevate the water to a height 
of 80 feet ram would be placed at a 
point eight feet lower than the source 
of supply. A ram with a six-foot fall 
will drive about one-twelfth of the water 
furnished a distance of 50 to 100 rods to 
a position 50 to 100 feet above level of 
ram. w. E. d. 
Brasher Falls, N. Y. 
Cut down your . 
feed 
and make 
More Profits 
Feed less war-priced grain and chop 
feeds, but get better results from your 
milk cows, fat stock and horses, by feed¬ 
ing lower-cost 
XTRA-VIM FEED 
Porto Rican cano molasses for strength and 
flosth—combined with sphagnum mossfor digestive 
action—in a dry form nice to handle. Takes the 
place, weight for weight, of feeds it replaces, such 
as corn, oats, chop, and ccets 
much less 'That is clear gain. 
Animals "go for it” — and it 
makes other feed taste better 
when mixed in. 
Is not sticky, handles without 
waste, licks up clean and won’t 
‘‘muss up” animals or fixtures. 
Other practical feeders have 
proved its economy and merit 
—so ca* youl 
Send for our Free Literature 
on Live Stook and Poultry 
Feeding. We sell direct 
(In 100-lb. Bags) where dealer canuot 9upply ’ 
Xtravim Molawea Feed Company 
30 Broad Street Boston, Mass. 
MORE 
Sawmill Profits 
Sawmill profits depend on service. Real service means 
constant operation at smallest expense and least trouble. 
It’s the man with the all-round service outfit who makes 
the big money. 
“GEISER” 
Sawmills 
are service mills—the mills for profit. So simple that they 
do not require a skilled mechanic to set them up. Saw 
guide adjustable while saw is running—long, self-oiling 
, oxes for axles can be filled without resting mill—mandrel 
adjustment exact—accurate—set works adjustable to 
1 -16 of an inch. 
Write for Free Book giving all the reasons why the 
Geiser will give you service and profit. 
Emerson-Brantingham Implement Co. 
(Incorporated) 
910 W. Iron Street Rockford, Ill, 
HANDY BINDER 
Just the thing 
for preserv¬ 
ing files of 
The Rural New Yorker. Durable and 
cheap. Sent postpaid for 25 cents. 
The Rural New-Yorker, 333 West 30th Bt., M. T. 
•VS “'mmr - 33 — 3 tjV- 
'A as 
[ —that’s what they cost you per 
year figured on tfie basis of ser¬ 
vice. Empire Steel Wheels last 
20 to 25 years. Average cost $13. 
Besides lasting longer they save 
labor — time — horses — roads. 
Put a set on your 
wagon at oar risk. 
Write TODAY for 
catalog and prices. 
EMP”’'! MFC. CO. 
Bo-896 Quincy, III. 
3 to 17% feet In cutting width. For one to four horses 
All Steel—Light Draft 
Prepares a Perfect 
Seed Bed Spring Plowing 
The coulters cut, crush and pulverize lumps and clods, 
leaving a leveled surface finely mulched to seeding depth, 
with a compact undersoil. The air spaces are eliminated 
insuring plant roots a proper medium for healthy and 
vigorous growth. Manure and stubble 
plowed under is left underneath to te No. 23 
nourish plant roots. Sizes from 1 
6% Ft. 
Wide 
Write for free catalog and name of nearest dealer. 
DUANE H. NASH, Inc. 
379 Division Ave. Millington, N. I. 
Get Stumps Out 
the CHEAPEST Way 
“The use of Farm Powder to pull stumps involves little 
capital, few and simple tools and requires no experience," 
says Farmers Bulletin 261 , Wisconsin Experiment Station. 
Blast out your stumps—turn that idle land into money. You 
can do the work yourself, easily, quickly, and cheaply with 
Atlas Farm Powdex. 
The Safest Explosive 
The Original 
Bore a hole, put in the charge, light 
a fuse, and the work is done! Atlas 
Farm Powder blows the stump 
entirely out of the ground, split¬ 
ting it up so it can be handled 
easily. It breaks up the subsoil 
and greatly increases its fertility. 
Farm Powder 
Atlas Farm Powder is made 
especially for the farm. It costs 
little and works wondeis in clear¬ 
ing land of stumps and boulders, 
breaking up the subsoil, tree plant- i 
ing, ditching and draining. It 
saves labor, time and money. 
Mail the Coupon for “Better Farming’ * Book 
Our valuable book, “Better Farming,” tells how to improve the 
fertility of your farm—how to clear land, grow bigger crops, better 
fruit, and make Atlas Farm Powder take the place of expensive 
labor. Fully illustrated. Send the coupon and get it FREE. 
ATLAS POWDER COMPANY Offices WILMINGTON, DEL., 
Sales Offices: Birmingham, Boston, Joplin, Knoxville, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis 
Atlas Powder Co., Wilmington, Del. 
Send me your book, “Better Farming.” 
I may use Atlas.Farm Powder for 
Name_ 
RN 
Address. 
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