296 
THE R.U K A. L, NEW-VORKER 
Starting Gasoline Engines in Cold Weather. 
W HEN cold, the oil that lubricates 
piston and cylinder is stiff, so that 
it is difficult to turn crank fast 
enough to get good compression and an 
explosion. If hot water is poured into the 
water jacket it will warm the oil in 
cylinder, making it turn much more 
easily. The air being cold when taken 
into the engine it does not absorb suffi¬ 
cient gasoline to make a rich enough mix¬ 
ture to explode readily. Holding a lighted 
torch made of a wisp of paper or other 
matter that will make a good flame near 
the intake valve will overcome this, and 
the engine will start readily in the cold¬ 
est weather. E. A. rieiil. 
Grafting Nut Trees. 
N TTT trees seem to part freely with the 
sap in the scion, but do not absorb 
as readily from the stock on which 
the graft is placed, therefore it is neces¬ 
sary to protect the graft to prevent evap¬ 
oration. Propagators have been doing 
this by placing paper bags over the scion. 
A much simpler and better method is to 
cover the scion completely with grafting 
wax, either plastic, or liquid. If the 
liquid is used care should be taken not 
to have it too hot; about the consistency 
of honey or syrup. If too hot it might 
injure the scion, also a thick coat will be 
more effective. Have used this method 
for several years with good success. 
E. A. RIEIIL. 
Splitting Rocks. 
F OR the benefit of readers who may 
not have heard of the experiment, let 
me tell you how we get rid of our big 
bowlders and rocks. We dug away the 
earth till we got almost to the bottom of 
the rocks, making a ditch about 18 inches 
wide all around. Then we filled this 
with good dry wood and covered the 
rock completely with old rails, etc., put 
a little kerosene oil on and let it burn. 
When the fire had died out, the rocks 
were split in several places and with 
several blows of a heavy sledge they fell 
to pieces. It may be necessary in some 
cases to pour cold water on when the 
rock is hot. A. c. G. 
R. N.-Y.—A few years ago we had a 
discussion of this in The Ii. N.-Y. Near¬ 
ly 50 people told of splitting or shatter¬ 
ing rocks by heating them and then pour¬ 
ing on water. It was the sudden cooling 
of the heated surface that did the busi¬ 
ness. It is an old tale in history that 
Hannibal on crossing the Alps split rocks 
by heating them and pouring on vinegar. 
He did not need vinegar—cold water 
would do it. 
Frosted Potatoes for Alcohol. 
I HAVE several hundred bushels of po¬ 
tatoes that are frosted. I would like 
to make alcohol or something out of 
them, so I could realize on them. What 
would an outfit for making denatured al¬ 
cohol cost, and would there be enough in 
frosted potatoes to pay for working them 
up? P. N. C. 
New York. 
Under present conditions this would 
not pay. In Germany and France small 
stills costing $50 or more are used to 
make a crude alcohol which must be re¬ 
fined before it would be of much use. In 
this country the stills are too expensive 
to pay to work up small lots of potatoes. 
The Agricultural Department at Wash¬ 
ington has a pamphlet on the subject. 
Efforts are being made to induce Con¬ 
gress to change the laws so as to encour¬ 
age this business of small stills on the 
farm. 
’Cost of Handling Manure. 
I OWN a farm six miles from the city 
on a good pike road. During the Sum¬ 
mer months I can buy stable manure 
for 50 cents a load (all I can haul). 
Would it pay me to keep an extra team 
and man to haul this manure, making two 
loads a day? Under present arrange¬ 
ment with my tenant he cannot do the 
hauling; an extra man and team would 
be required. What about sowing Alfalfa 
on rye ground, limed last year liberally, 
the same as clover and seed is usually 
sown on honeycombed soil? Is it feasi¬ 
ble? G. G. S. 
Louisville, Ivy. 
You will have to figure the manure 
question about as follows: A ton of the 
manure will be worth about $2.50 in 
plant food. You would have to pay about 
that much if you bought the chemicals 
which would cover the amount of plant 
food in one ton. How much can you haul 
a load for and what would a day’s work 
with man and team cost? You can figure 
out the proposition as you would any 
other. It is a very cheap price for good 
manure. We do not believe you will be 
satisfied with a stand of Alfalfa obtained 
by seeding in this way. Clover will start 
well under such conditions, but we doubt 
if the Alfalfa will do so. 
February 27, 
w 
At the Canners’ Convention. 
HAT will the source of canned food 
products be a generation hence? 
The South. 
This was a prophecy of a speaker at 
the National Convention of Canners held 
in New York the week of February 9. 
The cotton and cane fields of the South, 
yielding their single crop each year, will 
become great fields of tomatoes, peas, 
string beans, and other crops which are 
marketed in tins. Southern tomatoes 
have outlived their reputation of infer¬ 
iority, and are equal in quality and fla¬ 
vor to Northern grown. Spraying will in¬ 
sure crops, and cash capital will insure 
the successful canning and marketing of 
all products of these future farms. Al¬ 
ready the entire pack of shrimp is put up 
in the South. A large part of the canned 
oysters are taken from the Gulf, and the 
business is only in its infancy. It will 
mean millions of dollars to Southern agri¬ 
culture. 
The canning factory which puts up a 
good product, pays the farmer well for 
his peas, corn or other product, and is 
performing good service in a community. 
The canners, however, have problems 
which they are attacking. There were 
over 6,000 men present at the conven¬ 
tion, representing the pineapple industry 
in Hawaii, shrimp packers from the 
South, oyster canners from the Atlantic 
coast, and fish canners from the Pacific 
Northwest. Everything -that goes in tins 
had representatives at this convention. 
Yet it was strange to see 7,000 men with 
conflicting interests meet together, shake 
hands cordially, and even exchange busi¬ 
ness secrets. “What is the best for the 
organization is the best for myself,” was 
the statement of a corn canner from Ohio. 
“We wish to see the industry as a whole 
progress,” and each will be carried along 
by the weight of the body. He said: 
“Our competition has resolved itself into 
an endeavor to outdo each other in quali¬ 
ty. Our mutual interest is in distribu¬ 
tion. We seek to make more money and 
make it possible for the consumer to se¬ 
cure his goods at. lower figure. We find 
many canned goods are put up and mar¬ 
keted at a loss. We have figures to 
show that the packer may get 8.70 per 
cent., the jobber 21.21 per cent., while 
the retailer gets 48.70 per cent.” 
“What will be the effect of home can¬ 
ning?” was a question put to several of 
the members of the association. “We 
rather encourage the policy,” they agreed. 
“We want the farmer’s wife to know the 
value of canned goods in her household 
program. She can put up many of her 
products, such as her berries and toma¬ 
toes in cans, and do it well. She may 
some year have a shortage of this or that, 
and she will naturally turn to the com¬ 
mercial product. I believe the outlook is 
encouraging and instructive, particularly 
to the farmer’s wife, and it will develop 
an interest in our work and our pro¬ 
duct. 
“You hear prejudice voiced against pre¬ 
servatives,” was the suggestion to an¬ 
other canner. “We do not need to use 
preservatives. In fact should we use ben¬ 
zoate of soda in a product such as catsup, 
we must print the information on the la¬ 
bel. By inspecting the label, and relying 
on a brand which has given satisfaction, 
the consumer need not fear deception.” 
"I have had five inspections during a 
single week,” was the statement of an¬ 
other canner. “We are inspected for san¬ 
itation. we must put up a wholesome pro¬ 
duct, and labor conditions are under sur¬ 
veillance of officials. The public is safe¬ 
guarded. and our policy is to abide by the 
law. There are many laws to which we 
must conform, and our product must be 
nearly right to meet those demands.” 
Mrs. Julian Heath, president of the 
Housewives’ League, said to the canners: 
“It is not the policy of the women to beat 
down prices, but we do want to know how 
our bread is baked, how our clothes are 
washed at the commercial laundry, and 
how our goods are canned. We take the 
same position regarding canned goods as 
we do cold storage. It is a means of 
carrying over supply from a season of 
plenty to a season of scarcity.” w. j. 
Minnesota doubled her Alfalfa acreage 
last year, and had practically no failures, 
first by purchasing reliable seed from re¬ 
liable growers, and then carefully study¬ 
ing the likes and dislikes of the plant. 
The doctrine of Alfalfa hay was ex¬ 
pounded in the State over again and again, 
and the county agents declare there are 
6.000 permanent converts, who will save 
a quarter of a million dollars more an¬ 
nually because of this increased Alfalfa 
acreage. 
Oklahoma is a comparatively new 
State, and is little known “’way back 
East.” Most people there know some¬ 
thing about Kansas; now Oklahoma is 
just a little better than Kansas. The 
reason why this fact is not generally 
known is that we haven’t commenced to 
advertise. Competent judges will rank 
our State up with other States of the 
Union, and quite a distance ahead of any¬ 
thing over in Canada. The “hopeless 
class.” mentioned by C. F., who wrote 
from the worst section of the State, are 
Easterners, chiefly from the “houn’ dawg” 
and “razorback” sections of Eastern 
States. It is natural they should sur¬ 
round themselves with canine reminders 
of the days back at home. g. a. w. 
Shawnee. Okla. 
High Prices and Big Crops 
Spell Farm Prosperity 
W E all pray for the early cessation of European hostilities 
—but whenever this blessing may come nothing can now 
avert abnormally high prices for all grains at 1915 har¬ 
vest time. Vegetables and fruits are likely to be higher than ever 
before—in sympathy with grains—short crops in these products 
usually follow such bounteous seasons as 1914. So don’t fail to 
plant corn and to sow oats;—and don’t cut out vegetables because 
prices are low now. The wise farmer will plan now for bigger 
crops for 1915 and share in the high prices—his first step will be 
to secure a supply of 
E. Frank Coe Fertilizers 
(The Standard of Quality for 57 years) 
They offer good big measure of plant food value for every 
Dollar invested. The high character of the materials used in the 
making of E. Frank Coe Fertilizers gives them a special value that 
cannot be measured by comparative chemical analyses—the sep¬ 
arate brands for individual crops are made up with view to that 
crop’s peculiar needs. Don’t buy cheap or low-priced fertilizer—• 
in doing so you invariably pay the highest price per unit of fer¬ 
tilizing value. Write to-day for our 1915 calendar showing inter¬ 
esting N. Y. City views—and we will tell you about the big crops 
that are grown with E. Frank Coe Fertilizers. 
Mention Rural New-Yorker, please. 
COE-MORTIMER CO. 
51 Chambers Street 
New York City 
Save Your Land 
With Lime 
At the first sign of soil exhaus¬ 
tion on your farm apply R-R Land 
Lime. Your crops will improve 
immediately. One lime treatment 
will last through a five-year rotation 
EES LAND L,me 
is in powdered form, which makes 
it easier to handle. It can bespread 
by machine or hand in a fraction 
of the time needed to apply or¬ 
dinary lime. It is a plant food and 
acid corrective. 
Write today for free illustrated 
booklet telling how, for what and 
when to use lime. Address near¬ 
est office. 
Rockland & Rockport Lime Co. 
Rockland, Maine 
Boston, 45 Milk Street; New York, 101 Park Avenue 
$ 10 , 000.00 
If this Homier & Zook Grain Drill does not satisfy 
you in every w ay, ship it hack, and if we fait to return 
your money in full, paying freight both ways, we for- 
feit $ 10,000 which our bankers hold to protect you— 
you can't lose. 
We make this big guarantee because we know this is 
the best drill on the market today—sows all kinds of 
Brain, seed or fertilizer accurately and without waste. 
High, broad tire wheels lighten draft. Extra large grain 
box. We also make a low down and plain seed drill. 
Sold direct 
from factory. 
saves you $20 
to $50 dealers' 
profits. Write 
for catalog 
and special 
oiler. 
30 DAYS’ 
FREE 
TRIAL 
HERTZLER & ZOOK CO. 
Box 3, Belleville, Pa. 
SPRAY-$IIO 
WITH THIS OUTFIT 
You cannot afford to do without a spraying 
outfit when you can get our Winner No. 1 at the 
extremely low price of §110.00. It will handle 
4 nozzles, giving 5H. gallons of liquid a minute 
at a pressure of 175 lbs.: comes complete with 
100 gallon tank, 50 ft. of hose, all ready to go 
to work. Price on skids. $110.00, or on wheels. 
§135.00. We have two larger sizes, one with 150 
gallon and one with 200 gallon tank. Send for 
information. If you need power on your farm 
for any purpose, you need to know about Excel¬ 
sior engines. They are reliable and' durable. 
Tell us your power needs and get special propo¬ 
sition and catalog free on renuest. 
R. CONSOLIDATED GAS & GASOLINE ENGINE CO 
202 Fulton Street, New York City.* 
Buy A 
Cahoon 
Seed 
Sower 
By 
Parcel Pos! 
The Cahoon has the only discharger scientifically 
constructed to scatter seed evenly in front of the 
operator and not against his person. Years of world¬ 
wide use prove It to be simplest, most accurate and 
durable Broadcast Sower made. Sows all grain or 
grass seed. Made entirely of steel, iron, brass and 
heavy canvas. Wide breast plate makes it easiest 
to carry. Needed on every farm. Some alfalfa 
ranches have a dozen. If dealer will rot supply 
you. Parcel Poet permits us to send it for $3.50 pre¬ 
paid in U. S. A. Order today. Warranted to give 
satisfaction. Even Seeding brings Good Reaping. 
G00DELL COMPANY 14 Main St., Antrim, ». H. 
WAGE 
Riding Cultivators 
have that accuracy and ease 
of control that fits every con¬ 
dition of soil and growth of 
plants. Everything is at your 
finger dos—easily shifted, ad¬ 
justable for all kinds of work. 
Lever controlling width of cul¬ 
tivation does not change angle of 
teeth—very important. Steel frame. 
Guided by ball-bearing pivot 
wheels,excellent for hill-side work. 
Parallel gang shift, high and low 
wheels, dust-proof bearings, etc. 
One or two row. 
Ask your dealer to show them and 
write us for free booklet, “Two 
Horse Riding and Walking Culti¬ 
vators.’* 
BATEMAN M , F , G CO. 
Box 2? Groeiloch, N. J. 
