1030 
<>f the workmen are shown that are necessary to 
till this silo. Our silo is 12x31 feet, and we gen- 
erally have from 15 to IS men and five teams to aid 
us in filling. The number of men and teams re¬ 
quired is determined by the distance the com must 
be hauled from the field to the silo. 
AI.L HANDS AT WORK.—There is always one 
man. and most of the time two men in the silo to 
level and stamp the silage; three men are at the 
cutter, one to feed the stalks into the knives and 
keep a watch on the machine, which is a self-feeder, 
and the other two men throw the bundles off the 
wagon and cut and pull the strings out. There are 
four or five men in the field to load the cut fodder 
bundles onto the wagons, and one man operates the 
corn hinder. Of course there is one man to operate 
the engine. Last year we had a 40 horsepower gaso¬ 
line tractor to run the silo cutter, and of course 
one man was sufficient for such an outfit. When a 
steam engine was employed the water for the water 
tank was pumped by our gasoline engine, and the 
tank drawn to the engine with our own horses, thus 
eliminating the usual water boy. Tt takes from 1% 
to two days to fill this silo. Other silo users here in 
the community having about the same sized silo 
fill them in a little less time, hut we prefer not to 
fill so rapidly and give the silage an opportunity to 
settle considerably over one or two nights, and 
therefore we get more silage into the silo. 
time AND COST.—This silo is filled each year 
about the 28th of September, and we have silage 
very frequently up to the next filling time after feed¬ 
ing 20 head of cattle about 40 pounds per day. and 
00 head of sheep a quantity all Winter. The cattle 
are fed silage from the time of filling up to about 
the 12th of May. It requires about seven acres of 
good corn to fill this silo, and one year when the 
corn was rather light it required eight acres of 
corn and three acres of Soy beans- We pay our 
men $1.75 per day without teams, and from $2.50 
to $2.To with teams, and it has been costing ns from 
$(»5 to $85 to fill this silo. Last year, however, it 
was filled in the shortest time we have ever filled 
it, and we attribute it largely if not wholly to the 
fact that we used the gasoline tractor, which Is 
safe, economical and satisfactory in every particu¬ 
lar. There are other and perhaps better ways of 
tilling Ihe silo, but if a few of the apparent minor 
details, small within themselves, but which mean 
much if not looked after, are not given proper con¬ 
sideration. filling the silo may become a very ex¬ 
pensive and irksome task. ira g. shellabarger. 
Miami Co.. O. 
T I-TE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
isfaetory, nothing would been said about it. The 
Commissioner intends to enforce the law this year. 
Ontario Co., N. Y- t. b. wii.son. 
Let It Be Bnforced. 
I was on the committee which drafted this law 
and helped get it through the Legislature. It does 
not suit me in some respects as well as the law we 
had a year ago. but we met with some opposition 
and had to do the best we could. In the first grade. 
New York Standard fancy, we gave a five per cent, 
leeway. Last year there was no leeway. We did 
not change the second grade, New York Standard 
■•A" except that we defined color. The third grade. 
Interior of Freak Egg. Fig. 387. 
The New York Apple Law. 
I Oil page 023 we printed the new apple law for New 
^ ork State, and invited a discussion by growers. Here 
is the first installment. Others will follow 1 
Geo. T. Powell’e Criticism. 
I do not believe the amended apple-growing law is 
for the best interests of New York State apple 
growers. The allowance of five per cent, for defects 
in New York standard fancy grade. 10 per cent, 
(in New York standard A grade, and 15 per cent, 
on New York standard B grade is lowering the 
standard for New York apples, which for years have 
suffered in reputation with the best trade in com¬ 
petition with the better graded and packed apples 
of other sections. In meeting recently some of the 
Apple a rowers’ Association of Oregon, the question 
.. "'as asked “What progress is New York State mak¬ 
ing in higher standards of grading and packing?” 
when this most significant remark was made: 
"When New York adopts as good grading as we 
do, and has a large crop of apples, we, in Oregon 
and Washington will not he in it with our apples.” 
These Western apple growers have set a high stand¬ 
ard. for fine quality in every respect in package 
and in packing, and while it is acknowledged that 
in point of flavor New York apples lead, yet the 
best trade will handle only the Western apples. My 
judgment is that the amended law in New York 
will greatly please the Western growers, who will 
fee! confident of holding the best trade in the East 
No' their higher standard, for a least a number of 
years longer in the future. george t. powell. 
Senator Wilson’s Opinion. 
The material change in the law as it was passed 
lasl year is in making it a part of the agricultural 
law and in the fourth grade, ungraded. By mis¬ 
take the law last year could not be enforced bv 
the Department- The ungraded section allows a 
man to put up anything if he will put on his name, 
tiie variety, and the minimum size of the apple. I 
am not as well satisfied with this law as I was with 
last year’s bill, but so many small growers got after 
Mieir members that we could not hinder a repeal 
"f fl >e law. unless we made a compromise. If there 
I ail not been such a large crop last year and unsat- 
August 21, 1915. 
pack under this law as it is to pack anything when 
it is packed right, when once they understand it. 
It is for the interest of the people who are going 
to eat these apples that they get what they buy. 
They can buy any grade of apples that they want, 
but in past years apples have been marked “Fancy” 
when there were a lot of apples in the middle of 
the barrel that ought to have gone to the cider 
mill. I know this much, that the Western States 
are worrying more over this law than anything that 
has happened in a long time, for if New York State 
ever gets to growing and packing its apples with 
anything like the uniformity that the Far West 
has done for several years. New York State apples 
will be bound to take the preference in all Eastern 
markets. We have been talking superior flavor, but 
I be point is we want to forget the flavor and pack 
our apples as we would like to have somebody else 
pack them for us if we had to buy them, and then 
mark them what they are. B . j. case 
Wayne Co., N. Y. 
New York Standard “B”, we opened up wide as that 
is designed for the No. 2. In this grade we elimin¬ 
ated color and gave them 15 per cent leeway on all 
defects. The fourth grade or Ungraded, requires 
none of above specifications, but is for the man who 
does not want to grade his apples, and bis apples 
must sell on their merits, except that it must show 
the minimum size. Also in Paragraph J we made 
provision for apples to be delivered to storage with¬ 
out any marks on them except to designate them, 
until they are transported or exposed for sale. 
Many of our growers in the State like the plan of 
putting their apples into storage tree run on account 
of the scarcity of experienced packers during the 
Investigation of a “Freak” Egg. 
M AXY readers of Tiie R. N.-Y. have heard or 
1VX read of freaks of various kinds, but rarely see 
them, consequently do not believe true stories. Here 
are pictures of the first freak I have had opportuni¬ 
ty to handle. The two pictures show a double egg, 
laid on July 4th, by a White Leghorn hen, aged 
14 months. When first picked up, the egg measured 
'■IVs inches length, 2 1-16 inches thick. The second 
picture, Fig. 3SS, shows the egg in comparison with 
selected eggs (at present selling for 40 cents per 
dozen, weight about two pounds to dozen). The 
wrinkles showing at top and sagging over edge of 
plate at bottom were caused by loss of albumen 
(through a very small hole in shell) in handling, as 
photogiaph was taken three days after egg was 
laid. When found the egg was perfect shape, the 
shell was soft and in handling it another egg could 
lie felt inside. Fig. 387 shows the egg just as the 
outer shell was cut with a sharp knife; the albumen 
flowing into the plate and the hard-shelled egg slid¬ 
ing out. This inner egg measured 2 y 4 inches length, 
1% inches width; weight 2% ounces, both ends 
alike, very round, no point. Albumen only between 
outer and inner shell; not the slightest trace of 
yolk, and the inner egg was perfect. 
In the first instance, on finding the egg, I tried 
to account for its formation in this way. Egg was 
1 mined and ready to be laid, but hen was frightened 
or driven from nest by another lien (possibly jumped 
from top tier of nests). Peristaltic action reversed 
and sent egg back toward ovaries and retained an¬ 
other day or more (which, as with eggbound, would 
start the egg to spoil or rot the next day or so, 
depending on the hen's condition). The egg started 
on its way again to be laid, and in passing a second 
time through the section of oviduct in which albu¬ 
men is formed, it took on a coating of this, same as 
a yolk would do, and then to the shell-forming sec¬ 
tion, but on account of its size, the regular amount 
of shell forming material spread so far as to leave 
it soft and thin (luckily for the hen and her owner) 
allowing it to pass out without injury to the lien, on 
account of its flexibility. My first Impression is 
possibly wrong, as the hen could not have retained 
the egg too long, as the final examination would 
show. After cutting the outer shell and taking 
photograph, the inner egg was candled; perfect 
(except shape), and it was opened and eaten at my 
next meal; was as good as any I had ever eaten. 
New York. j. p. kiefer. 
Freak Egg Compared With Others. Fig. 388. 
rush of gathering, thus enabling them to pack their 
fruit later when they have more time. 
1 believe the law is a step in the right direction, 
if our Commissioner of Agriculture will organize his 
inspectors so that it can be enforced, as he says he 
will. We know that he is in hearty accord with the 
law. We see no reason why New York State ap¬ 
ples should not lie standardized just as well as 
wheat or oats or corn, and that when a man buys 
New York Standard "A” grade, 2y> inches minimum, 
that lie gets it. The way some of our apples have 
been packed in New York State was a giveaway to 
the public grower. 
I hope that you will use your influence to have 
ibis law enforced and to give the growers to under¬ 
stand that it is really in their interests, that it is 
no hardship on them; that it is just as easy to 
T HE government of New Zealand has prohibited 
the exports of meat. A severe drought was 
responsible for this. Such a measure will affect 
far corners of the earth in various ways. For ex¬ 
ample, British Columbia, an agricultural section, 
has been importing great quantities of mutton from 
New Zealand. The total imports of meat into this 
province were valued at nearly $9,000,000. Y'et Bri¬ 
tish Columbia is a farming section, and must depend 
upon agriculture for its business and life. All of 
this meat and more should be produced at home, but 
the province has fallen into the habit of growing 
wheat and exchanging the grain or the flour for 
meat from New Zealand, onions from Spain, butter 
from California, chickens from Iowa and so on. 
J his world trade will only he broken up by some 
such trouble as lias forced New Zealand to keep 
her mutton at home. This shortage will drive farm¬ 
ers of British Columbia into the sheep business, 
and others will follow into dairying and poultry, 
so that in the end the province will become self- 
supporting and thus be better off. 
Reports show that the woodchuck crop is extra large 
and fat this year! Bisulphide <>f carbon forced down 
into the holes will get some of them, but a rifle in the 
hands of a good marksman is better. 
