230 
■irslinl'Xf 
This KIRSTIN One Man Stump Puller is in 
a class by itself. It is as superior as it is dif¬ 
ferent. Just a steady back and forth motion 
on the lever gives tons of pull on the stiunp. 
The secret of its great power is in double 
leverage. Made of high-grade steel, com¬ 
bining great strength, durability and light 
weight. Soft steel clutches grip and pull 
without wear on the cable. Clears over an 
acre from one anchor. Changes the speed 
while operating. 
Ten-day trial on your own land. Fifteen 
year guarantee, flaw or no flaw. With every 
KIRSTIN Puller, goes the KIRSTIN 
METHOD of clearing land ready for the 
plow at a guaranteed saving of 10% to 50% 
over any other way. 
Write now—Quick—for our Profit'Sharing Plan and 
OUT hig Free Book,' The Ooldln Your Stump Land." 
A. J. KIRSTIN COMPANY 
6040 Ludington St. Etcanaba, Mich. 
Largest makers in the world of Stump PuIIera— 
both One Man and Horse Power. 
1713 
The Life of 
Chilean Nitrate Deposits 
A. D. 1917 
Total 
Nitrate deposits 
in Chile 
720 
million 
tons 
Estimated life 
of deposits at 
present rate of 
World’s 
consumption 
300 
years 
For Reliable Information Write 
Dr, WM. S. MYERS, Director 
Chilean Nitrate Propaganda 
25 Madifion Avenue. New York 
Dozens of Home Uses 
for good Wallboards 
A THIRD CHEAPER THAN 
LATH AND PLASTER 
Use it for partitions—ceilings—dividing rooms— 
closets, etc. Nomuss ordirtin the house—no waiting 
for walls to dry—iiothing.to freeze. Moisture-proof 
—warm in winter—cool ‘in summer. Many other 
advantages. Send for sa7npie —a tine, heavy board 
at only $27.00 per thousand feet. 
Webco LATHBOARD 
a splendid wall board, sold direct to the user 
at a low piice. Big stock on hand to ship from. 
GET OUR BUILDING MATERIAL 
CATALOG-LEARN HOW TO SAVE , 
Shows how standardizations of matsrlals fvCH ssss you 80 per 
cent to 60 per cent when you build. Over 000 lOlutratioDs of 
atock—FREE on request. 
WEBBER LUMBER AND 8UPP1T COMPANY 
87 Thompson Strsot 8llAll8urot Mass. 
“GLOBE” Ventilators are rapidly 
replacing the old-fashioned cupo¬ 
las on bams everywhere. Because 
"GliOBK” 
VENTILATORS 
are more attractive in appearance, and 
because they are REAL ventilators. 
They are built to operate eflSciently at all 
times, and they maintain a continuous flow 
of fresh air—remove barn odors, iireserve 
the health and increase the earning capacity 
of live stock. 
They are used by leading Dairymen and 
Farmers—cost little to install, and nothing 
to operate and maintain. Made with weather 
vane if desired. Ask for our free booklet 
"Better Barns.” 
GLOBE VENTILATOR 
COMPANY, Dept. A 
TROV, N. Y. 
GL0YER:TIM0THY<4b<S! 
Greatest Grass Seed Value Known—Investigate. Alsike 
Clover and Timothy mixed—the finest grass grown for 
hay and pasture. Cheapest seeding you can make, grows 
everywhere. You will save 14 on your grass seed bill by 
writing for free sample, circular and big Co-operative 
8e^ Guide, offering Field Seeds, all kinds. Write today. 
American Mutual Seed Co., Dept. S60 Chicago, 111. 
“Ghe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Farm Mechcinics 
“Those Barn Plans” 
The New Jersey plan for a dairy barn 
shown on. page 94, is much like the plan 
of the barn where the writer milked cows 
in his boyhood days. The width is ex¬ 
actly the same, and it is because of this 
that I wish to warn prospective builders 
of dairy barns again.st building too nar¬ 
row. Our barn was 80 feet outside, and 
as the walls were 18 inches thick, the in¬ 
side width was only 27 feet, which we 
found too narrow for two rows of cows. 
We managed to get along by placing the 
cows all on one side and the young cattle 
on the other, and giving the cows a little 
more room than the young cattle; but we 
always wished that the bam had been 
built at least two feet wider. 
The Connecticut barn plan (shown on 
the same page) shows too much waste 
room. There is no use in providing 
stable room for the silo. The up-to-date 
silo is built of hollow blocks and has an 
arched roof of the same material which 
can be kept closed tight in Winter to re¬ 
tain the heat. It should be built outside, 
but close to the barn, and connected by a 
chute the height of the silo. While it is 
true that in a bam built nearly square, 
as in the ca.se of the Connecticut plan, 
more space may be enclosed with a given 
amount of lumber or other material in the 
side walls, the advantage gained is more 
than offset by the greater cost in framing 
for a wide bam, and in the fact that less 
work and less time are needed to take 
care of two rows of cows facing each 
other as they do in the New Jersey plan 
than in the arrangement shown in the 
plan from Connecticut. J. M. drew. 
Minnesota. 
Unpalatable Well Water 
I have a 16-foot dug well, bricked up, 
stands near the house and away from the 
barns, with a chain pump. The water is 
palatable and satisfactory, but with a 
valve pump and pipe in the well the water 
soon has bad odor and poor taste. Sur¬ 
rounding neighbors have the same trouble 
unless they use a chain pump, although 
ventilation is allowed for in valve pump 
platform. Can you .explain or suggest a 
remedy? c. s. B. 
Canastota, N. T. 
If the style of pump alone makes the 
difference noted in the palatability of the 
water from these wells, it is evident that 
there is little movement in the water in 
them, and that the agitation and aeration 
induced by the chain running through the 
water is sufficient to at least partially re¬ 
move the stale odor and taste. It might 
be that the style of pump chain carrying 
pocket elevators, similar to those used in 
grain conveying chutes, would still further 
improve the character of the water from 
these wells. If water is not agitated it 
can obtain but little oxygen from the at¬ 
mosphere, even though the well is open at 
the top. The superiority of water drawn 
by a windlass and bucket so often noted 
is probably due more to this agitation and 
the carrying down of air by the empty 
tucket than to the sentimental reverence 
inspired by the o’d song and boyhood 
memories. m. b. D. 
Asbestos Shingles 
Will you advise me as to the asbestos 
shingles? Are they better than wood 
shingles? I wish to shingle my house. 
Lagraugeville, N. Y. c. M. 
Asbestos .shingles are made from a 
mixture of about 85% Portland cement 
and 15% long fiber asbestos. After be¬ 
ing built up by a method somewhat sim¬ 
ilar to that employed in the manufacture 
of paper, the shingles are cut to the 
proper size from the sheet and subjected 
to a tremendous pressure—about 12,000 
pounds to the square inch. The result is 
a tough cement sheet reinforced with the 
long asbestos fibers. The claim is made 
for these shingles, that if applied proper¬ 
ly with rust-resisting fasteners, they will 
outlast any roof to which they are ap¬ 
plied. From their construction this 
claim would appear to be true. They 
have not been on the marked long enough 
to fix their length of life as yet, but have 
been in .use for a great enough length 
of time to show that they have great 
wearing qualities. Another advantage in 
their use is their fireproofing quality, be¬ 
ing absolutely unburnable. 
On the other hand, good shingles have 
many advantages for use as a roof cov¬ 
ering in housebuilding especially. One 
of the greatest of these is their adapt¬ 
ability to so many different treatments, 
making it possible to suit the roof to 
different types of wall coverings and sur¬ 
roundings, thus securing a harmonious 
whole. From a constructive point of 
view a shingle roof also offers certain 
advantages. It does not require as ex¬ 
pensive sheathing under it, is less in first 
cost, is easily remodeled or repaired, and 
if well laid of good material, under or¬ 
dinary conditions will last from 20 to 25 
years. Another factor in favor of the 
shingle roof is the fact that the average 
carpenter has had a great deal more ex¬ 
perience in laying them than he has had 
with other types of roofs. This natur¬ 
ally results in better and faster work. 
Probably one of their chief defects is the 
fact that the best grades are made from 
inflammable woods such as cedar. This 
coupled ^vith the fact that they are cut 
up in such thin pieces and so exposed to 
the drying effects of the Summer sun 
makes a roof that kindles very easily and 
burns very rapidly. B. H. S. 
Another Staple Puller 
On page 1497 you have a couple of 
illustrations of staple pullers. Both of 
these will be found to be useful, but I 
want to give, through you, to the farm¬ 
ing community, what I believe is the 
most useful article of the kind that I 
have ever seen. It is on the order of 
both of those described, but is an im¬ 
provement on both of them. I have used 
one of these for years, and I am sure 
that there have been made from this 
model hundreds by farmers and stock- 
men who had seen it. I have always had 
them made from old buggy springs, using 
one end, which has a hole in it, for the 
purpose of hanging the tool in the barn. 
Take a piece of the spring about 20 inch¬ 
es long and have the blacksmith make 
it in the shape shown on the drawing 
accompanying this letter. The inner 
edges of the hook should be rounded so 
as not to cut the staple. Armed with 
this tool in the left hand and either a 
hammer or hatchet in the right hand 
there is little trouble in pulling staples 
even though the wood has grown over 
them. I have never paid more than 25c 
for making one of the pullers. Of course 
the length, about 18 inches after they 
are finished, is a matter of choice. A 
long one pulls more easily than a short 
one. I myself have used them always 
of the length of about 18 inches. The 
front end should always be rounded as 
shown, and not straight. 
North Carolina. tiios. b. wildeb. 
Analysis of Water 
Our water, which is pumped from a 
well dug in the yard, has recently ac¬ 
quired a bad odor, though in appearance 
perfectly clear and is not unpleasant to 
the taste.. What steps are necessary to 
have it analyzed, to whom to send it, 
what fee, if any, is required, etc.? 
Allendale, N. J. J. B. M. 
Before having this water analyzed I 
would suggest that you have the well 
pumped dry and cleaned, looking for the 
carcass of any animal that may have 
fallen into it or pollution from some 
neighboring privy vault, cesspool, barn¬ 
yard or other source of filth. Your local 
health officer will undoubtedly aid you m 
this matter and be able to refer you to a 
State or private laboratory at which the 
water will be examined, if that measure 
is thought worth while. The first step 
in attempting to find the source of possi¬ 
ble pollution of a well should be careful 
search of the surroundings rather than a 
February 17, 1917. 
chemical or bacteriological analysis. The 
latter may, or may not give useful in¬ 
formation and, in any event, will have to 
be supplemented by a personal investiga¬ 
tion on the premises to be of any value. 
I do not know whether or not your State 
Department of Health offers free labor¬ 
atory examinations of water from pri¬ 
vate sources of supply but think it 
doubtful. n. B. D. 
Handling an Acetylene Gas Plant 
I would like to give a few words of ad¬ 
vice to those contemplating the installa¬ 
tion of an acetylene plant 
Do not put the machine in the cellar 
of your dwelling. The gas which is gen¬ 
erated passes from the water into which 
the carbide has been dropped to a tank, 
which has a water seal, and the gas is 
forced by the weight of this tank, through 
the pipes to the burners. If a leak should 
develop in this gas holder, there would be 
a continuous generation and a steady 
flow of gas into the cellar of your house, 
if your plant was there located, and 
should it come in contact with a flame 
of any kind a disastrous explosion would 
occur. The location of a machine in the 
cellar would necessitate the carrying in 
and out of a considerable quantity of 
water, and refuse from the carbide. If 
you use a drain, it will certainly become 
clogged with lime. My advice is—and 
I have had 15 years’ experience in at¬ 
tending to a plant—to house your ma¬ 
chine outside of your dwelling. Have an 
abundance of water handy. Make sure 
that your house is frost-proof. Be sure 
that the top of your drain trough is re¬ 
movable, and if the pipe conveying the 
gas to your dwelling has any bend, in 
which moisture might condense ."nd ob¬ 
struct the flow of gas at this point insert 
a drainage cock. j. s. adams. 
Connecticut. 
Use of a Tractor and Cultivator 
I would like to know the practicability 
of using two ordinary one-horse cultivat¬ 
ors, bolted together, to be used with a 
tractor, having rows sufficiently far apart, 
that tractor would straddle the rows and 
at the same time be sufficiently weighty 
and rigid to prevent sliding on slight 
slopes. If this could be accomplished it 
seems to me it would increase tractor use 
on the smaller farms, and economize cul¬ 
tivation expenses. w. A. R. 
Colebrook, Pa. 
We would like to ask if any of our read¬ 
ers has ever tried a plan of this sort with 
the tractors We have never heard of just 
this kind of work, and could only give a 
guess or an opinion which, would not have 
much value. Perhaps some of our readers 
have tried the plan. Many of them are of 
an inventive turn of mind, and have tried 
a number of experiments with their trac¬ 
tors. We would like to have their expei-i- 
ence, or if they have never tried the plan 
we would like to have their opinion re¬ 
garding this suggestion. 
Terra Cotta for Barn Building 
I want to build a fireproof, damp-proof, 
one-story cow barn and fireproof silo. I 
have been advised to use terra cotta blocks 
for cow bam and silo. Do you consider 
the.se blocks the best material I could get 
for such a building, and if so what kind 
of terra cotta blocks? If you do not ad¬ 
vise these blocks what material do yin? 
Poughkeepsie, N. Y. v. M. 
For such a barn as you desire to build 
you could use concrete terra cotta blocks, 
corrugated hollow tile with concrebe plas¬ 
ter on inside and stucco finish on outside, 
or solid concrete. You should make a study 
of the cost of these materials under your 
conditions and be guided somewhat by 
that. Of the materials mentioned either 
of the first two will insure a warmer barn, 
more free from dampness. As for the silo 
glazed hollow tile makes an excellent ma¬ 
terial for building a durable fireproof silo. 
ir. F, J. 
Ill-smeleing Cistern. —If W. A.. 
Auburn, N. Y., page 41, will extend the 
overflow to within four or five inches 
of the bottom, so that the pressure of the 
water will force the bottom water out, 
his cistern will soon be purified. Be 
sure the outlet is not low enough to act 
as a syphon. E. W. B. 
Lawrence, Micih. 
He is a very small boy, just beyond 
the limits of babyhood. The other day 
someone a^ied him if he was not father’s 
boy. He answered: “Yes.” “And are 
you mother’s boy, too?” “Yes,” replied 
Charlie. “Well, how can you be fatheris 
boy and mother’s boy at the same time?” 
“Oh,” replied Charlie, indifferently, 
“can’t a wagon have two horses?”—■ 
Woman’s Journal. 
