Treatment for Wet Land 
I TREATED sufcessfully a low wot swampy field 
that was ])artly cov(‘ml witli willows, brush, 
(‘te.. and too wot to bo used for agricultural pur- 
](Oses. I used dynamite to make a ditch. The force 
of the exi)losive made a nice clean ditch, through 
the willows, brush, and roots, etc. (See Fig. 20S.) 
This drained the land, and after removing the wil¬ 
lows and brush, a good croit of corn was raised on 
the field Jast season, which is shown in Fig. 210. 
There are many fields in this locality that have 
been reclaimed by ditching and draining. This is 
the richest and most valuable f.anning land we have, 
as the soil is very deep. We use ground lime on 
some of the sour land, to sweeten the soil. This 
gives good results. Lime is also u.sed in the work 
of preparing the soil for Alfalfa. The view of the 
blasted ditch. Fig. 20«. and the field. Fig. 210, will 
exjdain the work better than a long article. 
Noble Co., D. c. B. m’gee. 
A Peach Carrier Press 
S OON after the l)ox came into use, as an apple 
l)ackage. pres.ses were invented to assist in 
]»ressing the covers into jtlace for nailing. Thou¬ 
sands of ])each carriers are sent to market every 
year, .and yet we hear very little 
about pre.sses designed for lu’essing 
down the covers upon the packages 
so that they can !«> (piickly iiiiiled. 
The New .Tersey Ex]»eriment Sta¬ 
tion realized two years ago that a 
]»re.ss suitable for the luindliiig of 
carriers would be of great economic 
value to i)each gi-owers who were 
ship))ing an.v considerable number 
of carriers a day. 
An ex))ert can nail up a consid¬ 
erable number of crates ]ter day 
without the assistance of a jtre.ss, 
hut after one has used an efficient 
press he will never go back to the 
old method. It was u.sually neces¬ 
sary to iiiiil one end firmly, and 
then to i)ull the other end down 
into place. Where a bulge of at 
least 114 1 /4 inches is nspiired 
at the center of the cover in order 
to insure the package being full and 
not slack when It arrived upon the 
m.arket, the end nailed first some¬ 
times comes unnailed when pressure is api)lied to 
the other end of the cover. The i)ressure exert(‘d 
upon the fruit is not uniform either, when the cov¬ 
er is put into i)osition by the old method. 
A good ])ress brings both ends of the cover down 
into position at once ,‘ind d<»(‘S it very ipiickly. A 
press adapted for ])each crates was designed aft the 
Station in lt>15 jind w.as improved somewhat in 
lOltf. A numlxM' were distilbuted to the county 
agents so tluit growers could have copies made. 
fiAvo men should be able to i)ut the covers upon at 
least 10(K) crates a day with the a.ssistance of one of 
the presse.s. Conditions now indicate that efficient 
Ditch After Blasting. Fig. 208 
■Ghe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Press for Peach Crates. Fig. 209 
labor will b(' difficnlt to secure, during the coming 
fruit season, and all such appliances should he 
adopted by the ptaich growers to reduce the time 
and expense of getting the pack.ages ready for nmr- 
ket. The illustrations. Figs. 200 and 209, show how 
this press is made and used. 
Penalty for Stealing Sheep 
WJiat is the penalty for stealing and killing sheei)? 
In thi.s locality wo lose more slieei) by sheej) thieves 
than we do by dogs. The practice is to go into a tiock 
of sheep, shoot the best and carry them away. We 
Supj)o.se the meat is peddled out. Thoi-e are several en¬ 
gaged in the killing. Some of the.se men have been 
seen in my pasture with guns, I have offered a reward 
for evidence that would convict the guilty parties. The 
district attorney wotdd begin a John Doe proceeding if 
any evidence could be procured t<) warrant it. Would 
one be .justified in giving the thieves a dose of buck¬ 
shot in the legs if caught in the act, and the.v tried to 
escape? It is m.v intention and the intention of others 
to mark them for identification if caught in the act. 
How about those who buy meat of these parties, know¬ 
ing they are susi)ected of stealing sheep? W'ould it 
not be a i»roper thing f(»r the sheriff to offer a reward 
for their ai)i)rehension? At a meeting of Sheep Br»>ed- 
ers’ Association, it was agreed to unite in an etl’ort to 
<‘onvict the thiev<‘S. The decrease in the number of 
sheep kept is not cau.sed .so much by dogs as it is by 
foolish and deceptive legislation. Local thiewes have 
their i)art in it. H. c. A. 
.\ew York. 
HE ])cnalty for stealing a sheep is the same as 
for stealing anything else of the s;ime value. 
If the v.'ilue of the sheep is less than $.■»() it is i)etlt 
larceny, which is .a misdemeanor, iind ])nnishable 
by imi)risonment in the county jail for not more 
than one year or a fine of ijtoOb or both, and if the 
value is more than .$.“)() it is grand larceny in tlie 
second degree and is punishable b.v tmi)risonment 
for a term not exceeding fiv(‘ years in State prison. 
.V do.se of .shot in the region .von mention would he 
none too good for tleeing thieves who steal .sheep, hut 
you would be exce(>ding your authorit.v, and lay 
.vourself liable to pro.secufion if you i>roceed along 
these lines, but if the trouble is widespread it Is 
probable that no jury would convict anyone who 
did this. 
person who buys or receives stolen i)ropert.v 
knowing the same to have been stolen, is guilt.v ot 
criminally receiving stolen ])rop(‘rty. and is pun¬ 
ishable by imj)risonment or fine dr both. 
Tender the circumstances outlined b.v yon it does 
not ai»pear that there is much you can do until you 
catch one of the olTenders in tin' act, or get such 
evidence as will convict him of the crime. If tlu'.v 
ai-e caught of course the district attorne.v will i)ro- 
ceed to indict them, and you will probably have no 
trouble in getting their conviction. It might be well 
if all of the people who have suffered from these' 
deiiredations were to combine and then notify the 
I»eo]»le wlio have been buying this meat, that in all 
lirobabilit.v it has been stolen, and that if the same 
is found to be the case, that the.v will be liable to 
pro.secution for criminally receiving stolen property. 
513 
and that any of this meat that the.v buy will be at 
this risk. It W(ui!d probably be well for your as¬ 
sociation directl.v or through the sheriff’s oflice to 
olTer a substantial reward, which might induce .some 
of the thi('v<;s to inform on the others. In an.v event 
.von must get some evidence before' you f)roceed ver.v 
far, and you cannot do very much without it. 
Michigan Sugar Beet Growers Active 
T he ^Michigan beet growers have l»'eu having n: 
struggle over the (piestion of the jtrice to be 
paid for beets. These men went at their ])roposi- 
tion in a busine.sslike wa.v. They organized, studied 
the (luestion and then went after an increast' in 
jirice on the following ground. 
The.v figured that with land at .$100 an acre the 
beet-growing farmers had .$12, ITS.OOO invested 
without counting the equipment. As against thi.s 
the owners of the beet sugar factories had swoni 
statements at I.ansing that their real estate figured 
uj) to .$12,47S,()24. The county treasiirers reported 
that the total i)roport.v, real and ])ersonal, for which 
llu'se manufacturers were a.s.ses.sed was .$0,209,(K)9, 
then'fore it was evident that the growers had at 
least as much money invested in their lands as tin; 
sugar factories had in their plant.s. 
The.v tin'll figured comparative labor costs, which 
they figured at $40 per acn*. or a 
total in 191.0 of $t.!)9t.240. The 
sugar factories figured au avc'ragi; 
of SI da.vs to convert tin' crop into 
sugar—4,S99 hands being emjilo.vi'd. 
Including the cost of coal, the cost 
of labor and a good-siz('d ‘•overhead” 
charf-'e, the total factory cost was 
made out to be $1,SS4.S97. In otln'i- 
words, growing the lu'cts was 2y\ 
times as expensive as manufactur¬ 
ing the sugar. 
Thus tln'.v claim that with an in- 
V('stnu'nt efpial. if not greater, than 
that of the factories and with the 
cost of groxving the beets far in ex- 
ces.s, the farmers ought to 'et a 
siinare deal in the lU't returns. 4’ln; 
average yield for 1915 was tons 
per acre; tin* average' i»ric(; was 
$5..5,5. This made an average gross 
return of $17.17. Taking out the 
cost of production there was a pro¬ 
fit of $7.17 per acre. On the other 
hand it was figun'd that 12i/% of 
tin* b(*('ts would be extracted as sugar—tin* jirice of 
7c was figured in estimating returns. From the beets 
jtroduced on one acre therefore, the factory received 
.$148.75 with $12 added for the dried beet tmlj*. 
This makes a total of $1(50.75, deducting tlie farm 
cost of the beet.s, and there is left $97.(54 for the 
sugar-making against $7.17 for the farmer as re¬ 
turns from one acre of l)(*ets. 
.\rmed with these figures the bet't growers of 
Michigan jiroceeded to d(*mand a better jirice for 
their cro)). They say that the.v want to see the 
industry thrive and prosper, luit the.v propose to 
have more tlian 35 cents of the thrift and jiros- 
The Hog “Barney” Dressed Weight 953 lbs. Fig. 211. See P?*ge 528 
