788 
Sell the Crops Direct 
A s a consumer I Jiave trouble about prettinj; po¬ 
tatoes, oats. corn, wheat and dressed bops for 
home consnmittion. To illustrate family needs. I put 
in the cellar two or four barrels of potatoes, a 
dressed corn-fed hop. about 200 or 225 pounds: for 
hens about iO bushels of oats. 20 bushels of corn, also 
one or two bai’rels of ai>ples. In order to pet them I 
must bepin early in the season and canvass the farm- 
inp community for miles around to find the ai'ticles 
Rain from a Line Pipe. Fig. 309 
wanted. Last Fall potatoes came from a farm six 
mites away, apples from a farm eipht miles away, 
oats and corn from the feed stoiv, a dressed hop 
from a farm four miles away, and 12 miles from 
where the potatoes came from. Therefoi'e the idea 
came to me that if the farmers in the zone 10 or 
12 miles 'across, would have a central station to 
which each one could report the amount and kinds 
of farm produce which he had to sell, and then let 
coii.sumers know of said central, thej- could leave 
an order with central, which could be sent to the far¬ 
mer. He would know how much was wanted, Avho 
Avanted it, and could dispose of a load at once with 
no peddlinp, no freipht, no storape, no loss except 
a fee to keep central poing. Of course if the idea 
does not have merit, or is not practical, do not both¬ 
er with dt. MILES 1)E LOXG. 
Paratopa Co., X. Y. 
It. X.-Y.—This is a pood suggestion, and it should 
be made the foundation of organizing a better mar¬ 
ket service. The Farm Bureaus are doing some¬ 
thing of this work through their offices and through 
their circulars and papers. The first jiidnciple of 
farm production is to supply local demands first of 
all. Thousands of dollars are lost eveiy year by 
eross-shipinng—that is, sendiiig goods away t<» a dis¬ 
tant market and then having them sent back to the 
local market for retail trade. The small shipper is 
ahvay.s at a disadvantage in the l)ig market and he 
Avill be far better off to develop a direct trade near¬ 
er home. Right within a few miles of his farm he 
can, with a little effort, find people who Avant most 
of AA’hat he groAvs and it is far better for all hands 
to deal direct and not ship to a distance. The sys¬ 
tem Mr. De Tamg suggests ought to be 'Avorke<l out 
near every market toAvn. 
Quantity of Seed to the Acre 
M y experience has been that Avhere the soil is 
in a proper condition as regards fertility and 
l»reparation and the seeding or planting is done at 
tlie right season for that particular crop, a minimum 
quantity of seed to the acre gives better returns 
both in quantity and quality than results from using 
a greater 'amount of seed. I haA'e groAAm 75 bushels 
of oats to the acre by using 48 quarts of Seed, and 
Avith jiea beans I have groAvn .“tO bushels to tlie acre 
by planting from 10 to IS quarts of seed. I have 
had the same experience Avith Avheat. T recently 
read in one of our farm journals the oft-rejieated 
advice to soav a larger quantity of seed if the land 
Avas jioor or in a rnn-down condition. This prac¬ 
tice. according to my experience, and observation of 
results obtained by others aa'Iio jn-actice the better 
Avay, is radically Avrong. If a s(jnare foot of ground 
does not contain the nece.ssary available jdant food 
to sustain and mature one good strong plant, six 
idants on that square foot Avill not persuade the 
soil to yield up AAdiat it does not contain. The rule 
.should be if the soil is right 'a minimum amount of 
seed Avill give the best returns. If the soil is poor 
a large amount of seed Avill not add anything either 
to the .soil or re.sult.s. 
There are two fields of oats under my observation 
at the present time. On one at least 75 quarts of 
seed Avas used. The plants are as thick as a hedfe 
in the drill row and are of necessity spindling. The 
"Uhe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
result Avill be small AA^eak straw, and .short heads 
with small berry. On the other field 50 quarts of 
seed were used; the plants are strong and vigorous 
and fully close enough to each other. The results 
Avill be a strong groAvth of straAV, maturing long 
heads filled Avith lai’pe berries, and the Aveight Avill be 
in evidence provided the crop is soavii at the proper 
time, Avhich in this part* of the State is on or before 
May Loth as a rule. henry e. cox. 
I-ivinpston Co., X. Y. 
The Argument for Buckwheat 
I T Avill soon be “noAV or neA’er” in seeding huck- 
Avheat. .Inly 15 Avill be about the limit for seeding 
in this locality, and there must be a late Fall to carry 
the crop through before October 1. It is the latest 
griiin crop, pood for green manuring, groAvs on poor 
.M»il or Avith rough culture and giA’es a good amount 
of feed, fodder or straAv. It is a good crop for seed¬ 
ing doAvn. 
As compared Avith other grain crops the Rhode 
Island Experiment Station gives this table of 
analysis: 
BuckAvheat 
Corn 
Wheat 
Oats 
Bai'h 
Water .... 
. 12.(5 
10.9 
10.5 
11.0 
10.5 
Ash . 
. 2.0 
1.5 
1.8 
.‘5.0 
1.8 
Protein ... 
. 10. 
10.5 
11.9 
11.8 
11.1 
('rude Fiber 
_ K7 
2.1 
1.8 
9.5 
1.1 
Xitro. Free 
Ext. (i4.5 
(i9.(; 
71.9 
59.7 
7.‘5..3 
Fat. 
♦> •> 
5.4 
2.1 
5.0 
2.2 
With reasonable care and soil the InickAvheat ought 
to give 25 bushels or more per acre. 
Buckwheat straAv. if protected from tin* Aveather, i.s 
relislied b.A' stock. As a bedding for horses it does not 
last long, but it is a good bedding foi' i-oaa's because it is 
rich in minerals jind rots .so <pii<-k]y it is desirable for 
manui'C. BuckAA'heat has been used as a green forage 
croj) and good results Inive been reported, but at this 
time AA'C feel that it Avould be more pia)fitable for the 
farmer to alloAA' it to mature, thereby cutting doAA'ii his 
feed bills by producing some of his protein feed. 
Most people think of buckAvheat only as griddle 
cakes, but it i.s often used for making bread and 
< ake. The Ohio Ex)>eriment Station gives the folloAA’- 
Pumping Station for Irrigated Gardens. Fig. 310 
ing method of using buckAvheat. Many a farm fjimily 
Avill find itself hunting for “Avar bread’’ materials 
before the .A-ear is out: 
The buckAvheat and Avheat flours, blended half and 
half, .are mixed fairly soft, Avith more salt than i.s used 
in Avhite bread, and put immediately into a greased pan 
in Avhich they are to be baked. When the dough be¬ 
comes light, it is placed in a hot oven, Avhich is alloAved 
to cool gradually after the first 10 minutes of baking. . 
BuckAvheat flour can be used to make “buckcake,” made 
Avith eggs and milk. The recipe is the same as for corn* 
meal bread, or “johnnycake.” except for the substitu¬ 
tion of buckAvheat flour for cornmeal. 
Contract With a Tenant 
I haA'e occasionally seen in The R. X.-Y. reference 
to Avhat might be considered a standard form of con¬ 
tract for working a farm on .shares. I Avould like a 
co]iy of this contract. k. a. m. 
East Orange, X. J. 
VERY contract for Avorking a farm on .shares is 
peculiar to itself, as the personalities of the 
parties involved, and the particular conditions have 
to be considered. Mo.st of such contracts can be 
figured out on Avhat Ave call the rule of thirds. This 
is reasoned out about as folloAvs: Consider the 
proposition diA'ided into three equal parts, one rep¬ 
resented by labor, the other real estate, and the 
third personal property, each entitled to an equal 
share of the proceeds. .‘Suppose one man puts up 
the farm or per.sonal property—that entitles him to 
one-third of the proceeds. The other party pntvides 
the labor, and that entitled him to another third. 
The remaining third Avill be divided in jiroportion 
as each party puts up a share of the personal prop¬ 
erty. Avhich includes mone.v or capital, liA'e stock, 
tools, fertilizer, seeds, and .so on. Suppose one man 
lu'ovides the farm, the other man agrees to do the 
Avork. The man Avho furnishes the farm provides 
part of the coavs, one team, and certain tools. The 
other man furnishes more coav.s, another team, cer¬ 
tain other tools, and they each agree to pay half of 
the cost of seed and fertilizer. In such a division 
the farm OAvner would have one-third and the AAmrk- 
June 1(1, 1917, 
er one-third. The remaining third Avould be divided 
betAveen them in proportion as they furnish the per¬ 
sonal property. The Avay to get at it would be to 
have a fair appraisal made of each man’s share, 
and then give each the proportion of this total value 
Avhich he furnished. Usually this plan works out 
reasonably aa'cII in making such an agreemenit^. 
There may be exceptional cases Avhere such a divis¬ 
ion Avould not be fair to one side or the other, but 
in most of the propositions which have been pre¬ 
sented to us this plan of division has given sat¬ 
isfaction. 
Seeding Grass in the Corn 
T bavv tAvo acres in field corn; would like to seed 
doAvn with Alsike and Timothy for meadow for 1918, 
I applied tAvo tons lime per acre. If seeded at the last 
cultivation of corn should I put a nurse crop of rye in? 
Ohio. A. E. K. 
OME of our farmers in the East. aa'Iio hai'e small 
fields, folloAA' the plan of seeding doAAui Avith the 
corn crop, and they frequently get an excellent stand 
in this Avay. The corn is planted in hills, and the 
cultiA'ation is kept as nearly leA'el as possible, AA'ith- 
out hilling up. .lust before the last cultiA'ation the 
grass seed is scattered eA'enly over the field. Then 
the cultivator is run both Avays, and most farmers 
folloAA’ this Avith a hand rake, scratching around the 
hills so as to cover the grass .“^eed there, and make 
as full a stand as possible. In cutting, great pains 
Avill be taken to cut the stalks close to the ground. 
The corn is taken from the field as soon as possible, 
and early in the folloAving Spring, AA'hile the ground 
is frozen, a roller is used to smash doAvn the dead 
stalks or butts. Handled in this Ava.v these farmers 
are able to obtain a very good stand of gras.s. It re¬ 
quires consideiaible skill and care in iiutting in the 
seed, and it is generally practiced by farmers Avho 
AA'ant to make their rotation as short and simple (is 
possible. To this end they cut the gra.ss for meadoAv 
a numlxM' of years, then ploAV and plant corn, using 
lime freely and broadcasting fertilizer. Good cul¬ 
ture is given, and another .seeding made at the last 
(iiltivation, Avhich makes about the simplest rotation 
of hay and coim that can be thought of. Rye can be 
seeded at the same time, but a lietter stand of grass 
Avill be obtained Avithout it. You must understand 
that this practice is not at all common, and Ave do 
not advise it generally. 
Soy Beans for Fall Pasture 
I HAVE read many articles on the Soy bean, but 
think the experience of Benj. I’addock of Boone 
Co., Ky., Avorth Avhile. I Avill give it in his oavu 
language as near as I can, from planting to harvest. 
“If the soil is thin apjily stable manure and plOAV 
under about four inches deep. This giA’es all the 
inoculation Ave need. We find from experience the 
Soy bean Avill do better than anything else Ave can 
groAA' on thin soil. Prepare the soil finely; we drill 
Avith the grain drlil one inch deep, being very 
careful to get one bushel and one peck per acre. 
We use the Mammoth V’ellOAA', as they give a large 
amount of hay, but Avill not mature seed in this 
latitude unless season is very long. We AAuint the 
l)lant.s thick, so there Avill be no large thick stems. 
“In making hay Ave begin to cut Avhen loAver 
leaA-es begin turning yellOAv; cure in AvindroAvs, but 
Ave think our experience in 1910 proves them Avorth 
AA'hile for pasture. (lAving to the drought our pasture 
Lettuce Beds with Path on Each Side. Fig. 3ll 
Avas so short Ave had to feed before September 1st, 
Our corn Avas .so short Ave Avould not haA’e enough to 
fill our tAvo silo.s. We turned to eight acres of Soy 
beans for relief. The lirst feAV days Ave let the coavs run 
in them for one hour each day, gradually increasing 
the length of time, until Hiey had eaten the plants 
quite a lot; left them in until they Avere satisfied. 
We did not jiasture Avhen Avet. The coavs cleaned up 
everything but the stalks; they prevented AvaShdng 
and Avill add some fertility to the soil. W'hen cows 
Avere taken out it was too late to seed grain, Do 
