981 
Sifting and Bagging Burned Lime 
DISAGREEABLE JOB.—It very often happens 
that burned lime is the cheapest and best form 
of lime for the farmer to purchase; but when he 
comes to slake and spread the stuff, he finds it a 
’Sift'ng the Slaked Lime. Fig. 427 
very disagreeable task indeed. My recent exper¬ 
ience in slaking and sifting two carloads of burned 
lime may offer some help in the difficulty. 
SLAKING.—^The lime, as it came from the car, 
was hauled to a convenient water supply, and piled 
in a long low pile. As it was unloaded from the 
Avagon, sufficient Avater AA’as throAvn on to slake it. 
In this Avay, the pile Avas slaked all through, Avith 
no large lumps left in the center. The amount of 
Avater to add is someAvhat a matter of judgment. 
Enough should l)e put on to slake all the lumps, but 
not enough to make the mass pasty. A good grade 
of lime, Avell burned. Avheu properly slaked, gives a 
very fine powder Avl.icli will IIoav almost like Avater. 
SIFTING THE LIME.—As the lime AAms to be 
applied Avith a drill, to insure an even and econom¬ 
ical application, it was necessary to sift the lime, 
fi’his proA’ed (piite a problem. At first a mason’s 
sieve Avas used; but it Avas necessary to throAv the 
lime at this, Avhich raised such a dust that the men 
Avere unable to Avork, not to speak of the loss 
ihrough bloAving aAvay of the finest, most available 
1 (articles. To .sohm the difficulty, a frame of 2xrs, 
ft., Avas made, under Avhich Avas nailed a piece 
of quarter-inch, square mesh heavy netting. The 
front end of this screen AA’as left open, by nailing a 
crosspiece underneath, and a brace Avas run lengtii- 
Avise under the AAdre. The contrivance Avas then 
mounted on legs about 20 inches long, Avith a slight 
.‘<lope from back to front. Then the space under the 
front was boarded up and the rest covered Avith 
burlap. Two men could then sift the lime very 
rapidly and Avithout discomfort. One man shoveled 
on, and the other hoed the lime OA'er the screen, the 
coarse particles being draAvn to the front. The ob¬ 
ject in boarding up the front end Avas to keep the 
stones from falling back under the screen Into the 
sifted lime. When the space under the screen Avas 
full, the sifter Avas moved to a neAV place, and a 
third man I>agged the sifted lime. 
BAGGING.—The contrivance shown in the illus¬ 
tration, Fig. 4.2 , is merely the frame of a box, about 
as high as a sack, and about a foot square. A long 
nail was driven Avith an upAvard slant in each cor¬ 
ner from the outside, and the bag caught over the 
four pi'ojecting points. This held the bag up and 
kept the mouth open, so that it Avas unnecessary 
to liaA'e another man hold it. By the aid of these 
tAvo contrivances, and by taking adA-antage of the 
Avind, the pile Avas quickly and easily put through. 
In using the lime spreader, the Avind caused some 
trouble by bloAving the lime around, but this Avas 
done aAvay Avith by tacking old sacks around the 
machine, so that they stretched betAveen the holes 
of the drill and the ground. 
B. L. SCIIAKUING-IIAUSEN. 
The Movies on Preparation of the Seed¬ 
bed for Wheat 
TJhts RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Film 2. 
Disking before ploAving is one way of establish¬ 
ing capillary connection betAveen the soil and sub¬ 
soil. There is another effect of disking, conserving 
Disked, then Plowed 
» 
the moisture. This is shoAvn iu the next tAvo films. 
The disking may save tons of Avater, days of time, 
and the tilth of the soil. 
Filju 3. 
This loss of moisture is not only a Avaste, but 
it leaves the ground so hard it is difficult and often 
Moisture Escapes Through Cracks 
impo.ssible to ploAV. Often days are lost Avaitlng 
for rain. Note the large cracks through Avhich the 
moisture escapes. 
Film 4. 
Disking before ploAving makes a surface mulch 
Avhich saA'es the moisture in the soil and subsoil. 
A Surface Mulch Holds Moisture 
makes ploAving easier, prolongs the time of ploAving 
and leaves loose material to fill the air space tin¬ 
der the furroAV Avhen it is turned over. 
Film 5. 
This is an ideal condition; capillary connection 
is establLshed so the moisture from the subsoil Avill 
Disked, then Plowed, then Harrowed 
be draAvn close to the surface Avhere it can be used 
by the germinating seeds and the loose mulch pre¬ 
vents the escape of the moisture into the air. 
Film 0. 
A common practice and another Avay to estab¬ 
lish capillarity, the subsoil draAving Avater to the 
Plowed, then Rolled 
surface. However, there is apt to be a lo.ss of Avater 
from the compacted soil; this may be preA'ented by 
harroAving soon after rolling. 
Film 7. 
Water is draAvn to the upper soil by rolling and 
kept from evaporating by the mulch produced by 
Plowed, then Rolled, then Harrowed 
harroAving. The same result is accomplished In 
Film 5, The latter is the better jdan AA’here the 
ground is likely to get too dry for ploAving. 
Film 8. 
The mulch holds the Avater from evaporating, but 
the ground should have been rolled after plowing 
and before disking to fili up the holes belOAV tne 
[Bagging the Lime. Rg. 436 
Avould add to the effectiveness of treatment. Uf 
course, if one used a so-called government Avhite- 
Avash, the material Avill stick to the trees someAvhat 
better than a common AvhiteAvash. 
Should have been disked before plowing 
furrow. These openings might have been filled by 
disking before ploAving. myron a. cobb. 
Spray Protection from Mice 
I have road the article on page 015, which rec- 
omends spi’aying trunks of trees with whitewash .and 
lime-.sulphur as a preventive against mice and rabbits. 
I had a lai’ge number of trees girdled two years ago 
by mice, and do not wish to repeat the experience (even 
if they can be saved by bridge-grafting). I find it, 
hoAvever, a great deal of Avork and expensive to Avire 
the trees evei-y year, or to put on paper and Avould 
like some way that is cheaper if just as good, especially 
on the larger trees. Would the waterproof white¬ 
wash mentioned on the previous page be any improve¬ 
ment. or how would it do to add a small quantity of 
Borland cement to each sprayerful or bucketful if 
lime put it on with a bi’ush to make the whitewash 
more durable? If I could get aAvay from using Aviros 
or paper on the larger trees I Avould like it. 
I have a friend who uses lath around the trees as a 
preventive against mice. Of course, he plans to have 
the lath on and intends, as they separate by the 
groAvth of the tree, to put others in between. What do 
you think of this idea? I have not found any way 
yet of gOAving and keeping an orchard Avithout Avork, 
but am willing to do it the easiest way. T. E. B. 
M ice not frequently gnaAV the bark fom the 
trunks of young fruit trees in the early Fall 
if grass, Aveeds or cover crop makes considerable 
groAvth close about the trunks, so if such condi¬ 
tions exist in your orchard, it is Avell to protect the 
trees from the attacks of mice early in September. 
We have found that a good AvhiteAvash applied Avith 
lime-sulphur is an efficient protection against them. 
It is necessary, hoAvever, to maintain the coating. 
We commonly use 40 ])ounds of stone lime to each 
50 gallons of diluted material. The lime is slaked 
Avith the necessary amount of AAater, then about 
three or four gallons of concentrated lime-sulphur 
are added and tlie mixture diluted to 50 gallons. 
This is put through a strainer and applied with 
the sprayer. A course nozzle such as a Bordeaux or 
Blizzard should be used. If you have a poor stone 
lime, the mixture may give you some trouble in 
clogging the nozzle, although, with a good stone 
lime, properly slaked and diluted, Ave have had no 
difficulty in applying the mixture thoroughly and 
readiy Avith a sprayer, Avhich is much less expensive 
than its application by hand Avith a brush. 
If the trees are sprayed early in September, it 
Avould be best to spray them again in late October 
or early November. If die snoAV should happen to 
be deep any time during Winter, I’abbits or mice 
might girdle the trees al)ove the point whei’e they 
Avere sprayed. We have never observed any damage 
by rabbits or mice Avhere a good lime-.sulphur Avhite¬ 
Avash Avas thoroughly applied. I do not think the 
addition of such materials as Portland cement 
Film 1. 
I F left long in this condition, this is a poor start 
for preparing a seed bed, as the air spaces un¬ 
derneath the furroAVS break the capillary connection 
Plowed 
Avith the subsoil, so the seed cannot get the Avater 
to germinate. The open furroAVS aggravate the 
dilemma by drying out. 
M. A. BLAKE. 
