1050 
\\<' sii)ii»ns(' that the selected seed inereast's the 
yield only one bushel per acre, a I'.l-aere field 
means that many bushels of extra corn. To iilant 
the field would r(*<piire a))iiroxiniatel.v three bushels 
of s(‘e(l. lionble this aiiiouiit selected in the Fall 
would allow a rather rit;id cullinj: in IIk* Sjiriutr. 
.\ny mail oii.:rhf easily to select six bushels of trood 
sc(*d in ;i day. Not much fiirurinii is reunireil to 
calculate that the day has been ju’ofittibly spent. 
.\nd the nevartl is much more entichi}; when we 
consider Ih.at many fields do not htive Jinything like 
a perfect stand, and that much of what is thei’o is 
yellow and sickly. A rolmst stalk in every hill looks 
so much nion* cncourairini' that the little effort 
necessary to secure it seems very much worth 
while. It may save a st‘cond jilaiifintr. and is much 
more likely to udve a rich liarvesf. 
Indiana. a. si kimikxso.x. 
What Lime Shall 1 Buy? 
Lime agents from vaiious producers of aKiicull nral 
lime are solicitiiiK trade for their iirmlnct. each claims 
tf) represent the best. One has stone lime burned in 
kilns, the common custom with coal; another claims 
his material to be burned with gas; then comes the 
hydrated lime man, followed by the pulverized lime¬ 
stone salesman, one dwelling on the value of pure car¬ 
bonate of lime, another offering carbonate of lime and 
magnesia brands varying from 1 to 40% of magnesia. 
The question with the average farmer Is, “Which is 
the most desirable to purchase regardless of the cost?” 
Lump lime costs 1 (m' a bushel, hydrated in paper sacks 
.$10.50 per ton, pulverized limestone $5.50 to .$0.25 per 
ton. Information is requested from practical iiersons, 
.scientists, and not frtun producers who are prejudiced 
in their intere.sts. AV. II. STOUT. 
'I4)is question should lie answcriMl by farimu's who 
have actually used the different kinds of lime, or by 
scimitific men who have studied the question prac¬ 
tically. The cheapest pound of lime, all things con¬ 
sidered, is usually found in lump or stone lime, but 
it is hard to get help to handle and slake such lime. 
I’ersonally we like an active lime and use a burned 
lime Avhich has been Avell slaked. In many cases 
the crushed limestone is more desirable than other 
form.s, but Ave should use tAvice as much of it per 
acre as of the burned lime. The most sensible way 
to buy is to figure out the cost of a pound of actual 
lime in each kind, (let the cost of a ton delivered at 
your farm, including freight. Then get the guar¬ 
anteed analysis and see hoAv many pounds of actual 
lime they glA’e you in one ton. Divide the cost of a 
ton by the number of pounds of lime, and buy 
Avhere you can get the chcajAest pound. That is a 
rough rule for buying, but there are some other 
things to consider. The hydrated lime keeps 'better 
and is easier to handle. The bui-ned limes are more 
"active” and are best for A'ery sour and hard soils 
which are too much compacted. The ground lime¬ 
stone anil marls are safe for the lighter .soils, and 
('asier to li.amlle than the burned lime.s. 
. . ' ' I 
Sheep Manure and Its Handling 
A.ST LXI'KKIENCE.—In the queries sent by 
shce|t owners, I have had several about the 
e.'i.siest and best manner of 'handling 'manure to get 
the highest value from it. I brought up a poor 
place for my father Avhen young, and 40 years ago 
tackled one of the jioorest I ever saAA'^ for myself. 
That AATis before the days of fertilizers, :ind manure 
Avas all handled by main .strength and aAvkwarduess, 
and you may believe .that I spent a lot of the time 
I AA'as Avorking, studying better plans. This di.s- 
cussion Avill not be Avorth a button to many read¬ 
ers Avho have arrived on this subject, lutt there are 
others who can tidoiit* part, at least, sua-c double 
the vahte of manure, and handle the stuff with half 
the outlay of labor. 
STOKINO iMANITlE.—I have been asked my 
opinion of manure pits, and sheds for .storage, of 
comjiosting. and covered barnyards. You can see 
pictures of cement retainers and receiitacles for ma¬ 
nure and they no doubt started the thoughts. I 
consider all such things as incumhr.ances on a place, 
and instead of labor-savers and money-makers, la¬ 
bor-makers and money-losers. Manure has a cer¬ 
tain A’alue, hut loses in storage, and in time lost 
from production while it Avaits. It should be put 
to use at once, and ancrea.se should be had as soon 
as possible. It is bulky and hard to handle, and 
should be moved only once, if at all. 
AVOIDING LABOIt.—You have .“.leen men stirring 
feed as if every stir added to its value and thinking 
that it Avas a meritorious Avork to handle the S'tuff 
as often as they could. Our object is to avoid 
handling, so all fodder, some shock corn, and often 
ear corn is fed on pasture or ground to he cropped, 
during nice Fall and Winter days, but hay is fed 
in the stables and grain in troughs Avet day.s, or 
Avhen the fields are soft. All spoiled hay, cloA’er 
chaff, barn sAveepings and corncobs are put there 
also and then' is no effort to "make manure.” It 
RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
•goes where it belongs and can make itself. There 
is no Avay greater returns can be had. nor animals 
haA’e more fun than eating on a field, and this plan 
does aAA’ay Avith all labor Avith about half our sup- 
]»ly, as the crude material and animal dropiiings 
are Avhere they belong. AYhen I Avas young I had 
a barnyard Avhere the straAvstack, all fodder, and 
every Avaste stuff Avent. and later at Avas hauled out 
as stained straAA’, after rivulets of brown juice had 
run away, but no barnyard for us noAv. There are 
dry, little feed lots at each barn Avith troughs in 
them, .ill straAv is baled as soon as a machine can 
get to it, and it is stored for nice clean bedding. 
If toAvards .‘Spring there is too much, the iirice is 
high, and if we are going to he short, .some is 
bought from folks avIio sell when they hale. I have 
never oAvned stock that AA'onld eat much straAV. and 
if they had. they Avould haA'e only jiaid for straAV. 
It is for bedding and absorbent. 
4'HE roA'EltEI) P.AKNYAltl).—1 spoke against 
ihe coA-ered barnyard only as a jilace for stacks and 
for litter. If it has mangers and is u.sed for a feed 
stable, it is all right, and an enjoyable place for 
stock Avhen it must stay in. Our AA'ork horses have 
box stalls, the others, stabled in a shed, and the 
shee)) stay under the nioAVs in the barns, in eight- 
foot stable.-!. Every place has baled straAA!^ handy 
and is ke])t nicely bedded, but eA'ery head is out 
where it belongs, on nice days, but in again at 
night. AYhen their doors are opened in the morning 
they gladly go to the AA'ater and feeding place, and 
at night look for 'them to open to bounce in for the 
night. No dog is needed for any animal aa'c ever 
expect to own. All I have had Inn-e done all I 
Avanted them to do. 
A GEE.iN STABLE.—None of the stable manure 
is ever touched except to haul it out. There is no 
pitching out under the eaA^e.s, or into piles, no clean¬ 
ing of stables, no manure carriers or wheelbarroAvs, 
and one can Avalk Avith a little care, in clean shoes 
among the stock. Hauling out is done at odd times, 
on suitable days, and the mass can be shalloAv or 
deep until it suits to move it, except it must all, 
every forkful on the place, carry its virtue to the 
first crop. I cannot see Iioaa' there can be any im¬ 
provement on this plan, to get the manure at its 
best, and save a lot of labor, if used Avith horses, 
cattle or sheep, neither can I see any plan better 
for the health and comfort of the, stock. In roam¬ 
ing about the stables they stir the bedding so the 
filth is covered, the odors kept down, and their 
home is SAveet and pure. There Avill be little tu¬ 
berculosis Avitli pure outdoor and indoor air. I 
knoAV of it only from reading. 
AIILCII COWS AND STEEBS.—All I know of 
dairying is to keep out of it, but if I Avere in it, the 
coAA's Avould only be in the .stanchions at milking 
time and Avould haA’e all the freedom they AA-anted, 
outdoors and in the stables, dishorned. It Avonld 
fit them as Avell as steers, and I IniA’e fixed a lot of 
them, earlier, and made some money. One AA'inter 
I had 19 l.lOO-pounders in a shed 42.x22, Avith racks 
on the sides and .feed boxes in the mic^dle, about 
Uxd feet each, ami I could Avalk on them. They 
boiled out .in the morning Avith their heads up, 
rushed in at night, noses pointing straight ahead, 
stuck their no.ses into the feed and shut their eyes. 
AA’e haA’e iioav 'about 4,000 sipiare feet of stable 
room, all comfortably full in AA'inter, and I Ix'lioA’e 
Ave have the hay, straw, fodder and manure ipies- 
tions solA'ed, and they are no thought to us. qhiis 
may look like an inopportune time for this subject, 
but it is not. It Avill take some time to jilan and 
arrange before adoption. w. av. aEA'.xoT.os. 
Ohio. 
The Burbank Wheat 
AA’hy are you so skejitical regarding Luther Hur- 
•bank and his new wheat? Do you know anything 
about thi.s wheat to justify you in belittling it? 
J. S. II. 
•VIK question.s, and Ave shall tiy to.ansAver them 
fairl.A^ The Luther Burbank Society has put the 
hrand of su.siiicion upon most things which carr.v 
Air. Burbank's name. This society largel.v through 
Avlia’t AA’e call bluff, guff’ and stuff, in our opinion 
robbed the American people of a large .sum of money 
They played upon the twin strings of A’auity and 
cupidity Avhich aie found in the harp of most hu¬ 
man lives. It AA’as one of the .slickest games of 
genteel i)ocket-pi<-king ever knoAvn in this country. 
Air. Burbank Avas not responsible for the Avork of 
this society, but he permitted this extravagent use 
of his name and evidently made considerable money 
out of it. The character of this exploitation Avas 
so rank and valueless that Ave shall have to be 
"shOAvn” Avhen any more of such woi’k is to be 
put over. As for Avheat Ave can find no one out¬ 
side of Air. Burbank Avho seems to know anything 
September s. lui r 
about it. For that rea.son if for no other we :,d 
vise our folks to wait until it has been fully tested. 
AA'ho. out.side of the Pacific Coast State.s. eA’er made 
anything by iiaying high prices for the Burbank nov¬ 
elties? This Avheat has .been bred under California 
conditions. Thus far none of the superior Califor¬ 
nia Avheats are grown in any quantit.A’ east of the 
Bocky Alountains. In addition to all this Ave haA’e 
the folloAA’ing from the Department of Agriculture:— 
"If the .statement is true that the yield is Aa’c times 
that of the average wheat yield in the United States. 
thi.s would not be especially wonderful. AA'heat in Cal¬ 
ifornia is generally grown one crop in two years, the 
land lying idle in the alternate year. Under these 
condition.s yield.s of 50 to 75 bushels and more are 
obtained in specially good years. In otir OAvn exiieri- 
meuts AA'e hav’e obtained yields as high as 86 bushels t<> 
the acre in California. Since, however, the land is 
idle every other year, the yield must be divided by 
two to show the actual annual acre production. 'Phe 
aA’erage yields in California, of course, are much low¬ 
er than the yield 1 mention.” 
AA'e ahvays advise our readers to tiy jiromisiug 
iioveltie.s and new A’arieties in a moderate way but 
neA'er to "plunge’’ on them or to accept ncwsiiapcr 
guff' for facts. 
Potatoes vs. Dandelions on a California 
Lawn 
II.WE a neighbor, Charles Butters, who is said 
to be a multi-millionaire, Avith mines in South 
Africa, Alexico, California and other parts of the 
Avorld. He got hi.s start in life b.y being an exjiert 
mining chemist, and lately, by the Avay, turned one 
of his mining-chemistry patents into iiroduclng al¬ 
uminum dust for making dlluminating bombs for 
the Bussian arm.A’. He is fond of keejiing uj) a 
beautiful and costly garden about his home heie. 
AATdl, somehow, the la\A’n became infested Avith 
dandelions, and it Avas an inqiossibility to get riil 
of them by digging or pulling them out. So his 
gardener, .lohn Cerer, had the entire lawn plowed 
under and let dr.v out thoroughly. Then, it Avas 
harroAved and ]»lowed again and allowed to dry out 
still more. AA'ater aaus iioaa’ apiilled liberally and a 
crop of jiotatoes jdanted. Hoaa’ the.A’ ornamented 
the lawn or ground in front of -tjie dignified man¬ 
sion is fully shown in 'the illustration, Fig. 475. 
AA'hen the crop was dug it yielded .‘10 sacks of OA'er 
100 jiounds each of beautiful tubers. And that Avas 
•before I’ri'sident AA'ilsou advocated our good citi¬ 
zens doing their bit toAvard reducing the high cost 
of living and so forth. AA'hen the lawn Avas again 
establislu'd it produced no more dandelions. 
California. w. a. pra’at.. 
Feeding Cows Without Grain 
Last AA'inter fai'iner.s wanted more money for their 
milk, which really belonged them, but as usual, the 
feed dealiM-s came back to get the benefit of the raise. 
1 think that if we farmer.s Avould hold together and 
put our cows through without grains this AA'inter. feed 
pleut.A’ of good hay, fodder and good silage in abund¬ 
ance, let them hold their feed, this might cause a 
shortage in the milk, but not Avhat the cost Avould be 
to buy grain at the iiresent price. I would like to 
hear other farmers’ ojiinion on this subject. 
Broome Co., N. Y. WM. uoomeksiiine. 
AA'e have had a number of letters like this. 
There are a good many farmers who .seem ready to 
tr.v it. A fair ration can be made of cloA’er or Al¬ 
falfa ha.A’ and good silage. If the cloA’er ha.y is run 
through a cutter and fed with the silage the coavs 
will do ipiite well. A feAV pounds of cottonseed meal 
fed Avith it AA’ould giA’e a balance. Alost farmers be¬ 
lieve they must feed a heavy grain ration, but at 
jiresent iirices there will be little money in it. Now 
that tlu' subject is up let us discuss it out. 
Getting Out Muck 
I Noted impiir.\ on page 847 regarding use of 
low-price dredge for i-emoving muck from a de¬ 
posit 50x2 rods six feet deep. The best thing I 
hav’e seen for a similar use, that of remoA’ing marl, 
is one tnat jj’e Iuia’c used for the last t\A’’o .A'eai’s 
with succes.s It consists of a liA’e to soA’en horse¬ 
power ga.soline engine, Avliich runs or is attached to 
a regular hoist, same as is used for raising ha.A’ in 
the mow, but in place of the rope, AA'e use a regu¬ 
lar half-inch steel cable to Avlrich we attached a 
Iwo-horse scrajier. As AA’e luiA’e Avorked it Ave only 
get the marl to the .surface, as AA^e go 10 to 12 feet 
in the ground, and one man at the shoA’el and one 
at the engine, can ]mt out a pretty .good-sized piece 
in one day. AA'e generally do our Avork in the early 
.Spring or the middle of Summer, as? AA’e get less 
AA’ater Avith the marl then. It is our intention to 
build a platform to load our Avagon.s direct from 
the shOA’el in plan as shoAvn on page 10-52. I believe 
this plan of removing the muck Avill be b.y far the 
best and cheapest your inquirer can find. 
PaAv PaAV, Mich. 
A. AV. 
