Jihe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Haying with a Sweep-rake 
I saw an article in Titk R. X.-Y. relative to lia.viug 
with a sweep-rake. How would such a rake work on 
hill land? Moreover, could you use it in drawing your 
hay to the barn throuRh a lane? We have (iO acres <if 
Alfalfa, and with the labor scarcity your (‘uthusiasin 
foi- the sweei)-rnke excites niy interest. In the luattei- 
of slinks, are they the sjune kiiui that we use in uti- 
loadiiiK Krain and other materials? w. s. i:. , 
Xew York. 
T IIK swe(;i)-rake will lx? satisfactory on hill land. 
It has hopii used in a few cases in ('hantainiua 
and (hittarau^iis counties, AVc'stern Xew York. One 
man, who cuts (Id acres of 'riniothy, in Wi'sttuii 
(’attarauftus (’ounl\. and whose land lies nearly 
side-hill, reduced his l.alior cost oO ])er c<‘nt hy 
using the sweep-rake last siuison. Thi.s fjinner’s 
son, who aided him last season with th(‘ haying, is 
now in a (raining camp, hut the farmer .says that 
he can handle the crop Avith the sweep-rake tind his 
two younger .sons, sln<■(^ there will he no call for 
heavy pitcldng onto the Av.agon or mow. 
I'lio swe(*p-rake eliminates the drudgery charac¬ 
teristic of the hay harvest: that i)art of it Avliich 
has turned many of our good farmers into other 
vocations when we .sorel.v needed them on the soil. 
The swe(*p-i’ake avMI ])ick uj) the h.ay on its long 
teeth ^rom the windrow and carry it to the h.arn or 
stack in the sjime time necessary for loading. l*.v 
using the sling which is .sui)i)osed to lie used \\ ith 
it, descrihed in my .article in issue 
of .Tanuary 2<>th. the ial«‘ eliminat(>s 
drudgery in field .and harn. K.v- 
tensive investigations of the ef- 
ticiency of various methods of hand¬ 
ling hay, made hy the Ollice of 
Farm Management, sliow th.at hy 
th(> usual method two men jiitch- 
ing onto a Avagon and one man 
loading usaiall.v Avill haul fiaun (li/. 
to eight tons of hay in oiu‘ after¬ 
noon of six or seven hours. 'I’he 
same crew pitch th(^ hay into the 
mow. On the other h.and, a two- 
man crcAV in the same length of 
time, Tising (wo swe(“i*-rakes and 
four horse.s, Avilh the .avei'age length 
of haul in the Kjist. Avhich is less 
than oiuMiuarter of a mile. Avill 
haul to the hiirn and imt into the 
nu)AV Avitli slings ahont double the 
amount of hay handled hy the thref*- 
men cre\\' AA'orking Avith :i Avagon; 
if the hay is stacked in the field, 
thi-ee times the .•iiuount will he 
handled, although tlie third m.in 
will he reipiircai on the stack. 
The .sAveep-rake avIII easily jiass 
tiirough the average lane, sinc(‘ it 
has 13 teeth, and is 12 f(H‘t Avlde 
ami eight feet long. 'I'lie gat(* posts 
ina.v have to he remove<l, hut this 
is easily accompli.shed for a few 
duA's’ time. kablk w. gaok. 
five employei', and I’m going to ]iop it first. “Do 
you like children?” 
Xow ‘'Reader,” on page lf>2, says tpiite a lot 
ahont him.self. I know it is all true and I knoAv 
he could liave added more to it. Ills last two p.ara- 
graphs are es|)eclall.v interesting. “ISecause I lov(‘ 
it.’’ How true tliat is of many men. and .also hoAv 
true it is that tliat spaidv of maidmod in tin* few 
has liad so much water thrown on it. that it is 
really out. 
I am not going to do as ‘‘Reader” is. I :tni not 
going to town. I do not like it; although there 
are a lot of real people there, there jin; also more 
in the country. 1 am going to get a goo<i j»lac<;, 
and that jjlace is going to he a better one next 
year. I am capable of iioldlng a good jilace; luiA'e 
good liealth, go<Kl habits, a good education, the 
usual amount of brains jind know stock (buying 
and .selling), general croj) raising ;ind fruit farm¬ 
ing of the better kind. I have been a Jiired man 
;ind liired men and knoAV hOAV do use them. I do 
not knoAv it .nil, and learn* every day; take the 
best jaipers. Xow I am hloAving my own horn 
jiretty loud, hut avIu) Avould think of putting a li.sh- 
horn on a railrojid train? I am only stating facts 
to get a comparison with existing conditions. ’I’lie 
same f.ncts .'ipjily to nutny men. 
My wife is a better Avonian than 1 am a imin. 
Hauling Hay to Stack with Sweep-Rake. Fig. 192 
that has come to us recently. The Florida F.xpeii- 
ment .Station, (hiiiu'svilh*, F’la.. has I'l'cently coni- 
liletcd i|uit(* ill) e\hausti\e exi)ei'iment in steer 
feeding, designed to show the high feeding value 
of velvet beans as comi»ai'e<l with other poiml.nr 
feeds. Several lots were t;iken. "J’he lot-fed vel¬ 
vet hciins niade the highest average gain of 2.'.) 
]M»unds dail.v pt'r 1,000 pouinls Ih'c AA'eight for a 
liiuiod of s| days. It also iiroved to he the cheaiiest 
food for feeding dairy cow.s. They found that 
tons of lie.ans in the pod were euual to one ton of 
cotton.seed nieal for milk production, and Avith .miicli 
le.ss cost. 
The .Vlahania Hxjieriment Station at .Vuhui-n, 
Ala., has also i.ssued u A'ery valmihle bulletin on the 
feeding of velvet beans. Their exiieriments shoAved 
that for fjittening steers 2l^ iiounds of voh-et beans 
Avere e(pial to one pound of cottonseed meal, and 
that the packing-hou.ses imide no difference iji the 
(piality of the meat. In a pig e.xjieiinnmt, the re¬ 
sults wei'e as follows: The A'elvet bean fed pigs 
made a dail.v gain of 123 pounds for a perhxl of 
72 day.s, reiiuiring ()..'5S of an aci'e of beans and 170 
jiounds of concentrates. 
Feeders of diiiry cattle ai'e linding it a A'ory sjit- 
isfactoi'y feed for the production of milk and butter, 
and also (he cheapest feed th.at is ikvw on -the 
ni.irkc(. Tile .acreag(‘ of velvet bc;ins pl.anted heie 
in the South in 1017 AA’as more 
than, double (hat of 1010. and this 
. yea I- iiromises to be ii recoi'd 
lireaker. I'.oth the beiins juid 
.gi'cen foi'age ai'e high in dig(*,stihle 
pi'otein, (herefoi'o .gre.it care must 
he exei'cised in feixling ami grazing. 
AVhen starting the animals o(T for 
(he first time ri'place only one- 
third if the I'egular ration Avith v(*l- 
vet Ix*an.s, then two-tliiids. and so 
"II until njion full Aelvet bean 
ration. .\ny feed usually takes 
alxnit .30 d.i.A.s’ feixling for the 
animal to Ix'^.oim* thoroughly .ad- 
.insttal to it. .\t jiri'sent, A'elvet 
be,an im'al is .a misnomer, and mean.s 
A(‘l\'et Ix'.an .and pod me.il, because 
it is made by grinding up both the 
beans and tin* pods into a meal. I 
am apiiending the analysi.s, .so that 
(lie fcsaler of velvet bean products 
A\ ill liave a guide by whii'li he cjin 
A\isely <*ompound his nition.s. 
A>n<-t 
Velvut 
Velvet 
l«-nn.s 
bean 
bell II 
Kromiil 
meal 
bulla 
wilti poilH 
grounil 
I’lT (lixit 
I’er Cwt. 
Ter Cwt. 
M'.vter 
. i4.ir. 
11.20 
14.S() 
A.*ih . 
. 4.4r> 
:;.’20 
(•).(« 
< ’rude 
protein 17.3,S 
22.01 
4.SL 
Crude 
fat.... 3.t*.3 
(>.b2 
1.4.S 
Crude 
liber .. Ki.SH 
3.S4 
2r).(:.’'» 
(’■arholiydrate.s 43.21 
;’:i2.0(> 
47.11 
The Hired Man’s Children 
a A Hired Man Talks” jiage 102, 
./^interests me. As I ha\'e had 
it in mind to Avrrte you on that 
(lue.stion that nrticlo makes me do 
so now. Xbitice the emdoseil adverti.sement taken 
from the “Democrat and Chronicle” of Rix-hestcr, 
X. Y. 
A Corner in the Home Garden. Fig. 193 
anothi'r fact that ajiiilies to many men. O’he nio.st 
eonsphaious t'omparison is lier ability to get along 
Avith nelghhors as you lind them. I think that 
A.s a further evidence of its in 
crea.sing popularity as a stock food, 
the ar(*a over Avlilcli it can bt 
grown is liecoming Avider and Avider, 
As far up a.s Vermont they liave 
■Ix'eii alile to almost mature tlie 
Ixmiis of tlie ‘kj-day .speeklei] 
A'ariety. I trust and believe that 
stockmen Avili contimii' to try out tills compara¬ 
tively new stock food with Increa.siugly gooii result.s. 
OEO. W. CAKAKU. 
^VAXTFD—April 1st, married man, good milker, im 
idiildron; Id work on certine<] milk f.irm ; temint 
privileges ami gixxl Avages. Jleferences reipiired. 
I can get you 1,000 nioi'c from tlie s.ame jiapcr. 
laxik over your oavii ami you Avill find (hem. When 
the ])rospec(ive emplo.A'oe meets the ju-ospective cm- 
plo.ver, the tirst, and not later than the third qiie.s- 
tion is, “IHow many children liave .vou got?” Here 
is my (piestion: Is it a disgi*ace, a crime or any- 
tliing el.s(i to luiA'c fiA'c liealtli.y, liright American 
cliildren? 'I'liat’s the number I have, and he the 
luimber more or le.ss 1 am not ashamed of mine or 
an.v otlier man avIio lias the nei've to Iuia'c a I’cav in 
face of this same old iiuestion. AVhat’s the answer? 
Is tliere one? 
Hranted, tliere are man.v jihices Avhere it is lx‘t- 
ter not to have elilldren, but tliere are many more 
wliere cliildren arc not a niiis.ince, and cvi'ii there 
they are not Avaiited. Is that according to tin* 
teacliing of tlie lUhle? I liave been a liired man 
once and am going to lx* again for the reason that 
1 started on a shoestring and the jiast fmv years 
and the “.35-cent dollar” iuiAe broken tliat string, 
hilt my “pv'lt, or my faitli in man. tliough at times 
they have had a .seA'ere strain, are not broken, and 
I’ve got a (luesfion I am going to a.sk tlie jirospee- 
aldlity must he liorn, for I ha\'e tried to ae<iuire 
it and can in no Avay nu'asiire iij) to ]ior.s. 
H(“re is AA'liat I am g<dng to do; givi* a .sipiarc 
deal and ilmriand one m.vself. I am going to iiave 
it for myself, Ix'iaiiise it is only that Avay I can 
live as 1 Avish and give to my wife and cliiidrcn 
the tilings that are rightfully theirs. I ]x)|x‘ 
‘•R(*adcr” (I know the kind of a man lie Is, tlie 
kind of a Avife he has, and knowing those thing.s 
kiioAV the kind of children lie has), avHI change liis 
mind and staj' in tlie couiitr.v. Tlie country needs 
his kind, and I know there is a place for him 
somewhere of tlie hotter kind, Avith a g<xxl salary 
and a jx'rceiitage of the ‘hiet.” There is a place 
soinewhen* where lie and Ids Avill receive tlie re¬ 
spect tliat is their due. ihkku max. 
Velvet Beans as Stock Food 
N ow tliat another year 1ms come nnd gone, it 
is well to note whether the velvet he,in has 
become more popular or less popular a.s a stock 
food. We have Avatched this jxiiiit Avitli keen and 
critical intere.s-t, and are ^forced to the conclusion 
tliat the velvet bean is going to prove tlie .greatest 
a.s.set to till* feeding of live stock of any plant 
Hog Pasture for the North Country 
■Will .A'DU tell me .a few tliing.s about r.ape, and its 
feeding value for liogs? What is the right kind to 
grow, and Iiow large a field for 10 Spring pig.s? Hoav 
long does Alfalfa reipiire to come tiirough the ground? 
Would it he all right to mix it with raiie for hog feed? 
M'luit is digester tankage conuxised of. and what is 
the feeding value of it? d. 
Ogdeiishiirg, Xb Y. 
HH Dwaft K.s.sex ra])e is tlie variety commoiil.v 
grown for liog fix'd. It may l>e .sown in tlie 
e.arly Spring for Summer use. oi- in Summer for 
Fall use. Rap«‘ i.s a cool wi'.-itlier jdaiit and will 
do he.st ill tlie Fall. I tliink D. S. will find oats 
and ('anada peas a lietter croi) for .Summer p.as- 
tiire for liog.s. 'I’his can lx* .sown at tlie rati* of 
hiishcl of each jicr acre. I’.y liaviiig a movalile 
fence it is possihb* to begin iiastiiring when tlie peas 
are in blossom, and to leave part of tin* held iiii- 
pastiired and .so allow the peas to form .xeed.s. Tlie 
hogs are \ery fond of tlie pea .s«x»d. and will clean 
up all of the grain. P.y having alxuit two acres for 
hog pasture it Avill lie possible to .sow tlie oats and 
peas, one acre at a time, two or three weidts apart, 
«ind tlieii to seed ei cli of the.se areas Avitli raix^ at 
sejiarate time.s iu the Summer. It Avouid he well 
