718 
7Jhe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Wf* can oonfrnl flic spirit of horses fo a certain 
extent by iisinji horses and mares of marked gentle¬ 
ness as breeders. Quiet, but mastei’ful treatment in 
trainintr colts will also help to make a horse fearless 
and dejiendable. As regards older liorses which show 
a decided and unconquerable streak of fear or hit?h 
temper, their iirojier place is in the army, for no one 
can tell at what minute they will lose control of their 
horse sense and become a menace to life and prop¬ 
erty. , .1011 N MAKSIT. 
Jefferson Co., O. 
It. N.-Y.—For some years now tlu're has been in 
many localities a Ki’eat lack of interi'sl in driving 
horses. The desire to own a car and go rushing 
about the country at rapid speed has juit the friendly 
o'riving horse out of mind. Now we think the horse, 
like the bicycle, is likely to come back. We look for 
a revival of interest in the well-bred roadster, either 
single or in a team. ]\Ien will tinally grow tired of a 
n achine. They appreciate its speed and poxver. hut 
there is a sort of companionship about a well-bred 
and intelligent horse which they crave and which 
will be more and more in demand. 
Use of Limestone in Tennessee 
Part II. 
RT.ASTINC LIMESTONE LF>l)OES and boulders 
out of our cultivated fields by the landowner, using 
only average farm help, is easy if he know.s how. 
It is eciually easy to leani. Before us lies a 1I%- 
acre field; 25 per cent or more of its surface is occu- 
I>ied by limestone ledges and boulders. We want 
These out of the way. We want the IP/i or juore 
aci’es for cultivation to help win the wai‘. We want 
to do this as cheaidy as we can. We want to blast 
these deposits out only to a dei)lh of fi‘om 12 to 1-1 
inches below the reach of the plow, say 2-1 to 20 
Inches below the top of the ground. 
STARTING THE WORK.—If one has never done 
any of this woi‘k he should employ one who does 
know, pay him his price; but keep him no longer 
than it takes-to learn. We shall not attempt to tell 
you how to handle dynamite, or attach the fuse to 
an exploder, insert this in the charge of dynamite, 
put the charge in a hole, cautiously tanijung it tight; 
lastly, set fire to it—then lain. All this is too dan- 
derous to be told on i>apei’. unless thei-e was no other 
way to do it. The fact that thei’c is a inan who 
knows how to do all this safely in about all sections 
.settles this point. 
THE EQTTTPMEN'r.—You will need for a ci-ew of 
thi'ee or moi’e one piece each of inch drill steel: 
2. 4 and d feet long; one IVt to fi/^-inch black 
iron pipe 7 or S feet long, with a iMund piece of 
steel welded in one end, di’awing out to a round, 
sharp point; a like piece in the other end, draAvn 
out to a flat, sharp e<lge. IVi to inch wide. This 
♦^ool we call a hardpan post-hole digger or rowler; 
2 9-lb. sticking hammers; 2 20 to 2.5-lb. crowbars; 
] -15 to ,50-lb. ci’owbar; 2 8-lh. picks, railroad i>atlern: 
2 No. 2 “D”-handlp shovels; 1 18-lb. and a 12-lb., 
1 square and 1.sharp face stone sledge. 
HETTINH AT THE BOCK.—'Pitke the rowlei-. and 
with the I’ound, shaiqvpointed end find out how far 
away fi’oni the exposed surface you must begin to dig 
the dii't from around the I’ock. 'Phis is ascertained 
by punching a bob' in the gi'ouud. beginning near the 
rock and leading away fi'om it iTiitil rowler will go 
2 to 2^2 feot in the soil before hitting the stone. 
Xeep this up until you have located the ledge this 
distance from the surface on each side of the le<lge. 
Then begin and strip the dirt off the rock, fhi-owing 
it back far enough to be out of the way. This is 
called freeing the ledge, and must be done. 
DRILLING FOR THE BLAST.—Now we have all 
the ledge exposed to our view that we desire to re- 
iiiove. Select the strouge.st .spot in the iwk to drill 
your first hole. Let this be only far (uiough from the 
end of the ledge to make .sure the blast .will blow 
all stone loose from the end of h'dge up to the loca- 
rion of your blast. The depth of the drill hole iind 
the amount of the charge <‘an only be determined by 
the si/e of the hslge and expeilence. It will take 
only a few blasts to enable you to determine this 
with tolerable accui'c.cy. After the <-hai'ge has ex- 
jdoded wait until all smoke has cleared away, and 
long enough to allow all gases and fumes to leave 
(usually 4 to 5 minutes), or they may cause a i)ain- 
ful headache. Next quarry out all stone, and throw 
in piles, so they can be ea.sily lo.aded and hauled off 
the field. In a similar manner locate succeeding 
blasts, etc. By the time yoti have conquei-ed this 
f.i-st ledge, and have it all jnled out on the ground 
you will have learned enough to guide you on until 
you have rolled every rock out of that field. Be sure 
and drill all holes for blasts in the .strongest phice in 
tnc ledge. You will seldom have need to go deciter 
than 2 to 2^4 feet, but don’t ti'y to econotni/e by 
shallow holes and light charges. 
THE FARM BLA(Ts:s:SHTH 81101’.—You should 
have 51 poT’table foi’ge, and a 75 to 80-1b. anvil, and 
,a 2 fo 21/i-lb. hand hammei-. We would as soon try 
to farm without fences as to undei’take to get along 
v.dthout our blacksmith shop. For here on rainy and 
cold Winter days we can Avork in comfort, shariTcn 
our jdow.s, shoe our hoi’ses. i-eiiair implements, and 
get I’eady to make hay Avhen the sun shines. Here 
we hammer many ju'ofitable and haiqiy hours away. 
When we do .in esjiecially good job of it we .are 
glad. Wlieii we fail we try it again. If you have 
never shaiqiened a piece of drill steel, watch your 
best T’egulai’ blacksmith do the job. Be especially 
careful fo Avatch the color of the steel AA’hen he tem- 
jters it. and you'll soon learn and like it. Do not 
think this AA'oi-k is not Avoidhy your sei-ious attention. 
It is luual. inuscle-stT’etching Avoi’k. but Ave ai’e used 
lo this, and Ave like it. Our only complaint, if Ave 
luiA'c one. is at two scot-c and fifteen, Ave can no 
longer S!iy. come on hoys. We must fi’om now on 
direct and be ready, and cheei'fully chip in on a 
hard pull, learn fo i.'i’op out and in again just at 
the right fime. Then let us sing as Ave Avork, don’t 
fake time to .shirk, Avliistle and joke, stay up against 
the yoke until not a himlering stone I'emains in that 
field. 
MAKE THE L1ME.8TONE WORK.—If it is good 
limestone, burn or grind into lime. Feed that old 
sod field, that has refused to gi’OAA’^ clover for yoai’s, 
libei'ally on lime. Red clovei*, all legumes, ye.s, even 
.\ifalfa. Avill follOAA’, if you choose. Soon, in the 
cool of the evening, just befoi-e sunset, you Avill call 
iiiothei'. and side by side you Avill AA'alk out to .some 
vantage jioint overlooking this field that is teeming 
Avifh bloom made vocal by the hum of the hee. To¬ 
gether you each Avill di-ink in the beauty of it all; 
SAveet odors Avill beckon your thoughts backward to 
.sAveetheart days, your fir.<t meal in your own home, 
the adviuit of esich little dear to bless and make 
iiapjiy that Inune. Look yonder is the path AA^e Avill 
Avant fo ti'avel, the two little boys and I, one on 
<‘ach side holding tightly to my big finger. It seems 
only yesterd.ay, yet aa’o knoAv they are tioaa^ past 22 
.'lud 2.5, both AA’earing the uniform and being trained 
into sohliers. Then they Avill cross fhe deep blue, 
Mothei", and 'be on fhe firing line in Fi’ance. But 
let's sfo]), Moth<‘r; I see deAAulrojis iu your eyes; Ave 
must 1)(' cheei’ful. The.se thoughts have come to us; 
they Avill jis sui-ely come to you, Avhen you Imve h.ad a 
hand in the making of a scene Ave have feebly at¬ 
tempted to de.scribe. o. p. r. f. 
'J'enne.s.see. 
The Plain Tale of a Back to the Lander 
He Reviews His First Year 
Bart 11. 
PLENTY OF .ADVICE.—The (government tells us 
hoAV to i‘ai.«e lai'ger ci'oiis; at the .same time it fixes 
the pri<-e of AAheat and offers our hired men twice 
the price avc can pay them and live, and it takes our 
younger men for the jiiany. Noav in the SiTiang of 
the year thei’c is hardly a man to be found in this 
neighborhood; many of them haA'e gone to Connecti¬ 
cut to Avoi'k in the munition factorie.s. AVe are ti'ying 
to be pati-iotic, but it is asking a man to be a fool 
to inve.'it iu seeds and fertilizers and juit moi-e stuff 
in the ground than he can harvest; it is an economic 
Avaste. Thei’C ai’C (March) thousands of bushels of 
coi-n -in this county still iu the fields from last year’s 
harvest. For the government to ask the farmers to 
duplicate this another season is to a.sk them to be 
doubly foolish. There have been many mistakes 
made by these commisisons. and until they get some 
i-eal f.irmers on them there Avill pi'oliably be many 
more, but thei-e is certainly lo be a sad. sad awakne- 
ing on the part of tho.se in authority in the not 
very distant future, but the blame Avill then iii’obably 
be throAvn on the farmers. 
1)18APP01NT.MENTS AND COMPENSATIQNS.— 
I h.ave not tried many exjieriments this year; I have 
tried to learn the (*ommon i-udiments of basic farm¬ 
ing, but so long as the war lasts it. Avill hardly be 
right lo exiieriment Avith belli so scarce. To get in 
the common, every-day crojis is about all that the 
• 
farmer is callable of doing. .At the end of one year 
I am not sick of faianing. ’Phere have been disc*our- 
ag(‘meiits. the coavs have contagious abortion, .Alfalfa 
failed to grow, pot.-itoes froze in the celhu-, machine.s 
broke just Avhen needed the most; Avater fi'oze up, 
frost killed the corn and buckAAdieat; but these dis- 
courag(‘ments come in evei’y line of busine.ss jind 
nmst b(' ov('rcom(\ But I am heartily sick of being 
one of a class that has been made the butt and tool 
of th<* middleman, and so I am going to do my bit 
to go “over the toji” of these conditions. ’Phere is 
no finer Avork in all this world than to (ill the soil 
May 23, 1918 
and gi’OAv ci-ops, but the Bible says “the laborer is 
Avoi-thy of his hii’e,'' and the farmer is a laborer if 
thei’e is such a thing in the Avorld, and he hasn’t 
been getting his liire during the past tAventy years, 
and each individual farmer has got to do his share to 
better the.se condition.s. It will do him no good to 
criticize and find fault Avithout doing something him¬ 
self. TTntil he I’ealizes this he is tied to the coat¬ 
tails of his overlords. 
.A PHTLOSOPHir.AL ATEW.—'Phat is the only 
criticism I have of the farm bu.sines.s. It has many 
lileasui-es and intei-ests. of course. For any old 
faiMuer many of the things I haA'e learned this past 
yeai* they have forgotten, and they have probably 
forgotten the thi’ill they had in leai'ning it. I am 
learning Iioaa' to ploAA'. not just mei’ely tTirning the 
sod ovei’, but I have come to realize that it is (juite 
an art to ploAA* jirojierly, and Avhat a fine job can be 
done AA’hen the art is acquii*ed. One of the greatest 
joys is ploAving a field of t.all grass to see that same 
tall gi’ass go completely under the sod, leaving no 
ti’ace of it.self aboA'e the ground. It certainly is an 
art. and a good plower is an artist. Then tending 
to stock has its intense satisfactions; how the coavs 
respond in milk to better ti’eatment. Then there is 
so much to learn—Avhy, farmer.s’ lessons are never 
leai-ned. T have fed these cows now for eight months 
and am just beginning to learn a few things about 
feeding coavs. That is a whole study in itself, and 
Avould really take up practically one man’s time if 
he did it thoroughly, hut to a farmer it is just one 
of his daily tasks. Raising good cah’es is another 
specialty, but, if a farmer is going to keep his herd 
up it is a .specialty that he must learn. This whole 
business is filled Avith the.se interesting side lines 
or main shoAvs, Avhiehever you wish to call them, but 
I have found each of them intensely interesting. 
There Avas the Fall butchering and the salting and 
the smoking of the meat; the logging and getting 
out fireAA’ood this AA’inter, all interesting. Why, a 
good farmer mu.st be a hundred professors rolled into 
one. I sometimes think that a good farmer is a 
hundred profe.ssoi's rolle<l into one; but they are 
more than this—they both profess and practice. 8o, 
in spite of the middleman and the politician, I think 
Ave .shall try it a little longer. m. d. 
Tile-laying in Drainage Work 
A FPER many years of experience I can say that 
there is a right and Avrong Avay to lay tile. 
'Phere is a theory advanced and iiractice<l by some 
.■iniateurs in this Avork that a main and all its lat¬ 
erals must first be dug and graded befoi’e any tile are 
laid. Then the tile-laying must begin at the upper 
end of all the.se drains, Avorking toAvard the outlet. 
'Phis method is one of those theories that can be 
.suc<-essfully ojierated on jiaper, but in practice it 
proA-es it an expensiA-e failure, generally .siieaking. 
In my earlier years of drainage work I Avas caught 
so many times by bad Aveather before all could be 
complete and tile-laying begun that the sides of the 
ditches slumped in, ejitailing a huge amount of extra 
Avork to repair the ilamage. I made an ironclad rule 
to lay the tiles each day in all the ditches that Avere 
tini.shed and bottomed. Reasons are that Avhether 
the ground is Avet or dry the bottom Avill never after 
be in better condition for the tile-laying. If it is 
Avet and sjiringy, the conditions get Avorse every 
hour the ditches remyin open, and the earth throAvn 
out on the banks is more ea.sily and cheaply put 
iiack before it gets hard crusted, as it Avill if there 
lie any clay or hardpan iu the subsoil, 
AAMien the day’s Avoik is finished I place a flat stone 
over the tipper end of the last tile and lay a bundle 
of clean straAV In the ditch a feAV feet above this 
iioint Avith a stone to hold it in place. When this is 
all properly done I can have a good night’s .sleep 
becau.se I kiioAv that the day’s labor has not been iu 
vain, Avheth(*r a heavy rain occurs or dry Aveather 
prevail. I have seen so many instances where the 
ditches have all been open first and rains have oc¬ 
curred, causing the ditches to fall in. Anyone Avho 
has been caught in this Avay on a job knoAVS that 
cleaning the.se ditches out again is Avorse than the 
first digging, I sjiav a job this Spring handled in this 
expensive Avay. The conditions Avere so bad that all 
the ditches had to be tilled up and dug over again 
in ncAV place.s. Wlu're machines are used for exca¬ 
vating the ditches this Avork is always begun at the 
outlet jioiiit, Avorking up the line. 
In laying the main line I Avould just as soon omit 
all lateral Y'.s. laying a continuous line of through 
tile. Then Avhen the laterals are dug out a length 
of tile can be taken out of the main and a Y dropped 
in. as they are all the .siune length. There is no bet¬ 
ter investment than farm drainage, and it is usele.ss 
and impractical to add expense to the Avork. 
ir. K. cox. 
