977 
Jjhe RURAL N 
Fifty Fanners in N, Y. Legislature 
A Farmer for Albany 
We have made several references to 
John V. Cottrell of Eagle liridge, N. Y.— 
a farmer, and at present a candidate in 
the i)rimar.v for member of the State As¬ 
sembly. A picture of Mr. Cottrell is 
printed at Eig. -ISO. Mr. Cottrell has 
been a farmer all his life, and all his 
people were farmers—as far back as he 
can trace them. In a recent letter to TiiK 
H. Mr. Cottrell wrote: 
From my earliest recollection the 
county and town (Washington County 
and White Creek town) have been boss- 
ridden. It has been considered necessary 
for anyone who desired to hold any office 
in said town and county first to secure 
the consent of one or two men. The prin¬ 
ciple that the office should seek the man 
seemed to have been entirely lost sight of. 
A few of us got together some six years 
ago, believing an effort should be made 
John C. Cottrell. F'uj. J)8(J 
to change things, and called a conference 
to make out a town ticket of men who 
were not seeking office but that we felt 
sure were comi)etent and trustworthy. It 
was uphill work. The bulk of the people 
agreed with us, but many lacked the 
courage of their convictions. However, 
we have persisted, and the result has more 
than justified our belief at the present 
time. I have contended that the same 
thing was true in county affairs, and the 
people were ready to stand back of any 
man who would stand for clean elections, 
anti-bossism, and refu.se to furnish money 
to buy votes. I have also expressed my 
belief that Washington County slu)uld be 
represented in the Assembly by a farmer. 
Mr. Cottrell did not seek the office. 
His action came in i-esponse to a genuine 
call from farmers. He is well fitted to 
represent Washington County and every 
farmer may well get back of him and 
“make it unanimous.” 
Send Him Again 
In Delaware County, New York, Mr. 
J. Clark Nesbitt, the present farmer As¬ 
semblyman, is a candidate for re-election. 
As the case stands now, the Prohibition 
and Democratic organizations will sup¬ 
port Mr. Nesbitt. The Republican or¬ 
ganization will try to defeat him. In an 
attempt to do this they have nominated a 
high-grade, elderly man for whom they 
have no use except that as a farmer he 
might defeat Mr. Nesbitt. They would 
have no use for him after he once suc¬ 
ceeded in helping them defeat the farm¬ 
ers’ movement. If this could be done 
this excellent man will be kicked out and 
a regular politician nominated. It is an 
old game, worn threadbare in the past, 
for the purpose of killing off permanent 
reforms. We think the farmers of Dela¬ 
ware County will see through it and that 
they will stick to Mr. Nesbitt. 
Y'ou are right concerning the .‘15-cent 
dollar. Do not give it up. The producer 
and consumer must be brought togefiier. 
And put more honest, efficient and busi¬ 
ness hirmers in office at Albany! Keep 
at it! Keep at it! We are busy, but 
with you ! E. n. M. 
Rig Indian, N. Y. 
We know you are with us and we will 
stay right with you. All over the country 
farmers are feeling these questions as 
never before, and they will be heard from 
at the right time. 
Cutting Clover Hay 
On pag(‘ 7()(> you Imve an article on 
curing clover hay. Would like some 
further infornnition on this matter. In 
ordinary hay weather if clover is cut in 
forenoon, raked when wiltcnl and 
shocked by evening, would it he ready 
for mow by next afternoon'? Where 
clover is put in mow too green what 
would he nature of damage? Is it best 
to pack green or heavy clover in mow 
or should it he left loose so as to dry? 
Is there any advantage in an air space 
in a mow? Will salt help to keep it 
from heating when too green? j. E. M. 
Tarrytown, Pa. 
In direct sunlight grasses dry out 
more evenly than legumes. When Al¬ 
falfa or clover is exposed in the swath 
to the direct r:iys of the sun, the evapo- 
r.ation of moisture is so much more 
nipid from the leaves than from the 
stems that the leaves become very dry 
while the stems ai’e still green. There¬ 
fore. by ordinary hay weather J. E. M. 
refers to direct sunlight curing 
weather. Clover should he ready for 
the mow easily on the following after¬ 
noon, and ofttimes, when there is little 
or no dew, very soon after the sun is 
up the following morning. 
All hay must pass tlu’ongh the pro¬ 
cess of “sweating.” This is esi)ecially 
true of clover hay.s. This sweating is 
due to heat .generated by fermentation. 
The degree of he,at produced depends 
ni)on the (piantity. of moisture con¬ 
tained in the stems and the manner in 
which it is stored. The fermentation 
of imi)roperl.v cured clover hay, 
whether in mow or stack, may produce 
a temperature of 2(1.5 to degrees, 
between which temperatures spontane¬ 
ous combustion may occur. Rut when 
the degree of heat produced is above 
noianal point for proper curing, yet 
not sullicientl.v high to cau.se combus¬ 
tion, it nevertheless causes the hay to 
lose its natural color and even to de¬ 
cay. thus making it unfit for feeding 
purposes, and to lose much of its 
natural feeding qualities. In fact, no 
hay. no matter how' well cured, is con¬ 
sidered in eastern feeding sections, 
among i)ractical feeders, to he high- 
class feeding stuff until it has passed 
through the natural sweat. 
Fresh cut clover should not be 
tracked down in the mow', but -should 
be allowed to settle naturall.v. We 
put the .straw' ^>11 top of the hay mow', 
if there is any space left. Rut as we 
change off filling mows, we are usually 
able to fill both mows to the i*oof. 
Ventilation is very good for clover 
mows. We have three small 0x6 
tubes, made of four boards put to- 
g<dher. which are run length wdse 
through the mow'S. This serves to 
carry off excess heat and aids in cur¬ 
ing the hay during the sweating 
period. 
Salt Avill aid in putting up too green 
clover, especially in seasons like 1017, 
w'hen it was impossible to get a good 
field .sunlight cure. This is sprinkled 
over the mow' every tier that the fork 
drop.s, and does not materially spoil 
the feeding value of the hay. But Ave 
Avould rather not do this unless forced 
to do it. This year Ave had the best 
clOA'er Aveather possible, and did not 
Avorry about salting the clover mow. 
E. AV. G. 
A Sliding Hay Rack 
Now that haying is here and labor is 
scarce the need for cheap labor-saving 
tools is emphasized. The best one for 
most farmers is for those Avho use a hay- 
loader a .sliding hay rack. The front half 
of the rack slides bacKward and half a 
load is placed on it. then it is slid for- 
Avard by a small Avindlass, leaving room 
for the back half of the load. This rack 
needs only one man to make load with 
instead of two. 
This sliding rack was made by Mr. 
Harry Willcox of Chenango Co., N. Y. 
The picture at Fig. 481 shows how it is 
operated and Mr. Willcox gives this de¬ 
scription : 
It is huilt in two sections, the forward 
end sliding back over the back end of the 
rack, and loaded and then run ahead and 
the other end loaded. One man can do 
the loading better and easier than two 
can with a common rack, and as the load 
E W-YO R K E R 
is loaded in two separate sections, the 
hay-fork does not have to pull it apart, 
.so it also unloads easier. There are sev- 
t'lal in use in the neighborhood and sev- 
The Slidino Hay Rack and Hoiv It 
Works. Fig. J/Sl 
eral more Avould take them if I c:m get 
them made. iiakka's. willcox. 
Government Nitrate of Soda 
East Spring announcement Avas made 
that a distribution of nitrate of soda 
Avould be made to farmers through tin; 
Department of Agriculture. Many of our 
people got an entirely wrong idea about 
this distribution. Some of them even 
thought it Avas to be free, while others 
thought the nitrate Avould be delivered 
at their railroad station at a low figure. 
What the department intended to do was 
to bring a (piantity of the nitrate to cer¬ 
tain Atlantic ports. It Avas to be shipped 
from these ports to farmers Avho ordered 
it. they to pay the cost of freight and 
handling. The nitrate Avas ordered 
through the Farm Rureau agent, and it 
Avas necessary to i>ay for it in advance. 
Ap!)lications Avere made for more than 
120.000 tons, but it Avas impossible to 
bring more than 7.5,000 tons to this coun¬ 
try. thus there were left on hand in Chili 
mairly 40.000 tons Avhich is there yet 
aAvaiting shipment, and, of course, cannot 
be used this season. While those Avho 
obtained the nitrate Avere glad to T(*ceive 
it, and report good re.sults from its use, 
it cannot be said tlrat the distribution 
Avas fuliy successful, and no announce¬ 
ment is made that more of the nitrate 
Avill be offered in this Avay next year. 
There is a great demand for it for mak¬ 
ing explosiA'es, and there are feAv ships 
available for carrying it. We doubt, 
therefore, Avhether this experience in de¬ 
livering nitrate as a fertilizer Avill be 
tried again. 
Nitrate of Soda in California 
From time to time reports come that 
deposits of nitrate of soda had btAen 
found in the southwestern part of this 
country. Refore the Avar not much at¬ 
tention Avas paid to these reports, as it 
was generally supposed that even though 
the nitrate Avas to be found, it Avould be 
in such small (piantities that mining for 
it Avould hardly pay. Last Dectunber the 
Secretary of the Interior was informed 
that large depo.sits of nitrates had biaui 
found in Southern California. It Avas 
claimed that these dei)osits Avere large and 
rich enough to provide all the nitr.ate 
needed in this country. The TTnited 
States Geological Survey at once made a 
thorough study of the locality, so as to 
make sure about these nitrates. After 
Avorking for more than three months, and 
going OA'er the ground thoroughly, it Avas 
found that there are deposits of nitrates 
in this locality, but that there is not 
enough of it to make a practical proposi¬ 
tion. For instance, in one valley it Avas 
estimated that 98 acres contained 1,480 
tons of sodium nitrate, but it Avould be 
necessary to handle over 100,000 tons of 
soil in order to extract this (piantity. In 
another case 70 acres contained .510 tons 
of the nitrate, and 50,000 tons of .soil 
would haA'e to be handled to extract this 
quantity. Thus, after thorough work, the 
Geological Survey concludes that it will 
not pay, under present conditions, to try 
to Avork these deposits. That, unfortu¬ 
nately, is the Avay most of these reports 
turn out. The nitrate is there, but there 
is not enough of it to justify the cost of 
producing it. We often have reports from 
farmers in the Soutlnyest Avho say they 
have discovered caA’es in AA'hich there are 
immense deposits of bat manure. Samples 
of the manure sIioaa' that it contains^ a 
high percent of nitrogen, but upon in¬ 
vestigation there is usually less than 
10 per cent of the estimated amount of 
manure available. What they take for 
a very large pile of it turns out to be a 
rather thin layer on top of a rock or 
ledge in the cave. 
“The Cate for the Robin” 
On page 792 R. P. I\I. gives the robin 
an unsavory reputation, and paints him 
so black that any ptu-son not familiar 
with his habits and real economic value 
Avould be led to the conclusion that he 
ought to be shot at suuri.se. The charges 
brought against him Avould compel any 
friend of the accused bird to sit up and 
take notice. Here is Avhat R. I*. M. says: 
“A pair of robins build a lu'st near 
a cherry orchard and rear tAvo broods 
of live each and by the time cher¬ 
ries begin to ripim the adult birds fur¬ 
nish a thanksgi\ing f(>ast for all hands 
from 4 :,‘!0 A. M. till dark. They destroy 
lots of anglcAVorms Avhich are of gi-eat 
value to the soil, but Avill not eat currant 
Avorms, tent caterpillars or many other 
I)ests. Every oAvner of a cherry tree has 
a moral right to destro.v, if necessary, 
any animal, insect or bird that destroys 
his croj).” 
This man thinks th.at he is dejirived of 
his right.s under present hiAVS, and be- 
liev(‘s that if the matter Avere “carefully 
AA'ork(>d up and fought out this right 
Avould b<* sustained.” He concludes by 
saying. “There ought to be an open sea¬ 
son on robins from March 1.5 to April 
15.” As a result of just such comiilaints as 
the one here cited, the II. S. Department 
of Agnculture has eb'emed it necessiu-y. in 
the interests of agriculture, to establi.sh 
Avhat one Avriter has called a Supreme 
Court of Rirdland. This is for the pur¬ 
pose of settling, by the most painstaking 
r<>search and triiiE the desirability or un¬ 
desirability of birds in their relation to 
farming. Their food habits are ascer¬ 
tained by careful examination of the con¬ 
tents of hundreds and even thousands of 
stom.achs of certain si)ecies from different 
localities and at different seasons of the 
year; so that the trial represents every 
detail of the bird’s u.sefulness or destruc- 
tivene.ss in every part of the country, and 
during every part of the year. Every 
item of food i.s recorded, the result 
summed uj) and averages and per cents 
carefully niiule out. In no other Avay is 
it pos-sible to determine a bird’s actual 
economic status and i-ender a fair ver¬ 
dict. 
In the West the robin is one of our 
most highly prized song birds. We in¬ 
variably associate him Avith the coming 
of Spring and Avith Summer mornings 
and evenings made ideasurable by his 
song. He belongs to the thrush family, 
and is entitled to consideration for his 
vocal accomplishments if for no other rea¬ 
son. Rut, laying aside all sentiment, T 
base my defense on plain f.acts in his re¬ 
lation to agriculture and his real value 
as a friend and ally to the farmer. We 
Avill take iq) the charges against him in 
their order. 
F^irst, his appetite for cherries: It 
cannot he denied, that the robin eats 
cherries. An examination of OA'er 590 
stomachs .shoAVS that 58 per cent of the 
robin’s food is vegetable imatter, 47 per 
cent being wild fruits, and only four per 
cent cultivat('d varietie.s, except in .Tune 
and Tuly, Avhen cultivated fruit to the 
amount of 25 p(!r cent was found in the 
stomachs, but only a trifle in August. 
This is acc()unt('d for by the fact that 
cherrie.s ripen before any of the Avild 
fruits Avhich the birds seem to prefer. In 
August there is an abundance of Avild 
vaiaeties. 42 species of these AA'ere identi¬ 
fied. most importiuit of Avhich Avere: Four 
species of dogAvood, three of Avild cherries, 
three of wild grajies. four of greenbrier, 
two of hollj', tAvo of elder. Avith cranber¬ 
ries, huckleberries, blackberries, persim¬ 
mons and four species of sumac and other 
seeds not really fruit. 
Charge No. 2: Tie eats angleAvorms 
and ivfuses to eat tent caterpillars, etc. 
Here is Avhat he does eat. Over 4‘2 ))er 
cent of his food consists of animal mat¬ 
ter; 19 per cent is beeth's, a fcAV of Avhich 
are useful ground beetles. Grasshoppers 
make up about one-tenth of the avIioUa 
food, but amount to MO per cent in Au¬ 
gust. Catcri)illars form six jx'r cent, the 
remaining seven ]ier cent is made no ((f 
in.sects. snails and angleworms. All the 
grasshoppers, caterpillars and bugs Avith 
a large portion of the beetles are injur¬ 
ious. Noxious insects form one-thircl of 
the robin’s food. 
No. M. As to an open season on robins, 
the Government report seems to set forth 
a different opinion : “In vicAV of the fact 
that the robin takes toi times as much 
Avild as cultivat(al fruit, it seems uuAvise 
to destroy the birds to save .so little. Nor 
is it necessary, for by a little care b()th 
birds and fruit may be preserved. Where 
Avild fruit is not abundant, a fcAV fruit¬ 
bearing shnibs and vines judiciously 
planted Avill s(*rve for ornament and pro¬ 
vide food for the birds. The Russian 
mulberry is a vigorous groAver and pro- 
fu.se bearer, ripening at the same time a.s 
the cherry. So far as obsei'A'ation has 
gone, most birds seem to in-efer its fruit 
to any other. A feAV mulberry trees 
planted around the garden or orchard 
AA'ould fully protect the more valuable 
varieties.” 
I can testify to the robin’s preference 
for mulberries. A pair of robins nested 
one Summer in a mulberry tree in our 
yard. Close beside the mulberry tree Avas 
a cherry tree Avhich Avas just coming into 
bearing for the first time. It Avas a thing 
of beauty and a joy to our hearts, and 
Ave Avere very choice of our cherry crop. 
The neighbors warmsT us that unle.ss we 
drove the robins off Ave Avould not get any 
clnu-ries. Reing fond of birds. Ave encour- 
ag(>d the robins to st.ay. We took jiains 
not to frighten them and Ave gave strange 
cats a cold and unsympathetic rec('ption, 
.And although Ave had rijie currants, rasp¬ 
berries, blackberries and plums all clo.se 
to the tr(*e containing the nest and brood, 
our fruit was not molested. The birds 
evidently preferred the mulberries, and 
Ave had enough for all the bircls that 
came. o, I. C. 
Boulder, Col. 
