1044 
C'Ac RURAL NEW-YORKER 
September 7, 101 s 
UwiTee Statcs of amgrioa 
C tPARTMENT OF THE INTERS 
FUOCAU or MtN^ 
EXPLOSJVES LICENSE 
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To protect- 
not to hinder 
The sole object of the explosives licens¬ 
ing law is to keep explosives out of the 
hands of plotters or alien enemies. 
It is not desired to restrict the use of Farm 
Powder by loyal Americans, or to hinder 
its purchase for legitimate purposes. 
The main thing to note is that a license 
must be obtained, which authorizes you 
to use explosives or issue them to your 
help. 
A license costs 25 cents. It will be 
issued by your county clerk or local 
licensing agents. 
When you need ATLAS Farm Powder 
to increase production or offset labor 
shortage, secure a license and simply 
order from your dealer as usual. 
A’t’rite us for further information if desired, and 
ask for our big free book, “ Better Farming. ” 
Check the subjects in which you are interested; 
□ Stump Blasting □ Subsoil Blastins: Q Road Makine 
□ Boulder Blastinc □ Ditcb Uigeine □ Tree Planting 
Al'LAS POWDER COMPANY 
Division KN"? Wilmington, Delaware 
T/iis hook is free. 
Write for it today. 
Power Shortage is Fuel Waste 
Don’t think you’re saving by letting your • engine.-^ 
tractor or automobile motor run along short of, 
power. The shortage is probably due to gas es¬ 
caping through leaky piston rings—and you have to 
pay for it anyhow. 
The surest way to get —and keep — maximum power 
and save fuel is to install a set of 
McQUAY'NORRiS 
PISTON RINGS 
The piston ring which is properly designed and con¬ 
structed to give perfect bearing on the cylinder walls 
—save friction and undue wear on cylinders. 
Your dealer can get you any size or over-size 
quickly. Over 300 jobbing and supply houses in all 
parts of the country carry complete size assortments. 
If you have any difficulty getting them, write us. 
McQUAY-NORRIS 
RINGS 
A special ring for engines that pump oil. Used in top 
groove only of pistons to control excess oil, with 
McQuay-Norris \ Rings in lower groove? 
to insure maximum compression and fuel economy. ^ 
SEND FOR FREE BOOKLET 
“To Have and to Hold Power’’—a simple, 
clear explanation of piston rings, their con¬ 
struction and operation. 
Mfd. by McQuay-Norris Mfg. Co. 
2878 Locust St., St. Louis, Mo. 
Coprrisbt 1917, McQuay-Norris Mfg:. Co. 
GenereJ Farm Topics 
- ..... ■ — 
Harvesting Onions 
I have about a half an acre of Ohio 
Yellow Olobe onious. They are very 
thrifty and some are almost ready for 
market. Some say the to])s should be 
rolled with a barrel. Is this so? When 
should they be pulled? Should they be 
loft out to dry for a few days in the field? 
North Salem, N. Y. E. Q. B. 
Although it is a common belief that it 
is necessary to roll onion tops to force 
the larger development of the bnlbs, the 
actual tests do not prove that it is a pay¬ 
ing proposition to do so. However, in 
the case of late planted and neglected 
onions, they may develop a thick neck 
and fail to die down properly. In such 
cases it will help the bnlbs to ripen, hut 
such a crop is not worth while and may 
not he considered. 
The crop should be harvested just as 
soon as the bulbs have made their maxi¬ 
mum development; this is when most of 
the tops have fallen over. Four rows 
may he pulled and laid together, so that 
the onions from two rows are laid with 
the bulbs towards the onions from the 
other two rows. The next day or so, ac¬ 
cording to the weather, the onions may 
have the tops cut off about two inches 
from the bulb. Tiiis serves to stir the 
onions, when partially dry, so that they 
will dry more quickly and thoroughly. 
White onions cannot stand too much ex¬ 
posure to the sun, as they will turn green. 
•Tnst so soon as the onions are suffi¬ 
ciently dry they should be picked up and 
stored. They require a cool, dry tempera- 
tuie and a free circulation of .air on each 
bulb. 31auy growers store the crop in the 
field by i)lacing it in slatted bn.shel crates 
which are ranked about six feet high. By 
placing the piles close together and in 
single file they maj’ be easily covered with 
a few hoards or tar paper to keep out the 
rain, while the onions will enjoy a good 
cirenlatiou of air until cooler Aveathei% 
when they may be stored inside or be 
.sold. 
Where there is a limited quantity of 
onions to store, it may be more conveni¬ 
ent to place tliem directly in the build¬ 
ings, i)rovided they can be spread out or 
stacked so that the neee.ssary ventilation 
may be provided. When onions are stored 
in bulk they will quickly heat and de¬ 
teriorate. R. w, D. 
Haymaking in New England and Iowa 
While it takes sun to make hay in Iowa 
the same as it does in New England the 
actual operations involved in handling the 
hay differ materially. In Iowa the grass 
is cut in the morning as is the common 
practice “at home.” In the afternoon, 
instead of raking the liay into windrows 
and commonly cocking it, the. Iowa far¬ 
mer lets the partially cured hay remain 
over night in tlie swath. One might 
think that a heavy dew would cause the 
bay to be badly bleached when the sun 
dries it off next morning, but hay han¬ 
dled this way shows practically no dis¬ 
coloration. Instead of all hands turning 
out with the ]ntchforks and spreading the 
windrows or cocks open the next morning, 
and then turning the hay or putting a 
tedder through it. tlie Iowan rakes the 
hay into windrows with a side-delivery 
rake. By eleven o’clock the flat hay 
wagon with hay loader attached conies 
down the rows and starts the hay on its 
journey to the barn. The only use of the 
hand fork in the field is in taking the hay 
from the loader and sjireadiug it about 
on the load. The man who has not 
tackled^ this latter job with team always 
in motion has a shaky experience coining 
to him. The writer has put in several 
afternoons at it, and has thus far man¬ 
aged not to fall off the load, but he would 
hesitate as yet to make any promises. 
"When the load arrives at the barn a few 
lusty jabs with the hayfork and a pair 
of horses to pull it soon cause the load 
to be deposited in the mow, while the 
man or men with hand forks do the sweat¬ 
ing stowing it away. 
The hay tedder is even more scarce in 
Iowa than the hay loader in New Eng¬ 
land. The grass simply lies rain or 
shine, until the siin finally cures it. To 
ask tlie writer in which place he would 
ratlior hay is hardly fair, because he is a 
New Englander, but when it comes to 
methods give him the Iowa way, which 
moans more hay in the barn per day with 
less help and with less wear and tear on 
the luimaii niechanisin. You may say that 
the level land of Iowa, the large fields and 
ab.sence of stones makes all this possible. 
These things do help a lot, but the same 
methods can be practiced on the New 
England farm and in fact are now already 
in practice on some of the larger farms. 
AA here farms are small some one must 
own the inachinery and farmers must 
change work, particularly in these times 
when the cream of onr farm labor is har¬ 
pooning the enemy instead of the hay. 
n. F. JUDKINS. 
The Culture of Rye 
Intending to grow a large crop of rye, 
and wishing to obtain the best results,' I 
would like^ to consult you upon certain 
points. When is the best time of sow¬ 
ing? How deep should laud be plowed? 
t'astleton. N. Y. a. e. b. 
Bye is a .standard crop on many farms 
in Eastern New York. It is adapted to a 
wide range of conditions, though not suit¬ 
ed to wet lands. It does best on a good 
sandy loam, but yields fair crops on light 
or thin soils where there is an outcrop of 
ledge. The ideal time for seeding rye in 
Eastern New Y'ork is about the middle of 
Seiiteiiiber. but weather conditions may 
make later sowing necessary, as it often 
h;i’ipens that late August and earl.v Sep¬ 
tember are so dry that a good job of 
plowing cannot be done. It is better to 
.sow later rather than have the land ini- 
jiroperly fitted. Fair crops of rye are 
sometimes grown where the seed is sown 
diroctl.y on the plowed furrows and har¬ 
rowed only once, but better preparation 
is profitable and necessary when grass 
seed is to be sown with the rye. Plowing 
ordinarily rims six to eight inches deep, 
and the finer the first four or five inches 
are made the better chance the roots of 
rye and grass will have to get a firm hold 
on the soil, so that they are not likely 
to be thrown out in Winter or Spring. 
If slate ledge is close to the surface, the 
jilowing should not be skipped there, as 
the rye will grow in such places unless a 
kUliiig drought cuts it out. The .straw 
will be short and the rye heads small, 
but there will be enough ,viel<l to pa.y well 
fo’’ the extra work, besides the satisfac¬ 
tion of having the field thoroughly tilled. 
The quantity of seed per acre varies 
with the .soil, method and time of seeding. 
On fertile .soil rye stools heavily, and 
tlirco iiecks to one bushel make an ampli 
seeding. On poorer land, or when .sown 
later, 114 bushels or even more may be 
necessary. If the seeding is done with a 
dri’l, less seed is needed than where 
broadcast, as practically all of the seed 
will he covered if the toji soil is fined 
properly before drilling. Skill and good 
judgment are retpiired to make a good 
job of broadcast seeding, and no matter 
how well it is done some of the grain is 
sure to be left uncovered. The ideal 
way is to have the field go into Winter 
thoroughly covered with green, and this 
can usually Ix' done if seeding is com¬ 
pleted in September or early October, 
l.ato seeding, oven up to November, is 
sometimes jiractical. and such rye may 
come through safely if kept covered with 
snow, so that the winds and freezes and 
thaws of late Winter do not uncover the 
roots. 
Bye is one of the best crops to seed to 
grass with. In localities where clover 
seed eaniiot safely be .sown in Fall, Tim¬ 
othy and other grasses are put in when 
the rye is seeded, and the clover sown on 
the field in early Spring, preferably when 
there are a large luiinber of frost cracks 
to catch the seed. Fertilizers high in 
nitrogen are not suited to rye, as they 
iiubice a_ Inaavy, soft growth of straw, 
which will go down badly with storms 
and make cutting difficult. Bushes and 
weeds to be burned may well be hauled 
to the rye field after plowing and burned 
there, as the straw stands up well where 
wood ashes are spread. 
Hay Caps .-vnd Combustion. —In re¬ 
gard to home-made waterproofed hay 
caps, as described recently, there is an 
element of danger. I don’t know how it 
may be with those treated with paraffin 
ami turpentine, but caps treated with 
raw linseed oil will heat if folded and 
jiackod away. A number of years ago 
I made a number of them; used them 
several times that season and in the 
Fall folded them and piled them in an 
iniiised manger. Next Summer I found 
most of them burned in the middle and 
ruined. It is a wonder they did not set 
my barn afire. I-Ividently they should not 
have been folded nor packed closely. I 
bought a large stack cover, evidently 
treated with the paraffin and turpentine, 
and used it on a half-built stack. A heavy 
shower washed most of the “waterproof 
iug” jway, nnd the stack was wet nearl.v 
through and had to be taken down and 
dried. I don’t think nuich of that method. 
Heavy duck is the best, but cost is pro¬ 
hibitive. and it is hard to get any kind 
that will not blow off or upset the cocks 
in a gale. d. 
A B.vttle Creek woman danced three 
times with a good-looking lieutenant and 
then said: “Pardon me. sir, but your 
face is somewhat familiar. Haven’t I 
seen yon .somewliere before?” “Yes, 
madam, you have.” the officer responded. 
“I was your milkman more tlian three 
years.”—I’ittsburgh Chronicle Telegraph. 
