1258 
by the wind as is an open belt. A crossed belt, how¬ 
ever,'cuts down the iwwer to some extent, and wears 
more rapidly, due to the friction caused by the 
twisting and rubbing together of the two parts of 
the belt. It must be remembered also that such a 
belt reverses the motion, and provision must be made 
for this by turning either one machine or the other 
around. As in the open belt, the same side of the 
belt sl)ould come in contact with'both pulleys. 
SLIPPING.—Belts that are wide "enough, under 
the ])roper tension, and in good condition, will seldom 
slip, and should a belt in seemingly good condition 
persist in slipping it may be helped somewhat by the 
u.-^e of belt dres.sing, although the use of a dressing 
of this kind is advis(^l only as a temporary relief. 
An effort should be made to keep the belt clean and 
flexible, not sticky, and tar, rosin, etc., should never 
be used. Their u.se collects dirt, makes the belt hard 
and glazed, and by making it adhere to the pulle3^ 
too tightly it, im some cases, causes the plies to 
RURAL N E W-Y O R K E R November 9, 191S 
back of the center one in the first row of holes, and bills for the old bean field half a mile nwiiy. It was 
pulling the lace up through this, finishing on the top almost dark when I arrived, but I could see the 
or outside of the belt. Care should be taken in doing tracks of the bean-puller which had lasted over the 
this work to keep the lace pulled up .snugly, and to Winter, and started out to follow them, knowing it 
see that the smooth side of the lacing thong is kept would be too dark to be guided by the customary 
to the outside where it will receive the pulley wear, flag anyway. Well, I got over that ground faster than 
Neither must laces be twisted or crossed on the pulley 
side of the belt, for if this is done they will rapidly 
cut off. Dampening the end of the lace and singe¬ 
ing it with a match will sometimes aid in lacing by 
making the end of the lace hornlike. Belting is so 
I ever had seeded before, regulating the amount of 
seed as best I could to my speed. Lightning was 
flaring about When the storm broke I had the field 
about half finished. gale came with the thunder- 
clap.s, and as I neared the end of a row It oecame so 
generally used that its care and repair should be dark that I concluded it would be useless to try 
another trip across and back. 
WILD WEATHER.—^Theii the deluge. The g.ale 
came from about north-northv;est and the house lay 
about south-southwest, making my homeward course 
about right angles to it. With what was left of the 
seed over my left shouldei*, I started. In 15 seconds 
mastei'ed by every machine owner, as the ability to 
keep it at its work will often save the time of a 
large gang of men at a time when their sendees are 
worth the most. bobert h. smith. 
Seeding Alfalfa In the Mud 
J UST LUCK.—I am one of those who became my right side was drenched, while the seed and the 
interested last Winter in the proposition of,Mr. loe shelter kept my left side perfectly dry. It was 
.re])arate. A light application of laundry soap, put Shirley of Indiana to get a stand of Alfalfa by the only 15 or 20 minutes to the house, walldng under 
“mudding in” method, and decided to try it. Per- difficulties, but by the time I got there the clouds 
haps you will lie interested in knowing how it came were gone and the moon came grinning up over the 
out. I am more convinced than ever that the main barn at the joke on me, and when I got up next 
morning the right side of my ovei’alls was shrunk 
about four inches, while the left side was as long 
as usual, and they were the only pair I had, so I 
had to go around looking like a clown, and there 
was not another drop of rain for three weeks more. 
Though I finished the seeding the next morning. Just 
lecause there was nothing else to do about the mat¬ 
ter, I never went near the field to see whether the 
Alfalfa came up, because the ground had not had 
^.enough rain to make mud, and there didn’t seem to 
be a ghost of a show for the seed to grow 4.bout 
a month later I sold the farm. But in July, when 
I paid a visit to the old place, I was informed that 
there was a stand of Alfalfa. Can you beat it? 
UNEXPECTED RESULTS.—Neighbors had tried 
for three or four years, with all the best scientific 
failed, and I got a staiid by scattering 
on by holding the cake against the moving belt, will 
often cause one that has been slipping to grip the 
pulley tightly, or, if the belt is a rubber one, 
nothing is better than a few drops of boiled linseed 
oil applied to its friction surface. Covering the 
pulleys with paper or leather is also a great aid in 
getting a pulley grip. 
LACING THE BELT.—Many devices are in use 
for joining the ends of belts—hooks, rivets, wire and 
Avhat-not. But where they cannot be made endless, 
as in the case of the canvas thrasher belt, there is 
probablj" no better method than lacing with a raw- 
hide thong. For belts over four inches in width, the 
Forsyth lace, using a double row of holes, as .shown 
in the cut. Fig. 601, is as good as any. The first 
step is to cut both ends of the belt perfectly s<iuare, 
using a tri-square and chisel or sharp knife for the 
purpose. The picture shows this plainly’. After 
cutting in this manner square lines across the belt 
at a distance of about an inch from the ends for the 
first row of holes, and back of this at the same 
distance another line for the second row of holes. 
Stalling in about one-half inch from the edge 
an even number of holes are spaced off with the 
dividers, as is shown in Fig. 597. These holes should 
be about an inch apart, their exact distance being 
governed by the width of the belt, bearing in mind 
when spacing them that an even number of holes is 
wanted. Care should be taken to see that the spac¬ 
ing is uniform, so that the holes, Avhen punched in 
the other end of the belt, Avill be directly oppo.site. 
In the second row an odd number of holes is 
si)aced off. These are placed directly between those 
of the first row. This distributes the holes evenly 
over the end of the belt and makes a strong union. 
lIOIiES FOR LACING.—The lacing used should 
be light, strong and uniform in size. It is a mis¬ 
take to use a heavy lace. A six-inch belt should be 
laced with a thong not wider than one-(juarter to 
live-sixteenths inch. Lace holes should be slightly 
smaller than the lace used with them, so that it will 
fit snugly. As shown in the picture, Fig. 599, when 
lacing a canvas belt the lace holes should be made 
with a large awl rather than a punch, as it cuts off 
fewer of the fibers, and weakens the belt less. An 
awl made from an old fork tine is all right for the 
pui’pose. The joint is shown here as being made in 
the lap. Better results can be obtained if the belt 
is put on the pulleys and drawn up bj’ means of 
clamps to lace. If the belt clamps are not obtain¬ 
able veiy good Avork can be done by placing the 
belt across the open top of a box Avith the ends 
ju.st meeting, and after tacking it in this position 
the lacing can be readily done. This prevents the 
ends overlapping, as thej' sometimes do when the 
lacing is done in the lap. 
HGW THE LACING IS DONE.—Begin the lacing 
by iinerting the thong from the pulley side of the 
belt and drawing it half Avay through one of the 
center holes in Fig. 601. Next pass the end of 
the lace diagonally across and down through 2, along 
the inilley side of the belt and up through 3, dOAvn 
through 4, and so on until finally the lace comes up 
through hole 11., Pass it down again through 10, up 
again through 11, next down through 8, and so on 
until it finallj’ goes down through the hole opposite 1 
and up through 1. The other side is laced in exactly 
liiffht and Wrong Methods of Running Belt. Fig. (!00 
factor in obtaining 
amount of 
MORRIS J. WHITE. 
The Wonderful Cow Pea Plant 
A Lli Avho have travelled through the South and 
observed methods of farming, have nniu-eu h,.. 
ffttftcH /*cc^ en^s ere an<^fic/W/s Mroafff 
the same way, both lace ends finishing in the same that I had nothing to lo.se anyhow and might be 
hole at the last, one on the outside and the other on 
the pullej' side of the belt. The lace ends are fin¬ 
ished bj’- making a cut in the side close to the belt. 
This forms a bai-b and prevents them from pulling 
ciut. NarroAv belts are laced in the same Avay except 
that only one roAV of holes is used, Avhich should 
have an uneven number of holes in it. The lacing 
as often finished by making a second hole directly 
tainihg a stand of Alfalfa is the requisite around on a sunbaked, unprei)ared field, Avith 
‘‘just luck.” For years I have observed three weeks before or three Aveeks after 
the efforts of neighbors Avho have prepared fine seed Again, I say, the principal factor in obtain- 
beds, used lime and fertilizers and a pile of time, ^ stand of Alfalfa seems to be just luck. I have 
and failed. I haA^e AA'anted to try Alfalfa for .some time, inquired .since I visited the farm how good the 
but alAvays dodged. Finally last Winter I decided Avas, but that there should be any at all under 
that I might as well fail one Avay as another, .so circumstances in Avhich the seed Avas .sown seems 
adopted Mr. Shirley’s way as being the least expen- uphold Mr. Shirley’s argument that in putting in 
sive, being of no harm anyAvaj', as the field Avas one time spent in making Avonderful seedbeds 
Avhich had been cropped one .A ear too long OAving to wasted. 
A-arious kinds of weather interfering with the rota¬ 
tion, and I did not know Avhat to do with it. 
UNDESIRABLE CONDITIONS.—So early in 
March, Avhich in Michigan is the muddiest month of - — uuf;t;rvea metnoas of farming, have noticed the 
the .Aear, I got in a bushel of Alfalfa seed and or- wonderful power of cow peas to improve poor soiks. 
We doubt if there is any other plant known in this 
country that Avill produce such results on light land_ 
when the season is long enough for a full growth. 
At the Wisconsin Experiment Station coAv-pea seeds 
Avere planted in sifted coal ashe.s. That is about the 
l)oore.st substitute for soil that one can find. . Some 
of these cow-pea seeds Avere inoculated—others Avere 
not. Where the inoculation was not used the seeds 
sprouted and made a feeble groAvth, only to die in a 
few weeks. The inoculated cow peas made a fair 
to good giOAAffli in this .sterile coal ash. There could 
Ive no harder test for any plant, but apparently the 
coAV pea possesses the power to make a fair groAvth 
in the coal ashes Avith little or no plant food. Most 
C'oal ashes contain .some ijotash and pho.sphate from 
the small amount of wood burned AVith the coal, but 
AA’e do not know of an.v other iilant beside.s the cow 
pea Avhich can make such Avonderful use of this 
microscopic quantity of plant food. Nature has 
given this Avonderful poAver to the coav pea. In its 
Avaj' it is as useful as anj' of the great discoveries 
of science. This humble plant can reach into a 
sterile soil and discoA'cr food AAdiich the chemist AA'itli 
his most delicate tests can hardly detect. Then 
through the bacteria on its roots the cow pea can 
absorb nitrogen fi-om the air, add it to the other 
plant fot)d and dcA’elop a good-sized plant. When 
the last day of the otlicial life of my culture, it Avas Avorked into the sand or coal ashes the making 
about as hard as loam Avith just a trifle of clay in of a strong and u.seful soil has begun. Other plants 
it can get. folloAA^ and in a few jmars any useful crop can be 
HURRIED SEEDING.—ToAvard noon clouds be- groAvn at a profit. We haA'e seen in Dehuvare and 
gan to sail over. Being the last day of grace I got Maryland great tracts of dry, coar.se sand take on 
out my culture and mixed it with the seed, allowing color and character, bind itself firmly together and 
grow into a good loam soil through the Avork of cow 
peas and Crimson clover. We have grown coav peas 
successfully as far north as New York City, and 
they alAvays leave their mark behind them in the 
color and size of the folloAving crop.s. The true home 
of the cow pea is at the South, for it is a hot and dry 
Aveather plant. The ability to groAv this crop is one 
of the greatest bles.sings Avhich Nature has lavished 
upon the Southern States. 
Method of Lacing Beit. Fig. 601 
dered a culture from the Michigan Agricultural Col¬ 
lege. 1 calculated to soav about the 10th of the 
month, on a cloudy daj', so as to giAe the culture a 
chance for life. But none of the days thereabouts 
was cloudy, and to make it Avorse, the siioav had 
gone off in a hurry, and the ground Avas drying out 
faster than It ever had since it Avas cleared. My 
(ulture was good for three Aveeks, according to 
Michigan Agricultural College specifications, so I did 
not Avorry much, as March generally drops a lot of 
rain in these parts. But day after day the sun shone 
and the ground began to bake until on March 31, 
favored Avith a bit of luck. In the middle of the 
afternoon more clouds, so I milked early in order 
to be ready for emergencies, calculating to soav that 
seed in the rain rather than lose my chance. About 
half an hour before sundoAvii there Avas no mistake 
about it. In fact it looked like more than I Avanted. 
So I hoisted the sack of Alfalfa on one shoulder and 
slung the seeder OA’er the other and set out over the 
