7ht RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
1571 
stem or the push rod will be made so long that the 
valve cannot close tightly, is held from its seat when 
the stem becomes heated and lengthened. There 
should be room for a thin piece of cardboard be¬ 
tween the valve and the rocker arm when the valve 
is seated. Carbon inerusted around the valve stem 
or on the face of the valve will also sometimes hold 
the valve slightly open and cause a leak. 
CYLINDER OIL.—A heavy cylinder oil, one that 
does not lose its body under heat, will be an aid in 
holding compression if the gas escapes past the rings, 
but will not of course help if the rings are stuck in 
the grooves. Neither is there any use in using too 
much oil; use enough to be sure that every wearing 
surface is protected, but there is no object in using 
more. Clean the engine thoroughly, apply fresh oil 
and then supply oil in regular amounts while run¬ 
ning. 
THE FUEL SYSTEM.—This should next be over¬ 
hauled to see that the engine is getting a sufficient 
seed and the poorest has been 12 bu. per acre. Of 
the GO lots of seed tested, 15 could be classed as good, 
disease free, selected seed, and the others were just 
common seed, as offered for sale by various dealers. 
Every one of the 60 lots were offered as seed and 
were supposed to be all right. The average yield of 
the lots of the good seed over the lots of poor seed 
has been 54 bu. per acre. Allowing $1 as the value 
of a bushel of potatoes, if common seed potatoes cost 
$5 per sack of 165 lbs,, the potato gi*ower could have 
paid ,$16 per sack for the good seed and made just as 
much profit because of increased yield. Putting it 
another way, if all the potato growers of Suffolk 
County would buy good seed at $4 per bu. they would 
make just as much profit as if they had poor seed 
given to them. 
MAINTAINING QUALITY.—We found some lots 
of excellent seed, and the problem that we are now 
up against is to maintain the quality. The trouble is 
that seed that is good does not stay good without the 
in this way we can not only maintain but improve the 
quality of our seed. We are expecting now to in¬ 
crease the amount of our planting next Spring, so 
we can afford to employ an expert just to look after 
the breeding, selection and disease end of the enter¬ 
prise. His duties will include the running of an ex¬ 
tensive test or breeding plot to determine the best 
and highest yielding strains, methods of selection, 
soaking the seed, spraying and rogueing out the dis¬ 
eased hills as fast as they can be detected. A man 
with the necessary education and experience to look 
after, in an efficient manner, the selection, rogueing, 
breeding and disease end of such a proposition will 
command a good salary. 
CAN WE MAKE IT PAY?—This is primarily a 
commercial proposition, and unless we can make it 
pay financially it will not continue to run many 
years. We have had much more experience than 
the average with seed potatoes, and all that we know 
goes to prove what the experts of the experiment sta- 
supply of combustible gas. Much can 
be told here by noting the action of 
the engine while running. If it has a 
sharp exhaust and pops bad* through 
the carburetor it indicates too lean a 
mixture — too little fuel — and the 
needle valve should be opened a very 
little to remedy the trouble, using as 
little fuel as can be and still have the 
engine run pi’operly. On the other 
hand, a heavy, dead or muffled sound 
from the exhaust indicates too much 
gasoline, and the needle valve should 
be closed until a properly burning mix¬ 
ture with a clear ringing exhaust is 
secured. A heavy black smoke and 
foul, acrid smell from the exhaust, in¬ 
dicate the same trouble, too much gaso¬ 
line or fuel oil, while a blue smoke 
usually indicates that too much cylin¬ 
der oil is being used. Doubtless all of 
the things mentioned have been tried, 
as they are the usual things looked 
after in trouble hunting. Some cases 
are very stubborn, but unless the engine 
was permanently injured by the heat¬ 
ing and reboring, I think that you will 
be able to locate the trouble by going 
over it carefully, one thing at a time, 
as indicated. If the engine ran all 
right when first reassembled after re¬ 
boring, it indicates that the trouble has 
developed since, and no doubt will be 
found to be some simple thing that has 
escaped attention. it. n. s. 
Chart showing increase in Winter egg production due to artificial lighting of poultry 
houses. About 4.000 birds were under lights in this test and 4.000 not under lights. 
These were in 14 different flocks on 14 different farms and should give us an 
excellent average of what might be expected from the use of lights. 
The figures 10. 20. etc., on the left margin indicate the per cent production (50 
eggs a day from 100 hens would be 50 per cent). The figures at the bottom of 
chart indicate date and number of weeks. The broken line is the production under 
lights, and the solid line is the production of the same kind of birds without lights. 
tions have said, that the question of a 
supply of reliable seed potatoes is a 
very serious one. With the knowledge 
.of the fact that the average dairyman 
of New York State would not pay 50 
cents an acre and go to a little trouble 
to get the very best Luce’s Favorite 
certified seed coni obtainable, we realize 
that it is a big problem and will take 
considerable time to educate the potato 
growers that it will return them from 
500 to 1.000 per cent profit by paying 
an increase of $5 to $10 per acre for 
reliable seed potatoes. Many of the 
most expert and wideawake potato 
growers are already demanding good 
seed, regardless of price. Other growers 
will learn from these and from educa¬ 
tional work of the Farm Bureaus and 
other agencies, and use good seed 
eventually. We realize that to carry 
out our plans to produce reliable seed 
will make it cost materially more than 
table stock. It will cost something to 
rogue out the undesirable hills, and be¬ 
sides, those rogued out will not be there 
to produce potatoes. Drought may come 
and cause a very light crop. Scab may 
develop and make the crop unfit fox- 
seed. or exti-eme wet may produce con¬ 
ditions that will cause rot. 
H. B. TALMAGE. 
M 
Reliable Potato Seed 
Pabt II. 
ETHODS OF PRODUCING 
GOOD SEED.—After we bought 
the farm we immediately began a 
search of the entii-e Northeastern 
United States for the best strains of 
Irish Gobblex*, American Giant and 
Green Mountain types of potatoes for 
our seed. We consulted the United 
States Department of Agriculture, the 
vai-ious State Departments of Agricul¬ 
ture, and bought the best we could 
locate, regardless of price. Mosaic, 
leaf-x-oll and kindred troubles ai-e the 
diseases that cause the most serious 
losses. Dr. W. A. Orton of the United 
States Department of Agriculture, who 
is an expert in these diseases, advised 
us that it was practically impossible to 
get rid of these troubles when seed become infected 
with them. Accordingly we used every effort to 
secure strains that wex-e healthy. When yoxx con¬ 
sider that in the whole of Aroostook County, Me., 
there wex-e no Green Mountain potatoes certified 
during the year 191S, because there was none found 
free enough of these diseases to be eligible for certi¬ 
fication you will realize how common and sex-ioxxs 
they are. 
EFFECT ON YIELD.—Seed may be infected only 
sliglitly. in which case the reduction in yield will not 
be very serious, and, on the other hand, it may be 
100 per cent infected, and if in a severe fox-xu may 
reduce the yield to one-third or even less of what 
good seed would produce. The writer has run seed 
tests for the past five years, and lias learned some¬ 
thing of what it costs to use poor seed. These tests 
cover a total of 60 different lots of seed, or an aver¬ 
age of 12 per year, and were nearly all on potatoes 
of-the Green Mountain type. For the five years the 
average difference in yield between the best lot of 
A Conference on the Poultry Situation. Fig. 504 
right kind of care. Potatoes that have 10 per cent 
mosaic this year may have 30 per cent next year and 
SO or 100 the third yeai\ The owners of this farm 
are large farmers for the section in which they live, 
and realized the fact that only a rather lax-ge enter¬ 
prise could afford to employ the high-grade men and 
equipment necessary to produce high-gi-ade seed. 
For our farm superintendent we have a native Long 
Island potato grower, who has been superintendent 
of the Maine State Experiment Fai-m at Presque Isle 
for several years, and is especially well equipped to 
grow reliable seed potatoes. We have over 100 acres 
in potatoes this season, and when it comes to ninning 
a farm of 625 acres it makes a lot of things to look 
aftei-, so when it came time to rogue out the diseased 
and weak hills we had to call in extra expert help. 
The seed plots that we are planning to xxse on our 
own farm in Maine ax-e being given extra rogueing. 
Everything that is diseased or weak, or that is even 
auspicious of being diseased, is pulled out so it will 
not infect other plants. We hope and believe that 
Experience At Dusting Trees 
I read some time ago an account of 
dusting at Hope Farm. Do you consider 
it a success? Is the cost of material 
much greater in proportion than liquid 
spray? e. c. h. 
Long Island. 
O UR apples are now neai-ly all 
picked, and we ai-e able to report 
on this yeax-'s work with the dust. We 
used a mixture of 85 per cent powdei*ed 
sulphur and 15 per cent dry arsenate 
of lead. It was blown on with a power 
duster. This consists of a small gaso¬ 
line engine with a fan or “blower” 
mounted on a low truck. If need be 
the engine and fan could be put in an 
ordinary farm wagon. The dust is 
blown out through a long metal tube, 
made in sections, much like the rain 
spout or tube on a house. Most of the 
tubes as they come with the outfit are 
too short. We also think they ai-e too 
large, carx-yffig too much dust. We 
think a smaller tube with the same 
power would discharge ttb dust with greater force 
and let it puff out better. 
We used the dust only once this season—the rain 
and failure to obtain needed help pi-eventing us from 
making a second dusting. We think this second 
dusting would pay. In working the machine we 
simply drove along the windward side of the rows 
and pointed the tube up into the trees. You soon 
get the “knack” of aiming the tube so as to do best 
work. Our plan is to begin at the bottom of the tree 
and woi-k up—swinging the txxbe from side to side 
as the end rises through the tree. With fxxll power 
on a great cloud of dust arises. It goes on beyond 
the trees and slowly sifts through the orchard, set¬ 
tling everywhere. In a light breeze we have seen 
the dust sift down upon trees four or five rows 
away, and l-emaining in the air for nearly 10 min¬ 
utes. This seems to be one gx-eat advantage of the 
dust. Thei-e is little waste of material, and as you 
work down through the orchard the trees are lightly 
dusted again and again. Our expex-ience is that the 
