932 
7/re RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
while the turkeys are finishing their litters, and it 
saves in two ways. The eggs have not been kept so 
long as would be necessary if we waited for the hen 
to complete the clutch, and therefore hatch better; 
again, we are two weeks ahead of time, for the tur¬ 
key does not need to sit for four weeks, as would 
otherwise be necessary. Put not more than 13 fertile 
eggs under each turkey. 
SETTING THE TURKEYS.—If the turkey hen 
is laying alone in one of the nests provided, I put 
these half-incubated eggs under her, where she has 
chosen her nest, but if two or more are trying to sit 
it the same place, I remove each hen to a separate 
pen previously provided, and make her sit there. 
We can always shift our birds in any way we like, 
and still have them sit quietly, but it is best to try 
them in the new nest a few days on nest eggs, before 
the good ones are given them, to make sure that all 
is well. What turkeys are not set are put out of the 
yard, or in another yard with the gobbler, and after 
a week or 10 days they will start laying again. The 
second laying we allow each hen to incubate herself. 
. , FEEDING.—Feed the old stock while laying any 
good ration that you would ordinarily feed to laying 
hens, but always keep turkeys away from all other 
fowls while the breeding season is on. We feed a 
mash of meal, crushed oats, middlings and bran, 
equal parts by measure, in the morning, moistened 
with sweet or sour milk; oats at night, or sometimes 
wheat if we have it. Don’t forget to provide plenty 
of shell material. I always save all the egg shells 
for the turkeys at this time, which is the best shell 
material to be had, but plaster or oyster shells are 
good. It does not matter so much what the material 
is as it does that something in these forms has been 
provided. Do not feed corn to laying turkeys; it 
makes them too fat, and will result in blood clots in 
the eggs; these will never produce a turkey. Keep 
plenty of fresh water always before them in an 
earthen dish in a shady place. 
GENERAL CARE.—If the hens persist in flying 
out, clip one wing. Do not cut off the wing square, 
but strip the web off each feather instead. This 
will not hinder the hen in covering her eggs, nor 
interfere with her perfect balance while mating. If 
the tom is large do not neglect to tile down his nails; 
otherwise hens may be injured. One union will fer¬ 
tilize all the eggs of that clutch, though if running 
together the hens will mate several times before they 
start to lay. About 10 days after the first mating 
look for eggs. One tom is enough to mate 10 to 20 
hens, and I once mated 25 hens with an old tom and 
had extra good hatches. willet randall. 
Warren Co., N. Y. 
Using a Car as a Tractor 
I would like information about using my Ford chassis 
(body removed) for harrowing our orchard and mow¬ 
ings. (Have never seen a tractor at work). About 
how long a tongue should work best on the wheel har¬ 
row? Is there any inexpensive way I can put lugs on 
the pneumatic tires or on the rims (something with 
more “bite” than chains) so the car will pull on plowed 
land? b. M. 
Massachusetts. 
IIILE a Ford or other sturdy car can be used 
to a certain extent as a tractor, there is very 
little to be said in favor of the practice. A tractor 
and automobile are entirely different in design, both 
in the motor and driving mechanism. The tractor 
motor is what is known as a “heavy duty” type, one 
designed to work at practically full load for long 
periods of time. To meet this condition it. is built 
with strong and heavy parts, large bearings to reduce 
the load per square inch on the bearing surfaces, and 
a cooling system designed to care for the greater 
amount of heat developed by the continuous heavy 
work of the motor. 
The automobile engine, on the other hand, is de¬ 
signed to work continuously under a partial load 
only. The cooling system is seldom adequate to 
keep cylinder temperature at the proper point when 
the engine is excessively loaded for long periods of 
time, as it would be under the grueling sti’ain of 
tractor service. As an illustration in proof of this 
note the boiling radiator when a car makes a long 
climb or a long pull through heavy mud or sand. 
The driving mechanism of a ti’aetor has a far 
different ratio from that of an auto—the motor 
makes many more revolutions to one turn of the 
drive wheels than is the case with the automobile, 
and to approximate this condition at all it would be 
necessary to drive the car in “low” all of the time. 
Compai’ed with those of the auto tractor wheels are 
high and wide, px*esenting a large bearing surface. 
This maximum bearing surface is provided in the 
case of the ti’actor to permit it to travel easily over 
loose, mellow and soft ground, such as is usually 
found where a tractor is to be used. The wheels of 
an automobile are designed for carrying the ear 
1 over smooth, hard loads only, and are consequently 
made much smaller, as it reduces the tire expense 
and also the “unsprung” weight of the car—the 
portion of the car not carried by the springs. These 
small wheels, with their narrow, rounded tires, pre¬ 
sent too small a surface to carry the car successfully 
in soft ground, as many a motorist has learned to 
his sorrow. 
The object of a ti’actor is to conserve the opera¬ 
tor’s time and to permit him to accomplish more 
work in a given period. Where a car is used for 
the purpose of pulling farm implements it is doubtful 
if this result is accomplished. Its capacity is so 
limited that only ordinary equipment can be bundled 
by it, and much time is lost because the operator is 
forced to i-ide so far from the implement that is 
being drawn by it. If an extra man is placed on 
the machine in addition to the driver it only compli¬ 
cates matters, as while using horses or the ordinary 
tractor one man could manage both. 
The car or truck will givp excellent service carry¬ 
ing and hauling over hard roads, the condition which 
it is designed to work under, but field work will 
spell ruin for it, and very little actual service will 
be obtained in return. No one would think of put¬ 
ting a race horse into heavy field work and expect 
to get good results from so doing, yet the case of 
using a car as a substitute for a tractor is comput¬ 
able. It is trying to use it for a purpose that it is 
by design and construction entirely unfitted for. 
If after a careful consideration of the matter-it 
is still the desire to attempt to use the car for 
traction purposes, mud lugs, that will aid in getting 
a grip on the loose earth, may be obtained. These 
buckle around the tire and give better traction. The 
tongue ixsed on the implement should be shoi’t, 
simply long enough to permit making the shortest 
turn that the car is capable of, and the hitch should 
Peony-flowered Dahlia. Fig. 258. (ktec gage 936.) 
be made from a draw-bar attached to the car at the 
outer ends of the rear axle housing. Do not hitch 
to the center of the axle housing, as it is not designed 
to l’esist a pull here and might be distoi’ted. The 
same thing applies to pulling the car out with a team 
should you get “stuck.” If attached to the center 
of the fi-ont axle it may be sprung, thi’owing the 
wheels out of line. b. h. s. 
Some Questions About Sweet Clover 
Last Spring you published a Sweet clover article by 
Joha E. Wellington. I am going to sow Sweet clover 
this year and would like further information on one or 
two points in Mr. Wellington’s article. Do I understand 
he took a third crop approximating 12 tons per acre off 
as silage? Is a third crop customary under properly 
prepared conditions? Do you think Sweet clover could 
be ensiled with corn to advantage? If so, about what 
would be the proper proportion? H. J. f. 
Hope Valley, R. I. 
ECOND-YEAR CUTTING.—Where the misappre¬ 
hension arises is in respect to the so-called sec¬ 
ond cutting referred to in the article on white Sweet 
clover. TMs was not a second cutting in the sense 
of being one made from a plot previously cut the 
same season, but second only in point of time of cut¬ 
ting. The Fa xml Bureau becoming interested in the 
second crop the second year, which I had put in 
solely for soil improvement and with no personal 
interest from other points of view, asked for the 
privit^ge of making some cuttings with a view to de¬ 
termining the relative yields of second year growth 
at different times, at different stages of its growth. 
This I gladly gave them, and they selected a piece 
for the purpose. Part of this was cut in June and 
yielded at the late of about 12.72 tons green weight 
per acre. The l’est of the piece alloted to the Bu¬ 
May 15, 1920 
reau was let alone at that time and allowed to con¬ 
tinue growth until about a month later (in July ) 
and was then cut while in bloom, yielding about 
J7.2S tons per acre green weight. This later cutting 
was taken to another farm for silage, but I cannot 
tell you much about the result. 1 do not. and at the 
time did not, think it was cut at just the right stage 
for silage. What is the right stage can only be told 
by experience. It has been used successfully for 
that purpose, I understand. 
NO THIRD CROP.—No, there is no such thing as 
a third crop of white Sweet clover; that is, not in 
the same season. This being a biennial, it makes in 
the first year its root growth, storing food, and top 
growth comes slow. One good cutting can be taken 
late in the season. Have heard of two cuttings the 
first season, but doubt it for this part of the country 
at least. The second year, its seeding period, it 
comes on very fast early in the season, and I had it 
fully 3% ft. high by the middle of June on the best 
lot. I am satisfied that it should have been cut 
<¥n'Jjer than that for hay, not let get quite so big. 
What was not cut then rapidly developed still fur¬ 
ther, as shown by the cutting made in July. From 
then on the rest of it left uncut went beyond control 
by September and could hardly have been handled 
with anything short of a corn harvester. The growth 
was, of course, tremendous on the best piece, but 
due to well-settled seedbed, thorough liming and in¬ 
oculation. Without those conditions I doubt that 
such a l’esult would be possible in so thick a stand 
as there was. One crop the first year and two the 
(second are about all one can expect in this part of 
the country. By making the first cutting early the 
second year another hay crop can be taken later or 
it can be let go for seed. For that matter it is likely 
this second growth could be used for silage, but 
would not yield as heavily as if left uncut until 
wanted for that purpose, making just the one cut 
for it. 
ENSILING WITH CORN.—I cannot tell you any¬ 
thing about ensiling it with corn. Would suggest 
that II. ,T. F. obtain from Washington the three bul¬ 
letins mentioned in the article. The bulletins are 
Fanners’ Bulletin 7!)7, which covers “growing the 
crop”; No. 820 covers “utilization,” and No. S36 
covex’s “harvesting and thrashing the seed crop.” 
THE SECOND SEASON.—You know that the sec¬ 
ond gi’owth the second season does not come from 
the crown of the plant, as on Alfalfa, but shoots out 
from the sides of the stubble, latent leaf buds on the 
stubble developing in the effort of the plant to per¬ 
form that season’s function of making seed to per¬ 
petuate itself. Therefore it seems essential hi mak¬ 
ing the first cutting to leave a high stubble, not only 
for'more second growth thereby secured, but because 
if the crop is heavy and thick it seems likely so to 
shade the stubble near the crown as to smother out 
the latent buds down low so that they will not de¬ 
velop after the first cutting is taken off. This crop 
ought in some sections to serve well as pasture. 
Slow top growth the first year, making root first, 
brings the clover on at a time late in the season 
when it is very acceptable for pasture. Its habit 
the second year of coming on fast and early gives 
fresh pasture again at an opportune time, and if not 
pastured too close and too long ought to leave a fair 
second growth for hay or seed or to plow under. On 
account of these characteristics it seems adapted to 
“fit in” most opportunely. What might happen un¬ 
der different conditions, or in a different section, 1 
cannot say, but the foregoing is what was observed 
under the conditions and in the vicinity where l 
used it. Bear in mind that this was the biennial 
white Sweet clover. John e. Wellington. 
Madiison Co., N. Y. 
Rabbits and Goats 
NUMBER of new farm interests have devel¬ 
oped in the last few years of which many of us 
have little knowledge. Few people realize how rab¬ 
bits have come to be as common as poultry on manj 
farpxs. The tame l’abbit is now a regular article of 
food, and many city restaurants sei’ve it. It may 
seem remarkable, but there is nearly as math 
money invested in rabbit breeding in New York and 
New Jei’sey as there is in sheep and goats! A tew 
weeks ago we printed a question fi’oxn a man vho 
wanted to use sheep or goats for cleaning up a brush 
field. We thought there might be two or three re¬ 
plies. We have had more than 25 letters and one 
telegram! Tt seems that in parts of the West g ,u * 
breeding has become a great business. The goat has 
real value in clearing up land, and the goats are in¬ 
creasing faster than sheep. In former years ninny 
. pi’actical men regai’ded the l’abbit as a plaything and 
the goat as a joke. The truth is that they have both 
become business propositions. • 
