1760 
yellow-tinted fat ie quickly deposited and quickly 
withdrawn. The same thing is true of the margin of 
the vent, and a little less true of the ear lobes. 
These are the first places to look for evidence of egg 
producing activity. If they show considerable color, 
the hen is not laying, for they are bleached by a 
short period of production. At least, she has but 
begun to lay, and a hen that lias but begun to lay 
at the season Of the year when culling of the non¬ 
producers should begin is an unprofitable servant. 
Color, after all, can show only what the hen has 
done, not wlmt she may reasonably he expected to 
do in the future, save that it may serve to detect the 
slacker at a time when all producers having a herit¬ 
age of productive blood are at work. There are 
other marks which may more properly he spoken of 
as marks of bodily type, and these will be discussed 
later. They are not, perhaps, as well agreed upon 
as is the showing made by color, but they give 
promise of becoming of oven greater value to the 
practical poultryman who wants to cull bis flock be¬ 
fore the laying season begins, rather than after a 
part of his possible profits have disappeared down 
the throats of non-producers. m. b. d. 
A Victory for the Barred Rocks 
T HE egg-laying contest at Storrs, Conn., ended 
on November 1 with a victory for 10 Barred 
Plymouth Hock pullets bred by Jules Francais of 
Long Island. The second place was won by another 
pen of Barred Rocks which were also bred by Mr. 
Francais. The winners laid 2,234 eggs during the 
year, and the second pen 2,1S2 eggs. To compare 
this fairly with the Vineland record these figures 
should be multiplied by two, since there are 20 birds 
in each Vineland pen. This would mean 4,468 eggs 
foi the Barred Rocks against 4,302 for the leading 
pen of 20 Rod pullets at Vineland. This pen, owned 
by H. P. Walker, won in the New Jersey contest. 
Mr. Francais lias now won first place two years in 
succession, and it is in order to call him the Torn 
Barron of Barred Rocks. lie seems to have evolved 
a definite strain of great layers. This has been done 
by careful selection and breeding consistently from 
birds with high trap-nest records. The sons and 
daughters of such birds have surely inherited the 
egg-laying qualities of their ancestors, and proved 
their ability to pass- these qualities along. A picture 
of tliis pen of Barred Rocks is shown at Fig. 575, 
with several hens of high record. Tlie Rocks and the 
Reds are doing great work at these contests. When 
they were started tlie Leghorn was considered the 
only bird to talk about as an egg producer. Steadily 
the Rocks and Reds have gained and wiped out the 
lead of the Leghorns and proved their right to stand 
among the prize layers. The Leghorn men will give 
figures to prove that their beauties will produce an 
egg at least cost, and that the white color will bring 
a higher price. While that may be true in New 
Jersey and New York, it is not true of New England, 
where the brown color is the badge of superior 
merit, and the extra weight on the “American 
bird” brings up the total income. There is little 
reason for any controversy between the Rock and 
the Leghorn men. Nature has given us both, and 
man may find a place for each one. Tlie Leghorn 
men will surely join us in standing up to salute 
Jules Francais, an American wBo has greatly devel- 
open an American breed. 
Use for Annual Sweet Clover 
L have become very much interested in short articles 
on annual Sweet clover. In our intensified gardening 
district a cover crop, with the exception of an occasional 
patch of rye, is a rare thing. In the past good manure 
was plentiful, and we maintained our soil with it, using 
it lavishly. However, recently the situation has changed. 
Manure dealers have established themselves in the 
cities. They cart manure regularly, and observe no 
scruples in squeezing a farmer out of place by outbid¬ 
ding him and other means, and through the resulting 
manure shortage many of us are turning to cover crops 
for relief. What we want is one which will add the 
greatest amount of liber to our soil within the least 
time, and the annual Sweet clover looks good to me. I 
have planted quite some rye, and would like to know 
if it were practical to plant seed into this in Spring. 
There is a tendency here among the older farmers to 
believe that the Tye would choke out the clover. If this 
did not happen, could a crop of clover hay be mowed 
in midsummer without much damage to the clover? I 
am also interested in the relative value of clover to cow 
peas and Soy beans, and would appreciate information 
thereon. j. c. p. 
Bergen Co., N. J. 
N O one can tell just yet how useful the annual 
Sweet clover will prove as a cover crop. Most 
of our readers seem to have seeded it iu early Spring, 
growing it the entire season so as to mature a seed 
crop. The true cover crop does uot occupy tlie 
soil for the entire season. It either follows or pre¬ 
cedes some other crop; that is, it is seeded in Spring 
and plowed under in Summer, or comes after tlie 
early crop is taken oft'. This Sweet clover may be 
used as a cover crop in two ways. We may seed it 
W* RURAL NEW.YORKER 
early and plow under in July for late cabbage, 
celery, spinach or similar late plantings. Or we 
may take off a crop of peas or early potatoes, and 
then seed tlie clover to “cover” the ground during 
lute Summer and Fall. We tried the last named 
plan this year, seeding the clover iu late June. From 
its growth we feel convinced that it can be seeded 
up to tlie middle of July—after an early garden 
crop—and make a heavy growth before frost. If it 
is intended to raise a large seed crop tlie clover must 
be started earlier—say by May, at least We do not. 
yet know how late we can seed this clover in the 
hope of obtaining a heavy growth. It. may be that 
late seeding will not pay. It has never paid us with 
the old style Sweet clover, although that must make 
a strong growth in order to live through the Winter. 
This annual Sweet clover was discovered and 
started in Iowa—a section where stock-raising and 
grain-growing are the chief features of farming. 
Thus it was supposed that the great value of this 
nt-w clover would lie in its ability to produce pasture 
and hay. We think it will prove more valuable on 
A Man Who Believes In Boots. Fig. 578 
our Eastern farms us u maim rial crop as soon as 
the seed becomes plentiful and we learn how to use 
it. The supply of city manure will grow smaller and 
.smaller as cars and trucks become more numerous. 
The gardeners and small farmers must use more and 
more of cover crops, and the best of such crops will 
be those that can be grown between two market 
crops, thus obtaining at least one money crop each 
year. The chief use for manure in (bis section in 
the future will be to supply bacteria which will 
make the cover crop more effective in the soil. With 
cover crops, lime, fertilizers and a little manure our 
farms and gardens can be made more productive 
than ever before. 
We do not believe that this annual Sweet clover 
seeded on the rye will give you a crop of rye and a 
crop of hay the same season. We should not expect 
it. Tt is doubtful if this annual clover will thrive 
in the rye. We should give it the entire ground, and 
not expect it to produce a crop of fodder. You are 
not likely to get the best results from cow peas as 
far North as you live. They are better suited for 
the country south of Philadelphia. Soy beans will 
grow with you, but from our own experience we 
think this annual clover will give a larger crop. We 
should get away at once from the Idea that you can 
take off a crop for hay and still have it for plowing 
under. Far better depend on it for green manuring 
alone. Tlie seed is not yet cheap enough to warrant 
any of us in buying enough of it to seed acres. When 
we learn just how to handle it right it will prove 
the greatest help in providing organic matter and 
plant food that our Eastern farmers have ever 
known. 
Waterproof Cotton Duck 
E VERY year we have many questions from 
readers who ask how they can make cloth 
waterproof. The general advice is to paint this 
November 20, 1920 
cloth with raw linseed oil, but many who have tried 
that know that it is not very satisfactory. The 
Department of Agriculture lias now issued Farmers’ 
Bulletin 1157, which describes methods of water¬ 
proofing cotton duck. It appears that the object is 
to use something on the duck which will not only 
make it waterproof but mildew-proof as well. In 
tlie first place, it. is necessary to use a good quality 
of the canvas or cotton duck. The quality known 
as the United States Standard Army duck makes a 
good cover, and can be treated to advantage. Sev¬ 
eral formulas are suggested for treating this duck, 
and four of them follow: 
Formula No. 1 
Amorphous mineral wax or crude petrolatum.. 
Yellow beeswax. 
Refined Bermudez Lake asphalt. 
Solvent: Three gallons gasoline and two 
kerosene. 
Formula No. 2 
71/2 lbs. 
1 lb. 
D /2 lbs. 
gallons 
Pet’m asphalt (med. hd ) or Bermudez asphalt 014 lbs. 
Neutral or extracted wool grease. 2 1 / 4 lbs. 
Lend oleate, technical. lUJ lbs. 
Solvent: Three gallons gasoline and two gallons 
kerosene. 
Formula No. 3 
Amorphous mineral wax or crude petrolatum.. 8% lbs. 
Yellow beeswax . 1^ lbs. 
Solvent: Three gallons gasoline and two gallons 
kerosene. 
Formula No. 4 
Amorphous mineral wax or crude petrolatum.. 6% lbs. 
Yellow beeswax ... 114 lbs. 
Lead oleate, technical. 2 ~ lbs. 
Solvent: Three gallons gasoline and two gallons 
kerosene. 
It is said that formulas 1 and 2 give the canvas 
a light brownish color, while 3 and 4 give a light 
buff color. The first two are said to be superior for 
all purposes where a dark color is not objectionable. 
The amorphous wax referred to is a mineral wax, 
a soft grease which is obtained as a by-product in 
refining certain kinds of oil. All of these materials 
may be purchased, but not always from the local 
retail dealers. The wax is generally sold by dealers 
in oils and grease, while tlie asphalts can be bought 
from dealers in roofing materials. The following 
directions are-given for mixing: 
Weigh out the solid materials in proper proportions, 
place them in a kettle or can, and melt slowly and care¬ 
fully at as low a temperature as possible, with constant 
stirring. When the mixture has completely melted, 
remove to a safe distance from the fire, and pour it 
slowly, with constant stirring, into tlie proper quantity 
of solvent (a mixture of three parts by volume of gaso¬ 
line and two parts by volume of kerosene), using five 
gallons of this solvent to 10 pounds of the mixture. 
This should be done with free ventilation, preferably 
out of doors. 
In the preparation of mixtures for formulas 1 and 2 
there is sometimes a separation of asphalt that does not 
mix uniformly with the solution upon stirring or shak¬ 
ing. In such cases allow the mixture to stand a day or 
60 , with occasional stirring, before applying it to the 
canvas. Iu other cases where the material settles to 
the bottom of the container or thickens it will he neces 
sary to warm the mixture just before applying it to the 
canvas. This must be done in the open air by placing 
the open container in a tub or can of hot water. Be 
sure that the container is open and never place it over 
or near a flame. 
In painting the material is thoroughly stirred and 
kept well mixed. The materials can he put on either 
with a paint brush or by using a spray pump. A 
large piece of canvas can be stretched against the 
side of a barn or put on a frame. Then the material 
is either painted on as one would paint a house, or 
sprayed on out of a pump, at about 50 pounds pres¬ 
sure. One coat is about enough to waterproof cloth, 
and ten pounds of the material with five gallons of 
the solvent will cover about 40 square yards of can¬ 
vas. The cost of tliis will run from $2.80 to $3.50, 
the former figure representing the price, of course, 
of the first formula. 
A Believer in Boots 
W HO will tell the man shown above where to 
buy boots, Size 8? Now in bis seventy-second 
year, Thomas Cartman of Wayne County, a retired 
farmer, has worn no shoes since bidding good-by to 
his swaddling clothes. He believes in leather boots 
with a conviction that nothing can shake, and now 
he finds- himself poorly shod, with but poor prospects 
of getting new footgear. 
Mr. Cartman’s record with boots is one that stands 
unique in New York State, lie still lias one pair of 
“Sunday boots,” purchased over 20 years ago. These 
have had their third tap and the owner is very care¬ 
ful of them. In appearance they are indicative of 
extremely good care, and compare rather favorably 
with modern footwear. A pair of “coarse boots” was 
taken to the cobbler four times for new taps, and 
upon the last time the workman informed Mr. Cart- 
man that he lmd reached his limit on any further 
repairs, so when they needed resoling a fifth time 
the owner did the job himself. For. the last two 
years he has been looking about for a new pair, and 
is about ready to give up in desnair. a. h. v . 
