The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
October 22, 1921 
1250 
(Fig. 524) is as good as any, and'can generally be, 
used. The hole for the end post should he 2 feet 
stj u a re and anchors, made from 2x6-inch material, 
2 feet in length, spiked to the post as indicated at 
AA. The second post can he set in a hole bored 
with a post hole auger 10 y 2 feet from the first. This 
permits the use of a 4x4-inch, 12 feet in length, as 
the brace B. The exact length as well as the angles 
of cut can be determined by holding the brace up 
against the side of the post after the faces CO have 
been spotted off to receive it. This brace can be 
made from a round pole if desired, but it should not 
be smaller than 4x4 inches in cross section. The 
ends of the brace as well as the faces on the posts, 
may well be treated with wood preservative to pre¬ 
vent the retention of moisture and possible decay 
at these points. 
BRACING THE POSTS.—The diagonal brace B 
should lie set 10 inches above the ground line at the 
lower end, and down about 10 inches from the top 
of the post at the other. The two posts are further 
braced by wrapping a No. 8 or larger soft brace wire 
about them, extending from the top of the second 
post to the bottom of the first, as shown. The ends 
are firmly spliced together and the wire securely 
stapled to the posts, where it encircles them to pre¬ 
vent it from slipping up or down, as it might do if 
left loose. A short piece of small pipe about 12 
inches in length is then inserted at I>1 > and the brace 
drawn taut by twisting. If the pipe is not used for a 
twister be careful to see that whatever 
is used has a uniform diameter, other¬ 
wise it will be fastened when the wire 
is twisted taut, and the twist will have 
to be undone to remove it. 
POST HOLES. — The post holes 
should be filled with earth, firmly 
lamped about the anchors to secure a 
solid setting. Concrete should not be 
used as a base about a wood post. The 
swelling of the post during wet weather 
is likely to split the concrete base, ad¬ 
mitting air and moisture, which with 
the warmth of the soil furnishes ideal 
conditions for decay. For the same 
reasons stone should not be used ex¬ 
cept in the bottom part of the hole. 
Corner and gate posts are arranged 
the same, except that a corner post 
carries a load from two directions, and needs addi¬ 
tional anchors and braces to resist the pull from the 
two lines of fence. Too much care cannot be used in 
setting these posts. The life and usefulness of the 
fence depends upon them. Fig. 523 shows a corner 
post that was improperly set and braced. As will be 
noted, the post has lifted from the ground, due to 
the steep angle of the braces. Robert h. smith. 
(Continued Next Week) 
pairs. Withdraw an equal amount from the general 
fund and return it to the partner who purchased 
such repairs. This will leave .$255 to be divided 
among the four partners, and each should receive 
$03.75. Of course this is upon the supposition that 
the earnings of the machine have been two cents 
pei bushel for all the grain thrashed. In case this 
estimate is not correct, the figures that follow must 
be changed to correspond, but the general principle 
will be the same in all cases. 
In regard to the depreciation, this is purely a 
local problem, and can be determined only by an 
expert examination of the machine and a compari¬ 
son of its present value with its original cost. But 
since all are equal partners, all must share alike in 
such depreciation. Regarding a division of the in¬ 
terest, there seems to have been no previous settle¬ 
ment, and hence there is no interest to be divided. 
Had a settlement been made at the end of each year, 
and each partner allowed the sum found to be to 
his credit or to his debit to remain in the general 
fund, each would be entitled to receive or is under 
obligations to pay interest, as the case may be, from 
the date of such settlement to the present time. 
C. O. OBMSBEE. 
Possibilities of a Small Greenhouse 
We have a greenhouse 30 ft. long, dug-out walk in 
center, 4-ft. beds on each side. The roof is made of 
3x6-ft. sash. Half of it is heated, that is, 15 ft., then 
there is a partition. Would you tell me what might be 
Division of Profits in a Thrashing 
Machine 
O N page 1031 S. propounds the following and asks 
for a correct solution of the problem, which is, 
essentially, as follows: A. B. C and D buy a thrashing 
machine to be operated exclusively among them¬ 
selves. Each puts in an equal amount of money, 
and each owns an equal share. At the end of three 
years A has thrashed 1.066 bushels grain. B 1.000, 
C 3,810 and D 6.715 bushels, respectively. Meantime 
they have paid $15 for repairs, and the point under 
discussion is. How shall the benefits accruing from 
the scheme be divided so that each may receive Ids 
just share? Also how may the depreciation be de¬ 
termined in case one wishes to dispose of his share 
in the machine? 
This is a very simple problem in co-partnership, 
but H. E. C. in his reply does not seem to grasp the 
idea. Since all invested the same amount and at 
the same time, all become equal partners and each 
is entitled to receive the same benefits, which appear 
in this case to be just the earnings of the machine 
above cost of repairs. No intimation is given of 
how much or how little these earnings may be. so 
for the sake of illustration we will assume that they 
amount to two cents a bushel on all grain thrashed. 
It appears that a grand total of 13.500 bushels were 
thrashed, and hence, upon this basis, the earnings 
were $270. Of this sum each partner is entitled to 
receive one-fourth, or $67.50. But it appears that A 
has already received, tentatively, in the thrashing 
of his 1,066 bushels of grain, the sum of $21.32, B 
has received $38.18, C $70.20 and D $134.30. 
Now, for the sake of simplicity, and the avoidance 
of what may be a more or less abstruse system of 
bookkeeping in case scientific rules were strictly 
followed, let each partner lay in a common pile on 
the table the amount that he has already received. 
Ascertain the amount that each has paid for re- 
.1 Poorly Hot Corner Post Lifted from Position. Fly. 523 
done in that house to make a little money, either in 
flowers or vegetables, also what flowers could be grown 
in Summer out-of-doors that the florists would buy? We 
live on a side road where we could not very well sell 
to consumers. L. J. 
New Haven, Conn. 
I HAVE written several replies to questions re¬ 
cently that have been printed in The It. N.-Y. 
that will cover this question completely. The only 
suggestion that I could make would be to procure 
Grand Rapids lettuce plants and plant them 8x8 in. 
During January and February sow seed of cabbage, 
cauliflower, beet and lettuce, if you live in a section 
where there is a demand for early vegetable plants 
in Spring. March 1 sow tomato, eggplant and pepper 
seed. When the plants are several inches high 
transplant into beds in the unheated end of house, 
or in flats. The plants should be set about 1% to 2 
in. apart. The tomato, pepper and eggplant will 
have to be planted in the heated portion of the house, 
as they will not stand a lower temperature. 
Next Spring purchase enough cuttings of pompon 
Chrysanthemums to plant the entire house, setting 
plants 8x8 in. Grow the plants outdoors till about 
July 15. then transplant in house. Keep them topped 
till about August 1. Hilda Canning. Volunteer, 
Golden Lyda Thomas and Christmas Gold will prove 
most desirable varieties. You might experiment 
with purchasing some Gladiolus bulbs, and plant 
them in Spring for cut flowers. Get large size bulbs 
and plant 4 in. apart in rows several feet apart in 
rich soil. When the spikes are cut several leaves 
must be permitted to remain on the plant to ripen 
the bulb which should be dug after first frost in 
Fall and stored in a cool, perfectly dry cellar. 
Asters prove rather profitable some seasons. The 
seeds can be sown in a cold frame early in Spring 
and set in open ground end of May or early June. 
ELMER J. WEAVER. 
me—and I moved on to another lot of cabbage, some 
distance away. To my surprise I found yellow-jackets 
around this lot. It then occurred to me that it was 
improbable there were two yellow-jackets’ nests so close 
together, and particularly in two cabbage plots in the 
same garden. With one eye on the “jackets” and one 
on the worms I continued my search for probably a half 
hour. Meanwhile the yellow-jackets paid no attention 
to me. Then as I bent down a leaf to get a big green 
worm, probably an inch long and as thick as a parlor 
match, a yellow-jacket dived down in the head of cab¬ 
bage and landed squarely on the worm. The worm was 
too big and heavy to pick up bodily, so the yellow-jacket 
proceeded to cut it in twain. When the one-half was 
absorbed so it could be handled it flew away. I ex¬ 
pected it would return for the other half, and stood 
quietly waiting. In about five minutes it returned and 
absorbing the other half flew away. It then dawned 
on me that they must be a common enemy of the cab¬ 
bage worms. It is perhaps common knowledge that 
the worm is the result of an egg laid on the under side 
of leaves of the cabbage by the little white butterfly so 
numerous in Summer in nearly every section. That 
these green worms had an enemy in the yellow-jacket 
I never knew before. Since my discovery I have noted 
the butterflies and yellow-jackets every day flying 
around among the cabbage at the same time. Whether 
any of the readers of The R. N.-Y. have ever observed 
anything of this sort of course I do not know. But if 
you raise cabbage arid observe worms and these yellow, 
black striped insects flying around it will be worth 
your while to get close enough to note what they are 
doing. They do the most complete job I ever witnessed. 
Whether they will be able to keep the worms in check 
so my cabbage will head up properly remains to be seen. 
Milford, N. J. w. c. T. 
E have no reason to doubt the accuracy of the 
observations of the correspondent, and it is 
to have this very definite proof by 
eye-witness of the work of wasps in aiding 
the gardener to preserve his crops 
from destruction. It is a well-known 
fact that yellow-jackets, hornets and 
other social wasps live on the 
juices of fruits, nectar of flowers, and 
on animal substances, especially the 
bodies of other insects. The predomi¬ 
nating kind of food used at any one 
time appears to depend somewhat upon 
its availability. For example, some¬ 
times wasps get in the habit of visiting 
a nearby butcher shop, from which 
with great industry and enthusiasm 
they carry away bits of meat for the 
hungry young wasps in the nest in the 
close vicinity. But these social wasps 
are. on the whole, partial to insects, 
especially flies, although they will cap¬ 
ture caterpillars which are not too 
w 
gratifying 
an 
Yellow Jackets and Cabbage Worms 
In a recent issue I noted a complaint about the green 
cabbage worm being destructive. One day last week, 
while pulling weeds and cleaning up a part of my gar¬ 
den. I recalled this item, and when I came to the cab¬ 
bage plot I noticed the outside leaves were full of holes, 
and further examination revealed the green worms at 
work. I also decided to get busy, and with a pair of 
long-jawed pliers I went after them and got from some 
plants as many as 10 in various stages of development. 
While hunting for the worms I noticed half a dozen or 
more yellow-jackets flying around among the heads of 
cabbage. I am no admirer of these insects—a couple 
of them having already this Summer backed up against 
large, particularly when the supply is ample aiul 
conveniently nearby. Benjamin Walsh, one of our 
older entomologists, now deceased, wrote in 1869 
that “some persons in America have turned this 
insect-devouring propensity of the hornets to good 
purpose 'by suspending one of their nests in a house 
much infested by the common house-fly. In such a 
situation we have been told that they soon make a 
clearance of the obnoxious flies: and so long as you 
do not meddle with them they will not meddle with 
you.” It has never been our good fortune to know 
any one personally who has used this unique method 
of destroying house-flies. Under ordinary circum¬ 
stances we believe the good housewife would rather 
take her chances of happiness among the house-flies 
than with a good big nest of hornets as a kitchen 
companion. 
At any rate, there is altogether too little appre¬ 
ciation of the really useful role that wasps fill in 
aiding the farmer by destroying the insects that 
injure his crops. The fruit grower is too apt to 
remember the wasps only for their propensity to 
stick the juices from his pears and peaches. This is 
what he is most likely to see them doing, for their 
activities in catching insects and carrying- them 
away to their nests seldom fall under his observa¬ 
tion. Yet the young wasps are fed almost entirely 
on the bodies of other insects that are chewed up 
fine by the worker wasps; and when we remember 
that their may be hundreds of these fiery little crea¬ 
tures in one nest, and that each one is busy from 
early morn to late at night, we can imagine some¬ 
thing of the large numbers of insects they must kill 
and bring in for food during a season. Really, we 
ought to protect wasps, instead of stoning and burn¬ 
ing their nests as though the little creatures were 
vipers to he harassed at pleasure and exterminated 
from the earth. As a matter of fact, they are peace¬ 
able, harmless inhabitants of the insect world that 
speak only when rudely spoken to, and then in no 
uncertain terms. Moreover, they are surpassingly, 
yes, amazingly interesting in their habits and ways. 
Tf the reader is interested he or she should read 
Miss Margaret Morley’s charming book, “Wasps and 
Their Ways.” glenn w. herrick. 
R. N,-Y.—We have been observing the crows very 
carefully of late, and feel sure that they catch and 
eat many green cabbage worms. English sparrows 
are credited with similar activities. 
