Ibt RURAL NEW-YORKER 
957 
Field Stones for House Foundation 
Can I use the common field stones, picked up when 
land is cleared, for making foundation walls for a barn, 
with cellar beneath it? If so, how? f. a. s. 
A. S. can profitably use the stones he describes 
• in the kind of wall he wishes to build. Get 
the bulletins issued by the various cement companies 
and study them. Since he doesn't state the thick¬ 
ness of the wall required, nor the kind of building to 
stand upon it, it cannot be told whether or not he 
will need one ton of cement or more than one ton. 
If the building is to be a barn or two-story house, a 
wall 1 ft. thick of cyclopean masonry should endure 
the stress of such a structure. If the soil is firm 
enough to afford a straight up and down face, be¬ 
fore the wall is started, then the soil itself will be 
one form to the top of the ground, when two wooden 
forms must be built. A wall but 6Y 2 ft. high would 
not need to be wider at the bottom than at the top, 
but it could be so built. For instance, if the soil is 
firm enough to permit digging under at the bottom, 
thus making a slanting wall of soil, one line of the 
larger stones could be placed all the way around the 
cellar before the wooden form was put in position, 
letting these large stones stand back about 1 in. from 
the inner line of the wooden form. 
Stones could be placed in the form right on the 
ground, the concrete poured upon them and care¬ 
fully spaded, or rammed with a paddle made from a 
%-in. board 3 or 4 in. wide and about 3 ft. long. 
Continue pouring in concrete until a foot deep. Then 
work in the 6-in. stones and larger stones. The 
stones must always be surrounded with concrete. 
The stones must not I’est against or touch the wood¬ 
en form, for if they do an open spot will appear in 
the wall when the forms are taken down. If the 
stones are kept separated, a great quantity of them 
can be worked up in this way, and so reduce the 
cement cost. But let me quote a foreman of con¬ 
struction : “Don’t be over-economical of cement; for 
if is better to use many bags of cement more than 
usual specifications call for than to use a few bags 
too little; for in the first case you have a strong 
piece of work, while in the second case you may 
have a piece of work that will have to be torn out 
and rebuilt, or have to be patched up, and that 
means greater expense and an unsatisfactory job.” 
This friend is a builder of large structures, as hos¬ 
pitals and mills. If the weather is cold, he adds 
quite a little more cement than specifications men¬ 
tion and so gains quicker “setting.” 
It is important that these stones accumulated from' 
This may be called “the old and the new” among Vine- 
land poultrymen. A. P. Arnold is known all through¬ 
out South Jersey as the “grand old man of Vineland 
poultrydom.” He is 85 years old and has kept hens in 
Vineland since 1868. The West Vineland Farm and 
Garden Club was’ organized in 1867 and has met an¬ 
nually at Mr. Arnold’s home. The picture shows the 
oldest and the youngest members of that club—the baby 
member being Miss Florence Ritter. 
clearing up land be clean of loam before they are put 
into the wall, even if they have to be scrubbed. 
Doam on the stones will prevent a good “bond” and 
so make a poor job. g. wabben davis. 
Connecticut. 
Tax Exemption for New Dwelling Houses 
I saw an article concerning the passage of the Dunn- 
igan bill extending the date of exemption of new dwell¬ 
ings from local taxation. Will you tell me if my prop¬ 
erty will come under the scope of this bill? I built a 
house and garage in the Fall of 1923. It was com¬ 
pleted so we moved in the first day of November. We 
are located inside the village limits. Will you state 
which taxes are meant by the term “local taxation?” 
Also state if there is any special form in which to 
make application for exemption. s. L. b. 
Portville, N. Y. 
Y an act which became a law April 1, 1924, the 
tax law is amended as follows: 
The legislative body of a county, or the legislative 
body of a city, with the approval of the board of esti¬ 
mate and apportionment, if there be one in such city, 
or the governing board of town, village or school dis¬ 
trict, may determine that until Jan. 1, 1932, new 
buildings therein, planned for dwelling purposes ex¬ 
clusively, except hotels, shall be exempt from taxa¬ 
tion for local purposes other than for assessments 
for local improvements during construction, and so 
long as used or intended to be used exclusively for 
dwelling purposes, or if a building of four stories or 
more in height, used exclusively for dwelling pur¬ 
poses above the ground floor, provided construction 
was completed since April 1, 1920, or, if not so com- 
Here is another of those grand old elm trees. This one 
is at Rushford, N. Y. A man born in 1817 saw this 
tree first when it was about 10 years old. It was then 
used as a hitching post. A few years ago careful 
measurement showed it to be 117 to 120 ft. tall and 16 
ft. around at 4 ft. from the ground. 
pleted, that construction be commenced before April 
1, 1925,, and completion for occupancy be effected 
within two years after such commencement, or if in 
course of construction on Sept. 27, 1920, within two 
years thereafter, or if a building three stories in 
height, used exclusively for dwelling purposes above 
the ground floor, provided construction was com¬ 
menced since April 1, 1923, and before April 1, 1924. 
The provisions of this section shall not be construed 
to preclude such legislative bodies from granting 
exemptions which do not exceed the exemption au¬ 
thorized by this section. Any such limited exemp¬ 
tion heretofore granted by any such legislative body, 
intending, or purporting to act under the authority 
conferred by this section is hereby legalized, validat¬ 
ed and confirmed. For the purposes of this section, 
construction shall be deemed commenced when the 
plans have been filed with the proper authority and 
excavation actually and in good faith begun. The 
owner or architect may file with the authority with 
whom the plans are filed, a statement in writing 
setting forth the date of filing plans and the date 
when excavation was actually commenced; and said 
authority shall forthwith cause said facts to be in¬ 
vestigated. If said statement on such investigation 
is found to be true, said authority shall thereupon 
issue to such owner or architect a certificate setting 
forth the date when the plans were filed with him, 
and the date when excavation was actually com¬ 
menced, which certificate shall be conclusive evi¬ 
dence of the date when construction was commenced, 
for the purpose of obtaining the benefits of this sec¬ 
tion. N. T. 
Finds Fault With Dog Law 
We farmers are restricted by a dog law; we pay tax 
on a dog, but he must be shut in from sundown to sun¬ 
rise, as I understand the law. A fai’mer wants a 
watch dog at large at night to guard the place against 
thieves who can run a car 20 to 50 miles, raid a chicken- 
house and home in three hours, say 11 p. m. to 2 a. m., 
while the farmer is in bed and dog shut in. I do not 
see any reason why a farmer should be tied up without 
protection from plunderers who are 50 miles away in 
the morning. A farmer is poor, no car to follow his 
goods, no means to go to law. If his dog was out to 
give the alarm he might stop the plunder with a shot¬ 
gun. Will you give the dog law in the columns of Tin? 
R. N.-Y., and also work the next Legislature to have 
some relief or modification of this law. so we may have 
some protection? A farmer is liable for his dog at night 
or all time. ,j u. l 
Tioga Co., N. Y. 
HE New York dog law has not been materially 
changed this year. In fact, it is the same as it 
has been for several years. In most respects it 
seems to have worked well. Under Sections 116 and 
117 the law states that when there is serious damage 
from dogs, enough to exceed 80 per cent of the fees 
collected during the year for licenses, or whenever 
the police department of'any city shall make a re¬ 
quest in writing, the Farms and Markets Commis¬ 
sioner may order that all dogs in any certain town, 
city, ward or county, shall be securely confined be¬ 
tween sunset and one hour after sunrise, for a period 
of time not exceeding one year. It seems that about 
three years ago the loss of sheep, killed by dogs in 
Tioga County, was more than the amount of fees 
collected. That gave the sheep industry a bad set¬ 
back, and under the law the Commissioner ■rt’as 
obliged to declare a quarantine on all dogs. They 
had to be confined from sundown until one hour 
after sunrise. The effect of this was so good that 
the County Supervisors asked that the quarantine 
be continued, and it has been. That is the substance 
of the laws which compel such dogs to be housed. 
The thing to do is to build a small house for the 
dog and make it warm and comfortable, and confine 
him at night with a small chain or strap. In this 
condition the dog will give just about the same pro¬ 
tection as if he were at liberty. That is, about all he 
can do in any case, would be to bark and give warn¬ 
ing. If he was on the job he w r ould awaken the 
family. 
Under Section 117 of this law it is stated that if 
a dog shall make an attack upon a person while 
peaceably traveling and conducting himself in a law¬ 
ful manner, or shall attack a horse or team, or any 
domestic animal, any person may kill such a dog so 
attacking, or while such dog is being pursued there¬ 
after. Or complaint can be made to police justice 
or judge, or justice of the peace; such officer is to 
make an investigation and if satisfied of the truth of 
the complaint and that the dog is dangerous, the 
owner or any peace officer shall be ordered to either 
kill the dog immediately or confine such dog during 
There are still a few of these fine old-time folks left in 
New York State—father, mother and the family cow. 
a specified time. An owner who fails so to confine or 
kill such a dog as so ordered, within 48 hours, shall 
be subject to a penalty of $25 and a further penalty 
of $2 for every 24 hours thereafter until the dog is 
killed or confined. 
