The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
983 
Loading Hay 
To unload hay to the best advantage— 
the quickest and easiest way—it must be 
loaded in the right way. The old farmers 
used to pitch off a load in 10 minutes if 
loaded as shown in the first picture. The 
forkfuls are placed in regular order, as 
shown. It matters little where the load 
begins, so long as the man on the load 
has just one way of doing it. In number¬ 
ing the forkfuls, as shown in the drawing, 
we assume that he first forkful is placed 
on the rear right-hand corner. Then the 
load is laid as shown by the arrow in 
second cut, the last forkful being at the 
Loading Hay for Unloading by Hand 
front center. This, of course, comes off 
first; then back through the middle and 
to the right, with the hands of a watch. 
As said before, it is immaterial which 
way round or where it begins. 
However, in these days, when horse 
forks are largely used, the kind of load 
just mentioned won’t hang together. 
Neither will single forkfuls miscellane¬ 
ously placed. There must be real method 
in loading for a horse, for otherwise the 
unloading will be uncertain and vexa¬ 
tious. The writer has known this uncer¬ 
tainty for many years, and finally tackled 
the problem of scientific unloading with 
9 / < 
J 
Method When Horse Fork Unloads 
the load. Break each forkful and scat¬ 
ter it more or less. Weave it together 
across the load and there will be no 
failures in pitching off with the horse 
fork. The writer has tried it thoroughly 
and can pitch off any load in four fork¬ 
fuls every time. In a whole season there 
was not a single failure, and part of the 
time with old spear fork, which was 
really better than the double harpoon, as 
it was longer, besides lighter and handier. 
Pennsylvania. h. g. newell. 
Cultivating Strawberries; 
Potting Plants 
Should all cultivation cease in a straw¬ 
berry bed when blossoms appear? I have 
a bed that I am trying to give every at¬ 
tention. I put the plants in last year, 
kept the weeds out all last Summer, and 
this Spring gave them a good going-over 
(hoed, cultivated and weeded). When 
the blossoms appeared an old strawberry 
grower here advised me to suspend all 
cultivation, and advised me not even to 
pull weeds, as he said it “will blast the 
berries.” Of course the fruit is pretty 
well set now, and I want to know if I 
did right. The weeds are not big, but 
they are there just the same. These 
plants are forming runners now. If I 
pot them and grow them in the pots and 
set them out iu August, can I expect a 
crop from these August-set plants next 
year? Is there anything I can use in lieu 
of crockery pots, anything I can make at 
home, to lessen expense? Mrs. t. c. r. 
Ontario, N. Y. 
At one time we believed that straw¬ 
berries should not be cultivated in Spring. 
A few years ago one of the men, of his 
own idea, cultivated a patch of vines 
thoroughly up to the time when berries 
were half grown. We never had a better 
and finer crop. It was clean and easily 
fitted for another year’s fruiting. Since 
then we have always cultivated and hoed 
the crop in Spring, cleaning out weeds 
and grass. We found that it pays. It 
might injure the berries to cultivate while 
the vines were very wet, or to run the 
teeth too deep, or throw dirt over the 
fruit, but reasonable and common-sense 
cultivation will pay. We have used paper 
pots or dirt bauds for potting. The crock¬ 
ery pots are, of course, best when the 
plants are to be shipped, but for nearby 
transplanting the paper pots will answer. 
Some growers have used the paper drink¬ 
ing cups successfully, after cutting a hole 
in the bottom for drainage. Such potted 
plants, set out in August, will make a 
good growth, but will not give a full crop 
of fruit next Spring. They usually give 
one spray of fruit, including several large 
berries. 
Directions Forkfuls are Laid 
the horse fork. In less than 30 minutes 
of real thinking he had the solution in 
theory, and the theory worked out per¬ 
fectly in all kinds and conditions of hay, 
even dry, short and slippery hay, as pov¬ 
erty grass and rakings from oat stubble. 
The first, thing is to keep the load 
divided across the middle, as shown at 
A B in lower cut. The second thing is 
to weave together each separate half of 
Burning Out Maple Stumps 
I have some stumps of maple trees that 
I wish to remove. Can you tell me of an 
easy way to do away with them without 
digging them out or blowing them out? 
The trees stood in front of our home, 
which was totally destroyed by fire a 
year ago, and were so badly burned that 
it was necessary to remove tnem. I have 
just finished building a new home and 
wish to remove the stumps if possible. I 
am afraid of blowing them out on account 
of the house standing so near, and dig¬ 
ging them out is a hard job, as they were 
trees over 150 years old. If there is any 
way to help them to decay that you know, 
will, you inform me? l. o. h. 
■Connecticut. 
The easiest way we know of under 
these circumstances is to burn the 
stumps. If it is impossible to use the 
dynamite or a stump-puller, and if the 
digging would require too much labor, 
we should follow the plan sometimes 
practiced in the Far West. One or two 
auger holes are bored into the stump from 
the side down, diagonally to the center. 
These holes are filled with kerosene oil. 
Then, with brick or concrete blocks a 
small temporary furnace is built around 
the stump. A hole is left at the bottom 
for a draft, and the furnace built up so 
that the top contracts to a small hole. 
In some cases a stove pipe is fitted to this 
top, so as to give an extra draft. Light 
wood and pieces of kindling are then put 
inside and a fire started and kept burning 
by pushing in light wood at the bottom. 
If this fire can be kept up, the top of the 
stump and most of the larger roots will 
be thoroughly burned, so that the place 
can be plowed or spaded and put into 
sod. This plan can often be worked even 
close to a building, provided the operator 
is careful and takes advantage of a wind 
blowing away from the building. It will 
take some little time to burn the stump 
below ground, but this plan has frequent¬ 
ly been operated with success. We would 
not advise putting chemicals into the 
stumps to make rot rapidly ; there is very 
little of practical value in that. The 
plan of burning, however, as here de¬ 
scribed, can be successfully worked. 
Tea Flavoring in Apple Pie 
Years ago I read that “two or three 
tablespoons of cold black tea added to an 
apple pie give it an indescribable flavor.” 
Slightly amused, and curious as to said 
flavor, I made a pie with the addition of 
tea, and have never made one without it 
since, when tea was at hand. I use cin¬ 
namon also. Those who eat my apple 
pies think them especially delicious, but I 
have never known anyone to be able to 
tell what unusual ingredient had been 
used, even after being asked to guess. 
G. A. T. 
Important 
News 
about the 
Value o£ Fertility 
i. 
2 . 
Authorities have estimated that from % to V2 of all 
our barnyard manure is absolutely wasted, the annual 
loss totaling about $ 800 , 000 , 000 . This loss is not 
alone on poorly managed farms but it includes many 
that in other respects are operated efficiently. 
A Nebraska farmer reports this result of an experi¬ 
ment in manure spreading over a 3-year period— 
Six acres, manure spread by hand from a wagon box, 
average number of bushels of corn raised per year: 336. 
Six acres, manure spread evenly by a manure spreader, 
average number of bushels of corn raised per year: 420. 
Three-year gain in bushels of corn, by the use of a 
, good manure spreader, on the 6-acre area: 252. 
McCormick-Deering manure spreaders put fertility 
into the soil as it should be done. They are light 
in draft, strong and simple, yet with the right 
adjustments so that you can spread all kinds of 
manure, as heavy or light as you need it. 
Note these features: 
1. Auto Steer. 2. Front Wheels Track with Rear. 3. Two 
All-Steel Beaters. 4. Wide-Spread Spiral. 5. Narrow 
Tread. 6. Self-Aligning Bearings. 7. Steel Main Frame. 
8. Six Feed Speeds, 9* Positive Apron Drive. 
Built in two sizes to fit small or large farms. See the spreader and 
its practical features at the store of your McCormick-Deering dealer. 
International Harvester Company 
3 . 
606 So. Michigan Ave. 
of America 
(.Incorporated) 
Chicago, Ill. 
McCormick-Deering 
Manure Spreaders 
Rowell 
Trojan 
Your 
Neighbors Will 
Help Pay For It— 
One Rowell Trojan Ensilage Cutter 
owner tells us that last year he 
filled 18 silos after he filled his own 
—and he made a good profit on 
every job! His neighbors practi¬ 
cally bought his outfit for him the 
first season. 
Your light tractor will run any of the 
three sizes of Trojan Cutters easily, 
cutting from 8 to 17 tons an hour, and 
lifting the silage into the tallest silos. 
Hyatt roller bearings; guaranteed-for- 
life flywheel; end - thrust bearings; 
extra - strong, twist-proof steel main 
frame; automatic feeder; convenient 
control from either side—these are a few 
of the features that make 
the Troian the cutter for 
you. Write for free descrip 
tive booklet. 
Eastern Distributor 
Unadilla Silo Co., Inc. 
Unadilla, N. Y. 
The LB.Howell Cn 
Id 10 Lincoln Avenue, Waukesha, Wis, 
11 ii 11111111Mi i 11 iiii 11miiiii111111111m11ii 11 ii 
TSSEEEIinZSSESl 
Our New Handy Binder 
Sides are heavy Book Board, Imita¬ 
tion Leather Back and Corners, 
Cloth Sides, Two Tongues Inside. 
Inside of Cover Neat Lining Paper, 
Stamped in Gold— “Rural New- 
Yorker”— on outside. 
Will hold 52 issues, or more. 
Sent prepaid upon receipt of 
price, 65c. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
333 West 30 th St. New York City 
v a : >Vv;o v .•.■ ' /..■ 
••• . •••••••:. .A;---/ , . 
. r v. j 
,;.V ;,v;: y:/y 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
rhe Business Farmer’s Paper 
NEW YOgK CITY 
a /: .. a 
\ / • :;A •• ; 
;A-a:':v-v • j •' 
foYiVy.X 
I' ' , 
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimii 
When you zvrite advertisers mention The R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a 
quick reply and a “square deal. ’’ See guarantee editorial page. 
