1088 
‘lb* RURAL NEW-YORKER 
August 16, 1924 
but assuming that it is 8 or 0 ft., I 
would treat it in this fashion : I would 
leave the whole front boarded up 2% ft. 
high from the sill, then the next 3 ft. I 
would have entirely of wire netting. 
Just above the wire I would have a shelf 
a foot wide extending along the whole 
front of the barn. Then windows along 
the entire front, sloping out at the bot¬ 
tom, so that the lower edge of the win¬ 
dows rested on the outward edge of the 
shelf. This would let in plenty of eun, 
and at the same time furnish an over¬ 
hang which would keep out nearly all 
storms of rain or snow. The glass in the 
windows should be overlapping, like that 
in hothouses, so that snow would easily 
slide off. 
In the eastern end I would have win¬ 
dows 18 in. above the floor, extending 
back 10 ft. from the 'front and about 4 ft. 
high, protected by fine mesh netting in¬ 
side. A dust bath 10 ft. long and 4 or 5 
ft. wide would be next to those eastern 
windows. 
On the western end I would have either 
two or three doors, not hinged, but that 
could be set up in place and held there 
by stout wooden buttons, or one large 
door 10 ft. wide, that would open flat 
against the side of the barn in Summer, 
and as the east windows would be taken 
away then, there would be plenty of air 
across the front part of the house. 
This plan leaves 8 ft. of the back part 
outside of drafts, but there should be 
three partitions extending only a foot or 
so beyond the roosts, to prevent cross 
drafts in Winter. The nests could all be 
put along the front, with a sloping board 
to prevent rains from wetting the nests, 
or hens roosting on the edges. 
If this house were mine I would put 
sifted loam a foot thick all over the floor. 
Hens need dirt to eat. But it must be 
■wet earth. It is astonishing how much 
of it they will eat if they have a chance. 
Try it once, you skeptic, if you have an 
earth floor to your henhouse, as all hen- 
houses should have ; throw half a pail of 
water on the floor and see the hens go for 
the mud. . , , 
I would have no droppings boards m 
such a house. A wide board, or two 
boards, will keep the litter from being 
scratched into the droppings, and if you 
keep the droppings dry there will be no 
odor. I used to keep them dry in my 
houses by raking the litter to one side, 
then scraping up the top of the dirt with 
a shovel, spread it thinly over the drop¬ 
pings. In dry weather, once in two or 
three weeks was sufficient. 
A regular job each Hall on my farm 
was to drive my farm wagon into the po¬ 
tato lot after they were dug, and while I 
stood on the wagon with a coal sifter in 
my hands, the man on the ground shov¬ 
eled soft earth into the sieve and I sifted 
it and threw the stones overboard. Each 
poultry-house had that sifted loam put 
in it, which was the same in effect as 
moving my henhouses to a fresh location 
each year.' And that loam all went back 
on the fields again, but. this time it was 
loaded with nitrogen that gave me oats 
5 ft. high and 165 bushels of corn ears 
that shelled 21 quarts to the bushel, in¬ 
stead of the usual 19. It was 10-rowed 
flint corn. GEORGE A. COSGROVE. 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK 
DOMESTIC.—At the close of business 
Aug. 2, the New York State Soldiers’ 
Commission had paid $7,844,997.98 of the 
$45,000,000 bonus voted at the last elec¬ 
tion. The total number of claims paid is 
62,771; the largest bonus paid was $150, 
the smallest 33 cents, and the average 
$123.06. Of the number paid to date, 
5,267 veterans made assignments, the 
Veterans’ Mountain Camp benefiting to 
the sum of $41,509.59, and the Disabled 
Veterans of the World War by $1,055.65, 
a total of $52,565.24. The claims paid 
do not include a number under dispute or 
being investigated because of difference 
between the individual records as written 
into the application blanks by the vet¬ 
erans and the War Records Bureau at 
Washington. 
Figures compiled by the Interstate 
Commerce Commission tend to show that 
August is the danger month for reckless 
motorists who try to beat a train to a 
grade crossing. The figures ’nave just 
been submitted to the Statistical Com¬ 
mittee of the Conference on Street and 
Highway Safety, one of eight groups of 
experts invited by Secretary of Commerce 
Hoover to make studies of means where¬ 
by the growing toll of deaths and acci¬ 
dents in traffic may be checked. The 
statistics showed that in 1921 during Au¬ 
gust 229 persons were killed and 5l2 in¬ 
jured in grade crossing accidents; in Au¬ 
gust, 1922, the killed numbered 213 and 
the injured 535, and for August, 1923, 
the increase was consistent, 233 being 
killed and 570 injured. For the entire 
year 1923 the figures show that 2,263 
persons were killed and 6,314 were in¬ 
jured in grade crossing accidents, most 
of whom were occupants of automobiles. 
In certain instances, the report shows, 
the motorist involved in grade crossing 
accidents was responsible for the deaths 
or injuries of others than his party. For 
1923 motor grade crossing accidents 
caused 20 derailments of trains in which 
two trainmen, two other employes, one 
passenger, 13 other non-trespassers and 
one trespasser were killed, and nine train¬ 
men, two other employes, 46 passengers, 
three postal clerks or express messengers 
and 24 other non-trespassers were in¬ 
jured. In 17 other train accidents caused 
by the motorists at grade crossings three 
other non-trespassers were killed and two 
passengers and 21 other non-trespassers 
were injured. The studies show rising 
percentages of grade crossing accidents 
involving motorists. 
Accused of mulcting investors of more 
than $2,500,000 and of causing Oliver 
Morosco, theatrical producer, to lose _ a 
personal fortune once amounting to $5,- 
000,000, seven men were indicted by the 
Federal Grand Jury in New York Aug. 4 
on a charge of using the mails to defraud 
in sale of stock of the Morosco Holding 
Company. The men indicted are George 
R. Bentel, former associate of Morosco in 
the production of motion pictures, who is 
general manager of the holding company , 
Benjamin Deven, organizer of the Moros¬ 
co Sales Corporation ; George H. Pierce, 
George G. Hynson, Albert De W. Blum, 
William C. Ames, formerly Assemblyman, 
and George Derr. Blum was a defendant 
in the Durell-Gregory mail fraud case in 
1922 and was defended by William J. 
Fallon, now being tried for binbery. 
William C. Pelkley, chairman of the 
Rhode Island Republican State Central 
Committee; John T. Toomey of Johns¬ 
town, and William Murray of Boston 
were indicted by the Grand Jury at Prov¬ 
idence, R. I., Aug. 4, on charges of con¬ 
spiracy in connection with the explosion 
of the gas bomb in the Rhode Island 
State Senate on June 19. 
Four armed “hijackers” Aug. 2 forced 
four truckmen waist deep into the Pack¬ 
ard Canal, at Bayonne, N. J., and then 
sped off with two trucks containing 320 
cases of whisky, valued at about $30,000. 
Three men were arrested later and part 
of the stolen whisky and one truck were 
recovered. The police said that the_ two 
trucks had been loaded by their drivers 
and helpers with whisky from a rum boat 
that had drawn up at a pier of the New 
Jersey Shipbuilding and Dredging Com¬ 
pany at the foot of East 28th St., Bay¬ 
onne. The drivers and helpers started 
off. A block from the pier they were held 
up by four men with pistols, were forced 
to abandon their trucks and were made to 
step into the water. 
Two guests were known to have lost 
their lives Aug. 3 when fire destroyed 
Hotel Hillerest, a Summer hotel, and five 
nearby buildings, at Great Chebeaugue 
Island. Me., causing a property loes esti¬ 
mated to be $125,000. A third guest was 
reported missing and another person was 
said to be suffering from severe burns re¬ 
ceived in endeavoring to rescue one of the 
men who died in the fire. 
Admiral Eberle, Chief of Operations, of 
the Navy, has issued orders to the marine 
officer in command of the American forces 
in Haiti, permitting the Rt. Rev. II. R. 
Carson, D.I)., missionary bishop of the 
Episcopal Church, to make use of govern¬ 
ment airplanes in his visitations to va¬ 
rious parts of the island. It is believed 
this is the first instance in which the air¬ 
plane has (been put to the uses of the 
church. Bishop Carson says he will be 
enabled to visit inaccessible portions of 
Haiti where the Christian religion has 
seldom, if ever, been preached. 
Chester Obutelewouz, 14, 47 Church 
St., Jamaica, N. Y., was killed Aug. 5 in 
St. Monica’s Cemetery. Jamaica, when he 
was crushed by a 100-lb. tombstone he 
and playmates are alleged to have pulled 
up with ropes. He died in.Mary Immac¬ 
ulate Hospital. According to the police, 
Chester, two brothers and two other boys 
slipped by the gatekeeper and raised sev¬ 
eral tombstones. When a stone toppled 
on Chester his companions ran, yelling 
for help. Patrolman Patrick Hannon 
found the stone too heavv to lift and had 
to summon two other policemen. 
Acid and fumes pouring from a care¬ 
lessly handled can spread consternation 
through a southbound Dexington Avenue 
subway express train in New York Aug. 
5. Tliree persons were affected seriously 
enough to require hospital treatment. At 
least a dozen others fainted, or were part¬ 
ly overcome. 
One person was killed and at least 40 
injured, eight seriously, when a six-car 
wooden elevated train, heavily loaded, 
crashed into the rear of a steel train 
which was discharging passengers at the 
Ocean Parkway station of the Brooklyn- 
Manhattan Transit Company, New York, 
Aug. 6. The scene of the accident is 
half way between the Coney Island ter¬ 
minus and Brighton Beach. The motor- 
man of the wooden train, John McNich- 
ols, said he saw the steel train ahead, but 
his brake lever stuck, making it impos¬ 
sible for him to stop. He worked fran¬ 
tically a few seconds, then leaped back 
out of his compartment to safety within 
the first car of his train. 
Four persons were killed instantly Aug. 
5 at New Disbon, N. J., when the auto¬ 
mobile in which they were going to a 
nearby wood to pick berries became 
stalled and was struck by a Pennsylvania 
express train. The dead are Mr. and 
Mrs. Clifford Haines and Mr. and Mrs. 
Harry Bush. The machine was demol¬ 
ished and the men were hurled 40 ft. from 
the tracks. Both women were carried 
500 ft. on the pilot of the locomotive. 
Persons who saw the accident exonerated 
the engineer, William Bowe, of Long 
Branch. He blew his whistle repeatedly 
when the car, stalled on the tracks, was 
sighted, and halted the train in what was 
said to be a remarkably short time. The 
Hainses are survived by five children, the 
Bushes by three. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—The quaran¬ 
tine against the importation of fruit from 
Honduras because of the prevalence there 
of the fruit fly will not be modified, al¬ 
though representatives of growers there 
located in a section claimed to be free of 
the fly have taken the matter up with 
officials of the United States Department 
of Agriculture. They desire to find a mar¬ 
ket in this country for oranges, mandarin 
oranges and grapefruit, and advanced the 
contention that as the immediate vicinity 
of the orange groves is free from infes¬ 
tation, permission should be granted to 
bring the fruit to this country unless evi¬ 
dences of the presence of the fruit fly are 
found. This quarantine has been materi¬ 
ally tightened from time to time, and it 
is now more stringent than ever. Many 
efforts are being made by foreign growers 
and interested American importers and 
dealers to have the ban raised as to cer¬ 
tain commodities and certain locations, 
but the department generally has fol¬ 
lowed the principle that unless there are 
general regions that are entirely free 
from fruit fly infestation, it is not safe to 
consider the admission of imports. No 
exception, therefore, will be made in this 
case. 
According to the report of Lieut.-Col. 
E. F. Norton, leader of the 1924 expedi¬ 
tion to scale Mt. Everest, which has just 
been given to the press, the highest 
growing plant observed was the blue 
vetch at 18,000 ft. above sea level. 
A Noah’s Ark laboratory in the heart 
of a six-square-mile jungle has been 
opened by scientists right on the world’s 
greatest maritime highway. Dr. David 
Fairchild, chief plant, explorer of the 
Department of Agriculture, has sent word 
to his colleagues at Washington of the 
opening of this scientists’ paradise, Barro 
Colorado Island, in Gatun Lake, Panama 
Canal. The island was formed when the 
valleys about it were flooded by the im¬ 
pounding of the waters of the Chagres 
River to form Gatun Lake. It resembles 
Noah’s Ark in that there gathered, as 
the waters rose, almost every form of 
animal life in the vicinity, seeking escape 
from the rising flood. Despite the fact 
it is only two miles from the Panama 
Railroad and a week’s journey from New 
York, it has been found to harbor am¬ 
phibians of new and strange habits as 
yet unstudied, and innumerable species 
of insects never described, as well as 
many .strange and exotic plants, number¬ 
ing 2,000 or more. It abounds with ant- 
eaters, sloths, armadillos, peccaries, 
tapirs, agoutis, coatis, the ocelot, the 
jaguar, many species of bat monkeys of 
various kinds and the famous “black how¬ 
lers.” Set aside by Governor Morrow of 
the Canal Zone as a natural park, in 
which all life is under government pro¬ 
tection, the island has been chosen by 
the Institute for Research in Tropical 
America as the site of a tropical labora¬ 
tory where scientists may make their 
studies. Half a dozen well known scien¬ 
tists started the research work this Sum¬ 
mer. Living quarters and the laboratory 
are provided for them by the institute, 
which was initiated by the National Re¬ 
search Council and is supported by uni¬ 
versities, museums, scientific societies and 
institutions of America, to encourage new 
discoveries in the American tropics. 
CONTENTS 
FARM TOPICS 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, AUG. 16, 1924 
FARM TOPICS 
Free Land on New York Farms.1035, 1GE6 
Some Alfalfa Notes.. . 1086 
Truth About the Rye Crop.. 1086 
More in the Man Than the Land. ... 1087 
LIVE STOCK AND DAIRY • 
A Thrifty Ayrshire Cow. 1086 
The New England Milk Problem. l r 95 
A Pooler Makes Suggestions. 1005 
How City Milk is Handled..,. 1095 
Calf Work in New Jersey. 1098 
Cleaning Separator . 1098 
Trouble with Goat’s Milk . 1098 
Sprays for Killing Flies. 1098 
The Swine Situation . 1100 
High Protein Ration Wanted. 1100 
Prevent Self-milking . 1100 
Thick Cream . H00 
THE HENYARD 
What of the Poultry Future!. 1086 
Fitting Up a Barn for Poultry.1087, 1088 
Roaming Hens . 1093 
List of Poultry Questions. 1101 
Dying Chicks . 1101 
Worms in Turkeys . 1101 
Connecticut Egg Contest. 1101 
HORTICULTURE 
Process of Inarching Grapevines. 1087 
Methods of Grape Trimming. 1089 
McIntosh Trees Do Not Bear. 1089 
Renewing Old Vine. 1089 
Curing Black Walnuts. 1089 
WOMAN AND HOME 
From Day to Day. 1096 
Relishes from Oregon. 1096 
The Rural Patterns . 1096 
Pear Conserve . 1096 
Housekeeper on House Building . 1096 
Clam Chowder and Rice Pudding. 1097 
Suggestions for Children’s Clothing. 1097 
MISCELLANEOUS 
A Chance to Shoot Woodchucks. 1086 
Insects that Eat Up Homes. 1087 
Driving Pipe in Well. 1091 
Using Old Car Motor. 1091 
Filtering Turbid Water... 1091 
Concrete Floor in Granary. 1091 
Lightning Arrester for Water Pipe. 1091 
Preserving a Shingle Roof. 1091 
Work of the Auto Hog. 1093 
Remarks on College Teaching. 1093 
Two Views of Economics of Prohibition... 1093 
Why Do We Work On?. 1093 
Editorials . 1094 
The “Child Labor” Amendment. 1095 
"Leap’s Prolific” —heavy- 
yielding beardless variety. 
Large dark berry, hard- 
millers like it. Many customers 
report yields from 40 to 45 bu. I 
per acre. Tall, stiff straw—will 1 
not lodge. Great stooler—you 
need sow only lLs bu. per acre— 
a big saving. 
Our Fall Catalog describes this and six other 
good varieties. Also “Northwest” brand Alfalfa— 
genuine American northern grown. Write for 
Catalog and Samples—both free. 
A. H. HOFFMAN, Inc., Box 15, Landisville, Lane.Co., Pa. 
Rye 
Timothy 
Alfalfa 
BERRY&FLOWER PLANTS 
Pobgrown Strawberry plants for August and Fall plant¬ 
ing ; runner Strawberry plants. Raspberry, Blackberry, 
Gooseberry, Loganberry, Currant, Grape plants f'T Sep¬ 
tember and October planting ; Delphinium, Hollyhock, 
Foxglove, Columbine, Canterbury Bells, Oriental Pop¬ 
py, Phlox and many other hardy perennial dower plants 
for Summer and Fall planting. Catalogue free. 
HARRY L. SQUIRES, Hampton Bays, N.Y. 
TREES & PLANTS 
Thousands of Fruit Trees, 
Evergreens, Shrubbery, 
Barberry, Privet, etc. Highest quality direct to you at 
materially reduced prices. Large assortment. 
WESTMINSTER NURSERY,Desk 1 29, Westminster, Md. 
FRUIT TREES 
Apple, Peach, Pear, Plum and Cherry Trees 
Also GRAPE VINES and other small fruits, bred and 
grown from true-to-name orchard bearing trees, and 
sold to the planter at lowest possible prices. Write 
for Illustrated descriptive catalogue and price list. 
BOUNTIFUL RIDGE NURSERIES, Box 166, Princess Anne, Md. 
TIMOTHY SEED 
Few dealers can 
equal Metcalf’s Recleaned Timothy 99.70% pure. $4.50 
per bushel of 45 lbs. Metcalf’s Timothy and A 1 s i k e 
Mixed, at $5.OO per bu. of 45" lbs. Cotton bags free and 
freight paid in 5 bu. lots. Ask for seed catalogue. 
B. F. METCALF & SON, Inc. 
202-204 W. Genesee St. Syracuse, N. Y. 
PLANTS F0R SALE 
* ^ WHITE PLUME, PINK PLUME. 100— 
SOc; 500-IB2 ; 1.000-S3. CABBAGE. 100-40c; 
500—#1; 1,000—»3. Post Paid. 
W. S. FORD & SON Iiartly, Delaware 
3 Peonies, 3 to „ 5 „ s S eyes 
5 Iris, 5 Sweet William Plants 
(perennials). All above different colors. 
Sept.-Oct. delivery, with culture direct¬ 
ions. $3.00 delivered. 
H. R. Brate Lakemont, N. Y. 
PEONIES 
One of a kind, of ten varieties, not 
named, i pink, i white, 2 red, for 
$2.50, or prepaid to you at $3. 
Mun ho 11 A; Tilton, Ashtabula, Ohio. List for asking . 
3 Peonies, 3 , lris ' 
v* a uvu.uu, (ier _ pt 
all different, delivered Sept, or 
Oct., 3rd zone, for $3 with or- 
PARKER'S PEONY FARM. Fayetteville, N.Y 
into jp. pmwirc WRITE FOR PRICES 
1IYIO <X rJC.Ul’IILO W. Il.TOPPIN Merrbautville, N. J. 
PUnlo Thousands of Celery Plants ® *2 per 
celery Flatus 1,000. Also Cabbage Plants @ $1.50. 
Caleb Boggs & Son - Cheswold, Delaware 
FARM 8 FOR 8 A l.E— Orange Co., N.Y. ,50 miles north¬ 
west N. Y. City. 140-acre dairy farm; good buildings and 
soil; on State road; 30 head of rattle; income, $8,400 per 
year. Also smaller farms for sale. W. W. STONE. Glen Cove, N.Y 
The Farmer 
His Own 
Builder 
BY 
H. ARMSTRONG ROBERTS 
A practical and handy 
book of all kinds of build¬ 
ing information from con¬ 
crete to carpentry. 
PRICE $1.50 
For sale by 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
333 Wert 30th Street, New York 
