1183 
Tbt RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
Harvesting and Curing the Bean Crop 
T HE RIGHT WAY.— Ill our agricultural opera¬ 
tions at the present time we have arrived at a 
period where efficiency often makes the difference 
between profit and loss, and doing things at the right 
time and in the right way will turn the tables. As 
it is nearing the time for the 'bean harvest a little 
information as to the manner of harvesting this 
crop may prove of advantage to amateur growers. 
The veterans have perhaps taken advantage of these 
features in the process of curing the bean crop in 
the past, and the writer has written on this subject 
before. There is too often an idea prevalent that 
the crop when pulled or cut must be left in small 
bunches flat on the ground, in order to cure quickly, 
while in fact, backed by experience, this is a pretty 
sure way to prolong the process, and too often in¬ 
vite damage to the crop. The damage to the beans 
is caused by the pods coming in contact with the 
ground during wet weather, and any way of curing 
•that will allow a smaller percentage of this contact 
will prevent most of this damage. 
PULLING THE BEANS.—We will suppose, first, 
that the crop has been properly cultivated during 
growth, so that there is no undue 
been castrated) is the best, as the male goat grows 
larger than the female, and is stronger. Feed a 
driving goat as one would a sheep, or if one doesn’t 
understand sheep, then feed this way: Allow the 
animal to graze in the fields where brush and weeds 
abound through the growing season. In Winter 
feed a little oats, about a pint in the morning and 
a pint in the evening, and give what clean hay the 
goat will eat twice daily; this will be but a small 
handful. 
To train a driving goat, begin when the animal 
is young, and teach it as one would a horse to drive. 
P»e gentle but firm with it. Goats are very easy to 
train, as they are a very intelligent animal and 
learn quickly. 
Do not allow boys to get on its back, as a small 
goat may be permanently injured in this way. Do 
not overload the little animal either, and never 
whip or be cruel in your training. Teach the goat 
to go about at first with just the harness on it, 
then after this is accomplished, hitch it to a little 
cart or wagon. As the goat reaches maturity, he 
can easily draw two boys on a smooth road. They 
the idea of putting some inoculant or starter into the 
silo to give a more uniform quality by controlling 
its ferments. The silo has become one of the pillars 
of dairying and, like the old-fashioned spray pump, 
has seen a great business develop around it. 
T 
growth of grass and weeds, and the 
bean puller or cutter can do a good 
job and push the two rows together 
after pulling. This leaves the vines in 
a good position and condition for the 
first process of curing. If the weather 
is good, after 24 hours the curing will 
be found to have progressed rapidly, 
and they can then be forked into snlall 
bunches of about a good forkful. Then 
in another 24 or 48 hours they can be 
put up after the manner of putting ijp 
or cocking hay, as it is generally called. 
At this stage the crop is not cured 
enough to house, as the beans must be 
perfectly hard before they are put in 
the mow. and if left in those small 
bunches the heavy dews that prevail 
at that season will dampen them pretty 
thoroughly, and the greater part of the 
next forenoon is required to get them 
•back to where they were the previous 
afternoon. Again, if a shower or rain 
occurs, they are in bad shape, indeed, 
while if properly put up they are pret¬ 
ty well insured against damage, as few 
of the pods come in contact with the 
ground. The way to secure these re¬ 
sults is to begin in the afternoon, when 
they are dry and the bunches are well 
settled, and turn a forkful bottom up 
in a new clean place between two rows 
of bunches, and then proceed to place 
the other bunches on this one without 
turning or disturbing and loosening 
them. A little stack, or cock, so built 
up. will turn a surprising amount of 
rain, and all the damage under the 
worst conditions will be found in those 
few pods around the edge at the bot¬ 
tom. 
KEEPING THEM DRY.—In this 
way the crop is kept curing night and 
day with no setbacks. We know that 
if some little platform of sticks is placed on the 
ground and the bean vines built up on this they can 
stand out all the Fall in almost any kind of weather, 
and receive little damage, but this is not practical 
under field conditions, and the method outlined has 
proved best. Very often the crop can be hauled to 
cover without turning these big bunches over, and 
again it is a wise plan to tip them over so that the 
hot sun can strike square on the bottom for an hour 
or two. In this way the time and labor of housing 
the crop is greatly reduced, as there are from two to 
three fair-sized forkfuls in each bunch, and it will 
pay to have a man on the wagon to do the loading. 
As to unloading in the barn, I have found the hay 
slings to be of great service in the saving of time 
and labor, and a big feature in efficiency at this 
stage, for I do not know of a more strenuous job 
than that of pitching off a load of dusty beans on a 
hot afternoon. h. e. cox. 
tiilo Filling—the Modern Job on the Dairy Farm 
make very interesting pets and serve a purpose that 
no other pet can fill. willet randall. 
Handling A Driving Goat 
I want to buy a driving goat for my boy. Is there 
any way I can tell their age? Would they do well fed 
the same as horses? F. c. N. 
D RIVING goats should be bought when young, 
that is at weaning age, which is about four 
months old. A wether kid (that is one that has 
Development of the Silo 
T HE writer of this saw the first silo to be erected 
in Michigan filled with chopped cornstalks. It 
was a comparatively small, square, wooden box in 
one corner of the barn. The stalks were run through 
a medium-sized fodder cutter into bushel baskets. 
These were carried by hand and dumped into the 
silo, and well trampled down. It came out a rather 
ill-smelling mess, but the cows were glad to eat it. 
From that crude beginning a wonderful business has 
developed—the upper extreme being shown in our 
picture. By degrees it was demonstrated that the 
round silo gave the most practical shape. Then 
came experiments with concrete, stone, brick, tile 
and other materials. The old crude plan of cutting 
slowly into baskets and emptying them by hand has 
developed into the modern way of tearing up the 
stalk and blowing it with a strong air blast just 
where it is wanted. There are silo packers—heavy 
rollers which travel around the silo as it is being 
filled, and pack down the contents. All sorts of 
crops are being used, but Indian corn is still the 
favorite, and is likely to remain such. Now comes 
Infectious Abortion in Milk 
[During the past few months we have had numerous 
questions about the possible danger to human beings 
from milk taken from cows afflicted with contagious 
abortion. If such disease transfers were possible, seri¬ 
ous consequences might follow in certain cases, for it is 
well known that the disease is found in many herds 
from which milk is supplied to the public. We wrote 
Dr. E. C. Schroeder, superintendent of the experiment 
station of the Bureau of Animal Industry, and his 
answer follows.] 
IIE facts regarding the use of raw milk from 
cows afflicted with contagious or infectious 
abortion, which you ask me to give you, may be 
stated as follows: 
a. No unimpeachable evidence has been obtained 
to prove that the germ of bovine infectious abortion, 
which is of fairly common occurrence in raw market 
milk, attacks human beings. 
*>• It has been found that the blood of infants, 
who have been fed milk from cows af¬ 
flicted with infectious abortion, reacts 
in an unmistakable manner with serum- 
abortion tests. Hence, we should not 
conclude too hastily that such milk is 
a wholesome or safe food. 
c. The germ of bovine infectious 
abortion has a rather wide range of 
pathogenic potency. That is to say, it 
can attack widely different species of 
animals. For example, it causes abor¬ 
tion in cattle and swine; it causes 
lesions in guinea pigs which, in their 
naked-eye appearance, resemble those 
of tuberculosis: it causes no lesions in 
rabbits, but may be harbored in their 
bodies without losing its virulence for 
considerable periods of time, etc. 
d. As a general principle it may he 
characterized as a dangerous policy to 
be indifferent about the presence of any 
kind of proved, living disease germ in 
an article of human food, no matter 
whether the germ has or has not been 
proved to be injurious to human health. 
e. Several investigators, of whom I 
wish frankly to say,, “I do not agree 
with them,” believe that the germ of 
bovine infectious abortion occasionally 
attacks human health and that it may 
be responsible for abortions among 
women. 
In the case these answers should 
leave you in doubt about the best thing 
to do regarding the occurrence of the 
germs of a widespread and common 
disease of cattle in milk, permit me to 
say that the proper pasteurization of 
milk has not been proved to reduce 
either its digestibility or food value, 
and that it is the only practicable, 
available expedient to protect public 
health and life against a number of 
different kinds of disease germs, like 
those of typhoid fever, scarlet fever, 
diphtheria, septic sore throat, etc., which no known 
methods of milk production can exclude from milk 
with certainty. 
Hundreds of fatally serious epidemics of the above 
named diseases have been traced directly to infected 
milk, and the incriminated milk, apart from its in¬ 
fected condition, in many instances belonged to the 
highest grade. After having studied the subject for 
many years, I would trust no milk, and no product 
derived from milk, unless it had been made safe 
through pasteurization. r/ E. c. schroeder. 
Kale and Spinach 
I would like to know the name of the greens that are 
sold extensively in the city markets around Easter. Thev 
are of the broccoli family. Tell me when and how to 
sow this plant and how to winter it over; also whether 
a high or low muck land io the best for it. What va¬ 
riety of spinach should be grown so as to cut it in the 
Spring, and when is the proper time to sow romaine? 
T. D. F. 
T HE inquirer probably means kale; it is sown the 
last of August or first of September in rows 
- ft. apart. Cover lightly with straw during severe 
fieezing weather. Do not handle when in a frozen 
condition; you can cut in the Winter if weather is 
mild. Bloomsdale Savoy spinach is the best spinach 
to winter over. Romaine should be sown as early in 
Spring as possible, and not later than August 15. 
