Ihs RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1551 
Let the Old Guard Stand 
Y OUR editorial in the issue of November 29, 
answering a letter from O. S., page 1482, brings 
to my mind what happened in a beekeepers' associa¬ 
tion a few years ago. We had a flourishing society, 
which at one time was the largest and most active 
society of its kind in the United States. We had 
weekly meetings, with speakers from various parts 
oi‘ New England, and even the government expert 
from Washington. Occasionally we had open insti¬ 
tutes, which were largely attended, especially by 
school children. There were many farmer members, 
and a few college men. We dealt with 
the practical side of beekeeping, and 
everything went along swimmingly 
until the scientific spirit began to 
creep in. 
You know as well as I do the farmer 
is more practical than scientific, al¬ 
though the agricultural colleges are 
changing their views to a certain ex¬ 
tent. In our society the farmer ele¬ 
ment began to drop out and discon- 
v nue their interest. I have not heard 
from the association for a number of 
years, but the last I heard the society 
was dead or dying. I do not want to 
discriminate between the college man 
and the farmer, for they need each 
other’s help. But I do not want to 
see the farmer of practical experience 
<rowded out by college men of scientific experience. 
T am neither one nor the other, but for years my 
labors brought me in touch with agriculture in most 
every form. » 
There are parallel cases today in our churches. 
The older men who foot the bills are not wanted, 
although their money is very acceptable. The cry 
U “put in the younger element.” All right, do so, 
and note the results. The churches have become 
social centers and not scenes of religious activ¬ 
ity. Bills are contracted, and the young folks find 
it very convenient to have the old fogies to fall back 
upon for relief. 
In business the same conditions exist. The know- 
it-all fresh from college steps in and tries to show 
his father how to run the business, 
notwithstanding the fact the business 
has been running for years and has 
been financially successful. Farmers, 
business men and others of age and ex¬ 
perience, do not be crowded to the wall 
by your sons and be forced to take a 
back seat. Be strong in your convie- 
t'ons. stand up for your rights at all 
times, and, above everything else, do 
not let the men fresh from college 
think their education is complete be¬ 
cause they have a diploma. Show them 
that they are only beginners, and the 
best teacher is experience, although 
sometimes it may be a bitter one. 
C. R. R. 
cakes in about five hours with this i*ig, and faster 
with more power. I would like to hear from some¬ 
one else about the best type of saw to use. I use 
an old shingle saw, set very wide. b. a reed. 
On page 1400 you ask to hear from people who 
have used gasoline motor driven ice saws. I have 
used one of the machines for the past two years, 
and it gives fine results. It is a great labor-saving 
machine, and is capable of cutting 400 cakes per 
hour with ease, with one man to operate it. I had 
from 20 to 25 men on the pond and in the icehouse, 
and the ice was taken into the house on an endless 
A Gasoline-driven Ice Saw. Fig. 041. 
chain elevator, and we only had to run the machine 
about 5 hours to have ice enough to run all day. 
This machine is so adjusted that we can cut the 
kerf from 1 in. up to 14 in. deep if so desired. The 
motor develops 23 horsepower, is mounted on wheels 
with pneumatic tires, and weighs about 1,100 lbs. 
It is the only saw r I know of that runs two saws the 
same way at once, running on a parallel shaft and 
using a differential like a motor car. a. c. frazer. 
Corn Husking in the West 
S OME weeks ago we had a description of corn 
husking in the Western States. A pair of steady 
horses haul the wagon slowly through the cornfield 
v on the Illinois State corn husking contest here to¬ 
day, shucking 31 bushels and 45 lbs. in one hour and 
20 minutes. ITe used a 10-cent husking peg. As 
champion busker of Illinois, Niehaus will represent 
this State in the mid-West contest at Des Moines, 
la., next Monday. 
“Second place was won by Pearl Mansfield, also of 
Montgomery County, with 31 bushels and 14 lbs. 
lie will also compete in Iowa. 
“Wayne Umpress of McLean County, won third 
place, husking 30 bushels and 57 lbs. E. C. Henry, 
rural mail carrier from Ford County, placed fourth 
with 30 bushels and 37 lbs. Orville 
Welch of Piatt County, 19 years old, 
won fifth place with 30 bushels and 30 
lbs. Welch husked more than G.000 
bushels in 30 days last year, his best 
record being 220 bushels in nine hours. 
“At times during the contest the 
leaders were husking at the rate of 58 
ears a minute, or nearly one ear a sec¬ 
ond. Niehaus was the oldest man in 
the contest. Twenty years ago he made 
a record of 10S bushels in five hours. 
“His record today won him a gold 
medal and a cash prize of $100, award¬ 
ed by Prairie Farmer of Chicago, which 
promoted the contest in co-operation 
with the Sangamon County Farm Bu¬ 
reau and the Springfield Chamber of 
Commerce. 
“A crowd of 3,500 enthusiastic fans, representing 
nearly every county in the Illinois corn belt, fol¬ 
lowed the buskers and cheered their favorites. San¬ 
gamon and Montgomery counties have both asked 
for the State contest next year.” 
According to this the winner husked 31 bushels 
and 45 lbs. in SO minutes. Just remember that this 
means shelled corn. It must have been a lively 
scene when the corn flew into those wagons at the 
rate of nearly one ear a second! 
And the winner, Mr. Niehaus, is 53 years old. Not 
a chicken, by any means. In most athletic contests 
the prizes go to youth. A man past 30 is usually 
considered too old to win, yet here is* a man 53 
years old who walks off with the prize in a contest 
requiring more strength than football, 
more agility than baseball, and more 
skill than either! These corn eaters 
surely have endurance and power. We 
should like to see some of these middle- 
aged golf players rustling in a Western 
cornfield. It would not be a case of 
wait for the wagon; the wagon would 
be obliged to Avait for the man. 
Gasoline Ice Saws 
A FTER reading your request on 
page 1460, I am sending you a pic¬ 
ture of the ice saw I built and used 
last Winter. This rig will cut to a 
depth of 10 in., does very well for ice 
up to 14 in., and can be used in 16-in. 
ice. All the woodwork is rough lum¬ 
ber found around the farm, and the 
only new parts I bought were belt and 
one pulley. 
The saw part is the “ladder” or 
swing-saw principle, and is raised and 
lowered by small blocks, shown in pic¬ 
ture, Fig. 641. The engine is six horse¬ 
power, and being upright and high 
speed is the reason for the springs, 
which would not of course lie neces¬ 
sary with a horizontal engine. The 
rig is guided by iron guides, one at 
front end and one near saw, which run in the pre¬ 
vious saw cut, thus making the cakes very even size. 
My partner and myself sawed 2,500 cakes with this 
rig, and intend to saw again this Winter. 
My method of sawing is to saw a field of 500 or 
1.000 cakes both ways, but not cut through the ice 
by at least 2 in.; then caulk the seams behind what 
can be broken out before freezing, which is a short 
time on a cold day, say 100 or 200 cakes. Then with 
a hand saw take out “headers” on two sides, then 
“bust" the rest, which can be done very fast. 
Two men can do the machine sawing for 1,000 
D. Boyd Devendorf of Amsterdam, N. Y. Mr. Devendorf is Secretary of the 
New York State School Improvement Society, and one of the most efficient farm 
organizers in the State. 
and the husker works along with it, stripping the 
husks, snapping off the ears and throwing them into 
the wagon as it passes along. An active man works 
like a jumping-jack propelled by a gasoline engine 
and regulated by a governor. He has to—and it is 
a strange sight for an Eastern farmer, who sits 
down beside a shock to husk, to see the team pass 
slowly through the standing corn while the husker 
darts from one hill to another. The following re¬ 
port was printed in the Chicago Tribune: 
“Springfield Ill., Nov. 21.— [Special.]—Henry Nie¬ 
haus, 53-year-old farmer from Montgomery County, 
Solving a Chimney Trouble 
W E have had more than the usual 
number of questions about chim¬ 
ney troubles this year. Many people 
write us that the chimney will not 
draw, either smoke is. sent down in tne 
room or a chimney deposit of creosote 
forms near the chimney or pipes and 
runs down in the room. In many cases 
various measures have been tried with¬ 
out success. In one case in particular 
there were two chimneys in the house 
winch would not draw properly, al¬ 
though in former years they gave fair 
satisfaction. There seemed in some 
way to be a cold pocket of air along 
the pipe or chimney which permitted 
smoke to cool or condense before it 
could escape, and thus caused trouble 
from creosote. We were unable to give 
a full explanation without personally 
examining the chimney, but it was evi¬ 
dent that somewhere along the passage 
from the stove to the top along tin* 
chimney there was some combination 
which permitted the smoke to cool too 
rapidly. The following note from tin* 
owner of the chimney has just come, and it gives an 
explanation of the trouble, or at least a remedy for 
it. There may be others troubled in this way, and 
quite likely a similar remedy would help. 
We had fully made up our minds to have the chimney 
torn down and build a new one. I called the contractor 
to get figures as to the cost, and he asked me what was 
wrong with the chimney. When I told him he said lie 
thought we ought to try a revolving stack before we 
went to the expense of a whole new chimney. I or¬ 
dered one, and had it put on about three weeks ago, 
and lo and behold, our troubles are all over! I can 
use the stove as of old, being able to bake, and some¬ 
times it nearly roasts us out this kind of weather. 
Connecticut. MRS. M. c. A. 
