108 
January 
in  the  United  States  from  lightning,  the  greater  per¬ 
centage  of  these  deaths  occurring  in  the  country. 
The  same  report  claimed  that  about  one-fourth  of 
all  barn  fires,  21  per  cent  plus,  to  be  exact,  were 
caused  by  the  same  agency. 
Although,  as  stated,  there  is  much  discussion  rela¬ 
tive  to  the  merit  of  lightning  rods  as  a  means  of 
protection  to  life  and  buildings,  and  it  must  be  ad¬ 
mitted  that  there  has  been  a  great  deal  of  swindle 
connected  with  the  early  days  of  the  business,  it  is 
pretty  generally  conceded  at  the  present  time  that 
they  are  of  value  if  properly  installed.  The  Patrons 
Fire  and  Tornado  Association  of  Kansas  makes  the 
statement  that  during  a  period  of  25  years  they  have 
never  been  called  upon  to  pay  insurance  on  a  rodded 
barn  struck  by  lightning.  During  the  same  time 
they  had  fire  losses  on  barns  not  rodded.  This  of 
course  proves  nothing,  and  is  only  an  indicator,  as 
it  is  a  pretty  difficult  thing  to  say  that  a  certain 
unrodded  barn  would  not  have  been  struck  had  it 
been  rodded,  or  that  a  rodded  barn  was  spared  be¬ 
cause  of  the  protection  afforded  by  the  rods. 
As  to  material  used  for  lightning  protection,  cop¬ 
per,  iron  and  aluminum  seem  about  equally  efficient, 
copper  leading  because  of  durability,  although  higher 
in  first  cost.  Where  copper  cable  is  used  for  a  con¬ 
ductor  it  should  extend  along  the  ridge  of  the  build¬ 
ing,  down  diagonally  opposite  corners,  where  it 
should  be  thoroughly  grounded,  the  end  extending 
down  to  permanently  damp  earth.  The  efficiency 
of  the  system  depends  largely  upon  the  care  used  in 
grounding.  A  rod  about  4  ft.  high  should  be  placed 
at  each  end  of  the  roof  and  along  the  ridge  at  inter¬ 
vals  not  greater  than  25  ft.,  while  all  ventilators, 
chimneys,  etc.,  that  project  above  the  ridge  line 
should  be  protected  by  a  point  as  well.  Turns  in 
the  conductor  should  be  curves  rather  than  angles, 
and  rods  should  be  connected  to  conductor  from  both 
sides.  The  conductor  should  be  connected  to  your 
copper  ridge  strip,  as  well  as  all  metal  parts  of  the 
building,  such  as  horse-fork  track,  eaves  trough,  etc. 
This  can  be  done  with  No.  6  B  and  S  gauge  wire. 
There  is  probably  no  objection  to  carrying  the  con¬ 
ductor  down  the  edge  of  the  cornice  rather  than  on 
top  of  the  roof,  other  than  the  extra  bends  required 
and  the  appearance.  Simply  rodding  each  end  as 
you  suggest,  however,  would  not  furnish  as  complete 
protection  as  rods  at  intervals  along  the  ridge  and 
at  all  high  points. 
•  Farmers’  Bulletin  No.  S42,  ‘•Modern  Methods  of 
Protection  Against  Lightning,”  should  be  of  interest 
to  you.  It  is  obtainable  through  your  Congressman 
at  Washington  by  request.  robert  h.  smith. 
A  Small  Flock  of  Turkeys 
THE  picture  on  this  week’s  cover  shows  the  way 
Mrs.  W.  J.  Stewart  of  Massachusetts  has  tamed 
her  turkeys.  The  turkey  is  by  nature  a  wild  bird 
and  has  never  been  as  fully  domesticated  as  the 
hen.  It  is  possible,  however,  to  handle  them  so  that 
they  will  overcome  their  natural  suspicion  and  fear 
and  become  intimate  with  their  keepers.  The  pic¬ 
ture  shows  the  possibilities  in  this  line,  and  in  the 
following  short  note  Mrs.  Stewart  tells  how  her 
turkeys  are  reared : 
Last  Spring  I  decided  to  try  my  luck  with  turkeys 
again.  The  previous  year  I  raised  three  nice  ones: 
used  the  remedy  given  in  The  R.  N.-Y.  of  July  9.  1921 
This  season  I  gave  it  in  feed  instead  of  water,  as  1  did 
last  year,  as  they  take  it  more  readily  that  way.  I 
use  hard-boiled  eggs  and  crackers,  pounded  fine,  mixed 
together,  also  onions  and  tops,  cut  fine.  I  mix  the 
drops  with  the  yolk,  as  it  absorbs  better,  and  stir  well. 
1  think  it  best  to  give  it  once  a  day,  or  every  other 
day  sure.  „  ,  .  . . 
I  use  common  hens  for  the  first  hatches.  After  the 
poults  are  two  or  three  days  old  I  rub  the  hen  over 
with  a  cloth  wet  with  kerosene.  This  may  be  repeated 
when  necessary. 
I  use  vaseline  on  wings  and  tail  feathers  of  poults, 
rubbing  it  in  well  at  quills.  This  keeps  them  free  from 
lice.  The  egg  and  cracker  diet  may  be  continued  until 
they  are  quite  large  and  can  eat  grain,  preferably 
wheat,  gradually  reducing  the  feeds  to  one  a  day 
Mv  turkeys  are  very  tame,  and  when  1  call  t  ome, 
boys.”  they  come  in  a  hurry.  mrs.  w.  j.  stewart. 
Fertilizing  Value  of  Grain 
WE  are  having  quite  a  number  of  letters  from 
people  who  say  they  can  buy  damaged  grain 
at  a  low  figure.  Somehow  this  grain  has  been  dam¬ 
aged  by  fire,  so  that  it  has  partly  roasted  or  burned. 
In  other  cases  it  becomes  wet  and  fermented,  so  that 
it  is  partly  rotten.  These  people  ask  us  whether  it 
will  pay  to  buy  such  grain  to  feed  to  poultry  or 
other  stock,  or  if  it  is  badly  decayed,  whether  such 
grain  would  be  worth  while  as  fertilizer.  Of  course 
we  cannot  tell  definitely  about  such  things  without 
actually  seeing  the  grain  or  having  it  analyzed  oi 
examined  by  some  competent  person.  We  should 
hesitate  to  feed  grain  of  that  kind  to-  stock,  having 
had  some  little  experience  with  it  in  past  years.  If 
it  is  thought  best  to  try  to  feed  it,  the  best  plan 
The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
would  be  to  put  a  few  hens,  or  perhaps  one  hog, 
alone,  and  feed  the  grain  to  them  as  an  experiment. 
Such  feeding  will  quickly  tell  whether  the  grain  is 
safe  or  not.  and  is  the  only  way  we  know  to  make 
sure. 
In  regard  to  the  value  of  grain  as  a  fertilizer,  the 
following  table  shows  the  average  analyses  of  our 
common  grains: 
, - Pounds  in  One  Ton - , 
Nitrogen 
Phos.  Acid 
Potash 
Corn  . 
.  33 
14 
8 
Wheat  . 
.  40 
17 
10 
Rye  . 
.  37 
15 
12 
.  40 
16 
12 
Barley  . 
.  37 
17 
15 
Buckwheat  . 
.  35 
20 
15 
These  are  average  analyses.  Of  course  they  will 
vary  more  or  less  in  damaged  grain,  for  when  such 
grain  lias  fermented  some  of  the  nitrogen  will  no 
doubt  be  lost.  Under  ordinary  conditions,  of  course, 
no  one  would  think  of  using  grain  as  a  fertilizer,  yet 
there  are  cases  where  damaged  grain  would  be  better 
used  for  this  purpose  than  for  anything  else.  The 
writer  can  well  remember  how,  in  Northern  Colo¬ 
rado,  wheat  bran  came  to  be  used  as  a  fertilizer  for 
potatoes.  At  that  time  bran  was  very  cheap  at  the 
flour  mills,  as  there  was  no  export  trade  in  it.  A  ton 
of  bran  gave  more  than  50  lbs.  of  nitrogen,  about  00 
lbs.  of  phosphoric  acid,  and  nearly  35  lbs.  of  potash, 
so  that  it  compared  favorably  with  some  of  the  pres¬ 
ent  fertilizer  mixtures.  The  bran  decayed  readily  in 
the  ground  and  gave  up  its  plant  food  freely.  The 
chances  are  that  whenever  samples  of  feed  of  this 
kind  are  offered  at  a  very  low  figure  they  have  very 
little  feeding  value.  When  such  spoiled  feed  is  used 
as  a  fertilizer  it  can  be  spread  broadcast  or  put  in 
a  hill  or  drill,  or  even  worked  into  the  manure  pile 
along  with  sods  or  other  refuse. 
A  Big  Potato  Crop 
SEVERAL  coincidences,  in  II.  L.'s  letter,  asking 
the  editor’s  advice  in  regard  to  planting  an  acre 
with  potatoes,  recall  very  vividly  to  mind  my  first 
farming  venture.  I  was  also  just  16  years  old.  and 
I  wanted,  above  all  things,  a  bicycle.  But  my  father 
said  he  could  not  afford  to  buy  me  one.  There  was 
only  one  made  in  the  country  at  that  time,  and  they 
cost  $150.  So  I  hit  upon  the  idea  of  earning  one 
myself,  by  planting  an  acre  with  potatoes.  My 
father  readily  gave  me  the  use  of  the  acre  of  land, 
and  covered  it  well  with  manure  (20  loads)  for  me. 
and  also  let  the  hired  man  help  me  with  the  cultiva¬ 
tion  and  digging;  the  rest  of  the  work  I  did  myself. 
For  my  seed  I  bought  three  barrels  of  “White  Ele¬ 
phants,”  and  about  a  bushel  of  these  were  discarded 
on  account  of  bruising  or  fpr  some  other  reason.  The 
eight  bushels  were  cut  to  one  eye,  and  planted  in 
“drills,"  or  rows,  which  was  a  new  method  at  that 
time.  We  had  “bugs”  in  those  days,  but  I  think 
blight,  and  the  various  diseases  that  potatoes  are 
heir  to.  were  unknown.  At  any  rate,  that  year  the 
elements  and  other  conditions  combined  to  give  those 
potatoes  the  fecundity  of  rabbits,  in  addition  to  the 
size  of  elephants. 
From  that  acre  we  dug  330  bushels  of  selected 
potatoes,  and  the  culls  only  a  little  more  than  half 
filled  a  barrel.  I  sold  that  Fall  100  bushels  to  a 
college  a  few  miles  from  here,  and  in  the  Spring  sold 
the  rest  of  them  for  15  cents  per  bushel.  My  gross 
income  from  the  crop  was  about  $65.  The  pater 
figured  that  I  had  been  in  harder  luck  than  I  de¬ 
served.  and  he  bought  me  a  beautiful  full-nickeled 
bicycle,  which,  with  ball-bearings  in  the  pedals,  cost 
$155.  And  I  figured  out  a  few  years  ago,  after  pay¬ 
ing  $18  for  three  bushels  of  potatoes,  that  where  my 
crop  had  only  paid  for  one-third  of  a  bicycle,  at  that 
time  it  would  li  ive  bought  nearly  half  a  dozen  auto¬ 
mobiles.  I  think  you  gave  H.  L.  excellent  advice,  and 
I  thought  perhaps  this  story  of  another  boy’s  potato 
venture  would  interest  and  perhaps  help  him.  But. 
just  the  same,  I  remember  I  got  a  great  deal  of 
pleasure  out  of  my  venture  in  anticipation — much 
more  than  I  often  got  in  more  successful  enterprises. 
Dutchess  Co.,  N.  Y.  harvey  losee. 
Give  the  Weight  of  Hubam  Clover 
NOTE  on  page  1364  an  account  by  M.  H.  R.  of 
his  experience  with  Hubam  clover.  I  would  like 
to  call  attention  to  what  seems  to  me  the  weak 
point  in  all  of  the  reports  about  Hubam  clover  that 
we  have  had,  with  the  exception  of  some  recent  ones 
issued  by  the  Iowa  Agricultural  Experiment  Station. 
In  all  the  other  reports  statements  are  made  in  re¬ 
gard  to*  the  large  “growth”  of  Hubam  clover,  often 
giving  the  height  as  M.  H.  R.  does  when  he  says  it 
grew  to  a  height  of  5  ft.  or  more.  The  fact  that  the 
Hubam  clover  will  make  more  inches  of  growth 
during  the  first  season,  provided  conditions  are  fav¬ 
orable  to  it,  than  the  biennial  clover  will,  is  well 
27.  in.:; 
known  to  everyone  who  has  handled  the  crop  at  all. 
The  point  is.  however,  that  this  fact  alone  does  not 
mean  much.  At  Arlington  Farm  we  have  found  that 
while  the  Hubam  was  10  to  12  in.  taller  than  the 
biennial  at  a  certain  date,  the  average  weight  of  the 
material  taken  from  a  square  yard  at  that  date  was 
greater  in  the  case  of  the  biennial.  The  tall  growth 
of  the  Hubam  is  partly.  I  might  say  largely,  due  to 
the  fact  that  the  internodes  are  longer  than  they  are 
in  the  biennial. 
What  we  really  need  are  reliable  reports  giving 
the  weight  of  hay  that  has  been  cut  from  Hubam 
when  it  was  in  the  best  condition  for  hay-making, 
compared  with  the  weight  of  biennial  seeded  under 
the  same  conditions  and  upon  an  equal  area  of  land, 
and  cut  when  the  biennial  was  in  the  best  condition 
for  hay-making.  These  two  periods  of  time  will  of 
course  not  be  the  same.  Besides  that,  in  order  to 
compare  the  value  for  agricultural  use  of  the  two 
plants,  we  need  to  know  what  the  value  of  the  after- 
math.  if  any,  will  be  when  the  annual  is  cut  for  hay, 
or  the  value  of  the  roots  for  turning  under  compared 
in  each  case  with  the  value  of  the  biennial.  We 
shall  also  have  to  distinguish  carefully  whether  the 
records  are  made  in  a  section  where  Fall  plowing 
is  favorable,  or  where  Fall  plowing  is  not  favorable. 
In  the  former  case  the  Hubam  would  fit  in  in  a  way 
that  would  not  be  the  case  for  the  biennial  but  in  the 
East  and  South,  where  Fall  plowing  is  not  favorable 
unless  a  new  crop  is  to  be  seeded  immediately,  the 
biennial  would  have  an  advantage.  a.  j.  pieters. 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture. 
Inoculation  for  Legumes 
N  page  1463,  issue  of  December  16.  is  an  interest¬ 
ing  discussion  of  the  reasons  for  inoculation 
for  legumes.  Three  years  ago  the  writer  sowed  for 
hay  50  acres  to  oats  and  Canada  field  peas.  As  this 
field  had  never  grown  any  peas,  it  was  thought  best 
to  inoculate  the  soil.  Accordingly  soil  was  secured 
from  a  field  that  had  grown  a  fine  crop  of  peas  the 
previous  year.  Wishing  to  know  whether  this  method 
of  inoculation  was  a  success  under  the  conditions 
existing,  many  of  the  pea  vines  from  various  parts 
of  the  field  were  carefully  dug  up  and  the  roots  ex¬ 
amined  for  nodules.  The  number  and  size  of  the 
nodules  varied  considerably.  The  first  few  plants 
examined  were  of  moderate  growth.  Other  plants 
were  then  examined  from  a  more  fertile  spot,  where 
the  plants  had  made  a  very  rank  growth  and  were 
of  a  much  darker  green.  Practically  no  nodules 
were  found  on  these  vigorous  specimens,  which  led 
us  to  believe  that  where  sufficient  nitrogen  was 
found  in  the  soil  the  nodules  would  not  develop.  It 
seems  quite  probable  that  there  were  bacteria  in 
this  richer  soil,  but  they  remained  more  scattered 
and  did  not  “join  forces”  to  gather  nitrogen  from  the 
air.  Since  making  these  observations  it  has  occurred 
to  me  that  bacteria,  like  most  humans,  will  not  work 
unless  it  seems  necessary.  They  remind  us  of  our 
colored  help;  ordinarily  they  will  do  but  little  with¬ 
out  continual  prodding,  but  when  one  appeals  to 
their  better  natures  and  gets  them  to  see  the  neces¬ 
sity  of  doing  so  they  are  very  loyal  and  will  show  a 
surprising  amount  of  energy.  Have  scientists  drawn 
any  conclusions  as  to  the  effect  of  the  presence  of 
nitrogen  in  the  soil  upon  the  number  of  bacteria  that 
will  set  about  gathering  nitrogen  from  the  air  and 
storing  it  up  in  this  soil?  Is  the  case  cited  unusual, 
or  do  the  bacteria  really  refuse  to  work  for  their  host 
as  long  as  they  can  secure  sufficient  nitrogen  for  their 
needs  from  the  soil?  j.  d.  prickett. 
Georgia. 
R.  N.-Y. — Our  understanding  is  that  on  very  rich 
soil  most  of  the  legumes  will  first  make  use  of  the 
available  nitrogen  in  the  soil  before  making  full  use 
of  the  bacteria.  In  other  words,  Mr.  Prickett's  illus¬ 
tration  has  much  truth.  It  would  seem  that  the 
most  economical  use  of  the  legumes  would  be  to  seed 
them  in  soil  of  moderate  fertility,  inoculate  and  use 
potash  and  phosphorus  freely.  We  think  the  richer 
soils  might  better  go  to  corn  or  other  greedy  crops. 
What  All  Farmers  Need 
I  have  just  read  F.  iW.  Cornwall’s  article,  page  3.  and 
consider  it  the  most  complete  short  list  of  suggestions 
for  law-makers  of  any  State  that  I  have  seen.  This 
man  must  be  full  of  common  sense.  I  live  in  the  nearest 
corner  of  Ohio  to  New  York,  and  so  we  are  almost 
neighbors.  What  applies  to  your  State  generally  does 
to  ours.  I  am  a  great  believer  in  organization.  I  arm 
organizations  ought  to  be  strong  enough  so  that  they 
could  demand  what  they  want.  I  say  demand,  because  1 
do  not  believe  in  a  government  babying  any  class.  If 
the  farmers  have  to  be  handled  like  babies,  they  will 
soon  become  incapable  of  running  their  own  business, 
besides  getting  indebted  or  under  obligations  to  State  or 
government  for  the  subsidy,  or  help  dealt  out  to  them. 
“The  Lord  helps  them  that  help  themselves.”  Let  every 
farmer  join  a  farm  organization  and  work  with  it. 
Qbio.  ARTHUR  B,  ROSE. 
