200 



THE IRRIGATION AG-E. 



educating the children. The era of mixed 

 farming has dawned throughout the valleys 

 of the great northwest, and its practice in- 

 sures more independence for all engaged in 

 modern soil tillage. Something to sell 

 every day in the year is the satisfactory 

 results of mixed farming, and few there 

 are who will object to this change of the 

 farmer's condition. 



JOEL SHOMAKER. 



A SUBSTITUTE FOR PARIS GREEN. 



The Ohio Agricultural Experiment Sta- 

 tion has discovered a cheap substitute for 

 Paris green, to use in destroying fruit and 

 vegetable pests. The bulletin issued by 

 the station, gives a detailed account of this 

 substitute, arsenic of soda. 



One great objection to Paris green is, 

 that it is expensive; another is that, as it 

 does not dissolve readily, there is a sedi- 

 ment which is liable to be distributed un- 

 evenly, some plants receiving so much as 

 to injure the foliage, while others escape 

 altogether. 



The arsenite of soda is a rank poison, 

 and as it is a colorless liquid which might 

 easily be mistaken for water, it is rather 

 unsafe to keep any quantity on hand, for 

 fear a mistake might be made. By color- 

 ing it with a cheap dye, and labeling it 

 poison, this difficulty would be overcome. 



White arsenic, in a soluble form, can be 

 obtained at one- third the price of Paris 

 green, and it dissolves readily. 



The following is the method of prepar- 

 ing Arsenite of soda, as given by the Bul- 

 letin : ' 'Dissolve two pounds of commercial 

 white arsenic and.four pounds of carbonate 

 of soda (washing soda), in two gallons of 

 water, and use one and one-half pints to a 

 barrel of Bordeaux mixture (50 gallons). 



The easiest way to make the solution is 

 to put both the white arsenic and carbo- 

 nate of soda in a gallon of boiling water, 

 and keep boiling about fifteen minutes, 

 or until a clear liquid is^formed, and then 

 dilute to two gallons." 



The arsenite ef soda, as well as Paris 

 green and London'purple, is best used in 



combination with the Bordeaux mixture 

 for spraying, as the combination does not 

 injure the foliage, while the arsenite of 

 soda alone is apt to burn the leaves. A 

 receipt for making the Bordeaux mixture 

 was given in the January issue of the AGE 

 under the heading ''Potato Blight." 



PEANUT CULTURE. 



Peanuts are small ground peas or nuts, 

 growing on fibers sent out from the vines 

 at the blossoms buds. There are several 

 varieties requiring specific cultivation 

 about the same as corn and sweet potatoes. 

 The large white, generally grown for the 

 market, grow on vines lying close upon 

 the ground like sweet potatoes, and the 

 small white or Spanish, with some of the 

 red varieties, grow on upright vines the 

 same as Irish potatoes. I have grown all 

 kinds, and for home use prefer the small 

 white, while the large is preferable for 

 market. The upright varieties do better 

 if hilled slightly by plow or hoe, and the 

 creeping kinds need a shovelful of earth 

 thrown on the vines to hold them down, so 

 that the nut fibers can enter the soil and 

 form the nuts. The blossoms do not need 

 covering as is generally supposed, and 

 should be left untouched by cultivators or 

 hoes, while the nuts are setting. 



A light, dry, sandy soil is best for nut 

 growing, and warm southern slopes are 

 more suitable for successful culture. The 

 vines do not demand much moisture, and 

 about two irrigations are sufficient after the 

 plants begin to bloom. My best crops have 

 been planted in April, though they will 

 mature in moderate climates if planted as 

 late as the first of July. I plant in rows 

 about thirty inches apart, two nuts shelled 

 in a hill, fifteen inches apart in the row. 

 The nuts always do best when shelled, al- 

 though in very wet seasons may be planted 

 in the hulls. Care must be taken not to 

 crack the thin inside brown covering when 

 shelling, or the nuts may split and not 

 grow. No water should be given until the 

 plants begin to bloom, and then only spar- 

 ingly. Weeds must be pulled out in the 



