April, 1917 
WISCONSIN HORTICULTURE 
your work, but buy the best 
grade of which ever type is pur- 
chased and remember that it re- 
quires skill and knowledge to do 
thorough spraying with any type 
of outfit. More failure has re- 
sulted from wrong methods and 
lack of thoroughness in applica- 
tion — ten times over — than from 
inefficiency of poisons or of the 
equipment. The finest work that 
the writer ever did in spraytng 
was with an old barrel outfit dug 
out of a scrap heap and re-packed, 
while some of the poorest work 
ever witnessed was done by 
power outfits in the hands of the 
hired men. 
Dandelions. 
A member asks the o Id , old 
question, old, yet ever new, how 
to rid a lawn of dandelions and 
weeds. If weeds thrive on a lawn 
it is evidence there is too little 
grass. The reason there is too 
little grass is because it has been 
starved out. 
There are two practical means 
to remedy the difficulty ; top-dress 
the lawn, spreading good loam 
mixed with well decayed manure 
over the whole surface from one 
to two inches deep. Any grass 
that may be left will push thru 
this top-dressing and more seed, 
the more the better, should be 
sowed and raked in. 
The other plan is to completely 
renovate by spading deeply, 
thoroly pulverizing the soil and 
adding plenty of fine manure. 
One or two pounds of bone-meal 
to each square yard will pay. 
While ordinary weeds can be 
di’iven out by increasing the num- 
ber of grass plants, dandelions 
will not submit so readily to this 
treatment. About the only prac- 
tical remedy is to pull them. Rich 
soil and thick seeding of grass will 
tend to keep down the seedlings. 
Apples and Plums. 
Q. 1. Is it advisable to plant 
fruit trees in an old orchard if 
the sod is plowed and kept culti- 
vated? 
Ans. Some other place where 
fruit trees have not been growing 
would be better, but if the newly 
set trees are well cared for good 
results may be expected. 
2. Are one-year apple trees 
called whips better for planting 
than the two-year branched size? 
Ans. A few r years ago there 
was much favorable sentiment 
created for the one-year tree, 
largely by nurserymen, but now 
practically every one who has 
given both kinds a fair trial is 
ready to testify in favor of the 
two-year tree. The root system 
of the one-year tree is not suffi- 
ciently developed to withstand 
shipment and usually a whole 
winter’s drying; it has too few 
well developed roots to stand this 
treatment. Again, there is practic- 
ally one year lost in the growth 
of the tree ; let the nurserymen 
grow the tree to planting size 
1 19 
even if we have to pay more for 
it. 
3. How much should native 
plum trees be cut back at plant- 
ing time? 
Ans. Take off most of the top. 
First cut out part of the branches, 
usually about one-half of them, 
and cut back the remainder to 
mere stubs. 
4. How do the Hansen hybrid 
plums do in Wisconsin ; are they 
hardier than the Americanas? 
Ans. The Hansen hybrids, 
Hanska, Sapa, Opata and others, 
are certainly hardy but cannot 
excel the Americanas such as De 
Soto and Ilawkeye, etc. in that 
respect. The Hansen group may 
excel the natives in quality and 
productiveness but that is yet to 
be proven. 
Don’t plant more than enough apples 
to supply home use, unless they can be 
well taken care of. They are not a 
profitable crop on the average farm 
unless some attention is given them. 
This from Minnesota, the great- 
est farm orchard state in the coun- 
try ! 
Almost, but not quite, as good as a gasoline power outfit. 
