1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
273 
Spraying. 
Here  is  a  sample  letter  from  a  thoughtful  and  intel¬ 
ligent  farmer : 
The  subject  of  spraying  to  destroy  fungi  and  insects,  is  one  to  which 
every  one  in  the  front  rank  of  agriculture  is  now  giving  much  atten¬ 
tion,  and  the  knowledge  concerning  this  work  has  been  so  recently 
acquired  that  many,  perhaps  most  of  those  who  would  like  to  spray, 
do  not  know  where  to  look  for  reliable  information  on  the  subject.  It 
is  time  now  to  begin  the  work  according  to  some  writers.  I  wish  I  had 
a  reliable  guide  in  the  matter. 
The  Rural  Publishing  Co.  publishes  a  little  pam¬ 
phlet  by  Prof.  C.  M.  Weed,  entitled  Spraying  Crops, 
(price  50  cents),  that  gives,  briefly,  the  facts  about 
this  important  operation.  Most  of  the  experiment  sta¬ 
tions  in  the  country  have  issued  bulletins  either  giving 
a  general  idea  of  the  matter  or  treating  some  one 
plant  disease  at  considerable  length.  The  Connecti¬ 
cut  Station  at  New  Haven,  the  New  York  Stations  at 
Ithaca  and  Geneva,  the  New  Jersey  at  New  Bruns¬ 
wick,  the  Delaware  at  Newark,  and  the  Ohio  at  Dela¬ 
ware  have  given  a  good  deal  of  space  to  the  subject. 
Interest  has  increased  so  rapidly  that  a  new  manu¬ 
facturing  business  has  been  created  for  supplying  suit¬ 
able  pumps,  nozzles  and  combinations  of  chemicals. 
First  came  the  use  of  poisons  dissolved  or  mixed  with 
water  to  kill  insects.  The  potato  beetle  and  the 
codling  moth  were  the  first  attacked  in  this  way,  prob¬ 
ably  because  they  were  the  most  numerous  and  dam¬ 
aging.  Spraying  to  prevent  or  cure  the  diseases  of 
plants  came  later,  but  promises  to  be  no  less  effective. 
It  was  evident  from  the  first  that  water  was  the  most 
tors  I  am  acquainted  with  are  perfectly  safe  as  regards 
danger  from  the  lamps  used,  safer  in  my  estimation 
than  the  Rochester  lamp  used  in  the  house  by  many 
families.  I  would  not  advise  any  one,  however,  to 
place  an  incubator  in  the  house  without  notifying  the 
insurance  company,  as  it  would  refuse  to  pay  a  policy 
if  fire  from  other  causes  destroyed  the  property. 
J.  II.  DREVENSTEDT. 
I  see  no  reason  why  an  incubator  should  be  regarded 
as  more  hazardous  than  a  lamp  to  be  burned  all  night 
or  a  kerosene  stove.  At  one  time  it  was  necessary  to 
get  a  special  permit  to  use  a  kerosene  stove,  but  I  be¬ 
lieve  insurance  companies  do  not  generally  exact  com¬ 
pliance  with  such  a  rule.  If  the  incubator  is  to  be  run 
in  the  dwelling  house,  I  see  no  reason  why  it  should  in¬ 
validate  an  insurance  policy,  though  the  terms  of  the 
policy  will  speak  for  themselves.  If  it  is  to  be  oper¬ 
ated  in  a  poultry  house  and  the  building  is  insured,  as 
it  would  increase  the  risk  it  would  be  no  more  than 
fair  that  a  special  permit  should  be  obtained  and  a 
slightly  increased  rate  be  paid.  H.  s.  babcock. 
As  there  have  been  several  conflagrations  here  in 
brooder  establishments,  the  insurance  companies  de¬ 
mand  higher  premiums  as  an  extra  risk.  When  lamps 
are  burning  all  night  there  is  some  danger,  especially 
as  the  draught  may  be  lessened  from  various  causes, 
such  as  a  collection  of  soot,  etc. ,  in  the  flue  of  an  in¬ 
cubator.  This  may  not  happen  when  careful  manage¬ 
ment  is  given,  but  it  is  possible.  An  incubator  or 
brooder  lamp  is  not  free,  but  usually  attached  to  an 
incubator  or  brooder,  thus  differing  from  a  lamp  on  a 
table  in  the  sitting-room.  It  is  claimed  that,  even 
with  the  use  of  hot-water  pipe  brooders,  there  is  a  risk, 
the  materials  being  dried  almost  to  tinder,  and  the 
less  success,  but  the  one  that  seems  to  do  the  best 
work  is  the  Little  Giant,  made  by  the  Little  Giant 
Power  Converter  Company,  Cincinnati,  O.  We  have  not 
used  the  machine  ourselves,  but  an  ingenious  friend 
in  Kalamazoo  County,  Mich.,  has  done  so,  and  sends 
us  the  drawing  shown  at  Fig.  13!),  which  illustrates 
some  of  his  devices  for  “  harnessing  the  wind.”  A 
comfortable  house  is  built  over  the  lower  part  of  the 
mill,  and  in  it  are  arranged  places  for  corn-sheller, 
grinder,  churn  and  feed  bins.  The  “converter”  is 
shown  on  the  platform  over  the  pump.  The  arm  at¬ 
tached  to  the  rod  works  up  and  down  so  that  the 
center  plays  on  a  pivot.  The  upper  and  lower  arms 
are  connected  with  strong  springs  on  one  side,  and 
with  rods  that  reach  to  the  wheel  on  the  other.  As 
may  be  readily  seen  the  up-and-down  motion  is  con¬ 
veyed  through  the  rods  and  springs  to  the  wheel. 
The  grinder  rests  just  above  the  converter  with  a 
spout  to  the  feed-box  below.  Pulleys  run  from  the 
wheel  to  the  corn  shelter,  churn  and  elevator,  as 
shown  in  the  cut.  All  that  is  necessary  is  to  fill  the 
hopper  of  the  shelter  with  corn,  and  regulate  the  feed 
spouts  of  corn  or  oats,  and  the  wind  does  the  rest- 
shells,  elevates  and  grinds  the  grain.  There  is  plenty 
of  cheap  force  all  about  us  ;  the  problem  is  to  handle 
it  properly  and  to  “convert”  it  into  proper  shape 
for  work. 
Some  Milk  Matters. 
Two  Hog  Butter  Rogues. — On  page  189  of  The  R. 
N.-Y.,  in  an  article  headed  “Are  the  Dairy  Commis¬ 
sioner’s  Agents  Honest  ?  ”  charges  were  made  against 
W.  W.  Meeteer,  an  agent  of  the  Dairy  Commisson  in 
this  city.  The  charges  were  made  by  Michael  II.  Carrol, 
keeper  of  a  restaurant  at  155  Hudson  street,  and  Percy 
W.  Sullivan  in  the  same  business  at  133  Seventh  avenue. 
economical  medium  in  which  to  apply  th  <? 
poison  and  that  a  fine  spray  would  deliver 
it  most  rapidly  and  effectively  to  all  parts 
of  the  tree  or  plant.  Pump,  hose  and 
nozzle  were  therefore  needed — the  latter 
perhaps  being  the  most  important,  as  is 
explained  elsewhere  in  this  paper.  A 
wholesale  method  of  applying  poisons  is 
shown  at  Fig.  13G,  for  a  Paris-green  mixture 
could  be  sprayed  in  the  same  way  as  the 
Bordeaux.  If  one  desires  a  smaller  outfit, 
there  are  half  a  dozen  “  knapsack  spray- 
ers”  advertised  in  The  R.  N.-Y.,  which 
will  answer.  These  consist  of  small  tin 
tanks  which  can  be  carried  on  the  shoul¬ 
ders,  like  a  knapsack.  With  one  hand  the 
operator  works  a  little  pump,  which  forces 
out  the  mixture  :  while  the  other  directs 
the  spray  which  is  forced  through  a  small 
hose  and  nozzle.  Some  dealers  try  to  sell 
tanks  without  pumps  or  stirrers,  the  water  _| _ r_ 
running  from  them  by  the  simple  force  of  }-Lr1-ri 
gravitation.  These  are  of  little  use,  as 
unless  the  mixture  is  kept  well  stirred  up 
the  upper  and  lower  portions  will  vary  in 
strength,  portions  burning  and  scalding  the  foliage 
while  others  are  of  no  value.  W.  S.  Powell  &  Co., 
Baltimore,  Md.,  make  a  specialty  of  supplying  poisons 
or  compounds  of  copper  either  separate  or  made  up 
in  packages  all  ready  for  making  the  Bordeaux  or 
other  mixtures.  They  print  a  pamphlet  called  The 
A  B  C  of  Agriculture,  that  gives  a  good  deal  of  in- 
,o7 
\viTrr 
A/  \\/ 
Fruits  of  a  Converted  Wind.  Fig.  139. 
building  thus  more  likely  to  burn  should  a  spark  or 
lighted  match  come  in  contact  with  the  dry  wood.  Our 
incubator  operators  are  always  more  or  less  in  fear  of 
danger  from  fire,  but  recently,  unless  negligent  or 
careless,  they  seldom  have  had  any  accident.  The 
agents  of  insurance  companies  carefully  examine  all 
incubator  and  brooder  “plants”  before  insuring,  and 
Carroll  had  been  arrested,  charged  with 
I  selling  hog  butter  in  his  restaurant  and 
when  brought  before  Justice  McMahon, 
*  asserted  that  his  arrest  was  made  out  of 
spite,  because  he  had  refused  to  buy  hog- 
butter  of  agent  Meeteer.  Sullivan  corrob¬ 
orated  Carroll’s  statement,  asserting  that 
Meeteer  had  also  tried  to  sell  hog  butter 
i  i  to  him  at  his  restaurant.  Since  then  Car- 
\  \  roll’s  case  has  been  tried  and  on  March  14, 
\  \  he  pleaded  guilty  and  was  fined  $50.  Sul- 
\  \  \  livan,  who  had  in  the  meantime  been  ar- 
C~J  rested  for  a  similar  offense,  on  the  same 
\  \  day  pleaded  guilty  also  and  had  a  similar 
\  1  fine  imposed.  Owing  to  an  alleged  inform- 
1  \  ality  in  the  complaint,  the  culprits  were 
\  \  afterward  discharged  and  the  fine  remitted, 
1  \  but  they  had  both  confessed  their  guilt. 
\  \  We  note  these  facts  with  pleasure  as 
\  \  they  relieve  officer  Meeteer  from  any  taint 
lit  of  suspicion  as  well  as  officer  Clark,  who 
rTA M  WaS  accused  by  Justice  McMahon  of  “look- 
-E'-L~ ^  ing  suspicious.”  It  only  goes  to  confirm 
the  opinion  we  have  always  had,  that  any 
man  mean  enough  to  sell  hog  butter  is 
unprincipled  enough  to  lie  about  it.  Here  are  two 
fine  specimens.  They  come  into  court  with  a  cooked 
up  story  about  spite,  etc.,  and  malign  an  honest 
official,  yet,  when  their  case  comes  to  trial,  they 
plead  guilty  of  the  very  offense  they  so  indignantly 
denied.  It  is  a  most  demoralizing  business — this  deal¬ 
ing  in  hog  butter. 
formation  on  the  subject. 
It  is  worth  repeating  that  in  no  one  direction  of  late 
has  more  progress  been  made  than  in  dealing  with 
plant  diseases.  For  generations  the  fruit  growers  have 
suffered  enormous  losses  from  the  attacks  of  fungoid 
diseases,  and,  until  the  present  system  had  been  devel¬ 
oped,  with  little  show  of  relief.  Rot  and  mildew  de¬ 
stroyed  their  grapes  and  scab  deteriorated  the  value  of 
their  apple  crops,  but  these  are  now  easily  controlled. 
The  same  apparatus  which  sprays  the  trees  and  vines 
with  the  copper  solutions  is  used  to  distribute  arsenical 
poisons  and  the  numerous  insect  enemies  are  thus  de¬ 
stroyed.  Anthracnose,  whether  in  grape  vines  or  the 
pods  of  wax  beans,  can  be  wiped  out  by  the  same 
methods  and  the  mildew  which  has  covered  our  finer 
gooseberries  is  found  to  be  amenable  to  the  spraying 
processes.  In  almost  every  department  of  horticulture 
these  new  ideas  are  found  practicable  and  are  really 
revolutionizing  the  business. 
When  our  scientific  men  shall  have  developed  a  pre¬ 
ventive  for  yellows  in  peach  trees  and  blight  in  pear 
trees,  we  shall  begin  the  monument  to  their  fame. 
Till  they  have  accomplished  this,  they  must  not  rest. 
Incubators  and  Extra  Insurance. 
On  page  227  Mrs.  Annie  L.  Jack  inquired  if  insurance 
companies  were  in  the  habit  of  charging  extra  prem¬ 
iums  when  incubators  were  used  in  the  farm  buildings, 
and  if  so,  why  incubators  are  any  more  dangerous  than 
common  glass  lamps.  Here  are  some  opinions  on  this 
in  a  few  cases  do  not  insure.  p.  h.  Jacobs. 
Formerly  we  had  some  trouble  with  the  insurance 
companies  about  incubators  running  in  houses  ;  but 
lately  we  have  had  none,  as  the  Hingham  Insurance  Co., 
of  Hingham,  Mass.,  freely  insures  our  machines  and 
the  buildings  in  which  they  run.  The  president  of 
the  company  was  down  to  our  factory  and  examined 
our  fixtures,  and  said  that  he  considered  the  incubator 
lamp  safer  than  the  ordinary  glass  lamp  or  an  oil 
stove.  We  do  not  blame  insurance  companies  for  can¬ 
celing  policies  in  some  cases,  as  many  of  the  cheap 
machines  originated  in  times  past  were  little  better 
than  fire-traps,  but  now  many  of  our  first-class  ma¬ 
chines  are  really  safer  than  glass  lamps,  and  much 
more  so  than  oil  stoves,  and  we  think  that  insurance 
companies  should  withdraw  their  objections  to  very 
many  incubators  now  on  the  market.  JAMES  RANKIN. 
A  Power  Converter. 
There  are  thousands  "of  windmills  in  operation  all 
over  the  country  pumping  water  and  elevating  it  to 
tanks  or  reservoirs.  Most  of  these  do  nothing  but 
pump,  ibecause  there  is  nothing  but  a  simple  up-and- 
down  motion  of  the  rod.  Where  grinding  or  other 
work  that  requires  a  rotary  motion  is  to  be  done,  an 
expensive  system  of  gearing  must  be  put  on,  which 
adds  considerably  to  the  cost  of  the  mill.  Inventors 
have  long  tried  to  devise  some  simple  machine  for 
The  work  of  hunting  out  the  frauds  is  still  goingon. 
There  have  been  35  arrests  so  far  this  year,  2 1  of  whom 
were  convicted,  two  were  discharged  and  10  are  await¬ 
ing  trial. 
The  city  of  Rochester  consumes  about  50,000  quarts 
of  milk  daily,  of  which  30,000  are  retailed  by  city 
dealers,  and  20,000  by  the  producers  themselves.  In 
the  summer  milk  is  retailed  at  five  cents  per  quart, 
wholesaled  at  four,  and  dealers  pay  2%  cents  for  it. 
In  the  winter  the  retail  price  is  nominally  six  cents, 
but  the  price  is  not  well  maintained,  much  of  it  going 
for  five.  The  dealers  pay  3%  cents  in  winter.  Each 
vender  is  required  to  take  out  a  city  license.  There 
is  an  organization  which  does  not  amount  to  much,  its 
energies  being  mainly  expended  in  efforts  to  keep  the 
winter  price  up  to  six  cents  per  quart. 
The  Borden  Condensery,  at  Wallkill,  N.  Y.,  pays 
the  following  prices  for  milk  for  the  ensuing  six 
months:  April,  3  cents;  May,  2 %  ;  June,  2  ;  July,  2 x4\ 
August,  2 %,  and  September,  3.  This  averages  better 
than  the  prices  of  the  Exchange. 
*  * 
Bradley’s  Complete  Manures.— The  Bradley  goods 
have  been  before  the  public  for  many  years.  They  are 
still  there— in  increased  quantity,  which  is  a  good  test 
of  their  “staying  qualities.”  In  addition  to  super¬ 
phosphates  and  “  complete  manures”  for  general  use, 
this  firm  makes  special  fertilizers  for  potatoes  and 
vegetables,  grass,  corn  or  other  grain  and  tobacco. 
matter:  “converting”  the  up-and-down  motion  of  the  pump  Comprehensive  pamphlets  on  the  profitable  use  of 
In  my  experience  the  companies  charge  a  higher  mill  into  a  movement  that  would  turn  a  wheel.  A  these  fertilizers  are  mailed  by  the  Bradley  Fertilizer 
rate.  Why,  I  don’t  understand.  Most  of  the  incuba-  number  of  devices  have  been  patented  with  more  or  Company,  27  Kilby  St.,  Boston. 
