1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
573 
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Killing  English  Sparrows  in 
Michigan. 
Has  your  State  bounty  on  English  sparrows  tended  to  increase  the 
slaughter  of  these  pests  in  your  vicinity?  Have  enough  been  killed  to 
perceptibly  lesson  their  numbers?  What  has  proved  the  most  success¬ 
ful  method  of  killing  them  ? 
Here,  in  Calhoun  County,  the  bounty  has  increased 
the  slaughter  of  the  sparrows  mostly  by  the  boys  with 
their  guns.  Enough  have  been  killed  to  lessen  their 
number  very  much.  If  other  States  would  offer  a 
bounty  the  pests  could  be  kept  down.  I  do  not  sup¬ 
pose  they  can  be  annihilated.  I  have  heard  that  pois¬ 
oning  is  an  excellent  way  to  get  rid  of  them,  but  know 
nothing  about  the  matter.  alonzo  hii.l. 
The  State  bounty  has  greatly  increased  the  slaughter 
of  these  birds,  here  in  Kent  County;  still  they  are  ap¬ 
parently  as  numerous  as  ever,  but  I  do  not  think  they 
are  on  the  increase.  The  killing  is  mostly  done  by 
boys  and  men  who  have  little  inclination  to  work  and 
like  the  sport.  ira  o.  Johnson. 
The  sparrows  are  increasing  in  numbers  in  Ionia 
County,  and  the  people  are  to  blame.  They  should 
destroy  the  nests  and  catch  the  old  birds.  This  can  be 
easily  done  by  spreading  a  bird  net  in  front  of  their 
roosting  places  on  a  dark  night ;  then  let  one  person 
hold  a  lighted  lamp  outside  the  net,  and  another  scare 
the  birds  out.  They  will  fly  toward  the  light  and  will 
be  caught  in  the  net.  That  is  the  way  we  get  them  in 
England  when  we  want  them  for  a  shooting  match. 
Not  a  sparrow  is  left  on  my  place.  I  wish  I  could  get 
rid  of  gophers  as  easily  as  of  sparrows,  sam’l.  fox. 
In  spite  of  the  State  bounty  of  two  cents  a  head  the 
small  boy  with  his  air  gun  is  the  only  enemy  the  spar¬ 
row  has  to  fear  here  in  Wexford  County.  The  pests 
seem  to  increase  in  numbers  from  year  to  year  in  this 
locality.  They  confine  themselves  mainly  to  the  towns, 
however,  seldom  doing  much  damage  on  the  farms 
out  in  the  country.  T.  w.  crosby. 
Kill  Them  in  the  Egg. 
The  two-cent  bounty  on  sparrow  heads  offered  by 
our  State,  set  hundreds  of  boys  to  shooting  the  pests 
with  air  and  other  guns,  but  the  authorities  in  some 
towns  of  Oakland  County  have  put  a  stop  to  the  prac¬ 
tice,  on  account  of  the  damage  done  to  buildings, 
trees,  etc. ;  yet  the  numbers  killed  in  some  towns  and 
cities  have  reached  away  up  into  the  thousands,  still 
around  here  I  cannot  see  there  are  any  fewer  sparrows 
than  there  were  a  few  years  ago.  With  men  the  shot¬ 
gun  is  the  favorite  device  for  destroying  them  :  some 
talk  of  feeding  them  in  troughs  till  they  get  in  the 
habit  of  coming  in  large  numbers,  then  shooting 
lengthwise  of  the  troughs.  Some  say  that  by  feeding 
them  on  wheat  soaked  in  whisky  they  can  soon  after 
be  picked  up  by  hand  when  their  heads  can  be  snapped 
off.  It  seems  that  giving  them  wheat  soaked  in 
strychnine  water  would  be  one  of  the  best  ways  of 
killing  them  aside  from  the  shotgun.  For  four  quarts 
of  wheat  I  would  take  about  a  quarter  of  a  one-eighth 
ounce  vial  of  the  poison.  If  not  pulverized  it  should 
be  pulverized  with  the  head  of  a  nail  in  the  vial,  and 
dissolved  first  in  a  little  strong  vinegar,  then  water 
enough  should  be  added  to  more  than  cover  the  wheat 
which  should  stand  and  soak  a  day  or  two,  being 
stirred  occasionally.  Then  it  should  be  scattered 
where  no  useful  being  could  get  it  But  why  exhaust 
our  energy  in  trying  to  kill  off  the  old  birds  while  our 
neighbors  are  letting  them  hatch  behind  every  bracket 
and  in  every  hiding  place  ?  It  seems  to  me  that  a 
general  law  ought  to  be  passed  by  every  State  to  com¬ 
pel  every  person  who  owns  real  estate  to  do  his  share 
towards  destroying  the  pests,  and  prescribing  the  best 
modes  for  so  doing.  Something  ought  to  be  done 
riglitaway,  or  we  shall  soon  be  as  badly  off  as  people 
are  in  the  older  countries.  p.  w.  .Johnson. 
Fresh  Tomatoes  After  Frost. 
How  can  we  best  prolong  the  supply  of  ripe  tomatoes  on  a  few  choice 
plants?  Is  It  a  fact  that  by  digging  them  up  at  the  approach  of  frost 
and  storing  them  under  cover  In  a  warm  place  the  green  tomatoes  will 
continue  togrow  and  ripen?  How  long  into  the  winter  have  you  been 
able  to  obtain  fresh  tomatoes? 
Tomatoes  can  be  had  for  some  time  after  frost  by 
pulling  the  vines  with  the  large  green  tomatoes  intact, 
and  hanging  the  vines  in  the  barn  or  a  dry  loft.  To¬ 
matoes  which  are  fully  grown,  but  green,  will  also 
ripen  if  picked  and  placed  in  a  drawer.  A  supply  of 
tomatoes  might  be  kept  for  a  month  or  more  after 
frost.  [prof.]  l.  h.  bailey. 
Cornell  University. 
My  practice  has  been  to  gather  all  the  green  toma¬ 
toes  when  frost  threatens  and  spread  them  in  a  thin 
layer  on  straw  in  a  cold-frame  and  slip  the  sashes  over 
them,  taking  care  to  give  plenty  of  air  and  bright  sun¬ 
shine;  for  if  this  is  not  done  they  will  cook.  I  once 
dug  a  few  vines  and  hung  them  in  the  cellar  and 
pulled  tomatoes  until  nearly  Christmas.  I  have  hung 
them  up  in  a  greenhouse  and  made  a  dead  failure. 
N.  C.  Experiment  Station.  w.  f.  massey. 
I  have  made  it  a  practice  for  many  years  of  picking 
all  the  tomatoes  that  were  grown,  or  nearly  so,  on  the 
approach  of  frost,  and  spreading  them  out  on  the 
cement  bottom  of  my  dry  cellar.  Here  they  would 
ripen  slowly,  a  few  only  rotting,  and  I  have  had  ripe 
tomatoes  as  late  as  Christmas,  though  they  are  gen¬ 
erally  gone  by  the  middle  of  December.  Though  not 
as  fine  as  fresh-grown  tomatoes,  they  beat  “  no  toma¬ 
toes  ”  by  a  large  majority.  e.  g.  fowler. 
Port  Jeryis,  N.  Y. 
I  have  serious  doubts  of  the  possibility  of  being  able 
to  successfully  transfer  old  plants  so  that  they  will 
hold  and  ripen  their  fruit,  but  I  have  with  perfect  suc¬ 
cess  transferred  young  plants  from  the  beds  to  the 
field  after  fruit  had  set  and  succeeded  in  holding  and 
ripening  the  latter.  It  seems  to  me  that  a  better  plan 
is  to  pick  all  the  well  formed  fruits  on  the  approach  of 
frost  and  store  them  in  straw  in  a  hot-bed,  using  the 
glass  to  keep  them  warm  and  dry.  The  heat  must  be 
regulated  so  as  to  prevent  burning  the  fruit.  In  this 
manner  one  may  have  fairly  good  fruit  for  several 
weeks  after  frost  has  destroyed  the  vines.  If  a  cold 
snap  appears  suddenly,  simply  shaking  the  fruit  from 
the  vine  will  save  it  from  injury  for  the  first  night. 
WM.  B.  ALWOOb 
I  have  never  made  any  special  tests  in  regard  to  the 
length  of  time  the  supply  of  ripe  tomatoes  could  be 
prolonged.  In  this  section  we  usually  have  during 
September  several  light  frosts  that  do  little  injury  to 
tomatoes.  About  October  7,  though  sometimes  not 
until  the  14tli,  there  are  usually  hard  frosts  that 
destroy  tomatoes.  I  protect  those  in  my  garden  from 
these  by  covering  them  with  newspapers  or  pieces  of 
carpet.  Then  we  have  several  weeks  of  mild  weather, 
during  which  the  tomatoes  continue  to  grow  and 
ripen.  When  there  is  danger  of  continued  cold 
weather  I  pull  up  the  plants  and  store  under  cover  in 
a  warm  place,  sometimes  using  the  cold-frames  for 
that  purpose  and  cover  with  the  sashes.  I  have  never 
found  that  the  tomato  increased  in  size  after  it  was 
stored  in  a  warm  place.  The  fruit  ripens  very  nicely, 
but,  of  course,  the  quality  does  not  compare  with  that 
of  those  grown  and  ripened  normally.  I  have  never 
had  fresh  tomatoes  later  than  the  latter  part  of 
November.  I  think  there  would  be  no  difficulty  in 
prolonging  their  ripening  until  the  holidays  by  plant¬ 
ing  late  in  the  season  so  that  the  tomatoes  would  com¬ 
mence  to  ripen  about  October  1.  M.  H.  BECKWITH. 
Delaware  Experiment  Station. 
Shall  I  Plow  the  Clover  Now  ? 
M.  M.,  Meilway’ Muss— WU\  a  crop  of  clover  furnish  more  fertilizing 
material  to  the  soil  If  turned  under  green  than  If  left  until  spring  and 
then  turned  In?  I  ask  as  I  wish  to  turn  In  a  crop  In  preparation  for  one 
of  potatoes.  If  the  result  will  be  equally  good  I  should  prefer  to  plow 
In  spring  as  my  land  sutfers  from  washing. 
Probably  no  practical  difference  will  be  found  in  the 
fertilizing  value  of  a  crop  of  clover,  whether  turned 
under  in  fall  or  spring.  The  work  of  turning  under, 
however,  will  be  found  more  difficult  in  spring,  unless 
a  plow  with  a  rolling  cutter  is  used,  and  the  cutter  is 
kept  well  sharpened.  ciias.  e.  THORNE. 
Ohio  Experiment  Station. 
I  think  it  doubtful  if  it  would  make  much  difference, 
but  I  know  of  no  experiments,  and  have  had  no  per¬ 
sonal  experience  in  plowing  down  clover  in  the  spring. 
I  think  the  subject  is  one  well  worth  study  and  careful 
testing,  as  it  is  certainly  much  easier  here  in  Orleans 
County,  Vt.,  to  invert  the  clover  in  the  spring.  The 
great  trouble  I  find  in  practically  using  this  method 
of  improving  land,  in  this  section,  is  the  fact  that  we 
cannot,  on  farm  land  in  ordinary  conditions,  get  any¬ 
thing  approaching  an  even  catch  of  clover.  In  some 
parts  of  the  field  it  will  be  very  thick  and  heavy,  and 
in  others  only  here  and  there  a  plant.  At  the  first 
glance  one  would  be  very  apt  to  attribute  this 
“  spotty  ”  appearance  to  bad  seed  or  bad  sowing  ;  but 
wide  and  long  experience  has  shown  me  that  such  is 
not  the  true  reason.  It  is  a  demonstrated  fact  on  all 
farms  in  this  vicinity  that,  however  good  the  seed  and 
however  carefully  it  is  sown,  it  will  always  come  up 
and  grow  in  this  uneven  way,  except  on  fresh  or  well- 
manured  land.  This  disagreeable  certainty  is  a  severe 
damper  to  the  hope  that  clover  can  be  made  a  reno¬ 
vating  crop  on  our  lighter  drift  soils  in  New  England. 
After  we  have  brought  up  the  land  by  other  means, 
and  then  use  clover  before  it  is  too  late,  perhaps  we 
can  make  the  thing  work.  It  may  be  that  the  use  of 
some  one  particular  fertilizing  element  may  insure  an 
even  growth  where  clover  is  sown.  t.  ii.  iioskins. 
There  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  a  crop  of  clover 
will  furnish  less  fertilizing  material  to  the  soil,  if 
turned  under  green,  than  if  left  until  spring  and  then 
turned  under,  because  there  is  generally  considerable 
growth  between  the  time  of  plowing  under  green 
clover  and  the  following  spring.  Almost  everything 
depends  upon  the  character  of  the  soil  and  the  rain¬ 
fall  whether  is  is  best  to  plow  clover  under  in  the  fall, 
or  plow  the  ground  in  the  spring.  Since  the  subscri¬ 
ber's  land  suffers  sei’iously  from  washing,  he  should, 
by  all  means,  defer  the  plowing  until  spring ;  more 
than  that,  if  he  plows  under  the  clover  during  the 
summer  it  will  decay  and  some  of  the  nitrogen  will 
be  lost.  On  the  other  hand,  if  his  land  is  clay  and 
already  rich  in  nitrogen,  if  he  plows  his  land  in  the 
spring,  it  is  possible  that  he  may  accelerate  the  rot¬ 
ting  of  the  potatoes  by  having  too  much  nitrogenous 
undecomposed  organic  matter  in  the  soil  ;  but  such 
trouble  seldom  occurs,  except  on  land  that  has  been 
kept  in  a  high  state  of  fertility  by  the  application  of 
farm  manures.  i.  p.  Roberts. 
Spring  Plowing  Paid  Well  Here. 
There  are  many  reasons  why  it  is  preferable  to  defer 
the  turning  under  of  clover  until  the  spring.  A  good 
many  years  ago  I  had  a  13-acre  field  to  plow  for  corn, 
and  this  very  question  then  occurred  to  me  ;  and  I  de¬ 
cided,  after  careful  study,  that  something  valuable 
might  be  gained  by  waiting  until  spring.  This  will 
apply  equally  to  potatoes  as  to  corn.  First,  there  is 
a  large  quantity  of  new  growth  made  in  the  spring  that 
is  worth  waiting  for,  and  represents  so  much  fertility 
that  has  been  made  immediately  available  from  the 
soil.  Second,  this  new  gi’owtli  being  fresh,  is  quickly 
decomposed,  and  furnishes  food  for  the  crop  while  the 
old  clover  is  decaying.  Third,  the  fresh  clover  affords 
desirable  food  for  the  destructive  cut-worm,  that  with 
a  full  belly  does  not  hanker  after  the  young  crop, 
whether  it  be  corn  or  potatoes.  Fourth — and  this  a 
new  thing,  but  well  worth  notice — the  young  clover 
contributes  to  the  soil  all  its  latest  acquisition  of  nitro¬ 
gen  made  by  the  help  of  the  germ  which  inhabits  its 
roots  ;  and,  moreover,  this  accumulation  of  nitrogen 
has  been  going  on  for  a  long  time  more  than  would 
have  been  the  case  had  the  land  been  plowed  in  the 
fall  and  been  lying  fallow.  The  result  of  my  study 
of  this  question  was  that  I  plowed  half  the  field  in  the 
fall,  and  the  other  as  late  in  the  spring  as  possible  to 
allow  the  planting  to  follow  right  on  the  plowing. 
The  yield  on  the  spring-plowed  land  on  which  the 
clover  was  a  foot  higlj  at  the  plowing,  was  one-third 
better  than  on  the  fall-plowed.  It  was  easy  to  see  the 
dividing  line  by  the  higher  corn  on  the  spring-plowed 
land.  The  whole  field  was  planted  with  the  same 
variety,  and  a  good  one,  the  Sanford,  a  white  kind 
that  gave  me  over  70  bushels  to  the  acre  over  the  whole 
field  together.  Since  then  I  have  several  times  had  a 
similar  experience.  H.  stew  art. 
Sulphured  Fruit. 
J.  C.  A.,  Kenwood,  N.  Y. — In  the  last  issue  of  The 
It.  N.-Y.  I  noticed  a  protest  against  sulphured  evapor¬ 
ated  fruits.  I  was,  this  morning,  before  seeing  this 
article,  wishing  there  might  be  a  general  raid  against 
this  practice  of  spoiling  our  fruit  with  sulphur.  Let 
us  have  the  pure  fruit  flavor  instead  of  the  sulphur. 
Ans. — The  Rural  will  do  its  share  in  bringing  about 
this  desirable  reform.  It  is  a  most  senseless  process, 
impairing  the  delicate  flavor  of  fruit  simply  to  make  it 
look  lighter  in  color.  The  time  will  come  when  we 
shall  wonder  that  people  were  ever  so  foolish. 
To  Prune  Interlocking:  Cherry  Trees. 
T.  R.  IV.,  Roselle,  N.  J. — I  have  six  cherry  trees  from 
10  to  18  feet  apart,  in  a  row,  planted  probably  25  years 
ago,  and  now  quite  large.  The  branches  interlock  and 
crowd  each  other,  and  I  do  not  wish  to  cut  any  of  the 
trees  down.  Can  the  branches  be  shortened  in  con¬ 
siderably  so  as  to  almost  free  them  from  interlocking, 
and  what  is  the  best  time  for  doing  it,  and  will  it  set 
back  the  trees  long  from  bearing  a  full  crop,  or  will 
they  soon  recover,  and  would  it  be  best  to  trim  them 
all  around,  or  only  on  the  sides  where  they  interfere  ? 
The  varieties  are  two  Early  Richmond,  two  Gov 
Wood  and  two  said  to  be  Belle  de  Clioisy  or  Jeffrey’s 
Duke,  set  out  in  the  order  here  given. 
Ans. — Large  cherry  trees  do  not  take  kindly  to  the 
pruning  process.  Still  you  may  safely  shorten  in  the 
limbs  as  much  as  may  be  necessary,  doing  it  in  mid¬ 
summer,  as  that  is  the  only  time  when  pruning  will 
not  be  followed  by  a  large  exudation  of  gum.  We  do 
not  think  this  will  interfere  with  their  bearing  in  the 
least.  We  wTould  not  prune  save  where  it  was  rendered 
necessary  by  interlocking. 
