1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
725 
issued  August  25,  1891,  contains  a  report  of  an  experi¬ 
ment  in  which  light,  medium  and  heavy  mulchings  of 
straw  on  wheat  were  tried,  and  compared  with  that  not 
mulched.  There  were  three  plots  lightly  mulched' 
one  medium  and  two  heavily  mulched,  and  two  not 
mulched.  The  yields,  which  are  averages,  are  as 
follows  : 
Bushels  per  acre. 
Not  mulched .  25.33 
Light  mulch .  28.24 
Medium  mulch . 23.91 
Heavy  mulch .  18.91 
In  reporting  on  this  experiment,  the  statement  is 
made  in  the  bulletin  that  the  lightest  mulch  had 
given  the  first  beneficial  results  at  this  station  from 
the  process,  while  the  medium  and  heavy  mulches  had 
reduced  the  yield  below  the  average  of  the  non- 
mulched  plots  in  the  same  series  of  plots. 
The  above  are  the  only  two  cases  of  mulching  wheat 
recorded  in  our  experiment  station  bulletins,  that  I 
have  been  able  to  find.  An  examination  of  consider¬ 
able  other  literature  has  given  me  no  further  infor¬ 
mation  excepting  general  opinions  as  expressed  by 
agricultural  writers. 
In  the  use  of  straw  upon  winter  grains,  as  a  mulch, 
several  important  points  must  be  considered.  Straw 
has  a  small  fertilizing  value  in  itself,  and  it  may  be 
fairly  considered  that  its  physical  influence  on  the  soil 
is  the  principal  one.  Mulched  soil,  so  far  as  my  obser¬ 
vation  goes,  has  a  tendency  to  be  more  porous  than 
that  beaten  by  repeated  rains  on  the  surface. 
Again,  the  results  to  be  secured  from  mulching  are 
largely  dependent  on  weather  conditions.  If  it  is  a 
good  wheat  winter  and  spring,  mulching  in  itself  is 
unnecessary,  and  unless  very  judiciously  applied,  a 
decided  crop  loss  might  occur,  as  is  shown  in  the  Ohio 
experiments  where  even  medium  mulching,  we  may 
assume,  affected  the  yield  injuriously.  In  my  judge¬ 
ment,  it  will  not  pay  to  mulch  wheat  in  a  fairly  well 
settled  region,  where  straw  commands  a  fair  price — 
say  $3  per  ton — neither  will  it  pay  to  mulch  in  the 
great  wheat  regions,  where  labor  is  expensive.  Why 
not  bale  the  straw  and  ship  it  by  the  car-load? 
Indiana  Station.  c.  s.  plumb. 
Burn  the  Straw  on  Clayey  Loams. 
After  two  trials  in  mulching  growing  wheat  with 
straw,  I  believe  the  practice  a  poor  one  for  my  clayey 
loam.  I  had  often  noticed  that  during  a  severe  winter, 
wheat  growing  beneath  cornstalks,  even  when  the 
stalks  lay  two  inches  above  it,  was  more  vigorous  than 
that  fully  exposed  to  the  changing  weather,  and  I  rea¬ 
soned  that  the  straw  mulch  would  be  just  the  thing. 
But  it  is  a  failure.  The  wheat  in  one  case  turned  yel¬ 
low  and  became  stunted  in  the  spring  when  the  sun 
shone  brightly.  The  ground  was  rolling— a  compara¬ 
tively  thin  break — and  seemingly  needed  a  mulch. 
Last  year  I  mulched  a  thin  acre  at  seeding  time  with 
strawy  manure,  or  stained  and  half-rotten  straw.  The 
winter  was  severe,  and  in  the  spring  this  acre  showed 
the  effects  of  frost  rather  more  than  any  other  part  of 
the  field.  I  believe  the  reflection  of  the  sun  from  the 
straw  injures  the  plants — can  conceive  of  no  other 
reason.  Be  that  as  it  may,  mulching  wheat  is  a  mani¬ 
fest  injury  here. 
Like  C.  P.  H. ,  I  had  a  straw  stack  this  summer  that 
could  not  be  converted  into  manure  very  cheaply.  I 
mulched  a  strip  of  plowed  land  six  weeks  before  seed¬ 
ing  time,  scattering  the  straw  a»  evenly  as  possible 
and  just  deep  enough  to  hide  the  ground.  Our  rains 
have  been  light  this  fall,  and  much  ground  was  too 
dry  for  safe  seeding.  The  straw  was  burned  a  few 
days  before  seeding  and  the  land  given  another  har¬ 
rowing.  The  result  was  that  this  strip  remained 
moist,  and  certainly  gives  promise  of  a  better  yield  of 
wheat  than  it  would  have  done.  The  ashes  are  a  good 
fertilizer,  and  I  believe  the  clover  will  catch  better  on 
this  strip  than  elsewhere.  My  reason  for  expecting  a 
better  yield  is  that  I  can  always  tell  where  I  have 
burned  straw  about  potato  piles  by  the  extra  growth 
of  straw  on  these  spots.  My  experience  would  lead 
me  to  mulch  the  plowed  land  during  August  and  burn 
the  straw  before  seeding,  if  I  had  more  straw  than  the 
stock  could  convert  into  manure.  ai,va  agee. 
SI  raw  Poor  Food  for  Land. 
I  have  never  tried  mulching  wheat  with  straw  ex¬ 
cept  once  and  that  was  one  year  ago  last  winter.  I 
went  to  an  institute  and  there  heard  a  man  recom¬ 
mend  it  so  highly  that  on  coming  home  I  went  right 
to  work  mulching  my  wheat  with  straw.  It  did  not 
benefit  the  wheat  so  far  as  I  could  notice,  but  the 
young  Timothy  was  considerably  better.  If  I  could 
sell  straw  in  the  stack  for  $2  per  ton,  I  would  never 
bother  with  hauling  and  scattering  it.  I  would  use 
all  I  could  in  the  stables  and  yards  for  an  absorbent 
to  catch  the  liquid  manure,  and  sell  the  rest.  We 
think  straw  is  worth  more  to  absorb  and  hold  the 
liquid  manure  till  we  can  get  it  on  the  land  than  for  any 
other  purpose.  It  is  poor  food  for  the  land.  1  said 
in  one  of  our  institutes  last  winter,  that  we  could 
starve  our  land  by  feeding  it  straw  as  well  as  we 
could  a  steer.  samuei,  mills. 
R.  N.-Y. — You  told  the  truth,  no  doubt. 
Swelling  or  Enlargement  of  Throat  in  Heifer. 
E.  S.,  Atlanta,  Oa. — My  two-year-old  Jersey  heifer, 
coming  in  this  fall,  has  an  enlargement  of  the  under¬ 
side  of  the  neck  just  back  of  the  lower  jaw.  Can  it  be 
removed  ?  Will  it  be  injurious  to  her  future  health  ? 
Will  it  cause  her  milk  and  butter  to  be  unwholesome  ? 
Ans.  — It  would  require  a  personal  examination  of  the 
heifer  to  ascertain  the  nature  of  the  enlargement,  to 
enable  me  to  give  you  a  definite  answer.  If  the  en¬ 
largement  is  that  of  a  lymphatic  gland  due  to  tuber¬ 
culosis,  the  heifer  cannot  be  cured  and  should  not  be 
used  for  her  milk.  Tuberculosis  frequently  causes 
enlargement  of  one  or  more  of  the  glands  about  the 
throat.  If  not  tuberculous  the  enlargement  can  prob¬ 
ably  be  reduced  and  the  milk  will  be  wholesome. 
Owing  to  the  dangerous  character  of  tuberculosis,  I 
would  advise  employing  a  competent  veterinarian,  if 
possible,  to  examine  the  heifer.  If  there  is  no  veter¬ 
inarian  at  hand,  try  the  following  course  of  treatment: 
Thoroughly  paint  the  enlargement  once  daily,  with 
the  compound  tincture  of  iodine,  until  the  skin  is  blis¬ 
tered,  then  apply  two  or  three  times  a  week  for  several 
weeks  if  necessary.  Internally  give  one  dram  of  the 
iodide  of  potash,  in  a  drench,  once  daily  before  feeding, 
for  two  weeks.  If  the  swelling  or  enlargement  yields 
to  the  treatment  it  is  not  tuberculosis.  If  it  does  not 
yield,  the  heifer  should  be  regarded  with  suspicion 
until  it  is  shown  that  she  is  not  suffering  from  tuber¬ 
culosis.  DR.  F.  L.  KILBORNE. 
Puffs  or  Synovial  Swellings  on  Hock  Joints. 
B.  C.,  Hartford,  Conn. — What  should  be  the  treat¬ 
ment  for  puffs  on  the  outside  of  the  hock  joint  of  a 
young  horse,  and  also  for  the  ankles  ?  He  stands  a 
little  “  on.”  Do  not  these  blemishes  show  a  weakness 
of  the  legs  ?  At  present  the  animal  is  running  out. 
In  treating  him.  would  it  be  better  to  take  him  up  and 
use  him  ?  I  would  prefer  to  let  him  run  this  winter. 
Ans. — Apply  an  active  blister  to  the  puffs,  and  re¬ 
peat  in  two  or  three  weeks,  if  necessary.  For  the 
ankles,  bathe  daily  with  a  mild  stimulating  liniment — 
compound  camphor  or  soap  liniment — and  rub  vigor¬ 
ously  for  15  or  20  minutes.  The  starting  of  the  ankles 
indicates  a  weakness,  but  the  puffs,  if  they  have  not 
been  accompanied  by  lameness  and  are  not  the  result  of 
sprain,  do  not  necessarily  indicate  weakness.  They 
are  very  common  both  about  the  hock  and  fetlock 
joints,  due  to  overwork  or  fast  driving  ;  as  such  they 
are  simply  blemishes,  which  do  not  interfere  with  the 
usefulness  of  the  animal,  rarely  cause  lameness,  and 
usually  it  is  just  as  well  to  let  them  alone.  Even  if 
removed  by  treatment  and  rest,  they  are  very  liable  to 
return  when  the  horse  is  again  put  to  work.  It  will 
be  better  to  let  the  colt  run  during  treatment,  except 
to  take  him  up  for  two  or  three  days  if  blistered  ;  but 
fast  running  or  racing  should  be  avoided,  if  possible. 
F.  L.  K. 
Plain  Talk  About  Fruits. 
P.  W.  J.,  Pontiac,  Mich. — -1.  Is  The  Rural  aware 
that  the  black  knot  is  found  on  forest  trees  as  well  as 
on  fruit  trees  ?  There  is  a  Yellow  Oak  tree  beside  the 
road  near  my  farm,  that  is  completely  loaded  with 
black  knot  and  has  been  so  for  years,  yet  it  is  still 
alive  though  apparently  somewhat  stunted.  I  also 
cut  a  lot  of  our  common  native  poplar  wood  last  winter 
and  found  on  more  than  half  of  it  bunches  of  black 
knot — a  dozen  or  more  on  some  of  it.  2.  Judging 
from  my  experience,  the  grape  has  more  enemies  than 
any  other  fruit.  I  have  about  an  acre  planted  to  Con¬ 
cord,  Worden,  Niagara,  Wyoming  Red  and  some 
others.  The  first  hostile  visitor  in  the  spring,  and  one 
much  to  be  dreaded,  and  one  that  with  me  is  on  the 
increase,  is  a  little  bug  about  three-sixteenths  of  an 
inch  in  length  and  half  as  wide,  between  a  black  and 
a  dark  glossy  green  in  color.  It  is  very  lively  on  a 
warm  day  and  will  jump  when  you  try  to  catch  it. 
These  rascals  eat  out  the  heart  of  the  buds.  They  are 
much  worse  on  the  outside  rows.  Is  The  Rural 
acquainted  with  them  and  is  there  any  remedy  for 
them  ?  I  thought  next  spring  of  trying  Paris-green 
mixed  with  plaster  or  flour  to  the  consistency  of  paint 
and  touching  the  buds  with  the  mixture — at  least  on  a 
few  as  an  experiment.  Perhaps  between  now  and 
then  The  Rural  may  tell  me  how  to  combat  them. 
Some  seven-year-old  vines  did  not  produce  a  single 
cluster  and  an  outside  row  on  the  east  did  not  have  10 
pounds  of  grapes  on  17  vines,  or  as  many  as  I  should 
have  had  on  one.  3.  The  next  enemy  is  what  I  call 
the  grape  slug,  that  appears  as  soon  as  the  leaves  are 
out.  It  is  a  little,  sluggish  worm,  of  all  sizes  and 
nearly  all  colors  (I  believe  according  to  its  age)  up  to 
a  half  inch  in  length.  There  will  be  sometimes  a  dozen 
on  a  leaf  and  they  eat  it  full  of  holes,  thus  badly 
dwarfing  the  vine.  I  have  never  sprayed  and  suppose 
that  would  destroy  them.  4.  The  grape  curculio  has 
got  here  at  last — a  little  worm  that  makes  a  house  in 
the  berry,  the  same  I  expect,  that  Mr.  John  T.  Roberts 
speaks  of  on  page  034.  Anthraenose  has  also  made  its 
appearance.  Is  the  latter  anything  more  than  a  stunted 
or  sick  condition  of  the  vine  from  poor  soil  or  poor  cul¬ 
tivation  ?  It  looks  so  to  me.  5.  There  is  not  a  fourth 
of  a  crop  of  apples  in  my  neighborhood  and  judging 
by  mine,  if  we  ever  expect  to  have  apples  that  are 
half  decent  again  or  not  inhabited  by  infernal  worms 
or  curculios,  we  must  spray,  spray,  spray.  1  have 
about  100  trees  and  I  don’t  believe  there  is  an  apple  in 
the  orchard  that  is  not  inhabited  by  a  worm.  I  don’t 
mind  the  worms  taking  a  few,  but  when  they  play  the 
hog  and  take  all,  it  looks  as  if  there  was  a  change  of 
rulers.  6.  Our  Cuthberts  and  some  of  the  caps  were 
defoliated  and  killed  in  June  by  a  green,  fuzzy  worm, 
about  an  inch  long,  the  first  enemy  I  have  seen  on  the 
raspberry,  but  I  suppose  that,  being  here,  they  will  be 
on  hand  promptly  next  spring.  It  begins  to  look  as  if 
we  should  have  to  stand  over  everything  with  a  club, 
or  be  starved  out. 
Ans. — 1.  The  R.  N.-Y.  was  aware  of  the  fact  that 
black  knot  infested  several  kinds  of  forest  trees.  We 
have  seen  it  on  wild  plum  and  wild  cherry,  in  addition 
to  the  trees  named  by  our  reader.  2.  We  are  not  able 
to  identify  this  pest  from  your  description.  It  may  be 
the  Two-Spotted  Tree-Hopper  (Enchenopa  binotata.) 
It  is  likely  that  a  spraying  of  Baris-green  or  London- 
purple,  when  they  are  first  seen,  would  be  an  effective 
remedy.  3.  The  next  pest  mentioned  we  are  inclined 
to  believe,  is  the  American  Procris.  When  young, 
they  eat  only  the  leaves,  leaving  the  skeletons,  but  as 
they  grow  older  they  cat  stems  and  all  Spraying 
with  Paris-green  will  destroy  them  easily.  4.  Jarring 
the  vines  will  cause  the  curculio  to  drop,  and,  if  you 
spread  sheets  on  the  ground  under  the  vine,  they  can 
be  easily  caught  and  destroyed.  This  should  be  done 
in  June.  The  insect  is  similar  to  the  plum  curculio. 
5.  You  are  right,  you  must  spray  ;  and,  when  our 
growers  generally  do  it,  we  shall  begin  to  make  head¬ 
way  aginst  these  pests.  6.  These  are  the  larvae  of  the 
Raspberry  Saw-fly,  and  they  are  easily  destroyed  by 
spraying  or  sprinkling  the  plants  with  an  infusion  of 
an  ounce  of  powdered  hellebore  in  a  gallon  of  water. 
“Fibro  Feeder:”  Sawdust  for  Strawberries. 
T.  M.  R.,  Fairview,  Pa. — 1.  I  am  in  receipt  of  a  pack¬ 
age  of  circulars  from  the  Fibro  Ferro  Feeder  Company, 
Rochester,  N.  Y.,  which  make  wonderful  claims  for  an 
ingredient  with  the  same  name  as  that  of  the  company. 
They  claim  a  25  cent  package  applied  about  the  roots 
of  a  fruit  tree,  shrub  or  vine  will  so  invigorate  it  that 
no  borer,  insect,  yellows,  leaf  curl  or  disease  will 
trouble  it  or  the  fruit.  2.  Will  sawdust  from  hemlock, 
poplar,  ash,  basswood  and  beech  timber,  make  a  good 
winter  mulch  for  strawberries?  It  has  lain  in  the 
yard  three  or  four  years. 
Ans. — 1.  We  do  not  know  anything  of  the  article  you 
allude  to,  but  its  claims  are  absurd  and  unreasonable. 
We  would  advise  you  to  let  it  alone.  2.  We  would 
not  advise  the  use  of  sawdust  as  a  mulch.  Well-rotted 
sawdust,  mixed  with  other  refuse,  makes  a  fair  fertil¬ 
izer,  but  such  as  you  speak  of  would  hardly  be  desir-  ’ 
able.  You  could  not  remove  it  from  the  ground,  and 
to  make  an  effective  mulch  would  require  quite  liberal 
quantities.  Why  not  try  it  on  10  feet  of  a  row  and 
see  how  it  works,  putting  it  on  after  the  ground  has 
frozen. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
“  Sealed”  Idaho  Pears. — J.  M.  N.,  Belton,  Ont. — We 
are  not  aware  that  the  Idaho  is  sold  under  seal. 
Whether  or  not  you  received  the  Idaho  depends  upon 
the  integrity  of  the  firm,  of  which  we  know  nothing. 
Write  to  John  H.  Evans,  Lewiston,  Idaho. 
A.  F.  Ames,  Grand  View,  Tenn. — Can  any  reader 
give  me  the  address  of  some  Alliance  or  private 
cotton-seed  oil  mill  in  northern  Georgia  or  east  Ten¬ 
nessee  ?  We  shall  want  several  tons  of  cotton-seed 
meal  here  and  are  sick  of  ordering  through  commission 
men  and  then  not  always  getting  a  good  article. 
S.  S.  D.,  Ulster  County,  N.  Y. — There  can  be  no  ques¬ 
tion  as  to  the  utility  of  potash  in  peach  orchards.  So 
far  as  our  observation  goes,  most  orchards  show  a  lack 
of  potash,  or  a  greater  lack  of  this  ingredient  than  of 
any  other  element  of  fertility.  Muriate  of  potash, 
hard  wood  or  cotton  hull  ashes  are  all  effective 
Muck  for  a  Lawn.—  D.  R.,  Barnardsville,  N.  J. — Yes, 
it  may  pay  “  to  haul  muck  costing  20  cents  a  load  at 
the  mill  pond  to  fertilize  a  lawn  two  miles  distant.” 
Most  muck  is  weak  in  potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  and 
these  should  be  supplied  in  wood  ashes  or  muriate  of 
potash  and  ground  bone.  You  can  scatter  composted 
muck  over  the  lawn  this  fall  and  add  wood  ashes  in 
the  spring,  or  pile  it  now  and  scatter  through  it  100 
pounds  of  muriate  and  200  of  bone  for  each  ton.  This 
will  make  a  compost  which,  in  the  spring,  may  help. 
Muck  is  often  worthless  and  full  of  weed  seeds. 
