1891 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
347 
made corn ensilage can content himself 
with “puttering” over a patch of beets, 
spending twice the labor for one-fourth the 
results that he could get in corn, taxes my 
imagination. The only circumstances 
under which it will pay to grow roots in 
competition with ensilage is in case of a 
man with a small lot of rich land with only 
one cow to feed and who, of course, would 
not build a silo. 
Summer Treatment of Lilies. 
E. S , Niagara County, N. Y.—As to 
what F. N. S. says, on page 165, I am afraid 
that any lilies that had been grown in pots 
the previous season, would hardly prove 
satisfactory for winter forcing. One should 
have at least two sets of bulbs so that those 
which, for instance, bloom this winter, 
could be planted into garden soil in the 
spring and be allowed to remain until after 
the flowering time in the season of ’92, when 
they can be taken up, potted and gradually 
dried off; then from the last of August, at 
intervals, the plants can be started into 
growth and brought into flower during the 
winter of ’93. For next winter, those which 
flowered in the house last winter, (’91), if 
planted out, as above, would be in shape 
the coming season, for potting and forcing. 
It is to be kept in mind, however, that it is 
only the very strongest of bulbs which will 
allow of this continual blooming out of 
their regular season, even with the most 
careful attention; it is generally much bet¬ 
ter, each fall, to buy the few bulbs wanted, 
and start them afresh, planting the old ones 
out every spring in a permanent bed. By 
doing this one would soon have a very fine 
annual display of the beautiful flowers. 
The Cost of Canadian Beets. 
C. J. F., Delaware, Ontario —In reply 
to C. W. C., who on page 272 asks “ What 
Should Beets Cost ?” here is a statement of 
the cost of a quarter of an acre (measured) 
of mangolds (Golden Intermediate). I 
raised 419 bushels at a cost of a fraction 
over four cents per bushel. The soil was 
a sandy loam, and the previous crop had 
been potatoes, on a clover sod, with barn¬ 
yard manure. The ground was plowed in 
the fall, and on April 16, I started at five 
o’clock to sow carefully by hand the differ¬ 
ent kinds of fertilizers, which I cultivated 
in with a one-horse cultivator, and by tea- 
time I had the piece cultivated and har¬ 
rowed down quite smooth and level. After 
tea I put the seed in with a Planet drill, 
the drills being 30 inches apart, and 
all the after cultivation was done by me 
with a Planet hand cultivator. I could go 
over the plot in two hours, which I did 
twice a week, until the leaves touched each 
other. In singling I left the plants from 14 
to 18 inches apart. My expenses were : 
200 pounds of bon* dust*..$4.00 
200 “ “ fertilizer .3 00 
50 “ “ nitrate of soda. . 1.62 
150 “ “ common salt.50 
Plowing In the fall..75 
Cultivating, harrowing and sowing 1 day’s work. 1.00 
“ and singling .3.60 
Pulling and putting In the root house.3.00 
Seed. .60 
Total.$17.47 
Kerosene Extract of Pyrethrum. 
Albert E. Menke, Director Arkansas 
Experiment Station.— In Bulletin No. 12 
of the Iowa Experiment Station, Prof. 
Gillette speaks of having originated the 
Kerosene Extract of Pyrethrum. This is 
probably the fact, but no mention of any 
such compound insecticide prepared as we 
prepared it ever appeared in any station 
bulletin until after the Arkansas Decem¬ 
ber publication. In Bulletin 5 of the Iowa 
Station mention is made of adding kero¬ 
sene to an aqueous extract of pyrethrum 
and using the mixture as a remedy for red 
spider, but nothing further. I have not 
the pleasure of the acquaintance of any of 
Prof. Gillette’s entomological friends, 
therefore did not hear of it from them. Our 
entomologists, Mr. Woodworth and Mr. 
Davis, had never heard of Kerosene Extract 
of Pyrethrum until prepared in our labora¬ 
tory. I am aware the subject is not of great 
importance, but wish to claim the prece¬ 
dence of a first legitimate publication. 
Seedsfrom Early Ripening Varieties. 
Fred Grundy, Christian County, III. 
—For six years I saved the seeds of the first 
tomato that ripened on my Acme plants, 
took good care of them, sowed them early 
in boxes and set out the plants as soon as the 
weather would permit. I also saved seeds 
from fruits that ripened on the same plants 
late in the fall and treated them exactly as I 
did the first, and the result was that plants 
from both lots of seeds began to r. pen their 
fruit at about the same time. Hereafter I 
shall eat the early ripening specimens and 
save seeds from some of the best shaped 
ones that ripen later. Did The Rural 
ever find a Lightning Express, or an Elec 
trie, or a Remarkably Sudden Pea that 
made Itself ready for the table earlier than 
the old Dan O’Rourke, when both were 
planted at the same time ? I have tried 
most of the “ new ” Cannon-Ball varieties 
in the hope of getting something that 
would grow and ripen before the weeds 
came up, but up to date I have only got 
left. By reference to several back numbers 
of my diary I find that we dined on our 
first peas early or late according to the 
season, and that most of the “New Eli” 
varieties are ready for picking soon after. 
As to sweet corn, I have found that the nub¬ 
bin varieties are • ready for boiling a little 
earlier than some others that have ears, but 
we have to eat cob and all to get a fair 
mouthful. In speaking of these Early 
Dawn varieties a colored gentleman of my 
acquaintance said : “ De years ain’t much 
bigger’n pills, en dey has about the same 
effec’l” I prefer quality, with some quan¬ 
tity added, to a little extra earliness. 
Legislate With a Broad Tire. 
S. R , Wayne County, N. Y.— While the 
subject of improved roads is being agitated 
by the legislature and the agricultural 
papers, the farmers are busy working up 
the subject in a practical—though possibly 
not in the most proper—way by indus¬ 
triously, and at much expense of time and 
team, cutting up and destroying the roads 
by driving heavily loaded, narrow-tired 
wagons over them. When we see a man on 
a heavily loaded, narrow-tired wagon urg¬ 
ing along his jaded team, engaged to his 
utmost power in making mud, and then 
grumbling because of the “ horrid ” muddy 
roads, he seems to be an object for pity. 
The only thing he seems disposed to do, to 
make matters different Is to throw some 
hard words into the muddiest places and 
then continue his custom of turning out 
on to the highway with his rut-digger every 
time the ground is too wet for plowing. 
Now if the Legislature is to do anything 
for the roads, let them begin by legislating 
the narrow tires off the heavy lumber and 
truck wagons. I have seen a single heavy 
narrow-tired wagon, in the distance of a 
half mile, cause more damage than could 
be repaired in six days of ordinary road 
work. The question seems to be about 
this :—Which is the better economy,—wide 
tires and good roads or narrow tires and 
bad roads ? The narrow tires are as much 
out of place on the farm as on the high¬ 
way. Men admit that facts and philoso¬ 
phy are in favor of wide tires and say that 
when all the others will use wide tires they 
will do so. They seem to be afraid that 
they will do more than their proportionate 
share of good in this world 1 It seems that 
the legislation may have to help them out 
of their ruts. 
RURAL LIFE NOTES. 
Years ago Henry Hales, of Bergen Co., 
N. J., discovered a shell-bark hickory tree 
near his lonely country home that bore 
nuts of great sizs and thin shells. This 
variety has been propagated by the Par¬ 
sons, of Long Island. Grafting the hickory 
is a slow business, and it has taken all 
these years to collect a stock sufficient to 
justify the firm in offering “Hales’s Shell- 
bark Hickory ” for sale. Even now the 
high price of $5 per tree is charged. 
There is now a purple-leaved variety of 
the common catalpa. 
There is a tri-colored form of Fagus syl- 
vatica which is beautiful and rare. 
Readers of The R. N.-Y. should all be 
familiar with the beautiful Weeping Hem¬ 
lock. It is a superb tree, entirely distinct, 
as graceful as the spray of a fountain, and 
especially well adapted for a prominent 
place on the lawn. There is now another 
variety of drooping form with glaucous 
leaves...". 
Years ago—18, we guess— The R. N.-Y. 
imported a Golden Norway Spruce from 
Scotland. Many of the shoots were of a 
decidedly golden color. The trouble was 
that these shoots could not stand the sun, 
the result being that the golden leaves 
would fall soon after maturity. The tree 
was at length discarded. A new and rare 
Golden Spruce is now offered in a nursery¬ 
man’s catalogue before us. 
Among the beautiful Japan maples is 
one called Acer polymorphum atropurpu- 
reum nigrum. It is said that the branches 
and leaves are of the darkest shade, almost 
black, and the leaves hold their color better 
than any other variety. 
Viburnum plicatum rotundifolium vari- 
egatum is a dwarf form of the beautiful 
Japan Snowball, the leaves of which are 
round and splashed with yellow. 
Our correspondent, Mr. A. L. Crosby, 
an incisive writer, is quoted by the New 
York Tribune as saying that he can see 
no more sense in irrigating arid regions of 
the Far West, at vast cost to the general 
public, than thero would be in under- 
draining, at Federal expense, such eastern 
farms as are too wet for the best tillage. 
Moreover, he maintains, with equal force, 
that there is no reason to prepare and open 
to other foreigners new areas of “ land free 
to all.” They compete with Americans on 
very unfair terms, for their living expenses, 
being based upon Old World habits of 
enforced economy, are almost nothing as 
compared with those of our own people.... 
Tne Iowa Homestead says: “We have 
enough foreign birds in America already 
without pay ing so dearly for another as awk¬ 
ward in form and so ugly in appearance as 
the Indian Game. It never had anything to 
recommend it, in comparison with the 
American varieties or the foreign varieties 
already established here, but it is so English, 
you know.” The Indian Games have some 
good friends in this country that do not 
care a rap for “the English, you know.” 
The R. N.-Y. has a diligent hen that is 
sitting upon seven of these Indian Game 
eggs, and we hope, in this case as in most 
other cases of new fowls, to talk to our 
readers from experience in due time. 
Potato experiments have been conduct¬ 
ed at Purdue University E. S. (Prof. C. S. 
Plumb, acting director). Potatoes (two 
eyes) planted In trenches yielded 98 bushels 
to the acre. In hills they yielded 160 
bushels per acre. 
Whole large potatoes yielded 240 bushels; 
whole small tubers (one-fourth the size of 
the larger) yielded 187 bushels. 
An Interesting experiment and one we 
do not remember has been tried before ex¬ 
cept at the Rural Grounds, was to de¬ 
termine whether a given number of eye3 
cut separately would yield more or less 
than the same number of eyes in one 
piece. Here are the results : 
Cut to single Cut to one 
eye pieces. piece. 
Number of eyes. Bush. peracre. Bush per acre. 
Prom two eyes. 93 160 
From three eyes... 94 160 
Prom four eyes.... 94 160 
From five eyes. ... 94 160 
Prom whole tuber. 120 240 
A fine showing in favor of single pieces. 
Potatoes were cut in three pieces, viz., 
seed end, middle and stem end. The re¬ 
sult was: 
Prom seed end . 74 bushels. 
Prom middle.107 bushels. 
Prom stem eud.94 bushels. 
WORD FOR WORD. 
-H. T. Brooks, in N. Y. Tribune : 
“ Careful analysis of the water of 96 wells 
in a beautiful village of western New York, 
by a competent chemist, revealed the fright¬ 
ful fact that 33 of them contained disease 
germs to a dangerous amount; only 31 were 
pure; the remainder were contaminated to 
a greater or less degree. Further investi¬ 
gation showed that 12 cases of fever and 
diphtheria had occurred in the families that 
used the water from the wells containing 
the most impurities, four cases in the fam¬ 
ilies using the water that was less Impure, 
and none at all where the wells were free 
from the germs of disease. There is reason 
to believe that these wells were not worse 
PtercUanemtj* 
In writing to advertisers please always 
mention The Rural. 
Insects on Fruit Trees. 
These pests are rapidly multiplying and every 
year their ravages increase; they destroy the apples, 
plums, cherries and peaches. Yet they can be exter¬ 
minated by judiciously spraying the trees, The Meld 
Force Pump Company, of Lockport, N. Y., have Just 
published a very Instructive treatise on this subject, 
which they will send free on application. 
Will it Pay 
To build a post-and-rail fence at a cost 
of $2 a rod, or “ worm ” fence at $1.25 a 
rod for rails and stakes alone, and occu¬ 
pying 4 or 5 feet of land, or stone fence 
costing $1 to $1.50 per rod to lay after 
the stones are in the row, and covering 
3i feet of land, when you can build a 
splendid Buck-Thorn Fence of 
seven strands, posts a rod apart, and 
covering only 6 inches (thickness of 
post), of land, and costing less than 
85 cents a rod, finished? 
No, it will not Pay. 
But it will pay to investigate the 
Buck-Thorn Solid Steel Barb Fencing. 
If Buck-Thorn is not sold in your neigh¬ 
borhood we will ship it to you from the 
mill, all freight paid. Samples and de¬ 
scriptive circulars to all applicants by mail. 
The Buck-Thokn Fence Co., Trenton, N. J. 
“ Most Sensible Pence.” 
Coulter & Dinwiddie, Frankfort, Itid., write: 
“ We think you have the most sensible fence 
“ ever made. The first Buck-Thorn ever sold in 
“tins county I (C), used on my farm six years 
“ago.” 
Boys will “raise Gain” 
on your Lawn if thev are Ab(e)le. While 
fun for them it spoils the Lawn which 
should be beautified and protected (with¬ 
out coucealing) by 
“Hartman’s” Steel Picket Fence. 
We sell more Lawn Fencing than all 
other manufacturers combined because it 
Is the handsomest and best fence made, 
and CHEAPER THAN WOOD. 
Our “Steel Picket” Gates, Tree and 
Flower Guards, and Flexible Steel Wire 
Door Mats are unequaled. A 40 page 
illustrated catalogue of “Hartman Spe¬ 
cialties” mailed free. Mention this paper. 
HARTMAN M’F’G CO., 
WORKS: BEAVER FALLS, PA. 
BRANCHESState Street, Chicago; 1416 West 
Eleventh Street, Kansas City ; 102 Chambers Street, 
New York ; 73 S. Forsyth Street, Atlanta. 
Plants of But uuiluy. Warranted trno to namo. Lowest 
Prices. Largest Stool: and Assortment of Old and Hew 
Varieties. Send for Price List. 
BtJSH & SON bt MZISSNEE, BnshUer?, Mo. 
NUT TREES, 
CHESTNUTS — Japan Mam¬ 
moth and (limit, Pauiiy’s; 
Japan Walnuts. Japan (iolilen 
Russet, Idaho and Kieffei Pears, 
Eleagnns Longipes, Hardy 
Oranges, and other valuable 
novelties. Small Fruits, Grnpes, 
etc. Fruit, Shade and Nut Trees, 
Ornamental Shrubs, Vines, etc. 
Illustrated Descriptive Catalogue Free. 
WM. PARRY, Parry, N. J. 
ALFALFA CLOVER SEED 
By the car-load or In any quantity. 
Write to W. A. HAWS, 
than a large share of the wells of the whole 
country. It should be known that the most 
dangerous impurities cannot be detected by 
the appearance, taste or odor of the water. 
Prudent people will have their wells tested 
by competent chemists, and they will see to 
it that they are not sink-holes to receive 
the soakage of barnyards, privies, cess¬ 
pools, drains, stagnant water or vegetable 
decay.” 
Las Animas, Bent County. Colorado, U. 8 . A. 
EVERGREENS 
FRUIT & FOREST TREES 
! 50,000,000 trees for spring trade. 
Send for our Catalogue, mention this 
paper, and you will receive a valu- 
i able work (How to Grow Evergreen!) 
_ ’ and coupon good for 5<lc. worth of 
_[Trees Free. Prices lower than the lowest. 
Address The E. H. RICKER CO., Elgin Nurseries, Elgin, III. 
For Shed or Poultry Building ft 11 |* 
Excellent roof complete. Anyone can lay It. L 
$2 per tOOSq. Feet. I OHE 
‘LOW PRICE, 
ATHING PAPER. Water, wind and 
damp proof. Keeps building cool In 
summer, warm In winter. 
GOO Square Feet, $3.00. 
DURABLE, FIRE PROOF. 
Rubber roofing is unequalled for bouse, barn and all build¬ 
ings; costs half the price of shingles, tin, or iron. 
It is ready for use, easily applied by any one on steep or flat 
surface, or over old shingles, and is guaranteed water tight. 
STATE SIZE OF ROOF 
and we will mail special low estimate and full particulars. 
SAMPLE FREE IF YOU SEND STAMP. 
Write at Once. Indiana Paint and Roofing Co., New York. 
