1891 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
433 
shine alone conld not have been the prime canse. It occnrs 
of course mostly upon the southwest side where the sun¬ 
shine is most complete, and it often extends or may be 
found on the branches several feet from the ground. The 
most effectual method of preventing sun scald as far as 
we can prevent it is to wrap the trunk of the tree with 
medicated straw and keep it so. For this purpose use 
straight rye straw that has been dipped in whitewash con¬ 
taining some carbolic acid and Paris-green. This medica¬ 
tion will serve as a preventive of injury by insects, mice 
and vermin that may injure the trunks, including rabbits 
and borers. When ready set the straw about the tree 
closely, let it extend up among the branches as far as 
practicable and tie with string in several places. The 
weakest places in trees are the forks or points where the 
branches start from the trunks. Protect them in this way 
as well as the bare trunks if the best results are desire^. 
Thus prepared and put on, the protection will last several 
years or until the growth of the tree makes its renewal 
desirable. Many other methods of tree-trunk protection 
from sun scald are practiced, but none is so cheap, so 
efficient, and satisfactory in every way as this. At my re¬ 
quest Prof. Goff has put it on trial at the three experiment 
stations in Wisconsin. A. L. HATCH. 
Hill Crest Experiment Station, Wis. 
Wire And Lath Will Protect. 
The hot sun of summer in the year following transplant¬ 
ing is the first cause of suu scald. After that season I know 
of but little difference in the need for protection against 
the winter or summer sun—both are alike injurious. The 
protection by lath and wire i3 the best known. This was 
introduced by S. J. Philips of West Salem, Wisconsin. 
Small wire such as Is used by tinners for stove pipes will 
weave lath so that mice, borers, (flat-headed) sun scald, 
bark burst, rabbits, etc., will not injure the trees. Sun scald 
and malformation of the tops have killed more orchards 
than cold winters, and the “starvation” process has killed 
as many more. geo. J. k. 
Janesville, Wis. 
An Expert Veteran’s Opinion. 
1. Probably both. The enfeeblement resulting from se¬ 
vere cold in winter followed by free exposure to great heat 
in summer causes the mischief. I do not remember ever to 
have known a case of sun scald, except under free exposure 
to the direct rays of the sun during the heat of the day. 2. 
Keeping the tree in vigorous condition, and the shading of 
the trunk, by low branching or otherwise, during the heat 
of the day, will be the best preventive. T. T. lyon. 
Van Buren Co., Mich. 
Lean Trees to the Southwest. 
Sun scald in fruit trees is due both to the winter and 
summer suns. The injury due to the former, however, is 
only near the ground, whereas that due to the latter ex¬ 
tends along nearly the whole trunks of newly-planted 
trees. About the best protection is given by a screen of a 
board, corn stalks, straw or reeds several feet in height, to 
create a shade from 11 A. M. to 2:30 p. m. In very exposed 
situations a shade is necessary until the branches afford 
protection to the trunks. The same effect is in great part 
produced by setting the trees with a leaning to the south 
or rather southwest. I find that no trees leaning in this 
direction become scalded ; while nearly all that lean to the 
north or northeast in my orchard, as well as some that 
stand perpendicularly without sufficient limbs to protect 
them on the south side, become affected. a. P. P. 
Pewaukee, Wis. 
The Philosophy of the Matter. 
1. In our interior climate our fruit and forest trees in iso¬ 
lated positions and with exposed stems are liable to injury 
on the south side of the stems during the extreme changes 
of temperature of very early spring and also during the 
intense heat of July and August. Careful observation 
will show that it is usually started during the first stages 
of growth after transplanting. The Injury may not show 
on the surface at first, but the growth on the south side 
is checked. On the side sheltered from the one o’clock 
sun we find increased growth of stem, top, and root, which 
in two or three years begins to incline the whole tree to 
the northward, still more exposing the stem and a mark¬ 
ed case of what we call sun scald is developed. The 
principle involved is well shown by a Soft Maple on the 
college campus. Its top was cut back severely two years 
ago in March. As the growing season came on the whole 
stored material and resources of the tree were given to the 
extension of new points of growth and the restoration of 
the mutilated top. All went up in the alburnum and but 
.ittle came down in the outer tissues of bark and wood. 
In this dry, starved condition the bark on the south side 
was killed from the earth to the main branches. At pres¬ 
ent the whole south part of the tree is dead or nearly so, 
while the north side is making good growth of stem, root, 
and top. In this way the Gros Pomier and other varieties 
of the apple, not liable to sun scald under normal condi¬ 
tions, will show it speedily, if the whole top is cut back 
for top-working. Newly transplanted trees are obliged to 
go through the same ordeal. If planted erect in the or¬ 
chard , or on a lawn, with exposed stems, they rarely become 
established without stem injury to the extent at least of 
checking growth on the south side. To such an extent is 
this true that six years ago we secured sections from 
about forty varieties of fruit and forest trees with appar¬ 
ently sound stems which stood in isolated positions with 
stems from four to six feet in height. In every case the 
heaviest top and root were found on the north side and 
the heart of every specimen was well over to the south side. 
Of course such an evil is cumulative, and as the years go 
on a marked case of sun scald is inevitable. 
Yet I find that some varieties and species are more sub¬ 
ject to this trouble than others which are about equally 
hardy in other respects. The native basswood and the 
Buffaloberry are good examples. Under natural conditions 
we have no trees better adapted to our trying climate, yet It 
is quite impossible to start specimens in isolated positions 
with exposed stems without showing dead bark on the 
south side within two years. Yet If the stems are shaded 
until the trees develop deep roots, thick bark, and a well 
developed top, they are models of health. The principle 
holds good with all trees under abnormal conditions, but 
they vary in the time needed for the full development of 
the trouble. 
2 . With lawn trees and street trees where high stems are 
required the remedy is found in shading the stems while 
the trees are becoming fully established and with even 
spread of tops. With orchard trees the remedy is found In 
selecting the varieties least subject to sun scald, starting 
them with very low tops, and leaning them when planted 
toward the one o’clock sun. If planted in our climate at 
an angle of 45 degrees, they will surprise the novice by be¬ 
coming nearly erect within five years after planting. 
Iowa Agricultural College. J. L. BUDD. 
Crude Petroleum for a Boat. 
Uher, Falls Church, Va .—I am having built of thor¬ 
oughly seasoned cypress lumber a boat for use in salt 
water, and I desire to know if I shall use light crude petro¬ 
leum, creosote stain, raw linseed or boiled oil on wood as 
a “ filler ” before painting with the copper or germicide 
paint. Which is the best copper paint if there are more 
than one make ? 
Ans.— Crude petroleum is of little use as a filler, as it is 
absorbed by the wood, and oil paints do not adhere to it. 
The common method of painting boats is to give a coat of 
pure white lead and boiled oil colored to a lead color by 
lamp black. This affords a neutral tint as ground for 
other colors. The best copper paint Is Paris-green, which 
is desirable for a boat with vermilion trimmings. Paris- 
green is a compound of arsenic and copper and is deadly to 
all animal life. Its color is a pleasant light green; but it 
can be colored darker by mixing lamp black with it. The 
darker copper greens, verditer and Brunswick green, 
blacken when mixed with oil and are not permanent. 
Three coats should be given to get a good covering. 
A Surface Ditcher. 
J. W. W ., Somerset, N. Y .—How can I make a wooden 
surface ditcher to clean out dead furrows in wet and 
stony land—one of weight that will hang to the ground, 
throwing out the bottom and smoothing off the sides of 
the furrows to allow the water to run in and machines to 
run over. 
Ans.—F or this purpose we would suggest an Implement 
made in the form shown at Fig. 160, if the old-fashioned 
shares horse-hoe cannot be procured. About 25 years ago 
we used one of these implements for making open ditches 
in a cleared swamp meadow and found it to work excel¬ 
lently, leaving the ditch four feet wide and 18 inches deep 
with sloping sides, over which a wagon load of hay could 
be drawn without trouble. The land is first plowed with 
a common plow to loosen the earth and throw it up to the 
sides, when this implement follows and raises the loose 
soil and scrapes it on to the bank where it can be pushed 
back with the ordinary plow. The drawing gives the form 
of the wings only, which are made to spread and may be 
of two inch oak plank, fixed to a frame with a stock and 
handles. If the implement above mentioned could be 
procured it would be cheaper and more effective than any 
that could be made for twice the money. Perhaps the 
Higganum Mfg. Co., of New York, who are successors to 
R. H. Allen & Co., who made the old horse hoe, could 
furnish the implement ready-made. This hoe was used 
for the now obsolete purpose of earthing up potatoes and 
corn, leaving a hollow like a ditch between the rows. 
The R. N.-Y.’s Heavy Corn Yield. 
J. C. C., Closter, N. J .— A short time ago I saw in The 
Rural some reference to views expressed in it previously 
advocating the planting of corn in drills in preference to 
the old hill method. I should like to get the benefit of the 
editor’s judgment in this matter and, therefore, to obtain 
copies, If possible, of The Rural New-Yorker containing 
such articles. If any length of time has elapsed since such 
publication, it would be interesting to many readers if the 
subject were again discussed in your columns. 
Ans. —Twelve years ago, or thereabouts, The R. N.-Y.’s 
hobby was corn culture. It was desired to know what on 
its farm (a sandy loam soil) might be consid. red a maxi¬ 
mum yield. Experiments were first made on small plots 
and what was learnt in this way guided us in trials upon 
acres. The result was that over 130 bushels of shelled 
corn were harvested upon one measured acre, and about 
110 bushels per acre on five acres. Our method was pub¬ 
lished far and wide and variously commented upon. It 
was called The R. N.-Y. Triplicate Method for want of 
a better name. The land was prepared in the ordinary 
way by thorough plowing and cultivating. Before the last 
cultivation (1) the corn fertilizer was strewn broadcast. (2) 
The seed corn was then drilled in by a one-horse drill which 
dropped the kernels approximately as desired all the way 
from six inches to two feet apart. We preferred the six- 
inch distance as it insured a better stand. The superfluous 
plants were destroyed at the first hoeing. Finally (3) the 
cultivation thereafter was shallow—just deep enough to 
break up and mellow the surface soil without the least 
hoeing up. Surface (1) fertilization; (2), drilling in the seed 
and (3) level and shallow cultivation. We have practiced 
the method ever since, and it has every year, as is well 
known, become more and more popular. Some have said 
that The R. N.-Y. has no claims to originality as to this 
method, claiming (and justly so) that surface fertilizing is 
not new; that drill planting is not new; that level and 
shallow cultivation is not new. True, we grant that of 
course. What we did and do claim is that the combination 
is new and that The R. N.-Y. is fairly entitled to the 
credit of its origin. Again, on the acre which gave us our 
heaviest yield, a part only of the corn fertilizer was sown 
before planting; the rest was sown not until the plants were 
knee-high. We have advocated “lunching” for both 
corn and potatoes ever since and many others are beginning 
to advocate it as well. 
When Should Asparagus be Manured. 
M. M., Medway, Mass .—Can plants, not parasites, 
assimilate food when they have no foliage ? In other 
words, will plant food nourish a plant when it has no 
foliage ? It is generally recommended to dress asparagus 
In autumn liberally with manure to insure a good growth 
the next season. Now, unless the asparagus roots can as¬ 
similate the food In the absence of foliage, of what use can 
it be in assisting growth before the cutting season is over. 
The plant makes growth in early spring, from food assimi¬ 
lated the season before and stored up in the roots. I sup¬ 
pose the food taken up by the roots is carried to the leaves, 
and there undergoes a change that fits it to become a part 
of the plant. If I am correct In this supposition, then the 
best time to apply fertilizer to asparagus is immediately 
after the cutting season is over, and the food used by the 
plants during the summer will be returned as shoots the 
next spring. I practiced on this theory last season by giv¬ 
ing a good dressing of nitrate of soda as soon as I ceased 
cutting, and I think the growth this spring is better than 
ever before. Are my reasoning and practice correct ? I 
have not found the asparagus beetle so easy to subdue as 
The Rural’s teaching indicates. I always cut all shoots 
clean during the cutting season, say until about the 15th 
to 20th of June, so all eggs are destroyed until that time, 
and yet in some seasons the plants have been seriously 
damaged after that period. The beetles are sometimes 
thick enough to do considerable damage to the shoots as 
they appear in spring. 
Ans.—I n The R. N.-Y’s estimation our friend is quite 
right in his theory and practice. It is the food stored up 
in the asparagus roots and underground stems that give 
us the shoots which we cut and eat. If the shoots were 
cut during an entire season as they appeared the plants 
would soon die— i. c ., they would die as soon as the stored 
up nourishment became exhausted. This is the theory of 
all plant growth. The best time to feed asparagus, is. 
when the plants can use the food. The size of next year’s 
shoots for cutting will entirely depend upon the vigor of 
the plants which grow after the cutting has ceased. It is 
well to manure a bed in the fall if the manure is not readily 
soluble, so that it may become soluble during winter and 
spring. It is the grub that does the chief harm to aspar¬ 
agus. We need merely to destroy the eggs and of course 
there will be no larvae. This, as we have said, may be 
effected by rubbing them off of the shoots and stems as 
they are deposited. 
Swelling on Horse Below The Withers. 
L. II., Washington, III .—Last fall I put my four-year- 
old colt in the stalk field and kept him there all winter. 
He was well taken care of, fed, and put in the barn every 
night. In January the gentleman who kept him noticed 
for the first time a swollen place about one foot in circum¬ 
ference, not abrupt, but gradual, elliptical in shape, and 
raised to about the thickness of a man’s hand. At first it 
would hardly be noticed by a casual observer. The gentle¬ 
man supposed it to be caused by rolling on something 
hard and paid little attention to it, but, as it did not go 
away, he began to apply vinegar and water, rubbing the 
place well. This did no good, so he applied turpentine, 
which had no effect except to remove the hair from the 
spot. He then took him to a horse doctor, who com¬ 
pounded a liniment; this, too, has had no effect. The 
place is larger, if anything, now, ic being over four months 
since it was noticed. It does not seem to hurt him, still I 
am anxious for fear it might. It does not seem hard, and 
the doctors say it is too low for fistula. What is the prob¬ 
able cause and what should be the treatment ? 
Ans.—T he swelling is undoubtedly the result of a bruise 
or other injury. Make a free opening at the lower part of 
It to ascertain its nature. If found to contain any pus, 
caseous matter or other dead material, it should be entirely 
removed, the swelling being laid freely open for several 
inches if necessary for this purpose. Finally wash out 
daily with a two per cent solution of carbolic acid, and 
treat as an ordinary wound. If the swelling is found to 
consist simply of a thickening of the tissues beneath the 
skin, insert a seton, passing from the upper to the lower 
portion of it. Employ a competent veterinary surgeon, if 
possible, to insert such seton. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
Feeding Whey to Pigs .—Several Subscribers.—Prof. W. 
A. Henry, Madison, Wis., has just issued Bulletin 27 of 
the Wisconsin Station giving the records of an experiment 
in feeding whey. Briefly stated, these experiments show 
that whey alone will not support pigs. It required 552 
pounds of corn meal and shorts to make 100 pounds of 
gain. When whey was added to this mixture a gain was 
made, as 760 pounds of whey saved 100 pounds of the grain 
food. From this showing, Prof. Henry figures that if 
corn meal and shorts are worth §12 per ton, whey is worth 
eight cents per 100 pounds. The best grains to give with 
the whey are shorts, pea meal or oil meal. Corn may be 
fed at all times, the proportion increasing as the animal 
approaches maturity. The whey itself is not a complete 
food, milk sugar being it3 chief constituent with a small 
amount of albumen and less fat. Thus it requires foods 
rich in protein—like these mentioned—to give good feed¬ 
ing results. This whey was fed sweet. 
