893 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
229 
The Farmers' Club. 
(Continued.) 
By any one of several different symp¬ 
toms. A white coating in the throat is 
one of the earliest. The head becomes 
hot and swells, usually on one side. The 
eyes swell and matter flows from them. 
The fowls breathe hard, and sometimes 
sneeze. Roup is simply a cold. In its 
earlier stages it may be cured by some of 
the remedies recently published in The 
R. N.-Y. In its later stages, thebestplan 
is to apply a hatchet vigorously. 
Liming' the Sourness Out of a Swamp. 
B. R. H. W.. Philadelphia, Pa Two or 
three years ago I had a piece of swampy 
land drained by digging a ditch. The 
draining is complete, but the sour land 
has failed to produce anything, though 
I have sowed two crops. What shall be 
done to get a crop ? 
Ans. —The excess of acids in the drained 
swamp will be a stubborn obstacle to 
the growth of grass or any useful crop 
until it is removed by something that 
will neutralize the acid. Lime is the 
best antidote to it, and an application of 
20 or 40 bushels of air-slaked lime to the 
acre will no doubt remove the difficulty. 
Frequent plowing, by exposing the sour 
land to the atmosphere, will have the 
same effect, but too slowly; the lime 
should be spread as early in the spring 
as possible, or in the late summer, as it is 
most soluble in cold water, and, after it 
has had time to act, oats may be sown 
with grass seed. Fowl Meadow grass, 
Fescue, Italian Rye grass and Timothy 
all do well on newly-reclaimed swamp 
lands. Six pounds of each per acre will 
be sufficient 
A Beginner’s Apple Questions. 
E. R ., Knoxboro, N. Y.—l When is 
the best time to trim apple trees? 2 . Do 
pears require as thorough trimming as 
apples ? 3. My orchard has been in 
grass and has been mowed for 10 years. 
.Should an orchard where the trunks of 
the trees are six inches in diameter be 
plowed ? 4. What would be the effect 
of harrowing the orchard in the spring ? 
Would it loosen the soil enough to be of 
advantage to the trees ? 5. Without cul¬ 
tivation, would the sowing broadcast of 
some commercial fertilizer be of much 
value to it ? 6. What about spraying 
apple and pear trees ? 7. I have several 
Wild Goose plum trees which the former 
owner says always blossomed full, but 
never bore fruit ; what is the probable 
cause of their barrenness ? 8. Can plum 
trees be grafted with scions the same as 
apple ? 
Ans.—1. We have never found that 
there is any best time. Preference may 
be given, perhaps, to November and 
March. 2. Much the same. 3. Six inches 
in diameter. Yes, but the plowing should 
not be deep. 4 A disc harrow and then 
an Acme or Cutaway would be most ser¬ 
viceable, or the Morgan Spading harrow 
described last week. 5. Yes, unques¬ 
tionably; but, of course, the grass would 
appropriate its share. 6. Spraying is no 
longer an experiment. It is the only 
way to avoid the coddling moth. 7. This 
is owing to imperfect flowers. You will 
have to plant other variet es among 
them 8. Yes. Graft early. 
What Kind of Wagon Is Best, 
S. R , Wayne Co , N. Y. —1. In connection 
with the subject of the improvement of 
highways frequent reference is made to 
wagons in France with wide tires and 
the front axles shorter than the hind 
ones. Would it not be better to put the 
long axle in front for convenience in 
turning, and other reasons? 2. Has natural 
sulphur water been tried as an insecti¬ 
cide or fungicide ? It is quite abundant 
in some localities. 
Ans —1. This is worth considering and 
we would like to have it discussed. 2. We 
do not know that sulphur water has 
been used for the purpose mentioned. 
Some entomologists have suggested the 
use of sulphuretted hydrogen—a vile 
smelling compound—for cabbage worms 
and similar pests. 
To Fight Cut Worms. 
R. P. M., Friendville, Pa— 1 How can 
we,exterminate the cut worm? My farmer 
tells me it has been known to be in this 
soil 20 years. 2 . How can I best eradi¬ 
cate “ house leek ” from a meadow ? 
A*s.—1. Prof. Weed gives three meth¬ 
ods of destroying these pests, some of 
them, it seems to us, impracticable on a 
large scale. The first, designated as the 
poison method, consists in killing off the 
worms before the crops are planted by 
strewing over the soil bunches of fresh 
clover or cabbage leaves which have been 
treated with Paris-green or London- 
purple, either by dipping into a solution, 
or dusting it on dry. This method has 
been proved practical and successful by 
many gardeners. These leaves must not 
be scattered where poultry or other live 
stock will get them. Another method 
is to place boards around their haunts, 
under which worms will collect during 
the night, and ma/ be killed in the 
morning. Another method which some 
farmers contend is practicable on a large 
scale, is simply to watch the crop closely 
for withered plants, and immediately dig 
them out and kill them. Boys may be 
employed to do this work. Kainit, salt 
or wood ashes broadcasted and harrowed 
in before planting have given good re¬ 
sults in some cases. 2. By constant and 
thorough cultivation during hot, dry 
weather, either in some hoed crop, or as 
summer fallow. 
Laying: Leghorns; First Incubator. 
Nye Hungekeokd, Tompkins County, 
N. Y.—We had always made our hens 
pay expenses, besides a supply of eggs 
and poultry for table use, but could 
never get any eggs in the fore part of 
winter, when they were high-priced, 
and, as winter layers were what we 
wanted, we bad to use an incubator to 
get the early chicks. I also resolved to 
use thoroughbred Leghorns, and I bought 
all my eggs for hatching of men who had 
been successful in breeding for eggs and 
not for fancy points. I filled the incuba¬ 
tor with 200 -eggs on April 4, 1892 : 150 
proved to be fertile, but only 14 hatched, 
and I raised only five—three were pul¬ 
lets. They cost $4 75 for the eggs besides 
the oil and time. This was not very 
encouraging, but I thought I had made 
a mistake in setting the incubator in the 
kitchen on account of the jar of the floor. 
I then put it in the cellar and had no 
more trouble, and my next hatch from 
200 eggs costing $12.50, was 99 good 
strong chicks. I also set one hen on 1(5 
eggs and got 14 chicks. This was rather 
ahead of the incubator, but it was in 
rather a small way, and the chicks, 
though taken from the hen when hatched 
were very wild, and much more trouble¬ 
some than the others. These chicks were 
fed and cared for in a brooder according 
to Mr. Wyckoff’s directions, and I raised 
107 of them to maturity, (57 being pullets. 
Now for results : 
The first hen laid on November 19, not 
so young as those of Mr. Wycltoff, but 
I think I can do better next year. We 
gathered 25 eggs in November, 563 in 
December, 938 in .January and 4(59 in 
February. In the last of February the 
birds stopped laying almost entirely. 
This I cannot account for unless they 
were infested with lice, but I put plenty 
of sulphur in the dust bath and now— 
March 4—no lice can be found. My 
houses are not very good, but the cold 
weather did not seem to have any effect 
on the inmates. Anybody who expects 
to get money out of eggs should use an 
incubator and brooder, hatch the chicks 
in April and May and get them to lay 
before winter, but a person had better 
go slow, because experience is a pretty 
good teacher. 
Thirty-two years' actual test in the field proves them to he 
unequalled for producing the largest possible yield of fine quality 
grain, vegetables, and fruits. The purity of the component 
materials, and the scientific accuracy with which they are com¬ 
bined, make the Bradley Fertilizers the most perfect, as well as 
the most economical plant-food a farmer can use. 
FOB VINES,TRfw 
