1893 
653 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKE 
we have no record of its doing noticeable damage in 
our State until this season, when it seems to have 
ravaged many fields in central and western New York. 
It now occurs in nearly all of the States east of the 
Mississippi, and is yearly spreading further west. Of 
course the kernels that have been sh- iveled or blasted, 
by the larvae will not produce good strong plants (nor 
make good Hour) and had better be fed out; other¬ 
wise this year’s wheat is fit for seed. The experience 
ot wheat growers has shown that the bearded varie¬ 
ties, such as Mediterranean, Tasmania, or Lancaster, 
are much less injured than the beardless white varie¬ 
ties like the Diehl. The bearded white Clawson and 
Amber varieties are less injured than the beardless 
white, but more than the bearded Longberry reds. 
So far as reported, no variety seems to be exempt 
from the midge. Now a few words as to methods of 
fighting the pest. VVe have seen that many of the 
larvao go into the barn or stack with the wheat when 
it is harvested, and when it is thrashed most of them 
appear in the screenings. Thus, if these be fed oat 
or burned, thousands of the larva) that would become 
flies next spring will be destroyed. The only practi¬ 
cable methods thus far recommended to destroy the 
pest in the field is to deeply plow under the stubble 
after harvesting ; or to rotate the wheat to some dis¬ 
tant field, growing some other crop on the infested 
one. Early sown wheat may escape with less injury 
by the midge, but it is more liable to the attack of the 
Hessian fly. m. y. s. 
Dry Field Corn In the Silo. 
E. C. L., Orleans County, N. Y .—I have heard that 
corn fodder can be ensiloed after it has been husked 
by putting water on it. Will it heat or mold ? Will 
stock eat it, butts and all ? Would it be an improve¬ 
ment on feeding it dry ? I would like to learn from 
Mr. H. Talcott whether he still ensiloes his corn fodder 
after husking, and from any others who have tried 
the plan. I have used the silo four seasons, but not 
always with the best results. 
Ans. —One of the most wicked wastes of the farm, and 
one that has become a rule among American farmers 
because of its universal use, is the immense sacrifice of 
over one-half the actual food value of field corn stalks 
after the harvest has been made and the corn husking 
done. The handling and feeding of dry corn stalks 
constitute the most exasperating and unsatisfactory 
work of the farm. We also know that feeding such 
food in an open lot to spread manure over the bare 
and sterile spots of land is a shiftless and lazy man’s 
way of getting rid of work. The cold air and storms 
will blow more heat out of cattle than the feed will pro¬ 
duce in them, and at the end of the race nothing has 
been accomplished except a mammoth exhibition of 
what an ass a man can be if there is no law to prevent 
him. Years ago there was some excuse for such a 
failure, because no better method was known ; but in 
this age there is no longer any excuse. For five years 
past I have put every corn stalk raised on my farms 
for the purpose of growing the grain, into my silos 
after husking, and by sprinkling water on them freely, 
when cutting the stalks and filling the silos, I have 
been able to save practically all the food value of the 
crop. Of course, the general farmer must have corn 
in the ear and shelled corn to use for many purposes 
where ensilage will not fill the bill; but for all cattle 
feeding purposes it is a very great waste of time and 
money to grow a common field crop of corn ; better by 
far grow the largest variety that will come very near 
to full maturity and then make ensilage of the whole 
at once. More bushels of grain and more tons of ensi¬ 
lage per acre can be thus secured. But we must have 
corn to feed our chickens, finish off our hogs and also 
to make our Johnny-cakes, and the necessity for some 
ripe field corn every harvest is apparent, even if we 
do raise a large supply of ensilage for cattle feed, and 
to utilize these dry field corn stalks is the problem 
many of us have satisfactorily solved. 
Mr. Edgar Huidacooper, of Meadville, Pa., four 
years ago made ensilage of nearly 20 acres of common 
field corn after it had been cut up and stood in 
shocks for over a month. His main crop of ensilage 
corn did not begin to fill his silos and to save the work 
of husking corn and miller’s toll he made ensilage of 
the entire crop with grand success. An exhibition of 
this ensilage was made in public at the .State dairy¬ 
men’s convention held in that city the following 
winter. Having a hose pipe and water tank, he stood 
at the head of this work himself and sprinkled the dry 
corn stalks with water all the time as the silo was 
being filled until in his judgment he had moistened it 
as much as fresh green corn stalks from the field, and 
he covered his pit as usual. The dry ensilage absorbed 
the water, fermentation, heating and cooking came 
on as in the case of fresh green corn, and he had splen¬ 
did ensilage and his hard, glazed corn was softened 
and warmed by this process and was in a perfect con¬ 
dition for cattle food. With others, I examined it at 
the barns, and no trace of undigested corn could be 
found in the voidings of the cattle. So perfect was 
this trial that the Hon. John C. Libby, President of 
the Association, told me he would adopt the plan. 
I have always raised for the bulk of my ensilage the 
largest variety of corn 1 could get, but at the same 
time I have used my field corn stalks for ensilage after 
husking, with grand success. The hard, woody stalks 
th'en become soft, the dried saccharine matter is wet 
up and much of its nourishment is saved, and if this 
is not done, the whole business is worse than utter 
waste, for the stalks rise up and hit one in the face or 
break the manure fork the following spring when 
manure spreading is the order of work. I find it 
requires about half a dozen good-sized pailfuls of 
water to each wagon-load of dry corn stalks, and as I 
have always watered myself, I feel perfectly confident 
of complete success. I then secure the entire feeding 
value of my entire crop of corn, both field and ensil¬ 
age, and for years past this manner of farming has so 
increased the capacity of my farm that I have more 
than doubled the number of animals I carry on it. I 
like the cheap, single-thickness board silo the best. 
The boards do not absorb heat from the ensilage 
nearly so much as the heavy masonry or concrete silo 
walls, and the very little waste in these wooden silos 
is not worth mentioning. Then they dry out evenly 
and quickly as soon as the pits are empty, and they 
are quite durable. Never guard against frost by fill- 
the air space between the silo ceiling and outside of 
the barn with sawdust or other material, for if this 
mistake is made a bad frost conductor is used and sure 
and speedy decay follows. henry talcott. 
It. N.-Y.—In a recent issue of Hoard’s Dairyman, 
Mrs. A. M. Bragg, of Wisconsin, adds this testimony 
on the subject: “Six years ago during the severe 
drought our corn was all dried up, and as Prof. Henry 
had said that corn must not rattle that is put into the 
silo, wo were in a quandary what to do. I said it must 
be wet and accordingly we put four pailfuls of water 
to the load on it. Wo never had finer ensilage, and 
we did not lose LOO pounds in all. Since then we have 
always pursued the same plan whenever the corn was 
too dry to ensilo safely, and always with like success. 
The way to do it is this: A person should stand in the 
silo as the corn comes in from the cutter, and with a 
common garden sprinkler wet it down evenly at the 
rate of about four pailfuls to the load or ton. This will 
moisten the dried leaves and prevent the consequent 
mold. A certain per cent of moisture is needed to 
pack and heat rightly. Wo also put in corn that had 
been frosted severely, and by wetting it could not tell 
any difference in its value when fed out.” 
A Sample of Maine Muck. 
Subscriber, Thomas ton, Me .—I sent a sample of muck 
to our experiment station and got returns as follows : 
Water 58.5 per cent, ash and sand 17.55, organic matter 
22.0, nitrogen 1.15, phosphoric acid 0.20. The muck 
is taken from a salt marsh and is a mile from the barn 
and a ton would be a good load for two horses. Now 
there are fields of rather heavy clay soil adjoining the 
marsh. What benefit is to be obtained by applying 
the muck directly to the land either as a top-dressing 
or plowed in for grass ? Where the muck has been 
started out in piles in years back the grass still shows 
a benefit. If there would be no loss of nitrogen by 
applying the muck directly to the land, should I get 
good results (in grass) by adding a few hundred 
pounds of dissolved South Carolina rock and potash ? 
Ans.—T hat is a very fair sample of muck. As a 
general rule, we think it pays to prepare muck as 
described in previous issues before putting it on the 
soil. The compost is better than the raw material. 
If your marsh is too far from the barn to use manure, 
you can use coarse grass refuse or potash to start fer¬ 
mentation in the pile. Otherwise you may proceed 
about as described on page 589, except that in the place 
of manure you may use leaves, sods, grass or straw. 
For every foot in height in the pile scatter 30 pounds of 
muriate of potash and 50 pounds of dissolved South 
Carolina rock, if you use that form of phosphoric acid. 
Use this compost as a top-dressing for grass. 
More About Bottled Milk. 
M. C., Lexington, Ky .—What is Mr. Francisco’s 
arrangement for baking his milk bottles ? What is 
the usual number of customers served by the driver of 
one milk wagon ? What make of wagon does Mr. 
Francisco use, and are his bottles packed in boxes in 
the wagon ? 
Ans.—T here is a big stove in one corner of the dairy 
house for heating water used in washing bottles and 
pans. The bottles are “baked” in the oven of this 
stove. A large sheet-iron drum could be put over the 
stove with shelves on which to put the bottles. That 
depends largely upon the district in which the milk is 
sold. Of course where all the residents on one block 
are customers, it is much easier to serve 50 quarts than 
where there is a drive between a dozen different cus¬ 
tomers. Probably 150 quarts would be a good job for 
R. 
one driver. It is better to have short trips and prompt 
service. Mr. Francisco has an agent iu the town, who 
takes charge of the delivery and always has surplus 
milk in bottles for sale. He uses the Parsons wagon. 
The hottles are all packed in boxes and covered with 
ice. The driver takes half a dozen bottles from the 
boxes at one time and puts them in the handled tray 
described on page (521. With this in hand, or even 
one in each hand, he can make a number of deliveries 
before coming back to the wagon. A boy to drive 
would help him. 
Whitewashing- Trees In the Fall. 
D. D. S., Sun Prairie, JF(s.—Is it of any benefit to 
whitewash apple trees in the fall ? Should the lime 
be air-slaked before it is put on ? Is it of any practical 
use to spray fruit trees at this time of the year ? 
Ans. —We do not think it would pay to whitewash 
trees so late. All, or nearly all insects that harm 
apple trees have done their worst for this season. For 
the same reason, there is no use to spray. No ; use 
unslaked lime. It doesn’t matter. 
Life and Habits of " Devil Bugs.” 
O. A. 13., Hlmrods, N. Y. —I send two insects known 
as devil bugs. They are on pear trees and eat the 
leaves quite fast. I never before saw anything of 
this kind. 
Ans.— It is not to be wondered at that the insects 
were called “devil bugs.” They are probably the 
strangest and queerest looking caterpillars that we 
have in this country, and aro commonly known as the 
“ Hag-moth caterpillar.” When full-grown, the crea¬ 
ture is about an inch in length, apparently headless, 
with a thick, wide body, of a dark-brown color, and 
clothed with velvet-like down. Projecting from each 
side are four long, tapering, flattened, curling, velvety 
appendages. The caterpillar moves with a slug-like, 
gliding motion, and exhibits a striking mimicry of 
dead curled leaves. About October 1 the caterpillars 
spin about themselves an oval brown parchment-lilco 
cocoon to the sides of which the long velvety append¬ 
ages adhere. This cocoon is usually attached to the 
leaves. A lid is cut in one end before the caterpillar 
changes to a pupa. In July of the next year the pupa 
pushes open the lid and there emerges a small, yellow¬ 
ish brown moth whose wings expand about an inch. 
The male is considerably smaller than the female. The 
moths lay very minute, scale-like, yellowish-brown 
eggs but little larger than “ fly specks” on the leaves. 
In 10 or 12 days the minute caterpillars emerge from 
these and begin their destructive work on the leaves. 
The insect is known to scientists as Phobetron pithe- 
cium. It is comparatively rare, especially in the 
Northern States. In the South it has been seen in 
considerable numbers on orange trees. The caterpil¬ 
lars have been found feeding on the following trees : 
apple, pear, witch-hazel, cherry, white birch, oak, 
plum, sugar maple and chestnut. Should they appear 
in sufficient numbers to do noticeable damage, they 
can be easily exterminated by spraying with Paris- 
green, 1 pound to 200 gallons of water. 
Cornell Ex. Station. m. v. slingkrland. 
When to Use the Muriate. 
J. E. D., New London, Conn. —I have a plot of ground 
in corn. I intend to plant it with potatoes next year, 
and think it deficient in potash. I shall apply 300 
pounds of muriate of potash and 1,(500 pounds of Stock- 
bridge per acre. Should the muriate be sowed on the 
ground this fall and plowed in, or should the land be 
plowed and the fertilizer sowed in the spring ? 
R. N.-Y.—Mr. Lewis, of New Jersey, used muriate 
in much the same way last year. lie prepared the 
ground in the usual way, plowing corn ground in the 
spring and using the complete fertilizer both broad¬ 
cast and in the hill. Just before the first cultivating, 
he broadcasted 200 pounds of muriate per acre between 
the rows and worked it well in. You can, if you like, 
plow the ground this fall and broadcast the muriate 
and plow again next spring. In our own case we 
should be governed largely by circumstances—as to 
the character of the soil and the cost of applying the 
muriate. The time required for the work in the 
spring may be greatly needed for something else. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
J. B. M., Croton, N. Y. —The plant sent for name, 
which you say is becoming troublesome in your local¬ 
ity, is Folymorphus panic grass (Panicum dichoto- 
mum). It is a worthless, variable species. 
Experiment Stations. —W. A. K., Franklin, L’a.—Some 
of the stations that issue interesting bulletins are Con¬ 
necticut, New Haven; Massachusetts, Amherst; Ver¬ 
mont, Burlington ; New York, Geneva and Ithaca; 
New Jersey, New Brunswick; Delaware, Newark ; 
Michigan, Agricultural College l*. O.; Wisconsin, Madi¬ 
son ; Iowa, Ames. Write to these stations and see if 
they will mail these bulletins to parties outside the 
State. 
