7oo 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
October 21 
after cultivation will clean the ground sufficiently, 
by the time the crop is fit for picking. It will pay to 
take more pains in clearing ground for strawberries, 
the turf and roots on new ground render it often too 
loose for the plants to withstand the summer’s heat • 
C. A. C. is all right as far as the clearing up of land 
is concerned, but as soon as he commences planting, 
he will have to have it attended to, to make a success 
of it. As to varieties, he can best find out what is 
grown in his neighborhood, and will not likely miss it 
if he plants them largely, trying new things in a small 
Way. G. GUENTHER. 
It Is Surely An Air Castle. 
I should say that this correspondent was “ building 
castles in the air.” In the first place there is no great 
virtue in the “ virgin soil” of Atlantic County. Again, 
the land being in timber, the expense of hiring a man 
and team to break the stump land and grow a crop 
would be several times the value of the crop. The 
question of success depends upon the man. There is 
money in growing truck and fruit in Atlantic County 
for the use of Atlantic City and other seaside resorts. 
But it is a mistake to commence with timber land. 
The cost of getting rid of the stumps is too great. 
Almost anywhere in that section good cleared land 
can be had for nothing, by simply paying for the 
buildings and fencing on it. Nearly all the standard 
varieties of small and large fruits, except peaches, do 
well in Atlautic County, if well attended, especially 
grapes, Keiffer, Le Conte and other Oriental pears. 
But it would pay any one going into this business, if 
he does not thoroughly understand it, to spend one 
season in the employ of some one who does. This 
land, to grow good crops, needs heavy fertilizing, and 
after the fertilizer is in the ground, to get its value 
out again with a proper increase, is a game of skill, 
that is not acquired without considerable experience. 
Burlington County, N. J. Charles parry. 
BEAN GROWING BY MACHINERY. 
HOW HAND WORK IS SAVED. 
1. Wbat machines do you use for planting and harvesting, and how 
does the harvester operate ? 2. Uow many acres can you harvest In 
a day, and how many men are required ? 3. How long after harvest¬ 
ing do you thrash, and can a common thrashing machine be used ? 
4. How many acres do you grow, and wnat Is a fair crop ? 6. What is 
done wltn cull beans, and have the vines any value for stock feeding? 
6. How many men do you estimate that the bean harvester saves ? 
1. I use a bean harvester that cuts two rows at a 
time just under the surface and draws them together. 
2. From 10 to 15 acres ; four men. 3. Usually about 
a month ; a separate machine is used. 4. I grow from 
15 to 50 acres, and they yield from 10 to 30 bushels per 
acre. 5. They are fed to sheep or cooked and fed to 
hogs. The vines are considered the best feed there is 
for sheep especially. 6. It saves fully two-thirds. 
GEORGE A. JOHNSON. 
Planted with a Grain Drill. 
I use the common grain drill for planting beans ; it 
is the quickest and cheapest. If the ground is full of 
weeds and thistles, I use a bean planter and row 
both ways. Thoroughly cultivate the land before 
planting, and start the cultivator as soon as the beans 
are high enough to do so, and do not stop until obliged 
to on account of their growth. I harvest them with a 
bean cutter. It will cut seven to eight acres a day, 
and four men will take up, shake and bunch after it. 
As to thrashing, it depends on the weather. This year 
the first could be thrashed from the field, while those 
being harvested for the past two weeks will have to 
lie in the barn for two or three months to dryout and 
get cured. I grow 50 to 60 acres each year. Twenty- 
five bushels is a fairly good yield. This year and last 
have only given us half crops. I have grown as low 
as 10 bushels to the acre and as high as 33 bushels. 
The pickings or culls make good sheep and hog feed. 
The straw makes good sheep or cattle feed. The bean 
harvester saves one-third to one-half the labor. The 
great trouble is the weather and thrashing, both of 
which will advance or retard the quality as well as 
the labor of preparing for market. wm. Hamilton. 
Saves Half the Number of Men. 
The best machine for harvesting beans of which I 
know is manufactured by Miller & Co., Caledonia, 
N. Y. It cuts two rows, 28 inches apart, at a time, 
horses straddling the rows by means of a long neck- 
yoke and long whiffletrees, which come with the ma¬ 
chine. A span of horses and one man can cut about 
8 or 10 acres a day, with five or six men to follow to 
pick up ard pile the beans. The number of men de¬ 
pends upon how clean the beans are ; that is, free 
from grass and weeds. If the beans in pods are hard, 
dry and solid when drawn in, they can be thrashed at 
once ; but usually we leave them for four weeks that 
they may sweat, or season. We have regular bean 
thrashers, good for no other thrashing, which will 
thrash from 500 to 600 bushels a day. We grow on an 
average 125 acres, and the average yield is from 15 to 
25 bushels per acre. The cull beans are fed to sheep 
raw, and boiled and fed to hogs and cattle. The vines 
are worth about as much as clover hay for feeding 
sheep or young cattle. The bean harvester saves 
about half the number of men and a great deal of 
back-ache. The average yield per acre depends on 
the kind of soil and the condition. The greatest 
comes from old sod, meadow or pasture land, plowed 
in the fall or early in the spring, well cultivated, and 
plan'ed from June 1 to June 10, with an 11-toothed 
drill, using three teeth, planting three pecks of beans 
to the acre. We also have a regular bean planter, 
which is manufactured at Brockport, N. Y. 
_ v. P. BROWN. 
Some Dangerous Bark Beetles. 
C. E. F., Qucenston, Ont. —I inclose two specimens 
of a borer bug which I have found very numerous in 
the bark of the body of my peach trees. They per¬ 
forate the trunk in hundreds of places and after a rain 
storm the gum oczes out and sometimes covers the 
ground directly around the tree. They are very 
numerous and very busy. What are they, and what 
is the best way to stop their operations ? 
Ans.—T he minute beetles, scarcely one-tenth of an 
inch in length, which were found in the bark of the 
peach trees, belong to the family of Bark and Timber 
beetles—the Scolytidaa. The species under considera¬ 
tion is known as Phloiotribus liminaris. It was 
described by Dr. Harris in 1811 as infesting elm and 
peach bark. It has been commonly known as the Elm 
Bark beetle. This, however, is a misnomer, for the 
similar beetle infesting elms is another clcsely allied 
species. As the insect in question rarely attacks any¬ 
thing but the peach, it should be known as the Peach 
Bark beetle. Cultivate 1 and wild cherries are some¬ 
times attacked by the pest. But little is known re¬ 
garding its life history. Eggs have been found in May 
and July; larvae and pupae in July; and adults in 
April, May, July, November and February. It has 
been the prevailing opinion that the insect attacks 
only injured or dying trees. It is found in broken 
branches, logs, stumps, etc. But in September, 1892, a 
correspondent wrote us from Orleans County, N. Y., 
that the beetles were at work in very healthy, thrifty 
four-year-old trees. Thus the beetles at any rate 
work in the outer bark of healthy trees. Whether the 
earlier stages are passed in living or diseased tissue 
is still an open question. The beetles feed and hiber¬ 
nate in the outer bark of living trees and often cause 
their death. They enter the bark through minute 
round holes and extend their tunnels in all directions 
just under the outer layer. In early fall sticky gum 
exudes from these holes in large quantities. Where 
the beetles occur in large numbers the tree soon shows 
the effect of their attack. They are present in alarm¬ 
ing numbers in many orchards in New York State and 
Canada. In 1887 many trees, badly infested by them 
in Ringwood, Ont., were condemned by the commis- 
ioners on the ground that they were the cause of the 
peach yellows. This idea is, of course, erroneous, for 
the pests occur where the peach yellows is unknown. 
The only sure method of checking them is to cut down 
and burn every badly infested tree as soon as the 
beetles are discovered. No experiments have been 
recorded with washes against them and their effect¬ 
iveness seems rather doubtful. Dr. Lintner has sug¬ 
gested the use of kerosene on the trunks of the trees. 
I have found that kerosene applied to the dormant 
wood in winter killed the preceding year’s growth, 
but did not injure the older wood. Cherry was unin¬ 
jured. Thus I think kerosene could be safely applied 
to the trunks and larger branches of peach and cherry 
trees in the winter. Whether the application would 
injure them if applied before growth had stopped, can 
be determined only by experiment. If the kerosene 
reached the beetles it would be sure death, and I know 
of nothing else that would be more certain to reach 
them. It is surely worthy of a trial on a few trees. 
One can soon tell whether it is effective or not. Crude 
petroleum might prove equally effective. The only 
hope seems to be in some wash that will reach the 
beetles ; or a careful study of their life history may 
reveal a weaker point. I wish the correspondent 
would try the kerosene or some other wash and report 
the results to The R. N.-Y. m. v. slingerland. 
Cornell Experiment Station. 
Current Facts About Currants. 
P. W. J., Pontiac , Mich. —Will The Rural or some 
of its experienced readers give me some pointers on 
currants, varieties—red, white and black—distance 
apart in rows, cultivating, future prospects, enemies, 
etc. ? Is there any remedy for the pith borer ? Is it 
really necessary to cut out all the old wood every 
year ? 
Ans. —Any good corn soil is favorable for the growth 
of currants. They may be planted either spring or fall. 
They are usually propagated by means of cuttings, 
though they may, of course, be increased by layering. 
The currant is one of the hardiest of our small fruits, 
and succeeds under more unfavorable conditions than 
any other, although the highest success is attained by 
good culture. The kinds usually grown are the differ¬ 
ent varieties of reds and whites, belonging to the 
species Ribes rubrum. The black currants found in 
some gardens, and becoming more popular in market, 
belong to a distinct species, Ribes nigrum. The latter 
are stronger growers, with coarser foliage and a strong 
odor, disagreeable to many people. Many persons 
dislike the fruit of this species at first, but become ac¬ 
customed to it after using it. The blacks are not sub¬ 
ject to the attacks of the currant worm, the worst foe 
of the reds and whites, as well as of gooseberries, and 
thus are easier of cultivation. 
There is usually a good market for currants, at 
prices that should prove quite remunerative. The de¬ 
mand seems seldom to be supplied. They are a con¬ 
venient fruit to market, because they may be left on 
the bushes for some little time after ripening without 
injury, and thus advantage may be taken of the mar¬ 
ket. The price in the New York market was lower 
the past season than for a number of years before, 
though at no time were currants unsalable, and that 
at a fair price. 
The plants of all the leading varieties may be pur¬ 
chased quite cheaply of nurserymen, or may be propa¬ 
gated if one has the stocks. As soon as the leaves 
ripen, cut the new shoots into lengths of six or eight 
inches. Plant them with the larger part of the cut¬ 
ting beneath the surface, in rows 15 or 18 inches apart, 
and 2 or 3 inches apart in the rows, in finely pre¬ 
pared soil. Upon the approach of cold weather, cover 
with coarse litter, which should be raked off in spring. 
The shoots will usually make good roots during the 
summer. 
For field culture plant in rows four to five feet apart 
each way. The cultivation consists simply in keeping 
the surface clean and well stirred, though some se¬ 
cure good results by mulching. The shoots should be 
shortened in, and old wood cut out, bearing in mind 
that the fruit is borne on wood of the previous season’s 
growth. As the plants are so easily propagated, and 
as the best fruit is borne on young plants, some say 
renew the plantation after eight or ten years. 
The number of varieties of currants is not large. 
Difference in location, soil or methods of culture may 
cause a variation in the degree of success, but there 
are a few leading varieties that one may plant any¬ 
where without going much astray. Among the reds, 
Fay's Prolific, Cherry, Red Dutch, Versaillaise and 
Victoria are probably the best varieties. White G-rape 
and White Dutch are the best known whites, while 
the Black Naples is the leading variety of that color, 
with much expectation from the Crandall when the 
type becomes fixed. 
The most destructive insect enemy is the well-known 
currant worm as it is properly called. It makes its 
appearance early in the season, and will completely 
strip the leaves from the bushes in a short time. It is 
easy to conquer, however, a spraying with hellebore 
in water, oi a dusting of the plants when the dew is 
on with the dry powder, being sufficient. The currant- 
stalk borer may be kept in check by cutting off and 
burning in autumn all affected shoots. The Small 
Fruit Culturist, by Fuller, is a valuable book for any 
one interested in this or any other small fruits. It 
will be mailed from this office for $1.50. 
A Talk About Exhibition Grapes. 
F. M., Donnelsville, Ohio .—I am planting a collection 
of grapes, especially for exhibition purposes. I have 
about 100 varieties planted now, all of the oldest and 
best known sorts. How many varieties are there, 
such as I can grow in Ohio ? I don’t understand the 
Rogers grape in full. Who is or was this Rogers and 
how many varieties did he introduce, and who is 
Ricketts, and about his varieties ? I think of getting 
most of Munson’s new grapes. What do you think of 
them compared to the old varieties ? I want to plant 
enough varieties so I can exhibit with the best of 
them, and want any information about how to get 
there with them that you can give me. What is your 
opinion of the Gaertner (Rogers No 14) grape, and 
will it do for me to plant for market ? 
Ans. —E. S. Rogers, of Salem, Mass., is the man who 
may be considered the pioneer in American grape 
crossing. He used native pollen upon foreign varie¬ 
ties and vice versa and the following are among the 
best of his varieties so produced. Nos. 2, 5, 8, 30, 1 
(Goethe), 3 (Massasoit), 5 (Wilder), 9 (Lindley), 14 
(Gaertner), 15 (Agawam), 19 (Merrimac), 28 (Requa), 
39 (Amenia), 41 (Essex), 43 (Barry), 44 (Herbert), 53 
(Salem). All his work was done in a little garden. 
HiS first hybrids fruited in 1856 and long afterwards 
they were designated by numbers. James H. Ricketts, 
of Newburgh, N. Y., beginning later, continued his 
work of crossing for 20 years. He produced many 
wonderful varieties which time has shown are not 
adapted to general culture. The great expectations 
entertained for years that these grapes or some of 
them would suit almost any locality have been disap- 
