1894 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
i5i 
incubators, which are more satisfactory to me than 
hens. Of course when the eggs are placed in the 
incubator or under the hens it is impossible to know 
whether they are fertile or not. I make my first 
test in the evening of the seventh day of incubation. 
The tester should be placed so that the fiame of the 
lamp, through the testing hole, is about opposite the 
operator’s eyes. Pass the eggs one by one before the 
fiame, pressing gently against the rubber cushion so 
that all the light must pass throu^ the egg. A fertile 
egg will show a clouded center slightly larger than 
the yolk, an infertile egg is perfectly clear and will 
look exactly like a new laid egg. A few eggs may 
be doubtful, and it is best to return them to the 
incubator. On tbe fourteenth day I make a second 
test—by this time fertile or live eggs will be almost or 
entirely opaque, and the infertile and those contain¬ 
ing dead germs may be easily distinguished even by 
the novice. These tests should be made quickly to 
avoid chilling the eggs. All the light desired while 
testing will be given by the lamp in the tester. 
When hatching with hens, it is best to set five or 
six hens at the same time. At the end of the week, 
when the test is made, the fertile eggs may be given 
to three or four of the hens and the other hens be 
given a new lot of eggs One test is all that 1 make 
with hens. 
The nests or incubators should always be perfectly 
clean, then the infertile eggs of the first test are just 
as good for cooking purposes as fresh eggs. These 
eggs are used by our family for food, and we find them 
as good as any others; those of the second test are 
boiled hard, chopped up and fed to the chickens, thus 
helping to make other eggs. Of course, even after 
these tests a few eggs fail to hatch; those are broken 
and thrown in the manure pile, helping to add to its 
value. .7 n. e. schultz. 
New Jersey, 
[Byerr qnery mnst be aooompanled by the name and address of the 
writer to Insnre attention. Before asklnR a question please see If It Is 
not answered In onr adyertlslng oolnmns. Ask only a few questions at 
one time. Put questions on a separate piece of paper.] 
HOW MUCH FOR RENTED BERRY LAND ? 
A. E. B., Artie, Ind. —I am growing berries for home 
markets ; our land suitable for planting is, at present, 
limited. If I rent land of a neighbor to plant to rasp¬ 
berries, what share should 1 give if I furnish all the 
plants and do all the work of cultivating, the other 
party furnishing the land, and fertilizer sufficient to 
put the land in good condition for planting ? The ex¬ 
pense of picking and marketing the fruit, selling 
plants and the cost of fertilizers after the first year 
are to be paid out of the undivided receipts. How 
should the catch crop the first year be divided ? It 
would probably be potatoes. Can The R. N.-Y. sug¬ 
gest a better plan of renting land for berries ? 
Don’t Divide the Catch Crop. 
Land here is never rented for fruit growing, and 
very rarely for farming, but is generally leased for a 
term of years, usually five years. In my opinion, one- 
fourth of the crop for the second and subsequent years 
would be amply sufficient, unless the land were very 
valuable ; then it might require one-third of the crop, 
as the case may be. In regard to the “ catch crop,” I 
think that this should belong to the renter, provided 
he find the seed. The renter has no source of revenue 
for the first year except this, and he has all the out¬ 
lay in regard to plants, labor, etc. The land would 
probably receive enough benefit during the first year 
to compensate the owner in the future for the capital 
invested in land. I do not think that the “catch 
crop ” ought to be divided at all. wm. jackson. 
Illinois. 
Better Pay a Cash Rent. 
The better plan would be (if possible) to pay cash 
rent for the land and save all further trouble. The 
value and location of the land, drainage, etc., would 
have much to do with this problem, but as this is (to 
me) an “ unknown quantity,” I will eliminate it by 
supposing the land worth 375 to 3100 per acre and well 
drained. If not well drained, either naturally or arti¬ 
ficially, do not plant on it. An acre of good raspberry 
ground, well tended and marketed, should average 
from the time of planting until it is destroyed as no 
longer profitable, a net return of 340 to 3100 per acre, 
depending upon whether plants and fruits are sold at 
wholesale or retail, and upon many other contin¬ 
gencies. From this A. E. B. can estimate about what 
share he can afford to give. I would as soon pay a 
liberal cash rent as to give one-fifth of the net proceeds 
on terms he mentions. w. w. fabnswobth, 
Ohio. 
Divide the “Catch Crop” Equally. 
In this locality, one-third of the crop would be con¬ 
sidered a fair rent. Most land owners, however, pre¬ 
fer to rent for cash, in which case the price depends 
largely upon the location, nearness to market, etc., 
varying from 36 to 310 per acre, the renter furnishing 
everything. The catch crop of potatoes would be 
divided equally, the landlord furnishing the seed. 
LaFa 7 ette, Ind. [pbof.] j. tboop. 
A good man, renting a good piece of land, near a 
good market should furnish all the plants, do all the 
work and have all the catch crop the first season. 
After the first year, he should have a fair compensa¬ 
tion for his services to be paid from gross receipts the 
same as all other expenses, the net proceeds to be 
divided equally. The location and value of land, the 
length of lease, the character of the renter and various 
other circumstances might change this basis some¬ 
what. M. A. THATEB. 
I do not feel like tackling a question with so many 
contingencies. If A. E. B. be a first-class farmer it is 
better for him to pay the prevailing cash rent; if 
fourth-rate, he should rent on shares. 
BENJAMIN BUCKMAN. 
I do not think there is any possible rule that could 
be applied to the case in hand. There are so many 
contingencies entering into such a problem that eve n 
approximate estimates would be mere guess-work. I 
think it wise for A. E. B. to either buy the land out¬ 
right or take a lease for a given number of years at a 
fixed rate per annum. w. h. baoan. 
Secy. Indiana Horticultural Society. 
Apple Tree Canker; Grape Beetles and Bloom. 
D. B., Farmingdale, 111. —1. Do apple trees in this coun¬ 
try have the disease known in England as “ canker ?” 
Will The R. N.-Y. describe it ? 2 . Does not the Grape¬ 
vine fiea-beetle feed on the bloom of the grape ? If 
so, what are the remedies ? 
Ans.—I n England, the term “ canker” is commonly 
applied to several quite different diseases occurring 
Homemade Egg Testeb. Fig. 54. 
on very dissimilar plants. I have been unable to find 
a clear account of how the disease works on apple 
trees. It is described as a kind of gangrene, usually 
beginning in the young branches and gradually de¬ 
scending to the trunk, causing the bark to crack op' n, 
and decay or rot. Wet subsoils are thought to cause 
the disease. One authority, however, states that it 
has been shown by inoculative experiments to be 
caused by a fungus, Nectria ditissima. The same dis¬ 
ease is not uncommon upon the oak, ash, elm and 
beech. This species of fungus has been recorded in 
this country on dead Acacia, on Melia, and on Ilex. 
Prof. Bailey has not met the disease in this country, 
and I have been unable to find any account of its ap¬ 
pearance here. Doubtless some of our English fruit¬ 
growers who are familiar with the disease in England 
can tell The R. N.-Y. readers more about the disease 
and whether it attacks the apple in a similar manner 
in this country. 
2 . The pretty, shining blue “Grape-vine fiea-beetle” 
(Graptodera chalybea) comes forth from its winter re¬ 
treat in May, or just as the fruit and leaf buds of the 
vine are swelling. It eats into these buds, and many 
bunches of grapes are thus “nipped in the bud.” Vines 
almost in the shadow of the Cornell Insectary had 
nearly every fruit and leaf bud thus destroyed in 1893 
before we suspected the culprit. The vines bore no 
fruit, but a second crop of leaves appeared later and 
the vines made a good growth during the season. 
About J une 1 the beetles begin laying eggs on the 
leaves. The brown larvae hatching therefrom feed on 
the leaves until full grown, when they descend into 
the ground, and change into pupae, from which beetles 
emerge to feed on the leaves in July. These lay eggs 
for a second brood of larvae which develop into the 
beetles that hibernate. I have faund no record of this 
insect in any stage feeding on the bloom. The most 
damage is done in the spring to the buds by the beetles. 
It is possible that some of these beetles may tarry 
until the time of blooming, or possibly the second 
brood of beetles may emerge early enough in some 
localities or seasons to work on the bloom ; and, again, 
it is quite possible that the correspondent has to deal 
with a different species of insect with different habits 
and life history. A thorough spraying of the vines 
early in May, just as the buds are swelling, with Paris- 
green (one pound to 200 gallons of water, and always 
using two pounds of quick lime to prevent injury to 
foliage, unless the arsenite is used in combination with 
the Bordeaux Mixture) will destroy the beetles and 
thus prevent the further increase of the pest. Watch 
the vines carefully in May, and at the first indications 
of the appearance of the beetles spray at once. If any 
beetles escape and the larvie appear later on the 
leaves, they will readily succumb to the Paris-green 
spray. m. v slingebland. 
Sod for a Grove ; Growing: Evergrreens 
D. H. W., Kerrmoor, Pa. —1. What grass or grasses 
shall I use to form a permanent sod in an oak and 
chestnut grove ? 2 . How can I induce a strong growth 
in evergreens, hemlock, White pine, arborvitse and 
Norway spruce ? The trees are in a sod and were 
planted five years ago. Should the sod be broken ? 
Should they be fertilized ? If so, what fertilizer 
would be best ? 
Ans, —1. We would try a mixture of Poa trivialis, 
Poa compressa, Poanemoralis and Dactylis glomerata. 
Whether these would thrive would depend on the 
density of the shade and the undergrowth. 2 . Yes, 
we would at once spade under the sod, forming a 
circle about the stem at least six feet in diameter. 
Then rake in bone meal and wood ashes or muriate of 
potash. 
Does Buckwheat Enrich the Soil P 
G. S. P., Winslow, Me. —In this part of New Eng¬ 
land, buckwheat is one of the few crops we can grow 
on poor land, and the yield is often upwards of 30 
bushels per acre. It is regarded as an improver of 
poor soils also. Will The R. N.-Y. investigate this 
subject and ascertain if it does add to the productive¬ 
ness of the soils and, if so, in what manner ? 
Ans. —Buckwheat does not add any fertilizing mate¬ 
rial to the soil, as it is not a nitrogen gatherer, but, 
from the fact that the land for this crop is usually pre¬ 
pared in warm weather, it gives opportunity for nitri¬ 
fication to take place, and thereby makes the plant 
food available. The tap root of the buckwheat plant 
does serve to bring the ground into a good mechanical 
condition. This, of course, would improve the produc¬ 
tive power of the land ; so, while it may be said that 
buckwheat does not enrich the land, it does under 
many circumstances so improve the mechanical condi¬ 
tions that subsequent crops do better than they do 
after many other crops. A good buckwheat crop is due 
more to the condition of climate than of soil. It has 
the power of taking up and assimilating tough plant 
food ; that is to say, food that cannot be reached by 
such plants as wheat and barley, which require that 
their food be in the best possible condition, that is, 
readily soluble. This peculiarity of the buckwheat 
plant in common with some others, is due as it is sup¬ 
posed, to the power of the roots in excreting materials 
which act upon the plant food in the soil, although 
this has not been proved. Usually buckwheat is raised 
on rundown farms in this locality, for the obj act of 
bringing up the land on which other more exacting 
crops cannot be raised. If the farmer will cast in the 
fertilizers with a liberal hand, I can see no reason why 
a buckwheat crop may not only be profitable, but im¬ 
prove the land for other crops. Perhaps it ia not 
known that corn does not do well after buckwheat. 
[PBOF.] I. P. BOBEBTS. 
Mr. Hale Explains That Peach Tree Wash. 
O. L. C., Meriden, Conn .—On page 105 Mr. J. H. 
Hale, for whom we Connecticut Yankees have great 
respect, mentions a wash for keeping peach borers 
from the trees. Will he kindly give us the propor¬ 
tions of the three ingredients, and the manner and 
time of making and applying the mixture? Ask him 
to be explicit, remembering how little some of us 
know about the things in which his experience is 
richest. 
Ans. —As we always mix the wash in large quan¬ 
tities, I find it a little diffijult to give an exact recipe 
for smaller quantities; in fact, I doubt if there is any 
necessity for following out a formula of exact propor¬ 
tions. For an ordinary 50-gallon cask of the wash, which 
would be enough for 800 to 1,0C0 peach trees, I dis¬ 
solve 25 pounds of common potash, and add one gallon 
of crude carbolic acid; then mix lime enough with it 
to make a good thick wash that can be applied to the 
base of the trees, at any time during April or very 
early in May, with any old brush or swab that is con¬ 
venient. I usually have men go ahead and hoe the 
earth away from the base of the tree, an inch or two, 
and this is thoroughly swabbed over, up a foot or 
more from the ground; we also rub in a little in the 
larger crotches of the trees. If rains are prevalent 
through the early spring, it occasionally may pay to 
wash the trees again in Jaly, but I have not done this, 
except in rare instances. For a few trees in the home 
grounds, an ordinary bucketful would be an abund- 
