442 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
July 14 
W., Tyrone, Pa. —The item concerning 
the White Hellebore plant, page 395, is 
interesting, but not satisfying. If our 
Veratrum viricle is the plant from which 
the hellebore powder, so much used 
against currant worms, etc., is made, 
would it not be much simpler and cheaper 
to use a mere infusion of the root, fresh or 
dried ? To save the trouble of going to 
a swamp to find it, it could be kept in 
stock in some low, moist piece of ground. 
A small inclosing fence would preserve 
it from being broken down (there is no 
danger of its being browsed by cattle), 
and would possibly be useful in prevent¬ 
ing the poisonous root from doing any 
harm to inquisitive children or to do¬ 
mestic animals. 
Weed Ellllne:* 
M. Crawford, Cuyahoga Falls, O.— 
The only tools I use in keepin g do wn weeds 
in strawberry beds are the Planet Jr. cul¬ 
tivator and hand hoe. In order to use 
these to good advantage, all runners are 
cut off until quite late in the season, say 
August 1. By that time most of the 
weed seeds within germinating distance 
of the surface have sprouted, and but 
few will grow later on, Cutting off the 
runners not only gives room to hoe and 
cultivate, but it strengthens the plant 
and puts it in condition to send out an 
abundance of strong runners in a short 
time. This is an important point. Strong 
runners rooting in clean, mellow ground 
in August, are not likely to receive any 
check until the end of the growing sea¬ 
son ; and experienced growers knowhow 
damaging it is to plants to be checked in 
any way. If I were growing solely for 
fruit, which I am not, I would plant so 
as to cultivate both ways—30 inches apart 
for hill culture, and 36 for matted rows. 
Crimson Clover in Oregon. 
E., Umpqua, Ore. —Crimson clover, sown 
in November in summer fallowed land, 
made a feeble spindling growth during 
the winter, blooming early in May. It 
grew on common upland, gravelly and 
well drained. Oats on the same land are 
now four feet high and well headed. 
The clover was from four to ten inches 
high, except some grown in an old hot¬ 
bed, which reached 18 inches. I exam¬ 
ined some of it to-day (June 20) and find 
seed ripe in some heads, while others are 
just blooming. Medium clover does very 
well on some land. The coldest weather 
we had was 22 degrees above zero, and 
that only one night. We had an exception¬ 
ally wet winter—that is, long continued 
rains—and many fine fields of Alfalfa 
have turned yellow and look as if they 
were going to die out. Possibly this had 
something to do with the failure of this 
clover. It might be that seed raised here 
would do better. The clover was sown 
alone. 
A History of Bag: KllUngf. 
D. C. Lewis, New Jersey'. —I was much 
interested in reading the article, “Apply¬ 
ing Paris-green to Potatoes,” in a recent 
B N.-Y. I was carried back in memory 
to the first years of the advent of the 
Colorado beetle. I well remember we 
had seven acres planted to potatoes. 
When the beetle made its appearance, 
we went to hand picking, and as their 
number increased, we utilized the tin 
pan and wooden ladle. With these im¬ 
plements we continued to collect the 
beetles, and deposit our collections in a 
barrel of water, over which we kept a 
cover, until we had the barrel filled solid 
with beetles. Yet their number appar¬ 
ently did not diminish, and we closed up 
with the potato crop practically destroy¬ 
ed. I remember our second year’s ex¬ 
perience with the application of Paris- 
green when we utilized the fruit cans 
and broom handles. With the bottoms 
of the fruit cans perforated with holes. 
and with either flour or plaster, we again 
commenced the process of extermination, 
first by treating the hills of potatoes on 
which we detected the young bugs. We 
soon learned that treatment was a fail-* 
ure, and applied Paris-green to every 
plant whether the laryaa were in sight or 
not; that proved successful in saving us 
from the ravages of the beetle. 
Then came to us our improved appa¬ 
ratus for distributing plaster and Paris- 
green in a greater or less quantity by the 
use of a tin can with a ratchet attach¬ 
ment for its distribution. Soon after 
came the horse-cart with the barrel and 
two jets attached, which would sprinkle 
two rows at one application ; then four 
jets, sprinkling four rows at one time, 
and now we have the six-row .sprayer 
with a force pump worked either by 
hand or horse-power. A man will take 
out his horse and apparatus and alone 
will spray a 20-acre field in one day, so 
that the beetle has no terrors for the 
modern potato grower. With this pro¬ 
gress in controlling the effects of the 
beetle, I am somewhat amused at your 
correspondent’s suggestion of the fruit 
can and flour and Paris-green application 
at this late day. 
Horrylnfi: Uf Tvmttoei. 
Prof. M. H. Beckwith, Delaware 
Station. —There is no question that by 
pruning and staking tomato plants in 
the field, they may be planted very much 
closer, and the fruit matured very much 
earlier. In this State, tomatoes ^ire prin¬ 
cipally grown for the canning factories, 
and earliness is not specially desired. In 
some sections of Mississippi, large quan¬ 
tities are grown to supply the early mar¬ 
kets. Staking and pruning the plants 
are there successfully practiced. One 
stake about three feet long is used for 
each plant, and only the central stalk is 
allowed to grow, the laterals being kept 
pruned off. Not more than five or six 
bunches of fruit are allowed to set on 
each plant. The whole strength of the 
plant is thus thrown into a few bunches 
of fruit and hastens their maturity. 
The Rete Bus: Ceagaered. 
A. C. W., New York. —I have read with 
great interest all that has appeared from 
time to time in The R. N.-Y. about rose- 
bugs, and last year decided to try a plan 
of my own. I bought a bolt of cheese 
cloth, which cost three cents per yard, 
and had it sewed together in three 
widths, with which I covered some young 
vines j nst coming into full bearing. The 
result was that on those covered, we had 
a full crop of fine grapes, while on the 
others, there were only a few. The cloth 
was used only 10 days, so was entirely 
uninjured, and I cannot see why it may 
not be used for 10 years. This year we 
have the same result, only that the un¬ 
covered vines seem to have no grapes on 
them, though there seemed to be only a 
few bugs. Hereafter I shall either cover 
all my vines or dig them up. I gave up 
trying to have roses. 
Fare Fence Made Pie-Tleht. 
J. R. McG., Dublin, Va.—A. H. S. in¬ 
quires, on page 345, for a woven wire 
fence that will turn pigs, and also a bull 
or stallion. I put up the Page fence 
upon posts two rods apart, about my 
dwelling and barn lot=5. The hogs soon 
IN writing to adyertlsera please always mention 
'THl BUBAL. 
A Good Appetite 
Is essential to good health, and when the 
natural desire for food is gone, strength 
will soon fail. For loss of appetite, indi¬ 
gestion, sick headache, and other troubles 
Mood’s 
-I- 
Sarsa¬ 
parilla 
r’^ures 
of a dytpeptie nature 
Hood’s Sarsaparilla is 
the remedy which 
most certainly cures. It quickly tones the 
stomach and makes one “real hungry.” 
Hood’s Pills are purely vegetable. 25c. 
learned to put their snouts under the 
bottom wire and push. The fence would 
yield, springing out and up and then 
back, and the hog would be on the other 
side. By having posts one rod apart, 
and burying a brick about a foot deep 
midway between, and attaching the 
same by a wire to the bottom wire of 
the fence, on smooth land the Page will 
be pig tight, but an excited bull will 
get through or over it. As to the breed 
of hogs that would suit him : The Essex 
is a thrifty and easy-to-fatten hog, and 
as a hustler is hard to beat. If there is 
anything to eat on the farm, he will get 
a share. The Berkshire and Poland- 
China make a fine cross, but a larger 
hog, somewhat coarser. 
-Henry' Stewart: “Does it pay to 
use fertilizers ? The farmers of the 
United States buy and use and pay for 
not less than 1 500,000 tons of fertilizers 
every year, and this enormous quantity 
costs them fully 850,000,000.” 
Anthracnose at the Rural Grounds is, 
and has been for several years, so preva¬ 
lent and destructive that we have felt 
inclined to destroy every raspberry bush 
and to postpone indefinitely our trials 
of new varieties. The disease first ap¬ 
pears in the form of roundish, dead-look¬ 
ing patches which, increasing in size, so 
sap the vitality of the bearing canes that 
the fruit cannot mature, and the canes 
wither and die. 
The best way to treat these canes with 
a view to controlling the disease is to 
burn all the diseased canes, since the 
fungus lives upon them during the coid 
season, and a fresh c'op of spores ap¬ 
pears in the spring again to attack the 
bearing canes. 
The mycologist of the Connecticut Sta¬ 
tion, Mr. W. C. Sturgis, recommends 
spraying the canes with a solution of sul- 
bON’T ACCEPT iniTATI0N5. 
THE PROCTER & GAMBLE CO.. CIN’TI. ' 
AMEEICUS FERTILIZERS 
FOR WHEAT AND GRASS. 
DOUBLE THE CROP EVERY 7'IME. In these times of low prices farmers must 
Increase ihelr yield; our Fertilizers will do It. Manufactured by j 
WILIIIMS & CLARK FERTILIZER CO., 83 Fulton Street, New York. 
Branch Office: ROCHESTER, N. Y. 
SEE THE CHRISTY EDGE Sy 
The CHRISTY KNIFK never slips. It does its work like a razor. The CHRISTY EDGE makes 
It the newest and best Knife ever offered. No other Knife has this remarkable feature. Cutfi hot. fresh 
bread as thin as old; cats cake without crumbling, and makes carving a pleasure. Send $1.00 ror a set con¬ 
taining Bread Knife, Cake Knife and Parer, Agents make a good income steadily. Cljcularsand all in- 
formation free. Address CHRISTY KNIFE CO., Fremont, 01iio-Box32. 
Nervous 
Are you, can’t sleep, can’t eat, tired, 
thirsty ? Blood poor ? 
It’s a tonic you want— 
Hires Rootbeer. 
This sparkling, exhilarating, and re¬ 
freshing drink, while being far more 
agreeable in bouquet and flavor than 
the finest wine or champagne, is at 
the same time unlike them, being free 
from alcohol. 
A temperance drink for temperance 
people,delicious and wholesome as-well. 
Purifies the blood, tickles tlie palate. 
r.'ickage makes five gallons. 
Ask your storekeeper for it. 
Take no substitutes. 
Send 2-cent stamp to Chas. E. Hires 
Co., Philadelphia, for beautiful pic¬ 
ture cards. 
GIDER 
MACHINERY 
Hydraulic, Knuckle Joint and Screw 
Freese.,, Graters. Elevators, Pumps, 
etc. Send for Catalogue. 
BOOMER & BOSCHERT 
PRESS CO^ ^ 
118 W.WaterSt.. SYRACUSE, 
FARMS IN KANSAS 
Purchased on the Rent plan. For full Information 
address J. C. FLEVVWKLLIN. Special Eastern 
Agent, Port Chester or Merrill’s Corners, N. Y. 
FOR SALE. 
A flne Dairy and Truck Farm, one mile from Dan¬ 
ville, \'a., a thriving city of 17,000 Inhabitants, con 
taining S214 acres of tine land, about one-tourth 
under grass and ciover, and a con.-lderable amou it 
of bottom land. A good dwelling house wltn hve 
rooms: several tenant bouses, dairy room, large 
stock barns, stable, etc., a d plenty of good water, 
and a valuable established dairy tradj. Business 
connected with the city by telephone. Price, reason¬ 
able, and term: easy. Apply to 
COATES & MILLNER, Danville, Va. 
P A II U IIIP ^A.CHinert and SUPPLIES. 
UAnRIRU D. G. Trench Co., Chicago, Ill., and 
harnnam, M. Y. Mention this paper. 
FOR OUR NEW PREMIUM LIST 
LANDS 
For Sale at Low Prices and on 
Easy Terms. 
The Illinois Central Railroad Company oilers for 
sale en easy terms and at low prices, 150,000 acres of 
choice fruit, gardening, farm and grazing lands 
located in 
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. 
They are also largely Interested In, and call especial 
attention to the 000,000 acres of land In the famous 
YAZOO DELTA OF MISSISSIPPI, 
lying along and owned by the Yazoo and Mississippi 
Valley Railroad Company, and which that Company 
obers at low prices and on long terms. Special In¬ 
ducements and facilities offered to go and examine 
these lands both In Southern Illinois and in the 
Y azoo D9lta,”Ml88. For further description, map and 
any Information, address or call upon E. P. SKENE 
Land Commissioner, No. 1 Park Row, Chicago. Ill. 
