8o8 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
would make foliage at the expense of fruit. So I rea¬ 
soned from the point that nitrogen makes foliage, potash 
and phosphoric acid make fruit buds—less nitrogen, less 
foliage ; more potash and phosphoric acid, more fruit 
buds. So I selected a piece of land that had not grown 
any clover and had received but one dressing of manure 
in 30 years. It was poor and sandy, with a sandy or 
leachy subsoil. This land was certainly deficient in 
nitrogen. This was plowed deep, and at the rate of 
1,200 pounds of dissolved bone black and 600 pounds 
of muriate of potash broadcasted per acre and har¬ 
rowed in ; not a particle of nitrogen was applied at 
this time. The plants were grown in narrow, matted 
rows, and not allowed to mat too thickly. They made 
a low stocky growth. The following spring, just as 
the fruit buds began to appear, .'50 pounds of nitrate 
of .soda per acre were applied, and when the berries 
had set, another dressing of nitrate was given. The 
nitrate must be applied when the foliage is dry, other¬ 
wise it will burn them. A small spot was left with¬ 
out the nitrate for an experiment ; both berries and 
foliage were very small and inferior. 
There is no patent on the above contrivance, but it 
will be of no account to some persons with whom I 
am acquainted, who say that fertilizers kill the land 
and in time will kill the man who uses them. I shall 
strive to furnish my market with the berries in de¬ 
mand early and of the largest size, when the market 
is glutted with poor trash. 6 EO. bittnek. 
Ohio. 
POTATOES FROM SPROUTS. 
CAN THEY BE RELIED Ul’ON FOR SEED? 
It is quite customary with new potatoes ol high cost, to attempt 
to secure a large yield by prop.agating under glass by means- of 
the “ sprouting ” method, by transplanting the sprouts or finely 
dividing the eyes. Do you consider seed potatoes grown in this 
way, as strong and reliable as those grown in ordinary field cul¬ 
ture from large seed pieces ? Would you recommend them as 
being as vigoi'ous as field-grown seed ? 
Perfectly Good Seed in This Way. 
There is no reason that I know of why potatoes 
grown by the sprouting method should not be just as 
good for seed, or even better, than those grown from 
small cuttings of the potato. In 1869, I propagated 
a whole greenhouse full of Early Hose in pots, and 
planted an acre of land from 35 pounds of seed which 
I had rai.sed from a pound purchased from Mr. Bliss. 
The whole product was sold for seed, and I grew some 
of them myself. I have never had any Early Rose of 
late years equal to them. The plants 1 grew in pots, 
from cuttings under glass, made strong, vigorous 
plants, with a single stem, and rather exceeded in 
vigor any from cut potatoes, being in four-inch pots 
of rich potting compost. All had set little tubers on 
top of the pots in the rank shade of the foliage, 
standing closely on the greenhouse benches. They were 
set out with unbroken balls of earth, and covered a 
little deeper. The tubers had a decided start, and 
gre%v at a more favorable season than if they had been 
planted from sets outside. They were, in fact, mature 
before hot weather set in, and the seed potatoes raised 
from them in the fall, kept solid and made the finest 
of seed for the next season. 
If I wanted to bring a new sort to the highest per¬ 
fection for seed, I would propagate it in this way, get 
the tubers ripe in May, and then grow a good crop of 
seed from them in the fall. This seed would then 
give the type in perfection. w. f. massey. 
North Carolina. 
What the Seedsmen Have to Say. 
It is not customary with new potatoes of high cost, to 
attempt to secure a large yield by propagating under 
glass. When grown in this way, seed potatoes are not 
as vigorous as field-grown seed. w. w. rawson & co. 
Boston. 
Some years ago, I received 4 pounds of the King 
of the Earlies, to grow as many as I could. I received 
the potatoes about the middle of January, and deliv¬ 
ered over 30 barrels in the fall. I considered that they 
were as good for seed purposes as though they had not 
been grown under glass. I grew them from cuttings, 
and planted them outside when rooted, at the proper 
season. wm. s. wilson. 
New York State. 
We have never conducted a comparative test be¬ 
tween potatoes grown under ordinary field culture, 
and those propagated by the sprouting method and 
then transplanting the sprouts when rooted, to see 
which product gave the most vigorous plants and the 
greatest yield. But we have grown new varieties 
when we had only two or three tubers to start from, 
by the sprouting method, i. e., we sprouted them under 
heat exactly as we would dahlia roots, and rooted the 
cuttings and transplanted these in the open ground. 
We have found potatoes grown in this way, to pro¬ 
duce fine, large specimens, although not many to the 
hill, and from the appearance of the tubers, we would 
say that they are likely to produce as vigorous plants 
as potatoes grown in the ordinary way. 
New York. peter henderson & co. 
If the crop grown from the forced sets be given 
normal conditions during the time the tubers are de¬ 
veloping and maturing, so that they are matured in a 
healthy condition, I would consider them all right for 
seed purposes. If they developed and matured under 
the forced conditions, I would doubt their good 
quality for seed. GEORGE w. p. .jerrard. 
Maine. 
So far as our experience goes, we do not regard seed 
potatoes propagated hy means of the sprouting method, 
as so vigorous or so reliable as those grown from seed 
pieces under ordinary conditions of field culture. We 
think there is a noticeable deterioration where the 
former method is continued through several succes¬ 
sive generations. The tendency to reversion may be 
slight in the first generation, but we have never seen 
a crop grown from sprouts, or by dividing the eyes, 
that would compare with one grown from pieces cut 
to one vigorous eye. w. atlee burpee & co. 
Philadelphia. 
GETTING RID OF AN OLD ORCHARD. 
I can pull out 30 apple trees in one day with one 
pair of horses. I tie a rope to the butt of one tree, 
fasten a large pulley in the top of the one I wish to 
pull down, put the rope through the pulley, then back 
to the tree where the rope is fastened, and through an¬ 
other pulley fastened to the butt of the same tree. 
Let the team pull steadily. When the tree is tipped 
over on the ground, hitch the team to the top by a 
chain, and twist the roots off by pulling it around in 
a circle. If the trees are very large, and grow on hard- 
pan land, it will require a two and three strand tackle 
block, which may be bought for $4 or $5. 
In regard to liquid manure, I have a basement barn 
with gutters that hold all the liquid. The floor is ce¬ 
ment, and I draw all the liquid from 35 head of cattle 
into the field on a pair of trucks every day. This is 
accomplished by bedding the cows with the manure 
from five horses. e. t. 
Allegany County, N. Y. 
E., Barnesville, O., asks what to do with the old or¬ 
chard. If he has a market for apple butts, sell them. 
The stumps will be all rotten in five years from the 
time they are cut off. Most of them can be easily 
taken out in two years. Or, a stump machine will take 
them out as soon as cut off. Better plant a new or¬ 
chard on new ground, but if necessary to plant the 
same piece, set the trees in the centers of the old 
squares as nearly as practicable. Trees may be planted 
at any time. A thousand pounds of muidate or sul¬ 
phate of potash per acre would be a good application 
to the land. The young orchard might grow hoed 
crops until well established. I. j. b. 
A grubbing hoe, ax, .shovel and crosscut saw, are 
the implements needed in getting rid of an old or¬ 
chard. Begin the work by digging around the tree, 
cutting away the roots till the tree topples over. Saw 
off the trunk close to the stump, dig the earth away 
from the stump, roll it out, and fill up the hole. Trim 
the brush from the tree, saw the tree into stove wood, 
and pass on to the next. Two men will clear away 
from two to five trees a day according to size. One 
can do this work at odd times when other work is not 
pushing. 
If one wish to convert this space into an orchard at 
once, after having cleared all the rubbish from the 
land, plow it deep, spread a few cords of stable ma¬ 
nure per acre, let it lie till March, then stir the soil 
with a turning plow. Mark off both ways, 36 feet, 
being sure to start so as to have the intersections in 
the centers of the spaces not occupied before, and set 
the trees there. Save all the ashes from this wood. 
Stable manure promotes rapid growth in young fruit 
trees. Spring is the best time for setting young trees, 
straw berries, etc. G. w. b. 
Indiana. 
Nut Trees Near Fruits. —In Gen. James S. Bris- 
bin’s work on trees and tree planting, published in 
1888, appears this statement: “The blossoms (Eng¬ 
lish walnuts) are very apt to be nipped and destroyed 
by the spring frosts and, like the Black walnut, fruit 
trees will not thrive near it.” I am very much inter¬ 
ested to know whether this is an established fact about 
fruit trees. Also, does it apply to the butternut, Japan 
walnut, and Dwarf English w^alnut (Praeparturiens)? 
Melrose, Mass. F. h. p. 
R. N.-Y.—We shall be pleased to have our readers 
tell about this. 
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piece of paper.] 
Husk or Lung Worms in Sheep. 
E. I. I., West digester, Pa .—A few years ago, in the 
early spring, some of my ewes and lambs began to 
droop and die, apparently of exhaustion. This con¬ 
tinued until a thorough examination revealed the 
stomach infested with minute worms that seemed to 
make the liquid contents boil when first exposed to 
the air. This trouble yielded to a dose of turpentine. 
Jjast summer, the same symptoms appeared in the 
flock again, the same colorle.ss condition of the eye, 
but attended with a cough ; the exhaustion came 
.slower, but is fatal in the end. An examination 
showed one or two large thread worms in the stomach 
and a few in the small intestines, at which point the 
intestine .showed a highly congested condition. Some 
of the air tubes in the lungs were completely choked 
up with a knot of the worms. 
Ans. —The long, white, thread like worms found in 
the bronchi or air-tubes of the lungs, were the 
Strongylus fllaria, or thread lung worm of sheep. 
When present in considerable numbers, these worms 
cause the disease known as verminous bronchitis or 
husk. The symptoms of the disease are a short, deep 
cough, followed by difficult breathing, and more or 
less frothy discharges from the nose. Later, there is 
loss of appetite, with rapid falling off in flesh. The 
cough and difficult breathing become aggravated, the 
animals weak and thin blooded, and the skin harsh 
and dry, a condition known as paper skin. The most 
satisfactory treatment of this disease, is by tracheal 
injections. One of the best remedies for this purpose, 
is made by thoroughly shaking together 13 drams of 
oil of turpentine, two drams of carbolic acid and three 
drams of chloroform. Of this mixture, each full- 
grown lamb may receive one dram, and smaller lambs 
one-half to two-thirds of a dram. The injection may 
be repeated on the third day. These tracheal injec¬ 
tions should be undertaken only by, or under the per¬ 
sonal direction of, a competent veterinarian. 
F. L. KILBORNE. 
Temporary Blindness in Sheep. 
O.L. P., Sprinqwater, N. Y .—What is the matter with 
our sheep ? On going to the field to salt them, one 
year ago, I found a stray one running around wildly, 
bumping against fences and trees. She was found to 
be blind, the eyes covered with a white substance. 
Others in the flock were found with one eye so affected, 
and the other one soon after. They were put in a 
dark stable, doctored with water, lard, grease, burned 
alum, etc. With liberal graining, after a while they 
recovered. Four miles from the first location, one 
year ago this month, two flocks of breeding ewes 
(Merinos) were sheltered in a dry, airy basement. 
They were attacked with sore eyes, which caused them 
to be temporarily blind. With no treatment, they re¬ 
covered from the disease, but a few became so poor 
that they died before lambing time. Now they have 
been again attacked with the same trouble. The flocks 
have been together until they were yarded. One flock 
have been diseased for some time ; the other, if I mis¬ 
take not, are just coming down. All are fed from the 
same mow of hay. The hay was cut from a different 
field than that of one year ago. The eyes become dull, 
the lashes begin to droop, the ball and, in some cases, 
the lids, become inflamed or blood-shot; watery mat¬ 
ter runs down the face. After a little, a white sub¬ 
stance forms all over the eyeball; then comes this 
temporary blindness. Of course, in this shape they 
run down, are frightened at the least stir or noise, 
and, if allowed, go bumping around against objects in 
their way. These sheep are young, well cared for, 
and in good condition. Others are reporting this dis¬ 
ease. What is it, and what is our remedy ? 
Ans. —The sheep are suffering from an epidemic of 
ophthalmia. These outbreaks which occasionally oc¬ 
cur, are sometimes apparently due to exposure ; at 
other times, to low, damp surroundings, or to close, 
hot, unhealthy stables. They also occur without any 
apparent cause. Give each sheep four ounces of a 
mixture of equal parts of Epsom and common salt. 
Dissolve in water and give as a drench, adding one- 
half tablespoonful of ginger for each sheep. Follow 
by two-dram doses of nitrate of potash once or twice 
daily, which may be conveniently given in bran or 
other mill feed. Bathe the eyes, or, preferably, keep 
the eyes covered with a eloth kept wet by a lotion of 
one dram of sugar of lead and one-fourth dram of mor¬ 
phia dissolved-in one quai’t of clean soft water. If 
