THE RURAI, NEW-YORKER. 
8o9 
cloudiness of the eyes continue, replace the sugar of 
lead by one dram of nitrate of silver ; place the sheep 
in a darkened, dry, airy stable ; avoid exposure and 
dampness. F. L. k. 
Ashes and Hen Manure, 
N. A. R., The Dalles, Omj. —I have a lot of hen manure 
and ashes, from oak and fir wood. Would I better 
apply them on my strawberry bed this fall, or wait 
till early spring ? W"e have a great deal of rain and 
snow through the winter. My soil is sandy with a 
clay subsoil. I irrigate through the summer. Are 
they good fertilizers for strawberries ? 
Ans. —With a soil and climate of that description, 
we would prefer to apply both manure and ashes in 
spring. Do not mix them before applying. We wotild 
crush the hen manure as fine as possible, and broad¬ 
cast well between the rows. Then put on the ashes 
and work all well into the soil. If mixed any great 
length of time before using, the ashes would dispel 
and lose some of the nitrogen in the manure. After 
being well worked into the soil, that action is just 
what you want. 
Difficulties in Crossing Tomatoes. 
W. II., Antlers, Colo. —In crossing tomatoes last sea¬ 
son, 1 undertook to hybridize Ponderosa with Atlantic 
Prize, and the new Crimson Cushion with a seedling 
of our own, but in both cases, the pollen failed to do 
its work. The buds were operated upon when full- 
grown and apparently ready to open. I removed the 
husk with a pair of shax’p-pointed scissors, and pulled 
out the anthers very carefully with a pair of fine 
tweezers. The fiowers (or pistils) were then pollen- 
ized and carefully tied up, and a week later the 
pollenization was repeated. In both cases, the flowers 
died without apparent cause. 
Ans. —Your experience is disheartening, but in no 
way exceptional. We have sometimes manipulated 
50 flowers, yes, more, before we could get one to set 
fruit; and in some cases we have failed altogether. 
Sometimes we have been successful in crossing tw o 
varieties by making the pistillate plant the pollen 
bearing, that is, reversing the parentage. 
Position of the Editorial Page. 
II. M. D., Meriden, Conn. —Why is the editorial page 
always in the middle of a paper ? 1 (and probably 
most others) commence at the first page to read, and 
when we get to the middle of the paper, it is comment¬ 
ing on some article in the back part of the paper 
which 1 have not read. Why is it so ? 
Ans. —We want to make the editori.il pages the last 
that are prepared. The 11. N.-Y. is printed on one 
large sheet of paper, 36x4G inches—eight pages on one 
side and eight on the other. On Thursday “one side ” 
is sent to press ; this is called the “ inside,” and com¬ 
prises pages 2, 3, G, 7, 10, 11, 14 and 15. On Saturday 
the other eight pages—1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 13 and IG—are 
printed on the other side of the first printed sheet, 
arranged so that when the sheet is folded and stitched, 
and the edges are cut, the pages run in order. The 
first page always has a large picture, and often also 
“runs over” into page two. The eighth page, there¬ 
fore, is about the only one of the last printing that 
will do for editorials. 
Can We Poison Wire worms ? 
T. H, R., Perry, N. Y. —What does The It. N.-Y. 
think of this plan of campaign against the wirewoi-m: 
Soak wheat, coi-n or wheat middlings, in a strong solu¬ 
tion of corrosive sublimate, or some other soluble 
poi.son, until well saturated with the poison ; dry the 
grain and sow about two bushels to the acre with a 
grain drill in ground where the worms are trouble¬ 
some ? My theory is that the worms will eat the 
poisoned grain and thereby get a deadly dose. 
Ans. —This method of combating wireworms by 
covering the seeds in some manner, has received more 
attention by farmers than any other. Several sub¬ 
stances have been recommended either to coat the seeds 
with, or to soak them in. For nearly three years, we 
experimented with the various methods that have 
been suggested to destroy wireworms. The details of 
this investigation appeared in an 80-page bulletin 
issued by the Cornell Expei’iment Station in 1891, as 
Bulletin 33 on Wireworms. The following general con¬ 
clusions were drawn from our experiments in trying 
to protect the seeds. 
Paris-green and flour. It is evident that it is not 
practicable to protect seed from the attacks of wire- 
worms by coating it with a paste containing Paris- 
green. The only apparent result was to retard the 
sprouting of the seeds. When wireworms did eat 
seeds thus coated, they did not appear to be injur¬ 
iously affected by the poison. 
Coating of tar. Sometimes wireworms will attack 
seed corn, even when it is completely coated with tar. 
In actual practice, but few kernels would get a com¬ 
plete coat; it requires considerable disagreeable labor 
to apply the coating ; germination is considerably re¬ 
tarded, even when the kernel has been previously 
soaked in water; and corn thus treated cannot be 
readily used in a plantei'. Thus it is seen that this 
coating does not afford that degree of certainty and 
practicability^ which is desirable. 
Soaking in salt. The experiments show that corn 
soaked in a saturated solution of salt for 20 hours, is 
as readily eaten by wirewoi*ms as if not thus soaked, 
and no injury results to the wireworms. 
Soaking in a copperas solution. We had no results 
which indicate that wireworms will not eat and de¬ 
stroy seed soaked in this solution 20 hours, as readily 
as any other, and receive no injury therefrom. 
Soaking in chloride of lime and copperas. Results 
the same as with the copperas above. 
Soaking in kerosene oil. The wireworms readily 
attacked corn thus soaked (for IG hours) and no injury 
resulted to the worms. 
Soaking in turpentine. Wireworms were not deter¬ 
red from eating corn soaked IG hours in this sub¬ 
stance, neither were they injured by doing so. 
Soaking in a strychnine solution. Corn soaked in a 
very strong solution of this deadly poison for 20 hours, 
is rendered neither distasteful nor destructive to wire- 
worms. 
I do not know that corrosive sublimate has ever 
been tested to protect the seed, but judging from the 
above conclusions, drawn from three years of careful 
experimentation with seemingly equally poisonous 
substances, the sublimate would doubtless prove in¬ 
effective also. It ’s such a virulent poison that it 
would need to be used with great care. Bulletin 33 
to which I referred, is now out of print, but I gave 
the general conclusions of our experiments in an¬ 
swer to a cori'espondent in The R. N.-Y. during the 
summer. M. v. slingeki.ani). 
Varieties of Plums; Fertilizers. 
J. A. S., Annville, Pa. —1. Would ground bone, mixed 
with blood, be a good fertilizer for potatoes, and fruit 
trees, such as apple, peach, pear and plum ? 2. What 
would be the best marketable varieties of plums for 
western Maryland ? 
Ans.—1. The trouble with blood and bone is that 
they contain no potash, and this is especially needed 
for potatoes and fruits. For the fruits, bone and pot¬ 
ash will answer, while for potatoes, you may add 
blood to the mixture. 2. Columbia, Damson, Lombard 
and German Prune. 
Borers in Young Apple Trees. 
J. T. E., Lyndon Station, Wis. —What shall I do with 
my apple trees ? I set out 250 last spring ; they all 
grew nicely until the latter part of August, when I 
noticed that some of them were dying. I found the 
bark black on the trunks near the ground. Inside, I 
found a worm about three-quarters of an inch long. 
It 'had worked all around some of the trees, and on 
others part way. About one-half of my trees is in¬ 
fested with them. What can I do to get rid of them ? 
Are they liable to get into the rest of my trees ? Will 
I have to dig them all out, or only those that are 
dead ? Is it safe to plant a new tree in the old hole ? 
Would I better get trees from some other nursery next 
time ? 
Ans.— The trees are evidently infested with the 
Round-headed borer. Cutting them out or killing 
them by inserting a wire is the only remedy. A pre¬ 
ventive measure is to wash the trees from the base 
upwards a foot or more, with substances offensive to 
the beetle which lays the egg during June and July. 
The trees should, therefore, be washed in early June 
and again in July. Lime and carbolic acid make a 
good wash, colored the color of the bark by mineral 
paints. Soft soap reduced to the consistency of a 
thick paint by the addition of a strong solution of 
washing soda in water, is prefex'red by many. Destroy 
the dead trees, of course. The more the trees are in¬ 
fested the more they are likely to be. It is not well 
to plant new trees in old holes unless the soil is rich. 
Yes, we would purchase of some other nursery. 
The Filbert in Michigan. 
H. M., St. Johns, Mich .—Will English filberts live and 
thrive in central Michigan ? If they will, what is the 
mode of cultivation, and the kind of soil required ? 
Ans.— I am not aware that the English filbert has 
been fairly tested in Michigan. The Kentish Cob fil¬ 
bert, as well as two or three others, have been on trial 
at the station here for a few years past, and have, so 
far, proved hardy in this (lake shore) climate, but have 
not yet fruited here. Although St. Johns is one or 
two tiers of counties farther north, and away from im¬ 
mediate lake influence, the filbert seems likely also to 
prove hardy there. This will be more probable if 
planted in warm, dry soil, in which our indigenous 
hazel nuts are so generally successful. They should 
be planted from six to seven feet apart, in good soil ; 
kept undei' cultivation, and all suckers kept off, at 
least, for sdme time, or until thoroughly established. 
The question of productiveness can only be deter¬ 
mined by a somewhat extended trial; though trials 
in this country, so far, seem to have begotten much 
doubt as to the profitableness of such a venture, con¬ 
sidering the cost of labor here, since, even with the 
cheap labor of Exirope, this is understood to be merely 
an incidental employment. T. T. i.YON. 
Early Or Late Planting of Potatoes. 
H. M., &rove, Mich. —I notice that The R. N.-Y. rec¬ 
ommends planting potatoes as early as possible with¬ 
out endangering the plants from spring frosts. Does 
that apply to the whole country in general or to cer¬ 
tain localities ? I am beginning to get the impression 
that in this part of Michigan, potatoes do best when 
planted about the middle of June ; and it is a fact that 
in the last two seasons, the late planted ones have 
been much the best. However, my observations do 
not extend over many seasons. What I want to learn 
is. When shall we plant to get the best crop the 
greatest number of years ? We are almost certain to 
get dry weather dui-ing the latter part of July, and 
the first part of August. I would like the opinion of 
others, especially from Michigan. 
Ans. —It is The R. N.-Y.’s opinion that, as a rule, it 
is better to plant potatoes—whether early or late 
varieties—as early as possible and still escape injury 
by frost. One year with another, this, in so far as 
we are informed, will give the largest crops. Local 
causes may, in certain parts of the country, make 
later planting desirable. If, for example, the climate 
were such that a drought generally occurred in late 
May or early June, then later planting might be best. 
Value of Bones and Ashes. 
O. C. K., Carey, O. —Can I afford to pay $8 a ton for 
bones, and burn and reduce them ? What is the value 
of the acid, potash and nitrogen (separately) that a 
ton of bones should contain ? Are mixed ashes (elm 
and basswood predominating) worth two cents a 
bushel for fertilizing purposes ? 
Ans. — A ton of average bones will contain about 75 
pounds of nitrogen and 450 pounds of phosphoric acid. 
There is no potash at all in bones. Wfien you burn 
the bones, you drive away all the nitrogen, and have 
only the phosphoric acid and a quantity of lime. The 
phosphoric acid in bone ash is but slowly soluble. 
Its comparative value (measured by the cost of other 
fertilizers) would not be over four cents a pound. It 
pays to burn bones on the farm only when there is no 
other way of fining or reducing them. It is an ex¬ 
pensive operation, as you di-ive away by fire over 
worth of nitrogen with each ton. The ashes are cheap 
at the price quoted. You might use them to “reduce” 
the bones by smashing the latter as fine as possible 
and composting the pieces between layers of ashes in 
a tight box and keeping it thoroughly wet. It is a 
slow process, and not fully satisfactory. 
Sod Ground and the Potato Crop. 
“ Truckman,” Somerville, N. J. —Is it better to plant 
potatoes directly after the sod has been turned under, 
or for another crop to follow the grass before the 
potatoes ? In either case, why ? My land is a rich, 
loamy soil about a foot deep, with a gravelly subsoil. 
Ans. —In a rotation that includes corn, we would 
always plant that crop on the sod with stable manure 
plowed in with it. This is ideal preparation for corn. 
That rank-growing plant makes its best growth dur¬ 
ing hot weather at the very_ time when chemical pro¬ 
cesses are going on in the soil to “nitrify,” or render 
the nitrogen in the sod most available. The corn 
ground, well prepared in the spring, makes an excel¬ 
lent bed for potato culture. The vegetable matter in 
the sod has had the benefit of one year’s decay, the 
action of the corn roots and the tillage in the culti¬ 
vation of the corn and the second plowing. It is more 
thoi-oughly incorporated through the soil than other¬ 
wise. In this culture, we would use all the fertilizer 
used in the rotation on the potatoes. Corn is about 
the only field crop we would care to use between a 
fresh .sod and potatoes. Excellent ci-ops are grown by 
planting potatoes on fresh sod. If the sod be well 
rolled and firmed, it serves as a storage for moisture 
and to some extent, waters the crop. If left open and 
loose, the water will quickly evaporate. We would 
use fertilizer with the sod. 
Pump Irrigation in Nova Scotia. 
S. C., Berwich, N. S. —Would it do to throw water 
directly on plants and soil from a well or large reser¬ 
voir, say, 20 feet in depth, using a pump that would 
throw 800 or 1,000 gallons an hour ? Some .say that 
the water would be too cold. 
Ans. —If the cistern or reservoir be left open to the 
sun, we do not think the water will be too cold. Better 
let it run in furrows along the rows, or soak through 
a mulch. 
Muck and Wood Ashes. 
J. B. S., Leamington, Ont. —What is the comparative 
value of muck ashes and wood ashes ? Are the former 
good for peaches ? 
Ans. —A ton of average wood ashes contains about 
105 pounds of potash, and 3o pounds of phosphoric acid. 
A.shes of average peat or muck contain, .say, 10 pounds 
of potash and not over one pound of phosphoric acid. 
Like coal ashes, those from muck contain a large 
amount of insoluble matters. Anything that contains 
potash is good for peaches. 
