1895 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
259 
necticut planted a nut brought from Louisiana, and 
after 10 years the tree is alive and doing well. Stark 
Brothers say that the pecan grows and bears with 
them at Louisiana, Mo. A gentleman from Norfolk, 
Va., told me that he had a tree in his back yard that 
bore well ; while in the Wabash Valley they are said 
to grow and bear in great abundance. 
Very few insects injure pecan trees. There is a 
beetle that cuts off the small twigs in winter, but 
these do no harm whatsoever, serving to prune the 
tree. The caterpillars, farther south, along the Gulf 
coast, eat the leaves from the trees, and thus retard 
the growth, but here in northern Louisiana, 
if they come at all, it is too late to do serious 
harm. A small insect, looking like a white 
ant, has burrowed between the bark and 
trunk of one of my trees in the last year, 
and the tree looks as if it would die. I do 
not know the name of this insect, but the 
United States Entomologist is investigating 
the matter, and I shall soon know all about 
them. 
I was forcibly struck with the hardiness 
of the pecan tree during the last year. In 
the latter part of March when everything 
was in full growth, there came a bitter 
freeze, such as we seldom have so far South. 
A pear orchard, 10 years old, on which my 
heart was set, blighted and was ruined ; figs, 
apples, peaches, etc., were greatly injured ; 
but not a tree of my pecan grove was perma¬ 
nently injured by the cold. 
Let no man think that he can have a pecan 
grove without care and labor. I have often 
heard men say that all one has to do is to put 
the seed in the ground and leave them ; this 
is not so. Several young men in this section 
had the pecan planting mania at the time 
I had it, and several have planted since. But 
I do not know of one single tree of all this planting 
that is now alive. They simply expected to get some¬ 
thing without labor, and failed, though there is noth¬ 
ing easier than growing a pecan grove where one is 
willing to take a little pains. 
A writer in one of our agricultural papers stated 
that the Northern markets were stocked with nuts 
from wild trees ; but these can never come in compe¬ 
tition with our best grade of Louisiana pecans. There 
is as much difference between the two as between a 
wild apple and an Albemarle Pippin. This writer 
states that he found it difficult to get graded seed for 
planting, having to buy all sizes together, and then 
doing the grading himself. Had he known where to 
buy, he would have found our Louisiana pecans, 
from the same tree, as much alike as so many black- 
eyed peas, and as far superior to the nuts he was 
planting, as the Black Hamburg is to the Concord 
grape. s. H. jamks. 
THE CABBAGE ROOT MAGGOT. 
Every year we have many questions about this in¬ 
sect and the best ways of fighting it. Immense injury 
is done to the cabbage and cauliflower crops by this 
pest, and farmers have long desired a cheap and 
effective means of destroying it. In Bulletin 78 of 
Cornell University, Prof. Slingerland treats the mat¬ 
ter in an exhaustive way, desci’ibing the life history 
of the insect, and discussing the proposed remedies. 
Those who wish to know all about it should secure 
this bulletin. Here we desire only to call attention 
to a new and very promising treatment, viz., the use 
of bisulphide of carbon. Fig. 81 shows the roots of 
cabbage plants affected with “club-root”—about 
one-half natural size. It was formerly held that this 
growth on the root was caused entirely by the mag¬ 
got. This is not now believed. While the work of 
the maggot is very often found in connection with it, 
and, in fact, a growth is often due to the maggot’s 
gnawing, the true club-root is a disease of itself, and 
may be communicated from one crop to another. 
Undoubtedly, however, the destruction of the mag¬ 
gots will decrease the liability to the disease. The 
true work of the maggot is done on the root and 
stem by burrowing and cutting into them so that the 
plant wilts and dies—often fairly toppling over. 
A great many remedies have been proposed for de¬ 
stroying these maggots. A brood of chickens in the 
field will find many of them. Insecticides, like kero¬ 
sene, tobacco dust, Paris-green and water, and many 
others, have been used around the plants. Various 
substances like lime, kainit, muriate of potash, wood 
ashes, salt, etc., have been recommended. They are 
scattered about the plants like fertilizers, and worked 
into the soil. While partly effective in some cases, 
they cannot be relied upon as sure cures. Only two 
methods have given really practical results at Cor¬ 
nell. One is to wrap the stems with cards made of 
tarred paper so arranged that the soil immediately 
around the stem is covered by the tarred paper. The 
plant stands upright in a flat card which rests on the 
surface. This works well, but a surer way seems to 
be that of using bisulphide of carbon in the soil 
near the plant. For some years it has been known 
that this substance was sure death to the maggot. A 
number of persons used it by punching a hole in the 
ground with a stick and pouring in a spoonful of the 
bisulphide. It always kills the maggots, but the 
trouble was to apply it rapidly and effectively. Mr. 
McGowan, who invented the McGowan nozzle, has 
overcome this difficulty by devising the injector 
shown at Fig. 82. This is like a large syringe so ar¬ 
ranged that each working of the piston throws out 
only a spoonful of the liquid. Thus the injector can 
be charged with enough to treat over 500 plants. All 
that is necessary is to push the end into the soil near 
the plant, work the piston out and in, and pass to the 
next plant. It is believed by many of our best gar¬ 
deners and entomologists, that this is the most effect¬ 
ive means of fighting the maggot, and we believe it 
will in time be generally adopted by large growers. 
IRRIGATION AND OTHER MATTERS FROM 
PENNSYLVANIA. 
T., page 178, asks “some irrigation questions.” The 
following is my experience, together with conclusions 
reached ; the latter subject to modifications if further 
“THE McGOWAN INJECTOR” IN USE. FiCx. 82. 
trial prove them faulty : A reservoir was built below 
a spring, both being lower than my berries. A rotary 
pump with 11^-inch suction pipe and one-inch nozzle 
was bought. This was connected with l^-inch pipe, 
and the water delivered directly upon the rows with 
a one-inch hose without nozzle, at the rate of 18 or 20 
gallons a minute. This tangled the vines somewhat, 
and made picking more difficult. The outfit was ob¬ 
tained pretty late, and one variety was injured by the 
drought beyond recovery. The others maintained 
good size until the end of the season. The quality of 
the berries is not so good as when the ground is in 
exactly the right condition without irrigation, but 
much better than when the berries are suffering from 
dry weather. It is probable that with experience, 
one can regulate the water supply so that it will not 
injure the quality. Certainly the increase in crop will 
pay the cost. It may be that in some seasons irriga¬ 
tion will not be needed, but the probabilities are the 
other way. 
I made a mistake in purchasing the pump, though it 
answered all purposes last year. First, it is too small. 
Second, a suction pump would be more durable. Per¬ 
haps one acre can be successfully irrigated with my 
pump, but it takes too much time. The mulch is re¬ 
moved from the plants and left between the rows. 
With plenty of water, I think the best way to apply 
it would be to pump it upon the mulch until the soil 
is sufficiently wet. 
My Crimson clover is all right yet, and I 
will report again. 
Is it possible that B. T., page 199, believes 
that “it (The R. N.-Y.) and all other ad¬ 
vanced agricultural publications, are a curse 
to the great majority of farmers ? ” While 
it is desirable to be able to secure all im¬ 
provements in machinery, etc., it is not neces¬ 
sary to do so in order to be benefited by our 
agricultural journals. Surely, every sub¬ 
scriber should be able to gather something 
from their perusal that will enhance his 
profit, even though he use only the means 
already at hand. It is not so much the 
amount of effort and means expended that 
count, as it is the way in which they are 
directed. Perhaps the “great majority” 
is composed of those who take no agricul¬ 
tural journal. The small “ class ” who lead 
must influence their neighbors by their 
methods. No one can long pursue in any 
community a course which is a decided im¬ 
provement upon methods previously obtain¬ 
ing, without being copied to a greater or 
less degree by those who cannot be induced 
to run the risk of injury by an “ advanced ” 
agricultural journal. No, no ! Our agricultural press 
uplifts the majority. Abolish it and the “mentally 
keen, or the exceptionally enterprising,” will still 
lead (or oppress, as B. T. thinks) the “great mass 
who have not a surplus of money or brains ” with 
this difference only; our civilization will be upon a 
lower plane. If improvements enslave the masses, 
how happens it that the men who use our improved 
farm machinery (and all other as well) get better 
wages than did their fathers who wielded the scythe 
the forging hammer, etc.? # g. A. pabcell. 
Pennsylvania. 
SAGE—A CROP FOR THE CHILDREN. 
How many of the boy and girl readers of The R. 
N.-Y. wish each year, as Christmas approaches, for a 
little more pocket money ? For such, who live on a 
farm, and who can have a small plot for their very 
own, I have a suggestion. Here it is : Why do you 
not raise sage ? It is a safe crop to raise ; one for 
which you can find a ready market, and for which 
you will receive a fair price. Doubtless you can find 
a market at your very door, as there are many farmers 
who do not grow sage, but who would be glad enough 
of it during sausage-making time. The variety known 
as the broad-leaved, is considered the best. The seed 
costs five cents a packet, or 15 cents an ounce, post¬ 
paid. An ounce of seed is calculated to produce 
about 1,500 plants, so that a five-cent packet will give 
you enough seed for several hundred plants, probably 
all one would wish to care for. 
The seed should be sown in April as early as possi¬ 
ble. My plan is to sow it in shallow boxes of care- 
fully-prepared earth. The plants, which are rather 
small and delicate at first, should be transplanted 
in well-prepared soil. This may be done from the 
middle of June to the end of July. The plants may 
be set in rows 18 inches apart, and 12 inches in the 
rows. Some authorities advocate the use of a steel 
rake in preference to a hoe in keeping down the 
weeds. Keep the ground clean, and you will soon be 
rewarded by the sight of healthy sage plants. 
In gathering the crop, one may pursue either of two 
plans ; the first, which is the easier, is as follows : 
Just before the flowers open, cut the sage, leaving an 
inch or so of the stem. This cutting may be done two 
or three times, the growth the plant makes depending 
on the amount of rain during the season. If cut at 
this time, the stalks will not be hard. The second 
way is to cut the leaves only. Do this just before 
the flower stalk develops. The flower stalks should be 
cut off as fast as they appear, so that the whole 
strength of the plant may go into the leaves. It takes 
eight pounds of green sage to make one of dry. 
The sage should be gathered on a sunny day and 
dried in the shade, or, still better, hang it by the 
kitchen stove where it will dry quickly. To save the 
flavor perfectly, the dried sage should be kept in air¬ 
tight cans. The better the quality of the sage, the 
better the price it can command. Do not set out 
more plants than you can care for. Be sure the leaves 
“CLUB ROOT” ON YOUNG CABBAGE PLANTS. Fig. 81 
