1895 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
37 1 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name and address of 
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see whether it is not answered in our advertising columns. Ask 
only a few questions at one time. Put questions on a separate 
piece of paper.l 
Street Sweepings and Stable Manure. 
F. R. F., Plainville, 0. —We have an opportunity to get street 
sweepings from Cincinnati at $8 per car-load of 16 two-horse 
wagon-loads delivered at our railroad station one mile away. Has 
any of the readers of The R. N.-Y. ever tried street sweepings ? 
Would it pay to invest in them ? We can get good stable manure 
at 50 cents per two-horse load, three miles away. Which would 
be the cheaper ? There are some glass, tin, wire, etc., in the 
sweepings. 
Ans.— These “ sweepings ” vary so in composition 
that it is almost impossible to make a fair comparison 
with stable manure. In your case, we would rather 
haul the manure three miles at 50 cents a load, than 
to buy '‘sweepings” at the same price, one mile away. 
As a guess, we would estimate the sweepings at about 
one-half the value of the manure, though this may 
not be a fair estimate. If any of our readers have 
used these sweepings, we shall be glad to hear from 
them. 
Hop Refuse as Manure. 
E. It. G., Wauwatosa, Wis. —What is the comparative value of 
refuse hops from breweries and horse manure, as I can get both 
at the same price ? Will they be the right thing on a sandy loam 
for vegetables ? 
Ans.— The two substances will compare about as 
follows : 
POUNDS IN ONE TON. 
Nitrogen. Phos. acid. Potash. 
Hop refuse. 18 4 2 
Manure. 10 5 13 
While the hop refuse apparently contains more nitro¬ 
gen and, to that extent, is worth more, we would 
advise buying the manure “at the same price.” Why ? 
Because the refuse may vary considerably and you 
may get a very poor sample. Ordinary stable manure 
has a more standard composition. Again the nitro¬ 
gen in the manure will probably be more available 
than in the refuse. We do not advise the purchase of 
new and untried fertilizers unless the price is very 
low as compared with ordinary manure. 
How To Save Manure. 
A. C'., Rosebank, S. I. —I have a large quantity of horse manure— 
about five tons weekly—which I am at a loss to know how to save 
properly. How can I keep it from heating and becoming fired ? 
I have put it in heaps about three feet high, turned it once a week 
and have shaken it well out ; but it has become fired and very 
dry. I have a cesspool draining from the stables, would the con¬ 
tents of this if poured on, and the manure well turned, help it 
any ? Or will it come right and rot if regularly turned ? I also 
have about 50 barrels of nitrate in liquid, the drainings of a ship¬ 
load of nitrate, which was damaged by water. Would this be of 
any value mixed with the manure, or should I apply it to crops, 
diluted with water ? I have not yet got the analysis of it. What 
is the best remedy for black ants in a tennis court, that would not 
injure young grass ? 
Ans. —How long do you wish to keep the manure ? 
We do not know what crops you wish it for, but there 
ought to be some on which it may be used at once. 
If you desire to pile and rot the manure, we would 
add to each ton, say, 50 pounds of dissolved rock and 
50 pounds of kainit. Scatter them over the pile as it 
is made up. Keep the pile moist with the stable 
drainings, and work it over as you suggest. We would 
not use the liquid nitrate on the manure piles. Add 
water to it and apply direct to crops. Vegetables or 
grass will make good use of it. Use water enough to 
prevent its burning or scalding the plants. Punch a 
hole into the ant hill, and pour in a quantity of bi-sul¬ 
phide of carbon—covering all over with a blanket. 
A New Raspberry Eater. 
C. L. B., Hebron, He. —A small black, shiny bug attacks the red 
raspberry bud as soon as it begins to show a speck of green, and 
eats off the end enough to spoil it for the fruiting. The bug is 
about the size of the common house fly’s head, a little longer than 
it is broad, jet black, with very small, thin wings with which it 
can fly about. It seems to stay in the ground nights, and is out 
in the daytime when it does its work. At the least touch of the 
bushes, it will fall to the ground. Last year was the first I have 
seen it, and it nearly ruined my crop. Although the buds have 
barely started, I fear it has done the same this year. 
ANSWERED BY M. V. SLINGERLAND. 
The correspondent has sent me specimens of this 
raspberry bud destroyer, and it proves to be a small, 
shining black beetle, scarcely a fourth of an inch in 
length, with light brown legs and feet. The insect 
was described about a century ago, and as it varies 
considerably in color, being- sometimes spotted, it has 
received no less than 10 different scientific names. It 
is now designated as Typophorus canellus. In 1873, 
it attained economic importance as a strawberry pest 
in Canada, and since that time several accounts of its 
work on strawberries have been published. The 
insect is very widely distributed all over the United 
States. It is destructive in both the grub and beetle 
stages. The grubs are usually found feeding on 
the roots of the plants upon the foliage of which the 
beetles work ; this is especially true where the insect 
attacks strawberries. I do not remember having seen 
any account of the insect as a raspberry pest, although 
it has been recorded as feeding on raspberry leaves. 
The first intimation we had of this habit of the insect, 
was about this time last year. A correspondent in 
Wayne County, N. Y., wrote that they damaged his 
raspberry bushes to the amount of at least $25 that 
spring. Its life history, so far as observed, is that the 
adult insects—the beetles—live over winter in any 
sheltering place under rubbish, etc., and appear early 
in the spring. They feed upon the opening buds and 
continue working on the foliage until in June, when 
eggs are laid in the ground. From these eggs, there 
soon hatch small white grubs which work on the roots, 
and become full-grown in July. They then change 
to pupae in cells in the soil, and during August and 
later the beetles emerge, feed for a time, then go into 
hibernation, 
This beetle will prove a difficult insect to fight. On 
a small raspberry plantation, they could doubtless be 
combated practicably by jarring them into a dish con¬ 
taining kerosene oil. I believe that they can also be 
controlled in the same way that the Grape-vine Flea- 
beetle is fought ; that is by spraying the opening buds 
with Paris-green, one pound to 150 gallons of water, 
always adding about two pounds of freshly slaked 
lime. I have killed the flea-beetle on the buds of 
grapes in this way, and see no reason why this i-asp- 
berry pest cannot be practicably and effectively 
checked in the same way. 
Scale Insects On the Pine. 
E. J. P., Shenandoah, Iowa. —I send two specimens of Scotch 
pine. What ails them, and what will cure them ? 
Ans. —The needles on the pine branch were thickly 
infested with a long, narrow white scale insect, com¬ 
monly known as the Pine-leaf Scale (Chionaspis pini- 
foliae). This scale occurs on nearly all the species of 
the genus Pinus in all parts of the United States. 
Trees are rarely, if ever, killed by it. The insect is 
apparently two-brooded in the latitude of Missouri. 
They pass the winter as minute, dark-red eggs under 
the large scales. The eggs hatch about May 1, and the 
young soon secrete a scale. Possibly thorough spray¬ 
ings with kerosene emulsion, diluted with nine or ten 
parts of water, during May, might check this insect. 
It will not seriously injure some species of pine to strip 
off the old leaves just after the new growth begins in 
the spring ; thus many of the scales could be removed 
and burned. The scale has several enemies among the 
Lady-bird beetles and other insects, that often keep it 
in check. m. y. s. 
" Black Spot'’ on the Peach. 
G. //., Selin's Grove, Pa. —I have Smock and Salway peaches in 
my orchard. Before the fruits ripen, they get black on one side 
and crack open, and also crack open around the stems. What is 
the cause and the remedy ? 
Ans. —The peaches are probably affected with the 
Black-spot, a surface fungus which is well known, 
and which has a preference for certain varieties, par¬ 
ticularly Hill’s Chili. It is usually most serious upon 
the later varieties. It appears as sooty-black patches 
of greater or less size, which may cover the entire side 
of the fruit. This side is dwarfed, the flesh hardens, 
ripens slowly, and deep fissures or cracks may appear, 
sometimes extending through to the pit. It would 
seem that this disease should be very easily held in 
check by a few sprayings with Bordeaux Mixture, 
but the experience of those who tried it last year, 
has not been reassuring. The fungicide injured the 
foliage. We know but very little about spraying 
peach trees, and one should proceed with caution, for 
their foliage is very tender. I would advise C. H. to 
spray a few trees about three times, at intervals of 
one week after the blossoms fall, with Bordeaux Mix¬ 
ture, using six pounds of the sulphate of copper to 
at least 50 gallons of water. M. v. s. 
Life History of Plant-Lice. 
F. L., New Carlisle, Ohio. —What insects deposit their eggs on 
fruit trees, on the undersides of the leaves, and retard their 
growth ? They are commonly called lice, and hatch out and fly 
away in the shape of gnats. Some are of a chocolate color, others 
green. I have been of the opinion that ants lay the eggs, but have 
no grounds for this belief. 
Ans. —Doubtless the correspondent has in mind the 
plant lice which infest several of our fruit trees dur¬ 
ing the early part of the season. The most common 
kinds are the green lice (aphis mali) on apple, and the 
brown lice (myzus cerasi) on cherry trees. The eggs 
of the plant-lice infesting fruit trees, are laid on the 
bark of the trees in the fall ; they are the small, 
shining black “nits” that can be seen in large num¬ 
bers on almost any apple tree during the winter. The 
generation hatching from these eggs, are always 
wingless, and usually their daughters or grand¬ 
daughters (all the lice seen on fruit trees during the 
spring and summer are females), develop wings and 
fly away to some other food plant for the summer. 
After a series of at least a dozen generations in some 
cases, there is developed in autumn on this summer 
food plant, a generation of winged forms which re¬ 
turn to the trees and there rear a brood of true egg- 
laying wingless females, which are then fertilized by 
a brood of winged males that have been meanwhile 
developing on the summer food plant. Rather a com¬ 
plicated life history these little plant-lice have, do 
they not ? On this account, they are among the most 
difficult, yet the most interesting of insects to study. 
One kind of these plant lice served as my especial pets 
here in the insectary for over four years, and I could 
write a small volume on what I learned of their in¬ 
teresting habits and characteristics. I trust that I 
have given F. L. a few hints that will explain what 
he is desirous of knowing. Ants lay their eggs in 
their nests. Plant-lice are often accompanied by ants 
for the lice secrete a sweet “ honey dew” upon which 
the ants feed. Plant lice are thus often spoken of as 
the ants’ cows; in fact, sometimes ants build sheds 
over some kinds of lice to protect them for this pur- 
pose. Kerosene emulsion diluted with 9 or 10 parts 
of water, will destroy the plant-lice on fruit trees. 
The application should be made early in the season, 
before the lice get the start and get the leaves curled 
up any. m. y. s. 
What to Do for a Kicking Mare. 
L. 0. J., Moline, 111. —I have a middle-aged mare which, when a 
colt, is said to have been quite gentle, until being in a barn 
when it was demolished by a cyclone. When hitched up shortly 
afterward, she behaved strangely, and was whipped for so doing. 
She resented it by kicking fiercely, and to this day will kick at a 
person whenever she is approached, and will even back to get at 
one, at the same time squealing and lashing her tail. She Is 
friendly about the head, not shy, scary or nervous, and a true 
puller. She has raised several colts. Would spaying improve her 
disposition? We have tried everything from feeding sugar, to 
knocking her senseless with a club, all with about the same re¬ 
sults. 
Ans.— The mare requires a course of treatment at 
the hands of a competent horseman or horse trainer, 
to subdue her and correct the habit. Spaying will 
prevent kicking in some cases of troublesome mares, 
but in my opinion, would have little or no effect on 
this case, as the kicking seems to be due to an acquired 
habit and not to disease. f. l. k. 
Paralysis of Pregnancy in Cow. 
C. L., Southport, Conn. —My cow has been well and hearty all 
winter ; as she was not giving milk, I gave her no grain, but 
simply cut hay. About one week ago, she lay down in the yard, 
and could not get up; she seemed to have lost the use of her hind 
legs. She can move about the yard, but cannot get force enough 
in her hips to get upon her feet. She is hearty, looks bright, chews 
her cud, and seems as well as ever. She is within about five weeks 
of calving. 
Ans.— The cow is suffering from paralysis of preg¬ 
nancy, which is not uncommon, especially when with¬ 
in a few days of parturition. The paralysis usually 
appears suddenly, without premonitory symptoms, 
one to three weeks, or rarely five to six weeks, before 
calving. Medicinal treatment is rarely necessary in 
such cases, the animal usually recovering soon after 
parturition. The cow should be made comfortable, 
and assisted to turn from side to side, if she is unable 
to do so alone. A laxative diet should be given to 
prevent constipation, such as green food or bran 
mashes. Warm water injections are occasionally de¬ 
sirable. If the paralysis continue after calving, give 
a large teaspoonful of powdered nux vomica in the 
feed twice daily. f. l. k. 
A Mare Out of Condition. 
II. R. T., Riverhead, L. I. —What is the matter with my mare ? I 
purchased her about a year ago. She is 12 years old, is close, 
snug built, and weighs about i, 100 pounds. She has had a quarter 
more grain to eat than any of our other horses, done no more 
work, and does not keep in as good condition as the rest. She is 
very voracious, eating her hay and grain as fast as she can. I 
have examined her teeth and find them all right. She has good 
courage. Although she eats large quantities of hay, she always 
looks very gaunt when working. 
Ans.— There is as much difference in horses as in 
people, about keeping in good flesh. Some horses will 
always keep in good condition, even on a limited ra¬ 
tion, while others are always thin, with the best of 
care and feeding. This fact is due largely to the tem¬ 
perament, and the difference in the power of assimi¬ 
lation as possessed by different animals. In the pres¬ 
ent case, the mare has an abnormal appetite, such as 
usually accompanies heaves, although you give no 
other symptoms of heaves, as a cough and broken 
wind. You are probably overfeeding the mare, 
especially on coarse fodder. I would advise feeding 
chop feed, for a while at least. Give not to exceed 
one-half bushel of loose cut hay, to which add three 
to six quarts of ground feed, and dampen slightly. 
The ground feed should consist, in part, of oats and 
wheat bran, with corn or wheat, varying the quantity 
according to her work. This ration may be fed twice 
daily, with oats (ground if not well masticated) and a 
little long hay as the noon feed, for a change. The 
hay can always be replaced by grass to advantage, 
when obtainable. If there are symptoms of heaves 
or broken wind, give one tablespoonful of Fowler's 
solution of arsenic in the feed once daily for a week,, 
after which increase the hose to two tablespoonfuls, 
and continue for several weeks. If the mare eats her 
bedding, use peat moss or sawdust for bedding, or 
muzzle at night. f. l. kilborne 
