1895 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
4o9 
beetles have very long, slender beaks with which 
they bore a hole into the burr about the time the 
chestnuts are in bloom. The egg is then laid in this 
hole, and worked down into the embryo nut. The 
puncture soon heals over, and it is impossible to dis¬ 
cover where the grubs entered the nut when it is 
ripe. The grubs leave the nuts before November 1 , 
usually, and go into the ground, where they remain 
unchanged during the winter. In the spring, the 
change to the beetle takes place. This brief sketch 
of the life history of the chestnut weevil, shows that 
there is no period in the development of the insect 
when it is within the reach of poisons. I cannot see 
how any spray, at whatever time applied, would 
affect the weevils in the least On small trees, they 
might be profitably collected by jarring the trees 
during the time of blossoming, as is done with the 
curculio catchers for the plum curculio. Thorough 
cultivation in the chestnut grove, would undoubtedly 
check the weevils by destroying the grubs in the soil. 
The Paragon and Hannum varieties seem to be the 
least liable to the attacks of the weevils in some 
localities. Systematic early gathering of the nuts, 
will lessen the weevil. Gather the nuts as fast as 
they fall, and ship at once ; or put all nuts in tight 
boxes or barrels through which the grubs cannot 
make their way, and when the nuts are sold, destroy 
the accumulation of grubs in the bottom of the recep¬ 
tacle. The nut weevils are difficult insects to fight, 
and only a few general principles can be given. 
m. v. 8. 
Cutworms and Green Currant Worms. 
G. K. G., Leinbach's, Pa. —I planted my early sweet corn and it 
came up very nicely; but when I looked at it, it was eaten off. 
One of my neighbors told me that his was the same way last year, 
as was also his late corn; that the ground was full of ants, and 
he thought them the cause. Another neighbor said that they 
were not the cause, so I dug around the corn and found worms 
which I think are the cause of the trouble. What shall I do to 
prevent them from eating my late corn ? What shall I do to pre¬ 
vent the green worms from eating the currants ? 
Ans. —The specimens sent were crushed nearly be¬ 
yond recognition when they reached me, but I think 
the chaps that are eating off the corn belong to one 
of the numerous families of cutworms. I can sug¬ 
gest no more practicable methods of fighting these 
worms than to dig them out from around the corn 
in the daytime, or hand-pick them at night when 
they are usually above ground and can be seen. Cut¬ 
worms work almost entirely at night, resting from 
their destructive labors during the day just below the 
surface in the surrounding soil. It is sometimes 
practicable to trap and poison the worms with 
bunches of freshly-cut clover, which has been dipped 
in a strong Paris-green solution, and then placed near 
their haunts in the evening; or a poisoned mash 
made of bran and arsenic or Paris-green, perhaps 
sweetened with a little sugar or molasses, is a very 
acceptable food for them. If a tablespoonful be 
dropped at each corn hill, the worms will partake of 
it in preference to the corn, I think. They are hard 
pests to fight, even under the most favorable condi¬ 
tions. A quick rotation of crops, with a thorough 
plowing and harrow ing in the fall, will check and 
discourage them usually. 
The green worms on currants proved to be the 
common Imported currant-worm (Nematus ventri- 
cosus), with which every currant or gooseberry 
grower is too familiar. The best way to fight this 
common enemy is to spray the bushes early in the 
season, about the time the worms first appear on the 
lower leaves, with Paris-green, using one pound to 
150 gallons of water, and two or three pounds of 
freshly-slaked lime. There is no danger of poisoning 
the fruit thus early in the season, and if this first 
brood of worms be thus checked, the bushes w’ll not 
be troubled with the worms later in the season. If 
the first brood is allowed to get a start so that the 
fruit gets too large to render it safe to use the Paris- 
green, then apply hellebore, either as a powder 
mixed with four or five parts of lime or flour, or as a 
spray, using one pound of the powder to about 50 
gallons of water. This pest is very easily held in 
check if the early application be thoroughly done, 
taking especial care to drench the lower leaves on 
which the worms first begin work. m. v. s. 
Grass Seeding with Buckwheat. 
J. W. B., Orleans, N. Y .—I have a five-acre apple orchard on 
dry, warm, gravelly soil, which I have plowed and cultivated for 
many years without any grain crop. I wish now to seed it down 
for sheep pasture. What kinds of grass would you advise sow¬ 
ing ? Could I get a good catch with buckwheat, which is usually 
sown here about July 4 ? 
ANSWERED BY PROF. I. P. ROBERTS. 
Fit the ground thoroughly some time before sowing 
the buckwheat, thereby conserving the moisture by 
frequent surface culture. Sow and harrow, or drill 
in the buckwheat not quite so thickly as though no 
grasses were to be sown ; then sow the seeds recom¬ 
mended below, and roll thoroughly. The main object 
of rolling is to compact the ground enough at the sur¬ 
face, so that capillary attraction will bring the water 
to the surface for the use of the grass seeds, and also 
for leveling the land. For pasture, about twice the 
amount of seed should be sown as would suffice for 
meadow land. Four quarts of Timothy, two quarts 
of Medium, one quart of Alsike and one-half quart of 
White clover could be mixed together and sowed with 
a good seeder. If sowed by hand, it is better not to 
mix the clover and Timothy, as it is difficult to get 
them evenly distributed. Two pounds of Meadow 
Fescue (Festuca elatior) and two of Orchard grass, 
may be mixed and sowed together. They are very 
light, weighing only 14 pounds to the bushel, and 
therefore cannot be sowed successfully with the 
heavier seeds. 
The following table will give some idea of the num¬ 
ber of seeds which would be sown to each square 
foot, if the amount of seed recommended above be 
used. With the lighter grasses, probably less than 
one-half of them ever germinate, and while this 
amount of seed is very much smaller than is usually 
recommended, a little computation will show that 
there are 10 to 20 times as many seeds as there can 
possibly grow plants : 
Seeds to 
Square Foot. 
Timothy (four quarts). 165 
Medium clover (two quarts). 31 
Alsike clover (one quart). 29 
White clover (one-half quart). 18 
Orchard grass (two pounds). 21 
Meadow Fescue (two pounds), about . 21 
The Orchard grass comes very early, and is objec¬ 
tionable unless kept from going to seed by early 
grazing. If sown with other grasses and kept past¬ 
ured fairly close, it is one of our earliest and best 
pasture grasses. If left to form a seed stalk, it is one 
of the poorest. The Medium clover will measurably 
pass away in two years ; by that time the Fescue and 
Timothy will have firmly established themselves in 
the spaces occupied by the clovers. The Alsike will 
endure somewhat longer, and the White is likely to 
increase somewhat. If all the cloverg disappear in 
the future, without plowing, resow early in the 
spring, harrow thoroughly and then roll, in order that 
the host plants, the nitrogen producers, may always 
be present to feed the grasses. The Medium and 
Alsike are better for this purpose than the White 
clover, because they die in a few years and furnish 
food, especially nitrogen, for the grasses which are 
greatly benefited by it. Theoretically, it is better to 
use the Medium and Alsike as host plants, than the 
White clover ; practically, the White clover may be 
found to be the best, as it is somewhat difficult to 
keep the first named flourishing if the grass is luxu¬ 
riant and thick. 
“ No Dirt " in This Fertilizer. 
L. II. II., Plainfield, Wis .—When I see something which I can’t 
understand, I like to ask questions about it, for I am one of those 
old-fashioned Yankees that wants to understand all the new 
tricks. So I write to see whether you can give me the inside of a 
new combination. I refer to an advertisement of fertilizers 
which has been running in The It. N.-Y., which contains a larger 
load than it seems to me it can carry. I have been a careful 
student of the fertilizer question for years, and when I sit down 
and try to figure out how any one can get 13.25 per cent of nitro¬ 
gen, 11.5C per cent of available phosphoric acid and 26 per cent of 
potash into one fertilizer, I must confess that I am not good 
enough at figures to solve it. To contain 13H per cent of nitro¬ 
gen, would require 260 pounds in a ton; so let us start with 1,100 
pounds of sulphate of ammonia, which will, according to the 
table in Primer Science, April 6, give us 220 pounds of nitrogen. 
Ground bone, according to the same table, we can depend upon 
to furnish 40)4 pounds of nitrogen from 1,150 pounds, and also the 
required amount of 230 pounds of phosphoric acid. Now we shall 
still require 1,040 pounds of either sulphate or muriate of potash 
to give us our 26 per cent, or 520 pounds of potash; but we have a 
total of 3,290 pounds in our ton, and I don’t know of any process 
by which we can get rid of that other 1,290 pounds of dirt, which 
the manufacturers claim to have eradicated from their fertilizers. 
I have, in figuring this mixture, taken only such material as con¬ 
tains the highest per cents of the fertilizing elements needed. 
It seems strange to me that this advertisement ever found a 
place in the columns of The R. N.-Y. If I am wrong in my figures, 
I am anxious to be set right, as I am constantly learning some¬ 
thing new all the time, and, of course, there may be some new 
process whereby fertilizers may be made perfectly pure and free 
from all unnecessary material. But if this is the fact, I wish the 
editors would tell us about it. 
Ans. —That’s right—when you see a statement that 
looks too big, come and have it cut up finer. The 
fertilizers referred to are the “ Albert’s Manures,” 
which are made by an English house. There is noth¬ 
ing fraudulent about them, yet it may well puzzle the 
average student of science to understand how they 
can possibly be made in such a concentrated form. 
The table in “ Primer Science” gave the composition 
of the substances commonly used by fertilizer makers. 
Take sulphate of ammonia, for example. That sub¬ 
stance may be made by adding sulphuric acid to a 
solution of ammonia. The result is that one of the 
acids of sulphur unites with the ammonia to form a 
solid containing about 26 per cent of nitrogen. That 
is all there is of value in the substance, as the sulphur 
is useful simply to hold the ammonia in that form. 
Suppose now that in place of sulphuric acid, we use a 
strong solution of phosphoric acid. We then form a 
new solid, the phosphate of ammonia, which contains 
seven per cent of nitrogen, and 45 per cent of avail¬ 
able phosphoric acid. Of course this is more valuable 
than the sulphate , since the phosphoric acid not only 
holds the ammonia in place, but also supplies actual 
plant food, which the sulphur does not. In much the 
same way, a phosphate of potash may be made which 
contains 28 per cent of potash and 35 per cent of avail 
able phosphoric acid. Nitrate of potash contains 44 
per cent of potash and 13 per cent of nitrogen. 
These “ Albert’s Manures ” are made by mixing these 
three concentrated substances in different propor¬ 
tions. The phosphates of ammonia and potash are 
artificial products made on a large scale out of the 
cheaper forms of ammonia, potash and phosphoric 
acid. The manures are concentrated because, instead 
of using lime, sulphur and other substances which are 
not so necessary for plant food to hold the potash, 
nitrogen and phosphoric acid, these valuable sub¬ 
stances themselves are used in new combinations. 
Thus these manures ax-e not simple mixtures of dif¬ 
ferent ingredients, but the ingredients themselves 
are manufactured from the crude materials. It is, 
therefoi-e, possible to prepare a fertilizer which will 
contain over 50 pounds of actual plant food to each 
100 of gross weight. They tell of the old Scotchman 
who told his servant that the time would come when 
he could carry the manure needed for an acre of land 
in his vest pocket. “ Yes,” said John, “and you can 
carry the crop in the other vest pocket 1 ” One can 
raise with a handful of these concentrated manures, a 
crop large enough to make a big lift for his back. 
Kainit and Strawberry Food. 
C. V. G., Westboro, Mass .— I. I have read that a small quantity 
of kainit sprinkled on stable manure every day, will prevent 
heating and consequent loss of nitrogen. Will wood ashes answer 
the same purpose ? 2. Does the application of ground bone and 
potash as a top dressing for a strawberry bed, benefit the plants, 
or does the plant food remain in the soil above the roots ? 
Ans.— 1 . The kainit is excellent to use in the stable, 
or on the manure pile. It acts like plaster to “ fix ” 
the ammonia or make it over into forms that will not 
pass off as a gas. In order to keep the manure pei-- 
fectly, you should keep it moist. Do not let it dry 
out and “ fire-fang.” Keep the wood ashes away; they 
will liberate the ammonia. 2 . The bone and potash 
will benefit the plants. The plant food will be dis¬ 
solved and carried down to the roots. The best way 
is to work the fertilizer into the soil with cultivator 
or rake. 
Home Treatment for Catarrh. 
W. 8. P., Cinnaminson, N. J.—l read the article on page 364 of 
The R. N.-Y. in reference to treating catarrh. Can one use bicar¬ 
bonate of soda in water to snuff \ip the nostrils ? In using vase¬ 
line, would it not improve it to add a small quantity of carbolic 
acid ? If so, in what proportion ? 
Ans. —You could , but it woxxld not do so much good. 
Use the dry soda. Nothing will be gained by dissolv¬ 
ing it in water—in fact, it will injxxre the nose to pxxt 
so much water in it. Snuff up the dry powder as far 
as possible. Nothing will be gained by adding car¬ 
bolic acid to the vaseline. Use the treatment just as 
given. It will help you to have some one blow 
through a small tube, a quantity of the dry bicarbon¬ 
ate of soda through the mouth on to the back of the 
throat. But above all, stop breathing through your 
mouth 1 
Shall / Buy a Separator ? 
8. B. B., I hompson Station, Penn .— I desire information in re¬ 
gard to building an up-to-date springhouse to be used for keeping 
milk and butter; also in which to do the churning, winter and 
summer. My spring is a bold one at the foot of a small, abrupt 
hill, and has a temperature of about 60 degrees. It has but one 
foot fall in twenty. I wish to keep only about 12 cows. Will it 
pay me to get a separator for that number 1 
Ans.— It will certainly pay to get a separator for 
a dairy of 12 cows, or even of three. A No. 1 Baby 
(DeLaval) at a cost of $75, will take the cream from 
150 pounds of milk in one hour ; a No. 2 has a capacity 
of 350 pounds per hour, and costs $125. The saving 
of butter alone, not to estimate the saving of Iaboi-, 
cost of outfit of pans, coolers, etc., will easily return 
the money in a year. These machines are worked 
by hand, and the use of one very much simplifies the 
construction of a dairy house. There is no keeping 
of milk. A simple table or stand for the Baby is all 
the furniture required, and it is not necessary to wox*k 
the machine more than once a day, mixing the milk 
and separating two milkings at the same time. Fox- 
12 cows, the No. 2 would be preferable as a saver of 
time. With this machine, all the daix-y needed is a 
plain room. No cold spring water is required, and no 
ice unless in the summer it may be desired to keep 
the cream cool for a semi-weekly churning. But this 
is not necessary, and by mixing the new cream and the 
old for three days, it will be in precisely the right 
stage of ripeness for the churn. All that will be 
needed then is a small supply of water for washing 
the pails and the machine, and some cold water for 
hardening the butter as it is taken from the churn. It 
might be desirable to have an ice closet for the butter, 
and a stove in the house for the winter. A house 
20x16, with a refrigerator at one end, a stand for the 
separator, a place for the churn, and a sink for the 
washing, will be all the interior fittings needed. This 
is so simple a matter, and shows so plainly the ad¬ 
vantage of this arrangement, that no plan for any 
other is given, as it will scarcely be needful. 
H. STEWART. 
