1895 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
617 
In regard to stimulants, I have tested some, and 
never received any benefit at all. Last winter, I had 
a flock that were not laying as well as I thought they 
ought, so I got a package of a well advertised egg 
food, and fed according to directions ; it did not in¬ 
crease their laying any, but did ruin a number of 
them. In summer, I reduce the corn meal one-half, 
and increase the quantity of ground oats (when they 
are not too high-priced). When moulting, I add a little 
oil meal to the feed, and mix it cold in hot weather. 
When they are kept in on account of cold or snow, I 
give them a little wheat at noon to keep them busy. 
At night, they have wheat and corn ; in winter it is 
given hot. With this treatment, they average from 
14G to 158 eggs each. J. W. 
Bedford, N. Y. _ 
SOME STRAWBERRY NOTES. 
The unfavorable seasons of ’94 and ’95, have shown 
the value of careful treatment of the strawberry bed. 
Plants were set early in the spring of ’94, before the 
long rainy period commenced, and were, conse¬ 
quently, well rooted before the severe drought later. 
Many failed to secure a stand. As soon as the rains 
were over, my bed was well cultivated, and as fast as 
olie runners started, they were placed in double rows 
six or eight inches apart between the parent plants, 
slightly bedded in the soil, and held in place by small 
stones; all runners were cut later. They rooted 
readily, and a perfect stand was soon secured, except 
where an occasional plant was destroyed by grubs; 
these vacancies were filled later by vigorous plants 
set as described above. The soil is of only moderate 
fertility, and is deficient in organic matter. Stable 
manure was applied at the rate of, perhaps, 20 loads 
per acre, and a special fruit manure added at the rate 
of 114 ton per acre. 
The crop was uninjured by frost last spring, was 
irrigated twice and yielded at the rate of over 8,000 
quarts per acre. 
As to varieties : Lovett has given thi-ee full crops, 
the last two years being superior to all other varieties, 
including Parker Earle which was better the first 
yeai\ The latter must have plenty of manure and 
water, or it will prove disappointing. Given these, it 
surpasses any other variety I have ever grown. Swin¬ 
dle was fully as productive as Lovett, but is hardly so 
desirable. Woolverton is a beauty, but another year 
is required to determine its value. Timbrell was 
grown between Lovett and Parker Earle, but as the 
plants were set further apart and allowed to run at 
will, comparison would be unfair. It furnishes some 
fine berries and, probably, is very productive. There 
were also some “buttons”—a defect from which it 
was free last year. The quality is best but its color 
is a serious defect. It must be picked before color¬ 
ing all over, or it becomes overripe. In a test plot 
set last fall of three plants each of the following 
varieties, Timbrell, Parker Earle, Swindle, Lovett, 
Woolverton, Beverly (layer plants from my own 
grounds), Marshall and Mary (pot grown), Marshall 
was most injured by frost; Mary, “ sour as a pickle ” 
and not so good ; Swindle produced most berries, 
while Timbrell gave nearly as many of much finer 
appearance and better quality. If it will do as well 
in field culture, it is an acquisition, and I shall risk 
the color for a trade mark. Brandywine is making 
many runners and the foliage is best. 
Pennsylvania. G. A. PARCEL!.,. 
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piece of paper.! 
A Borer in Cedar Wood. 
C. II. K., New York. —I built a summer house entirely of cedar. 
Early this summer, we noticed that it was being badly eaten by a 
white worm about one-half to three-quarters of an inch long, a 
trifle larger at the head, which has a small black spot on the end. 
The worm seems to be just under the bark, and to eat its way in 
every direction, but not towards the center of the wood. I have 
been told that I should have removed the bark, but did not do so 
because I think it looks much prettier with the bark on. 
ANSWERED BY M. V. SLINGERLAND. 
C. II. K. has sent me specimens of this cedar-bark 
borer, and it is the larva or grub of a beetle, probably 
allied to the Flat-headed Apple-tree borer. This is as 
near as I can determine the species of the insect; for 
it is only one of the dozens of different kinds of grubs 
that work under the bark of dying or dead cedar or 
other coniferous trees, and our knowledge of the 
early stages of these bark-boring beetles is far too 
inadequate to enable one to say to just which beetle 
a given grub belongs. It would be interesting, of 
course, to call this insect by name, but it is not neces 
sary for our purpose. It is doubtless true that, if the 
bark had first been removed, this grub would not 
have attacked the cedar, and I can suggest no way by 
which the grubs now at work may be destroyed with¬ 
out removing the bark ; perhaps kerosene oil liber¬ 
ally applied on the infested parts, might penetrate to 
and kill the grubs. Try this on a small area. Neither 
can I suggest any practicable way of preventing the 
grubs from spreading into the uninfested portions ; 
that is, I do not know of any application that could 
be practicably made on the bark now that would keep 
out the insect, unless two or three good coats of paint 
might do it, and this would mar the natural rustic 
effect of the whole. Thus, unless the kerosene will 
reach them, which I doubt, I cannot see how the pest 
is to be checked or its further depredations prevented. 
If all the grubs now under the bark could be killed, 
doubtless a new stock would come from the same 
source as did those now at work. It is too bad to 
have the rusticity and beauty of the house thus 
marred by the loss of the bark, but one is apparently 
helpless to prevent it. 
Another Blister Beetle. 
E. L. It., Liberty Hill, Conn. —I send some black beetles, which 
are strangers in this vicinity. My complaint against them is that 
they are devouring the tops of my mangels with vigor and dis¬ 
patch. I never saw anything like it before, and would be glad to 
know the name, and what sort of insecticide is best adapted to 
them. 
Ans. —The beetles are a kind of Blister beetle, a 
near relative of the one whose life story I told in The 
It. N.-Y. of August 24. This mangel wurtzel enemy 
has no stripes on its back, and bears the name of 
Epieauta Bennsylvanica. There are several species 
of these Blister beetles that are common in many 
parts of the country, and before the advent of the 
Colorado Potato beetle in the East, they were con¬ 
sidered quite serious enemies of the potato in certain 
years. They vary greatly in numbers from year to 
year, hence have never become a settled pest like the 
Colorado beetle. The reason for this variation is the 
fact that they depend upon grasshopper eggs for a 
living during their early stages from the time they 
leave the egg until ready to change to beetles. Hence 
a large crop of grasshoppers portends an increased 
number of the Blister beetles the next season. Dur¬ 
ing the past year or two (last year especially) we have 
been suffering from grasshopper hordes here in the 
East to an extent not known in many years before, and 
this accounts for the large brood of beetles this season. 
We are now receiving inquiries and specimens from 
many parts of the East, and wherever grasshoppers are 
unusually abundant, the beetles are quite likely to ap¬ 
pear in force next year. They attack many different 
crops, such as potatoes, turnips, mangel wurtzels, 
tomatoes, the flowers of asters, etc. They are raven¬ 
ous feeders, and do a good deal of damage in a short 
time; so one must be on the lookout for them, and be 
prepared to fight them at once on their arrival. 
On a small scale, and I am not sure but on any 
scale, the surest and most practicable plan is to hand¬ 
pick by knocking them off into pans of kerosene. 
Paris-gi-een, one pound to 100 gallons of water is the 
best insecticide that can be used against them ; and 
as they die quite slowly from eating this, they may 
do considerable damage before death takes them off. 
They resemble the Rose chafer in this respect. Be 
pi-epared to hand-pick as soon as they arrive. They 
come all at once, work quickly, disappear in a few 
days, and usually do not work over a vei-y large area, 
so that combative methods are usually limited to cer- 
tain parts of certain crops. M. v. s. 
The Blister beetle has never been numerous enough 
here to do much injury to potatoes, but he has a black 
brother who raises the mischief with my asters and 
some other flowering plants. Like some other black 
brothers, he walks in his sleep, and when I wish to 
catch him in mischief, I go for him with a lantern. 
Both the black and the striped beetle fall off the plant 
at the slightest alai*m, and it is, therefore, not an easy 
matter to get them into a pan of kerosene. Among 
my flowers, I cleared a space around the plant at¬ 
tacked, and when they attempted to fiee, I danced a 
jig upon them ! As I weigh something like a couple of 
huudx-ed pounds, this treatment was usually effectual. 
Connecticut. ciias. p. augur. 
To Prevent Idleness in Strawberry Plants. 
Q., Watertoivn, N. Y. —M. Crawford says, “ The worst thing that 
can happen to strawberry plants after they are done bearing, is 
to let them alone.” Will Mr. Crawford tell us what is the best 
thing to be done to them in this condition ? 
ANSWERED BY M. CRAWFORD. 
A strawberry plant, under favorable conditions, 
will grow from early spring till late in the fall. It is 
for the grower to see that these favorable conditions 
are supplied. The plant will do the vei’y best it can 
under the circumstances, but if hindered in its work, 
the following crop will be diminished accordingly. 
Among favorable conditions, may be mentioned free¬ 
dom from diseases and insect enemies, a rich, moist, 
well-drained soil, and thorough cultivation. At the 
end of the bearing season, the plant is more or less 
exhausted, not only by pi’odueing a crop of fruit, but 
by sending out a lot of runners that continue to draw 
on it because they cannot get rooted on account of 
the mulch or the hard, trodden soil between the rows. 
To make the matter still woi*se, the weather is liable 
to be hot and dry, leaving the plant dependent on the 
old roots which have done their woi-k, and should be 
supex’seded by a new lot sent out higher up on the 
crown. Something must be done, or the plant will 
remain nearly dormant all summer. 
Peidiaps the best thing to do is to cut off the leaves 
and let them dry, then stir up the mulch and burn. 
This will destroy the spores of fungous diseases and, 
peidiaps, a number of insect enemies and their eggs. 
New, healthy growth will start in a few days, and no 
rust will be seexx the rest of the season. It may be 
desix’able to thin the plants in the matted row, or to 
narrow it ixp. In any event, the soil should be stirred 
between the plants and, possibly, some fertilizer 
should be applied. The sooner the work is done after 
the crop is secixred, the better. One of the most suc¬ 
cessful gi*owei*s of my acquaintance, considei’s it so 
essential that plants be kept gi-owing from start to 
finish, that he digs up all that have fruited, and sets 
young, thrifty plants in their places. The same bed 
has been constantly occupied over 20 years. 
I think, however, that but few growers know what 
can be accomplished with old plants ; I have had ex¬ 
cellent success in setting them as soon as they had 
fruited. In importing plants from Europe, old ones 
have invaluably succeeded the best. I have had ripe 
berries nearly every day since July, from plants re¬ 
ceived from Arkansas the last of May, after having 
produced their regular crop. In July, I sent 500 old 
plants to a party in Wisconsin, and nearly evei’y one 
is gx'owing. A gardener came here to-day and bought 
2,000 old plants of his own free will. By taking up a 
plant every year at the end of the beai’ing season, and 
l’esetting it half an inch deeper, I suppose the same 
plant could be made to do good service for a century. 
A friend inquires whether I can take up plants in 
the fall, put them in cold stoi’age, and plant them the 
following summer so as to have them fruit in the fall. 
I think so, but I never did. Last November, 1 took 
up a few plants, tied a little moss around them, left 
them on the ground, in an open fx-arne, all winter, 
and set them out in April. They frxxited in Jxxne, and 
are gi’owing well now. 
When to Prune Cherries. 
Header, East Greenwich, It. /.—Downing says, “The cherry tree 
should be pruned in midsummer, as that is the only season when 
the gum is not more or less exuded.” Is this in accordance with 
the best modern practice ? 
Ans. —The thing is to avoid as far as possible, the 
necessity of cutting away large branches. Disbudding 
is the best way to prune the cherx-y. When, however, 
it is necessary to remove lai-ge bi’anches, the summer 
is the best time to do it, as the wounds heal more 
quickly. 
Some Questions About Butter Fat. 
O. W. S., East Branch, Pa.— 1. What is the difference in cash, 
between 100 pounds of milk testing 3.8 and 100 pounds testing 3.0 
per cent, butter selling at 30 cents per pound ? 2. How many 
pounds of milk should make a pound of butter, testing respect¬ 
ively 3.8 and 3.6 per cent butter fat? 3. Our creamery has milk 
testing 3.4 to 3.8 per cent, and it averages 2554 pounds to a pound 
of butter. The makers say that there is hardly a trace of fat in 
the skim-milk. Is that good work ? 
ANSWERED BY PROF. II. II. WING. 
1. Commercial butter is quite variable in the amount 
of fat that it may contain, the percentage running 
from about 80 to 80 or 87 per cent; the amount of fat 
lost in the process of buttermaking is also a variable 
quantity. These two things x’ender any calculation 
of fat into butter more or less arbitx-ary. Various 
factors have been proposed. In the dairy test at the 
World’s Columbian Exposition, it was assumed that 
eight-tenths of a pound of fat in the milk would make 
a pound of butter and the cows in the test were cred¬ 
ited with butter on this basis. This is generally con¬ 
ceded to be too high, and the Association of American 
Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations at its 
last convention, adopted a resolution that hereafter 
all calculations of fat into butter should be made by 
the addition of one-sixth, or 10% per cent to the fat. 
That is, in 100 pounds of three-per cent milk, there 
would be three pounds of fat, to which add one-sixth 
or five-tenths pound, giving a total of 3.5 pounds of 
butter from 100 pounds of thi-ee-per cent milk. Apply¬ 
ing this factor to G. W. S.’s question, we would have 
from 100 pounds of milk testing 3.8 per cent fat, 3.8 
pounds of fat, plus one-sixth or .03 pound, making 
4.43 pounds of butter, worth, at 20 cents per pound, 
88.0 cents. In 100 pounds of milk testing 3.0 per cent 
fat, there would be 3.0 pounds of fat, to which add 
one-sixth or six-tenths pound, making 4.2 pounds of 
butter worth, at 20 cents per pound, 84 cents. 2. If 
100 pounds of milk testing 3.8 per cent fat, make 4.43 
pounds of butter, one pound of butter is made from 
22.0 pounds of milk. If 100 pounds of milk testing 3.0 
per cent fat make 4.2 pounds of butter, one pound of 
butter is made from 23.8 pounds of milk. 3. No defin¬ 
ite answer can be given to this question, because it is 
not stated whether the greater part of the milk tests 
3.4, or 3.8 per cent. It is considered that factories 
working under good conditions, should make from 12 
to 15 per cent more butter than they have fat deliv¬ 
ered to them. 
