Z>'hc  RURAL.  NEW-YORKER 
937 
RURALISMS 
Improving  Lawn 
Our  lawn  on  the  north  side  of  the 
house  is  nearly  covered  with  moss  this 
Spring,  and  there  is  very  little  grass. 
Will  you  tell  me  how  to  treat  it,  and 
quantity  to  use  ;  also  wlmt  kind  of  grass 
seed  to  use?  It  has  had  no  fertilizer  for 
some  time.  _  it.  B.  R. 
Corning.  N.  Y. 
Moss  indicates  sourness  of  the  soil.  If 
there  Is  much  of  it  present  and  the  grasi 
is  thi^,  too  thin  ever  to  bring  it  back  to 
good  condition,  you  will  gain  time  and 
satisfaction  by  making  it  over  anew; 
give  the  affected  portion  a  good  dressing 
of  old  well-rotted  Stable  manure  aud 
spade  it.  under  quite  shallow,  not  over 
three  or  four  inches  deep.  After  the 
ground  has  been  spaded,  and  before  rak¬ 
ing,  apply  a  liberal  coat  of  lime,  making 
the  ground  quite  white,  then  rake  and 
smooth  the  surface  for  seeding.  If  the 
ground  is  shaded  by  trees  or  buildings  for 
a  considerable  portion  of  the  day,  it  will 
be  best  to  use  what,  is  known  as  shaded 
lawn  grass  mixture.  For  situations  ex¬ 
posed  to  full  sunlight  for  the  greater  part 
of  the  day.  I  have  found  nothing  more 
satisfactory  than  the  Central  Park  lawn 
grass  mixture ;  this  may  he  purchased 
from  any  of  the  New  York  seed  houses. 
Sow  oue  quart  to  three  pints  to  MOO  square 
feet  of  surface.  After  sowing  rake  light¬ 
ly;  a  wooden  hay-rake  is  well  suited  for 
the  purpose,  the  operation  being  host  per¬ 
formed  by  continuous  forward  and  hack 
ward  motion  of  the  rake.  The  ground 
should  then  he  rolled  with  a  hand  roller 
to  firm  it,  and  compact  the  soil  around 
the  seed.  Next  year  give  the  lawn  a 
light  dressing  of  pure  ground  bone,  early  in 
the  season  and  again  in  midsummer.  k. 
Squash  Borer 
I  attempted  to  grow  Hubbard  squash. 
They  did  well  until  rhe  young  squashes 
had  set,  some  were  six  inches  long,  when 
the  vines  commenced  to  wilt  and  die.  I 
found  in  the  vines  and  some  of  the  young 
squashes  a  white  grub  or  worm  with  a 
black  head.  How  can  I  overcome  this 
pest?  F.  f.  s. 
Montclair,  N.  .1. 
This  small  worm  is  known  as  the 
squash  vine-borer.  The  insect  lives  and 
inflicts  its  injury  within  the  stems  of 
the  plants.  Its  presence  is  first  indicated 
by  the  wilting  of  the  plant,  and  if  prompt 
measures  are  not  taken  to  eradicate  it, 
the  attack  tvill  soon  prove  fatal  to  the 
plant.  Some  writers  advocate  the  pull¬ 
ing  up  of  the  attacked  plants  at  once, 
and  destroying  (hem  to  prevent  the  in¬ 
crease  of  the  insect.  Others  claim  it  is 
practical  and  effective  to  hunt  out  the 
borers  in  much  the  same  manner  as  the 
peach  borer  1*  hunted  out  of  Hie  peach 
tree.  The  writer  has  found  the  use  of  bi¬ 
sulphide  of  carbon  quite  effective  in  most 
instances;  this  is  applied  in  the  follow¬ 
ing  manner:  With  a  rather  blunt  point¬ 
ed  stick  about  the  size  of  a  broom  han¬ 
dle.  make  a  hole  in  the  ground  near  the 
affected  plant,  into  which  pour  a  tea- 
spoonful  of  the  bisulphide,  and  imme¬ 
diately  fill  in  the  hole  wtih  damp  soil. 
Tile  gas  generated  by  the  bisulphide  will 
penetrate  the  soil  around  the  plant,  and 
kill  all  insect  life  that  comes  in  contact 
with  it.  and  without  injury  to  the  plant. 
Bisulphide  of  carbon  is  very  Volatile 
and  therefore  highly  explosive.  Care 
must  bo  taken  that  it  is  not  exposed  to 
contact  With  fire,  as  the  i-esults  may 
prove  disastrous  to  the  one  handling  it. 
Bisulphide  of  carbon  is  usually  sold  by 
first-class  drug  stores.  k. 
Painting  Tree  Wounds 
Referring  to  the  questions  by  E.  C..  on 
page  550.  under  (ho  heading.  “Asphaltum 
for  Tree  Wounds,”  T  submit  the  follow¬ 
ing,  a  part  of  which  may  he  of  interest. 
Since  the  ideal  in  tree  wound  paint  has 
not  been  found,  the  best  is  that  which  will 
adhere  and  remain  impervious  for  the 
greatest  length  of  time  without  in„.iring 
tin1  cambium  or  otherwise  retarding  the 
process  of  healing.  Whitt*  lead,  which  has 
been  used  extensively  for  wound  protec¬ 
tion,  is  very  good  in  that  it  does  not  injure 
the  cambium,  and  a  great  many  of  the 
wounds  boa:  over  in  apparently  healthy 
condition,  hue  its  life  of  protection 
against,  weather  and  infection  is  compar¬ 
atively  short,  so  that  if  a  new  coat  is  not 
applied  often  one  may  frequently  find  in 
cutting  out  those  apparently  healthy 
wounds,  healed  entirely  over  perhaps  an 
amazing  amount  of  rotted  wood. 
Coal  tar  will  last  somewhat  longer  than 
white  lead,  and  is  much  better  for  paiut- 
ing  a  flat  roof  than  for  tree  wounds, 
since  the  destruction  to  the  cambium 
caused  by  it.  frequently  exceeds  in  area 
that  which  it  was  intended  to  protect. 
This  in  some  degree  depends  on  the  local¬ 
ity  of  the  wound,  but  primarily  due  to  the 
poisonous  content  of  the  tar,  which  varies 
according  to  the  point  to  which  distilla¬ 
tion  has  v'non  carried. 
Asphaltum  is  much  superior  to  either 
of  the  above,  and  after  a  little  experi¬ 
menting  is  easily  made.  I  would  suggest 
the  following  method :  Put  solid  asphal¬ 
tum  in  an  old  iron  pot.  or  kettle  of  any 
kind  not  closed  in  too  much  at  the  top, 
and  place  over  a  fire,  preferably  out  of 
doors;  add  raw  linseed  oil.  a  little  at  a 
time,  while  stirring  carefully  and  thor¬ 
oughly.  Do  not  add  oil  while  near  the 
fire,  as  the  gas  which  escapes  when  the 
oil  comes  in  contact  with  the  asphaltum 
is  inflammable.  If  the  mixture  begins  to 
stiffen  place  over  the  fire  again  and  heat 
until  it  can  he  stirred  easily,  then  re¬ 
move  and  add  oil  as  before.  It  should  he 
in  such  condition  when  cool  that  it  may 
he  applied  same  as  any  ordinary  paint. 
If  it  ran  conveniently  he  heated,  and 
applied  to  wounds  while  moderately  hot 
it  gives  still  better  results,  Not  as  much 
oil  is  required,  and  when  cold  it  should  he 
in  a  tough  rubber-like  state.  The  quan¬ 
tity  of  oil  to  he  used  depends  on  the 
melting  point  of  the  asphaltum.  That 
melting  at  about  200  degrees  F.  gives  good 
satisfaction.  everett  f.  wrigiit. 
Massachusetts. 
Cutting  Sweet  Potato  Vines 
Should  the  runners  of  sweet  potatoes 
he  kept  cut  oil  to  a  round  hill?  I  was 
told  they  should  he.  and  would  like  to 
know  if  it  is  necessary.  c.  E.  c. 
Southington,  Conn. 
Sweet  potato  vines  are  never  trimmed 
as  a  commercial  practice.  In  the  South 
cuttings  of  the  vine  are  frequently  made 
for  the  propagation  of  new  plants,  but 
in  South  Jersey  all  “slips"  or  plants  are 
grown  direct  from  the  seed  potatoes  in 
heated  beds.  During  the  growing  season 
vines  are  allowed  to  run  at  random  over 
the  ground.  While  they  are  quite  small 
the  cultivator  will  just  push  them  from 
one  side  of  the  hill  to  the  other  without 
injury,  but  later  on  the  large  vines  are 
hoed  around  and  laid  to  one  side  so  that 
the  cultivators  can  hoe  the  unoccupied 
row  middles.  Then  the  vines  of  every 
two  rows  are  laid  in  the  same  middle, 
which  has  just  been  cultivated,  and  the 
other  middles  arc  then  worked.  Later 
in  the  season  all  the  ground  is  covered 
with  vines.  The  weeds  start  but  very 
little  unless  it  happens  to  be  in  a  hill 
where  the  vines  go  down  with  the  wilt 
or  stem-rot.  thus  giving  the  weeds  a 
chance.  To  trim  the  vines  would  reduce 
the  yield.  By  moving  them  about  as  de¬ 
scribed  they  do  not  have  a  chance  to 
take  root  at  every  joint,  as  they  would 
be  apt  to  do  if  not  prevented,  r.  w.  d. 
Summer  Care  of  Bulbs 
What  is  the  best  way  to  keep  the  var¬ 
ious  kinds  of  bulbs  through  the  Summer, 
where  it  is  necessary  to  use  the  ground 
after  the  bulbs  have  blossomed,  such 
bulbs  ns  hyacinths,  jonquil,  tulip  and 
Narcissus?  F.  n. 
New  York. 
Hyacinths,  jonquils  and  Narcissus, 
when  planted  in  beds,  where  it  is  found 
necessary  or  desirable  to  remove  them  to 
provide  room  for  other  plants,  should  be 
lifted  as  they  arc  through  blooming.  The 
bulbs  are  not  mature  at  this  time,  and 
they  should  ho  heeled  in  the  ground  in 
a  partially  shaded  place,  until  the  leaves 
have  become  quite  withered,  when  they 
can  be  taken  out,  the  tops  cut  off.  and 
placed  iu  shallow  layers  in  boxes  and 
placed  in  a  shaded,  dry  airy  situation 
until  the  bulbs  become  thoroughly  cured, 
when  they  may  he 'stored  away  iu  a  dry 
cellar  until  wanted  for  the  next  plant¬ 
ing  season. 
As  soon  as  the  stems  of  tulips  begin 
to  turn  yellow,  and  the  leaves  to  dry, 
they  can  be  lifted  and  placed  in  a  cool,  dry 
place.  When  they  have  become  thorough¬ 
ly  dry  or  cured,  remove  all  the  old  skin 
and  dirt,  and  place  in  paper  bags  until 
wanted  for  planting  again  the  follow¬ 
ing  October.  K. 
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