764 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
June 10, 1922 
White Pine Blister Rust 
M ANY farmers throughout the hilly sections of 
New York State, ami practically every com¬ 
munity, have been planting pine ami spruce seed¬ 
lings on their waste lands and on the edges of old 
pastures. Many of the white pine plantings are in¬ 
fested with a fungus disease called blister-rust., and 
in this locality the trouble seems on the increase. 
In the eight-year-old planting shown (Fig. 31G) 
nearly 5 per cent of the trees were affected, and 
unless radical control measures are instituted, the 
stand will be materially reduced. The fungus caus¬ 
ing the white pine blister-rust requires the presence 
Basket Ban Back Used with Loader and Slings 
Fig. 31), 
of some species of gooseberry or currant for the com¬ 
pletion of its life history. The spores or seeds devel¬ 
oped on the pines cannot affect other pines, but must 
lodge on the leaves of currant or gooseberry bushes 
in order to continue the cycle of development. In 
this respect the disease is similar to the wheat rust, 
which requires the common barberry to complete the 
life cycle. The disease works on the needles and 
limbs, and in time the stem becomes girdled, so that 
all needles drop. (Fig. 31.5). Young trees with the 
trunk affected show a stunted and compact growth 
and a yellowish color instead of the normal green. 
Infected currant and gooseberry leaves show yel¬ 
lowish spots which appear quite distinct ou the low¬ 
er surface. 
The blister-rust seems to he present throughout a 
large part of New York State, and is also prevalent 
in New England. For complete control of the dis¬ 
ease the elimination of currants and gooseberries 
for a distance of one-half mile from the pines must 
be practiced. All wild currants and gooseberries 
should be removed, and in case this is impractical, 
'some other species of tree, such as the spruces, 
should he planted. In this locality this pest is on 
the increase, and a yearly program for elimination 
of currants and gooseberries should he planned. 
Madison Co., N. Y. t. h.t. 
Low Land for Strawberries 
I have a piece of low ground with a lot of grass on 
it. I shall cut the grass about July, then plow the 
ground and sow Canadian peas and cow beans. Would 
the ground be all right for late strawberries next year? 
What kind of strawberries would be desirable for late 
or early? K. 
TRAWBERRIES will do well on low ground, 
provided the soil is well drained and made 
clean. The objection to planting berries in these 
low places are the danger front frost and the trouble 
from insects and grass. On still nights in late 
Spring the cool air will gather at the low places, 
and frost will often appear there, when plants on 
higher land are uninjured. Most varieties of straw¬ 
berries cannot endure wet feet, and the low places 
must be well drained in order to have berries do 
well. White grubs and cutworms are often very had 
in such places. Where grass has grown for u num¬ 
ber of years you will have to consider these things 
in lifting the land for berries. Your plan is good 
as far as it goes, but it would not pay you to sow 
Canadian field peas in July. This pea is a cool 
weather crop. It can he seeded in Spring or in early 
Autumn and make a fair growth, but it will not suc¬ 
ceed in hot weather. The Southern cow pea is a hot 
weather crop, and would he much better for your 
purpose than the Canadian field pea. Buckwheat 
thickly seeded is a very good crop for your purpose. 
It makes a rank, heavy, quick growth, and will 
smother out much of the weeds and grass. South of 
Philadelphia a combination of cow peas and buck¬ 
wheat is often used with success. We think, how¬ 
ever, it would pay you better to cut the grass as you 
propose doing, then plow and fit the land as quickly 
as possible, and plant some early variety of corn in 
hills. Work it both ways with a cultivator and 
hoe several times, if possible. This will kill out 
much of the weeds and grass, and also destroy large 
numbers of insects. Then at the last cultivation 
you can seed a combination of rye and Alsike clover 
right in the corn as a cover crop. Take the corn off 
and let this cover crop grow through the Winter 
and Spring, plowing it under next year for the 
strawberries. The advantage of this is that you are 
able to clean the land at least partly, kill out much 
of the sod, and do something towards reducing the 
number of white grubs. South of Trenton many 
formers put in a crop of late potatoes at about, this 
time. They give them thorough cultivation, keep the 
land clean, and follow with a cover crop, as sug¬ 
gested for the corn. These cleaning crops are very 
useful in fitting the land. 
Planting on Hillside Land 
I have seven acres of hill . ground, sandy loam, pas¬ 
tured for several years. 1 wish to plant it to potatoes. 
Would 1.000 lbs. of acid phosphate to the acre be ad¬ 
visable? What, treatment should he given to the seed? 
1 have one aero of level sod ground 1 wanted to fer¬ 
tilize and plant to beets, rutabagas, carrots and cab¬ 
bage. Would it be advisable to lime this well, and 
what kind of fertilizer, and how much, would be advis¬ 
able? I intend to drill in the fertilizer. S. 
A Cir> phosphate alone will not be a complete 
fertilizer for those potatoes. Unless the land 
is very rich, nitrogen and potash ought to he used 
with acid phosphate. We should use either one of 
the mixed fertilizers made by a company of good 
reputation, or else mix something like the following: 
One part, by weight, of nitrate of soda, one part 
of tankage, three parts of acid phosphate, and one 
White Fine Showing Effect of Blister Bust. Fig. 315 
part muriate of potash. That will make a far more 
profitable fertilizer than the acid phosphate alone 
on a sandy loam pasture. 
As for treating thq seeds, that is done to kill the 
germs of scab on the seed potatoes. We take one 
pint, of formalin and dissolve it in 30 gallons of 
water. The potato seed is rinsed off and put. into 
Ibis solution and kept well covered for one hour and 
ono-lmlf, then 'taken out and dried and cut for seed¬ 
ing, We think it. pays in addition to sift a small 
quantity of powdered sulphur over the seed before 
it is planted. This will kill the germs of scab ou the 
potato seed, hut, of course, it will not kill the scab 
germs which might be in the soil. 
Planting root crops on a soil is usually quite an 
invitation to trouble, for the old grass and weeds 
will eoinc in and make hard work for the cultivators. 
It is best to use land where at least, one well-culti¬ 
vated crop 1ms been grown, so as to kill out the sod. 
Lime is excellent for the crop. You might include 
the phosphate, and we would use the same mixture 
ef chemicals that is here suggested for the potato 
crop. 
Paradise for Berry Pickers 
Statements like the enclosed are what make the city 
people believe the farmer rolls in wealth, and (he laborer 
also. Newspaper reporters are generally looked upon 
as intelligent sort of beings; however, I will wager this 
one never picked any strawberries. F. it. AUSTIN. 
Delaware. 
HE clipping referred to follows: It is taken 
from the North American: 
City people who are out of work had better come to 
lower Delaware. Farmers in this section, despite the 
killing frosts, are looking for a fairly good crop of 
strawberries. They need pickers and need them badly. 
Children ns well as older people can make good 
money picking strawberries. Rickers are paid 2 cents a 
quart, and an ordinary picker can pick upwards of 
from 800 to 1,200 quarts a day. That, means from $16 
to $24 a day. 
A family can easily earn $50 a day on the berry 
patches of lower Delaware. Rickers who wish to pick 
berries this year should lose no time in writing to the 
agricultural agents in each county for employment. 
They do have some remarkable pickers in Dela¬ 
ware. An average of 1,000 quarts per day would 
mean 100 quarts per hour in a 10-liour day. That 
means one quart every 36 seconds—and handling 
the boxes at that! Some one told us the other day 
that Delaware was a slow and backward State, lie 
must lie all wrong. Any State where children can pick 
a quart of strawberries in 36 seconds and keep it up 
for 10 hours without stopping to rest or eat is three 
lengths ahead of any other spot of earth. And fam¬ 
ilies “easily make $50 a day !” Let’s all make a bee¬ 
line for this happy place—a paradise for baek-to- 
the-landers. That seems to he the stuff that the 
daily papers will pay for—and the back-to-tlie-land¬ 
ers pay later. 
A Small Quantity of Manure 
How can I gel tbo best value from the manure from 
a horse and cow? My place contains about 10 acres, 
mostly in pasture and hay. with about 100 fruit trees, 
from one to 10 years old. These are fertilized with lien 
manure from about TOO chickens. The horse and cow 
manure I would like to use in my large vegetable gar¬ 
den, nearly one-fourth acre. The problem is how best 
to conserve ibis until such times as I wish to use it. I 
have tried piling it up, but it soon firefangs. F. L, 
Carmel, N. Y. 
M ANURE of any sort, is never better than on the 
day it was dropped. It can gain nothing in 
plant food by being kept, hut, ou the other hand, 
loses more or less of its quality by drainage or 
chemical action. The ideal way to save manure, 
therefore, is to carry it out each day during the 
Spring and Summer, and spade or plow it into (he 
soil. Composting manure, that is, piling it up and 
letting it ferment, will improve its mechanical char¬ 
acter by firing it, but there will always be some loss 
of plant food. Probably the best way to handle a 
small amount, would he to keep it in a manure pit. 
This means a small concrete cellar near the barn, 
with drains leading to it, so as to carry the stable 
liquids. The pit should have a roof over it for 
shelter. We should use land plaster, known as 
gypsum, freely in the stable, and scatter it over the 
manure. Dump the manure each day into the pit. 
It you can have it screened you can thus prevent 
flies from breeding in it If the liquids from the 
stable do not keep the manure moist, pour in enough 
water to do so, and you can add garbage, old sods, or 
any other trash that will easily decay. Treated in 
this way, a small amount of manure can he handled 
to better advantage than in a compost heap above 
ground. When taken mit in the Spring it will he 
rich and fine. By keeping it moist you will prevent 
“firefanging,” while the concrete bottom will hold 
the water so that the plant food will not he leached 
away as is often the ease in a compost heap. All 
farm manures are deficient in potash and phos¬ 
phoric acid. When the liquids are saved the need 
of potash is not so great, hut phosphorus is always 
needed, and it. is always a wise plan to use at least 
Eight-year Blanking of White Fine. Fig. 31U 
50 lbs. of acid phosphate with each ton of manure. 
It is, of course, understood that these remarks ap¬ 
ply particularly to small farms or gardens where 
there is only a small amount of manure. 
New Jersey has issued a manual on the mosquito 
for use in public schools. The Harden State is out for 
the extermination of these “Jersey birds.” It is a 
“dry” proposition, for the mosquito cannot breed except 
in Water. 
An airplane loaded with asparagus started from 
South Jersey and Hew to Boston in three hours. It was 
possible, inside of five hours, to distribute the asparagus 
to consumers. We can easily remember when five days 
would have been necessary for this trip. 
