Tr* RURAL NEW-YORKER 
791 
How to Make a “Weed Killer” 
HERE are all sorts of so-eaUed wood-killers in 
addition to the commercial preparations which 
are sold by most seedsmen. Salt will kill down the 
tops of the weed, but does not usually destroy the 
root. A strong solution of carbolic acid or sulphuric 
acid in water will prove effective, and the road oils 
so commonly used will also clean out many weeds. 
Some of these preparations, however, are nasty and 
not suitable for using on a path or walk. If you 
have only a small job, probably one of the commer¬ 
cial weed-killers will pay as well as anything. If 
you want to make such a killer, you may take the 
following advice given by the Department of Agri¬ 
culture: 
Caustic soda (sodium hydroxide), 2 lbs., or high- 
grade concentrated lye, .‘I lbs.; white arsenic (arsenic 
trioxide), 4 lbs.: water to make one gallon. 
Mix the caustic soda or lye with the white arsenic in 
a wooden, earl lieu ware or graniteware receptacle. Add 
the water slowly. In about 30 seconds the solution will 
begin to hoil violently, when it should he stirred vigor¬ 
ously with a wooden paddle. The heat generated by the 
chemical reaction is usually sufficient to cause all the 
arsenic to dissolve, and the mixture to become a gray, 
syrupy liquid. In case some of the arsenic remains in 
suspension, however, it will be necessary to heat the 
solution until the arsenic disappears. After the solution 
is cool, add enough water to replace that lost by evapo¬ 
ration. 
To use this, dissolve one gallon of the mixture in 50 
gallons of water, or smaller quantities in the same pro¬ 
portion. Under average conditions there will be required 
about (500 gallons of this solution for one 
acre. Thus, one gallon, properly diluted, 
will cover a space of about 00x00 ft. 
The best results are obtained on a cloudy 
or humid day, if possible about 12 hours 
before a rain. The treatment does not 
give such good results in lmt, dry weather. 
On a small scale, the poison can lie ap¬ 
plied from the sprinkling can or a garden 
imse and nozzle. Where work is required 
on roads or paths the sprinkling can will 
probably he best. 
Of course you must understand that 
this is a deadly poison, and you must 
handle it with great care. Do not 
breathe any of the vapor or any of the 
dust of this mixture. While you are 
making it, it is hotter to use leather 
gloves with long wrists or gauntlets, 
and be careful not to put your lingers 
in your mouth when at. work with this 
stuff. Poisons of this sort must never 
he used where children or animals can 
get to I hem. The cans and the imple¬ 
ments used in mixing should be thor¬ 
oughly washed or burned, if ‘possible. 
Poisons of tills kind have a salty or 
brackish taste, and many animals will 
frequently lick it up if they can get a 
chance. We always hesitate to advise 
the use of these poisons, since we have 
known several cases where careless peo¬ 
ple caused great damage by handling 
sucli chemicals. Probably a hot solution 
of salt and water will clean up most of 
the weeds on ordinary paths or brick 
walks, and will certainly he less dan¬ 
gerous than these weed-killers. Poi¬ 
sons should not he used on walks where small chil¬ 
dren are likely to be playing on hands a-ml knees. 
Shall Poultry men Raise Their Grain? 
1 have started a poultry farm with a foundation flock 
of 100 hens, and plan to keep 500 next Winter. The 
object of the business is the production of market eggs 
to be retailed direct to the consumer, with custom hatch¬ 
ing as a side line. The farm consists of 100 acres, 
about 50 acres arable, but stony. I have one horse, but 
no implements. Tile neighboring farmers raise corn, 
oats, wheat and similar crops, apparently successfully. 
I operate the farm alone, though could get help when 
it becomes necessary. Should l grow the feed for the 
poultry, or buy it? There is hut one acre now under 
cultivation. it. w. j. 
Thompson Ridge, X. Y. 
T HERE has always been a debatable question 
about this, and the vote is usually about even. 
In theory, a man with 100 acres of land ought to be 
aide to raise all the feed for a flock of hens, but it 
does not always follow that it will pay him to do 
so. In this case, of course, II. W. ,T. cannot hope to 
grow a grain crop with one horse and no implements. 
He will have to invest at least $500 in power and 
tools before he can grow grain enough for his flock. 
He will also have to hire considerable labor if the 
birds are to have proper care, drain farmers, who 
live on more level laud, and who have the outfit 
needed to make grain growing profitable, can pro¬ 
duce corn, wheat and oats cheaper than II. W. .1. 
can. Whether that grain can he delivered cheaper 
than he can produce il is something lie must figure 
out for himself. Most of the.commercial hen men 
prefer to buy their grain. Whether this is the result 
of habit or custom or whether actual figures show 
that it is cheaper to do so, we cannot, say. Per¬ 
sonally, we think it will pay many poultrymen to 
grow broadcast grain crops like wheat, oats or buck¬ 
wheat, have the grain cut. with a binder and feed it 
out in bundles, without thrashing. It may not pay 
to raise corn on many poultry farms, for planting 
and cultivating conic at a time when the hens will 
absorb most of Ihe time if they are to be well cared 
for. but small grain can usually he grown at a profit, 
mid there is little need of harvesting and thrashing 
in the usual laborious way. 
Farm Conditions in the Central West 
HERE is a more hopeful feeling that the future 
is holding out brighter prospects for us than 
the past two or more years. However, the farmer 
is, I might say, drifting with tiie tide, and trusting 
that Providence will ultimately carry him through 
to a period when he can realize something for his 
toil. Most, of the farmers here are grain growers, 
and over 70 per cent of them sold their last crop 
of corn for 40 cents or less during the past four 
months. Those having grain now are selling it for 
51 cents, delivered, shelled at elevator. 
Many farmers realize the present value of stock 
oier grain, yet few are endeavoring to pay the high 
prices for stock, believing that eventually, as hereto 
fore, the big interests will control the price of stock 
when ready for the market. Another and most vital 
Greek Squash Common in New England. Fig. 5.2.9 
reason is (lint the average farmer has no money to 
purchase anything with, nor can he procure money 
for less than 7 per cent or more, and anyone familiar 
with fanning can readily understand that such in¬ 
terest for the average farmer is usury. Were the 
farmers able to procure loans of two or three years 
at 3 VC* to l per cent, they would probably he able to 
get over the present financial embarrassment, about 
75 per cent of them are compelled to undergo. With 
ordinary business high interest rates can he figured 
in with “overhead” expense, but the farmer cannot 
do business in any such way. 
With you people in the East it is different . Diver¬ 
sified farming lias saved you from the great losses 
we have experienced through strictly grain business. 
And yet it is evident were we to change it would 
only he a short time before the market, for dairy 
products, poultry, etc., would be overstocked. Com¬ 
mercial labor is still determined to exact the high 
rate, and while the farmer can procure help at a 
lower rate than the past three years, what he is 
paying is out of proportion to the returns 
In my opinion, the most important element that 
enters into the farm situation is the credit of the 
farmer, and 1 can see no possible way for the general 
situation to improve until he can procure loans at 
a rate that does not mean confiscation. The country 
is full of money, yet the one industry whose pro¬ 
ducts, instead of the gold dollar, should he the 
standard of value, cannot recover from the financial 
blundering of what I might say gambling financiers 
connected with our Federal reserve system forced 
upon them. 
We are experiencing the wettest and most back¬ 
ward Spring in the history of the country. Dorn, 
ordinarily planted from the 10th to the 20th of June, 
is still over 25 per cent out; rye and wheat (Win¬ 
ter) look fairly good. Hay and pasture are good. 
Promise of fruit for the first time in many years 
looks flattering. Weather unusually cool. 
Grundy Co., Ill. j. g. dyeb. 
New England Notes 
BANS AND SUNFLOWERS,-—Some time ago a 
reader of Tin-: U. N.-Y. sent in a paragraph in 
which he condemned the plan of growing pole beans 
on sunflower stalks, saying I hat. he found it a failure. 
My opinion is that, this man failed to strip off the 
side leaves from the sunflower stalks. If these 
leaves are left on the sunflower is of little value as 
a bean pole. All that should remain is a rosette of 
leaves at the top. This should not be removed under 
any cireumstnnees. and will keep the plant growing. 
Possibly the sunflowers might, he blown over in ex¬ 
posed situations where high winds prevail, but in 
the home garden make a most excellent substitute 
for poles. At least that has been my experience, 
and I have watched the plan carried out success¬ 
fully in other gardens, too. It is best to have the 
sunflower plants a few inches above ground before 
the beans are put In. 
MELONS AND SQUASHES.—I have been asked 
about the melons which are served in 
the hotels and restaurants in the 
western part of Massachusetts and in 
Albany, and which seem to meet the 
favor of the traveling public. These 
melons are probably either Irondequoit 
or Bender. The latter is used very 
largely for hotel and restaurant, trade, 
because it is an excellent shipper as 
well as a good keeper. Its quality, 
however, is not as good as that of the 
rrondequoit, which is to be recom¬ 
mended for all home trade or for use 
on the home table. Melons and squashes 
have proved pretty difficult to grow in 
some parts of New England during the 
past few years, owing to insect pests 
and fungus diseases. The squash vine 
borer in particular has taken heavy 
toll, so much so that some amateurs 
have practically given up trying to 
grow Winter squashes. Entomologists 
have been trying to work out a remedy, 
but haven't succeeded very well as yet. 
1 understand that they are going to 
give especial attention to the matter 
this season. The best recommendation 
that can lie made is to postpone the 
planting of squashes until after the 
10th of June. If this is done, growers 
will he more likely to get through with¬ 
out serious losses. Less damage seems 
to tie done to Summer squashes and 
vegetable marrows, probably because 
they mature so much more rapidly. 
IT,ANTING DAHLIAS.—I happened to he on the 
farm of J. K. Alexander, the noted Dahlia grower, 
the other day at planting time, and learned how he 
is able to grow so many tons of roots as he does ou 
a comparatively few acres. Instead of giving con¬ 
siderable space between the tubers, as is the case 
with amateurs, lie laid them so closely in the furrows 
that they touched. The result of such planting is 
that the plants never grow very tall and are so close 
together that they support each other, no staking 
being required. It is the plan to follow if you want 
to get a big crop of roots rather than a lot of flowers. 
In the home garden it is better to give at least a 
foot of space between the roots, and Of course only 
single tubers should he planted, the big clumps being 
divided to make this possible. The roots should go 
in 5 or (I in, deep, and invariably be laid on then- 
sides. One advantage Dahlias have is that good 
flowers can be grown if they are not planted until 
the middle of June. e. i. Farrington. 
Trouble From Woodchucks 
We are overrun in the fields with woodchucks, and we 
want to raise Soy beans, which the chucks adore and 
devour. j. s. B. 
Connecticut. 
E never before had so many complaints about 
woodchucks. There must lie an unusual sup¬ 
ply. or they have developed new appetites. They 
seem especially fond of Soy beaus. The surest 
remedy is to let some good marksman with a rifle 
wait for them to appear and then shoot. Study their 
feeding habits and he ready for them. In some cases 
hi-sulphude of carbon put down into their holes will 
poison them, if all openings are closed. 
Side lhliverg Loader. Fig. ,!30 
