THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
so that they will get accustomed to it and will 
readily eat it. Soak a quart or two of corn in 
alcohol for two days, putting it in fruit cans 
and covering it tight; in the morning, before 
light, scatter this about the field. This will 
make the crows thoroughly drunk, and, 
knowing so much more than men, they will 
never come back again after more. 
REMEDY FOR FUNGUS GROWTH ON TREES. 
P. D. K., Yarmouth, N. S .—What will pre¬ 
vent, or get rid of moss on gooseberry and 
currant bushes? 
Ans. —We suggest that you give very good 
cultivation, and liberal mauuring with barn¬ 
yard manure and hard wood ashes. Spray the 
bushes with a wash made of caustic soda, or 
soda-ash and water. 1}^ pound to the gallon; 
or, if you can't get either of these, use a strong 
litne wash made by stirring caustic or fresh 
lime in boiling water, like thick white wash, 
and then letting it sulfide, so as to get the 
clear water. These are a certain cure for any 
sort of fungous or lichenous growth on trees. 
Miscellaneous. 
F. E. .4.. Kelly Station, Va. —1. Are angle- 
worms injurious to gardens? 2. What are the 
best books for a beginner, on agricultural 
chemistry, entomology, and botany? 3. 
What will exterminate cut-worms? 4. The 
leaves on my peach trees are puffed up and 
curled together; what ails them? 5. What 
arc the best grapos for Hanover Co., Va.. for 
home and market? 6. Uow can the potato 
beetle be killed? 7 How thick can radishes 
be grown? 8.. Is it bettor to “stick” English 
peas, or let them alone? ft. What is the best 
strawberry for market? 111. What is the best 
breed of chickens for eggs aud table? 
Anh.— 1. Probably the only harm they do 
is to work through the ground when wet, and 
thus make it hard. Salt, at the rate of 400 
pounds per acre, will exterminate them. 2. 
Johnson’s How Crops Grow, and llow Crops 
Feed, $2 each; A. H. Packard’s Our Common 
Insects, $1 50; Wm Saunders’s Insects Inju¬ 
rious to Fruit, #3; Gray’s Manual of Botany, 
$2.25. are good works on the above subjects. 
3. There is nothing so good as the thumb and 
finger. Try the kerosene emulsion described 
on the editorial page of the Rural for May 
10. 4. It is the curl leaf, and will cease as the 
weather gets settled. To keep the trees well 
manured and healthy, is the best preventive. 
5. Ives’s Seedling, Norton’s Virginia aud Del¬ 
aware are the only grapes double-starred for 
Virginia in the American Pomological Socie¬ 
ty’s Catalogue. We should recommend a trial, 
in a small way, of Brighton and Jefferson; 
also of Worden aud Duchess. 6. Paris-green 
or London-purple is sure death to potato 
beetles, aud can be applied, mixed with water, 
ono teaspoonful to pailful; or with plaster, 
one part to 100 by weight. 7. Rows one foot 
apart and two or three incties wide; plant one 
inch apart in all directions. 8. All peas grow¬ 
ing over two feet high should be “sticked.” 
9. Wilson’s Albany, for a stand-by; give it 
extra manuring and culture. 10. Seearticios 
in course of publication in the Rural. 
A. C M., Union. City, Michi —1. What is the 
bast mulch for a newly-planted hedge, and 
does it need watering? 2. Is it the custom, 
now, to paint blinds the color of the house? 8, 
What is a good, durable, cheap paint for roofs? 
Ans. —1. The best mulch of all is a finely- 
cultivated surface; broken or cut straw, tan- 
bark and sawdust are also good, in the order 
named. It does not need watering if well 
soaked by rain after it was planted, and if 
mulch was applied soon afterwards. 2. It is not 
the fashion to paint blinds exactly the color of 
the house, but of a shade in unison with it. 3. 
If it is a tin or metallic roof, there is nothing 
so good as the iron ore paint sold under the 
name of Rossie, It is also good to use with lin¬ 
seed oil on shingle roofs, as it is much harder 
and more lasting than any other paint which 
we know of. For first coat, it should be mixed 
rather thin. 
L. It. C , Tribe's Hills, N. Y. —1. What is a 
suitable sized pot for potting strawberries, and 
where can I get such? 2. I made a compost 
of priyy manure, leached ashes, and common 
dirt. It is now filled with white grubs, five- 
eighths of an inch long. What are they, and 
what will kill them? 
A.\\s.—L Any old strawberry basket or box 
or pot will answer. If to be bought new, the 
twoaud-one-half-inch thumb pot is best. We 
think they can be got at Syracuse. Any 
green-house man can tell you the nearest 
place at which they caa be bought. 2. These 
grubs are probably Muck Grubs. They look 
something like small White Grubs, only 
they are not quite so white; they are nearly 
always found in manure piles or under mulch, 
and do no harm, only eating a little manure. 
They can be driven out or killed by the mode¬ 
rate use of strong lime water for watering. 
Wm. M., Mt. Gilead O. —1. What does the 
Rural think of Darnell’s furrower and mark¬ 
er? 2, Does it do good work as a potato or 
corn furrower, and what is its price? 8, On 
what terms does the Rural test seeds and po¬ 
tatoes, and how much seed must be sent? 4. 
What is the price of the eight-foot Acme pul¬ 
verizer? 5. What is the best instrument for 
putting sod in condition for potatoes? 
Ans.— 1. We have never used it, but we 
have heard it well reeommeuded. 2 We 
think it works well. We don’t know the price; 
seud to manufacturers for catalogue. 3. 
Without money and without, price; glad to 
test what we can. free; but very little—a sin¬ 
gle potato, or a single ear of corn, etc. 4. 
Write for circular. The manufacturers will 
gladly seud it if you mention Rural New- 
Yorker. 5. There are several good 
tools; the Acme is good and so are several of 
the disc and spring-tooth harrows. Send for 
catalogues aud judge for yourself. 
TV. T. G., Miami, Mo, —1, From whom can 
I get Jersey Red hogs? 2. Are Jersey Reds 
ami Duroc Jerseys the same? 3. In purchas¬ 
ing pure-bred swine, how can I prevent impo¬ 
sition? 
Ans. —l. From T. Bennett. Rossville, 111.; 
E. M. Wyatt, Ashland, III.; B. T. Railsbaclc, 
Hopedale, 111. 2. The Jersey Red and Duroc 
are the same, and the convention of breeders 
of these hogs held in 1888 so proclaimed. 2. 
A pedigree recorded in the herd book is a 
guarantee of purity of blood; but sometimes 
pedigrees are manufactured and sent, which 
art* not recorded. We do not think the breed 
so well established yet. as to show the same 
uniformity as the Berkshire, Essex, and 
other older breeds. Twenty years ago the 
Poland-Chiuas were of all colors, or nearly so, 
and with great diversity of form, but 
now they are almost as true to type as the 
Berkshires. 
A, H. T., Aquehogm, L. N. F.—1. 
What will prevent weeds aud grass from grow¬ 
ing in walks in lawns? 2. Is there a better 
hiaterial for a walk than loam? 3. Should a 
biare in foal be worked the same as before? 
Ans. —1. Thoie is nothing more effectual 
than salt, and if plenty is used, no grass or 
Weeds will grow. 8. Coal ashes, well pounded 
down, make a good walk, and when settled 
and tramped down hard, may be slightly 
coated with gravel. Walks may be nmdeof 
small stones, coal ashes and coal tar, that are 
hard, durable, and pleasant to walk on; but 
they emit a very strong smell for a long time. 
8. It is well that pregnant mares should be 
moderately worked, even up to foaling time; 
but really hard work should not he done. 
G. J. B., Cave, Texas ,—For the last four 
years I have been making nice, clean sorghum 
*imp, but it has had a burning acid taste; 
how can I get rid of this? 
ANSWERED BY DR. PETER COLLIER. 
An answer to this inquiry is difficult, since 
the method of manufacture employed is not 
Stated. I suspect that the inquirer may be 
One of those who are opposed to the use of 
lime in defecating the juice. It Is a fact that 
a fine-looking sirup may be made without 
lime; but the use of it is universal on the sugar 
plantations of the .South, and if properly used 
in defecation, I think the acid character of the 
sirup will be removed. 
H. L. C,, Charlton,Mass. —1. Is there a va¬ 
riety of plum named Mooney, and is it a good 
kind? 2. Is the Sweet Home Black-cap a good 
raspberry? 
Ans.— 1, In Western New York there isaplum 
called Mooney, or Niagara. It is of first qual¬ 
ity, so nearly like the Bradshaw, that if the 
fruit of both were mixed, It would puzzle any 
one to tell the one from the other, and this is 
the case with the trees also. Rather than pay 
an extraordinary price, therefore, for it, we 
would prefer to buy Bradshaw at a cheaper 
figure. 2 We have never heard of snch a 
raspberry, and would go a little slow on it. 
C. A, TV, Rockford, Mich .—The stems, 
blossoms and the under sides of the leaves 
of my Snowball trees are covered with 
tiny, black bugs, that curl the leaves and spoil 
the blossoms. Smoking them with sulphur 
does uo good; what will? 
Ans. —Use Buhach powder, either extended 
with flour, plaster or sulphur or in solution, 
and blow it upon the insects through a bellows. 
The kerosene emulsion is good—one part of 
kerosene to one of sweet or sour mi'k well 
shaken in a jug, and five parts of water added 
for use. 
“ Subscriber," Funninydale, III. —1. Where 
can the Victoria Grape be bought? 2. What 
is the best time to prune trees to prevent de¬ 
cay? 3. Is the Le Conte Pear an early bearer 
in the North? Mine stood a temperature of 30 
degrees below zero the past Winter? 4. What 
is the Evergreen Blackberry ? 
Ans.— 1. Several of the catalogues which we 
have noticed offer it. There is a question 
whether all have the true Victoria. 2. Spring. 
3. Summer. 4. It is a variety of the Rubus 
fruticosus. Catalogues call it Rubus lacinia- 
tus, or Parsley-leaved Blackberry. 
J. A. G., Black Creek, N. F. —My calves 
appear to be all right until they are 24 hours 
old; then they begin to scour, refuse to suck, 
and die when about three days old; what is 
the matter? 
Ans.—T he trouble is with the milk. What 
are the cows fed upou? Nothing definite can 
be said in reference to the calves without 
knowing all about the cows. As this is a mat¬ 
ter of general interest, please write again. 
B. K., New Providence, Pa. —In making a 
fertilizer with bone, sulphuric acid, potash and 
nitrate of soda, should the potash and nitrate 
lie mixed before or after the addition of the 
acid? 
Ans.—N ot until after the bone has com¬ 
pletely neutralized the acid; otherwise the 
sulphuric acid would unite with the potash 
and soda in preference to the lime in t he phos¬ 
phate, thus leaving the phosphate insoluble. 
zl. E. R., Clarksville. Neb .—Will it bo an 
advantage to remove the earth from around 
melon viues. replacing it with well rotted ma¬ 
nure. provided the roots are not disturbed? 
Ans.—Y es, provided the roots are not dis¬ 
turbed. But we should prefer a surface mulch 
by all means. 
M. A. P., Janesville, (J., sends plant for 
name. 
Ans.—I t is Choke Cherry—Prunus (Padus) 
Virgiuiana of Gray; Cerasus Virginiana of 
Wood. 
E. W., No Address .—At what depth are po¬ 
tatoes planted to give the best results at the 
Rural Experimental Grounds? 
Ans.—A bout four inches. 
A. O., Chelsea. Mass .—Can dogs, especially 
the St. Bernard, live in the climate of Tampa, 
Florida. 
Ans.—Y es. 
- ■ M l-■ 
DISCUSSION. 
A. E. Gibson, Greely, Col.—A late Ru¬ 
ral, in replying to an inquiry from Kredonia, 
N. Y., says that “The Woever Plum is utterly 
worthless so far mirth, if not everywhere 
else.” As the Weaver is oue of the few plums 
that stands our exacting climate. I rather feel 
it my duty to come to its vindication. Why 
the Rural should say that “It is utterly 
worthless so far north,” is not clear to me, as 
I supposed it was everywhere accorded at 
least the merit, of hardiness. Ail the cata¬ 
logues, so far as my knowledge goes, place it 
among the “iron-dads,” For example, Mr. 
Randolph Botera, in his descriptive catalogue, 
says of this plum: “Fruit large, purple with 
blue bloom; very prolific; a constant and 
regular bearer, and of good quality. Tho tree 
is very hardy, not being injured in the sever¬ 
est Winters, and will thrive even to the north¬ 
ern limits of the United States.” It is spoken 
of by others in equally favorable terms. 
While the concession is readily made that tho 
fruit isInferior to the Gages. Damsous, etc., in 
point of quality, still where hardiness is the 
first consideration, as in this locality, such a 
fruit is by no means to be ignored or despised. 
1 must therefore be permitted to protest 
against any attempt to interdict the Weaver, 
Until something better can be found with tho 
sumo staying qualities. 
Remarks.—T he answer to which our friend 
takes exception was for a man at Fredonia, 
N. Y., latitude 43 deg., 30m. Mr. Peters lives 
at Wilmington, Delaware, about 89 deg., 40m., 
a difference of some 280 miles. Moreover, he 
is not far from the ocean, and there are seve¬ 
ral other influences which temper the climate 
In his section. Besides, we did not intimate 
that the Weaver is not hardy, but hardiness is 
of no account when not connected with fruit¬ 
fulness, and we have never seen one of this 
group of plums that would bear at all so near 
the great lakes as Fredonia, But suppose it 
productive, Fredonia is in a section in which 
the finest domestic plums can be grown, and 
why grow a thing that even our friend has to 
admit is pretty poor. The fact is, its quality 
is so poor that it reminds us of an incident: 
When we were a boy, we were attending an 
agricultural meeting where the Barberry was 
discussed as a hedge plant, and one of the 
claims put forth for it was that the inice would 
never, under any circumstances, eat it. A 
man living on Grand Island, New York, said 
that was not true, that on bis island, at least, 
he had seen them gnaw it badly. A member 
remarked he pitied Grand Island mice. 
Communications Received for the week ending 
Saturday. Mav 31. 
J. H. P. thanks -P. S.-T. L. D.—H. M. V.-J. D. W. - 
J. W.-H. S. J.-W. W. K.-L. I!. B.—A F. B.-B. K. A. 
-C. C. W.—P. I.-C. P-.-A. H. S.-J. M. S.-D. S. H,— 
J. T. G.-R. K A.-It. A. C.—E. M. thanks.—S, M. K,— 
I». A.—"Asparagus,” thanks.-E. W.—R. M. L.—W. O. 
R.-L. M. C.-N. H. K.— J. D. 8. B. K. J.-A. E B.-.T. 
A. T.-A. S. TI. H. F. F.-n. S. Pilgrim.—I R, W.— 
F. L. 8.-M. W. F.-P. E.—A N.-R. W. A. B. A. II. 
C. B.-C. L. P. -J. A- P--J. McC.-W. V. N.-B. K. W 
thanks for oats.-S. ft P. J. M. K,—W. S. H.-J. M. S. 
W. J. H.-H. K. M.-L. M. R.-T. H. B.-L. E. M.-I. 
B. O.-G. VV. L.-T. M. S.—L. C. S.—H. F. S.-J. T. L.— 
W. G. G—A Subscriber.—F. W. C.-R. S.-G. S.—G. G. 
—J. F. B.—T. E. McC.—W. H. M., thanks. 
^mplcmettt.s amt Pachinenj. 
The CHAMPION 
HAY AND GRAIN UNLOADER. 
Him no equal In capacity, adaptation or saving of 
Mine, labor, or expense. Hay, grain (bound or Ii.omoi, 
eiover seed, pens, beaus, stalks and mihusked corn, 
unloaded with i.quul case uml rapidity: (14 loads tin 
loudc.l In six hours. For descriptive circulars address 
ItOA ROMAN HltO*., ShortNvilte, N. Y. 
McSHERRY 
GRAIN DRILL. 
Sow* Fertilizers splendidly, it is very accurate, 
and strictly ttrst-class Works to tho entire sat lsfao- 
tlon of everybody who knows what a Grain uml Fer¬ 
tilizer Drill mmht to do. All who appreciate excel¬ 
lence and accuracy, prefer the [UcWHKUIt Y. 
Mention this paper. 
II. K. McHIIERItY <3c CO., 
Oftytou, O. 
REYNOLDS & LANG, 
ITHACA, IV. Y., 
MANUFACTURERS OF 
STATIONARY X PORTABLE ENGINES, 
Portable Saw Mills, &c. 
STEVENS FRENCH RUHR 
FEED MILLS. 
The cheapen® 
and beet milia 
111 the world. 
Prices $W0 and 
upwards, sub¬ 
ject to ctuth dis¬ 
count. Send for 
circa i ars to 
A.W STKVKN3 
ft SON. 
Auburn, N. X. 
Mention this 
paper. 
Heebners’ Patent Level-Tread Horse-Powers* 
Heelmer*’ I m proved Thresh I utf 11 nc.hl ne. Pul- 
Iv warranted. Catalogues with valuable Information 
Free. Sole owners of Imeltread pn»**nIs. All others 
Infringements. Heubner dk Mona, Lansdale, Pa. 
TIMKEN SPRINC VEHICLES! 
Easiest riding _ Vehicle mad. 
Hides us easy P « with ono j>e 
sonaswith two.' /'Tin: Kprliu 
lengthen and shorten according; to the weight llir 
carry. Equally well adapted to rough counii 
roads urul fine drives of onion. Manufactured an 
sold byall thaleadlngCarrlageKillIdorsand Pnulo 
Henry Timken, fnlenfeo. St f.otii*. . 11 * 
ABBOTT BUGGY CC 
Used exclusively by 
aiiiAtiio, n,i,. 
KING’S HAY GARRIER 
Speaks for Itself. 
The many Farmers 
that use them are enthusiastic in 
their praise- I sell direct to the 
farmers and make the price very 
low. Send at once for ei reular and 
price-list, Geo.W. King, Marion. O. 
THE DAVIS 
STUMP PULLER. 
Received Cnnle/nvial Medal. 
Is now In line In Canadaand 
nearly even part of the U.S. 
1,1 FTS -2U to AO TH' S. 
Stand* on runners, worked 
by two men. 5 Bikes. Price 
$ilA to $70. Circulars free. 
Manufactured by H. I. BMf- 
NITT, Westerville, Franklin 
market. 
OSELEY’S 
CABINET 
4ti'i llrfriirt rulorfOil BI.MKI> 
For families, faoLorfc*, tho (h+aiiuQtillutring 
Syatmt; for hotels, etc. WT1IK STODDARD 
Si 
M/t 
whur** w* Ha?* no AffrnL. 1» 
m, Buttrr Htnen, PrbiU, etf# #Uw 
CHTOO t 
No lloalt or 
tin*In- 
•fiiflt 9 
•Iat> fi»r 
♦Ulrj * 
tarlury' 
wllh nr 
wtf bout 
jMillrj, 
One ml 
,w holt* 
l*nl« 
l'aw« 
MOSELEY <k STODDARD, Mauufac'g Co., Poultucy, VW 
