4888 
fMt RURAL WEW-VOBKEh 
501 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS 
IKvery query must be accompanied by thename 
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A DEAD PEAR TREE. 
S. R, S., Elmer, N. J. —A pear tree planted 
about 10 jears, was top grafted with Kieffer 
three years ago and set a nieo crop of fruit 
this season. Toe tree bus ever been a vigor¬ 
ous grower, but noticing that it had not made 
any growth this season, although still retain¬ 
ing its foliage, I dug about it to see if borers 
were at work and found no signs of them, but 
found roots aud trunk, to 10 inches above 
grouud, apparently stone-dead; both bark and 
wood had assumed that umber color which 
they are wont to take before becoming thor¬ 
oughly dead dry. The tree bad beeu mulched 
with sifted coal ashes three or four inches in 
depth, late in the Wiuter, and late in Spring 
truuk aud limbs were washed with a ker- 
oseho emulsion of one gallon hot water, one 
quart soft soap and one pint kerosene. All 
the other fruit trees received this wash, and 
seem to flourish. What caused the death of 
the tree? Would chamber lye thrown occa¬ 
sionally on the ground around the tree be 
likely to produce the effect? 
Ans.—W e are of the opinion that your 
pear tree was killed by the Winter. The 
grafting probably produced a later growth 
than usual and the tree was not as well pre¬ 
pared for the severe Winter, and so suc¬ 
cumbed to the excessive aud loug-contiuued 
cold. The kerosene emulsion, if thoroughly 
uuited aud emulsified, would do no harm, aud 
even had it dot been thoroughly mixed so 
that free*>il was present, it would hardly have 
produced that effect. The use of chamber 
slops about a tree, iu Winter, early Spring or 
late Fall, when the tree is dormant, is not to 
i'e recommended, as they might kill the roots, 
if too strong; there would be little dauger 
when the tree was in vigorous growth. 
ENSILAGING, 
J. C., Atchison, Kansas —How can I build 
a silo to keep sugar meal? 
Ans. —Precisely the saino conditions are re¬ 
quired to ensilage one as all other foods; the 
silo mast be made air-tight. If a hill side is 
handy to the stable, au excavation may be 
made in it, and if of some solid earth, the 
cement may be put directly npon the dirt; or 
it may he walled up with stoue or brick, or it 
may be built of these materials entirely 
above the grouud aud plastered with hydrau¬ 
lic cement, aud, lastly, it may be built of solid 
lumber by having the sides double-boarded 
and lined between with tarred sheathing. The 
silo may be of any convenient size and shape, 
the deeper the better. When filling, the meal 
should be put in as rapidly as possible aud 
packed firmly by treading or stamping down. 
When filled the silage should be covered with 
a close layer of planks, or, better, by two 
thicknesses of inch boards, breaking joints. 
It should tlieu be weighted with stone, soil, or 
some other material at the rate of at least 100 
pounds per square foot. For sugar meal, it 
would be better if it could be kept covered 
with water during the time of tukiug out after 
the cover is removed, as it is very liable to be¬ 
come moldy. 
GRASS IN AN ORCHARD. 
R. W. B ., Lomj Pine, Neb. —1. Our soil is a 
black sandy loam from four to 24 inches deep, 
overlying sand. I do not wish to plow my 
orchards, but wish to seed them, mulching the 
trees; what land of grass or clover is most 
suitable for this purpose? Whatalso for hay 
aud permanent pasture? This is a uew country, 
and we want information on this point. 2. 
When and how should the seed be sown? 
Ans.—1. Much depends on whether you 
wish the largest returns in hay or grass from 
the orchard, or merely wish to cover the sur¬ 
face to keep weeds down. If the former, sow 
Medium Lied Clover and Orchard Crass; if 
the latter, Orchard Grass, White (.'lover aud 
Blue Grass, lu any case, the trees should 
be kept well mulched; aud it is much better 
for the orchard if it be kept closely eateu 
down with sheep aud hogs. 2. Seed iu early 
Spring, sowiug one-ami-one-half bushel of 
Orchard Grass aud six pounds of Red Clover 
seed; or, iu place of the latter, four pounds 
of White Clover aud half a bushel of Blue 
Grass For the first Summer don’t pasture, 
but mow as often as the weeds get a start so 
uj, to keep them under. 
HEN MANURE. 
S If. W., MinaviUe , N, Y. —I have a 
quantity of hen manure, which I wish to use 
on wheat this Fall. 1. Is there danger of us¬ 
ing too much, if [ drill it with the wheat? 2. 
Would it be better if mixed with plaster? 3. 
Should it be mixed now or just before it is 
used? 4. How much of the mixture, equal 
parts of each, would be equivalent to 100 
pounds of Lister’s superphosphate? 
Ans —It would be possible to use too much, 
but there is uo practical danger, 2, Mixing 
plaster might improve its mechanical con¬ 
dition; it would add very little, if anything, 
to its value, but it would retain any ammonia 
that might lie escaping 3. It could be mixed 
at any time, as there is nothing in the plaster 
(sulphate of lime) that would injure the 
manure. The mixture of hen manure and 
plaster adds nitrogen, sulphur and lime, but 
would be lacking in potash and phosphoric 
acid. The hen manure contains more nitro¬ 
gen and potash per 100 pounds than the phos¬ 
phate mentioned, but only about one-fourth 
as much phosphoric acid. By mixing 200 
pounds of fine bone flour, a valuable manure 
would result. 
GETTING RID OF QUACK. 
T. E., Parkers Lake, Minn, —On my farm 
there are small patches of Witch Grass; it was 
first discovered iu the field after a wheat crop, 
and several farms near here have it in small 
plots. One farmer tried digging it out, and 
only succeeded in tbinniug it; how can it be 
extirmiuated? 
Ass.—It is more widely known as Quack 
Grass (Triticum repens), and propagates most¬ 
ly by running root stocks or stolons It can 
be killed by persistent cultivation of any kind 
that will, for a whole seasou, prevent it from 
forming any top. No half-way work will kill 
it. If the patches are small, the ground may 
be covered very deeply with straw, or if cov¬ 
ered ouly a foot deep, and as often as the grass 
shows above, if the straw is pitched over and 
all shoots pulled off, one year will kill it, and 
fortuuately it grows very sparingly from 
seed. The easiest way to get it out of a farm 
is to keep it out by killing it when only in 
very small patches. 
“WIGOLERS” IN WATER. 
J. H. J., Poplar Bluff, Mo. —1. My cistern 
water is full of what we call “wiggle-tails;” 
what causes them? 2. How can I get rid of 
them without injuring the water? 
Ans.— These are the larva! and pup® of the 
common mosquitoes,called “ Wigglers.” They 
come from eggs laid directly in the water in 
little boat-shaped clusters, or from those 
laid in the mud or dirt collected on the bot¬ 
tom of the glitters over the roof of the house. 
2. It is difficult to put anything into the 
water that would kill them without rendering 
it injurious. In fact, they do the water no 
harm, as they feed on auimalcuke that are 
already in it. If the covering of the cistern 
is made perfectly tight and the gutters on the 
house are kept clean, but few will be found in 
the water, and it the cistern were sufficiently 
deep so that the water would be q uite cold 
there would bo none. 
ABOUT ALFALFA. 
G. HLong Pine, Neb.— l. How should 
Alfalfa be treated for hay? 2. How is the 
seed saved? 
Ans,— 1. For hay it should be cut as soon as 
in full bloom; stirred often until fully wilted, 
and then put iuto cocks of good size and 
allowed to stand until “made;” if it heats con¬ 
siderably in the cock, it will not be in any 
way injured. If it ha* not beeu wet by rain, 
it will “air” enough iu beiug loaded aud 
drawn to the mow or stack. 2. For see I, it 
should be allowed to stand and ripen, being 
cut when it has the largest quantity of seed. 
It should be remembered that Alfalfa produ¬ 
ces large quantities of hay, and it can uo more 
produce this, than au animal can make a large 
growth, without proper feed; for this reason 
those who grow It on poor soil must be liberal 
iu the application of fertilizers, if they would 
i aise paying crops. 
MILLET FOR FORK MAKING. 
J. •/. G,, Weston, Mo. —1 live on a creek 
and in the past two weeks wo have had re¬ 
peated overflows that have ruined our pros¬ 
pect for Corn; what can l sow that will take 
its place tor pork feeding? What think you 
of buckwheat, and how should it be sown? 
Ans. —Buckwheat does not produce a large 
enough crop of seed aud the grain is uot suf¬ 
ficiently rich iu fattening properties. I’ro- 
eure some yellow or German millet, aud, 
having mude the ground very flue, sow three- 
fourths of a bushel per acre; brush iu lightly 
aud roll. On good laud aud in a good season 
it should give from 30 to 40 bushels of seed 
per acre, aud this has as good fattening prop¬ 
erties as corn. 
CONSTITUENTS OF THE POTATO. 
IF. -4. P., Brookfield, Pa,~ 1. What are the 
chemical constituents of the potato? 2. Is 
saltpeter essential to its growth? 
Ans.— 1. The potato contains,on an average, 
21 per cent, of dry matter; the remainder is 
water. Of the 21 parts of dry matter 1.23 
partis albuminoids; 18.72 parts are carbo¬ 
hydrates and .89 part is ash, a large propor¬ 
tion of which is potash. The stalks contain a 
much larger per cent, of potash. 2. Baltpeter 
is nitrate of potash, and both nitrogen and 
potash are essential to the growth of a potato, 
but both can be supplied in other forms much 
more cheaply than in this salt. 
Miscellaneous. 
A Reader , Carthage , Mo .—L In pure- 
blooded Plymouth Rock chickens should the 
cockerels be dark or light gray, and is the 
shade a mark of purity? 2 Should the legs 
be feathered or bare, and is this taken 
into account in judging this breed? 
Ans. —1. The cockerels are usually lighter 
than the hens, and are so selected for breed¬ 
ing, although there is a constant tendency for 
them to come darker like the hens. This 
tendency is no mark of impurity; it only 
shows the constant reversion to an original 
type. For the show pens the cockerels and 
hens are selected as nearly alike in color as 
possible. 2. The legs should be entirely bare. 
Any feathers are regarded as a blemish, and 
disqualify the bird for exhibition. 
C. R , Springdale, N. C .—I inclose leaves 
of a dwarf pear which are full of holes and 
seem burnt. This is the second j'ear the trees 
have been out, and they do not grow; whatis 
the trouble, and how should they be treated? 
Ans.— The leaves were too much dried and 
broken to enable us to judge with certainty. 
But we suggest an application of bone dust 
and muriate of potash at the rate of 500 pounds 
Of the former and 300 pounds of the latter per 
acre, with clean cultivation, and if the soil is 
very dry, mulching before the heat of Summer 
with cut grass or straw. 
J. D. &\> WtUabmrg, W. Fa,—I send you 
strawberry leaves and fruit found growing in 
the grass on a gravelly soil, can you identify 
the variety, and is it worth cultivation? 
Ans. —The box was several days on the 
road, and the plants were badly dried; but as 
nearly as we could tell it was Crescent, well 
thought of by many, and a very vigorous 
grower. 
J., H S., Hillman, Mich. —Who makes a 
clover huller worked by hand, and do you 
think it a good machine? 
Ans. —We can find no one making such a 
machine, and hardly think it practical, as to 
do good work requires too much speed for 
human muscle to furnish. 
J. S., Shelburne Falls, Mass, —What is the 
legal fee in Virginia for registering deeds of 
real estate? 
Ans —The clerk's fee for registry is $1.25, 
for a deed of ordinary length. The State 
levies a tax of $1.00 on each $1,000, and 10 
cents for each additional $100 of the consider¬ 
ation mentioned. 
O. F. F., Monmouth, Me ,—Where can I 
buy strictly pure cream-of-tartar? 
Ans.— Of E. R. Durkee & Co., 135 Water 
Street, New York, who will send it by express 
in lots of five pounds aud upward, at 40 cents 
per pound, cash accompanying order. 
P. M., Grayling , Mich. —What is a plan of 
a horse power for sawing wood—one with a 
round w heel and “fixtures ?” 
Ans. —Such a horse-power is patented, and 
made for sale by the Taylor Horse power Co., 
Chicago, 111. 
6’. C. S., Weston, Md. —Are Lyou & Healy, 
music dealers of Chicago, a reliable concern? 
Ans. — They are reported worth a half 
million, aud prompt. 
E. B. T., Newport, Yt. —Is the Van Dusen 
Nursery Co., of Geneva, N. Y., reliable? 
Ans. —We think so—perfectly. 
DISCUSSION. 
A. W. B., Cleveland. Ohio.—On page 
381 of tne Rural, for Jane tttb, speaking of 
the ravages of the pea weevil, it is stated 
that “there seems to be no help for it.” So 
far as injury to seed for plautiug purposes is 
concerned, 1 have been able to conquer both 
the pea and bean weevils. Last Summer I 
took a quart of American Wonder Peas, when 
ripe and dry, aud placed them in a tin fruit 
eau having a closely fitting cover. Iuto this 
I put about a teaspoonful of Pyrethrum and 
the same amount of small lumps of camphor 
gum, aud, having fastened on the cover, shook 
it up aud laid it away. I had some fear that 
the strength of the camphor might unfavor¬ 
ably affect the vitality of the seed. In the 
Spring the peas showed not even the slightest 
effects of weevil; bat were all perfect and 
round, aud on beiug planted showed the best 
results in germination and growth I have ever 
seen, making more than double the showing 
of the growth produced by weevil-eaten peas. 
Beans treated in a similar manner showed 
similar results, while those not treated were 
reduced nearly to dust by the bean weevil. 
I think these results warrant further trial and 
experiment. Any old glass or tin fruit can 
will answer. 
Communications Receivzd for the Week Ending 
Saturday, July 13, ISSN. 
A. B.-A- K. F.-E. K.—D. B. B.—J. C. S.-C.A G.— 
J. W. L., pea* received.—D. W. C.—A. O. B.—W. T. R. 
-J W. J.-W. R. L -D. B.-J. R. S.-J. Y. P.-B. H. 
J. W., thanks for sketch,—M. B.—W. B. H.—M. P. H. 
J,B. R’-J. H.S.-A M.G.-J.U.-J. P. H.-E. H. S. 
M. R. J.-J.*B. F.-G. S. G.-S. C. R.—G. H.—J. S.-E. 
R. W.-JS. S, F.—E. ,B T.-S. C. S.—B. M. H.-A. W 
M.—A. W. M.-G. F.—W. A. H.-C. W. J , mistakes 
happen to all —E. H. W.—O. F F-—J. W. Jr.—H. L. 
W.-J. D. S.-R. G. P.-J, W. E.—W. J. B.—M. O.-E. 
P,—B. T.—L. P. C.—S. J. C.—W. H. S,'-E. C.-W. E. C. 
-W. D.S.—W. B. H.-J. W.-A. M. G.-J. P. H. 
gUvntismg, 
A Brilliant Midsummer Number. 
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