1888 
THE ftUMi flSW-VORUl. 
She says that this root-louse increases even 
more rapidly than the lice which attack leaves 
and stems, and when ready to migrate they 
know enough to go to new pastures. 
Dr. Riley, in his first Missouri Report, gives 
the following account of its habits and work: 
“Although this insect usually confines itself 
to the roots of the tree, yet a few may occas¬ 
ionally be found on the suckers that spring up 
round the butt of the trunk, and even on the 
trunk and limbs, especially in places where a 
branch has been amputated and nature is 
closing up the old wound by a circle of new 
bark. Where it works upon the naked trunk 
it often causes a mass of little granulations to 
sprout out, about the size of cabbage seeds, 
thus producing, on a small scale, the same 
effect that it does upon the roots. Wherever 
the insect works, small as it is, it may be 
easily recognized by the peculiar bluish-white, 
cottony matter which itsecretes from its body, 
and which is never met with in the case of the 
common Apple tree plant-louse that inhabits 
the leaves and tips of the twigs.” 
As to artificial remedies, Professor Riley 
says: “The best mode to get rid of the Apple- 
root plant-louse is to drench the roots of the 
infested tree with hot water. But to render 
this process effectual, the water must be ap¬ 
plied in quantities large enough to penetrate 
to every part of the infested roots.” 
Prof. Comstock has found that a heavy, 
damp soil seems to be inimical to them, while 
in a dry, porous soil they flourish. It is there¬ 
fore recommended that the earth around the 
crown of the tree should be kept hollowed 
into a sort of basin in order that the water 
may collect there. Mrs. Treat has found that 
the Nine-spotted Lady-bug is doing good work 
in destroying the pests. 
Fig. 144 shows the work of the insect. The 
drawings are made from specimens furnished 
by Mrs. Treat. 
In the discussion which followed Mrs. 
Treat’s paper, Mr. Beebe thought the louse 
could be killed by potash. Mr. Minch has used 
large quantities of kainit, but could not see 
that it affected the root-lice a particle. He 
said:—“They will crawl up on the body of the 
tree, tracing their way on the bark in regular 
rows all the way around. When the weather 
becomes warmer they will be at the ends 
of the limbs; as it becomes hotter they will 
gradually work their way back to the root of 
the tree. The only use of potash is in wash¬ 
ing the trunk. It makes it uninhabitable to 
the root-louse. There is a possibility that 
some may be prevented from ascending the 
tree. I have taken them from roots two feet un¬ 
der ground and found them abundant in wet 
weather, and in dry, sandy and heavy soils 
I have found them 25 feet from the body 
of the tree. I question very much whe¬ 
ther they can come up through the soil. These 
insects have given me more trouble than all 
other insects combined, and I have as yet 
learned of no remedy against them. They 
attack peach trees as well as apples.” 
Prof. Scribner said he had received speci¬ 
mens of root-knot from Florida, and much 
damage has been caused to the roots of fruit 
trees there. An investigation of those knots 
showed that they were infested with a minute 
worm of the family Anquilidae, popularly 
termed nematode worms, and they were un¬ 
doubtedly the cause of those knots. A section 
would show small holes filled with gelatinous 
matter containing these worms. They are very 
much like vinegar eels. There certainly are 
knots which are formed upon many of our fruit 
trees by these worms. He has seen them also in 
the roots of clematis, causing the cleamtis root- 
rot known to florists. Knots were formed on the 
roots not unlike those, and examination showed 
them to be filled with these nematode worms. 
They are found in many plants not only on 
the roots but in the stems and leaves. 
A DITCHING LEVEL. 
Figure 141 illustrates the principle on 
which an instrument can be made that will 
enable the most inexperienced to determine 
accurately the proper grade in ditching. 
This leveling instrument may be made of a 
board five feet, eight inches long, six inches 
wide, and one-half inch thick, made the shape 
of A, B, a pointer c d, made exactly 5% feet 
long turning on d, a foot D, slotted and bolted 
on the board at C. At the end A of the board 
A B, is a graduated arc divided into spaces 
one-sixteenth of an inch each. On the pointer 
c d, is a level L. The upper edge of the 
pointer should be parallel with the edge of the 
board A B. To use it, drive a stake at the 
lower end where the outlet of the ditch is, ex¬ 
actly the same hight as the board is at A. 
Sight the edge A B to the top of this stake. 
Push the pointer c d down (or up as the case 
may be) until it is level, and the point should 
be at zero of the arc. Then read the number 
of sixteenths from zero to the pointer’s end. 
This will give the fall per rod. As the pointer 
is 53^ feet long a variation of one-sixteenth of 
an inch will equal three-sixteenths of an inch 
in fall per rod. Two-sixteenths, equal to one- 
eighth of an inch, will indicate a fall of three- 
eighths of an inch per rod; and eight-sixteenths, 
equal to one-half inch, will give 1 % inch fad 
per rod, and so on. A. F. 
Lancaster, Ohio. 
SEPARABLE HAYRACK. 
Fig. 143 shows a hayrack which I think has 
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Fig. 143. 
no equal, being light, strong, cheap, easily 
made and handled. Materials: four boards 
14 feet long, eight inches wide at front and 
ten at the rear, for bed pieces; pieces of 2x2 
inches, 12 feet in length for eight posts to fas¬ 
ten the bed pieces together. They should pro¬ 
ject four inches above the bed and about three 
inches below with a half-inch hole one inch be¬ 
low the bed. Two pieces 2x4x14 for a ladder, 
wheelhouses and rear stakes. Four pieces of 
four-inch fencing for cross-pieces. Six pieces 
of six-inch fencing for rack, bottom cross¬ 
pieces, wheelhouses and ladder. Two 2x6x10 
inches for rear bolster. Two five-inch bolts 
for ladder. Four pounds of wire nails, 10s, 
barbed. The rear stakes are to be made so 
that they can be removed without taking out 
the bolts. The bed is in one piece and the 
rack in another which makes it easy to handle. 
Side pieces and ends may be put on tne bed, 
making a bog or sheep rack. (The dotted 
lines in the rack show where the bed comes.) 
Momence, Ill. c. m. 
A CONVENIENT MOVABLE FEED RACK. 
Fig. 142 shows a movable feed rack 
The rack and trough form the best 
feeder in use, being simple, strong, safe 
and durable; just what every farmer 
who expects to feed stock needs. The 
device will save time, labor and feed. 
It can be drawn to the stack, loaded 
and hauled to any convenient place to 
feed, and in muddy weather it can be 
drawn from place to place so that tbe 
stock will not have to stand in mud 
to eat. J. w. c. 
Pleasantville, Ind. 
Miscellaneous. 
HINTS ON GOING WEST. 
be of interest and a help to those who think of 
going West this spring. I should like, first, 
to make a few remarks to all those who are 
dissatisfied, or think of making a change. If 
you do not own any land, or if what you do 
have is covered with mortgages, and you are 
willing to endure hardships, trials and priva¬ 
tions until you can earn the means to make 
you comfortable, there is a reasonable certain¬ 
ty of your becoming possessor of a good home 
and 160 acres or more of good soil by coming 
West and locating on Government land. If 
you have a farm where by hard work you 
manage to make both ends meet and are sur¬ 
rounded by friends and. enjoy some of the 
comforts and luxuries of this life, I would 
advise you by all means to stay where you 
are. I am somewhat familiar with farming 
and farmers in Maine, where it is supposed to 
be hard work to make their ends meet, but I 
do not think our Eastern brother works any 
harder than the Minnesota farmer, and I am 
fully convinced he makes as good a living, if 
not a better one. 
To those who without any taste for a farm¬ 
er’s life are just “going West” to take up a 
farm, make what they can out of it, or expect 
to clear a living after having the work done, 
I would merely say that the chances are very 
much against them, unless they have a large 
amount of capital at their disposal. 
I wifi now give what few pointers I can to 
you who are determined to try the West. If 
you are the head of a family it will be far 
better for you to start out alone and select a 
location and land that suits you, put up a 
house, and then have your family come. 
When persons come here with their families, 
they are obliged, if strangers, to put up at 
some hotel where their expenses are heavy 
and they are very apt to make some selection 
in a hurry to be repented of at leisure. In 
selecting your future home you should keep 
in mind a few very essential things. First of 
all, look well to its healthfulness. Church, 
school and railroad privileges are almost 
sure to follow settlement. If your destina¬ 
tion is Minnesota orJDakota, the fuel question 
is an important one. At this point good hard 
wood can be bought for $1 per cord: but a few 
miles west of here hard wood is worth $8 per 
cord and hard coal costs from $10 to $14 per 
ton. I have heard of some farmers who use 
twisted hay, corn-stalks or sun flowers for 
fuel; but I do not know how much warmth 
there is in them. Wood and soft coal are 
plentiful and cheap if you go where they are. 
If you desire neighbors and social privileges 
close at hand, it is advisable to avoid the 
vicinity of the large bonanza farms. Inquire 
into facilities for transportation. In some por¬ 
tions of the West a large part of what the 
farmer raises goes to support the railroad. If 
you can take the benefit of lake transporta¬ 
tion it is a big advantage. 
Do not form your opinion of any section 
from descriptions given by parties having land 
to sell, as the side turned for your inspection 
will be so bright that it will be apt to blind 
you to the whole truth. I do not know of any 
portion of the West that has not got disadvan¬ 
tages as well as advantages. A good way to 
find out both sides of the question is to sub¬ 
scribe for some farmers’ paper published in 
the section you wish to try. You can judge 
pretty well from letters that farmers write 
among themselves what the country is. 
If you are going to some newly settled 
country it generally pays well to take every- 
Smart, hard-working men acquainted with 
farming who can't make a livelihood East 
will do better in the West; others shoidd 
stay where they are; the head of a family 
should prepare a home before sending for 
his family ; several cautions ; take furni¬ 
ture and stock along; Spring the best time 
to move ; wages West; pay as you go ; per¬ 
sonal experience. 
During my five years’ experience farming 
on some of Uncle Sam’s Red River Valley 
lands, I have learned a few things that may 
c., and the following year he has the land 
for general crops. 
A log or sod house costs from $10 up, depend¬ 
ing on size, style and owner’s pocket. During 
August, September and October a strong per¬ 
son used to hard work and willing to sleep in 
the hay or straw stack can get plenty of work 
at $2 to $2.50 per day and board. The length 
of the day is governed by the length of time 
the man can see to do anything. A man can 
come here and get him a home without any 
capital to start with, if he is the right kind of 
a man; but it is up-hill work for the best of 
men, and it would be far better if he had a few 
hundred dollars to commence with. 
One thing cannot be impressed too strongly 
upon the minds of those coming West to take 
up land and make them a home. It is to avoid 
debt. I think that one thing does more than 
all the rest together to keep the farmer and 
his family worrying, working and using up to 
no purpose all that should be his to make him 
comfortable. The appearance of everything 
in this country tends to deceive a man used to 
farming in the East; everything looks so big 
and extensive that a stranger is apt to con¬ 
clude that the financial results must be corres¬ 
pondingly extensive. It is said that figures 
don’t lie, but don’t you trust them; they will 
deceive as a general thing if you figure by any 
thing more than necessary expenses for the 
first few years in wild land. The new settler 
can take up land here and then buy all the 
extensive machinery he wants, with nothing 
to pay for the present. In a short time he 
can borrow more money on his land which he 
accordingly does, trusting in a good crop with 
good prices to pay up. The result in a few 
years is that the farmer is over-burdened with 
debts, taking all his spare cash to pay 10 per 
cent, interest. In a great many cases the ma¬ 
chinery is worn out, the money is used up 
while the principal of the debt is hardly 
touched. If it is possible'for the settler to 
pay as he goes along, the chances are that he 
will soon be making a good living and feel¬ 
ing very independent and well satisfied. 
A poor man can start with a yoke of oxen 
for a team, costing about $100, “break” up 
his place, raise a few crops and get a little 
money ahead and then buy a team of horses. 
The writer of this, previous to coming West 
lived most of his life in New York City and 
Brooklyn, having been a clerk there for nearly 
six years, and after coming West with hardly 
any means or farming experience, he lias ac¬ 
quired a good home and 160 acres of fertile 
soil that is ready and willing, when properly 
worked, to provide his family with a comfort¬ 
able living and the owner with a feeling of in¬ 
dependence that he could not experience while 
standing behind the counter. 
Polk Co., Minn. f. a. hayks. 
Fig. 142. 
thing you have in the line of furniture, tools, 
and what stock you can afford to take. Trans¬ 
portation does not cost nearly as much as one 
would think, and many who sell out all they 
have for little or nothing, and then buy again 
paying big prices for all the little things they 
need, wish that they had only known all about 
it before they left the East. 
If you are coming to the Northwest you 
would probably find a barrel or so of dried 
fruits very helpful and acceptable the first year. 
In my opinion the best time for a man to 
move West is in the early spring: that gives 
time to select a farm, put up a house if on 
Government land, and during the breaking 
sod season (commencing about the 15th of May 
and ending about the 1st of July), he can get 
some land broken up and plant a few * ‘ catch” 
crops, such as potatoes, beans, corn, turnips, 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
(Every query must be accompanied by the name 
and address of the writer to insure attention. Before 
asking a question please see if it is not answered in 
our advertising columns. Ask only a few questions at 
one time. Put questions on a separate piece of paper. 1 
SALT AND LIME ON HAY. 
H. E. N ., Nickel Plate, Ind. —I notice in a 
back number of the Rural that farmers are 
advised to put lime on their hay instead of 
salt to prevent it from getting musty. How 
much should be used and how? 
Ans. —Of what benefit is lime to hay that it 
should be scattered over the mow as the hay 
is going in? Many farmers believe it to be 
useful. If it is so, there must be some good 
reason for it. If it absorbs moisture and 
prevents heating, a large quantity must be 
used, for air-slaked lime has already absorbed 
very nearly all the moisture it can and yet be 
dry, which is about one-third of its weight. If 
it destroys any germs of mildew, or of the 
yeast cells, both of which produce injury to 
hay that is put up damp, it may very possibly 
have some effect if used in sufficient quanti¬ 
ties. But its antiseptic properties then would 
be the only effective agency, and salt would 
be equally useful. No doubt some lime mixed 
with the hay might be useful in localities 
where the water is soft and devoid of this 
necessary mineral substance, a certain quan. 
tity of which is needed by all animals to 
supply wastes of the system; and in these 
cases it may be useful ly given with the food 
by mixing it with the hay, as well as in any 
other way. But in general it may be said, ae 
a rule, that to mix either salt or lime with, 
well cured hay is quite unnecessary, and a 
waste of labor; while the practice is not wise 
if it is made a substitute for careful curing of 
hay; if, however, the weather is such that it is 
not possible to avoid putting in the hay in a 
