234 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
March 28 
FARMERS’ CLUB 
[Every query must be accompanied by 
the name and address of the wr'ter to in¬ 
sure attention. Before asking a viuestion, 
l)loase see whether It is not answered in 
our advertising columns. Ask only a few 
questions at one time. Put questions on a 
separate piece of paper.] 
Killing Out Wild Onions. 
J. F. li., Chase dtp, Ta.—Can you tell me 
a sure remedy to kill wild onions so our 
cows cannot get them and ruin the milk? 
They are thick on all ground here, and are 
the first green thing to show In Spring. 1 
have just bought 25 acres and see a few 
on it before it is cleared near the branch. 
I want to clear them out if possible as I 
wish to make a truck farm and keep five 
Jerseys. 
Ank.—W ild onions may be killed out 
by breaking up the land and growing 
hoed crops for two or more successive 
seasons, but they are difficult to eradi¬ 
cate from sod lands. Something may be 
done in a small way by cutting out the 
bulb clusters with a spud and applying 
salt to kill outlying offsets, but it is too 
expensive for clearing large areas. Wild 
onions lie dormant during the greater 
part of Summer. They are only aggres¬ 
sive in early Spring and late Autumn. 
Grafting the Chestnut. 
It. li. L., Parhlon, A/d.—Can young chest¬ 
nut sprouts be grafted with the better 
kinds, thus making them more profitable 
when they come into bearing, or can they 
be budded more successfully? How and 
when can it be done? Will it pay to 
bother with sprouts that may be left to 
grow up into a grove in a pasture? What 
varieties are best? 
Ans.—I f a farmer has a piece of land 
that is growing up to chestnut sprouts, 
and wants to work it into a pasture, with 
enough of the sprouts left to make suffi¬ 
cient trees for shade, it may be done 
cheaply and profitably. The trees will 
occupy some space and detract from the 
pasture but if they are worked into good 
varieties they will pay for it and a good 
profit besides. The variety that I prefer 
above all others, so far as 1 now know 
of those that have been well tested, is 
Paragon, although there are other good 
ones. It would be better to graft than to 
bud the sprouts, as there has been very 
little success in budding the chestnut. 
The time to graft is April, in the north¬ 
ern part of Maryland and similar re¬ 
gions. Some prefer to graft the chest¬ 
nut early, that is, before the bark will 
pe“i. w'hile others have better success 
late in the season. My experience leads 
me to follow the latter practice. In 
either case the scions should be cut be¬ 
fore there are any signs of the buds 
starting and put them in a damp and 
very cool place, that they may not start 
in the least, if kept for late grafting. The 
method of grafting is not material, al¬ 
though the ordinary cleft style is as good 
as any, except after the bark peels read¬ 
ily, w'hen the bark method is the best. 
For the latter the graft is trimmed to a 
point, from one side only, and with a 
very long slope, and slipped under the 
bark at the top of the stump, after a 
slit has been made through the bark 
only. When simply tied with a cotton 
string and waxed carefully a larger por¬ 
tion has succeeded with me than of those 
set by the cleft method. h. e. v. d. 
Renovating a Vineyard. 
ir. A’. //., Pembrook, Pa.—How can I re¬ 
store an old vineyard that is not doing 
very well, but is planted in fairly good 
soil? What would you advise for a fer¬ 
tilizer? Tell me what to do to make it 
flourish this Summer. 
Ans.— It may be that this vineyard 
has become so old and unprofitable that 
the wisest thing to do is to dig it up and 
plant another. But this is not likely to 
be true. If the vines are only showing 
signs of failure the soil needs thorough 
tillage, humus in some form and plant 
food. For a fertilizer I would use 300 
pounds per acre of muriate or sulphate 
of potash, 800 pounds of acid phosphate 
rock and 200 pounds of nitrate of soda. 
One-half of the nitrate of soda should be 
applied in the early Spring with the 
other two chemicals, and the I’emaining 
half about June. For humus a liberal 
amount of stable manure will meet the 
requirements; but if this is not practic¬ 
able it will answer to plant two rows of 
common field peas in each space between 
the vineyard rows, about the first of Au¬ 
gust, after the tillage has been kept up 
until that time. This crop will only 
need cultivation two or three times and 
should then be left to grow' and lie on 
the ground until time to work it into 
the soil the next Spring. In case the 
stable manure or peas are used it will 
not be necessary to apply the nitrate of 
soda; because either of them will add 
sufficient nitrogen to the soil. Such 
treatment as this should cause a vine¬ 
yard to make a good growth and bear 
w'ell. u. E. V. 1). 
Fruits for Pennsylvania. 
A. C. (j., Plumsteadvillc, Pa.—I am going 
to iilant an apple orchard, also some 
peach, pear and plum trees and small 
fruits for market and home consumption. 
1 am located 30 miles north of Philadel¬ 
phia, Pa. 1 wish advice as to varieties 
and kinds that will prove valuable in this 
locality for early, late and Winter use. 
Ans. —It is about impossible to find in 
a small list of varieties those that will 
answ'er the double purpose of market 
and family use. However, within rea¬ 
sonable limits as to territory and other 
requirements the following will prob¬ 
ably serve for central Pennsylvania, and 
to some extent in adjacent regions: 
Apples, Summer Rose, Primate, Fanny, 
Jefferis, Wolf River, Gravenstein, Jona¬ 
than, Grimes, York Imperial and Sut¬ 
ton. These will make an almost con¬ 
tinuous succession from early to late, 
but nearly all the trees should be of the 
last four kinds. Pears, Madeleine, Ty¬ 
son, Boussock, Bartlett, Seckel, Bose 
and Lawrence. Peaches, Greensboro, 
Carman, Mountain Rose, Elberta, Old- 
mixon Free, Chairs and Salway. Plums, 
Red June, Abundance, Burbank, French 
Damson and Fellenberg. Of the berries 
a liberal supply for family use should 
always be planted, and as wdth the lists 
of tree fruits the varieties will be ar¬ 
ranged in order of ripening, so there 
may be a succession. Strawberries, 
Michel, Thompson, Bubach, Splendid, 
Carrie, Warfield and Gandy, Raspber¬ 
ries, Palmer, Cumberland, Kansas, Car¬ 
dinal and Loudon. Blackberries, Early 
Harvest, Rathbun, Agawam, Minne- 
waska and Taylor. Gooseberries, Down¬ 
ing, Houghton, Triumph and Industry. 
II. E. V. V. , 
Open-Air Treatment for Consumptives. 
J. IV. B., llathorne, A/ass.—Will you give 
some details of the “open-air treatment” 
for pulmonary troubles as practiced . at 
our sanatoriums? One would think the 
patients would suffer from cold and from 
“colds,” yet I recently read that colds 
were unknown except from infection from 
some stranger entering the premises, and 
visitors already having colds were refused 
admittance. In w'hat degree can It be 
adopted in the home? 
Ans. —Many features go to make up 
the successful open-air treatment of 
tuberculosis and other lung troubles. A 
location is needed where the air is usual¬ 
ly dry, cool and free from harmful dis¬ 
ease germs, and preferably in a conifer¬ 
ous forest where it is charged with 
ozone from the oxidation of the turpen¬ 
tine and balsams contained in evergreen 
foliage. The diet, exercise and occupa¬ 
tion of the patients are carefully regu¬ 
lated to secure the most beneficial state 
of mind and of bodily functions so that 
all excess vital energy may be directed 
to combating the internal disease. A 
degree of quiet and of personal seclu¬ 
sion not ordinarily obtainable in the 
private home may often be had in these 
sanatoriums, and at the same time, if 
desired, pleasant social intercourse free 
from the fussiness of loving and anxious 
relatives. The patients are encouraged 
to spend every possible hour in the open 
air either in gentle exercise or sitting 
at ease on the porches so thoroughly 
wrapped that useless radiation of body 
heat is entirely prevented, even though 
the temperature is below freezing. Sun¬ 
light and pure cool air have a powerful 
deterrent effect on the organism of pul¬ 
monary consumption, and sometimes so 
check development that the disease is 
overcome and health gradually restored. 
These patients seldom “take cold” In the 
ordinary sense, though spending most 
of their time in a refrigerator tempera¬ 
ture, because “colds” seem to be fever¬ 
ish affections caused by the reaction of 
the human organism against the poison¬ 
ous invasion of a series of microscopic 
germs that infect the membranes of the 
throat and lungs when the system is 
depressed by a chill following undue ex¬ 
posure, exercise and perspiration, over¬ 
work, Indigestion and many other 
causes, all of which, are carefully guard¬ 
ed against in proper sanatorium treat¬ 
ment, If one does not inhale cold and 
catarrh-producing germs, or only does 
so when in normal vitality, these dis¬ 
eases will seldom occur. It is practical¬ 
ly impossible to avoid taking in these 
dangerous germs in ordinary life, as 
they exist by millions in the dust al¬ 
ways floating in the air, and it is not 
easy to escape occasional depression of 
the vital powers while carrying out 
one’s usual avocations, so few persons 
of average health go free from occa¬ 
sional colds, which are always serious 
and often dangerous troubles in that 
they may pave the way to tuberculosis, 
pneumonia, bronchitis and an endless 
series of minor respiratory affections, 
or dangerously aggravate those already 
existing. It is the duty of sanatorium 
attendants to guard against depressing 
influences and this, with the compara¬ 
tive scarcity of disease organisms in the 
pure air of proper localities, should ex¬ 
plain the immunity from colds under 
proper treatment. If active germs are 
disseminated by infected visitors in a 
sanatorium there is usually an outbreak 
of “colds” among the patients, notwith¬ 
standing the other precautions, and in 
private homes it may be said that fresh 
virulent infections are constantly being 
brought to consumptive inmates. It is 
only in the exceptional home, where 
there is unusual intelligence and ample 
means, together with a proper natural 
location, that the open-air treatment of 
tuberculosis would be likely to succeed. 
Top-Working Ben Davis. 
J. E. Columbus, A. J.—I have a young 
orchard two years planted In which there 
is a block of about 200 Ben Davis apple 
trees. They are thrifty and low-headed, 
and I am thinking seriously of working 
them over to Williams Early Red, as they 
appear to do well and are profitable here 
(Burlington County). Would this course 
bo advisable, and what would be the best 
method of doing the work? 
Ans. —These Ben Davis apple trees 
seem to me to be in excellent condition 
for grafting. They ought to make the 
best of stocks for other varieties, and 
it would be well for some others who 
have young Ben Davis trees in the 
Northeastern States to work them over 
to some better varieties. If Williams 
suits the requirements of the markets 
within easy reach of Burlington County, 
N. J., which would seem to me to be the 
case, it would pay to change the trees to 
that variety. A limited amount of early 
apples will always be sold, but for large 
orchards the Winter varieties are much 
preferable. h. e. v. d. 
Harvesting Golden Dollars 
It*s harvest time ALL the time with the thrifty people 
who buy their supplies from Montgomery Ward ^ Co, You 
can reap a harvest of golden dollars RIGHT NOW by orders 
ing your Implements, Wagons, Harness, Clothing, Groceries, 
Farm and Household Supplies, etc,, from us that you will 
need this year. We save you 15 to 40 cents on every dollar*s 
worth of goods you buy of us. And we sell you only high- 
grade goods that will give you long and satisfactory service. 
SEND FOR C.ATALOGUE NO. 7/ 
It will save many families more than $100 this year. Is such a harvest 
worth reaping? Fill out the coupon and SEND TODJIY. 
Montgomery Ward ^ Co., "'M&fSt:. Chicago 
CUT OUT THIS COUPON 
Send for Catalogue TODAY and get ready for Spring “fixing up.” 
Montgomery Ward d- Co., Chicago. 
Unclosed find 15 cents, for which please send me Catalogue No. 71. 
Name. 
Express Office- 
County- 
Write very piain. 
-Post Office- 
-State- 
