372 
May 16 
FARMERS' CLUB 
[Every query must be accompanied by 
the name and address of the writer to In¬ 
sure attention. Before asking a question, 
please 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.] 
Limekiln Ashes for Tomatoes. 
J. W. S., Ash Qrove, Mo .—I have land 
which I Intend setting to tomatoes; it 
would grow 40 bushels of corn per acre in 
average season. I can get ashes from the 
limekilns fresh burned from oak. Will it 
be right to jTut the ashes in the hill, if so, 
how. much per hill? I rent the land, other¬ 
wise I would broadcast it, putting in the 
hill would take much less. 
An«.—L imekiln ashes average about 
two per cent of potash, IVi per cent of 
phosphoric acid, and nearly 40 per cent 
of lime. We do not believe the tomato 
plant is specially in need of lime, and we 
would not use these ashes in the hill. 
Our advice is to broadcast at the rate of 
25 bushels per acre and harrow in be¬ 
fore setting the plants. 
Spraying for Peach Rot. 
A. F. A., It is reported that the 
Delaware Experiment Station advises 
spraying peaches and plums with one 
pound of carbonate of copper in 40 gallons 
of water w'hen the fruit is nearly grown, 
to prevent rot. What are the facts about 
it? 
Ans. —We have found carbonate of 
copper as a remedy for Peach rot quite 
as effective as Bordeaux or other fungi¬ 
cides. We could, however, recommend 
acetate of copper with about the same 
assurance. I have not found it neces¬ 
sary to spray peaches up to the time of 
ripening, and think that four sprayings 
with a weak half-strength Bordeaux Mix¬ 
ture to be sufficient, making two appli¬ 
cations before blossoming and two after. 
I have had no success in preventing 
Plum rot with any fungicide, the fruit 
rotting even when thickly covered with 
Bordeaux Mixture. I have thought the 
fault has been in not making the appli¬ 
cations early enough, f. d. Chester. 
Delaware Station. 
Green Manure for Greenhouse Soil. 
F. C. S., Bronxville, N. T.—What do you 
consider the best crop for light soil to use 
as a green manure to plow in? Is clover 
better than any other grass or corn? I 
intend to manure about an acre of ground 
and seed it down, and when the crop is 
large enough, or just before it gets ripe, to 
plow it under and then seed it again for 
the Winter and take up the soil for my 
use in the greenhouses. What variety of 
clover is best for that purpose, or is there 
any variety of clover that I could sow now, 
cut it just before it blooms, and leave it 
to lie on the ground? Would it come up 
again from the roots or would it be better 
to plow it under and seed it down with 
some grass or rye, or clover again? 
Ans. —Green crops for plowing in vary 
somewhat according to the seasons of 
the year. For the present sowing the 
best thing to use is the cow pea. This 
produces a quick growth, and is invalu¬ 
able for plowing in as green manure. 
After this crop, which can be turned 
under about the middle or end of Au¬ 
gust, clover or any other crop desired 
can be sown to follow it. It is gener¬ 
ally conceded that the cow pea contains 
more soluble fertilizer than any other 
green crop, but it is not safe to sow it 
till all danger of frost is past. 
The Apple Twig-Borer. 
N. J., Cuba, 3fo.—Will you tell me some¬ 
thing about the insect which I found in 
my orchard? It is new to me. I enclose 
a few twigs showing its manner of enter¬ 
ing the limb and eventually killing it. 
Ans. —The twigs were being tunneled 
by a slender beetle known as the Apple 
twig-borer, and also as the Grape cane- 
borer. This insect also attacks other 
fruit and various forest trees, as well as 
some ornamental shrubs. The pest is 
more common and destructive in the 
Mississippi Valley. It seems to need 
dying or partially dried wood in which 
to breed. Neither in old dry wood nor 
in vigorous live growth does it develop 
freely. There is but one brood of the in¬ 
sect yearly. Some of the beetles mature 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
in the Fall and generally remain in their 
larval burrows until the following 
Spring. In the Spring these beetles be¬ 
gin their destructive work of burrowing 
into the twigs. The work is, undoubt¬ 
edly, partly for food, but seems largely 
malicious, for it certainly has nothing to 
do with egg laying. The eggs are laid 
chiefly in May and the grubs develop 
during the Summer, transforming to the 
beetles in the Fall. To limit the work of 
this insect it will be necessary promptly 
to destroy all wood in which they will 
breed. This means the careful removal 
and burning of all diseased wood and 
prunings at least by midsummer, thus 
destroying the material in which the 
grubs are probably undergoing their de¬ 
velopments. If precautions of this sort 
are neglected, and the beetles appear in 
the orchard in Spring, the only recourse 
is to cut out by hand every affected part 
and destroy the beetles. 
M. V. SiLINQERLAND. 
The Trench System of Potato Culture. 
O. M. M., Ilepburn, Pa.—In an agricul¬ 
tural report of Pennsylvania in 1889 an ac¬ 
count is given of an experiment made with 
what is known as the French system of 
potato culture. It is said one kind of seed 
produced 1,076 bushels per acre, but two 
other kinds of seeds did not yield so much. 
I would like to know whether you think 
it would be safe and practical for farmers 
to use this system, and attempt to raise 
1,000 busheis of potatoes per acre. I would 
also like to know why one kind of seed 
yielded so much more than the other two. 
Ans. —The “trench” (not French) 
system was advocated by E. S. Carman, 
who made many experiments to demon¬ 
strate its value. It consists In deep 
planting at the bottom of a trench or 
furrow of thoroughly mellowed soil. In 
Mr. Carman’s experiments this trench 
was dug 12 inches deep and about the 
same width. A high-grade fertilizer 
was scattered in the trench and along 
the sides. The bottom of the trench 
was then loosened with a pronged hoe 
and about five inches of loose soil raked 
back into the trench. The seed pieces 
were then dropped one foot apart and 
the rest of the soil thrown in so as to 
level the trench without packing. The 
object is to plant the potatoes deep in a 
loose, mellow soil and then to give thor¬ 
ough level cultivation. Of course, on a 
large scale, horse tools are used to pre¬ 
pare the ground. The evident advan¬ 
tages of this system are that the deep, 
mellow soil conserves moisture and 
gives no obstruction to the growth of 
the tubers. The chief objection is that 
great labor is required to dig the pota¬ 
toes when they lie so deep in the 
ground. At one time Mr. Carman sug¬ 
gested a modification which he called 
the trench-mulch system. In this sev¬ 
eral inches of cut straw were put Into 
the trench, the object being to hold the 
moisture. This was quite satisfactory 
in very dry seasons, but in wet seasons 
the straw held so much water that the 
potatoes rotted. We doubt whether the 
trench system is now carried out on a 
large scale, but Mr. Carman’s experi¬ 
ments were of great value in proving 
the necessity of thorough preparation 
of the soil before planting, and of level 
cultivation. In 1889 Mr. Carman at¬ 
tempted to raise potatoes at the rate of 
700 bushels per acre. The trench sys¬ 
tem as described above was used and 
three new seedlings were planted. Po¬ 
tato fertilizer at the rate of 1,760 pounds 
per acre was used. The season was 
very wet, and the flea-beetle Injured the 
vines of two varieties so that they died 
before maturing their crop. The va¬ 
riety known as Rural New Yorker No. 
2 yielded at the rate of 1,074 bushels per 
acre—the other two yielding at the rate 
of 644 and 276 bushels. The yield from 
the entire plot was 583 bushels! The 
reason why the No. 2 gave a larger 
yield was chiefly because Its vines and 
foliage were thicker and stronger, and 
thus better able to resist the attacks of 
the beetle and blight. We do not con¬ 
sider it "safe or practical” for an aver¬ 
age farmer on ordinary soil to attempt 
to raise 1,000 bushels of potatoes on an 
acre by this system. The chances would 
be 100 to 1 against his doing it. 
Haul llathnri o* BLANCHlNa celery, used 
neff niClIlUU with anv system of culture. Perfect 
blanching; no rot or rust. No bruising or breaking 
In handling; one-third expense of boards or earth. 
60c. by mall. »20 for best bunch of celery by this 
method. B. L. MADDEN, Perry, Ohio. 
Manurial Value of C. S. Meal. 
D. S.. Warren, Conn.—It is claimed by 
some that cotton-seed meal is worth Its 
price for fertilizer after it has passed 
through the cow. If so, what does the cow 
take out of it for milk and fats? 
Ans. —It depends upon the age of the 
COW and the amount of milk she is giv¬ 
ing. Of course a young and growing 
cow will require more nitrogen and 
bone-forming material than an old cow 
that has obtained her full growth. It is 
safe, on the average, to say that the cow 
will use tip 25 per cent of the nitrogen 
and 10 per cent of the potash and phos¬ 
phoric acid in her food. Thus if the 
cow eats a ton of cotton-seed meal con¬ 
taining 140 pounds of nitrogen, 35 of 
potash and 55 of phosphoric acid she 
ought to leave as manure 105 pounds of 
nitrogen, over 30 of potash and 50 of 
phosphoric acid. Of course, with only 
ordinary care not all of this fertility 
would be saved, but it would be worth 
about $20 at the prices paid for ordi¬ 
nary chemicals. 
For the land’s sake, use Bowker’s Fer¬ 
tilizers. They enrich the earth.— Adv. 
DoiYt keep your money at home 
for Burglar and Fire ravages. You 
can send it to us, no matter where 
you live, safely and conveniently. 
We pay 
4 PERCENT INTEREST 
compounded semi-annually on any 
amouut from one dollar up. 
Ours is a Big, Strong, Savings 
Bank with immense capital and 
strong men back of it. 
Ourintero.st rate presents a bet¬ 
ter proposition than Government 
Bonds, is just as safe and pays on 
small amounts as well as large. 
Write for Booklet “H,” Banking 
by Mall” 
THE FEDERAL TRUST CO. 
. CAPITAL, $1,500,000. 
Cleveland, - Ohio. 
The City of Banks 
Fruit Growers 
Don’t Despair— 
Disparene 
Will save your trees and fruit 
from all leaf-eating insects and both 
broods of the codUng-moth. No.other 
will do this. Safest spray to use. Never 
injures most delicate foliage. Used and 
endorsed by the largest orcliardists and 
foresters, tree wardens, park superintend¬ 
ents everywhere. Economical because it 
kills the insects, and remains on foliage 
entire season; not affected by heavy rains. 
Professor Sanderson, Delaware, says: 
“Very much superior to Paris green and 
destroyed more codling-moth larvx.” 
Enough for a large orchard, $4.25 
Enough for 75 gals, spray . 1.00 
2 lb. sample.50 
Large illustrated catalogue free 
BOWKER 
INSECTICIDE 
COMPANY 
Address nearest office: 
Boston, NewYork, or Cincinnati 
Professor John B. Smith, of New Jersey 
Experiment Station, says: “Disparene haa 
proved a thoroughly satisfactory and safe 
insecticide: so satisfactory I have recom¬ 
mended It widely.” 
CACTUS DAHLIAS 
300 varieties. Hardy Phlox, 100 varieties. Hardy 
Pompon Chrysanthemums, 60 varieties. 
Send for Catalogrues. 
NORTH SHORE FERNERIES, Beverly,Mass. 
GLADIOLI 
Our Motto: Quality First. We have 
however, a sufficient quantity to supply 
all demands. Send for Catalqgne. 
ARTHUR COWEE, 
“Meadowvale Farm.” Berlin, N. Y. 
United States Grower and Representative 
of GROFF’S HYBRIDS. 
ii,ooo 
Pansies, and all kinds of Bedding 
Plants, In 200 varieties. Price-list 
mailed free. 
L. MOSBjEK, South Chicago, lU. 
niA CTCU Sweet Potato Plants, $1.75 per 1 , 000 : 
DIU d I Cin Jersey Red and Pierson the same; 
Jersey Yellow, $l..50. Large orders less. 13 kinds. 
Write for price-list. F. 8. Newcomb, Vineland, N. J 
Second-growth Seed Potatoes, 11.25 
rWr OhI6 per bushel; Home-grown Crimson 
Clover Seed, $;i per bnshel: Cow Peas, $1.60 per bushel 
JOSEPH F. HOLLAND, Milford, Del. 
FI^T-CrASsSOGCl Potatoes 
to close out at 60 cents per bushel. Early Harvest, 
Fortune and Michigan, sir Walter Raleigh and Car¬ 
man No. 3. Also Japanese Millet, $1.50 per bushel. 
Dwarf Essex Rape, 6 cents per pound; bag, 15 cents 
extra for rape. Cash with order. D. C. MCPHERSON 
SEED CO., Scottsville, N. Y. 
Vegetable Plants ''"rvidfd^S" 
$5 per 100. Cabbage—Wakefield, transplanted, 
per 1,000 cash. L. MOSBAiK, South Chicago, Ill. 
THE KELLY CO., 
SEED MERCHANTS. 
150-162 Sheriff St., Cleveland, Ohio. 
All kinds of grass and field seeds and 
poultry supplies. Seed manual free. 
Recleaned 
Western 
Grown 
Clover, 
Timothy, 
Etc. _ _ 
Reference, this paper, orS^ark National Bank. 
GARDEN, FIELD and FLOWER SEEDS. 
CEOVER and TIMOTHY, 
BEARDLESS SPRING BARLEY. 
We are recleaners of all kinds of Field Seeds and 
do not mix Medium with Mammoth Red Cl vec 
Write for Field Seed Price also 1903 Seed 'Cata¬ 
logue mailed free. 
The Henry Philipps Seed and Implement Co., 
115-11? St. Clair Street, TbleJo. Ohio. 
P ^—Whippoorwill, delivered 
V W J W V Cl 9 at your station, for $1.60 a 
bushel; Clay, fL.'iO; Mixed, $1.40. Soja Beans. $1.75. 
No order accepted for less than five bushels. 
JOHN W. C. PULLEN, Nurseryman, Milford, Del. 
COW PEAS. 
Only a few more left, and to close out quick, I quote 
as follows: 75 bushels Clay Peas (Southern grown), 
at $1.30 per bu., 50 bushels Large Southern Black-eye 
(very fine), at $1.40 per bu., f. o. b. Salisbury. ORDER 
QUICK, and address 
W. F. ALLEN, Salisbury, Maryland. 
Cow Peas 
Hammond's Extra Early,Whippoorwill, Clay,Wonderful, 
Black’s, $1.50 per bu., mixed $1.20, Medium Green 
Soja Beans, $2 per bu. Dwarf Essex Rape, 4c. a lb. 
HARRY H. HAMMOHD SEED CO. Ltd. 
Box 42. Bay City, Michigan. 
POTTED STRAWBERRY PLANTS 'IS IT*™ 
President for $3. Kevitt’s Plant Farms, Athenia, N.J. 
jm 
■I# Fruits 
TREES SUCCEED WHERE 
|R'i:«rge.t Nursery. OTHERS FAIL 
Fruit Book Free. Result of 78 years’ experienos 
h^laltlss: Xpple, 16o: Peach, 12o; Cherry, ISo. Small fruit plants, 
BMM, Tines. lOO-Mge catalogue free. 2 New Red Cross cnirants 
lOo. ■eoreta ef Fruit Orowhic, 150 photos, 10c. Copy 
Orsan's Fruit Orower free. Good ealarr paid for work at home. 
QRfEN’S NURSERY CO., Rochester, N.Y. 
MAMIE ROSS nripil 
Finest Early Cling rkfUllll 
For early ripening and fine flavor It h^ 
r nosuperior. Largejuicyandfinelycolored. 
Prolific and brings top prices. Hleley aud 
‘’many other choice varieties. Free catalog. 
fARRISON’S NURSERIES. Box 28. Berlin, Md. 
WET AND DRY ROT PREVENTED 
and fence posts, sills and all exposed timbers made to 
last indefinitely by the use of CONSEKVO WOOD 
FRESEKVATIVE. It permeates and hardens 
wood, prevents working of wood worms, Insects, etc. 
Cost but a trifle. Write for free circular. 
SAMUEL CABOT, Mfg. Chemist, 
81 Kilby Street. Boston, Mass. 
Glenwood Nurseries 
Most complete assortment of choice 
Ornamental Trees, Shrubs and Tines. 
Bend for Descriptive Illustrated Catalogue. 
THE WM. H. MOON CO., MOBBIBVniLB, PA. 
60 miles from New York; 30 miles from Philadelphia- 
CALIFORNIA PRIVET 
No equal for Hedge or Screen or Lawn 
purposes. No thorns. Grows quick. Cata¬ 
logue free. Trees, plants, vines. 
ARTHUK J, COLLINS, Burlington County, Moorestown, N. J. 
GRASS SEED 
CHOICE RE-CLEANED SEED FOR ALL PURPOSES 
Dreer’s Permanent Pasture Mixture cannot be excelled for 
producing abundant hay crops, and luxurious aftermath. 
Pull line of all Grasses and Clovers; also special mixtures 
for Lawns, Golf Links, etc. Circulars and prices on ^pU' 
cation, HENRY A. DKEEB, PhUadelphia, Fa.' 
