Vol. LXII. No. 2782. 
NEW YORK, MAY 23, 1903 
II PER YEAR. 
THE ELECTRIC ROAD IN CONNECTICUT. 
What If Does for Country Neighborhoods. 
Mr. Morse has so well said on page 317 re¬ 
garding electric roads I can fully endorse so far as my 
own observation extends. Like all innovations, the 
trolley has had to encounter its full share of opposi¬ 
tion by powerful vested interests, as well as by a 
sceptical public. But that is now of the past. The 
New York, New Haven & Hartford corporation, with 
one or two trifling exceptions, now owns or controls 
every steam line of track in the southern half of New 
England. For quite awhile its management exerted 
a powerful influence adverse to the trolley, on the 
ground. It is presumed, that its advent would result 
in pecuniary loss to its steam lines. Now the policy 
seems to have been changed. The great corporation 
is now not only building parallel and branch trolley 
lines, but purchasing some of those already opened by 
outside parties. It finds that instead of reducing their 
business a marked increase results—the trolley lines 
in many cases proving to be important 
feeders to the steam lines. There is a 
general feeling, however, that the cor¬ 
poration is not showing much energy in^ 
opening new lines, and lines that would 
be completed by independent companies 
in a year or so are made to drag along 
for two or three years. Many believe 
that the Legislature gives the corpora¬ 
tion preference in granting charters over 
outside competing parties. A farmer 
owning a fine farm of several hundred 
acres adjoining a steam railroad station 
lateiy expressed to me an opinion de- 
cidediy in favor of the trolley. It would 
benefit, he said, every farm in the State 
when extended, as he believed it event¬ 
ually would be, to every town. The 
transportation of light freight, now 
being developed, would enable the small 
farmer, even if located two .or three 
miles from the trolley line, to find a 
quick and ready market for much of his 
produce. Quite a number of towns in 
the State are not reached by steam lines. 
Dally papers containing market reports 
are seldom or never seen. Residents of 
these towns, therefore, are not posted 
on quick movements in the market. For 
instance, when last December eggs sud¬ 
denly rose to 40 and 45 cents in the Bos¬ 
ton market, sharp traders were quick to 
perceive their opportunity, and the back 
towns of eastern Connecticut were 
speedily invaded by eager buyers, large quantities 
being scooped in at prices varying from 25 to 30 cents. 
The farmers thus failed to receive the benefit which 
the rise in prices justly entitled them to. The advent 
of the trolley, affording daily or semi-daily communi¬ 
cation with the principal markets of the country, will 
doubtless change all this. 
Not long since a trolley line was opened from the 
city of Norwich to a suburban village about three 
miles out A local dealer running a general store, an¬ 
ticipating that quick and easy access to the city would 
seriously cut into his trade, began to make arrange¬ 
ments for closing up his business. After the cars be¬ 
gan to run he found, much to his surprise, that his 
trade was increasing instead of falling off, and shortly 
found himself doing more business than ever before. 
He found that he could buy goods as cheaply and sell 
them as cheaply as his city competitors, and besides 
retaining his old customers secured quite a few new 
ones from the city, many of whom would probably 
never have visited the village but for the cheap rides 
on the electric cars. I am informed that local deal¬ 
ers in another village about five miles out from the 
same city in a different direction had precisely the 
same experience. So it would seem that the trolley 
benefits vastly more people than it injures. I am not 
sure that owners of horseflesh will permanently suffer 
any material loss. MTien steam railroads were first 
built it was universally believed that the occupation 
of the horse was gone, and that its value would greatly 
depreciate. But new uses were soon found for the 
noble animal and its numbers and value have steadily 
increased during the past 70 or 80 years of railroading. 
All the larger cities of New England have trolley 
lines radiating from the center like the spokes of a 
wheel. These lines are being further extended every 
year. A certain line from the city of Worcester, 
Mass., was opened two or three years ago. It ran 
parallel with, but two or three miles distant from, a 
steam railroad for about 20 miles. In conversation 
with a man who rode over the line when first opened, 
he described it as running through about the most 
God-forsaken country that he had ever set eyes upon. 
Unpainted and weather-beaten houses, tumbling- 
down outbuildings, dilapidated fences, cluttered-up 
dooryards encumbered with all sorts of rubbish, 
abounded on every hand, and furnished the beholder 
with a vivid picture of universal unthrift and squalor. 
The highway, also, was about on a par with the poor¬ 
est of country roads. Two years later he rode over 
the same line again, and was amazed at the wonderful 
transformation. Freshly-painted houses, nicely-kept 
lawns, verandas and ground redolent with choice roses 
and flowers greeted his eyes everywhere along the 
line. It seemed as if the residents had become aware 
that their premises were on view, and were deter¬ 
mined not to be outdone by their stylish city visitors 
in the way of bright colors and neat attire. The old 
highway had also been replaced by a substantial mac¬ 
adamized road, and on every hand appeared ample 
evidence of abounding prosperity. Truly the trolley 
is a great civilizer, equalizer and refiner. When the 
value of the trolley as a freight carrier becomes fully 
realized the farmers of Massachusetts will undoubted¬ 
ly demand and secure the removal of the freight re¬ 
striction imposed in the interest of the steam rail¬ 
roads. United action on the part of the farmers is 
essential if that result is to be accomplished in the 
near future. I do not think the farmers generally 
here in Connecticut appreciate the value of the trolley 
as a freight carrier. Like every new thing consider¬ 
able time will be required to bring it into generai use. 
Connecticut. ii. ii. boaro.man. 
THE ^'DUST-SPRAYING" METHOD. 
The Mixture to be Used. 
I have tried both dust and liquid spraying, and am 
satisfied the dust is the coming spray. It will do all 
that can be done with liquid at less cost in labor and 
material; all the heavy work is done away with, no 
barrels to haul, no water to handle. When at work 
everything can be prepared in the house at any time. 
I am using the Cyclone sprayer. When I got the one 
I have I put it on a light one-horse 
wagon that I could turn anywhere with, 
put a boy to turn the crank, and went 
to work. Our orchard was nearly de¬ 
foliated with canker-worms; after two 
applications the trees put out new 
leaves and made a fine growtn. To do 
the best work with a dust spray it 
should be done while dew is on. I find 
it much quicker than the liquid, as there 
is no waste to it. Get the wind in your 
favor, fill the air full of dust, and it will 
envelop the whole orchard, and on ex¬ 
amination you will find it on every leaf 
and twig. Use dust enough to make 
trees look gray. I find no bad results 
from getting on too much, and if mix¬ 
tures are properly made it will stay on 
just as well or better than liquid. In 
regard to making the mixtures they are 
simplicity itself compared with the 
liquid. Everything can be weighed or 
measured, so you know exactly what 
you are using, and a little experience 
will show you what elements may be 
lacking to do the work on hand. For 
apple trees we use the Bordeaux Mix¬ 
ture; one barrel of fresh lime, divide it 
into two parts (on a cellar floor is best); 
break all the large lumps to the size of 
hen’s eggs. Weigh 12 pounds of sul¬ 
phate of copper, break it up as fine as 
you can, put in a gunny sack and sus¬ 
pend it m six gallons of hot water till 
it is all dissolved; then sprinKle the lime with the 
solution. When all the lumps begin to slake cover 
with a wet carpet or sacks to hold in the steam. Let 
it stand till cool; it will be ready for use after being 
sifted through a fine sieve. Dissolve three pounds of 
Babbitt’s lye in four gallons of water and use the 
same as the sulphate of copper. You will notice I am 
using 10 gallons of water to dry-slake one barrel 
of lime. Some will take more and some less. After 
you have it all cool screen the two heaps together and 
mix thoroughly. When screened add five pounds of 
powdered sulphur and one pound Paris-green to the 
bushel of dust. Our lime slakes out five bushels of 
dust to barrel, and will spray about 500 15-year-old 
trees. Other mixtures are made by merely adding or 
deducting from this Bordeaux Mixture. It will take 
about one hour to spray 100 trees, but as the material 
Is light enough it can be taken out to do half day’s 
work at one time. The cost of the material for 500 
trees once over Is one barrel of lime, 90 cents; 12 
pounds copper, 21 cents; 25 pounds sulphur, 75 cents; 
A WELL-GROWN GLOXINIA. Fig. 136. See Ruraeisms, Page 390. 
