1903 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
such land, but hold it as an example of prosperity 
and a proof of the advance in the price of property— 
a decoy to the unwary land hunter. To sum it all 
up, where is the use of a middleman at all in this 
business? A farmer knows what he wants better than 
an agent. Let him go about it in the natural way 
and get it instead of paying $20 an acre for land which 
he could buy for $10 by taking a second look. I should 
like to be sure that every prospective land buyer 
knew these points, for the right thing for us all to 
do is to protect the interests of the producer whenever 
possible, not those of the swindler and superfluous 
middleman. j. h. b. 
S/tFE POTATO AND MELON SPRAYING. 
A mixture to kill Potato beetles must be one con¬ 
taining some poison. In order that such poisonous 
mixture shall not injure the vines it needs to be pre¬ 
pared with care, and also applied with care to secure 
the results desired and avoid unfavorable action. It 
has been found by numerous experiments that Paris- 
green or some similar arsenic compound is an effec¬ 
tive agent against the beetle, but whenever Paris- 
green is used some other material should be used 
with it to counteract the tendency to burn, which is 
due to the presence of arsenious acid in the com¬ 
pound. Lime or plaster is usually used when applied 
dry, or lime when applied in liquid form, although in 
many cases the Paris-green is sprayed on the plants 
without the use of a safety material. In careful ex¬ 
periments recently performed it has been found that 
Bordeaux Mixture is distasteful to many insects and 
also affords the best medium yet found for the appli¬ 
cation of such poisons as Paris-green. By \islng Bor¬ 
deaux as a vehicle for the poison, the potato grower 
makes one day’s labor do the work of two, inasmuch 
as he protects his vines from early or late blight, and 
at the same time kills any beetles that may be pres¬ 
ent or may arrive later. By keeping his vines cov¬ 
ered with a coating of the Bordeaux-Parls-green the 
potato grower is enabled to mature his crop of tubers 
without loss of the tops by insects or by disease. 
Potatoes so grown have been found by chemical test 
to be superior in composition and also superior in 
cooking qualities to those potatoes not sprayed with 
the Bordeaux or grown otherwise In the same field. 
This was found even when the blight was absent. 
Moreover, the yield from the sprayed rows was ma¬ 
terially Increased over the unsprayed, so that from 
either point of view of quality or quantity, spraying 
is profitable in a healthy year. How much more pro¬ 
fitable would it be if disease was prevalent, the injury 
being practically nothing in those cases where spray¬ 
ing is carried out carefully, the individual grower can 
answer for himself from the injury ordinarily sus¬ 
tained when disease invades his neighborhood. In 
regard to possible injury to the vines, the Injuries 
which have been noticed in the application of Bor¬ 
deaux have usually come from improper preparation 
or careless application of the spray. Bordeaux which 
is made properly and carefully applied has been found 
to be without injury. Injury is usually due to the 
concentration of the solution by the evaporation, 
which Increases the percentage of copper or of Paris- 
green in the globules or drops of solution. When the 
spray is applied in the form of a fine mist this con¬ 
centration does not occur, as the individual globules 
remain distinct. In a coarse or carelessly applied 
spray, on the other hand, the globules tend to 
nm together, thereby either collecting in spots 
more liquid than should be, or running off from the 
leaf and leaving practically none upon it. Fine spray, 
carefully applied, will cover thoroughly the leaf sur¬ 
face and will neither run together in large masses nor 
drip from the leaves, hence the undue concentration 
of chemicals will not occur and therefore the burning, 
which might be produced, will not be found. 
The formula used In the most recent experiments on 
potato spraying is six pounds of copper sulphate to 
the barrel and four pounds of lime, but the reverse 
quantities are suggested for ordinary use, as the qual¬ 
ity of lime varies to a considerable extent, so that 
four of sulphate and six of lime to the barrel, with 
10 ounces of Paris-green, form a safer and equally 
effective spray. It may not be amiss to repeat once 
more that care in application of the mixture is at 
least as important as the preparation itself. A care¬ 
lessly-applied preparation of great eflicmncy would 
not have the same result as a carefully-applied spray 
of less efficiency. A fine nozzle and fine spray moved 
about sufficiently to strike all surfaces constitute one 
of the essentials to successful application, the other 
essential being a pump sufficiently strong to give a 
constant stream under the conditions, which vary al¬ 
most constantly over a field, and a pumper who is 
awake to these changing conditions. If a power 
sprayer is used, at least three nozzles should be pro¬ 
vided for each row, one from each side and one upon 
the top so as to strike between and upon all leaf 
surfaces at the same spraying. 
In regard to the Melon blight, the above remarks 
apply equally well, as it has been found that the same 
strength of Bordeaux is an effective preventive for 
the downy mildew, which causes most of the injui'y 
to the melon and cucumber vines and is also efficient 
against the rot of the fruit, which is likely to follow 
the mildew on the leaves. In the case of the melon, 
however, the addition of Paris-green is hardly neces¬ 
sary in most cases, as the Striped cucumber-beetle 
and the flea-beetle also do not like the Bordeaux Mix¬ 
ture, and will leave such leaves untouched, if there 
are any nearby upon which they can feed without a 
coating of Bordeaux. A smaller proportion of Paris- 
green, however, will do no harm and may prevent in¬ 
juries due to other eating insects, such as cutworms 
or caterpillars. The two main diseases against melon 
growing are the downy mildew, attacking the leaves, 
and the rot, attacking the fruit. These both succumb 
to the applications of Bordeaux. The other difficulty, 
injury from insects, is controllable, as in the case of 
Potato beetles, by adding Paris-green to the Bordeaux 
except in the case of lice. For Melon lice some emul¬ 
sion of oil or strong soap is needed which will kill 
the insects present by contact, but this is a different 
matter, and in many places does not need to be con¬ 
sidered, as the insects have not yet become widely 
distributed, and do not occur in serious numbers so 
frequently as do the others. Natural conditions or 
cold, damp or rainy weather tend largely to control 
THE JAPAN SNOWBALL. Fig. 164. See Rukaltsms, PagB'454. 
plant lice, so that they are less likely to be trouble¬ 
some, except during dry warm weather in the absence 
of chilling rains. 
To sum up the whole question of spraying in a few 
words, based upon our present knowledge, Bordeaux 
is composed of that substance (copper sulphate) which 
careful experiments have shown to be most effective 
in the control of fungous diseases, combined with a 
safety solution (cream of lime) to counteract any in¬ 
jurious influence upon the crop plant to which the 
spray is applied. The different results in regard to 
profits, or efficiency, are due in most cases to the vary¬ 
ing carefulness in the application of the spray. Those 
cases, in which application was made with care, using 
a preparation made with attention to details, have 
been found as efficient as could be desired, whether 
applied against diseases of fruits, of field crops or of 
other plants, and by the addition of Paris-green to the 
Bordeaux Mixture, successful war may be waged 
against chewing insects, which commonly infest our 
plants. In regard to bother and expenses, there are 
many other duties about the farm, involving more 
puttering and more actually disagreeable labor than 
the preparation and application of sprays. The ex¬ 
pense has been found to be less than five cents a tree 
for each spraying, or $2 an acre in the case of pota¬ 
toes for each spraying, this including labor and ma¬ 
terials. With three applications every season this 
would mean 15 cents per tree or $6 per acre in the 
two cases, which is a small amount to spend for a 
decided gain in quality, quantity and a reputation for 
good fruit or field products. [Prof.] f. h. blotkiett. 
Maryland Exp. Station. 
PEACH PRUNINCr.—Tn our opinion Summer pruning 
i.s not the thing for the peach. This would cause the 
tree to make a later growth, and the wood would not be 
well matured. We think the best thing would be to keep 
the center of the tree cut out so as to have It in rather 
flat shape. peters & skinner. 
Topeka, Kans. 
451 
FERTILIZERS FOR HUMUS PRODUCTION 
I am sowing to oats and barley, two bushels to the 
acre, treated with formalin, upon land which looks 
black and is inclined to be somewhat sticky and 
lumpy. This land four years ago was light-colored 
sandy soil, a portion of an old pasture covered with 
weeds and non-productive. It has been cropped each 
year, receiving a light application of South Carolina 
rock, and one of the years a dressing of 12 loads of 
strawy stable manure to the acre. The point I wish 
to make is that an application of mineral fertilizer 
will push along plant growth sufficiently to make for 
an increased root and stubble growth that is bound 
in a short time to furnish large quantities of humus. 
Farmers do not usually believe that humus can thus 
be obtained, but it certainly can, and may where the 
crop is needed for stock food, be as profitable as to 
lose a crop for plowing under. A sure indication of 
better care of stock is shown in the large amount of 
straw one sees in the manure after it is spread. 
Formerly farmers would feed the straw and the stock 
lie upon the bare floor. The change is but one mark 
of progressive dairying. n. e. c. 
HOW CROPS SHOW THEIR NEEDS. 
I believe that with fuller knowledge it will be pos¬ 
sible by observation of the various crops usually 
grown upon our farms to form conclusions concern¬ 
ing the fertilizer requirements of the soil which wiil 
prove of much value. Some of the more important of 
the points are the following: Where the stock of 
available nitrogen in the soil is large it wili be found 
that the grasses proper and the cereal grains will do 
particularly well. The shade of green of the leaf 
furnishes also valuable indications touching the con¬ 
dition of the soil as regards nitrogen. A shade in¬ 
clining to be bluish on the one hand or distinctly 
yellowish on the other indicates poverty in nitrogen. 
A bright, deep, vivid green indicates relative abund¬ 
ance of available nitrogen. As regards phosphoric 
acid, not alone is it true that where turnips thrive 
this element is likely to be relatively abundant—this 
is equally certain to be the case, I believe, where any 
of the members of the turnip family thrive particu¬ 
larly well—such for example as cabbages, cauliflow¬ 
ers, rape, mustard. In my experiments it has been 
indicated again and again with the utmost clearness 
that all these crops, especially during the earlier 
stages of their growth, show the relative abundance 
or deficiency of phosphoric acid. 
In the case of potash the well-known connection of 
clover with the condition of the soil as regards pot¬ 
ash is generally understood. I have been able within 
a few years entirely to change the character of mow¬ 
ing which has not been plowed for about 20 years, 
and which at the start was composed almost alto¬ 
gether of Kentucky Blue grass, by different combina¬ 
tions of fertilizers, and where muriate of potash alone 
has been used the clover has steadily increased until 
it now constitutes a very large proportion of the total 
herbage. The shade of green of the crop also indi¬ 
cates clearly to the practiced eye relative deficiency 
or abundance of potash. Where potash is deficient 
crops In general have a bluish green color. If potash 
is abundant the shade of green is yellowish. A pea’ 
green indicates a soil well supplied with potash. 
Legumes in general, like the clovers, show a natural 
dependence upon the potash of the soil, and where 
such crops as peas, beans and Alfalfa do particularly 
well it is also practically certain that the soil is well 
stocked with potash. I have found further that Indian 
corn, in this nart of the State particularly, but in large 
degree in all parts of the State, indicates by its 
growth the potash condition of the soil. It is impos¬ 
sible to obtain a good corn crop unless the store of 
potash in the soil is large. The indic.ations afforded 
by vegetation of the necessity of lime are in general 
fairly well understood. If on seeding to mixed Tim¬ 
othy, Red-top and clovers it is found that the clover 
and the Timothy do poorly, that the Red-top soon be¬ 
comes most prominent, and especially if sorrel shows 
a marked inclination to come in, it may be concluded 
that the soil is in need of lime. The failure of clover 
where potash is known to be abundant is also a pretty 
good indication of the necessity for lime. 
Mass. Agricultural College. wm. p. brooks. 
HAIRY VETCH IN A DRY SEASON.—In common with 
most parts of New York State and a great part of New 
England, Tompkins County had no rain for over a 
month. The condition has been exaggerated by con¬ 
tinued bright sunshine accompanied by dry winds. 
Under these conditions the vetch has grown and thriven 
as if it did not know that the weather was parchingly 
dry. On sand and clay it has gone its way rc.ioicing. It 
appears just as lusty and vigorous where self-seeded in 
August as where drilled in during July. In our peach 
and plum orchards it forms a dense mat of luxuriant 
vegetation. Single vines have grown four to five feet in 
length, and the plants are just coming into flower. The 
question is, does it compete seriously with the fruit 
trees? There is some indication on a dryish knoll where 
peach trees stand and are not over vigorous, that they 
are suffering slightly this Spring by reason of this heavy 
growth of the cover crop. Examinations to determine 
the amount of soil moisture present under crojjped and 
uncropped conditions are being made and are expected 
to give some interesting data. As a soiling crop in a 
dry season T do not think there is anything that will 
equal this plant. For this purpose it should be sown 
with rye, which will tend to hold it up and will facilitate 
the cutting. john craiq. 
