53a 
July 25 
FARMERS’ CLUB 
[Every query must be accompanied by 
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STRAWBERRY LEAF-ROLLER. 
J. L. G., Warsaw, Ind.—We have been 
nearly eaten out by the Strawberry leaf 
roller. All the large patches are attacked, 
and some of the small ones. What are its 
habits of life? How long does it stay? 
Where and how does it winter? How can 
we get rid of It? I have been in the straw 
berry business for 15 years, and never saw 
it until the last of May, when I noticed 
from 20 to 25 per cent of the leaves on four 
acres Infested, and in 10 days nearly the 
entire foliage was dead. It is a new comer 
here and we do not know how to fight it. 
Ans. —The moths of the Strawberry 
leaf-roller first appear early in May, and 
soon lay their eggs on the leaves. In 
about a week the tiny caterpillars hatch 
from these eggs and soon make their fu¬ 
ture home by rolling the leaves. After 
feeding inside the rolled leaves for about 
a month the caterpillars get their full 
growth early in June, and they then 
transform in the tubes through the pupa 
stage, lasting about 10 days, into the 
adult insect or moth. The moths lay 
eggs for another brood of the caterpil¬ 
lars which work in July. Probably still 
another brood of this pest occurs or 
breeds still later in the season. There 
seems to be no definite knowledge of 
how or where the pest spends the Win¬ 
ter. It probably hibernates in the pupa 
stage; some authors state that they are 
in the soil and others think they remain 
in the leaves of the plants. Where old 
beds are infested the pest can be effect¬ 
ively destroyed by simply plowing un¬ 
der in the Fall or after the crop is off. 
Where new beds occur near old ones, 
leave the old beds as a trap crop until 
late in the Fall and then plow under, 
thus burying and destroying the attract¬ 
ed crop of leaf-rollers. As the caterpil¬ 
lars are so well protected in their rolled 
homes, a poison spray has not proven 
very effective. A cheap and practicable 
method which has been found very effec¬ 
tive Is to mow the infested strawberry 
patch soon after the fruit is picked. 
Allow the mown leaves to dry a few 
days, then burn over the patch, using a 
little of the mulching or dry straw if 
necessary to make it burn well. This 
fire will kill the caterpillars and pupm 
which happen to be on the leaves, and 
rarely will it injure the plants, say those 
who have tested the method successful¬ 
ly Of course, this burning-over process 
cannot help the crop for that season, but 
it will greatly reduce the horde of hun¬ 
gry caterpillars which might otherwise 
develop to ruin the crop the next year. 
M. V. SLINGEBnAND. 
fl Cistern Under the House. 
O. L. B., Red Creek, N. Y .—We have plenty 
of room In house cellar and have planned 
to build cistern to hold 80 or 90 barrels in 
one end. We wish to water stock and can 
pipe It very easily to basement under 
barn. Some tell us that so much water 
under our living rooms would make them 
damp. What does The R. N.-T. say? The 
drainage from cellar Is perfect. 
Ans. —In regard to building a cistern 
in the cellar under the living rooms, I 
think it would be a mistake to do so. 
The dampness would be objectionable 
from a sanitary point of view, and be¬ 
sides, whatever precautions are taken, 
water in cisterns will sometimes spoil 
from one cause or another. This condi¬ 
tion of things has been known to be the 
cause of certain diseases. Cisterns are 
usually built alongside of the house with 
a pump-room annex, or the pump may 
be located in the kitchen with pipe con¬ 
nections to the cistern. The cistern 
should'be arched over to keep dirt and 
rats out, and with some means of aerat¬ 
ing the water it should be no menace to 
the health of the family if located along¬ 
side the house. grant davis. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Life Cycle of Potato Beetles. 
M. (No Address).—Ca,n you tell me the aver¬ 
age age of Potato beetles? I used to think 
the adults died after the Spring breeding 
was over, but am afraid I was wrong. 
Ans.— Probably the “hard-shells” or 
adult Colorado Potato beetles live for 
three or four week-s during the Summer, 
and the brood which develops in late 
Summer and Fall lives for several 
months or over Winter. Nothing defi¬ 
nite is known about their average age. 
Probably it was a brood which had de¬ 
veloped from eggs laid by the hibernat¬ 
ing beetles which the correspondent mis¬ 
took for old individuals of the over-win¬ 
tered ones. In Virginia there would bo 
two or more broods of the beetles in a 
year, I think. m. v. st.tnoeki.and. 
Stem-rot of Clematis. 
J I'. O., Kast Byrac-use. N. Y.—Can you 
tell how. to prevent Clematis (Jaokmanii, 
etc.) roots from being destroyed by worms? 
I set out 10 Jackmanli Clematis last Spring 
and worms ate the roots and killed all of 
them. 
Ans. —Clematis Jackmanii, a^d simi¬ 
lar varieties are very subject to bacterial 
diseases which cause the stem to decay 
near the soil. 'When the plants die 
worms very quickly take possession of 
the decayed stem and roots and are 
usually blamed for the cause of the trou¬ 
ble, but as a matter of fact few insects 
touch healthy Clematis plants. No rem¬ 
edy is known for this disease, and the 
only way to avoid it is to get thoroughly 
healthy homegrown plants from some 
reliable dealer. Most of the budded im¬ 
ported plants are already infedted,, and 
are quite certain to die after making a 
Spring growth, and usually a very un¬ 
satisfactory show of bloom. 
Nitrate of Soda on Grass. 
R. 8. 11., Connecticut .—On page 504 The 
R. N.-T. says: “We expect to use 200 
pounds of nitrate of soda per acre on well- 
seeded grass as soon as the first cutting 
is off. It seems clear from the results of 
many experiments that this will pay 
wherever hay brings $12 or more per ton. 
With an average amount of rainfall we 
expect to cut a heavy second crop of su¬ 
perior quality.” You will get lots of grass, 
and when the soda peters out it will cost 
you $50 per acre to make “land” of your 
meadow again. 
Ans. —Of course we do not expect to 
use nitrate of soda with nothing else. 
We put on potash and phosphoric acid 
in the Spring. We believe more and 
more in the plan of using all the potash 
and phosphoric acid at one time and 
then adding nitrate of soda at several 
applications. We believe this is better 
for grass or fruit than to put all the ni¬ 
trogen on at one time. 
Home Mixing of Chemicals. 
M. K., Pennsylvania .—In regard to home 
mixing of fertilizer, which has been ad¬ 
vised by many, will the nitrate of soda 
and muriate of potash, being unground and 
in a rather coarse condition, be any less 
effective? How do you manage to drill the 
pure chemicals without any filler on ac¬ 
count of their tendency to draw dampness? 
How much would one use to the acre of 
such a high-grade mixture in comparison 
with the ordinary fertilizer? 
Ans. —Nitrate of soda and muriate of 
potash are about as soluble as sugar or 
salt. If they are evenly spread through 
the soil with a reasonable amount of 
moisture they will dissolve so that 
plants can use them. On general prin¬ 
ciples it is always well to have fertilizers 
ground as fine as possible, and in this re¬ 
spect the fertilizer manufacturer has an 
advantage over the home mixer. When 
pure chemicals, such as nitrate of soda, 
muriate of potash and acid phosphate, 
are mixed together with hoe and shovel 
the mixture is likely to "cake” hard if 
it stands for some time in a damp place. 
In making such mixtures we like to use 
a fair proportion of fine ground bone. 
This dries out the mixture and makes it 
much easier to drill or handle. If a 
“filler” is necessary to prevent a sticky 
mixture, we would use plaster. The 
manufacturers have powerful machinery 
for crushing and grinding. They can 
mix the chemicals and permit them to 
blend or harden and then grind again, 
thus securing a fertilizer that drills well. 
We would use a high-grade mixture on 
the basis of pounds of nitrogen, phos¬ 
phoric acid and potash wanted to the 
acre. For example, suppose we were to 
use 600 pounds of a fertilizer containing 
five per cent of nitrogen. That means 
30 pounds of nitrogen to the acre, so that 
1,000 pounds of a fertilizer containing 
three per cent would be required to sup¬ 
ply that amount. Probably more than 
this amount of the lower grade fertilizer 
would be needed, since it usually hap¬ 
pens that the lower the per cent of ni¬ 
trogen the poorer the quality. 
The Angouleme Pear. 
./. R. 7'., Greenlawn, N. Y.—I noticed in a 
late issue the statement that pear growers 
were giving up the culture of Angouleme. 
Can you tell me why? Six years ago. when 
I planted my orchard, they were all in 
favor of it. It grows well, bears well, 
carries well to market, is large in size and 
as good quality as any except the very 
line ones not usually found in market. I 
have about 200, all dwarfs, and have con¬ 
templated setting more as my soil and en¬ 
vironment seem to suit them. Now I 
hesitate, as there is no use in growing a 
fruit that is not in fashion with the sellers 
and buyers. 
Ans. —One of the main reasons that I 
have heard offered by some of the pear 
growers in western New York for slack¬ 
ing up in the culture of the Angouleme 
is that it does not pay so well as Kieffer, 
and requires a great deal more expen¬ 
sive culture to attain the same or less 
net results. It would be better for thoise 
who have this old variety in their or¬ 
chards to state their views themselves, 
than for me to try to do so, for I do not 
feel that I understand them fully. If 
the Angouleme paid me well, as stated 
by J. R. T., I would continue to grow 
and plant it, unless some good reason 
appeared for not doing so. Will those 
who have abundant experience with An¬ 
gouleme give us the benefit of it? 
H. E. V. D. 
CUTTERS 
and 
They Throw and Blow" 
BLOWERS. 
They require less power than any other blower because the 
wheel containing the knives also contains paddles which throw 
and fans which blow. A two-horse tread power will cutand ele¬ 
vate 4 tons o f ensilage per hour, and a 10 h. p. engine 90tons per 
hour. No chains, belts or cogs to slip and w’aste power. Also 
silos, horse powers, engines, carriers, saw machines, etc. 
HARDER MFG. CO., COBLESKILL, N. Y. 
Hand and 
Power 
CORN SHELLERS 
We manufacture 2 to 8 horse 
Sweep Powers, 1 to 4 horse 
Tread Powers, Level or even 
tread: 5 sizes Separators, Feed 
and Ensilage Cutters, Feed Mills, 
Haws, Plows, Steel and Wood 
Rollers, Engines, 3 to 25 H. P., 
mounted or stationary. 
MFG. CO., Tatamy, .“a 
6RANULAIED LIME FOR FARMS. 
Especially prepared to drill with crop same as phos¬ 
phate. Established in 1897, in Somerset County. Penn. 
Write for circular. Successor to R. M. Beachy. 
C. J. YODER, Grantsville, Md. 
^ ja n n A C* plants, 80c. per 1.000 
13/A ^1 Ea stone Mason, Burpee'i 
Surehead and Flat Dutch. 
F. W. ROCHELLE, Chester, New Jersey. 
PI P DV PLANTS,$1 perl,000. Strong, 
KL La T healthy plants grown from 
Imported seed sown thin (in rows) In rich beds. The 
plants have an average of 4 square inches of space 
each over the whole field. Golden Self-blanching, $1 
per 1.000; VOc. per 500. Golden Heart, White Plume 
and Giant Pascal. $1.(W per 1.000 ; 90c. per 500. I ship 
In ventilated boxes. Hoots in damp moss. 
F. W. ROCHELLE, Drawer 1, Chester, N. J. 
VEGETABLE PLANTS 
Rflfl finn Celery, Field grown. White Plume, Per- 
jUU)UUU fection Heartwell, Golden Heart, and 
Giant Pascal. II per 1,000; $8.50 per 10,000. The same 
varieties, very strong transplanted plants, $2.00 per 
1,000. Cabbage, late Danish Ball-head, $1 per 1,000. 
LUDVIG MOSBA5K, South Chicago, Ill. 
The President Strawberry 
It heads the list. In a class by itself. Largest, 
most productive, brightest color, most profitable and 
longest seasoned of any strawberry yet Introduced. 
Potted plants ready July 15th. Send for circular. 
Mention this paper. THOMAS R. HUNT, 
Originator, Lambertvllle, N. J. 
C RIMSON CLOI’EK SEED, home grown. Now 
VVritft for nrlces. 
H endek.son great ruby straw¬ 
berry, 100 Pot Grown Plants for $3. List 
free. KBVITT’S PLANT FARM, Athenia, N.J. 
Seeds and Roots. Prices low. 
.50 cent book on Culture and 
- Profits of Ginseng, free. 
Send for it. D. BRANDT, 
Box 507, Bremen, Ohio. 
For the land’s sake, use Bowker’s Fer¬ 
tilizers. They enrich the earth.—Adv. 
BEAULIEU’S 
HARDY WHITE ONIONS 
_ Lb. $2.60. Special Offer; The 
New Onion Culture, by T. Greiner, FREE. 
BEAULIEU, Woodhaven, N. Y. 
' IfT"" 
'll’ ’ 
II 
—-li—< 
Quality and Price 
correspond in Pajje Fence: both a little higher 
PAGE AVOVEN AVIUE FENCE CO,, Adrian, Mich. 
READY 
ROOFING 
Buy of us Direct and 
Save Money. 
Best goods. Our prices 
surprise. Write ns. 
S. B. McDonough & co. 
Dept. C., Pittsburgh, Pa. 
THISTLE-INEl 
Feb. 28,1903. 
Gentlemen: During-the 
past year I gave your 
Thistle-ine a test on the 
Kent County Poor Farm in 
Paris Township, Mich. I 
tried iton Canada Thistles, 
Milkweed, Yellowdock,Bur- 
dock. Willows, and found it 
does kill them just as you 
claim it -will do. 
Very resp’y, N. D. Edmonds. 
Keeper of Kent Co. Poor Farm. 
5 Ib. can makes 5 gallons of the liquid, 
$2.00. Free booklet tells all about It. 
THE LINDGREN CHEMICAL CO. 
6 so. IONIA ST, GRAND RAPIDS. MICH, 
tllEES SUCCEED WHE81 
Large™ery. OTHERS FAIL 
_ rgeBl. -- 
BoA Free. Result of 78 years’ experienco 
BR0*t louisiana. Mo.? Dansvllle, N, Y.; Ek 
Trees, Plants and Vines 
Ornamentals, Shade Trees, Shrubs, 
Flowers—everything to make the home 
grounds beautiful. Fruit Trees, too. 
Send for Catalogue. 
STEPHEN HOYT’S SONS, 
New Canaan, Conn. 
100,000 2-YEAR APPLE 
20,000 CHERRY 
$7 to $14 per 
100. Best com¬ 
mercial sorts. 
Early Richmond, Dyehouse, 
,v,uw Large Montmorency. 
200,000 Peach,75,OOOJune Buds. Fumigation. This stock 
cannot be surpassed, and we can save you money. 
WOODVIE W NURSERIES, B10, Mt. Holly Springs, Pa 
Tree Dealers and Agents! 
Have your orders filled at wholesale prices. Do 
business direct with your customers. Make the 
Middle Man’s profit and commission. NO LOSS, NO 
BAD ACCOUNTS. “Try my way. it’s a good way. 
MARTIN WAHL, Nurseryman, Kochester, N. Y. 
Clenwood Nurseries 
Most complete assortment of choice 
Ornamental Trees, Shrubs and Vines 
Bend for Descriptive Illustrated Catalogue. 
THE WM. H. MOON CO., MORR18VILLB, PA. 
60 miles from New York; 30 miles from Philadelphia. 
LARGE LUSCIOUS STRAWBERRIES IN 1904 
A full crop of fruit ten months after om- strong POT GROWN 
plants are set out. Plant now. We have the best varieties for 
Market and Home use. Celery, Cabbage, and Cauliflower 
plants. We have in FIVK-INCH POTS now ready for 
planting and late bloom, all the best hardy Roses, Honey¬ 
suckle and Clematis; also Boston and English Ivy. A fidl 
line of selected FRUITS and ORNAMENTALS for autumn 
planting. Stock first-class. Prices reasonable. Our latest 
Catalogue mailed free. Write for it to-day. 
r. J. DWYER & SON, CORNWALL, N 
In sowing this valuable clover, It is important 
that American seed is used. We supply genuine 
Delaware seed only. Our special circular describ¬ 
ing uses of Crimson Clover is mailed free. 
CRIMSON CLOVER 
W UCIIRY A nUEFR. TiA ( 
HENRY A. DREER, 714 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa> 
