1900 
IHE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
203 
its bulk of fine garden soil. Pack it in layers two or 
three inches thick, beating each layer down well with 
the back of a spade. When finished, if rather dry, 
wet thoroughly with water, and plunge a good ther¬ 
mometer well to the center of the bed. If well man¬ 
aged, a new fermentation should begin in a few days, 
and run the temperature up to 100 degrees or higher. 
After a time it will begin to decline, and as soon 
as it passes 90 degrees, the bed should be spawned, by 
breaking tne bricks of mushroom spawn, now pro¬ 
curable from any reputable seedsman, into pieces two 
or three inches across, and burying them in holes 
nine inches apart and five or six deep. Fill the open¬ 
ings and pack tne surface firmly again. In the course 
of a week the temperature may drop to 75 degrees or 
less, when a covering of an inch or two of garden soil 
should be spread over the entire bed, and well 
smoothed down. A covering of clean straw or marsh 
hay, several inches thick, may be added, as it keeps 
the surface moist and protected from cold air cur¬ 
rents. Mushrooms may be expected in about six 
weeks after spawning, and the bed will continue to 
produce for seme time, if successful. One brick of 
spawn is sufficient for about 24 square feet of surface. 
Do Not Burn Marl. 
• 
I have a deposit of marl which has been analyzed and 
found to contain 86.87 per cent carbonate of lime, 48.65 per 
cent lime, 38.22 per cent carbonic acid. Would this be 
of sufficient commercial and agricultural value to pay 
for burning? F. e. w. 
Earlville, N. Y. 
We would not advise you to burn marl. It is not 
necessary to do so. The chief purpose in burning or¬ 
dinary limestone is to get it into such a fine condition 
that it may be evenly distributed. With the marl, 
this would not be necessary; most of the lime marls 
are reasonably fine. We think, therefore, that burn¬ 
ing would not pay, but we would apply the marl di¬ 
rectly to the ground, and expect fair results from it. 
Killing Rats; Hard Laundry Soap. 
1. What can I use with oil on my harness to prevent 
mice and rats from gnawing it? 
2. How may I make a good hard laundry soap at small 
cost? w. m. s. 
Cypress Creek, N. C. 
1. We have consulted a professor of chemistry, a 
professor of zoology and a harness maker, and none 
of them is able to recommend anything which, when 
used with the oil on a harness, will keep the rats 
and mice away, and not injure the harness. From 
our own experience in tne care of harnesses, we have 
found nothing better as a protection against rats and 
mice than a good sprightly cat. Every farm barn 
should be provided with one or more good cats. They 
will do more toward keeping a barn free from rats 
and mice than any other simple means. 
2. You cannot make a good hard laundry soap as 
cheaply as it can be purchased. When good soap can 
be purchased for three cents per cake, it is entirely 
useless to attempt to make it in a small way. The 
materials of which it is made would cost more at 
retail than the soap costs. L- a. c. 
What is This Fertilizer? 
1 wish to try mixing a little fertilizer. I wrote differ¬ 
ent firms for prices; from some I got prices, from others 
a reply stating that they had no chemicals for sale, but 
giving me prices on mixed goods. Finally I sent for S. 
O. rock and muriate of potash, and when it came the 
following tag was on one set of bags, which I suppose is 
S. C. rock: 
Dissolved phosphate of lime. 
Analyzed July 25, 1893. 
Per Cent. 
Moisture, at 212 degrees, Fahr.18 
Phos. acid, sol. in pure cold water.11 
“ “ insoluble . 2 
" precip. 3 
“ •' total avail...14 
Equal to avail, bone phos. of lime.30 
Total bone phos. of lime.34 
The other, that I suppose to be the muriate of potash, 
came in bags of 224 pounds each, sealed with a lead seal, 
upon which were some letters I could not make out, but 
on the bags were as follows: 
B. Y.—Germany. 101.6 kilos, net. Have I got 14 per 
cent rock, and also how am I to know whether I got mu¬ 
riate of potash? E. s. w. 
Tompkinsville, Pa. 
Yes, that long rigmarole, called an “analysis,” 
means that you have dissolved phosphate rock, which 
contains, by analysis, 11 per cent of phosphoric acid 
which will dissolve in water, and three per cent more 
which will not dissolve in water, but will in weak 
vinegar, which is considered about the same strength 
as the acids developed by the roots. Thus the seller 
guarantees that 14 per cent of the phosphoric acid is 
“available” or ready for the plant. The other terms 
mean nothing, and would much better be left off en¬ 
tirely. “Bone phosphate of lime means that there 
would be so muclf bone if all the phosphoric acid 
were united with lime in the proportion in which 
these substances are found in bone. Fertilizer deal¬ 
ers generally buy phosphoric acid on the basis of the 
“bone phosphate” it contains, but there is no reason 
why they should use such a jumble when they sell to 
farmers. All the farmer cares for is the phosphoric 
acid that is ready for his plants. The other bags un¬ 
doubtedly contain muriate of potash. The potash 
salts are all brought from Germany. They are sam¬ 
pled and analyzed by the German chemists. Dealers 
on this side accept the German analyses when sealed, 
and simply curn the original bags over to customers 
without rebagging. The letters B. Y. refer to the 
shipment. They simply show when the bags were 
filled and shipped, an<l have nothing to do with the 
analysis. 
How to Prune Dwarf Pear Trees. 
Several Readers .—Will W. E. Andrews, who wrote the 
article on dwarf pear culture, tell us how the trees are 
pruned ? 
The picture shown at Fig. 71 presents our idea of 
this matter in a condensed form. The tree is a fair 
average-shaped specimen on the outside row of our 
three-year-old Duchess orchard. It is not a particu¬ 
larly shapely tree—compared with others in the same 
orchard—but it shows the method of pruning suffi¬ 
ciently clearly. As you will notice, we are great 
believers in thorough cutting back—not once in a 
while, but every season regularly. Each year from 
one-half to two-thirds of the new growth is clipped 
off, our endeavor being to obtain a low, compact, 
evenly-balanced tree. Of course considerable judg¬ 
ment is necessary in this heading-back process, if one 
wikh a shapely orchard; some limbs must come out 
entirely; some must be cut far more than others, ac¬ 
cording to the nature of eadh individual tree. In fact, 
the tree pruner—or the physician—who treats all pa¬ 
tients exactly alike, or according to any formal, set 
system of laws, is the very man to avoid in the or¬ 
chard or in the sick room. General principles are all 
right as a basis; but each individual—be it tree or 
person—needs treating according to circumstances. 
What is good for one may not be good for another. 
These photographs are not intended as the model 
Before Trimming. After Trimming. 
HOW TO TRIM DWARF PEARS, FlO. 71. 
upon which all orchardists should pattern; but rather 
as a suggestion of a general underlying principle— 
as that principle appears to us. We usually do this 
pruning in the Spring—any time before growth 
Starts. We also give the trees a good dose of “Spring 
medicine”—reg’Tarly every year—so that they may 
make sufficient new growth to give us a pruning job 
the following season. This medicine consists of sev¬ 
eral forkfuls of good stable manure, applied external¬ 
ly around each tree just previous to plowing time. 
This—and subsequent cultivation—makes healthy 
growth, desirable trees, and a constant supply of ma¬ 
terial upon which to exercise the pruning shears. 
Stimulate growth; then cut it off! That’s dwarf-pear 
principles, in a nutshell. w. e. Andrews. 
Van Buren Co., Mich. 
Why Rhubarb Plants Die. 
Can you tell me why I have failed to raise rhubarb? 
1 ordered roots and planted as directed. The first Spring 
put out six; all grew nicely until very hot weather, Au¬ 
gust, 1 think; then five out of the six wilted and died. 
Spring of 1898 one only came up and It died. 1 ordered 
and planted again last Spring, and think all are dead. 
They grew finely the first part of the season. I cannot 
account for my failure, as I gave them good attention 
and did not cut any stalks, as I was directed not to do 
so the first season. My neighbors say they cannot have 
any success with it. My ground, when planted, is very 
rich black light soil. g. e. b. 
Hickman, Ky. 
Divided plants, as sent out by nurserymen and 
seedsmen, sometimes die off after starting in the 
manner our correspondent describes, especially if they 
have become heated in transit. They fail to make 
fibrous roots quickly after planting, and as soon as the 
nourishment 'in the tuber is exhausted the leaves wilt 
and die. Division is the only way to keep varieties 
absolutely true to name, as seedlings vary consider¬ 
ably, but for home use very satisfactory plants can be 
raised from seeds, that will transplant well and pro¬ 
duce good stalks when three years old. Rhubarb pre¬ 
fers rather heavy moist soil, but should thrive fairly 
well with our correspondent. We would be glad to get 
further information on this subject, as we know there 
is frequent difficulty in growing rhubarb in the South¬ 
ern States. 
Ground Fish and Wood Ashes. 
I have a chance to buy dry ground fish, which has an 
analysis of eight per cent nitrogen and 12 per cent phos¬ 
phoric acid, which is claimed to be immediately available 
to the crops. Will the value of the phosphoric acid in 
this ground fish be impaired if it be applied to a soil 
which has just received a dressing of 50 pounds hard¬ 
wood ashes to the acre, well harrowed in? f. l. g. 
Fairfield Center, Me. 
We would use the ground fish on land that has 
been dressed with ashes without fear. The lime in 
the ashes would cause the phosphoric acid that is 
soluble in water to “revert” or take on a form soluble 
in weak vinegar. Most of the phosphoric acid in fish 
is already in this reverted form, which is almost as 
available for plants as the soluble form is. You 
would lose nothing, therefore, by using fish with the 
ashes. 
Killing the Woolly Aphis. 
Is it practicable to kill the Woolly aphis with bisul¬ 
phide of carbon? How is it applied, and where can it be 
obtained? Is it entirely safe to use? j. s. mcc. 
Fort Collins, Colo. 
Yes, it is practicable to kill the Woolly aphis with 
carbon bisulphide, but great care must be exercised 
in its use. A few years ago, the Missouri Experiment 
Station made some extensive experiments against this 
pest, from which the following conclusions were 
drawn: 
“The root form of the Woolly aphis may be cheaply 
and easily killed and kept away from an apple tree 
by the liberal use of tobacco dust. As soon as settled 
warm weather appears in the Spring, apply five or 
six pounds of the dust to the roots by removing the 
earth from around the trunk for a distance of two 
feet, and to a depth of four inches; put in the dust 
and cover it With earth. One-iialf this amount should 
be applied in a similar manner each succeeding 
Spring. This treatment will cost, approximately, two 
cents per tree each year. 
“The insect may also be killed by injecting (with 
a McGowan injector), one fluid ounce of carbon bi¬ 
sulphide two feet away from the trunk on two sides 
of the tree, but the use of this substance is not ad¬ 
vised except in extreme cases, since a little careless¬ 
ness may injure the tree, and it is always necessary 
immediately to treat the trees with tobacco dust in 
order to keep the Insect away.” 
Carbon bisulphide may be obtained in quantities of 
Edward R. Taylor, Cleveland, Ohio, at about 10 cents 
per pound, or pint. It is not entirely safe to use, and 
I would hesitate to use it to destroy insects of any 
kind on the roots of trees. This Woolly aphis is 
being sent out *~n nursery stock all over the country, 
and fruit growers should be on their guard. Insist on 
having your stock properly fumigated with hydro¬ 
cyanic acid gas or dip each tree in a strong kerosene 
emulsion or a solution of whale oil soap before set¬ 
ting it. M. V. SLINOERLAND. 
Fruit Growing on Phosphate Land. 
1 am growing peaches, apples and Japan plums for 
market. My orchards are phosphate land; the top soil 
for a depth of two feet Is about one-sixth in quantity, 
small particles of phosphate rock, that analyzes 68 per 
cent bone phosphate. Below this depth are larger phos¬ 
phate rocks that the frost and thaw have not disinte¬ 
grated. Under these conditions I do not think that I 
need to purchase phosphoric acid (or dissolved phosphate 
rock). Am I correct? My orchard of 1,025 trees is four 
years from setting this Spring. I supply nitrogen by 
raising cow peas and turning under in early Fall and sow 
iri rye to prevent the nitrates from leaching out in Winter. 
The trees are of firm and vigorous growth, but I fear 
they need potash, and to supply this I am putting on 
my peach and plum orchard 3,000 pounds of tobacco stems 
per acre (not ground up). The Department of Agricul¬ 
ture Yearbook for 1896 says that the tobacco stems con¬ 
tain 8 1-5 per cent potash, and about two per cent nitro¬ 
gen. The stems cost $1-65 per ton delivered at my or¬ 
chard. I broadcast them over the rye now, and early in 
the Spring turn the rye and tobacco under. What are 
the tobacco stems worth as a fertilizer? Should I apply 
them in the Spring or Fall? g. c. w. 
Nashville, Tenn. 
That would seem almost an ideal system of ma¬ 
nuring for fruit. It is not likely that that soil will 
require extra phosphoric acid. The cow peas and the 
tobacco stems will add all the nitrogen required. 
The stems will probably not average much over six 
per cent of potash. With the nitrogen they contain, 
and also that supplied by the cow peas, you may 
need more potash to give best results. We think, 
too, before long, that you will need lime in some form, 
if you continue to plow under so much green mat¬ 
ter. If you could use wood ashes or cotton-hull 
ashes occasionally, we believe that you would obtain 
good results from their use. Your method of using 
the stems is probably as economical as any. We con¬ 
sider such stems worth about five times as much as 
ordinary manure. It makes little difference whether 
you plow them in the Spring or in the Fall. Northern 
dairymen who are able to obtain these stems find 
them very useful for bedding. The stems are run 
through a fodder cutter, which chops them up into 
small pieces. They are then used for bedding, and 
afterwards used to absorb the manure. They make a 
good absorbent, and greatly improve the manure when 
thus mixed through it. 
