1900 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
223 
ton about 10 pounds of nitrogen, five of phosphoric 
acid, and 12 of potash. In order to produce hard, firm 
wood, we should want to add to each ton of manure at 
least 25 pounds of muriate of potash and 50 pounds of 
dissolved phosphate rock. This plan of adding chem¬ 
icals to manure is just as reasonable as is that of 
feeding grain with either silage or clover hay. We all 
understand that we would not feed the same combina¬ 
tion of grain with the hay that we would with the 
silage. We would not feed the same to steers that we 
would to dairy cows. The manure or the muck with 
the chemicals added will give a solid and vigorous 
growth of wood. The manure alone, or the manure 
and the nitrate, may give a quicker and more lux¬ 
urious growth of wood, but it will be too soft—not 
firm and solid enough. If during the growing season 
the trees do not seem thrifty, you can use nitrate of 
soda and see its effect within a short time. 
Cow Peas and a Short Rotation. 
I have a field, three-tenths acre, in strawberries, with the 
following rotation: First year, plants set in Spring; sec¬ 
ond year, crop gathered, ground plowed and sown to Me¬ 
dium clover in early July; third year, clover hay, after- 
math left on ground, and then repeat. This gives me a 
crop of clover hay to cut when I am too busy, and shuts 
out potatoes, which are a valuable crop here. Can I suc¬ 
cessfully sow Crimson clover in my cow peas or Soy 
beans, after two or three cultivations, about August 1, 
or would they smother it? If I can do that, it would give 
me a more profitable rotation, as follows: First year, 
berry plants; second year, berries, followed by cow peas 
and Crimson clover; third year. Crimson clover plowed 
under for potatoes. I have succeeded as well with Soy 
beans-as with cow peas, and think perhaps they would be 
better for seeding. w. w. f. 
Waterville, O. 
We have succeeded in obtaining.a fair stand of 
Crimson clover when sown in cow peas. An upright¬ 
growing variety l'ike Early Black is best for this pur¬ 
pose. The peas may be dropped in hills, like corn, 
and cultivated both ways. In this way the chances for 
obtaining a fair catch of clover would, we think, be at 
least three in five. But even if the clover should be 
killed out, the cow peas alone will well fit the soil for 
potatoes. Let them die on the ground, and in the 
Spring chop them up with a disk or Cutaway, and then 
turn them under. With us, a good crop of cow peas 
is quite equal to a clover sod for growing potatoes. 
We have not succeeded with the Soy bean. With us, 
it is inferior to the Early Black cow pea. Its habit 
of growth is sucn that we think Crimson clover would 
do better with „ than with cow peas. 
KILLING INSECTS IN A MILL. 
I am anxious to know what will kill or drive away 
roaches. They leave the mill in cold weather and go in 
the cellars, where It is dark and damp, and come out 
again when the weather turns warm. We find that they 
move about where they are now in the cellar, where it 
is wet and dark. As soon as it is warmer, they will be¬ 
gin to get on first mill and hide themselves through the 
day and at night get bolder and go about generally. How 
can I kill or otherwise dispose of them? If they get on 
the mill floor they will keep us busy destroying them. 
Anything that The R. N.-Y. can recommend to destroy 
them will oblige us. R. d. j. 
Cumberland, Md. 
THE LIKE WAS NEVER SEEN—The cockroach is 
at times a very troublesome pest in mills, and when 
once established, it is very difficult to destroy it. In 
February, lo98, I received a letter from a North Caro¬ 
lina m'iller, together with one-half pint of live cock¬ 
roaches, inclosed in a small pasteboard box. He 
wrote as follows: 
I have been troubled with roaches in my mill for the 
past three years. They are here by the millions; the like 
1 never saw before. They are so thick on the floor at 
night one can make tracks through them. I have used 
everything I have heard of, including Paris-green, Lon¬ 
don purple, Rough on Rats, Fly Fuma, etc., but all have 
failed. I made long boxes and lined them with tin, in 
which I have caught the roaches by the bushel. I have 
a brick building, and the roaches have worked their way 
out and under a 20-inch wall, where they breed in the 
ground. I am now going to try your bran-molasses mix¬ 
ture, and if that does not work I am going to write for 
more advice. I send you a sample by this mail; but from 
the quantity I send you, do not think that they are 
scarce. 
The sample shown at Fig. 75 represents a few of 
these roachec after they were chloroformed. Like my 
North Carolina friend, I can truly say, “The like I 
never saw before.” The particular species sent to us 
is popularly known as the Oriental cockroach, Spil- 
opyga orientalis. This insect is sometimes called the 
Black beetle of our kitchens and bakehouses. From 
numerous inquiries we receive regarding this insect, 
we are led to believe that it is a very widely-dis¬ 
tributed species, and a very troublesome one in this 
country. When once established in a mill, the 
roaches multiply very rapidly, and soon become very 
troublesome during warm weather. They feed rav¬ 
enously upon the manufactured products of the mill, 
and their presence is very annoying from the fact that 
many of them are found in the marketable meal after¬ 
wards. 
HABITS AND CURE.—According to some observ¬ 
ers, the roaches prefer corn meal to any other product 
of the mill, and the North Carolina miller says that 
they destroyed several bushels every day during hot 
weather at his place. They do not eat whole grain, 
but will go into a sack of meal or flour, if they can 
find a hole, and riddle it. They eat almost any kind of 
vegetable and fruit, and will occasionally leave the 
mill, going some distance, and return to the mill later. 
It is not uncommon to see thousands of them on the 
ground, but they all return before the break of day. 
As observed by your correspondent, these insects are 
nocturnal in their habits, hiding during the daytime, 
appearing at night in great numbers, when they do 
their greatest amount of harm. They breed near the 
furnace, or 1 1 the warmest parts of the mill. Their 
presence at this time in the basement is a natural 
one, as they would seek that part of the mill where 
the temperature is least variable. The North Caro¬ 
lina miller says that he destroyed many of them by 
the following method: 
My trap method Is as follows: I make a long trough by 
taking a plank 12 to 16 feet long and 12 inches wide, and 
nail on sides and ends six inches high. I then line it 
with tin two inches from the top. They cannot crawl out 
over this. I put the box close to the wall and bait it with 
meal, mush or vegetables, or anything to attract them. 
I let the box sit for about a week or 10 days. It is then 
carried outside and steam turned into it, and the roaches 
are killed. I use also glass fruit jars, bottles and lard 
cans for trapping them. It is always necessary to set 
the traps against the wall, or set a piece of shingle or 
board so that the creatures can crawl up and drop in. 
I am sure your correspondent can destroy most, if 
not all of these pests by using hydrocyanic gas, 
which we described in The R. N.-Y., January 6, Janu- 
A “ FEW” COCKROACHES FROM A MILL. Fig. 75. 
ary 20, February 3 and February 10. I would advise 
him carefully to estimate the cubical contents of the 
lower rooms of the mill where the cockroaches are 
most abundant, prepare the chemicals, and thoroughly 
fumigate several times before the beginning of warm 
weather; by so doing, I feel confident he can retain 
possession of his mill, and not be annoyed seriously 
during the coming season by these nocturnal pests. 
[PROF.] W. G. JOHNSON. 
THE FARMER’S HOME GARDEN. 
LOCATION AND WORKING.—Although farmers’ 
gardens are not now slighted to the same extent as in 
former years, many dwellers in the country fail to 
secure the full benefit of their privileges, from a mis¬ 
taken idea that a garden necessarily means a small 
inclosure to be cultivated in a laborious way by hand 
tools,just at the time the most energetic efforts are 
needed for the staple crops. It is, of course, necessary 
to plant vegetables in some place secure from damage 
by fowls and farm stock, but this can often be ac¬ 
complished by locating the garden in a well-prepared, 
near-by corn or potato field. The permanent portion, 
at least, in which may be planted asparagus, rhubarb 
and horseradish, ought to be in a position where 
horse cultivation can be used, as it is difficult to stir 
the ground sufficiently for such deep-rooting crops 
with hand tools. The making of a farm garden, 
where a half acre or more of good, well-drained land 
can be had, is not a difficult matter. A long narrow 
strip, other conditions being equal, is preferable to a 
square area, as the long rows obviate frequent turn¬ 
ings of the horse, and consequent destruction of plants 
near the headlands. Good stable manure, if fine and 
partially rotted, should be applied at the ra e of at least 
15 or 20 tons to the acre, and the ground thoroughly 
plowed. If fertilizer from the hogpen and henhouse 
can be obtained, it may be now applied, and well 
harrowed in, or a standard chemical fertilizer sown 
broadcast at the rate of 800 to 1,000 pounds to the 
acre, just before the harrowing begins. The plot may 
then be marked off in light furrows three feet or 
more apart. If this is done early in April, asparagus, 
rhubarb and horseradish can be planted at once, as 
also the earliest peas, to be followed in turn by 
onions, beets, radishes, lettuce and the late root 
crops, such as carrots, parsnips, turnips, and salsify. 
Of course every farmer knows how and when to plant 
his potatoes, and we can only suggest that the home 
garden is a suitable place to plant the very earliest 
kinds for table use. 
TREATMENT OF ASPARAGUS.—In selecting as¬ 
paragus roots it is well to confine the planting to the 
Palmetto and Argenteuil varieties, as they seem to 
resist the dreaded rust better than other kinds, having 
a powdery surface which does not favor the germin¬ 
ation of the spores in damp weather. About 200 
plants will be needed to supply an average household 
with asparagus during the season. The roots should 
be set in the bottom of a wide furrow, six to eight 
inches deep, and 18 inches apart in the row. Fill in 
two or three inches of fine soil over the crowns. 
Later hoeings and cultivation will fill up the trench 
as fast as the shoots grow. It is a very good idea to 
make the rows of asparagus six feet apart, if more 
than one row is grown, as some temporary crop can 
be grown between for a season or two, and the neces¬ 
sary Fall cultivation and heavy manuring can be 
managed better in wide than narrow rows. Aspara¬ 
gus should have good care ana two seasons’ growth 
before it is cut for the table, but when once well 
established, it is good for 20 to 30 years of continual 
use, provided proper care is given, and the fertility 
of the soil maintained. 
THE RHUBARB AND HORSERADISH.—Rhubarb 
may' be set at the same time, planting three feet 
apart each way. Strong seedling plants are surer to 
grow than the divided crowns sent out by seedsmen, 
but they do not come as true to the type as might be 
desired. Cover the crowns with an inch of soil and 
keep well cultivated the first season. A few stalks 
may be pulled the next year. The succeeding Spring 
and thereafter 25 plants Should give a fair family sup¬ 
ply. A yearly coating of good manure is needed, and 
sufficient cultivation to keep the ground mellow and 
all weeds subdued should not he neglected. Horse¬ 
radish is usually grown as an annual by market gar¬ 
deners; that is, young roots are planted in rich soil 
between cabbages or other early crops, and are mar¬ 
keted the next Spring, after getting the advantage of 
the whole space when the early crop is removed, but 
for household use a few root cuttings or crowns may 
be planted near the rhubarb and renewed evei’y two 
years, as the old plants deteriorate. 
ECONOMY OF SPACE.—It is not our province to 
advise special varieties or give detailed cultural di¬ 
rections for the more commonly-grown vegetables, 
but it is well to remember that the later root crops 
can be conveniently planted in rows with lettuce, rad¬ 
ishes, early beets, etc., alongside at a distance of a 
foot or 18 inches. It is of advantage to give all these 
vegetables careful hand cultivation during the first 
weeks of their growth, and after the early ones are 
cut out, horse tools can be used in the wider spaces 
left during the remainder of the season. 
I am a firm believer in cow peas; have tried them in 
all uses. They make the best hay for horses, cows, or 
hogs; are best to bring up poor land, and they are so 
easy to grow. I have been growing them six years and 
like them better all the time. s. H. a. 
Houston, Del. 
I used formalin on seed potatoes last year; result 100 
per cent clean. The seed of a few rows was not treated; 
result very scabby. We beat Hope Farm in 1899 on po¬ 
tatoes, as we had 300 bushels to the acre, and not a weed 
on a very weedy field, and no weeder or hand hoeing. 
Peebles, Ont. a. n. s. 
A writer in the bulletin from the Entomological De¬ 
partment says that he has found that the Soldier bug is 
a sworn enemy of the Colorado beetle. In Oklahoma 
these bugs begin feeding on the eggs of the Potato 
beetle. They are very greedy, and will never stop until 
they have sucked every egg in a cluster. They also 
work on the Tomato worms, and promise to be useful 
generally in destroying these noxious insects. The 
chances are that our scientific men will have to find or 
breed insects that will fight the Potato bugs for us, in 
case the arsenic fails to destroy them. 
The Vermont Experiment Station people say, in a re¬ 
cent bulletin, that there is no such thing as absolutely 
pure clover seed, on the market. In buying clover seed 
it is just a question of how much or how little impurity 
you will get. Twenty samples of Red clover seed exam¬ 
ined in Vermont last yegr showed an average impurity 
of nearly two per cent by weight. The actual amount 
in small samples was about 300 noxious weed seeds to 
each ounce of clover seed, and there were also other seeds 
like Timothy and Red-top. It is always well to examine 
grass seeds with a microscope if possible, before buying. 
The seedsmen seem to agree that it will he quite prac¬ 
tical to test grain. 
