542 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
August 11 
the field, and the same process is carried out with 
the remainder of the seed. As though this were not 
enough to get an even distribution of grass seed, the 
field is then worked over eight times with a specially- 
designed fine-tooth harrow. This is worked right and 
left and diagonally across the field until the seed is 
all perfectly harrowed in, and then a roller follows to 
complete the job. If possible this seeding is done on 
a damp still day, or before a shower. Mr. Clark says 
that the time of seeding is important, and he wants 
to sow the seed close to September 1, if possible. He 
says that grass seed in his latitude matures in 
August, and would be sown by nature at or near the 
time it is perfectly mature. When land is seeded in 
this way, it may run for years without reseeding, pro¬ 
vided it is well fed and cared for. The Red-top seed 
adds over a ton of hay per acre above what any seed¬ 
ing to Timothy alone could produce. 
FEEDING THE GRASS.—It is just as necessary to 
feed the grass crop as it is to feed the potatoes or 
corn crop, and grass will respond readily to the 
proper kind of food. Mr. Clark does not consider 
that stable manure is suited to the grass crop. He 
thinks that the clumps of manure' are sure to kill out 
more or less of the grass. Every Fall the field is 
clipped, and the tore, or waste grass, raked off, so as 
to leave no harbor for mice. Fine and soluble fer¬ 
tilizers are used. They do not bring weed seed to 
the soil, and they can be evenly scattered. The fol¬ 
lowing mixture will about duplicate the special brand 
used by Mr. Clark: 400 pounds nitrate of soda, 400 
pounds of muriate of potash, and 1,200 pounds of fine 
ground bone. Mr. Clark uses about 800 pounds of 
this mixture per acre. It is applied at seeding time, 
being spread with the seed and harrowed thoroughly 
in. About the same quantity is used each following 
year—spread on the sod—part after cutting and part 
the following Spring. In very dry seasons Mr. Clark 
has used nitrate of soda in addition. He also finds 
lime very useful in killing out sorrel and giving 
stouter grass. I once asked Mr. Clark if he could 
keep his meadows up without the annual use of fer¬ 
tilizers. He said “No, it is just as necessary to feed 
grass as it is to feed corn or potatoes. More so, in 
fact, because the grass crop is made in a compara¬ 
tively few days, and takes from the soil more min¬ 
eral matter than most others.” It is a curious 
thought, too, that fertilizers serve the grass plants 
much as hoe or cultivator serves potatoes or corn. 
In the meadow—as in home or church—there is a con¬ 
stant struggle between good and evil. The old, nat¬ 
ural grass and weeds will surely take possession if 
the Red-top and Timothy are neglected. Under nat¬ 
ural conditions the “natural” plants would win, just 
as a lot of tough scrub cattle would beat high-class 
Jerseys if turned out to browse without food or shel¬ 
ter. When proper food is supplied, both Jerseys and 
cultivated grasses will keep ahead. Having secured a 
perfect stand of Red-top and Timothy, the only way 
to keep them is to feed each year heavily. We feel 
sure that Mr. Clark has really produced the amount 
of hay per acre that he claims. Can the average farm¬ 
er do it? That question is often asked. Who is the 
“average farmer”? Who will admit that Natui'e has 
cast him in a mould which so shaped his head as to 
deny him the right to do better than the “average”? 
Perfect and puttering preparation, heavy seeding and 
full feeding! That is Clark’s grass culture simmered 
down. Which link are you most likely to weaken? 
CHERRY CULTURE IN WESTERN NEW YORK. 
The cherry crop has been very good this season in 
western New York, and the profits have been fairly 
satisfactory. There was an active demand for cher¬ 
ries, but the prices were not much higher than or¬ 
dinary. The Black Tartarian is an old favorite, and 
justly so. It is a productive variety which stands 
shipment well and keeps well, since it can be picked 
long before it is fully ripe. Surely in this immature 
condition in which it is generally gathered it does 
not develop its best qualities, but it would be folly for 
any grower to attempt to allow the cherries fully to 
mature upon the trees before picking, since they 
would not arrive in the market in prime condition, 
as a rule. Montmorency is taking the lead in this 
section over the other red cherries as a market va¬ 
riety. It is a very late cherry, light red in color, short 
stem, larger than any other red cherry that we have 
fruited. It is a productive variety, and is desired by 
canners, selling at better prices than any other 
cherry in this market. Perhaps the next favorite 
market cherry is the Napoleon, a white cherry with a 
red cheek, firm in flesh, a productive variety which I 
do not consider equal in quality to Black Tartarian. 
The Windsor cherry is not yet well known as a mar¬ 
ket variety, but is growing in favor. 
Cherry growing is attracting more attention here 
than ever before. In past years a cherry orchard in 
western New York has been a novelty; now fruit 
growers plant cherry orchards. They have found that 
the few trees they have had growing upon their place 
are profitable, and have decided to increase the plant¬ 
ing. No doubt the success of California cherry or¬ 
chards has encouraged our fruit growers to plant 
more cherries. My opinion is that an acre of cherry 
trees planted to the right varieties, and properly 
handled, will yield as much clear profit as peaches, 
apples, pears, or any other of our standard fruits. 
If a fruit grower has only a dozen or two trees it may 
not pay him to employ a bevy of girls to put up the 
crop in fancy packages for market, therefore, usually 
he will sell his crop to a shipper at a low price; 
probably four cents per pound. But if this same fruit 
grower has an acre, or five or 10 acres of cherries, 
he will employ skillful people to put these cherries up 
in the best possible condition, in small packages, and 
ship them by express to the large cities, securing as 
good prices as the commission men now secure who 
do the packing for the fruit grower. Of course there 
is considerable work in gathering and handling the 
fruit of even 100 cherry trees. We have at our fruit 
farm about 100 cherry trees, and we know just about 
the time it requires to harvest and market this crop. 
Unless one makes a business of growing cherries, 100 
or 200 trees would be about all he would require. 
Cherries are benefited and increase in size by cultiva¬ 
tion the same as apples or other fruits. I have to 
make this statement, since cherry trees are grown 
largely along fences where they receive no cultiva¬ 
tion, and thus it has come to be understood that 
cherries are not benefited by cultivation. Cherries 
here bear more uniformly on rather light, sandy soil 
than on heavy land, but the soil must be fertile. 
CHARi.ES A. GREEN. 
PETROLEUM AS AN INSECTICIDE. 
The use of petroleum as an insecticide is, I believe, 
due to Prof. J. B. Smith, of the New Jersey State 
ALL EYES ON THE BEAR ! - Philadelphia Record. 
Experiment Station, who demonstrated its usefulness 
in treating the San Jose scale. Some experience witn 
it in this section would seem to show that the dan¬ 
gers attending its use have not been set forth clearly 
enough. In November last the scale was discovered 
by Prof. Smith in a peach orchard near this place, 
which is in a prominent peach-growing district. In¬ 
terest was aroused by the report, careful search was 
made, and it was found that fully one-half of the 
orchards were infested, and so badly, in many cases, 
as to show two or three years of development. It 
was not until early in Spring that the extent of the 
damage was known, and measures taken to fight the 
pest. Pumps of the kind which make a mechanical 
enmlsion of the oil and water were introduced, and 
spraying was begun about March 1, although con¬ 
tinued unfavorable weather delayed most of the 
work for two or three weeks. A 15 to 20-per-cent 
mixture of the petroleum and water was used. 
The use of the petroleum to which I wish par¬ 
ticularly to refer, was in the two and four-year-old 
orchards of Geo. H. Dailey, consisting of about 1,000 
thrifty trees. The scale had obtained a foothold, but 
had, as yet, done no visible damage. During a very 
warm spell, about April 1, when the buds had swollen 
ready to put out, he washed the trunks and branches 
with the undiluted petroleum—putting it on freely 
with brushes. In about one month the foliage, which 
came out normally, was seen to wither on some trees, 
and the trouble rapidly spread until five-sixths of the 
trees in the orchard became affected. Examination 
was made, and it was found that the oil had pene¬ 
trated to the wood, turning the cambium as well as 
the outer bark, brown. At present, about 75 per cent 
of the trees are stone dead, with the dried leaves 
clinging to the branches. Another orchard of one 
and two-year-old trees, belonging to John H. Lane, 
was painted with the undiluted petroleum on April 
10. The scale had probably been on the trees when 
they came from the nursery, and was so bad that 
many were in a hopeless condition. The oil hastened 
the death of these, and also slaughtered many that 
were still thrifty. The point is made that undiluted 
oil is no more liable to injure than when it is mixed 
• 
with water, as the water evaporates and leaves the oil 
in the original state. But the probabilities are that 
when used unmixed, especially when applied with a 
brush, it gets on more thickly, and, in consequence, 
is more dangerous to the tree, while being no more 
efficacious against the insects. 
I quote from Bulletin 138 of the New Jersey Experi¬ 
ment Station as follows: “On trunks and branches, a 
Summer application is as safe as if made in Winter, 
and small trees, or larger ones not generally infested, 
can be Summer-treated if application to foliage is 
avoided.” These words seem to be disproved by the 
experience given above. Applying with a brush later 
than March 1 should be strictly avoided, as the circu¬ 
lation becomes active, and the trees more susceptible 
to injury. Also the increasing heat of the season 
adds to the penetrating power of the oil. The writer 
has not heard of any damage done in case the oil was 
sprayed, and it is the opinion that it has pretty gen¬ 
erally knocked out the scale. One peach orchard was 
sprayed with the oil diluted and applied with a kero- 
water pump, by D. H. Miller, near this place, on 
April 15, with favorable results; but whether it would 
be advisable to spray as late as that ordinarily, is 
still a question. g. havxs. 
INSECTS THAT EAT POTATO BEETLES. 
I send a bug which I discovered in the act of eating a 
small red Potato bug. I would like to know something 
more about this. If the Potato bug has a natural enemy, 
why cannot we hope to exterminate it by introducing 
among the vines this other bug? e. r. f. 
St. Lawrence, N. Y. 
At the present time there are, doubtless, at least 
50 different kind of animals which have been seen 
eating the Colorado Potato-beetle in either its egg, 
grub, or beetle stage. Twenty-five years ago the fol¬ 
lowing animals had been recorded as foes of this 
potato pest: Five birds, skunk, toad, black snake, 
daddy-long-legs, mite, wasp, six kinds of ladybird 
beetles, nine other kinds of beetles, six kinds of true 
bugs that suck out the juices, and two kinds of flies. 
A little patient watching in almost any infested po¬ 
tato field will reveal some of these enemies, or “Po- 
tato-bug-icides,” at their deadly insecticidal work on 
the “Potato bug.” Quite often during recent years 
we have received from correspondents specimens of 
insects found chewing up or with their “bills” or 
beaks stuck into the eggs or the fat, juicy, red grubs 
of this potato pest. The one found by E. R. F. proved 
to be one of the Stink-bug family of insects, with 
some members of which almost every boy or girl has 
had a disagreeable experience when eating berries 
picked at random from bushes in the field. This 
“Potato bug” eater bears the name of the Ring- 
banded Soldier-bug (Perillus circumcinctus). It has 
ben known that it included the Potato bug in its 
menu for more than 25 years. It is quite a common 
insect in many parts of the country. 
We confidently look for the time to come, perhaps 
not in our generation, when the enemies of the Colo¬ 
rado beetle may become so important a factor in its 
struggle for existence, that it may vary in 
its numbers, or have its ups and downs 
from year to year, as do many of our long- 
established insect pests, like the Pear psylla, or tent- 
caterpillars, for example. It is doubtful whether a 
practicable method could be devised whereby any 
predaceous or parasitic insect enemy of the Potato 
beetle could be propagated on a large enough scale to 
affect noticeably the numbers of this pest. No suc¬ 
cessful attempts have been made artificially to 
propagate such an insect enemy, and but one of the 
many importations of these enemies from other coun¬ 
tries or States has resulted successfully; a ladybird 
beetle was imported from Australia and introduced 
into California orchards to feed upon a scale insect 
then ruining the trees. In a few years the little lady¬ 
bird beetle had cleared the orchards of most of the 
scales and it has been exported from California to 
Portugal and Egypt, where it has also done good 
work in ridding orchards of scale insects. The 
Potato beetle is usually so easily handled with a 
Paris-green spray or dust, that a further discussion 
of the advisability of propagating its insect enemies 
seems hardly worth while in the light of the above 
facts. In time, Nature will doubtless establish her 
otvn equilibrium. __ m. v. s. 
Sometime ago the Hope Farm man thought that if he 
were to choose between afflictions of blindness or deafness 
he would choose blindness. I hope he will have neither, 
but feel sure that deafness is not so hard to bear as 
blindness. °- c> A * 
Tennessee. 
