6o8 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
September 8 
Farmers’ Club. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the 
name and address of the writer to Insure atten¬ 
tion. Before asking a question, please Bee 
whether It is not answered in our advertising 
columns. Ask only a few questions at one time. 
Put questions on a separate piece of paper.] 
CLEARING TIMBER LAND FOR FRUIT. 
One of our readers in Cook County, Ill., 
says he has 80 acres of black timber land, 
which he wishes to get into condition for 
planting fruit trees. The timber is prin¬ 
cipally White and Black oak, with some 
hickory. The hickory is of very large size. 
The oaks will average about 10 inches 
across the stump. He wishes to know just 
the best way of getting rid of trees and 
stumps as soon as possible. Some of his 
friends advise him to use stump pullers, 
and others tree pullers. How would you 
proceed to clear this land? • 
I have had no experience whatever in 
clearing land of timber, I have observed 
closely, however, when an opportunity 
occurred, how the work was done by my 
neighbors. The timber was invariably 
cut off in the Winter and in the Fall fol¬ 
lowing the stumps were pulled with a 
stump puller, cheaply and success¬ 
fully. Of course the sod and roots 
would be a little too tough for “old 
Major” to keep up his end of the double 
tree, yet I have seen fair crops of corn 
raised the first season after clearing the 
land of stumps. 
Menlo, Iowa. m. l. s. 
Part of my farm was in scrubby tim¬ 
ber, and I tried grubbing by hand, but 
it is a hard slow way. Then I tried a 
stump-puliing machine. I would cut the 
timber off from two to four feet from the 
ground, according to size of tree, and 
then used the puller. The last of my 
clearings were done with the aid of an 
“Iron Giant” stump puller. I found it 
to be a strong, durable and handy 
machine, and a great labor saver. I pre¬ 
fer cutting the timber off, leaving a high 
stump, as the timber would soon be in 
the way, if timber is thick. A high stump 
gives a great advantage in leverage over 
the low stump. m. t. a. 
Hopeville, Iowa. 
If I had 80 acres of Illinois timber- 
land, that I wished to get into condition 
for planting fruit trees, I should try to 
make a contract with some coal mining 
company for coal props, ana should try 
to sell the wood that was too light for 
props, to one of Chicago’s wholesale 
bakeries. Then, if the land—particu¬ 
larly the subsoil—were hard, I should 
use dynamite to blow out the oak trees 
and grub out the hickories cy hand, as 
the hickory with its immense tap root, 
is practically dynamite proof. The 
benefit to the land by the loosening of 
the subsoil would probably be worth as 
much as the cost of the explosive. If 
the land were soft, I should use a stump 
or tree puller, and be sure to get it large 
and heavy enough to pull any and every 
tree I expected to hitch to. In this local¬ 
ity considerable timber has been given 
away for the clearing of the land, the 
parties getting the wood to grub out the 
stumps and enough of the roots so that 
the land can be easily plowed. It Is 
generally found necessary to keep a 
pretty strict watch on the “grubbers,” or 
the roots will be left in the ground. 
Lemont, Ill. J. h. b. 
" PLANTING IN THE MOON." 
We often meet farmers who claim that 
the moon has a strong influence on the 
growth of plants. They plant “in” or “out” 
of the moon, varying with different crops, 
and evidently believe that it pays to do so. 
Have any experiments ever been attempted 
to prove or disprove these moon theories? 
I do not now recall any scientific ex¬ 
periments which have been undertaken 
for the purpose of solving this vexed 
question. It is not a promising subject 
for investigation. It would be, so far as 
I now see, impossible to get parallel con¬ 
ditions with the different tests of the 
experiment. The sun influences plant 
growth mightily in the day time. Es¬ 
pecially at seed planting time that lum¬ 
inary is constantly changing in hip influ¬ 
ence on vegetation, for the earth is con¬ 
stantly moving into a position where 
the sun’s rays are more and more power¬ 
ful. When the moon is new other con¬ 
ditions have wonderfully changed as 
compared with what they were under 
the “old” moon. s. a. beach. 
I do not know of any experiments 
having been made to determine the ef¬ 
fects of the moon on the germination 
of seeds. I think that the experiments 
which seem to show that the moon ap¬ 
pears to exercise an influence on ger¬ 
mination are to be explained by the ex¬ 
perimenter’s desire or intention that the 
results shall show such influence. That 
is to say, a man starts out with a cer¬ 
tain idea in his mind, and his experi¬ 
ments nearly always confirm it, for even 
though he intends to be perfectly hon¬ 
est, he is very likely to interpret his re¬ 
sults erroneously, or to magnify those 
things which confirm his theory, and to 
minimize others. Even experimenters 
have to guard against such errors with 
the greatest care and caution. The 
good experimenter never starts out to 
prove a thing; he starts out to find out 
whether it is so. The man who be¬ 
lieves that the moon influences ger¬ 
mination starts out to prove his propo¬ 
sition; but it is just as well to make 
no experiments whatever in such cases 
Seeds which are planted for an experi¬ 
ment are likely to be more carefully 
planted, and more carefully tended than 
those which are sown under ordinary 
conditions. One usually selects the 
seeds with more care, also; he is likely 
to give the resulting plants greater at¬ 
tention. Almost unconsciously he se¬ 
lects a better place in which the seeds 
are to be sown. l. h. bailey. 
AN EASY WAY TO KILL STUMPS. 
A reader in Illinois wishes to know 
whether he can bore a hole in a stump, fill 
this hole with coal oil or saltpeter, and 
then burn it out. In New Jersey we are 
obliged to dig or blow stumps out; if there 
is any chemical that will hasten their de¬ 
parture by natural means, we would like 
to know what it is. 
The subject of getting out stumps uas 
often been discussed at farmers’ insti¬ 
tutes in Michigan. If there are any bet¬ 
ter ways of doing the work than using 
dynamite or a stump puller, I do not 
know what they are. So far as I can 
learn, the use of saltpeter or coal oil is 
not a success. They will not permeate 
well the hard roots. w. j. beal. 
% 
I had a field of stumps; tried boring 
holes and filling with saltpeter, and 
kerosene, but it was no go. I took earth 
away from around the stumps, hauled 
wood, and waited for dry weather and 
a strong wind. Then with a little 
kerosene to start, fire, keeping plenty of 
wood on the windy side, my stumps 
melted away. I had a hot time of it, 
but had two splendid crops of wheat and 
one not quite so good in succession, and 
I have given the ashes credit for it. 
Sparland, Ills. t. s. 
The other day a friend was visiting 
me and having noticed the recent in¬ 
quiry in The R. N.-Y. about the use of 
saltpeter in stumps, he said that he 
had tried it and found it of no value so 
far as their burning was concerned. 
But, he said, it had a remarkable ef¬ 
fect in rotting freshly-cut or green 
sflimps. The plan is to bore a deep 
hole into a green stump, insert a tea¬ 
spoonful of saltpeter, fill the nole with 
water and plug it up. The liquid will 
permeate the entire stump to the ends 
of the roots, so he says, and cause it to 
rot in a very short time, whether it be 
oak, chestnut or other durable kinds. 
It is essential that the stumps be green 
and that a deep hole is filled with water. 
He says it will kill any tree, root or 
branch, that is treated in this way. If 
this be true, as I am sure he fully be¬ 
lieves, and uv. is an intelligent man, it 
will be a great help to many who live 
in timbered regions. Large stumps may 
need several holes, h. jc. tan deilas. 
Lime in Bordeaux Mixture. 
F. C. C., Sandy Creek, .He.—Does Mr. Chap¬ 
man, page 527, mean, in the preparation of 
his Bordeaux Mixture, that he uses the 
lime water clear; that is, after allowing 
the lime to settle? If so, there would be 
no necessity for straining, which is so 
strongly advised in all directions for mak¬ 
ing Bordeaux Mixture. 
Ans. —The necessity of straining lime 
water comes, almost always, from im¬ 
proper methods of slaking the lime. 
The straining is only for the purpose of 
getting out some hard pieces which 
would clog the nozzle. The way to slake 
so that there will be none of them is to 
put a little hot water on the lime and 
let it heat up. Add a little hot water 
slowly, and it will begin to boil. Do 
not add enough to stop it, and cook the 
lime, till it ceases to slake. Then add 
water and stir well before making the 
Bordeaux Mixture. This milky-looking 
water will need no straining, and work 
well. Clear lime water is not as good as 
milky-colored water, as it leaves no lime 
deposit on foliage to drive away insects. 
Insects on Gladiolus and Heliotrope. 
W. L. R., Cohoes, N. Y.—l send some black 
insects I found on my Gladiolus, feeding on 
the flowers. They were rather sluggish 
and easily caught, so that I soon killed 
them all. The lighter-colored ones sent 
were found on the flowers of heliotrope, but 
not very numerous. As I have grown 
these flowers for many years and have 
never noticed these insects before, I send 
you specimens. The black bugs were 
found only on Gladiolus, the others entire¬ 
ly on heliotrope. 
Ans. —The two black beetles found 
eating the flowers of Gladiolus were 
blister beetles. These insects have been 
very numerous in many localities this 
year. They often appear suddenly in 
large numbers, and soon strip potato 
vines or many flowering plants. They 
are ravenous eaters while they stay, and 
very prompt measures must be resorted 
to. It takes a lot of poison to kill them 
quickly enough, hence the better method 
is to hand collect them by knocking 
them off into pans of kerosene. They 
lay their eggs in the ground, where 
their grubs feed upon grasshopper eggs, 
and are therefore beneficial Insects. 
Doubtless the unusual supply of grass¬ 
hoppers, due largely to the drought of 
last season, is responsible in some de¬ 
gree for the many blister beetles this 
year, for their grubs had plenty of grass¬ 
hopper eggs to eat last season. The 
other insects found on heliotrope flowers 
were the Pennsylvania Soldier beetle 
(Chauliognathus Pennsylvanicus), a 
slender yellow beetle which is very com¬ 
mon on many flowers, especially on the 
goldenrods. ' They are not injurious to 
flowers, for they feed only on the pol¬ 
len and nectar. m. v. slingerland. 
For the land’s sake, use Bowker’s Per 
tilizers They enrich the earth .—Adm 
f^NION SEED. 
U Lb., $2.M); oz., 
pal. Sow It now. 
Perfectly hardy in this country 
20c Size and shape same as Portu- 
BEAUL1EU, Woodhaven, N. Y. 
Recleaned Seeds. 
WHEAT, RYE, CLOVER, TIMOTHY 
and other FARM SEEDS. 
Write for Wheat Circular and Seed Price List; free 
The Henry Philipps Seed and Implement Go., 
115 & 117 St. Clair St.. Toledo, Ohio. 
The Counter Edition of our 
Garden and Farm Manual 
contains besides the verv complete line 
of GARDEN AND FLOWER SEEDS a 
Great Variety of GARDEN AND FARM 
TOOLS and SPRAYING OUTFITS. Send 
for it. Send also for our Poultry Supply 
Catalogue. 
UUCnkl P CTfilfCC and 219 Market Street 
Early 
Golden Straw 
has proved the most valuable and productive variety 
of Winter Wheat ever introduced in this State. It 
has long, well filled heads, and is an Immense yielder. 
A 10-acre field this season averaged 40 bushels per 
acre. It has a bright, stiff straw that stands up 
against storms like a reed, thus it never lodges. It 
has never been affected with rust and very little with 
the fly. It has excellent milling qualities, and gives 
general satisfaction. My seed is absolutely pure 
and clean. Price, $1.25 per bushel; in lots of 10 and 
V0 bushels, $1.10. Bags, 15c. each, extra. Sample 
package mailed for two stamps. Send money by draft, 
post-office order or express money order. Address 
HERBERT E. CHILDS, 
Niagara Falls, N. Y. 
Seed Wheat 
JONES’ WHEATS 
never were as much in demand as now. Try these 
champion yielders from he«dquarters. Catalogue 
free. A. N. JON KS, Wheat Propagator, Newark, N. Y 
l®f llPi V We are headquart- 
yg H f B I ers for choice new 
99 ■ wheat. Varieties: 
Harvest King Economy, Winter King and others. 
Descriptive Circular and Price-List free. 
GEO W. MACE, Box F, Greenville, Ohio. 
Dudy Seed Wheat.—Yield 30 to 45 bu. per acre. 
■ LX 1,100 bu. of choice, pure seed, clean of cock'e and 
rye. at $1.2 per bu. 7,000 bu. grown on neighboring 
farms, at $1.15 per bu., sacked. Free sample to-day. 
JOHN HERR 8HENK, Lancaster. Pa. 
QfloH WhoatC“ YieUl8 of 17 var 'eties. Sample 
OuuU w'llGQlo free (to our readers). 
SMITH’S POTATO FARM, Manchester, N. Y. 
October Purple Plum Trees. 
The best of all of Mr. Burbank's Plums. We offer 
a large stock of line trees, one and two years old 
Address STEPHEN HOYT’S 80X8, New Canaan, Ct. 
PLANT THE BOUGH RIDER. 
The latest, best-shipping strawberry. Potted 
plants, $1 per dozen: $-> per luO. 
L. J. FARMER, Introducer, Pulaski, N. Y. 
rAn CAI C —^ bushels Delaware-grow 
rUIl r CRIMSON CLOVER SEED. 
JOSEPH E. HOLLAND. Milford, Deb 
f'rimson Clover—new crop.— Titos. McFlrov 
M er. Exchange Building, fi Harrison St., N. Y., Is 
now receiving consignments of the new crop Crimson 
Clover, choice quality, offering to the trade only. In 
quantities to suit. Samples on application. 
C rimson 
Clover. 
Genuine Delaware Seed, also other seeds for Summer 
sowing. Write for our Midsummer Catalogue. We 
send it Free. Henry A. Dreer, Philadelphia. 
APPLE 
BARRELS 
if you want Apple bar¬ 
rels. and want to get 
them when you want 
them, write to 
ROBERT GILLIES, 
MARLBORO, N. Y. 
r VAPOR AT INC FRUIT 
Complete rigs for gilt-edge work and big profits. 
AMERICAN MANUFACTURING CO., 
Box 407. Waynesboro, Pa. 
t 
SR 
STAI 
K TREES SUCCEED WHERE 
Largest Nursery. OTHERS FAIL. 
Fruit /took Free. Result of 76 years' experience. 
STARK BROS., Louisiana, Mo. ; Dansville, N.Y. 
200,000 Peach Trees. 
We offer a choice lot of Peach trees, grown from 
Tennessee pits. These trees are healthy and line. 
Address STEPHEN HOYT S SONS. New Canaan. Ct. 
200,000 Peach 
HEADQUARTERS FOR 
YORK IMPERIAL.»» KIEFFER. 
One tree to a carload. 
Business trees at business prices. (They are bear¬ 
ers.) Inducements to Peach buyers. Let ub 
quote you on your want list. 
WOODVIEW NURSERIES. Box 100, Uriah, Pa. 
Trees. Plants. 
We have all kinds of Nursery Stock. 
Catalogue Free. 
JOS. H. BLACK, SON & CO., 
HIGHTSTOWN, N. J. 
ForestTrees. ForestTrees. 
Sugar. Norway. Sycamore, Silverleaf, and other 
Maples by the 1,000 or 10,000. Also Lindens, Poplars, 
Elms, Willows, Mountain Ash, Birch, etc., in large 
quantities, and Shrubbery by the acre. We can fur¬ 
nish trees from one to three inches in diameter. 
Address STEPHEN HOY'T’S SON8, New Canaan, Ct. 
For $i I will send by express or freight, i Alpha, i Paragon 
Numbo Chestnut Tree grafted, worth $2 20. Full line of 
Nursery StocK. Certificate. 
ARTHUR J. COLLINS, 
Moorestown, Burlington County, N. J. 
Choicest Fruit and Ornamental Trees. 
Shrub*, Plant*, Bulbs, Seeds. 40 Acre* Hardy Ro»e*. 44 OreanboMaa 
of Palm*, Everblooming Roses, Plcu*. Farns, Btc. Corraapondanca 
solicited. Catalogue Free. 47 Year*- 1000 Acre*. 
th* STORRS & HARRISON CO., Painesvllle, O. 
