1900 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
801 
How to Start Orchard Grass. 
E. J., Orchard Park, N. Y .—Will you in¬ 
form me with regard to the treatment of 
Orchard grass, when to sow it and how 
much seed to the acre? Does it require 
any special treatment? I wish to seed 
down an orchard. 
Ans. —Orchard grass is best sown in 
early Spring as soon as the ground can 
be worked. At least two bushels of the 
commercial seed should be sown per 
acre, and three bushels would be likely 
to give a better stand. The seeds ought 
to be lightly harrowed or dragged in and 
rolled after sowing. The ordinary farm 
weeder makes a good implement to 
cover the seeds, but if it is not avail¬ 
able, use the lightest harrow you can 
get. It needs no further preparation, 
but the soil ought to be fairly well fer¬ 
tilized with stable manure or a good 
chemical fertilizer at the rate of 600 to 
800 pounds per acre, if it is not already 
in good condition. 
Garbage as a Fertilizer. 
J. A. W., Lake View, N. Y .—Would it pay 
to haul garbage on land to use as a fertil¬ 
izer when it can be obtained free for the 
hauling from the station which is three- 
quaiteis mile distant? The garbage con¬ 
sists chiefly of parings, slops, cabbage 
leaves and kitchen refuse. Since the cre¬ 
matory was burned in Buffalo they are 
shipping the garbage to points near the 
city for the farmers to use as fertilizer. 
The soil on my place is sandy loam, mixed 
with slate, and is need of a fertilizer. 
Ans. —Such garbage is worth more for 
feeding than for fertilizing. The best 
way to use it would be to haul and 
spread on sod in some enclosed held, so 
that hogs could eat it. It is a mistake 
to feed such garbage in troughs or on 
a tight floor. The liquids contain too 
much soap or soap powder which would 
injure the hogs. If it is not practical to 
feed the garbage to hogs we would haul 
and spread it on plowed ground if pos¬ 
sible, or mix it with the manure in the 
pile. You must be careful, and not use 
such garbage on land where cabbage is 
to be grown next year. 
Bats and Bedbugs. 
Is it true that bats are usually badly in¬ 
fested with insect parasites? Several per¬ 
sons have told us that this is the main 
reason for the intense dislike to these 
creatures which, if they enter a room, are 
likely to communicate the vermin to human 
beings. 
Ans. —No, I do not think it is true 
that bats are badly infested with insect 
parasites. I do not find any of the true 
lice recorded on bats, and the only para¬ 
site I know of as making the bat its host 
is a species of bedbug. There are at 
least three different kinds or species of 
bedbugs in this country; they may be 
commonly called the human bedbug, the 
swallow bedbug, and the bat bedbug. 
That is, man, the swallow and the bat 
are each infested with a distinct kind 
of bedbug. The species infesting the 
swallow’s nests is very common, and 
that infesting man is often altogether 
too familiar, but, so far as I can learn, 
bedbugs have been found on bats in but 
few instances. There have been several 
records of a bedbug Deing found on bats, 
but it is apparently only recently that 
this bedbug has been critically exam¬ 
ined and found to be distinct from the 
one attacking man, and identical with 
the bedbug of the bat in Europe. Thus, 
bats are sometimes infested with a bed¬ 
bug, but there is, so far as I can find, 
no evidence yet submitted to indicate 
that this kind of a bedbug ever attacks 
man. Nor is there any evidence that 
the more common bedbug infesting the 
swallow is ever thus introduced into our 
homes and attacks man. It is a great 
sufficiency for me to know that one kind 
of a bedbug makes man its host, with¬ 
out trying to make myself believe that 
the bedbugs of the bats and the swallow 
might also be allowed to have a taste 
of human blood. The bats are great 
insect catchers, and do man no harm. 
They have not yet been proven guilty of 
the crime of introducing the human bed¬ 
bug into our homes, so let them pursue 
their insect hunts through our garrets 
unmolested until there is more evidence 
against them. m. y. slingerland. 
PLAIN TALKS ON PLAIN TOPICS. 
The Use of “ Preservatives.” 
“A cider maker who is a merchant of 
good repute in Columbia Co., N. Y., 
openly uses salicylic acid in all the cider 
he makes.” 
“How much does he use?” 
“Two ounces to each barrel. He says 
it prevents fermentation and is not at 
all injurious to the nealth of those who 
drink the cider. Is he permitted by law 
to do this?” 
“The health laws of the State of New 
York seem to be pretty well mixed up. 
Ine Department of Agriculture is sup¬ 
posed to enforce some of them, while 
others fall to the Board of Health. From 
the best we can learn there is no law 
against the use of acid in cider.” 
“But I thought that it was against the 
law to adulterate vinegar in any way.” 
“You are right, it is; out by some 
strange reasoning, the law seems to dis¬ 
criminate between cider and cider vine¬ 
gar. It would be unlawful to add the 
acid to the vinegar, but apparently there 
is nothing to prevent its addition to the 
cider.” 
“This seems a strange thing, for when 
we consider the amount of cider con¬ 
sumed by some persons, the danger, if 
any, would be much greater than with 
vinegar.” 
“That is so, but the law apparently 
does not include cider; if the acid were 
used in the cider and then kept until it 
turned into vinegar, the law could step 
in and call it adulterated, but if the cider 
were consumed before it became vinegar 
the law would be powerless to prevent 
it.” 
“Do the canneries use salicylic acid in 
putting up sweet corn, beans, peas, etc..'” 
“We believe they do, although we are 
not in a position just now to prove it. 
Such matters come under .he jurisdic¬ 
tion of the State Board of Health, if 
they are moving in the matter mey cer¬ 
tainly move so silently that few people 
know what they are doing.” 
“Is it a fact that formaldehyde is now 
used by the shippers of milk to prevent 
its souring?” 
“Yes, considerable of this substance is 
used. To show how the law is split up, 
we may say that while canned goods 
come under the jurisdiction of the 
Board of Health, the adulteration of 
milk is supposed to be handled by the 
State Department of Agriculture.” 
“Have we a strong law covering this 
use of formaldehyde?” 
“Yes, it was supposed to be strong 
enough fully to cover the case. 
“Why, then, does not the Department 
of Agriculture put a stop to the prac¬ 
tice?” 
“Its officials have tried to uo so. They 
have made about 30 cases under this law 
and have also tried to trace the adul¬ 
teration back to the men who sold it. 
They have now several cases against 
parties who have been selling it to milk¬ 
men.” 
“Under what name is this stuff sold?” 
“Some of tne names are freezine, pre- 
servaline and formaldehyde.” 
“What becomes of these cases you 
speak of?” 
“One of them was pressed against a 
dealer in New York City. The judge de¬ 
cided against the State.” 
“Why did he do that?” 
“He gave a long decision in which he 
said, first, that such a law was an un¬ 
constitutional restriction upon the lib¬ 
erty of individuals unless it could be 
shown that it promoted the health of 
the community. He claimed that a pre¬ 
servative cannot harm if it merely pre¬ 
serves, and held that the law as drawn 
was not a health law. For these and 
other trivial reasons he dismissed the 
case, and the chances are that similar 
cases will meet the same fate.” 
“Is that to be the end of the matter?” 
“Not at all. The State Department of 
Agriculture will carry up this case to 
the higher courts, and make every effort 
to win it. In case they lose it again they 
will try to have a bill passed that will 
stand the test.” 
“What is the real truth about the use 
of these drugs? Are they really injur¬ 
ious to health?” 
“Unquestionably they are. The high¬ 
est medical authorities say so. The more 
you retard decomposition in milk, meat 
and vegetables, you retard their diges¬ 
tion, and this is certainly injurious. Not 
only that, but most of these drugs have 
a decidedly bad effect upon the kidneys, 
and their continued use will certainly 
prove injurious. There is a great need 
in this country of a National pure food 
law, backed up by suitable State legis¬ 
lation. Such a law properly enforced 
will do more to maintain and build up 
good markets for the farmer, than any¬ 
thing else now proposed in a business 
way for him.” 
SHORT BITS OF TALK. 
What shall I do to kill the Scurfy 
bark-louse on apple and pear trees? 
Drench bark this Winter with whale- 
oil soap (one pound in two gallons of 
water) or wait until the tender young 
lice hatch about June 1, then spray trees 
thoroughly with the above soap, using 
it at rate of about one pound in five gal¬ 
lons of water. Kerosene emulsion will 
also kill the young lice. 
* * * 
What is a simple lotion to use for 
sores on a horse? 
We use one part carbolic acid and 
three parts sweet oil witn good results. 
* * * 
To make a stone drain would you 
throw the stones in without order? 
No, we like to make a throat or open 
place of flat stones at the bottom and 
fill in with round stones. 
Over=Work Weakens 
Your Kidneys. 
Unhealthy Kidneys Make Impure Blood. 
me oioou m your uouy passes xnrougn 
your kidneys once every three minutes. 
The kidneys are your 
blood purifiers, they fil¬ 
ter out the waste or 
impurities in the blood. 
If they are sick or out 
of order, they fail to do 
their work. 
Pains, aches and rheu¬ 
matism come from ex¬ 
cess of uric acid in the 
blood, due to neglected 
kidney trouble. 
Kidney trouble causes quick or unsteady 
heart beats, and makes one feel as though 
they had heart trouble, because the heart is 
over-working in pumping thick, kidney- 
poisoned blood through veins and arteries. 
It used to be considered that only urinary 
troubles were to be traced to the kidneys, 
but now modern science proves that nearly 
all constitutional diseases have their begin¬ 
ning in kidney trouble. 
If you are sick you can make no mistake 
by first doctoring your kidneys. The mild 
and the extraordinary effect of Dr. Kilmer’s 
Swamp-Root, the great kidney remedy is 
soon realized. It stands the highest for its 
wonderful cures of the most distressing cases 
and is sold on its merits 
by all druggists in fifty- 
cent and one-dollar siz-1 
es. You may have a 
sample bottle by mail Home of Swamp-Root, 
free, also pamphlet telling you how to find 
out if you have kidney or bladder trouble. 
Mention this paper when writing Dr. Kilmer 
& Co., Binghamton, N. Y. 
YOU 
STAR MFO. 
CAN’T AFFORD 
to waste feed simply because you have 
lots of It. Utilize every bit of It. Grind 
it with the best mill made, the 
CTAD feed 
o I Alt grinder 
Shortest sweep; meat rapid, lesaliable 
to eet out of order. It grinds allgraina, 
either alone or mixed, and grind*, ear 
dry, damp or frozen. Never 
Send for circulars, prices, etc, 
make good power mills, too. 
Depot Street, New Lexington, Ohio. 
* * * 
What variety of apple holds its fo¬ 
liage longest in the Fall? 
If there is any difference at . all we 
should say Baldwin. 
* * * 
Will apples dry off a cow? 
Yes; too many of them will make ner 
drunk. The cow can hold a good many 
apples in her stomach. They actually 
ferment, form alcohol, and send tne cow 
into a drunken stupor. 
* * * 
How do southern farmers use cotton 
seed for fertilizers? 
In various ways. The Louisiana Ex¬ 
periment Station advises for cotton, one 
ton of acid phosphate, 200 bushels of dry 
stable manure and 100 bushels of green 
cotton seed. They wet tne cotton seed 
and make a pile as follows: Five bush¬ 
els of the manure at the bottom, five 
bushels of cotton seed on top of that 
and 100 pounds of the phosphate. Thus 
the pile means 20 layers of each. For 
corn they double the manure and seed. 
* * * 
Will whitefish at $1 per 1,000 do for 
manure alone for corn? 
Fish contains no potash, ^orn needs 
this element. On heavy soils the fish 
alone might do, but we would, if pos¬ 
sible, use wood ashes or muriate of pot¬ 
ash with the fish. 
As to the comparative value of corn si¬ 
lage and hay, I think $3 per ton would be 
pretty high for Illinois. I have grown and 
put it in the silo at a cost of $1 per ton, 
but it cost me much more than that this 
year, as the corn was badly blown down. 
Illinois. H. B. OBRLER. 
FOR RELIABLE FERTILIZERS Tuscarora 
Fertilizer Co., Rossfarm, Juniata County, Pa. 
STEEL 
ROOflNG' 
THE ONLY 
TOOLS YOU 
NEED. 
3 
5000 Squares 
BRAND NEW STEEL ROOFING 
Bought at Receivers Sales, sheets either flat, 
corrugated or “ V ” crimped, A “T fg 
Price per square of 10 x 10 feet Sr) I _ / !) 
or 100 square feet. 
No other tool than a hatchet or hammer is re¬ 
quired to lay this roofing. Wefurnish FREE 
with each order sufficient paint to cover, and 
nails to lay it. Write for Free Catalogue Mo. 67 
shandise bought n: 
1 RECEIVER'S 
_ONE 1 HALF i 
CHICAGO HOUSE WRECKING CO. 
West 35th and Iron 5ta, - Chicago. 
Gold-Shell Rings. 
Most people like a 
nice ring. We show 
three styles. These are 
made by drawing a 
shell of gold over a rod 
of composition metal. 
They are better and 
will wear longer than 
solid gold rings of a 
low carat. The retail 
price would be from 75 
cents to $1. We will 
send one of these rings 
postpaid as a reward 
for sending one new subscription at $1 
Cut a slip of paper the size of finger and 
send for size. 
OnPflAfl 1Every farmer or mechanic wants 
KZiU&lL y upeneu IVJllTe a good strong knife inhis pocket. 
You can never find anything better than this knife. It has two blades, hand 
forged from best steel. Stag-horn handle, brass lined and capped. A feature of 
this knife is the ease with which it can be opened because of the large purchase of 
the fingers on the blade. The price is SI. We send it post paid and one new yearly 
subscription for SI. 40 ; or free for a club of two yearly subscriptions at SI each. * 
