54 
January 25 
4 A- -A. A A. 
; Ruralisms 
FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS. 
Pests in Amateur Greenhouses.— 
The management of amateur and small 
general-purpose greenhouses is beset 
with peculiar difficulties. There is al¬ 
most invariably an attempt to grow to¬ 
gether many diverse plants, regardless 
of their special preferences as to tem¬ 
perature, moisture and sunlight. It 
seems scarcely possible except in the 
most limited way to afford congenial 
conditions to more than one class of 
plants at a time, yet wonders are ac¬ 
complished by devoted plant-lovers, 
who carefully study the real possibili¬ 
ties of their glass constructions. The 
beginner may only hope to strike a tol¬ 
erable average at first, but time should 
enable him to sift out the subjects best 
adapted for his conditions. The bring¬ 
ing together of plants differing widely 
in character and locality of origin is also 
sure to be accompanied by the introduc¬ 
tion of many troublesome pests, likely 
to cause much discouragement, as the 
fight against their depredations is never 
ending, if fair results are to be attained. 
Granting that the greenhouse is proper¬ 
ly constructed, a tolerable range of tem¬ 
perature maintained, due attention 
given to watering and the soil require¬ 
ments of the plants cultivated therein, 
these pests remain to be opposed with 
constant vigilance, and from their va¬ 
riety and comparatively small quantity 
are less easy to locate and combat than 
in large ranges of glass devoted to few¬ 
er products. The commonest and most 
persistent of these unwelcome visitors 
are probably the various aphids, plant 
lice or “green fly” on one band, and the 
leaf mildews on the other. Both affect 
the young foliage of roses and the other 
tender subjects beginners always want 
to grow, but seldom harm geraniums 
and plants of a similar resistant char¬ 
acter. There is no sure cure nor royal 
road to extirpation of these ubiquitous 
pests when once thoroughly establish¬ 
ed, but much may be done to prevent 
development in the first place and wear 
out their powers of endurance when in¬ 
fection has been established. The uni¬ 
versal antidote for aphids is tobacco in 
some form, and sulphur occupies a simi¬ 
lar position as regards the mildews. The 
essential point is to have the nicotine 
or poisonous principle of tobacco and 
the sulphur ever acting when needed to 
prevent further extension of the trou¬ 
bles, the special causes of which have 
generally a very short life cycle, so that 
if renewal is prevented the adult forms 
must soon die out. 
'Sulphur for Mildew. —If the heating 
system is adequate the diffusion of 
enough sulphur to hold most mildews 
in check is easily managed. The steam 
or hot water pipes may be partially 
painted with fine sulphur mixed with 
thick lime whitewash. Cover about 
one-tenth of the surface with this mix¬ 
ture, and whenever the heating surface 
approaches a temperature of 200 de¬ 
grees the sulphur will be volatilized and 
exert its effect on the germs. About as 
much sulphur as lime should be used 
in the wash, and each application may 
be expected to exert its influence for 
two weeks or more, according to the 
temperature of the pipes. If a flue or 
stove of any kind is used the sulphur 
may be placed directly on the heating 
surface at a point where the tempera¬ 
ture does not rise much above that of 
boiling water. The object is to evapo¬ 
rate the sulphur itself without taking 
fire, as then it produces the very poi¬ 
sonous fumes of sulphurous acid gas, 
always causing quick and certain death 
to the plants as well as insects and 
fungi. Sulphur may also be evaporated 
or volatilized over a lamp chimney or on 
an oil stove, but should always be care¬ 
fully watched lest it take fire. The sul¬ 
phur should be in an iron dish, and if 
placed in another dish containing an 
inch of sand the danger of taking fire 
will be much lessened. The volatilized 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
sulphur rises as a white vapor, and is 
not irritating, while the dangerous and 
suffocating sulphurous gas is bluish, 
and is always accompanied by a blue 
flame, as it is the direct result of com¬ 
bustion. If sufficient sulphur is evap¬ 
orated twice a week to make a visible 
haze most fungous troubles will be held 
in check and many young insects de¬ 
stroyed. Fine sulphur is also very effec¬ 
tive dusted or blown with a bellows di¬ 
rectly on mildewed foliage. It may be 
applied freely, and is most beneficial in 
bright, clear weather. The sulphur will 
adhere better if mixed with its bulk of 
flour. Sulphide of potassium, dissolved 
in water at the rate of one or two 
ounces to the gallon is a good preven¬ 
tive, but is of little value after the dis¬ 
ease has become established. Solutions 
of this strength neither stain nor in¬ 
jure foliage, but should be used with 
care, as they will immediately blacken 
white paint. Bordeaux Mixture and 
other copper sulphate solutions cannot 
De recommended for use under glass, 
However necessary outside. They are 
messy and unpleasant to handle, and 
nearly always injure the foliage of in¬ 
door plants. Dry Bordeaux Mixture or 
Fungiroid may often be substituted for 
sulphur, and blown on the foliage in 
tixe same manner, but seems to act best 
when mixed with an equal quantity of 
fine dry sulphur. A reasonably dry air 
during dull weather is acceptable to 
most plants, and not favorable to the 
spread of fungus troubles. To maintain 
this never spray nor wet the foliage of 
susceptible plants unless there is pros¬ 
pect of enough sunshine to dry them 
well before evening, and in general only 
use water freely on bright days, and as 
early in the forenoon as the house can 
be wen warmed. This matter of at¬ 
mospheric dryness must not be carried 
too far, or an attack of the dreaded red 
spider, an active little mite infesting 
many smooth-leaved plants, and caus¬ 
ing the foliage to turn brown and dry 
up, will be invited. When the mite does 
appear, forcible syringing with cold 
water is the only practicable way to re¬ 
move him. The red spider thrives best 
in hot, dry air while cool and moist 
conditions favor the development of 
fungi. All such extremes shoula be 
avoided. It is the maintaining of this 
nice balance of conditions that taxes 
the skill of growers to the utmost. 
How to Use Tobacco. —Aphids are 
the most persistent and annoying of 
glasshouse insect pests. Constant watch¬ 
fulness is needed to keep them under 
control in houses of mixed plants, espe¬ 
cially if tender seedlings are grown at 
the same time. While tobacco is the 
sovereign remedy its influence must be 
pretty constantly maintained. This is 
accomplished in commercial establish¬ 
ments by fumigating with burning to¬ 
bacco stems once or twice a week, or in 
the case of cut-flower establishments 
where the smoke odor is particularly 
objectionable, by covering the pipes, 
vacant surfaces under benches, or even 
the soil between plants with moistened 
tobacco stems or refuse, which should 
be renewed several times during the 
season. A considerable quantity must 
be used and for this reason the method 
is seldom effective in the 'hands of ama¬ 
teurs. 'Some excellent concentrations of 
tobacco extract in solid as well as liquid 
form are now on the market. They are 
expensive, but cleanly and effectual af¬ 
ter the needed quantity has been 
gauged. They are distributed by vap¬ 
orization by steam pressure or over a 
heated surface, but as yet cannot be 
procured readily enough for general 
use. Tobacco infusion, made by steep¬ 
ing stems in water until it assumes the 
color of weak tea has a limited value 
for spraying affected plants when there 
is room to handle them separately, and 
tobacco dust is very convenient to cover 
batches of young seedlings and thus 
hinder the spread of colonies of aphids 
or thrips, when fumigation is not con¬ 
venient, but such applications are messy 
and not always congenial to the plants. 
Potash whale-oil soap or the new Black 
Insecticide soap in solutions of from 
one to four ounces to the gallon of 
water can be effectively used on chance 
colonies or infested plants, but as a 
general rule it is best to use all sprays 
with caution. The soap solutions, how¬ 
ever, are absolutely required as a wash 
to rid thick-leaved and slow-growing 
plants of mealy bugs, scales of various 
species, and thrips, though the latter 
are partially controlled by regular fumi¬ 
gation. It must be emphasized that all 
the above methods have special value, 
and in mixed houses each may be re¬ 
quired irom time to time, but the re¬ 
productive powers of aphids are so great 
—they increase by a simple budding pro¬ 
cess for many generations without the 
delay caused by the deposition of eggs— 
For the land’s sake, use Bowker’s Fer¬ 
tilizers. They enrich the earth.— Adv. 
that a constant restraining influence 
must be kept up. A normal rumigation, 
no stronger than the weaker plants may 
well bear, will kill myriads of young 
aphids, but only stupefy the adults, but 
the constant destruction of the young 
will greatly reduce the number of indi¬ 
viduals. For fumigating, the tobacco 
should always be well moistened, and 
never permitted to blaze, or much harm 
may be done the plants and little to the 
aphids, as a blaze destroys the poison¬ 
ous nicotine which is the principle of¬ 
fensive to soft-bodied insects, but com¬ 
paratively harmless to plant life. About 
one pound of moist stems to each 500 
cubic feet of greenhouse space will an¬ 
swer in most cases, but if the pests show 
a disposition to increase it is often well 
to fumigate for three nights successive¬ 
ly, the prolonged effect being generally 
too much for all but the toughest old 
specimens. Choose quiet weather, es¬ 
pecially dull, moist nights for fumiga¬ 
tion, whenever convenient, but always 
have the foliage as dry as possible. Af¬ 
ter severe fumigations it is well to 
syringe or spray plants sensitive to 
smoke in order to wash off the residue. 
Forcible syringing with cold water in 
bright weather greatly lessens injury 
by all insects, and is especially effective 
with the mealy bug and red spider, and 
is the only safe treatment for the lat¬ 
ter. To be of value the under surface 
of the leaves should be thoroughly 
sprayed as well as the upper. 'The use 
of hydrocyanic acid gas and carbon 
bisulphide is not recommended, as 
there is too great an element of danger 
to plant and human life with the form¬ 
er, and of fire or explosion with the lat¬ 
ter; though both are efficient in experi¬ 
enced hands. 
Hunt the Slugs at Night. —Various 
slugs, particularly a large spotted spe¬ 
cies, are troublesome in old established 
houses, and do much damage, especially 
among young seedlings. They can be 
controlled to some extent by dusting dry 
caustic lime under the benches and in 
damp places, or trapped under hollowed 
potatoes, but the best way is to search 
for them regularly at night, using a 
bright light. They are especially no¬ 
ticeable during damp weather. There 
are many other minor pests that must 
be dealt with as they appear, but those 
mentioned above cause most trouble. 
W. V. F. 
Small crops, unsalable veg¬ 
etables, result from want of 
Potash. 
Vegetables arc especially 
fond of Potash. Write for 
our free pamphlets. 
GERMAN KALI WORKS, 
93 Nassau St., New York. 
Corn Planting 
must be well and carefully done, as the fu¬ 
ture crop depends upon it. For all purposes, 
in any soil, on all kinds of 
ground nothing equals the 
SPANGLER 
CORN PLANTER. 
It saves time, labor, money and Insures the erop. You 
know wten it is working; you can seethe corn on its 
way to the ground. Made with or without fertiliser 
attachment. New device for sowing peas, beans, ensi. 
laire, corn, etc. We also make the famous Spangler Low. 
Down (train and Fertiliser Drill. Write for catalog and clrc. 
SPANGLER MANUFACTURIN6 CO., 505Queen St., York, Pa. 
VICTORY FEED MILL 
Oldest and Boat Grinding BUI Mad* 
Will crush and grind corn 
and cob and all kinds of 
grain, mixed or separate. 
Grinds faster, finer and with 
lees power than other mill*. 
Are builtatrong.well mad* of 
good material, and will last 
a lifetime. Small size adapt¬ 
ed for wind and tread power. 
Made in four size* for 1,4,8 
and 10 H. P. Free Catalogue. 
T1IOS. ROBERTS, 
Box 82, Springfield, O. 
an harness, old or new, la made pliable and easy— will look b#t»r 
and wear longer—by the use of 
Eureka Harness Oil 
The finest preservative for leather ever discovered. Bave» 
many timee ita cost by improved appearances and tnth* ooat 
Of repairs. Sold everywhere In cans—all sizes. 
MO* by STANDARD OIL CO. 
SEARCH LIGHT 
Tubular—Cold Blast—for Kerosene. 
Will stand a strong wind, can be used indoors or out, for carrying or hanging. Idea 
for cattle shed, stable, warehouse, workshop, cellar, etc. Spread strong white light ovei 
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more delivered direct to you. _ , xinm 
Illustrated catalogue of all kinds of lamps and lanterns FREE on request. 
R. E. DIETZ COMPANY, 87 Laight St, New York 
(Established 1840) 
COOK YOUR FEED and SAVB 
Half the Cost—with the , 
PROFIT FARM BOILER 
With Dumping Caldron. Empties its 
kettle in one minute. The simplest 
and best arrangement for cooking 
food for stock. Also make Dairy and 
Laundry Stove*, Water and Steam 
Jacket Kettles, Hog Scalders, Cal¬ 
drons, etc. *Ey Send for circulars. 
D. R. 8PERRY & OO., Batavia, Ill. 
M\ 
% COD A V IRAA2-thut's the dltfor , 
I wI I1H 1 Illu ence between __ **-**&... 
success and failure in fruit culture. —t 
S ... Ask any one who has tried it. 
HARDIE spray PUMPSiSfig 
are so simple and so easy to work, 
f] ! yet so powerful that they make 
1 spraying a pleasure. Our Catalog cifjM&E 
H . gives the best formulas and tells ■'Ail® 
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[XT THE HARDIE SPRAY PEMP JIFG. CO. Wrt< 
[ 1 |l | Earned St., Detroit, Jlleh. ■jsJtj," 
PROFIT or LOSS? 
That’s the Question 
THE ECLIPSE 
SPRAY PUMP 
Will settle that in your 
orchard. With it you 
CAN make a profit, with¬ 
out it what do you get ? 
Send for Catalogue. 
MORRILL & MORLEY, 
BENTON HARBOR, MICHIGAN. 
Empire King 
He who attempts to grow fruits without a 
~ at v Sprayer is handicapped. Blight,bugs.rot and 
rust, mold and 'mildew all conspire to damage the crop, 
_ and in all cases succeed if the farmer does not spray. This is the only 
hand pump having automatic agitator and brush for cleaning strainer. Valuable 
book of instruction free. FIELD FORCE PUMP CO., 2 Market St. f Lockport, N. Y« 
