1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
CHEAP SUBSTITUTES FOR PARIS-GREEN. 
THE AMERICAN BUG IS A MILLIONAIRE. 
That Is, It Costs a Million To Poison Him. 
The Cost of Paris-Green.— The farmers and 
fruit growers of the United States are now feeding 
over 2,000 tons of Paris-green to insect pests every year. 
At the present ruling prices of from 18 to 25 cents 
a pound, we are expending annually about 81,000,000 
for Paris-green. Think of it, 81,000,000 being spent 
every year in the United States to include a poison in 
the menu of such little creatures as insects ! Is it 
any wonder that many are asking for some cheaper 
poison than Paris-green ? I am very glad to he able 
to say that there are, at least two cheaper poisons, 
which have been thoroughly tested and found to be 
equally as safe and effective as Paris-green. Hence 
there is no reaion why agriculturists should not save 
about half a million dollars on their bills for poison 
to feed their insect foes. 
Green Arsenite Cheaper. —Paris-green is prima¬ 
rily manufactured as a pigment for green paint, and 
in making it, acetic acid is used. This acid dees not 
increase the insecticidal qualities of the poison, and 
does increase its cost considerably ; hence a manu¬ 
facturer of Paris-green was asked to leave out the 
acetic acid, with the result that a better insecticide 
was made, which has been named green arsenite or 
arsenite of copper. It is a little lighter in color than 
Paris-green ; it is a finer powder, hence will not need 
so frequent stirring ; it contains as much arsenic ; 
and careful, thorough tests during the past two years 
have shown that this green arsenite is just as effective 
in killing insects, and can be used in the same amounts 
in water or Bordeaux Mixture. I recently asked the 
manufacturers to quote prices on green arsenite to 
farmers. Their prices were 12 cents per pound in 100- 
pound lots or 13% cents in 25 to 50-pound lots, f. o. b., 
New York City ; these prices are only about one-half 
what many are paying for Paris-green. Order direct 
from the manufacturers or get your dealer to do so ; 
order early, and let the goods come by freight at little 
extra expense. Use it just the same as you would 
Paris-green. 
Arsenite of Lime. —A still cheaper poisonous in¬ 
secticide can be made with but little trouble. The 
killing principle in all the poisonous insecticides is 
the well-known white arsenic. This cannot be used 
alone, for it is quite soluble in water, and this dis¬ 
solved arsenic will burn foliage. It was long ago 
found that, by boiling this arsenic with lime, an in¬ 
soluble form of the poison would result, which could 
be used safely on foliage. To prepare this arsenite of 
lime, add two pounds of lime, and one pound of white 
arsenic, to two gallons of hot water, and boil it for 
at least 30 minutes. Use one quart of this stock 
mixture in 40 gallons of water, to which must be added, 
at least another pound of lime. Use only freshly- 
slaked lime. One should be able to get the white 
arsenic for not over six or seven cents per pound. 
Write to some wholesale dealer in chemicals if your 
local dealer will not get it for you at a reasonable 
price. 
If you are spraying Bordeaux Mixture and a poison 
at the same time, as many are now doing, then it 
will not be necessary to add any more lime ; simply 
add a quart of the stock mixture to each 40 gallons of 
Bordeaux Mixture. Some of our best orchardists are 
using this combination, and report equally as good 
results as with the Paris-green For Potato beetles, 
it will, doubtless, be necessary to use more of the 
stock mixture, say two quarts to each 40 gallons. We 
find that some orchard.sts are using Paris-green as 
strong as one pound to 100 gallons of the Bordeaux 
Mixture on all fruits except peaches. 
Arsenic Stock Mixture. —Another method of 
making a cheap stock mixture of white arsenic is to 
boil one pound of the arsenic and two pounds of sal 
soda, in two gallons of water, until the arsenic is dis¬ 
solved. Add one quart of this stock mixture to each 
40 gallons of Bordeaux Mixture ; if added to the water 
alone, add two pounds of lime to the 40 gallons of 
water. One can make up stock mixtures of the white 
arsenic, either with lime (which is much cheaper than 
the sal soda) or sal soda (washing soda or crystals of 
carbonate of soda), at any time, and keep them in a jug 
or other similar receptacle for any length of time. Al¬ 
ways label such a mixture, poison, and keep it out of 
danger. White arsenic made up into stock solutions in 
this way forms the cheapest poisonous insecticide we 
have ; it will keep for any length of time ; it is uniform 
in strength, and it does not injure the leaves of plants. 
Do not pay 25 cents per pound for Paris-green when 
you can get green arsenite for about one-half that 
price, or when you can make arsenite of lime at even 
a less cost. Either of these cheap substitutes is just 
as effective as Paris-green against insects which bite 
or chew. 
F. L. Lavanburg, New York City, has just put on 
the market an insecticide which he calls “ Paragrene”. 
This substance is guaranteed to contain 50 per cent of 
arsenic, and the statements regarding its composition 
in the manufacturer’s circulars lead me to believe 
that this Paragrene is very similar to, if not identical 
with, the green arsenite or arsenite of copper dis¬ 
cussed above. I would wait until careful tests have 
demonstrated the value and safety of this Paragrene 
before advising one to invest in it extensively. It 
costs about the same as the green arsenite. 
M V. SLINGERLAND. 
THE RURAL SCH00LH0USE, OLD AND NEW. 
Just behind The R. N.-Y. office is a city school, a 
bare, frowning brick building, built right up to the 
sidewalk, without an inch of playground except the 
crowded street. We have often wondered whether it 
is possible for children to attain any idea of beauty in 
such a place. But look at Fig. 87, from Bulletin 160 
of the Cornell Experiment Station; though the scholars 
have all outdoors to play in, their surroundings are 
quite as sordid as those of the city school. In Fig. 88, 
Prof. Bailey offers a suggestion for the improvement of 
such surroundings. He remarks that, probably, more 
than one-third of all public schools will always be in the 
THE BARREN SCHOOLHOUSE. FlO. 87. 
THE BEAUTIFIED SCHOOLHOUSE. Fig. 88. 
country. These schools must be improved and made 
attractive, not only for the sake of the pupils, but 
also for the sake of their own continued existence. 
Events of the Week. 
Domestic.—March 9 a band of armed and masked men made 
an attempt to loot the little town of Noel, Mo. The citizens were 
prepared, and opened fire on the robbers, killing one and cap¬ 
turing a second; the others escaped. . . The American - 
Hawaiian Steamship Company was incorporated in New Jersey 
March 9, with a capital of 8750 000. The company will operate a 
line of steamers between the United States and Hawaiian 
Islands. . . Reports of losses at sea during the great storms 
of February continue to come in. It is now believed that 
eight big freight steamers, long overdue, are lost; their crews 
numbered 240, and the money loss is more than 82,000,000. . . 
Two miners were imprisoned in a mine at Leadville by the caving 
in of the shaft Communicati m with them was established by rip¬ 
ping asunder the waterpipe with dynamite, and food is being low¬ 
ered to them through the pipe. A new shaft will be sunk 75 feet to 
release the men; this will take a week’s time. Another mine 
disaster at Creede, Col., killed four men, and injured several 
others, March 10. . . A furious blizzard was raging in Wyom¬ 
ing March 10 All trains were delayed. A train on the Cheyenne 
<fe Northern Road, carrying42 passengers, was 15 days late. When 
last heard from, the people were out of provisions, and were 
slaughtering range cattle. The colored troops at Fort Russell, 
who distinguished themselves at San Juan last year, have volun¬ 
teered to make an effort to dig the blockaded passengers out. The 
train was finally abandoned, after the passengers had been 
blockaded for three weeks; they traveled 10 miles on snowshoes, 
to a place where the road was open. . . A Greek suffering 
from leprosy was captured in Newark, N. J., March 10. He had 
escaped from the New York Barge Office two weeks before. . . 
A man near Dubois, Pa., placed a bottle of turpentine on a shelf 
over the stove to warm, March 9. The bottle exploded, killing a 
child and fatally burning two women. . . Smallpox is widely 
prevalent in the District of Columbia, and the health officials are 
making strenuous efforts to stamp out the disease. . . A terrific 
windstorm visited Oklahoma March 11, blowing down many 
houses; no lives lost. . . A furious blizzard, one of the worst 
this season, raged through Kansas and Nebraska March 11. 
Street cars could not operate in Omaha except when accom¬ 
panied by snow plows pushed by three motors. Railway traffic 
was seriously impeded. . . The new Allan Line steamer Cas¬ 
tilian went ashore near Halifax, N. S., March 12. . . Reports 
from upper Michigan state that railways are completely blocked, 
and snow is drifted 8 to 12 feet deep. . . Another great fire in 
Chicago March 12 resulted in a Iobs of 8300, (XX). . . An appeal 
for cooperation in an effort to induce the Government to suspend 
23 I 
hostilities in the Philippines and to confer with the insurgents, 
has been issued in Boston. It is signed by many eminent men. . . 
Unknown ruffians have repeatedly attacked the crew of the new 
life-saving station at Sandy Point, South Block Island, R. I., 
patrolmen being shot at from ambush. One patrolman was 
attacked by three masked men, and brutally beaten. The affair 
is being investigated, but is at present a mystery. . . A tor¬ 
nado and cloudburst near Birmingham, Ala., caused much 
damage March 15. . . The Windsor Hotel, New York City, was 
totally destroyed by fire, March 17; 14 lives lost, many more 
persons injured, some fatally; loss, 81,000,000. 
Army and Supplies —The Court of Inquiry visited the Chicago 
Stockyards March 9. They ate a lunch composed of canned roast 
beef which had been shipped to Porto Rico and back, and ap¬ 
peared to relish it. Prof. R. H. Chittenden, of Yale, has been 
selected as one of two chemists to analyze the beef. Prof. Chit¬ 
tenden is the expert who represented the Pacific Coast Borax 
Company before the Senate Committee on Agriculture at Albany, 
during the discussion of the bill prohibiting the use of borax in 
dairy products. Prof. Chittenden thinks that borax is a harmless 
food preservative. . . March 11 the Chief Commissary of the 
camp at Chlckamauga testified that the beef shipped from Chi¬ 
cago to Chickamauga was transported from the railway station 
to the camp in wagons reeking with filth. In one case, a com¬ 
plaint had been ma(je to him that a quantity of beef furnished 
to a regiment contained vermin. In addition to this, the beef 
had been allowed to stand for several hours in the hot sun before 
delivery to the camp. He declared that the regimental officers 
were responsible for the sickening condition of the wagons. . . 
March 14 packers testified that chemicals were not used to pre¬ 
serve beef, but that Gen. Eagan had asked them whether they 
could not use such preservatives. It was also asserted that the 
72-hour provision in the contracts had been modified by Gen. 
Eagan to 24 hours. Eagan asserted that the packers undertook 
that the meat should keep fresh for 72 hours. . . March 16 
Illinois volunteers gave testimony regarding the meat furnished 
to the Porto Rico campaign. The surgeon of the Third Illinois 
said that the meat issued to his regiment during its service in 
the Porto Rican campaign was a nauseating, foul-smelling mass, 
that sickened and weakened every man who touched it. “If we 
had depended upon the army rations for sustenance, the troops 
would have starved to death,” he said. “Tne men spent all their 
money in buying food either at the commissary stores or In the 
city. If they had not had money they would have died. Most of 
the meat we received we burled. It was either bury the meat or 
bury the soldiers.” The coffee and sugar were good, but the bread 
was vile, the bacon was full of worms, and the hardtack was full 
of worms A packinghouse employee testified that “canners” 
were an inferior grade of cattle; that English markets would 
condemn one-third of them. “ Chucks ” and scrapings were used 
for canning. He stated that the French, German and British 
governments bought canned corned beef, but would not touch 
canned roast beef. Carcasses rejected for other purposes, he 
said, were used for canning. “Downers”, “skates” and fevered 
cattle of all kinds were used for sausage and canning. 
Cuba —Gen. Brooke has warned the members of the Cuban 
Assembly that they must cease debating the Cuban army ques¬ 
tion. Such debates are useless, and cause only uneasiness. . . 
A large proportion of the reconcentrado portion of Guines was 
burned March 9; three children were killed. . . The Cuban 
Assembly has deposed Gen. Gomez from the office of Commander- 
In-Chief of the Cuban army, and declare him a traitor. The 
trouble arises from the discussion over the payment of the army. 
The Cuban people, the army, and our authorities sympathize 
with Gomez, and denounce the Assembly. . . March 13 the 
Havana police were attacked by the mob while endeavoring to 
prevent a parade and demonstration in honor of Gomez; United 
States troops were called on for assistance, and the streets were 
cleared, without injury to any one. . . The remains of a 
Spanish officer tied in a chair, discovered on the shore near San¬ 
tiago, have been identified by some^as that of Admiral Villamll, 
who commanded the torpedo-boat destroyers in the naval battle 
which resulted in the destruction of Cervera’s fleet. He was 
wounded seriously, taken ashore in a dying condition by his 
men, and the remains left uncared for in consequence of the 
catastrophe to the fleet. Others insist that the body is that of a 
seaman, and not of the Admiral. . . The Government at Wash¬ 
ington has given Gen. Brooke authority to disperse the Cuban 
Assembly, as no further mischief-making will be tolerated. The 
Assembly still maintains its abusive attitude toward the United 
States, and threatens to rebel if not intrusted with the dis¬ 
tribution of the 83,000,000 now on the way to Cuba, and if it 
refuse to guarantee a loan of 815,000 000. Some of the hot-headed 
members suggest severing all connection with the United States, 
and establishing a republic by force of arms. The people, how¬ 
ever, are unanimously opposed to such action, and would aid in 
the suppression of the malcontents. Popular indignation against 
the Assembly continues to grow. Gen. Gomez will aid Gen. Brcoke 
in distributing the money to the army. . . Volunteer troops 
are to be withdrawn from Cuba before the sickly season begins. 
Philippines.—Two overdue English steamers sailing under 
American registers arrived at Manila March 9. They had been 
seized by insurgents at Curriamo, and the crews deserted, after 
looting the ships, which were finally released. . . The trans¬ 
port Grant, with reenforcements under Major-Gen. Lawton, 
arrived at Manila March 10. They sailed from New York Janu¬ 
ary 19. . . Gen. Otis has forbidden the continuance of nego¬ 
tiations between the Spanish commissioners and the Filipinos 
for the release of the Spanish prisoners held by the natives. His 
object in doing this is, presumably, to prevent the Filipinos from 
obtaining the indemnity. We promised Spain in the treaty that 
we would secure the release of these prisoners, but nothing has 
yet been done for them. . . March 13 the American forces un¬ 
der Gen. Wheaton attacked and captured the city of Pasig, east 
of Manila. The Filipinos made a stand, but were compelled to 
retreat, after an hour’s fighting. Their loss was 30 killed and 16 
prisoners; a number of Americans were wounded. Our advance 
was stopped by the river, the Americans having no means to 
cross in force. The enemy was driven out of Pasig by artillery, 
but when our fire ceased, they again entered the town, and 
opened fire. The town was shelled for the second time, and was 
again evacuated. The towns of Pateros and Taguig were shelled, 
but not occupied, owing to the difficulty in crossing the river. 
Late in the day, March 14, some of the Oregon men crossed the 
river, and attacked Pasig, which was finally occupied by our 
forces, 4,000 rebels being routed. It is our most Important vic¬ 
tory since February 5; 400 prisoners were taken. Our losses 
were four killed and 28 wounded. . . It is said that Spain will 
ask the diplomatic intervention of France in aiding the release 
of prisoners held by the Filipinos. 
Porto Rico.—Col. Hubbell, of the 47th New York Volunteers, 
which arrived from Porto Rico March 10, declares that the Island 
is a hotbed of sedition, and that a general uprising may be ex¬ 
pected at any time. The natives want complete independence, 
such as is promised to Cuba. Col. Hubbell says that the natives 
are arming, and that they must be subdued by force shortly. 
