1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
259 
HOW MARYLAND FIGHTS SAN JOSE SCALE. 
FUMIGATION IN THE NUBSEBY. 
How and Why It Is Done. 
[editorial correspondence.) 
Pabt I. 
Be good Lord only knows how I felt, hut dat stuff am 
a pmverful axfitter! 
One Who Knows. —That is the testimony of a 
man who came back to tell how it seems to get a whiff 
of hydrocyanic gas into his lungs. Prof. W. G. John¬ 
son, State Entomologist of Maryland, told me of this 
negro. They had fumigated a roomful of nursery 
stock, and after half an hour’s exposure, opened the 
doors. The negroes were told not to enter for 10 
minutes. They were in a hurry, and at the end of 
seven minutes, one of them went in. He threw out 
one bundle of trees, and then he fell flat upon his 
face. They pulled him out, and put him in the wind, 
and he recovered, but the above 
quoted remark is about all he had 
to offer. 
No wonder he calls this gas a 
“ powerful axfitter ”. No breath¬ 
ing thing, be it insect or animal, 
will ever come for a second 
breath. Scientists are not clear 
as to how it kills, but it carries 
death in its fumes—sure and sud¬ 
den. I went down to the nursery 
of J. G. Harrison & Sons, Berlin, 
Md., to see how this gas is used 
in fighting the San Jos6 scale. 
How They l>o It. — There 
were two large fumigating rooms. 
They are large enough to hold a 
wagon loaded with trees. They 
are double-boarded, for it is 
necessary to have them absolutely 
air-tight. The doors are also 
double-boarded and fastened with 
movable cleats, so that they can 
be tightly closed. One of the 
rooms contained 10,000 peach 
trees. The process of fumigation 
was as follows: 
The room was tightly closed 
with the exception of one small 
door. They then brought a large 
earthen jar containing a quantity 
of water, and set it inside the 
door. Prom a jug containing 
sulphuric acid, a quantity was 
measured out into a glass flask, 
and poured into the water which, 
evidently, began to heat up. A 
package of a white substance 
wrapped in a yellow paper was 
then taken out of a box. 
“ But wait a moment,” said Mr. 
Harrison. “ I will put this worth¬ 
less old cat inside before we drop 
in the cyanide of potash, so you 
can see how deadly the gas is. 
When he drops in the package, 
notice the white fumes curling 
up from the jar— and then get 
away." 
The man with the package held 
it over the jar, opened the paper, 
and then took a long breath and 
dropped paper and all. I saw the 
white fumes start, and I saw the 
cat scramble for the top of the 
pile of trees. There was a faint 
odor of peach pits about us, but 
they quickly shut the door and jammed it tight. That 
was all there was of it—for 35 minutes at least. 
Carefully Regulated.— “ But how much do you 
use ? ” 
“ That,” said Prof. Johnson, “ depends on the size 
of the room. Every fumigating house in the State 
has been accurately measured, and the exact amount 
of cyanide of potash needed, is weighed out at the ex* 
periment station, and sent in packages to the nursery¬ 
men. That package which was dropped in the jar 
contained just the right number of grains required 
for this room.” 
“ Why does the State supervise such small details?” 
“ It is not a small detail, but one of the most im¬ 
portant things connected with fumigation. In gen¬ 
erating this dangerous gas, it is very necessary to 
have it of just the right strength to kill all insects, 
and at the same time avoid injury to buds or roots. 
After many experiments, we have learned just what 
proportions are safe and effective. It is one of the 
things that must not be measured by guess, and so 
we measure the fumigating rooms, and supply in 
packages just the weight of cyanide that is needed. 
A piece of this stuff no larger than a pea would kill a 
man. It is dangerous stuff for the average citizen to 
weigh and handle.” 
‘ 1 But what proportion do you use ? ” 
“ After many experiments, we decided to use one- 
fourth of a gramme of cyanide for each cubic foot of 
air space. For example, if we had a room containing 
200 cubic feet of space, we use 50 grammes of cyanide 
at each charge. There are 28.35 grammes in an ounce. 
This amount of pure cyanide is needed to fill that 
space with the gas.” 
“ Are the amounts of water and sulphuric acid ex¬ 
act, also ? ” 
V Yes. We use 50 per cent greater weight of acid 
than of cyanide, and 50 per cent more of water than 
of acid. For example, if two ounces of cyanide are 
used, we use three ounces of acid and 4% of water. 
In this way, we regulate the amount of gas with 
scientific accuracy, and get far better and more uni¬ 
form results than would be the case if the weighing 
and measuring were left to others. I superintended 
the building of every fumigating room in the State, 
and we have exact measurements of all of them.” 
Effects of the Gas. —“ Do I understand that this 
gas will not injure the roots of trees ? ” 
“ Not in the least when used as we direct. In deal¬ 
ing with a deadly substance like this, you can easily 
see the advantage of handling it in a scientific man¬ 
ner. The gas must not be used too strong, and the 
trees must not be left in it for too long a time.” 
“ Can this gas be used for other insects besides the 
San Jos6 scale ?” 
“ It is lighter than air—unlike bisulphide of carbon, 
which sinks through grain or into holes. I have used 
the cyanide to kill grain insects and vermin. In one 
case, an old smokehouse was overrun with rats. We 
let them get hungry, and then put in bait to draw 
them out. A jar of acid and water was put in, and 
cyanide was gently dropped in. We found 72 dead 
rats. I have no doubt this gas could be used to rid 
buildings of vermin. It is so deadly and sure that it 
would seem a more humane agent for executing crim¬ 
inals than the gallows or the electric chair.” 
“ Is it used against other fruit insects ?” 
“ In California and, to some extent, in this State, it 
is used in the open field. A tent or frame is thrown 
over the tree, and the gas is generated under it as we 
have done it here. I do not, however, think the scale 
can be conquered in the open field. The place to do 
it is at the nursery, and thus prevent its spread. We 
are, also, experimenting with the Strawberry-root 
aphis. This is a dangerous insect on this Peninsula. 
It can be killed by the gas, but the eggs are not de¬ 
stroyed by it, and we are now trying to determine 
just when they are hatched. We are, also, exper¬ 
imenting with the gas on potatoes to see whether it 
will destroy the scab fungus, but this does not seem 
likely.” 
During this conversation, we were walking about 
the nurseries looking at the peach trees, asparagus 
roots and other products. I shall try to tell some¬ 
thing of how these are grown later, but by this time, 
the doors of the fumigating room had been thrown 
open, and we went back to look 
at the trees—and the cat. What 
we saw will be told next week. 
_ h. w. c. 
ALFALFA ON HEAVY CLAi. 
BETTEB THAN CLOVEB 
Some Tough Clay.— Prof. 
Roberts stands high among agri¬ 
culturists of New York and the 
United States; nevertheless I 
would like to say a few words in 
answer to the question of L. S. C* 
on page 117. I have had 37 years’ 
experience on as heavy and tena¬ 
cious a yellow clay as, I believe, 
exists in New York State. It lies 
on what is known as the Big 
Ridge, four miles south of Lake 
Ontario, and anywhere from one 
to six miles west of Rochester. 
As to the tenacity of this clay 
(when properly puddled and 
tilled?), I have known tenants 
occupying farms adjoining on the 
west, to plow the land when 
wet, allow the sun to bake it for 
10 days, hitch a team weighing 
nearly 3,000 pounds to an iron 
roller which weighed about one 
ton, drive over the field one way 
and, when they came back, not 
be able to tell where they had 
been. This may sound somewhat 
fishy to sand farmers, but I be¬ 
lieve there are clay farmers who 
can verify my statement. This 
land is high and rolling. 
Successful Alfalfa.— On the 
land above described, there is a 
piece of Alfalfa which has been 
in the ground for more than 10 
years. It was seeded too thin, 
grows coarse, and does not cover 
the ground well; nevertheless it 
will yield twice as much feed 
during any season as will Red 
clover. I know this to be a fact, 
as we rented it for one year, using 
the Alfalfa for cow feed. We 
have on our own place about eight 
acres of Alfalfa—two acres seeded 
in an apple orchard in 1893 (not 
enough seed sown), two acres 
seeded in an apple orchard in 
1896, 35 pounds of seed per acre ; 
four acres seeded in an open field 
in 1898, 35 pounds per acre. The first seven inches of 
this soil are dark and crumbly, when properly tilled. 
The next 12 feet are yellow hardpan ; the next foot is 
soft rock that readily yields to the pick; the next 
40 feet are vegetable clay. 
Needs Good Culture. —We prepare the soil by 
plowing 'as early in the Spring as possible, make a 
fine seed-bed, and sow one bushel of oats per acre. 
The object of the oats is to keep weeds down. After 
the'oats are sown, we go on with a wheelbarrow 
seeder, sowing 17% pounds Alfalfa seed per acre, then 
we cross, sowing the same amount the other way, 
after which we harrow lightly. 
Alfalfa xoon't do anything if its feet are kept in water. 
On the last piece sown, we have about one square rod 
in extent where the water stands; there the Alfalfa 
is dead. Our soil is in a high state of fertility. 
As to cows and calves liking Alfalfa, we have mixed 
it and Red clover together, fed it to calves, and they 
would pick out the Alfalfa first. Cows prefer it to 
any other forage we have fed. As to the yield and 
food value of Alfalfa, I would refer L. S. C. to Bulletin 
No. 118, issued by the Gepeya Experiment Station. 
Rochester, N, Y. a milk producer. 
FROGMORE SELECT TOMATO. NATURAL SIZE. Fig. 106. 
