1899 
THE RURAL 1 NEW-YORKER 
Farmers’ Club. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the 
name and address of the writer to insure atten¬ 
tion. Before asking a question, please see 
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.] 
KEROSENE EATS UP RUBBER HOSE. 
HOW CAN WE STOP IT ? 
Some of our readers raise the objection that, 
where the kerosene mixtures so often recom¬ 
mended for spraying are used, rubber hose is 
soon ruined, as the kerosene seems to attack 
rubber injuriously. If kerosene or its emulsion 
is to be used extensively, it would seem as 
though this point about rubber hose would have 
to be considered. Have you experienced this 
difficulty in your work, and is it possible to ob¬ 
tain any kind of hose at a reasonable price that 
will not be acted on by the kerosene ? 
Kerosene mixtures are certainly very 
injurious to rubber. With knapsack 
pumps, it is a common practice to re¬ 
place the rubber suction balls with 
marbles when kerosene sprays are to be 
used. As there is, as yet, no.satiefactory 
substitute for rubber hose, this seems to 
be a necessary evil. By hanging up the 
hose to drain and dry after it is used, 
there ought to be no difficulty in making 
it last a whole season at least. 
Cornell Ex. Station, s. w. fletcher. 
Kerosene, of course, does attack rub¬ 
ber, there is no doubt about that; but it 
attacks it so feebly that, if ordinary 
care be used, a hose will last a reason¬ 
able time. If the mechanical mixture 
of kerosene and water be used, it only 
means that, after the spraying is done, 
clear water should be run through the 
pump and through the hose until all 
trace of the kerosene is gone. The same 
applies with the emulsion, although that 
is more likely to cause harm, because of 
the soap that is mixed with it, and that 
cuts and makes way for the kerosene. 
There is no form of rubber that is not 
acted upon by kerosene ; but a decently 
good hose, properly used, will, last a 
reasonable time. john i$. smith. 
New Jersey Experiment Station. 
We have several bucket pumps with 
hose attached, which were used to apply 
kerosene over a year ago ; they have 
been in constant use ever since for spray¬ 
ing water and various liquids in the 
greenhouse, and are still in fair work¬ 
ing condition. The hose will not, how¬ 
ever, last much longer. Hose lasts but 
a short time anyway, when used con¬ 
stantly, so I am unable to say just how 
much of the injury is caused by the 
kerosene. The pump and hose should 
always be well cleaned after using any 
spraying mixture. It seems as though 
it might be possible to make hose that 
would be unaffected by kerosene, but I 
do not know of any such hose now on 
the market. w. e. britton. 
Connecticut Experiment Station. 
LONG FRUITING OFTHESTRAINBERRY 
IT WILL BEAR FOB A DOZEN YEARS. 
Have you ever known of cases where a straw¬ 
berry plant has been fruited for six years or 
more ? Is it necessary to renew the beds as fre¬ 
quently as we usually do ? 
A Long-Lived Plant 
To be profitable, a strawberry bed 
should be renewed every third season ; 
still, such varieties as Glen Mary, Clyde, 
Gardner, Wm. Belt, Beder Wood, Mar¬ 
shall, Parker Earle Jr., and Enormous, 
we have fruited in hills as long as four 
seasons, and they have proved profitable. 
Early in September, we ridged up around 
each plant with new Eoil; this gives the 
new roots a chance. By this method, a 
strawberry plant will continue to bear 
fruit for a number of years, by proper 
feeding. I have a man in my employ 
who tells me that, in Holland, in a small 
bed in his garden, he continued to pick 
fruit from the same plants for 10 seasons. 
He said that, in early Spring, before 
growth commenced, he completely cov¬ 
ered the entire bed with soil to a depth 
of two inches, that is, he covered the 
entire plants from view. When growth 
commenced, each plant pushed through 
this loose soil. No doubt this is a capital 
way to keep a bed in constant bearing 
for a number of years. This season, we 
intend to try it on a matted old bed of 
Glen Mary. t. c kevitt. 
New Jersey. 
At Least a Dozen Years. 
I know of at least two instances of 
prolonged bearing strawberry beds, that 
are very remarkable. One is a bed on 
the farm of Mr. John Baker, near Dover, 
a plot of about one-half acre in a low- 
lying place where the land had to be 
drained before anything would grow 
there. This was planted to Bubaeh and 
Jessie, and gave five successive crops, all 
above the average. I have been to his 
place and seen this plot fruiting several 
times, and I have- never seen a better 
showing of berries. I noted particularly 
that the old plants were still there and 
bearing the last year. Two years ago, 
Mr. Baker plowed up the plot, but again 
planted it to strawberries the following 
Spring, and he has a fine showing there 
for this year. 
The other bed is on land belonging to 
Mr. M. Hayes, of Dover, an amateur 
grower. About one-quarter acre was 
planted to Cumberland Triumph 17 years 
ago, and continued to bear good crops 
for at least a dozen years. I go by this 
bed weekly, and have noticed the plan 
by which it is managed. Almost no 
runners have been allowed to grow, and 
after bearing, the bed is left to rest 
without work for several weeks, at least; 
it is then thoroughly cleaned up, and 
heavily mulched during the Winter. The 
crops have been uniformly above the 
average of the neighborhood, especially 
in size of berries. After this bed had 
borne for 12 years or more (I am in¬ 
formed it was just 14 years) Mr. Hayes 
had it plowed up, but again planted to 
strawberries the following Spring, and 
it has since done about as well as before. 
This bed looks particularly well now, 
and gives promise of an extraordinary 
crop. I am well satisfied that many of 
the original plants could have been 
found bearing after 12 or more years 
fruiting. A w. slaymaker. 
Delaware. 
WRAPPING BERRIES IN WAXED PAPER 
WHAT ABOUT THE PRACTICE? 
Will it Pay ? 
[Mr. T. C. Kevitt, of New Jersey, devised a plan 
for wrapping boxes of strawberries in waxed 
paper. After the boxes are filled with fruit, a 
square sheet of the paper Is wrapped around each 
and tucked under the bottom. This keeps out the 
dust and dirt. Some of our own customers ob- 
ected to the paper, saying that the fruit thus 
wrapped was quicker to decay. We desire to 
hear from others who have tried it. ] 
I have had no experience, but should 
think if the fruit was warm when 
wrapped, it would have the opposite 
effect desired, but if cold and dry when 
covered, it might have a tendency to 
keep out the outer warmer air. I know 
of growers who submit their berries to a 
cold blast before shipping, which drives 
out all the hot air, and cools the fruit so 
that it ships much better. s. h. w. 
Weston, Mass. 
I have used waxed paper since it was 
first suggested for strawberries, and find 
it pays for A 1 stock for fancy and local 
trade. Berries wrapped in waxed paper 
when perfectly dry and cool, and picked 
when just ripe, will keep in good con¬ 
dition for two days. I sum up the ad¬ 
vantages as protecting the fruit from 
dust and dampness, and keeping the 
luster, and thus bringing a better price. 
Disadvantages none if handled properly. 
If berries are picked dry, and cooled be¬ 
fore wrapping, they don’t need any 
ventilation; however, I do not think it 
will ever pay for the general market. 
Passaic County, N. J. deter sheer. 
I have not personally tested the method 
of wrapping strawberry boxes with 
waxed paper, but experience of other 
years has taught me that the more 
we can keep the air from strawberries, 
the longer they will keep. If picked in 
361 
the cool of the morning, cooled off be¬ 
fore wrapping, I am perfectly confident 
that this method will give brighter and 
fresher-appearing berries on the market, 
and those that will keep longer, than 
the same varieties picked at the same 
time and unwrapped. Whether it will 
pay to adopt this method with the great 
bulk of market strawberries, is a ques¬ 
tion, but for extra-fine berries for which 
an extra price is expected, I believe some¬ 
thing of this kind is well worthy of fur¬ 
ther testing. j. h. hale. 
Connecticut. 
Green Lice on Apple Trees. 
G. A. M ., Sodus Center , N. Y .—In examining the 
apple trees this morning, I find the leaf bud just 
opening and covered with small, greenish lice. 
Will they cause damage to the buds, and if so, 
what is the best way of exterminating them ? I 
sprayed with Bordeaux Mixture April 21 and 22 
for Apple scab. 
Ans.—T he green lice found by G. A. M. 
on his opening apple buds were, doubt¬ 
less, the common Apple aphis or plant- 
louse. These insects often appear inlarge 
numbers on the opening buds, but they 
rarely do serious injury except on very 
young trees. Usually the insect does not 
remain on the tree long in the Spring, but 
soon migrates to June grass and similar 
grasses, where it continues to breed dur¬ 
ing the Summer, and then migrates back 
to the apple tree in the Fall, where the 
eggs are laid in which the Winter is 
passed. Ordinarily it is not necessary to 
spray bearing apple trees infested with 
these lice, for their enemies and the cold 
Spring rains usually destroy enough of 
them to prevent their doing serious in¬ 
jury. On young trees and nursery stock, 
however, they should be fought with 
whale-oil soap or kerosene emulsion. The 
Bordeaux Mixture with which G. A. M. 
sprayed his trees would have little or no 
effect upon the lice. Plant-lice must be 
hit with some soapy or oily liquid, which 
will either stop up their breathing holes 
or soak through their skin and kill 
them. _ m. v. s. 
No Potato Bugs. —If we are to be liberated 
from the tyraDny of the Potato bug this year, we 
might well declare a double holiday, and devote 
it to the protec'ion of the trees. Maybe some one 
will laugh at my suggestion that the days of the 
Potato bug are numbered. I predicted last Sep¬ 
tember that we should see no more of this dis¬ 
agreeable creature, and my statement in a local 
paper created a laugh. If the Potato bug Is 
found to be still with us, I shall be much sur¬ 
prised. JOHN T. ROBERTS. 
Onondaga County, N. Y. 
C OLOR and flavor of fruits, 
size, quality and ap¬ 
pearance of vegetables, 
weight and plumpness of grain, 
are all produced by Potash. 
Potash, 
properly combined with Phos¬ 
phoric Acid and Nitrogen, and 
liberally applied, will improve 
every soil and increase yield 
and quality of any crop. 
Write and get Free our pamphlets, which 
tell how to buy and use fertilizers with 
greatest economy and profit. 
GERMAN KALI WORKS, 
93 Numu St., New York. 
Sick Crops 
—the faded out, yellow kind that are 
not doing well may be instantly re¬ 
vived by the application of a dressing 
ot Nitrate of Soda. 
It acts at once because it is very sol¬ 
uble. This makes it instantly avail¬ 
able as plant food; 100 to 200 lbs. 
per acre is sufficient for most crops. 
This is the most concentrated fertilizer 
on the market. Our free books tell all about 
it. Send for free copies to John A. Myers, 
12-0 John St., New York. Nitrate for sale by 
BALFOUR, WILLIAMSON & CO. 
27 William St., New York. 
Profits of 
GARDENING AND FRUIT CULTURE. 
depend upon Good Crops and they in 
turn upon Good Fertilizers. The 
uniformly best fertilizer for all Crops 
and all soils Is made by 
The Cleveland Dryer Co., Cleveland, O. 
Materials Supplied }or “ Home Mixing." 
iWWVWWWWVWVWWVWWWWiVl' 
oar new patent 
E SPRAYERS 
tuple Indeed. Kerosene Emul- 
made while pumping. 12 var- 
« prayers. Bordeaux and Ver- 
morel Nozzles, the World’s Best* 
THE DEMING CO. Salem, 0. 
Western Agents. Hennion A Hub- 
Chicago. Catalog, formulas free 
“Peace Hath 
Her Victories 
No less renowned than war,” said Milton, 
and now, in the Spring, is the time to get a 
peaceful victory over the impurities which 
have been accumulating in the blood during 
winter’s hearty eating. The banner of peace 
is borne aloft by Hood’s Sarsaparilla. It is 
America’s Greatest Spring Medicine. 
No Deception 
Absolutely first- 
class material and 
workmanship in 
every detail, out¬ 
side and inside, of the 
“ECLIPSE" SPRAY PUMP. 
Has defeated every good 
spray pump in the world in 
public contest, and never been 
defeated. Send for Catalogue, 
MORRILL & MORLEY, 
Benton Harbor , Mich. 
Never Disappoints 
LEGGETT'S ANCHOR BRAND WHALE OIL SOAP 
FOR SPRAYING TREES. Destroys 
all Insectlife on bark, San Jos 6 Scale and 
the like. Indorsed by authorities. 
Write for prices. Our Spray Calendar 
sent free. 
Leggett & Brother, 301 Pearl Street, N.Y. 
Paragrene. 
A NEW INSECTICIDE. 
It is a deadly foe to insect pests and bugs. It is 
cheaper than Paris Green, more milky and kills quicker. 
Does not injure the foliage. 
For many years we have been the Role manufacturers of the 
•well-know n Star Brand of Strictly Puro Paris Green, and know 
that Paragrene i* an effective and reliable improvement on 
Paris Green. Our reputation as Paris Green manufacturers 
is a guarantee that Paragrene will do all we claim for it. 
Prices: 14 lb. kits, iUA c - P er lb.; * and 3 lb. pkgs., 
15 c. oer lb.; lb. pkgs. 16 c. per lb.; % lb. pkgs. 17 c. 
per lb.; f. o. b. New York. Special rates to dealers. 
Send for descriptive pamphlet and samples. 
FP.ED. L. LAVANBURG, Box 1670 B New York. 
your trees, plants 
and vines with the 
EMPIRE KING 
or 
Garfield Knapsack 
Sprayers. Perfect agitators; furnish a 
fine, continuous perfect spray. They 
have no leather or rubber valves or 
packing. Will not scorch the foliage. 
We make 16 styles of spray pumps. Send 
for free catalogue. Agents wanted. 
FIELD FORCE PUMP CO., 
2 Market Street, Lockport, N. Y. 
WE SAVE FARMERS 40 PER CENT, fertilizers 
We sell you direct—actually pay you saleman’s expenses and agent’s profit. Write for 
free samples and book. The Scientific Fertilizer Co., Pittsburg, Pa. 
