1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
221 
rooted, on a moist day, we take up the plants with a 
Richards transplanter, which is a tool much like a tin 
can with the ends cut off. This takes up a large, 
firm ball of earth with the plant, and it may be set 
out wherever desired in a hole of the same size. Many 
growers use small pots filled with rich earth. These 
pots are sunk in the ground near the plant, and the 
little runners are rooted in the pots. Whenever de¬ 
sired, the pots may he taken up, the plants thumped 
out of them and set wherever desired. Runner plants 
set out in this way will usually give about one stem 
of fruit the following year. As a rule, this practice 
does not pay except where one wants to obtain the 
greatest number of plants from new and expensive 
varieties, or where one has a limited area and can 
grow an early crop like peas or sweet corn, and follow 
it with potted plants. 
Killing Woodchucks With Bisulphide of Carbon. 
E. P. If., Massachusetts.—Is bisulphide of carbon used to kill 
woodchucks in the ground, and if so, how ? 
Ans. —Yes. The fumes will kill any breathing 
animal that is confined with them. In using it, all 
the openings but one to the hole are closed. A stone 
is rolled with cotton or rags. The bisulphide is poured 
on this, and the stone is then rolled down into the 
hole, after which the opening is closed tight. There 
will be no effect if the holes are left open. Fuma bi¬ 
sulphide, sold by Edward R. Taylor, Cleveland. 0., is 
excellent. 
Wanted: Large Early Potatoes. 
M. E. Y., Statesville Springs, N. Y.— Will someone who has had ex¬ 
perience in raising,early potatoes, give the benefit of his methods, 
and tell what kind to plant, to get large potatoes ? Small pota¬ 
toes and few in a hill seems to be the cry of all in this section. 
Our market is a home one, supplying summer cottagers and 
hotels. I have tried Polaris, Stray Beauty, Early Fortune and 
Early Sunrise. Of these, Stray Beauty was the best, though far 
from an ideal as to size. The ground was well prepared, heavily 
manured, cultivated a dozen or more times, nitrate of soda ap¬ 
plied twice at intervals of two weeks, not a weed allowed to grow, 
level culture. 
Ans. —The methods given do not leave much to be 
said in regard to cultivation. M. E. Y. should re¬ 
member that large tubers in a short time are almost 
impossible, and that the price of early potatoes is 
kept up because they do not average high in yield. 
With large yields and tubers, there would be no more 
profit than with late varieties. The too free use of 
nitrate of soda on fields already well manured would 
tend to great growth of foliage, and prolong the set¬ 
ting of tubers. The tubers should be exposed to the 
sun and the buds started before cutting for seed ; then 
they could be planted deeper and not be much later in 
coming up. For large tubers, plant deep—four to six 
inches, according to soil—so they will not be affected 
by drought. The Early blight, which is mistaken for 
early maturity by many, stops the growth of the 
tubers, and spraying should be done. The Early 
Michigan, Early Harvest, Rovee and June Eating are 
larger yielders than those mentioned, but the Bliss 
Triumph (Stray Beauty), is the earliest of all. The 
use of a complete fertilizer and one or two eyes on the 
seed piece will help size, and rows 2)* x 1 foot will give 
numbers. c. K. chapman. 
Stove Pipe in Fire-Place Chimney; Whitewashing. 
II. P. M.. Albion , N. Y .—1. What can I do with a large brick 
chimuey that was built for a tire-place, so that the stoves will not 
smoke? The chimney is in good order, but so large that the 
draught is not good. 2. What can I do with the plastering on the 
ceiling of rooms where it has been repeatedly whitewashed, and 
has flaked off in places so as to be very rough ? 3. How can 
whitewash be prepared so as to work well on a ceiling which is 
very smoky ? 
Ans. —1. In the case of the large brick chimney, 
have the mason knock a hole in it a little below where 
it is desired to have the pipe from the stove enter. 
From one side of the chim¬ 
ney, lay an iron shelf, support¬ 
ing it by a brace from below 
as shown in Fig. 97. Upon the 
iron shelf, and running up the 
middle of the chimney for 
about three feet, construct a 
brick partition. This will 
make, for a short distance, two 
flues, the draught from the 
stove will be increased, and 
the fire-place will not be in¬ 
jured in any way. If it is con¬ 
sidered not desirable to con- 
struct the partition wall of 
brick, then sheet iron may be 
used instead. Fig. 97 will 
make perfectly clear how the work should be done. 
:l. Where whitewash has been frequently put on a 
wall and has flaked off, there is only one thing that 
can be done which will produce satisfactory results. 
With a wet sponge, thoroughly wash the walls, and 
then with a putty knife, or a trowel or some instru¬ 
ment with which you can scrape, clean the whitewash 
all off. It will require something of an effort to do it 
well, but no other method of doing it will produce 
good results. 3. Slake the li me that is to be used for 
whitewash, at least two weeks before it is to be used 
on the walls. When ready to do the whitewashing, 
put a good full handful of common salt into a pail of 
whitewash before using it. L. a. c. 
Water That Lifts Itself. 
E. J. li'., Sheridan, Ind .—We have a large ditch, carrying a con¬ 
siderable volume of water across about 40 rods of our land, 
nearly the whole year. The ditch has very little fall; possibly I 
could obtain 12 inches without backing the water on the land 
above me. Is there any mechanical appliance that I can use to 
elevate a portion of this water for irrigation, making the force 
of the flow do the elevating ? 
Ans. —Several attempts have been made to raise 
water under such circumstances as these, but none 
has been found better than the old Egyptian method 
which was in use, doubtless, when Moses was hid in 
the bulrushes on the banks of the River Nile 4,000 
years ago. This device is a wheel with paddles around 
it, as shown in Fig. 98, which is set in a frame. It has 
a number of buckets set in a sloping direction, one or 
both sides of the circumference, and these being filled 
with water as the rim dips in the stream, empty them- 
MAK1NG WATER LIFT ITSELF. Flo. 98. 
selves into a spout elevated to a level a little above the 
axle. Thousands of these wheels are to be seen in 
going up the Nile, which river waters the whole of 
the crops grown in the rainless country of Egypt. 
Doubtless, this same device may be made useful 
in many cases such as this, and at a completely nom¬ 
inal cost, where the banks of a stream are so nearly 
level that the height of these wheels may be sufficient 
to carry the water to the highest part of the land. 
The wheel is supported in a simple frame set in the 
stream, and firmly fixed. The paddles for shallow 
water need not project above the surface, but may be 
made wider. 
Use of Plaster on Clover. 
E. W. L., Greenville, Mich. —Is land plaster now considered as 
valuable to sow on clover seeding, as it was formerly ? 
Ans. —Not nearly so much land plaster is now used 
on clover as in former years. The fertilizer question 
is now better understood. The place for plaster is in 
the stable and manure pile. When used there, it 
“ fixes” or holds the ammonia, which is, perhaps, its 
chief agricultural value. 
Cut Bone for Hogs; Millet. 
■/. G. I)., Warren Tavern, Pa. —1. Would raw bones cut with a 
cutter such as is used in cutting bone for poultry, be suitable to 
feed to pigs instead of raw bone meal, like that sown on land ? 2. 
Are the seeds in the heads of the millet sent, far enough advanced 
to be injurious to horses, cattle and sheep ? We had about three 
weeks of wet weather just prior to cutting time, and instead of 
our millet staying green, it turned straw color. 
Ans. —We have heard of cases where the green cut 
bone was fed to hogs successfully, but we would pre¬ 
fer to cook it and feed with grain or vegetables. It 
will take the place of bone meal or wood ashes. We 
would not feed such millet to horses. At the Dakota 
Experiment .Station, horses fed on such fodder were 
made sick, and one died. The trouble seemed to be 
in the kidneys and joints of the legs. We would feed 
the millet to the cows. 
Seeding to Pasture; Fertilizer for Oats. 
F. H. C., Guyunoga, N. Y. —1. I have seven acres of wheat which 
I wish to seed this Spring, for permanent pasture for cows and 
horses. The soil is a gravelly loam, rolling and quite steep in 
places. 2. I wish to sow five acres to oats, but the soil is inclined 
to black muck, and will grow too much straw, which is liable to 
lodge. What fertilizer shall I use ? 
Ans. —1. Sow within the next two weeks a mixture of 
the following grass seeds per acre: Four quarts of 
Timothy, one-half bushel of Kentucky Blue grass, 
three pounds of Red-top, two quarts of Red clover 
and one quart of Alsike clover. After the wheat is 
cut, give the grass a light top-dressing of barnyard 
manure, or of a commercial fertilizer relatively rich 
in nitrogen. 2. The muck land is too rich in nitrogen, 
and the fertilizer used needs to be relatively rich in 
phosphoric acid. Try the following mixture per acre : 
Two hundred and fifty pounds of dissolved phosphate 
rock, and 50 pounds of muriate of potash. This may 
not prevent entirely the lodging of the oats. The 
nitrogen must be partly drawn out of the soil before 
the defects can be remedied. After the oats, if you would 
plow the land and grow Hungarian grass, you would 
get a second crop from the same land and not materi¬ 
ally injure, but probably benefit the soil. L. A. c. 
Paints ; Floors and Walls. 
E. S. B., Harwinton, Conn.— What is the best and most durable 
paint for a veranda floor much used ? What are some helpful 
suggestions with reference to the cleaning of painted wails ? 
How can I stop the leak between adjoining buildings, the roof of 
one being against the covering of another ? 
Ans. —The best floor paint is some good lead paint 
prepared for the purpose. There are several good 
floor paints which may be purchased all mixed and 
ready to apply. Your local druggist or hardware 
merchant should be able to supply you with some 
good floor paint. If painted walls are much soiled, it 
may be far cheaper to give them a coat of paint in 
preference to cleaning them. If only slightly soiled, 
we know of no better treatment to give than to wash 
with soap and warm water. Use plenty of muscle in 
the operation, and good soap. To stop the leak be¬ 
tween the two buildings, use a tin valley. Run one 
side of the tin valley under the shingles, and the other 
side under the siding of the building. 
Kill the Codling Moths in the Cellar. 
E. S. B., Harwinton, Conn. In a late R. N.-Y., I saw it recom¬ 
mended to keep the cellar windows closed in Spring to prevent 
the exit of the Codling moths. Would they die after a time if con¬ 
fined ? If so, how long a time, as the windows could not be closed 
all Summer ? 
Ans. —Codling moths would, doubtless, die within 
less than a month if kept confined in a cellar or other 
storeroom. Every one who stores apples in such 
situations can do much toward reducing the percent¬ 
age of wormy fruit in the neighborhood by simply 
screening the windows and doors of such storerooms 
in the Spring. It is not necessary to close doors and 
windows tightly, simply hang screen doors and tack 
mosquito cloth or wire netting over the windows. 
This will allow for plenty of airing of the storeroom, 
and will, at the same time, prevent the escape of the 
Codling moths. M. v. s. 
Some Massachusetts Game Laws. 
B. A. II., Winchendon, Mass. —1. Has a person any right to shoot 
or trap, on his own premises, partridges or rabbits during the 
close season? 2. Rabbits come in and eat up all of my garden, 
also fruit trees, raspberries, etc. What shall I do ? 
Ans. —Under the Massachusetts game laws, a per¬ 
son has no right to shoot or trap partridges or rabbits 
on his own premises during the close season. 2. If 
rabbits came into the garden and ate up the vegetables 
and damaged the fruit trees and shrubs, we would 
quietly protect ourselves by destroying the game that 
had by its depredations become a nuisance, but would, 
if possible, kill it off in the open season. Massachu¬ 
setts law prohibits the killing of or having in posses¬ 
sion rabbits between March 1 and September 15, and 
partridges between January 1 and October 15. No 
exception is made in favor of owners of land, but there 
is an exception in favor of dealers in game, allowing 
them to have in their possession during the close sea¬ 
son such game, if not killed in Massachusetts during 
the close season. 
Permanent Fruits and Y Pruning. 
A. C. F., North Peering, Me.— 1 have a piece of heavy clay loam 
with a clay subsoil, and several knolls on it. This land varies 
from two to ten feet above the average level of a small brook that 
forms one line of the place. I have planted the highest land with 
pears, apples and plums, all of which are very satisfactory, and 
in fact I never have planted a crop of any kind, that did not do 
well. Many aches and pains tell me that I shall not always be 
able to work as I have, and that I may not be needy in ray old 
age, I have decided to invest in permanent fruits. Will apples do 
well on laud thoroughly drained four feet deep ? Will pears do 
well on land drained three feet deep? All this land is sloping to 
the south and dries very quickly in Spring. As branches that 
form a crotch are likely to split in bearing a load, I purpose to 
prune so that the better branch of the two is left ; is that right? 
Ans. —1 would not hesitate to plant apples and pears 
on the soil mentioned. Strong 
clay loam, thoroughly under¬ 
drained, will produce fruit of the 
best quality. The greatest danger 
is from late Spring frosts, but the 
presence of the brook at one side 
of the field will afford good at¬ 
mospheric drainage. In training 
a tree, crotches should be avoided 
if possible, but when a crotch oc¬ 
curs, the general form of the tree 
must determine which branch 
to remove. In general, if the 
branches occupy a nearly hori¬ 
zontal position, and one is directly above the other, the 
lower one should be removed, as it is the one most liable 
to break under a load of fruit. On the other hand, if the 
tree is of upright habit, the branch nearest the center of 
the tree is usually removed. Sometimes both branches 
should be retained ; in this case, splitting may be pre¬ 
vented by means of a bolt, or by in-arching two small 
branches, thus forming a natural support. Very often, 
simply twisting the branches together is sufficient. See 
Fig. 99. After a year or two, the union will be perfect, 
and the ends of the small branches may be removed. 
Maine Experiment Station. w. m. munson. 
Fui. 97. 
