24o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
April 2 
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HOW SOILS AFFECT STRAWBERRY FLAVOR. 
On page 180, a reader referred to strawberries of quite inferior 
flavor, where soil changed from limestone to ironstone soil. He 
a so thought that red clay soil gave a disagreeable flavor. Have 
y >.i ever noticed such differences ? 
I have never noticed anything like this. It is true 
that any variety may vary in flavor at different times 
during the season, and in different parts of the field, 
but I never had the opportunity to note the effect of 
iron upon the flavor of strawberries, w. j. green. 
Ohio Experiment Station. 
I have had a wide experience, with a large number 
of varieties of strawberries, on a variety of soils, but 
have not observed any perceptible variations of flavor 
attributable to cross-fertilization, though modifica¬ 
tions of flavor and size apparently attributable to 
differences of soil, have been occasionally observed. 
Michigan. t. t. i.yon. 
I have never had any experience with strawberries 
on reddish soil, which color is induced by the iron in 
it. Our soils here, on which we grow strawberries, 
are all stony, gravelly or clay loams. Sandy and 
gravelly soils produce firmer and sweeter berries than 
clay, and berries grown by well-balanced commercial 
fertilizers are better in flavor than those grown with 
manure from the barn. I have no doubt that lime 
soils will produce better flavored fruits than those 
. soils lacking in that element. I have always had the 
idea that it was not so much the kind of soil that made 
berries sweeter on sand, but because the sun had a 
better opportunity to get in its work. Fresh horse 
manure, because of its rankness, will often injure the 
vines, especially if put on thick. We allow it to re¬ 
main in a pile for fermenting before applying. 
Oswego County, N. Y. l. j. farmer. 
CUL TIVA TION AS PRO TECT/ON FROM FROST. 
Have you ever observed that fresh cultivation in the orchard 
during the time of severe frost has a tendency to protect fruit? 
The so-called authorities are not exactly agreed as regards this 
matter. Some of them think that stirring the soil at such a time 
does help, while others see no benefit. What has been your ex¬ 
perience, aud do you think it would pay a farmer to attempt cul¬ 
tivation at such a time, with a view to doing all he could to keep 
off the frost ? 
I have never made any personal observations on this 
point. It seems probable that, in so far as the culti¬ 
vation caused moisture to be given off from the soil 
into the atmosphere, it would tend to avert frost. 
This, of course, rests upon the general principle that 
the addition of moisture to the air raises the dew¬ 
point, and that, as the moisture condenses again in 
dew, it gives off a considerable quantity of heat, thus 
keeping up the temperature. f. a. waugii. 
Vermont Experiment Station. 
I have noticed that, when we had a frost, it was al¬ 
ways hardest on land recently cultivated, or that was 
damp. By this, I mean that on a field in which we 
were cultivating any crop during the day, ard until 
night, on that part of the field worked so late that 
the surface stayed moist, the frost was marked^ heav¬ 
ier in the morning. With the same degree of tem¬ 
perature, more damage is done when the ground is 
damp, as for instance, after a rain or during a wet 
spell. I always expect more damage from frost, with 
the same marking of the thermometer, in a wet than 
in a dry time. Also, more on sandy or loamy land 
than on that which is stony. We all know that evap¬ 
oration takes up heat rapidly, and evaporation is more 
rapid from a damp than from a dry soil, and also from 
a soil free from stones than from one nearly covered 
with them. It is a popular notion that stones hold 
and absorb heat, and of course, a large stone that goes 
down deep into the ground, being a good conductor of 
heat, will radiate more heat than the soil about it. 
But I think that the real reason why frost is less se¬ 
vere on stony ground, is that so much of the surface 
is covered with stones that less evaporation takes 
place to absorb heat. I have no doubt that, if the 
soil be stirred early enough so as to become thorough¬ 
ly dry on the surface, it will have some effect in pre¬ 
venting damage by frost. There are some queer things 
about the action of frost. 1 remember once visiting a 
friend who had a lot of tin sap pails, and one night 
when it was cold and he feared a hard frost, he cov¬ 
ered a lot of tomato plants and hills of melons ; those 
covered were really killed worse than some left un¬ 
covered. Covering with the tin pails was actually a 
damage. ,j. 8 , woodward. 
Niagara County, N, Y, 
I have no personal experience to offer. I believe, 
however, that the practice is based upon a correct 
principle, viz., that the evaporation of the moisture 
from the soil on dry, cold nights will tend to raise the 
dew-point of the air, and in this way, lessen the prob¬ 
ability of frost. It is well known that, in the Autumn, 
the most serious frosts occur when the air is dry. The 
more vapor present at or near the surface of the soil, 
the less rapid is the radiation of heat. The amount of 
moisture evaporated from the soil will depend upon 
the amount which it contains. It seems to me, there¬ 
fore, that the success of the operation will depend 
quite largely upon the amount of soil moisture present. 
If the soil has been cultivated thoroughly during the 
season, it ought to be in a fairly moist condition. If 
now, on the approach of a frosty night, a deeper culti¬ 
vation than usual be given, bringing moist soil to the 
surface, the evaporation of water which would at once 
take place ought to have an appreciable effect upon 
the temperature of the air. This is in line with the 
practice of spraying plants with water when a frosty 
night is feared. The water vapor acts as a protecting 
mantle. john craig. 
Tompkins County, N. Y. 
The Powder-Post and its Work. 
I. 11. Paterson, N. J .—I have a bank barn 52x54 feet, with 
20-foot bays for hay, built in 1883. The stringers are round swamp 
beech poles, peeled and flattened on one side, and covered with 
hemlock boards. The last three or four years, a small worm has 
been boring them full of holes about one-sixteenth inch in 
diameter, into the heart of the wood; the holes are full of the 
worm shavings, and the poles look sound, but when one strikes 
them with the ax, they prove to be all eaten. I have sprayed and 
painted them with kerosene, and have painted them with paint 
aud London-purple several times; it seemed to cheek them for a 
few days, but nothing seems to reach them. I shall have to take 
half of the poles out this Spring, aud want to replace them with 
oak poles. What can I put on them to keep the worms out, and 
what can I put on those not already destroyed, to kill the worms? 
ANSWERED BY M. V. SLING ERL AND. 
This is, undoubtedly, a case of the well-known 
“ powder-post ”. Many of us have, at one time or an¬ 
other, found an apparently sound, hard, dry stick, per¬ 
haps a wagon-spoke or other timber, which when cut 
into would be found to be simply a mass of minute 
tunnels packed full of a fine dust, the sawdust made 
by little grubs eating in all directions through and 
through the wood. A “ powder-posted” wagon-spoke 
is shown at Fig. 108 ; the “powder” has been removed 
from many of the tunnels. “Powder-posting” very 
A POWDER-POSTED WAGON SPOKE. Flo. 108. 
aptly describes such a case. The adult insect which 
starts this destruction, is a very small beetle which 
one rarely sees. Some time ago, we received some 
“ powder-posted ” wagon-spokes from a manufacturer, 
and we are now trying to learn something of the 
habits of the insect, but thus far have learned nothing- 
of interest. It has been recommended to paint timber 
with poisonous mixtures to prevent the entrance of 
the insects, but no one has yet solved the problem of 
easily checking the pest after it once gets into the 
timber. 
Almost invariably it is only the sap wood which is 
attacked by this powder-post beetle (Lyctus unipunct- 
atus). A few years ago, entomologist Webster, of 
Ohio, was called to investigate a case of this “powder- 
post ” where the floors and the posts that supported 
the floors of the several stories of a large manufactur¬ 
ing concern were being destroyed by this insect. He 
tried various methods, and reported that “ kerosene 
applied to the parts had little effect, and in the paint 
shop, the frequent rubbing of paint brushes over the 
surface of posts did not appear to inconvenience the 
borers. The only place where they did not appear to 
depredate was in the basements, which were, of neces¬ 
sity ) more or less damp. On the floors, kerosene was 
effective for a time, but later investigations have 
shown that, in time, this would all evaporate and the 
beetles would then commence their attacks a second 
time. The only application that was thoroughly 
effective, and also a protection from future attacks, 
was a very thin mixture of turpentine and asphalt, 
or coal tar. This was applied to the posts and pillars 
by boring small holes obliquely inward and down¬ 
ward, and then filling them with this mixture, which 
would quickly penetrate even the powdery mass in 
the burrows, not only killing all life with which it 
came in contact, but also carrying with it the asphalt, 
thereby rendering the uneaten portions permanently 
distasteful to the insects.” 
I would advise I. II. M. to try the above method. 
It is the best and most practicable method]! can find 
suggested. In replacing some of the timbers. I would 
advise that as little sap wood as possible be used, for 
the insect will not often attack the other harder parts 
of the wood. 
To Prevent Canker Worms from Crawling. 
O. 0. T., White Plains, N. Y .—To prevent the moth of the Can¬ 
ker worm crawling up the body of an apple tree, Mr. T. Greiner 
recommends painting a strip around the body with a sticky sub¬ 
stance made as follows; One pound resin, one pound castor oil, 
and one pound Venetian turpentine. Others recommend print¬ 
ers’ink, also tar—I suppose that pine tar is meant, though the 
kind of tar is not stated. Would either of the above substances 
injure a twenty-year-old tree if applied directly on the bark ? 
Which would be the most desirable and least expensive ? Some 
recommend bands of cotton, wool, paper, etc., but if the sticky 
substance applied directly to the tree will answer, it would be 
much less trouble to apply. Which would be the better to use 
for spraying, Paris-green or London-purple ? 
Ans. —I think that the best and safest way to ap¬ 
ply any sticky band on a tree to prevent the ascent 
of Canker-worm moths is first to scrape off the rough, 
loose bark where the band is to be applied, then put 
on a strip of heavy, tough paper, using oakum or 
cotton batting under the paper wherever there is a 
chance of the insects getting through underneath ; 
then finally apply the sticky substance to the paper. 
I think that, doubtless, all of the substances men¬ 
tioned may have been applied directly to the bark by 
some one, and without injury, but I cannot now recall 
where any such experiments have been recorded. I 
would prefer to invest in the little extra labor of put¬ 
ting on the paper first, than to risk a certainly possi¬ 
ble chance of injuring the tree from the repeated ap¬ 
plications often necessary to keep the band fresh and 
sticky. 
As to which substance is best, I do not know. I 
wish that some one would make some careful compar¬ 
ative experiments along this line, for the question 
comes up very often. Theoretically, any substance 
which is very sticky will effectually stop the ascent 
of the moths, and between bands that are equally 
sticky, the better one will be that which re mains 
sticky for the longer time, and is the cheaper and 
safer. I can see no reason why either Greiner’s re¬ 
cipe. printers’ ink. coal tar or pine tar (coal tar or gas 
tar is usually the kind used ; it is sometimes mixed 
with a little oil to keep it from drying out so quickly) 
should not prove effectual, if kept sticky. Which one 
I would use would depend upon the price for which I 
could get the material. Try a few trees with each, 
and let us know in The It. N.-Y. the results. It is 
time we had some positive data on this point. I could 
not venture a guess as to which substance mentioned 
would be the cheaper. You can readily find out by 
consulting a druggist or some one dealing in such ma¬ 
terials. 
Bands of cotton or wool will stop the ascent of the 
moths, and some of them will, doubtless, tire them¬ 
selves to death in an effort to get over the band, but 
others will lay eggs below the band. Whether the 
worms could then get over the bands, would be the 
question ; I doubt whether they could. In short, a 
carefully applied band of cotton or wool kept fluffy 
and in good condition, shou’d offer a complete obsta¬ 
cle to the ascent of either moths or the young cater¬ 
pillars. These bands have been tried and good suc¬ 
cess reported. Of course, they do not kill the insects 
like a sticky band, but they may be made to keep the 
pests off the trees. I hope to make some experiments 
along this line this Spring in western New York, 
where the Canker worms ruin hundreds of acres of 
apple orchards every year. Paris-green usually gives 
better satisfaction than London-purple, and the for¬ 
mer is more extensively used. si. v. s. 
Cultivating to Make Fertility. 
J. C. C., Falmouth Foreside, Maine.— I overheard a remark touch¬ 
ing some new theory relative to the very frequent cultivation of 
root crops, as obviating the necessity for mauurial fertilization. 
If there are any new points recently developed in regard to this 
matter, will you give us the benefit of them ? Can common Eel 
grass gathered from our shores be treated so as to be of use as a 
fertilizer ? 
Ans. —Prof. I. P. Roberts, Cornell University, Ithaca, 
N. Y., has written much about the practice of culti¬ 
vating so as to make a greater use of the natural fer¬ 
tility of the soil. We would advise you to send to the 
Cornell Experiment Station and ask Prof. Roberts to 
send you his bulletins on the subject, lie has also 
written an excellent book entitled, The Fertility of 
the Land, which tells the story in a forcible way. 
This book costs $1.25 from this office. Ordinary soils 
contain thousands of pounds of niti-ogen, potash and 
phosphoric acid. This plant food is not available to 
ordinary plants, as it is “locked up” chiefly in insolu¬ 
ble forms. Our soils originally came from rocks, and 
the rocks have been ground up through the agencies 
of heat, water and friction. By constant cultivation 
and stirring of the soil, we let the air, sunshine and 
water into them, and these agencies which ground up 
the original rock, act upon the soil to grind it finer 
and thus make its plant food available. This is the 
theory of “cultivating for manure”, and there is no 
question that a thorough working of the soil will in- 
