1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
753 
Farmers’ Club. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name and address of 
the writer to insure attention. 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.l 
A Peach Disease in Michigan. 
F. E. B.. Lawrence, Maes.— I inclose a newspaper clipping re 
garding “ little peaches.” Is this disease something that is com * 
lug this way ? Are the cause and remedy known ? 
“ Niles, Mich.—The vast peach orchards of southwestern Michi¬ 
gan are being destroyed by a new disease said to be more damag¬ 
ing than the dreaded yellows. It was first noticed two years 
ago, and owing to its peculiar effect, which is a stunting of the 
fruit when about the size of hazel nuts, has locally been given 
the name of ‘ little peaches.’” 
Ans.—N ot much, apparently, is known about the 
cause of this disease. Dr. E. F. Smith, of the Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture, has been studying it carefully. 
The Michigan Fruit Grower says that Dr. Smith told 
the peach growers that the disease was first noticed 
from five to seven years ago, and has been on the in¬ 
crease. The past season, it has increased enormously. 
The distinctive feature of the disease is the dwarfed 
fruit, which matures later than normal fruit. The 
leaves on diseased trees are smaller and thicker, and 
are curved downward from the end. He finds no para¬ 
site attacking leaf, fruit or branch, and no evidence 
of disease anywhere in the tree except in the smallest 
rootlets, nine-tenths of which he finds dead in dis¬ 
eased trees. The trouble would seem to be here, but 
as yet, Dr. Smith cannot define the specific cause of 
the disease. Trees from seven to twelve years old 
have been most susceptible to it. □ Heavy leafing varie¬ 
ties, such as Gold Drops and Chilis, which root near 
the surface, seem to be more affected than Crawfords 
and the like, which root deep and are not heavy 
bearers. 
Dr. Smith closes as follows : 4i The disease is due 
to a shutting off of the water supply, but whether 
this is brought about by some parasite or by droughts 
combined with overbearing and with unsatisfactory 
soil or subsoil conditions, can be determined only by 
long and careful study. The origin of the trouble 
seems to me to be underground.” 
Killing Mealy Bugs Under Glass. 
./../., Norivalk, Conn. —Is there any real practical remedy for 
combating the mealy bug in graperies ? By the use of Fir-tree 
oil, kerosene emulsion and other formulas, we kept it in check 
until the berries were ripening, when spraying was stopped, 
fearing to leave a taste upon the berries. Is there any method, 
or could you offer any suggestions that would promise a radical 
and effective cure ? It is about the hardest to fight of any green¬ 
house pest Is there any method of fumigating that will effectu¬ 
ally end its existence ? 
ANSWERED BY PROF. M. V. SliINGERLAND. 
As any one who has had experience can testify, it is 
a very difficult matter to control such insect pests as 
mealy bugs, scale insects and plant lice upon various 
plants in greenhouses. All of these insects get their 
food by sucking, hence one must hit them with a 
spray to kill them. This could not be done practi¬ 
cably in a violet house, for instance. This fact has 
led most of those who grow plants commercially in 
greenhouses to resort to some kind of fumigation ; to¬ 
bacco fumes made in various ways have been largely 
used for this purpose. However, tobacco is not often 
a success when used against mealy bugs or scale in¬ 
sects. 
The deadly effects of hydrocyanic acid gas upon in¬ 
sect life were demonstrated a dozen years ago out¬ 
doors on orange trees infested with scale insects. 
Within the past four years, the Division of Vegetable 
Pathology, at Washington, has shown, by careful ex¬ 
periments on a commercial scale, that this deadly gas 
can be used in greenhouses with very successful re¬ 
sults, so far as the destruction of insect pests is con¬ 
cerned. Detailed accounts of these experiments were 
published in the Florist’s Exchange, in 1896 and 1897. 
In one case, 100,000 coleus plants were thus success¬ 
fully treated for mealy bugs, and in Mr. Saltford’s 
violet houses, at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., 10,000 violet 
plants were entirely freed from the black aphis. 
Plants of all sorts, even the most delicate ferns, have 
been fumigated with this gas without the slightest 
injury. 
Thus, undoubtedly, graperies could be successfully 
fumigated by using care in the treatment. No exper¬ 
iments seem to have been made with it in graperies 
in this country, but it is recorded in the Report of the 
Department of Agriculture of New Zealand, for 1896, 
that the gas was employed successfully for ridding 
the vines of mealy bugs. In this experiment, to each 
100 cubic feet of space, there was used one-third ounce 
of 98-per-cent cyanide of potassium, one-third ounce 
of sulphuric acid, and one-third ounce of water. In 
the experiments in this country, the cyanide of potas¬ 
sium is used at the rate of .15 of a gram for each 
cubic foot of space to be fumigated; the cyanide 
should be of the grade known as 98-per-cent pure. 
For every part of the cyanide, use 1>£ part of com¬ 
mercial sulphuric acid, and one part of water. First 
compute the cubic-foot contents of the greenhouse, 
and then multiply this by .15 and reduce the resulting 
number of grams of cyanide required to ounces. The 
cyanide can be bought for 32 cents per pound, and the 
sulphuric acid for from three to five cents per pound ; 
at these prices, the expense for the chemicals to fumi¬ 
gate once 1,000 cubic feet of space amounts to about 
13 to 15 cents. 
As this gas is very deadly to both plant and animal 
life, its use must not be intrusted to unskilled or un¬ 
intelligent hands. Plants are sensitive to it in very 
different degrees, so that a dose which will not harm 
one plant will kill another. In any given case, it 
must be determined in advance ; first, what is the 
maximum dose for the insect pest and, second, that 
this dose will not harm the plants. When these two 
facts have been ascertained, the cubic contents of the 
house to be fumigated must be accurately computed, 
and then the proper amount of gas may be liberated 
after the house has been closed as tightly as possible, 
and the roof wet down to make it still more air-tight. 
The method of using this gas in greenhouses is illus¬ 
trated in Fig. 343. Deep, two or three-gallon stone 
jars are set in the central pathway about 25 to 40 feet 
apart; usually two jars are enough for one long house. 
The required amount of water is put into the jars, 
and the sulphuric acid then poured in slowly. The 
cyanide is placed inside a small paper bag inside a 
second paper bag, and suspended just above the jars. 
The suspending string should run up to a pulley or 
hook in the ridge of the house, and then extend along 
to one of the doors. It is so arranged that the bags 
can be quickly lowered into the jars from the door, 
and allow one quickly to get outside, for the gas being 
liberated is a deadly poison; and no one must venture 
in after the bags have dropped into the jars, for nearly 
an hour after the house has been opened to let out the 
gas. It is best to see that the bags and the suspend¬ 
ing cords are sure to work all right before putting the 
acid and water into the jars. 
Arrangements must be made to open the house 
quickly from the outside. For most plants, it is not 
PLAN FOR FUMIGATING A GREENHOUSE. Fig. 343. 
safe to continue the fumigation longer than 25 min¬ 
utes. As soon as the time ! s up, one should be pre¬ 
pared to open every ventilator from the outside. From 
the detailed instructions, it will be seen that fumiga¬ 
tion with this gas requires great care. Not enough 
experiments have yet been made to enable the 
experimenters to lay down a general rule adapted 
to all conditions and which can be recommended for 
general, indiscriminate use. Thus in J. J.’s grapery, 
it would be necessary to experiment, if possible, to 
try to determine just how strong and for how long the 
gas must be used to insure the death of the mealy 
bugs and not injure the vines. After the fruit is 
picked, I would advise that the method be carefully 
tested according to the instructions detailed above. 
The vines will, doubtless, come through this treat¬ 
ment all right, so the principal question will be as to 
its effect upon the insects. Any one who has had to 
deal with mealy bugs knows that they are tough cus¬ 
tomers to kill with insecticides. 
The advantages and disadvantages of the use of 
this gas in greenhouse work have been recently sum¬ 
marized by one of the experimenters as follows : 
1. The effectiveness with which it acts. 
2 . Its rapid diffusibility. 
3. Ease of application. 
4. It does not weaken the tissues of the plants when 
properly applied, but the method of using it has to be 
determined in each case. 
5. It leaves no objectionable odor in the house, 
flowers such as violets being as sweet immediately 
after its use as before. 
6 . A decrease in the number of applications neces¬ 
sary during the season. 
Its disadvantages are few : 
1 . Its deadly poisonous nature to man and beast. 
This is, however, reduced to a minimum if the instruc¬ 
tions laid down are carefully followed. 
2. It must be used at night (at least so far as we 
now know), and during the Winter months only on 
nights when the temperature outside is sufficiently 
high to allow of thorough ventilation of the houses 
for at least 30 minutes. 
Several of the leading florists in the country are us¬ 
ing this gas treatment regularly in their greenhouses, 
showing that it is a practical success. I would advise 
J. J. to try it, taking each step with extreme care. 
Some florists have a tight box made into which they 
may put a few plants or cuttings, and then generate 
the gas in a shallow dish just under one edge of the 
box. Nurserymen are successfully using the gas ex¬ 
tensively to fumigate their stock to kill the San Jos 6 
scale and other insects. 
Cause and Cure of Roup. 
R. P. F., Royal Oak, Mich .—What are the symptoms, cause aud 
cure for roup in chickens ? 
Ans.—T he first symptoms of roup, usually unob¬ 
served except by the most careful observers, are a 
wheezy breathing, most noticeable while the hens are 
on the perches at night, a slight discharge from the 
nostrils and a coated throat. Roup at first is simply 
a cold or catarrh, and like a cold in human beings, 
develops in different ways. In the more advanced 
stages, the head swells, the eyes exude a frothy matter 
and often become closed, the throat is putrid, and the 
breath has a vile odor. The head is hot, and the desire 
for food, or perhaps the ability to eat it, is gone. In 
the last stages, the best remedy, especially for those 
not familiar with the disease and its treatment, is the 
ax, burying deeply every carcass. 
The causes of roup are damp and filthy quarters, 
draughts, accumulations of droppings under roosts, 
exposure to cold storms, impure drinking water, a 
lack of sufficient nourishing food or a well-balanced 
ration, and a too exclusive corn diet. Some claim, 
also, that roup is a blood disease, and is transmitted 
from roupy fowls to their offspring. While we do not 
think the latter is always true, we prefer breeding 
stock free from the disease. Strong, healthy fowls 
are less subject to attacks than those which are weak 
from inbreeding or other causes. 
Removal of the causes which may have led to the 
conditions mentioned should be first attended to. If 
in the earlier stages, the addition of a piece of cop¬ 
peras the size of a kernel of corn to a pailful of drink¬ 
ing water is excellent, both as a tonic and as a disin¬ 
fectant. A weak solution of carbolic acid answers 
the same purpose as a disinfectant without being a 
tonic. Remove any affected birds to separate quar¬ 
ters, which should be dry, light, and free from draughts. 
Syringe the nostrils with a mild solution of carbolic 
acid. F. W. Proctor recommends feeding for a day or 
two with hot milk or custard flavored with red pep¬ 
per. He also says that where a hen groans aloud with 
every breath, it is a simple swelling of the larynx, 
and yields speedily to confinement over night in a 
barrel with a few shavings in the bottom, to which a 
few spoonfuls of spirits of turpentine have been add¬ 
ed, the barrel being covered loosely over the top. 
Prevention by avoidance of all predisposing causes is 
the best way to cope with this, the worst and most 
prevalent foe of the poultryman. 
Temperature of Water; Cement Floors. 
I. S. W., Dutchess County, N. Y.— 1. la carrying water 1,500 feet 
from a spring with a Summer temperature of 50 to 52 degrees, 
what rise in temperature in the hottest Summer weather will 
take place, supposing the pipe to be 1 or 1*4 inch, and two feet in 
the ground ? How much less rise at 2*4 or 3 feet ? There is a fall 
of about 15 feet in the 1,500. 2. In laying a cement door for cow 
stable and horse stable where the best work is desired, with no 
unnecessary expenditure, what cement should be used, and what 
proportions of cement to gravel for the grout and for the concrete 
top should be used ? 
Ans. —1. The rise in the temperature of the water 
will depend almost entirely on whether the water is 
allowed to run freely or is held in the pipe. During 
the hot Summer, the soil at a depth of two feet be¬ 
comes nearly as warm as the atmosphere. If the 
water be kept at rest in the pipe, it will, of course, 
take on the same temperature as the surrounding 
soil. If it is desired to keep the water from being 
affected by the temperature of the soil, lay the pipes 
in wooden or board boxes, and pack straw or hay 
around the pipe. This packing and covering is a non¬ 
conductor of heat, and will keep the water in the 
pipe at nearly a uniform temperature. If the pipe is 
to be left open so that the water can run freely, then 
packing or covering will not be needed, and the water 
will not rise in temperature more than two or three 
degrees. Put the pipes below the frost line, and that 
will be sufficient. I would recommend the use of 1 >£- 
inch pipe. It is very possible that glazed tile or 
sewer pipe with a diameter of, at least, three inches, 
would prove more satisfactory than small iron pipe. 
In case of the small pipe, the friction will be so great 
as seriously to impede the flow of water. 
2. To make a cement floor, cover the ground first with 
a layer of stones from four to six inches deep. The 
stones which form the lower layer may be somewhat 
large. Fill in on top with smaller stones and coarse 
gravel, wet thoroughly and pound down with a pestle. 
Use water lime for the first mortar, using one part of 
lime to four parts of sand. Make the mortar so thin 
that it can be poured over the gravel and stones, and 
will run down in filling the interstices. Pound down 
again and let become dry. Mix thoroughly one part 
of Portland or Rosendale cement with three parts of 
sand, add enough water to enable it to spread well, 
and apply with a trowel. Before this becomes thor¬ 
oughly dry, dust on the surface some dry cement, and 
work in with a trowel. Let the floor dry thoroughly 
before using. l. a. Clinton. 
