1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
495 
grow, which it usually does to a large size, keeping 
the roots in healthy, active condition. While kept in 
the house, the chief requisites of the plants seem to 
be plenty of light, a fair supply of water, good drain¬ 
age and sufficient foliage to keep the roots healthy. 
Soil for the pots is ordinary garden soil. 
In the early Spring, before it is safe to set the plants 
out, they seem to become impatient, and will send out 
long, slender shoots rapidly, which must be kept 
pinched back, as they prove to be a detriment to the 
plant when set out. They may be set in the garden 
about the time it is safe to plant beans, but should be 
protected at night and during stormy weather with 
glass or cloth covers, until the weather becomes fairly 
warm, and all danger of frost is past. Those set out 
later need no protection. Cuttings may be made or 
vines laid to root in August, or any time before frost 
injures them. 
Sun Cholera Cure. —In 1849, there was a cholera 
scare in this country. Geo. W. Busteed, a druggist 
in New York City, suggested a cure or mixture for 
cases of cramps or stomach troubles, and gave it to 
the public?. The New York Sun has printed the for¬ 
mula, probably, 1,000 times. Here it is : 
Take equal parts of 
Tincture of opium, 
Tincture of rhubarb, 
Tincture of cayenne, 
Spirits of camphor, 
Essence of peppermint. 
Mix well together. Dose: Fifteen to 30 drops in water ; 
to be repeated in 15 or 20 minutes if necessary. 
We believe that this is the best mixture for ordinary 
stomach troubles that one can take. We have used it 
in disorders caused by bad water, too much green 
fruit or overheating, with great success. It is one of 
the medicines that ought to be “ in every well-regu¬ 
lated family”. _ 
A TUB SILO IN QUEBEC. 
ALL ABOUT ITS CONSTRUCTION AND COST. 
I first decided to build a tub silo after reading the 
instructions given in The R. N.-Y., by L. A. Clinton. 
His description seems so simple that failure appeared 
impossible. 
The Lumber Needed. —After figuring on capacity, 
I found that a silo 16 feet high and 15 feet in diameter 
would suit my conditions. There are two reasons 
why I did not build it higher and smaller in diameter, 
which would have been preferable, if possible : first, 
the difficulty in procuring, and extra cost for, extra- 
long lumber,and second,the difficulty of filling a higher 
silo, on account of the construction of the barn against 
which it is placed. The lumber, 2 x 6-inch, 16 feet 
long, was obtained from a sawmill near by. It was 
taken to a planingmill, planed down to a common 
thickness, and beveled so that each plank would make 
a perfect joint with its neighbor when set up as a stave 
of the tub. Wany edges were first sawed off, in some 
cases reducing the planks to four inches in width ; but 
the same bevel was given to these as to the wider ones, 
and they fitted apparently as well. Twenty wide 
planks, about nine feet long, were sawed as shown in 
2, Fig. 225, the curve, C, being an arc of a circle with 
a diameter of 16 feet. Finally, four strips of plank, 4, 
were sawed with the same curve as the tub, to act as 
cleats 'or the doors. 
■ Setting Up the Staves. —My barn has a stone base¬ 
ment with a wall seven feet high. The extreme east 
end of the north wall, W in Fig. 225, which, by the 
way, was subject to disintegration by the frost, was 
torn down even with the ground, and posts, FP, put 
in on each side to support the sill. On the spot where 
the tub was to stand, a couple of loads of gravel were 
drawn and leveled ; then, with a stick and string, a 
circle of the desired diameter was traced, coming to 
within 18 inches of the barn. Some of the B pieces 
were sawed off at the corners, the cuts being made on 
a radius, so that, when placed end to end in a circle, 
tight joints would be formed. These pieces were laid 
on the circle drawn in the sand, overlapping the cir¬ 
cumference a few inches, pounded down with the 
round end of a heavy bar, and leveled. The staves 
were then set up on this plank foundation, the first 
few stay-lathed to the barn, and each one toed at the 
bottom to the foundation, and about half way up, to 
its next neighbor, with shingle nails. Some more of 
the B pieces again came in handy. These were nailed 
together inside of the tub, and propped up to give the 
curve. The outside was held by props in a few places. 
A Shed Over It.—A s soon as the staves were 
all in place, not many minutes’ work for four 
men where two set up the planks and two nailed 
and braced, two hoops were put on, the first, 
one foot from the ground, and the other, three 
feet above the first. The three remaining hoops 
were placed 3% feet apart, but these were not 
put on until the outside framework shown at 1 
was in course of construction ; this acted as staging. 
The hoops were made of half-inch common round iron, 
each hoop in two sections, with two castings as 
shown at 3, and a nut on each end of each section. 
The A pieces at 2 were nailed together, as shown at 
1, to form a framework on which to nail the board¬ 
ing. Five of these partial circles were used, the 
boards put on upright, and cracks battened. The 
first tier rested on cedar blocks about eight inches 
high, which also acted as bearings for a single row of 
boards placed at the bottom to save the upright 
boards from coming in contact with the ground. The 
second tier were supported temporarily, until the 
boarding began, by small posts resting on the first 
tier of planks. The other “ circles,” as the men 
called them, were each nailed together on the one 
below, raised to their places, and held there by a few 
of the upright boards. These “ circles ” made excel¬ 
lent staging on which to stand while putting on the 
hoops, the top one acting as a plate for the rafters. 
S and S’ at 1 show how the circles were completed by 
2 x 4s in order to allow room, opposite the opening VV 
in the wall, for the ensilage to fall from the doors, D. 
Also, by this arrangement, the window at G in the 
left of the figure, is left unobstructed. The dotted 
line, R, represents the projecting of the roof on that 
side to match the rafters resting on S. 
The Doors. —Only two doors were made in the tub, 
one between the second and third hoops, and the 
other between the fourth and fifth. One of the staves 
which was to form part of the two doors was sawed 
part way off in four places, to allow the insertion of 
the saw at the top and bottom of each door. These 
cuts were made at a bevel, so that the doors would 
open in. Before sawing them out, however, the 
cleats, Fig. 4, were bolted and spiked on—bolts 
through the outside staves and six-inch spikes through 
the others. The doors were then hung on hinges, 
and swung in. It was found necessary to plane off a 
little from the sides in order to allow them to shut 
more easily, and to give room for a strip of tar paper 
when they were sealed. A curtain, made from some 
strips of old carpet and hung on a wire, serves to close 
the opening, W, on cold nights. On account of the 
projecting eaves of the barn, the roof could not be 
made high, only one-fourth pitch, but that seems 
sufficient for so short a slope. It is, of course, five¬ 
sided, the three triangular sides meeting over the 
center of the tub. 
The Cost ; no Tar. —The exact cost is hard to com¬ 
pute, as other work was going on at the same time, 
and some of the material purchased for the silo was 
used for other purposes ; but a rough estimate brings 
the amount to between $55 and $60. The lumber 
cost $9 per M ; X cedar shingles, $1.10 per M ; nails, 
three cents per pound; ten castings, $4 ; rods, two 
cents per pound ; skilled labor, $1.50 per day. The in¬ 
side of the tub was not tarred or treated with any 
preparation. Experienced men with whom I consulted 
advised me not to tar it, as the lumber was quite green, 
and the coat of tar would prevent the moisture from 
escaping from the wood. Again, the tar would crack 
with the expansion of the staves, and thus would be 
of no assistance in covering openings. 
Improvements Next Year. —Next year, I shall 
cement the bottom of the tub to save the juices of the 
ensilage, which oozed through the grout, and made an 
attractive feeding ground for bees and other insects 
during the Fall. One casting for each hoop, I believe, 
would have been sufficient; two were used, for it was 
thought that the friction of the rods against the sides 
of the tub would hinder them from drawing evenly 
all around. Another mistake was in depending upon 
openings in the side of the barn for ventilation ; con¬ 
siderable ensilage was spoiled around the edges near 
the top by the steam condensing and running down 
the inside of the staves. Below this layer, however, 
it comes out in excellent condition, and every cow in 
the barn calls for her feed when the silo is opened in 
the morning; one small boy said it sounded like a band 
playing. The cows receive their grain ration, ground 
peas and oats, at present, with the ensilage. At 3 p.m., 
they are fed all the hay (mixed clover and Timothy) 
they will eat, and at night, they are turned into a 
covered yard, where there is always an abundance of 
straw to be picked over. 
Such a silo as I have described could be built in a 
barn for $25; the shed with its roof was more than 
half the cost of mine. The great advantages of tub 
silos over others, iu my estimation, are simplicity of 
construction, absence of corners, and ease of repair¬ 
ing. There is no framework to rot out, and if the 
staves give way, they can be easily and cheaply 
replaced. chas. s. moore. 
Quebec. _ 
THE COLORADO POTATO BEETLE ABROAD. 
EUROPE HAS AN EYE ON HIM. 
Among other things that Spain has been firing at 
us, is a tariff schedule. The Spaniards are pretty sure 
to do things the wrong way, and their tariff absolutely 
prohibits the importation of American potatoes, 
or even the sacks or packages in which these potatoes 
have been kept. This can hardly be called a war 
measure, as it has been in effect a number of years. 
Probably this was done in an attempt to keep out the 
potato beetle. American farmers who are called upon 
year after year to wage warfare against this scoun¬ 
drel of a beetle, often wonder whether he is equally 
ravenous on the other side of the water. We read of 
efforts like that in Massachusetts to kill off the Gypsy 
moth before it can spread over the country. How has 
it been with the Colorado potato beetle, one of Ameri¬ 
ca’s worst gifts to agriculture ? Prof. M. V. Slinger- 
land has spent some little time in investigating this 
matter, and as a result, sends us the following inter¬ 
esting note: 
No Beetles in England. —In the present state 
of affairs, it would not be strange if Spain prohibited 
the importation of not only our potatoes, but every¬ 
thing American, except, possibly, our barb-wire 
fences. I have taken pains to address inquiries to 
“ bug men” in several of the European countries in re¬ 
gard to the presence or absence of the Colorado potato 
beetle in their respective countries. English ento¬ 
mologists write me that the insect is not known to 
exist alive in Great Britain. There was a great scare 
about it in 1874, and Parliament passed an act regard¬ 
ing destructive insects generally, in consequence. 
From Sweden and Norway comes the report that the 
Colorado beetle has never been found in those coun¬ 
tries. The entomologist of Holland writes: “The 
Doryphora 10-lineata does not occur in Holland or 
Belgium. About 20 years ago, it was imported into 
Holland a few times, but it has been found and de¬ 
stroyed ; never has it propagated itself in either of the 
two countries.” 
Kept Out of Europe. —A French entomological 
friend says : “ The Colorado potato beetle, happily, 
has never appeared in France. In 1877, we feared its 
introduction very much, for it had been discovered in 
the potato fields of Cologne, Germany. The German 
authorities attacked it vigorously, and entirely exter¬ 
minated it. Measures of precaution were taken in 
France, and the importation of American potatoes 
was prohibited at that time. This measure no longer 
exists, but the surveillance continues.’’ In response to 
my query, a German friend writes : “ The insect was 
introduced into Germany about 1883. At the places 
where it was found, it has never been a great pest to 
potato culture, because it could be easily treated and 
kept in check with arsenic.” 
From the above evidence, it seems that the Colorado 
potato beetle has obtained a foothold in but one Euro¬ 
pean country, that is, in Germany. The evidence 
somewhat surprised me, for I had thought the pest had 
made its way to Great Britain. In 1874, there was 
much concern in Europe over its possible introduction, 
and the governments of Belgium, France, Switzerland, 
and Germany are said to have prohibited the importa¬ 
tion of American potatoes, and other countries began 
to inquire seriously into the necessities of the case. 
How It Travels. —How could the insect be carried 
to Europe ? The importation of the egg or larval 
(slugs or grubs) stages of the insect could take place 
only on living vines, hence there is a very slight 
chance of these stages getting to Eur.pe alive. As 
the insect never eats the tubers, the only chance for 
importing it with American potatoes would be in 
clumps of soil adhering to or among the potatoes. In 
these pieces of earth, the insect might go over the 
ocean in the pupal stage, which is passed in the soil 
beneath the vines. Or some of the beetles or hard- 
shells might thus get into the potato sack, for they 
often winter in the soil. 
The more plausible way, however, and the way in 
which the insect, doubtless, did get to Germany, is 
as a beetle which either wandered on shipboard, or 
may have been carried thereon on something entirely 
foreign to the potato. The beetles are great 
wanderers, and as they can easily live for months 
without food, it would be an easy matter for them to 
get to Europe alive in the manner just described. In 
