j898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
497 
Pyrethrum and some other powders are used to 
smother insects, hut kerosene oil and soap are more 
often used. Kerosene oil will, usually, severely injure 
plants if it is applied without dilution, so it is usually 
combined with soap in the well-known kerosene emul¬ 
sion. A strong soapsuds, or better, whale-oil-soap solu 
tion, makes a good contact insecticide. For plant lice, 
one pound of the soap dissolved in 5 to 10 gallons of 
water is usually strong enough. Thus if J. R. A. will 
spray his cherry trees with this soap solution, and 
aim at the insects themselves, he will get much better 
results than with llordeaux Mixture or hellebore. It 
will be a difficult job to hit the lice, especially after 
they get the leaves curled up ; but if the spraying be 
begun early, and persisted in, success will surely 
result. 
A Strange Insect; the Fish-Moth. 
M. B. M., Grand Rapids, Mich .—I inclose three specimens, of 
what my wife and I, for want of a better name, call “ critters.” 
We will be glad if you can tell us what they are, and how to get 
rid of them. We see them quite frequently, and in various parts 
ofthe house. They are, in life, about one-half inch long, of a 
silver gray color, and are very quick in action. 
Ans. —Often the careful housekeeper sees in the 
ironing basket, or upon the book-shelf where she is 
dusting, a flash of light like a tiny thread of quick¬ 
silver, that usually vanishes as soon as seen. If she is 
experienced, she knows that this streak of light is a 
little animal one-half inch long, whose body is clothed 
in shining scales like those of a fish. Hence it is called 
a Fish-moth. Its scientific name is Lepisma saccha- 
rina. It is especially abundant in warm climates, and 
often does damage to starched clothing, book-bind¬ 
ings, framed pictures, and sometimes loosens wall 
paper by eating out the paste. It is recorded that, in 
one instance, these little creatures nearly severed the 
cord holding a valuable picture, which finally fell to 
the floor and was badly damaged. 
This insect belongs to that order of animal life which 
includes the simplest of the true insects. It is believed 
that these simple, wingless insects are much like the 
first insects that appeared on the earth in ancient 
geological times. They undergo no metamorphosis, 
as do butterflies and beetles, but the young Fish-moths 
resemble the adult in form. The specimens sent in 
by M. B. M. were full grown. The insect has been so 
rarely recorded as a pest that I find no recommenda¬ 
tions for combating it. Doubtless, a thorough fumi¬ 
gation with sulphur, or better, tobacco, would destroy 
it. Pyrethrum or insect powder sifted about its haunts 
should either kill or drive it out. m. v. s. 
How to Bud a Seedling Lemon. 
E. 0. N., Tracy City, Tenn.—l have a large lemon tree, a seed¬ 
ling, that I am tired of caring for. It is now almost too large for 
my greenhouse. I wish to graft or bud it with orange or lemon, 
both of which I have blooming and bearing. I wish to cut down 
the seedling lemon, as low as is safe; it is now 10 feet and over 
in height, about 20 years old, and never has bloomed. When and 
how shall I manage this? 
Ans. —The orange, lemon and other citrus fruit trees 
may be budded or grafted together at pleasure, but 
some combinations of this kind are not sufficiently 
congenial to be profitable The lemon tree mentioned 
can be changed by either budding or grafting, into 
another variety of lemon, or into an orange tree, al¬ 
though the latter is not very successful. It was a com¬ 
mon practice with orange growers in Florida when 
they were changing the wild orange groves into choice 
varieties, to cut back the branches to stubs in Winter 
and thus force sprouts to grow out, which were bud¬ 
ded the following Summer. This plan could be fol¬ 
lowed by E. O. N. with his lemon tree, only that I 
would advise working it over to some good variety of 
the lemon, such as Lisbon or Eureka. Almost any of 
the Florida nurserymen can furnish buds of these or 
other good varieties. As it is now too late to do this 
for many months yet, it may be well to set buds in 
August in the branches where they are not more than 
13^ inch in diameter. I would put several buds in each 
branch, and not far apart. Next Winter, these 
branches should be cut off just above the buds, and 
when growth starts in the Spring, they will grow if 
alive. Wherever they fail, sprouts should be left for 
future budding. Grafting is equally successful with 
budding on the citrus fruits, but the latter is usually 
done, because it is a little the faster method. 
It should be understood by all amateur lemon grow¬ 
ers, as it is now by those who have orchards, that 
lemons must not be allowed to ripen on the trees, but 
must be cut before there is the least sign of yellow 
color. It was many years before this was known by 
most of our American people who had, in some cases, 
several acres of lemon trees. Consequently, they left 
the fruit on the trees as they did their oranges, and 
the skin became very thick, and the juice of the pulp 
scarce and insipid. I have seen many such mistakes 
in Florida. If the lemons are cut when grown to fair 
size, handled like eggs, wrapped in tissue paper, and 
stored in a dry cellar of even temperature, they will, 
in time, become much like those imported from south¬ 
ern Europe. 
It would be interesting and a source of much pleas¬ 
ure to those who have seedling orange or lemon trees, 
or who may wish to grow them in tubs in the North, 
to procure buds of some of the choicest named varieties 
of oranges, and in due time, grow the fruit. It is 
easily done, for the seeds grow as easily as corn, and 
nothing is easier to bud. Getting the bud sticks from 
Florida or California Would be little trouble. Some 
varieties are exceedingly well adapted to such purpose. 
Satsuma (or Oonshiu, as the Japanese call it) is of 
this character, being a slow, bushy grower, a very 
early and prolific bearer, and the most hardy of any 
except it be Tahiti, which is of poor quality. Satsuma 
is very sweet. It belongs to the Mandarin class. If 
budded on Citrus trifoliata stock, it will endure a little 
frost without much injury. The large varieties, such 
as Washington Navel, are too rampant growers to be 
very satisfactory in house culture. H. E. van deman. 
Peaches that Come True from Seed. 
R. A., Clear Lake , Ark —Will you give a list of peach trees that 
come true from seed, such as the Indian Red and Elberta ? A 
complete list would be valuable In these overflowed countries, as 
a little nursery of such seedlings could be kept on the high spots 
to replace cheaply orchards destroyed by the overflow. 
Ans. —There are some varieties of the peach that 
come quite nearly true from seed ; among these are 
Heath Cling, Hill Chili, Smock and Morris White. In 
my experience, the Indian Red and other varieties of 
this class do not come so nearly true as those just 
mentioned ; neither was I aware that the seedlings of 
Elberta were like the original. If this is true, then 
we surely have a good thing. The very early kinds, 
such as Amsden and Alexander, come fairly well from 
seed, as I have proved in hundreds of cases on my 
grounds. I do not see that there would be any special 
advantage to the people of the Mississippi bottoms, 
above those of other sections, except as they may be 
more often in need of replanting their orchards. 
Even in such cases, it would seem to me that little 
nurseries of budded trees would be better to replant 
from, because more certain of the varieties. But, of 
course, the budding would be that much additional 
trouble, although, I think, well repaid by certainty 
and a larger variety. This latter is an important 
point in fruits for home use, because one needs a 
large number of kinds to cover a long season of ripen¬ 
ing in the South. This is not well secured in the 
kinds that come true from seed, most being very early 
and very late, so far as my experience and knowledge 
go. Almost every one can learn to bud. Besides, 
nursery trees are very cheap now. Old seedling trees 
are not good to transplant. h. e. v. p. 
Something About Homer Pigeons. 
II. L. R., Setauket, N. Y .—At what age is it best to teach Homer 
pigeons to begin flying as carriers ? At what age do they make 
their longest flights ? 
Ans. —The word, “ carrier,” is a misnomer, and the 
homing pigeon of to-day is no more like a carrier than 
a White Leghorn hen is like a L. Brahma. Homers 
should be trained when between three or four months 
old, by being taken two or three miles from their 
cote, liberated and allowed to fly back and immedi¬ 
ately enter the cote by a door made of bob-wires. 
Gradually increase the distance to 10 miles, flying 
from all points of the compass unless a special mes¬ 
senger service is desired, when they should fly between 
the points where the service is to be established. 
After 10 miles have been flown, the distance may be 
increased to 15, 25, 45, 75, 100, etc. Fanciers, in flying 
races, fly young birds at 100, 150, and 200-mile races; 
old birds, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600-mile contests. 
Homers have reached their own cote from 1,200 odd 
miles distance, and the longest distance in one day is 
over 600 miles. 
I think Homers are at their best for flying at from 
two to four years old. They are sometimes retained 
for breeders up to 10 years. I am, also, under the im¬ 
pression that American-bred birds have made as good 
records as the Belgian or Antwerp birds. In breed¬ 
ing Homers, the one thing sought is performance : 
How far they will fly and how fast. They, also, pos¬ 
sess the greatest amount of intelligence, and the 
most undaunted courage. Birds will often reach their 
loft in an exhausted and dilapidated condition, owing 
to terrific battles against fearful odds, with wind, 
weather and hawks. b. 8. smith. 
Automatic Milk-Weighing Machines. 
J. B., Listowel (No State ).—On page 367 The R. N.-Y. says “Some 
of the best manufacturers of dairy supplies make a skim-milk 
weigher which works on the principle of the nickel-in-the-slot 
device, and competent judges say that these machines work well.” 
This is just what we are looking for to place in our factory. We 
manufacture cheese during Summer and butter in the Winter. 
We handle from 10,000 to 30,000 pounds of milk per day for butter 
during the season, and our capacity for cheese is 10 6,000-pound 
milk vats, and a press room for 70 cheeses of 75 pounds each. We 
find it necessary to have a man to divide the skim-milk, and find 
it quite an expense, so would be pleased to get into communica¬ 
tion with the manufacturer of this device for dividing the skim- 
milk. 
Ans. —Two check machines in quite general use in 
western creameries are the Barber Coleman check 
pump, and the Curtis Automatic skim-milk weigher, 
both being sold by Cornish, Curtis & Greene, Ft. At¬ 
kinson, Wis. It has always been a question about 
how best to return a patron of the creamery or cheese 
factory, his fair proportion of skim-milk or whey. 
The patron delivers his skim-milk to the factory, and 
waits to get in return, the quantity of skim-milk due 
him. If 75 patrons carry milk to the factory, each one 
wants his fair share, and unless accurate weights 
are used, the last 10 will be liable to fall short. Out 
of this problem, have come skim-milk machines that 
return to the patron automatically, his just proportion 
of milk. 
The machines are too complicated to warrant us in 
giving a full description of them here. It is enough 
to say that they work very much on the principle of 
the well-known nickel-in-the-slot machine. When a 
patron brings his milk to the creamery, it is weighed, 
and a check is given him for a certain number of 
pounds of skim-milk. These checks are about the size 
of a silver dollar, made of brass and so made that the 
pump cannot be operated with any other piece of metal. 
The man who weighs in the milk gives to the patron 
checks equal to the amount of skim-milk this man 
ought to have. The patron takes the checks and 
drops them into a slot, and thus lets a certain amount 
of milk run out of the vat or tank. He then pumps 
this milk into his cans, and goes on his way rejoicing 
in the fact that he has not cheated the creamery, and 
that the creamery cannot possibly cheat him. It is 
said that these automatic weighers and check pumps 
have given the best of satisfaction wherever they 
have been used. 
Chickens in the Flower Beds. 
G. II. P., New York.—I am much annoyed by the young chickens 
of a neighbor, which spend the day on my lawn and among my 
flower beds. I do not wish to erect an unsightly fence, or go to 
law if avoidable. Is there anything I could scatter on the ground 
which would be obnoxious to them and harmless otherwise ? 
Ans. —We do not know of anything that will keep 
the chickens away without poisoning them. A lively 
dog would keep them at home, but he would run over 
and damage the flower beds. We think that chickens 
have regular haunts or runs, which they get in the 
habit of covering daily. It does not seem to be entirely 
a question of food. The following poem printed in 
The R. N.-Y. of April 25, 1896, relates the experience 
of a lady under somewhat similar circumstances. Pos¬ 
sibly your neighbors may be touched in a similar way. 
A maiden lady owned a piece of ground, 
And morn and eve in Summer she was found 
Within her garden. But her neighbor kept 
A flock of hens, and while she worked or slept, 
With busy feet they dug her finest seed. 
In vain she chased them at her utmost speed, 
And “ shooed ” and stoned them—quite undignified, 
The while her neighbor laughed until he cried. 
But women who can foil the wiles of men, 
Will not be daunted by a Leghorn hen. 
The hand that rocks the cradle, still can block 
M iq’s ridicule, aul give his nerves a sh jck. 
Our lady cried a bit—as was her right— 
Then took some cards and on each one did write, 
“ Please keep your hens at home ! a seed of corn 
She strung to each—with early break of dawn— 
Back came the hens; they gobbled grain and string— 
Then back for home they started on the wing. 
From every mouth there dragged the lady’s card. 
“ Please keep ” ; he scratched his head—his heart was hard, 
But shame cut through it like a knife, and hence 
His hens no more flew o’er the lady’s fence. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
Cow Peas In .July.—B. J. C., Bourbon, Ind.—Cow peas sown by 
July 15 in your latitude will make a fair growth before frost; cer¬ 
tainly large enough to make a good showing as a fertilizer. 
These peas sown in raspberry or blackberry patches, may be ex¬ 
pected to do reasonably well, and the experiment is certainly well 
worth trying. 
Great Divide Potato; Wragg Cherry.—H. B., Clyde, O.—We 
tried the Great Divide potato iu 1894. It is, also, one of the kinds 
in our present trials. It yielded at the rate of 282.33 bushels to 
the acre. It is an intermediate. The tuber is about twice as long 
as broad, cylindrical, shapely. Eyes not prominent. Buff skin. 
In quality, it is mealy, white flesh and excellent. The Wragg 
cherry is said to be a very hardy and productive sort—the cherries 
of fine quality, of medium size, dark purple in color. 
Phosphoric Acid for Humans.—A number of readers have 
asked about the use of phosphoric acid and glycerin as sug¬ 
gested in a former article. To make the mixture, we use two 
ounces of dilute phosphoric acid, and two ounces of glycerin; 
add these to eight ounces of sugar syrup. This syrup is made by 
dissolving one pound of granulated sugar with half a pint of 
water; bring to a boil and strain at once, and add a little more 
water. A dose of this mixture is a teaspoonful dissolved in a 
glass of water. We have found it an excellent tonic, and about 
as good as the ordinary phosphates for which long prices are 
charged. It is an excellent dose when overcome by the heat, or 
thoroughly tired out. Care must be taken by those having de¬ 
cayed teeth to rinse the mouth thoroughly after the dose. 
Raising Potted Strawberry Plants.—G. H., Wyandotte 
County, Kan.—The old method of raising potted strawberry plants 
was to sink small earthen pots—about 2 l A or 3-inch—filled with 
rich soil or compost, level with the surface, put the runner on 
this, and fasten by a clod or small stone. The pot will be filled 
with roots in about two weeks, when the plant is ready to trans¬ 
plant. Paper pots are sometimes used for this purpose, as are 
old berry baskets, small paper boxes, tin cans with the bottoms 
removed, or anything that will hold the soil together until the 
plant is well rooted. But all these may be dispensed with, and 
the runners be allowed to grow directly in the soil, if an imple¬ 
ment like the Richards transplanter be used for taking them up 
afterward. Potting strawberry plants is slow and laborious work. 
