5io 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
July 2, 
; Ruralisms 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS 
The Liver of Sulphur-Lime Wash.— 
We used this form of the lime-sulphur 
wash for San Jose scale infection on trees 
and shrubs, applying it in March. Thirty 
gallons were needed to coat 50 fruit trees, 
from two to eight years old, and about as 
many shrubs, including 30 five-year cur¬ 
rant bushes. This quantity required 15 
pounds each of fresh stone lime and po¬ 
tassium sulphide or liver of sulphur, and 
was made without boiling by dissolving 
the liver of sulplnu in three gallons of 
hot water, slaking the lime with hot water 
in a barrel, adding the sulphur solution, 
and diluting with warm water until the 30 
gallons was made up. The cost, at local 
prices, was about $2.50, exclusive of the 
slight amount of labor. The wash was im¬ 
mediately applied with a good hand pump, 
and quite thoroughly coated the trees. 
They showed up creamy-white for several 
days, but a succession of driving rains 
with winds of considerable velocity fol¬ 
lowed and thinned the coating until it 
practically vanished by the end of April. 
At this writing, June 15, only traces of 
the wash can be seen in crevices of the 
bark. No live scales can be detected on 
any of the lime-washed trees, but the 
same may be said of check trees treated 
with whale-oil soap or petroleum. The 
tree sprayed with petroleum is in excel¬ 
lent condition, growing vigorously, and 
we regard it as less likely to be troubled 
with scales within the year than the others, 
as the greasy coating is more lasting than 
that left by lime mixtures or soap solu¬ 
tions. 
Effect on Peach Leaf-Curl. —Peach 
trees sprayed with the liver of sulphur- 
lime wash are quite free from this dan¬ 
gerous trouble, while untreated trees are 
affected to a worse degree than we have 
ever seen them in this locality. The at¬ 
tack is general, and so severe that twigs 
and young branches are deformed as well 
as the leaves. This is a very debilitating 
disease; trees seriously infected do not re¬ 
cover their vigor for some time. Only a 
small per cent of blistered foliage is no¬ 
ticed on the sprayed trees, and the curled 
leaves are found near the top of the 
branches where coating of lime wash was 
least perfect. An Aitken plum had been 
affected for the last three years with Plum 
pocket, nearly every young plum puffing 
up into a bladder when half grown. None 
is so affected this season after spraying 
with the lime-sulphur compound, but the 
variety is worthless here anyway, and the 
tree must make way for something more 
suitable for our climate. 
Lime-Sulphur Does Not Stick Well. 
—There was considerable use of the lime- 
sulphur washes this Spring near the coast 
line. About all forms were utilized—the 
liver of sulphur-lime mixture, the boiled 
lime, salt and sulphur and the lime, sul¬ 
phur and caustic soda wash prepared with¬ 
out boiling. All appear to have about the 
same slight sticking quality, or rather lack 
of it, in our rainy climate. We cannot 
work up much faith so far as to the local 
reliability of the lime-sulphur combina¬ 
tions as scale eradicators unless they act 
more promptly than Pacific coast investi¬ 
gators claim they do, but a season or two 
of experience will tell the tale, 'lliey are 
certainly worth applying as fungicides on 
dormant peach and plum trees. 
Gooseberry and Currant Seedlings.— 
Currants and gooseberries may be counted 
among the fruits easily grown from seeds 
and likely to reward the grower with a 
satisfactory average of merit among the 
seedlings. The Fay currant has probably 
returned the originator’s estate more 
money than has been realized for any 
other new fruit variety. It was one of a 
lot of seedlings raised for experimental 
purposes. The introducer informed us 
some years ago that he had naid the Fay 
estate over $30,000 in royalties on this 
very popular variety, which is stui largely 
planted. Other new kinds lately brought 
forward show great advance, but it is not 
likely that this great financial success will 
soon be duplicated. Seedling currants 
usually resemble the parent quite closely, 
but gooseberries vary within quite wide 
limits, as this fruit has been hybridized 
in past generations more extensively than 
the garden currant. Fig. 219, page 507, 
shows, in natural size, a seedling of Tri¬ 
umph gooseberry grown on the Rural 
Grounds. In fruit and habit is is a close 
reproduction of the parent, but appears 
more productive, and the foliage better 
resists strong sunlight. It is too near Tri¬ 
umph to merit introduction as a new va¬ 
riety, and the portrait is given to show 
that the best qualities of a good variety 
may be reproduced by seeds as well as 
perpetuated by cutting or layer propaga¬ 
tion. 
Saving the Seeds. —Selection of seeds 
should be from early ripening and perfect 
fruit from the best plants. The seeds do 
not readily germinate until they have been 
exposed to frost, and may safely be kept 
dry for several months. If only a few 
are wanted the berries may be crushed on 
sheets of thick paper on which the name 
of the variety can be written and the ad¬ 
hering seeds and pulp thoroughly dried in 
the shade, or they may be washed out in 
water, dried and packed away in small 
envelopes. In October they should be 
sown in a well prepared seed bed in a shel¬ 
tered place in the garden or in boxes of 
fine, rich earth. In either case the seed 
bed or boxes should be covered with fine 
wire netting, such as that from old 
mosquito bars, to keep out vermin. The 
boxes are best plunged in the soil level 
with top and left exposed to frosts for 
some weeks, when they can be removed 
during a thaw to the greenhouse or win¬ 
dow garden, or allowed to remain outside 
all Winter with a slight covering of leaves 
or straw to prevent drying out. Currant 
seeds are rather slow to germinate, and 
the season is often well advanced before 
they come up, but gooseberries usually 
start soon after the soil is warmed up. 
When large enough to handle the seed¬ 
lings are transferred to boxes or small 
pots, and later to their permanent place in 
the garden, or they may be planted out at 
once if the weather and soil are favorable, 
setting them about three feet apart each 
way. If grown in a seed bed they would 
best remain the first season undisturbed 
unless they stand so thickly as seriously 
to interfere with growth. If started early 
under glass gooseberries often gain suffici¬ 
ent size to fruit the second year, but cur¬ 
rants require another season. It takes 
four or five years for either to reach full 
development, but the rate of progress is 
as rapid as with propagated plants. Our 
experience is that most seedlings are good 
enough to retain for home use, and few so 
defective as to be worthless. w. v. f. 
Propagating a Rubber Plant 
A. M., New York, N. Y .—How and when 
can I propagate a rubber plant? A friend of 
mine has a lovely specimen with leaves about 
live to six inches in width, and 14 to 17 
inches long. 
Ans. —Rubber plants are generally prop¬ 
agated by making the new shoots into 
cuttings of about two leaves. These are 
rooted in moist sand under glass at a 
rather high temperature; not less than 65 
degrees is necessary. A less troublesome 
way to propagate a plant from youi 
friend’s specimen would be to take a vig¬ 
orous young shoot, cut a ring through the 
bark, five or six inches from the end, 
wrap a large bunch of moss around this 
cut place, tying it tightly with thread. 
This moss should be kept wet, or at least 
moist all the time, with water, and the 
plant placed in a warm situation, where 
it can grow freely. In three or four 
weeks, if the moss has not been allowed 
to dry out, roots will form at the cut 
point. When this has occurred the moss 
may be removed, the branch cut away and 
placed in a pot, using a pot not larger 
than is needed to hold the roots. By this 
means one can occasionally propagate 
from a fine specimen without the trouble 
of rooting cuttings under glass. 
RUBEFtOID 
17-MAPE RFQ/irrHFO) 
RUBER0ID ROOFING 
has been the standard pre¬ 
pared roofing for 13 years. 
Lasts longer and costs less 
than metal or shingles. 
Any handy man can apply 
it. No experience required. 
Contains no tar. Positively 
weather-proof and fire- 
resisting. 
Send for Booklet “K.” 
THE STANDARD 
PAINT COMPANY, 
Sole Manufacturers, 
100 WILLIAM STREET 
New York. 
NEW CALEDONIAN BEAN 
HARVESTER AND BUNCHER, 
Pays for it¬ 
self with two 
days’ use, 
Dumps auto¬ 
matically, 
and leaves 
the BEANS 
FREE from 
WEEDS, 
DIRT and 
STONES. 
W kite To-Day 
YOU CATALOG. 
CALEDONIA BEAN HARVESTER WORKS 
CALEDONIA, N. Y 
toWITMAN’S 
BALING 
PRESSES 
_NDARD 
pAW,WOOL, ETC. 
THE EARTH OVER. 
T IN AMERICA 
ACH1NERY 
FOR HAY, §9 
VICTO R10US flt IN 
LARGEST 8 : MOST PERFEs 
ALSO OTHER AGRICULTURAL.-.* 
-§-■ EEND FORGATALOGUE 
Whitman Agr'l Co.-st.louis,w« 
.WAGON SENSE 
Don’t break your back and kill your 
horses with a high wheel wagon. 
For comfort’s sake get an 
Electric Handy Wagen. 
It will save you time and money. A 
set of Electric Steel Wheels will 
make your old wagon new at small 
cost. Write for catalogue. Itisfree. 
ELECTRIC WHEEL CO., Boi 88. Qulnejf, III. 
EXTENSION AXLE NUTS 
Cure wabbles and make old buggies run 
like new. Quick sellers; very profitable. 
Agents Wanted. Also hub covers or 
sand boxes. Address, 
Hardware Specialty Co., Box 45, Pontiac, Mich. 
THE POTATO CROP, 
large or small, is best 
harvested with 
the Improved 
DOWDEN 
Potato Digger. . 
cut. Standard digger with no peer, and It lasts. Ask for freo Dowdcn book. 
DOWDEN MFC. CO., Box 22s PRAIRIE CITY* I A* 
S CIENTIFIC CORN HARVESTERS.—Cut 
Corn quicker, better than any other. No ears 
knocked off. No mouldy fodder. Get catalogue 
I K. POOS MFG. CO., Springfield. Ohio. 
IDE 
MACHINERY 
(_ 
BOOMER & BOSCHERT 
_ PRESS CO., 
118 Wert Water 8L, ' 
bieaclsb, b. t. 
WHALE-OIL SOAP 
CDDAVIkIC QDAR Compressed-Air Spraying Ap- 
ornAlinU or All paratus, Chemicals for Spray- 
rniiiT pninrnc lng, etc. Our Catalogue, Neces- 
inUll DnAUtnO » ltlea for the Orchard, will 
Lat.rert yon. W. H. OWEN, Port Clinton, Ohio. 
BORDEAUX MIXTURE 
(CONCENTRATED.) 
To 1 gal. add 49 gallons of water and ready for spraying. 
CONVENIENT AND EFFECTIVE 
COSTS ONLY 81.00. 
MONEY ORDER, REGISTERED LETTER or CHECK 
SMEDET CHEMICAL COMPANY, 
S. E. Cor. 11th and Master Streets, Philadelphia, Pa. 
You can 
cover 80 to 40 acres 
per day with 
Ghe Watson 
Four Row Potato Sprayer 
Straddles 2rows, sp 
4 at a time. Wheels ad¬ 
just for different widths, 
ays to any fineness and gearing of pump to wheel of 
t gives any pressure desired. Automatic agitator and 
suction strainer cleaner. It never spoils foliageor clogs. 
Free instruction and formula book shows the famous Uarfield, em¬ 
pire King, Orchard Monarch and other sprayers. Write for it 
Field Force Pump Co ., 2 11th St. .w<aura, N.Y. 
Brown’s 
No. 3 
Potato 
Sprayer 
sprays 4 to 6 rows, any width, with finest mist or 
fog at one passage. Constanthigh powersupplied 
from both wheels, no lost motion. Mechanical 
agitator. A new era in rapid thorough spraying of 
polatoes, vegetables, small fruits and vines. Write 
today for free book of all sprayers. i 
E C. Brown & Co., 268 State St., Rochester,N.Y. 
SILOS 
Also Cutters, Blowers, Carriers, Horse Powers, Hay Presses, 
Saw Machines. HARDER MFC. CO., Coblesklll, N. Y. 
“BE GOOD” 
TO YOUR HORSES 
USE FRAZER’S AXLE GREASE 
AND MAKE IT EASY FOR THEM. 
Recognized as the STANDARD 
Axle Grease of the United States. 
Many Thousand Tubs of this Grease are sold 
weekly to theTruckmeD of New York City, their 
Trucks are loaded heavy and a saving of both 
time and money is made, one greasing lasting 
two weeks or longer. 
Ask your dealer for FRAZER’S with Label on 
It saves your horse labor and you too. 
SOLD EVERYWHERE. 
Frazer LubricatorCo.,83 Murray St.,N.Y 
BEST ON EARTH. 
Manufactured by THE ROGERS & HUBBARD CO., Middletown, Conn, 
“ Hubbard’s Fertilizers for 1904,” sent free to any address. 
