1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
223 
land will, undoubtedly, be improved, even if the crop of 
peas be gathered as proposed, but I should prefer to 
save the land the extra drain incident to the matur¬ 
ing of such a large crop of seed, by planting the Clay 
pea late enough to grow a good large crop of vines 
without maturing many peas before frost. The heavy 
crop of leaves and vines fall on the ground and re¬ 
main there all winter, holding the rainfall and snow, 
and protecting from winds that are liable to be very in- 
jurious to light, sandy land when left bare all winter. 
Delaware. A. w. slaymakkr. 
Green Cow Peas Kill Plum Grafts. 
The main object, as Allen says in conclusion, “ is 
to improve the land.” Such being the case, in a prac¬ 
tical sense, a crop of 500 bushels of peas taken there¬ 
from, reduces the land to the extent of the fertilizing 
constituents of the peas ; that much is clear to any 
one. The important question, however, is whether or 
not the vines left to die and remain on the ground 
until the following spring, serving as shade and mulch 
through the winter, are worth as much in the im¬ 
provement of the land, as the same vines together 
with the peas thereon, would be were they turned 
under at the proper time. Would the latter plan be 
worth $300 more to the 30 acres than the former ? I 
would prefer—were I certain of the $300 profit on the 
crop of peas (?)—to let the vines “ die and rot on top 
of the ground,” believing that with the $300 judic¬ 
iously expended in the purchase and application of 
high-grade commercial manures, the land could be 
more safely and thoroughly fitted for strawberries 
than by the other plan. The manner of planting 
would, of course, be governed by the decision as to 
turning under entire, or picking and harvesting the 
peas ; if the latter, drills would unquestionably be 
preferable to broadcasting, but if the former, then I 
would prefer to put them in with a wheat drill, two 
bushels to the acre, with not less than 200 pounds per 
acre of fertilizer containing a fair per cent of ammo¬ 
nia. Then before I would turn under a crop of green 
matter, such as might be reasonably expected from 
cow peas put in as above, I would most certainly take 
the precaution to broadcast before plowing under, 
with from 25 to 40 bushels of lime per acre. There 
is an element of danger attending the turning under 
of heavy green crops, as I know from a costly experi¬ 
ence. Two years ago, I lost 45,000 plum grafts by 
planting them on land where a heavy growth of cow 
peas had been turned under without lime. These 
vines—peas and all—were turned under just before 
frosts in the fall; the land was rolled after plowing, 
then broadcasted with a liberal covering of stable 
manure. A clover sod was treated the same way at 
the same time. The spring following, both pieces 
were again plowed, the pea vines seemed to be thor¬ 
oughly rotted, and I had hopes of satisfactory results. 
The two pieces of land were both planted with plum 
grafts, but as I regarded the pea-vine piece as the 
richer and better land, all the most desirable varieties 
were planted on it. The grafts all started promptly 
—the season was quite favorable, plenty of rain—but 
after a growth of from one to ten inches had been 
made, those on the pea fallow died almost to the last 
graft; the roots were, apparently, attacked by some 
kind of fungus. Those on the clover were exempt and 
grew finely. So, with this experience yet fresh in my 
mind—and pocket—I may be pardoned for caution as 
to the use of cow peas as green manure. 
I had used cow peas for years before, as an im¬ 
prover of poor soil, but had never followed them with 
any other than ordinary farm crops. I have one 
acre of pea fallow prepared now, just as that 
described above, that I purpose to risk a few thousand 
plum grafts on this spring, and I shall also try some 
other plants at the same time. Did I try to find out 
the cause of destruction to the grafts on the pea 
fallow? Yes ! YES ! A number of scientific gentle¬ 
men visited the grounds, and the case was carefully 
made up and submitted to several others ,* but each 
had a different diagnosis. To my own mind, how¬ 
ever, it seems practically clear, that the pea vines 
caused the trouble. One question in Allen’s list. 
As to using fertilizer, and the kind to use, in case 
peas are sown in drills with the view to harvesting 
the crop, can best be determined after he sees what 
kind of a growth of Crimson clover he turns under. 
If the clover is a fair growth, I doubt the need of any 
additional fertilizer to make a crop of cow peas, as I 
infer from what he says that the land is already in 
fairly good condition. j. w. kkrk. 
Maryland. _ 
Bordeaux Mixture for Flea Beetles. 
J. S. C., Sarnia, Ont .—Is there anything that will destroy the 
little black flea beetle on potato vines ? 
Ans. —We have not found anything. The Bordeaux 
Mixture seems objectionable to them, and various ex¬ 
periments show that, where it has been used, the 
vines are not nearly so badly injured by the beetles. 
The 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.] 
Plan for a Henhouse. 
Several Subscribers .—What is a good plan for a small, frost-proof 
henhouse? How large should it be for 50 hens, or how much 
space should each bird have ? How should it be ventilated ? How 
can it be made frost-proof? It must be warm or the hens won’t 
lay, and if shut up tight, it becomes damp. 
Ans —Our older readers are all familiar with the 
hen business conducted by Mr. 0. W. Mapes, in Orange 
County, N. Y. His hens are kept in colonies, flocks 
of about 40 being kept in each small house, the houses 
being scattered about the farm with no fences be¬ 
tween. At Fig. 105, we show a cut of one of these 
small houses. Each house is 12 feet long, 10 feet wide, 
8 feet high in front, and 5 feet 4 inches in the rear. 
The floor and roof are of matched spruce and the siding 
of matched pme. The roof is covered with two-ply 
tarred roofing felt, and the sides are lined with single- 
ply tarred paper. The floor is covered in winter with 
a good coating of dry earth, which makes it warmer 
and also furnishes a dust bath for the hens. The 
roof should be painted once a year with coal tar. The 
houses face the east. The entrance door is shown, 
also the window, and the small door for the hens. 
Mr. Mapes says that the cost of lumber and material 
for such a house is about $25. The ventilating is done 
by sliding the window according to the severity of 
the weather. 
Inside, a platform three feet wide extends entirely 
across the rear of the house, 2 feet 9 inches from the 
floor, to catch the droppings. One foot above this are 
two roosting poles, made of 2 x 3-inch fence rails 
planed smooth and painted with coal tar. The nests 
are under the platform, so arranged that they are 
dark, the hens enter at the rear, and the eggs may be 
taken out through the front, which is hinged. Mr. 
Mapes also has in each house, a cage made of slats, 
which he calls the jail, in which broody hens are con- 
PLAN FOR A HENHOUSE. Fig. 105. 
fined. It is midway of one end, fastened against the 
wall at the height of the platform. The cover is 
sloping, which prevents the hens using it as a roosting 
place. It seems to us that this house meets the re¬ 
quirements of the average poultryman who wishes a 
small house, about as well as any of which we know. 
This house, which is intended for 40 hens, gives a 
space of about three square feet for each hen ; this is 
about one-half the space usually considered neces¬ 
sary. It could be made still warmer by making the 
walls double, with a dead-air space between, and by 
making the windows double. It might, also, be set 
up from the ground, inclosed on all sides but the 
front, and thus give more space under the house for 
the hens. 
The Strawberry Leaf-Roller. 
C. K., Albany , 111 .—For three or more years, I have sustained 
an almost total loss of a crop of strawberries by what is called 
here the Strawberry Leaf-roller. The past season, the first 
attack was made just as the berries were beginning to ripen, and 
in a week, the leaves looked as though a fire had gone over them; 
the berries were a failure, of course. The year before, I had gone 
over this bed (newly set), and cut, gathered and burned every 
leaf that showed signs of the roller. That season, after the fail¬ 
ure, I scattered mulch over the rows and burned it over with this 
result: A loss of 20 per cent of the plants with still a few plants 
showing the roller. A new bed that made a good growth last 
season, has been checked at least three several times, by as 
many broods of this pest. If any remedy or preventive is known 
that will save the crop for this year, it will be valuable informa¬ 
tion for many. I have sprayed the bed with arsenites twice since 
fruiting time, with no result that can be seen. 
ANSWERED BY M. V. SLINGERLAND. 
The common Strawberry Leaf-roller (Phoxopteris 
comptana) was ably discussed by Prof. Forbes in his 
second report on the insects of Illinois, and it has, 
also, been the subject of considerable investigation 
at the Kentucky Experiment Station. The life his¬ 
tory of the insect is fairly well understood. There 
seem to be three annual broods in southern Illinois, 
and, possibly, four in Kentucky. The caterpillars be¬ 
gin work by forming a web upon the upper surface 
of the leaf, by means of which, in some unexplained 
way, they double the two halves of the leaf together, 
so that the insects themselves are concealed in the 
fold. Here they eat away the surface of the leaf, so 
that it withers and turns brown. It is not an uncom¬ 
mon thing for them to destroy the field completely, 
so that scarcely a single green leaf will be apparent. 
The insect is of European origin, where it was 
described in 1828. It was noticed in this country as 
early as 1867, and is now recognized as by far the 
most destructive known enemy to the strawberry in 
several of the States, especially in Illinois ; it now 
occcurs throughout nearly all of the northern half of 
the country. 
Its manner of working concealed within a folded 
leaf renders it quite impracticable to get at the in¬ 
sects with a poisonous spray ; thus most of the efforts 
to check them with Paris-green have proved ineffec¬ 
tual. In 1877, a remedy was suggested which, Prof. 
Forbes says, has proved to be an easy and perfect 
method of controlling the ravages of the pest. He 
says : 
In 1878, the method was tried at Normal, Ill., by first mowing 
and then burning the field soon after the fruit was gathered. This 
procedure was completely successful. The plants were not in¬ 
jured, but speedily sent up new, strong leaves, which made a 
dense growth by fall; and the plants, the following year, were 
but slightly injured by the insect. A repetition of this treatment 
for two more years in succession reduced the Leaf-roller to com¬ 
plete insignificance, and it has not since appeared in that region 
in injurious numbers. This remedy has, also, been elsewhere 
extensively employed, and is now the standard method of fight¬ 
ing the Leaf-roller. Mr. H. K. Vickroy, who has burned his 
fields over five or six times, informs me that his plants have 
never been damaged in the least by the process. He first mows 
the whole field over as close to the ground as he can cut with a 
mower, and leaves the cut weeds and foliage to dry a few days, 
so that it may burn readily. He then loosens and rakes up the 
straw mulch, sometimes spreading it lightly over the rows, and 
fires the field in a gentle breeze. If he had no mulch over the 
field, he would sprinkle straw lightly over it. To test the endur¬ 
ance of the plants, he has piled straw a foot high on the rows, 
and burned it without the slightest injury to the plants, it is 
possible, however, that either during or immediately before a very 
dry time, the plants might be damaged by burning. In the first 
instance, they might burn too deeply; and in the second, the new 
leaves might be too slow to start. For southern Illinois, until the 
life-history of the insect in that latitude is complete, we can only 
say that the fields should be mowed and burned late in June or 
early in July. 
The above extract shows that others have success¬ 
fully used the burning method and found it safe and 
effectual. Why C. K. was not equally successful, I 
cannot say. I think that a careful simultaneous 
mowing and burning over of all his beds soon after 
the fruit is harvested will, if persisted in for two or 
three yeaxs, effectually check the pest in his fields ; 
burn over all the fields each time, not leaving any in 
which the pest may continue its foothold, and afford 
a breeding place for all the other beds. I doubt 
whether the insect can be effectually checked with 
any spray. The specimens sent by C. K. did not 
reach me. 
Apple Trees Least Susceptible to Borers. 
D. D. 0., Dayton, O. —What varieties of apples are proof against, 
or the least susceptible to, the attacks of the borers ? Forty years 
ago my father said that he never knew the Pennock to be troubled 
by them. Five years ago, Mr. Downing, of Darke County, O., 
named Roman Stem as least susceptible. 
Ans. —I do not believe that any variety of apple is 
proof against the attacks of the borer ; there is no 
evidence, so far as I know, to support such a belief. 
It is, also, my opinion that no variety is less suscep¬ 
tible than any other to the attacks of the insect. Al¬ 
though I am familiar with most of the literature of 
this borer, I do not know of any definite evidence to 
show that some varieties suffer less than others. 
m v. s. 
Protection against Borers 
W. S., Pattenburg, N. J .— What is the best protection against 
borers in young apple and pear trees? Do you know anything 
about “ The Goodwin Surface Fruit Tree Armor,” said to have 
been patented March, 1896. The makers charge $1 for recipe and 
license to use it. 
Ans. —The present state of our knowledge regard¬ 
ing the apple borer will not permit one confidently 
to recommend anything which may be expected surely 
to keep the borers out of the trees. Many washes 
have been recommended, but there is little evidence 
to show that any of them are effective. We are now 
conducting a series of experiments with preventives 
against the peach borer, and our results may help us 
in devising means against the apple borers. At pres¬ 
ent, we candidly say, dig out the borers as soon as 
their work is noticed. Having never seen “ Good¬ 
win’s Surface Fruit Tree Armor ” I cannot intelli¬ 
gently discuss its merits, if it has any, or its de¬ 
merits. I think, however, that one might better ex¬ 
pend the dollar for help to dig out the borers, m. y. s. 
Planting Apple Orchards in Pennsylvania. 
F. E. B., Snyder County, Pa.—Would it be a safe investment to 
plant 1,000 or more apple trees ? My soil is a black loam, with a 
clay subsoil, is good farming land and is well drained. What 
varieties should I plant? The York Imperial does very well in 
this locality. The Baldwin bears well, but does not keep very 
well here. Would it be profitable to plant peach trees between 
the apple trees ? 
Ans.—I think that the planting of apple orchards 
in Pennsylvania is a perfectly safe investment, if 
proper care be taken in the selection of the trees, and 
their after cultivation; but they must be carefully 
attended to, properly fed and pruned so as to grow 
healthy, vigorous trees with well-shaped heads, that 
