1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
323 
account except as pasture, and on my soil, Blue grass 
is always present and better. It makes little hay as 
a crop alone, and matures too early, even for clover, 
in this section, for it must be cut very green, or it is 
woody. 
To get a good stand of clover is much more difficult. 
The young plants are tender, and the old plants are all 
destroyed by the clover maggot. The past two sea¬ 
sons, those that sowed clover about May 1, or a little 
before, on wheat, and harrowed thoroughly, have se¬ 
cured the best stand of plants. In 1895, I sowed 40 
acres of clover in February, on the snow. The young 
plants started nicely, but the dry weather of summer 
destroyed them all. In 1895, I sowed again on the 
snow about March 1. The snow went away with a 
rain and flood of water, and the seed was washed in 
bunches—carried away entirely in many places—and 
the stand of plants is too uneven to be of value. 
Wishing to sow 40 acres to clover this spring, I de¬ 
cided to try the late plan, and on April 23 and 24, the 
seed was sown on wheat and thoroughly harrowed 
after seeding. 
Seeding alone to clover has not given good results 
here. If sown in spring, the young plants need shade 
from the hot sun, or many of them perish. If sown 
in fall, the plants are too small when winter comes, 
and perish before the growing days of the next spring. 
I have never seeded with buckwheat; it is a plant I 
do not raise or have use for. The most valuable of 
all the clovers is the Medium. Mammoth clover is 
not its equal for anything except seed, and the Me¬ 
dium clover will produce about as much seed if treated 
the same. Alsike is a good clover on low, heavy soil, 
and will grow on ground as low and wet as Timothy 
will. It is hardy, and makes the best pasture of all 
the clovers. Crimson clover is of no value at all here, 
and much time and money have been spent testing it. 
Indiana. w. w. latta. 
LIVE NOTES FROM KANSAS. 
I have started in to demonstrate that I can raise 
five crops in four years, with but one plowing, and 
here is the plan : A previously subsoiled plot of 10 
acres that has had one crop of clover taken from it 
since the subsoiling, has been plowed eight inches 
deep and planted to potatoes, 15 inches to the drill 
and 44 inches between the rows. When the potatoes 
are laid by, German millet will be sown, and the crop 
of millet will reduce the cost of the potatoes from 
two to four cents per bushel according to the yield. 
When the millet has been harvested, the potatoes will 
be dug with a lister shaped digger, and the furrow 
made by the lister will answer for one listing for 
corn. The next spring, it will be necessary to run 
the new process sub-breaking plow in the bottom of 
the furrow, and the corn will be planted in 
this loose bottom. The corn will be cut and 
hauled off, and the third year, the disk har¬ 
row will straddle each row and thus double¬ 
disk the field which, after cross-harrowing, 
will be sown to flax and clover with the 
Superior roller with two seeders attached. 
Thus we shall have potatoes and millet in 
1897, corn in 1898, flax in 1899 and clover in 
1900, or five crops in four years, and only one 
plowing, giving perfect tillage and keeping 
up the fertility. See what Yankee blood will 
do in Kansas ! 
I bought three bushels of the Bovee potato, 
and raised 125 bushels from the three bushels 
of seed. There are about 25 per cent of small 
ones, and the potato will, probably, stand 
great forcing. The vines die exactly with the 
Acme, and a little before the Ohio. It is a 
pretty and shapely tuber, and the tops are 
the bushiest I have ever seen. When cut to a 
single eye, the top will branch out with six 
to eight branches, and completely cover the 
space between the rows. The Carman No. 1 
has proved the best of keepers here. I used 
sulphur last year, and there are millions in 
it. It will kill scab on the tubers and in¬ 
crease the yield, and at the same time, add to the 
keeping qualities. The sulphured crop will keep 
later in the spring without sprouting, and the tubers 
have a peculiar, solid feeling found only in northern- 
grown potatoes. 
I don’t see how the Thoroughbred is to become 
popular. I selected three tubers, cut them to one 
eye, and they made 61 pieces, or 20 eyes each. The 
women folks will object to so many eyes. They are 
inclined to grow prongy, but I have never seen one 
that was hollow. As I now write (April 25), a May 
beetle has come into the room and is now humming 
around the ceiling. In the spring of 1896, I plowed 
up an old clover sod and planted corn. The grubs 
worked over the corn badly till in June, when they 
turned into the beetle state and the corn recovered 
and made a good crop. 1 cut and hauled the corn off, 
and as the field was very mellow and perfectly clean, 
I have just listed out the butts and shall plant corn 
again. At the bottom of each corn hill, the lister 
subsoiler would throw out from three to eight May 
beetles that were just beginning to become lively. 
It has taught me to crop clover only one year, then 
turn it under. 
I want some plans for a potato cellar or cold storage 
building. How far apart should the walls be ? How 
many doors and windows ? What about ventilation ? 
What sort of a floor overhead? How large for 3,000 
bushels ? Probable cost ? Should the inside walls be 
plastered ? Should it be plastered overhead ? 
Kansas. clarence j. Norton. 
ALL SORTS FROM ILLINOIS. 
My experience fully agrees with that of Mrs. Wat¬ 
kins, page 274, in regard to Teosinte, and from a 
limited experience, I think it the most promising 
CROSS SECTION OF STORAGE HOUSE. Flo. 139. 
fodder plant of which I know. Planted late here last 
year, it did not quite ripen its leaves as does earn, 
and it, probably, should be cut in quite small shocks 
to prevent molding, if to be used as a winter fodder ; 
for the stalks, though small, are exceedingly sappy 
and heavy. I would like to know whether it gives 
seed in this latitude, 40 degrees. If not, where is the 
limit ? Here, no sign of seed appeared. I shall plant 
earlier this year, or about May 1, to learn more about 
this point. One or two seeds in rows four feet apart, 
and three feet apart in the row, should give such a 
mass of stalks and leaves as to defy exaggeration by 
the illustrations in our most enterprising catalogues, 
and this is saying a good deal. My horses ate the 
fodder greedily this spring, seemingly preferring it 
to ordinary corn fodder, or even Timothy hay. Giant 
Spurry and Sand Vetch from the same source (Salzer), 
were failures here on our black prairie soil. 
I am rather surprised at the results shown (page 
275) from sulphuring potato seed. My experience has 
been that sulphur and the sulphates of iron and cop¬ 
per rather retard the first growth of a plant, the extra 
growth coming in later, if at all, from the killing of 
the fungi that may be damaging the plant. 
We see in all the papers about the benefit coal 
ashes are to currants and gooseberries. I have used 
all I shall ever use on any plant, and think them a 
positive injury to currants on this soil. But what 
about them to use in the place of sawdust in an ice 
house? In February, at ice harvest, I spread three 
or four inches of soft coal ashes on the ground, placed 
a single block of ice on them, covered with six inches 
of ashes, and the ice did not disappear until the mid¬ 
dle of April, although exposed to all the spring rains. 
What would be the objections to the use of coal ashes 
for this purpose ? To be sure, the ice will be soiled, 
but this will, I think, wash off the same as sawdust. 
Ordinary sawdust rots out an ice house in a few 
years—how would it be with the ashes ? Sawdust 
needs continued watching to prevent it from heating 
and melting away the ice—especially at the south 
side of the building, unless this be shaded. This 
would not be the case where the ashes were used. 
Who knows about the Taylor plum ? As a young 
tree, it much resembles Cherry as I have it, and they 
are the only varieties I have that give a pink bloom. 
This bloom is so large and distinct that it seems to 
me that it indicates a separate type. 
Who knows anything about budding or grafting 
the papaw ? I have some seedlings that I wish to 
work to the best kinds—for I notice that there is 
much difference in the quality of even papaws. I 
have had no difficulty in propagating chestnuts and 
persimmons, but hickories and pecans seem very 
fickle ; the papaw I know nothing about propagating, 
except by seeds. 
What is the proper name of a currant known here 
as the “ Long Bunch Holland” ? I do not see any 
notice of this variety under the above name in any of 
the reports, and conclude that it must have some 
other name. This is the most vigorous and the 
latest of any currant with which I am acquainted. 
The leaves are very thick, large and dark colored, but 
in fruiting, it is only a moderate bearer of long 
bunches, medium and rather pale red berries that are 
quite sour. benj. buckman. 
Illinois. 
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.l 
‘‘Root Lice" on Apple Trees. 
B. E. T., Williamsport, Pa .—I am losing my apple trees from 
the ravages of what my neighbors call the root louse. Can any¬ 
thing be done to destroy the insect and save the trees ? The trees 
are seven years old, and I have lost about five per cent each 
year since planting. 
ANSWERED B Y M. Y. SLINGERLAND. 
The Apple-root louse, or the Woolly aphis is one of 
the best known and most widely distributed apple 
pests. It, apparently, confines its ravages to the 
apple, and is more destructive in some localities or 
soils than in others. It usually does but little damage 
in the East, but works great havoc when carried into 
many parts of the West on eastern nursery stock. 
The insect is one of those curious forms of plant lice 
that secrete a woolly covering for themselves, which 
gives them their name. In their most conspicuous 
forms, they appear on the trunks and limbs of apple 
trees in clusters of individuals, which are rendered 
quite conspicuous by their woolly covering. Often¬ 
times, the bark, apparently, ceases to grow at the 
point of attack, but swells into a large ridge 
about the cluster of lice, leaving them in a 
sheltered pit or scar. The lice, also, fre¬ 
quently congregate in the axils of the leaves 
and the forks of the branches. Like the well- 
known Grape Phylloxera, this apple enemy 
also has a root-inhabiting form that causes 
the knotty swellings on the roots. It is this 
form of the insect that is so difficult to com¬ 
bat. The aerial form on the branches will 
succumb to two or three thorough applica¬ 
tions of kerosene emulsion, or a strong soap 
wash. 
Until recently, few, if any, careful experi¬ 
ments have been conducted against the root- 
inhabiting form of this Woolly aphis. In Bul¬ 
letin 35, issued from the Missouri Experiment 
Station in July, 1896, are detailed some valu¬ 
able and successful experiments in combating 
this pest, both on nursery stock and on bear¬ 
ing trees. The author’s conclusions are that, 
in all cases, it is advisable thoroughly to 
drench the roots of apple stock bearing any 
suspicious, knotty swellings on the roots, in a 
strong kerosene emulsion, by placing them in 
the mixture for, at least, a minute in order 
to kill what lice may be on the roots. It 
would be a good scheme to dip the whole tree so as 
to kill any individuals of the branch form of the 
insect that may occur on the branches. It has been 
demonstrated that the branch-form may migrate to 
the roots, and it is then the root-form, the two forms 
thus being identical, and migrating from root to 
branch and vice versa. When it is being planted, 
each young tree should have a liberal supply (a 
pound), of tobaceo dust placed about and over the 
roots and close up to the body, and a little earth cov¬ 
ered over this tobacco. Then every spring, just as 
soon as settled warm weather appears, each tree 
should receive a pound or two of the dust, applied by 
first removing the earth from around the trunk of the 
tree for a distance of about two feet and to a depth 
of four to six inches ; distribute the tobacco evenly 
over this area, and replace the earth. The tobacco 
dust will leach down with every rain, and more or 
