1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
485 
The Farmers’ Club. 
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see whether it is not answered in our advertising columns. Ask 
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piece of paper.1 
The Cottony Maple Scale. 
E. M. B., Detroit, Mich. —I inclose a scale insect of some kind. 
If this is likely to prove a pest, will you let me know ? I have 
found only two, and destroyed the other. 
ANSWERED BY M. Y. SUNDERLAND. 
The specimen sent proved to be one of our largest 
scale insects. The mass of white cottony material, 
as large as, or larger than, the insect itself, which is 
secreted by it, gives this scale a peculiar and striking 
appearance. The insect is commonly known as the 
Cottony Maple scale, as it usually occurs most numer¬ 
ously upon maples ; it is often found upon grape and 
Virginia creeper also. It is closely allied to the Plum 
Lecanium scale, which did so much damage in west¬ 
ern New York plum orchards two years ago. The 
scientific name of this maple pest is Pulvinaria in- 
numerabilis. In June, the full-grown female insect 
begins to excrete from beneath the scale, the white 
cottony material in which she soon lays her eggs. At 
this time, the insect feeds ravenously, pumping sap 
from the plant continuously in such quantities that 
there is a constant excretion of the same sweet liquid 
substance which plant-lice secrete—“ honey-dew ” ; 
so copiously is this honey-dew secreted that it often 
drips to the ground. The brown, exceedingly minute 
eggs to the enormous number of nearly 2,000 are 
forced into the fluffy white mass. The great mass of 
these eggs hatch about July 1, some earlier and some 
later. At this time, infested twigs and leaves will be 
literally swarming with the young lice, which fix 
themselves along the ribs of the leaves and begin 
pumping out the sap. Before the leaves fall in 
autumn, the females migrate to the bark of the 
branches, where they continue to feed as long as the 
sap flows, when they become torpid and remain so 
until spring. They winter in about a half-grown 
condition. When spring opens, they feed ravenously 
and grow fast. 
The insect rarely kills trees outright, but it often 
seriously weakens maple shade trees. Where practic¬ 
able, it would be wise to cut off and burn infested 
branches. But the insect can be killed with a spray 
of whale-oil soap or of kerosene emulsion. I think a 
thorough application of the former at the rate of one 
pound dissolved in two or three gallons of water, pat 
on in the fall after growth has stopped, would kill 
the scale going into hibernation. The young scales 
could easily be killed with a more dilute solution if 
applied about July 15, but it would be a big job to 
hit the scales then, as they are on the leaves. Re¬ 
member the insect sucks its food, therefore must be 
hit with the spray. 
A New Blight on Plums. 
C. E. L., Chester, Conn. —I have an apricot tree which bloomed 
profusely. As they were about at the setting stage, the small 
branches seemed to turn brown and shriveled as though touched 
by fire, consequently, I have scarcely a fruit. A native plum 
from Wisconsin acted the same. Is it a disease, and is it prevent¬ 
able? The blossoms seemed all right. 
Ans. —I suspect that both the apricot and native 
plum trees were attacked by a bacterial blight which 
has appeared this year in many plum orchards in the 
country. Our bacteriologist here has begun a careful 
study of the disease, but I have not yet learned his 
conclusions as to whether it is identical with the 
well-known “ fire-blight” of the pear or not. The 
pear blight-is known to attack apple and quince trees. 
The blighting of the plum seems to be something 
new. I was in an orchard a few weeks ago where 
only certain varieties of plums were blighted. The 
only help for this disease is to cut out and burn all 
blighted branches as soon as they are discovered. In 
cutting, be careful to cut several inches below the 
diseased portion, and do not draw the knife through 
the diseased part without carefully cleaning the 
blade of all germs before cutting a new branch. 
m. v. 8. 
" Gold Bugs " on Sweet Potatoes. 
IF. E. T., Laddonia, Mo. —I mail some bugs that are eating my 
sweet potato plants. They look very much like gold when on the 
plants, but change their color when I put them in a bottle. 
Ans. —The little beetles which W. E. T. reports as 
feeding upon his sweet potatoes are among the most 
beautiful insects I have seen. In life, they resemble 
closely a piece of golden tinsel, or as one author puts 
it, a drop of molten gold. The insect is commonly 
known as the Golden Tortoise beetle. It is about 
three-eighths inch long, and bears the jaw-breaking 
scientific name of Coptocycla aurichalcea. The pretty 
beetles appear soon after the potato plants get 
started, lay their eggs on the leaves, and cover them 
with a protective excrementitious matter which gives 
them the appearance of irregular black daubs, not 
exceeding one-sixteenth of an inch in length. From 
these eggs, the larvaa or grubs hatch in a few days, 
and they are as ugly and repulsive as the beetles are 
pretty and attractive. They are flattened, oval in 
shape, and spiny, and are furnished with a fork at 
the tail end of the body that is usually carried as a 
shield turned up over the back, upon which the grub 
piles its excrement and all of its cast-off clothes or 
skins, so that, when half-grown and more, these grubs 
are very repulsive in aspect. This habit has earned 
for them the common name of “ peddlers.” The rea¬ 
son for this habit of carrying a shield of excrementi¬ 
tious material is, probably, that it serves as a protec¬ 
tion from natural enemies ; few birds or predaceous 
insects attack such a filthy mass as these larvae seem. 
In the case of the Golden Tortoise beetle, the grubs 
carry the tail fork directly over the back, and the 
excrement is arranged in a more or less regular tri- 
lobed pattern on the back. When full grown, the 
grubs change to pupte, and in about a week later, the 
beetles develop. 
These pretty Tortoise beetles may be killed with 
Paris-green at the rate of one pound in 150 gallons of 
water. It will be necessary to do the spraying very 
thoroughly, putting it on to the under sides of the 
leaves as far as possible. The application should be 
made as soon as the plants are well rooted, and when 
the beetles make their first appearance. The object 
should be to kill the adults before they can find a 
chance to lay eggs, and two applications at intervals 
of a week should be sufficient, if done thoroughly. 
M. v. s. 
Thorough Cultivation and Potato Bugs. 
Q. M. C., Higganum, Conn .—In 1895, I had two acres of stubble 
land plowed and planted to potatoes in the usual way. The potato 
bugs were there as soon as the potatoes were up. It was decided 
not to use Paris-green, thinking the potatoes would be better 
without it, but to pick the bugs off, which was done at great ex¬ 
pense. I never saw so many before; more than a bushel of bugs 
were daily captured and burned. In the fall, after the potatoes 
were dug, the Tornado Cutaway plow was brought out, and this 
field was used for experimental plowing in the fall and spring of 
1896. The land was plowed several times with the Tornado Cuta¬ 
way plow, also harrowed with the Cutaway smoothing harrow, 
which made the land very light and smooth. Then the field was 
a 
BUILDING A ROOT CELLAR. Flo. 204. 
again planted to potatoes, and as we wished to test the Cutaway 
smoothing harrow on potatoes, it was run several times over 
them while they were coming up to three inches; then the horse- 
hoe was used a half dozen times to a finish. In the meantime, I 
had secured Paris-green to go for the bugs, but no bugs came 
that year. The same field has been treated in tlie same manner 
with the same result this year, and no potato bugs have been on 
the field in these two years, and no preparation has been used, 
nothing but excessive cultivation in both fall and spring. Will 
somebody tell me what has become of the bugs ? My neighbors’ 
fields all around me are alive with the potato bugs, but I have 
none. 
Ans. —As the tenderest stage—the pupa—of the 
potato beetle’s life is passed in the ground, there is 
no doubt that frequent stirring of the soil by cultiva¬ 
tion will kill many of the insects ; there is a possibil¬ 
ity that G. M. C. cultivated so thoroughly as to de¬ 
stroy all of the pupae in the plot. But I cannot under¬ 
stand why his neighbors’ potato bugs do not reinfest 
the plot. As every one knows who has cared to ob¬ 
serve, this pestiferous insect has the faculty of 
discovering a potato patch in the most obscure place 
on the farm, even though no potatoes have been 
grown within a mile or more for years. I doubt 
whether cultivation is entirely responsible for the 
seeming exemption of G. M. C.’s potatoes from the 
beetle, for there are, probably, hundreds of plots in 
the country which receive as thorough and frequent 
cultivation that are yearly infested with the pest. 
However, I have seen and heard of several instances 
within the past few weeks which strongly indicate 
that there is more in thorough cultivation and feed¬ 
ing of plants to protect them from the ravages of 
their insect and fungous enemies than we have 
imagined. I saw one instance where the dreaded San 
Jos6 scale was apparently being “grown off,” as the 
owner expressed it, by keeping the trees healthy and 
vigorous. There is no doubt in my mind that a 
healthy tree or plant will withstand the attacks of 
insects or fungi much better than a sickly, unculti¬ 
vated, improperly fed one. 
It is possible that there may be an unusual accumu¬ 
lation of the enemies of the potato beetle in the plot 
under discussion. Instances are reported almost every 
year where the enemies have held the pest in check 
in certain localities. I can offer no further sugges¬ 
tions without carefully looking over the ground and 
knowing all the surrounding circumstances, m v. a. 
Alfalfa in New York State. 
E. S., Uwchland, Pa. —Have any of Tub R. N.-Y. readers made 
a success of growing Alfalfa in the Middle States? A Canadian 
told me that he succeeds with it there, and it thrives in Kansas, 
Colorado, and California, in which State I am familiar with its 
growth and feed value. I have it planted here on a sandy loam, 
and as yet it is not an entire success. Possibly, the soil is not 
fertile enough, and we shall try top-dressing it. 
Ans.—A number of our readers in New York State 
have reported excellent success with Alfalfa. The 
New York Experiment Station, Geneva, N. Y., has 
issued a bulletin on Alfalfa, for which we advise you 
to send. Alfalfa is a sun plant. It cannot stand wet 
feet or too much cloudy weather. It needs a rich, 
warm soil, with open, porous subsoil. It must not be 
seeded with other crops. We shall soon give the ex¬ 
perience of some eastern Alfalfa growers. 
How to Build a Root Cellar. 
II. L. C., Canton, Ohio. —How can I best make a root cellar on 
a natural gravel mound six to eight feet high, and 40 feet across? 
Could I not excavate a cellar in this mound by plowing and scrap¬ 
ing right through it, making a cut, say 12 feet wide on the bottom, 
and let the sides slope back at an angle of 40 degrees, thus avoid¬ 
ing building retaining walls ? Then could I put a good root over 
all, with plates resting on the earth, and an overhead floor cov¬ 
ered two feet deep with sawdust or chaff to exclude frost, and 
have slides through the roof to unload potatoes through ? Would 
this be practicable ? If not, how can I make one in this bank ? 
Ans. —To build a root cellar in the manner pur¬ 
posed, would not be practicable. The gravel is so 
unstable that, unless some method of bracing the 
walls be used, there will be constant danger of the 
gravel caving in on the sides. This danger would be 
greatly increased by driving close to the cellar for 
the purpose of unloading potatoes or roots. A com¬ 
mon way of constructing root cellars is illustrated at 
Fig. 204. Excavate by means of a scraper, and then 
set up the retaining walls. The upright pieces at the 
sides should be 2 by 4 studding, placed not more than 
four feet apart. If no floor be laid, these studding 
should be secured at the bottom by sinking them into 
the earth. The siding, consisting of inch boards, is 
nailed to the studding before raising them in place. 
The joists, a b, may be 2 by 4, and the supports for the 
roof, C D, of the same kind of material. The plates 
secured to the tops of the studding may be somewhat 
above the ordinary level of the ground, and part of 
the soil which was removed ia excavating thrown 
back against the siding. The earth should slope away 
from the pit so that all surface drainage shall flow 
away. The space above the joists may be filled in 
with straw to prevent freezing in the pit. Doors may 
be placed at intervals in the roof so that the potatoes 
may be easily shoveled through chutes directly from 
the wagon. At one end of the pit, there should be 
solid double doors so that, if it be desired to remove 
the contents during cold weather, it may be done 
without allowing the cold air to enter, l. a Clinton. 
Butter Making in Hot Climate. 
IF. B. IF., Hopedale Ranch, Otis, N. M. —We are making batter, 
using a separator. Tne butter does not separate properly; it 
comes, apparently, is taken off, but it is evident that there is 
still butter in the milk. We churn a second time, and obtain 
about one-third as much as at first. I have heard of something 
of the kind before, but this is our first experience. We churn 
every day in the summer, and have from 11 to 12 quarts of cream 
at a churning. We ripen our cream the same as we didin the 
North, using, in cool weather, a starter; none is needed at 
this time of year. The night’s and next morning’s cream is 
poured together and thoroughly stirred the succeeding evening. 
The next morning the cream is sour, and of the consistency of 
custard. We churn at a temperature of from 62 to 64 degrees. 
The butter is firm from both the first and second churnings. We 
use no ice. The cows graze on Alfalfa, and have access to range 
grass one hour a day. 
Ans. —Such complaints are not common from dairy¬ 
men in hot countries. The chief difficulty that dairy¬ 
men have in the Southern States in summer time is 
the excessive heat. At college dairies they always 
used ice, and without this or cold spring water to cool 
the cream and butter, it is very difficult to make but¬ 
ter in this climate. The churning temperature, 62 to 
64 degrees, which W. B. W. uses, is rather high ; 58 to 
60 degrees would be better, unless he is feeding 
largely of cotton seed or cotton-seed meal, in which 
case the temperature is too low ; 67 to 70 degrees would 
then be better. But it is not probable that this feed 
can be had in New Mexico at this season, or that it 
would be fed largely, even if available. It may be 
due to abnormal fermentation of the Alfalfa eaten, 
consequent indigestion of one or more cows which 
produce an abnormal cream. This has lately been a 
difficulty with a very fine Holstein cow here at the 
college, when the cream was churned separately. The 
trouble may be in churning cream at different ages, 
but this is hardly probable. However, I would sug¬ 
gest that, for a while, the morning and evening milk 
be churned separately, since this would not increase 
the work. If this is not the difficulty, then it is due 
to the feed or the churning temperature, which should 
be carried above or below until the cause is removed. 
Texas Experiment Station. h. h. harrinqton. 
