564 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
August 28 
operations when plums were no larger than peas, but 
a very large proportion of the crescents made for the 
deposit of eggs healed over without the eggs hatch¬ 
ing, and no damage was done these plums. 1 did not 
notice that any of the eggs hatched until the plums 
were about half grown. The Gage plums do nothing 
here, and will not average a crop once in 10 years. 
They rot badly, even when not stung with the cur- 
culio. 
The peach orchard on Munson Hill was full of 
peaches last year, but fully one-half of the crop was 
stung with the curculio. The infested fruit that was 
not given away or sold for a small price, was care¬ 
fully picked up and fed to the hogs. This year, with 
the trees full again, there is scarcely a wormy peach 
in the orchard. This is the sixth crop on the orchard 
in seven years. The trees were planted nine years 
ago this spring. A cherry orchard of 150 trees planted 
16 feet apart nine years ago, one-half Early Richmond, 
one-half Montmorency, adjoining the peach orchard, 
bore the fourth crop this year. The crop was sold to 
one man for five cents a quart on the trees ; he picked 
3,020 quarts. He paid one cent a quart for picking, 
and sold them in the Washington, D. C , market 
wholesale, at an average of nine cents per quart 
Falls Church, Va. d o m. 
BEST METHOD OF CREAM GATHERING. 
At several times during the past five years, stories 
have been told of a new method of “cream gather¬ 
ing ”. In theory, nothing but cream should be taken 
to the butter factory. There is no reason why skim- 
milk should be hauled both ways as useless weight. 
The problem has been, how to get the cream out of 
the milk, close to the farm. In one system, skimming 
stations are established in various localities, and the 
farmers haul their milk to these stations for skim¬ 
ming, taking the skim-milk home with them. In 
other systems, hand separators are placed on the 
farm, and the cream gatherer hauls the cream to the 
creamery. 
It has been reported several times that a new plan 
was in successful operation. In this plan, the cream 
gatherer went about from farm to farm with an entire 
outfit on his wagon. He had a separator, a small 
engine for running it, cream tanks, and in fact, a 
portable creamery. In theory, this plan seemed rea¬ 
sonable, but upon investigation, it seems not to give 
good results in practice. Beard Bros., of Iowa, had 
three such outfits in use for some months. Their 
wagons went about with a large separator and an oil- 
boiler with the necessary tank. The great difficulty 
experienced with this outfit was the trouble in secur¬ 
ing a perfect level for the separator. Beard Bros, 
devised a special balancing arrangement for adjusting 
the level of the separator quickly wherever the wagon 
might stand. They attempted to secure a patent on 
this leveling device, which was considered the neces¬ 
sary thing of their outfit. They fell into financial 
difficulties, however, and were obliged to give up the 
plan. One of the wagons was placed with another 
party for some time, but was finally abandoned. 
The other instance of an attempt to establish a 
portable creamery is described in the following note : 
“We conclude that the plan is not practicable. Un¬ 
less one were fitted with some easy means of leveling 
the separator, it would take fully two hours of any 
man’s time to fit the boiler and engine and get every¬ 
thing in running order for separating the milk, so 
that it would be impossible to serve more than six 
patrons during the day. The plan of establishing 
small dairy separators at the farm and calling for the 
cream, seems to be the most practical scheme of 
cream-gathering that has yet been devised.” 
A Portable Cream Separator. 
About five years ago, I was running a cream gather¬ 
ing creamery in the ShenandoahValley, Va. The farms 
there are rather large, and many of them back from 
the roads, and parts of the country rough. Finding 
the cream-gathering unsatisfactory, and the hauling 
of the milk to the creamery to be separated almost 
impossible, I tried taking a hand separator around in 
a wagon to the farm houses. I first of all laid off 
routes, allowing about 10 farms to a route. I had 
each farmer fix up a bench at a suitable height, with 
beveled strips of wood that allowed the separator 
base to be instantly, on arrival, slid into the frame 
thus made, and as soon as put together, the machine 
was ready for use. We had our regular time of 
arrival at each place, and required the farmer to have 
his milk at about the right temperature ready for us. 
The milk was quickly run through, the machine 
cleaned, put in the wagon fitted up for its reception, 
and with the cream on the road to the next farm. I 
found that we could handle 1,200 pounds of milk a 
day this way without much difficulty. I expected 
each lot of 10 farmers to own their own machine, 
charged them $5 a month each for two months, and 
then the separator belonged to that route. As far as 
the farmers were concerned, it worked well and gave 
satisfaction ; but I could not get men to stick to the 
job of going around with the machine and do the 
separating. It was too hard work. If I could have 
fixed up a small motor in the wagon, and devised 
some plan to keep the machine level while separating, 
I would have had the farmers hand milk to the man 
in the wagon when he drove up to the farm house, 
and the work could be done with less labor, and likely 
would have been a success. 
What is wanted at the creamery is the cream, not 
the milk. Why should the farmer haul his milk to 
and from the creamery, an immense burden often to 
him ? I still think that I was working in the right 
direction, only I had not the facilities to reach suc¬ 
cess. I made some inquiries as to whether the horse 
used in the wagon could not be used with some light 
tread-power to drive the separator, but could hear of 
nothing practicable. When the men complained of 
the work, I thought they were lazy, so I tried it a 
trip or two myself, and I found it was no easy job ; 
I soon had enough of it If it can’t be done along this 
line, I suppose that the farmer will have to buy h : s 
own machine, and then he does without the cream¬ 
ery ; at least, that has been my experience. I believe 
it was tried in Iowa to get each farmer to buy a sep¬ 
arator and furnish his ere *m to the creamery, but it 
did not work. Generally, the man who will spend 
$100 for a separator will find his own market for 
butter. 
My own conviction is that any farmer who intends 
to push dairying cannot do better than to own his 
own separator ; then he can separate the milk warm 
from the cows, and has skim-milk in a condition to 
TOP PORTIONS OF RUSTED ASPARAGUS STEMS. Fra. 236. 
use to the best possible advantage. He can make fine 
butter, get good prices, and be independent of com¬ 
binations. j forward. 
Maryland. 
THE DANGEROUS ASPARAGUS RUST. 
When an asparagus field is badly infested with the 
rust, the general appearance is that of an unseason¬ 
able maturing of the plants. Instead of the usual 
healthy green color, the field has a brownish hue, as 
if insects had sapped the plants or frost had destroyed 
their vitality. Rusted asparagus plants, when viewed 
closely, are found to have the skin of the stems, both 
large and small, lifted as if blistered, and in the rup¬ 
tures of the epidermis dark-brown spots are readily 
seen, as shown in Fig. 236. These brown dots or lines 
are of various sizes and shapes, and remind the close 
observer of similar spots in the broken skin of stems 
of grains and grasses and of the leaves of corn, also 
due to rusts, but not the same kind as that of the 
asparagus. 
The asparagus rust is due to a fungus (Puccinia 
asparagi DC.), that is, a minute plant consisting of 
microscopic threads which grow through the sub¬ 
stance of the asparagus plant, taking up the nourish¬ 
ment that is needed, and finally break through the 
surface to bear the innumerable brown spores that 
give the dark color to the spots on the asparagus 
stems. This is the last stage in the development of 
the rust fungus, and as such remains over the winter. 
When the warm, moist weather of spring and summer 
comes, the spores above mentioned germinate, and a 
new lot of asparagus plants may become infested. 
There are two general methods of checking the 
rust, namely, by destroying the spores and by pre¬ 
venting their growing upon, and getting a foothold 
in, the substance of healthy asparagus plants. The 
rust fungi are among the most difficult to check—by 
protecting the plants they feed upon—by means of 
fungicides, Bordeaux Mixture, etc , sprayed upon 
them during the growing season. While something 
may be hoped for with the spraying pump, the chief 
method of eradication lies in the destruction of the 
many spores. T his can be done in a very simple and 
effective manner by carefully gathering all the parts 
of the asparagus plants that are above ground and 
burning them. It would be a waste of time to stack 
the tops and leave them to natural decay ; and to 
place them in manure heaps would be still worse. 
The only safe thing to do when a serious enemy like 
this is in the asparagus field is to burn the plants 
even to the last scrap that can be gathered up. Let 
this be done at once, for any delay means the break¬ 
ing up of the brittle, rusty plants, and a generous 
sowing of the spores upon the ground. If the fire 
could go over the whole field and burn all the small 
as well as the large pieces, that would be the best of 
all. This enemy may become very serious if thorough 
measures are not taken at once, and by all who are 
engaged in asparagus culture. ryron d halsted. 
New Jersey Exp. Station. 
USE OF FERTILIZERS ON LONG ISLAND. 
I have used commercial fertilizers, including the 
period of using Peruvian guano, for about 50 years. 
As a rule, so far as my experience goes, I find that 
from 1,500 to 1,800 pounds per acre of a good grade of 
fertilizers is the most economical quantity to use for 
potatoes. I think that most well-to-do farmers use 
fully this amount, and some use more on potatoes to 
secure the best results. Of course, it depends some 
on the condition of the soil and the moisture they re¬ 
ceive while growing. I have noticed many times 
when using fertilizer for potatoes (I use a fertilizer 
distributer in putting fertilizer in the drill), in run¬ 
ning the row out we slack up the quantity to one-half 
sometimes, and it always shows a marked difference 
in the growth of vines, and the yield will be greatly 
reduced, which is the best evidence I can see. It is 
best not to use too small an amount of fertilizer for 
growing potatoes for the best results. As a rule, I 
think most farmers in this part of Long Island are 
using from 1,500 to 2,000 pounds per acre for potatoes. 
Farmers do not make it a rule to use all the ferti¬ 
lizer on the potato crop, but apply some to all crops in 
rotation. They have come to the conclusion that it 
is advisable to use some fertilizer on all succeeding 
crops. Long Island land is so variable that it is a 
very hard matter to follow book farming with any 
success. As a rule, farmers have to be governed by 
the best of economy to make a success. I also find, 
as a rule, that a farmer must not depend wholly on 
one crop, but he must put in a variety of crops, and 
will be quite sure to hit it on some one. Market 
prices are running so low that, if he do not hit 
on some crop, he will not be able to make both ends 
meet when the year comes ’round. 
I also find it best to have all goods which are sent 
to market put up in a desirable condition, both in 
quality and in appearance. It is no wonder to me 
that many growers of farm produce get such small 
prices for their goods. They send to market such 
goods as they would not use on their own tables—goods 
they would not be willing to give anything for if 
they had to buy. Many farmers work against their 
own best interests. robinson Gordon. 
Long Island. 
PENNSYLVANIA FOOD AND DAIRY COMMIS¬ 
SIONER. 
Maj. Levi Wells, Food and Dairy Commissioner of 
the State of Pennsylvania, was born on the farm he 
now owns on Spring Hill, Bradford County, Pa., 
October 20, 1832. He received his education at the 
village schools, the LeRaysville Academy, and at 
Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, Pa. At the age of 
17, he began to put to practical use the education 
thus acquired, and for 10 years, was a successful 
teacher, devoting his winters to the public schools, 
and his summer vacations to farming and stock rais¬ 
ing, also spending some time following the vocation 
of a surveyor. Mr. Wells, in 1863, became captain in 
the Pennsylvania militia, and a year later, was com¬ 
missioned as captain of United States volunteers, 
serving on Gen. Duval’s staff during the Shenandoah 
campaign. In 1865, he was assigned to duty on the 
staff of Gen. Ramsey, of the Fourth Brigade, First 
Division of the Second Army Corps, with whom he 
served until Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, except for 
a short time when he was a prisoner of war. 
Mr. Wells, whose portrait, recently engraved, is 
shown at Fig 237, is now owner of a beautiful 250-acre 
farm on Spring Hill. He is a farmer, practical in all his 
undertakings, but has ever been among the first to 
grasp and use for his own and neighbors’ benefit the 
most advanced ideas of the best thinkers of the agri- 
i 
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