1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
597 
grasshopper eggs, which are laid out of sight in the 
ground, I cannot say. Doubtless, the same instinct 
which enables it to find the grasshopper eggs, guides 
it in its work upon sprouting corn. Probably the 
eggs are laid in the hill of corn, or tucked down into 
the crack made by the sprout in trying to get to the 
surface. As the eggs hatch in a short time, the mag¬ 
gots could soon check the sprout, and then eat the 
seed at their leisure. 
There is a green plant-louse which works upon the 
roots, and another green one which works upon the 
leaves of corn in the United States. The root-in- 
habiting species sometimes does considerable injury, 
but I do not recall any account of the leaf-feeding 
species doing noticeable damage. Although this has 
been a very prolific year for plant-lice of all kinds, I 
doubt whether the lice would accumulate in sufficient 
numbers on corn to kill it. Whale-oil soap (one 
pound in five to six gallons of water) is the most 
practicable thing for plant lice. If the maggots get 
too numerous, remove the earth down to the sprouts 
and pour on some of the soap solution, made a little 
stronger perhaps. m. y. slingerland. 
Best Lawn Grasses; Ornamental Trees. 
J. S. F., Plainfield, N. J. —1. I am about toseeddown a lawn. In 
a late R. N.-Y , wtiich I cannot now place, you recommend a mix¬ 
ture of two grasses as being as good as the more expensive mix¬ 
tures sold. Can you give their names again ? 2. What would 
you advise me to plant for shade trees around the house ? I am 
ofTered some fine Sycamore maples that average four inches in 
diameter. Do you think that we could move them to advantage ? 
They are in the nursery. Would you rather take smaller trees ? 
I should like a variety such as elms, oak, maple, etc. Do you 
think English walnuts hardy enough for this district? I have 
about 300 feet frontage. 3. In preparing ground for a lawn, should 
it be rolled before sowing, and which would you prefer, rotted 
manure, or fertilizer ? 4. Will you give the names of native plums, 
and others (I have Japans already), which you think would 
thrive here? 5. I think my ground needs potash; what form 
would be most economical for me ? I am growing plums, apples, 
pears, peaches, raspberries and strawberries, on a sandy loam, 
which is pretty good for most fruits. 
Ans. —1. Blue grass and Red-top, 1% bushel of each 
to the acre. 2. Doubtless the Sycamore maples would 
stand transplanting if cut back severely ; we should 
prefer smaller trees. The Tricolored Sycamore maple 
(Acer Pseudo-Platanus var. tricolor),Schwedler’s maple 
(Acer Schwedlerii), the Golden oak, Rivers’ Purple 
beech, Yeilowwood, Gleditschia Sinensis inermis, 
Cut-leaved beech, Magnolia acuminata, Ohio Buckeye 
(JKsculus glabra); most of the other horse-chestnuts 
are objectionable because the leaves brown so early 
in the season ; Liquidambar. Yes, we think that the 
English walnut will prove hardy with you. 3. The 
ground should be worked until moderately firm and 
perfectly graded ; if rolled before sowing, the surface 
must be raked so as to make a mellow seed bed ; then 
it may be rolled after sowing the seed. If the soil is 
rich, we should prefer fertilizer; if not, we should 
prefer to work in well-rotted manure. 4. Of native 
plums, we should choose Wayland, Leptune, Reed, 
Garfield, Harrison’s Peach, Golden Beauty. 5. Muri¬ 
ate of potash. 
When to Thrash Beans; Killing the Weevil. 
W. O. S., Bradford, Mass .—I have been told that beans should 
not be shelled for some time after harvesting, as they need this 
time to absoro all nutrient elements in the dry pods, and to be. 
come hardened. But during this time, the weevil (if beans are 
affected) is growing and damaging the bean, is it not ? Will 
carbon bisulphide kill the embryo weevil, if used before the 
pods are broken, in the bean ? Is a larger quantity required if 
practicable, than where the beans are shelled, for, if so used, the 
pods are still attached to the vines ? If practicable, what amount 
of carbon bisulphide would be required for 10 bushels of beans— 
vines and pods. If the opening statement of what I was told is a 
fallacy, when should beans be shelled and the carbon bisulphide 
applied ? What is the best way for shelling, say from live to ten 
bushels of beans ? 
Ans —Beans should not be thrashed until they are 
entirely dry, and it usually takes three or four weeks 
for them to become thoroughly dry in the mow after 
being put in the barn, as they have to go through 
what the farmers call a “sweating process.” The 
best way to thrash a small lot is with a flail. Put a 
good thick layer on the barn floor, 1 to 1^ foot 
deep, and turn them frequently during the flailing. 
If a thin layer be used, the beans are liable to be¬ 
come split. Where the bean-weevil is troublesome 
beans can be treated with bisulphide of carbon after 
they are shelled. Put them in a tight box or in a 
tight room and put in a pan of bisulphide of carbon, 
using about four quarts of the carboD in a room that 
will contain 600 bushels of beans, and let the beans 
and carbon remain there 48 hours. The carbon should 
be placed near the upper part of the box or room, 
and an outlet should be made near the upper part of 
the room where the lighter air can escape while the 
carbon gas settles to the lower part of the room ; 
then as soon as the room is filled with the carbon gas, 
close this opening, and the carbon gas will kill bugs 
that are in the inside of the beans. We think that a 
pint of this bisulphide of carbon would be sufficient 
to treat 20 bushels of beans stored in an air-tight box. 
New York. n. b. keeney & sox. 
Potatoes Will Not “Mix in the Hill.” 
E. C. R., Gape Elizabeth, N. J .—My neighbor has had consider¬ 
able discussion on the question of potatoes mixing in the hill. I 
denied the possibility of such a condition. He holds that they do, 
and feels well satisfied that they do. Will some of your large 
potato growers give us their opinion on this subject ? I have been 
experimenting with potatoes for many years, and have failed to 
see any mixing. 
Ans. —In so far as is known by botanists, or by 
well-informed practical investigators, it is impossible 
for potatoes to “ mix in the hill.” There is, so to say, 
nothing to mix. Millions upon millions of buds and 
scions of fruits have been worked upon congenial 
stocks of very different varieties, peaches upon plums, 
plums upon peaches, pears upon apples, apples upon 
pears, foreign grapes upon Labrusca, and so on with¬ 
out end. There is not one well authenticated case 
that a new variety has been produced in this way. 
Bud variations are liable to occur in any plants, a re¬ 
version to some more or less remote ancestor, or the 
breaking out of a force previously dormant. Thus it 
is we have “ sports ” of many fruits, flowers and vege¬ 
tables, but there is no “ mixing in the hill.” 
Bone Ash and Tan Bark Ashes. 
E. W. J., Smethport, Pa. —What is the value of one-third burned 
bone and two-thirds tan bark ashes for corn and potatoes ? I 
have a large quantity of bone I could burn, as that is the only 
way I can see to grind it. I have a slaughter house on the farm, 
and can buy the tan bark ashes close by for $1 per two-horse load. 
Ans. —Bone ash or burned boDes contain, on the 
average, 700 pounds of phosphoric acid and 900 pounds 
of lime to the ton. The nitrogen is all driven off in 
burning, and the bones do not contain any potash. 
Ashes of tan bark vary considerably. Possibly such 
ashes as you mention contain 35 pounds of potash 
and 25 pounds of phosphoric acid per ton, with 600 
pounds of lime. A ton mixed as you propose would 
contain nearly 13 per cent phosphoric acid and less 
than one per cant of potash. We would not, in any 
event, use this mixture on potatoes. It contains too 
much lime, and the chances are that the potatoes 
would be scabby. It will answer for the corn as far 
as it goes, though you will not obtain much of a crop 
until you add more potash, and use nitrogen in some 
form. Can you not steam the bones ? After a 
thorough steaming, they could be crushed with little 
expense. 
How to Use Night Soil. 
F. E. B., Suncook , N. U .—How would you prepare night soil in 
large quantities ? Can any chemicals be mixed to make a “ bal¬ 
anced ration?” I have the use of night soil from about 500 
people. 
Ans. —Night soil is chiefly valuable for the nitro¬ 
gen it contains. It is offensive stuff to handle, and 
is usually in a semi-liquid condition. In winter, it 
may be hauled direct to the field and left in frozen 
piles to be spread and plowed under in spring. It may, 
also, be put directly on the surface of back fields of 
grass or grain away from the house. Melon and 
vegetable growers near the towns like to spread it 
on the ground fresh and plow it at once into the soil. 
The best way to keep it is to compost it with muck 
or soil. A compost heap is made in the usual way 
with a layer of muck or soil, and the night soil carted 
on to it, and then covered with enough soil to keep it 
dry. We would add 20 pounds of muriate of potash 
and 30 of phosphate rock to each ton of the night 
soil. The best plan would be to substitute earth 
closets for the ordinary privy vault. 
A Lime Kiln Without Stones. 
E. J. B., Gulfview, Alins .—I have a clam shell bank on my place , 
and wish to burn a good many for use in freeing cold soil of acid . 
What Is the most practicable method of kilning them, and prob¬ 
able cost per ton of lime? There are no stones in this country, 
and brick come high. 
Ans. —There is no difficulty in making the best of 
lime from clam or oyster shells. Indeed, lime of this 
kind is the best of all for use on the land, for its im¬ 
provement mechanically and for its fertility. The 
common method is as follows : Build a square pen of 
logs, cut at the corners as if for a log building, mak¬ 
ing the openings between the logs as small as possible. 
Lay some dry kindling wood on the bottom, and on 
this some shells, and so proceed with wood and shells 
alternately until the pen is filled and heaped up as 
much as may be easily done. Close the openings be¬ 
tween the logs with puddled clay made stiff and 
tough, so as not to crumble under the fire. Fire the 
bottom and, as the heap burns down throw on more 
shells, so as to confine the fire as much as possible. If 
cheap coal can be procured, this may be used after 
sufficient wood has been put at the bottom to start 
the fire. If the timber is not easily procured for the 
whole heap, it may be much economized by confining 
the heat, by covering the top with damp leaves first, 
or straw, and then with earth, as is the way in burn¬ 
ing charcoal. Three days of firing are sufficient to 
make the lime, when the heap is left to cool. Lime 
so made is excellent for all uses to which lime is put. 
It is considerably better than stone lime, as it has 
some phosphoric acid in it, and is quite free from the 
noxious magnesia often existing in the common lime. 
The cost per ton of lime is much less than that of 
stone lime, and where the materials are easily pro¬ 
cured, the labor is the only item to consider. A pit of 
1,000 bushels may be made in three dajs if the shells 
are handy, but a week should be time enough to burn 
a pit of 500 or 600 bushels of finished lime, and this 
will be well worth five cents a bushel, up to twice as 
much. Ten cents a bushel is the common price for 
agricultural lime in places where it is regularly used 
year after year at the beginning of every rotation, or 
once in five years. 
A Roof of Pitch and Gravel. 
W. H. P., Bucksport, J/e.-IaTiiE R. N.-Y. of June 19, Chas. A. 
Green in his article on paints for farm buildings, says that he 
will make his roofs of pitch and gravel. I am intending to build 
a barn, and shall attach a couple of sheds, one for manure and 
one for tools, wagons, etc., and would like to put a gravel roof on 
the sheds if not too expensive. Would Mr. Green or some one 
give full particulars so that one could do the work himselt ? What 
is the probable cost per square foot? How is it repaired when it 
comes to that point? On a roof of how much pitch could it be 
used and not run in hot weather ? 
Ans. —We do not feel competent to make these 
roofs, but employ a man who makes that work his 
business. These roofs are such as have been used on 
valuable city business blocks for many years. The 
roofs can be nearly flat, or just slanting enough for 
the water to run off, and not remain in puddles upon 
the roof. The roof is first covered with matched 
boards ; over these boards, three thicknesses of tarred 
paper are laid, one sheet lapping over another much 
the same as shingles lap over each other, so that over 
every part of the roof there are three thicknesses of 
tarred paper. This tarred paper is not tacked or 
nailed except at the outer edges, and is evenly covered 
with the best quality of pitch, boiling hot, applied 
with a broom-like brush. While the pitch is soft and 
hot, it is covered with gravel freed from sand, each 
gravel stone about the size of a hickory nut. The 
gravel is put on so thick as to present a surface of 
gravel on top. The gravel stones are imbedded in the 
soft pitch, where they are held permanently, and the 
roof has the appearance of a gravelly walk. Such a 
roof as this will last from 13 to 18 years. When the 
pitch loses its adhesiveness after 12 or 18 years, the 
gravel can be scraped up in piles and the roof again 
covered with pitch over the same paper, at small ex¬ 
pense, which renews it for a period the same as when 
first made. Since it requires consideraole experience 
to build this kind of roof correctly, I would not rec¬ 
ommend any one to undertake it without some per¬ 
sonal supervision by an experienced person. 
CHAS. A. GREEN. 
Laxative Effects ot Poultry Poods. 
0. W. AT., Middletown, E. 1".—la a recent R. N.-Y., Samuel 
Cushman told us that he was satisfied that, in order to get the 
best results in eggs, regardless of fertility, a hen snould be fed so 
that the droppings would be soft. This accords with my experi¬ 
ence. Can he now tell us what variety of food will produce this 
laxativeness ? 
Ans. —When feeding hens generously to force egg 
production, I have always found that the tendency 
is for their droppings to become too soft. Excessive 
looseness has been what we have had to guard against, 
either by lessening the quantity of the food, or les¬ 
sening the proportion of the foods that are laxative. 
Looseness may be caused by any kind of food in ex¬ 
cessive quantities that is undigested. Ferments, irri¬ 
tate the bowels, and cause them to be emptied so 
frequently that even the food that is digested is car¬ 
ried along and out before it can be absorbed. A mod¬ 
erate amount of very laxative food, no more than 
ought to be digested, may stimulate such a flow of 
the digestive secretions that it may, also, be carried 
along too soon. To get most fertile eggs and to 
keep birds active and in a condition in which they 
are least sensitive to cold and damp, I would feed 
lightly with hard grain, meat and grass, and should 
expect that their droppings would be moderately 
firm. To get the mo3t eggs, I would give more soft 
food, larger quanties of food (more than they could 
take care of rather than less), as well as that more 
nitrogenous and laxative. The droppings would be 
soft, but then, as with stall-fed cattle, the birds 
would be less active, and the risk of sickness would 
be greater. Whenever the droppings became exces¬ 
sively soft, or too near the danger point, more corn 
or corn meal would be given and less bran, whole 
wheat, grass and ground nitrogenous food. I have 
not had to try to make the droppings soft when feeding 
only for eggs, but rather, to prevent them from becom¬ 
ing too much so. Rye, either whole or ground, bran, 
whole wheat, whole wheat flour, grass, vegetables, 
meat broth and, I believe, milk whey, are ail laxa¬ 
tives. White flour, rice, milk curd, stale bakers’ 
bread, broken crackers, beef scraps or meat (in small 
quantities) and whole corn and corn meal are foods 
that have the opposite effect. Excessive corn feeding 
for a long period may, also, cause bowel trouble, but 
the condition is quite different from that caused by 
laxative foods. samuel cushman. 
