1901 
229 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Cyanide Fumes and Germs. 
B. , South Haven, WirA.—Will the cyanide 
of potash and sulphuric acid method of fu¬ 
migation work effectively as a germicide? 
We have had two deaths from consumption, 
and Just passed through a siege of scarlet 
fever. Will the cyanide fumigation injure 
household goods? I suppose it will be 
necessary to remove house plants, will it 
not? 
—We do not advise the use of the 
cyanide fumes for destroying disease 
germs. This gas is deadly to all breath¬ 
ing things, but the germs of disease are 
not killed in that way. The fumes of 
sulphur will be more deadly. Corrosive 
sublimate or bichloride of mercury dis¬ 
solved in water and used as a wash or 
spray on the walls and floor of the rooms 
and in all cracks and crevices will be 
far more effective than the cyanide. The 
fumes will not injure furniture or house¬ 
hold fixtures, but will kill the house 
plants. 
Tobacco Stems and Wood Ashes 
j. n. K., Mt. Airy, Philadelphia, Pn.—What 
are the respective values of tobacco stems 
and wood ashes as fertilizers for fruit 
trees? Are either of them complete fertili¬ 
zers, and will either take the place of com¬ 
mercial fertilizers? How many tons should 
be u.sed per acre, and when should they be 
applied? Are fruit trees likely to be Injured 
by commercial fertilizers? 
Ans. —Both tobacco stems and wood 
ashes vary somewhat in composition. 
The following figures show a fair aver¬ 
age: • 
In one ton. 
Phos- 
Nltro- Pot- phorlc 
gen. ash. acid. 
Stable manure . 10 13 6 
Tobacco stems . 45 130 12 
Wood ashes . 0 100 36 
Thus the wood ashes contain no nitro¬ 
gen. If clover or cow peas are grown 
in the orchard, and plowed under to pro¬ 
vide the nitrogen, the wood ashes might 
answer. Some growers use wood ashes 
freely, and add nitrate of soda as the 
trees seem t:> need nitrogen. Tobacco 
stems contain four times as much nitro¬ 
gen and 10 times as much potash, but 
only twice a" much phosphoric acid as 
stable manure. They are, therefore, 
more a substitute for manure than for 
ashes. By using 250 pounds of acid 
phosphate with the ton of stems you 
will have a much better orchard ma¬ 
nure. One ton or more of the ashes can 
be used per acre. If cultivated we would 
apply in Spring or Summer, and follow 
with some cover crop. If the orchard 
is in grass we would apply in Spring. 
Personally we would prefer to use the 
ashes in the orchard and the stems on 
corn or garden crops. No, fair dressings 
of chemicals will not injure fruit trees. 
A Problem of Poor Soil. 
C. 8. W., Monmouth Oo., N. J .—Do you 
think green products, such as peas, beans, 
sweet potatoes, tomatoes, etc., will grow 
here? The reason I ask this Is it has been 
corned every year for seven years, and 
yielded well. Must I use plenty of manure 
and fertilizer (if needed), and what kind? 
Will lettuce, cauliflower, cabbage and celery 
grow here? My ground is sandy loam. Will 
strawberries grow on ground that was a 
wood last year, but now it is all grubbed 
off? It is a little heavier loam. Do you 
think it would pay better to put it in an 
orchard, that is, the whole five acres? 
About 114 foot from the surface is a clay 
bottom. Would you advise me to scoop 
it all off next Fall, or leave as it is? The 
reason I ask this question is that the 
ground has been worked in corn so much 
that it has taken the entire strength from 
the surface down to clay bottom; and by 
scooping all off I thought it would make it 
all new land and as good as ever. 
Ans. —We do not, of course, under¬ 
stand your peculiar local conditions, but 
the sandy soils of Monmouth Co., N. J., 
generally produce well all the crops you 
name if sufficiently fertilized and culti¬ 
vated. The fact that corn has been 
grown on the land for seven successive 
years proves that the soil is naturally 
good. Good stable manure applied at 
the rate of 20 to 30 tons an acre would 
supply Buhicient humus and plant food 
to give your crop a chance, and this 
could well be supplemented with an ap¬ 
plication of 600 to 1,000 pounds per acre 
of a complete chemical fertilizer from 
some reliable manufacturer, contalHing 
not less than four per cent nitrogen, 
eight of phosphoric acid and 10 of pot¬ 
ash. When soil has been so badly 
cropped as yours it is best to spread the 
manure before plowing and turn it un¬ 
der. The fertilizer may be broadcast on 
the newly-plowed land, and harrowed 
in, or may be applied in the furrows be¬ 
fore planting. Do not think of scraping 
off the top soil, as it would render your 
land unproductive for years, but depend 
on manure, cultivation and such restora¬ 
tive plants as Crimson or other clover, 
or cow peas to restore its fertility. 
Strawberries should do well on newly- 
cleared land if given good care. We 
would not advise the planting of an or¬ 
chard until the local conditions have 
been well studied. 
Gardens Without Manure. 
P. F., Ayer, Mass .—Can fertilizers be made 
to take the place entirely of manure? Can 
I plant a garden year after year without 
using manure, and get as good results? 
What Is best to sow to keep a garden on 
a side hill from washing In Winter and 
early Spring, and when is the best time to 
sow it? 
Ans. —Yes, if the wastes of the crop 
are worked into the ground with the fer¬ 
tilizer. Manure has several advantages 
over fertilizers. It is alkaline, and on 
garden soils, which are likely to be sour, 
it acts somewhat like lime. It supplies 
humus or vegetable matter and warms 
the soil. It also adds various microbes 
or germs, which develop through the 
soil and add to its soluble fertility. The 
fertilizers add plant food, but in a gar¬ 
den soil, there should be plenty of hu¬ 
mus. This can be provided by leaving 
all the roots and trimmings of the vege¬ 
tables on the ground and sowing rye in 
the Fall after the vegetables have been 
killed by frost. With humus provided 
in this way you can have a good garden 
year after year by using fertilizers. Rye 
sown about the middle of September 
will hold the hillside. 
Fertilizer on Potato Seed. 
J. M. T., Marietta, 0.—Will It Injure pota¬ 
toes to put the fertilizer In the row with 
them? The fertilizer would be about as 
follows: 300 pounds acid phosphate; 200 sul¬ 
phate of potash (high grade); 50 nitrate of 
soda; 100 tankage (10 to 20). This propor¬ 
tion to the acre, put in with a Robbins 
planter. I have heard that the fertilizer Is 
liable to injure the potatoes for growing 
If It comes in contact with them. We have 
used the above fertilizer with success, but 
have always put on as the potatoes were 
coming through the ground. 
Ans. —The Robbins planter will mix 
the fertilizer so that there will be no 
injury to the seed. You are safe to go 
ahead with it. In hand planting we do 
not like to put nitrate of soda or acid 
phosphate close to the seed. It is bet¬ 
ter to mix them with the soil. Make a 
deep, wide furrow, and scatter the fer¬ 
tilizer, not in the bottom, but along and 
over the sides, then run the cultivator 
through and work the fertilizer in be¬ 
fore dropping the seed. 
For the land’s sake, use Bowker’s Fer¬ 
tilizers. They enrich the earth.— Adv. 
DO INSECTS 
bother you? 
•11 o ranker - worms. Potato 
Caterpillars, Canker ■ „ crawl- 
« Bodlime” 
‘ effective than oVHarvard, 
l^7tes^’‘^u‘;;e^mtrcfiual,con^ 
prTection against noxious insects. 
. Ml- r».,ir tree InS 
»» kills fruit tree Insects, pre- 
Urge, sound fruit. M . . i, i pyrox ’ 
of Brattleboro Vt.^. ij,^iththe best 
is all one can ask . uushes, apple trees, 
success on my „ having a garden 
and rose bushes. •? . Where 1 used it 
can afford perfect." 
on my apple trees in pr 
.1_r>yx»jop-rful i 
i my appic v.. rr 
FungTcidls a^described 
secticides and Fung which 
in 
contains .^^^-eases, and how to 
insects and p a invaluable to 
fight them, ested in grow- 
rnT&T'vaUeless to all others. 
BOWKEB- CHEMlC^e CO.. 
43 Che.th».m St., Boston ^ 
Send for color card and price 
THE A. P. SWAN CO. 
»I6 NASSAU STREET. NEW YORK. 
How to Drain Land Profitably. 
Ou every farm there is probably some land 
that could be intide more productive by under- 
drainage. Properly drained land can alway.s 
be worked earlier, and more profitably. The 
best and most 
economical way 
to drain Is ex¬ 
plained in the 
book, “Benefits of Drainage and How to Drain," 
which is sent free b.y 
JOHN H. JACKSON, Third Ave., Albany, N. Y. 
^fSpray 
your 
Fruit 
Trees 
and 
Vines 
Wormy Fruit and Leaf Blight of Apples, Pears, 
Cherries and Plums prevented ; also Grape and 
Potato Rot—by spraying with StiihPs Double 
Acting Excelsior Spraying Ouflits. Best in the 
market. Thousands in use. Catalogue, describing 
aJl Insects injurious to fruit, mailed Free. Address 
WM. STAHL, QUINCY, ILL. 
SAN JOSE SCALE, 
And other Insects can be Controlled by Using 
Good’s Caustic Potash Whale- 
Oil Tobacco Soap No. 6, 
14 Bbl., about 275 lbs.,4c. lb 
Bbls., about 426 lbs., J94c.lb 
Kegs, SOlbs. ea., .'>)4c lb. 
Kegs, lUUlbs. ea., 5c. lb. 
Kegs. 170 lbs. ea., 4)^jC. lb. 
Large quanli ties Special ttates .'^Se nd for Circ ulars 
'JAMKS'GOOr^i«7 N.'Kront St., PtiTladolphTa, Pa 
FINE AS FOG 
coTerlni; evecy bitof folUga with the 
most tiioroughJy tnlxecl spray, easy to 
work, lonj^ Jivedand dursMe* Theae 
ara the strongs points ot the 
EMPIRE KING. 
It’s the only pnmpw*th an Aalomatle 
Af^itatorand finishforstralner, Braee 
ralves. No rubber or leather to roU 
Allsty!(8 and sizesof sprayenw Book 
i on Spraying free* Write us* 
Force Pump Co., 2 Market Street, Lockport. N. Y, 
No 
crop 
can be 
grown 
without 
Potash. 
Supply 
enough Pot¬ 
ash and your 
profits will be 
large; without 
Potash your 
crop will be 
“scrubby.’ 
Our books, telling about composition ol fertilizers 
best adapted for all crops, are free to all farmers. 
GERMAN KAI.I WORKS, 
03 Nassau St., New York. 
Profits of Trucking 
around Norfolk and in New Jersey 
are largely obtained by the high 
percentage of 
Nitrate of Soda 
used in their fertilizers, which 
pushes the crops forward for an 
early market. GARDENERS slioukl 
insist upon having a large proportion 
of Nitrate of Soda in all their fertilizers. 
Free pamphlets setting forth its proper 
application to crops, as well as a Hat of 
doafera, can be had by addressing 
.folin A.Myers, 12 0 John St., New 
York City. 
Buy a Good 
Spray 
Pump 
—d o n ’ t experiment- 
costs money. We have done 
the experimenting—used the 
common spray pumps in our 
own orchards, noted their 
defects — then Invented the 
ECLIPSE. You get the bene¬ 
fit of onr experience free. 
Send at once for catalogue. 
MORRILL & MORLEY, Benton Harbor, Mich, 
1901 
THE SOUTH SIDE 
FRUIT CARRIERS AND BASKETS 
PETERSBURG, VA. 
WRITE FOR CATALOGUE AND PRICES 
A Perfect Sprayer. 
The “SCHANCK” 8-row will spray any 
kind of liquid poison. 
■ ■IP has no small nozzles to stop up. 
I I will not spray ou horse or driver. 
I I has no pumps, pipes, blowers nor cog-wheels. 
I I will do more work better and with less trouble than any other 
sprayer. Price, 055. Send for circular. 
JOHN R. SHANCLE, Mfr., HIghtstown, N. J. 
(Other People’s Profits 
have increased 26 to 60 per cent, when they began to spray th* right vow— . 
with the right sprayer, the pepplER AND ClliyiAX SIX-ROW SPRAYERS. > 
Kead now thi 
s=,^''rrt'v,ri," 
Ttiey will do as much for you. Eeaddiowthey spray 30 acres a day, [ 
> how they save the poison, increase crops one-half, pay for them- [ 
selves in one season. (Jatalogne contains spray calendar, formulas, etc. Sunt free. > 
I also manufacture the Improved Riggs Plow and Kiggs Fnrrowere. 
THOMAS PEPPLER, Box 60, HIGHTSTOWN, N.J. 
■ verw w » ■ ■ wr . '. ii n .,, -- 
OTATUITBD} 
Goulil$“Kerowater”Sprayer 
For Emulsifying and Spraying Kerosene 
and Water. 
Endorsed by the leading Horticulturists and State Experimental 
Stations. A kerosene sprayer which accurately proportions the 
mixture for any desired strength. Built ip three sizes, for tank, 
barrel or knapsack use. There la a great demand for them. Ask 
your dealer or write direct to us. 
“How to Spray, When to Spray, What Pumps to Use,” a valu¬ 
able Booklet, free for the asking. 
The Goulds Mfg. Co., 
SENECA FALLS, N. T. 
Warerooms: 16 Murray St., New Tork. 
