1901 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
389 
The Cornell Reading Course. 
Edited by John Craiy, Professor of Uni¬ 
versity Extension, and Editor Fanners' 
Reading Course, Cornell University, 
Ithaca, N. Y. 
Observations by the Way. 
It’s no wonder that poets have their 
annual “breaking out” at this season of 
the year! As I am whisked up and down 
the fertile valleys of central New York 
my thoughts don’t run so much on 
Spring poetry as they do on “garden 
sass,” clover fields and green pastures. 
Grass is king! Verdure everywhere. 
Hillsides covered with vivid green stand¬ 
ing out against the lighter and varied 
shades of the woodland background. 
Clover in great luxuriant blankets lies 
thick on many meadows. Alfalfa too, in 
central New York is frequently repre¬ 
sented by thriving fields. We shall hear 
less of grass-seeding difficulties this 
year. The ground is soaked in a way 
that has not been duplicated for years. 
The season is somewhat backward, but 
with the abundant moisture, growth wii'. 
be correspondingly rapid. What of the 
prospective fruit crop? Greening, King 
and Spy are making a fair show of blos¬ 
soms—quite enough for a good crop of 
fruit if the fruit is protected. In many 
localities Baldwins will take a rest—a 
much needed rest. Still there is quite 
a sprinkling of white in most orchards. 
Some trees get into the habit of bear¬ 
ing on one side this year, and on the op¬ 
posite side the following. The east and 
west sides usually alternate. I suppose 
the time will come when fruit growers 
will master the principles of fruit-bud 
production so that moderate annual 
crops will be the rule instead of extra¬ 
ordinary alternate crops. The champ, 
champ of the pump handle, the hiss of 
the spray, sometimes mingled with an 
occasional remark of the nozzle handler 
are familiar sounds at this time in the 
fruit counties of Niagara, Orleans, Mon¬ 
roe and Wayne. The evolution of the 
spray pump in this section would make 
an interesting story. The power sprayer 
is coming in. Hand power is too slow 
and tedious for large apple trees in areas 
over 20 acres in extent. Steam has been 
introduced; gasoline and compressed air 
are coming in. Another step in orchard 
practice has been taken. 
Culture of Muskmelons. 
Will you give me some Information re¬ 
garding Held culture of muskmelons? How 
IS blight prevented? f. p. 
Ontario, N. Y. 
This Station has not published any¬ 
thing on the outdoor culture of musk¬ 
melons. It is a subject which we have 
been studying, however, and on which 
we expect to issue a bulletin this year. 
The industry has grown to quite im¬ 
portant proportions in certain parts of 
the State. Along the Ridge Road in 
Niagara and Orleans counties it is rap¬ 
idly taking its place as one of the lead¬ 
ing side lines. When I was in these 
counties May 3-6, melon growers were 
just then planting the seed. Many of 
these men have erected greenhouses for 
the special purpose of starting the 
plants. Small wooden, bottomless boxes 
made of veneer about 2% inches square 
are used to start the plants. These boxes 
are arranged in close order on the bench 
and an inch of well-rotted manure is 
packed in the bottoms. They are then 
filled with a layer of sandy loam packed 
down by means of a tamper. Four or 
five seeds are sown on the surface and 
covered with sifted soil. The boxes are 
then well soaked with water. In l6 to 
20 days the plants are ready for the field. 
A warm site is essential. Sandy loam 
gives earlier fruit than the clays. A 
southern slope is to be preferred. The 
plants are set about 4x4 feet apart, and 
cultivated like tomatoes. Some growers 
practice manuring in hill and others do 
not. If the soil is in good heart, hill 
manuring is not necessary. A few grow- 
eis run the risk of having their crop cut 
hy frost by planting the seed in the open 
ground soOn after May i. If the site is 
fairly elevated and the soil is warm and 
well drained, the results are fairly sat¬ 
isfactory. As a rule, the early melons 
oring the big prices, and the extra labor 
of starting the plants in the house is 
compensated by the larger prices se¬ 
cured in the fore part of the season. The 
blight which attacks the foliage may be 
prevented very completely by spraying 
with Bordeaux Mixture. One of the 
worst enemies to contend with is the 
Melon aphis or louse. These are held 
in check by the use of tobacco water. In 
applying the tobacco infusion, the oper¬ 
ator must take pains to cover the lower 
surface of the leaves. This cannot be 
done by the ordinary spraying method, 
out requires special effort. 
Spraying; Danger of Poisoning the Pasture. 
Do you consider it necessary to keep 
calves out of an orchard while spraying? 
if so, for how long? c. a. 
Washingtonville, N. Y. 
If you are using Paris-green, white ar¬ 
senic, or other arsenites with your Bor¬ 
deaux Mixture, or any of the former 
alone, I would keep the calves out of the 
orchard while spraying is going on and 
for a few days after. Just at this time 
of the year, particularly if the calves 
are pretty well grown, tney feed vora¬ 
ciously, and if one is rather careless 
about keeping the mixture thoroughly 
agitated, it may happen that a tree here 
and there (and the grass underneath) 
will get an exceptionally heavy dose of 
the poison. It is only in cases of this 
sort that injury to the animals may oc¬ 
cur. While careful experiments have 
been made on this very matter, all of 
which go to show that under ordinary 
circumstances no danger is to be feared 
from the application of poisonous sub¬ 
stances to trees where animals are pas¬ 
turing in the same area, yet in one or 
two instances which have come under 
my own observation, I have seen sheep 
seriously injured, so that it will pay to 
be on the safe side. I would not think 
that there was the slightest danger of 
turning the calves into the orchard a 
week after the spraying was done, or 
immediately after a shower of rain. 
Corn for Green Manuring; Spraying Plum 
Trees. 
What crop is best to sow on a field to 
plow under? The soil ranges from sandy 
loam to clay. Sorrel has quite a start, 
and it is hard to get a catch of clover 
started. How would corn do sown this 
Spring early, to be plowed under when it 
gets two or three feet high, then follow 
with wheat this Fall? Would sown corn 
be liable to sour the land if it was plowed 
under in hot weather? What is a good 
spray for plum trees, and how is it made? 
So. Hivonia, N. Y. h. w. m. 
Corn is an excellent soil regenerator 
for soil which is hard and lumpy. I do 
not think it is best for light sandy land, 
but where it is difficult to get a good 
catch of clover or other of the small- 
seeded plants then corn is one of the 
plants that might be used. 1 do not 
think there is any special danger of 
souring the land by plowing under a 
heavy crop, but there might be some 
difficulty in getting it well incorporated 
with the soil and well packed down if 
the season should prove to be dry. You 
would find it difficult to cover corn if 
you allowed it to grow two or three feet 
high. My view of the best way to treat 
this field would be to give it a dressing 
of lime—20 or 25 bushels per acre—and 
then sow with field peas, plow these un¬ 
der when the pods begin to form, and 
work the soil thoroughly until time to 
sow wheat. The spray you should use 
for plum trees will depend on what you 
want to kill. As a rule, there are two 
classes of enemies in the case of the 
trees, as with other fruit trees, the in¬ 
sect and the plant parasite. The safest 
and most efficient spray is Bordeaux 
Mixture with some form of arsenical 
poison. Plum foliage is more suscep¬ 
tible to injury from sprays than apples, 
and one should be very careful to have 
plenty of lime in the Bordeaux Mixture. 
An excess of lime increases the difficul¬ 
ties of spraying, but it lessens the possi¬ 
bility of injury. Japan plums should be 
treated with half-strength Bordeaux 
Mixture. 
Lime Paste for Bordeaux Mixture. 
It. P. L., Fallsington, Pa .—How many 
quarts of lime paste (free from surface 
water) will be required to equal six pounds 
of unslaked lime? I have slaked a large 
quantity of lime, intending to keep it In 
the paste foi-m, for making Bordeaux Mix¬ 
ture, but do not know how much of this 
paste to use to complete the formula. Is 
the ferrocyanide test reliable, and will it 
make a good mixture to add a little lime 
at a time until this test is satisfied? 
Ans. —You can answer this yourself 
better than anyone else, by trying your 
lime paste. Use the usual amount of 
sulphate of copper and add the lime 
paste until the change in color from the 
ferrocyanide takes place. 
Orange Growing in Porto Rico. 
D. A'., Mt. Airy, Philadelphia, Pa .—Will 
Mr. Platt (page 337) tell us something more 
about orange culture? How do Porto 
llico oranges compare with Florida fruit? 
What is the average yield of trees 10 and 12 
years old, and have they off years of bear¬ 
ing like apple trees? What is the net in¬ 
come per box to growers, when shipped to 
New York? 
Ans. —There has been no orange cul¬ 
ture in Porto Rico up to the present 
time such as Florida and California 
growers give to their groves. Of course 
I am unable to tell about orange culture 
when there has been none. The Mir- 
angha or sour orange ot Porto Rico re¬ 
sembles the wild sour orange of Florida. 
Neither is edible. The sweet oranges 
are all seedlings, and differ in quality 
and value. As a rule, they are inferior 
to the improved varieties of Florida. 
Nearly all the orange trees are growing 
where the seed chanced to fall I have 
no data for stating the yield of 12-year- 
old trees. The orange, like the peach, 
bears every year. The oranges shipped 
to New York the past season gave little 
or no profit to the grower. Careless 
handling and bruising of the fruit be¬ 
fore packing caused much loss. At pres¬ 
ent the fruit of Porto Rico for export 
does not amount to much. I have great 
expectations for the future. 
GEO. F. PLATT. 
C'GGS for hatching, ti cents each. First-class stock 
Rhode Island Reds, Brahmas, Hamburgs and 
Rocks. W. Sherman, 26 Boulevard, Middletown, K. I. 
Dlanchard’a White Leghorus.—The leading 
strain of heavy layers. Eggs for batching from 
tlnest stock. Ill.clr.freo. H. J. Blanchard,Groton,N.Y. 
EGGS 
from choice heavy laying 8. C. 
White Leghorns, Sliver Wyan- 
dottes and Buff P. Rocks. $1 W 
per 15; $2 per 30. Safe arrival and good fertility guar¬ 
anteed. T, D. GOODWIN, Columbia Station, Ohio. 
||F A A 0-~^drtllity guaranteed. By the sitting 
PhnA or hundred, 23 varieties of prize-wln- 
nlng land and water fowls. Big Cata¬ 
logue free. Our guarantee means something. 
PINE TREE FARM, Box T, Jamesburg, N. J 
Will Sell No More Wyandotte Eggs 
after this month. But It’s time enough for Brown 
Leghorns yet. Some of the best Leghorns grown are 
batched in June and July. Eggs that hatch: $1 per 
15; *5 per 100. J. B. STEVENSON, Columbus, N.J. 
« 
Wydndottcs Scotch Collies 
• Best of both. Handsome booklet free. 
BEAVER HILL FARM, - - BEAVER, PA. 
Death to Lice 
on Heas and Chicks 
64-psge Book FREE. 
vD. J. LAMBERT, Box 307, Apponaug, R. I. 
INCUBATORS 
From S5.0O Dp. 
BROODERS FROM $3 80 DP. 
Free Catalogue. 
L. A. BANTA, LIgonier, Ind. 
IF YOU NEED 
a Portable Fence, try the PAGE. It can be taken 
down and re-stretched any number of times. 
PAGE WOVEN WIRE FENCE €0., ADRIAN,MICH. 
Asparagus, 
Rhubarb, Celery 
and all other green garden crops should 
be provided ample supplies of available 
Nitrogen. This is best done by using 
Nitrate of Soda 
which stimulates an early, rapid and 
healthy growth. This treatment forces 
these crops into market earlier than is 
possible by the use of any other fertil¬ 
izer. Write for free book to John A, 
IHyers, 12-0 John St., New York. 
Nitrate for sale by fertilizer dealers ewiy- 
where. 
WrUo mi once for Umt ot Doatemm, 
_ _ _ _ 
fARMER Jones 
-jc., ^ 
cows WHI 
GIVE FROM 
CHILDS* 
BOS”! 
KILFLY 
15% TO 25% MORE MILK 
and Better Milk if Protected from Flies by 
It is a thorough fly killer and germicide, it 
destroys all bacterial germs, insures health, 
greater strength and vigor to the animals 
and by the absolute relief afforded to them 
Increases the amount of milk $8.00 to $10.00 
per cow during the season you will find It 
the best Investment you ever made. 
It allays nervousness in horses as well as 
cows and keeps both in better general con¬ 
dition. As an antiseptic and for scours in 
calves, hog cholera, swine plague and foul in 
cattles’ feet it is unequaled and may be used 
either in the stable, cow shed, chicken house 
or pig pen. 
It is easily and rapidly applied with Childs’ 
the use of CHILD’S SO-BOS-SO KILFLY. 
Electric Sprayer, and a herd of 30 to 60 cows 
can be sprayed in a few moments. SO-BOS-SO 
is absolutely harmless to man and beast. 
Abortion in cows, which is caused by a 
germ—propagated by unsanitary conditions 
—can be prevented by the use of SO-BOS-SO 
KILFLY. 
Sold only in gallon cans. Ask your dealer 
or send $2.00 for one gallon|can|and Electric 
Sprayer complete, securely packed and ex¬ 
press paid to any point east of the Missis¬ 
sippi River except State of Maine. 
The Sprayer can also be used for spraying 
potato vines, bushes, trees, etc. Beware of 
imitations. 
CONVENIENTa CHEAP. PRACTICAL. 
Thousands are in use in America, Canada and Mexico. Shipments have 
begun to Cuba, the Philippiues, Soutli America and Australia. 
Lenox, Mass., April 2l8t, 1900. 
I have used So-Bos-So Kiliiy with good 
results. It Is a comfort to both man and beast at 
the milking time. Jacob Steibbl, 
Supt. to the Hon. John E. Parsons. 
Philadeuphia, Pa., May 2,1900. 
Last July the daily quantity of milk produced 
by my Chester County Dairy fell off very con¬ 
siderably, which I attributed to the annoyance 
which the cattle received from the flies. About 
half the time the herd was standing in u stream 
switching instead ot grazing. I ordered a sam¬ 
ple of So-Hos-So Kilfly and by having it ap¬ 
plied every second morning, greatly relieved the 
herd and increased the milk product from 15 to 
25 per cent, and I have continued to use So-Bos- 
So Kilfly during hot weather ever since that 
time. Our herd of about twenty head could be 
sprayed in the stable in less time than it would 
require to milk a single cow, and I consider that 
I saved many times the cost of the .So-Bos-So 
Kilfly used In addition to affoudlng comfort to 
the herd. G. S. W. Bbubakxb. 
Lenox, Mass., April 23, 1900. 
We used So-Bos-So Kilfly last summer, on 
cows and I orses with excellent results, it being 
much more satisfactory than anything else of 
the kind we have ever tried. 
A. H. WiNGKTT, Supt. Allen Wlnden Farm. 
CHAS. H. CHILDS & CO., Sole Mfrs., 12 LaFajette St., UTICA, N. Y. 
