677 
i9oi 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
PROMISE AND FULFILLMENT. 
What a beautiful sight a fruit tree in 
full bloom is! Each one of the thou¬ 
sands of blossoms is bright with prom¬ 
ise of fruit to come. The busy hum of 
bees shows that they are eagerly carry¬ 
ing the pollen from flower to flower, 
thus doing their part to insure the fruit¬ 
age. Why should not each flower fulflll 
the promise it now makes? Many mis¬ 
haps may befall these flowers before 
they become fruit. In spite of the busy 
work of the bees many flowers fail to 
become pollinated and so quickly drop 
away. In the cluster shown at Fig. 306 
every flower seems perfect. Bees came 
to visit them frequently, though not as 
often as to clusters higher in the tree. 
I have often noticed that the very nicest 
fruit is generally found at the top of the 
tree, but it never occurred to me before 
that one of the reasons may be because 
the bees did their work more thorough¬ 
ly there. Experiments have shown that 
a liberal supply of pollen often adds to 
the quality of the fruit. Fig. 307 shows 
how much the promise has dwindled at 
midsummer, so much like our own 
promises and expectations oftentimes. 
Two little rusty pears are left, only one 
of which is on the immediate part pho¬ 
tographed in flower. Even these are 
having a hard battle with the scab fun¬ 
gus, which has disfigured the surface 
and may ruin the fruit altogether, caus¬ 
ing it to crack open or to fall before 
ripening. 
It is interesting to draw down the 
branches of an apple tree in Summer 
and note the scars about the spurs, 
showing where blossoms were borne in 
the Spring. What tragedies are written 
there! Many dropped very soon; othem 
persisted for a time, then succumbed to 
the attack of some insect or other 
enemy, while only a few remain. The 
story of their struggle is told by the 
size of the scars which are left. Only 
one out of many becomes a perfect fruit. 
The rate of mortality among children in 
cities is carefully watched. Whatever 
promises to reduce it is strongly urged 
and put into practice if possible. We 
might well inquire what can be done to 
reduce the mortality among the grow¬ 
ing fruits upon the tree. One of the 
most important things is to encourage 
the bees. Imperfect pollination is prob¬ 
ably the greatest source of loss with 
many kinds of fruit. Do not spray the 
trees while in bloom. This may kiil 
the bees, and kill many of the flowers 
as well. It may even be wise to keep 
bees on the farm if there are few in the 
neighborhood. It is also wise to plant 
different varieties of the same fruit to¬ 
gether. Many varieties do not set well 
unless they receive pollen from a differ¬ 
ent variety. This is well recognized 
among plums, pears, apples and grapes. 
1 have found it equally true among bush 
fruits. iSome varieties seem to thrive 
well alone, but many do not. Interming¬ 
ling kinds which bloom at the same time 
will add much to the value of the work 
of the bees. 
Plenty of plant food in the soil will 
also help to carry through a larger pro¬ 
portion of the fruits to a successful ri¬ 
pening period. To grow well they must 
be fed, either from food already stored 
up in the soil or from that applied. Not 
only must there be food in the soil, but 
grass and weeds must be kept from rob¬ 
bing it away from the tree. Good til¬ 
lage is even more important than a lib¬ 
eral food supply. Many young fruits 
fall or fail to develop from lack of mois¬ 
ture. Thorough tillage will do much to 
obviate this. I read to-day how Roland 
Morrill, of Michigan, tilled his peach 
orchard during last year’s arought, go¬ 
ing over the whole of 100 acres every 
day, and finding that it paid. He added 
that under such tillage the “June dixip,’’ 
so commonly expected in peaches, cut 
no figure. 
Some one will say that too many 
fruits often set anyway, and that to do 
these things which will add to the num¬ 
ber is unwise. This is sometimes true, 
but it is not easy to control matters 
aright by aliowing Nature to do her 
own thinning in this way. We cannot 
always foresee what the outcome is to 
be. The worst of the matter is that 
when Nature thins she weakens all the 
fruits in getting rid of part of them, so 
that the ones which remain are not in 
condition to improve their opportunities 
a.s they should do. Thinning fruit is 
expensive where it must be done by 
picking off individual fruits, but it per¬ 
mits the most perfect specimens to be 
left, and does away with the competi¬ 
tion from excessive numbers and from 
those which can never make perfect 
fruits under any conditions. It is im¬ 
portant that the thinning should be done 
before the fruits grow so large as to 
call heavily upon the available food 
supply. Nature cannot be depended up¬ 
on to take them off at the right time. 
FKED W. CAKD. 
EVERYBODY'S GARDEN. 
Unsightly Things. —It is surprising 
how much rubbish and how many un¬ 
sightly things have accumulated in and 
about the yard during the Summer. To 
rectify this, the girls, outside of school 
hours, are making themselves useful in 
gathering up the litter to be burned. 
The bonfires made of the trash largely 
compensate them for the labor, and we 
do not forget to teach them that there 
is also much satisfaction and pleasure 
in enjoying the better order of things. 
Then they assist in gathering the flower 
seeds as they mature, and help prepare 
them for use next year, and also in 
clearing the ground of matured stalks. 
Teaching them also to keep a sharp 
lookout for a place to plant either a 
useful or ornamental tree or shrub, is 
developing them along the lines of home 
beautifying and attractive surroundings. 
WOKK FOB THE BOYS AND GlllLS. —The 
work above referred to will, if carefully 
arranged, afford a very interesting and 
useful field for the boys and girls. It 
may be easily managed so as to be a 
pleasure rather than a drudgery, and we 
want every boy and girl reader of The 
R. N.-Y. to start now and see what can 
be accomplished before the Winter be¬ 
gins. As you go over the yard or 
grounds, tidying up and clearing off the 
rubbish, look about to see where a nice 
flowering shrub or a forest or nuit tree 
might be planted. A nice Sugar maple. 
this Fall. Make the home dooryards 
just as clean and beautiful as possible, 
but do not stop at this. Appoint a meet¬ 
ing at the schoolhouse, and be sure to 
attend it. Clean up the school grounds 
and make them tidy and homelike. Set 
out some trees this Fall and plan for 
flowers and lots of them in the Spring. 
Make your schoolhouse and grounds at¬ 
tractive and beautiful and your teachers 
will surely appreciate it and assist you. 
Our country schoolhouses are towers of 
strength, so guard and cherish them sac¬ 
redly, and when you hear talk of aban¬ 
doning them and carting you off to the 
central school, sit down on it so hard 
that it will not be mentioned again in 
your hearing. j. e. hobse. 
Michigan. 
Hydrocyanic Acid Gas for Rats. 
W. F. 0., Turner Center, Me.—We have a 
poultry house, containing 1,750 cubic feet, 
thoroughly overrun with vermin. It was 
so when we came here, and we haven’t 
been able to clear them out so far. Would 
not hydrocyanic gas do the work? Would 
the formula quoted by you in The R. N.-Y. 
some time ago—one-fourth gram cyanide, 
three-eighths sulphuric acid and three- 
eighths water—be the proper proportions 
for such work? 
Ans. —Our cats have cleared the rats 
and mice from the farm buildings. We 
think that severai good cats fed only on 
skim-milk, and confined in that build¬ 
ing for a while, would clean it. A fer¬ 
ret with a man who knows how to han¬ 
dle it would go down into the holes and 
drive the rats out. The hydrocyanic acid 
gas will kill any brea/thing thing that 
gets a whiff of the fumes. The rats must 
be induced to come up into the house 
in order to make this plan effective. 
Prof. W. G. Johnson tells of killing a 
large number of rats in an old smoke 
house. They placed the jar of acid and 
water in the house and hung the cya¬ 
nide on a string over the jar so that it 
could be lowered from the outside. Then 
they threw corn inside the house and 
shut the door. The rats came out of 
their holes to eat the corn and, while 
a drove of them were fighting and 
squealing, the cyanide was lowered from 
the outside. In using this gas first find 
the cubic contents of the house or room. 
For each 200 feet one ounce of cyanide 
of potash is required. For every ounce 
of the cyanide use two ounces of water 
and 11/^ ounce of sulphuric acid. For 
example, in the house mentioned, contain¬ 
ing 1,760 cubic feet, you wii* need nine 
ounces of the cyanide. Put 18 ounces of 
water and 13 ounces of sulphuric acid 
into a deep jar. Put this jar inside the 
room near the door. Wrap the cyanide 
in paper. Tie it to a string so that It 
will hang just over the jar and be sure 
to fall into it. Pass the string through 
a hole outside the house, so that it can 
be quietly let down. Throw com or 
other food inside and shut the door. 
Night wili probably be the best time for 
the job. Wait till the rats come out of 
their holes and then gently lower the 
package of cyanide into the jar. The 
gas will be instantly generated, and 
whatever breathes it will be killed. It 
would not be effective against the rats 
and mice to start the gas in the empty 
house, for it would not penetrate into 
the holes so as to kill the pests there. 
Turnips for Green Manuring. 
J. 0. Q., Uickory Orove, Po.—Some time ago 
I read an article in your paper stating that 
turnips plowed under for manure were su¬ 
perior to clover used for the same purpose, 
inasmuch that the turnip seed was surer 
to catch, and the crop was so much earlier 
to plow under than the clover. What Is 
your opinion about it, and which is the 
best turnip seed to buy for the above pur¬ 
pose? 
Ans. —Turnips will “catx;h’’ and grow 
on soil too poor to grow clover. They 
will make a quick growth and can be 
plowed under before rye seeding in the 
Fall. In no other respects are they su¬ 
perior to clover, and, unless you can use 
fertilizer of some sort with them, they 
will benefit the ground but little. Tur¬ 
nips as a green manure crop are at best 
only a makeshift and not to be consid¬ 
ered where the clovers will grow. Our 
experience with the Cow-horn turnip 
this Fall is favorable. 
NOT COD-LIVER OIL 
but Scott’s emulsion of cod- 
liver oil. They are not the 
same ; far from it. 
Scott’s emulsion is cod-liver 
oil prepared for the stomach. 
Let cod-liver oil alone if you 
need it. When your physician 
orders toast, do you breakfast 
on flour ? 
Pure cod-liver oil is hard to 
take and hard to digest. A 
man that can keep it down, 
can saw wood. He thinks he 
is sick; he is lazy. 
We’ll send you a little to try if you like. 
SCOTT & BOWNE, 409 Pearl street. New York. 
elm, ash or basswood will greatly beau¬ 
tify some barren or unsightly spot; or 
a hickory, walnut or butternut tree will 
not only add beauty and shade, but by 
and by the nuts will follow, and useful¬ 
ness as well as beauty will be the har¬ 
vest of the future. 
When the plans for planting are de¬ 
cided upon, the next thing will be the 
selection of the trees or shrubs. Nearly 
all varieties of shrubbery and ornamen¬ 
tal trees, evergreens excepted, as also 
most of the nuts and fruit trees, barring 
the peach and apricot, may, if properly 
done, be planted in the Fall. As soon 
as the frost nips the leaves so that they 
fall readily, the trees or shrubs should 
be carefully taken up, removing all use¬ 
less limbs and broken roots. The root 
pruning should be done with a sharp 
knife, cutting from the underside and 
outward, leaving a long clean-cut bevel. 
The holes should be dug large and deep 
enough to admit of filling in to some 
extent before setting in the tree with 
rich surface soil, setting the trees a lit¬ 
tle lower than when in the natural state. 
Bank up the soil around the trees sufii- 
ciently to prevent the water from set¬ 
tling around the roots, and a heavy 
mulch of well-rotted manure to protect 
from too severe freezing, will also be 
helpful. No disparagement to the 
Stringfellow method is intended, but the 
boys and girls are my special congrega¬ 
tion this time, and doubtless the old 
methods will be safest for them. 
This is in part the work which I want 
IhiE R. N.-Y. boys and girls to begin 
TTTi f 
A 
DIETZ Monarch Tubular Lanterni 
FOR KEROSENE 
Is a standard size, handsome, handy, safe lantern 
and the one most farmers prefer for general run¬ 
about use. Has a strong, simple but positive! 
acting device for raising globe to light or trim,! 
and will hold oil for 17 hours use. Gives a' 
strong, steady, copious light, and is absolutely 
safe from taking fire or exploding. _ i 
If not procurable of your dealer, we will send youl 
one prepaid, safe delivery guaranteed, on receipt of j 
w rite for our free catalogof lamps and lanterns. | 
Y\R. E. DIETZ COMPANY, 87 LaiglitSl., NewYortCIty.^ 
LARGEST COW IN THE WORLD. 
MADE fROM PHOTO. 
EWG.DEPT IWT.FOOO CO. 
WEIGHT 2970 LBS. AGE 8 YEARS. SHORTHORN. 
SHE EATS •‘ISTERSATIOSAL STOCK FOOD” eveet day and 
IS OWEED BY ISTEBNATIOSAL FOOD CO., MIHSEAFOLIS, HINM,, U. S. A. 
“INTERNATIONAL STOCK FOOD” causes Cattle, Horses, 
Sheep and Hogs to grow very rapidly and makes them Big, Fat 
and Healthy. Is used and strongly endorsed by over 6U0,00O 
Farmers. It is sold on a spot oash guarantee to refund your 
money In any case of failure by over 30,000 Dealers. It will 
make you extra monoy in Growing, Fattening or Milking. 
Owing to its blood purifying and stimulating tonic effects it 
Cures or prevents Disease. It is a safe vegetable medicinal 
preparation to bo fed in small sized feeds in connection with 
the regular grain. It Fattens Stock In 30 to GO days less time, 
because italds digestion and assimilation. Inthis way it saves 
a large amount of grain. The use of “INTERNATIONAL 
STOt^FOOIF’ only costs «-8 FEEDS 1:0: ««« 
Ask your dealer for “INTERNATIONAL STOCK FOOD” and 
refuse anv of the many substitutes or imitations. It always 
pays to feed the best “INTERNATIONAL STOCK FOOD” 
is endorsed by over 100 loading Farm Papers. 
$3000.00 STOCK BOOK FREE 
EMAILED TO EVERY READER OF THIS PAPER.*** 
This Book Contains 183 Large Colored Engravings of Horses, C“«ie Sheep, Hogs ^uH^ 
tcost U8 $:i000to have our artists and engravers niako them. It contains a and Poultry 
Bvo you Hundreds of Dollars. Gives description and history of the breeds of Horses, Cattle, bheep, H«^8 ry 
THIS BOOK FREE, Postage Prepaid, If You Write Us a Postal Card and f 
1st—Name this paper. find-How many head of stock do you own? 3rd—Did you evo^M ^ERNAnONAH |TMK 
p'OOD** for Horses, Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Colts, Calves, Lambs or Pigs. *tTVTFU\ATIO^^STOCK BOOK” for reforenco- 
The Editor of this Paoer will tell you that you ought to have acopy of “I^TEKNAIIOsyii 
Cho Information is wMtical and right to tlio point and the Imok is Absolutely Free. We wil^ve you »14 worth of “D1EHNA* 
riONAL STOCK FoilD” if book is not exactly as represented. Answer tho ^3 qo^stions^and^^Wrlte u.^atjmee for Book. 
S. A. 
Largest Stoek Food Factory In the World 
Capital Paid in $8004000.00. 
actly as reprosentea. Answer lao o anti .i. .w «« wv .w. ~ 
HNTERINATIOINAL food CO., 
_J MININEAPOLJS, MININ.. U. 
