2 l6 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
APRIL 5 
tills way of cutting at all: but I simply 
know that it is best for me and I would 
like that our experiment stations should 
give it a fair show. But still I do not know 
that they can, for it requires the close sup¬ 
ervision and thoroughness and promptness 
that only a specialist whose income de¬ 
pends on it perhaps can give. 
The season was quite dry at Madison, 
and these one-eye plants, 38 inches apart 
both ways, could not, I presume, cover and 
shade the ground entirely. At least they 
would not have done so here; nor would 
. they shade it as much as the plants where 
whole seed was used. This is an important 
point, particularly in a dry year. In such 
a season the ground should be covered al¬ 
most as thoroughly as with a heavy crop of 
clover. If we can keep the sun and wind 
off from the ground there will be more 
moisture for making tubers. 
There is one sentence in Prof. Goff’s re¬ 
port that proves him to be entirely honest. 
If he had not been, he would have left it 
out. It was this: “ The variety (of potatoes 
used) was purchased for Beauty of Hebron, 
but proved to be considerably mixed.” 
Well, what with? We are told that the 
Rose Beauty yielded 331 bushels per acre, 
and the Charter Oak 156 It would make 
a considerable difference which kinds were 
mixed in certain rows. If seed “consider¬ 
ably mixed” was used, wouldn’t one have 
the right to call the whole experiment 
“ considerably mixed ? ” Why not have 
ignored the results when it was found that 
there was an error at the very beginning? 
We are told that the rows in this experi¬ 
ment were 50 feet long. Why not make 
them 50 rods? Come, now, Prof. Goff, 
plant four acres of potatoes this year for 
this experiment. Plant the large whole 
tubers, say, 36 inches apart each way ; the 
half potatoes the same, if you think best, 
and the one-eye and two-eye cuttings in 
drills three feet apart and drop one, say, 
every 13 inches. Have your field at least 
40 rods long, better twice that. Get pure 
seed that hasn't sprouted. It won’t do to 
report that “ all were cultivated alike.” 
The one eye acre at least must have the 
best of tillage and always on time, just the 
right depth, etc., etc. Take care that that 
is just right and have the rest like it, if you 
choose. See to every detail in person from 
beginning to end. Then give us the results 
next fall. 
Summit County, Ohio. 
A WET ACRE OF POTATOES. 
Last season the R. N.-Y. planted two 
trial acres of potatoes. One was situated 
on a high, dry hillside, and the other on 
low, heavy soil which never suffers from 
drought. The record made on the hillside 
acre has already been printed in the R. N.- 
Y. We have now to speak of the lower 
acre. As has been stated many times, last 
season was the most unfavorable for the 
development of the potato crop that 
farmers of Bergen County have ever known. 
All looked for a dry season; in fact, the 
acre on the dry hillside was planted against 
the advice of many good farmers who were 
positive that t he crop would be ruined by 
drought. The lower part of the R. N.-Y. 
“Annex” farm lies in the form of a dish, 
receiving the drainage from a large area. 
A long, naurow strip, as far removed from 
the lowest point as possible, was selected 
for the experiment. During the previous 
season the Stockbridge fertilizer had been 
used on about one-half of the acre and 
planted with potatoes. The balance had 
received light dressings of chicken manure 
with sweet corn and fodder corn for crops. 
The potatoes, though injured by the wet 
weather, yielded at the rate of 378 bushels 
per acre. The crops of corn were light. 
Stockbridge potato fertilizer was used 
again last year. It was at first decided to 
plow the land in the fall and spread the 
phosphoric acid and potash then—the nitro¬ 
gen to be added in the spring. This design 
was not carried out, however, and the land 
was plowed in the spring after 15 loads of 
strawy horse manure had been spread even¬ 
ly over the acre. After this was harrowed 
in, the potash and phosphoric acid repre¬ 
sented in 800 pounds of Stockbridge potato 
fertilizer were spread broadcast and har¬ 
rowed in. Trenches six inches deep were 
then made and the seed pieces were dropped 
one foot apart, slightly covered with soil. 
Stockbridge Complete Manure at the rate 
of 800 pounds per acre was then scattered 
in the trenches which were filled and culti¬ 
vated in the manner so frequently described 
in the R. N.-Y. The variety planted was 
Rural New-Yorker No. 2. Seven barrels 
of seed were used and the tubers were cut 
to large two-eye pieces—a characteristic of 
these potatoes being that they have few 
eyes. 
The acre was planted 'April 25. On the 
evening of that day began one of the worst 
rain storms ever known in the neighbor¬ 
hood. The rain poured in torrents for two 
days and left the larger part of the acre a 
mass of soft mud. Owing to its peculiar 
location the soil remained clogged with 
water for days and, as a consequence, not 
two thirds of the plants ever started and 
many that did start were of such sickly 
growth that they never developed potatoes 
larger than a hen’s egg. It was impossible 
to replant as the stock of R. N.-Y. No.2had 
been entirely sold. 
The crop was cared for as well as possible 
—the wet season keeping the soil so wet 
and sticky that cultivation was more an 
injury than a benefit much of the time. 
The vines succumbed to the„blight early in 
the season, and it was supposed that the 
entire crop had rotted. From the portion 
of the acre dug a fraction over 115 bushels 
was taken. The hills were so scattered 
and the rot was so disastrous that it was im¬ 
possible to say what area this represented. 
Only two short rows could be found where 
the stand was equal to that found in the 
average potato field. These rows yielded 
at the rate of 392 bushels per acre. Thus 
the experiment, so confidently started, 
resulted in a disappointing failure. The 
potatoes were secured at great cost and 
trouble and the application of the fertilizer 
was carefully studied. The yield of the two 
short rows gives an idea of what the yield 
might have been under ordinary circum¬ 
stances ; but the R. N.-Y. does not like to 
tal k about these “might have beens. ” They 
have nothing to do with the profit side of 
the farm ledger. We find some satisfac¬ 
tion, however, in believing that much of the 
phosphoric acid and potash of the fertilizer 
is still in the soil and that we shall get it 
back again in succeeding crops. 
IS LONDON-PURPLE LONDON- 
PURPLE? 
PROF. E .S. GOFF. 
Varying effects indicate varying com¬ 
position; an expert changes his opin¬ 
ion; Paris-green a safer insecticide ; 
opinions of chemists and importers; 
work for the experiment stations. 
The varying results secured by different 
people in spraying fruit trees with water 
containing London-purple in suspension 
suggests that the composition of this ma¬ 
terial, as it is sold, is not constant and can¬ 
not be depended upon. In illustration of 
this it is easy to cite evidence. For in¬ 
stance, the editor of Popular Gardening re¬ 
cently published the following : 
“Our first experience with London-pur¬ 
ple, years ago, we must confess, served to 
prejudice us against its use. We thought 
that there was by far too narrow a margin 
between its effectiveness ns an insect-killer 
and its injuriousness to plant growth, to 
make its use altogether safe. We tried it 
on potatoes, both in dry mixtures and so¬ 
lutions. Sometimes it did excellent work 
without injury to the foliage. At other 
times, and with other samples, even the 
weakest applications seemed to scorch the 
leaves badly without showing the effect on 
the bugs which we desired. At last we 
concluded that there is a lack of uniformi¬ 
ty in the material, and altogether too large 
an element of uncertainty in its compo¬ 
sition. Hence we abandoned its use for 
that of Paris-green.” 
At the meeting of the Western New York 
Horticultural Society for 1889, Prof. A. J. 
Cook of Michigan, expressed the opinion, 
without reserve, that we should abandon 
the use of Paris-green for insects and adopt 
London-purple in its stead. Since then, 
Prof. Cook, in an article in the Rural 
New-Yorker, said: "Many and serious 
complaints come from fruit growers re¬ 
garding injury to peach trees which were 
sprayed with London-purple. I have ex¬ 
perimented very fully in this matter. It 
seems that London-purple is far more in¬ 
jurious than is Paris-green. The latter, 
used one pound to 100 gallons of water, a 
mixture at least twice too strong, and 
twice repeated, did almost no harm; a 
mixture one-half of that strength did no 
harm at all. The London-purple of the 
first strength always did some harm, and 
often serious damage. * * * One pound 
to 200 gallons of water injured peach, 
cherry, apple and plum foliage often seri¬ 
ously, especially when repeated.” 
At the last meeting of the Association of 
Economic Entomologists, as reported in In¬ 
sect Life, Mr. Gillette, of the Iowa Exper¬ 
iment Station, stated that he had found 
London-purple more injurious to foliage 
than Paris-green, and Prof. Riley stated 
that both London-purple and Paris-green 
vary in quality. 
My own experience with London-purple 
at the New York Experiment Station was 
satisfactory except in a single case with 
plum foliage, in which I ascribed the injury 
to too frequent applications. I was led to 
recommend it in preference to Paris-green 
on account of its lower cost. But the past 
season, an extensive orchardist in Wiscon¬ 
sin used it according to my directions and 
found it considerably injurious to the foli¬ 
age of his trees. Two chemists to whom I 
have referred the question of the composi¬ 
tion of London-purple have told me that 
it,is probably not a definite compound as 
sold in the markets ; that it is a waste pro¬ 
duct, and may or may not contain a con¬ 
stant proportion of lime. The chemical 
works to which I have referred pronounce it 
insoluble in water; but water in which a 
sample of .it was soaked was found by a 
chemical test to contain arsenic in very per¬ 
ceptible quantities. Indeed, Prof. Cook 
states that he found the water in which 
London-purple had been soaked was injuri¬ 
ous to foliage. 
The evidence cited would seem to be con¬ 
clusive that London-purple, as sold in the 
markets, is not constant in composition, 
and that it is not necessarily insoluble in 
water, and hence cannot be safely used up¬ 
on the foliage of fruit trees unless in very 
dilute mixtures. I have endeavored to find 
out the facts in relation to the manufac¬ 
ture of this material by correspondence 
with the New York house that claims to 
import all of the London-purple used in 
this country. These parties declare with¬ 
out qualification, that it is an entirely con¬ 
stant and uniform chemical compound, so 
far as the arsenic and lime are concerned, 
and that it cannot vary except by adulter¬ 
ation. It is time we knew the truth on 
this point. I have searched for analyses of 
London-purple with but little success, hav¬ 
ing found only a single complete analysis 
of it. This one, which was made by Dr. 
Collier while chemist to the Department of 
Agriculture, appears to have been widely 
copied. It seems to me that our experi¬ 
ment station chemists should take up this 
question, for it is too important a subject 
to be left longer in the dark. 
University of Wisconsin, Madison. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Indiana. 
Mattsville, Hamilton County, March 
17.—Maple sugar-making here was almost 
a failure. No one can say how the fall- 
sown wheat will turn out. Its unseason¬ 
able growth in mid-winter made it tender, 
and zero weather has frozen it to the 
crown; many germs are dead and rotten. 
While a careful examination shows the 
crown to be alive in many cases, yet it is 
so stunted and devitalized that we do not 
know what to expect. Bad weather for 
April will surely ruin it; good weather may 
possibly develop an unexpected favorable 
change. E. H. c. 
Michigan. 
Lowell, Kent County, March 12.—There 
seems to be a growing interest in the cul¬ 
tivation of fruit in this section. The crop 
of apples was good and brought a fair price 
—$1.25 to $1.70 per barrel. A good many 
are preparing to spray their trees. The 
cold weather of the last few days—eight 
to 10 degrees below zero—seems to have in¬ 
jured peach-buds somewhat, as they were 
quite forward. L. J. P. 
Ohio. 
Sidney. Shelby County, March 19.—The 
weather was warmer than usual the past 
winter. There was no ice at all until the 
present coating of ice was formed to the 
depth of four or five inches. It would have 
been better for every one except the ice- 
dealer had there been none at all. In most 
places wheat is entirely killed and fruit is 
badly injured, if not destroyed, by the late 
freeze. m. h. 
Pennsylvania. 
Loyalhanna Top, Westmoreland Co., 
March 12.—Fall grain never looked better. 
The past has been an open and mild winter. 
The ground was frozen to bear a wagon 
but three times and only a few days at a 
time. A cold snap set in unexpectedly on 
March 5th. The next morning the ther¬ 
mometer ran down to nine degrees below 
zero in a sheltered position. Very seldom 
does it get much colder here. There were 
about three days of good sledding and 
about four inches of ice were made. 
w. s. 
Fannettsburg, Franklin County, March 
19.—The peach buds in this vicinity are 
nearly all killed, and cannot under any 
conditions give a good crop. I have examin¬ 
ed buds of several varieties and find that 
fully 90 per cent, are killed. R. w. Me A. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
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Ask only a few questions at one time. Put 
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A VETERAN GARDENER ON MELON GROWING. 
J. V. L., La Crosse, Wis.— What is the 
best and most successful way to raise large 
melons for market? What is the best ma¬ 
nure for that purpose, and, above all, what 
are the best means of destroying the insects 
that nearly every year destroy our melon, 
squash and cucumber vines? They attack 
the plants at or near the surface of the 
ground about the time they ripen or gener¬ 
ally a little before. I keep the pests in 
check with ashes, land plaster, etc. I have 
used nearly everything which I thought 
might accomplish the desired result—ashes 
land-plaster, Vick’s insect exterminator, 
tobacco-dust, etc., but up to this time find 
no relief. The vines of the Orange Squash 
suffer more than any other. 
ANSWERED BY J. M. SMITH. 
It is not always easy to grow a first- 
rate crop of melons in Wisconsin as far 
north as this (44K parallel). We are 
more likely to fail with water-melons than 
with musk-melons. My plan is about as 
follows: My soil is a light sandy loam. I 
select land that has been very thoroughly 
cultivated for one or more years previous. 
I do this for the reason that in such land 
there are but very few if any insects that 
will be injurious to the plants, as they 
have been prevented from breeding by con¬ 
stant cultivation. I manure the land 
heavily, and if the manure is coarse, plow 
it under. If it is fine, and from the com¬ 
post heap, as it generally is, I put it on 
after plowing, and harrow it in. After the 
ground is marked off for planting, I gener¬ 
ally—in fact, almost invariably—manure it 
again in the hill. Fine, well composted 
manure is always used for this purpose. 
I have never tried for melons any fer¬ 
tilizer that I consider quite equal 
to that from my compost heap. This com¬ 
post heap by the way, is made from ma¬ 
nure gathered up and hauled from the barns 
and stables in the city, the manure from 
mv own barn, pig-pen and slop-pit, where 
all the slops from the house are thrown 
and absorbed by dry sawdust, or dry, loose 
earth, and then hauled away, and the pit 
is refilled. The contents of the privy go 
with the rest. In addition co this is all the 
refuse from my garden, such as potato 
tops, pea and bean as well as melon and 
cucumber vines, and, in fact, everything 
that I think will add to the value of the 
heap. This is always worked over once at 
least, and oftener if necessary. It is always 
in splendid condition in the spring, and I 
know of nothing that will make melons, or, 
in fact, almost any other crops grow so 
well as a heavy dressing of manure from 
my compost heap. What we put in the 
hill is always mixed with the earth in and 
around it. As our seasons are not as long 
as those farther South, I have adopted the 
following plan which helps me very much 
in securing a good crop. I plant the seeds 
sometimes in April, but generally very 
early in May, and cover them about an 
inch deep. I now take some boxes meas¬ 
uring seven by eight inches on the outside, 
which are kept for this purpose, and made 
from common boards six inches wide 
