i7o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
March 7 
Are Soaked Potatoes Injured? 
EL N. H., Decatur, Mich. —About 
eight weeks ago, we had some very 
heavy rains which raised the water on 
our low lands where potatoes were 
pitted, so as completely to soak the pota¬ 
toes in these pits. It was thought by 
many that these potatoes were ruined ; 
but during a mild spell of the past week, 
several of these pits were opened and 
the larger part of the potatoes were 
found to be all right—perhaps 10 per 
cent had rotted. Upon removing to 
cellars, and after lying a few days, it 
was discovered that they were rotting 
badly, and again about 25 per cent of 
them were assorted and thrown out. 
Now whether or not they will keep until 
spring, I cannot say, and to what extent 
they are injured for seed I cannot say. 
Nevertheless I shall procure a quantity 
of this seed from my neighbor, and test 
it and learn for myself to what extent 
they were damaged. One grower here 
who has 4,000 bushels pitted on this low 
land, will lose nearly all, as they still 
remain in the pits. He says that pota¬ 
toes are too cheap to go to the expense 
of removing and sorting. I just learned 
to-day that on examination of these pits 
yesterday, a large per cent were found 
to be rotten. 
Celery Blight Cured. 
M. G., Kingston, Pa. — Apropos of 
what Mr. Slingerland says on page 18 
regarding celery blight, I may say that 
a small patch of our celery containing 
about 2)4 acres, was affected with all 
the indications of so-called blight. 
As soon as we got our pump rightly 
started, these symptoms disappeared, the 
plants regained their normal color, and 
made a fine crop. The plants in ques¬ 
tion were about 10 inches high when we 
began to water. I have come to the con¬ 
clusion that much of “blight” is often 
due to lack of favorable conditions. I 
wonder if that doesn’t apply to human 
lives ! 
Tarring Seed Corn. 
G. E. H., Layton, N. J.—I have often 
thoroughly coated seed corn with pure 
coal tar, and after drying it with land 
plaster, planted with a hand planter. 
The crows never fooled with it to any 
extent, neither did the squirrels ; but 
the cutworms cut it just as bad as they 
did that not treated with the tar. 
J. A. C., Water Valley, N. Y.—Re¬ 
garding the use of coal tar for seed corn, 
as a preventive against cutworms, A. H. 
C. can have the subject fully answered 
by sending to the Cornell Experiment 
Station, Ithaca, N. Y., for bulletin 
No. 107. 
B. K., Tewksbury, Mass. —I have 
used coal tar for keeping the crows from 
pulling corn, but not for keeping the 
cutworms off, with the best of results. 
1 also think that the corn is less liable to 
rot in the ground. I use the tar full 
strength, put in enough to blacken the 
corn after it has been thoroughly 
stirred, then add enough dust or plaster 
to take up the surplus tar, which makes 
it cleaner to handle. By the way, I had 
a piece of muskmelons and tomatoes 
alongside a field of corn, that was treated 
that way, and the cutworms about ruined 
the melons and tomatoes in spite of all I 
could do. I do not believe that they 
cut off a single stalk of the corn. I never 
thought of it until I saw A. H. C.’s query, 
that, perhaps, it was the tar that Kept 
them from cutting the corn ; but I shall 
try some melons planted that way this 
season, and note the results. 
W. P., Port Chester, N. Y.—I have 
practiced using coal tar on sweet corn 
seed as a protection against crows and 
hens, as follows : I place the corn in a 
vessel and pour on enough boiling water 
to iCOver:it,-stirring.meaii while ;uin 15 to 
30 seconds I drain off the water, immedi¬ 
ately add a teaspoonful of coal tar for 
every two quarts, and stir briskly ; this 
coats the corn sufficiently, without in¬ 
jury to its vitality: then I mix with 
enough plaster to dry it. It germinates 
perfectly, but I am not of the opinion 
that it will stop cutworms from eating 
off the blade. Clear coal tar, as A. H. C. 
proposes, would, no doubt, kill the 
germs. Cornell Bulletin 107 pronounces 
such remedies against cutworms futile. 
A Kansas Man on Alfalfa. 
J. E. H., Emporia, Kan.—W herever 
soil and climate are suitable to this 
plant, it should be grown. One acre of 
it is worth two of corn, and three of 
Timothy hay. It is a plant having more 
good qualities and less objectionable 
ones, than any other to my knowledge. 
It has become so common in the West, 
that the papers and writers have dropped 
the subject, thinking that every one 
knows about it, and how it should be 
handled. The only excuse I can give for 
(Continued on next page.) 
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