1896 
465 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
then follow this with applications of the ammoniacal 
carbonate of copper solution, using one ounce of cop¬ 
per carbonate to 12 gallons of water, beginning about 
two or three weeks after the first spraying with the 
Bordeaux, and repeating the application every week 
or 10 days until the fruit is harvested. The ammoni¬ 
acal solution does not stain the fruit as would the Bor¬ 
deaux if used during the ripening period. The disease 
is a very difficult one to contend with, and only thor¬ 
ough work will bring results. Combine the burning 
of rotting and “ mummy ” fruits with thorough spray¬ 
ing- 
Seventeen-Year Locusts Not Poisonous. 
M. M., Breckenridge, Mo. —We have 17-year locusts, and some 
think that small fruits will be poisoned by them. Is there .any 
danger ? 
Although the adult 17-year cicadas may live for two 
or three weeks after they emerge from their 17 years 
of underground existence, they feed comparatively 
little, and seem to exist principally for the propaga¬ 
tion of their kind. What feeding they do, is done by 
means of a long, slender beak with which they punc¬ 
ture the bark of trees and shrubs, and suck out the 
sap for their food. They have never before been 
accused of poisoning fruits, and I do not believe that 
there is any cause for apprehension. These curious 
insects have been accused of many alarming crimes 
which, upon investigation, proved to be entirely with¬ 
out foundation. 
Twig Blight and Apple Rust. 
■T. M. J., Joppa, Ala. —The twigs of many of the apple trees here 
are dead. The people call it twig blight. What causes it ? How 
can we arrest it ? Can we prevent it ? In some sections, the foli¬ 
age of apple trees is covered with orange-colored rust, which 
greatly retards the growth. Most of the trees injured by the rust 
are near cedar trees, though not all of them. Can this rust be 
destroyed or prevented ? What causes it? 
1 have seen the ‘ twig blight'’ on apple trees in sev¬ 
eral localities this season. So far as I know, it has 
not yet been satisfactorily explained. It may be the 
genuine pear-blight or fire-blight which sometimes 
attacks only the tips of the twigs ; this blight some¬ 
times attacks apples, but is usually more severe on 
pears. In the Year Book of the United States Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture for 1895, which has recently 
appeared, there is a good, popular article by Mr. 
Waite on Pear Blight. He has been making very ex¬ 
tensive observations on this bacterial disease, and he 
concludes that the microbes are carried from tree to 
tree by the insects which visit the flowers ; the blos¬ 
soms are the first part of the tree to be attacked. A 
few of the germs survive the winter in some of the 
blighted branches, and these few are the source of 
contagion for the succeeding season. The only sure 
way to exterminate the disease is to cut out and burn 
the affected parts, and the best time to do this is just 
before the leaves fall. 
I discussed the fungous disease causing the orange- 
colored rusty spots on the leaves, in The R. N.-Y. for 
December 21, 1895, page 841. One stage of this curious 
fungus occurs on the cedar, forming those apple-like 
bodies known as cedar apples. In the spring, the 
spores from these cedar apples are carried to the 
apple trees, and there produce the apple rust on the 
leaves. In midsummer, the spores from this apple 
rust reach the cedars and produce the cedar apples. 
These spores may be carried for eight or ten miles. 
The first thing to do, then, is to annihilate the cedars 
in the neighborhood. Follow this with thorough 
work on the apple trees with the Bordeaux Mixture, in 
May, especially. If the spraying be thoroughly and 
frequently done, the rust may be controlled to a con¬ 
siderable extent on the apple, even though the cedars 
are not removed. 
Alfalfa in New York State. 
.1. P., Viewmonte, N. Y.— Can Tub R. N.-Y. or any of its readers 
give ine auy information in regard to Alfalfa for a permanent 
pasture witli other grasses ? I have a fruit and dairy farm lying 
in New York State, about 100 miles north of New York City, in 
the Hudson River Valley. The high ground is limestone soil, 
there having been, years ago, two limekilns on my farm. The 
high ground is a clay loam in a good state of cultivation, and 
stands drought better than auy otner land in this section. The 
low ground is a black, mucky soil, produces good crops, but 
Timothy and clover freeze out in the winter or early spring. Will 
Alfalfa make a good permanent pasture on either the high or 
low ground ? When should it be sown ? About how much to the 
acre ? What other grass should be sown with it to make a good, 
permanent pasture ? 
ANSWERED BY PROF. I. P. ROBERTS. 
Alfalfa clover has not been used to any extent in 
forming permanent pastures. It starts slowly, re¬ 
quiring one year, at least, before its roots are estab¬ 
lished. It does not stand tramping well, therefore 
is seldom used in permanent pastures. It is in com¬ 
mon use as a soiling crop, and may be cut, under 
favorable conditions, two to four times a year. It 
may be made to produce a large amount of forage, 
and animals thrive wonderfully when they receive 
one feed a day of Alfalfa and secure the rest of their 
ration in the pastures. The failure of pastures and 
meadows leads to the conclusion that we must, sooner 
or later, practice partial soiling and the cultivation 
of crops which require interculture or annual or 
semi-annual fitting of the ground. By raising oats, 
peas and corn, the severest droughts may be success¬ 
fully tided over. The advice would be not to devote 
any large area to permanent pastures. A little 
Alfalfa seed might be used with the other grass seeds, 
still no great success is likely to come from the ex¬ 
periment, so far as it rests on the Alfalfa. Seed the 
low land to a mixture of Festuca elatior (Tall Meadow 
Fescue), Glyceria nervata, (Nerved Meadow grass), 
Red-top and a little Alsike clover. Timothy, Festuca 
elatior and Alsike clover may be used advantageously 
on the uplands. 
It is not yet too late to sow Alfalfa. Prepare the 
ground thoroughly and deeply, make it rich, and sow 
from one to two pecks of seed per acre. Harrow so 
that the seeds may be covered thoroughly, and roll 
the land. One acre (if the plants will withstand the 
winter at Viewmonte, and they are likely to do so), 
will furnish more forage than five acres of permanent 
pasture. Once the land is well set to this drought- 
resisting plant, and cared for, it is likely to last for 
10 or 12 years. The plant thrives well on sandy 
land if the surface is made rich so that it may get a 
good foothold. It does not thrive with “ wet feet,” 
that is, on undrained, water-logged land. 
Oats and peas should also be sown freely as early 
as possible in the season, and at intervals of about 
two weeks until June 1. With these provisions for 
partial soiling, one may restrict the pastures greatly 
with the most satisfactory results. Wherever the 
plants above mentioned have been fairly treated, and 
the soil intelligently prepared for the reception of 
the seed, I have yet to note a single failure by reason 
of dry weather. Alfalfa does not make a good hay 
plant in this climate, because it is so succulent that it 
is difficult to cure it. Asa hay plant, it flourishes only in 
its highest usefulness in the arid and semi-arid regions, 
but it grows nearly as well in the naturally watered 
districts of the East as in the irrigated districts of the 
West. For the permanent pastures, if they cannot be 
avoided, and soiling cannot be practiced to any ex¬ 
tent, the first step is thoroughly to prepare the land. 
Sow in the spring, or better, the first days of Septem¬ 
ber, three pounds of Festuca elatior, three pounds of 
Glyceria nervata, two pounds of Blue grass, two 
pounds of Alsike and four pounds of Timothy per 
acre. On the black, mucky land, Orchard grass might 
be substituted for Glyceria nervata. 
Grass in an Asparagus Field. 
R. R. B., Dutchess County, N. Y.— Recently, I purchased a farm 
in this eouiity which contained an asparagus bed of about one- 
half acre, completely grown up with grass. I have tried plowing 
between the rows, but without success, as the roots are so matted 
together that it is impossible to plow. Some advise salt, but 
others say that salt will not kill grass. 
Ans. —I never saw an asparagus bed grown up as 
R. R. B. describes that would pay for taking the grass 
out; but it would make some difference if it was of 
recent growth or an old sod. Plowing so cuts the 
asparagus roots that it would injure their growth too 
much. R. R. B. would better, this fall, prepare a 
piece of ground, get some thrifty two or three-year- 
old—preferably two-year-old—roots, and start even 
with the grass and weeds. If the ground is already 
fertile, commercial fertilizers are used, as they con¬ 
tain no seeds. In two years, he would have a better 
bed than it is possible to get from the old grass plot. 
Salt will kill the grass if put on in sufficient quantity, 
but an old, stiff sod takes a heavy sprinkling. Kainit 
will do it, and add potash to the soil. Salt will be 
cheaper simply to kill the grass, but planting a new 
plot is the cheaper. N. h. 
Recruiting Land With Green Crops in Kentucky. 
J. W. //., Payne's Depot , Ky. —Oa page 137, you advised me to 
sow cow peas on a piece of laud, and then sorghum, and plow the 
last crop under this fall. As my first object is to improve my 
land, would it be better to cut the peas for hay, or let them 
mature? When should sorghum be sown (to plow under) ? How 
much seed per acre, and what variety ? 
Ans. —In this case, I would advise, as soon as the 
cow peas begin to ripen, to turn hogs on to the field 
and let them eat off the crop, feeding a little corn 
with the peas. Then plow all under together, and if 
it be not later than August 1, I would harrow until I 
got a good seed bed, then sow broadcast about one 
bushel of any strong-growing sorghum to the acre ; 
let this grow until about two feet high, or until 
touched by frost, plow under and let it lie until 
spring. If the hogs are not through with the peas 
by August 10, I would sow it to rye, let it grow 
through the winter, and turn it under the last week 
in March, when I would immediately fine the ground 
and set the strawberries. In the climate of Kentucky, 
cow peas are an uncertain quantity. Some varieties 
ripen by mid-summer, and some grow on until frost. 
Cow peas are a valuable recruiting crop for worn 
land, if the notion for improvement takes possession 
of one in the spring, and the land is bare of any crop. 
They add nitrogen and humus to the land, but should 
be pastured on the land and the residue all turned 
under. If the notion for improvement takes posses¬ 
sion of one at harvest, clear a grain crop off from the 
land as early as possible, plow and work down to a 
good seed bed and drill or broadcast sorghum, and 
turn it under at the approach of frost. Rye may then 
be sowed on the land, which will grow during all 
open spells during the winter, and in spring, make a 
heavy sod which may be turned under in time for a 
corn crop. Chemists tell us that the rye and sorghum 
can add little to the land except humus ; but if the 
land be kept full of humus, the sun and air will pene¬ 
trate deeper, and the summer showers which some¬ 
times contain three per cent of nitrogen, will more 
readily find the feeding roots. J. A. mckee. 
How Onion Seed is Saved. 
S. IT. M., Pultneynille, IT. Y. -l set oat a number of bushels of 
ouions for seed thi3 spring. How shall I harvest, thrash and 
clean the seed for market, and test it so as to know whether it 
will grow or not ? 
Ans. —It is our custom, and that of others in our 
vicinity, to set out onions enough to raise seed for our 
own use, though a few raise it on a larger scale—if 
there be a few pounds left after sowing in the spring 
there is generally a market for it. The best time to 
cut the seed is just as the kernels commence to harden 
from the milky stage ; the seed balls are then cut and 
spread one deep on old newspapers in an attic room 
or loft, and it is our plan to leave it there till spring, 
taking care that mice do not get access to it. For 
cleaning, we take some wet day in March. A sack is 
filled with seed balls and thoroughly pounded ; it is 
then dumped into a tub of water and stirred, when 
the good seed will sink to the bottom ; this should be 
hung in a bag to drain and dry. It should, however, 
be worked over every day till dry, when it can be 
fanned. To test the seed further sow a certain num¬ 
ber in a box in a window of the house, but the sinking 
is generally considered a sure test. In sowing onion 
seed, one cannot be too particular, both in selecting 
the bulbs, and caring for the seed. I have described 
the method practiced by us. To raise seed on a large 
scale, there are, probably, machines for cleaning. 
JOSEPH ADAMS. 
Keeping Strawberry Plants for Hothouse Culture. 
P. L. B., Dresden , ().— Is it necessary that str awberry plants in¬ 
tended to raise hothouse berries, should be f rozen during the dor¬ 
mant period ? If not, how low a temperature would be sufficient 
for good results ? How long a period would they need to be kept 
dormant ? 
Ans. —It is not necessary that the plants be frozen 
while dormant, although, under certain conditions, 
they might be without injury. They are simply to 
be grown in pots, sunk to the rim in a bed or frame, 
and left fully exposed until the end of the growing 
season. During the summer and early fall, they need 
plenty of water, but it must be gradually diminished 
later in the season so that the plants may mature the 
better. At the end of October, an inch or two of cut 
straw or leaves should be put on to prevent the hard 
frosts from injuring the roots, but not to cover the 
foliage. At the close of the growing season, they may 
be covered with straw or leaves sufficient to keep 
out frost. They may remain thus until wanted 
for forcing. It is not necessary to keep them in 
a dormant condition any length of time. If the 
plants are properly matured, they may be removed 
to the greenhouse before winter, and they must be to 
have berries for the holidays. m. crawfokd. 
What Pears for the Mississippi Bottoms ? 
R. A., Arkansas. —1. Would you advise plantiug the LeConte 
pear iu the Mississippi River bottoms as high as latitude 3(5 de 
grees? 2. What pear would you advise planting that ripens in 
the fall ? 3. Name three pears for us to plant with the intention 
of making money from them. 
Ans. —1. No. The LeConte will grow and bear well 
enough in the Mississippi bottoms, if well under¬ 
drained ; but the fruit is of such poor quality, and 
keeps so poorly, that, at the present time, it would 
seem to me unwise to plant that variety. 2. Garber and 
Keiffer. They are poor in quality, but will keep and 
sell well. 3. The two named are enough, h. k. v. d. 
Questions About Pekin Ducks, 
A. \V. B., Thomaston, Me. —1. How many eggs will an average 
flock of Pekin ducks lay ? 2. Do the large breeders keep over the 
old ducks, or kill them and keep only young ones? If they keep 
old ones, how many seasons ? 
Ans. —1. The number of eggs from a flock of Pekin 
ducks, depends on the feed and management. With 
proper feed and care, a flock should average from 120 
to 140 eggs each. 2. We usually keep our breeding 
ducks three or four years, keeping part young birds 
each year, and dispose of the older ones. They will 
do all right and lay well for four or five years. We 
usually send our four-year-old ducks to market alive 
when nearly through laying. j. e. stevenson. 
Asparagus in the Fall. 
A. E. R., Vernon, IT. J .— I desire to pla nt an asparagus bed of 
an acre or so. Is the fall as safe a time to plant as the spring? 
Is it better to purcuase one or two-year-old roots ? 
Ans. —Yes, we think so for your locality. We would 
choose two-year-old roots. 
