1896 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
8i7 
haws. It appears on the quince trees in May, and, 
working its snout through the thick, fuzzy coating on 
the recently-set quinces, it eats round holes in the 
young fruit. Apparently, egg-laying does not begin 
until the fruit is considerably larger, and the fuzzy 
coating is thinner, probably in June. I am inclined 
to think that much of the knotty, pitted appearance 
of the matured fruit is due to these early punctures 
made by the beetles in feeding in May and June; each 
puncture checks the growth of the fruit at that point 
and forms a hard kernel and depression. Other in¬ 
sects, and, possibly, the curculios themselves, seem to 
eat round holes in the fruit after it is half or two- 
thirds grown ; we know but little about the authors 
of this work, however. 
To lay an egg, the Quince curculio makes a cylin¬ 
drical hole in the fruit a little larger than is sufficient 
to admit the eggs, and enlarged at the base. Within 
this receptacle, the egg is placed, and there hatches 
in a few days. The grub, which resembles that of 
the Plum curculio very closely, but is larger, is said 
to burrow in the fruit near the surface, not going in 
to the core as do the Codling moth and Plum curculio 
larvae ; the caterpillars of the Codling moth have well- 
developed legs, while the grubs of the Quince and 
Plum curculios have practically none, so the former 
should be easily distinguished. The Quince curculio 
grub gets its growth in about a month, when it leaves 
the fruit through a cylindrical opening, and buries 
itself two or three inches in the ground, where it re¬ 
mains as a grub until the next spring, when the change 
to a beetle takes place. 
Prom this account of the life story of this quince 
pest, I cannot see how or when it could be reached 
with a Paris-green spray. In one of the large quince 
orchards at Geneva, N. Y., the insect is very numer¬ 
ous, and is held in check only by jarring the trees 
over the Plum “ curculio catchers”. Jarring begins 
soon after the blossoms fall, and continues every 
day as long as curculios are caught; usually the 
“ bugging” season is over in two or three weeks. In 
this instance, many of the quince trees had to be 
severely pruned so that the “ catcher” could be run 
under them to advantage. Last May, I saw Quince 
curculios being caught by the pint in this manner. 
It is the only method of successfully checking the 
pest that I can suggest. 
There is no question about the effectiveness of the 
Paris-green spray against the Codling moth on apples, 
but I do not believe that the statements in the books 
as to how we kill the worms are correct. They cer¬ 
tainly do not agree with my observations this past 
season. In the first place, the Codling moth rarely, 
if ever, lays her egg in or on the blossom end of the 
young apple ; it is laid anywhere on the surface of 
the skin of the fruit. There are several other inter¬ 
esting points about how we kill this Apple worm that 
I hope to illustrate in a bulletin from the Cornell 
Experiment Station in the near future. It has been 
shown several times by careful experiments that bon¬ 
fires, lanterns or bottles of attractive liquids will 
attract but very few Codling moths, certainly not 
near enough to pay for the trouble in applying the 
method. The moths are attending to their business 
of egg-laying at night, and are not to be deterred 
from their work by lights; rarely does one of the 
moths fly into an open window in the evening when 
hundreds of other moths are attracted therein by a 
light. I have no faith in any of the above methods to 
check the Codling moth, Plum curculio, Quince cur¬ 
culio, or whatever insect it is that makes G. F. P.’s 
quinces “ wormy.” 
How Many “ King " Apples ? 
G. F. T., Derrick City, Pa.— How many kinds of King apples are 
there ? Some tell me that there are three kinds—the King, the 
Tompkins County King, and the Green King. 
Ans. —There are Tompkins County King, King 
Philip, which, we believe is the same as Jonathan, and 
King of the Pippins. Downing gives, also, King 
Apple, King George the Third, and King Tom, besides 
several others which have the name King as one of 
their synonyms. 
Storing Celery in Virginia. 
0. 0. O., Aylett, Va .—I have been quite successful in raising 
celery for family use, but very unsuccessful in keeping it. I have 
now about 150 nice plants about two feet tall (mostly Giant 
Pascal), raised with level culture and well earthed up, but not 
covered over, as we seldom have freezes to do harm here before 
December 1, about which time we put away cabbage, turnips, 
etc. How can I best protect this from cold without injuring its 
flavor or crispness ? I have tried covering over with straw and 
earth, also setting in mud in the cellar and in trench in garden. 
Ans. —This inquiry is very pertinent, as it is not 
possible to follow closely the practice of northern 
growers in regard to many of our crops which must 
be stored. In the first place, celery which is to be 
kept for winter use must be grown late. Here at the 
College I expect to mature it about the middle of 
November, but in tidewater I should expect it to 
grow until December 1 to 10. In fact, I find that a 
temperature of 25 degrees does not injury celery if 
well earthed up. By a late crop, I do not mean to 
hold the early-grown crop, as this will not keep well, 
but a crop which has been grown chiefly after Sep¬ 
tember 1. For winter storage, I provide a pit about 
30 inches wide and as long as may be necessary or 
convenient. As many pits can be made as one may 
desire. They should, preferably, be located in a cool 
spot and where drainage is good. The depth should 
be such as to bring the tops just even with the sur¬ 
face of the ground. Into this pit, we pack the celery 
tight, taking great pains to keep it up straight and, 
usually, crowd about 40 plants into a foot of the 
trench. The plants are carefully dug with abundant 
roots, and all decayed stems and leaves removed be¬ 
fore putting into the pit. Fine earth is packed in 
COLD FRAME. Fig. 270. 
tightly about the roots and then carefully wet until 
the plants are virtually puddled, but the stems and 
foliage are kept absolutely dry. When the pit is 
filled, a span roof is put over it. This can be made of 
cheap lumber, but must be so tight as to prevent any 
drip on the plants. The ends of this structure are 
left open at all times, except when the celery would 
be injured by freezing. As the winter advances, it 
becomes necessary to cover the roof with straw or 
earth, or some litter to prevent freezing, but the aim 
should be to keep the plants cool and as well aired as 
possible without injury by frost. Stored in this man¬ 
ner, our plants grow in the pit, become more perfectly 
blanched, and improve in flavor. The crop will 
SMALL HOTBED. Fig. 271. 
keep perfectly if rightly handled. If the crop is 
bulked in square pits, there is great danger from rot. 
Virginia Experiment Station. wm, b. alwood. 
Making a Hotbed. 
A. S., Eminence, Mo .—Will you give me information on how to 
set out a hotbed ? 
Ans. —The situation for the bed should be sunny 
and sheltered ; a slight slope facing south or south¬ 
east is desirable. Two styles of structure are used ; 
one where the bed is above ground, and one where 
it is constructed in a pit below the ground level. When 
SASH AND SHUTTER. Fig. 272. 
the latter style is used, it effects a saving in manure 
and shelter, but unless the situation is very well 
drained, there is risk of water lodging in the bot¬ 
tom, making the bed practically useless. If, how¬ 
ever, the soil is sandy or gravelly, the sunken bed is 
much the more economical. The manure bed should 
be 2 or 2% feet below the ground level, the frame 
one foot high in front, and 18 inches at the back, thus 
giving a gentle slope to the sashes. It should be 
banked with loam or coal ashes to hold the heat. If 
the pit be lined with boards to the bottom, the manure 
will not cool so readily as when it comes into con¬ 
tact with the soil. It is better still to have a double 
wall of boards, with an air space between them. The 
boxing should be pine plank, beveled at the top, so 
the sashes may fit snugly. 
The heating material is fresh horse manure, thor¬ 
oughly moistened and heated. Throw it up in a 
heap to heat; turn and shake it well. When quite 
hot, make into the bed, treading very firm and 
level, settling it well into the corners and under the 
rafters. It is very necessary that it should be firm, 
otherwise it will settle unevenly. Never use manure 
that is not hot when put in, even though new. When 
heat is up, the manure should be about 12 inches from 
the sash, with four or five inches of loam over it. 
Keep the sash closed until the loam is well warmed. 
Seed may be sown when the heat of the bed is 110 
degrees, but it should be allowed to drop to 100 de¬ 
grees before setting out plants. When steam arises, 
the sashes should be raised for ventilation. In cold 
weather, mats or shutters may be used for extra pro¬ 
tection. But, while cold frames may be left closed 
for weeks at a time, in severe weather, the hotbed 
must be regularly ventilated, or the plants suffer in 
the close, moist atmosphere. In “ Vegetables Under 
Glass,” a cold frame is called “ merely a glass-covered 
garden.” About all it is expected to do is to keep 
off cold winds and snow, and increase the heat of 
the sun in spring. A picture of a cold frame is shown 
at Fig. 270. A hotbed is “ a modified cold frame,” 
that is, a cold frame with heat in it. A small hotbed 
is shown at Fig. 271, while at Fig. 272 is,an attractive 
combination of sash, shutter and a gardener’s 
daughter ! 
The Most of a Single Potato. 
R. B., New Amsterdam, Wis .— How would you cut the Sir Walter 
Raleigh potato for seed, so as to get the largest amount of seed 
for next year’s planting ? Would you use any stable manure, or 
just plant on good soil ? 
Ans —Continued sprouting under glass and plant¬ 
ing the sprouts would, probably, give you the largest 
amount of seed. Otherwise, we would advise you to 
cut the potato to single eyes and plant them in rich, 
mellow soil. We would not use any stable manure. 
Too Much Grain for the Horse. 
C. V. P., Union, N. Y. —My eight-year-old horse is out of condi¬ 
tion. I have used several kinds of condition powders, but to no 
avail. I have fed as high as three peeks of grain a day and he 
would eat more if I would give it to him. The grain was whole 
oats six quarts, and soft corn on the ear, four quarts, three times 
a day, and X do not see any grain pass him whole. His hair does 
not look well, and his hind legs stock considerably. He has no 
life, and there is a spot each side of the withers about 10 inches 
long and two inches wide, that, when I take his blanket off in the 
morning, is so wet that I can rub water out of the hair, and that 
is the only wet spot on him. When I drive him he does not sweat 
any more there than anywhere else, and the spot isn’t any 
warmer to the touch than the rest of the body. His urine seems 
to be all right, and he was cleaned recently. He gets hay instead 
of straw, and his eyes look haggard—not bright. 
Ans. —1 suspect that the horse is suffering from 
chronic indigestion, due to overfeeding on grain. 
There are very few horses that can utilize the quan¬ 
tity of grain you are feeding. Reduce the ration one- 
third if the horse is working, or one-half if idle or 
used only for light work. Then give one of the fol¬ 
lowing powers in the feed night and morning : Pow¬ 
dered nux vomica and sulphate of copper, of each 
four ounces ; arsenic 100 grains ; mix, and make into 
40 powders. I would also advise feeding, at least, 
one-half pint oil meal or ground flaxseed twice daily. 
Feed a bran mash two or three times a week at night, 
and if this do not keep the bowels moving easily, give 
occasional pint doses of raw linseed oil. 
f. l. kilborne. 
Swelled Ankle on a Mare. 
A. W. 6'., Worcester, N. Y.—l have a flue pair of six-year-old 
mares; one has been troubled with swelled ankles lately. They 
are eating six quarts of grain per day : oats, corn and wheat 
bran. I have been feeding a few apples, and thought, possibly, 
that might be the cause. I stopped feeding apjfles, but the ankles 
swell just the same. The other horse has shown no signs of any 
swelling whatever. What is the trouble with one that her ankles 
swell ? 
Ans. — I suppose that it is the hind ankles only that 
swell, a condition commonly known by horsemen as 
“stocking.” The trouble may be due to the condition 
of the blood, or to some chronic disease of the heart, 
liver or kidneys. Feeding the apples had nothing to 
do with the stocking. Try the following powders, 
giving three large tablespoonfuls twice daily in the 
grain: Ground flaxseed, two pounds ; sulphate of 
soda, one pound ; nitrate of potash and chlorate of 
potash, of each four ounces ; powdered nux vomica, 
two ounces; mix. Keep the bowels moving freely 
by feeding bran mashes occasionally at night. If 
there be no improvement in four to six weeks, report 
fully, referring to this page. f. l. k. 
Food for Ducks. 
A. B. 0., Sherwood, N. Y .— 1. How many Black Cayuga ducks 
can be profitably allowed to run with one drake in the breeding 
season ? 2. Do you consider yearlings, two-year-olds, or older 
ducks the best for breeders ? 3. What would you advise as a food 
for ducks to iuduce winter laying ? 
Ans. —1. Five. 2. Two-year-old ducks are the best 
for breeding. 3. Corn meal, three parts ; wheat bran, 
three parts ; oat feed, two parts ; feeding flour, one 
part; ground meat, one part, mixed with about one- 
third the bulk of finely-cut clover hay, boiled pota¬ 
toes, turnips, etc., with a little charcoal and salt 
added. Mix with hot water or milk. Keep plenty of 
oyster shells and sharp grit where they can reach 
them. J. E. STEVENSON. 
