1905. 
617 
WHITE LEAD AND OIL FOR TREES. 
I have read with interest Mr. Britton’s 
statement of Mr. Bowen’s experience with 
the white lead treatment for borers in 
apple trees, page 533, and I fail to see 
any evidence whatever that would lead to 
the conclusion that this injury resulted 
from the application. Mr. Britton states 
that some of the tops are dying, while 
the trunks are throwing out new shoots. 
Could this occur if the injury noted is the 
result of the white lead treatment? It 
has been my experience that whenever 
any material placed on trunks resulted 
in death of bark the injury always ap¬ 
peared to be local, and the top subse¬ 
quently failed because the connection with 
root system was destroyed. In other 
words if injury follows an application 
about trunk or collar the symptoms are 
the same as if trees are girdled by mice, 
rabbits or other means, the top being the 
last part of the tree to fail. In the case 
noted the reverse appears to be true. 
Even if your correspondent is correct 
in attributing this injury to the white lead 
treatment, still Mr. Bowen’s experience 
does not prove that white lead and linseed 
oil are injurious to apple trees when 
properly applied. Mr. Bowen made his 
application in the Fall and the entire 
trunk was coated with paint. Your illus¬ 
tration shows that at least the scaffold or 
main branches were also treated. Neither 
of these practices has at any time been 
recommended by this office. We have al¬ 
ways recommended that the painted sur¬ 
face should extend from the collar to 
about 12 inches above ground level, and 
we have uniformly advised the appli¬ 
cation to be made in Spring before the 
season of oviposition. Why one should 
adopt Fall treatment is not clear to us. 
Further, your correspondent admits some 
winter-killing and intimates Spring 
drought following this injury. Would it 
not also be well to call an impure oil 
or lead to account for the death of trees? 
It seems to me that this case adds little 
weight to the view that a paint made of 
pure white lead and pure linseed oil is in¬ 
jurious to orchard trees. Hundreds of 
Virginia growers have used this remedy 
for a long term of years with entire suc¬ 
cess; we have recommended it for years 
to Virginia orchardists, and have yet to 
receive our first adverse report. The 
writer does not claim that this treatment 
may not become, under certain conditions, 
injurious; but until further evidence is 
produced to sustain this view we shall 
continue to recommend its use. 
Virginia Fxp. Station. H. l. price 
NOTES ON LIME. 
I am a tobacco grower, and have used 
some lime in growing the crop. I use 300 
barrels to the acre, of air-slaked lime, 
every other year. After plowing in the 
Spring, sow broadcast by hand or ma¬ 
chine; then sow the fertilizer and harrow 
all in. My object in using lime is to in¬ 
sure a good burn, which is one of the 
important things in a tobacco crop. I have 
succeeded in getting a <>ood burn, but 
whether the lime is entitled to all the 
credit, I am not prepared to say. 
Poquonock, Conn. H. w. A. 
I have had some experience in the use 
of lime, and have found it to be very 
beneficial to certain kinds of land, such 
as land that contains a large quantity of 
acid, which js no doubt injurious to many 
crops. There is no doubt in my mind that 
therefis very little plant food in lime, but 
it will do its work by liberating the source 
of plant food that lies dormant in the 
soil, as well as sweetening the soil and 
making it contain less acid. I have known 
of its being used on old pasture land that 
contained a larger amount of sorrel, and 
the results was that it killed out all the 
sorrel and brought in a fine crop of White 
clover. On such crops as tobacco, onions 
celery, hay, corn, beets, and most garden 
truck, it pays well to lime the land, and 
lime it well. We use on most crops from 
one to two tons per acre; work well into 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
the soil as early in the Spring as possible, 
or it can be applied in the Fall. One 
should know the soil, whether it contains 
any amount of acid. a. l. c. 
Massachusetts. 
In regard to amount of lime we use 
about half ton per acre, applied in Spring 
to ground we wish to seed at once or soon, 
and we also use about the same amount 
in Spring on our cabbage and celery 
ground; using it especially where blue lit¬ 
mus paper indicates acidity in the soil. 
We always try to buy quicklime as fresh 
ly burned as possible, believing it bet¬ 
ter, and to save buying the added weight 
caused by slaking. Sometimes we let it 
air-slake in piles of a few tons each, but if 
not slaked when we wish to apply we 
slake with water, as we try to pile near a 
water supply. I think we can see best 
results with clover and grass, also cabbage, 
celery and corn. Our clay and muck soils 
seem to respond best of all, and the clay 
especially will hold the good effect for a 
long time. hull bros. 
Pennsylvania. 
My farming is confined to 1700 feet of 
glass and about five acres of land used 
for market garden purposes. My largest 
crop and best is eight children, who keep 
me hustling. I have used more lime in 
Canada ashes than I have of stone lime, 
for the most part to “sweeten” old straw 
berry beds after a heavy mulch of pine 
needles, and for fighting various insect 
pests and their larvae. Where I live the 
air-slaked lime would be much cheaper 
than live lime. I would as soon have it, 
and the cost of the two is as follows: I 
am 10 miles from the Canaan kilns. Air- 
slaked in sacks, f. o. b., $4.50 per ton; 
freight $1.60; sacks 25 cents (you see 
buyer must furnish sacks). This makes 
$6.35 per ton. The live lime, seven bar¬ 
rels for one ton, costs $12.25, delivered 
on the premises. If you have the slaked 
lime in barrels you must add cost of seven 
barrels at 35 cents. The last ton of slaked 
1 bought in June had eaten its way out of 
the sacks in 10 days. My next experiment 
will be a fight to the death with Onion 
maggot, and if I am successful I will give 
you results; if not I shall do as the fisher¬ 
man does when he doesn’t catch any; go 
home through the woods, across lots and 
not tell anyone I have been fishing. 
Lakeville, Conn. c. d. 
Asparagus and Smilax. 
M. E. IF., Carlsbad, N. M. —1. Will you 
inform me the cause of the discoloration on 
the stalk of the accompanying Asparagus 
plumosus nanus? I have cut off the two 
stalks affected. I have had this fern six 
years and have never had anything trouble 
it before. I divided and repotted it last 
Fall; it appears thrifty, and the stalks af¬ 
fected are still sending out new leaves. The 
article on ‘•foliage raising” on page 453 was 
very interesting. The three plants make 
ideal house plants; with me the Sprengeri 
grows faster and requires more sun than the 
Plumosus. 2. Should smilax have a rest, if 
so, when? Mine are seedlings started last 
Summer. 
Ans. —The only “discolorations” noted 
on the sprays sent were the scars of de¬ 
funct scale insects, such as often affect 
house plants. Evidently the plant is not 
badly troubled, or it would not be grow¬ 
ing thriftily. Look for scale on the ma¬ 
ture stems; if any are noted rub them off 
with a bit of sponge dipped in soapsuds, 
and put on the end of a sharp stick. The 
scale may be on your other plants, such as 
on palms or Boston ferns, and thus be 
communicated to the asparagus, which is 
not a fern, though often described as 
such. Scale is a nuisance on house plants; 
sometimes a Boston fern becomes so 
badly affected that the only remedy is to 
cut away every frond, and start it afresh. 
2. Commercially, the only rest smilax re¬ 
ceives is when a bed or bench is cut ovei 
entirely, the quantity of water applied 
being greatly lessened until growth starts 
again. This occurs at almost any time of 
the year; trade culture considers no spe 
cial resting period. If you are not grow 
ing smilax for cutting, but merely as a 
decorative plant, you will find it becomes 
rather shabby after a time, especially if 
fruiting; then cut it down, and do not 
hurry it when starting to grow again. 
The Celebrated TORNADO FEED and ENSILAGE CUTTERS 
have no equal. Made in sizes to suit everybody. Excel all other makes for cutting either dry materials 
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other I 
make of 
Cutter. 
w. 
Agents Wanted 
Special propositions 
to good, live dealers. 
Write for Catalog 
and prices. 
HARRISON 
MANUFACTURERS, 
MASSILLON, OHIO. 
COMPLETE CUN CATALOGUE 
If you want absolutely the ■■■■I 
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UNION T’lnE VLIUVIS OO., Dosli 24, Toledo. O. 
PAGE 
CAT¬ 
ALOG 
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Reliable Merchandise 
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This Knife only 35 
Here Is a specimen bargain. If it is not worth 60 
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White, Van Glahn & Co., < h ttt " 
Established 1816. Oldest Mail Ovder House in America 
SPREAD MANURE 
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insure increased crops by using the original, the 
WORCESTER KEMP 
MANURE SPREADER. 
It is built to stand hard knocks, spreads every kind of 
barnyard or commercial manures, and is built in dif¬ 
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RICHARDSON MFG. CO., 
Worcester, Massachusetts. 
THE PAPEG 
PNEUMATIC 
Ensilage Gutter 
will prepare you a better silage and All your 
silo in less time, with less power and with less 
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It is the most convenient and the easiest to 
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If you need an ensilage cutter you need a 
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Papec Machine Co., Box 10, Lima, N. Y. 
Hydraulic 
PRESS 
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Gasoline engines , stationary, portable and traction. 
A. B. Farquhar Co's. Boilers, Engines, Saw 
Mills, Threshers. Ask for catalogue. 
Monarch Machinery Co.. 
Room 1C1. 39 Cortlandt St., N. Y. City. 
The WAGON to BUY. 
labor, annoy¬ 
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STEEL WHEELS t w°aTo a n l s l 
Your address on a postal will bring you free catalog. 
The Geneva Metal Wheel Co., 
Box 17, Geneva, Ohio. 
• THE CUTAWAY HARROW CO. 
CLARK’S REV. 
BUSH PLOW and HARROW 
Cuts a track 5 feet wide. 1 
foot deep. Connects sub¬ 
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CLARK’8 Dbl. AC1\ ON 
CUT A JVA F Move „ 18,000 
Tons of Earth in a Day. 
Send for Circulars. 
HIGGANUM, CONN., U.S.A, 
IMPERIAL 
PULVERIZER, CLOD 
CRUSHER 
& ROLLER 
LEADS THEM 
ALL. 
Circulars. The Peterson Mf’g Co., Kent, 0. 
We also manufacture old reliable RICE HEATERS. 
CHAIN 
HANGING 
STANCHION 
I Papec ^ 
Ysasswei'' 
WARRINER’S 
HOLDS THE 
ANIMALS AS 
FIRMLY 
AS RIGID 
STANCHIONS 
W B. CRUMB, 73 Main St., ForestvUle,Coim. 
THERE’S NO WEARING OUT, 
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Will outlast all others. 
Catalog free. 
THE ANCHOR FENCE AND 
'MANUFACTURING CO.. Cleveland. O. 
WILL EXHIBIT 
FROST 
BEST 
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them. A present for the ladies. 
THE FROST WIRE FENCE CO., Cleveland, Ohio. 
