1906. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
81 
MORE ABOUT COPPER SULPHATE. 
Which form of sulphate of copper for 
spraying purposes do you prefer to buy, 
the lump, granulated or powdered? Why? 
I have always used sulphate of copper 
in crystal or lump form, for the reason 
that there is no opportunity for adultera¬ 
tion in that form. There is greater dan¬ 
ger of cheapening the product when in 
the granulated or powdered form, and 
hence I have never purchased it. It is 
so very important to have the pure arti¬ 
cle that I think it is much safer always 
to buy the crystals. george t. powell. 
New York. 
Of late years I have been using the 
pulverized sulphate of copper for making 
Bordeaux Mixture, and much prefer that 
form, on account of the ease with which 
it is dissolved; by using hot water, and 
a piece of board nailed on the end of a 
broom handle, like an old-fashioned 
churn dasher, to agitate the liquid, you can 
get a perfect solution in about 10 min¬ 
utes. I have never had reason to think 
that any of the sulphate was adulterated. 
Pennsylvania. gabriel hiester. 
I have used all three forms, and have 
never had any that T had reason to think 
had been adulterated either from its ac¬ 
tion, or the results from spraying. The 
powdered dissolves most readily, but I 
have always avoided the use of this kind, 
as it seemed to me there was a better 
opportunity to adulterate it. I have al¬ 
ways considered the lump or large crys¬ 
tals the best, and have never had any 
difficulty in getting such to dissolve in 
12 hours, if suspended in the top of the 
water cask. I have always been particu¬ 
lar to buy from first-class houses. 
New York. edward van alstyne. 
In buying sulphate of copper for spray¬ 
ing, I prefer to get the lump form, 
though T do not know that there is any 
good objection to the granulated. We 
have found no particular advantage in 
using the granulated, and I have always 
thought that if there was any adulteration 
it would be found in that form. I have 
had no experience that would lead me to 
believe that the copper was adulterated, 
unless it is the fact that the Bordeaux 
seems to be much more corrosive during 
recent years than formerly. I have not 
supposed that the trouble was due to 
adulteration, but if it is, it is very im¬ 
portant that the fact be known and cor¬ 
rected. W. T. MANN. 
Niagara Co., N. Y. 
I use lump or crystal blue stone. I 
have used granulated, but it gave no bet¬ 
ter satisfaction than, if as good as the 
crystal, and I think it could be adulterat¬ 
ed more easily than the lump; the pow¬ 
dered also could be filled in with some 
worthless stuff if the manufacturer or a 
mixer should wish to do so. I have had 
some blue vitriol that, when a 50-pound 
lot was dissolved in a barrel would leave 
a sediment in the bottom, but not much, 
and very little attention was given it. As 
to being adulterated with something that 
dissolves when the blue vitriol does, I 
am not familiar with that, and as to be¬ 
ing injurious to the fruit or foliage I do 
not know. I have had some injury to 
fruit and foliage, but I have attributed 
it to the insecticides rather than the blue 
vitriol. I have never had any that was 
not effective, and lack of good results 
could always be traced to some other 
cause. u. t. cox. 
Ohio. _ 
Muskrats Spoiling a Bank. 
IF. II. S., East Otto, N. V.—Can you sug¬ 
gest a way to get rid of muskrats? I have 
a small pond and the hanks have been honey¬ 
combed by them, so it is not safe to drive a 
team over it or near it. 
Ans. —The best and surest method to 
get rid of muskrats in a small pond would 
be to trap them. Wait until last of March 
or first of April, when mating season is 
at hand, if in a northern section, if South 
then February or March. Get about three 
or four dozen No. 1 jump traps with 
chains on and place a trap in each hole 
that may be found that the tracks are 
plainly seen in. Be sure to stake trap 
securely enough to hold rat. Always try 
to have the trap covered with V/2 inch 
of water and stake chain as far in water 
as possible, so rat will drown or have no 
chance to gnaw off his foot. I he holes 
that are out in the pond are good holes 
to set in, known as diving holes. These 
holes are hard to find and caution or 
carefulness must be exercised, and good 
judgment used to find and set in these 
holes. If holes are too numerous, some 
of m may be stopped up temporarily 
for a night or so. If a small stream runs 
in pond put trap in shallow places where 
water is not over three inches deep. If 
a trap is placed in center of stream and 
covered over with soaked leaves from 
bottom of stream so trap is not visible 
and staked off on each side, so rat must 
go through open space where trap is. 
This is a sure way of catching him. Put 
trap in center of brook staked off from 
bank to bank, stakes to be long bushes 
roughly broken and placed securely in 
dirt or mud, so as to be secure from 
flow of water and not over one in each 
place. Do this in several places along the 
stream leading in said pond. Follow this 
up for two or three weeks and then break 
bank of pond in and try to break up their 
homes. Should a few be left and show 
signs again, then repeat as above again 
in October. I think rats will soon leave 
and bother no more. Lemuel black. 
New Jersey. 
Two Grand Prizes St. Louis Exposition. 
Failure to secure a copy of 
our 1906 Catalogue makes an ap¬ 
preciation of its merits and artistic 
excellence Impossible. No 
garden annual published can in 
any way compare with this—our 
105th successive annual edition. 
Mailed FREE on application. Send for it NOW. 
J. M. THORBURN & CO., 
30 COKTLANDT ST., NEW YORK. 
Established 1802 . 
Send for ANNUAL PRICE-LIST (Free) 
or enclose 10c. for booklet giving valuables information 
about Sorghum,Cement, St rawberries, Alfalfa, 
Reel s, and plan and cost of a satisfactory hog house. 
Address WALDO F. BROWN, B 3, Oxford, O. 
Tlie Best Crops Grow whore BEAULIEU’S seeds go. 
Importer of best French seeds. Potatoes, Gladiolus. 
Dahlias, Wheats, etc. 21 prizes at New York. Silver 
medal at St. Louis. Beaulieu. Woodhaven, L. I., N.Y, 
for 50c. worth of leading 1906 Novelties in 
Choicest Garden Seeds. $l’s worth of Universal 
Premium Coupons free with every order. 
BOLGIANO'S SEED STORE. BALTIMORE. 
~£%OUR CATALOGUER 
opens with a triumphant arch 
made up of over 40 varieties of vege- X 
tables the world has learned to value, and 
of which we were the original Intro¬ 
ducers. It has some both new and good 
for this season, and a vast variety of 
standard vegetable and flower seed, with 
Intelligent Instructions for the cultivat¬ 
ing of all of them. Catalogue FREE. 
J. J. H. GREGORY Sc SON 
Marblehead, Mass. 
Pansy 
Sweet Pea 
Pink 
If you will 
mention 
this maga¬ 
zine and send 
10 cents for 
coat of mailing, 
we wi 11 send you ouc 
packet eacli of these 
choice seeds together with 
Aster 
Poppy, 
Phlox 
DREER’S Garden Book for 1906 
The Beo<ia are the choicest of thel kinds, and will provide for a 
continuous succession of bloom from May until November. 
Dreer’n Garden Hook for 1906 is almost as neces¬ 
sary to success with dowers as the seeds and cultivation -'24 pages 
of solid Information on everything pertaining to flowers and vege¬ 
tables. 1,000 illustrations. Beautiful oolored plates. 
HKNKY A. DRBKR, 714 Chestnut 8t., Philadelphia, Pa. 
They AH GROW 
and all grow true. Absolutely 
reliable—high quality 
IMPROVED SEED 
Northern grown and tested. 
Cost no more than ordinary 
commercial grades. Catalog 
Bulletin on Garden Culture, 
also packet “New York Beauty” Tomato mailed 
free for 5c. Catalog free. Write forit. Address 
ITHACA SEED CO.. Box 465 Ithaca New York 
POP CORN 
(RICE). Bred30 years by 
one person. One ear has 
produced 5 bushels. Ears 
often 10 inches long with 24 
rows. None other has this seed. Excels in everything. 
Sample on cob, 10 cents, or write for full particulars. 
A. H. CRAIG, Mukwonago, Wisconsin. 
SiS 
1905 CROP. 
We sell the best grade of 
Garden, Field and 
(Flower Seeds, Also 
( Bulbs, that money will 
/ buy. We are reeloaners of 
) Clover, Timothy, Red Top, Blue 
\ Grass, Mammoth White Rye, 
( Beardless Barley, Seed Wheat ami 
a full If tie of Farm Seeds. 
Write for Catalog and Fikld Skkd Prick List FRKK. 
THE HENRY PHILIPPS SEED & IMPLEMENT CO., 
115-117 St. Clair St., Toledo, Ohio. 
Northern Grown Potatoes 
Legume and Grain Seeds 
Ogemaw Grain & Seed Co.,West Branch, Mich. 
free. 
Get the best. Pure 
seed. Northern 
grown. Price list 
A. G. ALDRIDGE, Fishers, Ontario Co.,N.Y. 
Seed Potatoes 
t 
'v I £! 
I 
ESTED SEED 
want to send you my cat¬ 
alog of Tested Seed. That I 
guarantee. It’s different 
from other seed catalogs. 
The seed I sell is different. 
Write to day. HENRY FIELD, 
Seedsman, Box 26 Shenandoah, la. 
BLACK VALENTINE 
The best Green Pod for Market Gar¬ 
deners. A good shipper, the pods carry 
well and do not wilt. Catalog Free. 
VAUGHAN’S SEED STORE, 
84 Randolph Street, Chicago. 
14 Barclay Street, New York. 
Alfalfa Seed, 
Beardless Bariev. 
e. E. WING & BROS., Meehanieshurg, O. 
potatoes —Bliss, Bovee, Cobbler, Longfellow, Rose, 
* Noroton Beauty. 80 kinds. C.W. Ford, Fishers,N.Y. 
10 Luscious Grapes $1 
One Worden, Concord, Moore’s Early, Campbell’s 
Early, Diamond, Niagara. Pocklington, Brighton, 
Delaware and Catawba. Strong, 2-year-old vines 
bv mail, $1.00. Same in 1 year vines 50c. Catalog 
or Seeds and Nursery Stock of all kinds, FREE. 
Ford Seed Co., Dept. 24, Ravenna, Ohio 
SEEDS 
Fresh, true, reliable seeds for 
flower or market gardens. All 
seeds tested—all seeds from the 
best plants. For years the most 
dependable seeds have been 
ARLINGTON 
Tested Seeds 
Write for our free 1906 cataloguede-/ 
J^Swspixscribing many new varieties 
flowers and vegetables./Sk-frU'-O' 
W. W. RAWSON & CO. 
12-13 Fnneuil Hall Square. 
Ronton, Mass. 
DIBBLE’S SEED OATS 
Are early, rust proof and grow immense crops. 
Golden Harvest (new) and Twentieth Century 
yielded over 100 hush, per acre with us. Choice seed, 
clean and bright. 
Handsome Catalog Free. 
EDWARD F. DIBBLE, Seedgrower, 
Box C, Honeoye Falls, New York. 
CUT IN TWO 
That’s just what Salzer is doing—dis-^F 
tributing among planters everywhere” 
countless bushels of his hardy, N orth- 
ern Grown Pedigree Seeds at one-half 
their real value. Take advantage of 
this unusual offer by sending tu-ilav 
for a free copy of the Book of 
Salzer’s Bargains 
and getting your year’s seeds before the sup¬ 
ply is exhausted. Cabbage, Beets, Radish, 
Onion8,Corn, Beans, Tomatoes, alsoSalzer’s 
famous farm seeds, such as Oats, Speltz, 
Barley, Potatoes, Timothy, Clover, Wheat, 
etc.,—all of them the cream of last season’s 
wonderful growth on our seed farms. 
LUSCIOUS RADISHES 
Everybody loves a tender, juicy radish I 
. And we want everybody to have them! 
’ Send this notice to-day and receive free 
Bargain Seed Book and sufficient Radish seed to 
keep you in luscious radishes all summer long! 
Remit 4o and we add package of Cosmos,the most 
fashionable, serviceable, beautiful annual flower. 
JOHN A. SALZER SEED CO., 
Lock Box 44. La Crosse, Wis. 
|New ana standard varieties. Promising new vari- 
|etiea from the Flower Seed Ball. Cannot be pro¬ 
cured elsewhere. Earliest Seed Corn and 
Garden Seeds from the natural home of 
itlie potato, and the garden of Northern 
1 Maine. Catalog free. 
The Geo. W. P. Jerrnrd Co., Caribou, llalne. 
Buy Seeds from the Grower 
Very few seeds reach the gardener without passing through three or four hands. This 
adds to their cost without improving their quality. We rat.se a Lirjje part of the seeds 
we sett and know all about them—how and whero they wore raised, how old they are and 
from what kinds of plants they were saved. This cannot be known when the seeds are 
procured through another dealer, or even from another grower. 
COST LESS. When you buy our home grown seeds you pay only one profit and 
that a small one. 
BETTER QUALITY. By keeping a close watch on our crops and throwing out all 
imperfect plants wo keep the quality of our seeds up to a high standard. Quulity is 
always the first consideration with us. 
QUR SPECIALTIES. Improved strains of vegetable seeds for critical gardeners, 
new and superior varieties of Oafs, Field Corn and choice Seed Potatoes. A new 
Giant Yellow Flint Corn that is a wonder—sample free if you mention this advertise¬ 
ment. Ask for our catalogue and wholesale price list (free.) You can’t afford not to. 
JOSEPH HARRIS CO., Coldwater, N.Y. 
^ .. — a—/ 
Early Crops Mean Big Prices 
The sooner your early vegetables are on the market, the higher the nrWc th™ ■ 
The sooner your early vegetables are on the market, the higher the prices they com¬ 
mand. You know this and you know also that our 
Hardy Northern Grown Seeds grow fastest - mature earnest, and make i ar *- 
_ . . , est crops. You know why. The Northern 
growing season is shorter, plants grow quicker and mature sooner. This makes them 
strong and sturdy. Their vitality is greater. Their seeds sprout very quickly, grow very 
rapidly and mature in the shortest possible time. This means early crops. Early crops 
mean first markets, and first markets mean fancy prices. Try it yourself and see. 
TAKE PflTATOF^V We crow nil the popular varieties, but Our Extra Early Petoskey is 
> vIHIUWi the fastest grower—tne quickest to mature—the biggest producer. You 
can get them on the market from two to three weeks ahead of ail other varieties. And the potatoes 
are big, tempting beauties—snow white, mealy and delicious eating. 
FOR 25 CENTS fstamps or coin) wo will send you a big Petoskey Potato and our com¬ 
plete catalog of llardy Northern Grown Seeds. Catalog alone FREE. Write today nnd get 
your seed in the ground early. You won’t be sorry. Remember you can prove all we say if you 
act promptly and send at once. 
DARLING & BEAHAN, 22 Michigan Street, PETOSKEY, MICH. 
Western Seeds for Western Planters 
Seeds for Farm and 
Garden, Alfalfa, Maca¬ 
roni Wheat. Russian 
__ Spelts, Millet, Kaffir 
Corn, English Blue Grass, Oklahoma Dwarf Broom Corn, Hungarian Bromo Grass arid full line Garden, Flower and Field 
Soeds. Write now for our 1906 Catalog. Free by mail. Address Kansas Seed House, Lawrence, Kansas, 
or Colorado Seed Hou3e,Denver,Colo.,orOklahomaSeed House,Oklahoma city,Okla. 
BURPEE’S 
SEEDS GROW! 
If you want the 
Best Seeds 
should read The Thirtieth 
that can be grown, you 
Anniversary Edition of- 
BURPEE’S FARM ANNUAL FOR 1906, 
so well known as the “ Leading American Seed Catalogue.” It is mailed FREE to all. 
Better write TO- DAY. W. ATLEE BURPEE (EL CO., PHILADELPHIA. PA. 
