1907. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
587 
THE ASPARAGUS BEETLE; THE CROP. 
Experience from Massachusetts. 
In regard to remedies for the Asparagus beetle (Crio- 
ceris asparagi) would say they are many. When the 
beetle first appeared many beds were ruined and plowed 
up and we thought that the asparagus industry had re¬ 
ceived its deathblow, but now we have learned “to take 
our medicine” and have many methods of fighting them, 
and very successfully too. Many years ago a man ad¬ 
vertised a sure method of exterminating the beetle and 
offered his method to the public for a small cash re¬ 
mittance. It was a sure cure all right, but rather ex¬ 
pensive. He said: “Take a block of wood, place the 
beetle on it and then another block on the beetle and 
hit the last block with an ax.” So much for bunco 
games. From nearly 20 years’ acquaintance with the 
beetle I would suggest the following practical ways of 
fighting it. On every acre of new beds set out I would 
place four or five coops of chickens. Keep the hen 
cooped and let the chickens run at large 
and you will have very few beetles. 
When the young shoots are about a foot 
high and well leaved out the beetles mate 
and lay their eggs on the stalks and 
leaves. When the eggs hatch out use 
Paris-green dry with an air gun in the 
early morning when the dew is on. Some 
use “Boxall,” which is good. This is a 
new preparation of phosphate of copper 
and arsenical poison, which answers two 
purposes, one to kill the slugs and beetles 
and the other to act as a fungicide. Some 
are using Boxall to protect the asparagus 
plants from the Asparagus rust, and with 
good results. Another method of destroy¬ 
ing the larvae .of the Asparagus beetles is 
to knock them off when the ground is 
very hot with a few birch branches or 
carry a long board so it will brush them 
from several rows at once. Some people 
cultivate the larvae in as they lie on the 
ground, but this is needless if the ground 
is hot. They will die in about one min¬ 
ute on the average. A severe open Win¬ 
ter kills many beetles, as they winter un¬ 
der bark and between stones on walls. 
Don’t let the beetles feed on the young 
tops, as it stunts the plant, and it never 
seems to do as well afterwards. The 
young plantations of asparagus this year 
as a rule have been a failure, many beds 
having been plowed up. The cold, late 
Spring, no doubt, was the cause of this. 
The sub-station beds (three acres), how¬ 
ever, are an exception and are looking 
well, some shoots being four feet high 
on July 1. The asparagus crop, on the 
whole, this year was late and not very 
remunerative. The average income from 
an acre of asparagus differs as much as 
the size of men’s shoes; some localities 
claim $500 or $000 per acre and others 
$300 to $400. The Asparagus rust has 
not appeared here yet and we hope it 
will not, but in another month it will 
probably show itself. I had hoped that 
our Asparagus Association would have 
made a report before this, but it will 
come later. c. w. prescott. 
Massachusetts. 
SHORT STORIES. 
GAS TAR ON IRON.—A little while 
ago inquiry was made as to the best cov-> 
ering to prevent rust on iron or steel 
roofing. Five years ago I put steel roof¬ 
ing on my house. It had on it a coat of 
Venetian red when I bought it and I put 
on another coat as soon as it was put 
on, yet inside of a year it was rusting so badly that 
after every rain the ground under the eaves was cov¬ 
ered with rust flakes. Then a friend of mine told me 
to try gas tar on the roof. I did not fancy the black 
color, but I put it on, and it has given me such fine 
results that I can recommend it in the highest terms. 
It stopped the rusting at once, as it formed a glasslike 
surface on the roofing, and, rain or dry weather, heat 
or cold, has no effect on it whatever'. I put on a new 
coat about every two or three years. The proper way 
to do is to put on a coat of gas tar on the under side 
of the roofing before putting it on the roof, then tar 
it on top as soon as it is on the roof, and with an 
occasional renewing your roof will last forever. As 
soon as it is dried on well and the rain has washed it 
off once the water is just as clear and sweet as from 
any other roof. Where moisture gathers on the inside 
of the building a layer of sheathing paper will help. 
Highland Springs, Va. j. f. 
CONCRETE FOR GRAVES—As concrete is now 
applied to so many uses there is one use to which it 
could be put which would be of more lasting consola¬ 
tion to the user. This use would be in the graves of 
the cemetery. It is lamentable to bury our friends 
and' after a time to visit the burial place and find it 
sunken, so .that extra filling is necessary to make it 
pleasant to the sight. To overcome the sinking many 
go to the expense of slate vaults, others to a tier of 
brick laid outside the casket box; still others use a 
course of stone in place of brick, and still others use a 
metallic case. Any and all these methods involve more 
labor and a much greater expense than concrete. My 
proposition is to place the outer box in the grave pit, 
fill the outside space to the top of the box. After the 
casket is in place in the outer box and cover on add 
four or five inches of concrete over the whole top. 
One can then be satisfied that no settling will ever 
take place. As to wetting the concrete, just as one saw 
fit. The moisture of the ground would very soon 
harden the concrete. As to the top, the concrete may 
be placed, wet or dry, or the sexton could mold and 
prepare the covering in suitable sizes, convenient to 
handle. A quantity could be kept on hand for use at 
any time. In freezing weather the sexton should have 
the gravel dried and sheltered. o. h. smith. 
PORTABLE FENCE—I notice on page 509 that B. 
L. R. inquires for the best portable fence. It seems to 
me we have all been looking too far for a portable 
fence. Several years ago I had a large num¬ 
ber of lengths of portable fence made. It has been 
my experience since that it takes a long time to haul 
this style of fence into the location where it is to be 
used and when in place the wind has blown it down 
with us ever so many times. We now put up barbed- 
wire fence. By securing the end posts firm one can 
make a three or four strand fence that will turn any or¬ 
dinary herd of cows, and two men can, with favorable 
conditions, put up one mile of this fence in a day. 
With a straight claw-hammer it can be taken down 
when occasion requires quite rapidly. Our stakes are 
driven from 15 to 40 feet apart, according to size of 
stakes and evenness of land. We place the upper wire 
42 inches from the ground and the others 10 inches 
apart. Our wooden portable fence is stacked up and 
we presume the lot that cannot be used for gates will 
rot where it it. It costs more to transport ordinary 
portable fences than to build the barbed-wire fence, as 
we look at it. j. h. r. 
Portland, Me. 
KILLING THISTLES—In answer to H. P. N.’s 
inquiry as to killing thistles, page 540, I would say 
that the easiest and surest way I have ever found for 
thistles and burdock is to let them get in full bloom 
and then cut down. There may be a few late ones 
which will sprout, but cutting them when in bloom will 
end the plague. Be sure not to leave until the seed 
ripens or they will sprout. j. v. henry nott. 
New York. 
CANNING RHUBARB. —In Hope 
Farm Notes, page 527, I have read the 
reply of H. W. C. to R. A. B., and wish 
that all who “do up” fruit could read it. 
We have excellent rhubarb in Winter that 
is canned in Summer in pure cold spring 
water and nothing else. The rhubarb 
stalks are washed and sliced in pieces, one- 
quarter inch long or less, so the/ will pack 
closely in the jars. The glasses are filled 
as solid as possible with the rhubarb and 
water poured in gently, overflowing the 
top to carry off all the air bubbles, shak¬ 
ing the jar a few times that bubbles may 
be released, and after a few minutes a 
little more water is put in, the jar capped 
with a new rubber ring and put away. 
Cool canning for a Summer day and deli¬ 
cious sauce for the cool days when the 
apples are gone. F. a. b. 
New Canaan, Conn. 
TANNING HIDES.—On page 516 a 
farmer’s boy asks how to tan woodchuck 
skins. First take a slab six or eight feet 
long, put two legs in one end, the other 
end to rest on the ground. Take a piece of 
an old scythe about two feet long with 
blunt edge; thus you have beam and beam¬ 
ing knife. As soon as skins are taken off 
trim off legs and head and scrape off all 
fat and flesh. Then take four parts salt, 
two parts alum, one part saltpeter, one 
part Glauber salts, pulverize and mix; 
rub on flesh side of skin, fold together, 
lay in a cool place four or five days, then 
apply more if necessary, which you can 
tell if it is all absorbed by the skin. 
When tanned spread out in the shade to 
dry. When partly dry beam thoroughly and 
when dry finish with sand paper or pum¬ 
ice stone. Give the hair a good brushing, 
as it is much better than washing. I 
have tanned all kinds of furs and skins, 
everything from a moleskin to a dogskin. 
Waverly, N. Y. a. l. s. 
STRAWBERRY MULCH.—The ques¬ 
tion of what to use as a mulch for straw¬ 
berries and where to secure it is certainly 
a live one. Our experience has been lim¬ 
ited to the use of wheat straw, rye straw 
and a little spoiled hay. Needless to say, 
we will never try the last again, for we 
secured a •beautiful seeding on the little 
patch covered by it. The rye straw is 
not as satisfactory a mulch to handle as 
wheat straw, and more or less rye will 
grow the next Spring and must be pulled. 
Clean wheat straw is the best, but since 
the advent of the “blower” we have 
had difficulty in securing straw free 
from wheat and grass seeds. Last Fall we bought 
a two-year-old wheat stack for mulching. This Spring 
we had a nice stand of wheat in our strawberry beds 
and spent many hours laboriously pulling it by hand. 
In the beds covered by other straw Timothy came up 
thickly. Two years ago beds mulched with wheat 
straw were so clean that it was unnecessary to go over 
the rows to pull the weeds. So long as we can buy 
good, clean wheat straw at $1 per load handy by we 
will not attempt grow our mulch, but if the experi¬ 
ence of last season is repeated we shall experiment 
with other material. We expect to try marsh hay the 
coming season, purchasing it this Summer and cutting 
and stacking to haul when the marshes are frozen. 
When we try growing mulch material it will first be 
some legume like cow peas or vetch, though I believe 
more and perhaps better mulch material can be secured 
by growing lye or corn. I have known of corn being 
used very successfully, but do not know whether it was 
grown after old strawberry beds or not. 
Michigan. s. b. hartman. 
IRIS HEXAGONA. MUCH REDUCED IN SIZE. Fig. 292. 
See Ruralisms, Page 590. 
DUTCH BELTED HEIFERS. Fig. 293. See Page 599. 
