420 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
HABITS OF THE CODLING MOTH. 
Fruit growers have for many years 
used arsenic sprays for killing the Cod¬ 
ling worm—the ugly insect which 
causes so much damage to apples. Yet 
it is quite likely that much of this 
work has been wasted through a lack 
of knowledge regarding the real life 
history of the insect. Prof. E. D. San¬ 
derson, of New Hampshire, before the 
Peninsula Horticultural Society, gave 
an interesting account of some experi¬ 
ments. The habits of the moth are 
given below. Next week we shall give 
the lessons to be learned from this 
study. 
The Codling moth hibernates over Win¬ 
ter in a white silken cocoon made under or 
in the bark of the tree. It transforms to a 
pupa in April or May, and the moths issue 
a little later. Two years ago we endeavored 
to determine how many of the cocoons are 
found on the trunk, and how many on the 
limbs of the tree. We examined thoroughly 
all parts of seven trees and found 55 
cocoons to the tree, 70 per cent of them 
being on the main trunk and 30 per cent 
on the limbs. It is very evident, therefore, 
that scraping the bark from the tree is 
valuable in removing some of the cocoons, 
and on account of the fact that they do 
not spin their cocoons so readily on smooth 
trees. On these same trees we determined 
how many had been killed from various 
causes, and we found from GO to 87 per 
cent had been destroyed by the birds, such 
as the chickadee, the nuthatch and wood¬ 
peckers. Birds can readily be attracted to 
the orchard in considerable numbers by 
hanging up pieces of suet and bone and 
the number of the Codling moths will thus 
be decreased. We found from five to 19 
per cent of the Codling moth larvae which 
went into hibernation were alive in the 
Spring. 
The date of appearance of the adult 
moths varies from year to year. In 1906 
in New Hampshire the majority emerged on 
.tune 14, while in 1907 they did not emerge 
until July 2. This variation in the time 
of appearance of the moths will have some 
bearing on the time at which we should 
give the second spraying. One of the most 
important points in connection with the 
control of the Codling moth is to know 
where and when the eggs are laid and 
when they hatch. It was formerly sup¬ 
posed that the eggs were laid in the blos¬ 
som end of the apple. Later it was thought 
that they were mostly laid on the apples, 
but we find that on the Baldwin apple tree, 
which is the principal variety grown in 
New England, practically all of the eggs 
are laid on the leaves. This may not be 
true with other varieties in other parts of 
the country, but general observations show 
that the eggs of the first brood are most 
a mmonly laid on the leaves. As soon as 
the moths emerge they commence to ovi¬ 
posit if the evenings are warm. If the 
evenings are cool and damp they will not 
lay and it may be a week or two before 
they will lay most of their eggs under such 
circumstances. The moths which we have had 
under observation lay from 30 to 135, 
averaging 75 eggs each. The eggs hatch in 
from five to 10 days, averaging about eight 
days. 
The usual custom is to spray the trees 
for the Codling moth just after the blos¬ 
soms fall in order to fill the open calyces 
with poison. From the above data it will 
be seen that the eggs do not hatch until 
several weeks later. Definite observations 
show that in 1906 and 1908 the first eggs 
hatched 21 days after the blossoms fell, and 
in 1907 the first eggs hatched 11 days 
after the blossoms fell. The average of 
Ihrce years shows that the majority of the 
eggs hatch about 26 to 30 days after the 
blossoms fall. 
In determining the position of the eggs 
we have gone to considerable pains to de¬ 
termine the matter exactly. We placed large 
cheesecloth frames over trees 10 or 12 years 
old, and carefully examined all the foliage 
to see that there were no eggs upon it. We 
then liberated a male and female moth in 
each cage and examined them every two or 
three days. On other trees which were not 
covered with a frame we examined the 
foliage, and as fast as we found an egg the 
leaf bearing the egg was tagged and the 
apple nearest to said egg was also tagged 
with a string tag around the stem so that 
the tag dropped with the apple. These 
trees were frequently examined for eggs, 
and we were able thus to determine how 
far an egg was from the nearest apple. As 
a result of the observations on 796 eggs, 
we found that the egg averaged nine inches 
to the nearest apple. Many eggs are laid 
on limbs where there are no apples at all. 
It is evident that there must be consider¬ 
able mortality of the young larvse in crawl¬ 
ing from the eggs to the apples. The young 
larva?, when they hatch from the eggs, 
feed on the tender foliage, mining it at the 
base of the leaf and' at the branches of the 
midrib wherever there is a soft succulent 
tissue. Our observations have shown con¬ 
clusively that the larvae feed on the foliage, 
as we have reared the moths from larvae 
which have fed on water sprouts. 
It is well known that a large proportion 
of the larvae enter the apple through the 
blossom or calyx end. We find that 65 per 
cent of the first brood and 46 per cent of 
the second brood enter through the calyx. 
It is for this reason that we give the first 
spray immediately after the blossoms drop, 
so as to fill the calyx with poison ; but if, 
as shown above, most of the larvae have to 
crawl a considerable distance from the egg 
to the apple, and therefore feed somewhat 
on the foliage before going to the apple, it 
is evident that a thorough poisoning of the 
foliage at the time the eggs are hatching 
will be of considerable value. We find that 
the caterpillars remain in the apple for 25 
to 30 days, and that those which emerge 
first sometimes transform the pupa; and the 
moths emerge and give rise to a partial sec¬ 
ond brood, while most of the caterpillars 
remain in the cocoons over Winter. In 
Delaware there is ahvays a partial second 
brood. 
GET THE PROPER TOOLS. 
The article on page 159, discussing the 
tool equipment of a farm, might, I think, 
have been more widely useful if it had 
laid more stress upon the principle that 
underlies the rational employment of tools, 
in all the lines of industry that I am 
acquainted with, and which is, not how 
fere, but how many tools can be profitably 
employed, and as all progressive indus¬ 
tries are asking this question, so must the 
farmer, if he is to take and keep his right¬ 
ful position. No general statement can be 
of more than the slightest value to the 
individual inquirer, for his special environ¬ 
ment and line of production must decide 
how T much oiv how little will be needed 
to do the work properly, and I only desire 
to call attention to a few of the reasons 
why the farmer should not stint the tools 
necessary to do his work quickly, effectively 
and easily. Not infrequently the posses¬ 
sion or lack of an implement will decide 
whether or no a crop can be put in or 
harvested at the right time, and the gain 
or loss of condition dependent thereon 
may easily equal or exceed, perhaps many 
fold, the cost of the tool. The farmer has 
to contend with such uncertain and chang¬ 
ing weather conditions, that if he wishes 
to secure the largest measure of success, he 
must be prepared to utilize the favorable 
moments to their utmost. This necessitates 
the possession of enough tools to do the 
work quickly, and there can be few who 
have not sorrowful recollection of large 
losses incurred because the facilities for 
prompt action were not at baud. To rely 
on borrowed or hired tools cannot often 
be safe, for when you want to use the 
tool, so does the owner, and when he is 
ready to let you have it, the best time, for 
its use is apt to bo gone. A few of the 
most expensive implements may well be 
owned in common among a limited num¬ 
ber of farmers, none of whom has singly 
much use for them, but for the greater 
part it will be safer and more profitable 
for the farmer to have the tools he needs 
under his own sheds. 
I have no wish to advocate the purchase 
or owning of unnecessary tools, but all 
needed tools should be bought as soon as 
their need is clearly perceived and they 
can be afforded. A sensible, practical man 
can easily figure out how much a tool is 
really worth to him per season, and if it 
will pay good interest on its cost, he had 
better buy it, rather* than to put his 
money into outside investments. In these 
days, when the difficulty of getting labor 
of dependable quality at a possible price 
is constantly increasing, it seems plain that 
we must be on the alert to discover and 
adopt every device and machine that will 
make the necessary number of laborers 
smaller or increase the efficiency of those 
we employ. We must face the fact that 
if we are to retain a good class of farm 
workmen we must pay them as large, per¬ 
haps even larger, wages than they can 
command in the cities, and this being so, 
it behooves us to make their labor just 
as efficient as possible, and as the tired 
man is less careful than the unjaded man, 
I think there is good warrant for putting 
in labor saving tools, even though the 
work turned out is no greater than could 
be produced by the older tools. This ap¬ 
plies particularly to such tools as plows, 
harrows and cultivators, though I also 
believe that the greater uniformity of work 
secured by these riding tools is an advan¬ 
tage that overweighs their greater draft 
and cost. Personally, I like a tool, that 
after I get it adjusted to the work, can 
be left to the ordinary hand, with a fair 
assurance that so long as it is run on the 
selected notches it will not vary greatly 
from the desired standard, and this is a 
feeling that I cannot have with the older 
tools, which depend so much more upon 
the man behind the handles. 
It pays to have different tools to do the 
same kind of work, for the varying condi¬ 
tions of tilth make it impossible for one 
sort of harrow or cultivator to be always 
the best, and to have to use horses and 
men on a tool that is doing sloppy work, 
where another machine would do a perfect 
job, is a disagreeable experience to any 
good farmer. Expensive tools are some¬ 
times money savers, as in the case of the 
grain drills cited by your correspondent. A 
good drill costs quite a sum, but when 
there are 40 to 60 acres of grain a year 
to be put in each year and the drill makes 
two bushels of seed do the work of 2% 
or three bushels applied broadcast, it is 
not difficult to see that the extravagance 
lies in trying to do without it. I use four 
times the tool equipment called for by Mr. 
Prickett. and there are very few which do 
not pay a handsome yearly interest on 
their cost, and yet there are several of the 
tools he mentions that I have not suffi¬ 
cient need of to make their purchase profit¬ 
able. The point which I wish to enforce 
is that each man must find out for himself 
what he needs, but that there is no economy 
but a wasteful extravagance in attempt¬ 
ing to get along without the tools which 
enable us to convert our time and energy 
into the largest possible amount of crop 
and net profit, including in the last, the 
sense of satisfaction that comes with the 
knowledge that the work has been attended 
to at the proper time and in the best 
manner. h. w. iieaton. 
Rhode Island. 
A TALK ON POTATO SEED. 
Our old friend, Matthew Crawford, of 
Ohio, writes, for his local paper, an excel¬ 
lent article on potato culture. That part 
which discusses the seed is given below: 
“The seed to use is medium to large 
size from plants that held their foliage to 
maturity. Not that an unripe tuber isn’t 
as good and better; but a plant that ripens 
prematurely on account of blight or any 
weakness cannot develop tubers that are 
safe to plant. It should be unsprouted or 
else sprouted in full exposure to light and 
air. The common opinion is that potatoes 
should be planted immediately after they 
are cut. If dusted with air-slaked lime 
as they are cut, they may be put in shal¬ 
low boxes two or three inches deep and 
kept two months. Leaving potatoes in the 
light until they are green does not hurt 
them for seed. 
“People are always asking how much 
seed to use. All other things being equal, 
the larger the seed pieces the larger the 
crop. Perhaps the most profit comes from 
two-eye pieces, dropped 12 or 15 inches 
apart. When seed is cheap one can afford 
to use more of it, and a good sized whole 
tuber will produce more than a two-eye 
cut, especially if only two or three eyes are 
allowed to grow. Over 50 years ago I 
bought a large potato at the fair for five 
cents, and planted it whole. The crop 
filled a peck measure level full. Some 30 
years later I bought two pounds for |2, 
cut them to single eyes and raised 12 
bushels. When seed is scarce I cut to single 
eyes; when plentiful, to two eyes. 
“The poorest seed—assuming it to be 
healthy—is that that has been kept in the 
cellar and has been sprouted over two or 
three times. The first sprout is the best; the 
second is weak, and the third very weak 
indeed. My common practice is to put the 
potatoes one layer deep in the shallow flats 
that we cure Gladiolus bulbs in and leave 
them exposed to the light and air until 
planting time—sometimes as late as July. 
By that time, stubby, green buds have 
developed that are not easily broken off. 
It is believed that this long exposure to 
the light kills the spores of the blight. 
However this may be I have splendid suc¬ 
cess. Last year I raised 18 varieties and 
there was no blight on any of them. I 
rarely divide the eyes, but it may be done 
with safety. Potato peelings have been 
used for seed, and if pared potatoes are 
cut and planted, most of them will grow. 
A potato placed with the stem end down, 
before it begins to sprout, will usually send 
up but two or three sprouts; but if placed 
blossom end down, there will bo a sprout 
for each eye. So, when you buy a new, 
costly variety, place it stem end up. I saw 
a new variety offered a few days age at 
?5 a pound. Five or six years ago the 
Eldorado was sold in England for more 
than its weight in gold.” 
Coring the Cats. —Having had many 
cats, and such good success with them, I 
would like to give G. R., of New York, 
page 2S1, my simple remedy for distem¬ 
per. As soon as we see the first sign of 
watery eyes or sneezing we begin to put 
powdered sulphur into their milk, a tea¬ 
spoonful to a pint of milk for three or 
four days. This is a simple remedy, yet we 
have never lost a cat and have had as 
many as 12 at one time. We have also 
saved each of our three dogs when they 
were puppies by this same treatment. 
Aurora, Ill. M. C. 
Types and Breeds of Farm Animals; 
by C. S. Plumb; 563 pages, fully illustrated. 
A thoroughly up-to-date work by an author¬ 
ity on breeds of farm animals, their history 
and development, with accurate descrip¬ 
tions of their characteristics. For sale by 
The Rural New-Yorker, price, postpaid, $2. 
April 17, 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See guarantee page 16. 
. ‘fry 
Deere Books 
Tell How — 
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16-page illustrated' 
farm paper free 
Don V 
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I F Interested m farming, get our farm paper. 
You can have it one year absolutely FREE. 
This paper will give you some new ideas. 
No other paper like it. We will also send you 
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plows from many foreign lands, also pictures 
of modern walking plows, sulkies, gangs and 
immense steam plows that turn forty acres a 
day. Get posted. 
j;®* Hired Help Costs Big Money^S 
"'Your land is high priced and hired help 
expensive. There is only one way to make 
big money—use implements that cut down 
the cost of your crops. Isn’t it true that 
when you break something on a plow it is 
nearly always a cast part? Wherever strain 
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side of a JOHN DEERE which has been in 
service that long—and see the difference. 
Then there is no paint to cover up poor 
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There is comfort and profit in having good 
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JOHN DEERE—the standard plow of 
the world for two generations. .A—.. 
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Mention the number of the package then 
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DEERE & COMPANY, MOLINE, ILL 
Binds More 
Sheaves with 
Less Twine 
Plymouth Binder Twine is made 
right. It works smoothly, ties 
properly, and the last of the ball 
feeds as freely as the first. No 
knots or breaks. Fifty per cent 
stronger than the strain of any 
machine actually requires. 
PLYMOUTH 
Binder Twine 
• 
is used more than any other twine 
because it is known to be the 
best. Made by the oldest cord¬ 
age establishment in the United 
States, where quality and honesty 
are spun into every ball of twine. 
Farmers who insist on seeing the 
wheat-sheaf tag on every ball of 
twine save money and avoid 
harvest delays. Get Plymouth 
Twine of the local dealer. 
PLYMOUTH CORDAGE COMPANY 
Largest Rope Makers in the 
world — Oldest in America. 
Plymouth. Mass. 
