1909. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
673 
Plant Lice on Plums. 
It. ./,, Nashua, K. II —Can you tell me 
what the insect is which is bothering my 
plum trees? They are something like a 
hlack fly, only larger, and they do not 
seem to be easily shaken off. They begin 
on the ends of the limbs and fairly cover 
the small plums and the leaves until they 
curl up, and then they work in toward the 
trunk of the tree. I noticed the same 
tiling on one tree last year, but they did 
not spread from that tree. This year they 
covet* all the four trees in the hen yard. 
There are three Burbanks and one Abund¬ 
ance. Sometimes, where they are thickest, 
the leaves under them will be fairly wet. 
I have something the same kind of a bug 
on my cherry trees, one young tree which 
was affected the last year and two old 
trees that never showed it before. The 
bugs on this seem to be darker colored, and 
to stick nearer to the end leaves, curling 
them into a bunch. What can t do for 
them and would air-slaked lime hurt the 
trees or plums? 
Axs.—There are various species of 
plant-lice infesting the plum, of which 
some leave the trees after a few weeks 
in the Spring to pass the Summer on 
other plants. In case the species in 
question is one of these, no treatment 
will be found necessary. It will be well 
to watch them closely, and if they fail 
to leave of their own accord spray thor¬ 
oughly with either kerosene emulsion 
diluted with 10 parts of water, or whale- 
oil or other good soap, one pound in 
six or seven gallons of water. 
Glass Gardening in the South. 
TF. TIL, Columbus, O. —1. Iu the issue for 
January 2, Prof. Massey says he has grown 
Winter lettuce on a large scale, in hot¬ 
beds or cold-frames, at a great profit. I 
would like to know about what it would 
cost to put up the hotbeds and get into 
the business to such an extent that my 
sales of lettuce would be $1,000 a Winter, 
f. o. b. cars at nearest station. About how 
much help would one person need if in the 
business to that extent, or what business 
■could one person do with only one person 
to help? Would it be necessary, in your 
section, to have beds supplied with heat 
other than manure? What are the main 
drawbacks to this business in your section? 
2. What part of the Delaware-Maryland 
Peninsula do you consider best for a com¬ 
mercial orchard of Winter apples? What 
varieties of Winter apples do best there? 
Do you consider the Delaware-Maryland 
Peninsula as good a section for a com¬ 
mercial orchard of Winter apples as the 
Piedmont section of Virginia? 
Axs.—1. To build frames and buy 
sashes to enclose an acre under glass 
will cost not far from $G,000. Of course 
this means that the area will be enough 
over an acre to give room for handling 
the sashes and hauling manure. What 
it would cost to put up frames that 
would guarantee you an income of $1000 
I could not say, for the success of 
anything of the sort will depend very 
largely on the man and his skill and 
industry. That you could do what I 
have done, I could not warrant at all, 
since I know nothing about your skill 
in gardening. I do not think that you 
could do much with lettuce in frames 
in Winter as far north as Columbus, 
Ohio. The amount of help, too, will 
depend on the administrative character 
of .the man at the head. It is not a 
business for an inexperienced man to 
jump into on a large scale. The amount 
of help one would need will also depend 
on the equipment of his framing 
ground. If the land is piped for the 
overhead Skinner system of watering, 
one man can do more than half a dozen 
in watering. Manure-heated hotbeds 
would not be profitable for Winter. 
From the central part of the Eastern 
Shore of Maryland southward cold 
frames only, on well manured soil, with 
mats for covering the glass in very se¬ 
vere nights, will be all that is needed. 
2. Winter apples can be well grown 
in Kent and Cecil counties, Maryland, 
and Newcastle and Kent, Delaware. No, 
I do not consider this peninsula as good 
a place for Winter applies as the Pied¬ 
mont country of Virginia. The moun¬ 
tain country of North Carolina is an 
ideal place for apples, but shipping fa¬ 
cilities are not so good as in the Pied¬ 
mont country of Virginia. But the best 
place for Winter gardening with glass 
frames and the best place for Winter 
apples cannot be found together; the 
one needs a mild Winter climate and 
the apples a high, cool section. In my 
particular section little attention is giv¬ 
en to apples, and it is not at all a good 
section for Winter fruit. From here 
to Cape Charles we have a very mild 
Winter climate suitable for trucking, 
which is the leading industry. I would 
like to reply more specifically, but I 
would not raise false hopes with a man 
who is not a skilled gardener. I have 
made more than $1000 from crops in 
frames that cost to build $3500, not 
counting the land, which was worth 
$500, nor the cost of installing water¬ 
works. Whether you could do as well 
I would not undertake to say. Of 
course, the first equipment is the heav¬ 
iest outlay, for the sashes taken care 
of* will last many years. 
W. F. MASSEY. 
Treatment of Silo Lumber. 
A. F. C., Halsey Talley, A'. Y.—I am 
planning to build a silo and wish to use 
hemlock 2x6’s, but they will only have two 
or three months to season. A neighbor 
who lias had experience in building a hem¬ 
lock stave silo says I shall make a great 
mistake unless I use thoroughly seasoned 
lumber, on account of the great shrinkage. 
I do not know where to get seasoned lum¬ 
ber, and even if I did I imagine the cost 
would be much greater. I have just re¬ 
ceived price on kind of lumber mentioned 
above of $20 per 1,000 surfaced and bev¬ 
eled, good stock. Is there an inexpensive 
material with which I can treat this lum¬ 
ber so as to reduce the amount of shrink¬ 
age to a minimum, and allow me to use 
this stock and still have a silo (hat will 
keep my silage in good shape? It will be 
built inside of barn, so that the sun will 
not come in contact with it. I am greatly 
in need of a silo, but am not in shape 
to build an expensive one. 
Axs.—While hemlock is not the best 
wood for a silo, if you feel it is the 
best you can afford, why, go ahead. It 
will beat no silo a long way. As the 
writer stated in a recent issue of this 
paper, he has two such that have been 
in use 14 or 15 years, before they needed 
repairs, and one had no protection in 
the way of paint. Get the lumber home 
as soon as possible, pile it where it will 
not warp, but so that light and air can 
circulate between each piece, and you 
will be surprised how it will dry out in 
a few weeks. Saturate the wood—after 
it is in place—with "Carbolineum.” You 
will not be troubled with the staves 
shrinking, and it will add to the lasting 
qualities of the silo. 
EDWARD VAX ALSTYXE. 
Seeding “Catch Crops” in Corn. 
T. W. MAshton, It. /.—I wish to sow 
for cover crop iu corn, rape. Cow-horn tur¬ 
nips and rye. Will you tell me the pro¬ 
portion of each for one acre? Would it 
be good policy to sow the same for cover 
crop where I take off potatoes iu August? 
If. A. E.j West Wrentham, Hass. —I saw 
your editorial on page 628 in regard to 
sowing Crimson clover. I have six acres of 
corn on reclaimed brush pasture, an old 
wall moved, large rocks blown out, and al¬ 
most all stumps out. I had thought of 
sowing Crimson clover and plowing it in 
the Spring. Some say it will not live 
through the Winter. Another way has been 
suggested: to sow Winter rye this Fall 
after corn is shocked, and in Spring harrow 
over with Cutaway disk and then sow the 
Crimson clover. Which would you do? 
Axs.—After many experiments in 
northern New Jersey we advise the 
following combination for a catch crop 
in the corn. Twelve pounds Crimson 
clover, one pound Dwarf Essex rape, 
one and one-half pound Cow-horn tur¬ 
nips for each acre. This is seeded at 
the last working of the corn, which with 
us comes in early August. We mix the 
seeds and scatter over the ground 
among the corn. Then with a light 
cultivator open wide we run through 
• the rows. It is better to work both ways 
if possible. A piece of plank wired to 
the cultivator so that it will drag on the 
ground behind will scrape the soil down 
smooth and give a better seeding. We 
have tried the experiment of seeding a 
peck of rye in addition to the other 
seeds. In places where Crimson clover j 
is not a sure crop the rye helps, for it • 
will live. and give a green crop for 
plowing under in Spring. We would 
use the clover, however, even though we 
knew it would all be killed during Win¬ 
ter and Spring, because the growth^ it 
will make through the Fall, before 
the ground freezes, will more than pay 
for seed and labor. It is doubtful if 
this clover will live through the Winter 
in Rhode Island. If it were not to be 
used we should sow to each acre lRj 
pound each rape and Cow-horn turnips 
and half a bushel of rye. The plan of 
seeding Crimson clover in Spring is 
doomed to failure. This clover is a 
cool weather plant and makes its best 
growth in Fall and early Spring. If 
you seed it in Spring it will make a 
short growth, and as soon as hot weath¬ 
er comes stop growing and go to seed— 
which will be the end of it. You can 
sow Red clover on the rye, but do not 
seed Crimson at that time. Of course, 
you will understand that if the season 
is very dry t' e “catch crop” will be 
likely to hurt the corn by taking needed 
moisture from it. 
Covering a Cistern. 
R. L. H., Ellenburgh, N. Y .—Can you or 
some of your correspondents tell me how 
to arch a cistern; that is, to cover it? 
The cistern is built outdoors, is about nine 
feet square. I want to cover it with con¬ 
crete or brick. 
Axs.—If this cistern is built level 
with the ground at the top, I would 
much prefer a nearly level covering to 
an arch. To do this take some 2x4’s, 
saw them two inches shorter than the 
height of the wall of the cistern, saw 
in for a board, also bevel half of the 
top end that goes next to the wall and 
the bottom end. It would be hard to 
take them out if not beveled. Nail the 
board to three such scantlings and make 
four such supports, placing two on 
each side of the opening. Do not drive 
the nails way up, so that they can be 
'drawn out. Cover with two-inch plank, 
leaving as large opening as desired in 
the centre. Make a box eight inches 
deep, just large enough to set on the 
plank for the hole, and if it is to be left 
in drive nails partly in around the out¬ 
side of the box to hold in the concrete. 
If the box is not needed work the 
trowel between it and the concrete be¬ 
fore it hardens, so that it can be pulled 
out. - 
Make a box six inches deep as large 
as the cover is wanted. Mix some con¬ 
crete, two of sand to one of cement, 
to plaster against boxes. Next mix up 
four parts crushed stone, two sand and 
one cement. Shovel over three times 
before wetting, having stiff enough so 
that it will not run. Shovel enough on 
the plank to make two inches, tamp and 
then place on it coarse galvanized net¬ 
ting of one inch or one and one-half 
inch mesh. One large piece is better 
cut out in the centre for the hole. 
Tamp it in the concrete. Fill in to 
.within one inch of top with concrete 
and place on top two to one mixture. 
Start to smooth at one corner with a 
smooth edge board, making the lower 
part of the board go fast enough to 
reach both corners at the same time. 
Coarse, clean sand should be used. 
Good gravel might be substituted for 
the crushed stone, but the sand in it 
should be screened out, as it would 
take up too much of the cement and 
weaken the concrete, geo. w. eversox. 
When’ you write advertisers mention Tun 
R. N.-Y. and you'll get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See guarantee page 8. 
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The* “BOSS” POTATO 
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