1908. 
063 
HOW I KILL QUACK GRASS. 
I plow it up iu June, and as fast as it 
is plowed I have the team hauling out 
barnyard manure, spread it on quite 
freely and harrow it in with a disk har¬ 
row. When it is well-harrowed I sow 
it with buckwheat, using one-half bushel 
to the acre, or India wheat, which I 
use in preference when I can get it, as 
it shades the ground better. As it comes 
up quickly it smothers the grass all out. 
Then when it is ripe we let the tur¬ 
keys in it to get fat; we generally have 
a pretty good flock, and they harvest the 
crop. It fattens them well and cheaply. 
Then the next Spring when I plow it 
up, it looks like the bottom of an old 
straw stack, the ground all full of old 
dead roots, just the place to plant early 
potatoes. They grow to perfection, and 
when I came to dig them and see them 
rolling out behind the digger like young 
pumpkins, and as smooth as a silver 
dollar, it takes away some of the hard 
feelings we are apt to have toward the 
quack grass. j. w. whippie. 
New Hampshire. 
The Bureau of Soils. 
8. O. D., Greenfield, Mass .—On page 850 
G. G. D. speaks of a “band Bureau’’ and 
“Bureau of Soils.” Will you give me some 
Information in regard to this, as to the ob¬ 
ject of the Bureau, and also the address? 
Ans. —This Bureau is a part of the 
National Department of Agriculture at 
Washington. Its object is to- make a 
study of different soils and thus enable 
the owners to form an idea of the 
crops best suited to them, or the best 
way to handle them. At one time it 
was claimed with some confidence that 
by making a chemical analysis of soils we 
could tell what fertilizers were needed. 
There is not much of practical value 
to this, though such analysis might 
show that one element was very defi¬ 
cient. For example, the soil in swamps 
and very low places is usually very defi¬ 
cient in potash and also phosphoric acid. 
Thus analysis of such soils will show 
us that we have greatest need of these 
elements—although until the soil is 
drained and limed we must add soluble 
nitrogen too. The condition of the soil 
—that is its texture, the depth and char¬ 
acter of the subsoil, the way it holds 
moisture and other similar things, are 
most important for a farmer to know. 
As most farmers know, there are cer¬ 
tain soils which grow apples better than 
others. The same is true of potatoes, 
peaches, grapes and other crops. The 
scientists are studying these things, and 
can give a good idea of what the soil 
is good for by making a study of it. 
A soil may be unproductive even if well 
fed because it needs lime, vegetable mat¬ 
ter, drainage or deeper plowing. The 
scientists of the Bureau of Soils try to 
tell what is needed by examining the 
soil. 
Chemicals and the Codling Moth. 
W. P. D. Columbia Co., N. Y .—Is there 
anything that can be sown broadcast un¬ 
der apple trees iu Fall or Spring that will 
destroy the larvae or chrysalids of the Cod¬ 
ling moth without injuring the trees or 
plants? Would salt, sulphur, potash or 
copperas prove of any use? If so, in what 
quantity should each be used, and at what 
season? The use of wood ashes for two 
years running seemed to bring fairer fruit. 
Did the potash kill the pests in the soil 
before the perfect moth was developed? 
Ans. —I do not believe that any mate¬ 
rial sown broadcast or applied to the 
soil in any way beneath apple trees 
would have sufficient effect upon the 
Codling moth to pay for the application. 
Doubtless where the trunks and larger 
branches of the trees are comparatively 
smooth, so as to allow few favorable 
places for spinning cocoons, the cater¬ 
pillars often make their cocoons on 
other objects, perhaps on the surface of 
the ground. They do not, however, go 
into the ground to transform. If the 
use of wood ashes or similar fertilizers 
seems to produce fairer fruit, I do not 
think it is because the materials de¬ 
stroyed any of the Codliiu, worms. I 
THE RURAL 
am quite sure that thoroughly cultivated 
orchards suffer less from this pest than 
those grown in sod, but I have no defi¬ 
nite facts to prove this notion. If 
thoroughly cultivated orchards are not 
well sprayed with poisons they often 
suffer severely from this pest. 
M. V. SLINGERLAND 1 . 
OCTOBER PURPLE PLUM. 
Few fruit novelties appeared of 
greater promise than October Purple 
plum, one of Luther Burbank’s “crea¬ 
tions” when disseminated 10 or more 
years ago. Time enough has passed to 
place it as a commercial failure in the 
Middle and Eastern States, though we 
believe it is still sparingly planted in 
NEW-YORKER 
THOSE “ NEW YORK BALDWINS.” 
I note articles on packing apples in 
western New York. That they are packed 
dishonestly no one will question, and un¬ 
less there is a change the grower will suf¬ 
fer. You do well to agitate, the matter, 
but don’t bear down too heavily on the far¬ 
mer. he is a poor packer, as a rule, and 
should he converted. Not one barrel in a 
hundred of farmers’ packing goes on the 
market; they are bought by dealers, placed 
in cold storage and repacked before going 
on the market. Last year they went crazy ; 
in many cases paid $3 to $3.50 for tree 
runs, that is, took everything on the tree. 
Trice collapsed and everything went into 
barrel in an effort to get even. Our far¬ 
mers put out a lot of money in growing 
an orchard (20 years before they get an 
apple), fight insects and fungus all Sum¬ 
mer, producing apples of fine flavor, good 
keepers; then all is spoiled by putting one- 
half bushel of worthless apples in middle 
of barrel. Suppose a Michigan buyer has 
orders from Cincinnati and St. Louis for 
Michigan apples; buyer comes to Niagara 
County, buys them, repacks, putting up a 
fancy No. 1, which he marks Michigan 
Baldwins. No. 2 is marked No. 1 Niagara 
Co. Baldwins, and shipped east. Don’t sad¬ 
dle this on the grower. Don’t let up; go 
for both grower and buyer, there must be 
a change or both will suffer. Hit storage 
packers a little the harder. e. p. 
When you write adverHsers mention Tiih 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See guarantee page 10. 
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WAGON SENSE 
Don’t break your back and kill your 
horses with a high wheel wagon. 
For comfort’s sake get an 
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It will save you time and money. A 
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OCTOBER PURPLE PLUM. Fig. 450. 
the Pacific Coast region. Here the tree 
is a rapid upright grower while young, 
but soon loses vitality, and is quite sub¬ 
ject to winter-killing. The bloom is 
flimsy and the plums very seldom 
freely borne. They ripen in August, not 
October, and are generally reddish yel¬ 
low instead of purple in color, very 
subject to Monilia rot just before ma¬ 
turity. They are of good size and 
sweet, pleasant quality, clingstone. The 
flesh is yellow, firm, but often contains 
cavities filled with gummy juice. A 
good sample is shown in natural size in 
big. 450. While it may be worth plant¬ 
ing for home use we fancy it is any¬ 
thing but profitable as a market sort. 
“Did lie ever castigate bis son for 
playing truant?” “No, he never fooled 
with them new-fangled ways o’ doin’. 
He jest giv him a sound lickin’.”—Bal¬ 
timore American. 
Tiie Pheasant Question. —I have al¬ 
ways maintained that the pheasant is a 
nuisance to the farmer. Last Spring I 
planted some selected ears of corn for breed¬ 
ing near the bouse (about 20 rods off) in 
two rows, about 75 hills each. When the 
corn had grown about three or four inches 
(all the pheasants came and carefully pulled 
i>p each stalk and laid it on the ground 
and ate the corn off. If I should appear 
while they were there they would crow, 
ns much as to say, “You’ve no business bore, 
keep away.” Out of that lot of corn there 
were about six bills left, and I have two 
ears that may return my seed. The agita¬ 
tion on the question of pheasants being 
turned on to our farms for the sportsman to 
kill has found expression in the now law 
allowing those living on the farms to bunt 
on the farms without license during the 
open season. We believe the farmer should 
have the right to shoot anything found in¬ 
juring his crops. The pheasant will at¬ 
tack any bird of its size. It will drive off 
the hens and rooster, and take their food 
and kill the young chicks. Any grain crop 
will be badly injured by pheasants if numer¬ 
ous enough. In fact, I have yet to find 
out the good they may do, unless if may 
please the eye to see them, for they are a 
beautiful and graceful bird. Farmers'around 
here generally do not care to raise them 
on account of their beauty, and then have 
their farms run over by the reckless class 
of hunters that often shoot cows, fowls, 
etc., and leave gates and fences open to 
let animals run away. It is nq,t fair to 
compel the farmer to raise this kind of 
stock if he is to have no control of it in 
his own fields. h. l. n. 
DeLOACH 
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