032 
August 8, 
FARMERS’ CLUB 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name 
and address of the writer to insure attention. Be¬ 
fore asking a question, please see whether it is not 
answered in our advertising columns. Ask only 
a few questions at one time. Put questions on a 
separate piece of paper.] 
KEEP THEM AT HOME! 
The following members of the New York 
Senate voted against Governor Hughes in 
his efforts to remove the Superintendent 
of Insurance. Some of them have done so 
twice—others are backsliders. All have 
proved unworthy in a fair test. All are in 
districts where the votes of farmers can 
defeat them. It should be the duty of 
every farmer to blacklist them and keep 
them away from Albany. Vote them out! 
.TOTIIAM P. ALLDS.Norwich, N. Y. 
S. PERCY HOOKER.LeRoy, N. Y. 
.IOIIN RAINES .Canandaigua, N. Y. 
SANFORD W. SMITH_Chatham, N. Y. 
HORACE WHITE .Syracuse, N. Y. 
BEN.T. M. WILCOX.Auburn, N. Y. 
JOSEPH ACKROYD .Utica, N. Y. 
FRANK Mt BOYCE.. East Schodack, N. Y. 
FRANCIS II. GATES. .Chittenango, N. Y. 
WM. W. WEMPLE_Schenectady, N. Y. 
WM. T. O’NEIL_St. Regis Falls, N. Y. 
OWEN CASSIDY .Watkins, N. Y. 
PROGRESS OF THE SAN JOSE SCALE. 
I do not think the Sap Jos6 scale is 
spreading in this section nearly so much 
as in former years. I know in many neg¬ 
lected cases where no spraying has been 
done that the trees are in better condition 
than they were year ago, and the same 
thing is true in Georgia. I know of one 
large orchard badly infested one and two 
years ago, and so badly neglected that we 
all supposed it would be dead this year, but 
as a matter of fact it is putting on new 
growth and vigor, and shows very little sign 
of any destructive work of the scale. It 
may interest you to know that where we 
used oil of our own making, Jarvis’ plan 
somewhat improved, we have had glorious 
results, both as to the killing of the scale 
and invigorating the trees, with the fungi¬ 
cide that was added. j. h. hale. 
Connecticut. 
The scale had a great set-back a year ago, 
but what were left ate getting* in their 
usual work on unsprayed orchards. We keep 
right at the spray and have got the upper 
hand of the scale, after an eight years’ fight. 
We have a fine crop of Bartlett pears, 
peaches, prunes, plums and apples. 
Niagara County, N. Y. w. hopkins. 
I have heard it stated from time to time 
that San Jos6 scale was -not spreading, as 
it had been in years past, but from my ob¬ 
servation I have not found it so. It would 
seem that in some years it does not spread 
as rapidly as it does in others, but take it 
one year with another, I do not see that 
there is any let-up in its work of destruc¬ 
tion, and would not advise anyone to stop 
fighting it. I have sprayed with sulphur 
and lime during the past two seasons, and 
the result is that the scale is pretty well 
cut out, but I do find some here and there 
in an orchard of 6,000 trees; at the same 
time one has to look sharp to find it. 
Columbia Co., N. Y. lewis l. morrell. 
I do not think the scale is working nearly 
so hard in this locality as it was last year. 
One difficulty I find in measuring its work 
is that our spraying has been much more 
thorough this year, and it is therefore nat¬ 
urally much less plentiful about the college 
plantations, but in a number of adjoining 
orchards, which I have examined, and which 
I also examined last year, it seems to me 
that it is much less prevalent. However, I 
share with you the opinion that this is noth¬ 
ing hut a temporary let-up, and that we 
should not think for a moment of relaxing 
our efforts in the spraying line. As I said, 
we sprayed more thoroughly this year than 
ever before, using lime and sulphur, and we 
certainly intend to keep it up. 
Amherst, Mass. f. c. sears. 
Florists’ Glass Area; Garden Edging. 
IF. Z. B., Netc York .—When it is said a 
florist has so many square feet of glass, 
does it means the area of the ground 
covered or the square feet of glass in the 
sides (if of glass or wood) roof and 
gable ends including the end next the 
shed or building, if any, to which it Is 
attached? 2. Will California privet make 
a good edging for garden beds? Can it be 
kept low enough, say down to a foot high? 
Ans.— 1. This refers to the area of the 
ground covered, as ordinarily under¬ 
stood, and does not include the area of 
gable ends and sides. 2. California 
privet would not be desirable as an edg¬ 
ing for garden beds. We have never 
seen it so used, and do not believe it 
could be kept so low. Box, used so 
much for this purpose abroad, is very 
slow-growing and not always easy to 
establish in our climate. A very nice 
evergreen edging can be made with 
thyme, either plain green or golden va¬ 
riegated, the latter being the hardier of 
the two. It is very pretty, low-grow¬ 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
ing, and when it gets too wide can be 
sheared off. Golden-netted honeysuckle, 
run along a stout wire about six inches 
from the gfound, may also be clipped 
into a close neat edging. 
Direct From Producer to Consumer. 
I think it would interest the readers of 
The R- N.-Y. to hear from subscribers in 
the corn district of the West how much 
they received for their 1907 crop. I would 
like to inquire if it is possible for the 
eastern farmer to buy direct from the 
grower, with freight prepaid, and get it 
here in a reasonable amount of time. 
With corn $1.66 per 100 pounds; oats, 
$,1.40; mixed feed, $1.65; gluten, $1.65, etc., 
it is hard on the poultryman. 
New Hampshire. a. n. peaslee. 
r. N.-Y.—It would be interesting, 
and we hope some of our western read¬ 
ers will tell us just exactly what they 
were paid, for their grain. When they 
do you will find a great margin be¬ 
tween what the producer receives and 
what the consumer pays. We have 
bought hay which cost us over $19 de¬ 
livered at our station, and find that the 
western grower got $6 for it. Ihe bal¬ 
ance went to the middlemen. We have 
known several attempts to sell large lots 
of grain direct from western farmers 
to eastern consumers without paying 
tolls to the elevators. Every such plan 
that we have traced has failed, usually 
because the shippers cannot get cars, 
and when they do the service is infe¬ 
rior. We came to the conclusion that 
the grain trade is so completely in the 
hands of the railroads and elevator men 
that direct dealing between farmer and 
farmer is out of the question under 
present conditions. If it is being suc¬ 
cessfully done anywhere we would like 
to know about it. 
Cider and Vinegar Questions. 
Reader (No Address ).—How would you 
keep a cider barrel from becoming musty 
after the cider has been drained from it? 
The barrel I have was a new whiskey bar¬ 
rel when the apple juice was put into it 
last fall. Can a musty barrel be purified 
and made as good as a new one? IIow? 
Will cider that tastes of the ban-el—that is, 
is musty—make good vinegar, or will the 
musty taste persist in the vinegar? Also, 
will specked or partially rotten apples make 
good vinegar? An old man told me years 
ago that the rotten apple taste will cor¬ 
rect itself in time. If this is so, how long 
a time will it take? How would you start 
in a small way on a farm to make a good 
article of vinegar? Especially state what 
kind and size of storage packages you would 
use. A person told me to get a large Rhine 
wine cask to store my product (cider) in, 
and to make the vinegar in a barn or under 
a shed, not in a cellar, the latter being too 
slow a place in which to make the vinegar 
quickly. Another man said he colored his 
vinegar with Porto Rico molasses. When 
should the molasses be put in, if at all? Is 
this lawful? Is the use of any coloring mat¬ 
ter lawful? How much vinegar of standard 
strength will forty gallons of apple juice 
make? 
Ans.— Thorough cleaning of the bar¬ 
rel after the cider is removed is the 
only way to keep it from getting musty. 
If a pipe of live steam is available, 
turn this into the barrel. The next best 
thing is hot lye made of either wood 
ashes or concentrated potash and strong 
enough to bear up an egg. Put five or 
six gallons into the barrel boiling hot 
and put in the bung. Then roll the bar¬ 
rel about so as to get every part soaked. 
Fill with clean water and let stand for 
a day or two, then rinse and, drain. 
After it is dry burn sulphur in it and 
bung up while full of the fumes. Be¬ 
fore using again, air and rinse thor¬ 
oughly. A moldy or very musty barrel 
cannot be cleaned economically. It is 
cheaper to get a new one. 
Good vinegar cannot be made from 
rotten apples or musty cider. It is true 
'that a liquid that may pass for vinegar 
can be made from such unpromising 
material, but it will lack the fine flavor 
which first-class vinegar should have, 
and will be little better than diluted 
acid. To make good vinegar, without 
the use of the expensive generators used 
in factories, use sound, ripe clean apples. 
After settling for a few days draw the 
clear juice into clean barrels until about 
three-fourths full. Leave the bung out 
and put in a plug of cotton. Store six 
months in a temperature of about 55 
degrees. To hasten fermentation use a 
cake of compressed yeast to five gal¬ 
lons of juice, and keep at 65 degrees. 
With this treatment three months will 
complete fermentation. After all 
“working” has ceased, as shown by the 
absence of bubbles, draw, off the clear 
part, rinse the barrel, put back the li¬ 
quid, add four quarts of vinegar con¬ 
taining some of the starter known as 
“mother,” and store at about 65 degrees. 
If the conditions are just right, the vin¬ 
egar may be done in three months, but 
if the cellar is colder a year or more 
may be required. After the desired 
strength of acetic acid is reached (the 
legal standard in New York State is at 
least 4 ]/ 2 per cent acetic acid and two 
per cent solids) either bottle or cork 
or fill the barrel and bung tightly until 
wanted for use. To test the acetic acid 
content, Mott’s acetometer may be used. 
It is procurable at stores handling in¬ 
struments. It is quite safe to figure that 1 
cider vinegar, made from clean ripe 
apples in the natural way without the 
addition of water to the juice will come 
up to the test. Pure cider vinegar needs 
no coloring. _ 
Crimson Clover or Alfalfa in Rhode Island. 
Is it advisable to sow Crimson clover 
in the vicinity of Woonsocket, R. I.? Would 
it be hardy? What is your opinion of 
Alfalfa for that locality? Is the more 
hardy clover of as much value as a cover 
crop for my peach orchard, and to turn in 
as the Crimson? Is it necessary to plow, 
or will it do to turn over the ground with 
an Acme harrow in the rye stubble to 
plant the clover? r. i. 
Malden, Mass. 
You should write the Experiment Sta¬ 
tion at Kingston, R. I., and Amherst, 
Mass., for information about clover and 
Alfalfa. The chances are more than even 
that Crimson clover will not live through 
the Winter the first season planted, still 
we should sow it and expect a good profit. 
Alfalfa will not answer as a catch crop 
—to be plowed under next Spring. The 
only reason for sowing Alfalfa is to make a 
permanent meadow. In a wet season you 
might get a fair stand of Crimson by 
working rye stubble with an Acme harrow, 
but a disk, spring-tooth or some tearing im¬ 
plement would be much better. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See guarantee, page 8. 
npHE ENORMOUS YIELD of 50,000 quarts of 
* Strawberries now growing by my system on 
one acre. Send for CHART. 
KEVITT’S PLANT FARM. Athenia, N. J. 
F OR SALE— Crimson Clover Seed, $3 to $3.50 bu., 
Medium Red Clover Seed, $11.50 to $12.50 bu., Cow 
Horn Turnip Seed, 30c. lb. Joseph E. Holland,Milford,I>el. 
Mr Ilf pnnn Crimson Clover Seed of my 
HE TV UH Ul own growing, ready June 10. 
Booking orders now. Send for sample and prices. 
,10HN J. ROSA, Milford, Del. 
I When you write advertisers mention Tub 
[ R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick rcnly and 
‘‘a square deal.” See guarantee, page 8. 
EXCLUSIVE 
Peach, Apple 
& Pear Buds 
Over one 
thousand 
acres in cul¬ 
tivation. 
VISIT 
Harrison’s Nurseries,Berlin,Maryland 
NO EXPOSED GEARS 
Exclusive Advantage No. 6 
is another point in favor of the 
Tubular. No Exposed Gears— 
every moving part 
is enclosed except] 
the handle N o 
danger to fingers | 
—no chance of 
clothing to catch— 
no accidents to 
mischievous chil¬ 
dren. Absolute 
safety and freedom 
from dust and dirt 
is another evidence of what our 
28 years building experience means 
to you. 
The Tubular is a particular 
favorite with the women, simply 
because it has so many features 
that save work, and make it 
easier to run and to clean. 
Write a postal and let us send you, prepaid, our 
Catalog No. 153; it will interest you in many ways. 
The SHARPLES SEPARATOR CO., 
West Chester, ^enna, 
Toronto. Can., San Francisco, Calif., Chicago, III. 
PottMlP 'rawberry 
i*i 
A selected 
of the 
newer kinds of strawberries that' 
have been tested at our trial 
grounds as well as the best of the 
older sorts are fullv described in 
DREER’S 
Mid-Summer Catalogue 
Also the best varieties of Celery, 
Cabbage Plants, etc. 
A most complete list of the Best 
Hardy Perennial Seeds for summer 
sowing. 
Also vegetable and farm seed for 
summer and fall sowing. Select list 
of seasonable Decorative and Flower¬ 
ing plants. 
'Write for a copy and kindly 
mention this magazine— FREE. 
HENRY A. DREER, PHILADELPHIA. 
A 
CALIFORNIA PRIVET 
Shade Trees. Spruce and Arbor Vitue Hedging. 
Cherry Trees a Specialty. Trees and Plants by 
Mail Postpaid will save you express costs. Send for 
our Catalogue. (It is Free), it will tell you the rest. 
JOS. H. BLACK, SON & CO., tlightstown, N. J. 
WE MAIL OUR CATALOGUE FREE. 
SEED WHEAT 
T|Y'M17C;> fiDCn UIAUF » a magnificent wheat 
JUllEO I\tl/ W/iVTij with heads 5 to 6 inches 
long, hard red grain and 
smooth chaff, yields immense crops. "SILVER 
SHEAF” LONGBERRY RED, very large red wheat, 
bearded and as hardy as rye and can be sown very late. 
Write us for description, free samples and price. JOSEPH HARRIS CO,, Coldwater, N. Y. 
A ADD li/n n KU| O Destroyed by Dusting with 
bAUbAut nunmo hammond’S slug shot 
So used for 28 years. Sold by All Seed Dealers. 
For pamphlets worth having write B. HAMMOND, Fishkill-on-Hudson, New York. 
Dwyer’s Pot Grown Strawberry Plants 
Strong, healthy plants from selected stock of choicest fruiting varieties sure to give 
satisfaction and PRODUCE A FULL CROP IN 1909. 
We also have a full line of Fruits and Ornamental 'Frees, Plants, Vines, etc., for 
Fall Planting. We do Landscape Gardening in all its branches. Catalog Free. 
T. J. DWYER & CO., P. O. Box I, Cornwall, New York. 
Champion 
Belt Power 
Hay Press 
with Condensing 
Friction Clutches,I>v,... J .v, 
Gears; only Self-feeder that 
is independent of plunger 
and many other exclusive fea¬ 
tures. 3 to 6 tons per hour. 
Mounted Power Hay Press, 6 strokes of plunger to 1 
bnampion round of horses. Side and End Hitch. Self-feed, Au¬ 
tomatic Block-droppeiv or can be used with small Gasoline Engine. 
54 to 3 tons per hour. Write for Special Prices. 
FAMOUS MFG. CO., 55 Chicago Av., East Chicago, Ind. 
