1911. 
THE RURA.E NEW-YORKER 
439 
Ruralisms 
Early-bearing Quinces. 
I. (No Address ).—What quince be&rs the 
youngest and which the best? 
Ans. —The Orange quince is one of the 
earliest to bear, and the Meech and Van 
Deman are also early bearers. All these 
three are practically equal in their bear¬ 
ing qualities, which are good and regular, 
but the latter is later than the others. 
H. E. VAN DEMAN. 
Clematis from Seed. 
C. H. B., Connecticut .—Can you give me 
a few points on growing the large-flowering 
Clematis from .seed? 
Ans. —The seed heads should be gath¬ 
ered as soon as ripe, and stratified in 
sand until the following Spring. The 
seeds are then sown in light sandy soil, 
and placed in gentle heat until they ger¬ 
minate. This is usually done in the 
greenhouse, but we have heard of a mild 
hotbed being used for this. 
Ants in Mushroom Beds. 
31. (No Address ).—I have started some 
mushroom beds, and they are badly in¬ 
fested with the common ants. What can I 
do to get rid of the little pests, also other 
small white louse-like quick little creatures? 
Ans. —Ants are sometimes very trou¬ 
blesome in mushroom beds. The sim¬ 
plest method we have ever found for 
getting rid of them is to lay fresh bones 
around the infested places. They will 
leave everything to feed on these, and 
when thus accumulated may be easily 
destroyed. T. m. white. 
Left-over Lime-Sulphur Mixture. 
What shall we do with concentrated 
lime-sulphur that has been held over for 
a year? 
Ans. —This preparation usually keeps 
very well, and can be used after stand¬ 
ing a year or more. If exposed to very 
low temperatures, however, some of the 
sulphur may be precipitated, but the 
clear solution left would still be per¬ 
fectly good, only weakened. The usual 
directions for diluting concentrated 
lime-sulphur, that is, one gallon to 10 
gallons of water for San Jose scale, and 
one gallon to 35 gallons of water for 
Summer spraying, apply to preparations 
that test 32° or more on the Ban me 
hydrometer. If, therefore, material that 
is carried over from one season to the 
next has crystallized or precipitated, the 
clear solution should be tested with the 
hydrometer, and if it runs below 32° 
it should be used with less water. For 
dormant spraying, the water should be 
reduced by one-half gallon for each de¬ 
gree below 32, and for Summer spray¬ 
ing, one gallon for each degree below 32. 
WM. M. SCOTT. 
Department of Agriculture. 
Pruning Wistaria. 
A. 8 ., Qasport, N. Y. — Will you tell me 
how to prune a Wistaria? It was trans¬ 
planted to its present situation nine years 
ago this Spring. It has grown to the top 
of the house and the ends droop from the 
roof where the stems are fastened. There 
are no leaves within 12 feet of the ground 
and it has never blossomed. I have a 
young vine started; how shall I treat that? 
Ans. —The Wistaria should be pruned 
as soon as flowering is over. The Spring 
flowers are produced on spurs, the scat¬ 
tering second bloom in August or Sep¬ 
tember on the current year’s terminal 
shoots. We have had a Wistaria refuse 
to bloom until it was set 15 years or 
more, so the inquirer’s nine-year-old 
vine does not seem so very dilatory; 
still it is discouraging to the planter. 
Some individual plants seem more pre¬ 
cocious than others. Pruning back to 
spurs every season induces freedom of 
bloom, and is, we believe, usually done 
in Japan, where they excel the world in 
the beauty of their Wistarias. But per¬ 
sonally we would not try to prune a 
Wistaria; when let alone it assumes 
such a gnarled and picturesque beauty 
that it makes up for tardiness in bloom¬ 
ing. A young vine will not start off 
with a strong growth unless the ground 
contains plenty of fertility, for though 
the Wistaria will grow in light soil it 
enjoys that which is deep and rich. It is 
a deep-rooting plant, and is often half 
starved by being set in a sterile place, 
as for example near a porch or the wall 
of a house where an excavation has been 
filled in with poor subsoil. It will pay 
to dig out a large hole and fill in with 
rich soil before planting. 
Larkspur and Medicinal Herbs. 
L. F., Leonid, N. J .—Will you give me 
some information regarding larkspur seed? 
I would like to know how to plant it, how 
to prepare the soil, when to plant, how to 
cultivate, how to reap and when, also what 
kind of seeds to use, as we would like to 
use it for medical purposes. Also let me 
know what other kind of medicinal herbs I 
could plant that would give a large crop on 
a small piece of ground. 
Ans. —Our experience is limited to the 
ornamental Delphiniums, annual, biennial 
and perennial, which thrive in any good 
garden soil, but prefer a sunny location 
in rich, deep sandy loam. Seeds may 
be started in the house or hotbed in 
February or March, transplanted as 
they need room, and planted out when 
danger of frost is over. Such plants 
will give a few flowers in the Fall, but 
we find it better to sow new-crop seed 
in August or September, which gives 
good plants to carry over Winter, if 
watered during dry weather, and there 
is plenty of bloom the next season. 
Perennial larkspurs are also propagated 
by cuttings. Most of the larkspurs are 
actively poisonous, the variety mostly 
used medically being D. Staphisagria, or 
stavesacre. Its chief use is in destroying 
insect parasites. It is a handsome an¬ 
nual or biennial plant, native to the 
south of Europe; we would treat it just 
like the ornamental larkspurs referred 
to above, giving it an open sunny spot 
and clean culture. The seed heads should 
be cut when dry, but before they shat¬ 
ter and dried, thrashed out and cleaned 
like mustard. We doubt whether there 
would be any demand for other varie¬ 
ties than the stavesacre; we believe most 
of this seed is imported. 
The growing of herbs is very interest¬ 
ing, but we do not think it very re¬ 
munerative where the only outlet is 
through the botanic druggists. If a 
man has facilities, through his other 
lines of trade, for selling green culinary 
herbs he may do better. Common gar¬ 
den herbs of both medicinal and culin¬ 
ary value are sage, thyme, savory, mint 
and peppermint, all of which grow lux¬ 
uriantly with little care in our own gar¬ 
den; tarragon and marjoram seem to 
need more care. Purely medicinal (and 
very ornamental) are foxgloves (Digi¬ 
talis) and monk’s-hood (Aconitum), 
both deadly poisons; wormwood (Arte¬ 
misia); hyssop; Lobelia inflata; tansy; 
camomile, valerian; dill; horsemint 
(Monarda); origanum; boneset; laven¬ 
der (though we have hard work to get 
much growth on lavender in a garden in 
this inquirer’s locality). This list could 
be much extended, and a very interest¬ 
ing “physic garden” secured, but * we 
doubt whether large returns could be 
expected through the ordinary channels 
of trade. Perhaps some one engaged in 
the work can give us definite informa¬ 
tion. 
BATTELLE RENWICK 
163 FRONT STREET, NEW YORK 
POWDERED SULPHUR 
“BROOKLYN BRAND” 
LARGELY USED BY ORCHARD!STS AND FOR 
SPRAYING PURPOSES 
"ONE, FOR All* No. 1 
VJ- OWTH TO IN»CCT* 4 ruNOI 
Barrels. 425 lba__ - at. |g, 
>^Bbli..20Glbs_^. 
SO IK - i | i I, «yf “ 
' 25 Iba^ 
r O. O NEW YORK; 
Wool Greaxe, Arsenate of Lead, Lime-Sulphur 
Combined. A Contact and Poison Spray. 
Aft Insecticide & Fungicide./ 
OnlyThing Needed For all Pests or FungtaC 
WRITE FOR BOOKLET.; 
MANHATTAN OIL COMPANY 
EarabjiVB.d 1983 
$llFront Street New YorN 
PEAR 
PSYLLA 
it 
Tlie worst enemy of the Pear growers can 
not be controlled with lime sulphur, but 
99 
used in the Spring just before leafing will not only 
control the Psylla hut San Jose Scale and all 
fungus troubles controllable in the dormant season. 
PRICES: In barrels and half barrels, 60c per gallon; 10 
gallon cans, 86.00; B gallon cans, $3.26; 1 gallon cans, $1.00. 
Conclusive proofs in Booklets, "Orchard Dividends ” and 
“Modem Methods of Harvesting, Grading and Packing 
Apples.” Both free. 
If you want cheap oils, our “CARBOLEINE” at 30c 
per gallon is the equal of anything else. 
B. G. PRATT CO., Mfg. Chemists, 
BO Chnrch St., Netv York City. 
SPRAY 
fruits and field crops 
with best effect— least ex¬ 
pense—less time, for big¬ 
gest profits. No other 
sprayers as good as 
Brown’s Hand and Power | 
AUTO¬ 
SPRAYS 
_ _ _ 40 styles, siz es and prices | 
. , -- spraying guide In our 
book, sent free for name on postal. 
Choose any auto-spray—it is guar- 
anteed to satisfy youcompletely. 
Used by the U. S. Government and 
State Experiment Stations . 
•na 300,000 othere. AutoSpray No. 1—ideal outfit I 
for 5 acres of potatoes or 1 aero of trees. Auto* 
Spray No. 11 for larger operations. We hare Qas- 
olino and Traction Power Auto-Sprays for largest 1 
orchards and fields. Write now for valuable book. 
THE E. C. BROWN COMPANY 
28 Jay St., Rochester, N. Y. 
Q DP A V Adopted by the N.Y. State Fruit Growers’ Asa’n 
OrnAI IT WILL PAY YOU TO USE EITHER. 
PASTE OR POWDERED 
FOR ALL LEAF EATING INSECTS 
RESPONSIBLE DISTRIBUTERS andAGENTS WANTED 
KEY BRAND 
BIGHT PRICE and MATERIAL 
FUNGICIDE AN » INSECTICIDE 
— , USE 
r 
INTERSTATE CHEMICAL CO. 
14 BAYVIEW AVE..JERSEY CITY. N.J. 
WRITE FOR PRICES,CIRCULARS ETC. CORRESPONDENCE SOLICITED- 
Spray Now 
for the Codling Moth. By the time 
the majority of the petals have fallen 
the eggs of this moth have hatched 
and the worms are crawling toward 
the calyx end of the tiny fruit, where 
they will enter if not prevented. A 
thorough spraying fills the calyx cup 
and protects the fruit by poisoning 
the insects. The best results are ob¬ 
tained by spraying with 
Sherwin-Williams 
New Process 
Arsenate of Lead 
because it is rightly made. It is not 
an acid arsenic preparation, but a 
thoroughly neutralized paste formed 
of Arsenic and Lead. This prod¬ 
uct contains practically no free ar¬ 
senic and therefore will not burn the 
most delicate foliage. It is flocculent, 
stays wellin suspension and throws an 
even and poisonous spray which ad¬ 
heres to the foliage for months, mak¬ 
ing it very economical for the fruit 
grower. Send for our spray book. 
The Sherwin-Williams Co. 
G35 Canal Road 
Cleveland, 
Ohio toia 
Sent free, “Spraying, a 
Profitable investment.'' 
Spray 30 Acres a Day 
Potatoes, Small Fruits, Vines 
Spraying that counts. 6 rows at a time with force to do 
work right. Foliage sprayed all over, under as well as 
on top. The Perfection Sprayer is also great at orchard 
work. Spray trees by hand. Eusy to maintain 15» 
pounds pressure with two nozzle, going. Strong 60 
gaUon tank, perfect agitation, absolutely best spray 
pump made. Spray pipes fold up— you can 
drive close to trees and in narrow places. 
Over 23 years a sprayer builder. I know re¬ 
quirements, and I know the Perfection is 
right. Over lOOO In use, 
all giving satisfaction. 
Write for Free Catalog. 
Don’t bny any sprayer 
'"'it comes. 
THOMAS 
PEPPLER 
Box 45 ,HigMstown,H.J. 
SPRAT 
’Watson OSPRAYMO 4-ROW 
High Pressure Potato Sprayer 
Never damages foliage, but always reaches bugs, worms, and 
other foliage-eating insects. Has all improvements,—adjustable 
wheel width, spray and pressure instantly regulated. Capacity 80 to 40 
acres a day. free formula book. Send for instruction book showing the 
famous Garfield, Leader, Empire King and other sprayers. 
FIELD FOKCK PUMP CO., 2 Kleventh St., Klmlra, N. Y. 
Fruit Sprayed with 
Bowker’s** Pyrox” 
UlOrG HlOnGV ^ >ecatlse ^ ^ ree fr° m injury by worms, 
® " scab, etc. Over 300 testimonials in our 
new catalogue show the great value of this preparation on all kinds of fruits 
and vegetables. Pyrox serves two purposes ; it kills insects and prevents dis¬ 
ease and blemish. It adheres to the foliage even through heavy rains, saving 
labor and cost of re-spraying. Perfectly safe. It is all ready to use by mixing 
with cold water. Every grower who seeks fruit and vegetables free from 
blemish needs “Pyrox,” the “one best spray.” It 
“Fills the barrel with the kind they used to put on Top” 
Send for new catalogue with photograph of sprayed and unsprayed fruit in 
original colors. Will convince the most skeptical. Say how many and what 
kinds of fruit trees, or how many acres of potatoes you have to spray, and ask 
for special prices. We ship from Boston, Baltimore, and Cincinnati. 
ROWlfPP INSECTICIDE COMPANY, 
D\/ TT XY X!j XV 43 CHATHAM STREET, BOSTON, MASS. 
