1911. 
TL'H fcC RU KAL NEW-YOKKKK 
llil 1 
CONCENTRATED LIME - SULPHUR FOR 
SPRAYING. 
Preparing the Mixture. 
As yet the making of concentrate lime-sulpluir at 
home is largely an experiment, clue mostly to the fact 
that the average fruit grower uses either the old 15- 
20-50 formula or some commercial brand, because he 
thinks the making of the concentrate solution beyond 
him. He need not think it a difficult task, nor an 
expensive one, for by following the instructions of the 
experiment station as to how it should be made, he 
can make just as good a concentrate solution with as 
high average Beaume test. Of course the first cost of 
;> good plant may seem large at the offset, but you can 
save enough in two years on the cost of cooking to 
more than pay for the plant. The best form of boiler 
would depend largely upon the amount of steam re¬ 
quired to cook the given quantity of solution thorough¬ 
ly. But for all general purposes an upright eight to 
10 horse-power boiler will furnish enough steam to 
cook 20 to 25 barrels a day. Have your boiler large 
enough, so that when more water is put into the boiler 
it will not cool it down to such a degree that you will 
not have enough steam to keep the solution constantly 
boiling. We have found that we get better results by 
cooking with direct steam than by steam 
coils. Test with a Beaume hydrometer, 
which has a scale reading from 25 to 35 
degrees. 
Perhaps our personal experience will 
answer as well as any to show the 
results we have found to be true. Our 
plant consists of an eight horse-power 
upright boiler with all necessary pipe 
fittings, through which the steam is car¬ 
ried into two 150-gallon circular vats. 
The steam pipes form an L at the bottom 
of the vats, and the steam escapes 
through small holes bored in the pipe. 
The end of the pipe is capped. These 
vats are placed on a platform 15 by 
20 feet, which is on solid posts six feet 
above ground. About the level with 
the top of these two vats is a 300- 
gallon water supply tank. This also 
sits on posts, so that the cooking vats 
and spray tank are fdled by gravity. 
The supply tank is kept filled by a small 
steam pump. We also have a piano- 
box on one corner of the platform 
to store the lime, sulphur, scales, etc. 
Such a plant should not cost more than 
$150 new, but a good second-hand 
boiler would answer the same purpose 
at a much less cost. It is as easy to 
make the concentrate solution as it was 
the old 15-20-50 formula, and the best 
part of it all is, if the concentrate is 
not for immediate use it can be put in 
tight barrels and kept until wanted. The 
solution in each barrel should be tested 
and the degrees Beaume marked on the 
end of the barrel to indicate the re¬ 
quired dilution for future use. If the 
solution has been properly cooked it 
should contain practically no sediment. 
The cost of cooking a 50-gallon barrel 
of the concentrate solution, based on 
1911 prices for materials and 25 barrels 
per day, is shown below. We made up 
two formuke: (a) The 40-pound lime, 
60 pounds sulphur to 50 gallons of 
water, and (&) 80-pound lime, 120 
pounds sulphur to 50 gallons of water. 
The table gives full details of quantities of material 
and relative cost. 
Formula (a). 
40 lbs. lump lime (90% Ca.) at $1.05 por 100 lbs_$ .42 
60 lbs. sulphur (flowers) at $1.65 per 100 lbs.99 
40 lbs. soft coal at $4.50 per ton.09 
3 men (labor) at $2 per day.24 
Wear on plant.01 
Total cost per barrel .$1.75 
Formula (b). 
80 lbs. lump lime (90% Ca.) at $1.05 per 100 lbs..$ .84 
120 lbs. sulphur (flowers) at $1.65 per 100 lbs. 1.98 
40 lbs. soft coal at $4.50 per ton.09 
3 men (labor) at $2 per day.24 
Wear on plant .01 
Total cost per barrel .$3.06 
We found that samples of (a) showed as high 
average Beaume tests as did (b), and if anything 
had less sediment, and both were cooked under same 
conditions. We also found that the average Beaume 
test for the 40 barrels cooked this Spring was a 
fraction of one per cent, under 30° Beaume. You 
can readily see from the foregoing figures that it 
pays us to cook our own concentrate solution. 
Niagara Co., N. Y. e. j. mcclew & sons. 
EGG-LAYING CONTEST AT STORRS 
COLLEGE. 
White Leghorns in the Lead. 
The fourth week of the egg-laying contest shows 
the White Leghorns still at the head of the class, 
with the birds sent over from England ahead of all 
the rest; they have laid 68 eggs in the four weeks, 
21 eggs in the last week; nearly 70 per cent of the 
possible 35 eggs if every pullet laid every day. This 
certainly is remarkably good laying. It is quite dif¬ 
ferent from what Mr. Mapes wrote. The R. N.-Y. a 
few years ago, viz., that with over 1,300 White Leg¬ 
horns he had not had an egg in six weeks. As my 
White Wyandottes had never missed a day in 18 
years, I had the impression that Leghorns must be 
poor layers in Winter but the record at Starrs College 
so far shows them ahead of all the other breeds, under 
precisely similar conditions as to housing, feeding, 
etc. The White Leghorns of Thomas Barron seem 
to realize that they have the honor of England in 
their keeping, for they have laid two dozen more 
eggs than the next best pen. The honor of second 
best belongs to the White Rose Farm, New Jersey, 
with a record of 44 eggs; Toms Poultry Farm, New 
Jersey, 43, and Geo. II. Schmitz of Illinois also has 
A FAMILY AFFAIR—GOOD STOCK. Fig. 496. 
43 to the credit of his competition pen of Buff Leg¬ 
horns. 
The best record of the American breeds shows 31 
eggs laid in the four weeks by the Buff Wyandottes, 
with White Orpingtons next with 30 eggs. Nine of 
the 13 pens of Barred P. Rocks have not laid an 
egg. Of the four pens of White P. Rocks, one pen 
has produced two eggs and one pen one egg; three 
eggs from the four pens in four weeks. The Colum¬ 
bian P. Rocks, Silver Wyandottes, Golden Wyan- 
dottes and Black Langshans, have not laid an egg; 
and these are all supposed to be good Winter layers. 
It is only fair to state that nine pens of the White 
Leghorns have not laid an egg. This breed has an 
advantage in the larger number of entries; a fairer 
contest would be with an equal number of birds of 
each variety. When we come to divide the number 
of eggs laid by the number of birds, we find that the 
Buff Wyandottes have laid 6.2 eggs per bird, Buff 
Orpingtons 3.15 per bird, Buff Leghorns 3.05, while 
the White Leghorns come down into fourth place 
with 2.86 eggs per bird. But the 68 eggs laid by 
the English birds, 13.6 per bird, “lay ’way over” 
all the others. geo. a. cosgrove. 
EXPERIENCE WITH MISFIT NURSERY TREES. 
“The Story of a Good Tree,” by Martin King, Jr., 
on page 1109 brings to my mind experience which 
I have had in purchasing nursery stock in years past. 
Mr. King lays much stress on selecting reliable nur¬ 
serymen to deal with. I confess I do not know how 
or where to find a nurseryman who will furnish 
trees that will be true to label. I have bought from 
quite a number of nurserymen, and have had serious 
trouble with all tried so far, and I have endeavored 
to select supposedly reliable firms to deal with. Per¬ 
haps T can better illustrate the difficulty in purchas¬ 
ing stock true to name by telling my experience. I 
give to The R. N.-Y. the names of the firms with 
which I dealt, that you may see if I selected snide 
firms. About seven to 10 years ago I bought from 
one of our largest nurserymen several hundred peach 
trees. Very many in each lot were not true to label, 
as I found when the trees began to bear. Not less 
than one-third were varieties utterly worthless for 
commercial use, and not what were ordered. I ordered 
a few trees of three new varieties for trial. These 
were represented in their catalogue as very fine vari¬ 
eties of yellow peaches. When the trees bore fruit 
it proved to be in all three cases worthless small 
white fruit. More than 200 trees were 
not as ordered and were worthless; 
a damage to me of more than $600. 
They offered to “make good,” as they 
call it, by supplying me with other trees 
to take the places of the worthless 
varieties; but I told them I could not 
afford to set their trees even if given 
to me. 
I also bought from another party 
about 300 trees one year, and 20 or more 
proved to be not true to label and 
worthless. I wrote this man, telling 
him my experience and asking him for 
what price he would furnish trees and 
guarantee them true to label, with a 
forfeit for each tree (peach) which in 
four years proved not true to label. 
These errors are either carelessness or 
fraud. I certainly would not charge 
such men with fraud. Then it must be 
carelessness, probably of the men they 
employ. But should not the owner be 
neld responsible for the carelessness of 
is employees? If I should send my 
hired man to his nurseries to get the 
trees and the man should carelessly dam¬ 
age his property while doing work for 
me, the nurseryman would be pretty 
likely to look to me to make good the 
damage. Should a seedsman or a nur¬ 
seryman be less responsible for careless¬ 
ness of his employees than the farmer? 
For a few years in the immediate past 
I have bought most of my nursery stock 
from still another firm. I believe them 
to be honest but, as trees bought from 
them came into bearing this year, I find 
a very bad mixture of varieties; but 
there is this redeeming feature about the 
stock received from them; only a very 
few trees have worthless fruit. But it 
is quite a damage to find the fruit when 
it comes not what is expected. I had 
good reason, I think, to suppose each 
of the above-named firms to be reliable, 
but $1,000 would not make good to me 
the damage done by trees not true to 
label. I do not find prices charged in • 
dicate quality stock furnished in all cases. In 1909 I 
bought some trees from still another firm and paid 
more than double the price for which I bought in 
other places, but the stock sent was quite inferior. 
If I could find a nurseryman who did only as 
much business as he could attend to himself, and 
who practiced getting his bud stock from bearing 
trees, and not from the nursery rows, I should be 
willing to pay double price for stock from such an 
honest nurseryman. fruit grower. 
R. N.-Y.—The nurserymen named in this letter are 
among the most reliable known in this country. Almost 
every week we receive several letters like the above. 
This is one side of the nursery business which may 
fairly be discussed. Any man who has worked in a 
nursery or seen the way the business is conducted 
may easily see the great chance for mix-up and error 
even with the most careful management. We are 
not trying to excuse the nurserymen for the great 
damage which their blunders may do to a grower, 
but we want to be fair to them. We also want them 
to be fair to the people who plant their trees and are 
disappointed. The proposition to “replace” such mis¬ 
fits with trees no more guaranteed than the others 
is enough to embitter any man. But what have the 
nurserymen to say to the proposition to pay double 
prices for guaranteed trees? We believe there are 
hundreds of planters who will make the same offer! 
A MICHIGAN AUTOMOBILE—WITH HORNS. Fig. 495 
