TI20 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
June 22, 
FARMERS’ CLUB 
[ Every query must be accompanied by the 
name and address of the writer to insure 
attention. Before asking z. 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.! 
Strawberries and Lime. 
J. A. II., Bala, Pa .—I have always been 
advised that lime or any other straight 
alkali, or alkaline earth, is detrimental to 
soil for strawberry culture, as an acid 
soil is essential. 1 notice that my straw¬ 
berry bed is beginning to raise a good 
crop of sorrel. Some call this sour grass. 
Is it not evident from this that the soil may 
be becoming too acid, and that an appli¬ 
cation of some alkali, in combination, per¬ 
haps Thomas phosphate, would improve the 
soil for strawberries? This strawberry bed 
has always been very well mulched and 
fertilized with rotten stable manure, and 
the crop is fairly good in size, but the 
flavor of the berries is not as sweet as it 
used to be. 
Ans.— How old is this bed? After 
some years in the same soil the straw¬ 
berry seems to act as you describe. In 
our own experience lime or wood ashes 
do this crop more harm than good and 
this seems to be the general testimony. 
The sorrel is not a sure indication that 
the soil is too sour. Rotten stable man¬ 
ure is usually alkaline, and, when freely 
used, the soil will not become too sour. 
We should plow or dig up the old bed 
after fruiting and start another in a dif¬ 
ferent place. 
Spray for Rose-bugs. 
E. E., Medford, E. J .—Can you offer 
some relief from the ravages of rose bugs. 
They destroy the roses, magnolias, Hy¬ 
drangeas, snowballs, grapes, cherries, and 
have seriously hurt two elm trees by eating 
the leaves. They seem worse right here 
than in any other locality we know. Would 
arsenate of lead hurt the bushes? Is there 
any v. uy at all to save the cherries? The 
insects seem to Increase each year, and 
though they stay such a short time we see 
the result of their ravages the rest of 
the season. 
Ans.-— In the vineyards of New York 
State, where the rose-bug or rose-cliafer 
is very destructive to grape blossoms, 
arsenate of lead is found very useful. 
Eight to 10 pounds of lead arsenate 
are dissolved in 100 gallons of water, 
to which is added one gallon of mo¬ 
lasses. The molasses makes the spray 
stick better and also seems to induce 
the insects to eat the poisoned foliage 
or flowers more readily. We do not 
like the idea of a poison spray on 
cherries, or on our garden flowers, 
though the insects are such an intoler¬ 
able nuisance that it may be necessary. 
They are always prone to attack white 
or light-colored flowers; thus the white 
or pale-pink roses are always the worst 
sufferers. • We are told that the insects 
are very short-sighted, hence attracted 
by the light color. Probably the elm 
trees are attacked by the elm leaf-beetle, 
rather than the rose-bugs, as the former 
is now a very troublesome pest. It is 
dull greenish yellow, with two black 
stripes on the wing-covers. Its yellow 
eggs are laid on the under sides of the 
leaves, and from them hatch yellow, 
black-spotted larvae, covered with tufts 
of hair. Spraying with arsenate of 
lead, as for the rose-bugs, is advised 
a first spraying when the beetles begin 
feeding, a second as soon as the larvae 
are hatched, and a third about 10 days 
later. This is found to control the 
beetle quite effectually. 
Strawberry Leaf-roller. 
/). S., La Salic, III .—My strawberry bed 
is being ruined with the leaf-roller, a small 
green worm about one-lialf inch long when 
full grown. The first that you see of them 
on the strawberry plants is that the leaves 
are rolled up. One of my strawberry beds 
was completely ruined last Summer with 
this insect, and it looks at present as 
though it was going to be the same this 
Summer. One of my beds is swarfning 
with them, also used kerosene emulsion 
with apparently no effect. The emulsion 
kilLs the worms that it touches, but as 
they are all rolled up inside the leaf it 
does not get many of them. No one around 
here seems to know wbat to do for it; 
other berry growers have it in their straw¬ 
berry beds just the same. 
Ans. —The strawberry leaf-roller is a 
pest that is usually local in its ravages, 
not often extending over wide areas. 
Moreover, it is a difficult pest to con¬ 
trol, when once it obtains a foothold in 
a field of strawberries. In Florida the 
insect passes the Winter in folded 
leaves of strawberries and raspberries, 
probably as a “worm” or larva and as 
a quiet pupa. The moths appear early 
in the Spring, and lay their eggs on the 
under surfaces of the green leaves. As 
soon as the eggs hatch the young larvae 
go to the top sides of the leaves and be¬ 
gin to feed. This is the time to kill 
them. The young caterpillars may be 
killed by spraying the foliage with ar¬ 
senate of lead at the rate of 2/ pounds 
to 50 gallons of water. The grower 
should apply the poison early in the sea¬ 
son before the caterpillars appear, so 
that when they do come they will not 
be able to find a leaf to eat that has 
not been poisoned. Therefore, just as 
soon as the moths are seen flying about 
the plants in fair numbers begin the 
spraying. As the plants grow rapidly 
spray again a week later and a third 
time a week thereafter. One spraying 
does very little good, because the moths 
deposit their eggs over so long a time 
that fresh young caterpillars keep ap¬ 
pearing through a period of two or 
three weeks and sometimes longer. If 
the work of poisoning has not been done 
at just the right time to catch the cater¬ 
pillars then after the crop is off the 
beds rake off all the foliage and burn it. 
This will kill the larvae and pupae and 
lessen the number of moths next year. 
GLENN W. HERRICK. 
Spraying Tomatoes. 
II. X., Hannibal, O .—What is the best 
spraying material for tomatoes, for both 
fungus diseases and insects? Will spraying 
produce larger and finer tomatoes? Will 
it cause them to ripen earlier or later? I 
am told that spraying will cause them to 
ripen later, and that if the vines blight 
the tomatoes will ripen earlier. Is this so? 
My tomato vines are from nine to 12 inches 
high and some vines have small tomatoes 
on. and I am also told that they are too 
small to spray yet. Does the size of the 
vines make any difference? What is the 
best time of day to spray, and how often 
should they be sprayed? 
Ans.— Bordeaux mixture and arse¬ 
nate of lead have been considered the 
best fungicide and insecticide for spray¬ 
ing tomatoes. The tomato is affected 
with a considerable number of diseases, 
including the early blight of potatoes, 
which causes the destruction of the 
foliage and finally the death of the 
plant. The tomato is often attacked 
by the flea beetle and sometimes by 
the potato beetle, so it is well to add 
two pounds of arsenate of lead paste 
to each 50 gallons of Bordeaux for the 
first two or three sprayings of the to¬ 
matoes. To be most successful in con¬ 
trolling the tomato diseases, it is well 
to spray the plants first, just before they 
are transplanted from the beds into the 
field, and then once every 10 days or 
two weeks until the fruit begins to 
ripen, and the vines become large and 
cover the ground quite well. When 
tomato plants are seriously affected 
with early blight, the leaves die and 
the tomatoes ripen quickly. The amount 
of the crop is reduced, however. If it 
attacks the plants before much fruit is 
set, the crop may be almost a complete 
failure. Thorough spraying, which pre¬ 
vents leaf blight, will cause the vines 
to remain green longer and prolong the 
season, but it will not tend to make the 
general ripening period later. The 
early blight commonly attacks the old 
leaves near the base of the plant first, 
so that the plants should be sprayed 
when they first go into the field to in¬ 
sure^ protection against the disease. 
When once a disease like early blight is 
established within the plant, it is too 
late to prevent damage. The vines can 
be sprayed at any time during the day 
when the foliage is dry. M. a. blake. 
N. J. Experiment Station. 
bad entered into to pay the fellow exor¬ 
bitant rates for nursery stock, involving 
altogether the expenditure of many thou¬ 
sands of dollars. The district attorney has 
concluded liis work in the matter and as 
a result the farmers have been made happy. 
“It was first discovered that the man 
had not filed the proper certificate in this 
county. Ilis attorney was communicated 
with and came here and then the district 
attorney laid down the law and informed 
him that if his client attempted to force 
the farmers to abide by their contracts 
with him that there was serious danger 
that he could be brought before the grand 
jury on a charge of obtaining money on 
false representations. 
“Some of the shipments of trees have al¬ 
ready commenced to arrive, but the man 
took some good advice and when he came 
to the farmers for settlement he did not at¬ 
tempt to force contracts at the exorbitant 
prices the rural men had signed for and 
the dealer either called off the contract, or 
where a farmer wanted the stock he made 
such a big reduction in price that the cus¬ 
tomer was willing to make the deal.” 
CROP 
I2SACRE-AN-H0UR SIFTER 
applies Paris Green and Arsenate of Lead, 
pure or mixed, with lime or plaster, etc. Also 
Bug Death and Slug Shot or any dry insecticide 
to Potatoes, Cotton, Currant Bushes, etc., in 
any quantity desired, AS FAST AS A MAN 
CAN WALK. One man can cover two rows 
•iw * once, using one in each hand. Better 
im y ol ^ er implement at any price, for 
—Sw^tliis kind of busiiu ss. At dealers, 75c. Pre- 
i&Sfpaid by express. $1.00. 
Acre-an-Hour Sifter Co., Po’k eensic . N. Y. 
i*jiipw —»oj i i ■■■ ■ n — wi 
Frs® Book on the 
ALFALFi 
I 
MR. “SMOOTH” AND NURSERY STOCK. 
Our readers have followed the movements 
of II. M. Whiting, the nursery agent, with 
interest. We think Mr. Whiting the most 
expert tree agent that ever took the road, 
and in company with other champions, we 
are glad to give him place. Therefore we 
print the following from the Niagara Falls 
Journal: 
“The farmers of Niagara county to the 
number of about 500 have had experience 
with a clever talker, one A. “Mr. Smooth” 
of Geneva and Boston, which they will not 
soon forget and it is certain that when an¬ 
other “Mr. Smooth” approaches these sons 
of the soil he is going to have a hard time 
selling whatever article he may he dealing 
in, especially if it happens to be nursery 
stock. It was only with the aid of the dis T 
trict attorney’s office that the farmers were 
saved from an expenditure of many dollars 
each. 
“It was last Fall ‘Mr. Smooth,’ who 
claims to have nurseries at Geneva, N. Y., 
a # nd at Boston, Mass., went through this 
county. He was so clever with his in¬ 
ducements that he had signed up several 
hundred farmers to an iron bound contract 
to purchase nursery stock before they real¬ 
ly realized what they had doue. In fact 
farmers that had no land upon which to 
plant the stock were induced to buy and 
the man almost convinced some that he 
had plum trees upon which pineapples 
could he raised. 
“He would inform the victim that people 
would come from near and far to see thft 
wonderful sight when his nursery stock got 
in working order. He would only let a few 
go to each customer, however, though his 
contract showed that he had nothing for 
sale but what could be purchased from any 
nursery. His prices, nevertheless, were 
about 10 times as high as the regular 
rate. 
“Finally some of the farmers got wind 
through farm journals that all was uot 
right with ‘Mr. Smooth’s’ scheme and it 
was discovered that he had been indicted 
in Orleans County for doing business with¬ 
out filling a certificate of his company as 
required by law. A small fine was im¬ 
posed upon conviction. 
“This matter brought Niagara Countv 
farmers post haste to the office of District 
Attorney Aekerson to see if there was some 
loop-hole escape from the contracts they 
THE STARLING IN AMERICA. 
The annual report of the Massachusetts 
State Entomologist for 1910 contains an 
exhaustive report on the European starling, 
•which was first introduced into New York 
City in 1890, and has now reached Massa¬ 
chusetts. tl, is spreading over northern 
New Jersey and Long Island. It is a na¬ 
tive of western central Europe, winters 
south to Africa and is accidental in Green¬ 
land. It may be described briefly as fol¬ 
lows: Length, 8 Vi inches; adult male; black 
with purple and green reflections, the feath¬ 
ers of the upper parts more or less tipped 
with pale buff; under tail-coverts edged 
with white; beak yellow; feet flesh-colored, 
tinged with brown; female, spotted below 
as well as above; young, uniform ash 
brown, faintly streaked with darker. Those 
who see it for the first time usually de¬ 
scribe it as a blackbird with a yellow bill. 
The starling goes about in great flocks, 
and it is very familiar with man, nesting 
in hollow trees, bird houses, etc., as the 
sparrow does. Like our cowbird, it seems 
fond of frequenting pastures or places 
where cattle are kept. It is said even to 
alight on the backs of cattle and sheep In 
search of ticks and other insects that infest 
them. It is pre-eminently a ground feeder, 
and feeds on lawns and in grass fields, 
and also to some extent in gardens and 
plowed hands. It destroys grubs, earth¬ 
worms, snails and many of the insects 
which ordinarily infest grass lands and the 
droppings of cattle. It is generally con¬ 
ceded in Europe that the benefits it confers 
on the farmer far exceed the harm it does 
by attacks on fruit or crops. Nevertheless, 
there are many instances on record where 
the starling has become a pest to the 
farmer. The habit of collecting in enor¬ 
mous flocks is the great element of danger. 
When a great number of auy species having 
grain-eating or fruit-eating propensities is 
collected in one locality it is capable of 
doing great harm in a very short time. 
Such flights, however are often productive 
of good. 
The forest authorities in Bavaria during 
an invasion of the spruce moth or “nun“ 
in 1889-91 noted great flights of starlings, 
which were credibly estimated to contain as 
many as 10,000 in a flock, all busy feeding 
on the caterpillars and pupse of this moth. 
The attraction of starlings to such cen¬ 
ters was so great that market gardeners 
seriously felt their absence in distant parts 
of the region. In England, the starling is 
very destructive to hush and tree fruits in 
many districts. It is regarded as valuable 
on grass land, where it destroys many 
larvae, wireworms, etc., also ticks on sheep, 
but it is getting too numerous for the 
comfort of fruit growers. It is also very 
pugnacious; other birds that nest in hole's 
have no peace until the starlings are all 
satisfied, and it is said to devour newly- 
hatched sparrows. 
As to the feeding habits of the starling, 
it will eat apples, according to some Ameri¬ 
can observers, and we And from European 
experience that it is destructive to many 
other fruits, including grapes. It is said 
that in the Fall, when they gather into 
flocks of a thousand or more, they are very 
destructive to corn in the ear. Other ob¬ 
servers say they pull up young plauts and 
sprouting corn, and they are accused of 
feeding hickory blossoms to their young, 
and destroying tree buds. But they are 
enormous insect eaters, and the bulk of 
their food is of this class. Among insects 
found in their stomachs by the investigator 
were cutworms, wireworms, Colorado potato 
beetles, white grubs, thousand-legs, inch 
worms and other caterpillars, beetles and 
grasshoppers. The ornithologist concludes 
with the statement that the starling is not 
numerous enough in Massachusetts to do 
auy appreciable injury to fruit crops, vege¬ 
tation or native birds. Thus far it is un¬ 
doubtedly benefificial here, as it does some 
good by destroying noxious insects. Under 
our laws it is protected at all times, but 
if its numbers increase unduly it may be 
necessary to deny it the legal protection 
now afforded to insectivorous birds. 
When you write advertisers mention Tub 
E. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and a 
“square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
sole GENUINE SABE SOY BEANS 
yielding. BAILEY ORCHARD CO., Fishcrsville, Va. 
NowThe FALL BEARING Strawberries. 
Send for T. C. KEYITT’S Catalogue, Atlienia, N. J. 
WE BUY OLD BAGS 
Sound...3—4—5 Conts 
Torn.2—3—4 Conts 
We Pay the Freight 
IROQUOIS BAG CO. 
725 BROADWAY, BUFFALO. N. Y. 
HOW TO GROW IT ON YOUR LAND 
The above is the title of a new book just issued 
by us. It contains a fund of priceless information 
on alfalfa growing secured from many sources; 
United States Government, State Experiment 
Stations, the best posted authorities and success¬ 
ful growers. This information was secured at a 
great cost of time, money and research and yet it is 
yours for the asking without cost. This book 
tells how to grow alfalfa, how to get results from 
the first planting, how to select and prepare the 
soil, including fertilizing, plowing, liming and how 
to prepare the seed; when to plant, how to plant. 
It tells you what to do during the growing period, 
how to get bigger than average crops, and how 
to cut and cure. The contents of this book are 
worth many dollars to the farmer interested in 
growing alfalfa, (every farm has some land that 
will grow alfalfa) but we gladly send it without 
cost or obligation, of any kind if you answer ct 
once. Don’t put it off—write for free book todn -. 
GcrmanAinerican“Nitragin”Co..303MasonSt.,Milwauliee.W:s. 
"FULLY GUARANTEED" 
LfALfAONYOUR 
mm 
20 acres means at least Rixty tons of feed equal to a 
full srain ration—or $1,000 clear profit if sold in the 
market. Worth while isn’t it. Write us today and 
let us tell you how, when and where to plant this 
great forage crop, so it will be a permanent success 
on yon r farm. Enrich your corn land this year by 
planting between the rows or in the hills. 
COW PEAS—CLOVEH—SOY BEANS 
INOCULATED WITH 
FARMOGERM 
SEED AND SOIL INOCULATION 
Send for Free Book No. 11 
IT GIVES VALUABLE INFORMATION 
EARP-TH0MA3 FARMOGERM CO., Bloomfield, New Jersey 
“BLACK’S QUALITY” 
FRUIT TREES 
NONE BETTER 
None Give Better Returns when They Fruit 
Buy Direct From the Nursery 
and save agent’s discounts and middleman's 
profits. When you buy our trees you get a 
DoUar 9 s Worth of Trees 
for every one hundred cents you remit to us. 
PEASH and APPLE TREES 
a specialty. CATAL OGUE FREE 
jos. h. blackTson & CO. 
HIGHTSTOWN. N. J. 
JCVss* Cow Peas, $2.00 to $2,50 bushel: 
r iStMe C Crimson Clover Seed, $fi 00 to 
$7.00 bushel; Red Clover Seed, $12.00 bushel. 
JOSEPH E. HOLLAND_ Milfobd, Delaware. 
WE HAVE ENOUGH FOR EVERYBODY 
Tomato, Cabbage and Celery Plants 
Can fill your orders for as many as you want. Spe¬ 
cial prices on large lots. Send for our 1012 price-list. 
ROMANCE SEED, PLANT & TRUCK FARM, 
Caleb Boggs & Sun, Chesweld, Del. 
WEEDLESS ALFALFA 
is what we are trying to sell our customers. FREE 
sample will show you that we come pretty near 
doing this. All other field seeds; also Field and 
Cow Peas. Soy Beans, Vetch. Rape, etc. 
0. M. SCOTT & SON, 100 Main Street, Marysville, Ohio 
CELERY, CAULIFLOWER, SWEET POTATO, 
CABBAGE, TOMATO PLANTS, by mail, postpaiJ 
05c. hundred. Low thousand prices. Catalogue free. 
HARKY E. SQUIRES, Good Ground. N. V. 
ABBAGEand CELERY PLANTS —Best variety, $1 per 1000, 
$7.50,10.000;Tomaio, Sweet Potato and Peppers,$1.50 per 
1000; Cauliflower, $2.50 per 1000. J. C. Schmidt, Bristol, Pa. 
C ABBAGE, CAITUFLOWER and CELERY 
PI. ANTS. Pricelist Free. Basil Perry, Cool Spring,Cel. 
s 
WEET POTATO PLANTS— Be(i Sc Yellow,$2 perlOOO. Cabbu.r* 
»V Tomato Plants. List Free. >V. S. FORI) & SON, Ilartly,Del. 
BINDER TWINE 7^c lb. 
From factory to farm. Fully guaranteed. 
Farmers wanted as agents. Samples and cata¬ 
log free. THEO. BURT & SONS, Melrose, O. 
BINDER TWINE 
Best Standard, guaranteed 500 ft. to 
lb., $7.10 per cwt. Paris Green, 
17c. Other bargains. Write for 
price list No. 14. 
A. H. FOSTER, Allegan, Mich. 
Chickens 
. most of your poultry troubles can usually be traced to your failure to properly orotect * 
their drinking water from contamination from the chickens themselves. It is a very easy matter Jagfi 
to end this class of trouble by supplyin g you r chickens with pure water and keeping it pure with a 
Moe’s Top-Fill 
Poultry Drinking Fountain 
. It always supplies just enough pure water—won’t slop over—dead air space 
keeps water cool in summer, warm in winter. Simple in construction—remove 
cover and 1511 from top—water ceases to flow when cover is removed—no valves 
to get oat of order. One, two and tliree gallon capacity. Satisfaction guaranteed, 
p If not at dealers, sent direct on receipt of price, 1 gal., $1.25; 2 gal., $1.75; 4 gal., $2.25, 
fa OTIS & MOE, 20IS New Otis Building, Chicago. Ill. 
