©48 
THE RURAL* NEW-YORKEB 
September 14, 
FARMERS* CLUB 
[ Every query must lie accompanied by tho 
name and address of the writer to insure 
attention. Before 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.] 
Damage from Gum; Borers. 
IF. D. B. (No Address ).—Will some one 
tell me the cause and remedy for gum ooz¬ 
ing out all around the butt of peach trees 
and on some of the fruit. In some places 
the bunches of gum are as large as a tea¬ 
cup. I have already lost one very fine 
young tree this year that bore for the first 
last year. 
Ans. —This is probably due to peach 
borer wounds. This insect causes great 
trouble in many places. The eggs are 
laid by a moth in early Summer—on 
the trunk of the tree near the ground. 
The eggs hatch and the little borers 
begin gnawing their way down to the 
base of the tree. These wounds cause 
the tree to thrown out great bunches 
of gum. such as you notice. We have 
seen them nearly as large as the two 
fists held together. There are other 
causes for such gum bunches, such as 
wounds or disease, but most of them are 
caused by borers. A sure indication 
of this work is the “sawdust” or little 
pieces of wood which the borer throws 
off. When this wood is found in the 
gum you may be sure borers are at 
work. If they are not dug out and 
killed they may become numerous 
enough to girdle and kill the tree. The 
surest way is to cut them out. Scrape 
off the gum and find the borers’ hole 
going down. With the small blade of a 
sharp knife cut down the hole and open 
it. The borer is usually found at the 
bottom, a fat white insect. Dig him 
out and kill him. Do not cut across 
the trunk, but slice down—following 
the passage. This work is best done 
in late September or October. If done 
too early you may miss some of the 
smaller borers. 
Tomato Not Fruiting. 
D. J. II., Perry, Me .—I have some very 
large healthy looking Ponderosa tomato 
plants that have been in bloom since July 
15, but all the blossoms fall off within a 
day or two, so that not a tomato has 
formed. I cannot find any insects on the 
plants. I enclose a few blossoms. Can 
you tell me the cause of this? 
Ans. —In the absence of any infor¬ 
mation as to kind of fertilizers or ma¬ 
nures used on the tomatoes, I am 
unable to tell exactly the cause of the 
blooms aborting and falling off. It fre¬ 
quently happens when the plants have 
received an excess of ammonia. This 
has a tendency to force an excessive or 
abnormal plant growth. When this 
occurs the stamens of the flower fre¬ 
quently fail to make and shed pollen, 
which, of course, prevents fruit form¬ 
ing. A heavy coat of horse or hen 
manure would cause such abnormal 
growth, also commercial fertilizer with 
a high per cent of ammonia. This 
seems the most reasonable explanation, 
since it does not appear that insects or 
disease have attacked the plants. This 
shows again the need of what we call 
a balanced fertilizer, for crops cannot 
mature flowers or fruit or seed per¬ 
fectly unless well supplied with potash 
and phosphoric acid. K. 
Potato Balls and Seed. 
J. II. Yantic, Conn .—Will you inform 
me about seed pods which grow on the 
potato vines? I bought northern grown 
seed this Spring. The pods are green and 
a little larger than a walnut. I am told 
that new seed is procured from these. If 
so, how? 
Ans. —The “pods” are seed balls, from 
which seedling plants, which may or 
may not present variations of type, are 
obtained. Many of our best potatoes 
do not blossom at all now, and many 
more do not produce fertile pollen. 
No doubt the habit of propagation by 
tuber, generation after generation, has 
effected a gradual physiological change 
in the plant; it is no longer necessary 
to the continuance of the race that flow¬ 
ers should be produced. A first requisite 
in securing potato seed is that it should 
be mature; balls that are still green 
when frost comes are too immature to 
give seed that will germinate. Separate 
the seed from the pulp just like tomato 
seed; crush the balls, put them in a jar 
with water and allow them to stand a 
few days to ferment; the seeds then 
sink to the bottom after a little stirring, 
and may be cleaned from the pulp and 
dried. Seed may be sown out of doors 
in the Spring, but it is better to sow 
in boxes in a frame or greenhouse, for 
they require rather a long season to ma¬ 
ture, and being very tender, they are 
apt to be. destroyed by flea beetles or 
other pests. Sow about one-half inch 
deep, keep moist, and thin to two or 
three inches apart. These vines will 
form little tubers, which are planted the 
second year. They will need good care, 
as they are quite tender, and few of 
them will be worth saving; however, 
they do not attain size until the third 
year of planting, when the permanent 
character is reached. Prof. Bennett of 
the Colorado station, who has done 
much work with seedling potatoes, says 
that if he got one good variety from a 
million seedlings he would think he 
was doing well. Insects do not work 
much on potato blossoms, hence there 
is not much crossing in the field 
naturally. Expert plant breeders, both 
in this country and Europe, are making 
crosses with some of the wild South 
American potatoes, in the hope of se¬ 
curing varieties of stronger vitality, 
with more resistance to disease, than the 
progeny of long-cultivated sorts. 
Connecticut State Fair. 
The State Fair at Berlin September 24-27 
is this year making a specially strong bid 
for a big poultry display under the manage¬ 
ment of C. P. Ives of Branford, Conn. This 
show will run on progressive lines with lib¬ 
eral regular and special prizes, and the 
list should appeal strongly to poultrymen 
throughout the State. The management has 
this year eliminated the rule requiring com¬ 
petition in the classes, thus assuring any 
bird that has the necessary quality to win 
a first prize ribbon, the first prize money, 
whether there is competition or not. It is 
aimed to build up the greatest poultry show 
in the State, and with the fine new build¬ 
ing, permanent cooping and good care that 
the birds receive at this fair the above 
result should be certainly attained. Pre¬ 
mium lists are now out and can be obtained 
from C. P. Ives, Manager, Branford. Conn. 
Ants in Beehives. 
R. (No Address .)—I have 10 hives of 
bees, and they are bothered with the little 
ants crawling in the hives. Would you tell 
me what to do for them? 
Ans. —We often find colonies of ants 
between the cushion and quilt on top of 
the frames in the Spring; they locate 
there for warmth, and do no harm as 
a rule, generally disappearing when the 
cushion is removed and supers put on. 
The small ants which crawl in the 
hives pick up the sawdust, like particles 
of brood cappings, and often may be 
seen carrying them away. They do no 
practical harm here in the North. In 
some of the Southern States, however, 
there is a species of ant that attacks 
the wood of the hive and soon ruins 
it, and of course the bees are injured 
in that way. I also have read of a 
species in Cuba or Jamaica that attacks 
bees and tears them to pieces, but I do 
not believe they are a very serious pest, 
as those countries are great honey pro¬ 
ducers. No one need be alarmed about 
ants in the hive if the colonies are kept 
strong, in the northern part of the 
country. If you want to keep them out 
it may be done by setting the legs of the 
hive stands in cups or pans of water 
with a little oil on top of the water, 
but one must be very careful not to 
let a blade of grass or anything else 
touch the hive, as that will make a 
bridge for the ants just as good as 
hive or stand legs. I do not like to tell 
anyone to put any substance in the hive 
to drive them away, as anything which 
would drive away ants would also be 
offensive to the bees, and I never would 
recommend the practice, j. A. crane. 
The English Sparrow a Nuisance. 
I read with much interest Mr. Wiard’s 
defense of the English sparrow. The land¬ 
scape varies with the outlook; from dif¬ 
ferent viewpoints we humans reach de¬ 
cidedly different conclusions. Mr. Wiard 
would have protection for this little ruf¬ 
fian. Although I have never noticed any 
tendency toward race suicide here, Mr. 
Dooley’s remark concerning the Hennessys 
would apply to the sparrow family: “If 
there iver is anny race suicide among the 
Hinnessys ’twill be fr’m overcrowdin’.’’ I 
would like to put several hundred local 
sparrows under Mr. Wiard’s tuition, for I 
would as soon expect to see a typical hobo 
sawing wood for pleasure as to see an 
English sparrow doing anything useful. He 
may have them for “keeps” if he will send 
me a pair of purple martins. We had a 
plague of cutworms here this Spring, but 
there is no evidence to show that the spar¬ 
rows, that swarm over these premises the 
year round, ever destroyed one of them. 
They do destroy fruit buds, nip peas, sweet 
and garden, when just above ground, and in 
a piece of pop corn, when in the milk, 
will clean up the kernels as far down as 
the husk is thin, leaving two or three 
inches of black, unsightly cob at harvest 
time. Their everlasting yawp is nerve- 
racking; they are a filthy bird, covered 
with parasites, great carriers of disease 
germs, especially of poultry diseases, so 
that in the new industry of breeding game 
birds, such as quail, ruffed grouse, "wild 
turkeys, etc., the breeding pens must be 
out of range of the pernicious activities 
of the sparrow. They daily fly in flocks 
from one pigeon loft and poultry yard to 
another; the total value of the poultry 
food taken by them, if presented to those 
who foot the bill, might prove an eye- 
opener, but worse yet. the pigeon fancier 
with his choice lot of beautiful birds, the 
poultry breeder with his high-priced pure 
bloods, may have their flocks infected from 
diseased birds a mile or more away. What 
embitters me most against them is their 
destruction of the eggs and tender young 
of birds whose song is music to the ear, 
and their brilliant plumage and graceful 
flight a delight to the eye. If this noisy 
fighter had his way not a bluebird, mar¬ 
tin nor swallow would be allowed to set 
foot in the house built for their use. By 
strategy and eternal vigilance I got two 
pairs of that delightful little “scavenger 
of the air,” Wilson’s white-bellied or tree 
swallow, to nest here this Spring. But for 
tlie sparrows I could easily have a colony 
of them. My patience is exhausted. I am 
going to get a gun, and if these pests don’t 
take a ticket for Michigan they will get 
one marked Oblivion, ciias. a. banister. 
Massachusetts. 
A new tomato industry is reported from 
Italy. A “tomato extract” is made from 
the pulp, oil from the seed and cattle feed 
from the dried skins and residue. 
12for98^Voi.+h$1.8 5 
MATCHLESS GARDEN COLLECTION—1 McIntosh, 1 Ba¬ 
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English Morello,l Napoleon Cherry, 
1 Roosevelt, 1 German Prune, 1 / 
Orange Quince, 1 Bartlett, 1 
*i Seckel Pear. All first-class, 2 i 
y ■ 111 ■ m *'i yr., 4 to 5 r t. f for 98c. Write to- W1 
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300 acres. 28 years growing trees. 
MALONEY BROS. & WELLS CO. 19 Main Si., DansvOle, N. Y. 
Wlieat to Sow 
10 Big Yielders—Smooth and Bearded— 
Hardy and Reliable—Clean and Pure— 
Sold Right from Farm—Close Prices. 
If You Don’t Like It WE TAKK IT BACK, 
RETURN YOUR MONEY & PAY FREIGHT 
Write for Wheat Catalog No. 33-IT IS FREE. 
A. H. HOFFMAN, Bamford, Lancaster Co., Pa. 
C ABBAGE and CELERY PLANTS —Best variety, $1 per 1000, 
$7.50,10.000 iTomato, Sweet Potato and Peppers, $1.50 per 
1000; Cauliflower, $2.50 per 1000. J. C. Schmidt, Bristol, Pa. 
FOR RELIABLE SEEDS 
bought direct from the farming community, and 
sold direct to the consumer; Medium and Mammoth 
Clover, Alsike, Alfalfa, White and Crimson Clover, 
Timothy, Rape. Red Top, Blue Grass, Orchard 
Grass, Barley, Rye, Spring and Winter Wheat, all 
kinds of Seed Corn and Peas. Sent freight prepaid 
your Railroad Station. Write for samples and 
prices. N. Wertheimer & Sons, I.igonier, Ind. 
WEEDLESS FIELD SEEDS 
trying harder than ever to furnish our customers. 
FREE Samples will show that we come pretty 
near doing it. In many varieties we DO IT. Home¬ 
grown Timothy. Alsike, Mammoth, Red, new 
crop. Also Alfalfa, Vetch, Rape, etc. Write today. 
0. M. Scotl & Son, 40 Main St., Marysville, Ohio 
SFFH WHF AT - Eed Wave, smooth, clean and 
OE.I-.Lr HUE, AI pure, $1.65 per bushel. Har¬ 
vest King smooth, and Reliable bearded, $1.50 per 
bushel. C. E. KEMMERER, Bethlehem, Pa. 
SEED WHEAT 
Jones' " Red Wave ” and “ St. Louis Grand Prize.” 
Two of the hardiest, best yielding and fly-resisting 
varieties grown. Winter Rye and Timothy Seed. 
Price List and Samples on Application. 
J. N. MacPHERSDN, Pine View Farm, Scottsville, New York 
$ fp 0 s iT- m m rp rp ip rp 
Write to CAUL’S NURSERIES, Perry, O., for 
price of TREE PROTECTORS and save your 
Trees from being killed by Mice and Rabbits. 
(1* fp ^ rf» rp rP ip rp ip 
yP rv 1J 
COR SALE— Fifty acres Apples, Sprayed Young Trees, 
* excellent. A. A. QUINLAN, Limvood. Kaus. 
Peach and Apple Trees 
For fall or spring planting. Prices right; stock 
right. MYJSB & SON, Bridgeville,Delaware 
Three Excellent Books 
Swine in America !&fri?tion 0 breeds! 
methods of handling, diseases, etc.; 600 pages, 
many illustrations. Price.$3.50 
Milk and Its Products ufn 
work on this subject; 300 pages. Price..$1.50 
The U nrC p by Isaac P. Roberts. In this 
1 lie riuiae ^,0,-k Prof. Roberts lias given a 
concise history of tho various breeds, methods 
of breaking, feed and general care; 400 pages; 
many illustrations. Price.$1.35 
All These Books THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Are For Sale Bv 409 PEARL ST., NEW YORK CITY 
Mixed Fertilizer. 
Q. B., Westbury, N. Y .—We wish to make 
a home-mixed fertilizer next Spring, to 
analyze 6-8-10, out of nitrate of soda, bone 
meal and sulphate of potash. Will you give 
us the correct proportions of weight to a 
ton of each? The ingredients are to bo the 
highest grade obtainable. 
Ans. —We go at such a proposition 
almost as follows: You want, accord¬ 
ing to your analyses, 120 pounds of 
nitrogen, 160 of phosphoric acid and 200 
of potash in your ton of fertilizer. Ni¬ 
trate averages 16 per cent of nitrogen, 
bone meal three of nitrogen and 25 of 
phosphoric acid, and sulphate 50 per 
cent of potash. You will therefore 
need 400 pounds of sulphate to provide 
the potash. In order to get the needed 
phosphoric acid you must have 640 
pounds of bone, and this will also give 
19 pounds of nitrogen. To provide the 
balance of the nitrogen take 660 pounds 
nitrate of soda. Thus you have the 
plant food you need in 1,700 pounds. 
By adding 300 pounds land plaster or 
dry muck or black soil you will have 
the full ton. This is not the best mix¬ 
ture for a crop like potatoes, since the 
nitrate of soda contains very soluble 
nitrogen. You will probably be better 
satisfied to use 300 pounds dried blood 
and 400 pounds nitrate. 
Farm Seeds for Fall Sowing 
Alfalfa 
A grade that will stand the severest test 
for purity and germination and contains or beardless sorts, 
no weak seeds. 
Winter Wheat 
Selected strains of the leading bearded 
“After careful examination of samples from 
various sources and comparison of purity, 
germination and price, I have decided on 
ordering of you the greater proportion of 
grass seeds, etc., needed here.”— Prof. William 
P. Brooks , of the Hatch Experiment Station , 
Amherst , Mass. 
Crimson Clover 
Valuable for green manure. A good 
crop plowed under is equivalent to 20 
tons stable manure per acre. 
Sand or Winter Vetch 
Valuable for green fodder in early spring. 
Makes excellent hay and is much used 
as a cover crop. 
Winter Rye 
Varieties specially selected for yield of 
grain and strength of straw. 
Henderson’s Special Mixture of 
Grasses for Hay and Per¬ 
manent Pasture 
Produces wonderful hay crops and lux¬ 
uriant pasture. 
“I desire to advise you that I am Changing 
all my fields from Timothy to your Perman¬ 
ent Grass Seed as 1 find the latter to be en¬ 
tirely satisfactory. My horses and cattle 
relish it very much more and my crops have 
been considerably increased.”— W. D. Henry , 
Irvington Farm , Sewicklcy. Pa. 
Henderson’s seeds are thoroughly re-cleaned and are of the highest 
purity and germination. 
Send for Fall Catalogue of Wheat*, Grasses, etc.—Mailed Free 
PETER HENDERSON & COMPANY 
35 & 37 CORTLANDT STREET, NEW YORK 
HAVE YOU 
CONQUERED 
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“Scalecide” will not injure the most delicate skin, and may even be placed in the eyes without the slightest inconvenience 
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bbls.. $16.00 ; 10-gal. cans. $6.75 ; 5-gal. cans. $3.75. Addi’ess : B. G. Pratt Co., 50 Church Street, New York City. 
