913. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
39 
Ruralisms 
Fruit Questions. 
E. B., Massachusetts. —1. What causes 
currant bushes to lose their leaves soon 
after fruiting? 2. Is the self-boiled, or 
cooked lime and sulphur mixture diluted 
best for the brown rot on peaches? 3. Do 
red squirrels eat plant lice? I saw one 
in my apple tree, and I am quite sure it 
was eating lice. 4. Has the Wismer's 
Dessert apple any value? 
Ans. —1. Currant bushes mature their 
foliage quite early in the growing sea¬ 
son, but in some cases there are dis¬ 
eases that cause the foliage to die or 
become sickly before the time for them 
to show signs of maturity. Spraying 
with Bordeaux mixture or lime-sulphur 
solution will prevent such troubles if it 
is done properly and early enough. 
2. The self-boiled lime-sulphur mix¬ 
ture is the best preventive of crown rot 
in peaches. The State or government 
bulletins on this and similar diseases 
should be studied and their directions 
lie carefully followed to make sure that 
there are no mistakes made and thus 
success attained. 
3. If the red squirrels do any eating 
of plant lice or other good service on 
apple trees it is a wonder. I think they 
visit apple trees for the purpose of eat¬ 
ing the apples, for I have known them 
to do much damage in this way. They 
usually bite one apple and then go to 
another and do the same, in this way 
starting rot in a lot of them. Some¬ 
times I have known them to cut the 
stems and let the apples fall, seeming 
to do it for mere mischief. My plan 
has been to shoot the little scoundrels 
in the orchards, although I admire their 
beauty and ways of skipping about. 
4. The Wismer apple has good qual¬ 
ity, but it is small and hardly worth 
growing when compared with Hubbard- 
ston, Grimes, Jonathan and other larger 
and even better varieties in quality. 
H. E. VAN DEMAN. 
Planting Onion Sets in December. 
II. H., Hannibal, O .—Would it be too late 
to plant onion sets this month (Decem¬ 
ber) for early green onions next Spring? 
I bad thought of manuring the soil, plow¬ 
ing it under, planting the sets about five 
inches deep, and then spreading manure on 
top of the soil to act partly as a fertilizer 
and partly as a protection to the sets. Is 
this a good plan? If so, should the ma¬ 
nure used as a top-dressing be fresh or 
well rotted? 
Ans. —Yes, it is too late. There is a 
variety, a strain of the potato onion, 
that is planted in the Fall, but they 
must be planted early enough that they 
may start to grow and form a root 
growth in the Fall; otherwise they 
would be apt to rot. Your idea of 
covering them with manure is all right 
if you plant them at some future time. 
In the Spring take a fork and remove 
the coarse part of the manure, leaving 
the finer portion for the young onions 
to come up through, which would insure 
a good crop. For early Spring onions 
to bunch and sell green, we have had 
good results with the Egyptian or Win¬ 
ter onions. They should be planted 
early in September, that they may get a 
good growth in the Fall before the 
freezing weather comes. Of this va¬ 
riety we set both the tops and bottoms, 
dividing the latter just before the 
ground freezes. We take up a lot of 
them, set them in flat boxes, then in 
the Winter remove to the greenhouse; 
set them under the benches or in some 
corner, and in a week or two they have 
started nice green tops and are ready 
to dress and prepare for market. They 
are very hardy, do not need any cover¬ 
ing in Winter, and start to grow early 
in the Spring. They require very rich 
ground, well manured, to do their best. 
Ohio. j. s. B. 
Crops for the Canal Zone. 
M., Ancon , Canal Zone .—I am a “back- 
to-the-lauder” here in the tropics, and do 
not know all about the proper fools and 
implements for certain work. I have an 
orange grove of about 1,000 trees, irregu¬ 
larly planted, with roots on the surface 
in some places, and many weeds. I wish to 
clean this up with a small tractor I am 
building. What can I use to break up the 
soil, destroy the weeds and make ready to 
sow or plant some useful cover crop? 
Would a disk harrow be suitable? It ap¬ 
pears the best to me. Can you recommend 
a low-growing cover crop that will keep 
weeds down, yet have some feeding value? 
Perhaps I should add that the thermometer 
here never goes above 94, and the nights 
are cool. 
Ans. —The dwarfer varieties of Soy 
bean would appear to be the most avail¬ 
able cover crop under the climatic con¬ 
ditions indicated. The Mung bean, 
Phaseolus radiatus, native to the high¬ 
lands of semi-tropical China and India, 
is also worthy of consideration. It de¬ 
mands a rather long growing season, 
but not an excessively high average 
temperature. The hilly portions of the 
Canal Zone should suit it well. The 
seeds are very small and only a light 
covering is needed to insure germina¬ 
tion. While comparatively slow in start¬ 
ing, the Mung bean is eventually a 
strong grower and should be highly 
useful as a forage plant and orchard 
cover crop. While not in American 
commerce, the Chinese merchants that 
abound in Panama could probably fur¬ 
nish seeds. There is also a possibility 
that the Hairy vetch, Vicia villosa, 
would be practicable under the described 
conditions. The disk harrow is the 
proper tool to use if sufficient tractive 
power is available. v. 
Seedling Japan Walnuts. 
I'. P. Pickerington, Ohio, asks if others 
had propagated Japan walnuts and found 
them true to name. I have one tree and 
three seedlings grown from this tree. Two 
of the seedlings have borne nuts, not just 
alike, but as large as a butternut. Not 
as good quality, but very much better than 
the parent nuts, which are too small and 
not very good quality. My idea is that 
there being no other Japanese trees around 
here the blosoms were fertilized by the but¬ 
ternut. The Japan nut is very easy to 
raise from seed, and a great bearer' and 
quick grower. Is the timber good for 
anything? o. c. c. 
Milford, Mass. 
Planting Peach Seeds. 
What method is used to open peach 
pits so you could grow them to bud? 
Gasport, N. Y. u. 
One method is to bury the pits in sand 
in a trench out of doors. Many of them 
will be opened by the frost. They are 
left for two or three years, the nursery¬ 
man going over them several times each 
Spring to pick out those that have 
sprouted. Another method is to pack them 
in a warm cellar in damp sawdust. Many 
of them will sprout in Spring. Cracking 
with a hammer and saving the meats is 
not successful, as a large proportion fail , 
to grow. 
Mulching Winter Onions. 
Do you think it would do any good to 
mulch Winter onions? h. p. g. 
Howard, Pa. 
The Winter or Egyptian Perennial onion 
is entirely hardy and is seldom or ever 
injured by freezing. If planted in the 
latter half of September they will become 
so firmly rooted in the ground there is 
very little danger of them heaving out by 
alternate freezing and thawing, and yet 
like all hardy plants they greatly benefit 
by Winter mulching. Coarse, strawy horse 
manure is the best mulching material for 
this crop, and should be applied after 
ground is frozen, in sufficient quautity to 
shade the ground well, care being taken 
not to get too much over the plants, as 
more or less damage may result in mild 
weather of an open Winter. As soon as 
growth starts in Spring, the covering must 
be removed from the plants, and all the 
coarse litter should be raked off, allowing 
only that part to remain that will not in¬ 
terfere with cultivation. k. 
Privet and Roses. 
1. Will you inform me when to take 
cuttings of my privet and how to preserve 
them for next Spring planting? 2. I have 
also fine roses, of which I would like to 
make cuttings; when should they be made 
and how preserve them for Spring planting, 
or can I root them in a small water-heated 
conservatory on my rear porch, facing 
south? During sunshine the termometer 
rises to 85 and 90 degrees, but during the 
night it will register only 40 to 50 de¬ 
grees. What is best for success? Do the 
cuttings require more heat from the bot¬ 
tom than from the top? p. k. 
Hazleton, Pa. 
1. _ Cuttings of ripened privet wood are 
cut in the Fall, tied in bundles and buried 
in sand over Winter. In the Spring they 
are planted, before growth starts, in rich 
mellow ground, the cuttings being set four 
inches apart, in rows eight inches asunder. 
They are inserted nearly full length, merely 
the top bud exposed, and are given clean 
cultivation. When the shoots are about 
three inches long they are pinched back 
to induce bushy growth, and this is re¬ 
peated several times during the season. 
2. We are not told whether these roses 
are Hybrid Remontant or Tea; we can only 
infer that they are garden roses. The 
common way of propagating roses is by 
means of short cuttings of nearly mature 
wood from plants grown iu the greenhouse; 
these cuttings are usually made in Febru¬ 
ary or March, and are rooted under glass 
with a mild bottom heat of G5 to 70 de¬ 
grees. This plan is, of course, impracti¬ 
cable if your roses are planted out in the 
garden, iu which case you may propagate 
by layers, ripe wood cuttings in Autumn, or 
root cuttings. Make some cuttings of ripe 
wood in the Fall, insert in pans or boxes, 
and put in your greenhouse, though the 
day temperature suggests the need of 
abundant ventilation. Root cuttings are 
made in the Fall, as soon as the plants are 
checked by cold, and pieces of the roots 
may be dug and cut off without disturbing 
the whole plant. Cut roots—the larger 
pieces are best—into two or three-inch 
lengths. Pack these pieces iu well-drained 
boxes or large flower pots, between layers 
of sphagnum or clean, sharp sand. Burv 
the receptacle in the ground in a dry- 
place or store in a cool cellar, where they 
may be examined and given water if neces¬ 
sary. By Spring each cutting should show 
one or more buds, and they should then be 
planted in drills, at a depth of two Inches, 
the ground being well firmed over them. 
These cuttings usually make good plants 
the first season. Layering in the Spring 
is another good way to propagate garden 
roses, and also cuttings of ripened wood, 
put iu the open ground after flowering, 
and closely covered with a bell glass or 
glass jar. By the next season these are 
sturdy plants. 
1 LET 
THE 
WIND 
PUMP Y0UR 
WATER FOR 
NOTHING 
WHY PAY FOR GASOLINE 
WHEN WIND IS FREE! 
Gfct & Big, Heavy, Powerful, 
Light Running, Double Geared 
SAMSON 
WIND MILL 
SEND FOR CATALOG 
We also build Ideal Feed 
Mills, Pump Jacks, Hand 
Grinding Mills for Poultry Rais¬ 
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Cutters and Brats Candle Sticks 
STOVER MANUFACTURING COMPANY 
188 Samson Avenue FREEPORT, ILLINOIS r 
SPRAYERS NECESSARY 
Some States make you spray now; others will 
follow soon. _ But you must apply right solu¬ 
tions, at the right time, in the right way. You 
need a. Sprayer with best pumps 
and adjustments for your purpose. 
ISON ME 
SPRAYERS 
lhave these advantages. 40 com¬ 
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Barrel, Traction and Power Spray¬ 
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will not corrode; handle any solution. 
Sprayers in units, complete or in parts to build up 
' those already in use. Ask your dealer ~ 
to show them and write for new booklet, 
J “Spraying Vines, Trees and, 
I Bushes." We also make full line ( 
I potato machines, garden tools, etc. 
BATEMAN M’F’G CO. 
Bo* 1U2N 
^Grenloch, N. J. 
SOMETHING NEW 
“KANT-KLOG” 
SPRAYERS 
Gets twice the results — —— 
with same labor and fluid. Os35--'" 
Flat or round, fine or coarse sprays 
from same nozzle. Ten styles. For 
trees, potatoes, gardens, whitewash¬ 
ing,etc. Agents Wanted. Booklet free. 
Rochester Spray Pump Co. 
195 BROADWAY, Rochester, N. Y. 
QAVE 25 TO 50 PER CENT. ON HARNESS. Buy direct 
w from factory, No traveling men. Get our illus¬ 
trated catalogue. Cast iron contract given on all 
work. Read what out- Grange say of us. 
BROWN, WHITTEN & CO., Pine Busli.N.Y. 
There will NEVER be enough num¬ 
ber one apples— ALWAYS too many 
r cider apples. Don’t waste your time 
and your trees growing inferior grades 
Use "Scalecide" the one sure spray for 
San Jose scale, and produce number 
one fruit. “Scalecide” is 100f« efficient 
against scale and has marked fungi- 
cidai properties. Used by best orchard- 
lsts the world over. Endorsed by Ex- 
periment Stations. Our SERVICE 
D EPA RTM ENT furnishes everything 
for,the orchard. Write today to Dept, 
a for new booklet—“Pratt’s Hand- 
book for Fruit Growers" and "Scale- 
cide the Tree Saver." Both free. 
B G PRATT COMPANY 
50 Church Street New York City 
GET THE BEST 
A Good Spray Pump earns 
big profits and lasts for years. 
THE ECLIPSE 
is a good pump. As 
practical fruit growers 
1 we were using com¬ 
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orchards—found their defects 
and invented the Eclipse. Its 
success forced us to manu¬ 
facturing on a large scale. 
You take no chances. We 
have done all the experi¬ 
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on spraying Free. 
& MORLEYMFG. CO., Box 5, Benton Harbor, Mich, 
MORRILL 
TAHL SPRAYERS 
We will ship you any Barrel Spray¬ 
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Get Our New Catalog 
—Special Free Trial Offer 
Direcr-from-factory-to-farm Selling plan 
saves you fully 40*. I f not greatest bargain 
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Wm. Stahl Sprayer Co., Box 335 Quincy, III* 
DOMESTIC 
HIGH PRESSURE 
SPPAYING OUTFIT S 
Domestic Engine o Pump Co 
ShippensAurp fh. 
“Made Money by Spraying” 
Farmers and Fruit Growers, this is our new book, just 
issued. Send for a free copy to-day. It tells how many 
farmers have grown from poverty to affluence simply by 
spraying their fruit trees. Shows how as much money can 
be made from two or three acres of trees as from a 100-acre 
farm in the West. Gives valuable information on how and 
when to spray to produce the best results—what solution to 
use—how to sell to advantage, etc. Also illustrates and 
describes the famous 
Domestic Sprayers 
Most durable, economical and efficient sprayers on the market. En¬ 
dorsed by experiment stations and used by up-to-date fruit growers 
everywhere. Made in different styles and sizes, from 1 to 3 h. p., with 
or without trucks. Designed so that engine can be easily detached from 
sprayer and used for any kind of work, like pumping water, sawing 
wood, running separator, etc. 
DOMESTIC ENGINE AND PUMP CO., Box 503, Shippensburg.Pa. 
Spray Your Young Orchard 
Start spraying as soon as you plant the trees—and keep it up. Kill the bugs; 
o„„i„ fungus; keep the little trees clean, and they’ll grow faster and stronger. 
They will bear earlier and bigger crops of finest quality fruit. You’ll gei 
more bushels to the tree and more money to the bushel. 
Deming 
Spray Pumps 
are made for thejittle orchard and the big one—more than twenty styles. 
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New catalog—FREE—tells all about spray pumps,“The World’s Best,” 
and nozzles, and contains valuable spraying calendar, with formulae. 
THE DEMING COMPANY, 200 Depot Street, Salem, Ohio 
Manufacturers of Hand and Power Pumps for All Uses 
These Harrows Are For 
Intensive Tillage 
Remember, the CUTAWAY disk is the original 
“cutaway”; the CUTAWAY double action harrow, 
the original double action; the CUTAWAY reversible har¬ 
row, the original reversible; the CUTAWAY extension head 
harrow, the original extension head. CUTAWAY double 
action harrows have all four of their gangs 
compactly hung on one rigid main frame, 
which is the secret of successful double 
action harrows. That is one reason why 
All Cutaway 
Single A cl ion 
Harrows Are 
Reversible 
double action harrows grind and pulverize the soil 
finer than other harrows. CUTAWAY double 
actions are all equipped with the detachable 
jointed tongue, which can be removed or replaced 
in one minute, making the harrow into either 
a tongue or tongueless machine as desired. Both 
the single action and the doubleaction are made 
with extension heads for orchard work, and can 
be closed for regular field work. They are 
equipped with the famous CLARK cutlery 
steel disks, forged sharp. Ask your dealer to 
show you Cutaway implements. If he 
can’t, write us. Ask for new 4S-page book, 
”The Soil and Intensive Tillage," 
Cutaway Harrow Co. 839 Main street. Hi^ganum* Conn. 
Makers of the original CLARK “ Cutaway ** implements 
