812 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
FARMERS’ CLUB 
[Every query must be accompanied by the 
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.) 
Value of Ground Rock. 
Will you tell me what harmful after- 
results phosphoric acid in what we call 
rock (ground) has on the ground, and 
whether or not it is economy to buy it 
if a farmer has money enough to get 
this phosphoric acid in the more ex¬ 
pensive form, as ground raw bone? 
Solebury, Pa. c. b. p. 
You could buy phosphoric acid in four 
forms—ground bone, basic slag, super¬ 
phosphate or raw ground rock. The 
superphosphate is the raw rock “cut” or 
treated with sulphuric acid. A heavy con¬ 
tinued use of this superphosphate would 
sour the land to some extent, but the 
use of lime at intervals would overcome 
this trouble. The basic slag contains 
lime and would not sour the ground. We 
think a combination of ground bone and 
superphosphate a good combination. 
Lye for Peach Borers. 
We have badly neglected peach trees 
till as many as 18 borers are in some. 
These trees were cleaned around last 
season and dirt not returned so that 
borers are mostly in the roots. At this 
time we cannot dig for them as we are 
situated. You once used and advised hot 
lye. Do you still recommend it, and if so, 
tell how to use it, the temperature and 
amount and kind of lye to use. B. o. 
Fishersville, Va. 
We used the lye dissolved in hot water 
some years ago, but gave it up. It 
killed some of the borers, but like most 
of such applications was not of much 
use unless the gum was scraped away 
from the trees. If you take time to 
scrape this gum you might better go 
on and dig the borers out—the only sure 
way we know to get rid of them. We 
think a hot lime-sulphur mixture would 
be almost as good as the lye, but none 
of these applications gave us much bene¬ 
fit until the gum was scraped off and 
the borer holes left open. We have gone 
back to digging the borers out by hand. 
Lime in Different Forms. 
I can get ground limestone delivered at 
railroad station for $5.50 per ton, station 
three miles away; marl and air-slaked 
lime, same price, and can get lime that 
has been used in tannery delivered on 
my farm for six cents per bushel. This 
has a lot of hair and flesh in it, is 
water soaked and very heavy. My idea 
was to top-dress my meadows after hay¬ 
ing, using manure spreader. How much 
has tannery lime lost in tanning process? 
Ballston Spa, N. Y. g. j. b. 
Of course, samples of limestone vary 
in the amount of lime they carry. We 
should want some sort of guaranteed 
analysis before buying, but in general 
the slaked lime is a better bargain than 
ground limestone at the same price. It 
will usually contain more actual lime. 
The tannery lime is about equal to the 
ground limestone in value. A bushel 
should contain a little over 30 pounds of 
lime. The hair and flesh contain nitro¬ 
gen, but not in a very available form. 
We call the tannery lime the best bar¬ 
gain. 
Wireworms and Ants. 
What can I do for wireworms and 
small ants in soil? They eat out the 
corn when sprouting. E. B. T. 
Canajoharie, N. Y. 
The wireworms are the larva? of “click 
beetles,” and ordinarily breed in sod, 
where they attract little attention. When 
the sod is broken up and planted to 
potatoes, corn or other cereals, they are 
likely to be very troublesome. The only 
way of handling them is crop rotation 
combined with Fall plowing and cultiva¬ 
tion, which breaks up the places in which 
they hibernate and pupate. They can¬ 
not be killed by any application unless 
it is so strong as to kill plant life too. 
As a rule they do not attack clover or 
other legumes, so if the soil is badly 
infested it is well to follow sod with 
a legume. 
E. B. T. speaks of the small ants in 
the cornfield which causes a suspicion 
that they are caring for corn root-aphis 
or root-louse, which sucks the juice of 
the corn roots, causing a stunted yellow 
growth. The ants care for the aphis 
eggs, carry the young about when they 
hatch, transferring them from plant to 
plant, and give them as much care as 
a poultrymau does his young fowls. 
Rotation of crops, Fall plowing, which 
breaks up the ants’ nests, and destruction 
of weeds, whose roots afford food before 
the corn is ready, are control measures. 
Where ants’ nests are found they may be 
destroyed by pouring bisulphide of car¬ 
bon into holes punched into the nest with 
a stick, then covered with a clod of 
earth. Remember that carbon bisulphide 
is inflammable and explosive; do not let 
any light, even a lighted pipe or cigar, 
come near it. 
Starting the Commission Business. 
I would like to work up a business 
handling farm produce on a “live and let 
live” basis. Could you give me any idea 
as to the amount of red tape necessary 
to go through in order to act as com¬ 
mission merchant in this State? If not, 
where can I find out about it? Would 
one have to give bonds or obtain a li¬ 
cense? How would it be if one bought 
the goods outright and resold them? My 
idea would be to buy from the farmer 
(New York State) and sell to the retail 
grocer. R- r. 
New Britain, Conn. 
The Connecticut law-makers have not 
as yet seen fit to attempt any regulation 
of the business of commission merchants 
handling farm produce. Vendors ped¬ 
dling from door to door are generally 
compelled to take out licenses in the 
cities where they do business, but other¬ 
wise the business is open to all comers, 
subject only to the laws that govern all 
commercial transactions. R. P. H. will 
do well to begin his activities by a thor¬ 
ough study of the markets and trade 
channels in his home city. After se¬ 
curing all the information thus available 
to an outsider, the next logical step 
would be to establish a credit rating with 
Dun’s and Bradstreet’s commercial agen¬ 
cies, and connection with a good bank. 
Advertising for business would then nat¬ 
urally follow, with the future largely 
dependent upon the success with which 
trial shipments were handled. Probably 
experience alone would determine which 
course was the better, buying from the 
farmers outright or selling for a com¬ 
mission. In the first method the mid¬ 
dleman takes the hazard. By the sec¬ 
ond it is left with the shipper. R. P. H. 
will encounter his first obstacle in get¬ 
ting shipments of first-class stuff, and his 
second in persuading the grocers to pay 
him a decent price for it. If he can 
overcome these, a large business success 
awaits him. C. M. G. 
shall try it with barley this year. The 
barley makes a heavy Fall growth and 
ought to mat down and protect the 
clover. 
Troubles of Hairy Vetch. 
Hairy vetch, so highly spoken of and 
of such great value undoubtedly, has 
given variable results In our section, 
South Rockland Co., four miles north of 
Hope Farm. It has not proven the 
loudest success of planters elsewhere, and 
has been given up. Possibly I have lo¬ 
cated the cause; its behavior on our 
grounds may prove of interest. Two 
years ago we seeded down (in the Fall) 
three acres of our highest hill land, 
which is heavy clayey loam, stony, typi¬ 
cal Rockland Co., N. Y., soil, in Crimson 
clover and vetch; 1911, Summer and 
Fall, was dry, so that seeded down in 
August made very little growth that Fall 
and even next Spring, and when it was. 
turned under in May to corn it had 
made a growth of not over 12 inches, 
and not thick at that. Crimson clover 
was an entire failure. Last year this 
field gave a good corn crop, being tilled 
in usual fashion; three or four cultiva¬ 
tions were all that was attempted. Owing 
to lack of help this field has so far not 
been turned at all, but here and there 
over the fields is scattered a thick heavy 
growth of vetch in very strong bloom, 
heavily matting the ground and much 
thicker than when it was the sole crop. 
Another peculiar feature is that this 
is naturally a very poor soil and weeds 
so far have made sparse growth. It 
parallels our experience with Melilotus 
alba, only the latter made a decidedly 
poorer growth the first year. This plant 
appeared only here and there, possibly 
a hundred plants in the whole field, three 
acres. This has been left undisturbed 
for two years and now has spread quite 
considerably, also in almost sterile soil. 
New York. I. w. 
The majority of our Winter vetch re¬ 
ports show that the crop was disappoint¬ 
ing the first season. In some cases where 
inoculation was tried the crop did well 
from the start, but usually the first 
year shows only a scattering growth or 
short and feeble vines. If the crop is 
seeded again on the same ground it usu¬ 
ally improves, and by the third year 
is heavy and thick. It will pay to keep 
right on seeding it. Crimson clover was 
very successful with us this past Spring, 
especially when seeded with rye. We 
Eating the Crayfish. 
I have just read your article on; cray¬ 
fish, and note one very important means 
of getting rid of them has been omitted ; 
a party of small boys and girls, some 
string and small pieces of meat. They 
will not only catch them, but eat them 
as well, and they are good eating. I 
am willing to bet Professor Van Deman 
will smack his lips when you say cray¬ 
fish. Crayfish are good eating. In New 
Orleans you can get them in any French 
restaurant, one way being in a bisque, 
which is made by boiling the vermin, 
cleaning the heads and stuffiug them 
with the meat from the tail, chopped up 
and seasoned, then making a soup, and it 
is good. Whenever I am fortunate 
enough to get a plate, when there, it is 
always followed by another. Crayfish 
are a staple diet in New Orleans, and 
almost any fair day you can see the 
banks of the canals and ditches lined 
with cotton and black-headed kids and 
old men, dangling a piece of meat on 
the end of a string in the water in an 
effort to get enough to make a mess. It 
is even said they catch them in their 
backyards, and, while I do not doubt 
they do, yet have never seen it done, 
though they look guilty when you poke 
fun at them about it. The children 
around here often go crayfishing in the 
ditches or ponds, using a small piece 
of meat and a string; a crayfish gets 
good strong hold of the meat and is 
gently pulled out and put in a can of 
water until enough are caught, when 
the can is put on a fire and the catch 
boiled until they are good and red, when 
they are ready to be eaten. They are 
eaten like a shrimp or lobster, the tail 
being broken off and the shell peeled off, 
while the head is thrown away. If you 
can induce the children to bring their 
catch home, you can boil them, putting 
a little salt in the water, then preparing 
the tail and serve them as a shrimp salad, 
or make a gumbo, or in fact cook in any 
way that crabs, shrimp or lobster are 
prepared. 
If any people who suffer from the 
attentions of crayfish to their crops, will 
try a mess of them, they will feel more 
kindly toward them, and will soon over¬ 
come any aversion, for they are really 
only a fresh-water lobster of small size, 
and make a good change in diet, and 
are, when served fresh, a long way ahead 
of the dead fish in boxes we consume, as 
shrimp and lobsters, and not nearly so 
indigestible. Doubtless the saying that a 
person is “crayfishing” to get out of a 
statement they have made, when confront¬ 
ed with it, comes from the habit of the 
critter in always going backwards, in 
going from one place to another or swim¬ 
ming along, although when coming to a 
bait or feeding, it crawls forward to 
graze. Crayfish is quite a common article 
of food here when procurable in suffi¬ 
cient quantities, though you have to have 
some French or Spanish blood to appre¬ 
ciate them fully, and the colored people 
used to sing a song, of which I remember 
only, 
“What yer gwine ter do, when de meat’s 
all gone, 
Jest drive the cliilluns ter de crawfish 
pond.” 
And I wouldn’t mind being one of 
those chilluns until after dinner time. 
Alabama. maksena a. pakkek. 
July 5, 
When you write advertisers mention 
The R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply 
and a “square deal.” See guarantee edi¬ 
torial page. 
The best varieties, both 
new and old, and the best 
methods of planting to raise a 
full crop of Strawberries next 
year, are fully particularized in 
DREER’S 
Mid-Summer Catalogue 
Also the best varieties of Celery, 
Cabbage Plants, etc. 
A most complete list of the Best Hardy 
Perennial Seeds for summer sowing. 
Also vegetable and farm seeds for sum¬ 
mer and fall sowing. Select list of sea¬ 
sonable decorative and flowering plants. 
Write for a copy and kindly 
mention this weekly — FREE. 
HENRY A. DREER PHILADELPHIA 

IDEAL FRUIT PICKING BAG 
and 80 arranged as to 
J div. equalize the load on 
both shoulders. 
The openings are ar¬ 
ranged so both hands 
can be used in picking 
and the draw string is 
arranged so the fruit 
can be let out at the bot¬ 
tom in emptying the 
bag. . 
The bag can be let 
down to the bottom of 
the barrel before open¬ 
ing the draw string, thus not bruising thefrult. 
This is the best and handiest arrangement 
for picking fruit that has ever been offered. 
A trial will convince the most skeptical. 
SAMPLE POSTPAID, $1. AGENTS WANTED. 
BARKER MFG. CO. 
35 Ambrose St., Rochester, N. Y. 
FRONT 
BACK 
PohhoiYo Dlonfo—Danish Ballheadand Shurehead 
bdDUdge rldlllb and Plat- Dutch. *1.00 per 1,000. 
W. S. FORD & SON, - Hartly, Delaware 
Celery—Cauliflower—Cabbage 
PLANTS. Leading Varieties. Catalogue Free. 
HAltKY L. SQUllUiS, Good Ground, N. Y, 
___ For July and 
STRAWBERRY PLANTS 
HARRY L. SQUIKES, Good Ground, N. Y. 
n,UU.» a Dilute Beets, Lettuce,Kohl-rabi, 
UaDQage rlalllS $| per loot). Tomato, Sweet 
Potatoes, $1.50 per 1000. Cauliflower, Peppers, *2 per 
1000. Send for list. J. C. SCHMIDT, Bristol, Pa. 
Standard Apple Barrels 
Car lots or less. ROBT. GILLIES, Medina, N. Y. 
Hubbard’s BasE Fertilizers 
For Summer Crops, Grain 
—mm ii ir 
and Fall Seeding 
^UTIL1 
We prepare special fertilizers for particular soils and special 
crops. Let us tell you how we have helped many a farmer raise 
BlulR CROPS 
You reap a bigger crop and still the land is richer than before. 
‘Begin now and use Hubbard's Bone Base Fertilizers. It costs you 
less in the end, and makes healthier and more productive soil. 
You can read it in our 1913 Almanac or in our Booklets on 
Soil, and on Grass Crops. They contain much practical informa¬ 
tion for the farmer and the gardener. 
THE ROGERS & HUBBARD CO., Address Dept. A, Middletown, Conn. 
OFFICE AND WORKS, PORTLAND. CONN. 
