SO.-3 
1913. 
BLIGHT AND BUG-PROOF POTATOES. 
I believe it was in The R. N.-Y. that 
1 saw an article concerning an investiga¬ 
tion that the U. S. Department of Agri¬ 
culture made as to potatoes that were 
blight-proof and bugless. Can you give 
me more definite information concerning 
this matter? It seems to me that a po¬ 
tato down in New England had been 
found to be blight-proof. r. T. c. 
Erie, I*a. 
The potato investigators of the U. S. 
Department of Agriculture are studying 
about all known potato varieties includ¬ 
ing the new botanical species brought in 
by the agricultural explorers from the 
far West and South America, and are 
nursing up 30,000 or more seedlings of 
their own, but are not prepared to claim 
they have a blight or bug-proof sort even 
in sight. A few varieties, generally of 
indifferent value as regards quality or 
productiveness, are measurably resistant 
to blight and others may be, from rapid 
growth or heavy foliage, less rapidly de¬ 
stroyed by insects than more susceptible 
kinds, but disease immunity and bug- 
proof qualities in their true signification 
are not likely to be developed in a plant 
that in its natural state is subject to so 
many parasitic troubles as the potato. 
There are doubtless in New England and 
THE RURAb 
lion. John H. Wallace, State Game 
and Fish Commissioner, Montgomery, 
Ala. 
Major Bluford Wilson, Springfield, Ill. 
'Phe proposed regulations which go into 
effect October 1, 1913, are designed to 
secure the following results: 
(1) Uniformity in protection of migra¬ 
tory game and insectivorous birds in the 
several States. 
(2) Protection of birds in Spring 
while en route to their nesting grounds 
and while mating. 
(3) Uniformity in protection of migra¬ 
tory birds at night. 
(4) Establishment of protected migra¬ 
tion routes along three great rivers in 
the central United States. 
(5) Complete protection for five-years 
for the smaller shore birds and other 
species which have Become greatly re¬ 
duced in numbers. 
_(<>) Reduction of the open season on 
migratory game birds, but in most cases 
not more than 25 to 50 per cent. 
The proposed regulations define the 
birds which come under the protection of 
the Federal law as migratory game birds 
to be as follows: 
(a) Anatidse or waterfowl, including 
brant, wild ducks, geese, and swans. 
(b) Gruidae or cranes, including little 
brown, sandhill, and whooping cranes. 
(c) Rallklse or rails, including coots, 
gallinules, and sora and other rails. 
(d) Limicolse or shore birds, including 
avocets, curlew, dowitchers, godwits, 
knots, oyster catchers, plmlaropes, plover, 
HUMAN LIFE STUDIES. 
WHO IS THE HEAD OF THE HOUSE? 
other localities local varieties comfort¬ 
ably blight-resistant when grown under 
proper cultural conditions, but they are 
certainly not proof against injury from 
hostile disease organisms and insects gen¬ 
erally. The McCormick potato, largely 
grown in Maryland and Virginia as a 
late variety, when planted in midsum¬ 
mer, as a rule, grows vigorously, without 
being troubled by blight, until the tops 
are killed by frost, but if planted in 
early Spring is quite liable to be at¬ 
tacked before maturity. It is a second- 
quality variety, but being quite produc¬ 
tive when well grown, is far better than 
none at all. v. 
PROTECTION OF MIGRATORY BIRDS. 
The Department of Agriculture has 
selected the following men to advise the 
Secretary in framing regulations to make 
the new Federal protection of migratory 
birds effective: 
John B. Burnham. New York City, 
President of the American Game Pro¬ 
tective and Propagation Association, 
chairman. 
^ F. W. Chambers, State Fish and Game 
Commissioner, Salt Lake City, Utah. 
Prof. L. L. Dyche, State Fish and 
Game Warden, Pratt, Kans. 
W. I,. Finley, State Game Warden, 
Portland, Ore. 
E. II. Forbush, State Ornithologist, 
Boston, Mass. 
Dr. George Bird Grinnell, New York, 
wee-president of the Boone and Crockett 
1 lub and former editor of Forest and 
Stream. 
Dr. William T. Ilornaday, New York, 
Director of the New York Zoological 
Park. 
lion. John F. Lacey, Oskaloosa, Iowa, 
author of the Lacey Act regulating im¬ 
portation and interstate commerce in 
birds and game. 
Marshall McLean, New York, Chair- 
man Committee on Conservation of Wild 
m < ’L', lu ' Camp-Fire Club of America. 
l. Gilbert Pearson, New York, Seere- 
tary National Association of Audubon 
Societies. 
Hon. George Shiras, 3rd. Washington, 
. C., author of the original bill protect- 
ug migratory birds. 
Gen John C. Speaks, Chief Warden, 
Columbus, Ohio. 
**• T aylor » Berkeley, Cal., Chair- 
man ( ommittee on Conservation of Wild 
Life in C alifornia. 
sandpipers, snipe, stilts, surf birds, turn- 
stones, willet, woodcock, and yellow logs. 
(e) Columbidae or pigeons, including 
doves and wild pigeons. 
The regulations consider the following 
as migratory insectivorous birds, within 
the meaning of the Act: 
(f) Bobolinks, catbirds, chickadees, 
cuckoos, flycatchers, grosbeaks, humming 
birds, kinglets, martins, meadow larks, 
night hawks or bull bats, nuthatches, 
orioles, robins, shrikes, swallows, swifts, 
tanagers, titmice, thrushes, vireos, war¬ 
blers, waxwings, whippoorwills, wood¬ 
peckers, and wrens, and all other perch¬ 
ing birds which feed entirely or chiefly 
on insects. 
Among the provisions suggested is a daily 
closed season on all migratory game and 
insectivorous birds which will extend 
from sunset to sunrise and prevent night 
killing of birds. It also proposes an 
absolutely closed season on migratory 
insectivorous birds to continue to Dec. 
31, 1913, and throughout each year there¬ 
after from Jan. 1st to Dec. 31st. It will 
make an exception in the case of reed- 
birds or ricebirds in Delaware. Maryland, 
the District of Columbia, Virginia, and 
South Carolina, where the closed season 
is from Nov. 1 to Aug. 31, inclusive. 
A five-year closed season on certain game 
birds is provided, to continue till Sept. 
1, 1918, which will include wood ducks 
in certain sections of the country, rails 
in California and Vermont, and wood¬ 
cock in Illinois and Missouri. A closed 
season is ordered between Jan. 1 and 
Oct. 31. inclusive, of each year, on all 
migratory birds passing over or at rest 
on any of the waters of the main streams 
of the Mississippi River between New 
Orleans and Minneapolis, the Ohio River 
between its mouth and Pittsburgh, and 
the Missouri River between its mouth 
md Bismarck. The purpose of this is to 
allow waterfowls a safe highway from 
Winter feeding grounds to nesting 
grounds which can be generally recog¬ 
nized. The killing or capture of any 
such birds on the shores of those rivers, 
or from boats, rafts, or other devices, is 
prohibited in this season. 
Zones for the protection of migratory 
game and insectivorous birds are to be 
established as follows: 
Zone No. 1.—The breeding zone, com¬ 
prising States lying wholly or in part 
north of latitude 40 degrees and the 
Ohio River, which includes 25 States. 
Zone No. 2.—The Wintering zone, 
comprising States lying wholly or 
in part south of latitude 40 degrees and 
the Ohio River, which includes 23 States 
,and the District of Columbia. 
NEW-YORKER 
All these proposed regulations will be 
made the subject of hearings, and per¬ 
sons wishing to recommend changes are 
advised to make application to the Secre¬ 
tary of Agriculture. Whenever possible, 
hearings will be arranged at central 
points, and due notice will be given by 
publication to those who are interested. 
In July 5 issue is an article on the 
Tent caterpillar. I think it the height 
of folly to resort to burning them. It is 
so likely to injure the tree and when 
first hatched they are so easy to remove. 
After pruning each tree in Winter go 
carefully around it and most of the egg 
clusters can be seen and removed with 
the pole cutter. As soon as the leaves be¬ 
gin to open the eggs hatch and while 
the caterpillars are small can be taken 
in their little nest with the finger with¬ 
out losing one of them. A careful survey 
of the trees will reveal nearly every 
one of them. Never disturb them when 
not all in the nest, but they will be 
found there usually in the early morn¬ 
ing if there has been a dew or it is cold 
or wet, or when the wind blows hard. 
Often all are in at noontime. They 
seem to like to feed in the forenoon and 
again in the afternoon. A little study 
of them will easily show you when they 
may be found at home. When they are 
half grown they are not so easily re¬ 
moved as they string out and drop too 
easily, but when the trees are sprayed 
to protect the fruit from the Codling 
moth the poison will stop them all, but 
I do not want them to eat my trees 
until that time. f. t. jencks. 
Rhode Island. 
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