m:{. 
THE RURAI/ NEW-YORKER 
11 0*3 
Ruralisms 
MEDICINAL USE OF DOGBANE. 
On page 953 you discuss some weed 
problems in which it is stated that the 
Apocynums are quite poisonous. I have 
used these plants medicinally for 45 
years and this is the first intimation I 
have had that there is anything poison¬ 
ous about them. I have in years past 
gone into the field and gathered their 
roots and manufactured my own medi¬ 
cine from them, but of course in these 
days of fine pharmaceutical products we 
do not do that. When a small boy on my 
father’s farm during the corn cultivating 
season it was an everyday thing for me 
to follow the plow and pull milkweeds. 
On that farm the Apocynums, as I have 
since learned to call them, were very 
abundant, but I never suffered the slight¬ 
est inconvenience from them. I have 
seen old Timothy meadows badly infest¬ 
ed with them. When the grass was 
mowed for hay these milkweeds went in 
with the hay and I never heard of either 
cow or horse being made ill by eating 
this hay. 
As a physician I have always relied 
upon the Apocynum cannabinum as the 
king of all medicines in the treatment of 
dropsical conditions. There is nothing 
comparable to it. I have a patient tak¬ 
ing a specific tincture of it in doses of 
10 drops or more five or six times per 
day. It has completely removed a drop¬ 
sical condition that was so bad that the 
woman could scarcely get around on ac¬ 
count of the enormous size of her abdo¬ 
men. She has never shown the least an¬ 
tagonism to its effects. Of course drop¬ 
sies are mere symptoms of diseased con¬ 
ditions that may exist in various organs, 
but in its treatment, whatever it may be, 
it is very important to remove the effu¬ 
sion, and Apocynum cannabinum will do 
it without danger to the patient. 
Illinois. A. W. FOREMAN, M. D. 
R. N.-Y.—The reference alluded to was 
the statement that the milky juice was 
quite poisonous. This Apocynum is rec¬ 
ognized officially by the U. S. Dispensa¬ 
tory as a valuable remedy for dropsy, as 
Dr. Foreman says. The Dispensatory 
also says that it is powerfully emetic 
and cathartic, producing much nausea, 
and drowsiness, and diminishing the fre¬ 
quency of the pulse; in sufficient quan¬ 
tity it first stimulates the heart and 
vasomotor centres, causing a pro¬ 
nounced rise of the arterial pressure, and 
then acts as a paralyzant, producing a 
gradual fall of the pressure to zero. 
Harvesting Lavender. 
London “Farm and Home” states that 
a good crop of lavender is being harvest¬ 
ed in England this season. This indus¬ 
try has grown immensely of late years, 
lavender being grown commercially in 
Surrey, Essex, Sussex, Hertfordshire and 
Cambridgeshire. The flower buds must 
be fully expanded before the plant is in 
best condition for yielding perfume. The 
reapers go forth with sickles with edges 
notched or toothed like the edge of a saw, 
and saw the lavender off rather than cut 
it. Each handful is placed on the top of 
its plant till a large quantity has been 
cut, and then, going back, the men col¬ 
lect the bunches and pack them loosely 
in large sheets of bass to guard against 
crushing and fermentation, and thus 
packed the lavender is eventually taken 
to the distillery. 
Violet Stem-rot. 
I have been using carbon bisulphide in 
my violet house to kill grubs. First I 
put a little over 12 inches apart and 
found the next day that the plants wilted 
down. They have been reviving nights 
and then wilting again the next day for 
about 10 days now. Do you suppose the 
toots are frozen? I used it just at the 
beginning of those three very hot days; 
thought perhaps the extreme heat might 
have made it worse. I have used it once 
since 18 inches apart and it causes the 
Poor plants to droop just the least bit. 
The ground was as dry as we dare have 
it in a violet house. What is your opin¬ 
ion in regard to the plants which wilt 
every day? Do you think they will 
amount to anything or would you advise 
digging them out? J. M. 
Red Hook, N. Y. 
We have no data concerning the effect 
of bisulphide of carbon on violets, but 
the symptoms shown are evidently the 
disease known as stem-rot. This trouble 
usually shows itself about September or 
October, but is present long before it is 
noticed. Its_ marked symptom is just 
what the inquirer describes—wilting 
during the day and reviving at night. 
1 his goes on until the main stem is gir¬ 
dled by the fungus, when the plant 
finally wilts and dies. Remedies are the 
use of vigorous stock propagated from 
cuttings rather than division, uninfected 
soil, and an effort to keep the plant grow¬ 
ing without check. Pulling off dead or 
diseased leaves carelessly, so as to leave 
a scar, is believed to give the fungus a 
chance to enter the plant, but it is usu¬ 
ally infected early in life. While we 
cannot tell whether the bisulphide weak¬ 
ened the plants, it must be remembered 
that tobacco fumigation affects violet 
foliage disastrously, rendering it more 
susceptible to the “spot” disease, and the 
plants may have an unsuspected suscepti¬ 
bility to gas and vapor which would ren¬ 
der the bisulphide risky. 
White Blackberries. —On page 957 
I notice a question by “T. R. II.” on 
“white” strawberries. In the answer 
signed by “V.” the writer thinks that 
there would be little or no market for 
such a berry, on account of its color. Is 
“V.” entirely right in taking this stand? 
In his article he states that he himself 
remembers searching out the “pale ber¬ 
ries” from Lennig’s White as being more 
delicious than others grown at that time. 
If a variety of white strawberry could 
be produced which excelled in flavor, 
would the public let its color stand in 
the way of its being sought after? It 
takes but a single bite into an ear of 
Golden Bantam sweet corn to overcome 
all prejudice of the biter as to its yellow 
color, and if he is a city dweller he will 
ever after ask for those “little ears of 
yellow corn.” Twice during the last 
week the writer in talking with two dif¬ 
ferent persons about blackberries, has 
been told of the finding among patches 
of wild berries, single bushes bearing 
pure white berries, and invariably these 
berries have been far superior in size, 
flavor and sweetness to their black neigh¬ 
bor. One of the persons had found in 
a fence corner on his farm two or three 
of these bushes of albinos, and every 
year these berries were eagerly watched 
for by the family—even the half ripe 
fruit being sweet and of good flavor. 
Could not a superior strain of white 
blackberries be brought out from such 
parent stock? In the opinion of the 
writer, the very best of the tame or cul¬ 
tivated strains of blackberries to-day do 
not compare in flavor or sweetness with 
the wild berry and I have an idea that 
the public would form a taste for a su¬ 
perior strain even though it show stripes 
of red, white and blue so long as the 
taste excels. J. B. B. 
Squash Borer.—I notice frequent in¬ 
quiries for methods of fighting that in¬ 
sidious pest, the squash borer. Let me 
give some of these inquirers a very sim¬ 
ple method used by us this season. When 
the leaves begin to droop, a sure sign of 
the presence of the pest, take a sharp 
knife and make a slit two or three inches 
long just where the vine emerges from the 
soil. The borer or borers (generally a 
pair of them), may easily be discovered, 
and killed by the knife. Then cover the 
wound with a generous quantity of soil, 
and, in two or three days the vine will 
be as strong and healthy as one could 
desire. We have tried this on about 25 
vines this season, and lost only one or 
two, and these, I believe, were too far 
gone before the operation was performed. 
Our vines are large warted Hubbard, 
which are naturally strong vines, but I 
have no doubt the method would be help¬ 
ful to any vines infested. It is worth a trial, 
for, once the borer takes up his residence, 
the vine is doomed unless he can be ex¬ 
terminated. H. F. A. 
Richmond Co., N. Y. 
“Of Course I Wear Elephant 
a. Head,’ I AIways Have !’* 1 
It is the extra material in these famous boots that 
makes them sell in the great big 
numbers of 10,000 a day. The 
extreme toughness secured makes 
them the strongest hoot you can 
possibly buy. 
SOCKET 
ELEPHANT laHEAD 
RUB BER BOOTS I 
Insist upon “Elephant Head” Brand Rubber Boots 
Made of the Best Grade of Fine Para 
Rubber. 
—made of extra strong duck. 
—reinforced at every point. 
All the best dealers carry “Elephant 
Head” Brand Rubber Boots in all 
lengths and you can depend on them 
to carry the best of everything. 
WOONSOCKET 
RUBBER CO. 
Woonsocket, R. I. 
Cutcnv&v Disk Harrows Fill The Bill 
Over 100 Styles and Sizes to Choose From 
We have the tool to meet the needs of every 
farmer, whether he uses one small horse or a big 
tractor engine. For over a quarter century we have been 
making Cutaway (Clark) tools so good that today 
they are the standard of real worth. Our 
little book, “As Told By Others,” tells what 
users of Cutaway (Clark) machines 
think of them. Write for it today. Ask the Cutaway 
dealer in your town to show you a Cutaway 
(Clark) harrow. If we have no dealer there, write 
direct to us for catalog. Don't accept a substitute. 
CUTAWAY HARROW CO., 839 Main St., Higganum, Conn. 
Maker of Ike original Clark Double Action Harrows 
SEND FOR BOOK 
"The Soil and 
Intensive ■ 
IT’S 
FREE 
(Sold with or without Elevator.) 
For Every Variety of Work. 
Hare conical shaped grinders. Different 
from all others. Handiest to operate and 
LIGHTEST RUNNING. 
7 sizes —2 to 25 horse power. One style for 
wiadwheel use. (Also malt. Swoop Grind* 
ers—Cosred snd Plain. 
P. R. BOWSHER CO.. South Bend. Ind. 
Running Water 
in House and Barn at even 
temperature Winter or 
mer at Small Cost. Aa r>h TT* 
Send Postal for New Water Supply 
Plan. It wifi bring you 100 pictures 
of it in actual use. Do it Now. Ml” 
Aermotor Co., 1144 S. Campbell Av., Chicago^fl^ 
Aermotor Co., 2d and Madison Stroots, Oakland, ill Cal. 
euectbi® 
Z 
Save draft — save repairs. 
Don’t rut roads or fields. Send today for free 
illustrated catalog o£ wheels and wagons. 
Electric Wheel Co., A a Elm St., Quincy, III. 
HARRIS PULLEY ♦ 5 - 38 , 
Costs half—does better work. Automatic — no 
levers or clutches. Starts cream separator slow¬ 
ly, increases speed gradually, offsets jerk of 
engine. Prolongs life of separator. Pays for 
self in a season. Warranted for life, 
55.45 complete. Order, or send for 
1 circulars. 
3 Hk AFFILIATED MFRS. CO. 
Milwaukee, Wis. 
Don't Wait Till Spring To 
Do Your Concrete Work 
You may not have time for it then. This 
winter, when you have more leisure, you 
can make a number of needed improvements 
on the farm by utilizing your spare time in 
building concrete floors, foundations, blocks, 
posts, etc. Cold weather need not interfere; 
our free book 
“Concreting in Cold Weather 99 
Rural Edition 
tells just how to go about such work, and what 
By following directions 
precautions to observe, 
carefully and using 
UNIVERSAL 
:Jr * "of •• ° e*i '■> •iS’V-i'.'j 
• u ‘ •■*•••• 
PORTLAND 
CEMENT 
you can secure results as satisfactory as at any 
other time of the year. Don’t fail to send for this bock 
and any others on concrete construction which you 
think will be of use to you. They are furnished free. 
Universal Portland Cement Co. 
CHICAGO PITTSBURGH MINNEAPOLIS 
72 West Adams Street Frick Building Security Bank Building 
Plants at Chicago and Pittsburgh Annual Output 12,000,000 Barrels 
