81 
1910. 
A STATE POISONS PRAIRIE DOGS. { 
The State of Kansas declared war upon 
the prairie dog. The little animal caused 
great damage in the western part of the 
State, where it congregated in dog towns 
and dug up the ground so as to become a 
nuisance. Beginning in 1001, the State 
passed a law organizing a campaign against 
these dogs. Two years later another law 
was passed, making it the duty of township 
trustees to inspect all lands infested by 
prairie dogs and make report to the county 
commissioner in regard to exterminating 
the pes.t. In 1000 further legislation was 
added, imposing a fine upon trustees or 
commissioners for non-fulfillment of the law. 
It also makes a tax levy of seven mills to 
finance the game against these little ani¬ 
mals. Their experiment station worked out 
a plan of campaign, and adopted poisoning 
as the cheapest and best method of fighting. 
There was a poison or formula offered for 
sale and the State bought it and since that 
time has followed the formula, very closely. 
This mixture is made as follows, with the 
method of preparing it. 
The poison mixture is in the form of a 
syrup, prepared as follows: one ounce 
strychnia sulphate (powdered) ; one ounce 
potassium cyanide; 1% ounces alcohol; one 
pint syrup. One ounce of green coffee-ber¬ 
ries is mixed witli the white of one egg 
and allowed to stand at least 14 hours. The 
strychnia is dissolved in a half-pint of boil¬ 
ing water. The potassium cyanide is dis¬ 
solved in a quarter-pint of hot water and 
allowed to cool. Add a little warm water to 
the mixture of coffee and . eggs and mix it 
with the potassium cyanide. Then strain 
this mixture through a coarse sieve into the 
mixing vessel and add the syrup. Mix the 
alcohol with the hot solution of strychnine 
and add it to the other mixture. Stir all 
thoroughly. This mixture is put up in cans 
of two sizes—quart and half-gallon, ft is 
intended to be used with wheat or Kafir- 
corn as bait. 
This poison is prepared at the Agricul¬ 
tural College and sold in cans at $2 a half 
gallon. or $1.10 per quart. The following 
directions are given for using the poison: 
“For every quart of syrup take a half-bushel 
of clean wheat or Kafir-corn in a large, 
metal tub. After thoroughly shaking and 
stirring the contents of the can, pour it 
over the grain and stir until every part is 
thoroughly wet with the poison. Then stir 
in two or three pounds of fine cornmeal, to 
take up the extra moisture. Dot the mixture 
stand in a shed over night and put it out 
early the next morning if the weather is 
fine. Place half a tablespoonful or less of 
the bait in two or three little bunches at 
the outside of each burrow' occupied by 
prairie-dogs. Only occupied burrows should 
be poisoned. A half-bushel of grain should 
poison from 500 to 000 holes.” 
It has been found that the poison is most 
effective in Winter and early Spring. When 
there is fresh grass or other vegetation the 
prairie dogs don’t readilyJeat' this bait. Say, 
probably late in * January, February, or 
March is the best time for operations. A: 
thaw following stormy weather makes a 
good period, as at this time the prairie 
dogs wake up from their Winter sleep and 
crawl out ready to eat anything in sight. 
It is said that much money has been spent 
in Kansas by keeping men steady at work 
poisoning two or three weeks at a time 
when some of the days were rainy or 
stormy, so that the poison was washed off 
and the bait spoiled. The work is now well 
organized as a county and State duty for 
the local officers, and the campaign is pro¬ 
gressing, so that this pest will evidently 
be destroyed so as no longer to be danger¬ 
ous. While the poison is designed for the 
prairie dog, we give it for the benefit of 
those who desire to poison some other pests 
of a similar nature. 
STATE FRUIT GROWERS’ MEETING. 
Yes, it was a most successful meeting. 
I have attended every one of them since the 
first inception or organization of the New 
York State Fruit Growers’ Association, but 
I know of none where greater enthusiasm 
and interest in all the doings were shown 
than at this last, the ninth annual meeting. 
The exhibits were many and quite excellent 
of course, the New York State Experiment 
Station showing to best advantage, as usual, 
with its fine, complete and interesting dis¬ 
play of apples of almost every standard 
variety that can be grown in the State, and 
of many seedlings, the result of systematic 
crossing. The power sprayer machine men, 
as well as the manufacturers of spray ma¬ 
terials, also had their inning. Bordeaux 
Mixture is beginning to take a back seat, 
and lime-sulphur solutions are coming to 
the front. That much can plainly be in¬ 
ferred from the exhibits in the exhibition 
hall. Paris green also seems to be gradually 
eliminated from consideration and favor, 
and arsenate of lead is taking its place. 
This also is a plain fact. Great strides have 
been made in the improvement of sprayers 
—another fact. 
The selection of Rochester as a meeting 
place, for the ninth, and probably future 
meetings, is in all likelihood a wise move, 
as the majority of fruit men of the western 
THE rural NEW-YORKER 
half of the State would rather go there than 
to any other pla-ce in western New York, 
on account of superior railroad facilities. 
But it brings two meetings of fruitmen to 
that place during the month of January. 
It was a natural thought, to arrange mat¬ 
ters for the future in such a way that the 
two meetings of the kindred societies, the 
older Western New York Horticultural and 
the newen State Fruit Growers’ Association, 
might be held at the same time, as a con¬ 
solidated gathering. Undoubtedly, Dr. Bail¬ 
ey, Dr. Jordan, Commissioner Pearson, Prof. 
Craig, and the two or three others who 
suggested this move, meant well, and con¬ 
sidered it in the best interest of all con¬ 
cerned. It was hardly intended as a move 
to merge one society into the other; never¬ 
theless the resolution offered by Dr. Jordan 
for the appointment of a committee to con¬ 
fer with a similar committee appointed by 
the Western New York Horticultural So¬ 
ciety, for the purpose of unification or con¬ 
solidation of the meetings, so that only one 
would be held, seemed to touch an old sore 
spot in the anatomy of the newer organiza¬ 
tion. As Mr. Smith (Orleans County) ex¬ 
pressed it: “There was a reason for the 
organization of the newer society. We are 
dealing with the production of fruits, not 
with the production of trees or plants.” 
The resolution, although at first it came as 
a wet blanket, resulted in stimulating a 
renewed interest in the organization. The 
motion to table it indefinitely was quickly 
and almost unanimously carried. It is true 
that a large number of the members belong 
also to the other society. Many would be 
glad to be saved an extra trip to Rochester. 
It is true that heavy demands of both or¬ 
ganizations for assistance from stations and 
college, for exhibits, speakers, etc., arc made 
year after year. But we cannot close our 
eyes to the fact that there is some antago¬ 
nism between the two bodies under the sur¬ 
face. Many fruitmen have looked upon the 
Western New York Horticultural Society 
as an annex to the nursery interests of 
Western New York. This may have been 
the case during the earlier years of the so¬ 
ciety’s existence; but it must be conceded 
that this feature has been gradually eliinin- 
ated, and during the admirable leadership 
of the Barrys and others, the Western New 
York has become in fact and truth a “hor¬ 
ticultural” society. At present, however, a 
unification of the meetings seems to be out 
of the question. 
The State Association now has a member¬ 
ship of between 700 and 800; has been do¬ 
ing a good business, in fertilizers and agri¬ 
cultural chemicals, has accomplished various 
good things in various lines, paid all its 
debts, and; according to the reports of the 
treasurer and the . secretary, has about 
$1,200 in bank. This, together with the 
number of, people who attended this last 
meeting, and the interest,, evinced by all, 
proves'that, the new association is far from 
being a failure’. 
The election of officers brought but few 
changes over last year. B. J. Case of Sodus 
remains president for another year. Vice- 
,presidents are Clark Allis of Medina, first; 
T. B. Wilson of Halls Corners, second; C. 
II. McC’lue, third. The executive committee 
consists of Frank Bradley, Somerset; C. G. 
Porter, Albion; Eugene Collamer, Hilton 
and W. Ray Teats. 
President Case, in liis annual address, 
pointed out that there is no competition in 
fancy fruits. Every box of fancy apples 
helps to make a demand for many more. 
For the inferior products, there is a market 
already established —in evaporators, can¬ 
ning factories, jelly and cider mills, etc. 
He advises that greater efforts are made 
to increase size and color of our apples. 
The flavor of the New York State apple will 
take care of itself. He also holds that no 
market is as good as the home market until 
that is fully supplied. He deplores the evi¬ 
dent fact that Rochester, right in the midst 
of the fruit belt, is not supplied with better 
apples. (There was good reason for this 
assertion. The members could have oranges, 
grape fruit, bananas, grapes, nuts, etc., op 
the breakfast and dinner table at the hotels, 
but no apples of any kind, not even poor 
ones. We had some good ones at the ban¬ 
quet, however). 
Prof. Whetzel of Cornell University gave 
a report on plant diseases. The apple scab 
is largely carried over from one season to 
the next on the old leaves in the orchard. 
Plowing the leaves under in late Fall is a 
good thing. Get rid of the leaves. A rainy 
or cold Spring gives an early infection. 
Spray with lime-sulphur wash before the 
leaves come out. before the rain rather than 
after. Apple scab has been found to spread 
on fruit in storage. Many diseases need 
further investigation, as little is being done 
in them, as for instance, apple canker, peach 
yellows, raspberry diseases, crown gall of 
apples, etc. 
The experimental dwarf orchards have 
done well. A large number of plates of fine 
fruit grown on the trees in 1909 were on 
exhibit. Dwarf trees are recommended for 
the home grower, not for commercial opera¬ 
tions. 
The great and leading question, the ques¬ 
tion of all questions, that came to a dis¬ 
cussion at this meeting, however, was that 
of the use of lime and sulphur solutions, 
especially as a Summer wash. Frofessors 
Whetzel of Cornell and John P. Stewart of 
the Pennsylvania State College, handled 
this subject in its various phases apparent¬ 
ly exhaustively, but they found eager lis¬ 
teners and persistent questioners right 
along, and if they had remained on the 
platform another day, I believe they :ould 
not have been able to reply to all, or stop 
the inquiries. Prof. Whetzel spoke of lime- 
sulphur as a Summer application, on live 
foliage. While he refuses to advise his hear¬ 
ers, he lets them infer that this new solu¬ 
tion, made either at home or commercially 
obtainable, is a safe Summer spray, of 
course, in proper dilution, and may or will 
take the place of Bordeaux Mixture. It has 
been used on apples, peaches, plums, grapes, 
potatoes, etc., and it has been found effec¬ 
tive as an insecticide also when combined 
with arsenate of lead. 
Prof. Stewart directed his attention more 
to the making and uses of lime and sulphur 
especially the homemade concentrated solu¬ 
tions. He does not object to the commercial 
brands, but says the growers can make the 
concentrated solutions just as well as the 
manufacturer, and much more cheaply. It 
is as easy to make it as to make coffee, he 
says. He is not in favor of arsenate of lead 
to be used in combination with the lime 
and sulphur solution, but his objections are 
mainly based on the grounds of greater ex¬ 
pense. 
Dr. L. L. Van Sfyke, chemist of the Gene¬ 
va Station, treated the subject of “The 
Chemistry of Dime and Sulphur Solutions.” 
This matter is of greater interest to the 
scientist, however, than to the practical 
frutt grower. Dr. Jordan, at the evening 
meeting, gave an illustrated lecture entitled 
“New York against Western Fruit Growing,” 
in which he spoke with great enthusiasm 
of the chances for the fruit grower in this 
State, compared with the chances in the 
Hood River Valley. The young man, he 
says, who can buy or inherit a good piece of 
fruit land in this State, and goes west to 
engage in fruit growing, is shortsighted wad 
needs education. 
“Pruning, Cultivating, Fertilizing and 
Spraying Grapes in Chautauqua County,” 
was treated by Sherman J. Dowell, lecturer 
of the State Grange, Fredonia. He con¬ 
demns the Kniffin system of grape training, 
but was opposed in this by various mem- 
lxu - s. In his statement that grapevines need¬ 
ed cultivation, but could get along very well 
without plant food applications, he ran up 
against Dr. Jordan, who told of systematic 
experiments being made by the station in 
the Chatauqua grape belt, the results of 
which showed great differences in every 
case, >in the yields of the different plots, in 
favor of the ones that had received manures 
or fertilizers. Mr. Dowell, however, recom¬ 
mends kainit as a potash fertilizer, rather 
than muriate of potash. t. greixer. 
HEATING 
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Thomas Phosphate Powder 
(BASIC SLAG PHOSPHATE) 
SPECIAL NOTICE AND WARNING! 
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Bearing on the tags the following TRADE MARK 
ONLY BY BUYING 
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TRADE MARK CAN 
GET THE GENUINE 
ARTICLE. 
THOMAS PHOS- 
BEARING THIS 
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01 UNADULTERATED 
The great value of Thomas Phosphate Powder as a Superior Source of Phosphoric 
Acid, Lime, Magnesia and Manganese makes its purity and genuine quality of prime 
importance. 
Dr. HARVEY W, WIDEY, Chief Chemist United States Department of Agriculture, 
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SPECIAL IMPORTERS 
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