620 
April 30, 
REGARDING GLADIOLUS DISEASES. 
With especial reference to Gladiolus rust, 
I feel that this is caused purely by natural 
conditions, augmented perhaps by fertiliza¬ 
tion. Very rich soils increase the danger 
of susceptibility to specific diseases. When 
we have a bad dry spell followed by a very 
humid spell invariably I have noticed plants 
very much weakened, so that all diseases 
become rampant; “1900” has been a very 
had variety to rust or blight with us. We 
had a rather dry spell last July; then it 
began to rain heavily. The conditions were 
very warm and very damp for several 
days. Just before the rain came we fin¬ 
ished drilling a good vegetable fertilizer 
between the rows with a one-horse drill. 
About a week after we noticed “1900” 
going “awry” ; it committed the same crime 
several times previously so. We did not 
dig them. 1 endorse Mr. Crawford’s views, 
but am coming to the belief that for best 
results we should have the ground very 
well manured, then sowed to some crop 
like rye, wheat or oats, followed by Gladio¬ 
lus. Thus I always find less disease and 
damage than when fresher conditions are 
present. Of all Gladioli we find that Au¬ 
gusta is the very best to withstand all 
conditions on our own grounds and else¬ 
where that we have inspected stocks. The 
disease Mr. Gage describes is called by 
some “the mite disease” ; one will find this 
mite present wherever decaying vegetable 
matter may be found. 
Two years ago we bought a lot of very 
fine bulbs, but after two weeks we found 
them very badly damaged with this pest. 
Many bulbs that we cut into that ap¬ 
parently were sound were in bad shape. 
Whether these were the primary cause or 
whether they were the complement of pri¬ 
mary cause is difficult to say. At one 
place I saw a row of Mrs. King blackish 
green, every indication of the limit of 
health. A short distance away was a row 
nearly as badly infected with rust, as my 
“1900” ; the former was said to have been 
well manured with fresh barn manure di¬ 
rect from the stalls, while the other had 
commercial fertilizer; the first were planted 
early, the other planted much later'. The 
one was pretty well developed, the other 
in a succulent condition, right after the 
rainy spell set in that affected our “1900” ; 
this compels me to the opinion that it was 
caused by natural conditions more than 
by soil fertility. I feel that Augusta is 
the only sort that does resist rust with 
impunity. Dracocephalus hybrids. No. 2026 
hybrids, Primulinus hybrids, Quartianus 
hybrids, and a few others are also very 
resistant. Earlier we used mostly Ganda- 
vensis, Lemoinei and Childsii in our work, 
then we used Groff’s, but we found all were 
faulty for our Western conditions, but we 
found Childsii in many ways the very best. 
For several seasons past we have changed 
our methods very much, so that to-day 
we are beginning to have much better 
success and better results. Our aim has 
been especially to produce earlier sorts with 
extra large flowers with very good con¬ 
stitution. So well have we been rewarded 
that we have one that we consider equal 
if not superior to Princeps, with three to 
four open blooms at one time, while we 
rarely have more than one good bloom on 
Princeps at once. The question of plant 
breeding, in fact breeding as a science, is 
still infantile, else we could do better work. 
East Summer, to see the direct effect of 
pollen, we planted an early white corn and 
some of deep golden yellow. When we 
husked it we found nearly all of it white, 
where yellow very pale colored, ear forma¬ 
tion was also affected in the yellow ears. 
Ohio. C. BETSCHER. 
Tallow on Fruit Trees. 
W. S. C., Joncsville, Fa.—Does it injure 
young fruit trees to grease them with tal¬ 
low or lard, or to put soft soap on them to 
keep away the rabbits? 
Ans. —Sometimes tallow, lard and 
other animal fats are applied to the 
trunks of fruit trees without injury and 
sometimes it does injure them. Much 
depends on the thickness of the bark, 
which is a protection to the more delicate 
living tissues inside, and some trees are 
more resistant to such unnatural things 
as grease on their bark. However, these 
things will not always prevent rabbits 
from gnawing the trees. I have seen 
it tried and fail too many times to be¬ 
lieve otherwise. When the ordinary 
food that these animals get is covered 
with snow or sleet, as sometimes hap¬ 
pens, they will eat through many prep¬ 
arations that are usually effective against 
them. It is that or starvation, and they 
prefer to live, even if the food is not to 
their taste. Soap is entirely harmless, 
and there is no danger whatever in ap¬ 
plying it, but it will be washed off by 
the rains. h. e. van deman. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Fertilizing Peach Trees. 
J. IP. AG, Pennsylvania —How much 
lime, how much best potato manure and 
how much coarse salt should I apply to 
peach trees two, three and four years old? 
When should this be applied and about 
how far out from the branches should it 
be spread ? 
Ans.— Assuming that the trees are 
planted 18 feet apart, we should use two 
pounds of the potato manure for the 
two-year-old trees and three pounds or 
a little more for the older ones. The 
potato mixture is not the most econom¬ 
ical one for peaches, but it will make 
them grow. We would not use lime at 
the same time, but would apply the 
potato fertilizer now and about eight 
pounds of lime to each tree in July. 
We do not know from your question 
whether these trees are in sod or cul¬ 
tivated. We would not use the salt at 
all on peach trees. We can see no rea¬ 
son for doing so. 
Failure with Currants. 
I have such poor success with currants. 
What is wrong, I wonder? When I was 
a “kid” in Pennsylvania, it seems that this 
was the easiest fruit of all to raise. My 
plants grow up strong and thrifty the first 
season, and bear some little the second, 
but after this the canes all “go hollow” 
and die, and no fruit. The new growth 
seems vigorous and thrifty each year, but 
the canes always die when they should be 
bearing fruit. e. e. e. 
The trouble is probably due to an insect, 
the Currant borer. It works in the stems 
and is hard to reach with any spray. The 
remedy is to cut out the canes in Spring 
as soon as they show damage in leaf or 
fruit and burn at once. 
SHORT STORIES. 
Postal Rates. 
The mail carrier on a star route (not 
R. F. D.) compels me to pay two cents 
on drop letters, when if I carry them to 
town they will go for one cent. Is he 
justified in doing this? reader. 
Florida. 
Yes, under the rules such letters are 
subject to a rate of two cents an ounce ox- 
fraction thereof. This is definitely stated 
in Rule 6, Section 5 (drop letters) in the 
pamphlet on U. S. Postal Service. 
Lime Before Plowing; Hulless Barley. 
I have a field that has had Alfalfa on 
seven years, cabbage last year, now covered 
with manure. I would like to try lime on 
it. Would it be best to apply it before 
or after plowing? I would like to use 
barley as a nurse crop. Have any of the 
R. N.-Y. people ever tried White Hulless, 
and what is its value as a feed for poultry 
and stock? w. g. s. 
Canandaigua, N. Y. 
We should always put the lime on after 
plowing and harrow in. The lime is natur¬ 
ally heavy and will work down through 
the soil. If plowed under it will not be 
likely to come into the upper soil where it 
is most needed. Give us experience with 
the barley. 
Vinegar For Warts. 
I notice on page 296 that W. E. S. 
wants a remedy for a wart on a cow. Ap¬ 
ply pure cider vinegar every day and the 
wart will drop off of itself. It is as good 
for a wart on a person and never is painful 
and is a very nice thing to know, for many 
children have warts and caustic does hurt 
when applied to a deep wart, as I have 
tried it myself. A - s - 
R. N.-Y.—The vinegar contains acetic 
acid, which is what we use for warts on 
humans. 
Use of Sewage. 
What best use can anyone make of the 
liquid in the basins of one’s cesspool and 
sink drains? e. a. b. 
Massachusetts. 
We pump the contents out into barrels 
placed on a stone boat and haul and pour 
on grass land or on soil to be plowed for 
garden crops. If you have a manure pile 
or compost heap these liquids may be 
poured over it as pumped out. 
Ducks and Bug Poison. 
I am thinking of purchasing Indian Run¬ 
ner ducks as bug destroyers. Does the 
poison used on potatoes, etc., prove injuri¬ 
ous to the ducks and to turkeys? e. a. b. 
Massachusetts. 
We shall have to submit this to people 
who have tried it. We should expect the 
poison to kill the ducks. 
Frog Spawn. —H. A. O., Dalton, Pa., 
page 446, asks for a remedy for “frog 
spawn in spring.” I have overcome same 
in my ice-pond by using chunk lime, de¬ 
stroying all spawn possible and then throw¬ 
ing in the lime. This will retard its 
growth. A watering trough may be kept 
free by putting a few pieces of lime in 
trough after cleaning the spawn from the 
trough. c. g. r. 
Pennsylvania. 
Overdoing Small Fruits. —Consul Flem¬ 
ing reports the troubles of Scotch fruit¬ 
growers. The soil of Perthshire is well 
adapted to raspberries. In 1900 there was 
a strong demand for this fruit by canners 
and this led to extensive cultivation. At 
the start this land was leased at $5 to 
$7.50 per acre. The crop was at first so 
profitable that rents advanced to $58 per 
acre near towns and $30 further out. In 
190,3 raspberries sold as high as $209 per 
ton, in some cases yielding three tons per 
acre. The annual cost for labor and ferti¬ 
lizer is $100 per acre, ’find with rent and 
other expenses not far from $150. About 
1,000 acres were given to the crop in this 
district. In 1907 prices began to fall. Up 
to 1906 the average was about $112 per 
ton, but in 1909 it fell to $44. Land rents 
have been cut in two. and in many cases 
the tenants ask the land owners to take 
the land, well stocked with plants, without 
payment of any kind, and give up the lease. 
From the most careful figuring it seems 
that $90 per ton is about the limit at 
which raspberries will pay, and few expect 
to see this price again. Thus it will be 
seen that all fruitgrowers have their trou¬ 
bles. They are worse in this case than 
where growers own their own land. 
“ONE FOR ALL” 
PATENT PENDING 
The New Wool-Fat-Lime- 
Sulphur-Arsenic 
Spraying Compound 
A positive insecticide and fungicide for 
all vegetation, trees, potato plants, melon 
vines, etc. 
Price* F. O. B. New York 
Barrel. 400 lb*..8 ots. a lb. 
% bbl.. 200 to 260 lb*.. Wi •’ “ 
Package, 100 lb*..6 “ “ 
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Send for descriptive matter. 
MANHATTAN OIL CO. 
ESTABLISHED 1852, 
51 Front St., New York, N. Y. 
Sold by the Seedsmen 
All Over America 
For pamphlet on Bugs and Blight, write to 
B. Hammond, Fishkill-on-Hudson, N. Y. 
“ Equal to the Best and Better than the Rest.” 
Ghesco Brand ARSENATE OF LEAD 
For CODLING MOTH. 
CHESTER COUNTY CHEMICAL COMPANY, 
9 N. High Street. West Chester, Pa. 
THE- PERFECTION SPRAYER 
Sprays Anything. Trees by hand, potatoes by horse 
power. Oldest and best. Over 1000 in use. Always gives 
perfect satisfaction. Don’t buy till you get my catalog free 
THOMAS PEPPLER, Box 45, Hightstown, N. J. 
I 
SPRAY 
fruits and field crops 
with best effect — least ex¬ 
pense—less time, for big¬ 
gest profits. No other 
sprayers as good as 
Brown’s Hand and Power 
AUTO¬ 
SPRAYS 
40 styles, 6iz es and pricei 
guide in our 
ae on postal. 
Choose any auto-spray—it is guar¬ 
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Used by the U. S. Government and 
State Experiment Stations 
and 800,000 others. Auto-Spray No. 1—ideal outfit I 
for 6 acres of potatoes or 1 acre of trees. Auto-1 
Spray No. 11 best for larger operation?. Wo hav«l 
Auto-Sprays for largest orchards and fields. Write! 
now for valuable book. 
THE E. C. BROWN COMPANY 
2$ Jay Bt., Rochester, N. f. 
| Send postal and see how larger and 
Better Fruit, 
Larger and 
Better Vegetables and 
Freedom from Insects 
are secured by using 
Bowker’s 
“Pyrox 
55 
111 - 
It kills all leaf-eating 
sects, caterpillars, etc., pre¬ 
vents unsightly blemishes; 
also improves color of apples, 
pears, peaches, etc., It in¬ 
creases yield of potatoes and 
vegetables. Enough to make 
50gals, solution $1. 75. Book¬ 
let free. No experiment. 
Introduced 1898. 
unwif ED Insecticide Co., 
DU YY IyLIv Boston, Mass. 
Also Specialties for Scale Insects, 
etc Bring all your outdoor "Bug” 
troubles to us 
0. K. Champion Line 
Cutters, Planters, Sprayers 
and Diggers 
New Features : all brass double action 
bronze ball valve force pump. 
ALL MACHINES GUARANTEED. 
Send for Illustrated Catalogue and Prices. 
Address CHAMPION POTATO MACHINERY CO. 
151 Chicago Ave.,Hammond, Ind. 
Combination 
Orchard 
and Vine 
Sprayer 
This is No. 20 
A popular machine; 100 gallon solution tank; 10- 
gallon air chamber pressure gauge; relief valve. 
We make all sizes ami kinds. Write for prices. 
MORRIS SPRAYER CO., 187 N. Water St., ROCHESTER, N.Y. 
GET THE BEST 
A Good Spray Pump earns 
big profits and lasts for years. 
THE ECLIPSE 
is a good pump. As 
i practical fruit grow- 
ers we were using common 
j sprayers in our own orchards 
j —found their defects and 
; invented the Eclipse. Its 
11 success forced us to manu¬ 
facturing on a larj 2 scaie. 
You take no chances. We 
have done all the experi¬ 
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and Treatise on spraying FREE. 
MORRILL & MORLEY, Benton Harbor. Mich. 
PRATT'S 
S( 
:alecii 
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Will positively destroy SAN JOSE SCALE and all 
soft bodied sucking insects without injury to the 
tree. Simple, more effective and cheaper than 
Lime Sulphur. Not an experiment. One pailon 
make, tB to 20 gallim, spray l,y Umnly adding «*ter. 
Send for Booklet, "Orchard Insurance.” 
B. G. PRATT CO., 50 CHURCH ST., NEW YORK CITY. 
S 
P 
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ARSENATE of LEAD .... 16% Arsenic 
i brandi v BORDO-LEAD - - Kills the Bugs, Prevents Blight, etc. 
THE HIGHEST GRADE SPRAYING MATERIALS AT RIGHT PRICE 
We Will Send Express Prepaid a Five Pound Friction Top Can. Packed in a Neat Wood Box 
l-\.v $1.00—Either Arsenate of Lead or liordo-I.ead 
WRITE FOR CIRCULARS—IT WILL PAY YOU TO USE THESE SPRAYS 
LIVE RESPONSIBLE AGENTS WANTED 
13-14-16 BAYVIEW AVE., 
J ER SEY CITY, N. J. 
Y INTERSTATE CHEMICAL COMPANY 
SPRAY 
Watson 4-ROW Potato Sprayer 
Never damages foliage, but always reaches bugs, worms, and 
other foliage-eating insects. Has all improvements—adjustable 
wheel width, spray and pressure instantly regulated. Capacity 
30 to 40 acres a day. FREE FORMULA BOOK 
Send for instruction book showing the famous Garfield, Empire 
King and other sprayers. 
FIELD FORCE PUMP CO., 
Z Eleventh St., Elmira, N.Y. 
