898 
THE RURAb NEW-YORKEB 
September 24, 
WHITE LEAD AND FRUIT TREES. 
Efforts are being made to induce fruit 
growers to paint peach, apple and pear 
trees with pure white lead and oil as 
protection from borers and vermin. We 
call for testimony from fruit growers re¬ 
garding the benefits or danger from this 
practice. 
One time I painted an apple orchard 
14 years old, induced to do so by the 
writings of one Prof. Elmer, and lost 
in consequence 150 splendid trees. I 
shall never let that happen again. You 
must expect to pay something for what 
you learn, but I have always felt that 
1 paid a little too much for that knowl¬ 
edge. However, they are all replaced 
and are doing well now; am still setting 
them and I am 67. Folks say “Why 
do you? They will never do you any 
good?” I have never missed planting 
a tree with my own hands every year 
since I was 16 years old except three 
years that I lived in New York City 
and three years that I packed a knap¬ 
sack for Uncle Sam, 1862 to 1865, dur¬ 
ing which time I think I destroyed about 
as many trees as I have planted since, 
so nature and I are about even on the 
tree account. z. c. bowen. 
Connecticut. 
I have not tried it, and cannot answer. 
But I must say I know of some use of 
it, at least linseed oil which proved 
serious in killing tire bark. I will try to 
give it a test but should advise going 
very slow till results were noted. 
Conn. Agl. College. a. g. gulley. 
In regard to the pure white lead and 
oil for painting young trees for pro¬ 
tection against borers, rabbits and mice, 
I have never used it, or do not know 
of its having been used in this section. 
For the borers in peach trees I have al¬ 
ways used whale-oil soap and potash, 
which has worked very satisfactory. I 
do not know of anything that could be 
used to prevent rabbits and mice from 
disturbing trees. On our young trees 
last year I put tarred paper in the Fall 
and took it off in the Spring. 
B. J. CASE. 
BURNING STUMPS; “THE HERON’S NEST” 
Some time ago you asked if any of your 
readers had had any experience ridding the 
land of stumps by the method spoken of 
ia your interesting book, “The Heron's 
Nest.” I have been intending to give my 
experience on that line, but have waited 
to see, first, if anyone was successful, 
or had tried just that method. 
About eight years ago an article ap¬ 
peared in one of the agricultural journals 
by a man who claimed to have burned 
out all the stumps in his new field, by 
boring a hole down into the center of the 
top about two inches in diameter and 
eight or 10 inches deep, and putting in 
two ounces of saltpetre in each hole, filling 
with water, and placing a plug in the 
hole; this to be done in the Fall. Dur¬ 
ing the Winter the solution was sup¬ 
posed to permeate every fibre of the stump; 
then in the Spring, pour in a pint of coal 
oil, and light a match to it, and the stump 
would burn down to the very end of all 
the roots. Well, I bit. There was no plan 
to sell me a gold brick, and as I was then 
starting on my farm, and fresh from the 
city, I got busy that Fall boring holes; 
maybe some of you did the same thing, 
or at least can imagine boring a hole with 
a big auger info the center of a tough 
white oak or gum. I must have bored into 
at least 30 stumps before I decided to try 
that many the first year. Then after 
measuring out the dose of soluble “spark- 
er” I carefully cut a plug to fit each hole, 
filled them with water, sealed them as 
carefully as my wife does her fruit, and 
waited for Spring, chafing at its delay, for 
I wanted to plant the field to corn. 
On the memorable day when we were 
to clear that field by the striking of 30 
matches (provided none went out), I very 
foolishly but proudly asked my father, who 
was out from the city for a visit, to take 
part in the celebration; so, with my 
brother we went down to the lot, planning 
on how much phosphate I should put on 
the land if all those ashes were to be left 
on it; alas, the ashes were to be not hard¬ 
wood, unleached ashes, but those made 
from hopes destroyed and leached with bit¬ 
ter tears of chagrin and discouragement, 
for after trying in every way imaginable 
to get the oil to light after it had soaked 
in, before it had soaked in, and without 
oil, we finally built a little fire on and 
around some of the stumps, but only to 
char them enough to preserve them for 
generations, unless the roots should relent 
and rot out first. You can imagine our 
feelings as we read of the wonderful suc¬ 
cess of our brave Herron as he manfully 
cleared the land and made his garden on 
the spot where so lately had stood the 
giants of the forest, and how sorry we were 
that we had not known of his plan be¬ 
fore trying the one we used; probably, or 
should J say it is possible, that his way 
was best; I don't know. 1 was not there 
to see it done. But anyhow the author 
does not mention his using any fiery lan¬ 
guage in his gardening operations on ac¬ 
count of running his plow under the tough, 
but yielding snag root of a healthy White 
oak stump, as 1 found my plow doing 
after my attempt at clearing land. While 
most of the lot is now making a good 
second growth of timber, large enough for 
good, stout bean poles, I have worked out 
some of it, enough in fact, to make me 
sure that -1 shall let the balance once 
more return to the virgin forest from 
which I tried to rescue it. 
There is one point, however, about 
which Billy Herron was right; when he 
said a good compost heap was better than 
the best commercial fertilizer you could 
buy. I tried that plan this season, only 
when 1 went to use the compost, 1 added 
phosphate rock dissolved at the rate of 
about 200 pounds to the ton of compost, 
and where this was applied to potatoes and 
tomatoes (both of which will show high- 
grade fertilizers quicker than any crop I 
know), they have exceeded anything in 
my experience up to this time, and 1 have 
been in the habit of using fertilizers mixed 
at home, that will analyze four ammonia, 
10 to 12 phosphoric acid, and 11 potash, 
at 700 pounds to the acre, so I think I 
have been well paid for reading the book, 
besides enjoying it immensely during the 
Winter days and evenings. I would advise 
everyone to make a compost heap of all 
the wood-pile dirt, ashes, hen manure and 
vegetable waste possible, add a little plios-. 
phate, and save a good many dollars in 
fertilizer bills. t. b. boss. 
Maryland. 
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THE STRUGGLE FOR A FARM. 
I write this in hopes it may encourage 
some one who is dissatisfied with city life 
to try farming and to prove that it is pos¬ 
sible to start on very small capital if will¬ 
ing to dig in; also to take exception to 
your rather discouraging answers asking for 
advice to a would-be beginner. 
I have worked at the machinist’s trade 
14 years and doctor's bills, with one had 
investment, left us in the Spring of 1908 
with $165, when we determined to try 
farming. We rented a farm of 17 acres 
with only three and one-half acres of till¬ 
able land. After paying $55 for a horse, 
$25 for a cow, also a wagon, harness and 
necessary tools, we did not have much left 
besides $10 we put aside for emergencies. 
We planted our land to garden truck, and 
while it was gx-owing I peddled fish to pay 
expenses. The first year we just made ex¬ 
penses ; in 1909 we rented a farm of 60 
acres and again trucked it, borrowing $100 
to buy a horse, one more cow and a pure¬ 
bred Chester White sow, and at the end of 
the season had pigs, calf, 40 chickens and , 
more tools, but still owing the $100. This 
year we are on a 100-acre farm with ten 
Jersey cows (purebred). I have sold $224 
worth of pigs and have three brood sows 
with 30 pigs, also one large one for our 
own use, four calves, three cows, one heifer, 
besides $100 in milk Sools and over $100 in 
other tools, also a new team which is worth 
$200, and three years of experience, which 
is valuable. We owe our success (if you 
can call it so) to hard work, planning and 
the farm papers we take, The It. N.-Y. tak¬ 
ing first place. e. a. 
Fredonia, N. Y. 
Paris Green on Seed Cqrn. — Having 
just read G. G. Gibb's experience with Paris 
green treatment of seed corn will give 
mine. 1 had seen advice given in a num¬ 
ber of papers to treat seed corn with Paris 
green to prevent destruction by insects and 
crows, the tieatment having the endorse¬ 
ment of what seemed to be the best of 
authority. So I treated flint corn for 
planting three acres with coal tar and then 
rolled it in Paris green sufficiently to make 
the kernels look a little green. I then 
treated seed of the same variety with coal 
tar without the Paris green for three acres 
more. This was planted by uaud on the 
same field, and at the same time, JtTay 18. 
1910, seed all the same. The seed treated 
with tar and Paris green nearly ail rotted 
in the ground, only a kernel here and there 
germinating. The seed treated with coal tar 
without the Paris green germinated finely 
and made a good stand. On May 19 I treat¬ 
ed seed of a dent variety which we grow 
here with coal tar and Paris green exactly 
as I had done with the flint variety, and 
planted three acres in another field. I then 
treated four acres more of the same dent 
variety with coal tar without Paris green, 
and planted in the same field. Both ger¬ 
minated well and made a full stand, but 
that treated with the coal tar only came up 
much sooner than that treated with the 
Paris gi-een. Here are the facts, and vow 
must draw your own conclusion*. 
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