1914. 
6«6 
The Home Acre. 
Tomato-can Bird-house. 
The little picture shown below is taken 
from an article by Frank C. I’illett of 
Iowa, at the Missouri State Horticul¬ 
tural meeting. lie puts up tomato cans 
as shown in the picture for the bluebirds 
to nest in. The English sparrows drive 
the bluebirds away, but these sparrows 
were destroyed and then the other birds 
came back. Two families were reared 
Tomato Can Bird House. 
in one of these cans the same year. 
Wrens also took these cans for their 
homes. 
Plant Lice. 
Can you inform your readers what 
makes and what will cure lice on plants? 
Bridgeton, N. J. L. M. P. 
Aphid or plant lice infestation results 
from the presence of the insects in the 
soil, or from the vicinity of other plants 
already infested. Remedies commonly 
used are kerosene emulsion, tobacco, soap 
and pyrethrum. The dry pyrethrum 
powder or dry snuff is effective, when 
sprinkled over plants, but untidy in ap¬ 
pearance. Pot plants may be dipped in 
hot water (120 to 125 deg.) without 
damage, but with complete destruction 
to the aphides. Pyrethrum powder, one 
ounce in three gallons of hot water, 
stepped 24 hours, is an excellent wash 
for aphis destruction; also tobacco tea, 
stems or dust well boiled, then diluted, 
giving the proportion of one pound of 
tobacco to two gallons of water. It may 
be necessary to use remedies more than 
once, as there will be re-infestation until 
all the insects are destroyed; they mul¬ 
tiply with great rapidity. 
Diseases of Cucumbers and Cabbage. 
Can you suggest any re». Jedy for what 
is known as downy mildew in cucumbers 
and melons, also for club or clump-foot 
in cabbage, kohl-rabi, etc. These crops 
to be grown in a garden that has been 
under cultivation for 10 years. G. c. 
Floral Park, N. Y. 
Downy mildew in cucumbers and musk- 
melons is quite prevalent in many sec¬ 
tions along the Atlantic seaboard, caus¬ 
ing much loss to growers of these crops. 
This disease may be effectively prevent¬ 
ed by timely and frequent spraying with 
3-6-50 Bordeaux mixture. Nothing weak¬ 
er than this should be used; in some 
districts the 5-5-50 formula is largely 
used. It is quite important that the 
spraying be thoroughly done, every part 
of the plant must be covered with a fine 
spray. Spraying should commence as 
soon as the plants begin to run and con¬ 
tinued at intervals of 10 or 12 days 
thereafter until the danger seems past. 
Although club-root in cabbage has been 
known for a hundred years or more, no 
specific remedy has as yet been discovered 
for its cure or control. It has been ob¬ 
served, however, that it is more prevalent 
in acid soils than in sweet soils, and that 
it is seldom present in soils containing 
deposits of sea shells in considerable 
quantity, and on lands that have re¬ 
cently been heavily limed. Lime applied 
in large quantities destroy the slime 
mold which is composed of a plasmodium 
or mass of motile protoplasm, which is 
situated within the tissues of the plant. 
At the breaking up of the plasmodium, 
innumerable spores are released. At this 
period the lime becomes most effective, 
destroying the great majority of the 
spores before they can reach and attack 
a new victim. The treatment of the soil 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
with lime is the only known means of 
control and air-slaked lime should be 
applied at the rate of 65 to 75 bushels to 
the acre every few years. The liming 
should be done some months in advance 
of planting. If an early Spring crop is 
to be raised the lime should be applied 
the previous Fall or early Winter. For 
late cabbage and allied crops the lime 
may be applied early in Spring. 
When possible a system of crop rota¬ 
tion should be practiced, and as the dis¬ 
ease will remain for several years in the 
soil, there should be several years inter¬ 
vening before cabbage or any of its allied 
species is again planted on the land. 
Club-root very often gets its start in the 
young plants in the seed bed, by reason 
of using infected soil, great care should 
be taken in the preparation of the seed 
bed that the soil is not taken from 
any portion of the grounds where cruci¬ 
ferous plants have been grown. K. 
Coal Ashes for Improving Soil. 
I have a lot of hard coal ashes. Is 
it fit for the soil, which is sour? I have 
one piece that was in cow peas last year, 
plowed under and then put in rye. I 
have another piece I shall put in cow 
peas this year. Would it do on either of 
these pieces? Would it hurt or benefit 
early potatoes? J. w. G. c. 
Clayton, Mo. 
Coal ashes carry very little plant food. 
There will rarely be more than three 
pounds each of potash and phosphoric 
acid in a ton, with little or no lime. As 
a fertilizer, therefore they are hardly 
worth considering. Yet they often give 
results when used on heavy stiff soils. 
This is because they open such soils and 
let in the air and moisture. They help 
light soils for the opposite reason, mak¬ 
ing them more compact. We should use 
them for this soil effect, but not with 
any thought of their plant food. 
Magistrate : “Officer, what is this 
man charged with?” Constable: “He’s 
a camera fiend of the worst kind, yer 
worship.” “But this man shouldn’t have 
been arrested simply because he has a 
mania for talking pictures.” “It isn’t 
that, yer worship ; he takes the cameras.” j 
—Credit Lost. 
AHINK of it! The average annual upkeep on an Apper- p 
son Automobile only $5! Our total business in parts 
last year, on 17,000 cars, our output for the last 15 
years, was $95,000. That brings the average about $5.00 acar. 
And a big percentage of these efficient and more than economical 
cars are owned by progressive farmers in every section of the country. r- 
You don’t have to worry about heavy maintenance and repair costs 
when your choice is the efficient, always-in-service 
Famous Apperson“ Jack Rabbit ” 
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^ Economical upkeep is only one feature When we make an Apperson we t 
build enduring efficiency into its very vitals. Elmer and Edgar Apperson built 
the first automobile. They are still building America's first and best cars. 
Write at once for De Luxe Catalog and full Information about 
Apperson “$5-A-Year-Upkeep” and other facts. We will prove why 
we can profitably produce our new Four Forty-five at .$1785, our Light 
Four Forty-five at $1600, our Six Forty-five fifty-eight at $2200. 
Apperson Bros. Automobile Co., 322 Main St., Kokomo, Ind. 
4 APPERSON DISTRIBUTORS IN NEW YORK f 
Brooklyn.Farrell Auto Co. 
Elmira . . . . ... J. F. Rhodes & Son 
New York City.Shepherd Auto Co., Inc. 
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42A 
M L-- - ■ -— - I --= 11 1 ~ - =lT====ir= •= ! ■ 
The Best Way 
To Make Hay 
Use a 
Dain Hay Loader 
Load your hay onto the wagon with 
the Dain, the one-man rake bar hay 
loader that gathers up all the clean hay 
but leaves the trash. Rakes operated 
at exactly right speed to require least 
power. Strokes of rakes overlap, rak¬ 
ing the ground twice. Hay is gathered 
from swath the full width of machine, 
regardless of mower used. Change to 
windrow work easily made. Automati¬ 
cally adjusts itself to handle light or 
heavy hay and never chokes up. Pushes 
hay onto center of wagon so that only 
one man is needed,—the driver. Ask 
us about other superior features. 
Dain Side Delivery Rake 
The Dain is the side delivery rake 
with the steel arch supporting the 
frame and a reel with three sets of 
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and gentle handling of hay. 
The ground is raked clean and the 
hay left in fluffy windrows through 
which the air can readily pass so that 
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Send for free booklets 
describing these ma¬ 
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JOHN DEERE, Moline, Illinois 
-rilii & "i>o' L Wod«£S2f 
iPal 3 A Gophers, and Grain 
i U Kiln Insects. Stop tlieir 
a a u m m m depredations by using 
‘ Fuma Carbon Bisul| lllide of Solution 
ime and Sulphur for spraying purposes. 
AY LOU CHEMICAL CO., Peim Van, N. Y 
WFI I drilling 
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Any Farmer Can Now 
Do.His.Own Blasting 
Atlas Farm Powder never explodes spontaneously or fails 
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Richmond, 14 -year-old champion tomato grower of Hamilton 
r County, S. C., won because she blasted the subsoil. By using 1 
The Safest Explosive. 
you can improve your soil, get out 
1 stumps and shatter boulders quick- 
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v planting, and do many other kinds 
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Send me your book, ‘ Better Farming.” Name. 
I may use Atlas Farm Powder for 
RN-A11 
Address. 
