1204 
THE SENSE IN “OLD SAYINGS.” 
(Continued from pagt 1203.) 
not control the weather. I think Prof. 
Marvin is right in concluding that the 
moon has little or no effect upon it. 
Neither he nor I nor anyone else can 
prove, however, that the moon does not 
affect the weather, and what we can’t 
prove we arc wise not to assert. 
When I first came out of the city I un¬ 
dertook to give some bystanders a chance 
to laugh at a “water witch.” Alas for 
me, he handed me the twig and said: 
“Try it yourself.” I could not refuse, so 
I took it, determined that it should not 
turn down in my hands. I would have 
given a brand new city hat I was wear¬ 
ing to keep my determination, but the 
twig began to twist, and the harder I 
gripped the more it turned. I set my 
teeth and clenched my fists, but the twig 
turned down and the crowd had their 
laugh, but not at the “water witch.” It 
was a good lesson for me, and any suc¬ 
cess I have since had in the country has 
come from realizing my own ignorance 
and being willing to listen to my farmer 
friends. I don’t bother to plant buck¬ 
wheat in the sign of the twins, but I 
don’t laugh at the successful buckwheat 
grower who does. If some day some of 
these things are explained I won’t have 
to apologize for having laughed. 
CITY IGNORAMUS. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
C AN 
gr< 
the 
A Crop of Onions. 
you tell me how to cure onions 
own from seed? When should 
they be left in the ground, until all 
tops are at ad? How low a tempera¬ 
ture will they stand? Can they be prop¬ 
erly cured in the field? I have no dry¬ 
ing shed but spread them on attic floor 
after topping. They seem to grow very 
well here and there is a good market for 
them at fair price. I shall have 50 
bushels on less than one-eighth acre and 
not more than a bushel of small ones. 
New Hampshire. A. s. A. 
Most growers prefer to have their 
onions fully ripe before harvesting. 
When fully ripe the tops are entirely 
dead and the outer skin of the bulbs 
dry. While this is very desirable still 
there are other things to be considered. 
In the late Fall there are often heavy 
rains that cause losses or else seriously 
interfere with the best work in curing. 
A second growth may start. In view of 
these things growers are often justified 
in pulling and topping when the tops are 
just beginning to turn yellow. Where 
onions of the foreign type are grown in 
Southern States it is especially desir¬ 
able to harvest them early. To hasten 
maturity growers often run a roller over 
the field to mash down the tops. This, 
however, is not equal to natural ripen¬ 
ing. August and September are the 
months when the hulk of the onion crop 
is harvested in the North. 
A mature onion cannot stand alternate 
freezing and thawing, but a well cured 
onion frozen solid and kept in the condi¬ 
tion will come out all right in the Spring. 
If weather conditions permit it is best 
to cure onions as much as possible in 
the field. To do this onions are pulled 
and laid in rows where they remain at 
least two or three days. They are then 
topped and stored in an open shed or 
room where plenty of ventilation can be 
given. This finishes the curing. Slatted 
crates are convenient receptacles for 
storing onions and adapt of air. White 
onions are quickly injured by exposure 
to sun and air and must be handled more 
carefully than yellow onions. If your 
attic has windows so the air can circu¬ 
late through freely, it will serve first 
rate for a drying shed. 
Your yield of onions is excellent. It 
has been several years since we grew 
any onions from seed. We grow now 
altogether from sots. These are put out 
as early in the Spring as the ground can 
he worked. They are pulled in early 
July. This year we had acre planted 
in rows 2*4 feet apart so as to permit 
of horse cultivation. From that block we 
marketed 603 five-eighths bushel baskets 
of onions. The average net price was 
$1.26 a basket. Net returns in round 
numbers were $760 for the 1 acre of 
ground. We are now picking late to¬ 
matoes from the same piece of ground. 
Our crop was sold direct from the field. 
Italians pulled and topped the onions at 
2% cents a basket. The illustration, 
page 1203, shows onions being topped 
from a pile laid crisscross. This often 
happens when topping is being done by 
the day, hut I notice that when Italians 
do the topping by piece work they lay 
the onions in even piles with the tops all 
one way. This greatly facilitates topping 
and enables the thrifty worker to get a 
larger number of baskets to his credit. 
TRUCKER, JR. 
before April or 
thin the canes 
bad infestation 
I 
Gouty-gall of the Raspberry. 
SEND a cutting taken from a diseased 
red raspberry shoot. Upon opening 
there is either a small white worm or 
else it shows where it has been. We 
have a new patch of the berries set in a 
year ago. Beside them is an old patch, 
and they all seem affected in the same 
way. Can you tell me how and when 
the worm enters the shoots, and the 
remedy if any? f. a. it. 
Lake 
View, N. Y. 
The stems of raspberries are sometimes 
attacked by a small, white, slender grub 
that causes irregular swellings or galls 
on the canes. These swellings are from 
one to two or three inches in length, 
larger in the middle, and gradually tailor¬ 
ing toward either end. The bark over the 
Gouty Gall of Raspberry, Fig. 524. 
swelling is usually discolored, roughened 
and split lengthwise. The larva causing 
the trouble may be found in its burrow 
just under the bark of the swelling, but 
usually, especially toward Fall, it is sev¬ 
eral inches above the enlargement. The 
grub, when full-grown is from five-eighths 
to three quarters of an inch in length, 
with a brownish head and two small 
brown hooks at the tip of the abdomen. 
The full-grown parent insect is a beetle 
about one-third of an inch in length. Its 
body and head are black with a bluish 
lustre, hat its thorax or “neck,” is a cop¬ 
pery red. hence its name the “red-necked 
caneborer.” The beetle is present and 
active on the berry bushes from the last 
of May until August. Its scientific name 
is Agrilus rufieollis,. the last word of 
which means “red-necked.” 
Life History. —Probably the eggs are 
laid mostly in June, although some are 
evidently deposited later. The egg is in¬ 
serted in the bark at the base of a leaf 
on the new growth. When it hatches, the 
young grub enters the bark and bores in 
the sapwood of the cane working upward 
in a spiral around the stem, thus girdling 
the canes and causing them to enlarge 
and form the gall. Toward Autumn the 
grub burrows to the pith, where it hiber¬ 
nates several inches above the gall. In 
the following Spring the grub transforms 
to a pupa and emerges as a beetle in late 
May or June and perhaps later. This in¬ 
sect is a native pest and is common on 
wild raspberries, blackberries and dew¬ 
berries. Fortunately, it is subject to the 
attacks of two parasites that probably aid 
greatly in holding it in check. 
Control. —It is obvious that the grub 
cannot be reached with insecticides of any 
form, nor is it practicable, apparently, to 
control the parent beetle. At least, we 
know little of its feeding habits and in¬ 
fer that it would do little if any good to 
spray the bushes with a poison. Thus we 
are forced to take protective measures of 
another kind. In the first place, wild rasp¬ 
berry, blackberry and dewberry canes 
within reasonable distance of the cultivated 
plants should he destroyed to prevent the 
beetles from breeding without restraint. 
In the second place, all infested canes 
among the cultivated plants should be cut 
out and burned sometime 
May. This process may 
considerably in case of a 
but the chances are that such canes would 
die anyhow and more than that, they 
would serve as means for the greater in¬ 
crease of the insect during the subsequent 
season. Hence it is important to begin 
the work of cutting and burning at once 
and to do it thoroughly. 
GLENN A. HERRICK. 
APPLE BARRELS 
-Car lots or less. Price right. 
WALTER E. SIPPLE, Mileses, N. Y. 
Apple Barrels 
- Car lots or less. Prompt 
shipment. ROBERT 
GILLIES, Medina, N.Y. 
FOR SALE—IN CAR LOAD LOTS 
GERIUa N CH TTLE BEETS 
Best Mangle Grown. $0 per ton, F. O. B., Auburn, 
N. Y. X. E. BARLOW, Supt., Auburn, New York 
$12.00 a Crate for Superb Strawberries! 
I received that wholesale in Phila. market Sept. 19. 
1914. Circular Free. WILLARD B.KiLLE, Swedesboro, N. J, 
RASPBERRY,BLACKBERRY 
STRAWBERRY, ASPARAGUS PLANTS, FRUIT TREES, GRAPE 
VINES. All leading varieties. Catalogue free. Straw¬ 
berry plants, by mail postpaid, $1 per hundred, 
HAKKY L. SQUIRES, Kemsenburg, N. Y, 
S T. REGIS, MILLER, KING AND WELCH 
RASPBERRY PLANT'S, Mersereau and 
Ward Blackberry Plants, Houghton Goose¬ 
berry Plants— True to name and good plants at 
right prices. Apply, B. BARRETT, Blue Anchor, N. J. 
TREES, SHRUBS AND PLANTS 
by the millions, quality guaranteed. 1 and 2 year 
APPLE, also PEACH trees, ASPARAGUS, DOWNING GOOSE¬ 
BERRIES, PRIVET HEDGING. etc. Ask for our new Cata¬ 
logue witli attractive prices. THE WESTMIN¬ 
STER NURSERY, Box 129, Westminster, Md. 
Apple Trees 
For Fall Shipment Direct from Nursery to Planter. 
Guaranteed True to Name. Write for Special 
Prices on your Wants. Catalogue free to everybody. 
DENTON. WILLIAMS & DENTON 
Wholesale Nurserymen, 20 Elm St., OanavlUc, N.Y. 
miiuchwc nursery 
IrlUnjUndCAIALOG FREE] 
> Full lists and desertp- 
. 3 tions of best fruits and 
shrubberies. Write for 
your copy today 
V. Munson & 
,r 4ioL 
Son,, 
Desk H. Denigon, 
Tex. 
$ 
TrflQc and PDnio —Large stoek, carefully grown. 
I ICBb dliu ridlllb. Poach trees 4x5 ft., $B.U0 per 
100. Strawberry plants $2.50 per 1.U00. ( ataiogue free. 
G. E. BUNTING 8 SONS' NURSERIES. Selbyviilu. Delaware. 
M C\A/ DC A 0 U Marion H&y ward has been described, 
I’lLff rCHUn tested and painted by the IT. S. Dept, of 
Agriculture. Ripens Aug. 20th to Sept. 10th. Orders taken 
now for lull and spring deliveries. Send for literature. 
Marion Hayward Orchard, Commercial-Tribune Bldg., Cincinnati, 0. 
SAVE YOUR TREES 
Order your Protectors now anti save 
your young Fruit Trees from being de¬ 
stroyed by Rabbits and Mice during the 
Winter. Call’s Nurseries, Perry. O., can 
furnish you the best Tree Protector made 
for less than one cent each. 
GREENSBOROPEACH^^ri,!;;^ 
Northern N. .1., party says about this peach in Ru¬ 
ral New-\ orker, August 29th, page 1049. Wo never 
heard of this party before 'this piece came out. We 
hope he will giveus his address. We paidSaU in gold 
for our first tree. Wo will mail you small maifing- 
size trees for 10c., coin or stamps; one dozen for$l- 
lai;ger size by express or freight. Older at once as 
this oiler will be withdrawn soon as surplus of 
small mailing-size trees is exhausted. Catalog free. 
Our reference, Bradstreet. Address, JOHN A. YOUNG 
& SONS, Greensboro Nurseries. Greensboro, North Carolina 
October 10, 
Daffodil Bulbs 
at Special Prices 
These are extra good bulbs which will 
give many beautiful golden yellow 
flowers next spring and for several 
seasons thereafter, if planted in the 
garden before the ground freezes. We 
will send to any part of the country 
Fifty Assorted Bulbs 
For One Dollar, Postpaid 
We have a fairly good supply, but 
advise ordering early if you want to 
secure bulbs at this special price. 
Our catalogue is ready—send for a 
copy and see our list of Hyacinths, 
Tulips, Crocus, and other Bulbs for 
fall planting and spring blooming. 
WEEBER & DON 
Seed Merchants and Growers 
114D Chambers St. New York City 
Will You Iny^fcst $12 
for a R eturn ^ $ 2 O O ? 
A hundred apple trees can 
be bought for $8—but they are 
not Harrison trees, for our trees are 
worth more. In ten years a hundred 
Harrison trees costing §20 (only $12 
more) will yield fruit worth at least $200 
more than that from cheaper trees because 
of superior parentage, more vitality, better 
trunks, larger roots. 
The 1915 Harrison catalogue is ready 
now. As usual, it is complete, valuable J 
and largely new. Ask for it, and tell us /m 
what you would like to plant. — 
HARRISONS’ NURSERIES 
Box 594, Berlin, Md. 
Pear Trees —- 
AT PRICES ANYONE CAN PAY 
Fraser’s Tree Book (mailed free) tells what varie¬ 
ties of Pear trees I grow and gives prices and 
planting hints. I won’t sell cheap trees at any 
price, but I do sell good trees at a reasonable 
Price. If you could come to my nursery you would 
see with your own eyes why my Pear trees are 
worth more than others —they are straight, 
strong, big (hut not overgrown) trunks, and roots 
that are a mass of fibres. 1 kept a gang of men 
going all summer to make these trees what they 
are. Write today for a copy of Fraser’s Tree Book 
SAMUEL FRASER, NURSERYMAN 
125 Main Street Ceneseo, N. Y. 
DWARF 
DWARF 
DWARF 
DWARF 
DWARF 
Also . 
APPLE TREES 
PEAR TREES 
PLUM TREES 
CHERRY TREES 
PEACH TREES 
Full Line of Standard Fruit Trees 
Fall Planting Bulletin Free 
THE VAN DUSEN NURSERIES 
W. L. McKay, Prop. Box R, Geneva, N. Y. 
THE KIND THAT “MAKE GOOD 
True (o Name—Free from Disease 
Apple, Fear, Pearl,. Plum, Cherry And Quince 
Trees, also small Fruits and Ornamentals, 
shipped direct to your orchard at Growers’ 
Prices. 2a years' ex|H>rionce in growing trees enables ns to 
produce guaranteed stork at a low cost. So we can ship 
splendid trees at a low figure. Write lor catalog_Plant 
! your Apple Trees now. Kelly Bros., Wholesale Nurseries. JOB 
Ham SI., Dansville, N. Y. You'll never regret planting Kelly Trees 
Trees—Plants—Vines 
in small or large lots at wholesale 
prices. Catalog and Green’s Fruit 
Book—FREE. Green's Nursery Co. 
22 Wall St., Rochester, N Y. 
an Acre 
The most satisfactory fruit ever grown are the 
Ever-Bearing Strawberries 
October 
and 
is the ideal month of 
whole year for setting 
the 
out 
these hardy Ever-Hearers, the soil being then cool 
and moist and free from cut-worms and grubs. 
T he y are not affected by frost like the common 
straw berry plants and if set out any time before the ground is actually 
^•n Z x- n ' hear an abundance of delicious berries next season from June 
till November. Doubters can send 10 cents in stamps for postage and I will 
send by return mail a growing plant full of berries. 
Send for price list and free catalog telling what kinds to grow 
and how to grow them 
CLIFFORD S. KEMPTON, Longmeadow, Mass. 
If INGQ’ FRUIT are sold under a REAL GUARANTEE of Genuineness 
lllllllv of variety—the strongest ever written by any nursery firm in America 
Dlir tl’fiAJ U’ill i-nanli ...nil .... . 1 , ' * 
Our trees wm reachi.vouI well paykcd.upto grade, fresh, elean and sturdy—the best Genesee Valiev 
>vuva ^wuvtm inqy »t very low prices in lots oi 10, 100 and i nno i «ypaa i». 
for fair, honorable dealing in the nursery business. 
md 1,000. Every tree bucked by our 35 years’ experience and reputa t ion 
ss. Write today for Bulletin "B'’ to KING BROS. NURSERIES. Dansville, N. Y. 
TREES 
876 ' 0 ^n°..r^ Ch ’ 9 “ 0 ’. 000 APP'®’ 500,000 Cherry, thousands ot other fruit and 
ornamental trees, bornos, currants, vinos and shrubs—fresh dug, guaranteed true t 
name and free from disease. Ready for your Fall planting, Malone, Quality plus Maloney Ser- 
v,r. means money your pocket 89 years’ experience Is hack of every tree we sell. Budding, 
lagging. Sorting, lacking and Mopping given our personal rare. It ell I par you to deal eld, 
in old-established firm. Visit our doO-ucre Nurseries or write for the Big. Free. Maloney tall 
Catalogue, full of Illustrations and information on buying and nlanthor 
MOLONEY BROS. & WELtS CO.. Bor |J4. Uinsville. N. Y. D.asville's Pico 
Pioneer Wholesale Nurseries 
