1418 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 5, 
Hope Farm Notes 
H AVE you ever bad any knowledge of, or 
experience with the use of hot water 
for the purpose of destroying peach 
grubs at the root of the trees? Is it safe 
and efficient, and if so at what tempera¬ 
ture should the water be? I have a large 
peach orchard, and we failed to get trees 
grubbed this Fall. I could go over it 
rapidly with my spraying tanks if hot 
water is safe. D. J. M. 
Ohio. 
We have used both hot water and a 
hot solution of lye. Neither proved very 
effective until the gum was scraped away 
from the base of the trees, as the liquid 
will not enter the cavity freely when 
this gum is present. Unless the liquid 
does work down into the passage where 
the borer hides, it is not particularly 
effective. In cold weather the hot water 
cools rapidly, and does not affect the 
borer seriously. If the gum is scraped 
away, the hot lye is far more effective; 
but we find that if we go to the trouble 
of working off this gum, it is not much 
more work to dig out the borer and make 
a thorough job of it. A forcible spray¬ 
ing with a strong lime and sulphur solu¬ 
tion, driven around the base of the tree, 
with some of the dirt removed, will be 
more effective than either hot water or 
hot lye. 
The Hope Farm man says he intends 
to advertise Ben Davis apples for sale. 
I would give a good deal to see what he 
has to say in offering Ben Davis. S. k. 
I suggest that you give what you call 
a “good deal” to the Belgian sufferers, 
for here is what we advertised—leaving 
out price and address: 
“Bergen Cottnty Apples. —Our Bald¬ 
wins are all sold. We now have Black 
Ben Davis. This is a high-colored apple, 
a good keeper, but not high quality. We 
pack in scant half barrel baskets. All 
hand picked. No. 1 is large size—no 
other difference.” 
Later we added to this that for 10 
cents we would send samples by parcel 
post. No one has any right to find fault 
with such an offer. We had about 300 
baskets of the apples to dispose of. and 
they are going quite readily. The Black 
Ben Davis is a little higher in quality 
than the original Ben, and the tree is 
surely a sturdy grower and early bear¬ 
er. I shall not plant'any more, and if 
any of them are sold the buyer will 
know just what he is taking. Perhaps 
S. K. thinks I should advertise Black 
Ben about as follows: 
“A Red Fraud. —Ben Davis, a com¬ 
bination of cork dust, sawdust and bees¬ 
wax—treacherously colored with Bald¬ 
win red and Northern Spy stripes. Hand¬ 
some in color but dry as a bone in flesh 
and taste. Will keep like potatoes and 
eat like turnips.” 
Now I think such advertising would 
attract more attention and sell more ap¬ 
ples than our modest statement. The 
fraud in selling Ben Davis comes in 
leading customers to think its quality 
is as high as its color. When they know 
what to expect they will not find fault 
and generally<say the apple is better than 
they expected. McIntosh is our apple, 
but having planted the Black Bens I in¬ 
tend to dispose of them honestly. 
The Belgians. —As we come nearer 
and nearer to Christmas the heart of this 
great nation goes out to the unhappy peo¬ 
ple of Belgium. No matter what side 
one may take in the present fearful war, 
we can all agree in considering the fear¬ 
ful calamity which has fallen upon this 
unhappy little nation. Battered and 
ravaged, burned and robbed, this jewel 
of a country lies in ruins. Who can 
think of any sadder Christmas than the 
one approaching the homeless and desti¬ 
tute Belgian people? It is no wonder 
that this great country, the only one 
which can derive any material benefit 
from the war, should come forward to 
help this destitute sister nation. 
Among other plans suggested is that 
of bringing- children or families to this 
country. One of our readers offers a 
house and 25 acres of good land to a 
worthy family of Belgian refugees. He 
will provide land, house and outfit—the 
family to give him one-third of the crop. 
Many others are trying to organize 
plans for bringing back shiploads of or¬ 
phan children to be adopted or cared for 
here. It seems that many worthy peo¬ 
ple are -willing to take these little ones 
into, their homes and care for them. 'It 
seems impossible to express the admira¬ 
tion which Americans have for the brave 
people who have endured so much for 
their country. 
In all this, however, few 7 seem to have 
considered it worth while to consult the 
Belgian people themselves. In a general 
w 7 ay it seems as if about all there is to 
do is to go over and get the children and 
bring them here. I have talked w 7 ith in¬ 
telligent Belgian people w r ho have come 
to this country, and they all agree that 
the best thing this nation can do is to 
help these unfortunate people where they 
are now—in Holland, France,England and 
at home. The Belgian people do not want 
to leave—they do not want the children 
to go. When the war is over they w 7 ant 
to go back and rebuild their beautiful 
country once more, and they will do it 
if they can be helped during the present 
terrible pinch. So many men have been 
killed or crippled that the value of a 
human being in Western Europe will be 
well nigh doubled in the future. Every 
child and every adult will be needed to 
w 7 ipe out the scars of war and make new 
homes. In this land with only a few 7 
generations at best behind us, w 7 e cannot 
fully understand what country means to 
this brave and true people. The best of 
their future is at home, and their great 
work will come in rebuilding their coun¬ 
try when the w r ar is over. It is a noble 
thing to offer to take these children and 
care for them, but I fear w 7 e do not quite 
understand the feeling and spirit of the 
Belgians and their desire to keep all 
their people together. I would he wal¬ 
ing to help w 7 ith some of these children, 
but I do not think this is the best w 7 ay. 
I would give all we can of money and 
clothing and food to care for the desti¬ 
tute where they now are, but I would 
try and keep the people of this brave lit¬ 
tle nation together—for the w 7 orld sadly 
needs what they will give in the future 
as the result of their suffering and pa¬ 
triotism. But let us remember them at 
Christmas in the most substantial way 
we can. 
I have a garden, the soil of which is 
very hard and stiff. It has been sug¬ 
gested to me that the condition of the 
soil can be improved by the application 
of coal ashes. Will you advise me 
whether or not this is true? If so, 
should the ashes be sifted or not? If 
applied, to what extent, that is to what 
depth? f. D. w. 
New 7 York. 
The coal ashes contain little or no 
actual plant food. A ton of anthracite 
coal contains only about three pounds 
each of potash, and of phosphoric acid. 
Unlike wood ashes, coal ashes have no 
value as a fertilizer. They do, however, 
have a useful effect upon certain soils. 
The ashes should be sifted and only the 
fine dry ash used. Four or five tons to 
the acre can safely be used. I should 
plow 7 or spade the ground, then dump 
on the sifted coal ashes and work them 
thoroughly into the upper surface. On 
light sandy soils the ashes work in be¬ 
tween the coarse particles of the soil 
and thus make it more compact and bet¬ 
ter able to hold water; on the heavy 
clay soil the fine ashes have the opposite 
effect. They open such soils, make them 
more porous and thus fit them better to 
give up their plant food and sustain 
crops. This effect of the coal ashes is 
physical, and when properly used they 
will make over the soil and render it 
better able to take care of the crop, but 
do not think that they add plant food 
as fertilizers or manures will do. I use 
such ashes around fruit trees as mulch, 
or a mound at the base of the trunk. 
I want to know 7 the best way to keep 
Winter apples in an ordinary cellar, 
whether to leave them in barrels in 
which they have been shipped, or to lay 
them out in open bins. c. c. T. 
Pennsylvania. 
First the cellar. It must be dry and 
uniform in temperature. I have learned 
that a cellar with a concrete top is worth¬ 
less for keeping fruit. So is a cellar 
where there is a stove or furnace. If the 
cellar is dry and unheated we open the 
windows at night and close them by day. 
Use a thermometer and try to keep the 
temperature below 7 40. Packing in open 
bushel crates or boxes is the best method 
w 7 e have found. The smaller open pack¬ 
ages keep better than bins or barrels. 
They should be looked over now 7 and then 
and the decayed stock taken out. 
V ■ 1? >• ! • H. *W. C. 
Breeding Pheasants. 
O N page 1329 I notice an inquiry in 
regard to pheasants, and think our 
experience, of five years may be of in¬ 
terest to some of your readers. Start¬ 
ing with four pairs w 7 e have increased 
our stock to about one hundred birds, and 
have disposed of a considerable number 
to fanciers in several States. We have 
found them easy to raise, hardy, light 
feeders and a constant source of delight 
and wonder to our visitors, owing to 
their brilliant plumage. 
Our runs are 12 by 24 feet, entirely 
inclosed in w 7 ire, both sides and top, while 
in even the most severe weather they 
have required no other protection than 
small open-front houses. As they are 
naturally a w'ild bird we have found it 
impractical to keep them in the open, as 
may be done in the case of domesti¬ 
cated fowl, and this is impossible, in New 
Jersey, owing to the game laws, under 
which, w 7 hen once liberated, they become 
the property of the State and private 
ownership ceases. There is a constant 
demand for the eggs, particularly of the 
brilliant Mongolian breeds av. b. lloyd. 
New 7 Jersey. 
m 
Preventing Trespass. 
C AN you tell me what is necessary to 
be done to keep hunters and fisher¬ 
men off a farmer’s land in New York 
State? The farm is in Sullivan Coun¬ 
ty, and it is desired to put up signs for¬ 
bidding hunting, fishing and trespassing. 
Does the law require the use of any spe¬ 
cial phraseology? Must the owner file 
a notice with any public official? I have 
heard that such signs must not be at¬ 
tached to trees. Is that so? F. M. 
Rutherford, N. J. 
The land can be simply posted or it 
can be made a private park; the differ¬ 
ence being that the notices in the latter 
case must state that the land is a private 
park and a notice describing the farm 
and stating that it is established as a 
private park to propagate and protect 
fish, birds or quadrupeds must be pub¬ 
lished once a week for not less than four 
weeks in a newspaper published in the 
county where the land is situated. No 
water that has been stocked with fish 
by the State since April 17, 1S96, can 
be included in a private park, and fish¬ 
ing cannot be stopped in such water. 
Trespass on the banks of such a stream 
or pond can be stopped. 
Notices or sign boards not loss than 
one foot square must be conspicuously 
posted and maintained not less than 40 
rods apart close to and along the entire 
boundary, and there must be at least 
one such notice on each side and at each 
corner and where the boundary runs 
along or under any water the nearest 
shore within the park shall be consid¬ 
ered the boundary for the purpose of 
posting notices. Any person who tres¬ 
passes on such lands after the notices 
have been placed or after having been 
served in the name of the owner with 
a written or printed notice containing a 
description of the premises and warning i 
all persons against hunting, fishing or 
trespassing thereon is guilty of a mis¬ 
demeanor and is liable to exemplary dam¬ 
ages in the sum of $25 for each offense 
or trespass to be recovered by the own¬ 
er of the lands or of hunting or fishing 
rights thereon with the costs of the ac¬ 
tion in addition to actual damages, all 
to be recovered in the same action. The 
consent in writing of such owner to hunt 
or fish on said lands during the open ■ 
season is a defense to a prosecution un¬ 
der this law. 
The law makes no mention of any spe- j 
cial wording of the notices except that, 
the published notices and those served on 
trespassers must describe the premises 
and state that trespass is forbidden and 
in the case of private parks the published 
notice must state that the park is es¬ 
tablished for the protection and propa¬ 
gation of fish, birds or quadrupeds. The 
law simply says that the notices must be 
placed close to the boundary. It does not 
mention trees. a. c. W. 
Wayne County, N. Y. 
Public Land Sales Active. 
I T is sometimes stated that all the pub¬ 
lic lands which have any value have 
been taken up. Not so. Secretary 
Lane, in an advance statement from his 
annual report, calls attention to the fact 
that since March 4, 1913, settlers have 
made entry on nearly 20,000,000 acres 
of public lands—-an area equal to that of 
Connecticut. Massachusetts, New Hamp¬ 
shire, and New Jersey combined. Dur¬ 
ing the same period practically as much 
more coal and other mineral land of the 
West has been examined in detail in 40- 
acre tracts by the Geological Survey, and 
most of it has been thrown open to set¬ 
tlement or purchase. Some of these 
lands, such as those which include work¬ 
able deposits of phosphate or oil, are still 
withdrawn pending suitable legislation 
for their disposal or use. Another im¬ 
portant activity in public-land classifica- 
which the Secretary calls atten- 
the designation of lands for en- 
“enlarged” or 320-acre liome- 
Designations under this law ap- 
tion to 
tion is 
try as 
steads. 
proved by him cover 
.050 acres. 
Lessons Come 
Easier 
I F the child has 
a big, generous 
light to study by. 
The 
R&yb 
lamp saves eye 
strain. It is kero¬ 
sene light at its best 
—clear, mellow, 
and unflickering. 
The does 
not smoke or smell. 
It is easy to light, 
easy to clean, and 
easy to rewick. 
The RAYO costs 
little, but you can¬ 
not get a better 
lamp at any price. 
Standard Oil Co. of New York 
Principal Stations 
New York Albany Buffalo Boston 
- 
EARN THIS ROCKER 
IN ONE DAY 
WE GIVE 
This Fine 
Upholstered Rocker 
For Selling 
Only 25 
of these 
7 Bar Boxes 
of Highest 
Grade Toilet 
Soap shown 
below 
at 50c 
Per Box. 
NO CASH 
Required 
sign the Coupon below, giving refer¬ 
ences and we will send you the 25 boxes of Soap 
together with the Rocker, and allow you thirty days 
to sell the Soap before sending payment We guar¬ 
antee satisfaction. If shipment is not satisfactory, 
it can be returned at our expense. 
GROFTS & REED GO., Chicago 
J Name 
CROFTS & REED CO., Dopt.A632« Chicago, III. 
Send me 25 boxes of your Assorted Toilet Soap and 
RocUer No. 90174. I agree to sell the Soap at 60c per 
box and send you $12.50 in payment, within thirty days. 
Street Address _ 
Post Office _ 
8tate . 
Clvo two business rsferonces below. 
I 
--J 
V i 
