800 
June 12, 1015. 
THE PiUR-A. L, 
General Farm Topics 
Cabbage Maggot; Nut Grass. 
1. Can you tell me how to fight the 
onion, cabbage and radish maggot? I 
understand these are distinct varieties, 
but they act the same with me. I have a 
beautiful piece of onions in which I dis¬ 
covered the maggot this morning. Last 
year I used one ton of ground limestone 
to the acre and planted early cabbage; 
(his did finely, and no sign of the mag¬ 
got. This year I planted early cabbage 
without the limestone, and practically the 
entire patch is now' infested with it. I 
have raised a few radishes this year after 
dusting them with wood ashes, but still 
there are some maggots in them. Is there 
any treatment for the soil before planting 
to correct this trouble? 2. What is the 
best way to eradicate nut or pea grass? 
It. is so thick in some spots on (his place 
as to look like a lawn, and is spreading 
all the time. I have one spot planted to 
parsley, which is absolutely impossible to 
keep clean. 3. Which is most likely to 
pay best on high sandy soil which had a 
fair coat of manure last year, but none 
this year, corn or sweet potatoes? I 
shall use a 2-8-3 fertilizer in either case. 
May’s Landing, N. J. T. W. K. 
1. We have never succeeded in killing 
maggots in onions, cabbage, etc. Some 
have reported fair success by using car¬ 
bolic emulsion. You will find directions 
for making this in "Brevities.” on page 
708, May 15 issue. Our most effective 
Protection Against Cabbage Maggot. 
means of dealing with maggots is to give 
careful attention to rotation of crops. By 
growing these crops in a different field 
each year there is seldom any serious in¬ 
jury. I believe too that early planting 
coupled with early, close and frequent cul¬ 
tivation will also help to keep the mag¬ 
got in check. Early planting gives the 
crop a chance to get well started before 
the insects commence work. The early 
and close cultivation keeps the soil stirred 
and many of the young maggots are de¬ 
stroyed before they have an opportunity 
to work their way into the roots of the 
crop. A small garden plot of cabbage 
can he protected by using pieces of tar 
paper cut so they can be placed about the 
stem of the plant flat against the surface 
of the soil. These pieces are two inches 
square and cut as shown in diagram. 
One cut in from the side and one cut in 
the middle enables one to slip it around 
the stein of the plant. We have tried 
these and know they will afford nearly 
absolute protection provided they are put 
on when plants are first set. I doubt 
whether it would pay to use them in a 
large field where there was only a slight 
infestation. 
2. Nut-grass, pea-grass or coffee-grass 
as it is often called, can be killed by pre¬ 
venting it for one Summer from making 
sufficient growth to enable it to produce 
a new crop of seed above ground or nut¬ 
like tubers below ground. It is a man’s 
job to get that grass out of a crop like 
parsley. Cutting it off with a hoe is ab¬ 
solutely useless. It must be pulled out 
by the roots. If you can keep your field 
perfectly clean for one Summer you will 
have very little if any to trouble you next 
year. I have known people to kill it by 
plowing at just the proper time in Au¬ 
gust. Just when this time may be is 
purely guesswork. It depends on the 
weather. 
3. Corn is a staple crop and one usual¬ 
ly has need for all he grows on his own 
home place. Sweet potatoes must be sold 
on the open market. Prices vary greatly. 
Some years they are very high, other 
years very low. On an average they are 
far more profitable for us than corn. It 
may be that corn would be most profita¬ 
ble for you, but I would rather take 
chances on the sweet potato. 
TRUCKER, JR. 
Controlling Pickle-Worm. 
Do you know of anything to prevent 
little worms getting into the fruit of the 
cucumber? Even the smaller ones have 
them, and they are unfit for use. P. ii. 
Virginia. 
The fruit of the cucumber w, the regu¬ 
lar food of the pickle worm (I’hacellura 
nitidalis), while the more gluttonous 
grass-worm only occasionally feeds upon 
it to cause serious injury and loss. The 
former is the most destructive and when 
plentiful, as they frequently are, in sec¬ 
tions south of the Mason and Dixon line, 
they cause much damage and loss to the 
pickle crop. After four years of obser¬ 
vation and study of the life and habits of 
this insect I came to the conclusion there 
could not be any effective remedy applied 
in the way of poisons, etc., that would 
bring them under control, as they feed on 
the interior of the fruits almost exclusive¬ 
ly, and are therefore beyond the reach of 
any remedy that could be safely em¬ 
ployed in their extermination. The 
broods may possibly be greatly reduced by 
the use of moth-traps early in the sea¬ 
son, but after the larva* are hatched, I 
know of no way to hold them in check. 
K. 
R. N.-Y.—Prof. O’Kane says that the 
most effective means of control is the 
planting of early squashes, as trap crops, 
among the other plants; the insects will 
choose the squashes for egg-laying, and 
may then be destroyed. Destruction of 
rubbish and Fall plowing will help. 
Forcing Asparagus. 
Can asparagus be grown and forced 
profitably in hothouses? If so what is 
(he best way to prepare it, what varieties 
are best, and does it kill the crown? 
Trenton, N. J. W. M. H. 
For information on the forcing of as¬ 
paragus see article on this subject, on 
page 724 of TnE R. N.-Y. As the 
crowns should be not less than four years 
old, and, as they are of no further value 
after being forced, I have serious doubts 
if it would be a paying proposition. The 
expense entailed in the growing of the 
crowns would be considerable, to which 
must be added the expense in connection 
with the forcing, which would probably 
be as great as, or greater, than the crop 
would sell for. I do not know of anyone 
forcing asparagus for market. If it was 
a good paying proposition, many garden¬ 
ers would now be engaged in the work, 
and the business would long since have 
developed into large proportions. K. 
Culture of Garlic. 
Can you inform me about growing 
garlic? I have tried to grow it by plant¬ 
ing a “toe” of garlic, but instead of its 
growing in a cluster as garlic should it 
grew one solid mass. c. R. 
Virginia. 
None of the Allium family is more 
simple nor easier grown than the garlic. 
As for the onion, the ground should be 
made quite rich, by the application of 
an abundance of fine thoroughly rotted 
manure, at the rate of 20 to 30 tons to 
the acre, which should be well incorpor¬ 
ated with the soil, and the ground should 
be put in good condition by thoroughly 
harrowing and fining it. The cloves or 
sets are planted early in the Spring, and 
in tin* same manner as the onion, except 
that the sets should be planted five to 
six inches apart in the row. Cultivation 
is commenced as soon as the tops appear 
sufficiently to define the row, and should 
be continued every 10 days or so, until 
within two or three weeks of time of 
ripening, which is during the latter half 
of August. This soil should be kept in 
good tilth around the plants and between 
the rows at all times, and perfectly free 
from weeds. As soon as mature, the 
crop must be harvested and placed in 
a well-ventilated shed or elsewhere un- 
der cover for curing. k. 
Great Value of Hay Caps. 
I have used hay caps on my farm and 
consider them quite essential to the mak¬ 
ing of first-class hay for dairy cattle, and 
in fact for any farm stock. The greatest 
feeding value can be secured in no other 
way. However, I do not consider it 
would pay to use them if the hay were 
to be sold from the farm, as the extra ex¬ 
pense would bring nothing in return on 
the market; the average consumer is not 
educated up to that standard as yet, and 
would pay no more for hay cured that way 
than in the usual way. For my own 
feeding I would consider no other way 
for clover, Timothy or Alfalfa (50 per 
cent better). EDWIN E. LINTON. 
NEW-YORKER 
A Roof of Concrete. 
A few years ago there was a general 
discussion of the plan of substituting a 
thin layer of concrete for roofing mate¬ 
rial in place of shingles or metal. After 
a time this discussion died out, but now 
and then we have questions about it. 
Recently a reader in Massachusetts 
wrote that he has a piazza with a tar 
and gravel roof, which he wants to cover 
with concrete. The following plan for 
doing the work comes from an exper¬ 
ienced hand: 
“The gravel and tar should be removed 
down to the boards, and on these boards 
should be placed expanded metal lathing. 
The metal lathing should be supported 
about one inch from the boards. The 
mortar should be mixed in the proportion 
of one part Portland cement to three 
parts clean coarse sand. The cement 
mortar should be mixed dry enough so 
that it will not run and should then be 
plastered on to the roof, pushing the 
mortar well through the lathing so that 
it rests on the boards. The minimum 
thickness necessary is about two inches 
and any increased thickness will be on 
the side of safety. After the l'oof is 
completed, it should be finished with a 
smooth surface and the top painted with 
neat cement made by mixing cement and 
water to the consistency of thick cream. 
If these directions are followed a satis¬ 
factory and durable roof will result.” 
Getting Rid of Bats. 
In the attic of my house and also in 
the barn there are hundreds of bats, and 
if there is anything you can suggest that 
could be used either to destroy them or 
make them vacate, whichever would be 
considered the best, I would like advice. 
Or do you think any good can come by 
leaving them alone? Would they keep 
flies, etc., away? P. w. o. 
New York. 
We had this question up some months 
ago with quite a full discussion of it. The 
best thing, of course, is to find where the 
bats worked into the attic and close up 
every hole. That is the most effective 
way of keeping them out. These bats are 
very offensive; they probably destroy a 
good many flies and mosquitoes, but the 
odor will be almost unbearable in the 
Summer. Several of our readers report 
fine success in smoking out the bats with 
sulphur fumes. The plan is to wait until 
daytime xvlien the bats are in the attic. 
Then close up all the holes you can find 
and burn a good quantity of sulphur in 
the usual way inside tin* room where the 
bats are congregated. This will kill most 
of the bats and drive the others out, and 
usually with two applications the bats 
will leave and never return. There seems 
to he no question that these hats, in ad¬ 
dition to their other filthy habits, bring 
lice and bedbugs into the house. 
When Is the Grass Ready to be Cut? 
Timothy or “Herd’s grass” so-called is 
the most widely grown of all grasses. 
Timothy should be cut from the time it is 
in full bloom until just before the seeds 
begin to harden. If one has a number of 
acres to mow over, the time to begin is 
when the Timothy is in full bloom. At 
this time the heads of the grass will be 
covered with a Muish downy covering, 
the bloom. In this climate Timothy is 
usually ready to be cut by the 4th of July. 
Red and Alsike clover should be cut when 
the blossoms are just beginning to turn 
brown. As one looks over the field he 
sees the masses of pink spotted here and 
there with brown. Stands of Timothy, 
Red-top and Red and Alsike clover are 
very common. The time of cutting this 
combination depends somewhat upon 
which grass predominates. If the stand 
is mostly clover it will need to be cut as 
described above for clover. This will be 
a little before the Timothy is ready. If 
the stand is mostly Timothy, the reverse 
will be true. H. F. judkins. 
Connecticut. 
Cut Grass and Wait. 
The hay or grass in this section is 
mostly mixed grasses, very little clover, 
and should be all cut in one week to 10 
days. On a large farm one must hustle, 
put in all the day to get through and 
some more. Then I plan to get down all 
we can handle—10 to 30 loads, when 
there is a chance of good weather; after 
it is wilted rage in as large windrows as 
the loader will handle, and leave until fit 
for throwing in. Sometimes it is neces¬ 
sary to run the tedder over these wind¬ 
rows, but don’t do so unless it is neces¬ 
sary as it is in better shape to load be¬ 
fore tedding. Three good men will han¬ 
dle 20 loads in a day. Sometimes, of 
course, it is necessary to bunch the hay ; 
never leave in swath over night after it 
is worked. When it is bad weather stop 
haying and pull weeds. C. o. G. 
Sit. Vision, N. Y. 
When you write advertisers mention 
The R. N.-Y. and you'll get a quick 
reply and a “square deal.” See guaran¬ 
tee editorial page. : : : : 
STANDARD 
BINDER 
TWINE 
- $7.90 per Cwt. F.O.B. Alle¬ 
gan, Chicago or Dayton.O. 
QUALITY GUARANTEED. None 
better. 500 ft. to pound. 
80 lbs. tensile strength. 
Insect proof. S7.90 prompt 
order, or basis present 
value. Every indication 
points to the wisdom of buying twine early this year. 
I Save You Money on Other Farm Necessities 
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THE FARMERS* 
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Booklet, “How 1 Discovered The Grimm Alfalfa”, 
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a r\XIt'D Prices and information on request. 
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ITAR C A I C— Sweet Potato Plants, 100 
‘ Vf ' 50c. 000, $1.00. Postpaid. 
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IMTIHiU PLANTS. Price List on application. 
CUNO BECKER, 
VINELAND, N. J. 
VEGETABLE PLANTS 
CABBAGE, SWEET POTATO. TOMATO, PEPPER, 
CAULIFLOWER, CELERY, EGG PLANTS 
Leading varieties. Large or small lots, by express or 
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