404 
Oic RURAL NEW-YORKER 
thoroughness iii miiul every time we si)ra.vecl. We 
drive between two rows of trees, a man in the tower 
covering one tree from above while the man on 
the ground is spraying ui)ward on another tree. 
We spray all the way around a tree if the day is 
(piiet, which completes the job; if windy, we spray 
the same, even against the wind; then when the 
wind changes we spi’ay again to be sure to cover 
the part only thinly sprayed the first time, not only 
covering this ])art but repeating the oi)eration on 
the whole tree. There may be a sniiill waste of 
material in this latter operation, but there is the 
satisfaction of thoroughness', and consequently, clean 
a]»ples. Wo sjjray five times a year and alwaj's 
follow this jirinciple of thorough spraying. The 
basis of all our sprays is commercial lime-sulphur 
solution ai)])lied 1-9 for Winter s]>ray. It is ap¬ 
plied 1-90 for the spray when the buds show pink 
with the addition of 4% pounds dry arsenate of 
lead to 150 gallons of water, and if aphis are pres¬ 
ent a two-ponnd tin of “Illack-leaf 40 .’’ We follow 
this with a third si)ray as the petals fall, a fourth 
10 days later, and the last about the first of July, 
using the same materials as in the second spray 
and always eliminating “Black-leaf 40” unless there 
are aphis present, because of expense. 
COST AND RERCLTS.—We believe that one 
cannot disi)ense with any of these sprays and that 
each one should be applied most thoronghly. For 
instance, to test the value of spraying, one of bur 
best trees was left unsprayed. From that tree we 
gathered eighteen bushels of apples, all imperfect. 
These were sold for cider and netted $.3.60. Each 
of the four trees surrounding this tree yielded an 
average of twenty-eight bushel.s, 98% perfect, net¬ 
ting $28 apiece. Another wondeiTul result of spray¬ 
ing was the fact that apples on the sitrayed trees 
were nearly tw’ice the size of those on the diseased 
free, while the quality was noticeably better. In 
summing up the costs of this work in 1910 I found 
I had spent for: 
>8praying materials . $.51.75 
Work (man and horse labor) . 66.00 
Depreciation on sprayer . 25.00 
Pruning . 50.00 
Plowing . .30.00 
Harrowing . .32100 
Picking and marketing apples sold in oichiird. . 280JX) 
Fertilizer and other costs not itemized . 
Total ..$626,09 
COlfPARISON OF PROFITS.—Previous to this 
Avork the average oroi> for the preceding 10 years 
was 876 bushels per year, the largest crop in 1910 
being .560 bu.shels. All of the.se apples were of 
very inferior quality, being sold for cider. In 191.5, 
the first year of our work, the total yield was 1172 
bu.shels, about two-thirds of them being sold for 
^ir.st-class apples. This crop paid for the outlay of 
$500 for equipment and so forth and" netted a pi-ofit 
of .$100. La.st year (1916) the yield Avas 4471 bush¬ 
els and the net pi’ofit .$.3(X)1.77; 98% of these Avei'e 
sold for No. 1 apples. Much credit for this success 
is due the INIercer County Farm Bureau and the 
New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station for 
their help and advice at all time.s. The large pro¬ 
fit has only been made by hard Avork, great cai-e in 
regard to details, thoroughness in all operations, 
l)articularly spraying, and the e.special .liking of the 
owner for this Avork. eakle dilatusii. 
R. N.-Y.— Our cover ]ncture shows a busy scene 
at apple haiwest in this orchard. Figs. 1.58 and Kil 
give .some idea of the extent of the orchard and 
hOAV the apples Avere handled. Figs. 162 and 16.3 
shoAA' an auto truck express load ready to start for 
I'hiladelphia, and how the fruit looked Avhen it 
reached the consumer. On page 406 plates of 
.si>rayed and vtnsprayed are illustrated. 
Asphaltum for Peach Borers 
T he New Jersey Experiment Station has an ex- 
jKU-imental iK^ach orchard of 12 acres upon the 
grounds of the Training .School at Vineland, Ncav 
J ersey. It is necessary to protect the trees from 
the attacks of the peach borer, and a considei-able 
number of materials have been tried out from time 
to time. 
The successful results i‘e])orted fiom ^’aliforuia 
of the use of asphaltum as a repellent against this 
insect led to sevei'al tests in the experiment or¬ 
chards. An ordinary hard grade of asphaUmm Avas 
used in the exi)eriments the first year. The soil 
AA'as removed from about the truidvs of the trees to 
a depth of six inches in May, and all borei-s Avere 
removed. The asphaltum Avas then heated until it 
AA’as in the state of thick molasses, and AA’as then 
applied to the trunks with a heavy brush. The 
attempt was made to apply a thorough coating for 
a distance of six inches below the ground and eight 
or 10 inches above the ground. After the asphal¬ 
tum had hardened, the soil Avas filled in level about 
the ti’unks of the tree.s. .$ince the asi»haltum tend¬ 
ed to expand Avith the groAvth of the trees, it ap¬ 
peared to form an ideal coating to keep out the 
borer.s. Examinations made the following .'spring, 
lioweA'er, revealed a considerable numl)er of borers 
pre.s’ent, and a study of the conditions showed that 
the asphaltum had lost its tenacity and elasticity 
below the .surface of the ground, Avhich allowed bor¬ 
ers to enter Avithout great difficulty. 3'he trees ap- 
Iieared to suffer no injui’y from the treatment with 
as]rhaltum. It should be noted, hoAA’OA’er, that the 
ordinary grade of a.sphaltum was u.sed and not one 
of the so-called asphaltum paints. 
Tlie second season a somewhat different method 
of applying the asphaltum Avas adopted. The coat 
A Post.hole Digging Machine. Fig. 159 
of ‘material Avas applied to a depth of six inches 
beloAv the ground and eight to 10 inches above as 
before, and the soil made level about the trunk of 
the tree. A furroAV about one inch dei'p Avas then 
made Avith the finger close about the trunk and 
melted asphaltum poured in to form a collar. The 
object of this collar Avas to iirevent any borers fi-om 
crawling doAvii the trunk to enter the ti’ee beloAv the 
surface of the soil AAdthout going out some distance 
from tlie trunk itself. In theory this Avould seem 
to protect the tree from infestation, and the collar 
Avould seem to be of such thickness that it Avould 
not readily lose its tenacity from contact AA’ith soil. 
The results were not as satisfactoi'y' as Avould be 
expected. The number of borers Avas greatly re¬ 
duced, over the method practiced the .))reA’ious year. 
but a feAV borers Avei’e found in the trees. Fnless 
the treatment proved to be entirely' successful the 
labor of its application w’ould be quite expeu.<ive. 
Post-hole Digging Machine 
ENCLOSE cut of post-hole digger, asked for in 
I’ecent issue of The R N.-Y. This cut explains it¬ 
self, but it looks too exi»ensive for a farmer. I 
have seen a small pile driver driving stakes for 
circus tents that I think Avould be more practical 
for a farmer. xVny man aaIio is a little handy’ could 
make the guider, and the hammer Avould be the 
only expensive part (assuming operator has a gas 
engine). I have one in mind Avith a 100-tb hammer 
that I expect to put in for use this Spring. 
Auburn, N. Y. J. f. c. 
R. N.-Y.— The picture shoAvn at Fig. 159 is taken 
from the Illustrated World. The post-hole screAV or 
digger AA'as used on the transcontinental telephone 
March 17, l!»17 
service. As Ave see, it is just a big screAv or auger 
AA’hich bores a hole into the earth. It Avould be too 
expensive for a farmer and, naturally, Avould not 
Avork Avell in stony ground. The plan of using the 
small pile driver seems far more practical. 
A Rat-proof Corn House 
REAL rat-proof corn house may be built by 
carrying out the folloAving directions. Build 
your coi’u hou.‘<e Avith studs or upright fi’aming, 16 
inches on centers. As it is. not to be boarded up it 
Avill be nece.ssary to brace the corner po.'^ts thorough¬ 
ly'. r.'^e 2x4-iuch or 8x4-inch studs, according to 
the size of the corn house. In other Avords, go 
ahead and build the corn house in the regular AA’ay', 
except for boarding up the outside. 
Line the inside of the house with gah’anized rat 
wire, on^-half inch me.sh. I'he Aviic can bo obtained 
in rolls 48 inches in Avidth. With the studs 16 inches 
cn centers, the Avire Avill cover three spaces exactly’. 
Stretch it tightly and nail securely to the uprights, 
coA’ering each upright Avith a stiip avoII nailed. As 
there is a considerable jiressure exerted by’ the corn 
rgain.st the sides, these strips Avill hel]) keep the 
Avire from buckling. Fasten rat Avire across the 
ceiling joists in the same fa.shion, lieing sui-e that 
all corners are fully protected by the Avire. Put a 
rough floor in the coiai house and coA’er this Avith 
the Avire. 
While this is all that is necessanj, yet it Avill be 
found advisable to cover the AA’ire Avith a top floor. 
5b)u AA’ill thus luiA’e a smooth floor Avhich Avill more 
than pay’ for itself in the added convenience over a 
Avire-coA’ered floor. While it is jio.s.sible to protect 
the floor from underneath by’ nailing the Avire to 
the joists first and then flooring on top, the double 
floor is lu’eferable from the fact that there Avill be 
no h'akage of shelled corn through shrinkage cracks 
in the flooi’. If particularly desired, the rat Avire 
may’ be fastened to the outside of the upright fi’am¬ 
ing. In this case. hoAveA’er, be A’ery sure Ibat the 
stri)»s holding it in i»lace are A’ery .securely iiaib'd. 
If the corn house, or in this case the corn bin is 
to be built iuHide the barn aAV’ay from the AA’eatber, 
Itlain iron expanded metal lathing may' be substi¬ 
tuted for the galvanized rat Avire. When not ex- 
po.sed to the Aveather, this metal lathing Avill last for 
years and may be iiurchased for a fraction of the 
cost of the galvanized rat Avix’e. 
Kelp and Seaweed as Manure 
I HAVE received several private communications 
about the use of kelp folloAving article in 
The R. N.-Y.. I cannot siqipl-y k(*lp, dried, gi’ouud 
and bagged, uoi’ in any form, though I believe kel]) 
is dried and ground, commercially’, at some points in 
Nova Scotia. While there are .31 )>ouuds of potash 
in a ton of the fr<>sh kidp, drieil tluu’e Avould be 2('4 
pounds. Avorth, resiiectively, at the iireseut time, 
$15 and .$1.”.2. It is noted that the Agricultural De¬ 
partment at Washington has started an exjau’i- 
mental iib-int in Southern (‘alifornia for the ex¬ 
traction of ])otash from seaAA’eed. Such a jilaut is 
in o]»eratiou, on a small scale. I believe, in South- 
AA’estern Nova Scotia. And Avh.v not? If the Avork 
can be done economically, it certainly' should be 
AVorth Avhile to exti’act that 264 ])o\inds of potash 
from the seaAvec'd. B. Leslie Emslie, OttuAva, is my 
authority for the above figuit'S. 
Kelp .should not be confused Avith .seaAveed, knoAvii 
as eel gra.ss, Avhich washes ashore in lagoons and 
shell(O’ed bays and on stretches of sandy beaches. 
Kelp is hard-leaved, like tobacco or rape plants. 
Avith long holloAA’ tendrils, and the dulse, .so nice to 
eat. is found among it. Kelp usually lands on a 
“stern and rock-bound coast,” like AA’hen the Pil¬ 
grim Fathers lauded, AA’here the “breaking Avaves 
dashed high” and not in estuaries .such as those 
AA’here eel-grass lands. Eel-gra.ss, too, contains 
pota.sh. 
As to results I might say that Mr. Neil McPhee 
of Big I’ond, not far from here, Avho is considered 
the jAotato king of this section of the country, and 
Avhose crop averaged about 400 bushels this season. 
AA’hen 1 saAA' him the other day’, told me that he had 
all his potatoes iilanted in kelp, and “kelped” lieaA’- 
ily. Our oavh ))otatoes, not a large field, Avere tAvo- 
thirds of them “in kelp” (fertilized Avith kelp) and 
they’ averaged something like .300 bushels per acre. 
Daniel Oampbell, Avho groAA's a large aci’eage of po¬ 
tatoes for the starch factory, told the Avi’iter that 
he hadn’t stable manure for one-third of his crop, 
but used kelp for tAvo-thirds and much preferred 
kelp to stable manure. ’Farmers here don't use 
commercial fertilizer for potatoes. The Ioav price 
precludes it. J. a. macdonald. 
Prince EdAA'ard I.sland. 
