RURAL NEW-YORKER 
817 
RURALISMS 
Staking Tomato Plants 
Would you give directions for staking 
tomato plants and length of stakes to use? 
Aly only farm is a small garden, and I 
am looking for The R. N.-Y. to make it 
a success. A. R. S. 
Eldersville, Pa. 
There are several methods of staking 
tomatoes in general use, some using a 
single stake four to six feet high, some 
three stakes placed in triangular form 
around the plant, to which barrel hoops 
are nailed for support to the iJlaut, while 
others use a trellis similar to that used 
for grapes, but of much lighter construc¬ 
tion, When a single stake is used, all 
suckers must be kept cut off the plant, 
the plant trained to a single leader, and 
the side branches cut back to the first 
fruiting stem at each joint. The plant as 
it grows is tied to the stakes with some 
kind of soft material, such as strips of 
cotton cloth, raffia, or jute twine, and in 
a manner that will hold the plant from 
sagging and at the same time not injur¬ 
ious to it. 
When three stakes and barrel hoops 
are used, the plants as a i-ule get very lit¬ 
tle pruning; they are usually allowed to 
grow at will, and shoots are trained up 
inside the hoops and tied to them. The 
fir.st hoop should be about 18 inches from 
the ground, the second three feet from 
the ground, a third may be used at 
feet or so above the ground, but usually 
two hoops at the heights mentioned are 
by most persons thought sufficient. 
Larger and better fruit will residt if the 
plant is trained to three or four leaders. 
When trellis is used, a stout stake four to 
five feet high is driven down at each 
plant, to which light lath or light plain 
wire is attached, using about three 
courses at equal distance apart. Old 
bale wire spliced together answers ad¬ 
mirably for the purpose, as the rust pre¬ 
vents the winds blowing the vines out of 
position after they are tied up. No 
suckers should be allowed to grow, and 
the side branches should be kept from 
growing until the tops of the plants 
reach the lower wire. The side branches 
may then be allowed to grow, and should 
be trained on the wires in fan shape. 
More or less pruning and pinching out 
laterals will have to be done during the 
growing season to keep the vines from 
growing too' dense. The writer has 
grown tomatoes by this method for some 
years, part of the time on a wire line 
fence with uniformly good results. The 
plants take up but little room and always 
give a heavy crop of fine, smooth toma¬ 
toes, and the beauty of the plan is that 
none of the fruit is lost by rotting 
through coming in contact with the 
ground. K. 
Bean Diseases 
T have noticed in The R. N.-Y. one or 
two articles on the culture of the small 
white or pea beans, but no reference has 
been made recently to the control of the 
blight or pod spot, to which the beans 
are subject. I understand that this blight 
is really anthracnose, and is carried with 
the seed. Can you tell me whether there 
is any method of treating the seed for 
the disea.se so that it will not appear on 
the beans when grown in new' locations? 
(hin you give me any other method of 
control? A. G. V. 
Arlington, N. Y. 
There seems to he three diseases of 
beans which are quite destructive in this 
part of the country. These are bean spot 
or anthracnose, bean blight and “root 
rot.” The root rot is a new disease, or a 
new form of some old disease, which has 
caused much trouble in the last two or 
three years. It seems to attack beans as 
well on new ground as on land which has 
been in beans for many years. About the 
time the first ci’op of blossoms begin to 
open the roots die and the growth of the 
I)lant is checked until new roots can start 
from near the surface of the ground. 
This destroys the crop, and the blossoms 
which start later do not come all at one 
time, but keep opening all the season, so 
that the crop is several weeks later, and 
is in all stages of ripening when fro.st 
comes. Nothing is yet known of the 
causes of this disease or of its control. 
Bean blight appears first as a yellow¬ 
ing of the lower leaves, which spreads to 
the whole plant. According to the time 
when it appears it may shorten or de¬ 
stroy the whole crop. Probably the best 
way to control it is to rotate crops and to 
use or develop blight-proof varieties. 
There is on the market a variety of red 
kidney beau which is very nearly blight 
proof. 
Anthracnose or bean spot appears as 
rust-colored spots on leaves and pods. 
The spots on the pods often pass through 
the beaus beneath them. The only ksown 
way to control this is to plant only seed 
from healthy plants. This means going 
through the field when the beans are ripe 
and pulling for seed plants which show 
no spots of the disease on any part. 
These should be thrashed separately, and 
then hand-picked to take out any spotted 
beans which may have been missed when 
pulling. Experiments seem to show that 
this will keep the disease under contrcl. 
It seems like a rather expensive way, but 
probably would not cost much more than 
to make field selection of seed corn.* 
Wayne County, N. Y. Alfred c. weed. 
Mildew on Grapes 
I have about 4^ acres of Concord 
grapes on a rather heavy soil. The 
vines are very rank and produce well 
except on one little spot which is low and 
the vines mildew. Would lime help? 
Penn Yan, N. Y. r. e. s. 
An application of lime to the low spot 
in this vineyard, s» far as its favorable 
effect upon mildew control is concerned, 
is practically a waste. While it is true 
that the water evaporating from the 
moist soil in low places does fulfill one 
condition for the germination of mildew 
spores, yet the lime application does not 
materially lessen, if at all, the water 
content of the soil. The principal reason 
why vines mildew in low spots is due 
rather to the lack of air drainage. There 
is no reason why frequent and thorough 
sprayings with a 4-4-50 Bordeaux mix¬ 
ture will not .satisfactorily control the 
disease under the most favorable condi¬ 
tions for its development, namely, those 
areas with poor air drainage. The first 
application should be made just as soon 
as the blossoms have set their fruit, and 
this should be followed by another about 
two weeks later. A third treatment may 
be necessary if the season be warm and 
humid, E. GI.^VDWIN. 
Cleanin.g Carrot Seed 
On page 52.3 you answer O. .1. II., 
Washington, about thrashing and clean¬ 
ing carrot seeds. Where one does not 
have more than a busliel or two of a kind 
the same question will apply to almost 
any seed, as Sweet clover, beets, beans, 
peas, onions, parsnips, etc., as well as 
carrots. 
You need access to a flail, canvas, or 
a hou.sehold sheet will do, a couple of 
good dry washtubs and the screens or 
riddles spoken of. One can tlii-ash on 
the canvas laid on smooth ground. On 
a windy day nature’s breath is more effi¬ 
cient and less exacting than your own. 
With a tin pan or scoop shovel drop the 
seed from above into a washtub so that 
the wind can remove the chaff but not 
the seed, A few winnowings and proper 
sifting ought to leave choice seed. 
A few words about the flail. If you do 
not have one, make one. Every place 
needs it. Select any good handle about 
four feet long and one inch in diameter. 
Into the outer end bore a hole with a 
sharp bit five inches deep and seven- 
sixteenths or a half-inch in diameter. 
In a turning lathe or with a saw and 
knife make a pin to fit this hole and 
have a head on the outer end the size of 
the handle, to hold a leather washer in 
place. A piece of leather a few inches 
long should have a hole near each end 
made by a punch about three-fourths of 
an inch in diameter. The writer used a 
l)unch made for cutting wads for a shot¬ 
gun. I also made the pin on a neigh- 
oor’s lathe, and Avhen the leather was on 
the pin it was put into the handle and 
fastened with a wood screw, after mak¬ 
ing a hole for it with a bradawl to pre¬ 
vent splitting. Any piece of solid wood, 
three inches in diameter and 22 to 24 
inches long, will make a good .swingle. 
Make a hole near one end and fasten 
with a thoij'g to the leather on the handle, 
W'hich. if put on right, is a perfect swivel, 
and allows the flail to turn in all direc¬ 
tions. The outfit is simide and some 
part of it works for all kinds of seeds, 
from a thimbleful of flower seeds, to a 
bushel of beans or peas. E. w. ALLIS. 
Michigan. 
A PROMINENT banker once 
advised bis friend to bor¬ 
row money — if necessary—to 
get funds for the painting of his 
buildingSo 
To his friend’s reply that painting could wait, the 
banker responded: “If you paint you may be paying 
me 6% interest on a small loan. If you don’t paint you 
will soon be paying high interest on heavy depreciation.” 
Dutch Boy White-Lead 
mixed with pure linseed oil and any color desired makes a paint 
which is more like an investment than an expense. 
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resists the wear and tear of changing weather with neither 
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That same atmosphere is brought inside the house when the 
walls and woodwork are painted with Dutch Boy white-lead and 
a good flatting-oil. This combination permits a wide selection 
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Stains and grime are readily washed off. 
If you want helpful information for pr*- 
tecting and beautifying your buildings, write 
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Red - Lead 
is a paint that keeps 
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farm implements and* 
machinery from the 
scrap heap. 
1754 
Farm, Garden and Orchard Tools 
Answer the farmers’ big questions. 
How can I grow crops with less help? 
How dig potatoes with fewer horses 
and men? How save every tuber 
before the frost and in time for the 
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mON AGE PoSDigger 
will dig your potatoes in two- 
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make a full lino of potato machinery. 
Send for booklet today. 
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Send for 
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