Tjhe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
877 
The Small Patch Garden 
Culture of Big Boston Head Lettuce 
Prepare the seed bed, being careful to 
pulverize the soil and enrich lightly with 
poultry manure, well spaded in. Add 
enough sand so that the soil is loose and 
the sand can felt with ease. Sow the 
seed in rows about five times the depth 
of the seed’s thickness; cover with pulver¬ 
ized earth and press the soil. When the 
seedlings are from 2^ to three inches 
high, transplant in ground, prepared as 
above, but add and work in more ma¬ 
nure and sand. Select a cool shady 
ground and set the plants 18 inches apart 
and 18 inches in the row. Transplant 
after the sun is down, or on a cloudy 
day, and water each plant, throwing dry 
corn when cultivating. One thickness of 
copper mosquito netting, 15 wires to the 
inch, is put over this muzzle, so as to 
make a wire basket. This is used with 
a hickory sapling about three feet long 
as a handle. The dust is put inside of 
this muzzle, and the operator walks 
along the row shaking the muzzle as he 
goes along, so as to drop out the dust 
into space about 18 inches wide. 
Staking Tomato Plants 
This used to be quite a serious prob¬ 
lem even in a family garden. It requires 
constant watching to i-emove side 
branches and to tie to stake. For 10 
years past I have adopted the following 
plan which to me nas produced just as 
good results. Plant tomatoes in straight 
row. Cut a 3x4 scantling into _18-inch 
lengths, sharpen one end and drive two 
Rowof Posts-. 
lOjn. high 
/Row o£ 
Tomatoes — 
Rowof Posts 
10in. high-^ 
«— 
- ^ 
(— 
—i 
t — 
■06- 
4#- 
f — 
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Wire Fence Trellis for Tomato Plants. Fig. 364 
Wire 
Penc/hp 
on Posts 
sand over the wet earth around the 
plant. the plant shaded all the 
lime and loosen the ground around the 
plant, at least twice a week, and in dry 
weather, more oftes. 
To shade use shingles embedded in the 
earth (so that they will not fall over), 
stick in the earth six inches from the 
plant and slanted over the plant placing 
the shingles on the east, south and west 
side of the plant. This placement of the 
shingles keeps out the sun from all sides, 
and being put in on a slant also keeps 
out the overhead sun, yet allows suffi¬ 
cient light and ventilation, and also 
space to work around the plant and nev¬ 
er has to be removed. A peach basket 
covered half way around wdth muslin, 
and inverted over the plant, is even more 
serviceable, but must be removed after 
sundown, so as to expose the plant to 
the night dew, and replaced in the morn¬ 
ing before the sun has a chance to dry 
the dew on the leaves. The basket must 
be removed also in order to work the 
earth. 
All this sounds like a great deal to 
do, but it is easy and simple enough 
when understood, and I am willing to 
take a little extra trouble to get a “good 
big head” of lettuce, with a white heart. 
s. w. B. 
Rest Cure for Lawns 
Prof. N. E. Hansen of South Dakota 
gives the following new remedy for erad¬ 
icating dandelions from a lawn: 
“Really the only sure method is to 
give the rest cure to your lawn or rather 
to your lawn mower. If you do not cut 
tlie lawn for two year.s, or at most three 
year.s, the Blue grass will have a chance 
to seed. In addition, do not tramp on 
the lawn more than is absolutely neces¬ 
sary. As a result the grass will get so 
.strong that it will crowd out the dan¬ 
delions. „ , 
“When cut too often the roots of the 
Blue grass are starved and lose their 
vitality because they do not receive the 
plant food which is manufactured by 
the leaves. The only way to strengthen 
the roots is to leave the tops alone. 
However, public opinion is so strong 
that this advice will probably not be 
followed. This is stated as a demon¬ 
strated fact and you can do as you like 
in this matter.” 
Fighting the Strawberry Weevil 
In some part of the country there has 
been report of considerable damage done 
by the strawberry weevil. The insect is 
not common, but in certain sections has 
been troublesome. The New .Jersey Ex¬ 
periment Station at New Brunswick in 
Circular 65, tells of experiments with 
dust in fighting these weevils. A mix¬ 
ture of one part powdered arsenate of 
lead, and five parts of finely ground sul¬ 
phur has given good results. From 80 
to 00 lbs. of this mixture per acre will 
be needed for an application. The dust 
is put on as soon as the weevil begins 
eating on the buds, which in New .Jer¬ 
sey cemes the last of April or the first 
of May. The object is to keep the buds 
thoroughly dusted, and usually two ap¬ 
plications are made. The work is usu¬ 
ally done by hand, and the ordinary 
powder guns or blowers do not give full 
satisfaction. There is no power ma¬ 
chine yet capable of doing the work. 
This bulletin tells of a homemade device 
made by Tony Rizzotte of Hammonton. 
This is made out of a common wire 
muzzle such as is frequently used on a 
horse to prevent him from eating the 
between each plant—outside of the row— 
making two I'ows of short posts about 
four feet apart and 10 inches high. On 
these short posts lay any ordinary wire 
fencing, four feet wide, and staple to top 
of posts. 
The tomatoes are 10 inches from the 
ground and clean, the circulation of air 
under the vines is good. My posts and 
wire are put away in the Fall and have 
been in use 10 years. W. 
Tomatoes On the Ground 
I h.ave had the benefit of The R. N.-T. 
for many years and very seldom find any 
information in it that J can question. 
On page 817, is an i quiry about staking 
tomato plants and the directions for 
doing so. J would not allow anyone to 
stake a tomato plant for me if they paid 
me for the privilege of doing it and 
thanked me also. Tomatoes do not 
ripen exposed to the sun; they turn red. 
A quicker result might be obtained by 
putting them in a sunny v/indow in the 
kitchen. There is no more comparison 
betv.'cen the flavor of a tomato ripened 
under the vines and one grown on a trellis 
than there is between a Ben Davis apple 
and a Fall Pippin. !My aim is to grow 
the rankest vinos possible, setting the 
plants of some varieties 3x4 feet apart, 
others 3x3. If I have rotten manure _J 
put a shovelful where the plant will 
stand; if not, I drop a tablcspoonful of 
nitrate of soda some time before setting 
out the plant, incorporating it with the 
soil; when hoeing the plant a smaller 
dose not too close to it. 
When I began gardening nearly .50 
years ago no one could have been more 
ignorant than I of the Avork. Reading 
was my source of information and I 
learned among other things that tomatoes 
must be kept off the ground. For some 
years I did so until one year much of 
my trellis material had gone up in smoke, 
and I had no time to procure more. 
Much to my regret half my plants had to 
remain on the ground. Those trellised 
were I’eady to eat first. When the others 
were eaten my family with one accord 
asked why I had not plant'd all of that 
variety, they were so much superior to 
the fir.st ones. All were Trophy, of 
ble.s.sed memory, from the same hotbed. 
It is needless to say J never trelli.sed a 
tomato again. If I find a rotten tomato 
on the ground it is because J overlooked 
it when gathering them, not because of 
the contact with the soil. Last year 
when the first killing frost came it ended 
my tomato crop with the exception of 
four plants that were on an unusually 
rich spot, and had d'^veloped such a 
growth of vine that I had never seen be¬ 
fore. Seeing that only the tops of the 
vines were gone I looked under them and 
found nearly a peck of the most per¬ 
fectly ripe tomatoes that would have de¬ 
lighted the breast of the originator of 
the variety. Stone. They h.ad never 
seen the sun until ihey saw it in my 
hands. J. B. D. 
New York. 
Plant Mulberry Trees 
Birds will never touch a cherry if they 
can get mulberries, so if E. C. T., Wells- 
ville, O., will only plant mulberry trees 
he can have the pleasure and pi’ofit of 
the birds without the loss of cherries. 
All mulberries dropping on the ground 
will be greedily picked up by his poultry, 
the trees are ornamental and useful in 
various ways, and the fruit is very nice 
cooked with currants, pieplant or any 
acid fruit. The trees commence bearing 
profusely before they are three feet high. 
I know one family who have them planted 
along the roadside of their farm, using 
the trees for fence posts, and it is really 
enjoyable to drive by and see and hear 
the surprisingly large number of differ¬ 
ent kinds of birds always there during 
the Summer. A. C. S. 
Allegany Co., N. Y. 
Get Both Com Profits 
D O you harvest and feed corn stover, the 
hay crop of your corn fields ? If not, are 
you giving yourself a square deal? 
A forty-acre field of fifty-bushel corn contains, 
besides the grain, eighty tons of good palatable, dry feed. 
At the Government’s figures, that roughage is worth at least 
$260.00 Without a corn binder, that much money is lost to 
you from every forty-acre field of corn. With a binder you 
can add it to your profits. 
Furthermore, it is easier and cheaper to save stover than to 
waste it. A Deering, McCormick, Milwaukee or Osborne corn 
binder cuts five to seven acres a day, cuts it at just the right 
time to get the greatest feeding value out of the stover, saves 
the wages and the trouble of getting two or three extra men ana 
puts the hard work where it belongs, on the tractor or horses. 
Why not place your order now for a Deering, McCormick, 
Milwaukee or Osborne corn binder and get both the grain and 
hay profits from your corn fields besides reducing your har¬ 
vesting expense? We will send you catalogues so that you 
can buy the one best suited to your farm and work. Write 
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(Incorporated) _ _ ^ 
CHICAGO V USA 
Champion 
Deeriag 
McCormick 
Milwaukee 
Osborne 
Potato Digger 
Gets tbe Potatoes and separates 
wbere other diggers cannot 
A strong statement, but an actual experience many times, saving 
growers more than the cost of the Digger. Ask us for the proof. 
The Eureka elevator and duplex shaker provide more separation than other diggers. 
Large wheels and main gears supply ample power. Mostly malleable and steel, avoiding 
frequent breakage and lost time. Growers report 
digging 80 or more acres without repairs. High . ^ tn* 
clearance over shovel prevents weeds and vines .IL-Jf rvme ror 
bunching. Has vine-turner attachment catalog 
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Prompt shipments from distributing points. 
||[EUREKA mower CO., Box 1016, l]tiea,N.Y. 
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Our hay caps save hay and al¬ 
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Prevent sun bleaching. Allow 
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Prompt shipment—satisfac¬ 
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for prices and catalog. 
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Box 2 -c Atlanta. Ca. 
HAY CAPS 
Stack, wagon and implement covers: 
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453 Y St. Paul’s Ave., Jersey City, N. J. 
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New Kemp Climax Spreader 
A Durable, Practical. Light Draft, Low Down Spreader. 
You Get 40 Years’ Experience in This Machine. 
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SAVE HALF Your 
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DITCHESi 
andTerraces 
Also grade roads, build 
dykes, leveea with 
Finn Ditcher 
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and our proposition. 
OwcBsbere Ditclia'& Grader Ca Ik Boi 2340weiisiH>ro, Ky. 
TO THE CONSIGNOR CREDITORS 
OF H. K. WILSON & CO. 
You and each of you, as consignor creditors of 
H. K. WILSOX & Company, 314 Washington Street, 
New York, N. Y., for farm produce consigned to the 
said H. K. Wilson & Company to be sold on com¬ 
mission, and all persons having claims against the 
said II. K. Wilson & Corapan. for farm produce con¬ 
signed to the said commission merchants to bo sold 
on commission, are hereby notilled, :n pursuance of 
chapter 544, Laws of 1917, that you are required to 
Hie a verified statement of such claim against the 
said commission merchants with the undersigned, 
as Commissioner of Agriculture, at Agricultural 
Uall, corner of State and Lodge Streets, Albany, 
N. Y., on or before September 4, 1917, and you are 
further notified that claims not so filed on or before 
that date will not receive consideration in any 
action or proceeilings upon the bond heretofore 
filed by the said H. K. Wilson & Company. 
Dated, Albany, N.Y. CHARLES S. Wilson, 
June 10,1917, Commissioner of Agricnltxtre. 
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