2^ RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1035. 
The Home Garden 
Fighting Squash Vine Borer 
For eight years I have had no trouble 
from this insect. From the time the 
plants are ready to hoe until they have 
run three or four feet, keep working 
fine soil up to the stems. Do not cover 
the end buds or the growing leaves, but 
be careful to cover the leaf stems deep 
enough to keep the insect from getting 
to the running stem at the hill. My 
vines are now covered from six to eight 
inches deep with dirt at the hills. The 
idea is to keep the “old boy” from get¬ 
ting inside. A. s. 
Middlesex Co., Mass. 
Culture ot Siberian Kale 
Will you tell me how to grow Siberian, 
kale? I have tried it two years, with 
no success. My seed book says plant the 
seed the middle of August and transplant 
a month later. Another book says sow 
the seed in September and treat it like 
spinach. I never grew spinach—do not 
know treatment required, so let me know 
in a plain way. u. R. 
Flmhurst, N. Y. 
Siberian kale is a dwarf plant which 
pri>duces a growth of leaves right at the 
ground. These die back somewhat dur¬ 
ing the Winter, but early the next Spring 
the plant produces a very heavy new 
gi'owth of leaves, which, when cooked, 
resemble cabbage. The crop should be 
more widely known for the ligme garden 
and for the market garden.. Kale re¬ 
quires a rich well-drained soil. Before 
.seeding 800 pounds per acre of fertilizer 
high in phosphoric acid should be broad¬ 
cast and harrowed into the soil. In the 
latitude of New York City the seed is 
sown thickly in rows 20 inches apart 
between Aug. 15 and Sept. 20. One 
ounce of .seed is enough for a row 1.000 
feet long, instead of a row 15 feet long 
as the seedsmen recommend. After the 
seedlings come up they are weeded and 
thinned out to stand from three to six 
inches apart. Cultivate two or three 
times with a horse-drawn cultivator and 
give no further thought to this hardy 
crop. Early the next Spring a[)ply 150 
pounds of nitrate of soda broadcast and 
cultivate the soil just once. The kale 
will throw up a heavy leaf growth. The 
crop is harvested by cutting off the en¬ 
tire plant below the leaf crown, about 
an inch below the surface of the soil. 
The heavy curly leaves fill up the barrels 
so rapidly that it becomes pleasure to 
cut it; 400 ban-els per acre is not an 
exceptionally high yield. 
The commercial growers try to get 
part of their crop ahead of the other fel¬ 
low and the other part just behind him, 
because the prices on this heavy yielding 
cro() are often very low during the “rush” 
of the season. Therefore, part of it is 
forced rapidly with nitrate of soda and 
it is cut before it has reached full size. 
It all depends upon the market. Some¬ 
times part of the crop is held as long as 
possible, i. e., until the seed stalk begin 
to appear. At that time it fills the bar¬ 
rels even more quickly, but if it is left 
tintil the yellow flowers have appeared it 
will be used only by the Italian trade. 
When cutting this crop use a knife, and 
as it is cut pull the dead leaves from 
the base of the plants. During the Fall 
of 1010 many fields of kale were ruined 
by the plant lice which feed from the 
lower side of the leaves. Perhaps these 
in.sects ruined your crop and it could 
have been saved by spraying it properly 
with nicotine sulphate solution. 
- R. w. n. 
Dehydration in Incubator 
I am anxious to try drying some fruit 
and vegetables this Summer, and sun¬ 
light seems to be scarce even if the price 
is still the same. I have a mammoth 
hot water incubator which I always keep 
clean and disinfected. The entire bottom 
of machine is removable, so the doors 
could be kept closed and still have, I 
should think, enough chance for driving 
inoisture out at the open bottom. AVould 
it escape that way? The egg trays are 
common black iron fly screen, and I 
should expect to cover them with cheese- 
cloth._ Do you think this would be 
practical? I could carry a temperature 
from 125 degrees to 150 degrees. About 
whfit would be right? I would like to 
try blackcaps, blackberries, huckleber¬ 
ries, beach plums, peas, tomatoes, string 
beans and corn. Cfau you tell me any¬ 
thing about preparing these and how to 
tell w-hen they are “done.” If I can do 
this, I should not only be providing for 
Winter, but using a large investment 
that is "ways idle from August to 
January. ii. a. ii. 
Tom’s River, N. J, 
I would not call the idea practical. It 
seems doubtful to me whether the fruit 
or vegetables would be any more than 
steamed by this method. For success¬ 
ful drying the heat required is not far 
under that of 212 degrees, or the boil¬ 
ing point of liquids. For the drying of 
fruits and vegetables on a small scale 
a homemade affair, modeled along the 
lines of the Marion drier, would be 
sufficient. Racks could be made in the 
ordinary way of galvanized wire mesh in 
size desired and the heating equipment 
of sheet metal, such as the average tin¬ 
smith would be prepared to turn out. The 
essential thing is to deliver the heat 
evenly to the spread-out fruit, and it 
would seem that in these times of high 
prices a small home outfit, satisfactory 
for all practical purposes, could be made 
for .$25. Small outfits capable of kitch¬ 
en operations on a small scale may be 
found advertised in this paper. The 
fruit should be turned or stirred from 
time to time while drying. After drying 
the product should be packed temporarily 
for a tew days, and each day poured 
from one box to another to insure 
thorough mixture and a uniform de¬ 
gree of moisture. During this condition¬ 
ing any part found to be too moist should 
be re-dried. When in condition, pack 
the product in tight paper bags, insect 
proof paper or wooden boxes, or other 
suitable containers. A. n. pulver. 
Protecting Fruit from Birds 
Ct. M. Donlittle asks on page 9,39 w-hat 
to do to protect his strawberries from 
birds. I have used the following for 
two seasons and found it worked per¬ 
fectly. Make a .frame of %-inch lum¬ 
ber (^x2) 6 ft. long and a board width 
18 inches high (width of course to cor¬ 
respond with width of bed). Cover 
frame with mosquito netting and the 
birds will no longrc give any trouble. 
The middle section need only be covered 
on three sides, but the two end sections 
must be covered on four. These frames 
are inexpensive, light and durable. As to 
cherries and mulberries, among a bunch 
of 10 cherry trees I have mulberries in 
full bearing, and I can truthfully say 
that I rarely miss a mulberry, but reg¬ 
ularly lose nearly all the cherries. 
Hempstead, N. Y. m. c. g. 
The Bookshelf 
Oreeniiouses, Their Constructio.v 
AND Equipment, by W. J. Wright. A 
new and practical book on this subject 
is very welcome, for both material.s and 
methods of construction have changed 
greatly within recent years. l*rof. 
Wright, who is director of the New York 
School of Agriculture at Alfred Univer¬ 
sity, has studied the matter especially 
from the vegetable growers’ standpoint, 
though the same rules of construction 
are adaptable for all grepnhou.se crop.s. 
Sash-beds as well as greenhouses proper 
are discussed; ventilation, heating, glaz¬ 
ing, irrigation and atl other details are 
carefully studied. There are plans and 
estimates given, but it must be remem¬ 
bered that all greenhouse building ma¬ 
terials are persistently increasing in 
price. As regards fuel cost, the figures 
given (for 1911-1912) must be regarded 
as obsolete; it will be long before green¬ 
house men forget their bitter experience 
of 1916-1917. This book contains 269 
pages, well indexed and freely illustrated. 
Publi.shed by the Orange Judd Co., New 
York; price .$1.60. 
During the impaneling of a jury in 
Philadelphia, the following colloquy en¬ 
sued between the judge and a talesman: 
“You are a property holder?” “Yes, 
sir.” “Married or single?” “Married 
three years last March.” “Have you 
formed or expressed any opinion?” “Not 
for three years, your honor.”—Credit 
Lost. 
(HANDUR SIX 
Do You Know Why More People This Year 
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Do You Know Why in Four Years’ Time The Chandler 
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Your own observation of high-grade 
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America would show you clearly how 
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leadership. 
This leadership has been built on the 
Right Car at the Right Price. 
The whole country has marveled 
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it approximates perfection in construc¬ 
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We cannot convey to you in the printed 
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ority of the Chandler motor, but any 
one of nearly forty thousand Chandler 
owners could put you alongside him at 
the wheel and show you Chandler superi¬ 
ority. 
Let Us Show You Why and How Chandler Leads 
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CHANDLER MOTOR CAR COMPANY, Dept. KK Cleveland, Ohio 
There are perhaps several reasons, all 
of which would appear very clearly if 
you had the opportunity or took the 
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policies of the automobile industry. But 
there is one big basic reason which to 
you as a motorist is the essential reason, 
and that one reason is this—that ever 
since the first Chandler car was designed 
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last month, the Chandler has offered the 
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The Chandler today offers this excess 
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Fifteen, Sixteen and Seventeen. 
Month by month and season after 
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Chandler has moved forward and for¬ 
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hardly be questioned. 
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