Z5*Ac RUiiiAL NEW-YORKER 
119 
RURALISMS 
Cucumber and Squas/i Insects 
What will kill or drive away a little 
striped bug that is so destructive to my 
pumpkin, squash and cucumber vines? 
They also worked on the beans. They 
even worked on pumi)kins when they be¬ 
gan to mature. Another bug that we 
called the stinking hug seemed to work 
with them. .\r. s. A. 
Liverpool. X. 1". 
The striped cucumber beetle is one of 
the worst pe.sts attacking melons, cucum¬ 
bers and squashes. The beetle itself at¬ 
tacks the tender young pl.-ints as soon as 
they show above ground, while the larva' 
feed on the tender roots of the same 
plants. It is difficult to poison the beetles 
because they hide in places.not touched by 
•spray material, including the inside of 
the flowers, but a spray t>f ar.senate of 
lead, four or five pounds to 50 gallons of 
water, affords considerable protection. 
Among repellents, air-slaked lime mi.xed 
with flowers of sulphur, dry road dust 
or tobacco dust, scattered freely over the 
plants, drive the beetles away temporar¬ 
ily. Covering the young plants with cloth 
or wire screens, until they get a good 
start, is good practice; round tents of 
cheesecloth on wiia* frames, or wire net¬ 
ting. have proved very desirable. Crop 
remnants should always be removed and 
• burned in the Fall, as they furni.sh a 
hibernating place for the mature insects. 
In addition to eating the leaves, this pest 
is instrumental in spreading a bacterial 
wilt that suddenly kills the plants. 
The other insect referred to is the com¬ 
mon .squa.sh bug. a disgusting creature 
which hibernates in crop remnants, and 
is usually on hand as soon as scpiashes, 
melons or cucumbers h.ave nuub' their first 
leaves^—another reason for clearing up the 
g.arden in Fall. It soon begins to lay 
niii.sses of bright orange-red eggs, on the 
under side of the leaf, and after a few 
days the young bugs add to the damage. 
Xo contact insecticide strong enough to 
destroy the mature bugs can be used with¬ 
out injuring the plants, but the young 
may be killed by spraying with 10 per 
cent kerosene emulsion. Egg masses 
should be destroyed, and adults may be 
trai)ped under bits of board or stones, 
where they hide, and should be looked for 
fre(iuently. As soon as the crop is off the 
vines -should be burned, so as to destroy 
any imsects or eggs remaining. 
Corncobs as Fertilizer 
Would it pay me to buy crushed corn¬ 
cobs at $5 a ton to be used as a corn fer¬ 
tilizer? The mill is in sight of us and I 
can get an unlimited supply at this price. 
Virginia. J. n. 
A ton of corncobs will contain about 
eight pounds of nitrog<'n, two p(ninds of 
phosj)horic acid and nine pounds of pot¬ 
ash, or considerably less plant food than 
a ton of manure. The cobs will hav(' lit¬ 
tle value as a fertilizer until they are 
thoroughly rotted, and would not be worth 
$5 a ton under ordinary circumstances. 
They would have a value comi>ared with 
ordinary stable manure of about two- 
thirds the value of the former. There 
would not be immediate value when the 
corncobs are plowed directly into the 
ground, as they will decay slowly under 
stich conditions. They should he mixed 
with the manure, or u.sed in the stable as 
bedding or absorbt'iit to take uji the sta¬ 
ble liquid. They will do that well, and it 
will help decay them, but at ^!5 a ton the 
cobs will not be a barg.ain. 
Quality of Maple Sap j 
Please advise me how matiy gallons of 
maple sap it takes for a gallon of syrup, 
flomer, N. Y. .}. n. 
This is a good deal like the question, how i 
many gallons of milk are re(|uircd to make 
a tub of butter. The sugar content of 
maple sap varies from a minimum of 
scarcely a trace to a maximum of 10 per 
cent, but several thomsand tests have 
I)laced the average at three per cent. 
Figuring on this basis. 100 lauinds of 
maple sap will yield three pounds of 
mai)le sugar. The i)ure food law decrees 
that maple syrup must contain not more 
than .“15 i)er cent of water. A gallon of 
maple syrup of this water content weighs 
11 pounds. Hence it contains 7.15 i)ounds 
of dry sugar, although, since the water 
is never Avholly evaporated in the manu¬ 
facture of maple sugar, it is figured • I’-et 
a gallon of maple syrup is the equivalent 
of eight pounds of maple sugar. But fig¬ 
uring on a dry sugar basis, and dispensing 
with small fractions. ill.'l.S pounds of three 
per cent sap will be recpiired to make one 
gallon of maple syrup that will pass Uncle 
Ham’s tests. This. rednce<l to licpiid mea¬ 
sure. is equivalent to 21) gallons, which 
is. theoretically, the amount required. In 
practice, however, there will be a varia¬ 
tion, because the sugar in the .sap was 
manufactured the previous -season by the 
leaves, working in conjunction with the 
sunlight, and the sugar content of the sap 
is proi)ortional to the leaf area of the tree 
combined with the amount of direct sun¬ 
light that the leaves received during the 
Iirevious Summer. So that, if trees stand 
in a dense forest, and have a restricted 
leaf ar<'a, mu -h m.ore sap wilt he reepured 
to make a given quantity of syrup or 
sugar than from trees standing in an open 
field and having a thick, bushy top and 
an immen.se leaf area. The above, how¬ 
ever, may be taken as the average. 
c. o. o. 
Testing Garden Seeds 
lleceiving many -seeds from different 
sources and many of them turning out 
badly, it became necessary to find some 
method of testing them. A very simple 
affair was necessary. The tester consists 
of an unglazed pan or plate, a rough pot¬ 
ter's affair. It is about an inch and a 
half deep. A similar plate is used for a 
cover to keep the moisture inside even. 
For a cover any old plate would do as 
well, or a piece of glass. In the plate or 
pan an inch of fine broken charcoal was 
placed. This is used as it is at hand. 
Probably sand would do as well, or even 
good earth. The charcoal is gofsd, as it 
does not encourage fungi or ferments, even 
if over-watered. The pan has no holes 
for drainage, only care being taken in the 
Avatering, Avhich is done every tAvo or 
three day.s. Mo.st seeds in germinating 
will stand much Avater. A small piece of 
cloth the size of the inside of the pan is 
placed over the charcoal. This is of a 
piece of a grain sack or of woolen cloth, 
or any strong material. (Ine end of the 
cloth is left to double over and cover the 
piece in the bottom of the pan. 
The use of the tester is very simple. 
(5ne end of the cloth is placed over the 
charcoal in the pan, and the Avhole Avell 
Avetted. The seeds to be tested are placed 
in little bunches on this cloth. The loose 
end is doubled over to cover, and Avet, 
and the cover plate put on. At any mo¬ 
ment the cover can be taken off, the loose 
end of the cloth laid back and the seed 
examined. Those that are through can 
be throAvn away, and others put on. 
There is no purer 
or more healthful 
food for children 
than 
GrapeNuts 
Its natural sweet¬ 
ness appeases the 
child’s appetite for 
added sugar, and 
the quanity of milk 
or cream needed 
is about half that 
required for the 
ordinary cereal. 
GRAP&NUTS IS AN 
ECONOMICAL FOOD 
A Piano 
anybody 
can play — 
with the 
pedals or 
by hand 
This is the 
"Suburban" Model, Price $395 
IVIusic —these winter nights 
Don't you long for it? And wouldn't you especially enjoy malting it 
yourself? The folks would gather around and sing while you played — 
the neighbors would come in — you could have a little party tonight, 
if you owned a 
(Prmmneed Gul-BRj4N-nn ) 
P1 OLy e t"IP i ain o 
Nationally 
Priced: 
Suburban Model. . $395 
Town House Model 430 
Country Seat Model 475 
White House Model 525 
Easy to Play 
that you forget the pedals, and think only of 
the music. That wonderful ease of playing 
is your simplest proof of fine quality. For a 
Player-Piano that pedals easily, yet obeys your 
pedal-touch instantly — as the Gulbransen 
does—is necessarily well built. 
Easy to Pay For[;l?'“ 
was there a time when so little grain, livestock or other farm products 
would pay for so desirable a musical instrument as the Gulbransen. Being 
Nationally Priced, the Gulbransen is today selling at less than its true mar¬ 
ket value. It is emphatically the "best buy" in musical instruments—and 
just when your crops are bringing high prices. Divided Payment if you wish. 
Guaranteed Ten Years Money-back Trial Agreement 
Buy direct from the factory if no local dealer sells the Gulbransen 
Thousands in use in New York and New England states 
LET US SEND YOU FREE our Art Catalog, illustrated and containing full 
specifications, also a booklet on How to Judge a Player-Piano"—not an advertisement 
— and our nearest dealer's name. (If you don't write now, you may forget.) 
Gulbransen-Dickinson Company, 815 N. Sawyer Ave., Chicago 
! 
I 
I 
APPLFTON 
WOOD! 
SAWS 
Safety 
and 
Service 
Buy a wood saw strong 
enough to be safe un¬ 
der any strain and dur¬ 
able enough to last you for years. The 
Appleton has tremendously strong, rigid 
frame of angle steel; or hardwood, bolt¬ 
ed, braced and mortised—d oesn’t get out 
of line. Lathe turned steel shaft. Dust 
proof, non-heating, self-adjusting 
bearings, keep saAv true and steady 
even after years of wear. 
10 sizes; tilting andslidingtable 
types and drag circular log 
saws. Write for 
FREE BOOKLET^^^ 627 
Appleloo Fargo St., 
Mfg. Co. Batavia, UL 
This Better Crops Book 
Was Written Forlfbu ' 
►14 ^ 
E quipped with 
Jessup force 
feed—positive 
and accurate. Light¬ 
est draft—seed box 
placed to rear of 
axle, relieves the 
horse s’ necks. 
Driven by both wheels—no side draft. 
Draw bars of 
angle steel — 
will not bend or 
twist. Crown Drills 
give long service. 
Send for catalog today 
Crown Mfg. Co. 
112 Wayne St., 
PHELPS, N. Y. 
HIGHEST PRICES 
Paid for all kinds of 
Raw Furs 
I need large qiiniitities of all 
Uiiuls of furs, and it will pay 
you to get my priee list. 
1 especially solicit furs from 
all northern and central 
1 sections. AV’rite for my price 
list and shipping tasra today to 
O. L. SLENKER 
P.O. Box M-2. East Liberty, O. 
It’s Free 
Send a 
Postal 
Foi 
It 
This book 
gives highly 
interesting and practical 
information about tillage. 
We want you to have a 
copy—and if you wish a 
complete “Cutaway” 
catalog to arrive with it, 
just write, “Send your 
book and catalog”. 
The Cutaway 
Harrow Co., 
672 Main St. 
Higganum.Conn. 
Makers of the orig¬ 
inal CLARK Disk 
Harrows & Plows, 
Ship 
Your 
RAW 
to US and 
increase 
your prollts. 
The fairness of 
our grading guai'antees satis¬ 
faction. Thousjuids of satislled 
shippers prove it. AVe pay ex¬ 
press and postage and make 
prompt retiiriiH. Noiid tor pricollst. 
L. RABINOWITZ, 116 West 29th Street, New York City 
ORNAMENTAL FENCE 
4Udcsit>rQ^ Steel, nanasotne, costs 
less than wood, moro durublo. We can 
save you money. Write for free cats- 
ioiC and snd •pecial prices. 
KOKOMO FENCE MACH. CO. 
^ 407 Worth Street, Kokomo, Ind* 
SPFM/iNG 
wmm" 
1 -Pn® the most practical tfuidoa ever printed.' ■. 
I Tolls how to control every pestanddisease. This , 
1 book and Fruit*Foc« the perfectly atomized Su- 
I positively Roaranteos you a maximum 
11918 yield. Write for ft at once. Send no money. 
iHayee Pump A Planter Co„ Pept. f. Qalva,lll. 
FORD 
-----— „. ery I -. _ 
owner should have one. Only $2 delivered. 
_ __ Radiator Anti-I’Yeeze Compound 25c a gal¬ 
lon, Ford Combination Keyless Switch Lock $3.S0. Free Litera¬ 
ture. PROCESS STARTER CO., SALINA, KANS. 
BOOKS on all subjects of farming by leading 
authorities are for sale by The Rural New- 
Yorker, 333 West Thirtieth Street, New York 
