BTic RURAL NEW-YORKER 
765 
1 
Farming in a War Year 
The farmers are feeling the pressure 
of the war in many ways. Hired help is 
being drafted into the army, and is being 
called into other kinds of work by high 
wages. Prices of all things that must 
be bought are rising without a correspond¬ 
ing rise in the value of things that are 
sold. However, there is little complaint 
heard. Wherever there i^ a reason shown 
or even a plausible excuse given for what 
is done it is accepted without question, 
for we are all solidly behind the prop- 
osiMon that the Avar must be won. There 
is some feeling that the farmers are being 
called on to bear too great a part of the 
burden, but even that is expressed mostly 
in the form of mild grumbling. 
The greatest problem that is before us 
noAv is that of farm help. Shall Ave plant 
as usual and trust to luck to get help 
Avhen it must be had, or shall Ave plant 
only such crops and such amounts as Ave 
can handle with the help that seems as¬ 
sured noAV? Most of our people are do¬ 
ing neither. A few are planning, or at 
least talking, that they Avill plant only 
what they need for themselves, and let the 
rest of their land lie idle, but most of 
them are planning to put in a little more 
than they can farm to the best advantage 
and then trust to chance to get help to 
work it. Although this is not a proper 
wheat country, and it is A’ery doubtful if 
it cost much less than $1.50 per bushel 
to groAV Avheat before 1914 or much less 
than $3 now, much Avheat has been plant¬ 
ed and perhai)s more will be put in this 
Fall. If nece.ssary, wheat harvest can be 
managed with but little extra help with¬ 
out much loss. 
Many farmers are planning to put in 
large amounts of corn this year. This 
crop needs some extra labor during the 
Summer, but some kind of a crop can he 
raised with little work if the seed bed 
can be prepared Avell. Corn harvest can 
be carried along into the late Fall Avith- 
out great loss. One man can harvest 
without loss a larger area than he can 
tend properly. Beans have been rather 
disappointing and the area is likely to be 
reduced. Some new diseases are causing 
trouble. A maggot similar to or the same 
as the onion maggot destroyed large fields 
last year and there is a blight or black 
Avilt that seems to he different from either 
the ordinary blight or anthracnose, both 
of Avhich are ahvays Avith us. Potatoes 
promised to be a profitable crop last Fall, 
but the present price is below the cost of 
production and the acreage is likely to be 
short. 
The main crop in central Wayne Coun¬ 
ty is apples and this must be carried on 
every year. The outlook iioav is for 
extreme high prices for labor in the pick¬ 
ing season. With a normal crop only a 
certain part can he handled in inferior 
grades without knocking the price way 
down, and this means that most of the 
crop must be gathered in a certain way 
at a certain time. Hand labor cannot be 
eliminated, nor can it be spread over a 
longer time. The only saving that can 
be made is to put the fruit in storage 
Avithout sorting and then pay the in- 
crea.sed warehou.se bill. This Avill enable 
us to gather the crop Avith about two- 
thirds the number of men, but Avill save 
little if any money in the final result. 
The iiresent outlook is that less of the 
lower grades Avill be put in barrels than 
usual. Barrels are to be much higher 
and the labor of handling will co.st more. 
AVith an average crop, unless plenty of 
cars are at hand to load bulk apples, the 
price of loAver grades is likely to go doAvn. 
Farmers are planning to cultivate 
about as much of their orchards as usual, 
hut there AAdll be more intercropping. 
There is little dusting done right here, 
but most of the growers are using some 
kind of a spray gun. A good gun is about 
as rapid as a duster and cheaper, and we 
knoAV that we can get good results from 
the wet spray. There is a general feeling 
that the dvisters have proA'^ed nothing yet 
and that Ave can let the other felloAV try 
the experiments. There are several guns 
on the market this year, but most of them. 
Avhile making large claims, do not ap¬ 
proach the effectiveness of the original. 
Especially it is to be expected that the 
one which must be turned and turned and 
turned to shut off or turn on aauII not he 
as economical as the types Avhich turn on 
or off Avith less than one revolution. The 
only advantage claimed for this type 
seems to be that the man who is spraying 
with them can go to sleep and forget 
what he is doing. People who like to pay 
for that kind of spraying Avill be satisfied 
with such a tool. Alfred c. aveed. 
Wayne Co., N. Y. 
The Woolly Aphis; Hoaat to Fight It 
I have never known this insect to de¬ 
velop to any great extent in New Jersey, 
but it is a very serious and destructive 
pest where it is prevalent. In some sec¬ 
tions of the South it seems to thrive and 
spread, so that it damages apple or¬ 
chards more seriously than the San .lose 
scale, because it thrives and breeds on 
the roots as well as on the trunks and 
limbs aboA'e ground. Many persons claim 
that there are tAvo forms of the insect, 
one that Avorks under ground, on the 
roots, and the other AA’orks above ground, 
but it is the same insect. On the roots 
its attack causes enlargements that are 
often mistaken for root galls. The in¬ 
jury is caused by the sucking up of the 
plant juices, and the poisoning of the 
parts attacked, as indicated by the en¬ 
largements or galls on the roots. They 
seriously damage young nursery trees, and 
when a tree is infected in the nursery 
and transplanted in the orchard Avithout 
first destroying the insect on the roots 
it will be a hard matter to destroy it 
afterAvard. A badly attacked tree will 
never make a satisfactory growth. If the 
tree is not killed outright it Avill be so 
Aveakened that it Avill b(>come the prey 
of other insects and fungus diseases. 
The woolly aphis is found mostly on 
the apple, and does the most damage to 
this tree. It thrives in loose, dry soils. 
Wet and clay soils are unfavorable to its 
existence. It attacks the trunks or 
branches, particularly Avhere they are in¬ 
jured by bruising, and by feeding and re¬ 
producing in great numbers at such places 
they keep the wounds open or prevent 
healing, and finally inflict great injury to 
the tree. They form galls or knots on 
the roots, and cause the tree to be 
dAvarfed and sickly, and unproductive, 
and as they may live entirely under¬ 
ground ujion the roots, there may be no 
intimation of their presence other than 
the dAvarfed and and sickly appearance 
of the tree. 
This aphis is a wingless insect,, of a 
reddish hroAvn color, and Avhen above 
ground it is abundantly covered Avith a 
white, Avoolly substance that gives it the 
appearance of little tufts of avooI, hence 
its common nanje of AV'oolly aphis. This 
woolly or Avaxy substance so covers and 
protects the insect that it is harder to 
destroy than ordinary .scale insects or 
aphides. Those above ground can be de¬ 
stroyed by any of the materials used for 
destroying other aphis. Kerosene emul¬ 
sion or any of the miscible oils are sure 
death to them. AVhale-oil soap or strong 
solutions of tobacco are the best ma¬ 
terials to use in the Summer, but must 
be applied Avith sufficient force to pene¬ 
trate the woolly or waxy covering, Avhich 
nature has provided them with to protect 
them from harm. If the solutions are 
warm they Avill penetrate more easily, and 
the chance of destroying the insect in¬ 
creased. Those on the roots under 
ground are not so easy to exterminate. 
Remove the soil off the roots and close to 
the trunk, and apply kero.sene emulsion, 
or put tobacco dust over them, and cover 
again with earth. Hot water, not quite 
boiling, where it comes in contact Avith 
them is sure to kill them. Tobacco dust 
used freely around the trunks is a pre¬ 
ventive. Fumigation of nursery trees 
that are infected is the only sure and 
safe method to prevent this destructive 
insect from damaging the tree from the 
time it is planted until it finally dies. 
Never plant an apple tree that has galls 
of any kind upon its roots, Avhether they 
be caused by a fungus or by the Avoolly 
aphis. Prevention at planting time is 
the only imsurance against any amount 
of cure afterward. E. s. black. 
NeAV Jersey. 
) 
The Spirit 
of Service 
The soldier's deeds in the fields abroad; 
the farmer’s deeds in the fields at home. 
History will record both on parallel pages. 
Both reflect the self-same spirit—the spirit 
of service. _ 
And a sincere spirit of service to the great 
army of tire users is reflected in the many 
Extra Tests which put extra value into 
RACINE 
Country Road 
and 
Multi-Mile Cord 
TIRES 
Each Extra Test means extra value—ex¬ 
tra service for every tire dollar you invest. 
For instance: the Extra Test for "Friction- 
ing” means always the perfect proportion 
of rubber to each inch of fabric—hand 
proved by micrometer measurement. 
Racine Country Road Tires — 
5000 Mile Guarantee—are 
fabric tires of proven 
extra worth. 
Racine Multi-Mile 
Cord Tires —are extra 
quality cord tires. 
Also red and gray 
inner Tubes—Extra 
Infill Tested. 
5000 
MILE 
GUARANTEE 
^rl It will pay you to 
i,L£,|j|know the dealer 
'||ji||who sells them. 
?lll For Your Own Pro¬ 
tection Be Certain 
nil Every Racine Tire You 
Buy Bears The Name 
dn) 
tfnniii'n 
^ 0 ^ 
RACINE RUBBER 
COMPANY 
Racine, Wis. 
Every Farmer Needs 
THIS WONDERFlIl TOOL 
When a machine breaks down at 
Avork, you can do a quick, relia¬ 
ble repair job with a piece of wire 
and a pair of 
The fiflest 
PLIERS 
No. 100 (shownhere) made especial 
ly for busy farmers, to repair fences 
and machinery. Cuts and ties wire, 
any kind or size ; pulls staples, 
drives nails. Saves time, wire, posts, 
staples. Adaptable for all kinds of 
work. Booklet on “ Plier Pointers 
and Fence Repair Tool ” FREE, for 
your dealer’s name. 
UTICA DROP FORGE & TOOL CO. 
Dept. G.UTICA. N. Y. 
INCREASED APPLE PROFITS 
A Farquhar Hydraulic 
Cider Press will turn 
your culls into good 
selling cider. You can 
also make money 
pressing for your 
neighbors. 
Our high pressure con¬ 
struction gets all the Juice 
from the apples with mini¬ 
mum power. Presses in 
sizes from 15 to 400 barrels 
aday. New Catalogue 
giving full particulars free on request. 
A. B. Farquhar Co., Ltd., Box 130,York, Pa. 
We also make Engines and Boilers, Saw Mills, Tnreshers, etc. 
The Threshing Problem 
Q I 1 Threshes cowpeaa and soy beans 
from the mown vines, wheat, oats, 
rye and barley. A perfect combina¬ 
tion machine. Nothing like it. “Tho machine I 
have been looking for for 20 years.” W. F. Massey. 
"It will meet every demand." H. A. Morgan, Di¬ 
rector Tenn. Eip. Station. Booklet 29 free. 
KOGER PEA & BEAN THRESHER CO., 
Morristown, Tenn. 
For Your Empty Bags 
Don't throw away a sini 
they’re worth money to you. Prices are 
'way up now. Cash in on all you have. 
But be sure you set our prices before 
you Hellasingrlo ono.We guarantee most 
liberal ^radinsr. Over 20 years in busi¬ 
ness is y^our assurance of a square deal 
every time. We buy any quantity. 
Freiflrht paid on all shipments to 
Werthan. Find out what real satisfao , 
tion is. Write quick, statimr what yoa 
have. Address j 
WERTHAN BAG CO. J 
66 Dock St. St. Louis. Mo* 
empty 
Bags 
highest prices 
for your old 
BAGS 
Write us I _^ 
today for new' 
advanced prices" 
We pay the 
IROQUOIS BAG CO., 395 Howard St., Buffalo, N. Y. 
Lots of Money 
ALL KINDS 
: BUY 
ithem from the butch- j. 
er, baker, candleetick maker, farmer, livery /\ 
man, factory, etc., and sell them to us at a 
liaiidsonia profit. AVrite for particulars. 
A. B. SEE BAG CO., 208 Centre Street, NEW YORK 
Two ExceDent Vegetable Books 
By R. L. Watts 
Vegetable Gardening ..... $1.75 
Vegetable Forcing ....... 2.00 
Clearly written, practical, convenient for 
reference, covering outdoor and green¬ 
house vegetable work. For sale by 
The Rural New-Yorker 
333 W. 30th St., New York 
