1064 
by coiiorete, and the floor wa?; of the same material. 
Stanchions for 24 bead of cows and the needed box 
stalls conijdetetl a modern, well-kejit, dairy stable. 
While some i)Otato(*s, buckwheat, and other cash 
crops ai-e sold, the dairy is depended upon for the 
ftreater ]iart of the income. Milk checks rnn as hit'll 
as .$2P() per month, and a minimum amount of feed 
i.s purchased. About 40 head of cattle and two 
teams are now kept on the jilaci'. 
CIIANOIX<; CONDITIONS.—Thrifty and linan- 
cially independent as is the Herrala family, it is 
yet socially dependent upon scattered families of 
like nationality who have followed, or iireceded. it 
to this new, old land. The obhu* people of tlu'se 
new families do not cpiickly become absorbed into 
The social life of the old homes of these hills, but 
the children attend the district schools Avhere their 
hrijrht wits jilace them at the head of their classes, 
an.l all lines of demarcation between them and the 
children of their neifthbors will soon be erased. The 
original pioneers of these hills cleared them, rais(‘d 
large familh's and passed away. Their children 
kept the homesteads and reared smaller families 
who found the hills lonesome. I’ioneer habits of 
work and thrift could not be kejit up, and a soil 
that could not support luxury found itself out of a 
job. The Ilerralas are the forerunners of a new 
race of ]iioneers. Cnder their hands the hills will 
again blo.'<som; tludr children will inherit tlnun, 
becoming theinstdvt's the “old families,” and then 
who knows Imt that education, retim'unmt and 
luxury Avill'force them, in turn, to give way to a 
hardier race? m. n. nioAx. 
Troubles of the Pear Grower 
I would like to know through your paper what the 
trouble is with my i)ear trees. I have about S.o Bartlett 
l>ear trees, l.'l or 14 years old. The tre<‘s are planted in 
cultivated ground, which is kept worked all tlie while. 
In the Spring tliese trees are loaded with blossoms, but 
all except a very few drop off. The most ijcars 1 ever 
picked from the lot was lo bii-shels. T. c. 
Milton, N. Y. 
T is generally understood that among frnit trees, 
pears are about the most dilticult to grow suc¬ 
cessfully. If the pear, trees referred to are in a 
thrifty condition it is possible that the lack of fruit¬ 
fulness nmy b(> due to some one or more of the fol¬ 
lowing inscH-t troubles; 
I’E.\K MIDGE.—This is onito common in .some 
tections of tlie Hndsou Valley, and Avhere abundant 
has caust'd an almost total loss of the croii. The 
adult midges aj)i)ear just before the blossoms open 
and lay their eggs in the unopened blossoms. The 
eggs hatch in a few days ajid tin; small white bu-va; 
or maggots eat down into tlie cons tb'sfroying it and 
hollowing out a cavity. Infested fi-uit lirst becomes 
abnormally large and then ceastvs growth. The 
larvie become full grown early in ,7une, and the in¬ 
fested fruit cracks, blackens and drops ofl'. The 
larvie go into the .soil and there transform to emerge 
as full-grown midges the folloAving ^>i)rin.g. This 
jiest has been very ditlicnlt to combat with success. 
It is suggested to gather and burn infested fniit as 
soon as it can be detected. This can be done Avbere 
only a few trees are to be looked aftei', but is pra.c- 
tically impossible in a large orchard. It is also re<;- 
ommended that thorough, shallow' cultivation during 
June and July be given, this for the pnrpo.se of de¬ 
stroying tlie larva; and pupio in the soil. In Noav 
J erse.v it has bemi found that an apjilication of 
kainit at the rate of 1,<XK) to 2,000 pounds per acre 
appai'ently was quite effective in controlling the 
midge, but in some instances on certain types of soil 
injured the trees. 
BEAR TIIRIPS.—.Another insect which is also 
quite common in the Hudson Valley section, and 
where common largely prevents fruitfulness, is the 
pear thrips. The dark brow'ii winged adults, whicli 
are about one-tw'outieth of an inch long, come out of 
the ground and attack the buds when the buds be¬ 
gin to swell ill early Spring. Tliey forc^e their Avay 
ir.to the sw'elling buds between the bud scales and 
feed upon the tender parts. When plentiful and the 
buds are largely infested, the injury is so severe as 
to prevent a large pail of the blossom buds from 
opening and blossoming, and the leaves, Avlieii they 
appear, ai’e small and stunted and have a peculiar, 
cupped appearauce. Eggs are laid in stem of leaves 
and young frnit and often cause the few, small, 
stunted fruits that have set to drop later. The New 
York Agricultural Experimeut Station at Geneva 
has issued a bulletin giving directions for the control 
of this pest, wliich should be secured and read by all 
interested in its control. 
THE FALSE TARNISHED PLANT-BUG. -The 
eggs are laid the previous season by the adult insect 
in the bark of young growth and fruit spurs. These 
eggs hatch at about the time of blossoming in the 
Spring, the small nymphs Avhen first hatched being 
IShe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
.vellowisl). bnt changing to a ver.v liglir green at the 
.second molt, almost idenrlcal in color with the green 
• d tli(‘ nmkoi'loped jiear iind loaves. Tbe.v batc’i out 
: bout blossoming time, and tlie youn.g nymphs im- 
)i.(*dialel.v bogin to feed by ]iiorc:ng the tissues of the 
young frnit and sucking from therein the plant 
.piices. Tb(! injiir.v cjinsed by their feeding punctures 
restilfs ill a knotting up of the frnit. much of which 
I'rojts premattirel.v .and tliat Avbicli iiangs on ;iiid 
lii’.-ill.v ripens is irregular and i»racticall.v wortbb>ss. 
It is controlled quite effectively b.v tborotiglily sjtray- 
iiig the trees immodiatoly after Idossoming with 
Black Loaf 40 ;it the rate of one pint to KX) gallons 
of wat('r. Orchards infesTod om* year .aia* very liktdy 
to be reinfested the following year. J'be jiest is oft- 
times (jnite local in its habits, one ]»art of an orchard 
being badly infested, whereas the other jtart may be 
onlj' moderately so. 
PEAR. I'SYLLA.—This is one of the insect i>ests 
of the j)ear wlticli is very ditlicnlt to control A neg¬ 
lect or failure to control it in j)ear orchards means 
an nnprolitalde orchard. Tlie New York Agricultural 
Experiment .dfatiou at Geneva has worked on this 
]iroblem for flie hast decade and has worknal o\it the 
best known rt'eonimendations as to control, based 
i.p<»n aoinal orcbarrl (‘xperinients. ’riielr jtnblislied 
bulletin upon tiiis stibject can hi; bad for the a.sking, 
and s]K)uld bo carefull.v read by every jtear grow’er, 
its this is out' of onr most common pcitr ]H*sts in New 
lork Stiite. 
PEAR BLIGHT.—I’ear blight, souietimos called 
lire bliglit, wliicli is a bacterial disease, must always 
be rtK.-koiK'd Avitli b.v the peitr .grow'or. It has blotted 
ont pear-grtiwiiig its a commercial proposition in 
many' parts of the United States. It can be controlled 
only' by the most thorongli and painsfaking care, .such 
care as onl.y one fruit groAver in 25 or 50 will take 
pains to give. Of course, the pear groAver luiiy ho 
incky ami esc.aite ;ui epidtunie of itear bliglit for 
: ears. On tlie other hand, an e[»idemic of peiir 
bliglit niiiy oeiair just Avhen the orcliiird is coming 
ii:to full hearing and literally avIjk; it out of exist¬ 
ence. My ow'ii ex])(‘rience iuul the exiierience of idant 
I.iitliologists Avho hiive Ciirefiilly Avorked upon tliis 
trouble has been convincing; that is, tliat this trouble 
can he efl'i'ctively controlled providcal close attiailion 
is given to the neex'ssar.’v details. Today in m.-my 
;.ections of the T’liitod States pears are not being 
I»lantod Avhero before they Avero grown in a large 
Avay commercially. fl'Iie principal cause for the 
check in pear jilanting is iwar Might, and no one 
should plant ja-ars today unless be is prepared to 
ti.gbt this troubh* oii sigiit. n. D. A’. 
Fertilizer Garden Questions 
What is the fertilizing viilue of dried blood, .such as 
is used in stock food? Wliat cjin it be niixod with to 
make it a balaucod fertilizer for gardening? What 
A'egetahles or jilants ai’e mostly bomdited by it? AVhat 
i.< tin* best time to api»Iv it lo the soil, in tlie Spring or 
Fall? 
UOII blood iismilly coiilains about 12 jier cent of 
nitrogen and sometimes a little more, 'riiere is 
nsnall.A' no i)orasb, and onl.v a small amount of 
I liosidioi’ic acid. 'I'liis makes it Avliat is called an 
i!nbalanc(‘d fertilizer. The large amount of nitrogen 
forces a (inick, lic:u’y .growth of leaf and stem on all 
crops that .gnnv above ground. I'lio lack of potash 
a.nd jdiosidiorns Avill make the ]dants soft and ten¬ 
der. and a full formation of seed or tuber Avill not 
be ])ossibl(‘. What you want to do in using this 
blood is to "balance” it by adding potash and pbos- 
idioi'us in some form. I'liis year it will he very dif- 
flcnlt to find popish at reasonable prices unless yon 
can obtain a quantity of Avood aslies. We should 
mix the blood about lialf and half Avith acid ph.os- 
pbate. This Avill give far bettor results in the .gar¬ 
den, and if you cau obtain the Avood ashes, Ave Avould 
ai>ply them scq)arately' l)i‘oadcast, and raked or liar- 
I’OAA'i'd into the ground. Any fertilizer sti'ong in 
nitrogen like this blood has most effect upon pb.ints 
wliicli make their groAvth above ground in leaf or 
.stem. The Spring is the best time to nst' dried 
blood or an.v otlier ricli form of nitrogen, Ix'canse 
tliis nitrogen is very soluble, and Avill Avash ont of 
the groiuid and be lost unless there are living jilants 
in the soil to make use of it. 
Which is the better way of using bay. struAv and 
Aveeds for fertilizing; by burning them and using the 
ashes or turning them under to decay? 
By' all means ploAv or spade all such Avastes as you 
speak of into the ground. Wlien yon burn them you 
drive olf the nitrogen which tbe.v contain, and also 
destroy the organic matrer greatly needed in all of 
our .soils. It is time that the ashes can be evenly 
spread after tnis burning, b\it the loss of the nitrogen 
and the organic matter is considerable, and Ave 
AA'ould inucli prefer to spade everything of this sort 
September 14, lOlS 
light into the ground, where it may decay and add 
to the bnmiis. 
I have some lime tb.at ba.s been stored in open barrels 
in the weather for :i year or more. I.s it of any A’aluo 
for liming the garden soil; .also, i.s whitewash (powder 
form) of jiny A’alne for liming? 
Excoi»t for “caking” or hardening into lumps, the 
lime will not lose its value. It Avill haA'e to bo 
ciuslu'd or ground up tine in or<ler to make it most 
ofi'.s-ti'.^'. ;is ilio A'aluo of lime is pi'etty much deter¬ 
mined by its liiu'uess .-iiid ability' to sjux'ad -all 
tlirou.gli tin; soil. Tlu' wbirewasli poAA’der contains 
some lim»'. .ami to ih.at oxroiif has A'alue on soil.s. 
The Cost of New Jersey Potatoes 
oNMOUTTI ('(».. N. . 1 .. is noted as a pot.'to- 
groAving section. 'Fliis year as never before 
farmers .are interested in the cost of production. 
'I lie potato, more and more, seems to be entering (iio 
"big farm” class. Machinery can be used to good 
advantage on smooth, level land, so that large itotato 
Holds ave profitable. In Monmouth Gount.A' there 
are a number of farms producing 50, 1(K) or more acres 
of potatoes, Hightstowii < N. .1.) dazetfe recent¬ 
ly' printed the folloAving nores .and figures, giving 
costs of potato growing. They aaIII surpri.se many 
(>f onr Western growers, yet, one year Avith another, 
such crops itay a profit. Most fanners grow a small- 
.a aaatge and jtroduce more grain and hay'. 
It was nora'ss.ai-y to intorviow a number of growers, 
that an av<aaige cost of labor, upkeep, depreeiation, la;- 
p.airs, etc., ctudd be determined. Then the actual cost 
of tho.se items, with seed, fertilizer.®, horse keep, interest 
and discount, etc., for growing IPO acres, by one of the 
successful growers, wlioso methods are up-to-date and 
whose .yields run elose to TOO liairels aunuall.v, were 
assembled. His costs, Avhich compared faA’orably with 
other growers, were as follows: 
100 tons of fertilizer, at .'?05 per ton. .'?n..500.00 
000 barrels of seed, at .$5 jx-r barrel. ;;,000.(X) 
(K>0 j)Ounds Paris green, at 45c. 270.(M> 
S.OOO 10-peck hags, at ofic. 2,(540 (X) 
I foreman, .$75 per month. 000 (M) 
.‘5 farm laborers, at .$00 per montli. 2.10O.tMI 
Cutting 000 ])arrels of seed, at .‘55c. 210.00 
Picking S,000 barrels of pot.-itoes, at 10c. SOO.(X) 
Extra hel|» at pl.anting and digging times. 4.50 (10 
II horses’ keep, withotit deafh losses. 2,178.00 
Interest and discount on operating capital. ... 0(X) 00 
4 axes and insiirauee. 485.00 
0 per cent on investment in farm property... L80(1.(M) 
Depreciation of tools and machinery, 20 per 
cent . 4.50.()0 
Rei)airK ;ind np-keep of farm buildings, fences, 
drains . (5.50.(X) 
General exi)enses, including gas^)!ine. kerosene, 
repairs for machinery, supplies, etc. 2,1(57.00 
Owner’s salary . 2.100.(X) 
Total cost for 100 acres of )>otatoes.$27,847.(X) 
Dr .$278.47 per acre. 
It should bo stated here that the grower Avhose c<).vts 
as given above groAVS no other crop for sale, and his 
entire outlay must be charged to potatoes. 
He raises some feed crops, but those are charged 
against his horsekeepiug. When asked if he aa-oiiM sell 
his services for .$2(K) per month, he rei)lie<l that he 
would not accept any sum for his time, Tnit mat lie did 
not Avant to put his time at a prohibitive figure, and 
therefore named the nominal price of .$3,400 per year. 
When asked if he did not think six barrels to the 
acre too much seed, he said “No, I think it pays me to 
cut the seed large, especially when avc have to grade.” 
When asked if his cost for keeping 11 horses was not 
high, he said that, “Avheu charging the feed he raised at 
the market prices and the same fur what lie purchased, 
the figures given Avere actual.” The writer eonlirnied 
these costs by those of other gruAvers. 
With a production of 8.000 barrels, this grower Avonld 
have to realize $3.48 per barrel for his potatoes to cover 
the cost, Avhich makes the present prices for potatoe.s 
seem very loAV. 
With potatoes selling at the ear for $3 25 today, our 
100-acre farmer Avill have to store or lose money on hi.s 
crop. 
As the average production is below 00 barrels to tlie 
acre, some of our growers will liave no income tax tu 
pay this year. 
Corn Harvesting With Tractor 
T he pictuiic at Fig. .5.31 shows a tractor drawing 
a corn liarve.stor on Hill ('rest Farm at Lake- 
port, N. H. The harvester i.s at the right of tli«‘ 
tractor, out-of sight, but still doing great Avork. 
Frank Sniitli, the farm oAVner, says lie could not 
ask for better work. He uses the tractor to pull 
stumps and rocks, Avliich it does with ea.se. It also 
Avorks on the hay'-loader, and Avill pull the load riglit 
into the barn. And that is something of a corn 
for New Hampshire. With such a corn crop and 
such tractor AVork New England ouglit to come back 
a.s a farming section. 
It is said that last year the city of Worcester, Mass., 
fed its garbage to hogs and made a profit of-$30,000. 
