KUKAL NEW-YORKER 
1131 
California Hay in the East 
Possibilities of Insect Pests 
I T is not frononilly known that the 
Alfalfa growers of tlalifornia are 
fignring on a plan for initting their 
hay inlo the jOastern market after the 
war. Creat crops of Alfalfa are grown 
on the Pacific coast, and California 
and Nevada can produce a large sur¬ 
plus. The growers in those States he^ 
lieve that they can grow, hale and .ship 
this hay to N('W Ihigland points cheaper 
than our Pastern fanners can i)roduce 
if. They tjgure (hat after the war 
there will he ?uu]ilo shii)ping turned 
loose to handle this ha.v through the 
Panama Canal, so that it can he deliv¬ 
ered at Poston, Provid(‘nce, New 
]laven or New York i)ronii)tly and at 
a reasonable exjiense. 'I’liere seems to 
he no doubt that jdaiis are being 
worked out to arrang(‘ for this shij)- 
meid. Tlu' Californi:i i)eo])le seem to 
believe that in the future (he dairy 
business in the Past will Ix' run on a 
rather different ])lan from th(‘ j)re.sent 
system. They ex])ect to see large herds 
of cattle groujicd around tlu* big cities 
so as to m.ake a short shipment for 
milk, and tlndr plan is to provide thi.s 
ha.v !it !i i’(‘isonal)l(‘ ]iiac('. We h.'ive 
reason to believe that this pl.an will he 
work(‘d.out if the California ix'ople can 
prepare for it, and we shoidd begin to 
<'()nsider what it will mean to our Past¬ 
ern fiirmers. 
Aside from any commerciiil conipi*- 
titlon in the luxxluction of cattle food, 
the ])rohleni of introducing new insect 
pests or di.sease ought to he considered, 
'^riie P.ureau of Pntomology of the Ag¬ 
ricultural Dei»ar(ment has made the 
following reix)rt about the .Mfalfa 
weevil, aii insect Avhich has causcxl con¬ 
siderable damage on the Pacific coast: 
Ar.KAi.i'A VVkkvil. —Tlx* Alfalfa weevil 
has invaded the Pacific slope. The 
spread of the we('vil has been slow and 
unifoi'iii, regarilless of the character of 
the conntry. whether cidtivated or wild, 
and all evidt'iiccs indicate that it may 
continue to spread in tlx' same manner. 
One of the most common moans of dis- 
trilnition is tlirougli (lie movement of in¬ 
fested Alfalfa Imy, ])nt (lie insects Imve 
been found also in clot lung worn on 
trnins or carried in trunks. 
.Several more or le.ss .satisfactory means 
of controlling tlx' wet'vil liave Ixam discov¬ 
ered and nre being useil e.xtensivel.v. 
'^rix'se consist of flooding the fields so ns 
to cover tlxaii with sedimmit; spraying 
will) ar-senienls in fix- Spi'ing and between 
eutfings; pi'ogix'ssive i)astm'ing, and har¬ 
rowing the fit'lds wIh'ii tlx'.v are in a dry 
condition, in oixh'r to jn’odnee sonudhing 
re.s('nd)ling a (hist nuilcli, which kills tlie 
imsect. 
Tt would ho a serious tiling if (liis 
in.seet Avere imixirted in larg(‘ miiuhers 
so as to sprc'ad through tliis Pastern 
country. W(* mu.st all rememher (hat 
the dreaihxl Sau Jose scale' was in like 
manner brought to tlie Atlantic coast 
oil stock shipped from California, and 
it spread through this section, causing 
great lo.ss and troiihlo. Tlie propos('d 
shiiiiiieut of California Alfalfa might 
nu'aii tli(* introduction of this weevil, 
with a eliauce that it would develop 
into a serious jiest in our section. The 
mctliods of coiiti’id which aio uk'u- 
floncd as suitaldo to the Pacific coast 
would not he practical here, and it 
would be a serious matter if this wei'vil 
were Avell scattered through tlie Al¬ 
falfa holt in Cc'ulral New York. P.efore 
this business is start('d, therefore, the 
public sliould know all aliout Avhat is 
coining, and he iircpared to take care 
of it. 
Hunting That Buried Treasure 
O N jiage lOIS there is a most inter¬ 
esting li'tter l)y Dr. Crane about 
finding concealed tivasure. Having 
txx'ii a .sui’A'cyor in a dozen Stati's or 
so, T know how jiroue iieople are to licv 
lievo in hidden valualiles, and it often 
hapiiens fliat sncli are found. 
Dr. flrane means to coiisiruct a dip¬ 
ping needle to he jilaced in a non- 
ruaguetic box to be hauled sled like 
An Por of “f^hccnuinif" FlirccI Corn—An Improved Fit rain of JCarJi/ 
Mammoth—(Jroicn in livrifcn Co., N. J. 
OA'or file ground; there are a number 
of important foatuiv.s omitted. Iiow- 
ever, in Ids alile article. In the first 
jilace it Avoiild he iiiijiossilile to haul a 
si'iisitive needle over rongli, boggy 
swamps, or even a simxitli, sweet flag 
meadow, and have it retain its n.sefnl- 
nes.s. Rather it must ho iiicked up and 
handled very carefully, care being 
taken to avoid jars Avhich miglit keep 
it constantly out of adjustment. 
8. D. should lirst test his dijiiiing 
ix'edle by setting it ovi'r a kettle placed 
on tlu' surface of the ground and away 
from all otlx'r iron within ‘JO or more 
feet. If no kettle is haud.A', usi' a lump 
of iron, or kitclu'ii flat irons of a 
Aveight oipiai to tlio snjiposixl kettle. 
'I'Ik' ii('(*dlc should he ])lacod ovc'r (he.se 
irons at v'aryiiig iH'ights, hegiiuiing at 
3 Vi feet and worlciiig liigher to a cer¬ 
tain point Avliere it Avill he found that 
the iron i.s so distant that it Avill not 
affect the compass in iiiiy Avay. 'I'he 
more sensitive the lu'edio, the less nnm- 
her of tests need he made over a given 
iin'a. 
.Since both glass and avo(x1 are not 
affi'Cted liy magnetic liiflnoiux'. I see no 
nsisoii for tlie bottom of tlie box being 
made of glass, hut the toil or sides 
should he, in order to jx'nnit seeing 
the needle, which in Vi'rmoid will as- 
sniiK' an angh' lx>lw('(‘n 40 and .'"lO de¬ 
grees, Avhen swinging freely and nnin- 
lliieneed by aii.v magnotisiii hut the 
oarth’.s. If the iierxlle is brought ntmr 
enough to iron it will tend to point 
upward or straight at the attractive 
force which then would he directly un¬ 
derneath. A nuniher of experiments 
Avith the iron on (he surface will teach 
S. D. how the compass acts when near 
iron, and a good compassmaii can de¬ 
tect iron when it is near enougli to 
distiirh the compass very easily. 
^YiMlont the u.se of a A’ory expensive 
instrument it is iirohalde that S. D.’s 
<‘oiiipa.ss Avill “act up” occasionally— 
Avhich the best of them do avIk'm nsixl 
by till' most ('Xix'riciici'd men—and he 
Avill fall to Avork witli iiick and shov(‘l 
only to he disaiiiioiiited. Ib'iice there 
must he jirovided an ordinar.v Avood 
auger, diameter % inch, stem extended 
to four feet in length. The ('iid must 
Ix' smoothed off on an emery stone so 
that boring will lx‘ facilitated and, too, 
it is much easier to tell Mu' .scrape 
iiiad(' on a jiot under ground, from the 
noise made by boring on a rock, if the 
anger is Hat acros.s, hut sharp. .\ hole 
tliive feet de('p or so can lx* hori'd in 
less than a iiiiiinti', Avhich would take 
many times that long to dig Avith a 
spade. 'I'lio aiig(>r must Ix' kept at 
least 15 feet away from the needle 
Avheii Llie latter is in use. 
Should there he treasure under the 
nnrnsted kettU', S. D. stands .some 
chance of linding it jirovidc'd he k('eps 
his needle in s(>nsitive adjustment, 
handles it eanJully and te.sts the 
ground systematically. Tlie search may 
reveal the treasure in a f(*w minutes’ 
time, hut it is presnmahle that no sucli 
good luck Avill follow, and it may he 
lU'Pc.ssary to make several tlion.sand 
tc'.sts in order to jirove that there either 
is, or Is not. an iron kettle nnderiieath. 
’I’here are l.SK) sipiare yards in an acre, 
and Avith his needle S. 1). will ne('d 
to ti'st every square yard on OA'ery 
acre he jiroiioses to examine until his 
courage and time gives out. or he 
linds the treasure. lie mn.st test ('very 
.srpiare yard hocan.se his m'lxlle is not 
strong eiiongh for him to test larger 
jilots. lU'iice it is best to stake off an 
acre, Avhich Avill lx* about 'JIO feet on 
a side, or 105 R'ct if he desires u 
siiialh'r unit. 
. Wifli a common snrA'oyor’s compass 
he should find the exact magnetic north 
and south line by carefully sighting 
and .sotting stako.s, thi'ii c'oiinoct the.se 
stakes by a line, and liaA'ing another 
line laid ol! exactly parallel to the 
