1328 
JShe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
on October 12, the young man told me 
tliat he had exit moi’e than $2,700 worth 
of lumber, and xvould pay th(‘ balance due 
on my note about the first of Novem¬ 
ber, and that he expected to clear off the 
inm-tgagy by the end of December. He 
has now paid my note with interest, and 
j)robably by the end of December he will 
have the farm all i)aid for ; that is to say, 
in less than a year and a half from the 
time of j)urcliase. He told me that he in¬ 
tends now to devote his labor to improv¬ 
ing the farm. He has done some farming 
and has raised good crops of potatoes, and 
this year he is esi)ecially proud of a crop 
of field corn, which he estimates has 
yielded at the rate of nearly 100 bushels 
per acre. He has made a start with cat¬ 
tle, sheep, hogs and poultry in a small 
way. In the meantime, of course, he has 
had his living from the farm. This case 
illustrates the possibilities in agriculture 
which are open to those who are enter- 
])rising. I do not believe that there is 
another business ixito which this young 
nmn could have gone without ii dollar of 
caiiital and at the end of two yeai-s have 
a capital worth at least three thousand 
dollars, counting the value of the farm, 
horses and other live stock, hay and other 
feed .and tools. 
Thei-e is still considoT-able lumber upon 
fhe tarm which he can cut this Winter, 
and out of the proceeds he will be able to 
make some improvements. It is obvious 
that the payment for the farm could not 
have been comi)leted in so short a time 
if Ininlx'r had not been unusually high in 
jn'ice. but it is not likely that lumber will 
go back to the old prices for a long time 
to come. G. 
Those Long Island Apples 
The two ])ictures on our first page show 
fair specimens of Stayman and 1‘aldwin 
apjiles grown on Long Island by Mr. 
David .Tojh's. The following letter from 
Mr. .Tones tells the story: 
“Having been a reader of The D. N.-Y. 
for a number of years. I know that you 
are interested in apples, .so am sending 
you a few lialdwins and Rtayman Wine- 
snp as grown on Long Island. M^'e do 
not exiiect them to equal your McIntosh, 
but if you will draw your chair up to the 
open fire and t)ut on one of those old 
peach or apple stumps, and sink yo\ir 
teeth into one of the Staymans. you will 
agree with me that the man who plants 
Stayman on Long Island will make no 
mistake.” 
<iuite impossible to get the poison. The 
poison applied for the worms .should be 
ellective against the destructive grasshop¬ 
pers. However, the best remedy for them 
is to apply an attractive bran mash. It 
is made up as follows: Mix one pound 
Paris green with dO pounds bran. This 
mixture Is moistened with a solution made 
up of three gallons of water, two quarts 
molasses and four ground lemons. The 
material is ai)pli(Hl broadcast on or near 
the foliage which the grasshoppers arc 
eating. k. w. d. 
Blasting Out Old Trees 
The farmers should use all the new, 
successful methods of labor saving. The 
two picture's shown on this page illustrate 
some of the improvements used on a farm 
# 
i 
Old Tree Before Removal hy Dynamite 
near Caldwell, O. You will find a large 
new barn of the latest pattern, including 
a large silo. The field illustrated con¬ 
tained a number of old dead ai)ple trees 
that were in the way of cultivating the 
field. "I'he trees were all removed by using 
three to five sticks of dO per cent dyna¬ 
mite plac(*d directl.v under the center by 
the use of a dirt auger. The old trees 
were completely removed and the entire 
immediately after bearing. What should 
I do there? This Spring I planted ten 
grape vines of various types. They are 
all growing. What treatment should I 
give them to help? Is bone meal espe¬ 
cially good? Should I bank dirt high up 
around them? 
4. AYill you please tell me what “land 
plaster'” is? You mention it so many 
times in The E. N.-Y. 5. Is there a 
book illustrating and naming the common 
weeds of this section? Is there a practi¬ 
cal book that covers all the questions I 
have asked about the garden? G. K. s. 
Eoonton, X. .1. 
1. Xewly cleared ground, from which 
woods have just been removed, is very 
frcfiuently quite worthless for home gar¬ 
dens or for intensive market gardening. 
The most experienced growers claim that 
it takes at least three years to get newly 
eleai'ed ground into the proper condition 
for the production of the more exacting 
vegetables, such as beets, celery, lettuce, 
Lima beams, onions, potatoes, spinach, etc. 
An old rough sod will get into splendid 
condition more quickly than ground from 
which tree stumps are taken. Your letter 
indicates several things, any one of which 
might be responsible for the failure of 
your ground. When vegetables are planted 
within no feet of trees the roots of the 
trees ma.v rob the*moisture and plant food 
.so that vegetables cannot do well. The 
trees which you just cleared away pro¬ 
bably had taken up most of the available 
plant food, so that there was but little 
ready for your vegetables. Furthermore, 
the soil on a steep hillside is generally 
quite thin, because the leaf mould and 
loose loam easily wash away. Drainage 
may be very poor even on a steep slope, 
especially if there is higher ground near 
the desii'od plot. Water might work 
through the ground and come to or near 
the surface in the garden. This would 
cause the soil to become soggy and wet, 
especi.-ilJy in the Spring, and hard and di-j’ 
in Summer. If anyone has such a condi¬ 
tion it would be well to put drain tile 
through the gai-den and across the uixper 
side so that the excess water could be 
kept away. Hillside ground usually con¬ 
tains Considerable gravelly loam and clay. 
If it is worked when too wet it ma.v be¬ 
come lump.v and I'emain in a miserable 
condition all season. 
New ground, such as yours evidently is, 
re(piire.s frei|uent and generous applica¬ 
tions of st.able manure to give it bacterial 
action and humus. Two pounds of stable 
Cornfield from Which Apple Trees Were Removed 
M’hen the ajtples came we did just as 
Mr. .Tones sugge.sts, and gave the entire 
family a chance to sample the fruit. The 
ajxides were excellent—we have never 
sanqtled' finer Stayman’s AVinesap. and 
the size and color were vei'.v su|>erior. 
^Ye had no idea such fine fruit could be 
grown in that part of Ijong Island. 
Destroying Cabbage Pests 
Can you give me a remedy for cabbage 
pests? All in.v cabbages are riddled, es¬ 
pecially the large outer leaves. They look 
ns though, they had suffered from ma¬ 
chine-gun fire. I know that there are 
gre<'n worms on them, but I thinlj: that a 
large part of the damage was done b.v 
grasshoppers. I also found a lot of in¬ 
sects. soiiK'thing of the shape of an ant. 
only much larger, say one inch to one and 
one-quarter inches long, dark blue in 
ctilor. the abdomen being as large as a 
wis'ii's egg bean. I know that they were 
eating the leaves because 1 .saw them do 
it. Arsenate of lead or Paris green will 
not stay on the leaves any more than 
water on a duck’s back, so the use of that 
in any form that I know about is out of 
the (luestion. Please do not tell me to 
hand-i)ick. as I refuse to do so. I know 
it is too late to save them this season, 
but I want to be ready next Spring. 
Eellingham. Mass. D. w. p. 
Your cabbage plants have been attacked 
by leaf-eating insects which should be 
easily desti'oyed by appl.ving a stomach 
jKtison to the material the.y eat. The 
cause for your failure is that the poisoned 
soluti.m which you applied ran off the 
smooth, oily leaves of the cabbage. The 
only way to make a poison in water stick 
to the foliage is to add soaji, three pounds 
to 50 gallons of the liquid, so that the 
particles of solution will be able to stick 
to and spread upon the surface. Besides 
using the soai) spreader, the lifjuid should 
be sprayed on. under high jxressure, so 
that there will be millions of mist-like 
particles spread upon the leaves rather 
than larger drops which are much more 
likely to roll ofi’. Howeyer, the spray 
solutions are not. recommendc'd for cab¬ 
bage. It is much more practical to ai)ply 
lioison in the dust form. The work is 
done most satisfactorily early in the day, 
before the wind begins to blow, and while 
the foliage is moist with dew. One pound 
of Paris gi'eeu or else a p<nind of pow¬ 
dered arsenate of lead is sufficient for one 
application per aci'e. It is well to mix 
the poison with a few pounds of air- 
•slaked lime, laud plaster or powdered 
sul])hur, so that a better distribution may 
be had. and so that possible burning of 
the foliage may be avoided. Inexpensive 
dusting apparatus of many kinds are 
upon the market. 
Greatest success in fighting the cab¬ 
bage-eating insects is had only when the 
poison is applied before the damage is 
being done. If the infestations are re¬ 
duced to- a minimum in the beginning, 
there will be mighty few insects to eat 
into the developing heads where it is 
field was plowed by the use of a farm 
ti'actor, which made a nice even job of 
plowing. The result was a much better 
crop of corn. C, B. M. 
Galdwell, O. 
Garden Questions 
1. I have a garden about 70x80 ft. on a 
hillside inclined .80 degrees toward the 
northeast. In 1910 it was ,85x40. In 1917 
1 doubled it down the hill, and in 1918 I 
doubled it again across the hill, each time 
grubbing roots and stumps out of the sur¬ 
rounding woods. In 1917 I had fair re¬ 
sults ; got no potatoes, but blamed the 
blight; corn poor. In 1918 I put on two 
loads of horse manure. Everything I 
planted on the 1917 side came up well 
and grew fast except the corn, which 
seemed to dry up when about three feet 
high and had very poor ears. The rest 
of my stuff never matured. Peas and 
string beans were fine; Lima beans, very 
poor. Carrots, turnips, potatoes and 
beets had nothing underground. The 1918 
side stands out clearly because nothing 
will grow there. Tomatoes are scanty 
and sick. The rows run crosswise and 
dwindle as soon as they cross the new 
line. I have Brussels sprouts coming 
now, but they have no sprouts to speak 
of; healthy-looking plants. I also tried 
digging holes two feet in diameter and 
six inches deej) and planting cucumbers, 
squash and watermelon. Not one of them 
has grown beyond six inches. Where am 
I wrong? Where can I find out what the 
soil needs? What is the commercial fer¬ 
tilizer that comes in bags in hardware 
stores? Is there any advantage in cow 
manure over horse manure? 
2. I have some black and red raspberry 
vines that grow all over but never bear. 
This year the berries started, but seemed 
to dry up before getting ripe. I trim them 
manure to every square foot should be 
plowed under this Fall. Next Spring the 
application should be repeated. Then 
aEer it is plowed again lime should be 
api)lied at the rate of one pound to 20 
square feet as it is very possible that 
the new ground is sour. This should be 
harrowed in and then bone meal may be 
api lied at the rate of one pound to 88 
square feet. Then the ground will be 
I'eady to plant to almost any crop. This 
procedure will reejuire some expense, but 
after the first year the applications may 
be r<>duced one-half. 
No matter how productive a soil may 
become, the grower will find that certain 
vegetables will not do particularly well 
under his management, climate and soil. 
Most farmers and home gardeners would 
become more successful if the.y would 
specialize upon those things with which 
the.y are most naturally successful rathei' 
than worry about a few things that do 
not do well in their community. The fer¬ 
tilizer that comes in bags at hardware 
stores is composed of the essential plant 
foods, such as nitrogen, phosphoric acid 
and potash. The ingredients are derived 
from the refuse of slaughter houses, dried 
garbage, by-products of chemical factories, 
dissolved mineral rock, mined chemicals, 
“makeweight,” etc., etc. The manufac¬ 
turer and dealer usually make their larger 
profits on the lower grade materials. Cow 
manure has no advantage over hoi'se 
manure excepting for greenhouse work. 
2. The ground on which your rasi)berry 
vines are growing is evidently (juite rich. 
If the jdants are not trimmed severely 
during the dormant season the vines will 
be very thick and large and the set of 
fruit would then be so heavy that the 
l)lants will not be able to bring them to 
eomi)lete develoi)ment. 
8. Grapevines that were set last Spring 
should be trimmed severely, leaving one 
November .80, 1918. 
cane about three feet high. There will be 
no advantage in banking dirt around 
grapevines; provide an opportunity for 
the surface water to drain awa.v from 
them. Bone meal is an excellent fertiliz¬ 
ing material for almost any purpose. 
4. I.and plaster is the common name 
applied to gypsum. The product is mined 
and it is generally used as an absorbent 
or to dilute powdered poisons which are 
applied for foliage-eating insects. 
5. The I’nited States Department of 
Agriculture has published a free circular 
on weeds. Almost every State agricul¬ 
tural college has complete circulars on 
“The Home Vegetable Garden” for free 
distribution. “Weeds of the Farm and 
Garden.” Pammel. price $1.50, is an ex¬ 
cellent work on this subject. “Vegetable 
Gardening,” Watts, price .$1.75, covers 
this subject very fully. b. w. d. 
Cats as Vermin Hunters 
The favorable cat articles in The R, 
N.-Y. lead me, as a believer in the great 
value of the cat as a pot and vermin 
eradicator, to_ write of a white blue-eyed 
puss.v—m.v wife’s pet—and her descend¬ 
ant. "When my daughter was born 25 
years ago this cat came to my wife with 
the usual happy assurance of being first 
in her affections, but noticing the bundle 
at the foot of the bed examined it, found 
the baby, jumped off with a dejected, 
crushed spirit, and never in her long life 
was she friendly with my daughter, or 
playful with my wife in my daughter’s 
in-esence. A few nights ago her great- 
peat-gi-eat-granddaughter came in and 
looked at my knees as her usual sitting 
place before the evening log fire, but I 
had my daughter’s baby sou there. The 
cat. with a determined look on her face, 
jumped on my knees and xvould not be 
dislodged, though her ears and tail were 
pulled and she had to change her position 
several times. I might add this first white 
cat has many descendants, and all are 
noted for their prowess. The present pet 
kills rats. mice, squirrels and rabbits. She 
seldom kills a bird. Her enormous grand- 
.son. who is also grandson of Champion 
Erebus, is_ so successful as a rat-catcher 
that I believe he saves grain enough on 
the farm from rats to be worth his weight 
in gold. He hasn’t as yet caught a bird. 
His mother sometimes caught lizards. 
P.r.IiEBT W. WAKEMAN. 
Sulphur and Alfalfa 
It is gratifying that The R. N.-Y. in 
discussing sulphur, pays the debt it owed 
its readers. The agricultural press of the 
entire country still owes that debt. The 
view of The R. N.-Y. is correct beyond 
all reasonable doubt. .'Sulphur is often need- 
e<l. ;Nlay I ask that The R. N.-Y. go a step 
farther and'do \vhat it can to clarify tlie 
snb’cct of sulphur? As it started first, 
why not keep the lead? The nodule that 
is found on the roots of some plants is a 
spocial organ. It is the law that deter¬ 
mines growth, and cannot be evaded. It 
is sjiecial law that did not follow all 
plants. When the nodule is analyzed it 
is found to contain both nitrogen and sul- 
j)hur. and they are in organic union in 
protein. Granting that the nodule con¬ 
tains protein we are presented with a 
very interesting subject. The nodule must 
have got its nitrogen and sulphur already 
combined, or it combined them. If it can 
combine nitrogen and sulphur as it is found 
in lu'otein, it has a function not claimed 
for it and raises the question whether the 
nitrogenous effect from the nodule comes 
from nitrogen or sulphur. 
Tennessee. w. ri. Arnold. 
Coming Farmers’ Meetings 
New Jersey State Horticultural So¬ 
ciety. annual meeting, Atlantic City, 
N .1.. Dec. 2-4. 
New England Ayrshire Club, annual 
meeting, Quincy House, Boston, Mass., 
Dec 8. 
Virginia State Horticultural Society, 
annual meeting and fruit exhibit, Lynch¬ 
burg. Va., Dec. 3-5. 
Virginia Corn Growers’ Association, 
annual meeting and corn show, Lynch¬ 
burg. Va., Dec. 8-5. 
Fifth Annual National Farmers’ Ex- 
Iiosition and Ohio State Apple Show, 
Toledo, O., Dec. G-I4. 
Dairymen’s League, annual stockhold¬ 
ers’ meeting, ,Ter.sey City. N. J.. Dec. 10. 
IVisconsin Cheese Makers’ Association, 
Auditorium, Milwaukee, IVis.. Jan. S-10, 
1919. 
Michigan State Horticultural Society, 
annual meeting. Detroit. Dec. 10-12. 
'Western New York Ilorticultural So¬ 
ciety and New York State Fruit Growers’ 
Association, joint meeting, Roche.ster, N, 
Y.. .Tan. 12. 1919. 
Third Annual New Jersey Agricultural 
Convention, Trenton, Jan. 18-17. 
Omaha Inter-State Land Show, Muni¬ 
cipal Auditorium, Omaha, Neb., Feb. 
12 - 2 "’ 
Mrs. Clymek (giving a little dinner) : 
“Oh. .Tulia, the maid just walked out on 
me I 'Won’t you .serve?” Cook (firmly) : 
“Not in the dinin’ room I But I’ve hacl 
cafeteria experience, so if you'll line up 
your guests and shoot them out here with 
their plates. I’ll see that they get all 
that’s cornin’ to them .”—Buffalo Express. 
Bill Coli.ectoh : “Mr. Owens not in, 
eh? (suddenly see«! shadow on ground 
gla.ss door). IVhy, you young rascal, there 
he is now.” Office Boy (looking) : “Aw 
—say ! That ain’t the boss. He’s out, I 
tell you. That’s only his shadow.”— Bos¬ 
ton Transcript. 
