210 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Spraying for Profit 
Give trees more care and they yield better fruit. Spraying 
is the best protection for your trees and your profits. How 
free your crops are from blignt and blemish depends on how 
carefully you spray and how reliable are your spray materials. 
Exercise the same care in protecting your trees and plants 
as you would in buying them. The names of spray materials 
are the same but the quality differs. Buy Orchard Brand 
and you buy the best quality. Orchard Brand is the trade 
name of a complete line of insecticides and fungicides that 
do the work. The name on the package is an assurance of 
full money’s worth of crop protection. 
are manufactured by the largest chemical company in 
America. Several valuable products possessing decided ad¬ 
vantages have been originated by our Research Department. 
A partial list of our products which are invaluable to the 
farmer at the present time is given below: 
FOR FRUIT TREES AND VINES: FOR POTATOES: 
B. T. S. Arsenate of Calcium Arsenite of Zinc 
Lime Sulphur Solution Bordeaux Mixture Zinc-Bordeaux 
Arsenate of Lesd Atomic Sulphur Lazal (for dusting) 
We maintain a Service Bureau to aid the farmer in solving 
his spraying problems. Write us concerning yours. 
General Qiemicalr 
Insecticide Dept., 25 Broad St., NewYork 
Cabbage seed is extremely scarce 
this season but we are pleased to say we 
have some Danish Ball-head cabbage seed 
of a very fine strain and also other varieties 
including Copenhagen Market at reason¬ 
able prices. 
Harris’ Farm, Garden and Flower Seeds 
from our seed farms at wholesale prices, 
are all carefully grown and tested for growth, 
and the percent that germinates is marked on 
the label. You don ’ t have to guess how thick to sow. 
Catalogue tells all about them, and the price. 
Write us today—No charge. 
JOSEPH HARRIS COMPANY, Box 22, COLDWATER, NEW YORK 
We are trying to furnish Red Clover entirely 
. free from weed seeds and dead grains. The seed 
will go farther than ordinary seed besides adding 
Ifrcatly to tlie production. Ask for samples of 
lied and other seeds and catalogue telling 
“How to Know Good, Seed". 
0. M. SCOTT & SONS CO. 360 Sixth St., Marysville. Ohio 
SWEET CLOVER 
White Blossoms; the trreatest money-making crop of today. 
Big money for the farmers who grow it. Builds up land 
rapidly and produces heavy, money-making crons while 
doing it. Excellent pasture and hay: innoculates land for 
alfalfa. Easy to start; grows on all soils Our seed all 
best scarified hulled, high-germinatmg and tested Qual¬ 
ity guaranteed. Write today for our big, Proht-bhanng 
Seed Guide, circular, free samples. Address 
American Mutual Seed Co., Dept. 926 Chicago, Illinois 
=HIGH GRADE= 
FERTILIZER 
Croxton Brand and 
Raw Materials 
N. J. FERTILIZER & CHEMICAL CO. 
60 Trinity Place, New York 
Onion Seed 
Selected Ohio Yellow Globe. We also offer the best 
that can he grown in vegetable and field seeds. Cata¬ 
logue free. Market gardeners ask for wholesale list. 
Ransom Seed Co., - Geneva, Ohio 
nfiri Tf»rp— Carman, Cobbler, Giant, Green Ml , Ohio, Rose, 
rUIAIUEu (Jueou, Six-W«eks. Others. C. W. FORD, Fiihen, H.T. 
For Sale-Onion Seed from Selected Onions hy 
JOHN MKANY, - Florida, New York 
PRODUCTIVE POULTRY HUSBANDRY, 
by Harry R. Lewis; $2. A popular Poultry 
work. For :sale by Rural New-Yorker . 
Cabbage, Celery, Onion Seed Grower!IXUMSON? Jl. 
GARDEN, FRUIT, FLOWER, HOME GROUND AND FARM 
BOOKS— Descriptive Catalog of the 600 best books 
covering these activities—just. out. Mailed for stamp. 
A. T. I)n I.A Make Co. Inc. 43RB West CTtii St. New York. 
House Plants for the Average Home 
(Continued from page 20S) 
Attempts at Feeding. —House plants 
are often ruined completely in an attempt 
to feed them with liquid manures or ferti¬ 
lizers. This is a poor practice, since a 
siekly-looking plant usually has insuffi¬ 
cient root system for assimilating excess 
plant foods. Sickly plants might! as well 
be discarded and replaced by others. The 
addition of a toaspoonful of hone meal to 
each quart of composted soil may he used 
when plants are repotted, especially if 
soil Used is somewhat poor. 
Asparagus Plumosusinanus and As¬ 
paragus Sprengeri are semi-trailing, fern- 
like plants well suited for foliage purposes. 
These are started from seed sown in rich 
moist soil in February or from cuttings. 
Potted plants may be secured from the 
commercial florist or gardener at 15 to 25 
cents each. Their culture is very simple, 
repotting being required not more than 
once each season. 
Boston Sword Fern, which adapts 
itself to a wide range of conditions, is 
well suited as a house plant. Leaves or 
pinnae are finely subdivided, giving the 
plant a crested or feathery form. New 
plants are secured by pinning the runners 
or fronds fast to the soil. Tiny plants re- 
resulting from this procedure are taken up 
when two new fronds have formed, placed 
in two-inch pots and repotted as growth 
demands it. When full grown, fronds of 
the sword fern are often four to live feet 
in length and of a splendid green color. 
February 8, 1919 
desirable house plant. Its blooming period 
is long and its flowers are especially at¬ 
tractive. Flowers are borne iu whorls 
near the center of the plant. Primulas 
are propagated from seeds sown in Feb¬ 
ruary or March in rich moist soil under 
a temperature of 70 degrees. Seedlings 
secured are placed out in flats as soon as 
they have their first true leaves. When 
fully developed they are shifted to two- 
inch puts and again to larger pots as 
growth continues. The final shift, usually 
to five- or six-inch pots, is made as flower 
buds appear in the crown of each plant. 
An especially rich soil is provided to tide 
plants over their long blooming period. 
Hyacinths and Narcissi are grown 
from bulbs which must he thoroughly 
rooted before top growth starts. Bulbs 
are planted in pans or shallow pots in 
rich, mellow composted soil, l’laee bulbs, 
planted in late October or November, in a 
cool dark place (preferably 55-40 de¬ 
grees) for five or six weeks, covering them 
to a depth of two inches with moist sand. 
During February or March expose the 
potted bulbs to a slightly higher tempera¬ 
ture and a small amount of light for sev¬ 
eral days. Gradually increase the degree 
of warmth and the light to that of the 
ordinary living room in which plants are 
to be kept. Narcissi usually flower in 
live to six weeks and hyacinths in six to 
eight weeks following their exposure to 
full light and warmth. 
Many other plants adapt themselves 
readily to indoor culture and surround¬ 
ings. Oxalis is well suited for porch ai d 
window boxes. Hydrangeas, Azaleas and 
Primula, Cyclamen and Geranium in, /louse Culture. Fig. GO 
The growing plant demands considerable 
water, and responds well to both indoor 
and porch surroundings. 
Aspi.eniun Ferns are well adapted to 
living room conditions. New plants are 
secured by scores or by bulblets which 
form on the edge of the pinna*. Bulblets 
are removed and transplanted iu rich 
moist soil and held until roots are formed. 
Plants transplanted, as growth demands 
it. should he provided with sufficient 
water and with good drainage. Watering 
in the crown should be avoided in order 
that leaves do not decay. The glossy foli¬ 
age of Aspleniun is very attractiye. 
Aspidistra, a popular foliage plant, is 
propagated by division of the crown dur¬ 
ing late Winter. Parts of the crown are 
potted and held at a temperature of 75-80 
degrees Fahrenheit until plants are start¬ 
ed. When started the plants are shifted 
to three-inch pots and again to larger 
pots. Aspidistra, unlike most other plants, 
may be provided with water in the bottom 
of the jardiniere, if this water is changed 
occasionally 
Begonias. — Fibrous-rooted Begonias 
make very satisfactory house plants. 
Plants well grown have attractive foliage 
as well as flowers. New plants are se¬ 
cured from stem cuttings taken during 
March or April. Plants so started and 
shifted to various sizes of pots demand 
partial shade during the intense heat of 
the Summer, ('are should be taken that 
they do not become pot-bound. Plants 
started in March or April should be at 
their best for flowering the following 
Winter. 
Cyclamens are especially desirable as 
house plants on account of their long 
flowering period. The flowers of white 
and of various shades of red are exceed¬ 
ingly beautiful. Cyclamens are propagated 
from seeds sown in September. Eight or 
10 weeks’ time is often required for ger¬ 
mination after which seedlings are trans¬ 
planted carefully into small wooden flats. 
In February or March plants are shifted 
from flats to three-inch pots, a well-en¬ 
riched. sandy loam soil being used. They 
are held at or slightly below 55 degrees 
Fahrenheit to secure best results. Re¬ 
potted again in May. the plants are held 
in an ordinary eold frame until July, 
when they are shifted to fiv“- or s ; v-ii>oh 
pots. Plants so handled and brought in¬ 
doors about Septemlfer 1st should produce 
an abundance of flowers for Thanksgiv¬ 
ing, Christinas and New Years. 
Geraniums make very satisfactory 
house plants. They are propagated from 
stem cuttings taken from plants out of 
doors before the killing frosts of Autumn. 
Itooted in clean, moist sand, the cuttings 
are potted in four-inch pots and again 
shifted to larger pot:; as growth continues. 
Plants started in Autumn flower during 
Winter and early Spring, and are ready 
for out-of-door transplanting as conditions 
permit the following Spring. 
The Primulas or Chinese primrose, 
which is easily cultivated, makes a very 
other low-growing flowering shrubs are 
worthy of a trial hy the amateur florist. 
Poinsettias are especially attractive as 
Christmas cut flowers or potted plants. 
A growing plant of some sort may well 
he given a place in every household.' Time 
and attention needed in caring for it will 
doubtless be considered well spent. 
E. L. KIRKPATRICK. 
Heated Ground Bone 
I bought what was said to he pure 
ground bone. It was kept under shelter, 
hut began to heat and got quite hot. 
Does this heating drive off any great 
amount of the ammonia"? What made it 
~ S. R. 
Pure ground bone in a properly dried 
condition would not be at all likely to 
heat iu this way. If the bone was mixed 
with some tankage and got damp it might 
very likely do this, and sometimes 
steamed bone meal when damp will d,i 
the same thing. But in either case we 
do not think that there would be any 
loss of ammonia worthy of the name. 
We have had a very moderate Winter 
so far, not much suow; a lot of plowing 
was done last Fall, which has given the 
farmers a great deal of encouragement 
for next Spring. Corn for factory was 
good, although iu sections the early frost 
cut the yield considerably. Five cents 
per pound was the highest that has been 
paid by factories. Sheep raising is on 
the increase, which is shown by the large 
number of meetings which have been held 
recently in this State. Dairying is car¬ 
ried on extensively here; grade cows are 
in good demand and bring $100 up to 
$150. Cow feeds are high, which makes 
it difficult to come out on top after pay¬ 
ing feed bill each month. Hay crop good 
and has been in steady demand all Win¬ 
ter. average price being $18 per ton. No. 
1. Oat crop fairly good; was housed in 
line condition. Potato crop fairly good : 
average yield 200 bu. to the acre; average 
price $1 per bu. Apple crop light, in 
sections was the worst in years. Poultry 
raising has decreased a lot in the last 
few years, and is scarce in this State, the 
demand being good for eggs, the fanners 
getting as high as 7Sc per doz. Fowls, 
live weight, 25c per lb.; chickens, 80c 
per lh.: butter, (iOe per lb; meal, $1.05; 
corn, $1.90 per bu.; cracked corn, $1.05; 
bran, $2.00; mixed feed, $3.10; cotton¬ 
seed meal, $3.40 per cwt.; gluten meal. 
$3.35 per cwt.; middlings, $3; yellow eye 
beans, $10 per bu. The majority of far¬ 
mers are looking for better times; their 
hoys returning home, the help question 
looks brighter. w. ii. n. 
Penobscot Go., Me. 
Counsel: “I’m sorry I couldn't do 
more for you.” Convicted Client: 
“Don’t mention it, guvnor; ain’t five 
years enough?”—Boston Transcript. 
