304 
‘Jhe RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
February 22, 1010 
THE LEADING AMERICAN SEED CATALOG 
Burpee’s Annual is a complete guide for the 
Flower and Vegetable garden. 
It contains an entire chapter on Edible: Seeds, 
Root Crops and Greens and Salads, and last, 
but most delicious of all. the Vegetable Fruits! 
Burpee’* Annual is considered the Leading 
American Seed catalog. It will be mailed to you 
free upon request. Write for your copy today. 
W. ATLEE BURPEE CO.. Seed Grower*. Philadelphia 
Luce’s Favorite 
Seed Corn 
Special ENSILAGE Stock 
Selected and grown 
on our own Long 
Island Seed Farms 
for the past ten years. 
Price $4.00 per 
bushel of 561bs. 
F. O. B. Mattituck. 
Cash with order only 
J. M. Lupton & Son 
MATTITUCK : L.I..N.Y. 
Brookdale Eight-Row 
Yellow Flint Corn 
selected by me for 6 successive 
seasons. Tests 95%, germination. 
Ripens with us in Putnam County 
90 days and yields 100 bushels 
shelled corn per acre. Just the 
variety for sections where other 
kinds fail to ripen 
Price, F.O. B., 70 lbs. on cob 
or 56 lbs. shelled, as follows: 
1 bushel - - - $4.00 
2 bushels - 7.00 
3 bushels - 10.00 
5 bushel or over $3 per bu. 
Orders shipped promptly. 
Circular on request. 
BROOKDALE FARM 
£. Salinger, Prop. Brewster, N.Y. 
ALFALFA 
4a Jk Wc specialize in b< 
Guaranteed 
SEED 
best varieties only. 
Hardy grown, registered and pedigreed 
6 trains. Prices reasonable. Our rigid tests insure 
results. Our policy is to sell only seed of known 
quality. We JS)J6C4>\ carry a complete 
line of guaran- “^mr > teed seeds. 
I7DPT7 Complete manual on growing, feeding and 
r care of Alfalfa. Worth » * « to you. Write 
today for your copy* also free samples and Disco catalog. 
Dakota Improved Seed Co., 
879 Lawler St.. Mitchell. S. D, 
CLOVER SEED 
Our high grades of Clover, Alfalfa. Alsike, Timothy, Reed 
Oats, Seed Corn, Maine Grown Seed Potatoes, Soy Beaus, 
etc., are the most carefully selected and recleancd. High¬ 
est in Purity and Germination. We pay the Freight. 
Catalog and samples Free if you mention this paper. 
P. L. R0HRF.R. ■ Smoketown, Lancaster Co., Pa. 
General Farm Topics 
Destroying Ants; Fertilizer for Garden 
1. Can you tell me wbat to do to de¬ 
stroy small insects, 1 think ants, that de¬ 
stroyed most of strawberry plants and 
bush beans late last Summer? They 
made a small bole not larger than a knit¬ 
ting needle, close to the root, and ate all 
the roots of the berry plants to tin 1 top 
of the ground, so when 1 took hold of tin* 
dead leaves the crown simply lay on the 
ground. The bush beans grew eight 
inches high, with one or two leaves, some 
with one or two pods, some with none. 
When I pulled them up they only had a 
straight root like a slate pencil; no fine 
roots at all. Our local Farm Bureau 
told me to get carbon something and put 
one drop at each plant. I got 25 cents 
worth and tried about 400 hills out of 
some 000. The next night. I did not. sec 
any. the following night it rained, and 
the next night they seemed as thick as 
ever. As I work in the shop until 5:30 
it is impossible to put a. drop in each hill 
or around each bean. 2. What, is the best, 
fertilizer for my ground? I think barium 
phosphate sounds good. I have only about 
75x100 feet. R. S. H. 
Danbury, Coun. 
1. Your garden soil is most likely in¬ 
fested with the common ants which can be 
easily eradicated, t'arbon bisulphide looks 
like gasoline and it is just as explosive. 
If two or three tablespoonfuls of the ma¬ 
terial are poured down the hole of the 
ant nest the liquid would turn to a mif- 
obtainable, a high-grade commercial fer¬ 
tilizer may be purchased from a seeds¬ 
man or farmers’ supply (hardware) 
store. The material best suited for gar¬ 
den use contains four per cent nitrogen, 
nine per cent phosphoric acid and three 
per cent of potash. The prevailing price 
for this material is .$65 per ton. The 
home gardener would do well to apply 
one pound to 40 square feet broadcast 
after plowing or spading, but before har¬ 
rowing. Then an additional application 
of a similar amount may be applied for 
each crop as it is planted during the 
Spring and Summer. it. w. de baun. 
The Flags on the Scythe Tree 
The picture shows the two new Hags 
which have been placed over the two 
new scythes in the famous old “Scythe 
Tree” on the farm of Clarence I>. Schaf¬ 
fer, near Waterloo, N. Y. It has been 
recounted before in these columns how 
Wyman .T. Johnson in 1861 suddenly 
left the field where he was at work and 
started for the house, preparatory to en¬ 
listing in the Union Army. Placing his 
scythe in the crotch of a small tree, he 
said to his mother, "Let it hang there un¬ 
til I return.” He died in North Caro¬ 
lina in 1864, after serving in 14 engage¬ 
ments, and the scythe was left, in the tree, 
The Old Sei/the Tree and Its New Flays 
focafiug and deadly gas. so that most all 
of the ants would be killed. Of course, 
immediately after the carbon bisulphide 
is poured down the hole, the foot is used 
to close up the entrance so that neither 
ants nor fumes can escape. One treat¬ 
ment usually proves effective if it is prop¬ 
erly applied; however, if a new nest 
should appear nearby the treatment can 
lie repeated with final results. While 
this method is usually recommended, I 
must admit that I did not bother to use 
it. when ants threatened my garden patch. 
I raked or hoed the soil deeply every day 
about six inches of the point still show¬ 
ing on the right side of the tree. For 
years the Women’s Belief Corps has kept 
the tree continually decorated with the 
Stars and Stripes. On January 18, 1918, 
Raymond Schaffer, a descendant of John¬ 
son, enlisted in the army and a second 
scythe was added, the Carpenter’s Union 
of Geneva putting up the flag. On May 
28. 1918, his younger brother. John E. 
Schaffer, enlisted in the navy, hut before 
he left home he placed a third scythe 
alongside that of liis brother’s. The 
Young Men’s Bible Class of the First 
Presbyterian Church of Waterloo set up 
his flag. Both young men are still in the 
service. 
until the ants became disgusted and 
moved to a more congenial neighborhood. 
Quick growing crops provide an oppor¬ 
tunity for frequent deep plowing or spad¬ 
ing during the growing season. Late Fall 
or Winter plowing is particularly effective 
in destroying infestations <>f ante. When 
the ground and air are very cold the dis¬ 
turbed insects perish because they are 
unable to provide for themselves. Gar¬ 
den soils are frequently injured with ants 
because bones, swill, chips, cans and other 
attractive materials help to attract them; 
however, the carbon bisulphide or special 
cultural methods should remove the pest. 
2. The best fertilizing material for 
the garden depends upon the 1 present con¬ 
dition of the soil. Stable manure applied 
at the rate of two pounds to every square 
foot before plowing or spading will im¬ 
prove tlie mechanical condition of the 
ground, give it drought-resistant qualities 
and furnish much fertility for the vegeta¬ 
ble's which are to be planted. Poultry ma¬ 
nure at the rate of one pound to six 
square feet should give good results, pro¬ 
vided acid phosphate is used with it at 
the rate of one pound to 36 square feet. 
A 200-lb. hag of acid phosphate would he 
just enough for your garden. It would 
cost you about $3. and it gives best re¬ 
sults when applied broadcast to the plowed 
ground. In case stable manure cannot 
be had, and if poultry droppings are mi- 
A Cement Cistern 
Your inquirer about concrete cisterns 
may he interested to learn that in nearly 
all soils a cistern can be plastered with 
cement mortar directly upon the earth. 
In Westchester County, N. Y.. I dug a 
cistern of about eight feet dimensions 
each way. in the very loosest of gravel, 
so loose that the gravel was used just as 
it came for making the concrete “cap.” 
On account of the looseness the mason 
wanted the hole dug with one foot slant 
from top to bottom, and I meant to do so, 
but accidentally got the sides nearly per¬ 
pendicular. It bothered him in places to 
make the dab of mortar stick, and it 
would frequently crumble off. hut he was 
a skillful workman and completed the 
first coat on the sides in less than half a 
day. When this was hard enough, a 
smooth coat was laid over it. 
If a concrete cap is to go over it. a 
shoulder must be cut back all around, 
about nine inches wide, at about the frost 
line, making the diameter of the top about 
18 inches greater than the cistern. There 
may be better ways than this of building 
the cap, but he used a box without bot¬ 
tom or top for a manhole, the box resting 
on four poles from the bottom of cistern, 
and a little higher than the “shoulder” 
mentioned. lie then made a sloping 
board cover between the two, on which he 
laid the concrete. When the concrete 
was about half on he interspersed pieces 
of barb wire for reinforcement, making 
the cap about six inches thick, I believe. 
When the cap was hardened enough to he 
safe he went inside the cistern and re¬ 
moved the board roof with a cold chisel. 
Of course this plan saves many dollars in 
both labor and cement, as compared with 
a concrete cistern. E. N B. 
PREER’S 
1919 BO OK 
Everything Worth 
Growing 
in Vegetables and Flowers 
is listed and described in the 
224 pages of Dreer’s Garden 
Book. The new varieties 
worth trying, as well as the 
varieties that have stood the 
test of time. 
Cultural directions by _ famous 
gardening experts make it a de¬ 
pendable guide on all matters 
relating to vegetable and flower 
growing for garden, truck patch 
or farm. 
Mailed free if you mention 
this publication. 
HENRY A. DREER 
714-716 Che*tnut Street 
Philadelphia, Pa. 
This variety is the result of long years ol 
the most careful selection to produce a 
strain of head lettuce that would embody 
every good quality. 
Forms a beautiful large, solid head of crisp, 
tender quality, free from bitterness. Un¬ 
surpassed for sowing in the open ground. 
Buist’s Very Best delights all — crisp, 
tender, succulent and appetiziug. Superior 
to Big Boston in many ways. Pkt., 5c; oz., 
20c; )i lb., 60c; 1 lb., $2.00. 
Send now for our free Garden Guide, 
truly descriptive, freely illustrated, giving 
detailed cultural information for every 
month of the year and every part of the 
country. 
Free Flower Seeds with orders of 50c and over 
ROBERT BUIST COMPANY 
5 So. Front Street Philadelphia, Pa. 
wing’s cerne 
Vegetable 9 EL EL I# 9 
Stand for big yields. We offer the best that can 
bo grown and can supply you with all standard 
varieties. Readers of this paper need no introduction 
to Wing’s Alfalfa seed, Corn, or other field seeds. 
Some of you do not know that our vegetable seeds 
are as good as our field seeds. Some of you, however, 
are finding out just how good they are, and as a 
result our vegetable department has been either 
doubling, tripling or quadrupling for years. 
As an indication of the quality of our seeds, wo 
call your attention to tlio special premiums won at 
the Ohio State Fair for two successive years on vege¬ 
tables grown from our seeds. Part of these premiums 
arc as follows: 
General display of vegetables, First Premium 
two successive years. 
BEETS—Four Firsts, out of five classes in 191S. 
CABBAGE—Three Firsts, five Seconds and four 
Third Premiums for 1917 and 1918. CARROTS 
—1917, two Seconds and one Third; 1918, two 
Firsts and First on display of all varieties. 
ONION— 1918, six Firsts ana three Seconds on 
single varieties. First on display of ten varieties. 
TOMATOES —1915, general display. First Premi¬ 
um; 1916, did notshow; 1917, ten First Premiums, 
two Seconds and two Thirds: 1918, First on dis¬ 
play. These exhibitors certainly won on quality, 
and we have more seed just like they used. 
Write for Free Catalog 
It offers oil the atandard vegetables as well aa many novelties 
which you are unlikely to find elsewhere; also, all the standard 
flower seeds, plants and bulbs, especially Gladioli, Iris, Peonies 
and Dahlias, as well aa field seeds. 
WlngSeod Co., Box 1"3, Mechanlcsburg, Ohio 
(The House ol quality anil Moderate l’rlces) 
CRYSTAL 
WHITE GLOBE 
ONION 
Big Money Making Crop. $1200.00from 
Mr 
one aero ia what our cuatome 
Dorothy 
— — — -qr 1___ 
Huston made last season. To lielp you do ua 
well and to introduce to you our Northern 
Grown Livo “Sure Crop" Soods we will mail 
you 250need of thio moatperfect White Onion 
and our BIG 1919 GARDEN |--- 
AND FARM G U 1 DE | 
Sond Postal Today 
CONDON BROS., SEEDSMEN 
Rock River Valley Seed Farm 
BOX 183 ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS 
FREE 
Our seeds are selected and cleaned to be 
w WEEDLESS and free from dead grains. They 
will go much farther than ordinary field seeds, 
nearly always adding enough to the crop to pay lor 
themselves. Samples and catalogue including 
— “/low to Know (food Seed" free. Write todau. 
. M. SCOTT & SONS CO. 260 SWh SI. Marysville. Obi* 
