158 
January 24, 1U20 
‘the RURAL NEW-YORKER 
.... I M -U., , — . . . ■ 
HOPE FARM NOTES 
Are there as many Winter birds as 
usual this season? 
I think there are more than I have 
ever noticed before. Perhaps that is due 
to the fact that the children are feeding 
these little feathered friends. Great 
flocks of tihem come up to the very door 
and wait for crumbs. In spite of what 
my old friend, De Yoe, the weather pro¬ 
phet, says, this has been a hard Winter 
thus far, and the birds are rather hard 
pressed for food. I like to see them flying 
and hopping about. When I was a boy I 
knew a farmer who used to shoot snow¬ 
birds. He would throw out crumbs until 
they gained confidence—when they would 
come in flocks and light on the snow. 
Then the farmer would take a shotgun 
and fire a charge of fine shot into the 
flock. It was murder, pure aud simple. 
But this farmer was a good man as men 
go, and we boys had great respect for 
him. 
What did he do it for? 
He was a hunter by natui’e. From the 
time he could carry a gun he had re¬ 
garded all wild life as the natural prey 
of man. Everything that ran in the fields 
or under, or that could fly in the air had, 
as he thought, only one value—that was 
to provide food or fur or pleasure for 
man. Man had been given “dominion” 
over all brutes, therefore they must either 
work or be killed. 
I suppose it never occurred to this man 
that most wild animals work for us (if we 
did but know it) as well as the domestic 
animals, like cow or sheep or horse. In 
fact, all our so-called domestic animals 
were once wild. It is hardly likely that 
the original ancestors of Underhill’s Red 
hens laid more eggs than the robin! My 
own Reds seem to have great respect for 
the habits of their old forebears! I have, 
no doubt, some patient breeder could take 
the habits of their old forebears! I have 
them fully uuder control, so breed and 
select them as to double their size in 
time and improve their laying qualities 
so as to make them as profitable as pig¬ 
eons for squab production. 
The farmer I speak of used to sell snow¬ 
birds at a fair price. At the old Parker 
House in Boston these little birds were 
served in game dinners. As one course 
in an expensive dinner, one of these fat 
little snowbirds would be served alone 
dressed and stuffed like a turkey. The 
law has put an end to all that now, and 
I am glad of it. 
Tell us again about using dust in place 
of spray for fruit trees? 
What can I tell that has not been told 
50 times? We were driven to the dust 
by the labor shortage. It was simply im¬ 
possible for us to put the poison spray 
all over our orchards in dime. Every 
drop of water must be hauled up steep 
hills, and with high winds and bad 
weather at blooming time we could not 
keep lip with the worm. So we took to 
the dust in order to cover the orchards. 
Could you do it? 
Yes, after they once geti “the hang” 
of it, two men with a power duster can 
work four times as fast as an outfit with 
the liquid spray. I know that seems like 
a big story, but we have done it. Not 
only does the dust blow through the air 
and cover more territory than the spray, 
but you are not obliged to go back to the 
tank ;, or spring and load up with water 
whenever the charge has been pumped 
out.' ' We just take several hundred 
pounds .of;,the dust info the orchard and 
can fill’the hopper in five minutes. 
What dust do you use? 
Thus far we have used S5 per cent of 
powdered Sulphur and 15 of dry arsenate 
of lead. Others tell me this is too ex¬ 
pensive—that lime or plaster can be used 
in place of part of the sulphur. That may 
be so. but we get results from our com¬ 
bination, and I am no hand to experiment 
or take chancCs on a sure thing. All 
these new combinations in spraying or 
fertilizing mav have great value. I do 
not deny it—but I follow a sure thing 
until I am driven away from it. Some 
growers tell me they mix powdered to¬ 
bacco or snuff with the sulphur and 
poison, and thus destroy plant lice. It 
may be good practice, but I cannot quite 
see how the dry powdered tobacco can do 
the trick. 
What about these people, mho oppose 
the use of all poisons for dust or spratI? 
They especially object to tile use of ar¬ 
senic. 
We have no quarrel with them, but 
from our experience we are unable to see 
any damage done by arsenic. We know 
that the poison kills the apple worm, the 
potato bug. the cabbage worm and other 
leaf-eaters, and therefore we keep on 
using it. We do not attempt) to argue 
the matter, as we have more important 
things to do. As we kill the worms— 
whv worry? 
But does the dust really kill the worms? 
It does. With us it 1 is fully as effec¬ 
tive as the liauid spray. We have now 
tried it carefully for two seasons and we 
know ; the worms are destroyed. N\ ith 
two dfistings. at about the t ime you would 
oatti^ally use tli& liquid, you can kill 
practically all the worms. 
But what about scab and other dis¬ 
eases? 
Personally I do not think the dust is 
as effective against these diseases as it is 
in killing the worms. Some of the re¬ 
corded experiments show that the dust 
was very useful, but my own opinion is 
that where these diseases are bad the 
liquid will prove more effective. 
What about the scale? 
The dust will not kill the scale insect. 
I do not! care what you may read or hear 
from enthusiastic dusters. The natural 
protection given in the shell of the scale 
makes it necessary to have some pene¬ 
trating liquid if we would get to the in¬ 
sect. Lime-sulphur or “scaleeide” will 
get under the shell aud kill the .scale, but. 
you will fail if you attempt to rely upon 
the dust. 
Then a grower cannot expect to fully 
care for his orchard by using a duster 
alone? 
You are right. He can control the 
worm and greatly help witili plant dis¬ 
eases, but if his trees are affected with 
scale he must use some sort of liquid with 
a machine powerful enough to blow it all 
over the trees. Dusting is so effective 
and rapid that where a man has a good- 
sized orchard it will pay him to own a 
duster in addition to his sprayer. But 
do not for a moment think you can control 
the scale with dust. 
Is not the scale dying out? 
No. I thought so last year, and worked 
on that theory—not using any dormant 
spray on Ithe trees. As a result, last 
Fall we found quite a little scale on the 
fruit, and several trees quite badly 
crusted. The orchard must all be sprayed 
this year. It will not do to assume that 
the scale is dying. You will find it a 
lively corpse. 
What about the future of the orchard 
business? 
I do not at this moment know of any 
other branch of farming which promises 
greater opportunity than apple culture. 
I do not mean that any old tree stuck 
into the ground and left to itself will 
pay. “Opportunity” is that great thing 
which stops at. the front door of those 
who work and think and dare in order to 
produce the best. A good orchard, well 
cared for .will be a money-maker for fihe 
next 25 years. There will not only be a 
shortage of good fruit, but evaporated 
apples and apple juice will become stand¬ 
ard articles of commerce. Prohibition 
will take millions of dollars away from 
the brewers and distillers of whiskey, but 
it will not mean any economic loss, be¬ 
cause the money thus invesi^d and more 
added to it will be spent for fruit juices 
and fresh fruit. A new theory and prin¬ 
ciple of working out human balanced. 
rations is now coming—thanks to the 
study of these vitamines in food. Many 
fruits are rich in these vitamines, and 
you may take it from me that fruit juices 
and miik will rank among the important 
foods of the future. There has now been 
invented a new form of pasteurizer so 
simple and easily worked that it will rev¬ 
olutionize many of our old plans for sav¬ 
ing food. I have been telling of a small 
electric grinder which will some day do 
the family milling right in the kitchen. 
I think tlie Van Arman pasteurizer will 
rank with it, if not surpass it as a food- 
saver. We have got to do it ourselves, 
and the mill and the pasteurizer will help 
do it. The latter will chase the germs 
out of tons of good food which would 
otherwise be lost, and the profit from 
saving it will go to the farmer. It is 
along these lines that the high cost of 
living is to be overcome, with credit and 
gain to the farmer. 
The high cost of living hits us all. 
From the cradle to the grave. They 
tell me of old grandfather in New Eng¬ 
land. lie is over SO, and now sits by 
the: fire telling what “I did . in my. 
younger days.” I tell you these great 
deeds grow with the years. Old grand¬ 
father did enjoy telling of his exploits. 
One day the minister called just when 
the women were cleaning house. I can¬ 
not sav they did it to “get rid of him,” 
but they turned him over to grandfather 
to entertain. “Gome, grandpa,” they 
said, “tell Brother Small what you did 
in vour vounger days.” 
“Well.” says grandpa, “I’ve been tell¬ 
ing it for years—as free as air. You 
know it makes hie cough to talk, and the 
price of cough medicine has doubled. T’ll 
tell how I mowed 10 acres in one day for 
60 cents !” 
Then there were two little girls. Their 
mother paid these babies one penny to 
pick up pieces of paper in the backyard. 
One day she put them at it, but on looking 
out of the window a few minutes later 
she saw them sitting on the steps. So 
she went to investigate. 
“What’s- the matter?” 
“We can’t work for one. cent any more. 
We think it’s worth ffve cents!” , 
There was a strike for higher wages 
and for the same old.reason. 
“There isn’t any more candy at the 
store for one cent. You have to pay five 
cents a box!” 
As I said, the high cost of living hits 
us all—from the cradle to the grave, and 
both minister and mother foot the bill 
and get no story aud no work till they 
pay! 
Well, grandpa will cut out Dr. Jones’ 
cough mixture aud use mullein tea and 
honey. The babies will cut out the store 
vtuff and eat molasses candy. 
II. W. C. 
No matter how long you 
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