<Ihc RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
675 
Early Bearing Fruit Trees 
One of my neighbors tohl mo that a 
large apple grower had a secret of hi.s 
own, making apple trees bear young by 
using certain kinds of fertilizer. Do you 
know of any case like this? I am going 
to use nitrate of soda and acid phosphate 
on my trees this year. Would this make 
young trees come into bearing earlier than 
stable manure? A.X. M. 
Center Moreland, Ta. 
Turn back to pages 39-40 and read 
what was printed there about this matter. 
Proper use of fertilizer is only one part of 
it. Plant a Wealthy apple tree by the 
side of a Northern Spy. The Wealthy 
will begin to make fruit at six years, 
while the Spy will do well if it begins at 
12. Yet the soil, fertilizing, pruning and 
care may he the same for both varieties. 
Some varieties are naturally early bear¬ 
ers. while others cannot be changed great¬ 
ly from their fixed habit of late bearing. 
The pruning has much to do with it. 
Where the tree is healthy and the soil is 
strong, pruning stimulates wood growth, 
and if this habit is started early the tree 
will be more likely to grow rapidly than 
to produce fruit early. Our experience is 
that, generally, the tree comes to fruiting 
earlier if it is left alone with only enough 
pruning to shape its head properly. Too 
much nitrogen or too much manure will 
usually drive the tree into wood produc¬ 
tion. Phosphorus and potash harden the 
wood growth and stimulate seed produc¬ 
tion, which means fruiting. No one has 
any secret method of fertilizing a tree. It 
usually turns out to be some plan of using 
phosphate heavily in late Summer. 
The Plum Curculio 
The plum curculio is by far the most 
destructive of all the insects attacking 
stone fruits. It. will practically destroy 
an entire plum crop unless given proper 
attention. Cherry trees which are thick 
and bushy make a very attractive harbor 
for the plum curculio, and the fruit from 
such trees is ordinarily a total loss. Iu 
some sections of Indiana it causes more 
loss in apple orchards than the codling 
moth. 
The adult curculio winters over in 
grass, brush and rubbish about the or¬ 
chard. They start feeding on the fruit 
buds as soon as they begin to open in the 
early Spring. The females begin to de¬ 
posit their eggs in the small fruits soon 
after the fall of the bloom. 
Control. —Wild plum thickets, rail 
fences, old brush and refuse piles which 
are near or in producing orchards should 
he removed. As the adult beetles begin to 
feed first oil the opening buds it is very 
important to add arsenate of lead to the 
first Summer spray which is applied whSn 
the buds of plum, cherry and apple show 
pink. The general recommendation is 
1 lb. of powdered arsenate to 50 gals, ofj 
water, but where curculio is a serious 
post always use lbs. in this spray, and 
also in the one following the fall of the 
petals. Fruit from orchards badly in¬ 
fested with curculio will not be entirely 
clean the first, season the regular spray 
program is followed. The writer lias seen 
an entire crop of plums on a neglected 
orchard destroyed which had received the 
full 11 not a of sprays. The next year the 
same program was followed, with excel¬ 
lent results. 
In the case of peaches apply the first 
spray for curculio about a week after the 
fall of the bloom. Use 1^4 lbs, of pow¬ 
dered arsenate of lead and 2 lbs. of hy¬ 
drated lime to each 50 gals, of the spray. 
The lime prevents the possibility of the 
arsenate burning the peach foliage. Early 
peaches are especially susceptible to cur¬ 
culio injury. Late varieties like the El- 
borta are not often seriously bothered. 
Leaflet No. 49 takes up in detail the 
spray schedules for plums, cherries, 
grapes and pears. Leaflet No. SO gives a 
complete spray schedule for apples and a 
discussion of the different spray materials. 
1 hese leaflets may be secured free of 
charge by writing the Horticultural Di- 
vision, Purdue Extension Department, 
Lafayette, Ind. c. l. b. 
As the camper was cleaning his gun, 
along came a woodsman, “lleen hunting! 
today?”-he asked. “Yes.” “Shot any¬ 
thing ?” “I don’t know yet. I’m wait¬ 
ing for the rest of the party to get into 
eamp so we can call the roll.”—Boston, 
Truuscript. 
Rotten Potatoes 
Are a Dead Loss 
Those potatoes you left in the ground because they were rotten, 
or those you sorted out and dumped behind the barn, could have 
been healthy, sound potatoes that would have brought a good price. 
Potato rot almost always is caused by potato blight. When the vines 
turn brown, and later die prematurely and turn black, they have been attacked 
by blight. The blight spores (or germs) are washed by rain from the diseased 
vines into the soil and infect the tubers, causing first dry rot which later de¬ 
velops into the common wet rot. Prevent rot by preventing blight. The 
most successful spray against blight is 
REG. u. S. PAT. OFP 
TRAD8 MARK REGISTERED 
It covers the vines with a film of protection that kills blight spores before they have a 
chance to grow. It keeps the plants green until frost—and keeps them growing several weeks 
longer than usual. Potatoes make a big increase in size in the last three weeks. Therefore, 
PYROX actually increases the yield by lengthening the growing season. 
PYROX is also a poison. It kills the potato bugs—and if applied early, the old hard-shells 
as well as the slugs. Potatoes sprayed early with PYROX are not bothered with bugs and the 
early spraying is the sure way to eliminate blight entirely. Later sprayings keep the new 
growth covered. 
Remember, PYROX is a powerful fungicide. Twenty years of actual farm use have proved 
it the most effective remedy against serious fungous diseases. It contains the essential copper,— 
in proper quantity and in most active form for greatest fungicidal value. It often succeeds 
where other fungicides fail. The poison insecticide in PYROX is chemically blended with its 
copper fungicide, and increases the effectiveness of both. 
Spray your potatoes with P\ ROX. Prevent blight and rot. Kill the bugs before they start wortiag. 
Get your supply of P\ ROX early. See your dealer and be sure that he has it in stock. 
Write today for our Vegetable Growers’ Spray Manual. 
Bowker Insecticide Company 
43-A Chatham St., Boston, Mass. 1002 Fidelity Bldg., Baltimore, Md. 
712 Conway Bldg., Chicago, Ill. 
will soon need 
a new pair of 
CARHARTTS 
Confer a favor on your pocket book by 
wearing Carhartt Overalls in making 
this year’s crop. Don’t be misled by 
substitutes and inferior garments. Pay 
1 - the difference and demand 
the genuine Carhartt. If your 
dealer will not supply you 
with my overalls, made from 
Carhartt Master Cloth, write 
my nearest factory for 
samples and prices. 
HAMILTON CARHARTT 
When in my 
CARHARTT 
OVERALLS 
and with a , 
good horse of 
myown,Iam 
the happiest 
man in the world 
Don’t forget to ask for my Farm, 
Stock and Crop Account Book. 
It is FREE TO YOU. 
Atlanta, Georgia 
Detroit, Michigan 
Dallas. Texas 
San Francisco, California 
Hamilton Carhartt, 
City. 
Fill out aud address to factory nearest you. 
Please send me samples and prices of your Carhartt 
Overalls, made from your Carhartt Master Cloth, also prices 
of Carhartt Work Gloves. 
I will appreciate the Farm, Stock aud Account Book. 
Name. 
Town..... 
Dealer’s Name. 
•State......... ■ R. 1' ,D....... 
,,...... 
