420 
100 gals.), for scab, codling moth, curculio and red- 
bugs; and (4) the second codling moth spray, three 
to four weeks later, of lime-sulphur (1 to 40), and 
arsenate of lead (usual rate). These are the stand¬ 
ard orchard sprays which will be given this Spring 
in the best orchards where the cleanest fruit will 
be grown. In the ir' •_ economy, where scale 
is not serious, the lime-sulphur in the delayed dor¬ 
mant spray may be diluted at the rate of 1 gal. to 
15 gals, of water, and where the scale is not present 
even 1 gal. to 40 gals, of water, while some growers 
will leave out the nicotine, taking their chances with 
the rosy aphis. Also in the pink spray most orchard- 
ists will probably leave out the nicotine in order 
to lower the cost. Where redbugs have been present 
during the past season nicotine should, by all means, 
be added to the calyx spray, and since the codling 
moth is sure to he present during 1921, the second 
spray should certainly be made for it. In those 
localities in which the apple maggot, pear psylla, 
and pear thrips are present and injurious, the grower 
will have to prepare to make the special sprayings 
which we have indicated. Moreover, if the green 
apple aphis appears during the coming season, as 
it is likely to do, application of the emergency sprays 
to hold it in eheck will be advisable. Past experi¬ 
ence leads me to believe that there is nothing in the 
history of insect pests of the past season to justify 
any grower in omitting any of the standard sprays 
during the coming season. 
DUST AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR LIQUID.—There 
is little definite evidence gained during the season 
that will enable us to add anything authoritative to 
our previous recommendations regarding the value 
and effectiveness of dusting for orchard insects. 
Previous experiments in New York State seem to 
have demonstrated that dusting for the codling moth 
may be fairly effective in some seasons. The results 
of experiments in other States, however, have not 
been so favorable to the dust as a means of control 
for this important orchard pest. In regard to suck¬ 
ing insects the writer’s experience on a limited scale 
during the past season shows that the contact dusts 
containing nicotine sulphate when applied with ca>e 
and great thoroughness are effective against the 
green apple aphid. The same dusts, however, when 
applied under field conditions in orchards over large 
areas may not give nearly as satisfactory results. 
Again, experiments for the control of the apple mag¬ 
got in the Hudson River Valley gave unexpectedly 
favorable results for the dust, but it did not prove 
quite as effective as the liquid spray. Finally, there 
is no dust material known to be effective in con¬ 
trolling the San .lose scale. Two things are quite 
clear; (1) that dusting machinery must be modified 
and improved so that the dust can be delivered with 
more force and greater distribution in order to reach 
the insects hidden away in nooks and folded leaves; 
and (2) that dust materials must be manufactured 
at a lower cost in order to make their use reasonably 
economical 
No doubt many growers with large orchards and 
a scarcity of labor will dust their orchards during 
the coming season. The general farmer with a few 
trees may also find a dusting outfit most serviceable 
and sufficiently effective for his conditions. T rom 
some points of view, as the experiences of the years 
add to our knowledge, dusting takes on a more favor¬ 
able aspect. On the whole, however, the experi¬ 
mental evidence now available does not enable us as 
yet to make definite, clear-cut recommendations for 
or against dusting as an efficient, economical method 
of control for both biting and sucking insect pests 
of the orchard. 
THE PEAR PSYLLA.—The pear psylla is un¬ 
doubtedly the worst pest with which the grower has 
to contend. It has been very abundant and exceed¬ 
ingly injurious in many pear orchards during the 
past few years, especially during 1919 and 1920. 
I see no reason why its ravages will not continue 
through 1921. and every grower ought to prepare 
now to fight it early during the coming Spring. The 
“flies” can be found now on the pear trees hidden 
away in crevices of the bark and beneath the leaves 
and trash in the crotches of the branches. During 
the warm days in March and April they will come 
out of their hiding places (Fig. 187) and become 
more or less active on the tree. This, then, is the 
first time to hit them, and the best mixture for the 
purpose is Black-leaf 40, three-quarters of a pint to 
100 gals, of water, with 5 lbs. of soap added to make 
it more effective. Spray one tree at a time on all 
sides, do it thoroughly, and hit as many of the flies 
as possible at this time in March and April. One 
flv killed early will prevent hundreds later. The 
next time to hit the psylla is during the last of 
April or early May, just as the cluster buds are open¬ 
ing. Use lime-sulphur to kill the eggs, 1 gal. to 
*P* RURAL NEW-YORKER 
8 gals, of water, and spi*ay the trees thoroughly, 
directing the stream upward and downward and at 
all angles in order to hit every tiny, reddish egg 
that has been laid on the tree. Thereafter, if the 
insect has not been controlled by these applications, 
it must be fought by spraying with Black-leaf 40, 
three-fourths of a pint to 100 gals, of water ? with 
either soap added to it or 25 to 40 lbs. of hjaraied 
lime. The lime seems to add to the effectiveness of 
the spray. glenn w. herrick. 
The Philosophy of Feeding Hens 
I find that in all questions asked in regard to feeding 
stock they have from three to five different kinds of 
grain, and ask what they can put with such grain that 
will make a good feeding ration. I should think that if a 
good ration could be printed for chickens a day old. and 
their change in feed as they mature, it would do away 
with unreasonable questions. Also ration for cows be¬ 
fore and after freshening, with and without silage; a 
good feed for horses, pigs and sheep. 
It does not look to me just because a farmer has 
raised cotton where he should have raised corn that he 
should feed such things to his stock. What is the best 
feed for chickens, hens. cows. pigs, horses and sheep? 
What are they feeding the pullets in the egg-laying con¬ 
test ? 
I have four acres on which I would like to raise 
grain for hens. Would corn and oats be best? The 
land is smooth and light loam. 
How hot must water be to boil? If under 250 de¬ 
grees, how can I tell when it gets to that heat? 
Amesbury, Mass. a. s. B. 
HE reason that additions to home-grown feeds 
are needed, if the best results are to be obtained 
by poultry and cattle feeders, is that nature didn’t 
plan to make anything easy for man when he at- 
The rear Ftnjllu. Fit/. 1ST. 
tempted to improve upon her ways. If man wants 
two eggs where nature was figuring upon one, or 
must have milk the year around instead of for a few 
months in the Spring and Summer, he must pay the 
price, and the price is a feed bill. Increased animal 
production means an increase of the protein element 
in animal food, and, while nature doubtless could 
have put as much protein in potatoes as she did in 
flaxseed, she didn’t do it. The consequence is that 
the man who can raise potatoes but can't raise flax¬ 
seed must buy the latter in the form of oilmeal if he 
wants to utilize its valuable food properties. Ani¬ 
mals will live, grow fat and be happy upon the foods 
raised upon the farm, but they won’t give their max¬ 
imum production, whether it be in eggs, milk, wool 
or work, without the stimulus of more protein in 
their ration than these foods supply. That is the rea¬ 
son that farmers ask what can be put with their 
home-grown feeds to make a good ration for hens or 
dairy cows, or pigs or horses or sheep. They want 
to force these animals to maximum production, and 
maximum production is spelled p-r-o-t-e-i-n. 
I know of no better egg-producing ration than that 
given the hens in the laying contest at Storrs, Conn. 
Look it over and see how much of it you can produce 
upon your farm. Corn and wheat for whole grains; 
you can probably raise them. Equal parts by weight 
of cornmeal, ground oats, gluten feed, wheat bran, 
standard middlings, and beef scrap, for the mash. 
The excess protein needed for heavy egg production 
is found here in the gluten feed, bran, middlings 
and beef scrap; can you raise them? Perhaps you 
can raise a good substitute for these ingredients of 
the ration; if you can, go to it; that’s what we all 
want. The dairyman is trying to substitute high 
protein Alfalfa for high protein wheat bran; where 
nature ermits him to do it, he prospers. The poul- 
tryman is looking for a substitute for high protein 
beef scrap in high protein skim-milk, buttermilk, etc. 
If he can get these in sufficient quantity at less than 
the cost of meat scrap, he, too, is fortunate. 
Corn, wheat and oats form the basis of a poultry 
ration; raise whichever of these you can raise to the 
March 12, 1921 
best advantage upon your four acres and buy the 
rest. Perhaps you can raise some other crop which 
you can exchange for these to better advantage than 
you can produce them directly; if so, that will be 
good business. 
Boiling water never gets to 250 degrees, except 
under artificial conditions. At normal atmospheric 
pressure, it changes to vapor, or steam, at 212 de¬ 
grees. The higher you get above the sea level the 
lower the temperature at which water boils. At the 
summit of some mountains you would have difficulty 
in cooking an egg by boiling. The water would be¬ 
come steam before it got hot enough to cook the egg. 
For each GOO ft. of elevation the water would boil at 
one degree lower temperature. If you ever find your¬ 
self in such a predicament, put a brick upon the cover 
of the pot. By confining the steam and so increasing 
the pressure within the pot, you will raise the boiling 
point of the water. You can then make it cook meat, 
if the pot does not explode first. 
On the other hand, if you want any liquid to boil 
before it becomes very hot, reduce the atmospheric 
pressure upon it by some means. They do this when 
they evaporate milk by carrying the process on in 
airtight metal chamber. An air pump exhausts the 
air from this chamber, thus removing its pressure 
upon the milk, and the milk boils and gives off its 
watery vapor before it becomes hot enough to scorch 
the solids in it. This makes evaporated milk taste a 
lot better than it would if boiled down in open pans. 
I would like to see some maple syrup made in these 
vacuum pans that they condense milk in; I’ll bet we 
wouldn’t recognize it. M. b. d. 
Farming With Green Crops 
HAVE a two-acre plot of dark clay loam soil, 
nearly level, half of which I wish to till every 
other year, planting to potatoes, corn and beans. 
The other half I want to sow to some green manure 
crop for plowing under in Fall, which the following 
year would be planted to potatoes, corn and beans. 
The idea I have in mind is to alternate this schedule 
every year. No barnyard manure being available 
makes it necessary that some sort of green manure 
crop be plowed under every other year in order 
that the humus content of the soil be kept up. How 
would oats and Canada field peas do if planted in 
May? I also thought of buckwheat, but I have been 
told that corn does not do well where same has been 
grown and plowed under the previous year. 
Fj’om my observation, when a green manure crop 
or sod is plowed under, a more successful crop fol¬ 
lows from land plowed in Fall than from that plowed 
in Spring. This is especially true if a hot, dry 
spell comes on during the growing season. It may 
be possible that valuable fertilizing elements are lost 
through the exposure of bare ground due to Fall 
plowing, yet I believe this is more than offset by 
the more thorough decomposition of cover crop or 
sod, causing a more uniform contact with the soil 
particles, and thereby increasing the capillarity of 
soil moisture. Water exceeds all other substances in 
the composition of plants. The proper amount of 
moisture is then the most important factor in all 
plant life. This explains my belief in the impor¬ 
tance of plowing under cover crops or sod in Fall 
of year. w - h. o. 
North Towanda, N. Y. 
R. N.-Y.—Whenever we can get enough ^eed ot 
(lie annual Sweet clover that will be the plant for 
such a plan of culture. It. is along such lines that 
this annual clover will work to revolutionize farming 
in many sections. Our present plan is to seed oats 
and peas as early as possible in Spring. Plow under 
in July and then seed a mixture of buckwheat and 
rye. This will give a considerable growth to be 
plowed under just before the ground freezes—if you 
prefer Fall plowing. We have never seen any bad 
effects on the corn crop where buckwheat is plowed 
under. By using fertilizer and limestone with these 
manurial crops you can surely keep up the strength 
of that soil. Arrange to plant the corn or beans 
after using the limestone. Much of the trouble re¬ 
sulting from planting after a green crop is plowed 
under is due to the way the green crop is handled. 
If the soil is left loose and open air works in, causes 
the crop to ferment and dries out the soil too rapidly. 
If the soil is packed or rolled after plowing, so as 
to make it solid, and then the upper surface is made 
fine, there will be little trouble. When the green 
crop is plowed under in the Fall, the organic matter 
decays and is more thoroughly mixed through the 
soil. While there may be some loss by washing, the 
organic matter is left in better condition. We think, 
however, you would get good results in Spring by 
first chopping up the green crop with a disk and 
then plowing it under and roiling. 
