956 
July 5, 1924 
cities of the size of Paterson, Port Jervis, Middle- 
town, Newburgh and similar places would be far 
more satisfactory as a market for firewood. We 
shall be glad to develop any enterprise for the sale 
of this fuel, for we believe that an organization 
could be made very effective in carrying out this 
work. 
A Thousand Dollar Wheelbarrow 
I N gathering bulky vegetables, such as corn or to¬ 
matoes, it is not the act of picking the tomato 
or ear of corn that takes the time and strength, but 
How the High Wheel Lifts the Load Fig. 377 
getting it from the plant to the packing table. If 
an endless belt ran between each row, and all the 
gardener had to do was to transfer the tomato or 
ear of corn to the belt, a large part of the labor of 
gathering the crop would be saved. Hence any de¬ 
vice that lessens the labor or field transportation is 
worthy of consideration. 
The wheelbarrow here shown is constructed of 
1x3 lumber and an old motorcycle wheel, and its 
weight is 20 or more pounds less than an ordinary 
barrow. This means that every trip will carry 20 or 
more pounds of vegetables without extra work, and 
at the end of the day a larger pile is on hand. 
If each row had a concrete track the size of the 
wheel would make little difference. But instead, 
there are stones, clods, and all sorts of inequalities 
of surface, and over each one the load must be lifted. 
This is done by the wheel acting as a lever, and the 
diagram shows how the high wheel, with the corre¬ 
sponding long lever, does the work. It is safe to say 
that an extra 20 lbs. can be carried with the high 
wheel with no more effort than the low wheel would 
require fora load without the extra 20 lbs. 
For gathering sweet corn, a light crate is placed 
on the wheelbarrow, and anyone who has carried 
corn out of a field in a sack will rise up and call that 
day blessed wherein he built a motorcycle wheel 
wheelbarrow. p. b. crosby. 
California. 
Poison Ivy—A Perennial Nuisance 
T HE plant commonly called poison ivy is a wide¬ 
spread weed, but many people are uncertain of 
its identify until the familiar burning, itching and 
smarting reminds one of its contact. Fig. 378, re¬ 
produced from New Jersey Agriculture for June (is¬ 
sued by the New Jersey State University) shows the 
typical form of the plant, and its inconspicuous 
flowers. It will be noted that the compound leaf is 
divided into three leaflets; this distinguishes it 
from woodbine or Virginia creeper, which has a 
compound leaf of five leaflets. It must be remem¬ 
bered, also, that poison ivy is not always a vine; 
sometimes it grows as an erect shrub, sometimes a 
climbing vine, and sometimes as a trailing plant up¬ 
on the ground. Its fringe of aerial rootlets, with 
which it clings like English ivy. is not always present. 
Destruction of this plant is troublesome, because 
few people are immune to the poison. The roots 
seem to be especially virulent, and grubbing out, 
while sure, is a frequent cause of severe poisoning. 
Frequent cutting of the tops during the growing sea¬ 
son will starve the roots, and if followed up per¬ 
sistently will in time extirpate the plant. Chemical 
treatment is also effective. The following direc¬ 
tions are given in New Jersey Agriculture: 
Spraying with chemicals lias the advantage of allow¬ 
ing the operator to attack without getting close to the 
plant. Chemicals may be applied in the form of a 
fine mist or spray to kill the foliage or concentrated 
solutions may be applied to the infested soil, thus aim¬ 
7bt RURAL NEW-YORKER 
ing the blow directly at the underground parts. The 
latter method may be more practicable for very small 
areas. For larger areas, where cultivation is impracti¬ 
cable, foliage treatment should be adopted as a means 
of eradication. 
For foliage treatment, chemical sprays to be most ef¬ 
fective should be applied on dry clear days. Applica¬ 
tions should be made with pressure sprayers and noz¬ 
zles which will give a fine misty spray, otherwise the 
solutions will roll off in large drops and become non- 
effective. Consequently, the ordinary watering can is 
not the desirable implement for applying the spray so¬ 
lutions. On small areas, knapsack sprayers are well 
adapted for the work. 
The most effective chemicals for foliage destruction 
are iron sulphate used at the rate of 2 or 3 lbs. to one 
gallon of water, or arsenate of soda used at the rate of 
2 lbs. to 50 gallons of water. Arsenate of soda is a 
dangerous poison and should be used with great care. 
The operator should work so that none of the spray 
will be thrown toward him by the wind; for it is im¬ 
portant that none of the material be allowed to get 
into the nasal passages. It should be understood that 
the treatment must be made as often as the ivy shows 
signs of recovery by the production of new' foliage. 
Eventually, with applications at the proper time, the 
reserve food in the roots will be exhausted and the de¬ 
sired death of the plant will be accomplished. For chem¬ 
ical applications to be made on the soil for the purpose 
of striking at the roots and root stock one can use salt 
brine, 3 lbs. of salt to one gallon of water; sodium 
arsenate, 2 lbs. to 10 gallons of water; or a strong 
solution of caustic soda. Each of these is most effective 
if used when the weather is dry and hot. Heavy appli¬ 
cations can be made with an ordinary sprinkling can. 
All the vegetation on the treated areas will be killed 
and the chemicals will have to be leached out more or 
Jess by several rains before other vegetation will creep 
in. The root treatment, like the foliage treatment, has 
an advantage over the cultivation method in that it of¬ 
fers less danger of poisoning by the ivy. 
When cutting or grubbing out poison ivy, great 
care should be exercised if it is burned in a bonfire, 
as the smoke or fumes will affect the eyes terribly. 
Scraps of the vine on stovewood will cause serious 
inflammation of the eyes. A wise precaution, when 
working among the plants, is to rub bands, face, and 
A Good Portrait of Poison Ivy Fig. 378 
other exposed flesh with “Vaseline” or olive oil. A 
susceptible person may be poisoned by contact with 
shoes or other clothing that lias brushed against the 
vine, as the poison is very volatile. 
Remedies are very numerous, and vary in their 
efficacy with different persons. A thick lather of 
laundry soap, allowed to dry on, often gives immedi¬ 
ate relief, and is usually at hand. A saturated solu¬ 
tion of sodium hyposulphite, the common “hypo” of 
the photographer, applied freely, generally cures at 
once. The common disinfectant “C.-N.” put on full 
strength, is reported to cause momentary smarting, 
but to kill the poison. The following are all stand¬ 
ard remedies: Solution of sugar of lead, tincture of 
grindelia, tincture of witch hazel or olive oil. The 
witch hazel seems more effective if heated. The 
latest treatment we have heard of is an application 
of iodine, applied with a swab of absorbent cotton. 
This causes some exudation which may be absorbed 
by dusting with boracic acid. Severe cases of poison¬ 
ing, accompanied by general malaise and symptoms 
of internal disorder, should be treated promptly by a 
competent physician. 
How to Make a “Weed Killer” 
E are fairly overrun with questions about 
making a weed-killer. That means some 
substance that can be sprinkled on the ground, and 
will kill out quack grass and ordinary weeds. Most 
of these demands come from people who want some 
effective plan for killing grass and weeds in a drive¬ 
way or gravel walk. The difficulty in obtaining labor 
to hoe out these weeds in the ordinary way, drives 
people to hunt for other methods. Of course, there 
are few effective chemicals which will kill the weeds 
and not harm the useful plants. The exception to 
this would be the use of sulphate of iron in killing 
mustard in the oat field or the use of salt in the 
asparagus patch, but in order to kill the weeds on 
pathway or driveway, some more powerful chemical 
is necessary. A heavy dose of salt will sometimes 
prove effective for a time. The salt will kill the 
leaf but does not permanently kill the root of the 
weed. In order to he effective some strong poison 
is necessary and of course, that must he used with 
great care wherever chickens or small animals have 
access to the place. The following method of pre¬ 
paring weed killers is given by the Pennsylvania 
Department of Agriculture and is probably as ef¬ 
fective as most of the prepared mixtures. 
A solution that has been used to good advantage in 
killing weeds in walks, as well as poison ivy and even 
objectionable trees, can be made from the following ma¬ 
terials : 1 lb. of arsenic, 1 lb. of washing soda, % lb. of 
whiting, and four gallons of water. 
The soda is dissolved in water which must be hot. 
Water is then added to the arsenic until a smooth paste 
results. This paste is added to the hot soda solution 
and the entire mixture boiled for a half hour or more 
until the arsenic is all dissolved. Stirring from time to 
time will speed the boiling process. 
Caution : Do not stand where the fumes may be in- 
baled. 
When the arsenic has been completely dissolved, 
enough water should be added to make four gallons. 
The whiting, which is useful only as a marker, is the; 
last ingredient to be put in. 
It must be repeated, however, that it is very dan¬ 
gerous to use this material where animals run 
about. (7ne of the large railroad companies not 
long ago used a weed killer much like the one here 
given to destroy the growth along its lines. Cattle 
broke out of the adjoining pastures, ate some of the 
sprayed plants and died, and our understanding is 
that the railroad company was made liable for the 
damage. There is a peculiar thing about most stock 
in connection with these poisons. The animals seem 
to have an abnormal craving for the poisonous 
principles. Many farmers know how cattle will 
often go out of their way or break into places where 
they can lick paint or eat nitrate of soda or other 
harmful substances. Now and then we have re¬ 
ports of damage done to live stock in sprayed or¬ 
chards. The ordinary careful spraying, rarely gives 
any trouble. The danger comes from blowing off the 
dregs of the tank into a pool, or letting the nozzle 
run, or leaving the flowing nozzle on the ground 
without shutting off the spray. Cattle will often 
seek these places and lick up the accumulation of 
poison and thus hurt themselves. Much the same 
thing is true of the poisoned baits used to kill cut¬ 
worms or grasshoppers, they must all he used with 
great care, or otherwise there will surely be trouble. 
Destroying Tent-caterpillars 
N a recent number of The R. N.-A. someone asked 
how to destroy tent-caterpillars. I should like to 
tell our experience of a few years ago, when the 
At Work in the Raspberry Field Fig 379 
trees in our locality were loaded with the pests. 
We tried using a torch to burn out the nests, just as 
your correspondent described; hut we had better 
success using an oily swab (kerosene oil) on the end 
of a pole, without lighting the oil. This wiped out 
the nests and contents better, we thought, and did 
less harm to the trees besides. v. m. b. 
Walton N. Y. 
