982 
Tht RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
July 12, 1924 
Controlling Cutworms. —There never 
was such a season for cutworms. At least 
that has been the impression of garden- 
makers, market gardeners and farmers of 
New England this season. One man has 
just reported to me that he dug 48 cut¬ 
worms from around a single eggplant. 
Another man went along a row of tomato 
plants and filled a 7-in. flower pot with 
the cutworms which he poked out of the 
soil. Flower growers, too, have suffered. 
In some fields where Gladioli are being 
grown on a commercial scale, the rows of 
young plants just coming through the 
ground have looked at times as though a 
scythe had been used to mow off the tops. 
The plan of using poison bait has not 
been very successful, apparently, in most 
cases. The worms have been too numer¬ 
ous and too voracious. Moreover, it is re¬ 
ported that birds have been killed rather 
freely as a result of eating poisoned bran 
scattered around the plants. It is re¬ 
ported by one experienced grower that 
he has overcome the cutworms to a large 
extent by working a little lime and soot 
into the soil around the plants in fields 
where cutworms abound. Another man 
has tried the plan of placing shingles 
along the rows. He says that large num¬ 
bers of cutworms are found under these 
shingles in the morning, making their de¬ 
struction an easy matter. Tobacco dust 
on the ground around the plants is a 
rather efficient preventive, as is liquid 
nicotine poured on the ground along the 
rows. 
Damage From Birds. —Birds, too, have 
done much damage this year. There 
seems to have been many more birds than 
usual, and of course every farmer and 
gardener agrees that with few exceptions 
they need to be preserved. The starlings, 
however, are getting to be an unmitigated 
nuisance in some sections. They are ex¬ 
tremely bold, and are harder to deal with 
than robins ever were. Catbirds are very 
friendly, and are to be encouraged for 
the most part, but have a tremendous 
appetite for ripe red strawberries. They 
are not kept away by the common plan 
of fastening strips of mosquito netting on 
frames over the beds. They walk right 
under the netting and eat the berries. 
One way to keep them out is to have a 
netting large enough to extend over the 
frames and reach the ground on all sides, 
have found that this cloth netting, 
time in history some of the nurserymen 
have sold out all their stock in several 
lines. It has been a good season for 
strawberries, and growers have been very 
much more sucessful than last year. 
Excellent berries have come up from the 
Cape, and were sold at profitable prices. 
Planting Perennial Flower Seeds. 
—The cheapest way to get perennial 
plants is to grow them from seeds. There 
are very few kinds which cannot be pro¬ 
duced readily in this manner. But the 
mistake is commonly made of waiting un¬ 
til midsummer before the work is done. 
The earlier most of the perennials and 
biennials can be planted the better. There 
are some exceptions, though. Hollyhock 
seed is best planted late in July, while 
English daisies and pansies should be 
started about the first of August. A few 
plants are started very readily by cutting 
usually works at the top of the plant. 
The latter is the worst pest we have had 
to deal with in years. 
Climbing Roses. —It is a fact not 
commonly realized that climbing plants 
bloom better, as a rule, when the branches 
run horizontally than when they are ver¬ 
tical. Climbing roses tied in a vertically 
upright position to a trellis or a stake are 
not likely to give as many blooms as 
when the branches are bent so as to form 
a sort of continuous letter S, or else bent 
sideways and trained along wires or cross 
pieces. When this plan is followed, new 
growth is forced out all along the stalks, 
and a profusion of bloom results. The 
climbing roses have been very beautiful 
in New England this season, and are be¬ 
ing grown in constantly increasing num¬ 
bers, as people realize that by having sev¬ 
eral kinds they can enjoy a long season 
of flowers. The Climbing American Beau¬ 
ty was the first variety to flower in my 
garden. Christine Wright came soon 
after. Tausendochon and Dr. Van Fleet 
followed a little later. Silver Moon has 
made a wonderful burst of bloom, and 
M 
KELLYS* 
_ C&A&gjjids 
True to Name Fruit Treed 
You take no risk when 
buying Kelly Trees. They 
are well-rooted, perfect 
specimens and guaranteed 
to satisfy. 
Kelly” Planting Pays 
Our reputation for square 
dealing is established. Pur¬ 
chase direct from Kelly 
Bros.—save the dealer’s 
profit. Kelly Trees are 
packed by experts with 44 
years’ experience. 
CATALOG FREE 
Our 1924 Fall Cata¬ 
log will be sent 
free upon request. 
It lists apples, 
and other fruits 
as well as shrubs, 
ornamental trees, 
roses and grape¬ 
vines. 
Kelly Bros. Nuneries 
1160 Main Street, Daniville, N. Y. 
Cloth for Bird Protection 
I 
which is inexpensive, can be used in sev¬ 
eral ways. It serves first to protect the 
cherries on low trees. After that it can 
be used on the strawberry beds, and still 
later on the currant bushes. I like to 
allow the currants to remain a long time 
before they are picked. They seem to 
increase in quality, and they are among 
the very few small fruits which will re¬ 
main for several weeks without deterior¬ 
ating. The only difficulty comes in pro¬ 
tecting them from the birds. It is worth 
remembering, by the way, that the cur¬ 
rant worm has a second brood which com¬ 
monly appears at about this time, and 
often gets in a lot of work' before being 
discovered. The currant worm begins 
eating at the bottom of the plants, which 
is one reason, I suppose, that its presence 
is not discovered in many instances until 
it hast been busy for several days. 
A Curious Season. —This has been 
one of the most backward seasons on rec¬ 
ord, not only in New England, but all 
over the country. Almost all of the flow¬ 
er shows have had to be postponed on this 
account. An Iris show was held in Bos¬ 
ton at the regular date, but the number of 
blooms shown was small. The peony 
show had been set for June 21, but at 
that time there were very few peonies 
that were half open. Accordingly the 
show had to be postponed for another 
week, and combined with the rose show. 
Perhaps the rose show would have been 
a better one if it had been postponed, as 
many growers were unable to make much 
of a display. The New England growers 
have been notified that the National 
Peony Show at Des Moines, la., the Na¬ 
tional Gladiolus Show in New York, and 
the various rose pilgrimages have been 
postponed because of the backward sea- 
won. While the different flowers have 
been slow in coming, they have been un¬ 
usually good, however, when they have 
appeared. This has been also true of 
the shrubs, although they, too, have been 
very late. The lilacs have seldom blos¬ 
somed more beautifully, but were iu full 
flower on Memorial Day, when as a rule 
it is difficult to get enough blooms to 
make a bouquet at that date. The Spring 
has been ideal for setting out nursery 
stock, and an almost unprecedented 
amount of planting has been done. Ap¬ 
parently there is constantly growing in¬ 
terest in flower gardens, and for the first 
up the roots into pieces about two inches 
long and planting them two inches deep. 
It is very easy to get a good stock of 
bleeding heart, Oriental poppies and An- 
chusas by this method. Oriental poppies 
are exceedingly difficult to move in the 
Spring, as they have very fleshy roots, 
but by the first of August these roots 
have become dry and hard. At that time 
they can be handled without difficulty, 
and that is the best time for moving es¬ 
tablished plants. 
Transplanting Irises.' —Most peren¬ 
nials are divided and moved to advantage 
in the Fall, but this is not true of Irises. 
The bearded Iris, the Siberian Iris, and 
the Japanese Iris should be handled as 
soon as possible after the flowering sea¬ 
son. They can be separated without dif¬ 
ficulty, and if the work is done in July 
the plants will get a very much better 
start than if it is postponed until later in 
the season. Care must be taken that 
bearded Iris are not planted too deep. 
The tops of the rhizomes should be almost 
even with the surface of the ground. 
These are plants which like a hot, sunny 
situation. Sometimes amateurs make the 
mistake of planting them in wet places, 
thinking that they need moisture, like 
the common flags seen in the bogs. As a 
matter of fact, there are only two Irises 
which will grow in the water. One is the 
native American flag, or Iris versicolor, 
and the other is the yellow European flag, 
Iris pseudaeorus. Even the Japanese 
Iris refuses to thrive if set in a wet or 
boggy location. It likes to stand on the 
edge of a stream or pond where it can 
send the tips of its roots into the water, 
hut objects to surface water. 
When Wistarias Fail to Bloom.— 
One of the most common complains on 
the part of garden-makers relates to Wis¬ 
tarias which fail to bloom in spite of 
much care lavished upon them. Often¬ 
times root pruning will stimulate the 
blooming of Wistarias, and rather hard 
cutting back is sometimes advantageous. 
The fact remains, however, that many 
Wistarias will not bloom under any cir¬ 
cumstances. It seems to be a fact that 
those grown from seed are very likely 
never to flower. In any event, seedling 
plants may be expected to grow for many 
years before they begin to bloom, and un¬ 
fortunately thousands of seedling Wis¬ 
tarias have been sold by nurserymen. A 
certain percentage of such plants will 
turn out well, but many will prove disap¬ 
pointing. The garden-maker should in¬ 
sist upon grafted plants, for such plants 
are practically certain to flower if the 
grafts have been taken from other plants 
known to bloom freely. Grafted Wis¬ 
tarias also begin to bloom when young, 
as a rule. 
Borers in Dahlias. —If the native 
corn-borer is as troublesome this year as 
it was last season, Dahlia growers may 
expect to suffer severely from its depre¬ 
dations. This pest bores into the stalk 
and works towards the top. The best 
way to get rid of it is to insert a small 
piece of wood into the hole so that he 
cannot drop to the bottom of the stalk, 
and then to make a slit downward from 
a point one or two joints higher. The 
insect will usually follow the knife down 
to the hole, where it can be removed. 
The American borer is much easier to 
deal with than the European borer, which 
Dorothy Perkins is as usual bringing up 
the rear of the floral procession. 
E. I. FARRINGTON. 
3 KHAKI CLOlVZdQ 
SHIRTS 
GOVERNMENT 
STANDARD- 
The Greatest Bargain 
Without Exception 
Men's khaki cloth shirts, of finest quality and 
workmanship, $3.49 for THREE. We want 
you to order them, and when receiving, show 
them to your friends. These shirts retail at $2.00 each. We of¬ 
fer them to you at the amazingly low price of $3.49 for THREE. 
They are made of strong khaki cloth, GOVERNMENT STANDARD 
stamped on every shirt, which guarantees its quality; perfectly 
tailored, cut extra full, summer weight, soft turn down collar, 
two extra strong large button down pockets. An ideal shirt for 
work or semi-dress. 
SEND NO MONEY 
rder your shirts from this bargain offer and save yourself 85c. 
on every shirt. Pay postman $3.49 plus postage on arrival 
of shirts. Money back if not satisfied. State size when ordering. 
INTERNATIONAL COMM. HOUSE 
Dept. B 294 433 Broadway New York, N. Y. 
CONTENTS 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, JULY 12, 1924 
FARM TOPICS 
The Possibilities of An Acre of Land...978, 979 
What Can a Maine Farmer Do?. 979 
A Cover Crop in the Corn. 980 
Spraying Tomatoes, Cabbages and Peppers.. 980 
Cutting and Curing the Clover. 981 
A Working Day’s Reflections. 981 
Loading Hay .983 
Burning Out Maple Stumps. 983 
Hope Farm Notes. 986 
Mr. Berrang Starts Farming. 986 
Turning Sand Into Soil. 987 
Farming Both Ends of the Country. 996 
LIVE STOCK AND DAIRY 
Heaves and Its Treatment. 992 
Lung Worms of Swine.. 992 
Dying Chicks .. 992 
Congested Udder; Blood in Milk. 994 
Separating Thick Cream... 994 
Prohibition for a Self-milker. 994 
THE HENYARD 
Whey for Poultry...,. 997 
Improving Poultry Strains. 997 
Lame Ducks .. 997 
Broody Hen for the Table.997 
HORTICULTURE 
Ants Herding Plant Lice. 980 
Cultivating Strawberries; Potting Plants... 983 
A Little Mushroom Talk. 987 
WOMAN AND HOME 
Tea Flavoring in Apple Pie. 983 
From Day to Day... 990 
Three Summer Desserts. 990 
The Rural Patterns... 990 
Canning Pineapple . 990 
Suggestions for the Preserving Season. 990 
Housekeeper’s Notes . 990 
Solving Problem of Cellar Stairs. 991 
Letters of An Indiana Farmer. 991 
Sea Captain’s Catsup . 991 
MISCELLANEOUS 
How the Honey Bee Makes Muscle.......979, 980 
Skunk Protection ..... 983 
Birds on a Wisconsin Farm. 983 
Chimney Swallows ... 983 
Suspected Foul Brood ...983 
The Political Parties on Agriculture....987 
Countrywide Situation . 996 
Various Market Questions. 996 
Destroying Bedbugs .. 996 
Destroying a Hornet’s Nest. 996 
Publisher’s Desk . 998 
Ail Up-to-Date Bathroom $ 60 
One of a few SPECIAL PRICED sets consisting: of a 4—4'0> 
or 6-ft. iron enameled roll rim Bathtub, one 19-in, roll rim 
enameled flat back Lavatory, one syphon action wash down 
Water Closet with porcelain low down tank. Oak post hinire 
seat. Faucets marked hot and cold. All nickel plated fittings. 
Send for Catalog 60 
MORRIS & KLENERT CO., Inc. 
137 East 43rd Street New York City 
EARP- THOMAS 
Plant Foods and Fertilizers 
SEED INOCULANTS 
Lime and Soil Testers 
Rat Virus to destroy rats and mice 
Write for Valuable Booklet 
EARP-THOMAS FARMOGERM CO. 
260 Washington St., Bloomfield, N. J. 
Agents Wanted 
Berry, Vegetable and Flower Plants 
Pot-grown Strawberry plants for August and fall plant¬ 
ing ; runner Strawberry plants, Kaspberry, Blackberry, 
Gooseberry, Currant, Grape plants for September and 
October planting ;Cauliflower,Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts 
Celery, Kale plants for summer planting; Delphinium’ 
Foxglove, Columbine, Canterbury Bells, Poppy, Phlox 
and other hardy perennial flower plants for summer 
and fall planting. Catalogue free. 
HARRY L. SQUIRES, Hampton Bay*, N. Y. 
COW X=>EAS For Sale SK*<& 
Peas, 83.65 bu. SIMPSON BROTHERS. Milford. Delaware 
Five Solid Acres Early Glory, Copenhagen Market 
and Danish Cabbage Plants. Ready from June 15 to July 
15. #1.50 per 1,000. 0. J. STIFFOUII, Cortland. New York 
F’olorv Plante Thousands of Celery Plants © $3 per 
V_JClciy A Idlllb 1,000. Also Cabbage Plants @ $1.50. 
Caleb Boggs & Son ■ Cheswold, Delaware 
Planle Pnr Qala Celery, Cauliflower ; 100—50c ; 500—$2 ; 
ridlllb rur Odie 1 , 000 —*3. Cabbage: 100—40e; 500 —$ 1 . 25 ; 
1,000—*2,postpaid. Cat.free. W. S. FORD a SON,Hartly,Delaware 
Get our low price. Farmer 
agents wanted. Sample free. 
THEO. BURT & SONS Melrose,Ohio 
BINDER twine 
STRAWBERRY PLANTS 
Pot-grown plants of HOWARD 17, SAMPLE, SUCCESS and 
DUNLAP. 84 per 100; PROGRESSIVE EVERBEARING, 85 
per 100. Ready for August planting. Older early 
as supply at this price is limited. 
GEO. D. AIKEN Box M Putney, Vermont 
Fine Big Berries This Fall! 
We promise you a fair crop this fall, if you act 
promptly ! And the berries should be as big as the one 
alongside, if you plant Lovett’s All Season Everbearing 
Strawberry To make this possible you should set out 
Lovett’s Pot-Grown Plants 
We Also Offer Other 
Everbearing Varieties 
as well as standard J une bearing sorts 
for next year’s crop. 
As the pioneerBin this field we offer 
a heavily-rooted, well-balanced plant 
product that will take hold at once. 
Write today for Catalog No. Ill, 
our ‘‘Midseason Hints” that tells all 
about the midsummer making of the 
Strawberry bed. It is free. 
LOVETT’S NURSERY 
Box 162 Little Silver, New Jersey 
