The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
1313 
General  Farm  Topics 
Dynamiting  a  Tree 
When  the  chestnut  blight  swept  over 
the  North  Atlantic  slope  some  years  ago 
is  left  a  track  of  ruin  in  its  path.  In 
those  old  days  the  giant  chestnuts  were 
the  glory  of  New  Jersey  and  the  Hudson 
Valley,  as  the  great  elms  still  are  in 
New  England.  On  many  acid  soils  the 
chestnuts  grew  luxuriantly,  and  here  and 
there  were  giant  trees  which  had  been 
landmarks  for  many  years.  The  blight 
quickly  ended  them,  and  almost  before 
we  could  realize  it  these  giants  stood 
digging  as  far  down  as  we  could  and  tak¬ 
ing  out  every  bit  of  the  white  thread-like 
roots  we  could  find,  and  have  carefully 
carried  the  vine  and  roots  away  from  the 
spot  in  a  basket  to  burn,  not  trusting 
the  sun  to  kill  it  out,  even  in  a  year  like 
this.  We  have  always  felt  that  there  was 
nothing  we  couldn’t  starve  out  in  time 
by  repeated  hoeing,  but  will  have  to  admit 
that  this  plant  has  us  wavering  oh  the 
point.  We  find  there  is  usually  a  sys¬ 
tem  for  everything,  especially  in  the  han¬ 
dling  of  weeds.  No  doubt  we  have  not 
used  the  right  one  with  this  pest.  Can 
you  help  us  out?  H.  E.  B. 
Chautauqua  Co.,  N.  Y. 
A  Veteran  Chestnut  Tree  Killed  by  Blight 
dead — stripped  of  their  bark — with  dead 
arms  stretched  out  in  the  place  of  living 
branches.  Some  of  these  trees  have  been 
used  as  fence  posts,  while  others  are 
sound  enough  to  be  sawed  up  for  timber. 
The  wood  is  too  soft  for  fuel,  except  for 
kindling,  though  some  of  us  use  it  as  fire¬ 
place  wood. 
The  big  trees  became  a  nuisance  and 
danger  after  a  few  years,  as  they  decay, 
and  are  likely  to  be  blown  down  by  high 
winds.  It  is  something  of  a  job  to  chop 
The  plant  is  not  true  dodder,  but  a 
species  of  bindweed.  This  pest  acts  much 
like  dodder  by  winding  around  the  plants 
and  choking  them.  It  is  a  great  nui¬ 
sance.  We  have  not  heard  so  much  from 
dodder  this  year  as  usual,  though  a  few 
cases  have  been  reported.  True  dodder 
acts  like  a  parasite  winding  around 
plants  of  clover  or  Alfalfa.  It  spreads 
rapidly  and  the  seed  is  usually  brought  in 
with  Alfalfa  or  clover.  It  occurs  in 
spots  which  enlarge  quite  rapidly  if  left 
Chestnut  Tree  Blown  Down  by  Dynamite 
them  down  economically,  and  dynamite  is 
being  used  in  some  cases  to  hi  nv  theih 
down.  The  pictures  show  the  lower  part 
of  one  of  these  standing  giants,  and  the 
same  tree  when  blown  down.  This  tree 
stood  near  Middletown,  N.  Y.  It  was 
6  ft.  in  diameter  and  9  ft.  across  at  the 
roots.  There  were  used  17  sticks  of  40 
per  cent  dynamite  and  nine  electric  caps 
to  lift  it  out,  and  the  picture  shows  that 
a  good  job  was  done.  It  seems  hard  to 
lay  the  old  giant  low,  and  great  power 
was  required  to  do  it.  But,  as  we  see,  it 
was  done. 
Dodder  and  Bindweed 
We  call  the  inclosed  specimen  “dod¬ 
der.”  Are  we  correct?  If  there  be  a 
psychological  advantage  in  naming  one’s 
enemy,  it  is  the  only  advantage  we  have 
over  this  vine.  Fortunately  we  have  but 
one  small  spot  of  it,  an  area  of  about  8 
sq.  ft.  It  is  situated  in  a  vineyard  where 
we  practice  clean  cultivation  until  Au¬ 
gust  1,  and  then  drill  in  clover  as  a  cover 
crop  to  plow  under.  We  can  conquer 
Canada  thistle  and  quack  grass,  but  after 
two  years  of  effort  all  we  can  say  for  this 
vine  is  that  we  have  kept  it  from  spread¬ 
ing.  We  have  not  depended  upon  horse 
or  tractor  tools  to  exterminate  it,  but 
have  hoed  it  off  again  and  again,  even 
going  after  it  several  times  with  a  spade, 
alone.  The  usual  remedy  is  to  mow  off 
the  places  where  the  didder  is  found,  let 
the  cuttings  dry  and  then*burn  the  place 
over,  adding  a  little  oil  if  necessary.  If 
the  dodder  spreads  in  spite  of  this  treat¬ 
ment  the  field  must  be  plowed  and  plant¬ 
ed  to  corn,  potatoes  or  some  cleaning 
crop.  Clean  cultivation,  raking  or  har¬ 
rowing  out  the  whipcord-like,  roots,  will 
control  the  bindweed,  but  every  bit  of 
root  left  in  the  soil  will  grow.  Tillage 
must  be  frequent  and  thorough,  so  that 
no  green  leaves  are  permitted  to  feed 
these  roots.  Where  it  is  practicable  to 
grow  Alfalfa,  this  tends  to  smother  the 
bindweed,  while  the  frequent  cutting 
checks  leaf  growth  and  prevents  seeding. 
There  are  2,700,000  public  servants  on 
the  payroll  of  national.  State  and  munic¬ 
ipal  governments,  receiving  approximate¬ 
ly  $3,500,000,000  a  year  in  pay,  according 
to  a  survey  just  concluded  by  the  Na¬ 
tional  Industrial  Conference  Board.  The 
report  of  the  board  accompanying  the 
figures  suggests  the  question  whether  gov¬ 
ernmental  agencies  have  not  over-extend¬ 
ed  themselves,  since  the  annual  cost  of 
salaries  must  come  out  of  taxation,  and 
statistics  show  that  these  salaries  cost 
each  person  in  the  United  States  over  10 
years  of  age  and  “gainfully  employed”  an 
average  of  $91  a  person. 
Arcola  is  warm 
—never  burning 
hot 
U 
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the  old  stove — just  to  see 
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that  poor  boy  suffered ! 
“With  Arcola  that 
worry’s  gone;  it’s  as 
much  a  radiator  as  a  boil¬ 
er;  fire  completely  sur¬ 
rounded  by  water;  warm 
like  a  radiator,  but  never 
burning  hot. 
“Now  the  whole  house  is 
warm  with  a  radiator  in 
each  room — and  on  half 
the  coal.” 
Arcola  is  a  small  boil¬ 
er  designed  (both  for 
hot- water  and  steam)  to 
furnish  radiator  warmth 
to  small  houses,  apart¬ 
ments,  stores,  offices, 
shops,  schools  and 
churches.  No  running 
water  is  required- 
Set  in  the  parlor,  living 
room,  dining  room, 
kitchenor  basement, and 
connected  with  Ameri¬ 
can  Radiators,  it  warms 
every  room  evenly;  also 
heats  water  for  bath, 
laundry  and  kitchen. 
And  it  pays  for  itself  in 
the  fuel  it  saves. 
A  demonstration  will 
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Today 
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Organized  Co-operation 
A  NEW  BOOK 
By  JOHN  J.  DILLON 
This  book  is  written  in  three 
parts. 
PART  ONE. — The  Develop¬ 
ment  of  the  Agricultural  Indus¬ 
try.  In  five  chapters. 
PART  T  W  O.  —  Fundamental 
Principles  and  Adaptable  Forms 
of  Co-operative  Organization.  In 
ten  chapters. 
PART  THREE.  —  Application 
of  Co-operation  to  Efficient  and 
Economic  Distribution  of  Farm 
Products.  In  seven  chapters. 
This  is  a  new  treatment  of  the 
co-operative  subject.  Heretofore 
writers  of  books  have  contented 
themselves  with  accounts  of  co¬ 
operative  work  where  established. 
It  has  been  mostly  propaganda 
and  exhortation.  This  was  all 
good  in  its  time.  But  we  have 
grown  beyond  it.  Farmers  are 
now  committed  to  co-operation. 
Once  shy  of  it,  they  are  at  last  a 
unit  for  it.  What  they  want  now 
is  principles  and  definite  policies 
that  have  pr,  ved  successful.  This 
book  is  the  first  real  attempt  to 
supply  this  want.  Other,  and  it 
is  to  be  hoped  better,  books  will 
follow  on  this  line;  but  for  the 
present  there  is  no  other  book 
seriously  treating  the  subject  of 
organized  co-operation. 
Bound  In  Cloth  Price  $1.00 
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