Cutworms and Young Trees.
What method should be used to protect young fruit trees from cutworms?
Hoe around the trees or vines and kill the fat, greasy grubs which you will find near the foliage. Put out a poisoned bait which the worms like better than the foliage, viz. Bran, 10 pounds; white arsenic, 1/2 pound; molasses, 1/2 gallon; water, 2 gallons. Mix the arsenic with the bran dry. Add the molasses to the water and mix into the bran, making a moist paste. Put a tablespoonful near the base of the tree or vine and lock up the chickens.
Control of Squash Bugs.
We are troubled with pumpkin bugs. Please tell us what to do for them.
When the bugs first make their appearance in the field they can be easily disposed of by hand picking and dropping into a bucket containing about two inches of water with about one-fourth inch of kerosene on top to kill the bugs. The picking should be done in the morning, as the bugs are apt to fly in the warm part of the day and scatter where already picked. Two persons can pick over an acre in one and a half hours, and two pickings are usually sufficient for a season, as after the vines begin to run over the ground pretty well the bugs will not be able to hurt them much. A pair of thin old gloves will help to keep off one's hands some of the perfume from the bugs. The sooner the work starts the fewer bugs to pick. Cleaning up of all old vines in the fall and removing litter in which the mature bugs hide for the winter will permit less eggs to be laid in the spring and there will be fewer bugs to pick as a result.
The Corn Worm.
Last year all my ears of corn were infested with maggot, growing fat thereon. Can you help me scare them away?
You have to do with the so-called corn worm which is very abundant in this State and one of the greatest pests to corn growing. It is the same insect which is known as the boll worm of the cotton in the Southern States. No satisfactory method of controlling this has been found, although a great deal of experimentation has been done. Nearly everything that could be thought of has been tried without very satisfactory results. A late planted corn has sometimes been free, for the insect is not in the laying stage then. If it were not for this insect the canning of corn would be an important industry in this State.
Melon Lice.
I have in about four acres of watermelons, and there seem to be lice and a small gnat or fly, and also some small green bugs and white worms on the under part of the leaves, which seem to be stopping the growth of the vines, making them wilt and die. They seem to be more in patches, although a few on all the vines. Can you please tell me what to do for them?
Melon lice are very hard to catch up with after you have let them get a start. Spraying with oil emulsions, tobacco extracts, soap solutions, etc., will all kill the lice if you get it onto them with a good spray pump and suitable nozzles for reaching the under sides of the leaves. The gnats you speak of are the winged forms of the lice; the white worms may be eating the lice; the "small green bugs" may be diabroticas. If you had started in lively as soon as you saw the first lice you could have destroyed them in the places where they started. Now your chance lies largely in the natural multiplication of ladybirds and the occurrence of hot winds which will burn up the lice. It is too late probably, to undertake spraying the whole field.
Wire Worms.
Is there any way to destroy or overcome the destructive work of the wireworm, which I find in some spots takes the lion's share of crops, such as beans, potatoes, onions, etc.?
We do not know any easy way with wire worms. Nitrate of soda is believed to kill or repel them, but you have to be careful with it, for too much will either over-stimulate or kill the kill; about 200 pounds per acre, well distributed, is the usual prescription for the good of the plants. Wire worms can probably be killed with carbon bisulphide, using a tablespoonful poured into holes about a foot deep, three or four feet apart. The vapor would permeate the soil and kill all ground insects, but the acre-cost of such treatment must be measured in its relation to the value of the crop. The most promising policy with wire worms is rotation of crops, starving them out with a grain or grass crop and not growing such crops as you mention continually on the same land.
Bean Weevil.
How can I keep certain insects from getting into my dry beans? I have finished picking the crop. Every year a little, short, stubby beetle gets in them before spring and makes them unfit for use.
You have to do with the bean weevil. The eggs are inserted by the insect while the beans are still green in the pods; subsequently the eggs hatch and the worm excavates the interior of the ripened beans. The beans can be protected after ripening by heating carefully to 130° Fahrenheit, which will destroy the egg, or the larva if already hatched. Of course, this heating must be done cautiously and with the aid of a good thermometer for fear of destroying the germinating power. The work of the insect can also be stopped by putting the beans in a barrel or other close receptacle, with a saucer containing about an ounce of carbon bi-sulfid to vaporize. Be careful not to approach the vapor with a light. After treatment for one-half hour, the cover can be removed and the vapor will entirely dissipate. This is a safer treatment than the heating. Similar methods of control can be used on other pea and bean weevils.
Slugs in Garden.
Can you advise me how I can get rid of slugs in my garden?
When barriers of lime, ashes, etc., are ineffective, traps consisting of pieces of board sacking and similar materials placed about the field prove inviting to the slugs. They collect under these and by going over the field in the early morning they may be put into a salt-water solution or otherwise destroyed. Arsenical sprays applied with an underspray nozzle to the lower surface of the leaves will help control the slugs. Poison bran mash consisting of 16 pounds of coarse bran, 2 quarts of cheap syrup, and enough warm water to make a coarse mash, is very good for cutworms and should be equally effective for slugs. It should be placed in small heaps about the plants to be protected. Cabbage leaves dipped in grease drippings and placed about the fields also prove attractive bait for the slugs, which may then be collected there. If a person has a taste for poultry, the keeping of a few ducks may solve the slug problem without further bother. Cultivation or irrigation methods that give a dry surface most of the time also discourage these pests.
Cause of Mottle Leaf.
What is the cause and cure of mottle leaf of citrus trees?
There are apparently a number of causes of this trouble, all more or less obscure and hard to overcome. It is generally thought that it is due to poor nutrition, whatever the reason for poor nutrition might be. The presence of a nematode or eel worm on the roots has found to be a cause of mottle leaf in many cases. Poor drainage, too sandy soil and a number of other things frequently cause it. Whatever the cause, no one good method of cure has been found.
Potato Scab.
I think most of my potatoes will have some scab. Will you please tell me if my next crop would be apt to have scab, provided I got good clean seed and planted in the same ground?
It seems demonstrated that a treatment of the seed will practically insure against potato scab. One method is dipping the potatoes in a solution of corrosive sublimate. Dissolve one ounce in eight gallons of water and soak the seed potatoes in this solution for one and one-half hours before cutting.
Gopher Poison.
I have some alfalfa, some hogs and some gophers, also some strychnine and carrots. If I put the strychnine on the carrots, and endeavor to poison the gophers, and the hogs get hold of the poison will it kill them?
You will find that hogs are liable to poison like any other animal, and the safest way to poison the gophers, while the hogs are running in the field is to bury the poisoned carrots very deeply in the gopher hole and then put a row of sticks or branches over the mouth of the hole so that the hogs cannot root around and get at the poisoned carrots.
How to Make Bordeaux.
Use copper sulphate (bluestone) 5 pounds; quick-lime (good stone lime), 6 pounds; water, 50 gallons. Put the bluestone in a sack and hang it so it will be suspended just under the surface of a barrel of water over night, or dissolve in hot water. Use one gallon of water to one pound of bluestone. Slake the lime in a separate barrel, using just enough water to make a smooth, clean, thin whitewash. Stir this vigorously. Use wooden vessels only. Fill the spray tank half full of water, add one gallon of bluestone solution for each pound required, then strain in the lime and the remainder of the water and stir thoroughly. The formula may be varied according to conditions, using from 3 to 8 pounds of bluestone to 50 gallons of water and an equal or slight excess of lime. Use the stronger mixture in rainy weather. Keep the mixture constantly agitated while applying.
Formula for Lime-Sulphur.
To make lime-sulphur take quick-lime, 20 pounds; ground sulphur, 15 pounds and water 30 gallons. Slake the lime with hot water in a large kettle, add the sulphur and stir well together. After the violent slaking subsides add more water and boil the mixture over a fire for at least one hour. After boiling sufficiently strain into the spray tank and dilute with water to the proper strength. If a steam boiler is available, this mixture may be prepared more easily on a large scale by cooking in barrels into which steam pipes are introduced. This mixture cannot be applied safely except during the winter when the trees are dormant. A large proportion of the lime-sulphur used in the State is purchased already prepared in more concentrated form.
Index
Fruit Growing.
AlmondGrafting on PeachPruningBudding and GraftingPlantingPollinationRoots forLongevity ofSeedlingsDo Not Plant in PlaceStick-TightsAnd PeachApplesShy-BearingNot on QuinceStock ForAnd AlfalfaTop GraftingMildew on SeedlingsPruningWill They Be Same KindPlaces forGrafting in PlaceResistant RootsFor Hot PlaceDie-Back ofStorage ofRoot-GraftsApricotsPruningShy-BearingPropagationRenewing OldSummer PruningBananasIn CaliforniaBerriesPruning HimalayasHardiness of HybridsWith Perfect FlowersPruning LoganberriesStrawberry PlantingBlackberries for DryingPlanting Bush FruitsStrawberry PlantsStrawberries in SuccessionGooseberries, Limitations ofCarobsIn CaliforniaCherriesFor Hot PlaceWildPruningTraining GraftsRestoring TressPollinationCitronCuringCitrus FruitTemperaturesFilbert RootsFilbert GrowingFigsStickersNo Gopher-Proof RootsTrays, CleaningFruit TreesDepth of SoilWhat Slopesand OverflowRoots forand SunburnBuddingStarting from SeedSquare or Triangular PlantingPlanting on ClearingsDipping Roots ofPreparing for PlantingDepth of PlantingIn Wet PlaceCutting Back at PlantingBranching YoungCoal Tar and AsphaltumRegular Bearing ofAvoiding CrotchesCrotch-SplittingStrengtheningCovering WoundsCovering Sunburned BarkGravel StreakTransplanting OldDwarfingSeedlingFilling Holes inDeferring BloomRepairing Rabbit InjuriesCrops BetweenScions for MailingScions from Young TreesWhitewashingDeciduous PlantingOn Coast SandsOver UnderflowGrapefruitand NutsGrapesDry FarmingCutting Frosted CanesDipping SeedlessZante CurrantVines for ArborPruning Old VinesBleeding VinesScant MoistureSulphuring for MildewSugar in CannedPlantingGraftingWaxJune DropKilling Moss on TreeInterplanting, Wrong ideaLemonsCitrus BuddingNo Citrus Fruits on RootsMulberriesPruning and GraftingNursery Stock in Young OrchardOrchardReplantingPlowing in YoungPigs inForage Under Sprayed TreesOrangesWater and FrostThinningWind-Blown TreesHandling Balled TreesNavel Not ThornlessOver-SizeBudding or Grafting in OrchardUnder-Pruning TreesKeeping Trees too LowDying Back of TreesYoung Trees Dropping FruitTrainingCrops Between TreesNavels and ValenciasSeedlingsAcres to One ManRoots for TreesSoil and SituationTransplantingProtecting Young TreesNot on OsageNo Pollenizer for NavelsWater and FrostFrosted, What to doPruning Frosted TreesPruningOlivesCultivatingMoving Old TreesDarkening PickledSeedlings Must Be GraftedOranges and PeppersBudding SeedlingsBudding Oldfrom Small Cuttingsfrom Large CuttingsTrimming UpCanningRenewing TreesGrowing from SeedNeglected TreesPeachesLye-peelingAged TreesRenewing OrchardWill He HaveFillers in Apple OrchardGrafting on Almondon ApricotReplanting after Root KnotBuds in Bearing TreesPollen Must Be Same KindGrafting onYoung Trees Fail to StartPlanting in Alfalfa SodPecan GrowingPearsPollination of BartlettsComicsNot on PeachDwarf PearsYield in DryingProblemsBlight and Beeson QuincePlowing, Young OrchardPlums - PollenizingPrunesOn AlmondRe-grafting SilverFrench or ItalianMyrobalan SeedlingsDryingSugarGlossing DriedPrice on Size BasisPruningTimesShaping a Young TreeLateToo MuchIn Frosty PlacesLow GrowthAre Tap-Roots EssentialFor a Bark WoundBridging Gopher GirdlesRoots, Whole or PieceSoil, Binding Plant for WinterSpineless Cactus FruitStumps, Medication to KillSucker, What will it BeWalnutsEarly BearingHandling SeedlingsHow to StartPlantingPruningGraftingon OaksEastern or California BlacksRipeningCutting Below Dead Woodin Alfalfain the HillsIncrease BearingTemperature and Moisturefrom SeedHigh-grafted
Vegetable Growing.
ArtichokesJerusalemGlobeGrowingAsparagus GrowingBeetsLeases for SugarTopping Mangel WurzelsBrussels Sprouts - BloomingBeanGrowingHoeingas Nitrogen GathererYard-LongWhy WaitingBlackeyeAre Cow-PeasHorse-Bean GrowingGrowing CastorInoculationOn Irrigated MesasCalifornia Grown SeedCloth for HotbedsCelery, BlanchingChili PeppersCornin Sacramento Valleyin Warm GroundSweet, in CaliforniaCucumbersForcingGrowingContinuous CroppingGinger in CaliforniaIn Cold, Dark, DraftLicorice in CaliforniaLentils, GrowingLettuce, TransplantingMelonsWinterRipeOnionsSeeds and SetsRipeningfrom SetsCrops from SeedPeasCanada for SeedGrowing NilesPeanutsHarvestingand AdobePotatoesCuttingPlantingNorthern SeedPlanted EarlyBallsSeed-endsand the MoonPlanting WholeHow to Cut SeedScabDouble-croppingKeepingYieldNew for SeedGrowingAfter AlfalfaFlat or HillBad Conditions forOn Heavy LandStorage for Seedand FrostsSweet, Plant GrowingGrowingBetween TreesLess Water, More HeatRadish, Giant JapaneseRhubarb, RottingSoil for VegetablesSquashes Dislike HardshipSunflowers, HarvestingTomatoesIrrigatingBig WormsLoss of Bloom
Grain and Forage Crops
AlfalfaImproving LandCultivatingSuburban Patchand Bermudaand Salt Grassand Alkalion Adobeand Soil DepthIrrigatingCuringPreparation of LandWhere GrownSowingand FoxtailWhich is Bestand Dry LandInoculatingUnirrigatedTime to Cutand OverflowNo Nurse CropRe-seedingTaking Bloat fromWhat Crop for SeedSiloing First CropSoil ForHandling YoungWith GypsumAlfileria, Winter PastureBarleyCalifornia VarietiesChevalieron Moist Landand AlfalfaBeet Sugar, Home-madeBeetsand Potatoesfor StockStock, Summer StartBerseemBermuda GrassObjectionableBlack MedicBroom CornBuckwheat GrowingCloverand Droughtfor Wet LandsCrimsonfor Shallow Landfor High Ground-WaterNot an AlfalfaSweet, Cover CropCornfor SilageIrrigation forEastern SeedSuckeringand Cow PeasCover Crop for Hop YardCow Peas in San JoaquinCowpeasGrowingand Canadian PeasCrop RotationDry Plowing for GrainFall FeedForage Plantsin FoothillsWinterPoultryFlax, New ZealandGrasses, for Bank-holdingGrass Seeds, ScatteringHayMidsummer SowingLoose by MeasureOat, When to CutRye forFrosted GrainSummer CropHeating and FermentationInsect PowderJohnson GrassJersey KaleKafir and Egyptian CornLawns, MossyMoonshine FarmingOats and RustPasturingYoung GrainHurry-upCalifornia WinterRape and MiloRye in CaliforniaRyeGrass, Italianbetter thanSpeltzSpurry, GiantSoil Light, Scant MoistureSunflowersand Soy BeansRussianSpineless CactusSorghumSmuttyLate SownSorghumsfor Seedfor PlantingSacalineSpecial CropsTeosinteVetchesfor San Joaquinfor HayWheat, Seven-headed
Soils, Fertilizing and Irrigation.
Alkali Soiland TreesTreatment ofand GypsumDistributionPlants Will Telland LitmusAlfalfa over HardpanAshesand Tomatoesin Gardenand Poultry ManureBlastingor TilingEffects ofBarnyard Manure and AlkaliBones for Grape VinesCan a Man FarmCharcoal, Medicine, not FoodCover Crop, Best LegumeCowpeas, best cover cropCementing Soils, ImprovementCultivation, Depth ofDraining Wet SpotDry PlowingTreatmentand SowingDynamite, More NeededElectro-AgricultureFenugreek as Cover CropFertilizerin Tree HolesBest for SandPrunings asSuburban WastesComposting Garden Wastesfor Sweet PotatoesPear OrchardOlivesConsult TreesNurseryAlmond Hulls and SawdustFruit TreesOrangesSeed Farm RefuseSlow StuffAlfalfaCornScrap IronKelp asNitrate of SodaStrawberriesGround WaterGypsumon Grain Landand AlfalfaWhat it DoesHow MuchGarden Peas for Green ManureGrape PomaceHandlingAbuse ofHardpan and Low WaterHumusBurning OutStraw forIrrigatingPalmsCondensation forWinterYoung TreesAlfalfaHow Much for CropsSewageCreamery WastesHouse WasteIntensive CultivationIrrigate or CultivateIrrigationUndergroundof Potatoesof Applesof WalnutsSummer and Falland FertilizersLiming Chicken YardLegumes, Two in YearLimeCaustic not Absorbenton Sandy SoilAlfalfaSugar Factory FertilizerManureWater, CultivationAshesPoultrytoo MuchStable and Bean StrawPit RoofingValue of AnimalsFresh and Dryand ShavingsSheep, and GoatHog and PotatoesVineyardand Nitratewith CloverNitrate, Late Applications ofOranges Over Ground WaterOrganic Matter, NeedsOrangesHow Much WaterDamping OffPlanting in MudPotash or WaterReviving Blighted TreesSoilsand OrangesCrop ChangesMoisture DefectsRefractorySuitable for FruitsBlowingImproving HeavyReclaimed SwampImproving UncoveredSand for ClaySourand Old PlasterHandling OrchardDepth for CitrusSummer FallowSub-soil, Plow forStable Drainage for FruitSeeds, SoakingTreesover High-waterPlowing toward or fromIrrigated or notToo Much WaterToo Little WaterThomas Phosphate, ApplyingWaterArtesianfrom Wells or Streams
Live Stock and Dairy.
Buttermilk PaintButterGoing WhiteFat, What it isWhy not ComeFat in CreamBreedingYoung Marein PurpleLineCream That Won't WhipCows in Hill CountryConcrete Stable FloorDrying Persistent MilkerFoot-hill DairyFree MartinGrade, What it isGranary, Rat-proofHogs, Best BreedJerseyShort-horn CrossBad TemperedLegal Milk HouseMilkStrongSeparator as PurifierCertifiedSelf-Milker, Cure forSilos, Heating not DangerousShingles, Make DurableTrespassing Live StockWhitewashesfor BuildingsGovernmentfor Spray
Feeding Farm Animals
Alfalfa and ConcentratesBarley, Rolledfor Cowsfor Hay FeedingBrewers' Grains for CowsBalanced RationsCorn Stalksand ConcentratesCut for SilageCalves, FeedingFeedfor CowsFamily CowYoung PigsGrape Pomace as Hog FeedGrain for HorsesHorses, Vetch forHorse Beans and MelonsHaySaltingChopping for HorsesCut AlfalfaStoring Cut AlfalfaGrindingKale for Cow FeedPlow Horses, Feed forPumpkinsFeedingKeepingPasture and Cover CropFall and WinterSummer for HogsPigsand Pie-MelonsGrain or Pasture forGrowing on RootsSheep, Winter FeedingSorghum, FeedingSilage 200 Dry FodderSugar Beets and SilageStoverStock BeetsStoringKind ofSpelt, Value ofSteers on AlfalfaSilo, Size ofSoiling CropsWheat or Barleyfor Hogsfor Feeding
Diseases of Animals.
Abscess of GlandAbnormal ThirstBloat, EasementBowel TroubleBloody MilkBarren HeifersBlind TeatBovine RheumatismBleeding for BlacklegChronic IndigestionCastration of ColtChronic CoughCowpoxCalf DysenteryCleft HoofCocked AnklesCleanse CowsCaked BagCow Chewing BonesDepraved AppetiteDentist NeededDehorningForage PoisoningFungus PoisoningFly RepellantsFlea DestroyersGargetGland EnlargedHeavesHorse with ItchHorses Feet, TreatmentHog CholeraHog SicknessInfectious MastitisIrritation of UdderInjury to UdderKidney TroubleLumpy jawLumps in TeatLoss of CudMange, Is itMangy CowMusty Corn for PigsNail PunctureNeck SwellingPregnancy of MareParalysisPneumonia in PigsParalysis of SowRickets in HogsScabby SwellingSkin Disease, FatalScoursSide-boneShoulder injuryStiff jointsSwelling in DewlapSterile CowSupernumerary TeatSoreEyesin PigsSow, Over-fatTuberculous MilkUterus, DiseasedUrination DefectiveWarts on HorseWorms in HorsesWoundSorein TeatSwellings
Poultry Keeping.
Bowel Trouble in ChicksCure for Feather-EatingCannibal ChicksCaponizingChicken PoxClipping HensDipping FowlsDisinfectantsDry MashFeeding for EggsGrain for ChickensLiver DiseaseLimber NeckMelons for FowlsOpen Front HousesRoupTreatmentin TurkeysQuick Roosters and Laying HensPreserving EggsPoultryTonicin OrchardPoint on MatingPoultry DiarrheaRupture of OviductRape for ChickensSunflower Seeds for ChicksTeaching Chicks to Perch
Pests and Diseases of Plants.
Apple-Leaf AphisBordeaux MixtureBean WeevilBorers on Olive TwigsBlister Mite on WalnutsBlack Scale, FumigationCutworms in Young TreesControlof Pear Slugof Grasshoppersof Red Spiderof Squash BugsCorn WormGumming Prune TreesGopher PoisonLime-Sulphate FormulaMelon LiceMottle Leaf, Cause ofPotato ScabRaspberry Cane BorerSunburn and BorersScale on ApricotsSpray for Red SpiderSlugs in GardenThrips, FindingWooly AphisWire Worms