HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION
United States Department of Agriculture Special Page
Bulletins and Special Articles Issued by the Government, of Interest to the Northwest;
Suggestions Covering a Wide Range of Activities; Results of Federal Investigations, Etc.
8
Horticultural Board Meat Inspection Laws Insect Pests Receive Handling of the
Bars Out Many Pests Greatly Strengthened Commercial Attention Alfalfa Hay Crop
IN its annual report for the year "T1 HE Supreme Court of the United "T HERE has been a notable In- TP HE cutting of alfalfa should be
ending June 30, 1914, the Federal 1 States has recently handed down 1 crease in the number and quan- done when not more than one
Horticultural Board calls especial at- decisions of great importance in the tity of insecticidal and fungicidal half the plants have blossomed,
tention to the great value of the enforcement of the meat inspection preparations on the market, accord- At J,1;1? BtiBe 'he yield for the sea
crops which would be affected if in- " livestock quarantine laws The ,ng to the annual report of the tsn BIf'.S'
rested Egyptian cotton seed or dis- t inspe ct on law provides for the Unlted stateg Department of -Agri- ututtlnl of the first ltd it
In the rasp nf several small shin- commerce. Among the provisions of board. However, there also seems a yield from succeeding crops will not
ments of Eevntian cotton seed the this act is one which prohibits any- more general desire on the part of make up for the loss of the first crop.
Department discovered the presence from unlawfully destroying or the manufacturers to comply with The leaves of alfalfa contain much
of the Dink boll worm which at the alring marks or other identifica- tffe provisions of the law and the De- more feeding value than the stems,
present time is doing more damage "on devices which are required to be partment has made every endeavor and every effort should be made to
in PVvnt than all the other cotton Placed upon the meat or the con- to assist manufacturers in this re- save the leaves,
pests combined These shipments of tainers- furnishing them scientific When the ground and weather are
seed were at once .destroyed Some Pities In Kansas City. Kan., information. dry it will cure readily and is safe to
This however does not do away broke a Government seal on a car of For this purpose the board has rake within a few hours after mow
wlth the danger that infested seed meat and the lower court held that been issuing a monthly publication lng, and stack a few hours after
mieht be contained in shipments of tne meat inspection act related alone since last February, in which are raking.
haled cotton which would thus dis- i(f those engaged in the business of printed extracts from letters written When alfalfa Is very rank and suc
fipmlnate the Insect in this country P"parlngr mean for transportation. to individuals by the board. These culent and the weather is damp it Is
Public hearines have been held in Tn Supreme Court reversed this opinions, it is considered, should be not a great task to dry the leaves,
order to discuss regulations for- the decision and held, in substance, that of service to others and aid the pub- but the stems will be wet. -use
of foreien cotton bv mills situ- the Provision regarding identification lie in a better understanding of the Always have the hay dry enough
ated in cotton-erowlng region Tin devlce8 aPPl' to every person, firm, law's requirements. before stacking that when a handful
America No definite action has as or corporation, or officer, agent, or A general outline of the procedure of stems is twisted together no water
vet however been taken because of employe thereof, no matter whether of the board is given in the new re- can be squeezed out. The first crop
th nnwihilitv that some 'wav may be engaged in the Interstate transporta- port. Besides the administrative is usually the hardest to cure,
found I o treatlne bated cotton so as tion of the meats or not. Tils deel- work necessarj to enforce the act, Mow earily in the morning, after
tn destrnv all inser : life In the Bion will materially aid the Govern- there are examinations of the various the dew is off, allowing the Bun to
meantime nractlrallv everv mill ment ln tne strict enforcement of the preparations and tests to determine wilt the swath. Then rake and put
whTch uses EnrptiM cotton has 1- their strength and efficacy. it in narrow tall cocks before night,
aereerf fn burn at the end of each The livestock quarantine law pro- Materials and proprietary prepara. The next morning, after the dew is
davaii nicker waste and seeds nlblts the interstate movement of tions used for agricultural spraying off, open the cocks, but do not shatter
The danger from imnorted' Dota- livestock from any territory quaran- purposes are examined, as are prod- the leaves; the following afternoon
toes lies in the prevalence of pow- tined by the Secretary of Agriculture, ucts used to rid the household, gar- the hay will usually be in shape to
derv Rpah nhrmd On this account except under certain conditions pre- den, etc., of insects of all kinds, dis- stack.
nn RtnVk U aVceoted from Europe scribed by him. The District Court infectants, germicides, etc., which Of course you will sometimes be
nntaidfi nf rienmark and the Nether- at Kansas City, Mo., in the case of are claimed to be efficacious to kill governed by weather conditions, but
FandT and even in these countries United States vs. Nixon et al., con- or combat bacteria, preparations when the weather is fair this is
the Island of Bornholm and the prov- strued the act not to apply to re- used on horses, cattle, sheep, swine very satisfactory method to follow,
inces of Groningen and Drenthe are eeivers of railroad companies, for the or goats, as well as on fowls and .
excepted reason that they were not mentioned other domesticated animals. INo txcuse ror Mumps
Other 'dangerous pests discovered in the statute. Besides testing an insecticide or The Champion Idlers
in imnnrtatlons of various kinds in- Tne Supreme Court reversed this fungicide to determine Its power to ,, L
pfiidn T instances f o brown tail decision and held that the amend- kill Insects, tests are also made to COMEBODY said that it a man
moth two of egg masses of the gypsy ment to the original act was intended determine whether the preparation could work at the full height
moth' specimens of the olive fruit to make the remedy as broad as the will injure the vegetation on which of his power for at least one hour
fly and the citrus leaf miner. All evil which was sought to be cured, it is sprayed. each day you would be amazed at
these destructive pests were inter- and that the. law, as amended, ap- One duty of the board is to keep what he had accomplished during the
ceDted as a result of state and Fed- P'etI to any common carrier engaged Imported adulterated and misbrand- vear-
oral iHnn in the interstate transportation of ed preparations from entering the , ,
New Carantines were declared livestock. This decision is regarded country. Of 147 official and unoffi- Everv farmf knows how much
aaalnst the Mednerraan fruit fly of reat Importance ln the enforce- cial samples received during the year bett,ne co if there was noth
11a miinn fiv nrnhihitine the Bh In- ment of the law enacted for the pro- from abroad, it was recommended ing idle on his land, and if he could
mVnt nf oprtain fr.7ita nut! and Veee- Action of the livestock interests of that 62 be denied entry until they use his own hours to the best ends,
KE'th? HaWanan isllnds. the country. should conform to the law. but he champion idlers of the world
tables from the Hawaiian Islands,
and against certain portions of Maine
on account of the existence of potato
powdery scab. Living sugar canes
or cuttings thereof coming from Ha-
or cuuings luereuL uumme nuu. i,v-
wail and Porto Kico are also Darrea
under the so-called sugar cane quar-
antine. Seeds of the avocado or alii-
fmnortTfrom Mexico6 nT'centra
imported irom Mexico ana iemrdi
America.
iiniisiui "
r, r r. i r
POTTED plants sunk in a boxful
V of moss, can be used, or else the
flowers and vines can be planted
directly In the soil. If the moss-filled
box is used the plants can be changed
from time to time without much,
trouble, but possibly they do better
when they are rooted In the soil of
the box.
A metal box is suitable for hold-
ing the moss, but wood makes the
best box in which flowers are to be
planted directly. Cypress, authori-
ties say, is the best wood, and air
though it costs a little more to begin
with it outlasts any other kind.
The soil should be very rich the
smaller the box the richer the soil
must be. The bottom of the box
should be punctured with inch-wide
ho.es in several places and bits of
broken flower pots should be so ar-
ranged over these holes as to make
good drainage sure. Rich soil can
be bought from a florist or It can
be brought from the woods in bags
or boxes. Wood soil should generally
te6r?oxes 'D'
ter Doxes. ,
"
HOW TO INCREASE THE EGG
YIELD NOW.
Many breeders have made condl-
tions ideal for their layers and have
seemingly done everything possible to
have the hens laying at full capacity
and still are not getting enough eggs
to pay -the feed. Under these condi-
tions Llce-0 has been doing wonders,
A tube large enough to last the av-
erage breeder a year is sold for 50c
postpaid, guaranteed to give absolute
satisfaction, or money refunded and
no questions asked. This wonder-
ful treatment has been on the market
nearly a year and has never failed
In a single instance. Circulars free,
The Lice-0 Co., 2 86 Washington
atreet, Portland, Or.
on uare or w inaow-ooxes
"Tacked-Down Carpet Habit" Bad
, ,
HE tacked-down carpet habit
I is a bad one from more than
A 0n8 oint ot vlew.. Baya the
fn'd States Department of Agricul-
ture s entomo ogist, and the Buffa o
,.. rnr came? hUri la oniv one
hnnuohnid nost thnt thrivoa under
mis secureiy-iiusienea uoor coveriug.
t a..iu oi.. tt.i. i..
" i i
ZtXt Sfo
ably that rug8 or movable gquare8 0f stance. If circumstances permit of
carpet or matting are more generally but one it should be undertaken n
used in this section. midsummer, but two are really
The .housekeeper, of the North, needed.
eager to be rid of this pest, might , In making thorough houseclean-
weu adopt the rug or square of car- ings the rooms should be attended o
pet, which may readily be rolled up one at a time. 1 he carpets should
and examined at all times and treat be taken np, thoroughly beaten and
ed If found necessary. This really sprayed out of doors with benzine
seems the most effective way of com- ad allowed to air for several hours.
bating the Buffalo moth. If the The rooms themselves should be
floors are not suitable for polishing, thoroughly swept and dusted, the
straw mattings laid under. the loose flora washed down wtlh hot water,
carpet squares will make an attract- the cracks carefully cleaned out and
lve appearance, and while not as kerosene or benzine poured into the
cleanly as the bare floor, will afford cracks and sprayed under the base-
fewer places for the insect than the boards. The extreme Inflammability,
tacked-down carpet. of benzine, and even of its vapor,
, when confined, should be remem-
2 to Gainst " M"
bucn nouseaeepers as preier to against.
keep their carpets fastened over the Filling Cracks.
entire floor along with the attendant Where the floors are poorly con-
inconveniences must use more stren- structed and tho cracks are wide it
uoua measures to beiid of the carpet will be a good Idea to fill the cracks
beetle Thorough fumigation with with piaster of parts in a liquid state;
bisulphid of carbon or sulphur dioxid this will afterwards set -and lessen
,.. mooe,,,. the number of harboring places for
, L T i ?,a . u . a the insect. ,
It blsulphid ot carbon Is used great Before reiayine the carpet, tarred
care must be taken that there is no roofing paper should be laid upon
fire In the house when the fumiga- the floor, at least around the edges,
tion is In progress, as the gas is very but preferably over the entire surface,
inflammable. The vapor should not-and when the carpet is relaid it will
be inhaled. The burning of sulphur be well to tack it down rather lightly
(sulphur dioxld with some sulphur so that it can be occasionally lifted
trloxld), which can be obtained at at the edges and examined for the
any drugstore in the form of candles, presence of the insect.
has been effectively used for many Later in the season, if such an ex-
years to destroy other insect pests, as aminatlon shows the insect to have
the bedbug, and will also kill the made its appearance, a good though
Buffalo moth if the fumigation is somewhat laborious remedy consists
thorough. in laying a damp cloth over the sus-
Two pounds of stick sulphur have pected spot of the carpet and ironing
proved sufficient for every thousand it with a hot iron. The steam thus
cubic feet of space. The chief objec- generated will pass through the car-
tion to sulphur fumigation arises pet and kill the lnsecls immediately
from the strong bleaching action ofbeneath it.
,
the fumes ln the presence of moist-
ure and their powerful destructive
actlon on vegetation.
Thorongh and Continued,
. . , . ..
Not only must measures be thor-
ough, but they must be long-contln-
, r , :C
has heen chosen as an ahode bv the
n, th -n, ..i t,co
are the stumps.
There is plenty of excuse for al.
most any kind of a tree on "the farm,
but there is no excuse at all for
gtllmD- . .,... . nrn,, ,
ing, and more than that it li keen,
ing out of cultivation what nn L
the best land on tho farm In add 1-
"on to this, like most idlers the
stump s constantly In the wnv po
lvJ n ih.fw.a ; Kvery
,,, ,. . , -"u ;r .JV.ur
siutnps, tiring the horses and vour
1 "lm
BCU'
TZl
cuUlvatcd a long time "that where
tnere , f stumns left it
nar(1v Rflemg ewhsle T P8 ,eJ c "
great labor necessary to take them
out Most anybody can sit down and
figuro where t w be
this year to take the time and exDend
the en necessary to get all the
fieU,g clc'r ' lu si 'i mo
But ths ,s or ,.. Th
pense of t k, t m
not be spread over one yearV oDer-
atlon but over 10 or 15 ' , '
tIon Decause tbe averaKe hard wood
Btnmp now ,eft ,n fields will
gtill be there j0 Qr J5
now unlesg u ,g taken outJ
And ag aganst th t - th
operatl on ot 'r. ' , ..T ' "i
SSSSSl
which you may work In the fields and
tne productiveness of the land on
which the stump stands not for one
year, but for 15 years. ' '
Figuring in this way the labor of
taking out the Btumps is the most
Profitable labor you could dp
And with the modern hlghly-Im-
proved stump pullers now in the mar-
ket It Is possible not only to snatch
out your own stumps at a profit to
yourself in the long run, but also to
make a profit out of the puller even
during the Bret year,
If you have stumps your neigh-
bors have stumps also, and many ot
our subscribers have not only cleared
their own field, but have made money
out of their puller during the first
year by clearing up the fields of their
neighbors. '
Is the cow you have purchased
shrinking in her milk flow? It Is
from homesickness, no doubt. Poor
thing feels like a cat ln a strange
garret. Pet her and give her all th
little treats you can.