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The Clinton News Record, 1937-07-15, Page 6PAGE 6 THE CLINTON NEWS,RECORD THURS., JULY 15, 1937. NEWS AND HAPPENINGS OF Timely Information for the Busy Farmer (F'ttrizished by the Department of Agriculture) Control of .Peer and Cherry Slug For the control of the pear. and cherry slug, all young pear and cher- ry trees, including nursery stock, which have not been sprayed with a 'poison should be sprayed immediately w,ith 1r/ lbs. lead arsenate in 40 gallons 3-6-40 Bordeaux mixture. Livestock Reeds The problem of the dairyman to- day is to produce at a profit or break even under existing circumstances. Greater economy in feeding should hot mean less efficiency. Ways ' of improving home-grown crops can be found thus necessitating fewer pur- chasing feeds. Dairymen who have alfalfa hay and corn silage can read- ily get along with a lower proteir concentrate ration than the farmer with poor hay and no silage. Even alfalfa hay varies considerably in nutritive value, depending on whet. it is cut. Farmers should cut their alfalfa at a time when they are fair- ly certain of procuring a valuable feeding material than if left until too far advanced. Curing is also impor- tant and the more green leaves that can be harvested and the greater the retention of color, the higher the feed ing value that will be realized in th feeding -out process next winter. more expensive. Late sown buck- wheat followed the next year .with rape or roots is a splendid method of checking weeds. ' The cleanest farms in Ontario are operated by farmer who practise a short three os' four year crop rotation, who are, particular in the use of clean, well .graded seeds and who practise thorough and adequate cul- tivation methods. As weeds ai'e cut, crop losses are cut, and in order that the Avast weeds may be prevented from spreading, it is .necessary that every occupant of land, rural or urban, expend every ef- fort "in digging, pulling, spraying, cutting, or burning weeds before they go to seed. Cucumber Beetles are Fast Workers Cucumbers, melons, squash, pump- kins and watermelons,- are the fav- ourite' food of the striped cucumber beetle which is found in all provinces of Canada. To some extent these beetles also feed on beans,peas, corn and the blossoms of wild and culti- vated plants. In appearance, the beet- les are about one-quarter of an inch - long, yellow in colour with a black e bead and three long stripes down the back, and they snake thein attack tshortly after the plants appear through the soil, They feed for pre- ference on the unders surfaces of the unfolding Ieaves, completely destroy- ing thein. As a result the tiny plants die quickly. Growers. with large patches would be well advised to watch the plants closely for the first appearance of the cucumber beetle and take control measures at once. The plants should be dusted with a mixture of calcium arsenate and gypsum (land plaster), using one part of the calcium arsen- ate to 20 parts (by weight) of the gypsum. If it is impossible to obtain gypsum, hydrated lime may be sub- stituted, although this material is not so good. It tends to dwarf the plants and temporarily stunts their growth. The plants should be thoroughly covered with the dust, both on the upper and lower surfaces of the leaves, because the insects feed in both situations. Te be successful, dusting should be commenced at the first appearance of the beetles, for these insects work very fast and much damage is often done before the grower, 'who is not on the lookout for them, is aware of their presence. Three or four applications a few days apart according to the severity .of the attack, are usually sufficient to hold the beetles in check. Combatting Garden Insects Garden plants are liable to attack by many kinds of destructive insects. Some of these destroy the foliage others the flowers while others bore into the stem and . even into the roots. Injurious insects may be di- vided roughly into two classes by the nature of their mouthpieces, namely (1) biting insects . which bite and chew their food, such as cutworms and ethers caterpillars and pear -eat- ing beetles, and (2) sucking insects which suck up their food by means of their beaks, such as aphids, the true bugs,and the scale insects. If the insect is one with biting mouth parts, a stomach poison such• as paris green or arsenate of lead, is usually applicable, but if the insect has sucking mouth -parts such poison . would be useless because the insect would insert its beak through the poi- son and reach a safe feeding pace be- neath. For sucking insects, there- fore contact insecticides are usually recommended, those commonly used being kerosene emulsion, whale oil soap and preparations containing to- bacco. The Cabbage Worm The cabbage worm is a velvety green caterpillar commonly found feeding on cabbages and cauliflowers. It also 'attacks turnips, rape, Brus- sels sprouts, kale and radish. It eats large circular holes in the cabbage leaves and frequently bores into the centre of the cabbage heads, making the cabbages, unfit for market and spoiling them for home consumption. Control measures should be applied as soon as injury to the plants becomes evident. Dusting with arsenate of lead and hydrated lime is the most widely re- commended remedy. One part of the poison should be mixed with eight parts of hydrated lime and the mix- ture dusted on the plants in the ear- ly morning. or late evening, when the leaves are web with dew. Particular care should be paid, to the central portion of the cabbages and cauli- flowers since it is usually the favour- ite spot for feeding, Two or three applications of the mixture should be Made • as required, care being taken to apply the dust immediately feeding becomes evident, Due to the waxy condition of the leaves, the use of a poison spray has not given satisfac- tory results. War Against Weeds Dry weather and bright, hot sun- shine are the farmers' greatest allies in the war against weeds. July and August are busy months for the farmers,' and it is during these months 'when the weather is usually hot and dry that the maximum damage' can be done to weeds with the minimum .of effort: • July plowing and early after .Har- vest cultivation is to be highly re- commended: Hay fields known to be dirty should be ploughed immediately after hay- ing, the furrows left to bake and dry out for 10 days or two weeks, then cultivated frequently as a . Summer fallow and seeded to Fail wheat ear- ly in September. This so called dry cleaning method is very effective on Sow Thistle, Twitch Grass, Bladder Campion and other perennial weeds. Straight sumnierfallow i s also 'very effective, although somewhat p]' t POISON CONTROL OF POTATO BEETLE According to the advice and ex- perience of the Field Crop and Gar- den Insect Division, Entomological Branch, Dominion Department of Agriculture, the best' and cheapest poison to use in the control of the potato beetle in Eastern Canada is calcium arsenate, at the rate of 1 1-2 pounds to 40 gallons of Bordeaux mixture, the Bordeaux itself being composed of 6 ]b. copper sulphate, 4 lb. lime, and 40 gallons of water. If the calcium arsenate is used alone in water instead of Bordeaux, , two to three pounds of hydrated lime should be added to each 40 gallons. Should arsenate of lead or Paris green be preferred to the calcium. arsenate as the poison to be used, two.to three pounds of the arsenate' of lead, or one-half to one ppund of Paris green may be substituted in each 40 gal- lon barrel of spray. Some growers prefer to apply the poison in. powder form, using, a dust composed of one part of arsenate of lead to 6, parts of hydrated lime. Best results in dusting are secured when. the application is made in,the early morning, or late evening when the vines are wet with dew and. the air calm; i In spraying potatoes,, the poison should be mixed with Bordeaux as the latter material is not only a valuable fungicide but repels the attack of such destructive insects as flea beet- les and leafhoppers, Two or three applications in a season should give sufficient protection from all insects. Potato beetles are usually found in the field before the new crop of po- tatoes is even, up and they Iay their eggs on the under -sides, of the leaves. When the yellow masses of eggs are hatched is the time to make the first. HogGrading Facts At Livestock Fairs The marketing of hogs on a dres- sed weight rail -;graded basis, com- monly known as rail' grading', is be- ing' stressed at many of the livestock fairs throughout Canada. Increased production, it is pointedoat, requires an export, market, and Canada's swine industry is dependent on the British market. The product 'of two and one-third million hogs, or any other proportion of output mutually agreed upon, is the Canadian quota for export to the British market, but Canada is falling short of this quota largely because a sufficient number. of high quality hogs are net being produced in the Dominion. Canada, has exported annually the product of one million hogs. The British mar- ket is available for more than twice that amount.. Competition in. marketing Canadian field and animal products in the markets of the world is' exceedingly keen, and Canada's competitors,' so far as bacon is concerned, place their faith on rail grading as the best met- hod of securing quality. Now that Canada has taken up rail grading, satisfactory: progress in this method of marketing has been registered throughout the Dominion. Rail' grading is exactly what the words imply. For example, a farmer de- livers his hogs. The hogs are then tattooed with a number for identifi- cation when they are killed,. The live Bogs are first -weighed, so that a part down payment may be made. This down payment runs about 15 per cent of the butcher price.. The hogs are then killed and weighed individually to the exact pound. An inspector of the Livet Stock Branch, Dominion . Department of Agriculture, then grades the hogs on the killing floor, according to the standards set up by the Dominion Government, and the final payment to the farmer is made on the basis of that grade. The rail grades corre- spond very closely to the present live grades and the premiums and dis- counts paid are practically on the sante basis. It will readily be seen that the best hogs make the most money, for the grading inspector is able to do more efficient grading with the split carcass before him, as he does not have to estimate weight, depth of backfat or thickness. Thus, the producer receives the proper val- ue for his high quality and high yielding hogs. The' highest quality brings the highest money. Science Stresses Grassland Value Although during the present gen- eration wheat has held the stage in the public eye as the most spectacu- lar agricultural crop, there is a much older and important crop on 'which agriculture itself was founded in the dawn of civilization. This is the grassland or pasture crop. For many years, it was relegated into the back- ground until agricultural science came to its aid by adding much to human knowledge (and profit to the fernier) in relation to grassland, its creation, management, and fertilize - tion. Never before has there been so much interest all over the world in grassland problems, or so much at- tention devoted to research work a- long the lines of plant breeding to improve the different forage grasses and legumes, the nutritive value of the various forage crops in livestock feeding, the improvement of grass- land by the use of fertilizers, pasture management,., and the study of the best seed mixtures for hay' and pas- ture purposes. Recently scientists of the Domin- ion, Ontario, and Quebec Departments of Agriculture, together with' those of the various agricultural colleges, held a two-day session of the, Derain, ion-Provincial Pasture Conference at the Central Experimental Farm, Otta- wa, where the main phases of cultiva- tion and utilization' of pasture lands were discussed, and on the 12th of July representative agricultural scien- tists will assemble for' the world's Fourth International Grassland Con- ference at the Welsh Plant' Breed- ing Station at Aberystwyth, Wales, chosen because the work accomplish- ed there is internationally known. It s expected much benefit to all coun- tries- will be' derived from the discus- sions during the meetings. Canada will be represented by Dr. L. E. Kirk, the Dominion A.grostologlst, who will deliver the plena': -J p5.jler for the Dominion under the 'title of "The Valuation of Some Species of Gras- ses and Legumes for Pasture Under Canadian Conditiozisir.^ The only"oth- er Canadian representative, Dr. Mac- Conkey of the 'Canadian. Research Council,' will give a paper "Nutri tional Aspects of Forage Crop Pro- duction in Eastern Canada." application of the poison. In spray- ing, both the upper and lower stir- faces ur= facesof the leaves should be covered with an abundance of the . material. When the plants are' small, 50 to 75 gallons per acre and when the plants' are ' fully grown,. 100 to 120 .gallons per acre is not too much at each ap- ica ions. That Canadians are taking advan- tage •of loans under the •Hopie'Im- •provement Plan is evident from fig=; ares 'just released. They reveal that kt May 31st, 13,071 loans had been granted anioun.tin t $5 250 8 NEWS' STORY BROUGHT MOST PROMPT REPLY Two weeks ago Ben McCue, -.his bicycle stolen, oi'fered his pant clip for which he had no further' use. On July 1. from Preston carne a post card signed McNamara. The message read: "According to the press, I un- derstand that you have a pant' clip not in use, As I' awn a bicycle and have no pant clip, I would appreciate the 'same.". ,And a postscript, "$ave you also. a repair kit?" The'unfor- tunate .part is that- Ben has now re- covered his bicycle,' in rather dilapi- dated condition and May have to call on "McNamara" for spare parts, :Kincardine News. To Operate Airways P1111,12 (1. J011.11SON N Appointed Vice President in charge of operations of Trans- Canada Air Lines. The appoint - went of Mr. Johnson, an air executive with international M- utation and former president of ranted Air Lines, was announced by S. J. Hungerford, President of Trans -Canada Air' Lines and Chairman and President of the Canadian National Railway, fel- lowing a meeting of the directors i of 'Canada's new air transport? company, Hikers Take The Sky Line `frail 171 oter Whyte, prominent Banff I artist whose paintings grace many drawing rooms in Canada and the United States, will lead the Sky Line Trail Hikers of the Canadian Rockies on a most in- teresting four-day holiday this year to Larch Valley near beau- tiful Moraine Lake and the Valley of the 'Pen Peaks. Plans have been completed for the annual outing, from August /6 to 9, of this unique organiza- tion which seeks out the loveliest spots in the Canadian Rockies and spends four healthy; happy days on Shank's mare touring the valleys, alpine meadows, and rocky country above the timber- line. While hiking is a popular all - summer sport at Banff Springs Hotels and Chateau Lake Louise, to the Trail linkers goes credit for popularizing beauty spots off the beaten trails. Like explorers of old, they comb the country for vantage points to witness a spec- tacular sunset or sunrise, for camera shots to take back ]come' as trophies, and for lakes where ' the trout bite freely. With a con-' tral camp in Larch Valley, the' Skyline Trail Hikers of the Cana- dian dian Rookies will spend'fheir offi- cial four-day outing in leisurely jaunts through 'this particularly interesting section of the Rockies. On the closing evening they will have a pow -wow and eleetion of officers. THOUGHTS and Things The business of living, when boiled down and all the froth skim- med off, is just a matter of thinking. Each of us is continually thinking ideas of our own and swap- ping them for the ideas of others. If there is a famine of outside ideas we shrivel up ourselves. Children with "nobody to Play with" are unhappy and unmanageable. From thinking with our heads to doing with our hands is but a little step and then our thoughts become things. The originator of an idea is not much better off than before he originated it till he gets some one else to absorb it and enjoy it and benefit by it. The man or woman surrounded by better thoughts and things but who pays not the slightest attention to them is not much better off than the one with "nobody to play with." The advertisements in real newspapers are thoughts—telling you about the things that other men and women have created for your use. Read the ads. They are the voices of hundreds of thousands of 'looms, shops, foundries, studios, laboratories, where millions of minds are turning pleasant thoughts into worth -while things for you and your family. The Clinton News'R.ecord Gives the News of Clinton and Community --Read It 1