2 aa g ———— n ’ po. aa » a a I NTR Rt Ry ee Biss i / { i { § ld me = yirwaRo., MEYERSDALE COMMERCIAL, THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 1929 Page Ne COUNTY AGENTS NEWS LETTER Allegheny Regional Advisory Meeting The Allegheny Regional Advisory Board considered as its main topic at its recent meeting at Washington, Pa. the subject of Agriculture. Car load- ings is of prime importance to thosz farmers who ship in large quantities. The kind of car and time when he can secure it is important because pro- duce should arrive when it is mar- ketable. Reports up to the present time in- dicate a short maple sugar season. Spray to Control Aphids on Apples Indications point to the worst in- festation of aphids in five years. Eggs are scattered in every con- ceivable place on the limbs. and branches of trees. Under such condi- tions, it is reasonable to expect, that the rosy aphis is going to be a dan- gerous enemy in apple orchards and attention must be paid to the control of this insect this year. When buds are in the delayed dor- mant condition is the time to control the aphids. Use lime-sulphur and nicotine-sulphate. . If orchards have been sprayed with oil, the lime-sul- phur may be diluted in 1.008 specific gravity, but if oil has not been pre- viously applied, lime-sulphur of 1.03 specific gravity should be used. In either case, add nicotine at the rate of one pint to 100 gallons of the di- Jute spray. Oil sprays are not dependable for controlling aphids. The information available concerning the value of oils for this purpose indicates that a gen- eral recommendation for their use in the delayed dormant period cannot be given, since these materials under certain conditions have caused serious damage. Spray the trees thoroughly and aim to hit the ends of the buds, other- wise, the treatment will be unsatis- factory: Prepare Grafting Wax Now For Spring Work Make your grafting wax now. Grafting is not a difficult operation, but certain principles must be rigidly observed to secure success. Ome of these is that all cut surfaces must be completely covered with wax to pre- vent drying out. Two kinds of wax are in the most general use. The first of these, the melted wax, is made with six pounds of crushed rosin, one pound finely cut swax, and one pint of raw linseed oil. The first two ingredients are melted together, the oil is stirred in, and the wax it ready for use. It is necessary to keep this material in the melted condition either with a grafting pot or some other heating device. Do not overheat as it may kill the tissue when very hot. Melted wax. is ap- plied with a brush or ladle. May Use Soft Wax Soft wax is made from the same materials, but in different propor- tions. The formula used is four pounds of crushed resin, two pounds of beeswax, and one-half pint of raw linseed oil. One pound of rendered tallow may be used instead of the oil. The resin and beeswax should be melted together, the oil or tallow added and thoroughly mixed, and the wax poured into a bucket of cold water. The hands should be greased and the wax taken from the water while still warm and pulled until it is fine grained and light amber in color. It is then ready to use. . This wax has the advantage that the heat of the hands is generally suf- ficient to make it soft enough to be workable and a grafting pot is there- fore unnecessary. On rather cold days it may be carried in a bucket or warm water to keep it soft. Melted wax, on the other hand, is more quickly and generally more thorough- ly applied, and is better adapted for use on cold days. Either wax will keep almost inde- finitely, and might well be prepared at this time so as to be in readiness when the grafting work is done. Apply Oil to Stop 5 Red Spider Attack Stop red spider destruction with oil. Either a mis¢ible oil or an oil emul- sion may be used. ~The sprays are applied not later than the time when the ends of the buds are breaking on apples. On peaches the spray is ap- plied while the buds are dormant or not later than when they show signs of cracking. ‘ Lime-sulphur solution applied as a delayed dormant spray will control the spider sufficiently when the in- festatiow is slight, but in most apple orchards where the spider can be de- tected easily around the buds or on the bark, oil sprays should be applied. On peach trees oil sprays should not follow lime-sulphur applications immediately but may be applied 2 or 3 weeks later. Oil sprays must not ‘be applied in the delayed dormant period for the control of red spider, especially where the buds are so far advanced that the sprays can get in- to the center of the buds. In spraying for protection against this insect, thorough applications are necessary. The covering of the un- der sides of the limbs as well as the upper surfaces to get effective results is urged. The dormant sprays should be followed with the usual summer applications in order to reduce infes- tation to the minimum. Treating Oat Seed Halts Smut Damage Arrest the oat smut thief. During . the past few years oat smut has been increasing, and it is estimated that this fungus robber re- duced the yield of oats in Pennsyl- vania last year two bushels on the average and in many instances it caused loss of one-third to one-half of the crop. Expenditure of 2 to 3 cents an acre for formaldehyde: and about three minutes of time in using it would have saved all of the lost bushels. Treating oats for smut with the latest method of applying formalde- hyde is easy and inexpensive. One pint of 40 per cent formaldehyde so- lution is the right amount to use on 50 bushels of oats to get complete control and yet cause no injury. If more of the solution is used seed in- jury may result. Spray Solution on Oats Dilute the formaldehyde with an equal quantity of water and pour in- to a hand sprayer of one-quart capa- city. Dump the oats on a clean barn floor canvas. While the oats are be- ing shoveled from one pile to anoth- er, spray each shovelful with the so- lution. One stroke of the sprayer gives about the right amount. After all the oats are treated this way, pile in a heap and cover with grain sacks or blankets which have been sprayed inside and outside with the solution. Allow the oats to re- main covered for at least five hours, after which they may be bagged and drilled. Treatment may be made at any time before sowing but it is ad- visable to plant soon after treating. Since the formaldehyde vapor acts as an irnitant breathing it should be avoided by holding the sprayer close to the oats and by working from one side of the pile only. : Use of this method will permit farmers to grow just as many oats on nine acres as would be grown on 10 acres sowed with untreated seed. Spending 18 to 27 cents will save working and planting the extra acre, which may be considered as growing nothing when the crop is full of smut. In addition, the oats are more convenient to handle and the straw is clean when the seed has been treated. C. C. McDowell, County Agent Weekly Health Talk “It was recently stated that the examinations of school children in leading cities of the United States led to the discovery that many of the pupils were suffering from foot ail- ments. In most cases these condi- tions were directly attributed to ill fitting shoes that cramped the toes and squeezed the feet into unnatural positions. Such a situation repre- sents downright carelessness on the part of parents,” said Dr. Theodore B. Appel, Secretary of Health, today. “One can not blame children for wearing improper shoes. They do not know any bétter. On the other hand, shoe dealers could prevent ‘imuch of it, and parents could elimi- nate all of dt. “It follows that more intelligent attention must be given by the older folks to the selection of juvenile foot- gear. It is merely fundamentally humanitarian to do so. “Permanently injured feet are de- cided handicaps. They can cause much suffering. But there is even more to the proposition than that. Spinal troubles, neuritis, headache, backache and rheumatism have countless times been directly traced to improper footwear. 3 “Older people, except that more or less fixed ratio of young ladies who insist, on size four when they require a five, are much moye sensible re- garding shoes than formerly was the case. Style plus comfort, rather than style alone, appears to be today’s main idea regarding all apparel, in- cluding shoes. “It seems only to be necessary therefore to follow this excellent rule a bit further by exercising the same intelligent care when purchasing foot- gear for the youngsters as is dis- played when parents are buying for themselves. “This world demands all the vital- ity and assets a human being can command. It is mot fair to handicap children physically or otherwise. In this connection the shoe question as- sumes a major importance. Give the children’s feet a square deal. It de- cidedly pays to do so.” PLAN ALL-DAY PROGRAM FOR SOMERSET GRANGES County Supt. of Schools W. H. Kretchman and Farm Bureau Agent C. C. McDowell are listed as speakers for the joint meeting of Somerset County Pomona grange No. 39 and Jefferson grange at Bakersville April 20. The program follows: Morning—10:30 o’clock; opening; reading of the minutes; reports of subordinate + granges; reports called for by Master J. B. W. Stufft; busi- ness; address of welcome, J. G. Reese; response, H. H. Ringler. Afternoon—1:30 o’clock; song; ad- dress, Supt. Kretchman; surprise fea- ture by subordinate lecturers of the county; question box; address, Farm Bureau Agent McDowell. Evening—7:30 o’clock; music; con- ferring of fifth degree; entertainment by Jefferson grange. Now that Hoover and Curtis are inaugurated let's all of us, Republi- cans and Democrats alike, get back on the job and try to help make another prosperous four years for Republicans and Democrats alike. JENNER GRANGE AND FIREMEN HOLD MEET Meeting in Community Hall at Jen- ners is Extremely Enthusiastic De- spite the Fact that the Attendance was not as Large as Had Been An- ticipated; Many Angles of Rural Fire Fighting and Protection Dis- cussed—Important Meet of Pomona April 6. ; A very enthusiastic joint meeting of members of the Jenner Grange and of the Somerset County Fire- men’s Association was held in the Community Hall at Jenners on Fri- day evening of last week, March 22, and despite the fact that the at! tendance was not as large as it had been hoped it would be, much work in connection with providing the de- sired rural protection against fire was carried out' in excellent form. ' The meeting was called to order by Calvin Shanlis, who in addition to taking an active part in the meet- ing, introduced the speakers” The first speaker of the evening was A. B. Hoffman of Somerset, president of the Pomona Rural Fire Fighting Association. Mr.’ Hoffman after making brief remarks of a timely nature asked the chairman to call upon Richard Hill, president of the Somerset County Firemen's Association, stating that he (Mr. Hoffman) believed that Mr. Hill was better able to speak along fire fighting lines due to his wide exper- jence in the work, linked with the fact that he was president of the county fire fighting Association. Chairman Shaulis complied with the request and called upon Mr. Hill, the latter responding with an excellent talk in which he outlined the fire fighting work from many different angles, emphasizing ' the fact that one of the best ways to eli- minate heavy fire losses was by pre- venting fires. Mr. Hill also spoke at considerable length on his exper- ience as a fire fighter, reciting a number of cases where the firemen performed excellent service. The speaker also urged all farmers to get back of the movement now un- der way to bring better protection against fire to the residents living in the rural sections of the county. Mr. Hill’s talk was very timely and was much appreciated by all those present. The next speaker was Herman Balis of Somerset, chairman of the Rural Fire Fighting committee of the Somerset County Firemen’s As- sociation. Mr. Balis, in his custo- mary jovial manner very forcibly brought to the attention of those present the need of providing better protection in the rural districts against fire. He spoke at consider- able length on the financing end of the work and during his address of- fered a number of very valuable suggestions along the line of raising the money needed to push this work to a successful culmination. Mr. Balis urged that the ministers of the county be interested in this work, as well as all other men and women engaged in public welfare work. His expressed his belief as favoring a membership fee rather than by raising money by the levy of a tax. Mr. Balis has been working hard on the rural end of the fire protection for the past year or more, during which time he has gained much in- formation of a valuable nature, and his talk ‘at Friday evening’s m=