RUSSIAN APPLES. 



fashionable vine diseases. If you have 

 room for only two vines, plant a Moore's 

 Early and a Worden. 



If you desire to plant more grapes in 

 vineyard form, set cedar posts lo feet 

 apart and six feet out of the ground. 

 Then commence i8 inches from the 

 ground and run strong galvanized wire 

 from post to post, fastening firmly with 

 fence staples. Three other rows may 

 be placed 15 inches apart. Plant your 

 vines at each post, and train both to 

 right and left, fastening the vine to the 

 wire by means of leather or of soft 

 pieces of cord, Copper wire is some- 

 times used for this purpose, and is very 

 durable, though it is liable to cut the 

 vines when heavily laden with fruit. 



All dressings for the vine should be 

 thoroughly composted. Bone for the 

 phosphorus and wood ashes for the 

 potash ; sulphur, iron and some vege 

 table mold as an absorbent are needed. 

 Mix well, and sprinkle the pile well over 

 with land plaster to prevent the waste 

 by the evaporation of gases, especially 

 ammonia. Apply in early spring, and 

 work in thoroughly. Saving your soap 

 suds on wash days and applying about 

 the roots will well repay the trouble. 

 Better still, partly fill an old barrel with 

 ashes, soot, old iron and ground bone. 

 Pour your suds on it, and apply the 



mixture from time to time. 



Thinning the fruit requires courage. 

 Take your clippers and go through the 

 vines, and cut out all small and imper- 

 fect bunches sometimes even to one- 

 third or one-half the number of bunches 

 set. By this method you will grow 

 larger and finer clusters and more 

 pounds of fruit. 



Careful cultivators bag the best 

 bunches AVhen the grapes are about 

 one-half grown they slip a common 

 grocer's paper bag over the bunch they 

 want to protect, and bind around the 

 vine, on both sides of the stem. This 

 keeps it free from dust and many insect 

 pests. Though this method may retard 

 the ripening for a week or so, yet the 

 frost that would cut the foliage would 

 not harm the grapes thus protected. 



Another method to improve the fruit 

 is to grow as little wood as possible. 

 When a cane has attained the length 

 you desire, nip it in. Go over the vines 

 every week or so, nipping any straggling 

 shoots. Cutting away leaves to let the 

 sun in is a great mistake, and should 

 never be done. The leaves are the 

 lungs of the plant, and any injury to the 

 foliage is an injury to the vines, and 

 leads to disease, often death. I'he 

 largest and finest bunches are found 

 hiddt n beneath the dense foliage. 



RUSSIAN APPLES. 



HFTER several years of careful 

 trial of a large number of the 

 best Russian apples, I have 

 come to the conclusion that, 

 except for the most northern localities, 

 where good, old, well known sorts will 

 not live and bear, we have not gained 

 much from those varieties hitherto intro- 

 duced into this country. There are a 



few exceptions however. In the " Yel- 

 low Transparent " we have an exceeding- 

 ly early apple of very good quality. 

 This is probably the earliest kind ever 

 introduced, and for family use and a 

 very near market is valuable. Absolutely 

 hardy — it may be planted anywhere. 



Another very beautiful early apple 

 that may come to be a strong rival to 



