1889. 



POPULAR GARDENING, 



225 



was tmite too heavy for the market, and with 

 a much heavier stock of canned fruits on 

 hand now than last year, and a prospect of 

 fnlly as heavy crop, some new expedient 

 must be adopted or prices will be ruinous. 

 In other branches of the business some ar- 

 rangement would be effected to hold back 

 enough to maintain prices, and there can be 

 no doubt that if all the growers would leave 

 }{ to '._r their acreage without picking at all, 

 there would be enough for all paying de- 

 mand, and something might be realized. 



The Bethel Apple of Vermont. 



T. B. HOSKINS, M. D., VERMONT. 



It is rather singular that an Apple so long 

 in cultivation and of so much merit as the 

 Bethel, .should not yet have obtained admis- 

 sion mto the leading pomological works like 

 Downing's and Thomas'. Mr. Downing 

 was engaged just before his death, in trying 

 to settle the identity or difference between 

 the Bethel and a fruit called the Stone Ap- 

 ple, grown somewhat extensively in St. 

 Lawrence county, N. Y. The writer was 

 assisting him in this and was able to deter- 

 mine the fact of identity, by discovering 

 that the Mr. Stone who brought the cions 

 into New York was an emigrant from 

 Bethel, Vermont, and took the cions from 

 thence before any definite name had been 

 given to the fruit in its native locality. 



The Bethel has been grown in the White 

 River Valley, (tributary to the Connecticut) 

 for about 40 years; but who originated or 

 first propagated it I have yet to discover. It 

 first attracted attention in Orleans county, 

 Vt., in the northeastern part of the state) 

 by the hardiness of the tree, where no other 

 late winter Apple except recently Scott's 

 winter, has proved able to resist a climate 

 in which 40° below zero is a temperature 

 reached frequently with occasional dips of 

 4 or .5 degrees greater cold. 



It is probable that the slow spread of this 

 Apple is due to the fact of its tardiness in 

 coming into bearing in which it rivals the 

 Northern Spy, being also, like that variety, 

 a good bearer after ten years from setting. 

 Certainly it is why I myself have but a 

 single tree, from the crop of which two 

 rather imperfect specimens are sent here- 

 with to the editor. North of the Baldwin 

 range, in New England, the Bethel is 

 unquestionably the largest and best long 

 keeping Apple. I leave the editor himself 

 to pass upon its merits. The fact that it is 

 an annual bearer, giving good crops in the 

 off years, together with its other merits, are 

 leading to an increased demand for the trees 

 where the variety is known. The fruit is 

 large, in good soil often very large, oval, 

 heavily striped with two shades of red upon 

 a yellow ground, having before being 

 liandled a blue bloom much like the old 

 Blue Pearmain. Its flesh is yellowish, half 

 tender, sub-acid in flavor and it is liked|wher- 

 ever known both for desert and cooking. 



[Apples received in good condition. A 

 beautiful fruit, apparently a good keeper, 

 nearly sweet, of agreeable but by no means 

 high flavor, and otherwise as described by 

 Dr. Hoskins.— Ed.] 



COMMENTS BY READERS. 



A department to ivhich alt are invited to send notes of 

 experience and obsert^ation concerning topics that re- 

 cently have been treated on in this loumal. Many 

 such contributions monthly would be welcome. 



Hahdiness of Oriental Plants. I wish to 

 add to your valuable notes on the Oriental Pop- 

 pies tluit Papaver bracteana has proven abso- 

 lutoly hardy in root on our lighter, friable soil, 

 with thermometer .3.5° below zero, without snow 

 or other protection. I wish also to add that all 

 plants, shrubs and trees, from the home of P. 

 hracieana in north central Asia, and the valley 

 of the Amur, have proven iron-clads here so far 

 as tried. As examples Bocconia Cordata from 

 that section has proven hardy in bulb without 

 winter covering. The home of the FraxincUa 



Japnniea is said by Maximowich to be in this 

 region, and its roots are as hardy with us as those 

 of our perennial weeds. The North < 'hina Pivonies 

 were also from this region and are perfect with 

 us. Pyrethrum Cornelia, and others of its type, 

 are perfect in root, and are said to be from the 

 region north ot Tiokara. Rosa rugosa we first 

 received from Japan, and wondered that it should 

 prove so hardy. But we now find its original 

 home was north central Asia. We also wondered 

 at the perfect hardiness of Cut-leaved Birch 

 until we learned that its original home was the 

 valley of the Amur. Even many plants, shrubs 

 and trees from points south of the 40th parallel 

 in Central Asia are hardy with us, of which 

 Bokara Clover is an example.— J. L. Biidd. 



Mulberries for Birds. I have a large num- 

 ber of White Mulberry trees in full bearing, of 

 the fruit of which the birds are very fond. I 

 have also several early Richmond Cherry trees, 

 of which the birds reap much more benefit than 

 I. Some seasons I do not get a ripe Chei-ry, but 

 I notice that just as soon as the Mulberries be- 

 come so far advanced as to be sweeter than the 

 Cherries, the birds leave the Cherries at once. 

 The great objection to the practical working of 

 the suggestion to protect our marketable fruits 

 from birds by planting Mulberries, is that the 

 Mulberry ripens and is gone long before Grapes 

 can be damaged, and do not ripen until after the 

 earlier kinds of Cherries have been eaten by the 

 birds.— C. Oydcn. 



Notes on Grapes. While I agree with Mr. 

 E. P. PoweU, Oneida Co., N. Y., in most of his re- 

 marks, I take a different stand on some points. 

 Woodruff Red is a large handsome Grape here, 

 and of much better quality than I expected, 

 and far ahead of Moore's Early in the market. 

 Early Victor as grown here is a week earlier than 

 Moore's Early, and a much better Grape, even 

 better than Worden to my taste, while the 

 bunches are by no means small when grown as it 

 should be. Half a pound is nothing unusual for 

 a good bunch. Mr. Powell's article is a most ex- 

 cellent one for the amateur and the home grower; 

 but the man who grows to sell Grapes must be 

 guided by what takes the public taste, and select 

 for his own use as Mr. Powell does. I have not 

 sold fifty pounds of Grapes in three years myself, 

 but if growing for that purpose would try to 

 gratify a taste that exists which is more for show 

 than quality. Empire State don't shrivel here 

 nor drop off the bunches, and if not very high 

 toned, is very sweet and pleasant. 



Fruiting Novelties Quickly. I recently 

 bought three new Peach trees— Lovett's White 

 Wonderful and Globe. Paid a high price for 

 them. When they came (June-budded trees) 

 neither had six inches of wood, and roots were 

 very small. From such trees I could not expect 

 fruit short of three or four years. So I took the 

 tops off, and in two of them there was but an 

 inch or two to spare, and budded in strong trees 

 that will make top enough to have fruit next 

 season. I left them undisturbed for two weeks, 

 then when they had taken began to cut the tops 

 of the trees off. Some of the buds are already 

 gi'owing, and some the trees will be headed back 

 to the bud, and the whole force of the tree sent 

 into it. To the best of my knowledge I never 

 saw this in print; and think that many would 

 practice it it they knew how easily it is done 

 Some of buds were set on bearing trees, so 

 that there is no doubt about their making fruit 

 buds in this latitude. S.MiUer,Montgomery Co.,Mo. 



IMMER.S10N FOR Insects. After reading this 

 English remedy for insects I found a Chrysan- 

 themum with green tiy on it, and immersed the 

 whole top in water for 48 hours without serious 

 injury to the plant, but neither did it kill all the 

 aphis. I then took another and covered it for an 

 equal time with Tobacco dust, with less apparent 

 effect on the iilant and a complete extermination 

 of the aphis. I also took a thu-d and immersed it 

 in water 6;i hours and it came out looking quite 

 sick, but there were still a few aphis remaining. 

 But even if fully successful this water remedy 

 would be ot little value, because it I'equires the 

 suspension of the plant over a vessel of water 

 just in a position to immerse the whole top with- 

 out submerging to the pot, and this is too much 

 trouble.— TT'm. F. Bamett. 



Japan Persimmons. We have native varieties 

 hero that surpass any of the Japanese varieties. 

 1 have tasted and eaten of eight different ones. 

 Some were sent to a prominent horticulturist in 

 New York, who in answer stated that they 

 were finer flavored than the Japanese. The 

 smallness in size, and the large number of seeds 



in our natives is the objection, and this has teen 

 overcome to some extent. One with but very 

 few seeds, sometimes none, five and six inches in 

 circumference and better than any Japanese I 

 have tasted; it ripens in September, long before 

 frost, and is my favorite. The tree is not six feet 

 hif!h, bore about 40 specimens last season for the 

 first time, and I would not take $50 for it. Not 

 having any trees of it to sell, I have no axe to 

 grinil. Have two other varieties nearly equal to 

 this except they have too many seeds. 



The Wilson Strawberry. This has been 

 praised tor its proiluctiveness, and condemned 

 for irregularity of size and shape. Of all the 

 large number of varieties, however,! recommend 

 it for the home growei-s who can not afford to 

 give it much attention. It will give him a supply 

 and perhaps a surplus to seU. Yet it should not 

 be neglected, and will repay good care as well as 

 any other berry. Under fair treatment it averages 

 well in point of size, and when dead ripe, it is to 

 my taste as luscious as any cultivated kind. Ver- 

 ily, we can not yet spare the Wilson for it fills a 

 place not occupied by any other .—A. P. Reed. 



Mice in Hot-beds. A short time ago we 

 noticed an item giving directions for making a 

 mouse-proof hot-bed. At the time ours was made 

 (the usual way) and the mice were making sad 

 havoc with the young Lettuce and Tomato 

 plants. Knowing their fondness for cheese, we 

 sprinkled several pieces with London purple and 

 scattered them about on the boxes. The result 

 could not have been more satisfactory (to us), as 

 there has not been a mouse seen or a plant in- 

 jured since.— X T. 



The Robinson Plum. This, although adver- 

 tised as such, is by no means Curculio-proof, but 

 it requires no special attention as it bears so 

 enormously that the curculio is beneficial rather 

 than injurious,as it thins the fruit, leaving about 

 what the tree ought to carry.— J. T. 



Sawdust as Mold and Fertilizer. From 

 observation and experiment I am confident that 

 sawdust has value additional to that as an ab- 

 sorbent and plant food. It is more than a mere 

 vehicle for other fertilizei's. Hard wood sawdust 

 as "chip dirt," has a fertilizing capacity of its 

 own. The soil beneath where such sawdust has 

 rotted resembles the black alluvial loam of Min- 

 nesota and other western regions. Tomato 

 plants set in this soil, make an immense growth 

 of foliage, too immense in fact for producing 

 much fruit. Now I contend that hard wood saw- 

 dust, when well rotted, furnish a fine mold equal 

 in value to leaf mould for potting purposes, as 

 well as a mulch for trees and shrubbery, and a 

 lawn fertilizer. When used as absorbent you 

 make it doubly effective, of course, but surely it 

 has also Wrtues of its own.— A. P. Beed. 



The Buffum Pear. This originated about 

 half a mile from here. The original tree stand- 

 ing within sight of ray window, is a grand old 

 tree, and beai-s a good crop annually. It is said 

 to be over a century old. We consider the Buf- 

 fum a good Pear. It should be picked before it 

 colors and put in a dark place.— Benjamin Almv- 



The Resin Compound. This may be applied 

 in double strength from that given on page 20.5 

 as a wash for the stems and branches of trees to 

 destroy wooly aphis or root louse of the Apple. 

 In one-half the strength of the original receipt it 

 makes an excellent foundation for all spraying 

 compounds. For codlin moth, canker worm, 

 ■piumb curculio,or any insect that eats foliage or 

 sucks sap from the trunk, branches, ' twigs or 

 foliage, indeed for killing all common fruit pests 

 at " one full swoop," there is nothing better 

 than this solution to each 500 gallons of which is 

 added one pound of white arsenic dissolved by 

 boiling in one gallon of water in which one 

 pound ot concentrated lye had been dissolved. 

 Then add one-half pound of London pin'ple 

 made into a pa.ste with cold water. Also dissolve 

 in sufficient wat-cr 20 pounds of sulphate of cop- 

 per (blue stone or blue \itriol), and then add. 

 This gives us a spraying solution both for insects 

 and fungus diseases. The resin is the very best 

 thing for plant lice (aphids) and other soft 

 bodied things that suck, but is also of the great- 

 est use in sticking the arsenites to the foliage. 

 London purple is only added to give the wash a 

 suspicious color to warn all who handle it. The 

 compoiuid can be used on all fruits without dan- 

 ger except Currants, Strawberries, Gooseberries 

 and others that are used soon after spraying. It 

 is valuable as a first spray for Grape vines, and 

 will free thera at once of insects, and prevent 

 disease. The Plum curculio can also be com- 

 pletely controlled by this wash.— D. B. Wier. 



