THE Y SA Y. 



625 



Fig. I. MoLDAVKA. 



Three Good Russian Plums. — We have grown 

 Moldavka larger than Lombard, and when it ripens on 

 the tree it is a far better plum. The tree is an iron 



clad, where 

 Lombard is as 

 tender as a 

 peach ; a heavy 

 bearer, never 

 rots, and the 

 curculio and 

 gouger let it 

 alone almost 

 entirely. (See 

 Fig. I.) 



The Early 

 Red grows 

 away up at Wmnipeg — the hardiest of the hardy. It 

 also is of fine size and excellent quality. (Fig. 2.) 

 The leaves are small and thick, letting the sun into 

 the tree and fruit, yet the wood never sun-scalds and the 

 fruit never rots. 



The Voronesh Yellow gets as large as Bradshaw, is 

 pear-shaped, and of prime quality for any use. (Fig. 

 3.) The tree is perfect in the northwest. A mistake 

 was made in my last year's bulletin, in saying that the 

 fruit of this fine variety is round. The true Voronesh 

 Yellow is always distinctly pear-shaped. — J. L. Budd, 

 Agriciiltttral College, Iowa, 



Preserving Fruits. — The fruits in the exhibit of 

 " California on Wheels " are said to be preserved as fol- 

 lows : Thirty gallons of filtered water are placed in a 

 barrel, and on the water is placed a tin pan containing 

 25 cents worth of sulphur. The sulphur is set on fire 

 and the top of the barrel is covered with a piece of oil- 

 skin so as to retain the fumes. When the sulphur burns 

 out the covermg is removed, allowing the supply of 

 oxygen in the barrel to be renewed, and after stirring 

 the water, the sulphur is again set on fire and the top 



Fig. 2. Early Red. 



of the barrel covered. This operation is repeated until 

 the sulphur will no longer burn, when the water is ready 

 for use. Not only are fresh fruits preserved in this 

 water, but where decay has set in it is completely 

 checked, and withered fruits have their plumpness and 

 color restored. 



How to Grow Grapes. — The back-yard where I live 

 is full of grape vines. A row on one side covers a high 

 board fence. Three vines run rampant over the tops 

 of some tall trees. The remainder, situated in an open 

 space, are trained to short stalks or trimmed into low 

 bushes without support. The grapes on these latter 

 vines are much exposed to the sun, and produced near 

 the ground, while those on the former hang high under 

 a canopy of leaves. 



The difference in the amount of fruit produced in the 

 two situations is striking. Curiosity prompted me to 

 count the berries on one hundred clusters in each case. 

 I tried to be fair and select average representatives. 

 One hundred clusters from the pruned vines contained 

 only 141 berries, or an average of less than two to each 

 cluster ; thirty-eight of these clusters bore no perfect 

 berries, and the highest number on a cluster was ten. 

 One hundred clusters from the unpruned vines contained 

 1247 berries, or an average of over twelve to each clus- 



FiG. 3. Voronesh Yellow. 



ter ; the lowest number on a cluster was two and the 

 highest forty. The injury to these grapes was caused 

 by the black rot. — A. A. Crozier. 



Cassava Culture. — I find no more trouble to protect 

 the cassava stubble for winter protection than the sugar 

 cane. I have a patch now, the second year planted, 

 that is doing nicely ; the roots or tubers are fairly 

 beginning to crack the ground. Last year I made roots 

 five feet long and four inches in diameter. I suppose 

 these same roots will double in size this year, and con- 

 tinue on from year to year as long as I protect the stub- 

 ble. I find that the cassava can be planted any time. 



I have had better success by planting in the fall, and 

 cover two or three inches with a plow, and box off in 

 spring when the sprouts begin to show up. It can also 

 be set out through the summer, as the stalks broken or 

 cut to pieces and set out perpendicularly, readily strike 

 roots as well as the sweet potato, and can be multiplied 

 rapidly. 



I believe the cassava can be successfully cultivated as 

 a perennial plant as far north as Arkansas, and treated 

 as an annual, can be successfully cultivated much farther 

 north. Many seem to think because it comes from the 



