July. 1890. 
133 
ORCHARD I aNpCp RRDEN \ 
Elbert S. Carman 
Was born at Hempstead, Long Island, N. 
Y., in 1837 and educated in private schools 
and finally at Brown University. If there 
Was one thing during boyhood that he loved 
better than another it was a flower garden: 
a fondness that in later years induced him 
to give up a lucrative business in New York 
for experiment work upon the farm. In 
1873 he married the only daughter of Prof. 
D. F. Brown and re- 
moved to River Edge, 
Bergen Co., N. J., ; 
where he built a house 
and laid out the prop- 
erty now known as 
the Experiment 
Grounds of the Rural 
New-Yorker. The fam- 
ily farm near East 
Rockaway was also 
put under experiment 
and in this way the 
first real experiment 
station was estab- 
lished in this country. 
Sixteen years ago he 
began to write for 
Moore's Rural New- 
Yorker. Later lie be- 
came associate editor 
and in 1877 became its 
editor and proprietor, 
changing the paper in 
many ways and call- 
ing it the Rural New- 
Yorker by which name 
it has since been 
known. 
His first notable ex- 
periment work was 
that of crossing w heats 
begun 15 years ago on 
the Long Island farm 
after having collected 
and sown in small plots 
all the varieties known 
at that time. Later 
he succeeded in hy- 
bridizing rye and 
wheat, an achievement 
until then considered 
impossible by botan- 
ists. The result of this 
work has been the ] re- 
duction of hundreds 
of cross-bred wheats 
and hybrids between 
rye and wheat most of 
which have been de- 
stroyed as they were 
deemed no better than existing kinds. Of 
the more promising kinds which remain, 
three cross-bred wheats and three rye-wheat 
lijbrids were offered by a prominent seeds- 
man last season at a price almost prohibi- 
tory, viz: 25 kernels for 25 cents. Next 
year the stock will have accumulated and 
the price will be reduced accordingly. Dur- 
ing all these years Mr. Carman has been 
raising potatoes from seeds, the most nota- 
ble result of which thus far is the seedling 
known as Rural New Yorker No. 2. 
About ten years ago he pressed upon the 
farming public what he called his “tripli- 
cate”methodof corn culture — drill- planting, 
shallow and flat cultivation and surface ma- 
nuring or fertilizing. Under this method 
his great yield of 130 bushels of shelled corn 
to the acre on five acres was produced, the 
crop having been estimated in the field by 
Y. World, editor of the Farm Journal, et al. 
About five years ago he succeeded in hy- 
bridizing the blackberry and raspberry. A 
dozen of these hybrids ha>ve fruited, but be- 
yond the interesting fact that they are neith- 
er raspberries nor blackberries, little is 
promised in the way of improved small 
fruits from this work. His latest success 
was in hybridizing the Japan or Ramanas 
Rose with, first Harrison’s Yellow', then 
many Hybrid Remon- 
tants and finally with 
yellow Teas. The first 
named were the first 
known hybrids with 
Rosa rugosa. Several 
of these have bloomed 
and one will be intro- 
duced by one of our 
largest nurser y m e n 
under the name of 
Emily Agnes Carman 
probably next year. It 
is a perpetual bloom- 
ing rose with the color 
and fragrance of Gen. 
Jacqueminot and the 
foliage of Rosa rugosa 
except that the leaflets 
are larger. It was nam- 
ed after his wife w T ho in 
the matter of cross- 
ing the parents as in 
all his other work has 
been a constant and 
willing assistant. 
The work of cross- 
i ■ 
half-a-dozen well known people and after- 
wards carefully measured. Later on he be- 
gan his experiments with what he called 
the RuVal Trench Method of raising pota- 
toes. By this method he succeeded two 
years ago in raising at the rate of 1076 bush- 
els to the acre, the crop having been weigh- 
ed by a committee consisting of Dr. Peter 
Collier. P. T. Quinn, W. A. Stiles (Editor of 
Garden and Forest ), farm editor of the N. 
ing Rosa rugosa was 
continued last year 
using for the most 
part the pollen of yel- 
low Teas. Not less 
than 2500 seeds were 
the result, producing 
188 plants or only 
about seven per cent. 
It is well known that 
self-seedlings of Rugo- 
sa almost invariably 
produce Rugosas with 
but slight variation 
either in foliage or 
flower. It is a remark- 
able and an interesting 
fact that there is not 
one of the hybrid seed- 
lings which is not dis- 
tinctly different from 
it, while most of them 
do not show theslight- 
est rememblance,and, 
it should be borne in mind, that R. rugosa 
has been the mother plant in every instance. 
In the early part of this year Mr. Carman 
sold the entire property of the Rural New- 
Yorker to the Rural Publishing Co. Though 
still retaining an editorial position he is now 
so far relieved of responsibility that he is 
free to devote the greater part of his time 
to experiment work, a consummation which 
he has long desired. 
