1882 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
36i 
Fig. 2.— SIDE ELEVATION. 
year, the price at once doubles, and by the time 
the next year’s crop is on the market, the price 
may be quadruple that of the average. Under 
these conditions the enterprising American farmer 
feels that he is safe in establishing a hop-yard, and 
in doing this at a considerable outlay. Here one of 
the peculiarities of the crop is, that after the plan¬ 
tation has been made, the vines must grow for a 
whole year before any returns can be had. In this 
year, which his plantation must have in order to 
become productive, the countries which failed the 
year before may have abundant crops, and before 
he has harvested a single bale, the price may fall 
to the average or below it. Aside from the marked 
'fluctuation of prices, there are other difficulties 
•attending the hop crop. The need of pickers has 
already been alluded to. The fact that there must 
be at hand an abundance of cheap labor at just the 
right time, makes hop-growing in sparsely settled 
^localities difficult, if not unprofitable. In some 
seasons, and in particular localities, there appear 
hordes of insects that must be fought vigorously 
.to save the crop. After the hops are raised and 
picked, they are not marketable unless properly 
cured and baled. This calls for peculiar kilns, 
buildings put up for the express purpose, and 
upon careful treatment in the curing largely de¬ 
pends the quality, and consequently the price 
“Then,” some will say, “you advise the Ameri¬ 
can farmer not to grow hops?”—By no means. 
So far from this, we several years ago offered pre¬ 
miums for Essays upon Hop Culture, if not to 
advocate it, at least to furnish a reliable guide to 
those who would undertake it. The object of this 
article is not to deter farmers from growing hops, 
but to prevent their 
taking up the culture 
inconsiderately, im¬ 
pelled thereto by a 
sudden rise in the 
market. Our farmers 
—some of them—can 
make money by grow¬ 
ing hops—all can not. 
Let whoever is attract¬ 
ed to hop-growing by 
present high prices, 
consider the matter in 
the light we have pre¬ 
sented. Let him make 
sure that his soil and 
surroundings are suit¬ 
able for the crop, and 
if he can afford to 
•wait a year after planting, buy the needed poles 
and put up kilns, and be at all other outlays before 
he can receive any returns. If he finds that he 
can add a hop-field to his regular farm, then let 
him do so—making up his mind, if he goes into 
this special culture, to stay in. If he will be dis¬ 
couraged by one, two, or more bad years, let him 
keep out. We have no doubt that, properly pur¬ 
sued for, say ten years, it will in the long run be 
found profitable, sometimes very profitable. What 
we suggest as to hops, applies to all special cul¬ 
tures. They may be made profitable if intelligently 
started and persistently carried on, taking the bad 
years with the good. If one is unable to do this, 
let him stick to the regular farm crops. 
Canning Tomatoes. 
In a recent number of the American Agriculturist 
I read some remarks regarding the preserving of 
tomatoes, and a lack of success. The modus 
operandi is very simple, and why the many who 
fail do not succeed, I cannot understand. The 
main point to look after is the jar. It is of no use 
to put tomatoes into a jar that is not perfect 
throughout. Many persons, after using the con¬ 
tents, and cleaning the jar, set it upon a shelf, and 
the covers are put into a box or other receptacle, 
and after being jumbled together for several months, 
it would be surprising if the covers, and especially 
the glass ones, came out whole ; a small nick out 
of the sealing edge of a glass cover will cause the 
fruit in that jar to spoil. 
I have seen persons use rubbers that had been 
in use for years, and were so stiff and hard that 
they would not stretch; such rubbers are useless. 
A good rubber should be soft and pliable. The 
tomatoes should be thoroughly cooked. My way 
is to stew them in a large kettle, all at once. Take 
your jar, set it on a cloth wet in cold water, pour 
in enough cold water to cover the bottom well, 
then fill up with boiling water. As soon as the jar 
is thoroughly hot, empty the water, and fill at 
once with the hot tomatoes, brimming full, then 
put on the rubber. Be very careful that no seeds 
get under it; put on the cover, and screw down. 
If a glass top, it should be warmed the same as 
the jar; continue screwing down the cap as the 
jar cools. If done carefully and quickly, success 
will follow. Many people fill their jars too slowly, 
giving too much chance for the cold air to get in, 
and the fruit to cool. These remarks will apply to 
the canning of any kind of fruit. 
Peaches I can differently. 1 pare my peaches, 
taking care that they are in good condition, ripe, 
but not mellow, put in as many whole ones as I 
can, and pack all round the sides with halves and 
quarters as close and tight as I can, without bruis¬ 
ing ; then I put in 7 ounces of sugar, and fill up 
with water. Put on the fire a kettle with cold 
water, set these jars that have been filled in it, 
keeping them off the bottom by a grating or some¬ 
thing similar, and so they will not touch each 
other ; put on the covers, and screw the ring down 
a little (but not the rubbers). After boiling hard 
for ten minutes, take out and fill up with boiling 
water, put on rubbers, and seal as above. People 
say my peaches are very nice. H. B. C. 
The Ailanthus Tree. 
After being yearly abused in the journals, espec¬ 
ially by those of New York City, the Ailanthus tree 
has at last found an advocate in one of the New 
York Daily papers. In its issue of July 26th 
last, it had an article on the tree, which differs 
from the majority of those in the daily papers 
on such subjects, as it plainly indicated that “the 
writer had some knowledge of the subject.” This 
article mentioned the great defect of the Ailanthus, 
its odor during its time of bloom, whereupon a 
correspondent sends a note, published in the 
same paper on July 29th, which says: “ There 
are assuredly more kinds than one of this tree. On 
my place on the Passaic River, near Belleville, are 
some half a dozen large Ailanthus trees, the 
branches of some of which reach within twenty 
feet of my bedroom window. Every year they are 
filled with blossoms perfectly inodorous, and sub¬ 
sequently heavily freighted with immense bunches 
of seed of a rich red-brown color. Further away 
are four large trees precisely similar, except that 
the seeds are yellow. None of them are in the 
least offensive when in blossom—unlike all others 
I have ever seen.” We quote this, as it brings up 
a matter regarding the tree not generally under¬ 
stood. It has often been stated that the Ailanthus 
bears its staminate and pistillate flowers upon dif¬ 
ferent trees; that the staminate flowers are the 
ones which give off the disagreeable odor at flow¬ 
ering time, and one has only to plant the pistillate, 
or fruit-bearing trees, to be freed from the unpleas¬ 
ant smell. Unfortunately this is not true. The 
flowers of the Ailanthus are of three different sorts ; 
there are: 1st, flowers with stamens only; 2nd, flow¬ 
ers that have both stamens and pistils, as do the 
majority of our common flowers ; 3rd, flowers that 
produce only pistils. The first two kinds have 
stamens and are odorous. The second and third 
have pistils and produce fruit. The second kind 
produces fruit abundantly, but it also has the of¬ 
fensive stamens, and it will be seen that the fact 
that a tree has its showy fruit-clusters, is no assur¬ 
ance that it will be inoffensive. It is the third kind 
only, the flowers of which have pistils solely, can 
be relied upon as inodorous. Plants which present 
this irregularity are called polygamous. It is only 
when trees, like those of the writer of the above 
note, are found to be without offensive odor, that we 
can be sure of the matter. While we can not assert 
that a tree of this kind, one with pistillate flowers, 
will always continue to bear such, yet from analogy 
we judge that it is highly probable that it will. 
To avoid the chief objection to the Ailanthus as a 
street tree, and to its planting near dwellings, we 
must propagate not only from those individuals 
which show their ornamental clusters of fruit, but 
which at the time of blooming are also without 
odor. The tree is propagated with great ease from 
cuttings of the root. When an inodorous tree is 
found, it is not necessary to destroy it to propagate 
it. A share of the smaller roots, from an inch 
down to a fourth of an inch in diameter, may be 
taken off in fall, without essential injury to the 
tree. These pieces cut into lengths of two or three 
inches, and placed in a well prepared bed, will 
nearly all make small trees the next season. The 
Ailanthus is valuable for timber, and as fuel, and 
beautiful as an ornamental tree; it will flourish in 
the poorest soils, and grow rapidly under the most 
adverse circumstances. In real value it takes a high 
rank, and it is desirable that every effort should 
be made to avoid its only unpleasant feature. 
Itlanc Mange is an acceptable addition to the 
supper table, and easily made. Take a handful of 
Irish Moss, wash thoroughly in several waters, add 
a few pieces of stick cinnamon, and tie up loosely 
in a piece of mosquito netting. Boil about fifteen 
minutes in 1 quart of milk ; turn the milk into a 
mould or bowl previously wet with cold water ; let 
it stand until cold. When ready for use, turn it 
out upon a dish. If boiled enough, it will keep its 
form. Eat with sugar and cream. The moss is 
very cheap, and if properly washed is free from 
all unpleasant taste. A. W. 
