66 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
January  30 
reason,  as  a  rule,  they  retain  their  vigor  and  usefulness 
to  a  greater  age.” 
“  They  seem  to  he  very  kind,”  remarked  The 
Rural,. 
“Oh,  yes,  they  are  very  affectionate — they  love  to  he 
petted  and  fussed  with,  and  are  especially  good  to 
children.  Well  bred  and  reared,  they  seem  absolutely 
devoid  of  viciousness.” 
The  Shetlands  are  a  hardy  race.  At  this  season, 
unless  clipped,  they  have  a  very  thick  crop  of  hair;  it 
is  almost  wool  and  they  present  to  the  inexperienced 
eye  a  very  funny  appearance.  This  heavy  crop  of 
hair  is  nature’s  shield  against  the  inhospitable  clim¬ 
ate  of  their  Shetland  home  in  winter.  Their  mane 
is  very  bushy.  Their  face  is  handsome,  with 
a  good  cranial  development,  indicating  a  high 
degree  of  intelligence.  The  Welsh  pony  has  a  mane 
like  a  trotting  horse — none  of  the  bushy  appear¬ 
ance  of  the  Shetland,  but,  as  before  stated,  is  taller, 
more  leggy  and  handsomer.  For  small  children  prob¬ 
ably  the  Shetlands  are  best— they  are  sometimes  a  little 
lazy,  but  are  invariably  gentle  and  safe, 
The  doctor  treated  us  to  a  sleigh  ride,  (the  sleighing 
was  not  very  good,)  with  three  stallion  ponies,  driven 
abreast,  a  Shetland  in  the  middle,  and  a  Welsh  on  each 
side.  They  were  clipped  and  as  beautiful  as  a  picture — 
the  Shetland,  a  coal-black,  Howland  L.,  and  the  Welsh 
light  sorrels.  They  trotted  along  rapidly  and  easily, 
seemed  not  to  mind  the  bare  ground  which  made  the 
sleigh  drag  heavily,  and  enjoyed  their  part  of  the  per¬ 
formance  as  much  as  we  did  ours. 
A  New  Seedling  Apple. 
I  send  The  R.  N.-Y.  two  apples  (the  smaller  one 
about  the  average  size)  from  what  is  supposed  to  be  a 
seedling  tree,  which  has  been  a  regular  annual  bearer 
for  a  long  time. 
The  fruit  keeps  in 
fine  condition  till 
late  in  spring.  It 
is  far  superior  in 
quality  to  our  York 
Imperial,  whic  h 
also  originated 
here,  in  York  Coun¬ 
ty,  Pa.  By  the  way, 
the  latter  is  one  of 
our  best  bearers  and 
keepers  and  is  more 
extensively  planted 
in  this  county  than 
any  other  variety. 
The  apple,  speci¬ 
mens  of  which  I 
send,  is  an  equally 
good  bearer  and, 
whether  an  old  va¬ 
riety  or  a  seedling, 
it  would  certainly 
outrank  the  Y ork 
Imperial  two  to  one  in  quality,  size  and  general 
appearance.  Can  The  Rural  recognize  it  as  a  cultiva¬ 
ted  variety?  It  was  just  brought  to  my  notice  this 
fall  and  I  can  therefore  say  nothing  in  regard  to  the 
vigor  and  habit  of  the  tree.  e.  r.  good. 
R.  N.-Y. — We  are  inclined  to  think  that  this  apple  is 
a  seedling  and  one  well  worthy  of  introduction.  The 
illustrations  show  the  shape  and  size.  The  stalk  is 
short,  inserted  in  rather  a  deep,  regular  cavity,  the 
calyx  broadly  open  in  a  medium  basin.  The  color  is  a 
dark,  dull  red,  with  stripes  of  a  darker  red  upon  a 
green  ground,  which  is  shown  mostly  about  the  calyx. 
The  flesh  is  yellow — almost  a  golden  yellow — tender, 
juicy,  rich,  with  but  a  trifle  of  acidity.  It  is  rather 
inclined  towards  sweetness  than  towards  what  is  called 
sub-acidity,  though  no  doubt  the  quality  may  favorably 
change  later  in  the  season  towards  spring. 
Missouri  State  Horticultural 
Society. 
OBSERVATIONS  BY  A  NEW  YORK  STATE  FRUIT  GROWER. 
I  had  long  known  that  Missouri  is  the  home  of  the 
famous  Rush  burg  Nurseries  of  the  veteran  Judge 
Samuel  Miller,  and  one  of  the  largest  fruit  farms  in  the 
Union.  I  also  knew  that  in  1890  more  apples  came  to 
our  Eastern  markets  from  Missouri  than  from  any 
other  State.  I  was  therefore  glad  that  I  could  attend 
the  recent  meeting  of  the  above  named  society. 
Fruit  Exhibit. — The  first  look  showed  apples  of 
larger  size  and  higher  color  than  are  usually  seen  on 
Eastern  show  tables.  Our  favorites,  Rhode  Island 
Greening,  Baldwin,  Northern  Spy,  Dominie,  etc.,  were 
conspicuous  for  their  rarity,  while  the  showy  and  in¬ 
sipid  Ben  Davis  glared  from  every  collection.  I  learned 
that  the  Baldwin  was  there  a  shy  bearer,  which 
ripened  in  the  fall ;  in  fact,  that  most  of  our  choice 
winter  apples  had  to  be  picked  in  September,  and  that 
it  was  with  difficulty  they  could  then  be  kept  until 
New  Year’s.  Some  varieties  grown  there,  develop  to 
much  greater  size  than  in  New  York.  Of  a  plate  of 
Dominies  each  specimen  was  as  large  as  a  Greening, 
of  pale  yellow  color  with  faint  red  stripes.  They  were 
past  their  season,  and  their  lack  of  distinguishing  color 
was  owing  to  their  having  grown  in  a  dense  shade. 
The  quality  of  the  Yellow  Bellflower  appeared  to  me 
to  be  improved.  Its  harsh  acidity  seemed  toned  down. 
More  plates  of  Ben  Davis  were  shown  than  of  any 
other  variety,  The  pomologists  and  nurserymen  are 
aware  of  its  poor  quality,  and,  judging  from  the  number 
of  new  varieties  shown,  each  claiming  to  be  as  hardy 
and  as  productive  as  the  Ben  Davis  and  of  much  better 
quality,  it  will  not  be  long  before  some  better  variety 
will  take  its  place.  At  present  I  believe  the  Jonathan 
is  the  most  likely  to  fill  the  bill.  I  brought  home  a 
specimen  of  this  excellent  apple  grown  in  Kansas,  that 
was  highly  colored  and  fully  as  large  as  an  average 
Rhode  Island  Greening. 
Nursery  Stock. — In  a  room  adjoining  that  in  which 
the  fruit  was  exhibited,  a  nursery  firm  showed  samples 
of  their  stock,  for  the  purpose  of  exhibiting  or  demon¬ 
strating  what  they  claimed  to  be  the  great  advantage 
of  what  is  known  as  whole-root  grafting.  Certainly 
the  young  trees  had  made  a  wonderful  growth,  two- 
year-old  apple  trees  standing  fully  ten  feet  high.  This 
method  of  booming  a  business  did  not  appear  to  com¬ 
mend  itself  to  the  convention,  for  before  adjourn¬ 
ment  a  resolution  was  adopted  in  substance  declaring 
that  extensive  nursery  displays  at  the  meetings  of  the 
Horticultural  Society  were  not  productive  of  good; 
but  might  produce  bad  results.  From  statements 
made  by  essayists,  which  were  not  disputed,  equally 
good  trees  may  be  grown  by  what  is  known  as  piece- 
root  as  by  whole-root  grafting. 
The  Germ  Theory  of  Disease  as  Applied  to  Vege¬ 
tation. — Dr.  J.  M.  Allen  gave  an  account  of  the  vari¬ 
ous  steps  taken  by  scientific  investigators  to  demon¬ 
strate  that  certain  diseases,  notably  anthrax,  tuber¬ 
culosis,  cholera,  diphtheria  and  typhoid  fever,  were 
produced  by  the  presence  of  certain  germs  in  the 
system  ;  a  particular  form  of  disease  was  produced  by 
a  certain  germ  and  by  no  other.  Certain  conditions 
were  necessary  for  the  propagation  of  certain  germs  ; 
in  the  absence  of  these  conditions  these  germs  were 
inert,  etc. 
Then,  reasoning  by  analogy,  he  was  led  to  believe 
that  plant  diseases  might  be  owing  to  the  presence  of 
certain  destructive  germs  in  the  sap  or  tissue  ;  and 
he  had  made  investigations  in  relation  to  their  pres¬ 
ence  in  pear  trees  affected  with  blight.  Having  dis¬ 
covered  bacteria  or  baccilli  in  diseased  trees,  he  was 
led  to  attempt  their  destruction  by  the  use  of  disinfect¬ 
ants.  For  this  purpose  he  believed  corrosive  sublimate 
— 1  to  200 — to  be  the  best.  As  soon  as  any  trace  of 
the  disease  is  discovered,  it  is  necessary  to  make  thor¬ 
ough  and  frequent  examinations  and  every  affected 
limb  should  be  amputated  some  distance  below  the 
diseased  part,  and  the  wound  washed  with  the  above- 
named  disinfectant,  and  covered  with  three  coats  of 
paint ;  but  if  the  disease  had  seriously  affected  a  num¬ 
ber  of  trees  in  an  orchard,  he  advised  that  as  the  only 
sure  way  of  destroying  the  germs  and  preventing  their 
'  spread,  all  the  affected  trees  should  be  dug  up  and 
burned,  root  and  branch.  Then  straw  should  be 
spread  over  the  ground,  sprinkled  with  coal-oil  and 
burned  ;  for  he  had  discovered  the  germs  on  the  sur¬ 
face  of  the  ground  beneath  diseased  trees.  He  also 
urged  the  necessity  of  burning  every  amputated  limb 
and  leaf.  Another  season  if  the  disease  should  make 
its  appearance  among  his  trees,  he  purposes  to  experi¬ 
ment  with  electricity  as  a  germ-destroyer. 
President  Evans  remarked  that  there  were  three 
subjects  not  debatable  in  the  meetings  of  the  society 
— politics,  religion  and  pear  blight.  But  as  this  paper 
suggested  a  new  line  of  investigation,  they  would  de¬ 
part  from  their  time-honored  custom  for  a  few  minutes. 
A  member  asked  the  doctor  if,  as  a  physician,  he  would 
kill  his  patients  to  get  them  out  of  the  way.  After  a 
moment’s  hesitation,  the  doctor  replied  :  “I  would  if  it 
would  save  the  balance  of  the  community.” 
Strawberry  Culture. — A  paper  entitled  “How  to 
Grow  Strawberries,”  treated  the  subject  very  much  in 
accordance  with  the  best  methods  practiced  in  the 
Eastern  States.  The  Crescent  was  evidently  in  much 
favor  with  the  growers,  but  was  condemned  as  a  mar¬ 
ket  variety  by  a  fruit  commission  dealer  present.  An 
inquiry  by  the  writer  as  to  the  merits  of  the  Parker 
Earle  received  no  reply.  It  evidently  had  not  been 
fully  tested.  Michel,  Hoffman  and  Glendale  were 
commended.  The  Haverland  was  well  spoken  of  by  a 
gentleman  who  had  not  succeeded  with  the  Glendale. 
Muriate  of  potash  was  found  an  excellent  fertilizer  by 
those  who  had  tried  it. 
Uniform  Standard  Size  for  Packages  was  dis¬ 
cussed,  and  a  committee  appointed  to  consider  the  sub¬ 
ject.  The  point  at  issue  was  whether  the  liquid  or  dry 
quart  should  be  the  standard  size  for  strawberries  and 
other  small  fruits.  The  proportionate  size  was  stated 
to  be  as  8  to  10.  The  committee  recommended  that  the 
society  should  petition  the  legislature  to  enact  that 
the  following  be  made  the  legal  standard  sizes  of  fruit 
packages  :  That  the  regular  flour  barrel  should  be  a 
legal  apple  barrel ;  the  standard  dry  measure  quart  be 
the  standard  package  for  berries,  and  the  six-package 
crate  holding  a  bushel,  and  the  one-third  bushel  bas¬ 
ket  be  the  standard  packages  for  peaches. 
Sheep  on  a  Fruit  Farm. — The  essayist  claimed  that 
the  profits  on  his  sheep  for  three  years  had  amounted 
to  90  per  cent.  Beside  their  value  in  destroying  wormy 
fruit,  he  claimed  that  they  cleaned  up  the  waste  places 
not  suitable  for  fruit,  rested  upon  and  fertilized  the 
highest  and  poorest  parts  of  a  farm  at  the  least  possi¬ 
ble  expense,  and  in¬ 
stanced  that  in  Eng¬ 
land  there  were 
four  times  as  many 
sheep  as  cattle, 
while  here  the  pro¬ 
portion  was  as  eight 
to  nine. 
Grape  Growing. 
— The  necessity  for 
spraying  the  vines 
with  the  Bordeaux 
mixture  or  carbon¬ 
ate  of  copper  solu¬ 
tion  as  a  preventive 
of  mildew  and  rot 
seems  to  be  thor¬ 
oughly  understood 
by  the  vineyardists 
of  Missouri.  As  to 
varieties,  the  Con¬ 
cord  was  not  recom¬ 
mended  for  general 
planting,  as  it 
ripens  too  early  there.  Of  the  newer  kinds,  some  of 
Mr.  Munson’s  seedlings  were  well  spoken  of.  The 
G.  W.  Campbell,  a  seedling  of  the  Triumph,  was  said 
to  be  white,  sweet,  pure  and  superior  to  the  Chasselas. 
The  Brilliant  was  named  as  a  very  promising  variety. 
Of  several  of  these  seedlings  that  have  been  fruited  in 
the  Hudson  River  Valley  the  Brilliant  was  the  only 
one  that  ripened  early  enough  to  be  of  value  here, 
and  that  was  beautiful  in  appearance  and  excellent  in 
quality.  Several  speakers  alluded  to  Mr.  Munson’s 
forthcoming  book  on  grape  growing  and  commended  it 
very  highly.  The  Colerain,  a  white  seedling  of  the 
Concord,  was  considered  a  very  promising  grape. 
A  standard  for  size  of  some  No.  1  fruits  was  adopted. 
For  instance,  a  package  of  No.  1  Ben  Davis  apples 
should  contain  none  less  than  2%  inches  in  diameter, 
and  of  Winesap,  2M. 
Rev.  Dr.  Curry,  in  an  elaborate  address  on  The 
Bones  of  the  Ancients,  in  which  he  argued  that  this 
was  the  Old  World,  stated  incidentally  that  corn  15 
feet  high  bearing  11  ears  on  a  stalk  had  been  grown 
from  pre-historic  seed  found  in  Arkansas.  Spraying 
for  preventing  rot,  mildew,  scab,  etc.,  had  proved 
generally  successful,  as  had  been  the  use  of  arsenites 
to  destroy  insects,  although  from  the  experience  of 
one  member  spraying  peach  trees  either  with  arsen¬ 
ites  or  the  Bordeaux  mixture  is  no  safer  in  Missouri 
than  in  New  York.  The  value  of  refrigerator  cars  for 
shipping  fruit  long  distances  was  urged  by  an  inter¬ 
ested  party;  but  the  prevailing  sentiment  seemed  to  be 
that  the  system  was  not  as  yet  sufficiently  perfected  to 
pay  for  its  use.  In  “How  to  Grow  an  Orchard  in  North¬ 
ern  Missouri,”  closer  planting  and  no  pruning  were 
urged.  The  proper  distances  apart  for  the  trees  should 
be  not  over  30  feet  on  alluvial  land,  nor  25  on  hillsides.. 
The  long,  hot  summers  had  destroyed  many  orchards 
in  which  the  trees  had  been  set  35  feet  apart  where 
open-head  pruning  had  been  practiced,  and  as  directed 
by  Eastern  nurserymen.  For  market,  Jonathan,  Ben 
Davis,  Willow  Twig  and  Winesap  were  recommended, 
