266 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER.  April  23 
on  the  27th  of  May,  lime  with  Paris-green  being  used 
on  the  first  three  rows  as  before.  On  the  next  three 
rows  we  used  the  Bordeaux  mixture  with  three  ounces 
of  Paris-green  added.  This  mixture  is  simply  four 
pounds  of  sulphate  of  copper  (or  blue  vitriol)  and  four 
pounds  of  quick-lime  to  50  gallons  of  water.  To  pre¬ 
pare  for  use  dissolve  the  copper  in  hot  water,  and 
slake  the  lime  in  the  same  way,  stirring  well  while 
slaking  and  then  add  it  to  the  water.  The  other  nine 
rows  we  sprayed  with  Paris-green  alone,  having  stop¬ 
ped  jarring  at  this  date.  We  also  sprayed  10  of  the 
Belmont  apple  trees  with  the  Bordeaux  mixture  at 
this  time,  leaving  two  unsprayed.  On  May  28,  we 
sprayed  our  pear  and  cherry  trees  the  second  time, 
and  commenced  spraying  our  Ben  Davis,  Baldwin  and 
Greening  apple  trees.  On  these  we  used  four  pounds 
of  lime  and  four  ounces  of  Paris-green  to  50  gallons  of 
water.  On  June  1  the  plums  and  Belmont  apples 
were  treated  in  the  same  way  as  before.  On  the  8th 
they  were  again  sprayed,  ounces  of  Paris-green 
being  used  on  the  plums  instead  of  three  ounces  as  be¬ 
fore.  A  few  days  later  we  noticed  some  injury  done 
where  we  had  used  the  Paris-green  alone,  except  on 
a  few  rows  across  the  north  end  where  we  had  used 
the  Bordeaux  mixture  once.  On  the  same  date  we 
sprayed  our  pear,  cherry  and  apple  trees  as  before, 
and  on  June  15,  they  were  again  sprayed  for  the  last 
time. 
The  plum  trees  were,  I  think,  sprayed  once  or  twice 
after  this  with  carbonate  of  copper  for  the  plum  rot. 
I  cannot  say  what  effect  this  had  on  them.  The  three 
rows  on  the  east  where  we  had  used  lime  showed  some 
injury,  but  ripened  the 
fruit  very  well.  The 
next  three  rows  where 
we  had  used  the  Bor¬ 
deaux  mixture  showed 
no  injury — not  even 
from  the  shot-hole  fun¬ 
gus,  so  common  to  the 
plum.  On  those  tbe 
fruit  was  large  and 
ripened  to  perfection, 
while  the  foliage  was 
a  bright  glossy  green 
until  long  after  the 
fruit  was  picked,  in  fact 
until  there  was  a  very 
heavy  frost. 
The  rest  of  the  orch¬ 
ard,  save  a  few  rows 
across  the  north  end 
w  here  the  Bordeaux 
mixture  had  been  used 
once,  showed  consider¬ 
able  damage,  and 
ripened  only  about  two- 
tliirds  of  the  fruit.  I 
do  not  think  this  can 
be  attributed  to  spray¬ 
ing  alone,  and  am  cer¬ 
tain  that  the  shot-hole 
fungus  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with  it.  We  har¬ 
vested  about  200  bushels  of  plums  and  sold  them 
at  $2  per  bushel  to  parties  who  furnished  the 
packages.  Our  pear  and  cherry  trees  are  planted 
between  the  apple  trees,  and  heretofore  I  had  never 
succeeded  in  growing'  any  perfect  fruit  on  them.  Last 
year  we  had  plenty  of  perfect  pears  and  the  cherries 
were  comparatively  free  from  worms,  while  in  other 
years  they  had  been  almost  worthless.  The  peaches 
we  sprayed  were  the  Patrick  Salway  variety.  Using- 
the  Bordeaux  mixture,  I  expected  to  kill  them,  trees 
and  all,  but  failed  to  injure  them  in  the  least.  So  I 
feel  satisfied  that  the  mixture,  with  2%  or  3  ounces  of 
Paris-green,  can  be  safely  used  on  peach  trees. 
We  have  several  small  trees  of  Ben  Davis  apples  that 
have  borne  full  crops  every  year  for  the  last  five  years, 
and  I  think  in  that  time  we  have  packed  and  sold 
about  the  same  number  of  barrels  each  year,  averaging 
about  one  barrel  of  very  wormy  and  imperfect  fruit  to 
the  tree.  This  year  we  packed  and  sold  21  barrels  of 
perfect  fruit  from  these  trees,  averaging  about  three 
barrels  to  the  tree.  The  12  Belmont  apple  trees  bear 
only  every  other  year.  Two  years  ago  we  picked 
about  150  bushels  and  sold  only  10  barrels,  as  they 
were  badly  injured  by  scab.  This  year  we  gathered 
about  180  bushels  and  sold  52  barrels  of  perfect  fruit, 
and  put  26  bushels  in  the  cellar. 
A  careful  examination  of  five  bushels  of  each  of  the 
sprayed  and  unsprayed  showed  80  per  cent  of  perfect 
fruit  where  we  had  sprayed,  and  only  20  per  cent 
where  we  had  not  done  so.  Our  Baldwins  and  Green¬ 
ings  showed  a  marked  difference  where  we  sprayed 
and  where  we  did  not,  as  we  only  sprayed  one-half  of 
each.  The  trees  on  the  sprayed  part  held  their  foliage 
and  fruit  until  very  late,  while  those  in  the  unsprayed 
portion  dropped  more  than  half  of  their  fruit  before 
we  could  gather  it.  Since  I  have  been  on  the  farm 
(which  is  nine  years  this  spring)  we  have  during  sev¬ 
eral  falls  gathered  as  many  apples  as  we  did  last  fall, 
but  we  never  packed  and  sold  as  many  by  100  barrels 
as  we  did  last  season,  having  sold  190  barrels.  While 
I  will  admit  that  our  fruit  was  not  so  severely  attacked 
by  the  codling  moth  and  curculio  as  in  other  seasons, 
I  feel  assured  that  50  per  cent  of  our  success  can  be 
attributed  to  spraying  alone. 
While  the  buyer  was  packing  my  apples  he  made  the 
remark  that  he  had  never  put  up  such  choice,  fine 
fruit  as  he  was  packing  there,  and  in  order  to  get  an 
expression  from  him  in  writing,  I  wrote  him  about 
December  1,  to  give  me  an  honest  statement  as  to  what 
he  thought  of  my  fruit,  and  here  is  his  reply. 
“We  have  been  in  the  fruit  business  for  nearly  25 
years  and  handled  from  10,000  to  30,000  barrels  of 
apples  nearly,  and  in  all  our  packing  we  have  never 
put  up  Baldwins  and  Greenings  that  were  so  perfect 
as  those  we  packed  in  your  orchard  this  year,  and  if 
this  condition  is  caused  by  spraying,  we  surely  would 
like  to  see  more  of  it  done,  as  such  fruit  will  sell  in  all 
markets  at  from  25  to  50  cents  per  barrel  higher  than 
the  general  run  of  apples.”  This  article  has  not  been 
written  boastingly,  but  to  show  you  what  spraying 
will  do  towards  selling  your  fruit.  t.  s.  Johnson. 
Spraying  Experiences  of  Jerseymen. 
Spraying  for  insects  and  fungi  received  considerable 
attention  at  the  last  New  Jersey  State  Horticultural 
meeting.  Mr.  Elvins  had  sprayed  Concord  grapes  as 
an  experiment.  He  had  used  the  Bordeaux  the  first 
and  second  times  and  carbonate  of  copper  the  third  and 
fourth.  Where  three  applications  had  been  made  the 
loss  by  rot  was  about  10  per  cent;  where  the  four  ap¬ 
plications  had  been  made  there  was  no  loss,  while  on 
the  unsprayed  vines  the  loss  was  about  90  per  cent. 
Mr.  Vanderveer  has  two  vineyards,  one  of  about  an 
acre  of  Niagaras  11  3^ears  old.  It  has  set  full  crops  for 
the  past  eight  years,  but  has  never  matured  a  full 
crop  on  account  of  rot,  mildew  and  anthracnose.  It 
has  received  the  best  of  care — plenty  of  fertilizers, 
clean  culture  and  pruning,  and  been  sprayed  with  the 
various  mixtures  recommended  by  the  Department  of 
Agriculture,  and  some  of  the  grapes  were  bagged. 
Last  year  he  relied  on  bags  and  the  Bordeaux  mixture 
which  he  sprayed  on  April  21,  May  7,  and  14,  June  1, 
and  23;  then  he  used  carbonate  of  copper  and  ammonia 
on  July  10,  and  28.  Rot  appeared  on  June  29,  about 
two  weeks  later  than  usual.  The  damage  was  slight 
till  the  fruit  began  to  ripen;  then  rot  and  anthracnose 
destroyed  most  of  the  crop  that  was  not  bagged.  He 
thought  the  spraying  was  of  advantage  to  the  foliage 
as  it  remained  in  good  condition.  He  will  spray  and 
bag  all  the  Niagaras  hereafter. 
The  Concord  vineyard  of  1)4  acre  he  did  not  spray 
so  carefully,  and  he  used  no  bags  and  had  about  one- 
half  a  crop.  Rose  bugs  would  have  destroyed  the  en¬ 
tire  crop  had  he  not  sprayed  with  one  pound  of  Paris- 
green  in  150  gallons  of  water,  drenching  the  vines 
most  thoroughly.  The  next  day  the  rose  bugs  had  en¬ 
tirely  disappeaz-ed  and  did  not  return.  He  could  not 
say  they  were  killed.  It  is  claimed  they  cannot  be 
killed  in  this  way.  He  sprayed  a  few  pear  trees  that 
had  been  defoliated  for  years,  with  the  Bordeaux 
mixture,  and  the  foliage  and  fniit  were  saved.  A 
neighbor  who  failed  to  spray  lost  his  fruit  and  foliage, 
and  is  a  convert  to  the  benefit  of  spraying. 
Mr.  Burt  intended  to  spray,  and  got  all  ready,  but 
neglected  it,  and  never  had  such  a  crop  of  perfect 
fruit ;  the  trees  broke  down  with  their  load. 
Mr.  Carhart  used  one  ounce  of  90  per  cent  carbolic 
acid  to  10  gallons  of  water,  and  found  it  to  give  as 
good  results  as  other  mixtures. 
Messrs.  White  and  Nicholson  also  testified  to  the 
value  of  spraying,  and  found  no  injurious  effects  to 
stock  pastured  in  the  orchards  thus  treated. 
Secretary  Ward  had  a  lot  of  fine  Clairgeau  trees 
which  had  invariably  lost  their  foliage  and  fruit  here¬ 
tofore  from  scab.  He  thoroughly  spi'ayed  the  trees 
and  secured  a  fine  crop  of  fruit  that  sold  at  very  re¬ 
munerative  prices  the  past  season.  B.  B. 
Standing  by  the  Onion. 
ON  THE  FAMOUS  “CHESTER  MEADOWS.” 
Many  feet  of  muck  swamp  ;  old-time  markets  easily  glut¬ 
ted ;  a  “ mild  onion','>  wanted;  a  hand-hoed  crop; 
superiority  of  chemical  fertilizers  and  why  they  are: 
superior ;  all  about  the  crop. 
Come  Where  the  Onions  Bloom. 
Situated  near  the  center  of  Orange  County,  N.  Y.  ,• 
on  the  line  of  the  Erie  Railway  and  bisected  by  that 
thoroughfare  lie  the  now  famous  “  Chester  meadows,” 
though  why  they  should  be  called  meadows  to-day  is 
not  exactly  clear.  They  are  a  level  tract  of  land, 
mucky  in  character  and  comprise  an  area  of  about  700 
acres.  In  some  early  day,  no  one  knows  how  far  back, 
these  meadows  were  an  inland  lake.  As  the  ages 
rolled  by,  the  lake  gradually  filled  up  with  muck,  the 
result  of  the  decaying  vegetation,  until  it  became  only 
a  swamp.  The  growth  of  course  still  went  on  and  the 
land  gradually  rose,  but  it  was  a  very  tottering 
foundation  for  anything  substantial.  When  the  Erie 
Railway  was  being  constructed,  a  section'of  it  which 
had  been  laid  across 
this  muck  land,  entirely 
disappeared  in  a  single 
night — roadbed,  ties  and 
rails — and  it  became 
necessary  to  drive  piles 
before  the  work  could 
be  resumed.  In  the  early 
days  of  the  country, 
these  mack  meadows 
were  found  desirable 
for  growing  hemp  and 
large  crops  of  it  were 
grown.  When  hemp 
growing  ceased  to  be 
profitable,  these  lands 
were  counted  as  of  little 
worth.  Soon  after  1850, 
parts  of  them  were 
planted  in  small  plats 
to  onions,  potatoes,  etc., 
and  as  the  business 
grew,  the  value  of  the 
“meadows”  increased. 
For  many  years,  they 
were  held  at  high  pi-ices. 
From  1805  to  1875,  sales 
were  made  as  high  as 
31,000  per  acre  and  offers 
of  31,200  per  acre  wez-e 
i*efused.  In  later  yeai*s,  with  the  decline  in  the  price 
of  onions,  the  lands  are  held  at  prices  ranging  from 
3150  to  3250  per  acre. 
A  representative  of  The  Rural  recently  stopped  at 
Chester  and  called  on  Mr.  J.  C.  Hoyt,  one  of  the  pioneer 
onion  growers  of  that  section. 
“  When  did  you  begin  gi-owing  onions  ?”  said  The 
Rural. 
“  About  1855.  1  grew  only  a  few,  as  the  demand 
was  very  limited.  The  vegetable  seemed  to  become 
popularized  during  the  war  and  since  then  the  con¬ 
sumption  has  been  enormous.  I  remember  in  the  early 
days  hearing  a  farmer  tell  of  trying  to  sell  some 
onions.  He  put  two  barrels  in  his  wagon  and  drove 
to  the  county  seat — Goshen — but  no  dealer  would  buy 
such  a  large  quantity.  He  finally  left  them  with  a 
grocer,  who  agreed  to  sell  them,  if  he  could,  and  re¬ 
mit  when  sold.  This  was  in  the  fall.  Early  in  the 
spring,  he  reported  them  sold  and  wanted  another 
barrel.” 
Centuries  of  “Humus”  to  Draw  From. 
“  What  fertilizers  are  mostly  used  by  the  onion 
gi’owei's  ?  ” 
“  All  kinds.  Some  still  stick  to  stable  manure,  but 
chemical  fertilizers  are  steadily  gaining  ground.  For 
my  own  use,- 1  prefer  them  most  decidedly.  I  get  bet¬ 
ter  results;  they  are  more  economical  in  handling  and 
they  do  not  fill  the  land  with  grass  and  weed  seeds  as 
does  stable  manure.” 
“  How  long  have  you  used  chemical  fertilizers?” 
“  For  some  eight  or  nine  years  at  least.  The  culti¬ 
vation  of  onions  is  all  hand  work  and  keeping  out  the 
grass  and  weed  seeds  is  of  great  importance.  I  think 
we  suffer  less  from  smut  and  the  maggot  when  we  use 
chemicals,  than  with  stable  manure.” 
‘  ‘  Do  you  not  find  it  necessary  to  plow  under  some 
green  crop,  in  order  to  supply  the  soil  with  humus  ?  ” 
flow  they  Sprayed  Quinces  at  the  Connecticut  Station.  Fig.  136 
