1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
299 
pound  to  50  gallons  of  water,  even  if  there  are  no 
larvae  present. 
The  following  notes  from  readers  of  The  R.  N.-Y. 
will  be  found  helpful. 
Dissolving  Blue  Vitriol. — Formerly  I  had  great 
trouble  in  dissolving  the  sulphate  of  copper  for  the 
Bordeaux  mixture;  either  hot  water  had  to  be  used,  or 
the  sulphate  had  to  be  pounded  fine  and  the  solution 
constantly  stirred,  if  we  attempted  to  dissolve  it  in 
cold  water.  Last  season  by  putting  12  pounds  of  sul¬ 
phate  of  copper  (in  large  crystals)  in  any  thin,  coarse 
bag,  and  suspending  it  in  a  tub  of  cold  water,  so  that 
the  contents  were  submerged,  the  crystals  dissolved 
almost  as  rapidly  as  salt.  This 
quantity  was  weighed  out  each 
time,  because  it  was  sufficient  to 
fill  a  50-gallon  cask  with  the  Bor¬ 
deaux  mixture.  Another  point  to 
be  observed  in  preparing  the  mixt¬ 
ure  is  thorough  straining.  I  found 
this  could  be  perfectly  and  easily 
done  by  spreading  a  bran  bag  over 
the  top  of  an  open-headed  barrel, 
and  confining  it  there  by  putting 
on  a  tight-fitting  hoop.  w.  D.  b. 
Less  Copper  Needed.  —  Allow 
me  to  add  a  word  to  The  Rural’s 
editorial  of  April  23,  concerning 
the  reduction  of  the  strength  of 
fungicidal  preparations.  My  work 
has  shown  for  three  years  past 
that  the  practice  of  using  such 
heavy  preparations  of  Bordeaux 
mixture  as  commonly  recom¬ 
mended,  is  a  useless  waste  of  ma¬ 
terial  and  detrimental  to  the  sale 
of  the  fruit.  The  results  obtained  here  have  now  been 
demonstrated  by  our  best  growers  and  can  be  relied 
upon.  The  formula  used  is  :  Copper  sulphate,  2  pounds ; 
lime  (fresh),  2%  pounds  ;  water,  25  gallons.  This  gives 
a  precipitate  of  much  more  flocculent  nature  and  less  in 
bulk  than  the  old  formula,  while  the  results  are 
equally  good.  It  is  a  mistake,  however,  to  say  that 
the  ammoniacal  carbonate  of  copper  can 
be  reduced  in  strength.  The  old  formula 
is  scarcely  strong  enough. 
Virginia  Ex.  Station,  wm. 
Bringing  Youth  To  an  Old 
Meadow. 
In  The  Rural  New-Yorker  of  March  19 
I  find  the  following  questions : 
Can  you  bring  an  old  meadow  into  profitable  bearing 
without  plowing  and  reseeding?  Does  It  pay  to  put 
manure  or  fertilizers  on  a  sod  that  is  half  weeds  and 
useless  grasses? 
To  both  questions  I  can  say,  no ;  it  is 
worse  than  useless.  In  attempting  to  do 
it  manure  and  fertilizers  are  wasted.  As  I 
have  had  considerable  experience  with 
such  meadows,  here  in  Sullivan  County. 
N.  Y.,  I  give  my  mode  of  treatment : 
Formerly  I  tried  to  bring  run-out  mea¬ 
dows  up  by  top-dressing  with  manure 
and  fertilizers,  with  very  poor  success. 
For  the  last  30  years  if  any  of  my  perma¬ 
nent  meadows  (which  are  of  rather  heavy 
soil)  have  been  on  the  decline,  I  have  gone 
to  work  at  them  in  August  or  September, 
with  two  good,  steady  teams.  I  put  one  to 
the  sod  plow  and  the  other  to  a  subsoiler, 
turned  a  smooth,  shallow  sod  furrow,  so  as 
to  cover  all  weeds  and  weed  seeds  ;  and  fol¬ 
lowed  with  the  subsoil  plow,  the  deeper 
the  better.  By  plowing  in  the  fall  I  have 
time  enough  to  do  the  work  well ;  the 
teams  are  stronger  and  can  do  the  plowing 
better,  and  the  action  of  the  frost  through 
the  winter  has  an  excellent  effect  on  the 
soil  and  helps  to  destroy  the  worms,  grubs, 
etc.  In  the  fall,  winter  or  spring,  as  is 
most  convenient,  I  top-dress  with  good 
stable  manure,  that  has  not  been  exposed 
to  the  weather  until  applied.  When  the 
soil  has  got  in  good  condition  to  cultivate — 
generally  in  June— with  a  Cutaway  harrow  I  cut  and 
pulverize  it  until  there  is  a  good  seed  bed.  The  Cutaway 
works  in  more  manure  and  pulverizes  the  soil  more 
effectually  than  any  other  implement  in  use  for  that 
purpose.  If  I  choose  to  raise  a  grain  crop  with  the  seed¬ 
ing,  1  sow  millet  at  the  rate  of  a  quarter  of  a  bushel  to 
the  acre,  or  buckwheat  very  thin  (10  to  12  quarts  to  the 
acre).  Both  are  excellent  crops  to  protect  the  young 
seeding  until  cool  weather,  which  is  an  important 
matter,  for  the  hot,  dry  weather  frequent  through 
August  and  September  often  destroys  a  good  catch  of 
grass  seed.  I  use  Timothy  and  Mammoth  Clover — six 
quarts  of  each  to  the  acre.  Under  this  treatment  the 
meadows  produce  well  for  years.  I  do  not  work  tha 
soil  until  it  is  dry  and  in  good  condition,  even  if  it  has 
to  lie  over  one  season.  It  does  not  pay  to  cultivate  it 
when  wet  and  cold.  b.  w.  Gregory. 
New  Fruits  and  Fruit  Prospects. 
The  quince  makes  a  good  all- winter  fruit,  if  stored 
carefully  in  shallow  bins  in  a  cool  cellar.  I  have  used 
it  all  winter,  and  now — April  10 — a  few  are  still  in 
good  condition.  It  is  necessary  to  pick  and  handle  the 
fruit  with  great  care.  A  few  water-cored  specimens — 
the  first  of  the  sort  I  had  ever  seen — were  good  for 
eating  raw. 
There  is  good  reason  for  believing  we  may  get  a  first- 
rate  table  fruit  from  the  quince.  Seedlings  should  be 
generally  tried  by  our  experimental  stations.  The 
flavor  would  probably  be  retained  while  the  fruit 
might  be  softened. 
Is  it  certain  that  the  Japan  quince  cannot  be  also 
made  a  highly  useful  fruit?  Its  intensely  oily  char¬ 
acter  suggests  a  possible  value  in  other  directions,  as 
in  case  of  the  olive.  It  is  the  finest  of  all  fruits  for 
perfuming  drawers  and  chests,  holding  its  rich  odor  all 
winter.  The  fruit  seldom  rots,  but  dries  away.  Has 
any  one  tried  it  for  a  pickle  ? 
Mr.  Loomis,  who  introduced  the  Japanese  persim¬ 
mons  into  Califdrnia,  tells  me  there  are  varieties  of  the 
large  grafted  sorts  growing  in  Corea,  that  will  un¬ 
doubtedly  prove  hardy  in  our  Northern  States.  Those 
introduced  by  him  from  southern  Japan  and  others 
brought  in  by  the  Government  do  not  endure  the 
climate  of  this  country  north  of  Virginia.  The  real 
grafted  Japan  persimmon  is  just  coming  into  market 
in  New  York.  It  is  as  large  as  a  lemon  and  more  full 
of  sugar  than  any  other  fruit  I  have  ever  seen, 
The  native  persimmon  is  hardy  on  my  grounds,  in 
Clinton  County,  N.  Y.,  and  T  see  no  reason  why  the 
improved  selected  sorts  may  not  be  grown  here  for 
market.  Some  one  should  try  the  Corean  sorts  as  soon 
as  they  can  be  obtained.  One  thing  very  much  in 
favor  of  growing  the  Japanese  persimmons  is  that  the 
wood  is  as  valuable  as  the  fruit.  Some  sorts  are 
capable  of  exquisite  polish ;  and  the  best  are  the 
wildest  and  most  easily  grown.  The  persimmon  is 
ebony. 
Orange  planting  is  on  the  decrease  in  Florida  and  on 
the  increase  in  California.  Best  of  all  is  the  fact  that 
a  large  part  of  Arizona  is  proving  to  be  good  for  this 
fruit.  It  is  believed  that  by  1900 
we  shall  be  large  exporters  of 
citrus  fruits,  and  perhaps  of  other 
semi-tropical  and  tropical  fruits 
also. 
The  development  of  nut  grow¬ 
ing  has  been  very  rapid.  The 
census  gives  the  value  of  the  pecan 
nuts  for  1890  at  $1,616,000,  and 
that  of  Madeira  nuts  at  $1,256,000. 
But  it  is  not  these  Southern  fruits 
alone  that  are  proving  profitable. 
The  chestnut  has  had  a  grand 
boom  as  a  market  fruit ;  while 
the  demand  for  butternuts  is  quite 
beyond  ithe  supply.  This  noble 
nut  is  beginning  to  be  appreciated. 
The  price  ranges  from  40  to  80 
cents  a  bushel,  wholesale.  The 
tree  is  a  beauty,  and  the  wood 
of  great  value.  If  I  wished  to 
plant  a  farm  from  which  my  boys 
could  get  rich,  I  would  plant  an 
orchard  of  chestnuts,  another  of 
walnuts  and  another  of  butternuts. 
While  the  tree  blackberry  is  a  worthless  affair,  at  least 
for  general  culture,  there  is  in  blackberries  a  new  dis¬ 
covery  that  promises  to  be  of  considerable  importance. 
I  refer  to  the  Rubus  Millspaughii.  This  is  quite  unlike 
the  Villosus  as  well  as  the  Dewberry,  being  without 
thorns,  and  ripening  considerably  after  the  others. 
The  fruit  is  long,  sweet  and  black.  It  has 
been  known  in  a  few  places  from  the  Caro- 
linas  to  Lake  Superior,  but  never  culti¬ 
vated  till  now.  E.  P.  POWELL. 
Cannas  and  Tuberous- 
rooted  Begonias. 
The  illustrations,  as  small  as  they  ap¬ 
pear  on  paper,  are,  nevertheless,  accurate 
drawings  of  the  new  and  justly  popular 
cannas  —  Star  of  ’91  (Fig.  146),  and  Ma¬ 
dame  Crozy  (Fig.  147).  There  is  little  in 
these  pictures  to  distinguish  them  from  a 
dozen  others  of  the  improved  varieties, 
because  their  beauty  is  in  their  vivid 
colorings.  Except  in  special  canna  col¬ 
lections,  Crozy  is  preferable  to  Star  of  ’91, 
because  it  is  a  trifle  more  brilliant  in  its 
color,  which  is  somewhat  more  of  an 
orange  and  somewhat  less  of  a  Vermillion. 
The  golden  border  is  also  better  defined 
and  more  constant.  It  is  not  so  dwarf 
as  ’91  by  a  foot,  while  its  habit  is  all  that 
can  be  desired.  Every  shoot  produces  a 
raceme  of  flowers,  which  are  constantly 
produced  from  June  until  frosts.  Both 
varieties  produce  seed  freely,  so  that  the 
flowers  should  be  removed  as  soon  as  they 
begin  to  fade.  Seed  planted  now  and 
first  soaked  in  hot  water  for  48  hours,  will 
soon  sprout,  and  the  plants  will  bloom  by 
midsummer. 
Tuberous  Begonias.  —  An  account  of 
these  magnificent  plants  was  given,  with 
illustrations,  on  page  182.  It  has  hitherto 
been  assumed  that  they  prefer  shade. 
This  is  true  only  to  a  partial  extent. 
Planted  in  full  sunshine  in  a  rich,  mellow 
soil  and  sufficiently  watered  during  dry 
weather,  that  is  just  the  place  for  them. 
The  R.  N.-Y.  last  year  tried  a  choice  col. 
lection  in  a  dense  shade,  but  which  was  not  known  to 
be  so  until  it  was  too  late  to  remove  them.  The  result 
was  a  tall,  leggy  growth  while  the  flowers  were  less 
double  than  those  growing  in  the  sun,  as  is  shown  in 
Fig.  148. 
The  R.  N.-Y.  expresses  the  hope  that  its  readers 
will  try  a  few  Tuberous-rooted  Begonias.  Except 
that  the  flowers,  like  those  of  a  dahlia  or  zinnia,  are 
without  fragrance,  and  have  just  the  suggestion  of  a 
wax-like  artificiality,  they  are  the  most  beautiful  pro¬ 
ductions  among  flower  novelties  that  have  appeared  in 
many  years.  The  roots  may  be  started  in  pots  now, 
or  a  little  later  planted  in  the  open  ground  where 
they  are  to  remain. 
