1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
apd  will  be  more  largely  experimented  with  next 
year.  Saunders  promises  well ;  Pearl  fairly  well,  but 
will  not  be  largely  planted.  The  Pineapple  is  no  use, 
while  the  Belmont  is  fine  in  quality  but  unproductive. 
The  Crescent  is  too  small  and  will  be  discarded.  Miner’s 
Prolific  and  Charles  Downing  don’t  pay.  These  are 
some  that  have  been  most  thoroughly  tried. 
In  the  interesting  report  of  July  16  on  new  berries, 
the  writer  speaks  of  gathering  the  first  berries  June  6. 
I  was  ahead  of  him  four  days  with  some  seedlings  of 
my  own — some  the  second  and  some  the  third  year 
from  bearing  ;  they  were  never  so  late  before.  I  have 
had  them  ripe  on  May  25.  I  do  not  know  that  they  are 
worth  sending  out,  but  I  am  fond  of  them,  never 
having  had  any  so  early. 
Several  accounts  of  picking  berries  and  accounts 
with  pickers  have  appeared  in  the  paper.  My  neigh¬ 
bor  has  a  system  that  is  very  simple  and  works  well. 
Each  picker  (and  he  has  25  to  30,  sometimes  more)  has 
a  large  paste-board  card,  say  10x12  inches,  tied  around 
the  waist  and  exposed  on  the  back,  with  the  number 
in  large  figures  which  can  be  seen  across  a  large  lot. 
When  beginning,  each  gives  his  name  and  is  handed  a 
numbered  card  which  is  entered  on  a  large  sheet  of 
paper  held  on  a  board  to  be  handy  to  carry.  The 
berries  are  grown  in  matted  rows,  and  each  is  assigned 
a  row  and  must  keep  in  it.  As  the  boxes  are  filled 
they  are  set  behind,  and  a  collector  gathers  them,  and 
as  he  picks  them  up  calls  the  number  he  sees  ahead  of 
him  with  the  number  of  boxes  gathered.  The  account¬ 
ant  sets  opposite  the  number  on  the  register  the 
number  of  boxes  called  by  the  gatherer.  If  the  picker 
needs  more  boxes  she  or  he  calls,  “  Boxes  !”  and  is  at 
once  supplied,  so  that  there  is  no  need  to  leave  the 
row  for  any  purpose  ;  they  have  simply  to  pick — that 
is  all  their  business.  As  gathered,  the  berries  are  car¬ 
ried  to  the  packer  and  all  goes  on  quietly  with  an  occa¬ 
sional  cry  of  “  Boxes  !”  and  everything  is  so  arranged 
that  at  a  glance  each  picker’s  account  is  summed  up 
and  he  is  paid  or  a  due  card  is  given  him.  The  tally 
sheets  are  saved  for  comparision  from  day  to  day  if 
necessary.  n.  hallock. 
Fruits  Along  the  Hudson  River. 
NOTES  FROM  A  FAYOREI)  REGION. 
A  Natural  Fruit  Section. 
There  is  no  more  delightful  place  than  the  Hudson 
River  fruit  district  for  a  horticulturist  to  visit.  He  is 
sure  to  receive  a  cordial  reception,  and,  if  he  be  at  all 
observant,  is  equally  sure  of  acquiring  some  new  ideas 
pertaining  to  this  most  ennobling  vocation.  I  stepped 
off  the  boat  at  the  Marlboro  landing  and  leisurely 
strolled  southward,  noting  the  evidences  of  skillful 
work  in  the  orchards  and  vineyards.  The  apple  crop 
in  this  section  will  be  light.  Here  and  there  are  seen 
well  loaded  trees,  but  they  are  not  numerous.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  pears.  The  crop  will  be  light, 
but  there  will  be  enough.  Almost  every  tree  has  a 
few  on  and  the  quality  will  be  above  the  average. 
Special  Advantages  for  Strawberries. 
The  strawberry  crop  turned  out  well.  Hudson  River 
growers  suffer  less  than  most  others  from  such  con¬ 
ditions  as  jirevailed  during  the  strawberry  season — 
excessive  wet  and  great  heat.  Their  berries  are  in 
the  New  York  market  a  few  hours  after  they  are 
picked  and,  going  by  water,  are  much  less  injured  in 
transportation  than  those  which  go  by  rail.  The  hot, 
close  car  and  the  constant  jar  make  bad  work  with 
fruit  softened  by  an  excess  of  rain.  There  is  no  ex¬ 
clusive  favorite  berry  here.  The  Bubach  is  generally 
well  spoken  of  as  being  very  productive,  large  and  a 
fairly  good  shipper.  The  Sharpless  is  extensively 
planted  with  the  Bubach  as  a  fertilizer,  though  it  is 
nothing  like  so  productive.  Some  of  the  growers  find 
the  Haverland  a  good  berry  ;  in  some  places  the  Jessie 
does  well.  Michel’s  Early  is  attracting  attention  from 
growers  who  have  a  local  market — those  who  ship  to 
New  York  do  not  particularly  desire  it.  A  very  large 
proportion  of  the  fruit  growers  plant  a  row  of  straw¬ 
berries  between  their  rows  of  grapes  —  indeed,  I 
think  a  majority  of  all  the  strawberries  grown  in  this 
section  are  thus  cultivated.  It  in  no  way  interferes 
with  the  culture  or  handling  of  the  grapes  and  the 
strawberries  are  cultivated  when  caring  for  the  latter. 
Wanted  !  a  New  Raspberry. 
What  the  Hudson  River  people  want  to-day,  and 
they  want  it  badly,  is  a  raspberry.  There  are  lots  of 
varieties,  but  every  one,  so  far  as  tested,  shows  weak¬ 
nesses  in  various  directions.  The  Cuthbert  and  Marl¬ 
boro  do  well  in  an  occasional  location,  but  are  a  long 
way  from  being  of  general  utility.  The  same  is  true 
of  practically  all  of  the  tested  sorts.  They  winter- 
kill  at  times.  The  foliage  often  dries  up  before  they 
are  half  done  fruiting,  and  sometimes  whole  rows  or 
plantations  show  such  evident  weakness  that  they  are 
consigned  to  the  flames.  There  is  a  chance  here  for 
the  intelligent  horticulturist  to  do  some  fine  work. 
Perhaps  our  experiment  stations  might  take  it  up. 
Give  us  the  '‘coming-’  raspberry  and  do  not  let  it  be 
too  long  in  coming. 
In  blackcaps,  less  trouble  is  found,  thoug-h  the 
growers  are  not  yet  satisfied.  The  Souhegan  and 
Gregg  both  flourish  fairly  well  and  some  of  the  newer 
sorts,  such  as  the  Palmer  and  Campbell,  are  well 
spoken  of.  The  latter  is  productive  and  hardy  and 
of  a  handsome  jet  black,  like  the  Souhegan. 
A  Successful  Fruit  Veteran. 
About  noon  I  reached  the  pleasant  home  of  Mr.  W. 
D.  Barns,  who,  with  his  son,  cultivates  a  large  fruit 
farm  just  north  of  the  village  of  Middlehope. 
“  What  are  the  prospects  for  a  grape  crop  ?”  said  I. 
“  Very  good,  indeed.  We  have  been  so  busy  with 
our  raspberries  that  we  have  been  a  little  dilatory  in 
the  matter  of  spraying.  I  made  an  examination  this 
morning,  and  found  some  black  rot  started  among  our 
Brightons — very  little  anywhere  else.  We  shall  start 
the  spraying  machine  this  afternoon,  and  get  through 
Fig.  210. 
The  county  oflicer  with  big,  fat  feea, 
MakeB  bold  the  patient  cow  to  tease. 
all  our  vineyards  in  a  couple  of  days,  I  have  but  little 
doubt  that  we  shall  check  the  rot  at  once.” 
“  Shall  you  use  Bordeaux  mixture  ?” 
“  No.  We  have  sprayed  twice  with  that,  and  really 
should  have  gone  over  them  once  more,  but  press  of 
work  and  wet  weather  prevented.  We  shall  use  only 
the  ammoniacal  preparation  the  remainder  of  the 
season.  I  somehow  incline  to  the  opinion  that  the 
Bordeaux  mixture  is  best,  but  we  prefer  the  other  at 
this  late  stage,  as  under  no  circumstances  will  it  leave 
traces  on  the  fruit  or  stems.” 
A  look  through  the  vineyards  showed  them  to  be  in 
the  best  possible  condition,  and  generally  loaded  with 
a  full  crop.  Mr.  Barns  has  of  late  relied  on  stable 
manure,  though  he  has  a  keen  appreciation  of  the 
value  of  commercial  fertilizers.  He  has  a  contract 
with  the  street-car  company  of  Newburg  for  all  their 
stable  manure,  and  brings  to  his  farm  annually  about 
400  tons.  His  team  goes  down  with  a  large  wagon, 
holding  nearly  two  tons,  and  leaves  it  at  the  stable. 
The  employees  fill  it  instead  of  stacking  the  manure 
outside.  Next  day  he  goes  with  another  wagon,  leaves 
Fig.  211. 
But,  muzzled  by  “  fair  salary  ”  the  calf, 
Less  greedy  grows  while  honest  folks  may  laugh. 
it  for  loading,  and  drives  home  with  the  loaded  one, 
thus  taking  but  little  time. 
A  Talk  About  Peaches. 
A  look  over  his  large  peach  orchards  shows  them  in 
splendid  condition — not  a  trace  of  yellows  to  be  seen. 
A  young  orchard,  set  on  a  steep  hill-side  in  a  gravelly 
soil,  in  the  spring  of  1890,  was  a  very  beautiful  sight. 
The  trees  have  been  annually  headed  back,  and  have 
low,  compact  heads.  There  are  1,100  in  this  orchard, 
and  they  will  be  in  full  bearing  next  season.  They 
are  Crawford’s  Late,  Late  Rose,  Late  Rareripe,  Key- 
port  White  and  Beers’s  Smock. 
“  What  of  the  newer  varieties  of  peaches?”  said  I. 
“  The  Globe  with  us  is  a  failure.  If  any  buds  are 
winter-killed,  they  are  sure  to  be  on  the  Globe.  The 
fruit  is  of  the  highest  quality,  and  very  handsome  in 
appearance,  but  the  skin  is  thin,  and  the  variety  does 
not  ship  well .  The  growth  of  the  tree  is  upright  with 
49 1 
stiff,  heavy  shoots.  The  wood  deles  not  seetn  to  ripeu 
well  in  the  fall,  which  makes  the  tree  peculiarly  liable 
to  damage  during  the  winter.  The  Gibson  with  us 
is  a  valuable  peach.  In  habit  of  growth  it  is  similar 
to  the  Smock,  and  it  loads  so  heavily  with  fruit  that  it 
requires  severe  thinning  to  secure  the  best  results. 
The  fruit  is  a  little  larger  than  the  Smock,  but  very 
similar  in  appearance  and  rather  better  in  quality, 
though  the  quality  is  very  much  the  same.  It  is  later 
than  the  Smock — almost  as  late  as  the  Salway. 
Stevens’s  Late  Rareripe,  though  not  new,  deserves  a 
good  word.  It  is  still  one  of  the  most  productive  varie¬ 
ties  of  first-quality  fruit.  Late  Rose  is  very  similiar 
in  appearance  and  habit  of  growth  to  Stevens’s  Rare¬ 
ripe.  Perhaps  it  is  a  little  more  vigorous  and  equally 
productive,  and  the  fruit  is  fully  as  large  and  about  a 
week  later.  Its  quality  is  fully  equal  to  that  of  the 
Rareripe.  If  I  were  restricted  to  a  single  variety  for 
market  purposes,  I  would  choose  this  peach. 
About  Currants  and  Cherries. 
“  How  about  the  currant  crop  ?” 
“  We  are  just  beginning  to  ship  our  currants.  I 
decidedly  prefer  Fay’s  Prolific  to  all  others.  We  have 
Cherry,  Versaillaise  and  Red  and  White  Dutch,  but 
we  like  Fay  the  best.  It  is  more  prolific  than  the 
Cherry  or  Versaillaise  and  has  a  longer  stem,  so  that 
it  is  much  more  easily  picked  without  crushing  the 
fruit.” 
“  Do  you  have  any  trouble  with  its  limbs  breaking 
down  ? ” 
'•  None  worth  mentioning.  We  thin  out  our  bushes 
every  season  and  head  them  back,  cutting  off  about 
one-third  of  the  new  growth  and  thus  keep  the  bushes 
in  good  shape.  In  quality,  there  is  nothing  to  my  taste 
that  equals  the  White  Dutch.  That  is  the  currant  for 
the  table.  Mixed  with  an  equal  quantity  of  Fay  or 
Red  Dutch,  they  make  a  better  and  more  beautiful 
jelly  than  either  does  alone.  It  is  a  wonder  that  the 
good  qualities  of  this  variety  have  not  been  better  ap¬ 
preciated,  but  there  is  very  little  demand  for  it  in  the 
market.” 
“  How  did  your  cherries  turn  out  this  season  ?  ” 
“  This  has  been  a  hard  season  for  cherries.  All  our 
sweets  rotted  more  or  less,  some  badly.  Even  Elk- 
horn  and  Downer’s  Late  Red,  which  we  have  hitherto 
considered  iron-clad,  rotted  so  that  we  did  not  market 
any  of  them.  VVe  lost  in  this  way  about  three  tons. 
We  really  have  not  been  able  to  market  a  single  pound 
of  first-class  fruit.  A  few  immature  Yellow  Spanish 
and  Napoleon  Bigarreau  sold  for  a  high  price.  Of  our 
sour  cherries,  Louis  Phillippe,  Olivet  and  Reine  Hor- 
tense  had  but  little  fruit  on  the  trees.  Belle  Magni- 
fique  had  a  fair  crop,  but  a  portion  rotted  before  we 
could  market  them.  The  Early  Richmond  trees  were 
nearly  bare.  Of  all  the  sour  cherries,  only  the  Mont- 
morenei  and  English  Morello  perfected  good  crops. 
For  vigor  of  tree  and  productiveness,  we  consider  the 
Montmorenci  stands  at  the  head  of  the  list.” 
“  What  about  the  Eugenie  ?  ” 
“  It  is,  in  our  place,  a  very  shy  bearer.  But  M.  Cay- 
wood,  of  Caywood  &  Wardell,  tells  me  that  it  is,  on 
his  place,  his  most  profitable  cherry.  It  is  a  very  large 
and  handsome  fruit.”  E.  (*.  f. 
Turnips  for  Green  Manuring. 
Last  year,  on  July  13,  an  old  strawberry  patch  was 
plowed  and  seeded  broadcast  to  Purple  Top  Turnips 
and  winter  radish  to  be  plowed  under  in  due  time  for 
manure,  the  ground  to  be  planted  to  melons  the  fol¬ 
lowing  year.  The  plowing  was  deferred  until  May  of 
this  year  when  melons  were  planted  at  a  distance  of 
eight  feet  apart,  with  sweet  corn  at  the  same  distance 
between  them.  The  dwarf  sweet  corn  is  left  until 
most  of  the  corn  has  been  taken  off  for  table  use  or 
market,  and  the  taller-growing  kinds  are  taken  off 
and  used  for  fodder  as  soon  as  they  begin  to  be  tall 
enough  for  use.  On  July  2,  on  looking  over  the  patch, 
I  find  that,  notwithstanding  the  unfavorable  wet  and 
cool  weather,  the  melons  and  squashes  look  splendid, 
and  the  corn  looks  well  also,  but  not  as  good  as  on  an 
adjoining  strip  of  land  on  which  oats  and  clover  were 
grown  last  year.  This  oat  stubble  was  plowed  and 
planted  at  the  same  time  as  the  turnip  patch.  Thus 
corn  looks  better  on  the  oat  stubble,  and  melons  on 
the  turnip  patch. 
Further,  on  July  18  last  year,  a  two-acre  field  of 
early  sweet  corn  planted  four  feet  each  way,  was 
sown  broadcast  and  thickly  to  rutabagas,  Purple  Top 
Turnips  and  winter  radish  for  the  purpose  of  growing 
something  else  than  weeds  and  at  the  same  time 
enriching  the  land  with  green  manure.  The  sweet 
corn  was  cut  up  for  fodder  late  in  August  and  directly 
afterwards  part  of  the  ground  was  plowed  and  seeded 
to  winter  wheat,  the  remainder  was  plowed  later  and 
sown  to  oats  in  the  spring  of  this  year.  All  this  land, 
as  well  a#  some  adjoining,  received  a  dressing  of  200 
pounds  of  tankage  per  acre  sown  broadcast  in  the 
early  spring  of  1891. 
Another  experiment  I  am  trying  this  yeajr  promises 
