isn 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
5o9 
as  many  points  as  size.  Melons  should  always  be  cut. 
6,  I  should  judge  by  points,  as  indicated  under  No.  2. 
If  each  of  the  four  heads — size,  regularity  or  contour, 
freedom  from  scab  and  hollow  heart— should  receive 
five  points  in  a  scale  of  20,  justice  would  be  done 
any  variety  so  far  as  externals  or  physical  conditions 
are  concerned.  l.  h.  bailey. 
Cornell  University. 
Where  “Quality”  Tests  Are  Unfair. 
1.  If  judging  apples  and  pears  by  a  scale  of  points 
as  suggested,  I  would  make  the  points  score  in  the  fol¬ 
lowing  proportions :  Size  six,  shape  four,  color  six, 
freedom  from  blemish  four,  making  20  in  all. 
2.  By  scoring,  judgment  is  most  easily  rendered,  but 
not  so  quickly  as  by  general  glance  of  the  eye.  It  is 
to  be  understood  that  to  apply  the  above  scale  of 
points  justly,  the  competing  specimens  should  be  all 
from  the  same  climatic  belt  or  region,  and  not  speci¬ 
mens  brought  against  each  other  from  widely  different 
latitudes,  altitudes,  etc.  Each  widely  different  region 
should  compete  among  its  own  products  only. 
3.  If  quality  be  admitted  to  the  score,  then  often 
widely  different  regions  could  well  enter  into  the  same 
competition,  often  favorably  so  to  those  regions  in 
which  size  and  color  might  be  lacking  ;  but  in  com¬ 
petition  among  specimens  of  the  same  climatic  con¬ 
dition  quality  can  be  left  out  of  the  question  with 
little  detriment  to  correct  judgment.  To  illustrate  : 
the  finest  Ben  Davis,  or  other  apple,  that  can  be  grown 
in  Colorado  or  Michigan  can  never  compete  success¬ 
fully  in  size  and  color  with  the  best  of  the  same  variety 
grown  in  northern  Texas,  Arkansas  or  Missouri,  but 
may  be,  and  generally  is  superior  in  quality. 
4.  I  would  give  the  prize  to  the  heavier  clusters,  or 
specimens  of  grapes  rather  than  to  the  larger  berries 
aggregating  less  weight,  for  when  the  size  of  the  berries 
is  so  nearly  the  same,  as  it  necessarily  has  to  be  in 
such  cases,  then  the  most  desirable  thing  is  quantity. 
5.  If  musk-melons  (not  canteloupes)  alone  were  in 
a  country  competition  where  the  farmers’  families 
and  local  market  used  the  crop,  then  I  would  be  gov¬ 
erned  chiefly  by  size,  shape  and  general  appearance, 
especially  coloring  and  netting  ;  but  if  the  competition 
were  among  canteloupes  used  at  home  in  the  local 
market,  and  for  shipping  to  distant  markets,  I  would 
insist  upon  cutting,  to  compare  thickness  and  firmness 
of  flesh,  and  to  taste  for  quality.  I  would  want  for 
judging  such  melons  a  scale  of  points  something  like 
this  :  Boints  when  perfect — shape,  nearest  the  nutmeg 
form,  five  ;  size,  to  be  nearest  five  inches  in  the  short¬ 
est  diameter,  five;  weight  the  greatest  with.the  same 
diameter  of  flesh,  thickest  and  firmest,  five  ;  quality, 
most  buttery  and  aromatic,  five  ;  general  appearance 
(most  closely  netted,  upon  a  golden  ground  when  fully 
ripe),  five;  total  25.  The  prize  would  go  to  the  one 
scoring  the  greatest  number  of  points  ;  25  being  per¬ 
fect  in  everything.  In  size,  when  going  over  six 
inches  or  under  three  inches  in  diameter,  I  would  score 
zero.  The  best  strains  of  netted  Gem  Canteloupe 
come  nearest  to  filling  the  above  score  of  any  varie¬ 
ties  tried  here,  in  Grayson  County,  Tex.,  hence  I  con¬ 
sider  it  the  best,  and  it  has  certainly  proved  to  be  more 
profitable  than  any  other  for  market.  Musk-melons 
are  here  regarded  as  a  different  class  of  melon  from 
the  canteloupe,  as  much  so  as  are  pumpkins  and 
squashes  separated. 
G.  In  judging  between  competing  potatoes  of  the 
same  variety,  I  would  prefer  to  work  upon  a  scale  of 
points,  as  in  all  other  such  matters,  so  that  I  could 
always  give  a  reason  for  my  decision.  A  good  scale 
for  the  potato  would  be  :  Points— Size,  for  perfection, 
five ;  regularity  and  uniformity,  for  perfection,  five  ; 
freedom  from  fungus  and  insect  blemishes,  five  ;  free¬ 
dom  from  hollow-core,  five;  perfection  of  condition 
from  digging,  handling,  etc.,  five;  total,  25.  Thus 
perfect,  kinds  would  score  25  points,  t.  y.  munson. 
No  Use  for  Monster  Melons. 
In  my  limited  experience  in  judging  fruits,  etc.,  it 
has  always  been  the  practice  to  do  it  by  the  eye  and 
general  appearance,  and  close  comparison,  side  by  side. 
When  the  fruit  is  of  the  standard  varieties,  it  is  sup¬ 
posed  the  quality  would  be  the  same,  except  where 
there  might  be  some  doubts  about  being  correctly 
named,  the  requirements  being  size,  color  and  freedom 
from  blemishes  of  any  kind.  As  to  the  grapes,  I  con¬ 
fess  I  rather  lean  to  larger,  well-grown  berries, 
although  they  weigh  a  fraction  less.  Musk-melons 
are  so  apt  to  be  mixed  with  squashes,  pumpkins,  etc., 
that  it  might  be  well  to  judge  them  by  cutting,  etc. 
As  for  potatoes,  I  always  prefer  the  medium-sized, 
smooth  ones  free  from  scab  and  of  good  shape  to  the 
overgrown  monsters  which  are  apt  to  be  hollow  and 
unfit  for  table  use.  No  monstrosity  for  me. 
N.  C.  COLEMAN. 
A  Layman’s  Opinion  on  the  Keiffer. 
1.  Competition  is  becoming  so  close  in  fruits  and 
vegetables  that  a  different  standard  to  go  by  in  judg¬ 
ing  is  necessary.  I  would  make  the  points  as  follows  : 
Quality  (which  would  include  freedom  from  blemish) 
6,  color  G,  size  4,  shape  4.  2.  I  would  judge  by  scoring. 
3.  I  think  more  attention  should  be  given  to  good 
quality,  and  more  encouragement  extended  in  that 
direction.  Fine  quality  means  favor  with  customers 
in  fruit  particularly,  and  increased  consumption,  while 
poor  quality  means  lessened  consumption,  however  at¬ 
tractive  it  may  be  in  appearance.  4.  The  quality  being 
the  same,  I  would  give  the  prize  to  a  plate  of  finer  ap¬ 
pearance,  even  though  they  weighed  less.  5.  I  would 
judge  musk-melons  by  quality,  giving  quality  12  points 
and  size  8.  6.  Yes,  I  would  judge  potatoes  by  points, 
and  would  make  regularity  in  shape  eight,  freedom 
from  scab  and  hollow  heart  seven,  size  six.  The  main 
object  in  public  exhibitions  of  fruits  and  vegetables  is 
to  encourage  and  stimulate  improvement  in  these,  but 
too  often  prizes  are  put  on  varieties  of  the  poorest 
quality,  and  others  seeing  this,  plant  and  propagate 
these  varieties  until  the  markets  are  frequently  over¬ 
stocked,  because  customers  do  not  buy  as  freely  as  they 
would  if  the  quality  were  better.  A  forcible  illus¬ 
tration  :  while  traveling  last  fall,  I  saw  a  passenger 
buy  half  a  dozen  Keiffer  pears  to  eat ;  biting  into  one, 
he  raised  the  car  window  and  threw  them  all  out,  re¬ 
marking,  “  Tempting  in  appearance,  but  mighty  poor 
stuff  to  eat,”  and  probably  a  good  customer  for  good 
eating  pears  was  lost.  geo.  t.  powell. 
Quality  the  Most  Valuable  Point. 
This  is  such  an  important  matter  that  we  cannot 
discuss  it  too  much  or  award  too  many  points  to  per¬ 
fect,  fruit. 
1.  Single  plates  of  apples  and  pears  having  only  four 
heads — size,  shape,  color  and  freedom  from  blemish — 
I  would  in  20  points  give  five  for  size,  four  for  shape, 
four  for  color  and  seven  for  freedom  from  blemish, 
because  I  consider  the  last  the  most  important  of  all. 
A  man  is  excusable  if  he  has  only  small  specimens,  or 
if  their  shape  is  not  exactly  perfect,  or  if  the  color  is 
not  the  highest ;  for  his  location,  soil  and  climqte  may 
not  give  him  perfection  under  each  of  these  heads ; 
but  he  is  not  excusable  if  he  brings  a  wormy  specimen 
or  one  bruised  in  handling,  or  one  with  the  stem  gone, 
or  one  having  any  blemish  whatever. 
2.  In  judging  I  would  give  more  heads  to  judge 
by  than  are  mentioned  above.  I  would  add  quality, 
and  explain  that  “best  plate”  meant  “best”  in  all 
things.  I  would  also  name  productiveness,  hardiness 
and  growth  of  tree  as  well  for  market  as  for  family 
purposes. 
3.  I  would  by  all  means  add  quality  in  deciding. 
Outward  appearance  is  good  and  the  eye,  nose  and 
fingers  are  goo#  criterions,  but  ofttimes  one  plate  not 
quite  so  good  in  appearance  as  another  may  be  far 
ahead  in  quality.  Ofttimes  some  soils  yield  products 
much  finer  in  quality  than  others  and  by  all  means 
they  should  have  the  fact  to  their  credit.  By  these 
means  we  can  best  find  our  fruit  lands,  and  the  fruits 
from  these  lands  should  bring  the  best  prices.  We 
should  certainly  examine  closely  the  quality  of  fruits. 
4.  If  the  bunch  weighing  five  pounds  one  ounce  was 
better  in  quality  than  the  other,  I  would  give  it  the 
prize,  and  vice  versa.  If  the  quality  was  about  equal, 
I  would  award  the  prize  to  the  one  having  the  finest 
berries,  viz.,  the  one  weighing  five  pounds.  The  per¬ 
fection  of  the  berries  and  bunches  must  be  considered 
as  well  in  this  case  as  in  the  case  of  the  perfection  of 
specimens  of  apples  in  the  first  case.  Perfection  of 
specimens  must  go  a  long  way  with  berries  or  apples. 
5.  In  judging  musk-melons  by  all  means  external 
appearance  and  quality  must  count.  I  would  not  give 
a  cent  for  a  large  musk-melon  if  it  were  not  good.  I 
would  give  size  five,  color  four,  quality  six,  productive¬ 
ness  five. 
G.  In  judging  potatoes  I  would  give  size  five,  shape 
five,  color  four,  freedom  from  blemish  six,  quality  five, 
productiveness  five.  L.  a.  Goodman. 
Secretary  Missouri  Horticultural  Society. 
A  North  Carolina  Compost. 
II.  O.  C.,  Gordonton,  N.  C. — In  making  a  compost  of 
oak  and  pine  leaves,  straw,  etc.,  what  kind  of  chemi¬ 
cals  should  I  use  for  tobacco,  and  how  much  of  each 
article  should  I  use  ?  I  also  have  some  stable  manure. 
What  is  the  best  way  to  rot  straw  and  leaves  ? 
Ans. — Leaves  of  trees  lose  nearly  all  their  valuable 
fertilizing  matters  in  the  ripening,  and  thus  are  not 
nearly  so  valuable  for  making  manure  as  they  are 
commonly  thought.  Oak  leaves  which  contain  4>£  per 
cent  of  potash  in  the  summer  have  less  than  three- 
fourths  of  one  per  cent  of  it  in  the  fall.  Pine  leaves 
have  less  than  three-fourths  of  one  per  cent  of  potash, 
and  for  this  element  have  hardly  enough  value  to  make 
them  worth  the  gathering.  The  lime  and  phosphoric 
acid,  however,  are  worth  saving,  and  thus,  in  making 
a  compost  of  leaves,  it  is  necessary  to  add  potash 
salts  or  wood  ashes.  Tobacco  is  exceedingly  rich  in 
all  the  mineral  elements  of  plant  food,  having  54  per 
cent  of  potash,  73  of  lime,  and  7  of  phosphoric  acid, 
hence  in  making  a  compost  for  this  crop,  it  will 
be  advisable  to  add  to  the  materials  mentioned  a 
liberal  quantity  of  wood  ashes,  or  potash  salts  and 
lime.  Oyster-shell  lime  is  better  than  stone  lime  for 
this  purpose.  To  make  the  compost,  proceed  in  this 
way  :  Lay  on  the  ground  a  few  inches  deep  of  good 
soil,  or  black  stuff  from  a  swamp  ;  on  this  place  a  foot 
of  the  straw  and  leaves  previously  exposed  to  the 
weather  and  well  wetted.  On  this  spread  half  a  bushel 
of  air-slaked  lime  to  each  square  yard.  Then  add  more 
leaves  and  straw,  and  mix  with  these  the  ashes  or  pot¬ 
ash  salts,  and  ground  phosphate  rock.  A  hundred 
pounds  of  each  may  be  used  for  each  layer  in  a  heap 
of  as  many  square  feet.  Then  add  the  manure,  and 
so  go  on  until  the  heap  is  as  high  as  it  can  be  made. 
Leave  the  top  flat  and  broad  to  hold  the  rain.  Once  in 
the  winter  the  heap  is  turned  and  mixed.  As  much 
of  this  as  may  be  made  may  be  used  for  the  tobacco  ; 
20  loads  to  an  acre  would  be  only  a  moderate  quantity 
for  this  exacting  crop.  henry  stewart. 
What  New  Strawberries  P 
D.  R.  C.t  Wapakoneta,  O. — Would  it  be  advisable  for 
one  who  grows  strawberries  for  a  home  market  and 
who  already  has  Crescent,  Bubacli  No.  5,  Haverland, 
Warfield  No.  2,  Parker  Earle  and  Enhance,  to  try  any 
of  the  new  varieties  mentioned  in  The  It.  N.-Y.’s 
strawberry  report  for  1892  ?  If  so,  which  ?  Name  only 
such  as  we  may  hope  would  prove  superior  for  com¬ 
mercial  growers  to  those  above  mentioned. 
Ans. — We  think  it  would  be  wise  to  try  a  few  plants 
of  Timbrell  and  Brandywine  (when  they  can  be  had), 
and  possibly  Lovett’s  Early  (which  is  not  early),  a 
berry  which,  in  some  sections,  does  remarkably  well. 
Have  you  ever  tried  in  your  vicinity  the  old  Cumber¬ 
land  Triumph  and  Kirkwood  ?  If  not,  they  are  worthy 
of  a  test,  and  the  plants  are  cheap.  It  is  very  hard  to 
advise  in  such  matters.  We  can  only  speak  from  ob¬ 
servation  here.  Were  we  in  the  business,  wc  would  cer¬ 
tainly  give  the  two  first  named  a  trial  as  soon  as  they 
are  offered  for  sale. 
Propagating:  Some  Fruits. 
Enyllshman,  Worcester,  Mass. — When  is  the  time  to 
get  cuttings  of  red  currant  bushes  and  how  should 
they  be  planted  ?  When  is  the  time  to  plant  peach 
stones  ? 
Ans. — Make  cuttings  as  soon  as  the  leaves  begin  to 
drop  or  after  the  first  frost.  Make  them  six  inches 
long  and  plant  them  in  mellow  soil,  setting  the  cut¬ 
tings  at  an  angle  of  say  GO  degrees.  Press  the  soil 
firmly  about  them  and  cover  lightly  with  manure  or 
any  other  mulch.  You  may  plant  the  peach  stones  at 
once  if  desired,  or  in  the  fall.  A  good  way  is  to  pack 
them  in  boxes — a  layer  of  sand  and  a  layer  of  stones — 
and  sink  the  boxes  in  the  soil  out  of  doors  in  a  well- 
drained  place.  Plant  in  the  spring. 
Life  History  of  a  Mean  Insect. 
B.  T.,  San  Juan  Co.,  Wash. — What  is  the  life  history 
of  the  strawberry  root  borer  ? 
Ans. — The  strawberry  root  borer  ( Anarsia  lineatella, 
Zeller)  is  a  small  caterpillar,  about  a  half  inch  in 
length,  of  a  reddish-pink  color,  fading  into  a  dull  yel¬ 
low  on  the  second  and  third  segments.  It  eats  irregu¬ 
lar  channels  through  the  crown,  sometimes  excavat¬ 
ing  large  chambers,  at  others  tunneling  in  various 
directions.  It  matures  in  June,  when  it  changes  to  a 
small,  reddish-brown  chrysalis,  sometimes  remaining 
in  the  cavities  it  has  made,  and  again  among  the  de¬ 
cayed  leaves  about  the  crown.  The  moth  escapes 
early  in  July.  It  is  very  small,  of  a  dark-gray  color, 
with  a  few  blackish-brown  spots  and  streaks  on  the 
fore  wings.  The  moth  lays  an  egg  on  the  crown  of 
the  plant  late  in  July  or  early  in  August,  which  soon 
hatches,  and  the  caterpillar  burrows  into  the  heart  of 
the  plant,  where  it  winters,  and  resumes  its  depreda¬ 
tions  in  the  spring. 
Miscellaneous. 
The  Flea  Beetle. — J.  V.  L.,  La  Crosse,  Wis. — There 
is  no  satisfactory  way  of  fighting  the  flea  beetle  on 
potatoes.  Some  have  found  tobacco  water  offensive 
to  them.  Some  have  found  unleached  ashes  effective 
in  driving  them  off.  The  R.  N.-Y.  has  tried  about 
everything  and  has  no  remedy  to  suggest. 
Keeping  Sweet  Potatoes. — B,  F.  I).,  Kingman,  Kan. 
— Sweet  potatoes,  to  keep  well,  need  to  be  kept  in  an 
even  temperature,  say  about  GO  degrees,  and  also 
where  it  is  dry,  not  damp.  A  cellar  is  generally  the 
worst  of  places  for  keeping  them.  A  sudden  change 
of  20  degrees  in  temperature  will  often  induce  decay. 
We  do  not  know  how  to  prevent  sprouting  before 
they  are  dug.  Do  you  not  leave  them  in  the  ground 
too  long  ? 
Remedy  for  Cherry  Slays. — L.  J.  Malett,  Park,  Ind. — • 
The  second  brood  of  slugs  that  work  on  cherry  and 
pear  leaves,  will  make  their  appearance  in  August. 
Spraying  the  trees  with  a  solution  of  powdered  helle¬ 
bore — one  ounce  to  two  gallons  of  water — will  destroy 
them.  A  weak  solution  of  Paris-green  or  London- 
purple  would  doubtless  be  equally  efficacious.  When 
the  slugs  are  young,  dusting  air-slaked  lime  over  them 
is  said  to  be  efficient 
