57o 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
Sept.  3 
High  Fruit  Farming  in  New  Jersey. 
A  VETERAN  FRUIT  MAN'S  HOME. 
Grapes  from  fertilizers  ;  a  new  grape  trouble  ;  good  words 
for  the  Nkmara;  how  good  strawberries  are  gnrwn;  a 
cure  for  “yellows.” 
Headquarters  for  New  Jersey  Horticulture. 
A  history  of  horticulture  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey, 
would  necessarily  have  much  to  say  about  Mr.  E.  Wil¬ 
liams,  of  Montclair,  N.  J.  His  pleasant  home,  known 
as  Sunnyside  Vineyard  and  Fruit  Garden,  has  been  a 
sort  of  rallying  center  for  years,  not  only  for  New 
Jersey  horticulturists,  but  for  those  from  numerous 
other  States.  For  many  years  he  has  carried  on  a 
modest  nursery  business  in  connection  with  his 
brother,  the  firm  being  known  as  E.  &  J.  C.  Williams. 
Mr,  Williams  has  been  of  great  service  to  horticul¬ 
ture.  For  15  years  he  served  as  Secretary  of  the  New 
Jersey  State  Horticultural  Society,  leaving  that  useful 
post  only  when  ill  health  compelled  him  to  retire. 
The  annual  reports  of  this  society  as  prepared  by  him 
were  highly  interesting  and  were  always  eagerly 
sought  for.  We  are  glad  to  be  able,  in  this  connec¬ 
tion,  to  state  that  Mr.  Williams’s  health  is  much  bet¬ 
ter  than  it  has  been  of  late  years,  and  his  many 
friends  will  join  with  The  Rural  in  an  earnest  hope 
for  its  complete  restoration. 
A  representative  of  The  Rural  recently  visited  Mr. 
Williams  and  spent  a  very  pleasant  day  with  him,  in 
looking  over  his  place  and  the  places  of  some  of  his 
neighbors.  We  were  fortunate  enough  to  meet  there 
Mr  Chas.  L.  Jones,  Treasurer  of  the 
State  Horticultural  Society  and  a  most 
enthusiastic  horticulturist,  who  accom¬ 
panied  us  on  our  rounds. 
The  vineyard  was  the  first  to  claim 
our  attention.  It  was  in  excellent  con¬ 
dition,  so  far  as  culture  could  make  it, 
and  the  crops  were  generally  looking 
well.  Of  course,  in  a  vineyard  v  here 
such  a  large  number  of  varieties  arc  being 
tested,  there  will  be  found  plenty  of 
vines  that  are  not  very  promising,  but 
most  of  the  vines,  especially  of  the  stand¬ 
ard  sorts,  were  well  loaded. 
The  Niagara  and  Other  Grapes. 
“Look  at  my  Niagaras,”  said  Mr. 
Williams.  “  I  know  that  The  Rural 
does  not  value  the  Niagara  very  highly 
but  with  me  it  is  a  really  fine  grape.  Soil 
and  environment  have  much  to  do  with 
the  qualities  of  fruits  and  here  the 
Niagara  seems  at  its  best.  There  is  more 
money  in  it  than  in  any  other  grape  on 
my  place.  Are  you  the  one  who  has 
prodded  the  Niagara  of  late  ?  ” 
“  The  very  man,”  said  I. 
“Well,  you  come  down  here  when  the 
Niagaras  are  ripe  and  I  wall  convince 
you  that  your  strictures,  which  maybe  true  of  this 
grape  generally,  are  not  true  as  to  the  Niagaras  grown 
here.” 
“  Is  that  the  Moyer?” 
“  Yes,  and  it  is  no  good.  Small  berry,  small  bunch 
and  vines  generally  unproductive.  Like  the  Jewel,  it 
really  has  no  place  in  a  list  of  desirable  grapes.” 
“  If  you  were  restricted  to  three  varieties,  for  y our 
vineyard,  which  would  they  be?” 
“Worden,  Brighton  and  Niagara.” 
“  What  do  you  think  of  that  selection,  Mr.  Jones  ?  ” 
“  Well,  I  would  put  Iona  in  place  of  Niagara.  It 
has  been  very  difficult  to  grow  heretofore,  but  spray¬ 
ing  has  made  it  much  easier  and  it  is  such  an  excellent 
grape  that  it  deserves  more  general  culture.” 
“Does  Brighton  generally  succeed  with  you?”  asked 
I  of  Mr.  Williams. 
“  Yes.  It  has  a  tendency  at  times  to  fertilize  im¬ 
perfectly,  but,  as  a  rule,  I  get  fine  bunches  and  good 
crops.” 
What  Causes  the  New  Disease? 
All  the  standard  sorts  were  to  be  seen  here,  many  of 
the  finest  bunches  being  bagged.  Our  attention  was 
called  to  a  sort  of  rust  on  the  leaves,  which  on  some 
vines  was  quite  largely  developed.  At  first  glance,  it 
looked  like  mildew,  but  a  closer  examination  showed 
that  was  not  the  trouble.  It  was  something  new  to 
Mr.  Williams  and  he  had  given  it  very  careful  exam¬ 
ination.  Specimens  of  the  leaves  had  been  sent  to 
Prof.  Galloway  of  the  Division  of  Vegetable  Pathology 
at  Washington.  From  his  reply  I  make  the  following 
extracts  : 
The  disease  is  one  that  prevails  very  extensively  this 
year,  not  only  on  grapes,  but  on  other  plants  as  well. 
There  is  nothing  in  connection  with  the  specimens 
that  would  lead  us  to  assign  the  trouble  to  fungi.  The 
injury,  I  think,  is  a  physiological  one,  induced  either 
by  unfavorable  weather  conditions  or  something  in 
the  vicinity  of  your  vineyard  which  is  detrimental  to 
plant  growth.  I  received  a  few  days  ago  from  Kansas 
some  grape  and  other  leaves  affected  exactly  like 
yours.  In  this  case,  the  injury  was  clearly  traced  to 
smoke  from  a  copper  refinery.  I  have  now  before  me 
some  grape  leaves  from  Wilkesbarre,  Pa.,  which  show 
large,  reddish  spots  and  blotches  the  same  as  the 
leaves  you  submitted.  This  injury  is  due  to  smoke 
and  dust  ft-om  the  mines  and  factories  which  abound 
in  the  vicinity  of  Wilkesbarre. 
Turning  to  weather  conditions,  a  cold  spell  in 
spring  may  bring  about  such  injuries  in  the  following 
way :  The  tissues,  or,  more  properly,  the  living  cells 
are  chilled  and  in  consequence  are  weakened  in  such 
a  way  that  they  never  entirely  recover.  The  leaves 
may  develop,  however,  and  show  no  signs  of  injury 
for  a  month  or  more,  or  until  put  to  some  strain. 
Then  the  weakened  cells  collapse  and  die  and  as  a  re¬ 
sult  we  have  large  patches  of  dead  tissue  surrounded 
by  the  living  which  never  received  any  set-back. 
Long-continued  wet  weather  followed  by  hot  sunshine 
may  produce  the  same  effects.  In  this  case  the  cells 
are  gorged  with  water  and  without  any  warning  the 
hot  sun  comes  out  and  pumps  the  water  away,  if  we 
may  use  such  an  expression,  so  fast  that  the  cells 
collapse  and  die. 
“  I  sent  some  of  the  affected  leaves  to  Col.  Pierson, 
of  Vineland,”  said  Mr.  Williams,  “  I  have  nothisletter 
at  hand,  but  he  was  sure  the  disease  was  not  fungoid 
in  character,  and  thought  it  might  be  the  result  of 
imperfect  nutrition.” 
“  How  has  your  vineyard  been  fertilized  ?” 
“  With  commercial  fertilizers  only — bone,  phos¬ 
phates,  etc.  I  have  used  no  stable  manure  on  it  for 
many  years.” 
“Have  you  plowed  under  any  green  crops  in  the 
meantime  ?” 
“  None,  except  the  few  weeds  I  turn  under  at  times. 
The  hard-pan  or  clay  lies  very  near  the  surface  and 
the  grape  roots  are  mainly  above  this.  It  is  very 
difficult  to  plow,  no  matter  how  shallow  it  be  done, 
without  damaging  the  roots.  Hence  I  have  not  plowed 
under  any  crop.” 
The  Rural  representative  suggested  that  Col.  Pier¬ 
son’s  theory  seemed  most  probable — that  there  was 
doubtless  a  lack  of  humus  in  the  soil,  causing  imper¬ 
fect  nutrition,  and  this  view  Mr.  Williams  thought 
might  be  correct.  He  will  doubtless  remedy  it  by  the 
use  of  stable  manure,  or  in  some  other  way  supply  the 
necessary  humus. 
A  Talk  About  Pears. 
From  the  vinej'ard  wre  went  to  take  a  look  at  pears  ; 
most  of  the  trees  seemed  well  loaded. 
“  What  do  you  think  is  the  most  profitable  pear  ?  ” 
said  I. 
“  If  I  had  cold  storage,  I  would  unhesitatingly  place 
the  Bartlett  at  the  head  of  the  list.  We  could  then 
sell  or  retain  just  as  the  market  demanded.  But  now 
we  cannot  keep  them,  save  for  a  few  days,  and  often 
have  to  sell  them  when  the  market  is  in  a  depressed 
condition.  It  vcould  be  difficult  to  name  the  most 
profitable.  Perhaps  the  Bartlett  would  be  as  near  it 
as  any  one  sort,  despite  the  fact  that  we  cannot  store  it. 
•  ‘  There  are  some  funny  things  in  pear  culture.  The 
Lawrence  is  an  excellent  pear,  of  high  quality,  and 
used  to  sell  pretty  well.  Of  late  it  has  not  done  so — I 
am  sure  I  don’t  know  why.  The  Keiffer  sells  better 
to-day  in  our  local  markets,  though  why  that  should 
sell  well  I  am  sure  I  cannot  say.” 
“  Do  you  grow  many  of  the  early  peai's  ?  ” 
“Not  many.  There  is  not  much  money  in  them. 
The  D’Et6  is  fine  for  family  use  and  among  the  earli¬ 
est.  Giffard  is  one  of  the  most  profitable  of  the  sum¬ 
mer  sorts.  Madeleine  is  also  a  good  pear,  Rostiezer 
I  do  not  much  fancy  ! 
“  How  about  autumn  pears  ?  ” 
“  Sheldon,  Clairgeau,  Anjou  and  Rose  are  all  good 
market  varieties,  and,  except  the  Clairgeau,  are  of 
high  quality.  The  latter  is  only  fairly  good,  but  it  is 
so  handsome  that  it  sells  well.  Souvenir  d’  Congres 
is  really  unfit  to  grow — very  large  and  handsome,  yet 
so  poor  that  I  would  not  offer  it  for  sale.  I  am  graft¬ 
ing  my  Souvenir  trees  to  other  sorts.  Louise  Bonne 
does  not  sell  very  well  in  our  markets,  though  it  is 
a  good  pear  and  productive.” 
“  Have  you  anything  new  in  the  pear  line  ?” 
“  I  am  fruiting  the  Greeley  pear  for  the  first  time 
this  season.  This  is  an  October  pear,  and  I  am  in 
hopes  that  it  will  prove  valuable.  It  has  not  been 
disseminated.  The  Flemish  Beauty  is  doing  well  this 
year.  For  many  years  it  has  been  doing  badly,  crack¬ 
ing  and  turning  bitter.  It  looks  now  as  if  it  had  taken 
a  new  lease  of  life.” 
“  What  is  there  new  in  the  blackberry  line  ?  ” 
“  Nothing  that  I  know  of.  I  have  tried  them  all, 
and  on  my  place  there  is  nothing  better  to-day  than 
the  old  Kittatinny,  which  1  introduced  many  years 
ago.” 
“  Where  did  this  plant  come  from  ?  ” 
“  It  was  found  growing  wild  in  the  Kittatinny 
Mountains,  in  Sussex  County,  N.  J.,  and  I  procured  it 
from  the  finder.” 
Good  Strawberries  and  How  to  Grow  Them. 
“  Strawberries  have  not  done  well  on  my  place  this 
season,  owing  to  a  blight  on  the  foliage.  Michel’s 
Early  did  better  with  me  than  last  year.  Parker 
Earle  blighted  very  badly.  Crawford,  Gandy,  Parker 
Earle,  Bubach  and  Pearl  are  generally 
the  best  with  us — Bubaeli  is  probably 
the  most  profitable.  Haverland  has  not 
kept  up  its  earlier  promise — here  it  seems 
to  be  rapidly  deteriorating.” 
“Have  you  any  special  methods  in 
your  strawberry  culture  ?  ” 
“  I  think  not.  Strawberries  need  a 
rich  soil  and  high  culture.  I  like  to  set 
them  out  on  land  after  I  have  grown 
one  or  two  hoed  crops  on  it.  I  avoid 
sod  ground  because  of  the  depredations 
of  grubs,  which  are  so  apt  to  infest  such 
land.  I  use  plenty  of  stable  manure — I 
like  horse  and  cow  manure  mixed  better 
than  either  alone — with  ashes,  commer¬ 
cial  fertilizer — all  that  is  needed  to  put 
the  land  in  fertile  condition.  Of  course, 
spring  setting  is  best  for  any  large  quan¬ 
tity,  but  a  season  is  lost.  I  prefer  to  cut 
all  blossoms  off  spring-set  plants,  al¬ 
lowing  all  vitality  to  go  toward  devel¬ 
oping  them.  A  fair  crop  can  be  grown 
by  setting  plants  in  J  uly  or  August  on 
land  from  which  a  crop  of  early  peas  has 
been  taken.  Of  course,  they  should  be 
set  as  soon  as  young  plants  can  be  ob¬ 
tained.” 
“  Do  you  mulch  in  winter?” 
“  Yes.  I  apply  straw  or  coarse  manure  after  the 
ground  has  become  well  frozen,  the  object  being  to 
keep  the  cold  in — to  prevent  the  freezing  and  thawing 
and  consequent  heaving  and  breaking  of  roots.” 
“  Anything  new  in  the  raspberry  line  ?” 
“  Nothing.  I  still  grow  my  Montclair,  which  I 
think  is  a  seedling  of  the  Philadelphia.  With  me  it 
is  probabty  the  best  of  all.  This  berry  is  somewhat 
local  in  character,  and  I  have  not  made  any  active 
efforts  to  disseminate  it ;  but  there  are  doubtless  many 
locations  where  it  will  do  well.” 
Mr.  Williams’s  peach  orchard,  unlike  most  other 
orchards  this  season,  is  well  loaded  with  fruit,  and  the 
trees  are  generally  in  good  condition,  both  in  growth 
and  color  of  foliage.  He  will  have  a  good  crop  and 
may  count  on  good  prices,  for  peaches  will  be  peaches 
this  year. 
Where  They  Cure  Peach  Yellows. 
In  the  afternoon  we  took  a  drive  about  the  country, 
stopping  at  the  home  of  Mr.  John  McGovern,  a  florist, 
to  see  his  new  canna,  the  Nellie  Bowden,  a  beautiful 
yellow-flowered  member  of  this  family.  Prolonging 
the  drive  through  Llewellyn  Park  and  down  to  Pleas¬ 
ant  Vale — most  appropriately  named — we  drove  up  to 
the  farm  of  Mr.  Thomas  Vincent.  Mr.  Vincent  affords 
a  good  illustration  of  what  enterprise  and  push  will 
accomplish.  He  carries  on  a  large  market  business  in 
Newark  in  meats,  fruits,  vegetables  and  milk  and 
runs  two  large  farms  for  sources  of  supply.  At  his 
Pleasant  Vale  farm,  the  only  one  we  had  time  to  visit, 
he  has  about  140  acres  of  land.  On  this  he  keeps  about 
130  head  of  dairy  cattle,  with  an  average  of  100  in 
milk  all  the  year  round.  He  grows  largely  of  corn 
fodder,  which  he  feeds  partly  in  the  growing  season, 
as  he  has  not  sufficient  pasture  for  his  large  herd.  At 
the  time  of  our  visit,  the  herd  were  receiving  a  liberal 
ration  of  brewers’  grains  and  corn  meal.  The  dairy 
prodqces  from  33  to  35  cans  per  day,  which  Mr.  Vin¬ 
cent  retails  over  his  own  routes.  The  most  notable 
feature  of  this  place  was  the  large  peach  orchards 
An  Ayrshire  Bull.  Figl  334.  (See  page  583.) 
