1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
587 
except  that  instead  of  “Extra  Selected,”  it  bears  the 
legend  “  No.  1  Selected,”  and  the  blue  label,  or  third 
grade,  has,  instead  of  the  above,  the  words  “  Selected 
Seconds.”  U.  C.  Top  U.  C.  All  is  their  epigrammatic 
way  of  saying  that  the  peaches  in  the  middle  of  the 
basket  are  as  good  as  those  on  top  and  those  on  the 
bottom  are  as  good  as  those  in  the  middle.  Here  is 
the  red  label. 
EXTRA  SEI.  ECTEl). 
u.  c.  topTjT  c.  all. 
HALE’S  PEACHES. 
RIPENED  ON  THE  TREE. 
Carefully  assorted  and  packed  so  that  the  top 
shows  average  size  of  entire  contents  of  basket. 
“  U.  C.  TOP  U.  C.  ALL.” 
G.  H.  &  J.  H.  HALE,  South  Glastonbury,  Conn. 
HALE  ORCHARD  CO.,  Fort  Valley,  Ga. 
Largest  Peach  Growers  In  the  world. 
1,000  acres.  158,000  trees. 
Georgia  fruit  In  market  from  June  15th  to  July  20th. 
Connecticut  fruit  from  August  20th  to  October  5th, 
and  every  time  “  U.  C.  TOP  U.  C.  ALL.” 
QUALITY  GUARANTEED. 
“  In  all  three  of  these  grades,”  said  Mr.  Hale,  “  every 
peach  is  perfect  The  red  label  contains  the  largest, 
running  in  size  from  2%  inches  in  diameter  upwards. 
The  white  label  peaches  now  are  from  2  inches  to  2% 
in  diameter — the  blue  from  1%  to  2  inches.  Smaller 
and  larger  peaches  that  are  imperfect  in  any  way  go 
in  baskets  as  culls  and  are  sold  without  label  for  what 
they  will  bring.” 
“  Where  do  you  sell  your  peaches  ?” 
“  Largely  in  New  Haven,  where  they  are  sold  at 
wholesale.  Red  labels  have  been  bringing  us  about 
$2.50  per  basket  with  the  others  selling  at  a  propor¬ 
tionate  reduction.  The  demand  far  exceeds  the  supply. 
We  estimate  our  crop  this  year  in  Connecticut,  will  be 
at  least  20,000  baskets  of  labeled  fruit.  I  should  have 
said  with  reference  to  the  size  of  our  grades,  that  it 
will  vary  somewhat  with  the  varieties  of  fruit.  The 
sizes  given  you  are  about  those  for  Early  Crawford 
and  Mountain  Rose.” 
The  most  critical  horticulturist  would  be  delighted 
with  a  visit  to  these  orchards.  In  every  department 
they  show  the  brains  and  skill  of  their  owners  and  it 
is  a  pleasure  to  know  that  they  are  making  money  out 
of  their  venture.  The  croakers  who  knew  “  peaches 
can't  be  grown  profitably  in  Connecticut,”  must  now 
take  a  back  seat.  The  influence  in  the  right  direction 
of  such  an  enterprise  will  be  felt  all  through  the  Con¬ 
necticut  Valley.  The  orchards  are  all  on  the  higher 
lands,  and  when  practicable,  a  southern  slope  is 
avoided.  A  wash  is  applied  in  the  spring  to  keep  oft’ 
borers,  and  later  in  the  season  the  trees  are  all  ex¬ 
amined  to  see  that  the  wash  has  been  effectual.  Not 
a  trace  of  yellows  was  seen  in  any  of  the  orchards, 
which  tends  to  the  rapidly  forming  belief  in  the  minds 
of  many  that  this  disease  is  more  largely  the  result  of 
starvation  or  imperfect  nutrition  than  of  anything 
else.  The  Rural  congratulates  these  gentlemen  on 
their  success. 
A  Discussion  of  Fertilizers. 
Part  IV. 
Suppose  one  should  hire  a  man  to  build  a  house,  and 
that  he  was  to  furnish  all  the  materials  except  a 
part  of  the  lumber  and  nails.  Now  the  proper  way 
would  be  to  find  just  how  much  of  these  materials  the 
builder  was  to  furnish,  how  much  would  be  needed 
for  the  house,  and  then  provide  the  deficient  material. 
But  suppose  th.it  one  went  on  without  trying  to  find 
out  what  amounts  of  lumber  and  nails  he  should  sup¬ 
ply,  and  bought  and  drew  home  a  big  pile  of  boards 
and  beams,  but  secured  only  a  small  amount  of  nails. 
The  house  would  go  up  to  a  certain  height  or  grow  to 
a  certain  stage  of  completeness  and  then  stop. 
“  Why  don’t  you  go  on  ?  he  says  to  the  builder.” 
“  I  am  out  of  material,”  says  the  man. 
“  Out  of  material,”  says  he.  “  Why  here  is  a  big  lot 
of  lumber.” 
“  Yes,  I  know,”  says  he,  “but  with  lumber  alone 
we  cannot  make  a  house.  To  finish  this  job  as  you 
want  it,  I  must  have  more  nails  to  fasten  the  boards. 
If  you  had  provided  less  lumber  and  more  nails,  you 
would  have  saved  much  trouble  and  extra  expense.” 
Now,  if  one  changes  the  figure,  and  calls  the  house 
a  crop,  the  builder  the  soil,  the  lumber  and  nails 
phosphoric  acid  and  potash,  and  the  deficient  material 
the  plant  food  which  is  needed  to  supply  in  fertilizers, 
then  he  will  see  the  point  I  wish  to  illustrate.  W e 
can  find  out  by  chemical  analysis  how  much  potash, 
etc.,  a  crop  of  a  given  quantity  will  take  from  the  soil, 
but  it  is  not  so  easy  to  find  how  much  of  each  sub¬ 
stance  the  soil  will  furnish.  If  we  have  turned  under 
a  heavy  Timothy  or  a  clover  sod,  there  will  be  a  large 
amount  of  plant  food  in  the  soil,  but  if  the  land  is 
badly  run  out,  a  large  extra  quantity  will  probably 
have  to  be  supplied.  This  question  of  deficient  plant 
food  in  our  soils  is  one  of  the  rqost  important  with 
tybieji  farmers  have  to  deal, 
One  thing  we  need  to  study  is  the  amounts  of  nitro¬ 
gen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash  contained  in  the 
ordinary  farm  crops  ;  but  it  is  not  always  easy  to  learn 
this.  We  must  go  to  the  books  and  they  do  not  always 
agree.  For  instance,  in  the  Connecticut  Agricultural 
Experiment  Station  Report  for  1889,  page  227,  I  read 
that  the  ears  and  stover  of  a  crop  yielding  75  bushels 
of  sound,  shelled  corn  per  acre  contain :  nitrogen, 
81.8  ;  phosphoric  acid,  35.9  ;  potash,  52  9.  But  in  Bul¬ 
letin  No.  0,  of  the  New  Hampshire  Agricultural  Ex¬ 
periment  Station,  page  3,  I  read  that  a  crop  of  97 
bushels  of  sound  corn  and  15  bushels  of  soft  corn  and 
fodder,  presumably  not  shelled,  contains:  nitrogen, 
70-74  ;  phosphoric  acid,  35.59  ;  potash,  82.66.  Did  Rrof. 
Whitcher  make  a  mistake  in  his  potash  figures?  or  is 
it  the  Connecticut  folks  who  are  at  fault  ?  or  are  both 
right,  and  do  analyses  of  the  ash  of  the  corn  plant 
show  such  a  divergence  with  the  different  varieties? 
for  the  Connecticut  estimate  is  for  dent  and  the  New 
Hampshire  estimate  probably  for  flint  corn.  Light  is 
thrown  upon  this  question  in  the  Connecticut  Station 
Report  for  1887,  pages  122-3. 
A  crop  of  dent  corn  grown  at  the  New  Jersey  Sta¬ 
tion,  yielding  68  bushels  per  acre,  contained  52.2 
pounds  of  potash.  A  crop  of  flint  corn  grown  at  the 
Connecticut  Station,  yielding  about  50  bushels  per 
acre,  contained  74  pounds  of  potash.  Now  note  a 
curious  fact :  the  kernels,  cobs  and  stalks  contained 
the  following  amounts  of  plant  food  per  acre  : 
, — Kernels. — , 
, - Cobs. - . 
, — Stalks. — , 
, - Total. - > 
Dent. 
Flint. 
Dent.  Flint. 
Dent.  Flint. 
Dent. 
Flint. 
Plioa.  Acid  . 
...  2T.2 
16.4 
2.(5  .3 
15.0  7.3 
44.8 
23.0 
Potash . 
...  15.3 
i).8 
4.8  4.0 
33.1  60.2 
53.2 
74.0 
Nitrogen.. .. 
...  52.7 
43.1) 
2.0  1.5 
26.3  27.2 
81.0 
72.(5 
Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  stalks  of  flint  corn  con¬ 
tain  about  twice  as  much  potash  as  the  stalks  of  dent 
corn. 
It  is  thus  evident  that  corn  varies  greatly  in  the  com¬ 
position  of  its  ash,  and  that  this  is  especially  true  of  the 
stalks.  The  difference  between  dent  and  flint  corn 
A — Pec  for  shifting  sliding  frame.  C— Horizontal  rollers. 
B— Sliding  frame.  D— Upright  rollers. 
seems  to  have  attracted  little  attention.  In  fact  this 
whole  subject  of  the  composition  of  the  “  deficient 
plant  food,”  removed  by  various  crops,  seems  to  have 
attracted  less  attention  than  it  deserves.  The  follow¬ 
ing  table  from  Bulletin  No.  6  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Station  deserves  careful  study. 
“deficient  plant  food”  removed  by  various  crops. 
•d 
u*  . 
Q) 
0Q  2 
S3  f/j 
£  to 
q8  S 
A  > 
F 
w  a 
at 
t* 
o 
g-g 
A 
93 
Oj 
O 
Oh 
.“•a 
■*-» 
2 
o  o 
0-i 
Lbs. 
Lbs. 
Lbs. 
Lbs. 
I.bs. 
Corn, 
Sound,  07  bushels,  1 
Soft,  15  bushels,  ( 
4300 
3512 
20.55 
10.27 
71.07 
1  Fodder . 
5352 
4281 
50.10 
10.32 
11.69 
Total . 
70.74 
85.59 
82.66 
Oats, 
Grain,  47J^  bushels. 
1520 
1202 
24.82 
7.11 
5.43 
(  Straw . 
5207 
4740 
18.00 
8.53 
45.08 
Total . 
43.78 
15.64 
51.41 
Hay.... 
0202 
40(51 
00.30 
21.00 
05.51 
Potatoes,  200  bushels . 
12C00 
38.40 
21.00 
07.20 
Clover,  ton . 
3000 
04.32 
16.80 
58.5 
Wheat. 
1  Grain,  15  bushels. . . 
030 
10.18 
7.63 
5.11 
|  Straw,  1  ton . 
2000 
0.40 
4.(50 
0.80 
Total . 
25.58 
12.23 
14.01 
Beans, 
Beans,  20  bushels... 
1240 
50.50 
14.38 
14.88 
i  Vines . 
1500 
24.48 
6.15 
38.85 
Total . 
75.07 
20.53 
53.73 
Ensilage,  20  tons . 
113.00 
44.00 
120.00 
These  figures  give  the  farmer  an  idea  of  the  needs 
of  crops.  The  three  forms  of  plant  food,  nitrogen, 
phosphoric  acid  and  potash,  form  only  a  small  part  of 
our  crops,  but  they  must  be  present  in  sufficient  quan- 
ties  or  crops  will  fail  to  grow  properly.  One  or  two 
or  all  three  may  be  lacking,  and  we  call  the  land  poor. 
The  proportion  of  deficient  plant  food  toother  forms 
of  plant  food  is  an  interesting  study,  and  so  is  the 
money  value  of  the  fertility  which  a  crop  takes  from 
tlie  soil.  These  questions  and  others  of  great  interest 
must  await  another  article,  j.  w.  newton. 
Lamoille  County^,  Vt. 
Northern  Plum  Growing. 
A  NEW  ENGLAND  MAN'S  EXPERIENCE. 
Don’t  Exclude  Such  Japanese. 
Standing  at  the  door  of  the  post-office  in  a  charming 
little  suburb  of  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  early  one  morning, 
a  deep  and  musical  voice  greeted  me  with,  “  How  are 
these  for  plums  ?  ”  Mr.  Horace  L.  Fairchild,  the 
speaker,  came  up  with  his  hands  full  of  plums  beau¬ 
tiful  and  as  large  as  peaches.  They  were  fairer  than 
those  from  the  Golden  Gate,  and  their  aroma  made 
one  forget  about  the  requirements  of  civilized  life  and 
like  a  schoolboy  again  one  felt  like  stepping  up  and 
reaching  out  for  a  juicy  prize.  It  was  before  break¬ 
fast  and  the  dew  and  bloom  were  on  them,  making 
them  bewitching.  Involuntarily  came  the  exclama¬ 
tion  : 
“  Where  did  they  come  from  ?”  to  which  Mr.  Fair- 
child  answered  with  a  proud  smile  : 
“Japanese  plums  from  my  own  trees.” 
“Whew!  Got  any  more?” 
1  have  half  a  bushel  to  each  tree,”  said  he.  “Come 
in  and  see  them  and  have  some.”  No  urging  was  nec¬ 
essary.  The  trees  are  bowed  like  weeping  willows, 
and  the  fruiti  is  hanging  in  ropes.  Twenty  plums  were 
counted  on  a  limb  space  of  five  inches,  and  half  a 
bushel  per  tree  was  a  conservative  estimate.  To  the 
query. 
“How  long  have  you  been  raising  Japanese  plums?” 
Mr.  Fairchild  replied, 
“This  is  my  first  attempt.  The  Rural  New-Yorker 
called  my  attention  to  them  three  years  ago  and  T 
then  ordei’ed  several  varieties.  I  now  have  six  kinds, 
including  Ogon,  Botan  26,  Botan  Sweet,  Botan  Abund¬ 
ance,  Burbank  and  Satsuma.  I  am  the  first  person 
who  has  fruited  Satsuma  east  of  the  Mississippi  so  far 
as  I  know.” 
“  Do  you  mean  me  to  understand  that  these  trees 
that  are  15  feet  or  more  high  have  been  set  only  three 
years  ?” 
“  Yes;  they  were  placed  here  from  a  nursery  three 
years  ago  the  past  spring,  and  were  then  less  than  a 
foot  in  height.” 
“It  seems  hardly  possible  to  believe  it.  The  Jap¬ 
anese  varieties  grow  much  faster  than  other  plums 
then  ?” 
“  That  is  my  experience.  These  have  had  only  the 
very  ordinary  care  and  fertilizing  such  as  I  give  my 
other  plum  trees,  and  have  stood  too  near  together 
perhaps  for  the  best  results,  being  less  than  five  feet 
apart.  They  bear  while  younger  than  any  other  vari¬ 
eties  of  plums  and  bear  prodigiously  as  you  see,  on 
soihthat  will  force  only  a  moderate  growth  in  case  of 
the  European  varieties.  I  have  most  of  the  best  known 
kinds  of  the  latter  as  well  as  nearly  a  dozen  sorts  of 
native  American  plums.” 
“  Have  you  some  specific  fertilizer  you  prefer  for 
all  plums  ?  ” 
“  Hen  manure  has  no  equal  in  my  estimation.” 
“  What  sorts  of  Japanese  plums  give  most  promise 
for  the  orchardist  East  and  North  where  other  kinds 
succeed  but  partially  or  fail  utterly  ?” 
“  The  Abundance  and  Satsuma.  The  latter  has  a 
blood-red  flesh  and  ripens  about  the  middle  of  Sep¬ 
tember  in  this  latitude.  It  is  larger  than  the  Abund¬ 
ance  which  is  of  lighter  red,  and  like  it,  is  a  very  pro¬ 
fuse  bearer.  With  my  trees  overloaded  last  year  I  got 
specimens  that  measured  6%  inches  in  circumference 
one  way  and  6%  inches  the  other.  What  they  would 
have  been  with  the  fruit  thinned  I  don’t  know.” 
“  Are  Japanese  plums  as  susceptible  to  the  attacks 
of  black  knot  as  other  kinds?” 
“  I  have  had  very  little  black  knot  on  Ogon,  and 
none  on  other  .Japanese  sorts.” 
“Is  the  statement  that  these  plums  are  proof  against 
the  curculio  true?  ” 
“  They  are  sufficiently  curculio-proof  for  all  prac¬ 
tical  purposes,  excepting  perhaps  Ogon.” 
“  Do  you  feel  convinced  from  your  experience  with 
all  varieties  of  plums  in  the  past  decade  that  this  fruit 
can  be  profitably  raised  for  market  ?” 
“  I  see  no  reason  why  it  should  not  be  immensely 
profitable,  especially  the  culture  of  the  Japanese 
varieties.  In  fact,  I  have  so  much  faith  in  it  that  I 
have  set  out  several  hundred  more  trees.  I  believe 
they  will  return  handsome  dividends.” 
“  What  American  plums  do  you  appreciate  most 
highly  and  anticipate  good  results  from  ?” 
“So  far  as  my  experience  goes,  the  Robinson  and 
Mariana.  The  former  is  especially  promising,  and  I 
am  not  surprised  at  the  universal  acceptance  of  the 
latter  as  a  stock  for  budding  choice  varieties  upon.  It 
is  hardy,  takes  the  buds  readily  and  kindly,  and  is 
so  thrifty  as  to  urge  a  great  growth.  If  in  budding 
100  or  1,000  trees  a  few  buds  should  fail  to  grow  and 
Mariana  only  should  occupy  the  space,  the  ground 
will  not  be  wasted.  The  fruit  is  really  excellent.” 
Mr.  Fairchild  suggests  that  there  is  a  wide  field  for 
horticultural  investigation  in  the  cross-fertilization  of 
Japanese  upon  American  pjnms,  and  in  originating 
