668 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
Oct.  15 
which  I  buy,  paying,  this  week,  85  cents  per  bushel. 
I  have  the  use  of  what  vegetables  I  need  from  the 
farm.  The  best  flour  is  to-day  $5.50,  with  15  cents  off 
if  one  does  his  own  carting.  Before  the  cholera  scare 
10  pounds  of  sugar  cost  48  cents ;  it  is  to-day  52%  ;  20 
pounds,  $1.05.  Our  meat,  including  potatoes,  costs 
$12  per  month — some  months  $1  or  $2  more.  A  good 
pair  of  mens  working  shoes,  $1.50,  a  more  serviceable 
pair  $2.  Our  medical  attendance  fortunately  has  been 
nothing  this  year ;  but  we  may  have  used  $5  worth  of 
druggists’  goods  during  a  year.  A  working  suit  of 
clothes  can  be  had  for  $10,  and  a  suit  fit  to  go  to  church 
in  for  $15.  A  calico  dress  can  be  had  ready-made  for 
$1.50  ;  for  $14  a  good  afternoon  dress  and  for  $20  one 
as  good  as  most  farmers’  wives  would  wish.  This  in¬ 
cludes  the  cost  of  making.  I  can  get  a  pair  of  over¬ 
alls  for  35  cents  to  $1  ;  tapping  and  heeling  a  pair  of 
shoes,  75  cents.  I  can  buy  good  butter,  sweet,  which 
to  the  eye  looks  well,  for  25  cents  per  pound,  and  the 
best  at  32  ;  best  eggs,  24  cents  per  dozen— have  been 
22.  I  can  save  the  cost  of  a  barrel  of  flour  each  month 
by  buying  my  goods  in  Lynn  and  paying  cash.  Round 
steak,  15  cents  per  pound;  pork  steak,  12  cents;  chops, 
12  cents.  I  have  given  prices  such  as  I  pay  ;  such  as 
any  working  farmer  can  live  well  on  without  being 
wasteful.  They  are  as  low  as  good,  sweet  food  can  be 
bought  for  in  this  locality.  There  are  five  in  the 
family.  F-  HAMMAR' 
Gardening  “Where  Rolls  the  Oregon.” 
A  barrel  of  flour  $4  ;  dry  granulated  sugar  such  as 
we  use,  six  cents  per  pound.  We  raise  some  fowls, 
calves  for  veal,  a  few  mutton  sheep  and  occasionally 
a  pig.  Nearly  all  the  meat  we  use  is  fresh,  including 
about  two  or  three  veals,  three  or  four  mutton  sheep 
and  two  or  three  dozen  chickens  and  when  we  do  not 
have  these  we  buy  about  25  cents’  worth  of  steak  (2% 
to  3  pounds  beef)  a  day,  and  this  is  about  half  of  the 
year.  A  suit  of  clothes  costs  $12  to  $15  ;  for  Sunday 
wear,  $18;  boots,  $4.50;  shoes,  $3.  Our  women  do 
their  own  dress  making.  A  dress  for  wife,  if  calico, 
costs  50  to  70  cents  for  the  material  ;  the  best  dress 
about  $5.  The  cost  of  medical  aid,  including  medicines, 
for  the  last  five  years,  has  not  averaged  over  $10  per 
year.  Our  family  numbers  seven — children,  wife  and 
self.  The  oldest  child  is  20,  the  youngest  seven  years. 
I  have  38  acres,  of  which  five  are  under  pasture,  seven 
under  young  fruit  trees.  I  cultivate  the  trees  and 
grow  corn  for  green  feed  for  the  cows.  Every  year  I 
grow  about  three  acres  of  tomatoes  among  the  trees. 
The  garden  and  buildings  take  up  about  three  acres. 
I  have  7,500  feet  under  glass  and  grow  early  lettuce 
for  the  Portland  market.  I  also  supply  the  local 
market  with  cabbage  and  tomato  plants.  About  half 
of  the  remainder  of  the  place  is  kept  in  clover  and  the 
rest  in  wheat  and  oats.  I  feed  all  the  hay,  straw  and 
grain  on  the  place.  I  keep  three  horses  and  have  a 
small  herd  of  Jersey  cows— two  old  cows,  one  two- 
year-old  and  two  yearling  heifers,  all  in  milk,  four 
last  spring  heifer  calves  and  one  three-year-old  bull. 
Our  income  is  all  from  the  farm.  dexter  tield. 
The  American  Horticultural  Society 
brief  notes  on  the  tenth  annual  meeting. 
This  meeting  opened  September  28,  at  Chicago,  Ill.  The  fruit  report 
will  be  found  on  another  page.  <  , 
Prof.  Saunders  said  in  “  Signs  of  the  Times  in  Hor¬ 
ticulture”  that  great  changes  had  taken  place  during 
the  last  half  century.  The  great  outcry  used  to  be 
for  land,  land.  City  men  sighed  for  the  country.  A 
change  has  come;  the  country  has  fewer  charms  ;  the 
tendency  of  ihe  present  times  is  selfish.  Money  makes 
the  man.  Horticulturists  are  divided.  Sensations  are 
the  order  of  the  day.  Young  blood  is  to  the  front;  no 
use  for  plodders.  Machinery  makes  machines  of  men, 
resulting  in  shorter  hours  of  labor.  Tillers  of  the  soil 
can  only  see  progress  afar  off.  Middlemen  are  a  ne¬ 
cessity.  Large  quantities  are  essential  for  profit. 
Prof.  Budd  said  sensations  are  essential  to  instruc¬ 
tion.  Trees  in  our  parks  should  be  labeled  that  all 
may  learn  therefrom. 
Speaking  of  “Increased  Hardiness  by  Top-Working,” 
Mr.  Plumb  said  its  hardiness  is  the  first  point  con¬ 
sidered  in  a  plant.  Great  improvements  have  been 
made  in  the  past  few  years.  Some  half-hardy  varie¬ 
ties  have  not  shown  increased  hardiness  by  top-work¬ 
ing.  The  scion  modifies  the  stock,  not  the  reverse. 
There  is  only  one  exception — that  of  variation  in 
amount  of  nutrition.  Girdle  a  tree  to  secure  early 
maturity  and  increased  hardiness.  Any  scion  which 
overgrows  the  stock  gives  increased  hardiness.  Dis¬ 
similarity  in  scion  and  stock  should  be  slight. 
As  to  “Small  Fruits  in  the  West,”  Mr.  Stone  said 
conditions  must  be  good,  and  protection  be  furnished. 
Winter  protection  is  absolutely  necessary  for  fruits, 
and  it  pays.  Strawberries  and  currants  should  be 
covered  after  the  ground  has  frozen,  and  the  covering 
should  be  raked  away  in  the  spring.  The  mulch  should 
be  free  from  weeds.  The  vines  and  canes  should  be 
laid  down  and  covered  with  soH  and  mulch.  Rake  be¬ 
tween  the  rows  in  spring.  The  propriety  of  mulching 
canes  and  vines  was  questioned  by  several.  The  plants 
should  be  uncovered  quite  early,  before  the  advent  of 
warm  weather.  Dewberries  are  more  profitable  than 
blackberries.  Mulching  and  cultivation  work  well 
together.  Sandy  loam  is  good  for  dewberries.  Cover 
the  whole  plants  to  hold  strawberries  back  in  spring. 
Very  low  tops  in  cherry  and  apple  trees  hold  the 
radiated  heat  of  the  earth  and  prevent  damage  from 
frost.  Smoking  is  some  protection  against  the  lattf  r. 
Prof.  Bailey  said  that  North  American  plants  are 
different  from  European  sorts.  European  berries  are 
inferior  when  grown  in  this  country.  Ihe  number  of 
trans- Atlantic  varieties  of  apples  is  less  than  a  quarter 
of  the  total  sorts  grown  in  Michigan.  American 
varieties  are  best  adapted  to  American  use.  Failure 
of  Western  fruits  is  often  due  to  the  use  of  Eastern 
trees.  The  Northwest  must  have  the  Russian  varie¬ 
ties.  We  must  develop  our  native  fruits. 
Prof.  Budd  has  experimented  in  crossing  the  Rus¬ 
sian  with  American  varieties,  and  the  resulting  sorts 
are  remarkably  well  adapted  to  Iowa.  Prof.  Bailey 
said  blight  will  probably  attack  varieties  now  adver¬ 
tised  as  blight-proof,  and  this  should  not  always  be 
charged  to  dishonesty  in  the  dealers— the  tree  is  some¬ 
times  dishonest. 
On  “  Strawberries”  Mr.  Kellogg  of  Wisconsin,  re¬ 
ported  that  Wilson  and  Crescent  bore  on  less  than  five 
acres  1,700  bushels  in  1891.  Growers  will  not  become 
millionaires.  Bubachs  failed  to  blossom  in  1891.  Land 
newly  cleared  is  worthless  for  strawberries,  but  all 
right  after  it  has  been  cropped  five  or  six  years.  He 
thought  everything  is  in  a  name  and  advised  the  grow¬ 
ing  of  a  variety  called  Lying  Bill.  He  was  extravagant 
in  his  requirements  of  the  ideal  strawberry. 
Discussion  :  Wilson  is  well  adapted  to  Wisconsin 
near  the  Lake,  but  not  to  Minnesota.  A  better  class 
of  plants  is  needed  to  get  better  crops  of  fruit.  More 
discussion  of  the  small  fruits  should  be  a  feature  of 
our  conventions. 
President  Earle  relies  principally  on  Crescent  fertil¬ 
ized  by  Capt.  Jack  and  Sucker  State,  for  his  commercial 
produce.  He  grows  them  in  matted  rows— the  fruit 
is  picked  every  day  and  kept  cold  in  quart  boxes  in  24- 
quart  cases.  It  can  thus  be  shipped  with  safety  1,000 
miles. 
Prof.  Budd  read  a  paper  on  “  Apple  Tree  Scab  From 
a  Climatic  Standpoint,”  in  which  he  said  that  so  far 
as  observed  Ben  Davis  has  been  wrecked  by  scab  ;  but 
there  is  a  difference  in  different  soils.  Several  varieties 
are  wholly  free  from  it.  Trees  from  Asia  are  perfect 
in  foliage  and  fruit.  The  Russians  are  all  free  from 
scab  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  conditions  of  their  na¬ 
tive  place  are  identical  with  those  of  the  Northwest. 
He  was  not  able  to  find  scab  on  crosses;  but  native 
crabs  are  attacked  by  it.  The  fungus  of  the  apple 
scab  is  microscopic.  The  spores  are  blown  by  the 
wind  to  the  leaves.  The  first  attack  of  the  disease 
occurs  before  the  flowers  open.  Early  spraying  is  ef¬ 
fective  but  not  late.  We  should  cultivate  varieties 
wholly  free  from  this  disease. 
In  the  discussion  it  was  said  that  blighted  leaves  are 
green  in  patches.  Different  varieties  are  differently 
affected  by  it.  A  Russian,  the  mother  of  the  Red  As- 
trachan,  is  entirely  free  from  scab.  Mr.  Earle  said  we 
must  have  scientific  effort  on  this  serious  disease. 
What  hope  have  we  for  the  future?  We  should  plant 
only  the  Bartlett  Pear  which  is  the  market  pear.  Prof. 
Budd  said  that  China  pears  are  free  from  scab.  He 
has  much  faith  in  spraying.  Cherries  are  liable  to 
leaf  troubles  and  are  cured  by  spraying,  and  wild 
plums  are  attacked  by  scab.  Mr.  Sweet  of  Ohio,  said 
he  had  found  spraying  with  Bordeaux  mixture  effec¬ 
tive  on  pears  and  quinces.  Prof.  Bailey  had  secured 
complete  or  nearly  complete  exemption  from  scab  by 
spraying.  Prof.  Budd  said  copperas  water  is  beneficial 
in  spraying  both  for  scab  and  the  codling  moth. 
Prest.  T.  T.  Lyon  spoke  on  “  System  of  American 
Pomology.”  The  names  of  fruits  are  of  native  and 
foreign  origin.  Wrong  names  and  descriptions  have 
crept  into  our  lists  causing  great  evil.  Few  novelties 
have  of  late  proved  reliable.  The  system  should  be 
divided  into  departments  with  an  expert  at  the  head  of 
each,  and  sources  of  information  should  be  accessible. 
Catalogues  should  be  issued  at  the  expense  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment.  Such  lists  would  be  recognized  as  authorities. 
The  members  of  pomological  societies,  etc.,  should 
withhold  patronage  from  originators  who  fail  to  com¬ 
ply  with  their  requests  as  to  nomenclature.  President 
Lyon’s  paper  was  fully  indorsed  by  the  members  of 
the  society  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  look 
into  the  matter  of  nomenclature. 
Mr.  Huston  spoke  of  “  The  Crisis  in  Grape  Culture 
in  California.”  Thousands  are  now  bankrupt  who  a 
few  years  ago  were  full  of  hope.  The  phylloxera  has 
been  the  cause  in  many  cases ;  low  prices  in  others 
and  overproduction  of  inferior  vines  in  others.  No 
grape  can  be  good  on  all  kinds  of  soil.  He  advises 
more  raisin  making  and  less  wine  making,  though  he 
fears  an  overproduction  in  either  will  eventually  be 
disastrous.  The  best  lands  have  not  been  yet  occu¬ 
pied  by  grapes.  California  has  all  ths  conditions 
suitable  to  the  greatest  grape  and  wine  country  in  the 
world;  California  wines  are  as  good  as  any  on  the  globe. 
Prof.  Budd  suggested  the  importation  of  vines  from 
Persia,  where  grapes  have  been  grown  the  longest 
and  where  the  best  grapes  in  the  world  are  still 
grown.  A  special  effort  in  this  line  should  be  made 
through  the  Agricultural  Department.  Oriental  gra pes 
and  raisins  are  superior  in  all  respects  to  Southern  or 
Western.  Oriental  vines  may  be  a  perfect  success  in 
Iowa  and  a  perfect  failure  in  California. 
Prof.  Mason,  of  Kansas,  gave  an  account  of  his  ex¬ 
periments  with  grapes.  He  plants  hardy  vines  7x9 
feet  apart,  and  cultivates  north  and  south.  Some  varie¬ 
ties  laid  down  and  covered  with  soil  proved  reliable, 
and  some  other  kinds  were  not  recommended.  Of  his 
lot  49  proved  hardy,  41  of  which  are  native  Americans; 
51  varieties  he  found  too  tender.  Wilder  gives  more 
fruit  for  the  labor  than  any  other  variety.  It  pays  in 
a  commercial  way  to  bag  grapes. 
Prof.  Budd  advises  the  use  of  netting  to  protect 
grapes,  cherries,  etc.  It  is  cheap  and  effective. 
The  following  officers  were  elected :  President, 
Parker  Earle;  First  Vice-President,  J.  M.  Samuels; 
Secretary,  E.  A.  Popenoe ;  Treasurer,  J.  C.  Evans. 
The  next  meeting  will  be  held  in  the  lake  region  of 
New  York  State.  F- 
A  Discussion  of  Fertilizers. 
Part  IX. 
Chemicals  and  Clover.— How  much  plant  food  is 
furnished  by  plowing  in  the  roots  and  stubble  of 
an  acre  of  Red  Clover?  The  only  answer  I  have 
been  able  to  find  is  by  Dr.  Wieski,  of  Germany,  who 
found  180  pounds  of  nitrogen,  71  pounds  of  phosphoric 
acid,  and  77  pounds  of  potash  in  an  acre  of  Red 
Clover  roots  and  stubble.  These  figures  seem  large, 
but  if  divided  by  one-half,  enough  nitrogen  for 
most  crops  will  still  be  left.  The  more  the  clover 
plant  is  studied,  the  more  certain  does  it  seem  that 
it  has  the  power  to  obtain  nitrogen  from  the  air.  We 
have  seen  that  this  is  the  most  costly  element  of  plant 
food,  and  if  clover  will  give  it  to  us,  what  is  the  use  of 
buying  it  ? 
We  have  seen  that  chemicals  are  necessary,  espe¬ 
cially  potash,  to  secure  a  good  catch  of  clover  on  poor 
soils ;  or,  if  the  soil  be  poor  in  phosphates,  clover  will 
not  thrive,  nor  will  the  nitrogen  in  the  stable  manure 
or  clover  roots  and  stubble  become  soluble  so  that  it 
can  be  taken  up  by  the  growing  crops,  unless  a  certain 
amount  of  phosphates  is  present  in  the  soil. 
If  a  soil  is  rich  in  phosphoric  acid  and  potash,  I  do 
not  see  why  clover  should  not  supply  all  the  nitrogen 
needed  for  crops,  except  in  cases  where  a  quickly 
acting  nitrogen  compound,  like  nitrate  of  soda,  is 
needed  early  in  the  season,  before  the  root  system 
of  the  crop  becomes  well  developed.  If  clover  and 
other  leguminous  crops  can  be  depended  upon  to  fur¬ 
nish  the  soil  with  nitrogen,  then  we  may  cut  down 
our  fertilizer  bills  about  one-third,  provided  we  can 
grow  these  nitrogen-forming  crops.  And  why  any 
man  who  can  and  does  grow  clover,  etc.,  should  buy 
complete  fertilizers  and  put  from  five  to  eight  or  more 
dollars  of  soluble  nitrogen  on  an  acre,  passes  my 
comprehension.  Does  the  term  “chemicals  and  clover” 
mean  a  so-called  complete  fertilizer  and  clover,  or 
does  it  mean  that  the  clover-growing  farmer  should 
buy  his  chemicals,  just  what  his  soil  and  crops  require, 
and  use  them  so  as  to  produce  the  best  results  ?  To 
do  this  requires  intelligence;  it  demands  study  and 
experiment;  but  if  the  farmers  of  the  United  States 
could  save  from  one-fourth  to  one-half  of  their  ferti¬ 
lizer  money  by  increasing  their  intelligence  and  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  requirements  of  their  soils  and  crops, 
would  it  not  be  worth  their  while  to  do  so  ? 
There  may  be  cases  where  complete  and  ready- 
mixed  fertilizers  are  the  best  things  a  man  can  buy, 
but  such  cases  should  be  very  rare.  If  a  farmer  can 
at  a  cost  of  from  one  to  two  dollars  a  ton  mix  his 
chemicals,  and  have  them  in  as  good  mechanical  con¬ 
dition  as  those  made  by  the  manufacturer,  and  at  the 
same  time  save  a  large  percentage  of  the  cost,  then 
why  should  not  all  farmers  try  it  ?  I  have  yet  to  see 
a  single  experiment  station  report  against  home- 
mixed  fertilizers.  Many  of  the  stations  are  encour¬ 
aging  the  farmers  to  use  these  mixtures,  helping  them 
to  find  out  the  needs  of  their  soils,  and  giving  them 
most  valuable  information.  The  agricultural  press  is 
doing  much  also  to  enlighten  the  farmers  in  this  direc¬ 
tion,  but  it  must  be  a  constant  work,  that  of  teaching 
farmers  the  principles  of  crop  fertilizatiom.  The 
farmers  are  calling  for  this  information,  they  are  get¬ 
ting  hold  of  the  facts,  learning  how  much  they  can 
save  by  making  their  own  fertilizers,  and  are  not 
slow  to  adopt  the  new  methods. 
I  have  tried  in  these  papers  to  gather  up  some  of 
the  valuable  knowledge  which  is  scattered  through 
reports  and  bulletins,  and  put  it  in  a  shape  that  would 
make  it  available  to  farmers.  It  has  been  a  pleasure 
to  me,  and  I  hope  will  be  profitable  to  the  reader^ 
Lamoille  County,  Vt.  J-  W.  kbwton. 
