1891 
63 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
smaller seed. The record showing the comparative size 
was unfortunately lost. 
“This trial was made in an impoverished clay-loam soil, 
fertilized with 1,000 pounds to the acre of the Mapes Po¬ 
tato Fertilizer. The pieces were placed in trenches four 
inches deep and three feet apart, measuring from the mid¬ 
dle of each on a plot of one-fortieth of an acre—33 feet 
square. It will be seen that we have on this plot 1,089 
square feet which, divided by three, gives 363 seed-pieces, if 
planted one foot apart in the trenches. 
No. 1.—132 pieces, single eyes, yielded at the rate of 187 
bushels per acre. The pieces were placed three inches apart. 
No. 2.-66 pieces, single eyes, yielded at the rate of 209 
bushels to the acre. The pieces were placed six inches apart. 
No. 3.—66 two-eye pieces yielded at the rate of 227.33 
bushels to the acre. The pieces were placed six inches apart. 
No. 4.-33 half-potatoes yielded at the rate of 227.33 bush¬ 
els to the acre, the same as plot No. 3. The half potatoes 
were placed one foot apart. 
No. 5 —33 whole potatoes yielded at the rate of 282 33 
bushels to the acre. The tubers were placed one foot apart. 
It appears, therefore, that whole potatoes of medium 
size, placed one foot apart in trenches three feet apart, 
yielded over 95 bushels per acre more than single-eyed 
pieces placed three inches apart; 73 bushels more than 
single eyed pieces placed six inches apart, and 55 bushels an 
acre more than either two-eyed pieces or half potatoes. 
“IN CULTIVATION TWO HUNDRED YEARS.” 
A Hale Old Massachusetts Field. 
Until “ more complete returns ” come in we shall regard 
the field pictured at Fig. 29, as the “ oldest inhabitant ” 
among American cul¬ 
tivated fields. It is 
the field on which Mr. 
J. J. H. Gregory first 
raised the Hubbard 
Squash for seed. It 
lies at the top of a 
rocky New England 
pasture—the level 
horizon in the dis¬ 
tance indicating the 
Atlantic Ocean. Mr. 
Gregory’s note below 
gives an idea of the 
history of this field. 
We hear a good deal 
about the “ barren 
soil of New Eng¬ 
land”! How about 
the record of this 
field? The great, 
great grandchildren 
of some of our Illinois 
and Iowa friends will 
do well if in the year 
2075 they can show a 
field with a record as 
honorable as this 
one’s. Mr. Gregory’s 
note follows: 
“ The field has been 
known by the name 
of George’s Lot for 
nearly a century. It 
was originally set off 
by vote of the town, 
over 200 years ago, 
for the minister’s 
use. It was taken out of the middle of a large area of pas¬ 
ture land, by running a stone wall around it. The 
tract in which it stands has been pastured ever since 
the settlement of the tract over 250 years, being 
known under the name of “ Lower Division,” to indicate 
that it was one of the three great divisions of the public 
lands made at that early day, and it was owned in cow 
leases which averaged about 2% acres each. Each owner 
of a lease was entitled to pasture one cow. The surface is 
remarkably irregular and not far from one-third is naked 
ledge of the green stone formation. It has never received 
a particle of manure during these 250 years and has never 
had less than its full complement of cows, yet it still re¬ 
mains one of the best pastures in the region, being well 
covered with white clover in wet seasons. The turf is very 
tough and thick. Of George’s Lot itself I have but little 
history of interest. The land is naturally very strong; it 
has an area of about 2X acres and under the high culture 
given it has won from time to time several of the annual 
prizes offered by our county society. It is the first piece 
of land I ever owned, and hence has always been some¬ 
thing of a pet of mine, and on it I have raised the first 
crop of various vegetables that have afterwards become 
famous. There is one fact about the great pasture in 
which it stands, which has often puzzled me, viz.: how it 
could be grazed for 250 years without a particle of manure 
other than the droppings of the cows, and yet show no 
sign of phosphate exhaustion ; for the cows that pasture 
there are in good flesh and are not given to gnawing bones. 
Marblehead, Mass. J- J- H. GREGORY.” 
FRUIT AND FLOWER NOTES. 
Double-flowered Gladioli.— Among “ Samples,” in 
The Rural of January 3, it is said that three years is the 
shortest time in which the editor could induce seedling 
gladioli to bloom. Last season several bloomed in my 
garden, without the aid of glass, in the second year ; but 
the greater number do not blossom until the third season, 
and others not until the fourth year. My soil—a sandy 
loam—seems well adapted for their growth. One bulb, 
the first time it blossomed, had two stalks about five feet 
high, with 21 florets to a stalk. Hardly any two of the 
seedlings were alike in color and tint, and they were the 
most pleasing and satisfactory of any flowers that I have 
grown. Some were very large and beautiful. One was a 
novelty—a real double—a thing which I had not heard of 
before. It had 12 petals instead of six ; color white, beau¬ 
tifully feathered and splashed with carmine. N. COLE. 
R. N.-Y. “Double” flowers are not uncommon. The 
trouble is to fix a strain. The bulblets or bulbs (corms) do 
not always reproduce the double flowers of the parent corms. 
The R. N.-Y. would thank its correspondent for a single 
specimen of the double white. 
The New Apple Destroyer.— Trypeta pomonella—bids 
fair to do more damage than the codling moth. It does 
not confine itself to the core of the fruit or to any special 
part, but bores and eats till the whole inside is a malodorous 
pomace. I first observed it in the Jonathans in my cellar 
in the winter of 1888. The whole bin was ruined. I noticed 
no insect or worm, and supposed the injury was caused by 
a new sort of rot. As the Jonathan had been my favor¬ 
ite, I began to fear that it would develop a tendency to 
early decay. But in 1889 the pest took charge of my whole 
■\ VibLV 
'GEORGE’S LOT,” MARBLEHEAD, MASS. IN CULTIVATION 200 YEARS! Fig. 29. 
is retained by converting the grain land into pastures, the 
grain land division alone suffering a decrease. The main 
object of the city’s owning the land, as will be seen, is to 
provide gardens for the laborers; but pastures are also 
required for a few who are able to keep cows ; hence these 
lauds are next in importance, the required amount being 
kept up from the grain fields, which are usually leased by 
those farmers whose lands adjoin them. 
The garden land is divided into square plats, varying in 
size from four to six “ ar,” (one-tenth to one sixth of an 
acre), and they are inclosed by hedges, thus making each 
garden private. Roads, laid out between the gardens, 
make those in the interior as accessible as the others. 
The laborer obtains his garden by applying to the city 
authorities on or before November 1, and by paying from 
16 to 24 marks (four to six dollars) per year, according to 
size and position of the plat, which is usually rented for one 
year only; but it may be retained for any number of years 
by paying the rent in advance. When a plat is leased for 
the year, it may be put to any use, the authorities paying 
no attention whatever to a standard of fertility, as the 
land will be used sooner or later for building purposes. I 
neglected to say that a portion of the land is reserved by 
the city for deposits of garbage and night soil, and this 
land is in great demand when it is ready for cultivation. 
The average German does not abuse the privilege of being 
allowed to fertilize or not; but, knowing the value of man¬ 
ure, he uses it freely, as it can be obtained at very low 
prices from the city wagons that keep the streets clear of 
all fertilizing material. 
Spring operations in a new garden are begun by building 
a small “ hiitte,” six by six feet square, in one corner of 
the plat, in which 
the gardener keeps 
his tools. There also 
will be found a small 
table and a few 
chairs; the wife 
spreads the evening 
meal there, the hus¬ 
band going directly 
from his work to his 
garden, where he eats 
hiB supper and spends 
the remaining part of 
the evening—in sum¬ 
mer two or three 
hours on account of 
the long twilight. 
On Sunday the entire 
day is spent in the 
garden, the great ma¬ 
jority of Germans 
never thinking of 
going to church; and 
dinner as well as sup¬ 
per is taken there; 
the man and wife 
working lazily (which 
is characteristic of all 
German workmen), 
the whole day, trim¬ 
ming hedges, weed¬ 
ing the garden, paint¬ 
ing the hiitte, or 
doing whatever is to 
be done, winding up 
the day’s work by 
gathering vegetables 
for sale or for home 
crop of Golden Sweets. The fruit was very lovely to look 
at, the skin, except on very close examination, concealing 
the depredations of the grub. But every apple was honey¬ 
combed and ruined. The insect prefers sweet to sour 
apples, and if sour are taken it selects the milder. I did 
not notice its presence last season; but one of my neigh¬ 
bors reports ravages by it in his Pound Sweets. He also 
says that his apples grown in a low and closely-planted 
garden were entirely ruined until he cut and cleared the 
place, letting in the sun more freely. How much there 
may be to this point I cannot say. The insect has yet to 
bo studied. Remedies will have to be devised, of course ; 
but how can we get at the creature ? It is very minute, 
and cannot be reached by spraying. E. P. POWELL. 
R. N.-Y.—This is not a new enemy of the apple, but a 
very old one, though it is known only in some localities, 
especially in the older States. Unlike the codling moth, 
it is not imported, but a native, which has long inhabited 
some of our wild apples and haws, and the fruits of some 
thorns. The parent insect is not a moth, but a small two¬ 
winged fly. It chiefly attacks stored fruit. The only safe¬ 
guard known against it, is to destroy the infested fruits 
by feeding them to pigs or making cider of them, or in 
some other way. The insect is named and described by 
Walsh and is also mentioned by all later entomological 
authorities. 
Raising Fine Cauliflowers.— May 10 I set out some 
vigorous Early Snowball Cauliflower plants, raised in hot¬ 
beds. They were set about four feet apart. I dug holes 
each with a capacity of about three pecks, and refilled 
them with a thorough mixture composed of half earth and 
half manure, the latter two years old, fine and well rotted. 
Whenever I had a suspicion that the plants were too dry, 
I watered them well, but never close to the stalks. In 
July they were ready to cut, and the finest I ever saw. 
Th© largest weighed, with one row of stubs of the green 
jleayes ah$»ut the flower, 13 pounds 14 ounces. o. H, 
THE GARDENS OF KIEL, GERMANY. 
This city owns 500 hectares (1,250 acres) of land lying 
around and partly within the city limits, and this land is 
divided into three parts; for gardens, the portion lying 
within and nearest the city; for pastures, that adjoining 
the gardens; for grain fields, that beyond the pastures. 
This arrangement is especially good, as the gardens are 
convenient to the gardeners. These gardeners are the 
factory men, shipbuilders, and laboring men generally, 
who spend their leisure time before and after work culti¬ 
vating their plats. The city reserves the right to sell any 
plat of land for building purposes ; but keeps up the re¬ 
quired number of gardens by using a part of the pasture 
land which, of course, has increased in fertility from hav¬ 
ing been pastured. The required amount of pasture lan<J 
use, taking supper, drawing down the German flag which 
flies from a 50 foot pole in front of each hiitte, and re¬ 
turning home. Upon the plat of land, which is not so 
large that it cannot receive the best cultivation, are raised 
peas, beans, beets, carrots, onions, lettuce, asparagus, 
celery (which is here always cooked before it is eaten;) 
cabbages, and potatoes ; in fact all vegetables common 
to this climate are planted in season, cabbage and po¬ 
tatoes occupying the greater portion of the gardens, as they 
really form the basis of food, both in winter and summer, 
for the whole German population. Many of the gardens 
are rented by women who earn their living by growing 
flowers, shrubs and small trees for sale. The effect of 
these spots of brilliant color scattered throughout the 1,400 
gardens in this city is very pleasing, especially on every 
Sunday afternoon when every flag is flying from its pole. 
The pastures and grain lands are usually leased for a 
term of five or ten years, the rent amounting to 120 marks 
per hectare ($30 per acre) per annum, according to the reports 
issued in 1886. Since then the city has grown very rapidly, 
so that there has been a big demand for land; and rent has 
run up on these plats from 160 to 180 marks per hectare. 
These lands are fenced in five, seven and ten hectare plats 
by hedges which are planted on an embankment five feet 
at the base, four feet high, and two feet wide ac the top. 
This style of protection is particularly mentioned as being 
peculiar to this section of Germany, the fields in the other 
sections of the empire being protected by wide ditches 
nearly filled with water, which assists in irrigation. 
Two strong points are urged for the perpetuation of this 
system of gardening: First, the laboring man is enabled 
to cheapen the cost of living by raising his own food; sec¬ 
ond, his spare moments are occupied, and he has not the 
inclination to spend his evenings in gambling-hells and 
beer saloons, where in one evening more money is lost in 
gambling or spent in drinking than the laborer earns in a 
week. He must have his beer, however, for a supper is 
not considered complete without it; so it is taken in 
limited quantities to his garden ; but of the thousand men 
returning from their gardens where they have spent the 
evening or a Sunday, not a half dozen will be found under 
the influence of intoxicants. A. c. magruder, 
