1894 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
37 
casted over the fields and plowed in when convenient. 
Some of the onion growers along the Connecticut 
Sound use sea weed in this way. Combined with fer¬ 
tilizer it makes a good substitute for manure. 
A Good Fertilizer for Pease. 
A F. S., Lopy, Wash.—l. Is sulphate or muriate of 
potash a good fertilizer for pease ? 2 What shall be 
added to make a complete fertilizer? 3. Can more 
pease be grown per acre, in proportion to the seed 
planted of the Stratagem and American Wonder if they 
were planted in hills of one or two peas in each about 
six inches apart in the drill? 
Ans.— 1. We would use muriate because it is cheaper. 
Potash in any soluble form is an excellent fertilizer 
for pease. 2. We would add phosphate, ha.f as a 
superphosphate and half as a plain bone fiour phos¬ 
phate. 3. Yes, in proportion to the seed sown, a larger 
crop may be grown in hills than in drills. 
Cat Bane As Basis for a Fertilizer. 
G. L A , Glean, N. Y. —I have a Mann’s bone cutter 
and cut green bones for poult'ymen. Tnis green 
bone, it is said, makes an excellent fertilizer. I have 
a quantity of hen manure and a lot of tan-bark ashes. 
How can I use these three for potatoes, cabbage and 
corn ? How s'lall I apply them, and in what quantity? 
The soil is clayey and very poor. 
Ans —Our opinion is that the cut bone is worth more 
for feeding hens than for feeding potatoes. We would 
consider it more economical to sell it as poultry food 
and take the money to buy fertilizers. For example, 
you can raise a good crop on bran by putting it right 
into the soil, but it pays better to put it into a cow 
first and use the manure fot the crop. In like man¬ 
ner the best way to use the bone is to feed it to hens 
and use the manure from it. To use the bone direct 
on the soil keep it well sprinkled with plaster and dry 
it thoroughly. Laft alone it will heat and spoil. Keep 
the manure well mixed with plaster and in t'ae spring 
grind or break up fine and mix 400 pounds of the cut 
bone with 1,200 pounds of manure. Do not mix them 
with the ashes, but broadcast them and harrow in and 
use the manure and tone in the drill and around the 
plants. Never mix hen manure and ashes. 
Sparry and Winter Vetcli for Feacli Orchards. 
L. D, A , N,.w Era, Mich, —Will you tell us in Thb 
R. N.-Y. all about spurry and winter vetch? Would 
they be good crops to grow in a peach orchard after 
cultivation ceases, say, about the first or middle of 
August ? Would they make enough growth to amount 
to anything to improve Ihe land ? Would either of 
them live through the winter and grow early in the 
spring ? 
Ans.— Spurry is a good forage plant for sandy soils, 
but it has comparatively little fertilizing value, and it 
seeds freely and is apt to become a weed. It is an an¬ 
nual plant. Bulletin 68 of the Michigan Experiment 
Station considers it valuable for poor pine lands. 
Vetch is the best crop so far found for sowing in or¬ 
chards after cultivation ceases. Sown in July, it makes 
a dense covering by October, and yields a large 
amount of fertilizer. It is very hardy and grows until 
the ground freezes. Being a leguminous crop, it is a 
profitable source of nitrogen. It does not become a 
weed, unless sown so early that it seeds freely. It is 
killed by the winter. A full account of the vetch can 
be found in Bulletins 49 and 61 of the Cornell Experi¬ 
ment Station (Ithaca, N. Y.) together with a discus¬ 
sion of other orchard covers. [prof.] Jj, h. bailey. 
Flams and Fears for Frofit. 
0 E. S., Lincoln, N. Y. —I have been setting out a 
lot of plums, Abundance, Burbank and Ogon, and wish 
to set about four acres more. Which of the three is 
the best ? Which is the most prolific ? Are any of 
them more liable to rot than the native sorts ? What 
is the size compared with Lombard ? Which of the 
three would The R, N.-Y. advise to plant for profit ? 
Are they first-class plums to eat or can ? The location 
is 15 miles east of Rochester. Pears and plums that 
we have tried do well here. Is there more danger of 
frost in spring with these than with our common 
kinds ? Is it safe to plant Keiffers, or is Clairgeau 
better ? 
Ans. —In my judgment, Burbank is the most valu¬ 
able, all things considered, of the three Japan plums 
named. It is the most prolific. None of them has 
shown any inclination to rot with me. They will aver¬ 
age about with Lombard, but will grow considerably 
larger if properly thinned, which they should be. 
For profit I would plant Burbank. I would not advise 
planting the Ogon. As for eating, there is such a 
variety of tastes that what I might regard as first-rate 
or worthless might be viewed entirely different by 
others ; hence the opinion of any one party on a point 
of this kind would with me carry little weight. lam 
not fond of any plum to eat from the hand, but like 
Abundance and Burbank as well as any, while Ogon 
is detestable. I have never attempted to preserve 
them. If exemption from frost at blooming time were 
a consideration, Burbank would be my choice. 
As for pears, while I am an advocate for quite gen¬ 
eral planting of Keiffer, I would not pin my faith too 
largely to one variety. Clairgeau is good, and should 
be embraced in every collection planted for commer¬ 
cial purposes in western New Yor.c. s. n. willakd. 
What Stock for the Flam? 
F. B., Shelton, Wash. —What kind of a stock is the 
Myrobolan plum for plums and prunes. What stock 
is generally used in the East? Last spring I planted 
40 Italian prunes from a local nursery, and found in 
the summer that they were grafted on peach stock. 
Is the peach a good stock for the plum? 
Ans —The stock used for the plum in this locality is 
the Myrobolan; the trees grown on this stock succeed 
admirably. The peach is frequently used as a stock 
for the plum, but the trees are not long lived, and 
only suitable for planting in light ground. 
ELLWANGER & BARRY. 
A Daable Quartette of Fears and Feaches. 
C. W. F., Yorktown Heights, N. Y. —I intend to set 
out a pear orchard of about 100 trees next spring. 
What four varieties will be the best, combining free¬ 
dom from blight, early and prolific bearing, good 
keeping and selling qualities ? 1 want those that will 
not have to be sold when the market is likely to be 
glutted with fruit. What four varieties of peaches 
are best for this locality? 
Ans —Relative to the best varieties of pears for 
market, we name the following: Bartlett, Seckel, 
Clairgeau, AngoulSme, Sheldon, Anjou, and Winter 
Nelis. Keiffer has become popular in some localities 
on account of its productiveness and carrying quali¬ 
ties, but the flivor of the fruit is poor; it sells well, 
nevertheless. For the best varieties of peaches in your 
section, we would name: Alexander, Early Rivers, 
Crawford’s Early, Crawford’s Late, Oldmixon Free. 
Grafting Crab Apples, Etc. 
M. E. H , Knox, Pa. —We have, grooving wild, plenty 
of crab apples. How would these roots do for stocks 
for root grafting apples and pears ? Would quinces 
grow and do well on them ? 
Ans. —If the crab apples referred to have suitable 
roots for grafting, the plants could be employed. We 
would recommend, however, tha t seedlings be obtained 
for the purpose of grafting, as such plants are more 
valuable. The quince cannot be grafted on the apple 
successfully ; the graft unites, but it is not permanent. 
Flams for Soatb Dakota. 
W. H., Sovth Dakota. —Will you give a list of six 
plums for a dry, cold climate, that will ripen by Sep¬ 
tember first, as we are liable to hard frost by that 
time? 
Ans —The varieties we w'uld suggest are Imperial 
Gage, Damson, Coe’s Golden Drop, Jefferson, Washing¬ 
ton, Peach, Lombard and Kirke’s, but we are by no 
means confident that any of them will thrive in the 
climate of South Dakota. 
Something Aboat the Rogers Grapes. 
W. R. F., Martinsville, Ind. —I expect to set a lot of 
grape vines the coming spring, and, in order to get 
them in time to set, I must order soon. I see the nur¬ 
sery catalogues recommend the Rogers grapes such as 
Massasoit, Merrimac, Wilder, Gaertner and Agawam, 
as being both good and productive, but I notice that 
some writers condemn them without saying in what 
way they are deficient. Are they reliable? If not, 
why not? 1. Are they more subject to disease than 
others ? 2. If so, what diseases ? 3. Are they unpro¬ 
ductive ? 4. Are they not good market grapes ? 
Ans —The Massasoit is as early as Hartford Prolific. 
It is a vigorous variety and productive. It rots, how¬ 
ever, in many places. The color is a dark red, size 
large, fiesh tender and sweet with some foxiness. Mer¬ 
rimack and Wilder are much alike. The latter is 
generally preferred. The vine is vigorous and gener¬ 
ally free from mildew. The berries ripen about with 
Concord. Gaertner is a red grape, sweet and excellent 
in quality, thin skin, large as to both bunch and berry. 
It ripens before Concord by about 10 days. It is one 
of Rogers’s best in some places. The berries rot and 
drop in others, and the leaves mildew and fall prema¬ 
turely. Agawam is a maroon-colore i grape, ripening 
a little after Concord. Berries large, bunches medium. 
A trifle foxy, but sweet, sprightly and aromatic. 
The vines are very vigorous. In some places it is a 
fine variety; in others it mildews and rots. Barry 
is one of the Rogers’s hybrids. This is a showy large 
black grape, ripening with Concord. Vine vigorous 
and productive. This seems to succeed almost any¬ 
where. As a rule, it may be said, that Rogers’s 
hybrids are less reliable than others since introduced. 
Ashes for Fotatoes. 
F. S. C., Steuben County, N. Y .—Is it best to put 
ashes on my potato ground this winter or in the 
spring ? I plowed it last fall and it is in fine order. 1 
had potatoes and corn on it last year. The year be¬ 
fore it was Quack grass sod, but I killed the Quack by 
cultivation and hoeing. There are two acres in the 
field, and I wish to plant half to early pot^itoes. I 
have 40 bushels of hard-wood ashes, and I want to 
put them on the early potatoes. There are some 
wireworms in the land, or were last fall. Will the 
ashes leach down and affect the worms if I put them 
on this winter ? 
Ans —Our own experience and that of most of our 
readers is that unleached wood ashes induce scab. If 
we proposed to use ashes on potato land, we would 
choose the fall rather than spring for spreading it, 
assuming that the scab would prevail to a less degree. 
Why ashes promote scabby tubers we do not know. 
The R. N.-Y. No. 2 potato is offered by all prominent 
seedsmen. 
Fotatoes on a Sod. 
O. S., Fitchburg, Mass. —I have a piece of sod ground 
plowed and sowed to rye, and the rye pastured last 
fall. I have spread minure on the snow, and intend 
to plant potatoes in the spring. Snail I plow up the 
old sod in the spring or cultivate above the sod? 
Ans. —Plow again by all means. Potatoes should 
have the best possible preparation of the soil. 
A Spring Hog Fastnre In Nebraska. 
S. V. M , Crete, Neb. —What is the best grain to sow 
in spring for hog pasture ? How many bushels of seed 
per acre ? How many acres will be needed for six 
sows and their increase, the pigs expected to arrive 
about May 1 ? 
Ans —Spring rye or barley would probably be as 
good as anything and, with this, sow some clover 
seed. An acre and a half or two acres would certainly 
give ample pasturage for the number of hogs named, 
in a season with ordinary moisture. At the State 
farm wo plowed a small field and sowed to Alfalfa 
early in June, securing a fine stand, and on this pigs 
were run a considerable part of the time after August 
20. Of course we were careful not to feed it at all 
closely. If this pasture is to be used permanently, 
then this is an admirable thing to do, but if it be only 
a temporary makeshift then the rye or barley, with a 
little clover, is better in my judgment. 
[I'ROF.] C. L. INQERSOLL. 
Tke Selection of a Wife. 
L. M,, Friendship, Wls. —The past summer I have 
pondered the following subject over and over, and I 
am not yet decided : “A young farmer has a comfort¬ 
able home and good farm. He seeks a marriage which 
shall result in children with more than average ambi¬ 
tion and ability. He should marry a worthy woman 
from a good family. But as that is not possible for 
him for certain reasons, his choice lies between these 
two girls : One is from a worthless, shiftless family. 
She is industrious and ambitious and honest, and has 
a strong determination to rise. The other comes of 
good family, but is herself worthless, idle, careless, 
yet always pleasant. Which shall he marry ? 
Ans —We have received many strange and difficult 
questions, but this one goes up head as a puzzler. It 
has stumped all our wise heads and we simply refer it 
to our readers. Probably the bachelors and maiden 
ladies will give us some valuable hints. There is a 
good deal of difference between what a young man 
ought to do about marrying and what he is prompted 
to do by his own inclination. The happiest marriages 
are those settled by sensible parties themselves. Of 
course older heads can sometimes see defects of char- 
acter that love has hidden, but, as a rule no third 
party can engineer a perfect marriage. If the young 
man has no motive for marriage save the one given i.i 
this question he will do the world a service by remain¬ 
ing single. But who gives this off-hand judgment of 
the character of these young women ? “ Worthless” 
is a hard term to throw at a woman. 
Male and Female Corn Flants. 
W. C., Hopewell, N. Y. —Does it make any decided 
difference in the yield of a crop of corn whether the 
seed be taken from male or female ears? 
An.s —We do not know what our friend means by 
‘‘corn taken from male ears.” Perhaps he alludes to 
the occasional kernels or imperfect ears that form on 
the tassel. If so it will make no difference. In this 
plant the tassel represents the pollen or male prin¬ 
ciple, while the ear is the female or seed bearing part. 
MISCELLANfiOUS. 
Killing Honeysuckles. —J. D. K —We know of noth¬ 
ing that will kill honeysuckles except carefully pull¬ 
ing or digging up the roots. Any application that 
would kill the roots would probably poison the soil. 
How would it answer to use boiling-hot water repeat¬ 
edly ? This would destroy the buds, leaves and vines, 
and the roots would die in consequence. 
Evergreen Blackberry. —J. 1. L. (no address).—We 
have told the story of this Cut-leaved. Evergreen or 
Parsley-leaved blackberry many times. It is not hardy 
as far nort’n as New York City, except on the Pacific 
coast. It is a fast growing vine and evergreen where 
it stands the winters. The berries are from medium 
to small and of fair quality. The canes are beset with 
terrible thorns. It is more ornamental and curious 
than useful. It is an old European variety, 
