THE RURAL NEW-YORKE 
1894 
If the soil is sand with no hardpan, but gravel below 
it, we would never subsoil. 
Propagratins: Currants Under Qlass. 
D. S. M., Watertown, N. Y. —How are currant cut¬ 
tings managed in hothouses, so as to make the most 
of the wood ? Hew long should the cuttings be, and 
should the heat be low ? Are such plants as good as 
those started in beds outdoors without heat ? I under¬ 
stand all about the outdoor business, but have had no 
experience with plants under heat, and do not want to 
make any mistakes. 
Ans.—C urrants may be readily propagated by means 
of short cuttings rooted under glass. The best suc¬ 
cess has been attained in ordinary 10-foot span-roofed 
houses heated by means of a brick and terra-cotta flue 
under the propagating bench. A comparatively low 
temperature : 50 to 60 degrees in the sand and 10 to 
15 degrees lower in the air above the benches, is most 
acceptable to these plants. Use young, well-ripened 
shoots, cut in November or December. Store in moist 
sand or under damp leaves in a shed or cellar, out of 
reach of violent freezing until February, when they 
may be cut in 3 or 4-inch lengths, and immediately 
planted in the propagating bench. The cuttings 
should be made with a thin-bladed, sharp knife, but 
no care as to cutting just below a bud is necessary. 
The benches should be filled with about four inches of 
clean sand from any source, leveled, rammed pretty 
hard and watered. Place the cuttings in rows about 
two inches apart, and IJ^ inch in the row. Keep the 
sand well watered. Thorough rooting may be ex¬ 
pected in five or six weeks, or less with a higher tem¬ 
perature. The plants may then be potted off in 3-inch 
pots and allowed a temperature of 65 to 70 degrees. 
As soon as the weather permits, they should be 
planted out in the open ground in nursery rows. If 
well managed, about 80 per cent of the cuttings may 
be expected to make good plants. While not equal in 
vigor of growth, for a season or two, to plants rooted 
in the open air from long cuttings, they eventually 
“ catch up ” and make productive and well-formed 
bushes. When wood of a choice variety is scarce, the 
house method of propagation is advisable, as about 
three times as many plants may be produced from the 
same amount of material, as under the usual method. 
W. VAX FLEET. 
Peach Land and Varieties. 
J. W. B., Dresden, 0. —1. Does The R. N.-Y. consider 
limestone land good for peaches ? 2. How does the 
Crosbey compare with the Early Crawford as to size, 
color and season ? 3. How does the Elberta compare 
with Early Crawford as to size, color, quality, hardi¬ 
ness, and time of ripening ? 
Ans.— 1. A limestone soil, if light and porous, is 
satisfactory for peach culture ; but as it is oftentimes 
inclined to be soggy, it is not the best place for the 
development of peach orchards. 2. As to the com¬ 
parative size of the Crosbey and the Early Crawford, 
the Crosbey is always inclined to over-bear and the 
Crawford is a shy bearer. If each is left to grow at 
will, the Early Crawford is much the larger, but prop¬ 
erly thinned, the Crosbey comes up to very large size, 
fully equal to the Crawford in its very best condition. 
Many baskets of Crosbey have been marketed from 
Connecticut orchards this year, every specimen being 
nine inches, or more, in circumference. In color, the 
Crosbey is far preferable, being beautifully streaked 
with carmine on the sunny side. The time of ripen¬ 
ing is about a week after the Early Crawford. 3. The 
Elberta, in size and form, closely resembles the Early 
Crawford ; if anything, it averages a little larger and 
has a little paore color on the sunny side. The quality 
is not equal to that of the Crawford, but in hardiness 
of the fruit buds, it is far superior, and its keeping 
and shipping qualities make it many times more valu¬ 
able than the Crawford. It ripens just after the 
Crosbey and before the Late Crawford, j. h. hale. 
Oross-Breediugr for Persimmon Trees. 
J. L. M., WintersiMle, Ind. —1. Will the sprouts that 
spring up from the roots of trees produce the same 
fruit as the parent tree, provided the tree has not been 
grafted or budded ? 2. Will the root of the male tree 
produce male plants, and the female tree, female 
plants ? 3. I have two persimmon trees—one that 
bears fruit and one that never does. I have always 
supposed the barren tree to be a male. These trees 
are not grafted, and 1 have a few sprouts of each, but 
they have not shown a disposition to live when trans¬ 
planted. 4. Would cutting off the root near the sprout 
and not removing the sprout for another year, be likely 
to produce a growth of fine feeding roots, thereby 
making the transplanting more successful ? 5. Is the 
presence of a male tree necessary to the production of 
fruit, or only to the perfecting of a vital seed ? Hens 
lay infertile eggs as well as fertile ones. To be sure, 
a tree is not a hen—but Drummond says that the life 
germ is the same in everything. Thus there might be 
like characteristics in organisms of different king¬ 
doms. 6. Can the persimmon be grafted successfully. 
and is any form or method of grafting more likely to 
succeed ? 7. Can you recommend some book or books, 
of moderate cost, that will make plain, to a person of 
only ordinary intelligence and education, all that is 
known on this subject ? 8. I have some thought of 
trying to raise some trees of this variety of persimmon 
—also some seedlings from it. There are, occasionally, 
fruits that contain one, apparently, perfect seed. Is 
there a science of improving varieties, or is it mostly 
luck ? 
Ans.—1. Yes, they will produce the same fruit. 2. 
Yes, each will produce its like. 3. No doubt you 
are right. 4. We doubt it. 5. It is necessary to the 
production of fruit as well as to insure vitality of the 
seed. Animals would be classed in botany as dioecious. 
The male is the equivalent of the staminate flower, 
the female of the pistillate flower. There can be no 
growth of the ovule until the two principles come to¬ 
gether. 6. Yes, the persimmon can be grafted, or 
budded as preferred, using seedlings for stocks. 7. 
Cross-breeding and Hybridizing by Prof L H. Bailey, 
price 40 cents. The Nursery Book, also by Prof. 
Bailey, price, paper, 50 cents, cloth, $1. Practical 
Forestry by A. S. Fuller, price, $1.50. 8 The science 
of improving varieties consists in raising seedlings from 
the very best-known varieties, or by crossing the best 
varieties and raising seedlings. It is reasonable to 
suppose that the American persimmon is capable of 
improvement, and we hope that you will, as you pur¬ 
pose to do, plant seeds of your variety—which itself 
shows marked improvement over wild persimmons. 
Plums for Maine. 
J. H. R., Portland, Me —What varieties of plums, 
raspberries and blackberries would The R. N.-Y 
recommend for this part of Maine ? Are there any 
varieties of the peach that can be cultivated here at a 
profit ? 
Ans —Lombard and Moore’s Arctic plums, Cuthbert 
raspberry. Sable Queen and Dorchester blackberries. 
Some peaches have been grown around Portland, but 
success has not been general or lasting. Perhaps 
Large Early York would do as well as any. Many 
other plums can be grown, but rarely with much profit 
for market. 
Facts About Improved [Chestnuts. 
A. B., Bordentown, N. J. —How far apart should 
Japan chestnuts be planted ? About how tall does the 
tree grow? I am thinking of planting some on some 
waste ground that I have, and would like to know 
also if they are productive. How long from the time 
of planting do they begin bearing ? Is there any sale 
for the nuts ? 
Ans, —We would plant the trees about 25 feet apart. 
We do not know how tall the trees will grow. The 
varieties and seedlings vary greatly. Mr. Engle has a 
tree 14 years from the graft that is about 35 feet high. 
They are, many of them, immensely productive, as 
our friend may judge from all that has been written 
about them in these columns. Usually they will bear 
nuts five years from seed and three years from grafts. 
There is a good sale for them. Their quality is in¬ 
ferior if eaten raw. 
Grass Seeds for Permanent Pasture. 
O. A. W., Newport, R. I. —What is a good formula 
for a mixture of grass seeds suitable for a permanent 
pasture for both high and low ground, similar to that 
sold by the seedsmen ? 
Ans. —For high land: Agrostis vulgaris, Poa pra- 
tensis, Dactylis glomerata, Festuca elatior, Alopecurus 
pratensis, Lolium perenne. Trifolium hybridum. Tri¬ 
folium repens, Arrhenatherum avenaceum, Festuca 
pratensis. For low land : Festuca pratensis, Agrostis 
vulgaris, Festuca elatior, Calama grostis Canadensis, 
Poa serotina, Alopecurus pratensis and Poa pratensis. 
These may be mixed in any desired proportions, sow¬ 
ing about three bushels of the mixture per acre. 
Where to Buy Plants. 
S., Boston, Mass. —1. Where can the vine, Actinidia 
Arguta, mentioned on page 521 of The R. N.-Y., be 
obtained ? It is not to be found in any catalogue to 
which I have access. Will it cling to a wall, or must 
it have something it can twine around ? 2, Is there 
no one who still has plants of the Glendale strawberry 
for sale ? 
Ans. — 1. The first catalogue at hand—Ellwanger & 
Barry, Rochester, N. Y., offers it. No, it will not 
cling as does the “ Boston ivy. Climbing Hydrangea 
and Ampelopsis,” but it twines, and it twines in earn¬ 
est. It will choke plants to death with its caresses; 
it will pull light structures, such as summer houses 
over if so permitted to do. It is a plant of wonderful 
vigor. 2. We discarded it years ago, and do not find it 
in any catalogue. 
Habits of Buckwheat; Manure or Fertilizer P 
0. A. B,, Indian Orchard, Mass. —1. A number of 
farmers belonging to the Grange in a neighboring 
town, claim that buckwheat impoverishes the soil to 
such an extent, that they fail to get good crops after 
raising it. This is contrary to what I have seen on 
R. 68i 
the subject in agricultural papers. What does The 
R N.-Y. say ? 2. “ Bowker’s Farm and Garden ” 
complete fertilizer, costs $1.65 per cwt. delivered. 1 
can buy good livery stable horse manure, stored under 
cover, and free from weed seeds, for $1 per two-horse 
dump-cart load, or $6 per cord, delivered. Which will 
be more profitable for a light, sandy soil, for vege* 
tables and berries ? 
Ans.— 1. If you have The R. N.-Y. for March 10, 
and will turn back to page 151, you will find this sub¬ 
ject discussed. Buckwheat is not a nitrogen gatherer 
like clover, yet it is not an exhaustive crop in the 
sense that wheat or oats are. In fact, buckwheat is 
often grown on badly run-down fields where hardly 
any other grain except rye would grow. It is ob¬ 
served that crops of buckwheat used in this way, ac¬ 
tually improve the land and leave it in better condi¬ 
tion for following crops. Several reasons are given 
for this. The land is prepared for it in warm weather 
when nitrification (the process of combining nitrogen 
into the form in which it is taken up by plants) is 
going on. The roots of the buckwheat plant serve 
to bring the soil into good mechanical condition, and 
also run deep and bring up fertility from the lower 
soil. Not only this, but buckwheat has the power of 
assimilating tough plant food that would not be 
touched by some other plants. It may be called the 
goat among grain plants, and it is this characteristic 
that makes it possible to grow crops of buckwheat on 
poor soil, fertilized only with ground phosphate rock, 
as has been done at the South. 2. It is always diffl- 
cnlt to compare fertilizers with stable manure. The 
latter differs greatly in composition. We would never 
pay the price you mention for the purpose of obtain¬ 
ing nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash, for these 
substances are cheaper in chemicals. Land like 
yours, however, needs humus, and unless you have 
green crops to plow in, the manure will probably fur¬ 
nish this at least cost. In short, our advice would be 
to spend half the outlay for manure and half for fer¬ 
tilizers. Plow the manure in, and use the fertilizer 
scattered about the plants. 
Will There Be an Fnd of Fertilizing: Substances P 
JBT. S., Waverly, Pa. —One of the problems I cannot 
solve, is that of the replenishment of exhausted soil. 
The elements of fertility are on a continuous march to 
the sea. Is there a known possibility or probability 
of the return of an equivalent ? We now draw from 
the potash mines of Germany, and phosphate beds of 
the South and other similar sources, but they will be 
like our coal, supposed to have an end, and at no dis¬ 
tant time. Then where will there be some practicable 
way of reclaiming from the ocean, or will mankind 
gradually taper down to extinction, or the affairs of 
this world come to an end about that time to close the 
scene ? 
Ans. —The end is not yet in sight by any means. 
There are countless stores of free nitrogen in the air 
which may be utilized by growing the clovers and 
other nitrogen gatherers. It is more than probable 
that there are deposits of potash beneath the great 
salt mines in Michigan, New York and other States. 
As for phosphates, new deposits are being constantly 
brought to light. It is reported that in Africa are 
great deposits of nitrate of potash which, if it could 
be brought to civilized countries cheaply enough, 
would revolutionize the fertilizer trade. In Europe, 
a new system of manuring called “Bread from Stones,” 
is being discussed. This means the use of finely pow¬ 
dered granite and other rocks about as powdered 
phosphates are now used. A large proportion of the 
wastes that now run through rivers to the ocean may 
be brought back for fertilizers in the form of fish, the 
breeding of which for fertilizing purposes would add 
greatly to the stores of available nitrogen and phos¬ 
phoric acid. But, should all these sources fail, chem¬ 
istry holds out the promise that human life may be 
sustained even without agriculture. 
The “ Chemicals and Clover” Rotation. 
S. J. R , BreedsvlUe, Mich —On page 588, The R. 
N.-Y. speaks of often having described the rotation of 
potatoes, wheat, grass two years, and corn. Will you 
describe it again ? 
Ans. —The whole thing is described at length in the 
little pamphlet called “ Chemicals and Clover.” The 
rotation is as follows : Starting with grass—after the 
second year’s cutting all the stable manure on the 
farm is hauled on the sod and plowed under for corn. 
The following spring the corn ground is plowed and 
planted to potatoes with 1,200 pounds or more of good 
fertilizer to the acre. After the potatoes are dug, wheat 
is sown with Timothy seed, and in the spring, clover 
seed is sown on the wheat. After the wheat, usually 
the grass is cut two years. The advantage of this ro¬ 
tation is that all the manure is used on the corn, 
which crop is best suited to coarse manure. All the 
fertilizer is used on potatoes. This crop not only gives 
a profit but leaves enough fertility in the soil to pro¬ 
duce one crop of wheat and two of grass. 
