1895 
685 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
THE BEST RED AND YELLOW APPLES. 
I want to get the largest, best In quality, longest keeping and 
most beautiful red apple in America; also a yellow apple with 
the same qualities. What are they ? Newtown Pippin will not 
do here. How about “ Whinnery Red ” and “ Flory ’ i 9. <*■ 
Blaine, Wash. 
Among the Russian Apples. 
The apple for Wisconsin coining nearest to the re¬ 
quirements, is Zuzoff Winter. This is a Russian 
variety, as large as Northern Spy, handsomer in color¬ 
ing, as good in quality, and fully as good a keeper. 
The best large yellow apple for that State, is found 
among the Russians. Sandy Glass (No. 24 M) is large, 
bright yellow, with a fine blush on the sunny side, 
and always fair and smooth. Its peculiar name comes 
from its raised dots, which have a slight roughness 
like sand. BUI)D ” 
Iowa. 
A Very Hard Combination. 
It is difficult to meet S. G.’s wants, lie requires a 
combination difficult to find in any one red apple. 
Quality is rarely found in the larger apples. The same 
is true in regard to keeping" qualities. The most pro¬ 
ductive, most beautiful and best apple in quality, 
that has fine keeping qualities, to my mind, is the 
Sutton Beauty ; but it is not the largest. It is only 
of medium size, and is very productive and reliable m 
this vicinity. As for a yellow apple possessing the 
requirements named, we have no such apple grown 
here. I know nothing about the Whinnery Red and 
Flory. They are varieties that are not grown here. 
Ontario County, N. Y. s- D* WILLARD. 
He Asks for the Impossible. 
S. G. requires an impossibility. The largest apples 
are never the best. Neither are the largest or the 
best the longest keepers. Besides these difficulties, 
the adaptability of neither Northern nor Southern 
varieties to the soils and climates of Washington, is 
by no means well-tested and determined. T he very 
largest and most beautiful apples I remember to have 
seen, were of the Ben Davis variety grown in Idaho ; 
but this is very far from “best” in quality. Whinnery 
and Flory are comparatively new ; and the measure 
of their success, either east or west, is yet an unsolved 
problem. Jonathan is excellent and very beautiful, 
but it is scarcely medium in either size or keeping 
qualities. We know little respecting its success in 
Washington. The querist will, beyond doubt, arrive 
at the safest conclusions by noting the trials of varie¬ 
ties by earlier planters about him, and acting upon 
the information thus acquired. T. T. LYON. 
Michigan. 
A Good List to Pick From. 
I do not know whether our Eastern apples will gen¬ 
erally flourish in the Pacific States; but assuming that 
they will, I would name for red, Esopus Spitzenburgh, 
which keeps easily until March ; Northern Spy, June ; 
Detroit Red, February ; Sutton Beauty, February, 
and, possibly, Red Canada (not up to size desired) 
which keeps until May. For yellow, Peck’s Pleasant 
will completely fill the bill ; Swaar also fills it, and 
Yellow Bellflower is not far behind. The latter keeps 
easily until February or later, and the others until 
March and April. Peck’s Pleasant is almost equal to 
Newtown Pippin in quality, and with extra care, may 
be kept until May or June. It is a supei*b fruit. I 
would advise S. G. to procure grafts of all these varie¬ 
ties at the proper time, and test them, without wait¬ 
ing for the slower process of setting out trees. Actual 
test must be made before anything definite can be 
known. I do not know Whinnery Red. Flory is not 
a long keeper, as it ripens in October and November. 
Orange County, N. Y. e. g. fowler. 
How Varieties Differ East and West. 
Evidently S. G. is noj, the man who “wants but 
little here below, nor wants that little long.” The 
best and most beautiful red apple of fair size and a 
very good keeper, in the Michigan latitude, is the 
Jonathan; I do not know of a yellow apple having 
the same qualities better developed than the Grimes. 
It is the next thing to impossible to get high quality 
and great size combined. What does one want of a 
big apple, anyway, except to call out the “ Oh, mys ! ’ 
at an exposition ? I attended the Indiana State Fair 
last week, and the handsomest plate of apples in that 
great exhibit, was a plate of Jonathans ; the most 
beautiful plate of yellow apples was marked “Flory,” 
but I closed my eyes and ate a piece of one of them 
and felt that I was eating the Porter. Looking at it 
again, it seemed to be a sort of refined Porter. Judg¬ 
ing from expei-ience at the Columbian Exposition, I 
would expect to see the Jonathan, as grown in Wash¬ 
ington, lose the beauty of its very smooth basin, and 
become somewhat elongated, which would spoil its 
beauty. The Tompkins King, which, in Michigan 
and New York, is a bright red apple of high quality, 
globular in form and not much wi'inkled at the basin, 
was shown from Washington and Oregon quite drawn 
out at the basin, and corrugated, and it lacked the 
x’ich crimson splashing, and highly aromatic flavor, 
which are its distinguishing characteristics with us. 
So, a Michigander’s advice may be of little value to a 
Washingtonian, and he may be misjudged from re¬ 
sults for which he is in no wise responsible. 
Michigan. c * w. garfield. 
Hard to Get Good Color. 
This pi’oblem reminds one of the reply of a German 
florist to a female customer, who had weax-ied him 
with her exactive requii*ements as to a pei*fect rose. 
“ You don’t, Madame, most always find all de perfect 
points in one rose, or in one lady, eider ! For such 
a red apple, Spy oi' Baldwin comes as neai* as any¬ 
thing ; and for yellow, the Yellow Bellflower—but 
neither vei'y near. And then, again, what will do iu 
the Atlantic and Central States,, is by no means sure 
to suit the Pacific. In a hazy, cool climate, high col¬ 
oration of fruit is almost impossible to obtain. This 
is shown everywhere in New England neai” the ocean. 
The best coloration is found in the mountains on the 
west slope, or on lake shores ; as on the shores and 
islands of Lake Champlain, which produce the finest 
high-colored Baldwins and Spys I have ever seen. In 
England, generally, apples are poorly colored, com¬ 
pared with American fruit ; and I am told that the 
same is true in France. t. h. hoskins, m. ix. 
Vermont. __ 
EPHRAIM W. BULL. 
As was stated last week, E. W. Bull, the originator 
of the famous Concox-d grape, died l-ecently iu Con¬ 
cord, Mass. During the past two years, The R. N.-Y. 
has had considerable to say about Mr. Bull. During 
the last years of his life he was poor and foi” a time 
was cai’ed for at a charitable institution. I rom time 
to time friends who loved him and who appi’eciated 
the service he had rendex’ed to hoi’tieulture, raised 
tjuixxs of money to make him comloi’table. these sums 
were small, but they were none the less gratefully 
received by Mr. Bull. It is hardly necessary here to 
review the history of Mr. Bull’s life. Here is a per¬ 
sonal tribute written by one who knew him—Mr. 
j, V. Chapman, an officer in the Massachusetts Refor¬ 
matory. Let us leave the good old veteran with these 
hopeful wishes : 
“ A beautiful old man has left his home in Concord, 
exchanging it, as we must think, for a bettei”. A 
short time ago he met our deputy and replying pleas¬ 
antly to congratulations xxpon his health, said: ‘I 
have my woi’k to do, and no one else can do it for 
me ; and I take good cai’e of myself, so that I can 
stay and do it.’ 
“ There is something vei’y childlike, and at the same 
time beautifully Christian, about these words. Here 
was a man who had survived his generation by a gi-eat 
way, living a long while already upon borrowed time, 
and yet happy to think that the Lord might have 
more for him to do, and carefully husbanding his 
slender resources of vitality that he might have the 
pleasure of doing whatevei” more the Lord might 
have still remaining. 
“ One of the sweetest old people, we take it, in the 
town of Concord, for a long time was Mr. Bull. When 
it seemed as though he might be lonesome, and re¬ 
gretful, and anxious, none of these things moved him. 
His lot seemed to him beautiful, because he saw the 
beautiful that was in it. And so he has moved among 
us a preacher of Christian faith, and revealing to us 
many of the sweetest things of life ; a benefactor of 
the public; an invaluable citizen, an example to 
multitudes of us that are treading sometimes a weary 
way. 
“ Mr. Bull was the ox-iginator of the Concord grape. 
How much he has' added in that capacity to the sum 
total of human welfax-e could not easily be told. 
Neither can we estimate how much he has added to 
the fair fame of the old town of which he was so proud. 
“ Long hence it will be told eagerly as men and 
women pass along under the hillside where his vine- 
yai’ds were, and where the roses and hollyhocks and 
a thousand other beautiful things bloomed for him, 
and for all, ‘ There was where the Concord grape 
started on its way.’ 
“ According to the biographies which are found just 
now in all the papers, Mr. Bull was in his 90th year, 
having been born on March 4, 1806. His birthplace 
was on Washington Street, Boston. The house stood 
in a lai*ge garden, whei*e he early began to study those 
things for which he afterwards became so famous. 
He was busy for a while in the gold beater’s trade, 
but his heart was not there, and nearly 60 years ago 
he removed to Concord, where his light has since been 
shining more and more unto the perfect day. 
“ A beautiful feature of Mr. Bull’s life is revealed 
in the particular name he gave to one of his last 
efforts, and, as he thought, one of the best of his life 
in gi-ape culture. This choice variety he named the 
Esther grape, saying, ‘ I have long cherished the de¬ 
sire to name the best grape after my mother, and I 
have called this one by her name because I feel that 
it is as near perfection as I shall evei* attain.’ Draw¬ 
ing close to 90, and almost alone in the world, his 
mother’s name was still as sweet to him as in his 
childhood. 
“ All honor to the dear old man. His memory will 
add much to the treasures of this famous town. And 
the example of his beaxitiful life is woi”th more than 
the largest fortune in money that any Ci’oesxxs could 
ever leave behind him.” 
THE PROSPECT. 
Near where the writer lives, is a schoolliouse and 
public hall made of stones. These stones were hauled 
from all over the township, each farm contributing a 
share. The object was to have every farm i*epresented 
in the bxiilding. It was a good idea. Such coopera¬ 
tive building was a good thing for the town. Every 
one takes an interest in it, and the school is one of 
the best in the State. Pxxblic spii’it is a great power 
for good. We would like to see more of these co0pei”a- 
tive public buildings pxxt xxp. What is the chance for 
one in your town ? May be there are no stones there, 
but cannot something be taken from each farm to 
represent it ? 
Q 
Last week, at the Connecticxxt Experiment Station, 
Dr. Jenkins showed the writer a very intei'esting ex¬ 
periment with gi-eenhoxxse soils. Instead of using 
for tomatoes a strong soil of three parts loam and one 
part manure, his plan was to start with a soil contain¬ 
ing little or no plant food, and add the needed fertility 
in the form of chemicals. Accordingly, a soil was 
formed by mixing a small proportion of German peat 
moss with sifted coal ashes. The plants were set in 
this mixture, and supplied with vax-ying quantities of 
chemicals. This was originally designed as an experi¬ 
ment for testing the value of chemicals as compared 
with manure—the object being to secure a “sterile” 
soil, so that the effect of the fertilizer could be ac¬ 
curately estimated. The peat moss was added to 
give the required “ oi-ganic matter” for loosening up 
the ashes. Check plots of ordinai’y greenhouse soil 
were used for comparison. The plants grown in the 
ashes produced superior crops to those grown in the 
soil and manure. By the use of fertilizers, they were 
able to secure, in the ashes, earlier and firmer toma¬ 
toes, and a little better yield. The matter of prepar¬ 
ing soil for greenhouse culture is often troublesome 
and expensive. Coal ashes and a small amount of 
peat moss, will cost less and be much easier to pi-e- 
pare. Up to within a few yeai's it has not been thought 
that chemicals could be used exclusively in glass- 
lioxise gardening. Gardeners have mostly claimed 
that manure and soil are absolute necessities. The 
experiments now being made by Dr. Jenkins bid fair 
to xxpset some of these theories. It is a singular tiling 
that sometimes, after years of work, a man may find 
that the pi'actice of a lifetime has been based on a 
wrong thewy. So it may be with this matter of green¬ 
house soil, as well as with some of our pi*esent ideas 
about the need of so much oi”ganic matter in outdoor 
culture. Tomatoes grown in ordinary greenhouse 
soil, are often injured by small insects that work at 
the roots. Growers are in the habit of freezing the 
soil to prevent this ti-ouble. It is never noticed in the 
coal ashes. Why not try this experiment in one of 
your beds ? _ 
BUSINESS BITS. 
John C. Piehce & Co., 404 West Main Street, Louisville, Ky., have 
a new lot of those second-crop potatoes for next year’s seed. They 
send free a pamphlet about second-crop potatoes. 
It’s easy to make cider, if you have the right kind of machinery; 
but is rather an ix-ksome task with the old mills. For modern 
pi-ess, send to the Hydraulic Press Co., 4 Main Street, Mt. 
Gilead, O. 
When every rod of a fence is guaranteed by a responsible 
house, there is little chance of getting a poor fence. This is the 
assurance that comes with every rod of the Keystone fence. Key¬ 
stone Woven Wire Fence Co., 49 Locust Street, Tremont, Ill., will 
reply to any inquiries. 
We know places where the Halladay windmill has got to be a 
landmark on account of years of continual service. It certainly 
stands the test of time. The U. -S. Wind Engine <& Pump Com¬ 
pany, Batavia, Ill., will send catalogue, which also contains 
description of pumps, tanks and other farm tools. 
The Dederick baling press works were established in 18(50. Since 
that time, the manufacturex-s have kept abreast of modern im¬ 
provements, and their presses have always stood in the front 
ranks. They make a large line of presses, and send catalogue on 
application. Better send and get it if you are in need of a press, 
to P. K. Dederick & Co., Albany, N. Y. 
Those who have used the Rochester radiator, know that it 
promotes comfort and saves fuel, and best of all, can be used where 
other means of heating could not be had. Cold or damp rooms 
are not healthful, and sleeping rooms especially should not be 
too hot. Send to the Rochester Radiator Co., 27 Furnace Sti-eet, 
Rochester, N. Y., for pai-ticulars. They will tell you just what it 
will and what it will not do. 
No public question is of greater importance than that of good 
roads. All over the country public sentiment is rising in px-otest 
against the old dust or mud thoi’oughfares. No part of the 
literatui”e of this movement is of greater value than Roads and 
Road Laws in the United States, by Gen. Roy Stone. Here we 
have the whole subject exhaustively treated from the making of 
the roads to a digest of the road laws of the various States. It is 
a standard work on good roads. Published by the D. Van Nos¬ 
trand Company, New Yoi”k. The price is $1. 
