ZShe  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
March  4,  1916. 
380 
More  Potato 
Money 
Grow  Potatoes  this  Y ear 
PUT  in  a  big  acreage.  Make 
more  out  of  potatoes  than  out 
of  grain — 200  bushels  to  the  acre  is 
not"  uucomraon.  An  Aspinwall 
one-man  planter  plants  5  to  8 
acres  a  day.  Plants  at  uni¬ 
form  depth  and  spacing — 
uniform  planting  means 
biggest  yield.  Machine 
opens  furrow,  drops 
seed— any  size — a 
distance  —  covers 
marks  next  row, 
and  if  desired,  . . 
sows  Mati- 
zer  all  in  ^f&gPfvygjPx  u  fac¬ 
to  red  by 
the  World’s 
Oldest  and 
Largest.  Potato 
Machinery  Mak¬ 
ers.  60,000  Aspin- 
wall  Planters  in  use. 
Take  no  chances  on 
unproven  machines. 
Learn  all  about  the 
Potato  Digger 
rrit'T  Agitating*  Rear  Rack,  with  or  with¬ 
out  Vine  Sepai  a  tor.  Gets  all  the  potatoes 
clean.  Depth  of  digging  regulated  by  handy 
lever.  Side  Hill  Lugs  and  Wheel  Bands  fur¬ 
nished  free.  Light  draft,  bronze  hearings. 
Made  in  three  styles,  meets  all  soil  conditions.  Write 
for  li  i  e  (analog  »n  Potato  Machinery  and  ask  ques¬ 
tions  on  potato  growing.  Write  today. 
any 
one opera 
tion. 
ASP1NWALL  MFG.  CO. 
43  /  Sabin  St.  Jackson,  Mick 
^  Cutters  Planters 
Sprayers  Diggers 
Sorters 
MORE  GARDEN 
CULTIVATORS 
sold  the  past  season  than 
other  upon  the  market. 
any 
The 
unly  Cultivate  u|M»n  t.liu  ftittikot  that  you 
r;ui  t»  l  it  any  ili«;t(li  you  wioli,  i>  will  stir 
Hu*  kuU  i u ' •  llu.t  delith  nil  down  the  row. 
Cllltlvat*'  L-  ■'.Vrt  M  tlw*  li»WH  Ol*  MStndr  ti  c 
row.  ruuv  34  pt*r  cc*nl  t  urn  any otb- 
i*r  t  ultivulor .  for  to«M* 
monial.s  ttiui  special  price. 
THE  SCHA1BLE 
Manufacturing  Co. 
Dept.  E 
ELYRIA.  OHIO 
^  THE  RAINY  SEASON  ^ 
T  CONQUERED  BY 
THE  TOWER  SYSTEM 
OP 
CORN  CULTURE 
Tower  Cultivators  went  into  the  fields 
three  days  earlier  than  the  shovels 
after  a  rain.  Earlier  maturity  of  the 
corn  was  the  result. 
V.  H.  Peek,  Hull,  III., writes: 
“We  cun  u&e  surface  cultivators  after  a 
rain  three  days  sooner*  than  a  shovel  plow 
and  do  a  better  job." 
H. !..  Chapman.  Jerscyville.  Ill. .writes : 
“It  was  a  wet  season  — with  your  two- 
row  Tower  Cultivator;  corn  hud  only  3 
plowing,  but  was  remarkably  clean." 
Adams  Co.  Agric.  Extension  Ass'n.  De¬ 
catur.  Ind.,  reports:  —  “Tower  Cultivator 
greatly  increased  the  yield  of  corn  per 
acre,  even  in  an  extremely  wet  season.” 
Spares  All  j|Corn  Roots 
These  Corn  bouts  nllUin  Fl»e  Incho,  of  tbeSnrfnee. 
Each  of  the  follosving  extensive  corn 
farms  of  Illinois  use  25  to  50  Tower  Culti¬ 
vators:  III.  Canning  Co.  and  Hooposton 
Canning  Co.,  both  of  HuopesLon,  III.;  Iro- 
uuois  Canuing  Co..  Onanra.  111.:  Blooming- 
ton  Canning  Co.,  Bloomington,  Ill.:  Chenoa 
Canning  Co..  Chenoa,  111.;  I.oHoy  Canning 
Co..  Leroy,  Ill.— because  they  have  proved 
the  best. 
Many  thousands  of  farmers  of  the  coun¬ 
try  use  the  “Tower"  exclusively.  Nearly 
every  grower  of  Seed  Corn  uses  the  Tower 
System  because  it  is  proved  the  best  known. 
Header,  be  sure  your  Cultivator  this 
season  has  the  name  “TOWER”  on  the 
tongue.  Write  us  lor  free  literature. 
J.  D.  TOWER  &  SONS  CO. 
86th  Avenue,  Mendota,  Illinois. 
(Original  manufacturers  of  Surface  Cultivators.) 
Commercial  Fruit  Culture 
Fruit  Notes  from  Missouri 
FAVORITE  (’iiKliKIKS.  linn  was  not¬ 
able  for  the  greatest  yield  of  cherries  for 
many  years.  Never  have  I  seen  trees  so 
loaded  with  that  fruit,  and  a  beautiful 
sight  they  were,  clothed  in  flashing  red 
from  top  to  lowest  limbs.  The  varieties 
were  mostly  Early  Richmond  and  Mont¬ 
morency.  and  a  better  mated  pair  would 
be  hard  to  imagine,  for  the  Montmorency 
comes  in  just  as  the  Richmond  goes  out, 
and  thus  doubles  the  length  of  the  sea¬ 
son  and  gives  the  fruit  grower  a  better 
chance  to  dispose  of  his  crop.  General 
opinion  seems  to  favor  the  Montmorency 
in  a  comparison  of  the  two,  and  for  suf- 
ficient  reasons,  but  having  different  sea- 
sous  they  are  not  really  rivals  except 
where  the  choice  must  be  confined  to 
one.  The  Montmorency  makes  a  more 
upright  and  better-shaped  tree;  the 
Richmond  is  spreading  in  habit  and  seems 
shorter-lived.  The  fruit  of  the  latter 
semes  a  trifle  inferior  in  size  and  color 
and  quality,  but  the  difference  here  is 
negligible  on  the  market.  The  Mont¬ 
morency  has  borne  heavier  in  off  years. 
In  most  years  not  mure  than  one  blossom 
in  eight  or  10  is  pollenized  and  sets 
fruit.  Just  why  practically  every  flow¬ 
er  developed  a  cherry  last  year  I  cannot 
say,  and  should  be  grateful  to  bear  ex¬ 
pressions  oil  the  subject. 
Damson  Plums. — In  1014  there  was 
a  record  crop  of  damson  plums.  The 
trees  consisted  of  some  common  variety 
of  dense  and  prickly  growth,  Shropshires 
and  Free  Stone  damsons,  the  last  bear¬ 
ing  for  the  first  time.  The  Free  Stone 
(so  listed)  was  the  finest  of  the  three, 
the  limbs  being  bent  to  the  ground  with 
pi  unis  larger  and  handsomer  than  the 
Shropshire,  nud  the  fact  that  they  were 
free-stoues  added  not  less  than  five  cents 
on  the  gallon  to  their  price.  The  tree 
does  not  grow  stifily  erect,  like  the 
Shropshire,  but  the  long  and  willowy 
limbs  bend  to  the  ground  with  dense 
clusters  of  plums  to  their  tips.  This 
is  the  finest  damson  I  have  seen,  and  I 
am  very  much  pleased  with  it.  By  severe 
cutting  back  the  trees  would  no  doubt 
stand  up  much  better  under  their  load 
and  an  upright  growth  is  very  desirable 
where  trees  are  planted  in  rows  with 
small  fruits,  us  mine  are.  Trees  of 
spreading  habit  obstruct  the  middles  and 
prevent  clean  and  dose  cultivation  of  the 
small  fruit.  The  damsons  are  good  sell¬ 
ers,  being  known  of  all  good  housewives 
as  of  peculiar  excellence  for  preserves, 
and  there  is  always  an  annual  demand 
at  strong  prices.  In  fact  I  do  not  know 
any  more  profitable  plum  than  the  dam¬ 
son,  and  their  quotations  on  the  big  city 
markets  arc  always  among  the  highest. 
Native  Plums. — It  is  also  good  policy 
to  have  a  row  of  native  plums,  for  while 
the  price  obtained  for  their  fruit  is  often 
quite  low,  there  is  always  a  demand 
to  be  supplied.  The  cost  of  their  pro¬ 
duction  is  next  to  nothing,  for  they  are 
almost  immune  to  the  curculio  and  rot, 
thereby  differing  from  the  Japanese  kinds, 
which  must  be  well  sprayed  if  we  want 
fine  fruit  front  them.  The  Japanese, 
too,  should  lie  thinned  for  best  results 
but  the  natives  do  very  well  without  it. 
Five  good  natives  are  Milton,  Clifford, 
Wild  Goose,  Poole's  Pride  and  the  New¬ 
man,  the  latter  ripening  on  into  Sep¬ 
tember:  besides  these  there  are  numerous 
seedlings  of  many  variations  that  com¬ 
bine  with  the  standards  to  make  a  long 
continuous  season.  For  some  reason  the 
natives  fail  to  gain  in  popularity,  at  least 
with  nurserymen,  for  it  is  seldom  that 
more  than  one  or  two  of  the  live  mention¬ 
ed  can  be  found  listed  by  one  firm.  The 
Wild  Goose  alone  maintains  its  place  as 
a  standard  with  undiminished  reputation 
and  deservedly  so  far  it  is  a  plum  of  fine 
qualities. 
King  David  Apples. — In  a  recent 
report  the  New  York  Station  praises  the 
King  David  apple  and  pronounces  it  su¬ 
perior  to  the  Jonathan  and  Arkansas 
Pdaek,  in  size  and  color.  YY  hat  I  can  say 
of  it  here  is  this:  That  it  lias  proved 
to  be  earlier  in  fruit  than  the  Jonathan, 
a  heavier  bearer,  fruit  of  a  deeper, 
brighter  red,  and  less  disposed  to  drop 
prematurely.  In  size  Jonathan  was 
larger,  but  the  crop  was  only  half  that  of 
the  King  David.  To-day,  .Tan,  31,  on 
taking  the  latter  out  of  cold  storage  (and 
a  very  uneven  storage  in  temperature)  I 
find  them  in  fine  condition.  They  were 
picked  and  stored  on  August  26-27. 
From  all  this  it  would  appear  to  be  a 
variety  of  real  value,  and  destined  to 
become  a  popular  standard.  It  might 
be  described  as  an  early  YVinesap.  The 
Fanny  apple  is  not  a  success  here  on 
Winsap  at  Left;  King  David  at  Right 
rich  soil ;  a  good  yielder,  but  blights 
rather  easily;  the  fruit  runs  medium  to 
large  but  lacks  color;  quality  very  good. 
Colton  I  have  beard  to  l"‘  superior  to 
Early  Harvest,  and  1  find  it  to  be  true. 
Its  fruit  is  larger,  handsomer  and  ready 
to  cook  earlier;  it  lias  also  proved  to  be 
a  heavier  bearer,  A  list  of  good  Sum¬ 
mer  apples  would  he  Li  viand  Raspberry, 
Yellow  Transparent.  Duchess  of  Olden¬ 
burg,  San  Jacinto  (Wilson's  Red  June), 
and  JcIlVris  with  such  August  kinds  as 
Maiden  Blush,  Wealthy  and  King  David 
following  on.  But  I  would  not  be  taken 
as  ruling  out  such  boyhood  favorites  as 
Early  Harvest  and  Red  June  from  the 
family  orchard.  l.  il  Johnson. 
Cape  Girardeau  Co.,  Mo. 
A  Consumer  on  Apple  Varieties 
The  article,  “A  Good  Talk  on  Ap¬ 
ples,”  by  Mr.  Losee,  on  page  227,  en¬ 
courages  me  to  make  a  few  remarks  on 
the  subject  of  apple  varieties  from  the 
consumers',  especially  the  New  York  City 
consumers'  standpoint.  Some  time  ago  1 
saw  a  huckster’s  load  of  apples  at  Forty- 
seventh  street  and  Eighth  avenue  that 
from  the  distance  looked  fine,  with  a 
price  placard  up  declaring  thepi  to  be  of 
finest  quality  and  of  a  price  much  lower 
than  the  average.  I  went  up  to  the 
wagon  and  had  a  close  look  at  them.  Im¬ 
mediately  the  huckster  bad  bis  measure 
and  bag  ready  to  make  a  sure  sale,  but 
the  reason  for  the  below  average  price 
was  apparent,  and  with  my  grunt:  "Huh! 
Ben  Davis,”  the  huckster  lost  all  inter¬ 
est  in  me  and  turned  away  as  if  he  had 
never  seen  me.  Yesterday,  on  Fulton 
street.  I  saw  another  load  of  apples  bear¬ 
ing  the  large  placard :  "Roman  Beauty 
Apples.”  Now  I  wouldn’t  say  they  were 
not  "Rome  Beauty”  apples,  although  they 
looked  much  too  light  in  color  (I  know 
this  variety  Only  from  its  picture)  but 
the  "Roman”  amused  me.  T  suppose  Mr. 
Huckster  thought  ii  sounded  more  digni¬ 
fied  or  "elassy”  than  plain  “Rome.”  or  did 
be  think  it  improved  the  flavor  any?  If 
so  some  of  his  class  ought  to  label  that 
much-talked-of  variety  “  ‘Benjamin*  Da¬ 
vis."  and  thus  augment  the  quality. 
The  point  I  want  to  get  to  is  this:  Y'ery 
few  New  Yorkers  know  one  variety  of 
apples  from  another,  but  they  could  be 
taught.  I  bear  lots  of  talk  about  brands 
of  cigars,  tobacco,  etc. ;  makes  of  autos 
and  breeds  of  dogs,  and  the  selling  qual¬ 
ity  of  each  and  all  depends  on  their  repu¬ 
tations.  I  happened  to  know  the  face  and 
reputation,  also  taste,  of  Ben  D.,  and 
didn't  bite.  Lots  of  folks,  though,  bi;e 
twice — once  figuratively  and  once  literal¬ 
ly.  but  no  more  if  they  recognize  Beu 
next  time. 
Our  friend  on  Fulton  street  had  the 
right  idea,  even  if  the  wrong  name,  and 
if  all  retailors  would  sell  by  name  and 
gradually  educate  the  public  into  a  knowl¬ 
edge  of  varieties,  they  would  soon  learn 
the  relative  merits  and  would  buy  with 
more  confidence  and  consequently  more 
often,  with  far-reaching  good  results  to 
both  producer  and  consumer. 
This  matter  of  education  is  one  that 
to  my  mind  could  be  greatly  furthered 
by  the  Department  of  Foods  and  Mar¬ 
kets;  how,  I  am  not  going  to  presume  to 
say.  but  I  should  like  to  see  them  mak¬ 
ing  an  effort. 
Before  1  quit  I’d  like  to  say  one  word 
in  favor  of  Ben  Davis.  There  is  just  one 
way  in  which  he  can  be  fixed  up  to  look 
like  and  taste  like  “quality.”  Core  and 
without  paring  slice  about  one-eighth  inch 
thick,  place  a  layer  in  bottom  of  stone 
crock,  cover  with  sugar  and  cinnamon, 
repeat  the  process  (ill  crock  is  full,  bake, 
serve  with  cream  and  eat.  Try  it.  In 
this  way  lie’s  lots  better  than  some  others 
that  refuse  to  associate  with  him. 
Long  Island.  GEO.  l.  hoynton. 
It.  N.-Y. — The  I  >epart.ment  has  already 
started  to  do  this  work.  It  has  issued 
cards  printing  accurately  colored  pictures 
of  several  popular  New  York  varieties. 
These  are  for  shop  windows  or  for  con¬ 
sumers.  Many  of  the  latter  now  recog¬ 
nize  such  varieties  as  Baldwin,  Greening, 
Northern  Spy  and  Russet,  and  they  be¬ 
gin  to  know  McIntosh  and  a  few  others. 
They  begin  by  associating  the.  variety 
with  some  prominent  color  characteristic. 
YVo  know  one  man  who  claimed  to  know 
Spy  by  its  stripes.  One  day  on  the  street 
lit*  saw  some  beautiful  apples  well  striped 
and  proceeded  to  treat  bis  friends.  The 
fruit  turned  out  to  be  Ben  Davis,  it 
will  be  a  part  of  the  campaign  to  make 
New  York  apples  popular  in  this  city  to 
(each  consumers  the  general  appearance 
and  striking  features  of  our  New  York 
varieties.  This  can  be  done  by  colored 
cards  and  free  samples  at  great  apple 
shows  11*1110-11  must  be  held  in  thi,s  great 
city. 
Pullman  Pouter:  “Next  stop  is  yo’ 
station,  sah.  Shall  I  brush  yo’  off  nowV” 
Morton  Morose :  “No ;  it  is  not  neces¬ 
sary*.  When  the  train  stops  I’ll  step  off.” 
— J  udge. 
