Vv  S 
l ~he  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
tree.  This  means  using  scions  or  small  limbs  to 
connect  the  bark  below  the  wound  with  that  above 
it.  Thus  the  injured  area  is  braced  by  a  number 
of  scions,  one  end  in  tbe  uninjured  part  above,  and 
the  other  below  the  wound.  This  makes  a  con¬ 
nection  between  the  live  tissues.  The  sail  is  carried 
513 
Thorough  Spraying  of  Tomatoes 
Important  Work  Too  Often  Neglected 
I  was  much  interested  in  the  article  in  a  recent  num¬ 
ber  on  spraying  potatoes  to  prevent  blight.  Will  the 
same  instruction  and  principles  of  that  article  apply 
in  spraying  tomatoes  to  prevent  blight?  1  wish  some 
one  would  write  an  nrticlc  on  spraying  tomatoes,  giving 
real  experience.  ’  vt. 
[While  the  following  does  not  answer  the  question 
we  print  it:  as  more  suggestive  than  a  complete  reply. 
It  probably  expresses  the  honest  conviction  of  a  large 
number  of  tomato  growers  who  are  classed  ns  “ex¬ 
perts.”  Does  anyone  spray  tomatoes  as  thoroughly  as 
Mr.  Dean  sprays  potatoes?] 
THE  article  by  Mr.  Dean  on  spraying  potatoes 
for  blight  contained  a  lot  of  wholesome  advice 
and  showed  results.  I  am  satisfied  from  our  ex¬ 
perience  that  the  same  Instructions  and  principles 
will  apply  with  equal  force  to  the  spraying  of  to¬ 
matoes.  All  spraying  work  being  more  or  less  new, 
many  are  much  more  liable  to  neglect  this  for  some 
other,  and  often  far  less,  important  work  to  which 
they  have  been  long  accustomed.  This  is  a  large 
tomato  growing  section,  but  I  do  not  know  of  a 
single  grower  (ourselves  included)  who  has  sprayed 
bis  tomatoes  with  anywhere  near  the  same  religious 
persistence  that  gave  such  satisfactory  results  for 
Mr.  Dean.  The  man  who  can  show  us  conclusively 
with  the  tomato  crop  just  wliat  Mr.  Dean  has  shown 
with  the  potato  crop  will  be  doing  a  splendid  work. 
Personally  we  believe  In  spraying  our  tomato  crop 
and  are  each  year  not  only  trying  to  do  the  work 
in  a  more  thorough  manner,  but  are  also  trying  to 
educate  ourselves  to  the  point  of  real  In  cinmiilerini/ 
the  spraying  operation  of  just  as  much  as,  or  of 
more,  importance  in  producing  a  full  crop  than  the 
cultivation,  fertilization,  etc.  When  we  reach  that 
point  F  am  satisfied  we  can  point  to  results  that  will 
be  worth  while,  but  until  then  it  will  lie 
far  better  for  me  to  keep  silent  and  let 
someone  who  knows  absolutely  from 
actual  experience  tell  just  wbat  results 
can  be  secured  by  spraying  tomatoes  in 
the  same  thorough  manner  that  Mr.  Dean 
k  used  so  successfully  for  bis  white  pota- 
A  toes.  TRUCKRK.  .IB. 
A  Talk  About  Alfalfa  Seed 
Hardy  Strains  for  the  North 
ON E  of  our  correspondents  sends  us  a  clipping 
from  a  farm  paper;  the  author’s  name  lie  does 
not  give.  The  clipping  reads  as  follows: 
DON'T  SOW  ALFALFA 
The  word  is  being  passed  around  that  care  should 
he  expressed  in  Alfalfa  seed  selection.  In  sections 
where  its  culture  is  more  or  less  hazardous,  good  re¬ 
sults  follow  only  t lie  use  of  best  Northern-grown  hardy 
seed.  Eastern  and  Northern  growers  depend  upon  un- 
inignted  Western  seed.  An  Eastern  farm  bureau  of¬ 
ficial  lias  just  visited  the  Northwest  in  search  of  hardy 
seed  and  found  the  quantity  very  limited.  1 F i,s  advice 
is  for  those  dependent  upon  hardy  seed  to  put  oft  sow¬ 
ing  another  year  rather  tlmn  take  the  chance  of  get 
ting  unsatisfactory  seed.  This  will  give  another  year 
to  put  the  proposed  field  to  a  cultivated  crop  and  thus 
exterminate  some  more  weeds.  Don’t  give  the  Alfalfa 
l loom  a  black  eye.  “Discretion  is  the  better  part  of 
valor.” 
There  is  only  partial  truth  in  wlnit  this  man  lias 
written.  There  was  practically  a  crop  failure  of 
Alfalfa  seed  this  season,  lit  1!»12  Kansas  was  re¬ 
ported  to  have  shipped  800  cars;  in  1015,  probably 
not  a  carload,  and  Nebraska  was  in  similar  propor¬ 
tion.  Tbe  Colorado  crop  practically  failed;  the 
Montana  crop  was  extremely  small:  the  Dakota 
crop  practically  failed;  Utah  had  a  fairly  good 
crop;  Idaho  produced  some  good  seed;  Oklahoma. 
Arizona  and  Texas  had.  I  believe,  fair  crops.  There 
has  not  been  much  French  seed  to  go  on  this  season, 
and  in  fact,  probably  very  little  imported  seed  will 
come  into  the  United  States  at  all. 
Personally,  I  do  not  like  imported  seed  and  do 
not  think  it  much  of  a  loss  when  we  do  not  receive 
it.  I  think  that  no  farmer  living  north  of  the  Ohio 
Liver  should  sow  Alfalfa  seed  coming  from  Texas, 
Arizona  or  Oklahoma.  I  think  that  almost  any  year 
it  will  pay  farmers  who  li\e  north  of  this 
point,  that  is,  north  of  latitude  80  deg. 
to  use  seed  that  is  as  hardy  as  Nebraska 
stock,  and  for  myself,  I  usually  sow  seed 
from  still  farther  north.  For  several 
years  I  have  been  using  the  hardiest  seed 
obtainable,  coming  from  Dakota  or  Mon¬ 
tana.  Imt  I  do  not  consider  this  ns  being  , 
absolutely  necessary  in  our  latitude,  ft 
which  is  about  40  deg.,  and  if  1  want  to  f'i j 
sow  Alfalfa  Ibis  year  I  would  nut  liesi-  /S 
tale  to  use  Ltaii  seed  if  no  other  were  fs! 
obtainable.  However,  at  present  it  is  h| 
possible  to  obtain  genuine  Idaho-grown 
seed,  and  tills  should  be  hardy  enough 
for  farmers  anywhere  south  of  the  Can¬ 
adian  line,  and  I  would  not  at  all  hesi-  pH 
tale,  to  sow  it  myself  anywhere  south  of 
that  point.  There  is  not  a  large  amount  tH 
of  ibis  Northern  grown  seed  available, 
and  without  doubt,  some  Texas  ami  Arl- 
z.oira  seed  will  be  offered  as  Northern 
grown,  but  many  seedsmen  are  honest. 
If  yen  <leal  with  a  firm  whose  reputation 
you  can  count  on,  purchasing  Idaho  seed 
from  him,  the  probabilities  are  that  you 
will  get  wbat  you  buy.  There  is  also  a 
little  Nebraska  seed  available;  it  will  prove  very 
useful  anywhere  south  of  latitude  11  deg.  or  i::  deg. 
Finally,  if  one  wants  the  very  hardiest  seed,  the 
Crimm  Alfalfa  produced  a  little  larger  crop  in  pro¬ 
portion  than  the  common  did,  and  there  is  a  mod- 
irate  amount  of  genuine  diuiim  seed  obtainable. 
As  a  supplement  to  tbe  Crimm.  there  is  a  little  Lis 
comb  seed  which  is  probably  the  next  thing  to  Hie 
Crimm  itself.  The  Montana  Experiment  Station  ad¬ 
vises  me  that  they  considered  the  Llscomb  compar¬ 
able  to  the  Crimm.  that  it  comes  from  very  old  os 
tablislied  Montana  fields,  and  that  it  is  well  worth 
trying.  They  appear  to  think  that  time  alone  will 
determine  whether  the  Llscomb  is  actually  as  valu¬ 
able  as  tbe  Grimm  or  not.  ciias.  b.  wing. 
( )hio. 
Details  of  Bridge  Grafting.  Fig.  183 
up  through  these  scions.  In  time  they  unite  like 
any  other  graft,  and  if  properly  cared  for  after 
some  years  tbe  scions  will  grow  so  as  to  completely 
cover  the  trunk.  A  pamphlet  just  issued  by  tbe  De¬ 
partment  of  Agriculture  tells  how  this  is  done,  and 
the  two  pictures  herewith  are  taken  from  it.  Fig. 
183  shows  the  details  of  bridge-grafting,  and  will 
probably  be  understood  without  further  description; 
while  Fig.  185  shows  a  tree  after  the  bridge-grafts 
have  been  inserted.  After  a  little  practice  the  op- 
erator  will  learn  how  to  do  this  rapidly  and  ef¬ 
fectively,  and  if  these  injured  trees  are  taken  in 
Enthusiastic  for  Sweet  Clover 
page  320  Mr.  Bloomingdale  gets 
close  to  the  real  facts,  in  regard  to 
Sweet  clover.  Here  in  Western  New 
York  I  have  tried  nothing  that  equals  it, 
either  as  pasture  or  bay,  and  if  my  stock 
H w  hail  to  get  used  t  eating  it  they  did  it 
Hr  about  the  way  a  duck  gets  used  to  water. 
•y  They  ate  It  both  its  pasture  and  hay  at 
*  the  first,  opportunity.  I  first  seeded  six 
acres  of  land  that  had  grown  a  crop  of 
beans  tbe  previous  year.  By  giving  t lie 
land  a  light,  cultivating,  and  then  barrow¬ 
ing  ill  the  seed  I  secured  a  fair  stand, 
but  it  made  little  growth  on  tbe  lightest 
soil,  either  from  lack  of  lime  or  inocula¬ 
tion  or  both  T  cannot  say,  but  on  tbe 
heavier  soil  anrl  especially  on  a  clay  knoll  it  grew 
very  rank. 
Tbe  Summer  or  barn  grass  came  on  with  it.  and 
as  the  horses  and  cattle  were  pasturing  on  new 
seeding  of  clover  in  ;m  adjoining  field  T  opened  the 
fence  anil  let  them  Into  this  field,  thinking  thev 
The  Opalescent  Apple.  Fig.  184 
time,  they  would  be  saved  so  that  they  win  grow 
profitably.  Sometimes  when  there  is  an  inch  or  so 
of  living  bark  left,  connecting  tlio  lower  with  the 
upper  portion,  a  tree  will  recover  without  the  bridge- 
grafting.  In  that  ease  it  is  desirable  to  cover  tbe 
"  oiini  pa  si  u  re  on  rne  Mimtuer  grass,  which  was 
green  at.  that  time.  Noticing  the  stock  were  pastur¬ 
ing  in  this  field  nearly  all  the  time  I  went  out  to 
see  what  they  were  after.  To  my  surprise  they 
were  eating  nothing  but  Sweet  clover.  It  was  then 
a  foot  high  where  it  grew  best,  and  I  let  them  re¬ 
main  until  they  ate  it  so  close  you  could  not  tell 
wbat  it  was.  The  next  Spring  It.  came  on  again  and 
made  a  line  growth  of  hay,  but.  T  made  a  mistake 
in  letting  it  get  too  large  before  cutting,  and  a  good 
share  of  it  was  killed  by  cutting  too  close.  It  was 
very  coarse  bay.  and  got  very  wet  while  in  the  wind¬ 
row,  still  the  horses  were  so  eager  for  if  while  draw¬ 
ing  it  in  that  we  put  some  of  it  into  tbe  horse  barn 
and  began  feeding  it  to  them,  and  for  the  balance 
of  the  season  they  got  nothing  else,  no  grain,  but 
all  the  Sweet  clover  bay  they  could  eat,  and  they 
never  left  any  in  the  manger  if  they  bad  time  to 
clean  it  up.  My  horses  never  looked  better  or  worked 
better  when  fed  on  common  hay  and  oats,  and  they 
are  still  looking  fine. 
This  cannot  be  done  with  Alfalfa,  as  it  is  too 
washy  for  horses.  I  have  grown  it  for  several 
years,  but  have  none  now,  and  will  not  have  as 
long  as  I  can  grow  Sweet  clover,  for  in  my  estima¬ 
tion  it  is  far  ahead  of  Alfalfa  both  for  pasture  and 
bay.  The  only  fault  I  see  is  that  it  must  be  cut 
with  at  least  a  six  inch  stubble  and  not  let  it  get 
more  than  two  feet  high  before  cutting.  I  believe 
the  danger  of  killing  by  cutting  close  will  be  very 
i  ms  last  cold  spoil  with  t In*  snow  has  caused  the 
rabbits  to  do  considerable  damage  to  my  young  apple 
mid  pear  trees,  h.v  gnawing  the  bark.  I  would  like  to 
know  liow  mncli  damage  can  be  done  before  1  must  re¬ 
plant  with  new  trees.  As  these  ate  blit  three  years  old 
the  loss  will  not  be  so  great,  but.  I  regret  the  time  it 
takes.  These  were  planted  childly  for  a  home  orchard, 
but  the  commercial  side  was  not  forgotten.  Some  of 
these  will  no  doubt  recover,  but  will  they  be  so  weak 
i  ned  and  retarded  ns  to  warrant  the  time  and  labor  to 
bring  them  around?  As  an  example  a  Grimes  Golden 
lias  been  gnawed  for  18  inches  up,  completely  encircling 
trunk,  nud  in  places  gnawing  through  the  cambium 
layer.  Some  of  the  others  have  no  more  than  the  palm 
of  one’s  I ui ml  eaten  in  size.  These  places  induce  Might, 
mid  fungus  growth,  I  understand.  Would  white  lend  I"***1 
paint  or  nspBaltum  he  all  right  to  use  on  the  smaller 
injuries?  My  main  question  is,  however,  the  extent 
of  injury  before  tree  must  be  replaced.  t,  n.  k. 
Steltoii,  N.  J.  wounded 
WHERE  the  trees  have  been  eaten  entirely  we  woul< 
around,  so  that  the  trunk  is  completely  gir-  so  that  t 
died,  nothing  can  be  done  except  to  bridge-graft  the  cient  sap, 
