588 
Cfce  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
April  8,  tUlii. 
Training  Tomatoes 
I  have  noticed  when  tomatoes  are  grow¬ 
ing  that  in  the  crotch  of  every  shoot 
starts  lip  another  shoot  from  the  main 
stem.  Do  these  latter  shoots  bear  fruit? 
As  I  get  it  the  idea  is  to  let  the  main 
branches  grow  until  they  set.  fruit  buds, 
and  then  to  cut  off  just  beyond  these 
buds.  w.  R.  n. 
Richmond,  Mass. 
The  branches  of  a  tomato  vine  always 
start  from  the  crotch  made  by  a  leaf  in 
the  main  stem.  In  training  the  plant  to 
a  single  stem  these  buds  should  always  be 
rubbed  off'  just  as  so«>n  as  possible,  as 
excellent  clusters  of  fruit  buds  develop 
between  the  leaves.  Do  not  let  the  main 
branches  grow  until  they  develop  fruit 
buds,  unless  they  get  a  good  long  start 
before  you  have  an  opportunity  to  rub 
them  off. .  I),  w.  I>. 
you  are  ready  to  use  them  so  that  they 
will  begin  to  eallns.  They  are  usually 
bedded  horizontally  an  inch  or  two  deep 
in  loose,  rich  soil.  It  is  best  to  put  them 
in  a  frame  and  give  them  slight  bottom 
beat,  although  they  will  grow  if  planted 
in  the  open  in  April  or  early  May,  but 
the  plants  will  make  much  less  growth 
the  tirst  season.  As  you  are  anxious  to 
get  as  many  plants  as  possible  and  inas¬ 
much  as  some  varieties  do  not  strike  root 
readily  without  bottom  heat.  I  would  rec¬ 
ommend  that  you  place  about  eight  inch¬ 
es  of  fresh  stable  manure  under  six  inch¬ 
es  of  soil  in  your  frames  and  bed  your 
cuttings  here,  placing  one  cutting  to 
every  four  square  inches  of  surface. 
After  the  plants  have  nicely  started  they 
may  be  removed  to  the  field  and  placed 
in  "nursery”  rows  3%  feet  apart  with  the 
Arbor-vitae  from  Seed 
Can  yon  inform  me  the  correct  way 
to  treat  arbor- vita?  seed?  J.  R. 
Thomasville,  Ga. 
Seeds  of  this  class  of  Con  if  era?  should 
he  sown  in  the  Spring  in  a  warm,  well- 
drained  soil,  sandy  loam  being  the  most 
suitable.  Beds  four  or  live  feet  wide, 
and  raised  four  to  six  inches  high,  pro¬ 
tecting  the  sides  with  six-inch  boards, 
will  be  necessary  to  guard  against  wash¬ 
ing  and  to  provide  for  quick  drainage. 
Excessive  moisture  for  any  length  of 
time  is  fatal  to  seeds  of  most  upland 
evergreens,  and  in  sections  where  the 
rainfall  is  frequent  and  heavy,  the  seed 
must  have  protection  in  some  form,  or 
they  may  be  lost  bj  rotting.  Sow  the 
seed  thinly,  about  one  inch  deep  in  rows 
six  inches  apart.  After  the  seedlings  are 
up.  they  should  lmve,  lattice  shading  dur¬ 
ing  the  hot  period  of  Summer.  Such 
shades  are  easily  made  of  shingle  ribs 
and  plastering  lath.  If  weather  is  very 
dry  the  seedlings  will  need  watering  once 
or  twice  a  week.  K. 
plied  and  what  this  grower  uses  in  con¬ 
nection  with  salt,  and  at  what  time. 
Bndgeville,  Del,  R.  R. 
I  have  made  full  inquiry  regarding 
method  of  growing  asparagus  by  the  man 
who  has  the  best  asparagus  on  Lancaster 
market,  and  it  is  very  simple.  Early  in 
Spring  the  salt  is  applied,  eight  tons  per 
acre.  The  walks  are  cultivated  and  sev¬ 
eral  inches  of  soil  mmiv"  '  aud  scattered 
upon  surface  of  the  b  ,1  just  as  first 
shoots  are  coming  through.  Either  a 
light  application  of  ordinary  trucking  or 
garden  brand  fertilizer,  or  stable  manure 
is  used  each  Spring,  but  not  the  two  in 
combination.  The  grower  says  if  he  has 
manure  he  uses  it  and  if  not  fertilizer  at 
rate  of  GOO  to  SOC  pounds  per  acre. 
About  June  20.  when  cutting  season  is 
over,  tin1  entire  bed  is  guile  over  with  a 
disk  harrow  set  to  run  about  3%  inches 
de,  p.  This  treatment  has  been  followed 
for  10  years  and  seems  to  produce  re¬ 
sults.  _ E.  a.  w. 
"Dm  anybody  out  this  way  make  any 
money  out  of  fruit  last  year?”  "Yep.” 
said  Farmer  ( Vrntossel.  "The  man  that 
runs  the  store,  lie  bought  a  lot.  of  it 
already  canned  and  sold  it  to  us  agricul¬ 
turists." — Washington  Star. 
Smart  Yovng  Man:  "What  do  you 
think  of  Brown?”  Indignant  Old  Gen¬ 
tleman’.  "Brown,  sir!  He  is  one  of 
those  people  that  smack  you  on  the  back 
before  your  face,  and  hit  you  in  the  eye 
behind  your  back.”- — Tit-Bits. 
Brown  Rot  of  Plums 
We  have  a  number  of  Canada  plum 
trees  that  blossom  every  Spring  and  bear 
fruit  that  never  ripens.  Just  as  the 
plums  begin  t<»  turn  they  shrivel  and 
wither  till  there  is  hardly  anything  left. 
There  are  hard  black  spots  on  them,  too. 
Is  there  any  spray  that  will  stop  this? 
Bradford.  Vt.  n.  E.  r. 
In  all  probability  your  plums  are 
destroyed  each  year  by  the  disease  known 
as  "brown  rot,”  which  rapidly  develops  at 
ripening  time.  The  following  spray  calen¬ 
dar  is  recommended  for  the  control  of 
brown  rot  and  San  Jose  scale: 
1.  Before  the  buds  swells:  Commercial 
concentrated  lime-sulphur  one  part  in 
nine  parts  of  water.  2.  Immediately 
after  the  petals  fall :  Self-boiled  lime- 
sulphur  (8-8-50)  three  pounds  arsenate 
of  lead  paste  in  every  50  gallons  of 
the  spray  material.  3.  When  fruit  is 
the  size  of  green  peas:  Same  as  number 
2.  4.  Three  weeks  later,  self-boiled  lime- 
sulphur  (S-S-50).  Another  application 
may  be  given  same  as  No.  4  two  or  three 
weeks  later  if  so  desired.  B.  B.  d. 
Salt  on  Asparagus 
I  notice  on  page  245  F.  II.  C.'s  query 
regarding  salt  <m  asparagus  also  the  re¬ 
ply  of  E.  J.  W.  I  would  like  to  know 
at  what  time  of  the  year  the  salt  was  ap- 
STANDARQO!LCO.°rN.Y. 
D  ON’T  be  satisfied  just  to  , 
i  i  L  _ _  -fill  m  v  t 
Eradicating  Bermuda  Grass 
Would  you  tell  me  how  to  eradicate 
Bermuda  grass,  locally  called  ‘‘wire 
grass?”  It  is  obtaining  quite  a  foothold 
in  some  sections,  and  is  very  troublesome. 
Princess  Anne,  Md.  mbs.  J.  H.  a. 
There  is  no  better  permanent  Summer 
pasture  than  the  Bermuda  grass.  It  is  a 
sun-loving  grass  and  will  not.  grow  in 
dense  shade.  The  best  way  to  eradicate 
it,  and  the  way  T  have  done  it,  is  to  plow 
shallow  so  as  just  to  got  under  the  run¬ 
ning  stems,  commonly  called  roots,  and 
then  rake  out  all  you  can  and  haul  off  to 
some  waste  place  or  gully.  Then  plow  the 
land  well  and  sow  in  .Tune  cow  peas 
thickly.  Cut  the  peas  and  cure  them  for 
hay  and  sow  the  land  to  Crimson  clover. 
In  the  spring  turn  this  under  for  corn 
and  cultivate  clean,  and  there  will  be  lit¬ 
tle  g  ass  left.  I  was  with  a  friend  not 
long  ago  in  Summer  looking  over  his 
cornfield,  and  iu  one  considerable  area 
there  was  a  great  deal  of  wire-grass.  He 
said  :  “That  pesky  wire-grass  is  a  great 
nuisance.”  I  then  called  his  attention  to 
the  fact  that  the  best  corn  in  the  field  was 
right  where  the  wire-grass  wras  most 
plentiful.  The  fact  is  that  the  grass  had 
made  them  work  faster  and  the  buried 
grass  bad  done  the  land  some  good.  Here 
and  in  your  section  we  need  more  grass 
and  clover,  aud  T  would  not  object  much 
to  the  Bermuda  or  wire-grass  as  it  is 
called.  W.  F.  MASSEY. 
Propagating  Blackberries 
I  desire  some  information  in  regard  to 
propagation  of  blackberries  by  the  root 
method.  My  son  has  a  seedling  black¬ 
berry  of  exceptional  value,  which  has 
produced  fine  berries  for  a  number  of 
years.  If  now  occupies  quite  a  space  in 
one  corner  of  his  garden.  My  son’s  bus¬ 
iness  has  called  him  away  to  a  distant 
city  aud  he  has  given  roe  the  entire 
bunch  of  bushes.  I  wish  now  to  take  up 
all  the  bushes,  roots  and  all.  I  have  the 
land  ready  for  them  on  my  farm.  I  wish 
to  know  how  long  I  shall  cut  the  root, 
pieces,  when  I  plant  them,  and  how  deep 
and  lmw  close  together  in  the  row. 
Portage,  O.  t.  w.  k. 
Your  exceptionally  good  blackberry 
seedling  bushes  are  best  propagated  by 
digging  up  the  entire  root  system  of  your 
few  plants  at  once.  Cut  the  heavier 
roots  into  pieces  about  one  and  a  half 
inches  long  and  the  small  roots  into 
pieces  about  three  inches  long.  Pack  all 
these  in  sand  and  place  iu  cellar  until 
yjg’un,  yes,  and  fill  my  oil 
can.  ”  Know  what  it’s  going 
to  be  filled  with . 
It  is  now  possible  to  buy  kerosene  by 
name  and  be  sure  of  what  you  are  get¬ 
ting*.  From  now  on,  our  kerosene  pro¬ 
duct  will  be  sold  under  the  trademarked 
name  Socony  (So-CO-ny)  ^  Kerosene 
Oil  for  Soconv  and  vou’re  sure  of 
Standard  Oil  Company  of  New  York 
NEW  YORK— BUFFALO  Principal  Offices  ALBANY— BOSTON 
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