C/>e  RURAL.  N  E  W-Y  O  R  K  E  R 
1069 
SPLIT  HICKORY 
The  Home  Acre 
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Everlasting  Strawberries  in  So.  California  valence  of  the  black  shank  disease,  while 
There  is  perhaps  no  other  place  in  the  the  home-grown  seed  make  healthy 
United  States  where  strawberries  are  so  plants.  One  great  advantage  of  the 
plentiful  throughout  the  year  as  in  South-  home-grown  seed  lies  in  the  fact  that 
era  California.  During  the  month  of  th^  are  usually  not  dug  till  December 
March  they  retail  at.  five  cents  per  box,  or  late  November,  and  are  planted  again 
in  April  three  boxes  for  10  cents,  in  May  in  February,  and  do  not  Sprout,  in  the 
four  boxes  for  10  cents,  and  during  the  cellar.  Some  years  ago  I  planted  some 
remainder  of  the  Summer  months  they  my  own  growth  of  the  second  crop 
never  get  above  five  cents  per  box,  con-  olong  side  of  seed  from  New  York  and 
tinning  at  that  price  until  Christmas,  Maine.  1  here  was  at  once  a  difference 
when  they  get  as  high  as  10  cents  per  *n  *-he  growth  of  the  plants,  for  my  po- 
box.  Almost  every  variety  develops  the  tatofes  grew  with  the  strong  stalk  from 
everbearing  habit  when  grown  in  this  the  terminal  bud,  while  the  others  bad 
section.  In  hopes  that  we  might  be  able  evidently  had  the  sprouts  rubbed  off,  and 
to  get  a  variety  that  would  fruit  in  Jan-  ®rew  a  cluster  of  lateral  buds,  and 
nar.v  and  February  we  tried  Standpat,  superiority  in  the  growth  was  main- 
Progreasive,  Superb  and  others,  but  they  tained  through  the  crop.  This  unsprout- 
ilid  not  prove  to  be  any  more  overbear-  condition  I  consider  the  main  super- 
ing  than  Excelsior,  Klondike,  Brandy-  i°rit.v  of  the  Southern-grown  seed  po- 
wine,  Early  Ozark  and  many  other  June  tatoes. 
Fruiting  varieties,  and  they  have  the  dis-  ^  have  never  had  such  a  figlit  with  the 
advantage  of  being  smaller  in  size  than  ^  olorndo  beetles  as  I  have  had  this  Sum- 
the  June  varieties.  ™er.  1  planted  no  potatoes  in  my  gar- 
The  amount  of  strawberries  that  can  den  ^as*:  Spring,  and  the  hungry  varmints 
be  grown  on  an  acre  here  is  almost  be-  attacked  everything  of  the  class.  Late 
pond  belief.  During  the  month  of  March  tomato  plants  sown  in  the  open  ground 
the  Ivlondyke  will  yield  as  many  berries  were  almost  devoured  before  tlieir  pres- 
as  in  June  in  New  York  State.  In  April  was  noted.  Eggplants  have  been 
the  crop  will  be  just  as  large,  and  so  it  ravenously  attacked,  and  in  spite  of  re- 
will  continue  each  month  until  August,  peated  sprayings  with  lead  arsenate, 
Some  varieties  do  not  begin  for  several  water  and  molasses,  I  have  bad  daily  to 
weeks  after  Ivlondyke,  but  they  continue  P°  through  and  brush  the  larva1  off  on  the 
luring  August  and  September.  The  new  ^10*:  ground  with  a  whisk  broom,  and  in 
plants  of  the  Excelsior  begin  fruiting  in  spite  of  all  efforts  they  have  riddled  many 
October  and  continue  until  the  mercury  plants.  I  hear  that  the  marketmen  in 
reaches  28  which  is  about  January  1.  I  New  Jersey  have  been  having  the  same 
lo  not  grow  berries  for  market.  The  f°r  their  eggplants.  In  fact,  gar- 
laps  can  grow  them  cheaper  than  we  dening  today  is  a  constant  fight  with  in- 
;an.  The  wholesale  price  today  (June  sects  and  fungus  diseases. 
LID  is  55  cents  ner  crate  of  30  boxes.  w.  F.  MASSEY. 
How  lo  Heat 
Your  Home 
Two  of  three  old-time  heating  stoves  will 
quickly  waste  enough  fuel  to  pay  for  a  new  ^ 
Novelty  Steam  or  Hot  W ater  Heater.  And  per-  , 
haps  they  only  warm  your  home  in  spots  at  that.  ife 
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Beginning  in  Bee-keeping 
Could  you  help  me  get  a  start  with  a 
swarm  or  two  of  bees?  I  have  a  small 
attic  that  could  he  used ;  or  would  7  bet¬ 
ter  have  hives  outside?  What  kind  of 
hives  should  I  buy,  or  could  1  make 
them?  What  time  of  year  is  best  to 
start?  If  I  set  au  empty  hive,  in  a  field 
would  some  runaway  swarm  be  likely  to 
enter  it  and  stay  ?  j.  w.  E. 
Allpgany,  N.  Y. 
I  would  suggest  that  you  get  a  cata¬ 
logue  of  bee-keepers’  supplies  from  some 
reliable  house  and  select  from  it  a  hive 
of  standard  pattern  and  size.  You  will 
also  need  the  Live  fittings  described  in 
the  catalogue  and  which  may  he  pur¬ 
chased  with  the  hive.  Having  prepared 
the  hive  for  a  colony  you  will  probably 
be  able  to  find  some  neighboring  bee 
keeper  who  will  he  willing  to  take  it  and 
install  a  colony  of  bees  for  a  reasonable 
price.  This  is  best  done  at  the  swarming 
season  in  May  or  June  hut  a  colony  may 
be  transferred  from  another  hive  at  any 
time  during  the  Summer.  After  the 
bees  have  become  established  in  your  hive 
they  may  be  removed  to  any  place  you 
wish.  Bees  may  be  purchased  with  the 
hive  but  very  likely  would  cost  you  more 
than  a  local  bee-keeper  would  charge. 
It  would  he  only  by  chance,  and  remote 
chance  at  that,  that  a  swarm  of  bees 
would  enter  a  hive  placed  in  a  field;  it 
would  be  much  more  likely  to  be  taken 
possession,  of  by  moths,  ants,  mice  and 
other  vermin.  Wax  foundation  for  combs 
should  be  placed  in  the  hive  and  this 
cannot  he  safely  exposed  to  the  tramps 
of  the  field.  You  may  be  able  to  pur¬ 
chase  bees,  hives  and  all,  of  bee-keepers 
in  your  neighborhood.  They  are  fre¬ 
quently  bought  and  sold  in  every  locality 
where  bees  are  kept,  hut  are  likely  to  be 
in  old  fashioned  box  hives  which  are  not 
wanted  by  an  up-to-date  bee-keeper. 
Notes  from  a  Maryland  Garden 
My  onion  sets  were  lifted  July  21st. 
Owing  to  the  very  favorable  season  many 
of  them  developed  into  onions  rather 
than  sets,  though  the  seeds  were  sown  as 
thickly  as  usual.  Nevertheless  I  shall 
have  plenty  of  good  sets.  For  years  past 
I  have  been  using  the  Norfolk  Queen 
onion  to  make  sets  for  Fall  planting,  ha: 
last  year  this  variety  made  a  total  fail¬ 
ure  in  this  country.  It  is  a  larg’  early 
white  onion,  entirely  distinct  from  the 
Qmcn  of  the  Northern  catalogues,  and 
came  originally  from  Yilmorin,  +he  well- 
known  French  seedsman.  In  the  absence 
of  the  Queen  I  used  seed  of  the  Pearl  and 
find  about  one-fourth  of  them  are  red, 
bottle-shaped  sets.  We  always  expect  to 
find  here  and  ther  a  colored  onion  in  any 
lot  of  seed  of  white  onions,  but  one- 
fourth  is  rather  too  heavy. 
Onions  of  the  Spanish  and  Italian 
types  I  have  been  growing  by  the  trans¬ 
planting  method,  sowing  the  seed  in  a 
frame  in  January.  Last  year  I  deter¬ 
mined  to  try  sets,  and  grew  some  from 
seed  of  Maule’s  Commercial,  an  onion  of 
the  Spanish  class.  These  sets  were 
planted  in  the  Spring,  and  have  just  been 
lifted.  They  have  made  a  very  large  and 
handsome  onion,  similar  to  Prizetaker, 
but  of  a  lighter  color,  in  fact,  almost 
white.  Growing  the  sets  is  cheaper  than 
growing  the  plants  under  glass,  and  the 
only  advantage  of  the  frame  method  is 
that  it  is  all  accomplished  in  one  season. 
I  can  use  my  glass  more  profitably  and 
will  try  to  have  a  lot  of  sets  grown  every 
year.  Western-grown  onion  sets  will  not 
make  the  crop  in  the  East  that  the  home¬ 
grown  sets  make.  I  cannot  account  for 
this,  but  I  have  never  had  good  results 
from  sets  grown  in  the  West,  while  home¬ 
grown  and  New  Jersey  sets  always  do 
well. 
For  years  I  have  insisted  that  every  . 
test  made  in  my  experience  proved  that  Destroying  Locust  Sprouts 
the  late  second  crop  of  the  early  Irish  Anyone  wishing  to  get  rid  of  locust 
potatoes  is  the  host  seed  for  Spring  sprouts,  I  find,  has  to  keep  the  sprouts 
plantiug  in  the  South.  Experiments  pulled  off  the  first  year.  The  second 
made  by  the  State  horticulturist  in  year  they  will  come,  but  weak,  and  if 
North  Carolina  for  two  years  have  also  cue  will  stick  to  his  job  he  will  have  the 
proved  the  value  of  the  home-grown  locust  just  where  he  wants  it.  I  find 
seed.  They  used  second-crop  seed  grown  the  surest  way  and  the  easiest  way  to 
on  the  State  truck  farm,  seed  of  the  late  get  rid  of  locust  is  to  strip  the  bark 
Fall  crop  grown  in  the  mountains  of  down  two  or  three  feet  above  the  ground 
North  Carolina,  and  seed  potatoes  from  in  September  just  before  the  sap  starts 
Maine.  The  second  crop  seed  made  at  to  go  down  (I  suppose  about  the  middle 
rate  of  305  bushel  au  acre,  the  mountain  of  the  month).  They  can  be  grubbed 
seed  nearly  300  and  the  Maine  seed-  107  up  the  following  Spring.  I  would  like 
bushels  an  awe.  One  drawback  to  the  some  one  to  tell  how  to  kill  ferns, 
use  of  the  Maine  seed  potatoes  is  the  pre-  Glenndale,  Md.  n.  n.  n. 
NEW  BUGGY  BOOK 
A.  W.  CRAY’S  SONS 
14  South  St.  Middletown  Springs,  Vt. 
Two  diskings  in 
one  with  a  double¬ 
action  harrow! 
Over! 
Disk  Harrows 
and  Plows 
kcr  of  the  original  CLARK 
disk  hai-rows  and  plo  tvs 
i  . ■ 
nr 
TTsl 
