The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
179 
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Ginkgo for Pence Posts 
On page 73 you speak of the ginkgo 
kernels as being edible. It has been a 
matter of curiosity with me as to whether 
the pulp were good to eat, but I did not 
dare to try. Several seedlings have been 
raised in boxes in the house from the 
fallen kernels. It is a very nice, clean 
tree, and I have found the trimmings 
good fuel : it looks like tough, durable 
wood. 1 in you think it would make fence 
posts? My tree is entirely hardy here, 
about 50 miles north of New York City. 
The foliage is not very serviceable, lying 
in damp masses. r. t. 
New York. 
R. N.-Y.—The ginkgo is merely grown 
as an ornamental tree in this country. 
Perhaps someone with experience in 
Japan can tell us whether ginkgo timber 
is durable. 
Once Crown Always Crown 
Every lot 
of Maule’* 
seeds for 
Vegetable 
or flower 
garden is 
TESTED 
for germi¬ 
nation and 
growing 
power. 
THE- 
MAULE 
SEED BOOK 
The Ex*! W themdfi 
Physalis Alkekengi 
Where could I buy some seed of the 
plant called “Alkekengi?” I am told it 
grows 3 ft. high, fruit size of a plum, 
yellow and sweet. I think it should be 
good for preserves. F. D. 
May’s Lauding, N. J. 
Physalis Alkekengi, the strawberry 
tomato, is an old garden plant, growing 
from 12 to IS in. high; it is of very easy 
culture, but not perennial in the North. 
It is grown for the bright red bladders en¬ 
closing the fruit. The fruit, like that of 
the wild native ground cherry or husk 
tomato, may be used for preserve, but we 
do not think it really as good as the cul¬ 
tivated yellow tomatoes. Physalis Alke¬ 
kengi is not now listed in seed catalogues 
at hand, but there is a newer garden 
variety. Physalis Franelietii. commonly 
called Chinese lantern plant, which is an 
improved form of P. Alkekengi. It is 
larger, with showier calyces, and this is 
offered by practically all the leading 
seedsmen. It is an interesting and at¬ 
tractive plant. 
W!h Az nkv MAuuJa 
rtHSX v;? 
Send a postal TODAY for the 
176 page 1922 edition of 
The Maule CDCIT 
Seed Book tIIEl 
It ia the greatest seed book we 
have ever issued in our 45 years 
tWv as seedsmen, gardeners and 
farmers. Write today for it., 
PgA Wm. Henry Mauie, Inc, r 
2153 ARCH street - ft 
iWVChivy Philadelphia, Pa. } l 
Whether you call it this, or just plain 
tomato, you know the unforgetable taste of 
a big fat tomato fresh from your own garden 
—or beefsteak tomatoes fried a lovely brown. 
To produce pure-bred tomato seed, and 
hundreds of other seeds, the 600-acre Ferry 
Stock Seed Farms and Trial Gardens are 
continually testing, discarding, improving. 
Plants tend to revert to the traits of imper¬ 
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will creep in. Suitable types for home gar¬ 
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varieties. Infinite care is required to meet 
these ever-changing conditions. The results 
are shown by Ferry’s pure-bred Seeds which 
grow true to name, true to every good quality 
which the gardener has a right to expect. 
And the price is only 10 cents per paper. 
Nowhere else can you get so much for your 
money—or so much certainty that every- 
thing possible has been done to make your 
Essentials of Onron Culture 
In reply to W. X. R.'s Question in re¬ 
gard to onion culture, I have always been 
very successful in growing large onions 
from seed. After years of experience, I 
find that a complete fertilizer, say 4-S-lO. 
is a great, deal better than manure of any 
kind, as the onions will bottom up mncli 
better, and it is not half the trouble to 
keep them clean of weeds. Too much 
pains cannot be used in getting a perfect 
seed bed. After plowing ground, sow fer¬ 
tilizer broadcast, at the rate of one ton 
per acre; then harrow and smooth with 
drag until the soil is fine and level, mark 
the rows off 12 in. apart, and sow with 
drill; seed 1 oz. for 400 ft. Then roll 
with band roller. As soon as you can 
trace rows, start the cultivator, and keep 
if going twice a week; it will save a lot 
of hand weeding. 
As soon as- the voting plants get 3 or 4 
in. high, begin to throw a little dirt up 
to the onions with the cultivator teeth. 
T see no advantage in breaking down tops. 
Sow seed as early in Spring as you can 
work the ground, and there will bo no 
trouble about the onions making good 
bulbs. T always sow the Prizetaker. and 
have grown bulbs from seed measuring 
1SU in. in circumference. I never thin 
the plants out, and whpn I harvest them 
in August many of the onions are not 
touching the ground, as they have been 
forced out by crowding, with hist the 
roots in the soil between the bulbs forc¬ 
ing them Ont. "WILLIAM PERKIXS. 
New Jersey. 
will depend upon the quality of the 
seeds you use. Don’t take chances 
with seeds of unknown quality. 
Many of the most successful market 
gardeners always use 
because the quality and service will 
be of the highest standard, and the 
price right 
Before you buy seeds send for our 
Free Catalogue — it’s full of useful in¬ 
formation, illustrations and 
^_____ __ jrjCGS. 
Our warehouse is full of high-class 
seeds, and every order, big and small, 
receives the same prompt’and careful 
attention. Send for catalogue today. 
F. H. WOODRUFF & SONS 
19 Railroad Are. - Milford, Conn. 
Buy Ferry s Seeds at the store 
around the corner.” Write at once 
for Ferry’s Seed Annual. Gives help¬ 
ful garden hints and cooking receipts. 
D. M. FERRY & CO., Detroit, Mich 
(and Windsor, Ontario) 
The best is the cheapest. Ferry*s 
Seeds cannot be had at half price. 
Write for Our Catalog 
Now ready for mailing. Filled with 
interesting information for home gar¬ 
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variety of seed, plant and tree listed 
is backed by our os years of good 
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every year has made us one of the 
largest seed and nursery houses in the 
world. 
Write—TONIGHT—for catalog. 
THE STORRS & HARRISON CO. 
Nurserymen and Seedsmen 
Box 157 Painesville, Ohio _ 
Boring Holes in Irrigating Pipe 
I am having considerable trouble in 
constructing an overhead irrigation sys¬ 
tem. Ir is necessary to drill holes at in¬ 
tervals in the sides of the lA-in. pipes 
(the drill I use is the right size. 11/32L 
and next to tap these holes with a stand¬ 
ard %-ln. pipe tap. In these holes the 
spray nozzles are screwed. Due to curva- 
ture of the pipe and the thinness of the 
walls, I tun unable to cut a clean, per¬ 
fect. thread. The first hold that the tap 
hits is at two points only, and there is not 
enough material to hold the tap so that 
it will run in further. The result is that 
tlm first threads are chewed very bad 1 c. 
This affects the entire course of the tap. 
resulting in the tap slipping sideways, 
when I believe it has a secure hold. The 
resulting thread is very imperfect: in 
* a .°.t' n :\ thread at all. The spray nozzle 
will either fit so looselv that the ioint 
will leak, or else it can be slipped in rhe 
hole and out without a turn. Can vou 
suggest any method by which I can over¬ 
come this, or is there a tool made for 
work i>t this kind? o h v 
Barrington, Ill. 
If it is desired to bore holes in steel or 
wrought-iron pipes with a view to tap¬ 
ping threads in ihe holes, it is custom¬ 
er.' with mechanics to drive a sham oen- 
Don’t Forget 
To keep away from beans 
when the leaves are wet. 
Dampness makes them 
more sensitive to blight. 
Spray them with bordeaux 
mixture occasionally. 
Keeps them healthy. 
Guaranteed true to name 
It's n satisfaction to kno 
P :>w yourc 
not sowing Reef Clover —Scott "s 
MnmmOtil is carefully selected 
find thoroughly cleaned —it 
goes farther—saves weed losses — 
increases yields. Mav we quote 
prices and send Scott's Field Seed 
Book? It tells" How to know good seed.” 
O. M. SCOTT & SONS CO. 
22 Fifth St., Marysville, Ohio 
