Tht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
I 143 
Elderberry with Second Crop of Blossoms 
Celery where HO bushels of spinach and 2.000 cabbage 
plants were taken off. Vacant space on left, where 
40.000 celery plants were taken off (12x230 ft.), now 
sown to spinach. 
week in September, for the following reasons: The 
price is higher. It is a much pleasanter job to wash 
and bunch celery in September and October than it 
is when the mercury is down to zero. Then, there 
is no loss from rotting, mice eating the hearts, or 
freezing. It is a very difficult thing to keep the 
temperature at the right point to keep the celery 
That Improved Elderberry 
R EAHEKS win remember that in our Horticul¬ 
tural Number, published in March, we had a 
little article on cultivated elderberries from Mr. TV. 
TV. Adams. Mr. Adams lias spent much time in de¬ 
veloping and improving the elderberry, and has had 
considerable success with the fruit. lie now sends 
us the following statement about the tree which bore 
a cluster of elderberries which we pictured in con¬ 
nection with the former article. The picture shows 
one view of this plant, or tree, and also gives a fair 
likeness of Mr. Adams as lie now appears. Mr. 
Adams says: 
In the issue of March 4. page 311. you printed a photo 
of a stem of elderberries which I sent you. The tree 
that bore that stem has blossomed full the second time 
(his year: it blossomed the usual time and now lias 40 
large stems of berries, and the second blossoms of tlie 
last week of July are just setting into berries. 
I am enclosing you a photo of the free; taken at the 
time it had its second crop of blossoms on it. 
Remarkable growth of strawberry plants, from plants 
set April 5. Vacant space on right from which two 
crops have been grown this season, lettuce and sweet 
corn. Now planted to spinach. Even the posts that 
support the irrigating pipes are used for Lima beans. 
blue stone. Good results were obtained as far as 
smut disease is concerned with these liquids, but 
there is some complaint about injuring the vitality 
of the seeds. In a number of cases reported to us 
a very poor stand of grain was obtained after treat¬ 
ing the seed with the liquid. The dust of carbonate 
of copper appears to give results fully equal to the 
Lessons from Experience 
A COSTLY TEACHER.—Most people believe that 
“Experience is the best teacher." In many 
eases it proves very costly, and as a general thing 
the more costly the longer will the lesson remain 
with ns. People may tell us how certain things 
should he done for us to he successful in the busi¬ 
ness we are in. anil I have found that in the ma¬ 
jority of cases T have been benefited by their advice; 
hut still, our own personal experience will leach us 
more and have a more lasting effect than anything 
wo may read or folks may tell us. Have we learned 
anything this year by past experience that is going 
lo he of benefit to us next year? If not. I am afraid 
w (> have not been as watchful and earnest in mir 
business as we should have been. I will mention a 
number of things i have learned this past year that 
may he of some benefit to some who have not thought 
ol these things. 
CELERY CULTIVATION.—Last season I was al¬ 
most persuaded to give up growing celery for mar¬ 
ket. as the purslane came up so thickly between the 
plants in the row that it was a tedious and hack- 
aching job to keep the weeds out. This year I 
started my ‘•gasoline horse" the thiff after I set the 
plants and have kept it going twice a week, close to 
the rows of celery, with a small tooth on the machine 
next to the row, which threw enough dirt between 
the plants to cover the small weeds as they came-up. 
and yet not enough to cover the heart of the eele 
which would kill it. Consequently I have not had to 
hoe or weed my celery a single time, and the picture 
will show how it looks at this writing, August 14. 
You will notice quite a difference in 
the size of the four rows on the left 
and the four rows on the right of the 
picture. This plot was where 1 cut my 
<50 hampers of spinach, as described on 
the front page of Tm; It. N.-Y. for Au¬ 
gust s. The four rows on the left were 
planted June 27. and the four rows on 
the right July 3. Now the week differ¬ 
ence in the planting does not account 
for the difference in the growth. The 
reason is this: I sowed cabbage seed 
between the rows of spinach on May 12. 
«,nd I pulled 20,000 plants off the space 
where the small celery is growing. 
This shows very clearly how the cab¬ 
bage plants drew the substance out of 
the ground, and the lesson is very 
plain that I should have fertilized this 
plot with twice as much fertilizer as I 
pat on the four rows on the left. After 
cutting the spinach. 1 sowed acid phos¬ 
phate on the ground at the rate of half 
a ton per acre and cultivated it in. I 
might state also, for the benefit of those 
who. like myself, have no horse, but 
depend upon the garden tractor, that this plot of 
ground was not plowed after the spinach was cut. 
lmt just cultivated with my small hand tractor. 
TRENCHED CELERY.—Another lesson has been 
taught lo persons who plant their celery in trenches, 
that in a wot season like we are having the soil 
washes into the trench and covers the heart of the 
celery, which is sure to kill it. Of course this dues 
not apply to many who grow celery for market, as 
this is almost always done by level culture. 
EARLY HARVESTING.—I have learned that it 
pays me best to get my celery on the market as soon 
as possible. I generally begin marketing the first 
to blanche it. then it will be ready for market the 
first week in September. 
VARIETIES OF CELERY.—The five rows on the 
left are the Easy Blanching, and the other three 
rows are the Golden Self-Blanching. I would grow 
all Golden Self-blanching if it was not so susceptible 
to blight, as it will stand up better after preparing 
it for market than any other variety. Do not wait 
until the celery shows some blight before spraying, 
as spraying with Bordeaux is only a preventive and 
not a cure for blight. When 1 trim the tops and 
roots ready for transplanting I dip each handful of 
plants in the Bordeaux mixture before setting. ■ 
find that if the plants start to blight after trans¬ 
planting. by going along the rows and pulling off 
the stalks that are blighted, then spray, it helps 
very materially. william imcpkixs. 
New Jersey. 
An Orchard In an Old Pasture 
from either freezing or rotting. If one desires to 
keep celery for the Winter and Spring market, he 
should have a root pit large enough to work in 
inclosed from the weather. Such a pit is very easily 
constructed by using any old timber for the frame 
and old hoards for the inner covering, then covering 
with cornstalks to keep out vain and cold. If the 
entrance to the pit is wide enough to hack truck in 
with celery it will save a lot of handling and time 
in storing away a load. In storing away celery.be 
Cauliflower after pen crop. Vacant space on either side, 
where string beans and sweet corn stood, now sown to 
spinach. 
careful not to pack roots in large blocks, as it will 
i>c more apt to rot. Place about three or four roots 
abreast of each other, then leave an air space of 
two or three inches. The celery in the picture has 
had the earth drawn up to it once with a line. 
About August 21 hoard will be stalked up alongside 
in you anvise mo of the best method of planting 
an old pasture, which is too rocky to break up in any 
way. to pears and peaches? There is plenty of ground, 
hut too many boulders to plow. I imagine the soil is 
pretty poor now. It faces to the east and south, and I 
think will make a nice orchard if I can plant it right. 
Connecticut. E. L. 
W E Ilavc seen some good orchards growing on 
old pasture land, hut some little care is re¬ 
quired in order to get the trees well started. We 
should lay off the land in the ordinary way and the 
distance usually given to peach and pear trees, stake 
the land where the. trees are to go. If it is impos¬ 
sible to plow furrows, we should either dig the holes 
by hand or blast them out with dynamite, whichever 
seems fho cheapest or best method. You do not need 
a large hole for planting trees in this way. We should 
cut the trees back, both top and root, and plant 
them if possible in the early Spring. Such pasture 
land is usually very sour, and the trees will not 
thrive unless lime is used freely. If possible scatter 
ground limestone over the entire pasture. Tf that 
is not possible, throw the lime in a circle about 8 ft. 
out from the trees. We assume that the field is too 
rockj to use a plow or cultivator— If possible to 
plow we should throw about three furrows on each 
side of the tree roots. Tf this is not possible, it 
would be necessary to dig with a spade or Ime a 
circle about 3 or 4 ft. in diameter around these 
trees. This is needed for cultivation and is some 
protection in case of fire. Keep this space thor¬ 
oughly open by hoeing it over two or three times 
during the season. A good fertilizer for such pur- 
post' would he a mixture of three parts 
of fine ground hone and one part 
muriate of potash mixed by weight. 
Wc should use 1 lb. of this mixture 
the first year and 2 or 3 lbs. a year as 
the trees grow. 
It will lie necessary of course to 
keep the borers out of the trees and 
to keep the space around them thor¬ 
oughly worked up. They should he 
sprayed thoroughly to kill any scale 
that may he mi them. The chief dan¬ 
ger will come from borers and fire. 
These are the two worst enemies in an 
orchard of this sort. Hand work at 
digging the borers or the use of the 
new chemical paradichlorobenzene will 
take care of the borers, and wc would 
not advise piling grass or trash directly 
around the trees. While such mulch 
will undoubtedly help them, there is 
too much danger from fire, especially 
if the orchard is situated at some dis¬ 
tance from the house. With the use 
of lime and the fertilizer the grass in 
the old pasture will slowly come back 
and make considerable growth. Wc should clip this 
off if possible once a year and let it lie on the 
ground. It is a great temptation to rake such grass 
and pile it around the young trees, but the fire dan¬ 
ger is considerable and wc would not advise that 
practice. 
Carbonate of Copper for Grain Smut 
T HE Oregon Agricultural College gives some re¬ 
sults from the use of carbonate of copper dust 
for the prevention of smut in grain. As most of 
our readers know, this disease has generally been 
treated with a liquid solution of formaldehyde or 
