MOORE’S RURAL PtEW-YORKEB. 
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j 286 
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(§iai[g of a Utoralist. 
DAILY EIJEAL LIFE. 
From the Diary of a Gentleman near New 
York City. 
FRUIT GROWING FOR PROFIT. 
Oct. 11.—Thisls whabmay be called a "tak¬ 
ing title" for a book or "squib” in a news¬ 
paper, but it has brought many a poor fellow 
to grief. There is a certain charm about the 
word " profit" that is perfectly irresistible 
to some persons, and they wake up at the 
sound as quickly as a black and-tan terrier 
at the call of “ rats.” 
I am reminded of this old " call note " 
which, a few years since, enticed many a 
city-bred man into the country for the pur¬ 
pose of embarking in some particular line of 
fruit culture, from reading an article in a 
late number of the Country Gentleman on 
“ Growing Quinces for Profit." To be sure, 
the author makes it appear as plain as a pike 
staff that there are a "heap o’ profits" in 
quince culture, for he says, "A well estab¬ 
lished quince orchard in full bearing will 
yield throe pecks to a bushel per tree. On 
an acre there should bo at least 225 bushels, 
which at S3 per bushel would bring 8450 per 
acre." Fearing that thisisnotclear enough, 
he adds as a clincher the following, " With 
regard to profit from quinces at even 82 per 
bushel, I may safely rate it at 8300 to 8400 
per acre," Now, if the author of the above 
will insure to those who have money to invent 
even one quarter of the amount named in 
profit, ho can very readily find capital enough 
to plant a million acres in quinces. Butfrom 
the above statement it requires no great 
stretch of imagination to see that the author 
has been counting bis chickens before they 
are batched, and for the very good reason, 
as the Danbury man says, "it is so much 
easier than afterwards." 
We are told what a good quince orchard 
“ will yield," not what it haa yielded. The 
price of the fruit 1 b also based on the very 
vague supposition that because it luts ruled 
higher of late than formerly, it is likely to 
continue to advance, or at least remain sta¬ 
tionary. 
Now I have no desire to throw cold water 
on the "quince fever," which lias been 
spreading gradually during the past half 
dozen years, sending up the price of the trees 
in the nurseries to the evident delight of the 
propagators, but there is n little too much 
wild talk about profits to be derived from 
the culture of this fruit, When all the plan¬ 
tations set out of late years eomo into full 
bearing (if they ever do) the extremely lim¬ 
ited demand for quinces will be more than 
supplied. People do not use quince? in such 
quantities as apples, pears, peaches, and sim¬ 
ilar fruits—consequently, a proportionately 
less number will suffice. 
Then again, those who are counting the 
product of a given number of trees, forget 
to take into consideration the insect enemies 
of this fruit which are, in many localities, 
quite formidable. The "two-striped apple 
tree borer,” ( Sapcrda Candida,) attacks the 
quince in preference to the apple, and al¬ 
though by applying proper preventives, little 
harm will b ^done ; still, the cultivator must 
be constantly on his guard lost his quince 
plantation disappears in consequence of the 
attacks of this insidious enemy. But this 
orer is much more readily managed than 
tbs far too common Quince Curculio, (Cono- 
trachelux cratcrgl — Walsh,) which attacks 
the fruit in the same manner as the Plum 
Curculio does the plum, either causing it to 
drop off or sadly interfering with develop¬ 
ment. The greater part of the quinces seen 
in our market at the present time contain 
the larvae of this pe6t, the scarred skin and 
distorted form showing unmistakable signs 
of their presence. 
But there is no need of extending the list 
of injurious insects which attack the quince 
or referring to other causes which frequently 
cause the failure of this fruit, for they are 
well known to every pomologist. Still, with 
all their “ drawbacks," the quince is prob¬ 
ably just as reliable a fruit as any kind in 
cultivation, and in localities adapted to it3 
culture is as likely to return the grower a ' 
fair profit; but 8300 or 8400 per acre may be ' 
considered exceptional, like the 8000 for rasp- { 
berries and 81,000 or more out of grapes, £ 
which we frequently read about but seldom £ 
find. t 
VALUE OF RAPID GROWING TIMBER. f 
Oct. 12.—I have read the communication a 
of &lr. A. B. Allen in the Rural New- t 
Yorker of October 9, on “Valuable Forest f 
Trees,” with more than ordinary interest, £ 
because of his large experience in the use of t 
what is generally termed "tough timber,” 
such a? is usually employed in the manufac¬ 
ture of agricultural implements. The ex¬ 
periments which he is at present conducting 
in order to find some simple method of pre- 
■ venting t.he borers from attacking the locust 
tree is certainly worthy of attention, and if 
the Aiianthus should not prove a reliable 
preventive, perhaps some other kind might 
be found which would. But I am inclined 
to differ somewhat with Mr. Allen in regard 
to the value of timber grown in very rich 
soils; that is, I believe some are rendered 
inferior (for particular purposes) when grown 
under precisely the came conditions which 
tend to increase the value of others. The 
toughest and most enduring locust timber 
in the world is that grown on the sandy coil 
of Long Is-land and New Jersej T , and perhaps 
the poorest is that produced on the rich prai¬ 
ries or bottom landB of the Western States. 
The growth of the latter is fully double that 
of the former, but when used for fence posts 
it rots in less than half the time, if I am safe 
in saying that Long Island or Jersey locust 
timber ever rots. 1 have taken up fenfce 
posts which have been Bet fifty years, and 
they were apparently as sound a? ever, hence 
I have some doubts in regard to the rotting 
qualities ef Eastern grown locust t imber. 
Red cedar is another tree which must make 
a slow growth if the timber is to last any 
time whon used for posts or stakes. I have 
cut red cedars on the bank of the. Hudson 
not over four inches in diameter, the annual 
rings of which showed, them to be 60 to 70 
years old. The durability of the North River 
cedar poles is as well known as that of Long 
Island locust. But rapidly grown cedar is 
but little better ttian basswood for stakes or 
posts, and I have often been told by Illinois 
farmers that some of their rapidly grown 
locust timber was no better. But, when we 
come to take hold of white ash, white oak, 
hickory, and similar trees, tlio case is quite 
different, for toughness and smooth, clear 
grain, seems to depend upon the rapidity of 
growth iu some kinds of timber and quite 
the contrary in others. 
We do need, as Mr, Allen suggests, com¬ 
missioners—or what would be better, thor¬ 
oughly educated foresters—in every State of 
the Union, whose business it should be to in¬ 
vestigate all such questions and give the 
public the benefit thereof. We not only 
want specific information in regard to the 
value of the different native forest trees for 
[ different purposes but their adaptation to 
the various kinds of soil Much light is also 
needed in regard to the various methods of 
propagation as well ns the thousands of dif¬ 
ferent kinds of insects which infest them. 
Forestry, however, is at present an unkuown 
profession in this country, hence the more 
nred of such pens as Mr. Allen wields to 
wake up our peoplo to the importance of the 
subject. 
We have had geological surveys of nearly 
every State in the Union which have cost 
millions of dollars ; now it seems t,o us it is 
time that we had some botanical and ento¬ 
mological surveys in the way of a variety, if 
for nothing more. Perhaps it may be discov¬ 
ered in due time that there is as much of real 
valuo to mankind above ground as below it, 
and that our forests are worth as much as 
ic ftincprd. 
our mines. 
CAMPHOR TO DRIVE AWAY ANTS. 
I wonder if anybody ever did drive away 
ants by using camphor ? From the number 
of times that this recipe has gono the rounds 
of the press, one might suppose it had been 
thoroughly ar.d satisfactorily settled tfcat 
camphor would drive away these pests, but 
the fact of the case is—it won’t. Mrs. Rc- 
ualist has camphored and camphorated one 
particular cupboard infested with the small 
red ants in the most thorough manner, with¬ 
out dist urbing the serenity of these vermin 
in the least. I should not have thought of 
disputing the camphor preventive had it not 
appeared in the columns of the Rural ; this 
was coming too near home, and I had to 
speak right, out in meeting and say, " It 
won’t do it.” 
-•--*-*- 
PERNS FOR MATTRESSES. 
Every country neighborhood has woods 
which are full of ferns and brakes, which 
usually die and go to seed without doing any 
good, save as a gratification to the sense of 
sight. The softer parts, if stripped from the 
stems and dried in the sun, retain their 
toughness and elasticity for a long time, and 
ore said to be superior to straw and husks, 
and even to "excelsior,” for stuffing mat¬ 
tresses. The ticks, when filled, should be 
firmly stitched with a mattress needle, using 
strong, linen twine, and making the intervals 
between the stitches an eighth of a yard. 
A WORD AB OUT N EW GRAPES. 
t During the prevalence of the “grape 
f fever " a dozen or more years since, old and 
3 new, worthless and good sorts sold with 
t amazing rapidity, and fortunes were made 
1 and lost in propagating vines to meet the 
1 demand. Few mode money and kept it 
i simply because t heir wisdom failed to teach 
1 them to shat down the gates at tbe right 
) time. Men who 60 ld a hundred thousand 
i vines one season were positively certain 
3 that the demand would increase and two or 
r three hundred thousand would be required 
1 to fill their orders next, consequently they 
doubled and quadrupled the capacity of 
- propagating houses and grounds, bought 
. new sorts and cuttings of old until everybody 
t in the trade was cairying a big stock, then 
h the bubble burst and prices fell far below 
3 the cost of production. 
t Slowly but surely the trade in vines has 
i been advancing since the final break down 
1 of high prices ten years ago, but fancy 
» varieties at high rates per vine do not go off 
£ rapidly as in "ye olden time," and we fear 
that it will he some years before wo have 
3 another genuine grape fever in America, 
7 and it is almost a pity that we cannot predict 
3 better things considering the many superior 
i new varieties which are waiting a good and 
1 favorable time to make their debut before a 
) grape loving public. Some-men are said to 
- have been born too early, and others too 
. Jate in order to be in at just the right time to 
3 have their talents fully appreciated. ADLUM, 
• llERBEMONT, Laubat, Dufoub, and several 
s other noted enthusiastic grapo cuituruts of 
i forty and fifty years ago, were of the early 
> brood which found little to encourage them 
, in their attempts to popularize tho native 
• varieties. Now we have a very late brood 
• coming in since the subsidence of the late 
r fever bringing us some realJy superior sorts 
> as the product of thetr ski U aud indefatigable 
industry- in hybridizing and crossing the 
different species and varieties. 
It. has almost made us sad to look over the 
- superb varieties produced by Mr. Ricketts 
of Newburgh, N. Y., and to think there was 
no Rev. J. Knox, or Dr. Grant, to herald 
their superlative merit*, or grape hungry 
public to purchase the vine3 in marvellous 
nulabors at exhorbitant prices. Mr. Ricketts 
we fear has come along too late, to make a 
fortune out of his really superior new varie¬ 
ties, still the world will get the benefit of his 
labors all the same. 
During the "fever times," we. had no 
realJy good white grape of native blood in 
our collections. The “Anna," would have 
been valuable if the season bad been long 
enought.o permit it to ripen, wlihe the liebec- 
oo passed muster very well so long us she 
remained near her home on’the Hudson, but 
failed elsewhere. Allen’s Hybrid had too 
much of foreign blood in it t.o withstand our 
variable climate, while Lydia was a fraud 
and Cassidy no better. Next came Martha, 
yes, "everybody wanted Martha,” so, Mr. 
Campbell said, and while it is better than 
some others of tho greenish-white sorts 
named above, still it falls far short of our 
ideal of a first rate grape. Lady Is another 
new light-colored variety, that promises 
well, and doubtless would have been worth 
a fortune to tbe producer in those historical 
days long since past. But good white native 
varieties are no longer to be among the 
things wanted, for of late they are becoming 
wonderfully plenty and very promising in 
character. We would not be surprised at 
almost anything which such men as Rick¬ 
etts, Husmann, Miller, Campbell and 
other well-known vineyardists might pro¬ 
duce, but when our old ex-editor and pub¬ 
lisher of an agricultural paper, T. B. Miner, 
comas to us w th. almost a dozen superior 
new varieties of white grapes at one time, as 
he did a few days since, we confess to be 
somewhat astonished. 
We have no desire to “ bear the market," 
but think it well to throw out some slight 
hints of this kind, from time to time, that 
our readers may get an idea in advance of 
what is in store for them, in the way of new 
grapes. Our professional grape culturists, 
may also need a warning iu regard to the 
ex-editor named above, for he is certainly on 
their track, and unless "switched off," 
stands a good chance of coming in ahead on 
pure native white varieties. 
•- *■■*■■* - 
NEW GRAPES AT TEE OHIO FAIR. 
Mr. M. B. Bateham, writing of the new 
grapes shown at the Ohio State Fair at i 
Columbus, to the Ohio Farmer, says : 
“ Mr. G. W. Campbell, who was absent at i 
Chicago, sent in a box of new grapes, con¬ 
sisting of Eva, Lady and Martha. His letter 
accompanying them stated that the bunches 
of Eva were the first product of a graft set 
last year from Gen. BrinkerhofFs vine at 
Mansfield. The bunch and berries are smal¬ 
ler than those of the Lady and the time of 
ripening later, but there may be Improve, 
ment in all these respects as the vine grows 
older. The quality as shown at Mansfield, 
when ripe, was considered fluerthan Martha 
and Lady. The specimens of Lady at this 
meeting were well ripened, showing its 
earliness, and Mr. Campbell stated that all 
varieties with him were ten days later than 
usual this season. The quality wa* pro. 
nounced very good—much better than Mar¬ 
tha, and the hunches of neater shape. A 
new wine grape, not yet named, was pre¬ 
sented by G. M. High, who stated that It 
was a seedling produced at Put-in Bay by a 
German named Schricdt, who claimed that 
it was from seed of the Delaware ; but its 
appearance and flavor show more relation, 
ship to the CUnton. It has fruited for five or 
six years, and the vine is found to be very- 
healthy and productive—more so than any 
others in poor seasons—and the fruit ripens 
early and makes excellent wine. It was 
awarded tbe premium for the best new 
seedling at the fair, 
"Mr. G. F. Newton of MiJlersburgh, pre¬ 
sented n new grape, a seedling of Isabella, 
and ripening about a month earlier than 
that variety—the fruit at this time being 
riper than any samples of Hartford or Ives. 
The color Is black, like Hartford, a trifle 
smaller than that variety, and having the 
same habit of dropping from the stem when 
handled. The quality was thought to be 
not quite as good ns (he Hartford, but its 
earliness may give it value, notwithstanding 
its faults." 
RIPENING CATAWBAS. 
I have had perfectly ripened Catawbas 
for four years past. I set the vines close to 
the walls cf my house, and trained them as 
they grow up in front of the windows on the 
east and south sides, keeping them well 
trimmed each year. The bunches nearest 
the glass ripen soonest. I havo other Ca¬ 
tawba vinos a few rods from the house 
completely protected by evergreen wind 
break, but they never ripen any whole 
bunches.— N. l r . Tribune. 
We have succeeded in ripening Catawbas 
in ordinary seasons in Western New York 
by judicious thinning of the fruit in early 
summer. At the time of blossoming or soon 
after, remove one or two bunches fro n each 
spur leaving only two at most on a shoot, 
and if only one is left it will be better. This 
bunch will grow much larger than if all are 
left, and what ri more important with the 
Catawba, the grapes will ripen two or three 
weeks earlier—ensuring ripering most sea¬ 
sons in localities where Catawbas grown In 
the usual way, rarely succeed. Vuit most 
Catawba vines in Sept, or Oct., and you will 
find the trellises loaded down with a mass of 
fruit which the vine is wholly unable to 
ripen. If one half of these bunches had 
been removed early all would have matured, 
and the remaining bunches would have been 
enough larger to make nearly as much fruit. 
Overbearing is the great danger in grape 
growing, and thi6 is to be remedied first by 
winter pruning of wood, but also by the 
quite as important Bummer thinning of 
fruit. Some very early varieties may ripen 
grapes without having the bunches thinned, 
but even then it injures the vine, produces 
disease and mildew, and the fruit is less 
valuable. The Delaware grape Is especially 
liable to overbear, and when it does tbe vine 
next season is apt to suffer from mildew. 
Late-ripening grapes like Catawba and Isa¬ 
bella should be grown on the south Bide of 
buildings or on some protected but sunny 
location. For most popular and early 
varieties this is neither important nor de¬ 
sirable. They will ripen fruit as well, only a 
little later, in the garden or open field, 
-♦-*.*- 
PLANT A GRAPE VINE FIRST. 
Not one farmer in twenty will buy grapes 
or other fruit, except apples, for himself and 
family ; but grapes are so easily and cheaply 
grown that no family with a square rod o! 
ground should be without a few grape vine>. 
Grapes can be got in bearing earlier than 
any other fruit, excepting strawberries. Tho 
first duty of a settler on new land is to plant 
half a dozen grade vines, and after that a9 
many as he can afford. Fresh fruit is neces¬ 
sary to the health of a family, and nothing 
is more quickly, easily or cheaply grown 
than grapes. 
MV' 
