AUG. 20 
547 
fHE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
excess over and above what the grass could 
possibly make use of. The result was a vig- 
otous stand of June Grass upon the manured 
plot, and when the time for blossoming 
came, there was a very decided and a very 
beautiful bluish-purple quartei-acre patch in 
the midst of the otherwise green field. The 
tall, purple plants were examined repeatedly 
and found to be really June-Grass (Poa pra- 
tensis), and not Wire-Grass (Poa compressa.) 
This experience naturally excited the inter¬ 
est of our students in the subject and led them 
to detect the same “blue” coloration in several 
small patches of June-Grass in different local¬ 
ities where the circumstances happened to be 
specially propitious for the growth of this 
plant. 
As a matter of course, there must be some¬ 
where in the world a be9t possible place for 
growing each and every particular plant— 
Junt-Grass, as well as the rest—and the mere 
fact that this grass presents such an appeal- 
ance in Kentucky that the inhabitants of that 
State have been led to name it “ blue,” Is evi¬ 
dence which goes to show that it is there do¬ 
ing If not its very best, why then at least as 
well as can be expected. In this special in¬ 
stance, indeed, there seems to be justification 
for a certain tendency towards “ tall talk” 
which has sometimes been noticed as a pecu¬ 
liarity of the inhabitants of that ancient Slate. 
-♦-*-♦- 
MEADOW FESCUE—FESTUCA PRATENSIS. 
will sometimes completely destroy a large plant 
in a few days if allowed to follow its own 
course, and the utmost, vigilance is always 
nece6saiy to prevent the pests from greatly in- 
j aring a crop. 
MEADOW FESCUE. — FIG. 411. 
The tobacco plant-bed should not be forgot¬ 
ten at this season of the year. In order to 
keep it from becoming foul with weeds and 
weed Beeds, it should be forked over as soon 
as the planting season has pasted and covered 
with a liberal dressing of well-rotted manure. 
When the weeds begin to show themselveB it 
should be forked over again, and this con¬ 
tinued at intervals of from four to six weeks 
until the growing season is over. With this 
management no weeds can mature or scatter 
their seeds in the bed, and the frequent fork¬ 
ing makes the soil in excellent condition for 
another crop of plants. Grass and weeds 
about the plant-bed should also be pulled or 
cut to prevent them from maturing and scat¬ 
potatoes on one side and okra and tomatoes 
on the other—and now, after all that care and 
trouble they only average one small potato to 
the hill. The W. E. is not worth a “ red cent” 
—for this portion of Florida. n. k. 
Archer, Florida, Aug. 2. 
[We should hardly suppose that the eyes 
with the Bkin only for their support, could 
have done any better. We have tried the ex¬ 
periment of planting potato skins cut to single 
eyes, with results similar to our friend’s, ex¬ 
cept that many of them failed to grow.—Eos ] 
$arra topics. 
THE EVAPOEATION OF FRUIT.-No. 2. 
J. G. BINGHAM. 
Its Advantages. 
Since 1872 the business of fruit evaporation 
has made steady progress, annually absorbing 
more capital and receiving more general at¬ 
tention. Though the business is yet in its in¬ 
fancy, the evaporated products of the United 
States now amount to many millions of dollars 
annually, besides the fact that the entire fruit 
crop of the country is immensely enhanced in 
value on account of so much perishable fruit 
being withheld from the (otherwise overstock¬ 
ed) markets. Thoughtful observers have re¬ 
Many of the fescues have deservedly won a 
high reputation for the nutritious pastures and 
meadows which they afford. The species are 
much mixed and ruu into each other, or cross, 
in a way to puzzle the best botanists. Praten- 
sis is gived as a mere variety of Festuca ela- 
tior, by Dr. Gray and others. This matters 
little at this lime. There are several others 
growing at the Michigan Agricultural Col¬ 
lege, which are as promising as the one above 
naaud, especially for the dry Western prai¬ 
ries. The leaves are rather firm in texture, 
long and flat. Meadow Fescue flowers In June 
to August. It comes from Europe and is not 
so often found iu meadows as its merits de¬ 
serve. I deem the best varieties of the fescues 
well worthy of careful experiments. Like In¬ 
dian corn, they seem ready to break up into 
many permanent varieties. By careful selec¬ 
tion and cultivation there is no telling what 
might not be produced. 
It (Meadow Fescue) groVs two feet high. 
Cattle are very fond of the green grass or the 
hay. The seeds are rather laige and easily 
sowed. These are good qualities not to be 
overlooked, especially in countries subject to 
extremely dry weather. There is enough of 
seed to give the young plant a good start. 
Many of the seeds in market are imported and 
possess low vitality or none at all. They are 
often much mixed with seeds of Perennial 
Rye Grass and others, What is said of im¬ 
ported seeds of Meadow Fescue applies also to 
most other imported seeds of the grasses. 
More attempts should be made to grow them 
In the United States. Prof. W. J. Beal. 
Mich. State Agr. College. 
-- 
TOBACCO-GROWING NOTES. 
Whenever, from the depredations of cut¬ 
worms or other causes, vacant places are 
found in rows of tobacco after the proper 
season for transplanting has passed, it is well 
to occuyy such vacancies by sowing in them 
turnip seed. Flat turnips will grow finely and 
yield good crops when grown in this way. The 
shade from the plants does not seem to injure 
them when starting, and the tobacco is re¬ 
moved before their growth is completed. 
There is a tendency with many tobacco 
growers to :ontinue the work of setting plants 
after the proper season has passed. A plot of 
grouud where some early crop has been re¬ 
moved is frequently planted with tobacco so 
late that the crop has not time to mature be¬ 
fore Autumn frosts. Such tobacco is rarely of 
good quality, because it does not have time to 
become sufficiently ripe, or, if left too long, it 
may be frost-bitten. A small amount of Buch 
a product may be “ worked iu ” with a crop 
of good leaf without being discovered by the 
buyer, but It is a fraudulent practice and is of 
the poorest policy. No tobacco farmer can 
afford to follow any practice that will injure 
hiB reputation as a grower, for a good reputa¬ 
tion is one of the chief requisites to success in 
tobacco culture. 
There is no one thing that is more certain 
to injure a crop of tobacco after It has com¬ 
menced to grow in the field than neglect in the 
work of •' worming.” It is a eIow and costly 
task to worm a crop of tobacco, and in the 
busy season when other work is crowding the 
farmer, it is, therefore, frequently neglected 
until great damage has been sustained. There 
Is no perfect way of destroying the worms ex¬ 
cept to pick them off by hand one by one. A 
single worm after it has become of large size 
tering their seeds, lest some of them become 
rooted in the btds. 
- 4 ♦ » - - 
Ingratitude of a Carefully Flayed Klephaut. 
The White Elephant was planted in April. 
It was very carefully peeled so that the potato 
could be oaten. Then the skin was cut Into 
eight pieces and very carefully planted be¬ 
tween two grape-vines so that the hills would 
be sure to have plenty of Bhade. I had Peer¬ 
less planted on one side; Peachblow on the 
other; Pinkeyes on eaoh end ; Eirly Rose be¬ 
tween, and Colebrook Seedlings in the middle. 
Then for better protection I bad orange plants 
on one end ; Japan Plums on the other; sweet 
marked during the past few years that the 
fruit evaporators have saved the fruit growers 
of the States from the disastrous effects of a 
broken-down and demoralized market. When¬ 
ever the point is reached that one-half tie 
regular crop of fruits can be profitably cured 
at home, and thus withheld from the fresh 
fruits sent to market, then, and not till then, 
will lhe peach grower of the Peninsula or the 
fruit grower of the United States be reasona¬ 
bly sure that he is going to market his pio- 
ducts at a profit instead of a loss, tne latter 
being too often the case during a very fruitful 
season. 
Particularly valuable to the peach grower is 
the economical industry of fruit evaporation. 
His fruit demands cartful handling; slight 
bruises engender decay. Certain varieties, 
from their juicy, mellow nature, cannot be 
shipped to the city markets, and must be 
worked up at home. With a portable evapo¬ 
rator, like the Zimmerman, manufactured at 
Cincinnati, Ohio, or the American, of Cham- 
bersbnrg, P»,, either of which is perfectly 
adapted to his needs, he can, with proper 
help, place this perishable product beyond the 
possibility of loss. Evaporated peaches are 
alwsys salable at good prices. This fruit 
probably gives the best returns for cost and 
labor bestowed upon the production of a first- 
class article. The supply never has been, prob¬ 
ably never will be, such as to cause prises to 
fall below a profitable margin. Peaches now 
can be pared almost as readily us apples, and 
the commercial vulus of the pared over the 
nnpared is an Increase of 200 per cent. Pneu¬ 
matic evaporation preset ves the essential 
properties and saccharine richness of the 
peach. It turns oat to be a process which not 
only forestalls decty, but carries out the oi- 
ganic process of ripening to an artificial per¬ 
fection. la 1874 the total amount of American 
dried fruit exported was less than 1,500,000 
pounds. In 1880 the exportations had in¬ 
creased to 2,000,000 pounds per month,, not¬ 
withstanding the greatly increased consump¬ 
tion at home, owing to the superior quality of 
the product. 
Few of the smaller fruits are exported, 
the foreign demand being chiefly for applts. 
In France the distillers are using large 
quantities of dried apples for the manu¬ 
facture of branny. The English market will 
take little except evaporated apples, and the 
demand is steadily increasing. The old cus¬ 
tom of exchanging two pounds of domestic 
dried fruit for one of imported has been moi e 
than reversed. Even onr wild raspberries and 
whortleberries, properly evaporated, stand at 
par with many of the far-fetched luxuries of 
Smyrna and Italy. One pound of evaporated 
peaches commands iu our markets a value 
equivalent to three pounds of raisins, four of 
Zante currants, and five to eight of figs, prunes 
or dates. Current prices of all kinds of do¬ 
mestic evaporated fruits, rated ou a specie 
basis, were higher in 1880 than ever before, 
with, perhaps, the exception of apples, which 
was due to the large stock of perishable freBh 
fruits—green apples—which crowded ourmai- 
kets. This, however, will only tend to open 
up new markets where they will be indefinite¬ 
ly retained, and increase the demand for evap¬ 
orated apples in the future. 
McGrawviile, N. Y. 
- 4 - 4-4 - 
ENSILAGE, COTTON-SEFD MEAL, ETC. 
W hile on a visit recently to the Experi¬ 
mental Farm of Rutgers College at New Bruns¬ 
wick, N. J., we asked Superintendent West 
for his opinion on the ensilage question. He 
said they had 14 tons put inlo a silo for experi¬ 
ment, which was fed to three cows, but as it 
was put in at three different times, it did not 
seem to keep well. He saw no increase in 
amount of milk, and thought it gave the hair 
a dull appearance, denoting unfavorable ef¬ 
fects of the ensilage fodder. He was not 
willing to give the system much praise, nor 
would he condemn it in toto. 
An interesting experiment on the relative 
merits of cotton-seed meal and corn meal as 
feed for cows has also been tried at the Col¬ 
lege Farm. Again three cows were chosen 
which had been receiving about three pecks of 
brewers’ grains per day. Six pounds of cot¬ 
ton-seed rneal per day were given each cow 
for 10 days, and the quantity of milk taken 
was noted. After 10 days six pounds of corn 
meal were given with the same amount of 
brewers’ grains, and on the tenth day of feed¬ 
ing the quantity of milk was found to have 
been increased nine and one-half pounds per 
cow. The corn meal was now withheld, when 
the quantity of milk was again reduced to the 
same amount as before feeding ihe corn meal. 
Cotton-seed meal costs two cents per day more 
than corn meal, which Mr. West considered 
quite an item in a dairy of 40 cows. He con¬ 
siders brewers’ grains the best feed he can 
give his cows, and he has Just siloed 150 tons. 
HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS. 
Watering Shade and Ornamental Trees. 
—Where irrigation of olive and oraDge trees 
is practiced in the south of Europe water is 
brought to the roots by punching three or 
four holes in the ground among the roots and 
then applying the water by the usual irriga¬ 
tion. The point of ihe bar being sharp and 
fig. 413. 
smooth passes between the roots without in¬ 
juring them, and the stream of water at its 
latter end carries down some soil and closes 
the hole. This renders it unnecessary to re¬ 
move the mulch on the top soil, and H. A. P , 
who inquires (page 503) about this matter, will 
