SEPT0 
619 
THE RURAL HIW-TORKIR. 
now little fear that we shall regret commend¬ 
ing the Manchester to our readers, as the best 
market berry at present known.” So say I. 
South Glastonbury, Ct. J. H. Hales. 
* ♦ * - 
HOVEY’S SEEDLING. 
As the Rural New-Yorker of August 5th 
contaim>d an extract of a letter I did not 
write, I trust you will allow me the opportu¬ 
nity to give a correct copy of the same. Some 
time since I received a friendly note Horn the 
editor about the Manchester and Hovey Seed¬ 
ling, a portion of which is as follow’s: “ Why, 
Mr. Hovey, do you never favor the Rural 
New-Yorker with a note l If there weie 
any special reason I think I could reason it 
away. Accept my best wishes, and begging 
an answer as to the Manchester and Hovey, 
Sincerely, E. S. Carman*." 
To this I replied, stating my reasons for 
considering the Manchester the same as the 
Hovey, but I did not preserve a copy, which, 
however, the editor can supply.—[See Rural 
of June 3, page 478.—Eds.] 
But desirous of gratifying the editor, I did, 
at great pains and loss of time in hunting up 
authentic statements, seud him an interesting 
account of tbo Hovey’s Seedling, which I 
thought would be a vory acceptable paper, 
aud was very touch surprised to receive the 
following note returning the copy: 
Dear Mr. Hovey:—I do not think this will 
interest most of our readers. To them it will 
seem simply au advertisement of the straw¬ 
berry and your firm. 1 wish you would write 
for us sometimes. 
We will put your name on our list at once. 
I am sure you should see the Rural regu¬ 
larly. Perhaps looking it over, if you can 
find time, will suggest an occasional note or 
criticism. With much respect, 
Sincerely, E. S. Carman. 
In answer to this I sent the following letter: 
Boston, Aug. 3,1832. 
Dear Mr. Carman :—Yours received, aud 
I must say I am a little surprised as i believe 
it will interest every strawberry grower in the 
country. I know Peter Henderson told me 
he should like to see it. That you should think 
it an advertisement to speak of au old, “worn 
out” fruit raised 50 years ago, is most surpris¬ 
ing of all. All the papers—yours, too, perhaps 
—are publishing advertisements (in the shape 
of correspondence) by Hale, of the Manchester, 
and make no objection. [This article of Mr. 
Hale seemed to us unobjectionable as clear¬ 
ing up the question of identity between 
the two strawberries. As the R. N.-Y. had 
given place to the views of Mr. Hovey aud 
others throwing doubt upon their being dis 
tinct kinds, it was evidently our duty to re¬ 
move all doubts thus created. Had we known, 
however, that Mr. Hale intended to send this 
article to other journals w'e should have de¬ 
clined its publication except as au advertise¬ 
ment. Eds.] I shall send it to the Plough¬ 
man with the remark, “Rejected by some of 
the New York papers.” I was in New York 
yesterday and saw P. Henderson, and told 
him 1 had written the article for you, but I 
was so busy 1 forgot I had sent it to you. 
Truly Yours, C. M. Hovey. 
How much this reads like the Editorial 
extract, can be seen at once. The paper 
alluded to appears in the Massachusetts 
Ploughman this week, Aug. 20, aud I hope 
the Rural will copy it, but that it certainly 
will insert my letter entire to Messrs. Hale, 
which appeared in the same paper Aug. 12, 
aud which I expected to see in the Rural of 
the 19th. C. M. Hovey. 
August 24th. 
LThe letter in the Mass. Ploughman was 
cut out for publication. The Fair No. pre¬ 
vented in the first instance—it was crowded 
out of the Rural of Sept. 2, aud appears this 
week under What Others Say. Eds.] 
-» » »- 
NOIEb and commen ts. 
_ % 
Last season I tested eight varieties of 
cucumbers, under glass us well as in the open 
air. On account of the severe drought m 3 ' ex¬ 
periments with them iu the open air were not 
as satisfactory as I desired, but the result 
could be summed up as follows: For exhibition 
or show purposes I prefer Geueral Grunt; for 
cucumbers. Tail by’s Hybrid; and for pickles 
Green Prolific, [We are glad to have Mr. 
Parnell support our opiuion of Tailby's Hy¬ 
brid so often expressed during the last five 
years. Eds.] 
I have before spoken of the great worth of 
the Early Alpha Potato for forcing purposes; 
planted in the open air at the same time as 
the Early Rose, it proves to be from 10 days 
to two weeks earlier. After another trial this 
season 1 can with confidence recommend it to 
all who desire to obtain very early potatoes. 
I am cultivating seven varieties of tomatoes 
this season. They were all sown at the same 
time aud have all been given a similar treat¬ 
ment. The plants have made a vigorous 
growth and with one exception promise an 
immense crop of fruit which is just now (Aug. 
3,) commencing to ripen freely, the Conqueror 
proving to be the earliest. I picked the first 
ripe fruit 10 days ago, aud since then have 
gathered them in quantity. It is several days 
earlier than the Acme, which with me matured 
its first ripe fruit five days later. The Canada 
Victor, which a few years ago proved to be 
one of our most promising varieties, is rather 
unreliable this season. I nave up to this date 
gathered only about a dozen ripe tomatoes, 
and I regret to add that it is very doubtful if 
I shall obtain a satisfactory crop on account 
of the rot, which is rapidly destroying all the 
fruit. The Trophy has at ways proved to be a 
late variety, and is desirable on that account, 
but last season my crop of this variety was 
entirely destroyed by the rot, and this season 
the ailment has again commenced its destruc¬ 
tive work. 
Hathaway’s Excelsior Tomato has al¬ 
ways been a favorite of mine on account of 
its uniformly’ round shape and excellent qual¬ 
ity. 1 have grown it for many years for the 
muin or general crop, and always with very 
satisfactory’ results. This and the Acme are 
two of the most valuable varieties of toma¬ 
toes iu cultivation. 
Of late considerable attention has been 
paid to the improvement of spinach, and we 
now have several improved varieties. For 
Fall sowing the prickly-seeded and Savoy¬ 
leaved are the best, while for the Spring aud 
Summer sowings the round-seeded varieties 
are preferable. Of these the two best are the 
Round Leaved and the Extra Large Round¬ 
leaved Virofiay. 
When you sow turnips this Fall do not 
forget to give the New White Egg a trial— 
one trial will convince any person of its great 
value. It belongs to the class of quick-grow¬ 
ing Fall turnips and can be sown from the 
middle to ihe last of August. It is of an oval 
shape, with a thin and perfectly Bmooth skin 
aud snow-white flesh. Its flavor is mild and 
sweet, aud it is an excellent keeping variety. 
The Early Minnesota Sweet Corn is the 
earliest variety that I know of, and for a suc¬ 
cession one cannot do better than to choose 
Moore’s Early Concord. 
With me the Sharpless Strawberry has not 
proved to be very productive, and moreover 
the fruit does not ripen evenly. It invaria¬ 
bly retains a green tip at the end of the fruit, 
which is decidedly objected to by some per¬ 
sons. It is a mammoth variety iu all respects, 
the plants, blossoms, leaves and fruit being of 
immense size. [Judging from the past sea¬ 
son’s fruit, we have the same complaint to en¬ 
ter against this variety.— Eds.] 
I think that the Charles Downing is one of 
the most valuable varieties of strawberries in 
cultivation ; it succeeds everywhere, in every 
soil aDd under all systems of cultivation. It 
is the best variety for the farmer’s garden, as 
it will staud more rough usage than any other 
variety with which I am acquainted. 
Chas. E. Parnell. 
-> » ♦- 
What Says Mr. Hale! — I don't believe 
that J. H. Hale can uaine a person who has 
sent out Hoveys as Manchester as intimated 
in his article in the Rural, page 514. 
A. M. Purdy. 
QL\)t VinnjanX 
THE NIAGARA GRAPE AGAIN. 
E. WILLIAMS. 
In the Rural of July 29, I notice you pub¬ 
lish with prefatorial remarks part of a letter 
from Mr. Campbell in which he takes excep¬ 
tion to an article of mine published May 27, 
(criticising a previous one of his relating to 
the Niagara Grape, ) which he characterizes as 
“unjust and untrue iu spirit.” 
Whatever Mr. Campbell may see in said ar¬ 
ticle on which to base this charge, he best 
knows; but 1 can assure him I had not then 
nor have I now the least desire or intention to 
misrepresent him or do him an}’ injustice 
whatever. 
“The truth about it”,iu which I am fully as 
much interested as Mr. Campbell, is not best 
subserved in that way. Mr. Campbell’s ar¬ 
ticle was a proper and legitimate subject for 
discussion, and I merely endeavored to report 
as concisely and accurately as possible the 
views expressed and entertained by different 
individuals on the occasion referred to, aud if 
any injustice was done him 1 am sure all will 
regret it; but 1 am surprised that Mr. Camp¬ 
bell can disoeru “an unjust aud untrue spirit” 
in those criticisms and fail to see a like spirit 
in his own article. The justice of this charge 
I leave to the decision of the intelligent 
readers of the Rural who will peruse both ar¬ 
ticles, remembering that even “ Inter Jum val¬ 
gus rectum videt ”—the rabble sometimes see 
rightly. 
Mr. Campbell say’s: “I simply exercise my 
own right to say I do not want the Niagara on 
their terms.” This right no one questions,nor 
“the right to ascertain as far as possible the 
true character of the grape aud express one’s 
knowledge and opinions of it to the public;” 
but why not be content to let the master rest 
just there! Why not let the conceded rights 
of the company* to manage their own business 
remain unmolested? Are the hardiness, 
healthfulness, and adaptability of the vine to 
various soils and localities, as well as the 
quality’ and desirability of the fruit—the real 
truths which you aud I, Mr. Editor, and the 
general public, as well as Mr. Campbell, are 
deeply* interested in—to be advanced by any 
criticisms on the company’s terms of letting 
out the vine®, which are only calculated to 
cast odium upon them or their business? The 
gentlemen owming the Niagara are, as far as 
I am acquainted with them, honorable and 
highly respected citizens of their respective 
communities—the peers of Mr. Campbell, and 
need no defence at my hands. They are able 
no doubt to vindicate and defend themselves 
aud their business methods. 
Let us confine our search after truth to the 
grape, where it legitimately belongs and I 
heartily second any efforts of Mr. Campbell 
or any one else iu that direction; for I am as 
deeply interested in establishing the real truth 
as Mr. Campbell can be. I think I can sym¬ 
pathize with Mr. C’s sensibilities; for I, too, 
had a little dearly-bought experience with the 
Iona, Walter and Adirondac, and if the truth 
about these varieties had been obtainable—as 
it is likely to be regarding the Niagara—be¬ 
fore the vines were offered the public, we 
should have less to regret. Should I live I 
may take a baud, as Mr. Campbell doubtless 
will, in disseminating the Niagara. If we do, 
we shall De able to do it intelligently’, with our 
eyes open, and not have to depend entirely on 
the ipse dixit testimony of the introducers 
which is too often ex parte and not entirely 
unbiased, but the returns from the victims 
who have already purchased and planted 
Niagaras will be coming in, and those returns, 
if unfavorable, will be of vast benefit to the 
vine plant.ng and purchasing public. 
Mr. Campbell seems to have forgotten that 
it was the Niagara Grape and not the com¬ 
pany's method of managing it that he started 
out to discuss and had he confined himself to 
the former, there would *Rw«“»en no oppor¬ 
tunity for the personal feature of this discus¬ 
sion, which is as distasteful to me as it pos¬ 
sibly can be to him, so that the chief differ¬ 
ence between us iu pursuit of tbe truth is in 
the methods employed in getting at it, and 
as loug as he adopts such methods he should 
expect a little adverse criticism, and until we 
get a patent in horticulture or some other 
protection to afford adequate compensation to 
the originator of new fruits, he may’ expect 
the adoption of the same or similar devices as 
those employed by the Niagara Grape Com¬ 
pany to secure the object of all man kind, viz., 
to make money—a laudable object when 
houorably pursued. Let no jealousy or pri¬ 
vate interests warp our judgment or tempt us 
to any course calculated to injure iu any way 
the business of an honorable competitor. 
In concluding, I would renew my call on 
Mr. Campbell for any facts he may have re¬ 
lating to the hardiness of the vines. We want 
no idle rumors or unfounded reports,but truth¬ 
ful facts. On this point 1 would say that, 
with Mr. Corby, who was my companion to 
see the original Niagara vineyard, I have just 
been over a smull vineyard here and fail to 
find the least sign of mildew on the Niagaras 
up to this date, while several other varieties 
in the same vineyard are somewhat affected 
with both mildew aud rot. The growch of 
vines compares favorably with Brighton, 
Pocklington, Duchess, etc., and its healthy 
appearance so impressed Mr. C. that he at 
once felt convinced it would succeed here as 
well as the Concord. As this is the 
second season the show of fruit is too small to 
amount to much; the few clusters, however, 
are very promising. Another season will tell 
the story and the outcome will be watched 
with interest. 
Montclair, N. J. 
[Yes, we don’t care to repeat anything that 
has already been said as to the Niagara.— 
Eds.] 
Entomological. 
DESTROYERS OF CLOVER. NO. 2. 
W. L. DEVEREUX. 
The Clover-root Borer. 
The second insect discovered doing injury 
to clover is the Clover-root Borer (Hylesinus 
trifolii), Fig 288. It is a little brown snouted 
beetle, and a native of Europe, where it 
works in clover in the same manner as it does 
here. In 1878 Prof. Riley examined the in¬ 
sects and published accounts of it the fol¬ 
lowing year. I am certain this borer was 
doing considerable injury in 1876 in Seneca 
County, N. Y. The beetles are not on the 
wing except in Spring and early Summer, 
and clover is not infested with them until it 
is one year old, or at the time it is cut for hay. 
By* the middle of April they are on the 
move from dead roots to those still alive in 
the same field, and as soon as hot days come 
they are on the wing to new fields of young 
clover. Before haying time arrives nearly 
every root will be found to be inhabited by 
one or more of the beetles. The larvae begin 
hatching from the eggs deposited iu the 
galleries mined in the root, as early as tha 
first week of July. Soon afterwards no 
beetles can be found, they all having died, and 
their remains are soon mixed with the debris 
occasioned by the rapid channelling of the 
grubs. By the middle of August the earliest 
Clover-boot Bokek.— a. Injured stem and root; b. 
larva; o, beetle enlarged.—Fiu. 2SA 
of the new brood will have matured into 
beetles, and from this time to the following 
May one can find beetles in all shades of 
browned maturity, and also larva: aud pupae. 
In many fields which are much affected by 
dry weather, nearly a quarter of the clover 
dies, or is in a continual wilting condition 
before the piece is fit to cut for seed. After¬ 
wards their continual tunnelling in the root 
kills plant after plant until in the Spring; 
when the soil is to be turned over for grain, 
not a root is to be found. Certainly, this 
condition of the clover root must greatly re¬ 
duce the benefits of the growth to the farm. 
To be sure the entire annihilation of a 
whole field of clover is not always the condi¬ 
tion in every locality where they work, and 
in years iu which no drought occurs, or in 
damp soil, it is almost impossible to destroy a 
plant, for as soon as the original root is 
severed or enfeebled it immediately sends out 
new ones from the crown. 
Nevertheless, the roots are not performing 
their usual mechanical functions, nor will 
they be able to assimilate much nitrogen, for 
the plant is greatly weakened. Some natur¬ 
alists have asserted that this beetle does not 
attack a clover plant until it is old or partly 
exhausted and sickly. While this is a truth 
concerning the habits of all other well known 
species of this family of beetles, it does not 
apply to the Clover-root Borers, as it can be 
clearly seen that they* attack tbe plant in the 
hight of its vigor, in most instances just be¬ 
fore it is about to bloom for the first time. 
It is seemingly beyond human ingenuity to 
invent a method to exterminate them, or 
even put them in check, except by a general 
and complete cessation of growing clover for 
a short term. The plan suggested by Prof. 
Riley* of plowing under the clover in the 
Spring of the second year, is very good, and 
such a course bas been pursued to some ex¬ 
tent. It may be plowed under early or at 
the time of bloom, which will smother and 
destroy the Clover-seed Midges also as will 
cutting it at that time; and the clover stubble 
may be turued over after the hay has been 
taken off. This method has a number of ex¬ 
cellent features. Nearly as much benefit 
would be obtained from the soil; a crop of 
hay would be secured, but the crop of clover 
seed would not be realized, and the turning 
under of the clover would come at a time out 
of season for planting or sowing most crops. 
However, it would, if thoroughly entered Into 
by all farmers of a large district or Dumber 
of counties, thoroughly rid the locality of 
the Seed Midge, the Root Borer, and also the 
third destructive insect to clover, 
the clover leak cuRCCLio (Phytonomus 
punctatus.) 
This was discovered last year in Yates 
County by Prof. Riley, who very soon af¬ 
terwards communicated his discovery in sev¬ 
ers! places. Notice of it was also given in the 
Rural, then. It was at work in this sec¬ 
tion a year earlier at least. The pest 
