Vol XLI. No. 1703. 
NEW YORK, SEPT. 16, 1882. 
FEIOE FIVE CENTS, 
$2,00 PEH YEAR 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1882, by the Rural New-Yorker, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.] 
©.vpcvimcnt Ground.* of the iftural 
3)civ - llorhcc. 
Hkige’s Prolific Wheat.— We herewith 
present a portrait of Heige’s Prolific wheat 
and a cross between Diehl and Treadwell made 
by C. L. Ingersoll, now President of the Col¬ 
orado State College. Both pictures were 
drawn from selected heads raised at the 
Rural Farm during the past season. The 
straw of Heige’s Prolific is very strong and 
fully five feet high. The heads are long, as 
will be seen, and quite compact. It ripens 
rather late—one week to 10 days after Claw¬ 
son. The grain is rather smaller than Claw- 
sen and not^quite so white, averaging three to 
a spikelet. It is beardless or nearly so and 
the chaff is white. Planted one kernel every 
nine inches each way, every grain germina¬ 
ted and nota plant was winter-killed. Mr. G. 
H. Hoffman reports a yield the past season of 
38 bushels to the acre, while it yielded 41 
bushels in the season of ’80-81. 
Prof, Ingersoll’s Cross grew to the 
bight of nearly four feet. The heads are 
bearded and generally shorter than that shown 
which is the longest we could find. The grains 
are long, rather narro w and white, averaging 
two to a breast. It proved entirely hardy 
with us and w&s one of the earliest vo ripen. 
The heads will not average over two inches, 
six breasts each. 
Early in the season we bagged a number 
of tomatoes to see in what way it would 
affect them. As a matter of guess-work bne 
would say that tomatoes thus covered would 
not color so highly or prove as sweet when 
ripe as when left to mature in the sun and 
light. Not so, they were the most brilliantly 
colored tomatoes and when cooked the least 
acid of any we have ever seen or eaten. All 
have observed that generally tomatoes ripen 
about the stem last and that in some varieties 
the flesh and skin about the stem are quite 
green while other portions are fully or even 
over ripe. It seems singular that the bagged 
tomatoes show not the least difference in this 
respect, ripening about the stem just the same 
as elsewhere. Again it seems singular that 
bagged tomatoes should ripen earlier than the 
others as proved to be the case in every trial. 
We may add that bagging tomatoes seems no 
protection against rot. 
Ripe berries of the Lady Grape were picked 
August 26, the first of any of our grapes to 
ripen. Cottage, Florence and Rockingham 
(Miner) are the first of our dark grapes to 
show color. 
So far as we can at present judge, bags on 
grapes do not prevent them from rotting. 
Silver Chaff wheat with us this year 
yields nearly 32 bushels to the acre. The plot 
was 112%x375 feet, or a fraction less than an 
acre. The yield of this plot was 31 bushels 
The quality of the flour is excellent. The 
bread is sweet and light. We have eaten no 
other since last Fall. 
Potatoes. 
Experiment No. 43 —Land is a clayey loam 
with many small stones—well drained and 
gradually eloping to the East. It had been in 
sod and mown for many years. The drills 
were dug the width of a spade and the pieces 
(two eyes each) dropped one foot apart by 
measure, using a knotted cord for the pur¬ 
pose—and four inches deep. The pieces were 
first shaken in plaster and dried In the sun 
or two hours. This seems to suffice to cica¬ 
trize the cut surfaces. The pieces were first 
covered with soil an inch in depth and then 
hen manure was spread over this at the rate 
of 30 barrels to the acre. The variety was the 
Beauty of Hebron planted April 25, and har¬ 
vested August 14. The weather was wet and 
cold up to July 4. Since that date no rain 
fell with the exception of one short shower. 
The yield was at the rate of 460 bushels to the 
acre. Five of the best average potatoes 
weighed 35 ounces or seven ounces each. The 
number of potatoes to the acre was 193,160 
small and large. AU were sound and fair. 
Experiment No. 44.—Duplicate of above. 
Yield 398% bushels per acre. Five of the best 
average potatoes weighed 28 ouneeR. The num¬ 
ber of potatoes to the acre was 207,680. 
Experiment No. 46 —Duplicate of No. 45. 
Yield 455 husbels to the acre. Five potatoes 
of the best average weighed 31 ounces. The 
number of potatoes to the acre was 190,080. 
Summary. 
Hen Manure, No. 43.—Yield 460 bushels 
per acre. No. of potatoes, 193,160—best five 
average 35 ounces. 
Duplicate Hen Manure, No. 44.—Yield 
393% bushels per acre. No. of potatots 207.680 
—best five average 28 ounces. Total for two 
acres of hen manure, 853% bushels. Total 
number of potatoes for two acres with hen 
manure 400,840. Average weight of the best 
potatoes, six and three-tenth ounces. 
Baker’s Potato Fertilizer, No. 45,--Yield 
\ 
picking until the grubs appeared. Paris- 
green was afterwards applied twice. In 
future reports we shall present portraits of all 
the new kinds tested. We should say that all 
of our potatoes have been cultivated flat —en¬ 
tirely so, the reasons for or against which as 
compared with hilling will appear later. 
Paris-Green. 
We are of the opinion now,as we have been 
for several years past,that the most economical 
way to apply Paris-green is to mix it with plas¬ 
ter rather than with water. In the latter the 
poison cannot be equally distributed, stir the 
water os we may. The upper portions of the 
water will always hold less than the lower 
portions where the insoluble heavy powder 
collects in larger quantity in spite of constant 
stirring. The leaves of the potato plant are 
harmed by this. Not so with flour or 
plaster. While we must use a tablespoonful 
of the Green to a pailful of water to render it 
effective, the same quantity thoroughly mixed 
with two pailfuls of plaster will prove just as 
effectual. 
Again much of the water applied falls to 
the ground. A part only is retained on the 
leaves, while nearly all of the poisoned plaster, 
if skilfully applied, falls upon and is retained 
by the leaves until the next rain. The 
poisoned water does not settle or dry upon the 
edges of the leaves but collects near the center 
or midveins so that the beetles eat up the best 
part of the leaf ere they encounter the poison 
and the leaves are for the most part destroyed. 
The poisoned plaster settles upon the edges as 
upon other portions of the leaves and the 
beetles are killed with comparatively little 
injury to the leaves. Paris green is a perfect 
beetle insecticide and from careful use and 
experiment since its introduction we are of 
i he opinion that ic will be hard to improve 
upon it. W hen properly applied it need not 
Injure the leaves to the smallest extent. 
Purchase joicre Paris-green, then mix it on an 
unused floor with an iron tooth rake, using 
only enough green to impart the first visible 
tint of green, and sift it upon the vines. The 
plaster can do no barm—it may do good—the 
Paris green can do no harm and the potato 
beetles or grubs will surely be killed. As 
several times stated before, we have this one 
objection to the use of London purple, viz: 
that it will not bear anything like so much 
extension as Paris-green and still be effective 
—while if used too strong, the vines are 
scorched at once. 
RAYS. 
What a good thing ic is to be able to get 
away for a day or two now and again to 
visit our neighbors, see what other folks are 
doing, compare results and get new ideas; 
besides, how pleasant it is to meet old friends 
and acquaintances and make new ones. It 
always seems as if our time is not long 
enough to tell each other what each other 
knows. Even to the most learned on every 
hand the country teems with infoimation, 
and it is the duty of every one of us to learn 
from others what we can learn and impart to 
them what we know. 
* * 
I have just been spending a day or two at 
Newport, not for fashion's sake, but to have a 
look around among the gardens and observe 
what fashion demands of horticulture. There 
is a superabundant display of those flowers 
known as bedding plants, remarkable only 
for their dense massing, so as to give an im¬ 
mediate effect. Carpet-bedding is creeping 
into fashion, and in most cases ic is meaning¬ 
less and hideous in design and portrayal. I 
will except those beds at Mrs. Gardner- 
Brewer’s, which are of comely fashion and 
the best in Newport. Vases are better filled 
than we find them in most other cities, 
which is mostly due to the great amount 
of stuff packed into them rather than any 
Cross between Diehl and Treadwell. Heige’s Prolific.—Fig. 297. 
Experiment No. 45.—This differs from the 
above in manure only. Baker’s potato fertil¬ 
izer was used at the rate of 1000 pounds to the 
acre—the pieces first covered with soil as with 
the other, and the fertilizer then sown in the 
trench since we oMnnotcalUtadrillor furrow. 
The yield was 470% bushels per acre Five of 
the best average potatoes weighed 88% ounces. 
The number of potatoes to the acre—large 
and small—was 193,600. AU perfectly sound 
and fair in this test as in 43 and 44. 
70% bushels per acre. No. of potatoes 
193,600, Best five average 33% ounces. 
Duplicate Baker's Fertilizer, No. 40 — 
Yield 455 bushels per acre. No. of potatoes, 
190,080. Best five average 31 ounces. Total 
for two acres of Baker’s fertilizer 925% 
bushels. Total number of potatoes for two 
acres with Baker’s fertilizer, 383 680. Average 
weight of the best potatoes 6.45 ounces each. 
The potato beetle was destroyed by hand¬ 
