THE BUBAL HEW 
instance where I have known it to be grown 
in this latitude. 
I would recommend farmers to try a small 
patch, as I am going to do this year. The seed 
must be put in by itself, and not with grain, 
and the ground must be well prepared to in¬ 
sure a good start. It should be rich and mel¬ 
low and free from clods, or anything which 
will hinder the seed from growing freely. 
Under these favorable circumstances it may 
last for a number of years, as it is not bienni¬ 
al like clover, but perennial. It must not be 
cut so late in the Autumn as to leave the 
crowns exposed, but the last cutting must be 
early enough to allow a start of herbage to 
protect them. A peck of seed to an acre is 
ample. It ought to be slightly covered. 
I am going to try Alfalfa to see if the hogs 
will eat it as well as clover, and if they do it 
will prove to be of great value, as it will af¬ 
ford a more continuous pasture for them, if it 
will only hold out. 
HOW MY NEIGHBOR RAISED POTA¬ 
TOES. 
Last Spring a new neighbor of mine com¬ 
ing along where I was fitting a piece of land 
like an ash heap, asked what I intended put¬ 
ting on that ground.' I said: “Potatoes.’' 
“ Well,” says he, “you won't get many pota¬ 
toes.” “ Why noti 1 ” I asked. “ Because you 
pulverize the ground too much. Potatoes 
don’t want so much pains taken with the 
ground. I will show you how to raise pota¬ 
toes." Well, he did, and this is how he did 
it: He took clover sod aud commenced to 
plow. In the first furrow (six inches deep) 
he dropped his seed eighteen inches apart, seed 
cut in halves, one piece in a place Then he 
dropped seed in every third furrow, as in the 
first one; after the plowing was done, his seed 
had all been covered. He then took a har¬ 
row and smoothed down the furrows, gave flat 
culture all Summer, or till the vines were in 
bloom. At digging time he took a plow aud 
commenced where he had left off plowing in 
Spring, and turned the furrows back, picking 
up what he could find; then with a spring 
tooth harrow he went over the ground to get 
the rest. Result: in my field pulverized like an 
ash bed, one acre of ground planted in drills, 
18 inches apart, one piece three or four eyes 
in a place, hill culture, produced nine bushels 
of pig feed. My neighbor’s four acres yielded 
800 bushels of splendid potatoes. The season 
was very wet. Mine were planted on a dry 
knoll, sandy loam; bison a clay subsoil. Now 
I don’t like to try his method, but I will try 
flat culture the next season. amateur. 
Pottsville, N. Y. 
ORIGIN OF IMPERIAL BARLEY. 
In the Rural of April 5, page 222, in a reply, 
it is said that the Imperial Barley was “im¬ 
ported and grown by Hiram Sibley & Co.” 
The Imperial Barley originated with me. and 
was obtaiued by crossiug the two with the 
six-rowed variety. It resembles the ordinary 
six-rowed barley quite closely, except that it 
is later in maturing and has longer and 
slimmer beads. If the act of tranferring it 
from Charlotte, Vt., to Rochester, N. Y., is 
an importation, the above statement is cor¬ 
rect. I think, however, that most readers 
would infer from the word “imported” that 
it was brought from a foreign country, which 
is not true. f. h. horsford. 
Charlotte, Vt. 
pomaLoijical 
THE CHINESE QUINCE. 
The Chinese quince (Cydonia Sinensis) is a 
very beautiful ornamental tree, which grows 
to the bight of 20 or 80 feet, and makes a 
handsome aud spreading head. The leaves 
are obovate, pointed, finely serrated, dowuy 
beneath, with a shining green surface which 
becomes a beautiful real in the Autumn. The 
sharp points along the edge of the leaves be¬ 
come hard and stiff as the leaves mature. 
The flowers are rosy red, becoming darker by 
age. They have a rich perfume like that of 
the violet, with the reminder of that of the 
magnolia, from which circumstance this tree 
has sometimes been called the Magnolia 
Quince. It blossoms in May. The flowers are 
small; but the fruit, as seen in Figure 124, 
grows very large, obloug-oval, almost a per¬ 
fect ellipse; and smooth, with a firm, coarse¬ 
grained flesh, which makes a beautiful pink- 
colored preserve, aud rich jelly. As generally 
seen, the color of the fruit is greenish-yellow; 
but iu the long seasons of the sunny Mouth it 
puts on a golden yellow. In the Northern 
States it is only valuable for ornament. It 
succeeds better in the Middle States. Iu the 
Southern States, it perfects its fruit, aud is 
highly prized. The largest of all quinces. It 
sometimes attains a weight of 2ft pounds, aud 
measures 17 inches round. Single specimens 
more than fill a quart preserve jar. Seven 
small glasses of jelly have been made from 
one quince. The specimen illustrated at Fig. 
124 is one of 23 that made a bushel. It was 
sent from Athens, Georgia. w w. meech. 
drboricultaral 
RUSSIAN AND OTHER MULBERRIES FOR SILK¬ 
WORMS. 
In 1882 we shipped to Arles, Dul'our & Co., 
France, a quantity of cocoons, part of which 
were raised by the Russian Meunonite3 in 
Nebraska, on the Russian (Black) Mulberry. 
These brought 10 cents per pound less than 
the cocoons raised on the white varieties. 
The cause given was the coarseness of the 
thread, aud we have since foaud that all 
cocoons raised on the Russiau Mulberry, 
though large, are coarse and inferior to the 
smaller cocoons raised on the White Mulber¬ 
ries. As a fruit producer, the Russian is 
superior, but as silk producers the Moms 
alba.Morus rosea, Moras Morrettiana and Mo- 
rus Japonicaiall wbitelarebetter. All these va¬ 
rieties, except the Japouica, are nearly or 
quite hardy as far north as Canada, and can 
be bought at a less price from most nursery¬ 
men than the Russiau Mulberry. Mulberry 
trees seem to do well on all kinds of soil, but 
on swampy land the leaves are too watery, 
aud cause dysentery to the worms. 
NEW YORK SILK EXCHANGE. 
THE DOWNING MULBERRY NOT HARDY. 
An extract from the Orange County Farm¬ 
er under “What Others Sav” in the Rural 
of February 9, speaks very highly of the 
Downing Mulberry. This mulberry was tried 
here ,latitude 42’*^) between 20 and 80 years 
ago, and. instead of being “perfectly hardy,” 
as then represented, and as is still claimed, 
it proved as liable to bo w inter-killed as a 
peach. Not a bud or bit of wood would be 
loft alive above the snow-line; and after three 
or four years an extra cold Winter exter¬ 
minated all, root and branch. This was not 
very pleasant after paying from 75c. to $2 each 
for extra-choice plants from New York State. 
To Western planters who may be thinkiug of 
trying this mulberry, I say “Don’t.” 
Joe Daviess Co., IU. h. green. 
•»« 
RAPID GROWERS AND GOOD WIND-BREAKS. 
In a lute Rural it is said there is no tree 
that is a rapid grower, which will make a 
good wiud-break. Now I know of no tree 
that is equal to the Russian Mulberry for a 
wiud-break, yet it makes a very rapid aud, at 
the same time, low, bushy growth, that 
makes a complete barrier against the wind. 
The Gray Willow also grows fast on low, 
rich, moist laud, aud is a good wiud-break. 
Rice Co., Kan, e. p. f. 
£ lark wit ural. 
A NEW METHOD OF GROWING HALF- 
HARDY ROSES. 
The half-hardy roses are great favorites 
with growers, and would be more extensively 
planted except for the great uncertainty of 
successful wintering. Protected by boxes, 
barrels, straw or evergreen boughs, one Spring 
they come out most beautifully; the next, 
with precisely the same treatment, they are 
all moldy and dead, and there is scarcely a 
W inter in which a large proportion, even with 
the best of care, are not lost. 
In Fig. 127 we show a new method of treat¬ 
ing tender ami half-hardy roses and other 
plants, which enables the owner to remove 
them easily' to a place of safety iu the FaU 
and replant them iu the Spring, with but 
very little disturbance of the roots. For roses, 
take an ordinary 12-inch pot and drill or bore 
a number of holes one inch in diameter 
through the sides, as shown at Fig. 1. The 
pots would be better if originaUy made with 
these holes, aud the sides of the pots all about 
them thickened, as shown in the cut; this 
thickening would add greatly to the strength 
of the pot. The bush is to bo planted in the 
pot, using good rich soil for the purpose. The 
rose grounds should be made very rich with 
well-rotted manure, aud a liberal use of char¬ 
coal-dust adds much to the health of plants 
aud beauty of the flowers. At the proper 
seasou set the pot aud plant in place where i 
desired, shown at 3; this puts the pot en¬ 
tirely’ beneath the surface and out of sight, 
which, in ornameutal grounds, is very desi¬ 
rable. As the growth progresses, the root 
emerge from the pot in all directions, pene¬ 
trating the soil, and the bush grows as vigor¬ 
ously as though planted in tbe open soil. 
After severe freezing in the Fall, the pot 
and plant are raised, those roots within the 
pot being, of course, entirely undisturbed, 
and can be stored in a cold cellar or other con¬ 
venient place where, entirely protected from 
the sun’s rays and from too severe freezing, 
the pot and protruding rootsshould be covered 
w tb damp sand or earth. 
Fig. 2 shows the plant ready for replanting, 
with roots and fop cut back, as should be done 
each Spring, and then planted out as before 
as soon as daugcr of severe freezing is passed. 
The grounds should be enriched each year, 
and being very' rich, the plaDt at once com¬ 
mences a rapid growth, which is essential to 
an abundant bloom. Each succeeding Fall it 
is to be taken up and treated in the same way, 
and can be kept many years in good health 
and vigor. 
In place of the pot, any wooden box, having 
numerous holes in its sides, may be used, but 
of course, it is not nearly as durable or desi- 
rab e, for in the damp, warm soil, it decays 
rapidly, and is liable to become full of insects. 
TWO EXCELLENT CLIMBING PLANTS. 
I was glad to see tbe engraving of the Ake- 
bia quinata in a late Rurax. It is a too- 
much neglected climber. We have had one 
growing over our office porch for the last ten 
years. It is perfectly hardy and its foliage is 
thick, compact, and of a beautiful color, re¬ 
maining late in the Fall and during the early 
W inter. The flowers do not amount to much, 
but are very curious and pretty while they 
last. I have never seen the fruit. 
The Ampelopsis Veitchii is now the favorite 
creeper iu Geneva, and is fast covering the 
walls of our churches, schools and private 
dwellings. It is a rapid grower after the first 
year or two, and its Autumn tint is rich and 
beautiful. There is a variety of Virginia 
Creeper that clings like the Veitchii, and is 
being used with excellent effect. 
Geneva, N. Y. w. h. c. 
<£lje tltnnjark 
CRITTENDEN'S GRAPE TELLIS. 
In the issue of Feb. 16 of Rural the differ¬ 
ent methods of training and trellising the 
grape-vine were discussed. It occurred to 
me that our plan of training and trellising in 
this partof the Michigan “Fruit Belt” might 
perhaps interest those who may be contem¬ 
plating trellising a vineyard. The plan was 
originated here in 1877 by’ Mr. L. C. Critten¬ 
den, and is shown at Fig. 126. We t hink it 
answers our purpose admirably. It may be 
asked: What are its advantages? I claim 
there are several: the fruit is so nicely shaded 
and hangs down so that the bunches are 
larger and better formed; the bloom does not 
get rubbed off by r being chaffed; it saves a 
large part of the labor of Summer pruning, 
and dispenses with all tying. The fruit can 
be gat hered much more easily, as nine-tenths of 
it can be taken off without stooping. More- 
e ver, the ground can be more easily cultivated, 
as the cultivator can be ran under the trellises 
very close to the vines, leaving a strip of only 
six inches to be hoed off. To use the cultiva¬ 
tor, close tbe right wing, open the left, and 
change the handles to it, and the cultivator will 
run where desired. For this style of trellis 
the vines should lie growu with only one cane 
each; laths should be stuck beside the plants 
to keep the vines straight until the wire is 
reached; then pinch off the end; train the 
laterals, which start right and left, to inside 
wires; they are to hold the new growth dur¬ 
ing the growing season. 
My vineyards are mostly Concords, set 10 
by 10 feet each way, and in trellising I set the 
posts so as to take two vines between each pair. 
The trellis is quite plainly shown in Fig. 126. 
The end posts that bear the strain, should be 
good-sized and eight feet long, set 42, feet in 
the ground, 8}^ feet beiug above the surface, 
so that the trellis will be 31* feet high: two 
i by four-inch oak scantlings three feet long, 
with holes bored for wires, are spiked on the 
outsides of the end posts. The inside posts can 
be six feet long, of light stuff; for cross 
bars, fence pickets one by three inches will 
answer. Put ou four wires; three will not do 
as well, as the vines will be dropping through. 
Tighten up, tie the canes to the inside wires 
right and left in early Spring, and no further 
care is needed except to throw back any vine 
CHINESE QUINCE. 
GRAPE TRELLIS. Fig. 126. 
