680 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
06T4 
had not reached it. This seems to demonstrate 
the power of the deep-rooting clovers to bring 
up solutions from depths in the soil beyond 
what otner plants can reach. It shows why 
the Sweet Clovers flourish in soils too much 
exhausted, near the surface, for other plants 
to thrive; and it proves clover to be rather a 
searcher of the soil than a renovator. It gives 
u startling warning to the cultivator of the 
land to save the rare and precious elements of 
manure and apply them over all the surface 
if he does not wish to have his land reduced 
to Utter ultimate barrenness. Dr. La we* says 
tbut be does not wish to be understood as be¬ 
lieving that leguminous plants obtain all their 
nitrogen from nitric acid dissolved in the water 
of the soil. 
THAT DRAIN LEVEL. 
VVhkn Prof. R. C. Carpenter presented hie 
essay on underdraining to the public, through 
the columns of the Rural, it became public 
property und subject to criticism. I criticised, 
first, the use of turf und tarred paper over the 
joints; second, his device for leveling, and 
offered a substitute ; third, his practice of 
cuttiug the bottom of the ditch larger than 
the tiles, so that they could be moved laterally 
in filliug ; and I guve my practice of finishing 
with a draw Bcoop the exact size of the tiles 
used, so that they cannot l>e moved laterally 
in filling the ditch. For this I am dubbed 
an ignoramus, a novice, etc., by the Professor. 
All I know of underdraining is what I have 
learned from my own experience and that of 
others. I don’t profess to know much, but I 
think i do know a little. 1 have laid a few 
tile drains, and they seem to work quite satis¬ 
factorily to all eoueermd, uud t did not use a 
“string and scaffold’' to level with, nor “turf 
and tarred paper” over the joints! 
I have laid collars of broken tile over the 
joints in passing through very liquid soils, but 
in all ordinary soils I use nothing: not even 
“turf and tarred paper.” I simply lay the 
tile so that the upper edges joiu, and. as all 
competent drainage men are fully aware, that 
is sufficient. The instunce 1 referred to in my 
last communication, when a hole was opened 
to the surface, occurred where the drain ran 
through a bed of peculiar, thin silt. But it 
did not choke the drain Isx’ause it was not 
properly graded, as Professor C insinuates. 
I don’t lay that sort of a drain! I did say, 
and I repeat it here, that when collars arc 
found necessary, 1 consider it by far the most 
sensible plan to use something that will last 
as long as the tile, instead of perishable stuff 
like “turf and tarred paper.” 
I did not claim that my device for leveling 
was the best in the world, as Prof. C. asserts; 
but I still think it is, when properly adjusted 
—which can bo doue by any careful mechanic 
—as efficient for the purpose as the “st ring 
and scaffold” apparatus the Professor styles 
the “Lansing Level;” and I will add that 
neither of them would be worth a copper in 
the hands of a careless, bungling person. 
Welmvo no agricultural college here, but 
we have a tile factory, and also a few men 
who inuki* tile draining a business; but not 
one of them uses the “string and scaffold” to 
level with, or “turf and tarred paper” over 
the joints. When 1 called their attention to 
these things, they smiled! They don’t use the 
device I described either, except on drains of 
a few hundred feet in loDgtb. 
If 1 mistake not, the columns of the Rural 
are open to the discussion of all subjects re¬ 
lating to farm economy, and if I see a prac¬ 
tice advocated that seems to me misleading, I 
have a perfect right to criticise it. If a de¬ 
vice for accomplishing a certain object is 
described, and 1 tbiuk 1 know of a 1 letter one, 
i have a right, to submit it to the editor, who, 
if he sees fit, places it before the thousands of 
Rural readers, and leaves it to their discre¬ 
tion which they will employ. K. grundy. 
Christian Co., 111. 
Remarks: We are quite positive that 
Prof. Carpenter does not object to criticism. 
What he did object to was being criticized 
under an assumed name, as we understood it, 
and for this the Rural is in fault. Intelli¬ 
gent criticism is good; but let us avoid un¬ 
kind feeling —Ens 
i'LovintUtirftl. 
DIANTHUS. 
A great many people get this flower so 
mixed up with the carnation, pieotee and the 
piuk, that they don’t know “which is which;” 
still, the flowers are all of the same genus, but 
they are arranged as follows: 
First, flakes or carnations have two colors 
only, and they have stripes, which are large, 
goiug quite through the petals. Second, bi- 
zarres or diauthus (sometimes called Chinese 
and Japan Pinks) are variegated in irregular 
spots aud stripes, with not less than three or 
more colors. These are the most brilliant of 
the species. Third, picotees (which are very 
much like carnations, but are more hardy) 
have a white ground, spotted at the edges 
with a scarlet, purple and other colors. Fourth 
and last, comes the pink, with its delightful 
fragrance, very much resembling that of the 
clove; those are more hardy and better fringed 
than the carnations. 
Seeds may be sown under glass or in the 
open ground in the Slu ing, and the second 
Summer they will flower. Plants, when 
young, are perfectly hardy: but when old, 
they are injured in the Winter. A succession 
of young plants may be procured, either from 
seeds or layers. The seeds of the pieotee can 
be sown in the Spring or early Summer, so as 
to produce good, strong plants by Autumn. 
Throw a few boughs over them, or cover them 
with leaves, to shelter the plants from the 
winter storms, and next Spring you will have 
a lot of nice plants all ready for flowering 
before the others have commenced to grow. 
Of all the above, the carnation is best for 
winter flowering. The best way to raise It is 
to get young plants in the Spring, and set them 
out in the garden; pinch off the tops of nil 
the long shoots as they appear, so as to form a 
compact plant; also all the buds that appear 
previous to the middle of August; after that, 
allow ull to grow. Take up and pot the plants 
(in small pots of four to six inches) about the 
first, of November or before frost, and remove 
them to the house. If they are troubled with 
the little green louse, tobacco tea, smoking, 
and soap-suds are good remedies, if they turn 
yellow, give them a little soot water once or 
twice a week for a while. They don’t like too 
much water; but moisture is what they most 
crave after. ly’man candee. 
Ijorliculluml. 
WILL PEAS MIX IF GROWN SIDE 
BY SIDE. 
W. W. TRACY. 
During the past Summer, while examining 
crops of iwas grown for seed purposes, I ob¬ 
jected to some fields because grown too near 
other varieties; but the growers claimed that 
there was no ground for objection, as peas 
would not crews fertilize naturally, and they 
referred to the Rural New-Yorker as au¬ 
thority. Now, while it must be gratifying to 
the Rural to have its opinion receive so much 
weight, yet if 1 mistake not, its editors are for 
this very reason the more anxious that noth¬ 
ing shall appear in its columns which shall 
tend to the production of an inferior article. 
[That is very true. Ena,] and so I want to 
present the other side of this question. 
In 1X70 1 had some 40 bushels of a certain 
stock ot extra-early peas, which were con¬ 
sidered very uniform and good stock. A part 
of these were sown in a narrow strip by the 
side of some Black-Eyed Marrowfats, but sep¬ 
arated from them by a single row of potatoes. 
The Earlies were sown so much later than the 
otber> that they were not out of flower when 
the Marrowfats commenced, but were ripe, 
eut and thrashed before the field peas were 
harvested, and from this aud the character of 
the muu who grew and handled them, 1 think 
there was as little probability of the ripe peas 
being mixed as if they had been grown on 
different farms. The remainder of the early 
peas were sown by themselves aud some dis¬ 
tance from other peas. The crops were kept 
separate and both were carefully hand-picked 
from tallies so arranged that every pea came 
under the eye of the picker, who was instruct¬ 
ed to remove all dirt aud injured or “ off ” 
peas. These pickings from the crop grown by 
the sideof the Marrowfats contained a num¬ 
ber of peas which would pass as small Mar¬ 
rowfats, aud the general character of the 
whole lot of pickings was such that several 
persons looking at them, without knowing 
their history, remarked: “They look as if 
crossed with Marrowfats;” but the pickings 
from the other crop from the same stock seed 
did not show any trace of this mixture. 
But, it is said, this proves too much, for the 
experiments of Prof. Lazenby aud others seem 
to show that the fruit is not altered externally 
by the pollen. Lis not Prof. Tracy here speak¬ 
ing of the seeds—the peas—aud not the fruit? 
—Eds.J However this may be in most plants, 
peas certainly are frequently so affected, in 
proof of which t inclose pods resulting from 
fertilizing Extra Early blossoms with Blue 
Peter pollen, in which, while some of the peas 
in each pod are to all appearance “straight 1 
Extra Earlies, others show their Blue Peter 
parentage very distinctly. But, you say, how 
can they cross? The stamens aud pistils are 
inclosed together within the keel, and the pol¬ 
len is sheil directly upon the stigmas long be¬ 
fore the flower opens, or even before it shows 
color. I would answer, that l have had con¬ 
siderable experience in crossing peas, and 
know how early the pollen is shed, and from 
my experience in the garden, I should not hesi¬ 
tate to say that there was no probability of 
peas mixing, no matter how close the different 
plants were planted: but I have seen bees 
alight upon aud pull down the keel of pea 
blossoms in such a way as to force the .stamens 
out and allow some of the pollen to fall upon 
them; and then I followed them to another 
blossom, upon which they worked in such a 
way that they might leave upon its stigma 
some of the pollen received from the last 
flower, and I think this pollen, from greater 
potency or other cause, may fertilize some 
ovules, even when the pistil hail been previous¬ 
ly covered with pollen from its own flower. I 
do not thluk this always or even usually hap¬ 
pens, but I thinkthattbeinstancegiven above, 
which is only one of many which 1 might men¬ 
tion, shows that it sometimes does. In the case 
given, there was probably not morethau one 
pea in a thousand which showed any trace of 
the Marrowfats, and if these had been left in 
the general crop, the}' might not have been 
noticed even by a careful observer; bnt when 
thrown together iu the pickings, they became 
evident. But the injury done to the stock was 
not confined to those which showed the Mar¬ 
rowfat cross; for, as iu the sample sent you, 
only a tew of the peas resultant from the use 
Of blue Peter pollen showed any sign of that 
blood; and we may conclude that many of the 
peas in the crop mentioned, which seemed 
perfectly “straight” Extra Earlies, were really 
crossed with the field peas. Arid 1 believe 
that most ot the “sports” “off” “rogues,” “run¬ 
ners,” which are constantly occurring in the 
beet of stock, may be attributed to this cross¬ 
ing iu the blossom, and that it is of great im¬ 
portance to keep peas grown forseed purposes 
as far as possible from any other varieties 
blossoming at the same time. 
Detroit, Mich. 
EARTHING UP CELERY. 
Here is the way celery is earthed up to blanch 
in this neighborhood;—First, the earth is 
worked up to it with the hands, the leaves Be¬ 
ing held close together with one hand; this is 
what is termed handling. Then it is allowed 
to grow for a week or ten days, when com¬ 
mon brown wrapping paper is wrapped around 
thcstalksaud tied with twine, and the earth is 
worked up towitbiuone inch of the top of the 
parer. In about a week or ten days it is wrap¬ 
ped and tied as before, and the earth is par¬ 
tially worked up to the top of the paper. In 
a short time it will be blanched sufficiently 
for use, which may lie known by the blanched 
stalks growing out at the top of the paper. 
For crispness, tenderness, and fine flavor, 1 
think celery grown in this way cannot, 
he excelled. Certainly, it takes work to tie 
and wrap it, but 1 tbiuk all lovers of this ex¬ 
cellent vegetable will feel repaid for the extra 
work when they have eaten it treated iu this 
fashion. “celery’ raiser.” 
Wheeling, W. Va. 
porno Logical 
YELLOWS ON THE PEACH. 
In looking over back numbers of the 
Rural yesterday, I came across au article on 
Peach Culture by Gen. Cassius M. Clay, in 
the issue of January 11). 
He presents some excellent points on the 
subject; but his ideas on the yellows are 
directly contrary to the experience of the 
peach growers of Michigan, who have become 
fully acquainted with the desease. He main¬ 
tains that the disease is uot contagious—that 
it is “the effect of the borers cutting away 
the bark underground, girdling the tree and 
thus killing it.” 
No doubt it will be admitted by every one 
that, the circulation of correct ideas on this 
important point is desirable. If Gen. Clay is 
correct iu his opinion that the disease is not 
contagious, then large numbers of peach 
growers are actiug very unwisely in destroy¬ 
ing peach trees that are affected by it. If he 
is wrong in making such a statement, it is to 
be regretted that erroueous ideas are being 
circulated from so eminent a source. 
The disputes aud misapprehension concern¬ 
ing the yellows come from people who are 
not fully acquainted with the real yellows. 
On seeing a peach tree with yellow leaves, 
such people are very apt to jump at the con¬ 
clusion that it has the yellows, which is often 
a great mistake. 1 have been a practical 
peach grower for 25 years, and have long 
known that borers and several other causes, 
besides the yellows, will make the leaves of a 
peach tree become yellow. But this is com¬ 
paratively a harmless kind of yellows—a sort 
of sham. The remarks of Gen. Clay indicate 
that he has not, as yet, had the misfortune to 
have the genuine yellows attack his peach 
trees. 
Practical peach growers who have become 
fully acquainted with the yellows are unani¬ 
mous iu the opinion that it is contagious. At 
one of the meetings of the Michigan State 
Horticultural Society, one entire evening wa., 
devoted to a consideration of this disease, 
many of the most intelligent and successful 
fruit growers iu the State taking part iu the 
discussion, and they agreed, without exception, 
that the yellows is contagions, and that the 
only remedy as yet known is the prompt and 
entire destruction of the diseased tree. From 
the recently published Report of the Horticul¬ 
tural Association of Pennsylvania! learn that 
the yellows is a formidable disease in that 
State, and that there is probably no remedy. 
Mr. Satterthwait in his report on diseases 
of fruit trees, correctly states that the yellows 
is extremely contagious. I caunot learn of 
an instance where a reputable horticultural 
society has decided that the disease is not con¬ 
tagious. 
Within five miles of where I write there are 
about 200,000 peach trees. The yellows made 
its appearance in onr orchards about six years 
ago. Among all the owners of this large 
number of trees I do not kuow of a thoughtful 
orebardist. who disputes its contagious char¬ 
acter. We have a State law that compels 
the destruction of peach trees that are 
affected with the malady. Our peach growers 
are unanimous in the opinion that it is a good 
law. Our only hope of arresting the progress 
of the plague and continuing the production 
of peaebos, is in destroying infected trees as 
soon as the first symptoms appear. As one of 
the Commissioners under this law. 1 have ex¬ 
amined over 20,000 peach trees the past sea¬ 
son, aud I know that the yellows attacks trees 
that are entirely free from borers or their 
effects, just the same os it does those which 
are infested with borers. In common with 
all other Commissioners or peach growers, 
who have had much to do with the yellows, I 
find that the disease spreads without regard 
to variety or condition of soil or system of 
cultivation. We also find that in orchards 
or neighborhoods where the diseased trees 
have been most thoroughly destroyed in the 
past, the percentage of infected trees is small 
est, and where diseased trees have been per¬ 
mitted to live, the percentage is largest. 
The* notion that the yellows is caused by 
poor soil and negligent, cultivation has beeu 
widely circulated: but it Is one of the greatest 
of errors, as any observer may see in localities 
where the real yellows has obtained a foot¬ 
hold. In the 80 years or more since the 
disease was first known, no well authenticated 
case of cure is recorded. I am aware that 
Professor Goessiuan reported cases of alleged 
cuies in 1878; but his observations concerning 
the disease strongly Indicate that he made a 
mistake, uud performed his alleged cures upon 
trees that did not have the genuine yellows. 
In Borrieu bounty, In this State, the yellows 
has compelled the fruit glowers to abandon 
peach growing. Prompt and decisive action 
on the first appearance of the disease might 
have averted this disaster. The yellows is 
also rapidly destroying the peach orchards iu 
some parts of Western New York. If Prof. 
Goessman or Prof. Penliallow can cure the 
yellows and prevent the contagion from 
spreading while the t rees are under treatment, 
there is a large and extremely profitable field 
for operation open to them. n. atwell. 
Van Boren Co., Mich. 
THE YELLOW TRANSPARENT APPLE. 
T. H. HOSKINS, M. D. 
I send the Rural herewith some average 
specimens of thfs early Russian apple (Fig. 380.) 
p. 651, cions of which were received by me, in 
1870, from the Agricultural Department in 
Washington. Though doubtless other cions 
of the samtavvere distributed, it would seem 
that no one else preserved it, or preserved the 
uame, besides myself. In the last 10 years I 
have distributed a vast number of cions (many 
of them gratuitously to the subscribers of the 
Rural New-Yorker), and the apple is now 
in bearing from the province of New Bruns¬ 
wick to Washington Territory. 
The tree is a free und symmetrical grower, 
upright when young, but spreading as it 
becomes older under the loafls of fruit. The 
bark is of a light cinnamon color, almost yel¬ 
low on the young wood, and the leaves are 
light green, being slightly puliescent and 
whitish beneath. It is a healthy tree, and, 
like most of the Russians, “iron clad” against 
cold, enduring 40 deg. below zero without 
injury. It is a heavy bearer auuually in rich 
gardens, but biennially on poorer soils, or in 
sod. The fruit, fairly grown, is medium in 
size, though specimens that would rank as 
large may often be found on young trees in 
good soil But the tendency to overbear is 
likely to make the fruit small when not 
thinned, especially on poor soil. The tree is 
of dwarf growth, and, when branched low, 
nearly all the fruit may be gathered by hand, 
