Vol. XLIII. No. 1816. NEW YORK, NOYEMB 7 / 15, 1884. 
• -—-— 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, In the year 13-14, by the Rural Now Yorker 1 c office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.] 
PRICK FIVE CENTS. 
*2.00 PER YKAR. 
RURAL NEW-YORKER GRAPE. (From Nature.) Fig. 463. 
them a second-early potato, or about the same 
as Beauty of Hebron or a triflo later. The 
yield was at the rate of 726 bushels to the 
acre—18 to a hill; three-fifths marketable. 
The best five weighed two pounds and a quar¬ 
ter of an ounce. The skin Is white and often 
russoted; the shape roundish or sometimes 
cvlindrleal-fiattened. The eyes are uot prom¬ 
inent. Eaten September 24r.h, the quality 
was thought to be fair—not as dry as some. 
Flesh nearly white. Wo will give Mr. Col¬ 
vins address if he will kindly furnish it. 
Lee’s Favorite was received from Frank 
Ford & Son, of Ravenna, Ohio, it was 
among the first to appear above ground. 
The tops wero Spreading, and 
of a light greeu color. The 
vines began to die July 16. 
It iR uot as early as the Pearl 
of Savoy, Vanguard, or 
Vick’s Extra Early by from 
five to ten days. The yield 
was at the rato of 635.25 
bushels to the acre—14 1-10 to 
the hill—four-sevenths mar¬ 
ketable. The general shape 
is cylindrical oblong, some¬ 
times egg-shaped, often a 
trifle flattened. Eyes some¬ 
times prominent—sometimes 
deep. It can not be called a 
smooth potato. The color is 
that of Early Rose. The en¬ 
graving. from nature (Fig. 471, 
p. 765), shows the average size. 
The best five weighed 2 
pounds 11% ounces. Eaten 
October 9, quality good and 
mealy; flesh white. 
Obviously.— That just as 
largo yields of potatoes can be 
raised on acres ns upon the Ru¬ 
ral New-Yorker plots, if the 
satno conditions are supplied, 
is very evident.. The only 
question is, will it pay to sup¬ 
ply those conditions? It is a 
question that farmers have not 
thought over enough, and we 
fully believe that the Rural’s 
potato experiments will prove 
the forerunner of an entire 
change in potato culture. 
Whether for light or heavy 
soils—that is, for sandy or 
clayey loams (for the former 
are really heavier than the lat¬ 
ter)—we lay great stress upon 
(1) wide and deep trenches; (2) 
an abundance of all kind of 
food; (3) level cultivation. 
Now, if by this method we can 
raise 500, 600, or 1,000 bushels 
to the acre, any farmer can 
estimate for himself how 
much money be can afford to 
spend in producing such yields. 
Our farm contemporaries 
ask why the Rural does not 
raise acres, instead of plots, of 
potatoes, and show the prac¬ 
ticability of its .yields. Well 
we did do that with corn, and 
the yield was the heaviest we 
have ever heard of, the cost of 
the crop considered. Rut our 
contemporaries, who now 
make the demaud of acres in¬ 
stead of plots of potatoes, were either silent 
or incredulous. Now, we tested over 50 kinds 
of new potatoes last season. Were we to give 
one acre to each kind (even though the seed 
could be obtained, which, with new kinds is 
plainly impossible) this would require 50 acres 
of land for potato tests alone, and we know 
not how much assistance to prepare the laud, 
plant, gather and estimate the yields. Ob¬ 
viously, we must at once set about building up 
a village of barns for storage, and cottages for 
tree was planted in the Fall of 1882, and is 
now nine feet high, a free grower, with large, 
glossy leaves. It has thus far proven hardy 
and healthy. It blossomed freely in the Spring, 
but all the clusters of blossoms, except four, 
were emasculated for the purpose of crossing. 
Pollen from Aujou and the Seckcl was ap 
plied daily, before, while, and perhaps after 
the stigmas were receptive, but the blossoms 
so treated failed to set fruit. The other blos¬ 
soms set line pears, one of which, of the average 
size and usual form is shown at Fig. 472, p. 
763. These remained on the trees until after 
light frosts, when they wore picked, placed in 
the cellar where they ripened November 1st. 
INCREASING DEMAND FOR 
GRAPES. 
Another year's experience 
and observation in the vine¬ 
yards and in the markets,have 
more fully convinced me that 
grape growing is among the 
best and most certain of fruit¬ 
growing interests. As vine- 
yardists learn to care for the 
vines better, and lietter modes 
of packing and transporting 
the fruit, and the prices get 
more within the reach of lab¬ 
oring people, the quantity 
grown can hardly equal the 
demand. Only a few years 
ago our foreign population 
were the grape eaters; now 
grapes are found by our na¬ 
tive population to be de¬ 
licious and healthful, and al 
ready, they have become on 
thousands of tables, an article 
of daily staple consumption. 
The quantity now received 
and consumed every day in 
any of our large cities would 
utterly astonish one who has 
never seen the whole train 
loads and whole steamer loads 
daily unloaded and all good 
grapes have sold for remune¬ 
rative prices. The nneyenl¬ 
ists should be well satisfied 
when Concords will net them 
two cents a pound. The crowd¬ 
ing upon the markets of such 
poor sorts as Champion and 
Ives Seedling is a grave mis¬ 
take. RUSTIC. 
Burnl lies. 
Experiment (Sroundg of the $ural 
4J other. 
THE MIKADO PEAR. 
This is ODe of the Japan or China pears 
which just now are attracting attention. The 
The flesh is coarse and gritty; the flavor as 
good as that of the Kieffer, and rather sweet¬ 
er. The tree is desirable for its rapid growth 
and bright, luxurious foliage; the fruit may 
be valuable for canning. 
NEW POTATOES.-(Continued.) 
SOIL, dtJLTURE, ETC. 
The soil Is a moist, mellow loam, Inclining a little 
*■*? 
to clay, and tuts Is the fourth consecutive year In 
which potatoes have been raised on It. It. has re¬ 
ceived liberal quantities of potato concentrated fer¬ 
tilizers and occasional dressings of salt, kalnlt,bone, 
etc , pcrhnps at the rate of 1,200 pounds to the aero 
altogether. Trenches two spades wide, tlvr inches 
deep and three feet apart, as lu past seasons, were 
dug. The soli In the bottom teas niked mellow, tbu 
pieces (two eyes each), placed one fool apart upon 
this, and then cover, d with an Inch of soil. The 
fertilizers were then evenly strewn, and the trench 
Oiled 0 ) the (turfuco. The cultivation Is done be¬ 
tween the rows entirely with wheel cultivators, aud 
between the plants with the hoe. Very little hoeing 
Is require j, since the plants meet before the weeds 
start. The soil Is never hilled-up about the plants, 
tout kept at the same level over the entire plot. In 
testing new potatoes here, our object Is to ascertain 
their quality, growth of vine, time of maturity and 
the greatest yield of which they are capable In a 
rich soil specially prepared for them. 
W uite Prize. (Fig. 470, p. 7G5.) This originat¬ 
ed with Geo H. Colvin (address lost), who says 
it isa cross between Beauty of Hebron and Bur¬ 
bank, resembling the former in shape and the 
latter in color. He also says that it ripens 
earlier than the Beauty of Hebron. With us 
the tops were small, and the second to bloom. 
The tubers were dug Aug. 5, which would make 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER GRAPE. 
R. I). [8. MARVIN has spent 
many years of his life in pro¬ 
ducing seedling fruits, giving 
special attention to seedling 
grapes. It will be remember¬ 
ed that he named one of his 
grapes the “Rural New- 
Yorker,” a cross between Hu¬ 
meian and Concord, with, as 
he says, the virtues of both 
parents and none of their 
faults. It is an early, and 
heavy bearer. The vine is 
very hardy and vigorous, aud 
Mr. Marvin thinks It will 
prove the firmest and bust 
shipping berry with which 
lie is acquainted. One of the 
bunches is illustrated at Fig. 
463, which was sent to us 
merely that we might test 
the quality of the fruit, and 
not on account of its showing 
the average size of the bunch, 
which is somewhat larger. 
Our only specimen vine has 
made a strong, vigorous 
growth, aud will probably 
fruit next year, when we shull 
be able to speak of it more 
confidently. 
