THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
APRIL U 
\ 
232 
minds us that last year was a trying time to 
vegetation, and he requests that we will try 
t hi s bean again. He suggests that we plan t 
100 hills beside our common Na vy Bean, feel¬ 
ing confident that it will yield three times more. 
He says it is the best of ail beans for cooking. 
He suggests that we plant them on good soil, 
not too rich, one in a hill in rows two feet 
apart, 12 to 15 inches in the row (one pint will 
make 1,147 hills). Mr. Alexander quotes from 
the letters of a number of persons to show that 
they were exceptionally well pleased with t his 
Prolific Tree Bean. We cannot doubt it. The 
test we made last year was a fair one. The 
bean is excellent in every way, but so is the 
old Refugee, from which it ditiers too little to 
justify its introduction a-s a high-priced novelty. 
Mr. Alexander also writes us that he considers 
Pringle’s American Triumph Oats are “entirely 
distinct from any other variety known.” We 
would ask him in what respect they are so dis¬ 
tinct l We ask for information, not to be crit¬ 
ical, as wo have a small quantity to teat. 
“Entirely distinct” is an expression hard to 
realize when applied to what we give the gen¬ 
eral name of white oats. 
Referring to the statement made at the 
Massachusetts Horticultural Society and quo¬ 
ted in these columns, about the Japan Maples 
being always protected in frames at the Par¬ 
son’s & Sons 0o,’s Nursery, Flushiug, L. 1., 
we are iuformed that the matter was grossly 
mis-stated. For nine years, it appears, these 
maples have been grown in numbers in open 
1 (orders without suffering more injury than 
fails to the lot of ordinary hardy deciduous 
shrubs. The maples imported from Japan 
have, during the first year after their arrival, 
suffered somewhat, both in Summer and Win¬ 
ter, but native plants grafted here have al¬ 
ways done well. For at least three years, Ja¬ 
panese Maples have been planted out in the 
nursery in open rows the same as other decid¬ 
uous shrubs, and cultivated with the plow, and 
that, too, as it happens, in the bleakest part 
of the farm. 
sent them to hundreds and have yet to find one 
who has not a good word to say of it.” 
Our friend is evidently not aware of the fact 
that we published our opinion of this bean the 
An old farmer writes us that if we plant ker¬ 
nels from the butts, the plants will sucker more 
if from the tip they will sucker less. 
We have received from Mr. John Roscher 
<$xir?rintent of the 
$lnv-*lovlu'v. 
POTATO TEST CONTINUED 
Indiana. Test No. 6.—Seed from John S. 
Bodge, La Port, Indiana. Planted April 
11. Mostly of a deep purple color with oc¬ 
casional buff streaks and blotches. The cut. 
Fig. 168, shows the shape. Y ield, 478 bushels 
to the acre. Large and small potatoes 149,160 
to the acre. Five largest weighed three pounds 
and half an ounce. Not yet tested for quality. 
Rose’s New Seedling and Rockt Moun¬ 
tain Rose, from Alfred Rose, Penn Yau, N. 
Y.—Test No. 43. Planted April 23. These 
two kinds, through a mistake, were planted 
together. We could not, therefore, separate 
the yield. The engravings, Figs. 169 and 170, 
however, show the typical shape of each. I he 
skin of the Rocky Mountain Rose is nearly 
white; the other more of a buff. The eyes of 
both are superficial, and both are exceptionally 
regular in shape, even those of the largest 
size. Yield, 873.04 bushels to the acre. I^arge 
and small, 85,800 to the acre, which show's a 
large average size. The best five weighed 
three pounds six ounces. Quality mealy and 
excellent: tasteless. 
Florence. Test No. 52.—From J ohn Goeh- 
enour, Freeport, ills. From seed of the old 
Goodrich. White skin, eyes not sunken. 
Quality rather soggy, with sometimes dark 
spots in tlie middle. Yield, 821.83 bushels to 
the acre. Large and small, 87,120. Dug Sept. 
Indiana- 
of the Richmond and Alleghany Railroad 
Office, Richmond. Va., 11 ears of what he calls 
Allen’s Improved Normandy Corn. They weigh 
po,, pounds. They are 14 to 20-rowed. The 
kernel is a white dent, closely resembling the 
Rural Heavy Dent or Benton Corn except that 
it is rather deeper. We should say they were 
the same variety, merely modified by soil and 
climate. One rarely sees 11 finer ears. 
Mr. A. D. Huson, of Sheboygan Falls,Wis., 
first time last- Fall, after testing it last season. 
We have spoken against it os o navdty and 
only as a novelty. It does not appear to us to 
be sufficiently distinct in any particular to be 
entitled to the name. It is no fraud in any 
ease. Those w ho advertise it as a remarkable 
novelty are no doubt perfectly sincere. But 
were they to test it beside the Refugee and 
several other bush kinds, it would then appear, 
perhaps, that our statement is w r ell grounded- 
Experience wrrn Ensilage. —Mr. Geo. T. 
Pow'ell, of Ghent, N- Y., Agricultural Editor 
of the Chatham Cornier, speaks of his trial of 
the ensilage system. He has a concrete silo of 
three compartments built two years ago. The 
silo was opened on the 18th day Of November 
and found to be in excellent condition. The 
causes of the improved condition over last 
year are two: more thorough tramping and 
heavier pressure. In addition to the screw 
pressure, which has worked with more effi¬ 
ciency this season, several tons of muck were 
added, in barrels, which were placed upon the 
plank covering around the entire .silo. There 
is somewhat more of acidity than was expect¬ 
ed, but the cause lies largely iu the condition 
of the corn when it was cut. The experiment 
this Winter, in addition to a lot of breeding 
ewes, was with some beef cattle and a lot of 
young cattle aud calves. It was very noticea¬ 
ble there was no loss of condition from the 
usual very great change from the pasture to 
the dry feed of the barn. With sheep espec¬ 
ially the change is very severe: by nature in- 
eliued to range over the fields, they prefer to 
remain out picking the last morsel of grass 
that can be found, and if brought to the stable 
will almost refuse to eat lor days, unless the 
ground is well covered with snow. The ensi¬ 
lage system at least has a value in making the 
change less severe; in fact, the sheep are will¬ 
ing to leave the pastures when they begin to 
fail, and Avheu the first whiffs of the opened 
silo float out upon the air they will come up 
daily to be fed of its contents. 
Rose’s Seedling—Fig. 169, 
If Mr. Huson’s bean is not the California 
Tree Bean then wo have never tested it. aud 
have nothing to say for or against it, Many 
kindred casts may be mentioned. Last Sum¬ 
mer the Paragon, Perfection, Favorite aud 
MayfloAver Tomatoes were tested at the Rural 
Grounds, side by side, and it was found that 
there was so little difference between them 
that the one might easily be mistaken for the 
w'rites us as follows: “In looking over the 
columns of the Rural New-Yohkkk 1 noticed, 
in regard to the California Branch-Prolific 
Tree Beau, that you have not one good word 
to say for it. I am surprised that a paper of 
the Rural’s standing should accept an adver¬ 
tisement, and after receiving pay for the same, 
publish it as a fraud, since it virtually amounts 
to that. I claim my Imperial Prolific Beau to 
Barn Cellar. —A farmer who has used a 
bam cellar for thirty-seven yen re, says iu the 
New England Farmer, that he would not un¬ 
dertake to farm without one, and adds: “1 
consider the manure to be nearly twice as 
strong as that thrown out iu heaps against the 
side of the barn in the old way.” Any other 
man’s verdict will be much the same who takes 
proper care of such a cellar by using absorb¬ 
ents to “fix” the gases. 
Mrs. M. E. B., of Schuyler Co., N. Y., 
writes that she thinks it would be more im¬ 
partial if the Rural w'ould give the lady read¬ 
ers a chance for some prize, for the best pro¬ 
ducts of either the flower or vegetable garden, 
to encourage them to work a little more out- 
of-doors than they do. She thinks this might 
lead to better gardens and better health. She 
states that though 53 years of age she does 
most of the work in her garden, assisted only 
a little by the “other half.” The suggestion 
is a good one, and we shall try to bear it in 
mind in connection with our next seed distri¬ 
bution .. 
Plant your late strawberries ou laud ex¬ 
posed to the North. The earliest should be 
planted iu a southern exposure. 
The Ohio Raspberry (Black-cap) Las done 
well with us and we commend a trial of it to 
our friends. The canes are strong, healthy 
and hardy—decidedly hardier than those of 
the Gregg, though the berry is not quite so 
large.*. 
Ohio Raspberry. —A writer in the Hus¬ 
bandmen says that time has proven that this 
new candidate for public favor has come to 
stay. It is no longer an experiment, one 
party in Wayne County, N. Y., having fifty 
acres iu bearing; cane strong and vigorous; 
iu size between Doolittle and Mammoth Clus¬ 
ter; hardier than the Gregg,, being linn and 
solid; seeds small; flavor equal to any Blaek- 
eup known; ripens about one w'eek after Doo¬ 
little, aud holds well to vines when fully ripe, 
but its strongest point is its superior qualities 
for evaporating, making from one-fourth to 
one-third more to a given number of quarts 
