THE BUBAL WEW-YOBKER. 
JAN 
it is a complete success. The ad verse criticisms 
we sometimes see uo doubt relate to some of 
the immense amount of bogus stock sold all 
over the country by parties from whom we 
had a right to expect better things. I was 
swindled to the extent of at least $500 and the 
loss of three years’ valuable time by this 
means from an original purchase of 100 plants; 
and if I had uot by a streak of good luck pro¬ 
cured 500 plants of the original stock from 
Illinois, I should have condemned the variety. 
As it Is, I have about five acres of the genuine 
stock, aud shall set 12 acres more in the spring 
if I have plauts enough, or can buy them. 
As for the-’Early Cluster, I have a fine stock 
of -bearing plants which I will give to any¬ 
body who will dig them up. 
I would like to hear from some of the Rural 
correspondents iu regard to the Erie Black¬ 
berry. as I uuderstaud it. is au old berry under 
a new name. I am informed that it has been 
grown for years by L. B. Pierce and others. 
If this is a fact, let us hoar from some disin¬ 
terested parties who know the fruit. 
Berrien Co., Mich, R. MORRILL. 
FAY’S PROLIFIC AND CHERRY CUR¬ 
RANTS. 
After having grown Fay’s New Prolific 
Currant for three seasons, I pronounce it 
nothing more or less than the Cherry variety. 
From the many testimonials as to its superior 
qualities over the Cherry, I would judge that 
mine were not: true to name, but my plants 
were purchased from an undoubted source, 
and must be pure. The Cherry Currant is 
easily distinguished from any other variety, 
both by the foliage and wood; but I defy any 
one to distinguish between Fay’s and the 
Cherry in any point as the two are grown 
here. The fruit is no larger, The bunches no 
longer, the quality no better aud the plants 
are no more productive than Cherry, cultiva¬ 
tion and all ocher points being equal. 
I was recently talking with J. D. Roberts, a 
prominentseedsmanand gardener of Cobourg, 
Ont,, and his experience and opinion of Fay’s 
are identical with my own in every point. 
His plants were also from au undoubted 
source. Will some readers of the Rural who 
have tested both the above sorts under similar 
conditions please report their experiences. 
Campbellford, Canada. .t. w. J. 
R. N.-Y.—x\t the Rural Grounds the Fay 
seems more prolific, while the bunches average 
longer. Otherwise- they are much the same. 
The Industry Gooseberry is without 
doubt a very valuable acquisition on account 
of its freedom from mildew and the large size 
of the fruit. The plants in the N. Y. Experi¬ 
ment. Station garden fruited for the first time 
this season. The bush bus a low, spreading habit 
of growth. The fruit, which is borne in pro¬ 
fusion, is very large, of a deep red color, cov¬ 
ered with numerous spines. The spines upon 
the fruit are not an objectionable feature. 
The flavor is ui the best, and the fruit sells 
readily in the market either when green or 
fully ripened. Although this variety is of 
foreign origin, it appears to be well adapted 
to the climate of this country. m. h. b. 
Geneva, N. Y. 
to grow—farmer to plant them himself, and 
take care of them two or three years, as the 
case may be, but the agont. to do the pruning 
and cutting back, and training of the vines. 
The vines are guaranteed to bear 40 or 50 
bunches of grapes three years from planting, 
and a market for them is to be furnished at 
$90 per ton. At the end of three years either 
the farmer has to sell out or bny out the 
agent, as nothing lias been paid as yet on the 
contract, but the contract says the vines are 
to be paid for what threo-year-old vines are 
worth, not what the plants as one-year-olds 
would be worth, and the value to be arrived 
at must be what the grapes will bring in mar¬ 
ket, either as wine or fruit. The grape is 
called the Cambridge, aud from what others 
know of the Concord, they say that it is 
nothing more than that well-known variety. 
Several farmers have put out from 1,000 to 
2,800 vines, aud when the time comes to pay 
the company or sell out, they will find them¬ 
selves with a white elephant on their hands. 
Iu some instances the company agrees to take 
all the vines will produce at a stated price, 
less commission, discounts, etc. 
Montgomery Co., O. w. Barringer. 
THE BEST METHOD FOR WINTER PROTECTION 
OF VINES 
I have seen is to plow the ground with one 
horse, turning the furrows towards the trellis. 
Then cut. the vines loose aud lay them close on 
the ground. Take pieces of boards IS to 18 
inches long, place them across the vines near 
tne ends, or if the vines lap one board will 
hold two vines. Let a man stand on the ends 
of the board while another puts on dirt enough 
to hold down the vines. Go over the whole 
ber. It is 26 inches in girth aud two inches 
wide. Securely fastened at center a is the 
buckle end of a strap 36 inches long (c c c). It 
ARRANGEMENT FOR HOT WATER. 
A good supply of hot water is an important 
item in all farm houses. It is needful in the 
dairy, aud wherever cleanliness is demanded. 
Dirt and filth are frequently permitted to ac¬ 
cumulate simply because of the difficulty in 
procuring a good supply of hot water. Where 
there is but one medium-sized stove the house¬ 
wife usually has need of its full space for her 
own work. Kettles for Seating water are 
usually in the way, and as a consequence the 
needed water is not heated, and dirt gets an 
added lease of life. An arrangement some¬ 
thing like that, shown at Fig. 9 is used in many 
farm kitchens with good success, it Is better 
than a tin tank or reservoir at the back of the 
stove, for it is less in the way aud the water 
can be drawn from it more handily. A stout 
barrel is placed on a stand at any convenient 
bight. It may be placed near the stove or in 
a remote corner, the only difference being 
that a greater length of pipe will l»e required 
where the barrel is removed from the stove. 
In the kitchens at the Michigan Agricultural 
College these barrels are placed about 10 feet 
from the stoves. An iron pipe, leaving the 
bottom of the barrel, passes down through the 
back of the stove, as shown by the dotted 
lines, out directly through the fire aud back to 
about tbo middle of the staves. Any iron¬ 
worker cau, at the cost of a few dollars, put 
those pipes iu place and they will work for 
years. The barrel is filled with water and the 
pipe receives its supply. As the water in the 
ImWTm 
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lip 
mini 1111 I TTTiT H 
EMPIRE STATE GRAPE. 
The Rural wishes to hear from parties 
now growing the Empire State Grape. I 
have several hundred vines purchased direct 
from Pratt Brothers. A few fruited iu 1885 
and 1886. All these vines have made a strong, 
healthy growth, aud have ripened their wood 
almost to ihe last bud. The vigor of the 
Empire State excels that of anything I have 
among 35 varieties of grapes, Its growth the 
past season was a wonder to those who visited 
my place. It is destined to become one of the 
leading white grapes now before the fruit 
growers of this section. I esteem it so highly 
that I wish I had 10 acres now fruiting. If it 
succeeds as well as it now gives promise, it 
will prove all my fancy has ever painted. The 
date at which it is claimed to ripen will not 
be found correct; it is at least a week or 10 
days later than Hartford. As regards its 
keeping qualities, I have clusters in fine con¬ 
dition at this date (Dec. 9). An agent at New¬ 
burgh, N. Y., soliciting orders for this vine, 
showed clusters last February that won the 
admiration of those who saw the fruit. 
Walden, N. Y. w. c. h. 
A NEW WAY OF SELLING GRAPE-VINES. 
A new scheme in grape-planting has lately 
opened up here, aud on inquiry 1 find it is 
being worked to a considerable extent. An 
agent selects people in a community, at a dis¬ 
tance from each other, and makes a contract 
to furnish as many plants as the farmer wishes 
mm 
HOT WATER ARRANGEMENT. Fig. 9. 
60 
AH/HL mW-YORK0t 
Fig. 17. 
lot in this manner and afterwards both men 
can finish the work. The manure that is to 
be used cau be employed to help cover. In 
the spring, take up the vines; put the boards 
under cover for future use, uud plow the dirt 
back to the center, and you have a level bed 
and the manure well mixed in. Let the 
ground be kept clean with shallow cultivation 
through the season. 
* * * 
Variations in Ripening Grapes.— 1 find 
the time when grapes ripen varies greatly 
in accordance with the amount of cultivation 
given them,and the quantity allowed to ripen 
on each vine, in the Fall of last year I saw 
a difference of two weeks in two different 
vineyards on the same kind of soil, and on a 
continuation of the same trellis. The grape¬ 
vines on one end got extra care and plenty of 
manure, and bore a uniformly good crop, 
reaching as high as six tons to the acre of Wor- 
dens and Concords, The grape-vines on the 
other end, with ordinary culture seldom yield¬ 
ed half that quantity. The past season the 
owner tried to imitate his neighbor, by giving 
extra euro uud cultivation; but the results 
were that, the vines overbore, and the crop 
was two weeks later. One is apt to make a 
mistako by taking a single year or crop as a 
criterion to judge by. 
Onondaga Co., N. Y d. mills. 
pipe becomes hot it passes up into the barrel, 
and cooler water takes its place. Thus, a con¬ 
stant circulation is maintained, and the water 
in the barrel is made as hot as desired, it can 
be drawn as desired through au ordinary 
faucet. The barrel must be filled from the 
well or pump each morning, unless one could 
have a tank for rain water built above the 
barrel, so that it could be filled at any time by 
simply turning a faucet. 
fodder clamp. 
The clamp shown at Figs. 16-17, is used by 
Mr. M. H. Crandall, of Kent Co., Md., who 
finds it a great help. The board b b, Fig. 16, 
cn$& 
a* 
Fig. 16. 
is three feet long by two feet wide and one 
inch thick; a a is a semicircular piece cut or 
hewn out of any rough board or piece of tim- 
lies loosely along a a a. A pointed nail sunk at 
r holds the strap in place. Fill a act with fod¬ 
der, loosen the strap from the nail, pass it 
through buckle aud fasten. 
3 iiti i isf i % ocidm . 
ILLINOIS HORTICULTURAL MEETING. 
(RURAL SPECIAL REPORT.) 
Bagging grapes; officers elected; peddling 
rascalities; Paris-green effective for the 
codling moth. _ 
TnE annual meeting of the Illinois State 
Horticultural Society convened iu the city of 
Jacksonville on the morning of Dec. 16, with 
Pres, pro tem. Dennis in the chair; Mr. A. C. 
Hammond secretary, and Mr. Vickroy treas¬ 
urer. 
Mr. E. A. Riehl, of Alton, speaking of bag¬ 
ging grapes, said that to be successful the 
grapes must be bagged as soon after forming 
as possible. He cuts the corners of the bags 
to let water out. Grape rot will not progress 
when the thermometer falls below 60* Fahr. 
Mr. Huber, of Illinois City, stated that, bag¬ 
ging was too expensive for the market grower. 
Another member said that growers iti Michi¬ 
gan found bagging very profitable. Mr. 
Goodrich,of Cobden, in an essay on Specialties 
in Horticulture said that all success in life, in 
professional or other work, is in specialties. 
The election of officers resulted iu the choice 
of Mr. E. A. Riehl for president and Mr. Bar¬ 
nard for vice-president. 
Mr. Dennis toolc the affirmative on the ques¬ 
tion, “Can the nursery business be made prof¬ 
itable while peddlers are in every neighbor¬ 
hood?" He denouuced these unscrupulous 
agents. Nearly all the prominent members 
paid the dishonest peddler their respects in uot 
very complimentary terms. Mr. Kellogg de¬ 
nounced the Ohio (endless) Chain Nurseries, 
aud showed some of their glaring frauds. Mr. 
Robinson, of Kansas, showed some of their 
rascalities and advised the arresting of their 
agents whoa a case could be made. All pres¬ 
ent deplored the fact thut peddling was ueces- 
sary, and the discussion ended by resolv iug to 
appoi it a committee to present the draft of a 
legislative bill to be reported at the next meet¬ 
ing. Iu this way it is hoped that lying ped¬ 
dlers may be got rid of. 
In the afternoon Prof. Forbes, of Cham- 
puign.gave a lecture on entomology .reporting 
experiments with Paris-green on the “codling 
moth" or “apple-worm." The insecticide is 
sprayed on the trees before the fruit turns 
down and two applications are generally suffi¬ 
cient. The experiments were conducted on 
quite an extensive scale, over 40,000 apples 
having been opened and examined. The ex¬ 
periments show that Paris-green is a very ef¬ 
fective remedy, almost doubling the quantity 
of good fruit. 
In connection with the meeting there was 
a fine display of fruits and vegetables, 
aud over $200 in premiums were offered. The 
rooms were decorated with plants by Mr. 
Heim, who also displayed a line show of chrys¬ 
anthemums. h. 
THE MISSOURI STATE HORTICUL¬ 
TURAL CONVENTION. 
(RURAL SPECIAL REPORT.) 
A fine fruit section; need of constant culti¬ 
vation of the orchard; best small fruits for 
Missouri; new seedling apples. 
Our State meeting at Lexington, Decem¬ 
ber 7, 8, 9, was one of the most successful we 
have ever held. The display of fruits was 
splendid. Out of over 400 plates shown one 
could scarcely litid an imperfect apple, Pre¬ 
miums were given on about 9J varieties, aud 
the judges had their hands full to decide be¬ 
tween tho different plates. Our people are 
beginning to understand that we have a mag- 
niffeeut fruit country,and all that is necessary 
is to make it known to others, and make the 
best use of it ourselves. 
The lesson learned from three or four pa¬ 
pers on the subject of orchards, was that to 
have the best success we must cultivate cou 
tinuously; not that a crop is to be grown ui 
