202 
TOE RURAL WEW-VORIER. 
MARCH 28 
lect from too. Rosea is still among the best, 
but the Desboisii is the most showy; covered 
with a profusion of dark-red (lowers, it is the 
most noticeable of all, The white varieties, 
Candida and Nivea, will please the lovers of 
the chaste, and the Lowei, Lavullel, Duehar- 
tre and Vatarine nearly alike will suit the 
taste of those that like neat and pretty dark 
red flowers of smaller size. Amabilis, Steltz- 
nerii and Arborea are very good and robust 
grower’s. 
CHESTNUTS AM) BERRIES. 
About 30 years ago I procured for neigh¬ 
bors 50 nice American chestnuts from supe¬ 
rior’ large seed. They were planted nt. the same 
time as apple trees as part of an orchard and 
well cured for. Now the apples have borne 
fine crops for many years, and the chestnuts 
are of about the same size and form ol' head, 
and average a foot in diameter, but only a 
few trees hafo borne yet, and 1 doubt if the 
product of all amounts to one peck a year. 
Some six years ago 1 planted three .Japan 
chestnut trees two years old in the garden, 
and they have grown nicely and are more ele¬ 
gant than the American. Last year they 
hung full of burrs, about, 150 to a tree, and on 
diligent sear ch we found three nuts, the rest 
being abortive. The previous year the pro¬ 
duct, was two of moder ate size. 
As the Editor likes to have experience 
rather t han theory, here is mine: 1 cannot 
discover any difference worthy of mention 
between the Doolittle, Soulregau or Tyler 
Raspberries. The Gregg is not hardy here. 
Caroline is hardy, very productive, but too 
soft and lacking llavor. The most rampant 
grower and greate'-t bearer is 1 he Shaffer. It 
is a fair berry for the table and goof for can¬ 
ning: hut the bushes should lie upheld by 
stakes or wires on posts. We want large ber¬ 
ries nud plenty of them; and Cuthbert will be 
the most populai late berry and 1111 the basket, 
much sooner than the Philadelphia, Turner, 
Brandywine and other small berries. 
APPLES. 
Here is a list of varieties of apples mostly 
grown here. In making a selection for plant¬ 
ing, we should make a distinction between 
what is best for table or home use, and the 
most profitable for murket, which will be the 
greatest bearers, hardy,of fine,attractive color 
and large size. Of the latter class I recom¬ 
mend for early the Red Astraehan where the 
soil suits it, and the Duchess of Oldenburg, 
Harvest, Yellow Transparent, probably, al¬ 
though not a firm fruit, Maiden’s Blush 
Gravenstein, Porter, Twenty Ounce. Wealthy 
a most beautiful apple and an early 
bearer. For winter, Baldwin, Ben Davis, Ci¬ 
der, H. Nonesuch, Mann, Streaked Pippin, 
Smokehouse, Titus Pippin, R. 1. Greening and 
Pennock. Most of these are good for all pur. 
poses; but the Ben Davis and Smith’s Cider are 
immensely productive and salable, but, too 
poor for home use where we can have better. 
Peek s Pleasant is among the best winter ta 
ble apples and is a good substitute for the 
Newtown Pippin, which it neurly resembles. 
Tompkins Co. King is a fine apple, hut falls 
too soon from tin- tree. Spitzenburg falls. 
Roxbury Russet is excellent tor cooking and 
generally hears well. Northern Spy fails; so 
do Bellflower and Kali Pippin, The Falla 
water is a great bearer aud a beuutif ul fruit. 
GARDEN FENCE, 
I have made the fence around the garden 
of woven wire and like it very much; hut I 
have put it to use to tram grape vines upon as 
a trellis, and 1 can twine the shoots as 1 please 
in the loops. 
It makes a perfect garden fence and serves 
as a fence around the poultry yard, letting in 
liglitand air; il also protects those little plots in 
the law n where the bedding plants luxuriate, 
from the excursions of poultry,and it protects 
the youug apple trees from the rabbits | A val¬ 
uable suggestion— Eds.] I have tried many 
re/nedies to prevent then gnawing young ap¬ 
ple trees which they prefer;but they like to nip 
Norway Maple, beeches, and lindens as well; 
hut at last I placed the woven w ire fence fast¬ 
ened to posts around the field, and this is a 
permanent, safeguard. But the meshes must 
not be loo large, as lo my surprise the rabbits 
will force themselves through quite a small 
space, A two-inch mesh is too large. The 
washes of various kinds I have used to pre¬ 
vent, the injury from rabbits disappeared with 
the first hard rain, unless one of linseed oil or 
petroleum, and they were injurious to the 
trees. A fence of good st rong woven wire 
protected by one or two strands of Buckthorn 
fencing, will last many years, protect, the or¬ 
chard or garden from the pig* and poultry, 
act as a burner to the fruit stealer and he a 
cheap fence, too, aud how nice and convenient 
to have some good varieties of grape vines 
trained along this fence, the vines being fast¬ 
ened to the fence by their tendrils, aud when 
growing woven in and out with little trouble. 
Queens Co., Long Island. Isaac hicks. 
RAISING LIMA BEANS WITHOUT 
POLES. 
Mr. Thomas Bennett mentions the fact, 
in the Gardener’s Monthly, that, he has grown 
Lima beans on upright threads between two 
horizontal wires for several years, and de¬ 
monstrates most conclusively that the wire 
and thread trellises cost about one-half what 
poles would for the area of ground covered, 
even supposing the poles could be procured 
easily and purchased cheaply. 1 have tried 
this mode of raising Lima beans with great 
satisfaction, and regard it ns not only much 
cheaper, hut owing to the fact, as 1 suppose, 
that the roots are more uniformly distributed 
m the soil and the vines better exposed to the 
sunlight, the fruit is matured to bettermlvan- 
tage, and yields a somewhat, larger crop. 
The illustrat ions at Fig. 142, p. ‘JOG, will give 
a clear idea os to the way I arrange the trel¬ 
lises. Two stout, hard-wood stakes (sand I) 
about four feet long, are driven into the 
ground at an angle of about 00 degrees, 
lea ving one foot above ground. These stakes 
are placed 800 to 400 feet apart, according to 
the length of the trellis. Three or four foot 
from the stakes t wo poles are raised as at a. 
These are tied together at the top with a piece 
of small wire. The wire cable is then fastened 
to the stake and passed over tho polos. I find 
the twisted wire best for this purpose, as tho 
expansion of heat and cold affect* only the 
twist and not the metal. Tho cable is carried 
to /, and fastened with a staple after [lulling 
it. tight with t he hands. Two other poles, ns at 
h, are then placed near f, and pushed up to 
a vertical position. This pulls the wire as 
tight as a bowstring. A No. 14 wire is then 
stretched at the bottom from one stake to the 
other, and intermediate supports, ns at d and 
arc placed at intervals. Cords, o o, can 
then be tied between the upper and lower 
wires, and the trellis is ready. I like to use 
lor I,lie lower wire a cable composed of No. It, 
wires. Common tying twine can lie used to 
form the net. The trellis should he erected so 
as to run iu the direction of tho prevailing 
winds. The intermediate .supports should in¬ 
cline a little towards each other. The end 
poles should lie so long that, the cable will rise 
seven feet above the ground. I prefer to 
plant the beans four to live inches apart. This 
allows a share for the grubs. It has been 
urged against this system that, there is no 
chance for cross-cultivation. This objection 
holds good for all garden crops that are raised 
iu drills. With a good wheel hoe the vines 
can easily be kept dear of weeds. Any extra 
labor required for t his work will lie more than 
compensated for by the advantages of tho 
system. wm. hewitt. 
Trenton, N. J. 
FRUIT NOTES. 
Here are some varieties to plant cautiously 
and some not to plant at, all in this locality 
—Central Indiana: 
Gooseberries, —The Industry I have 
grown two seasons. It mildews and drops 
its foliage badly. T think it worthless here. 
Dougnl's No. 1(1 is a failure for the same rea¬ 
son. It is a slender, indifferent grower. Tri¬ 
umph will doubtless mildew here as the In¬ 
dustry does. 
Hthawherries.—T he Jewell I have tried 
in black soil with a clay subsoil, and in a 
sandy clay soil, and find it lacks vigor and 
makes absolutely no plants at all. The Parry 
seems open to the .same objections. 
Raspberries. —The Rancocaa and Ilansell 
are very similar iu plant uud fruit; both lack 
vigor and probably will not be planted ex. 
tcuslvely for market. The Marlboro is not ns 
vigorous as it. was expected; makes rather a 
short, stunted gr-mth, the leaves cupping and 
making a rather peculiar appearance. The 
fruit Is large, of good color, firm and of fair 
quality and the vine is productive. 
Bi ackherhiks.- McCracken,fruit medium 
uneven in size aud shajK* and of very pom-qual¬ 
ity. Btayman’s Early, a total failure in plant 
and fruit. Texas Hybrid, tender in plant and 
worthless here. Chrystal White, worthless, 
Enrly Harvest,, a good early berry, but tender, 
winter kills badly; not pi oil table here, Wi| 
son, Jr., and Early Cluster winter-kill. 
Plums. —Bassett, small and indifferent in 
quality. Blackman is probably u hybrid be¬ 
tween Wild Goose and the Pencil. I never 
heard of its producing fruit. Kelsey’s Japan 
has winter-killed this winter (IS degrees below 
zero) and seems more tender than the peach. 
Cherry. —Olivet we imported from Franco 
when first, introduced. It has proven worth¬ 
less. 
PEAR. Lo Conte is too tender for this 
climate. 
Nuts. —We have heard much recently in re¬ 
gard to the Japan Chestnut, it winter lulls 
badly here. The same can he said of the 
Spanish Chestnut aud English Wulnut. 
Marion Co.,Ind. c. w. uobbs. 
the great strawberry that horticulturists have 
been looking for. j. w. B. 
Bureau Co., Ills. 
■. — 4 » » 
HOME LETTUCES AND TOMATOES. 
Last spring I grow the* Sugar-loaf Let¬ 
tuce from Gregory,uud the Tomhannock from 
W. Atlee Burpee & Co., and found them en¬ 
tirely different, so much so that. I wonder how 
anybody could think then) identical. While 
the Sugar-loaf has a strong and erect, growth, 
the leaves on top turning in, nud as they at¬ 
tain maturity assuming n line brown tinge 
at the top, the Tomhannock resembles more a 
Summer Silesian in habit and size, with the 
color and crispness of (lie old Brown Dutch. 
1 also grew Turner’s Hybrid and Mikado To¬ 
matoes and found them generally handsome 
and smooth in form and attractive in eolor;in 
quality they were all that could he required of 
u first-class tomato, aud though some fruit 
was somewhat irregular, should that prove 
that they area failure? In our field of eight 
or ten lending varieties they were always 
picked in preference to all others except tin 
Essex Early Hybrid and Cardinal, on account 
of their large size and ripening qualities. 1 
shall raiso them more extensively this spring. 
Poughkeepsie, N. Y. chas. ii. 
^IvbovuTtltuval. 
PRUNING TREES. 
william faloner 
We prune our trees iu order to promote or 
preserve their beautiful proportions and bet¬ 
ter adapt them for the purposes for whieh wo 
desire them: also to rid them of broken or 
diseased branches, or throw their strength 
into the production of wood or fjuit, as the 
case may he desirable. Cut out the wind- 
broken or shivered limbs, shorten those that 
are disproportionately long and likely to bo 
broken by wind or snow storms, cut. away 
all branches that encroach upuu road or path¬ 
way, and here aud thorn in young trees thin 
out crooked, crossing, or superabundant 
branches. Old trees seldom need thinning. 
But be merciful! Don’t prune a tree unmean¬ 
ingly; the loss pruning you can got, along 
with, the better. In ull your operations use 
clean, sharp tools and make clean cuts. Don’t 
leave snags or butts either iu the case of small 
twigs or big branches, but cut, right hack to 
an eye, fork or stem, if you don’t, the snag 
will die back anyway,become a disfigurement, 
and oftor carry disease to adjacent parts. 
The best, time for pruning trees depends on 
circumstances: In Summer when the trees 
are in full leaf wo cannot very well see how 
best to thiu the head and give it the best 
symmetrical form, hence we often shirk that 
duly till Fall. But iu eases where big limbs 
are to lie removed, Hummer is to he prefer¬ 
red, as large wounds made then heal over 
more quickly than do those made In Winter, 
in Winter we canuot well distinguish all the 
dead branches in our tree tops, hence that is 
better attended to when the tree is in full leaf. 
In Summer wo don’t want to litter up our 
gardens by pruning trees, hence delay it till 
Winter. In Winter it is too cold to he agree¬ 
able to spend much time among the tree tops, 
aud in Bpriug wo are too busy witli other 
duties to go troe-piTining. All points consid¬ 
ered, I am inclined to favor the Fail as the 
best time, at least, the most convenient for 
the operation. In hard, frosty weather our 
tools are too brittle aud wo cannot make 
clean cuts; and nmny trees, yellow-wood and 
maples, for Instance, bleed severely when prun¬ 
ed in Spring, even as early ns February. 
But 1 never knew a tree to “bleed to death.” 
Don’t prune evergeens iu Winter. And 
don’t prune somewhat tender trees or shrubs 
of any kind sooner than just immediately be¬ 
fore Spring sets in. This enables you to see 
the extent, if any, of the injury caused by 
the severity of tho wtuter, when you can cut 
in to living wood. 
But we often Hud among trees around 
houses and in gardens that the pruning most 
needed s not the thinning of the brunches but 
the thinning of the trees themselves. If your 
trees are too thick, cut out tho least desirable 
ones, and give the good ones a better chance 
for life. 
HEDGE 1’I, A NTS. 
I read in a current agricultural paper, 
which claims high precedence, the advice to a 
reader who wants the best hedge plant, to 
choose first the Honey Locust! This plant 
never lm<i a single merit for the purpose hut 
ts thorns, and they are wholly superseded by 
the simple expedient of stretching a barbed 
wire about breast high for cattle (Jf» to 80 
inches) as a perfectly secure defence against 
their breaching. Its other habits are all 
against it. True, it« youug foliage, as crowd¬ 
ed iu a hedge, is very handsome, but cattle 
are so fond of browzing it that they soon des¬ 
troy its beauty and tho hedge itself, where 
they can have access to it. Low-growing, 
shrubby plants, distasteful to cattle, are the 
best. If of naturally erect and dense growth, 
they require little or no trimming. They 
should 8]irout densely from tlie collar, hut 
should not sucker from the roots. All in all, 
there is no plant that, combines so many 
merits for hedging ns the common, inexpen¬ 
sive privet, whieh grows freely from cuttings. 
Its general use would he a great adornment 
to farm scenery, and a great enhancement, to 
the comfort of residents and to the value of 
the fields, by the shelter against winds, and 
the evaporation from its nearly evergreen 
leaves. It seldom exceeds eight feet in natur¬ 
al bight. Cattle avoid it unless famished. 
They prefer it, however, to burberry, Japan 
quince, buckthorn or awcetbriar, aud other 
briar roses, which are all good hedge plants. 
w. 
A COW-DOCTOR’S BLUNDER. 
I had a valuable Ayrshiro cow which 
dropped a fine calf about September 10. A 
week after, she got caught out in a cold rain 
storm and took cold and became sick. A 
“cow doctor” came and said at once that she 
had the “hollow horn.” lie gave his regular 
treatment which was to slit tho tall, put in 
salt and bind it up with a rag. Then he proceed¬ 
ed to boro the horns, but this was not so bad, 
for some equally bright doctor had done this 
before the cow came into toy possession. 
Then he said he must wet the hack of the cows’ 
head with spirits of turpentine. This treat¬ 
ment nearly drove the poor thing frantic. I 
never saw nny creature suffer for 15 minutes 
as she did. Then the doctor left, said he had 
done all he could, and I guess he bad. too. I 
made up my mind he didn’t know his business. 
My theory was that the cow had taken a cold 
that hail resulted in inflammation of tho 
womb. She was still suffering. T gathered 
enough green catnip to make about three 
quarts of pulp after bruising well. To this I 
added a peck of wheat bran, put the whole in 
a tub aud added boiling water enough to make 
a good poultice. This 1 put, in a coarse hag 
such as is used for holding fertilizers and 
poured over it a pint of apple whisky. I put 
the whole thing on the cow’s side, over the 
womb, when it was about as hot as 1 could 
hear (ton my own flesh. Then T covered the 
cow, poultice and all, with horse blankets and 
hits of carpets. She lay' stretched out fiat 
with her head in the straw. Iu two hours she 
had raised her head and pulled up her legs. It 
was not long before she said to me just as 
plainly us a human being could have said it, 
that she was thirsty. I gave her a pail of 
warm gruel and she soon got up on her feet 
and nursed the calf. This is my experience with 
“hollow horn” and the readers of the Rural 
can judge bow long it, will he before I will lot 
any “cow doctor” cut the tail of one of my 
cows or put, turpentine on their heads. Such 
treatment is nothing but torture and yet 
thousands of cows are still treated in this 
way. J - p - 
Kingston, N. J. 
R. N.-Y.—It has been frequently stated 
by high authorities in the Rural that “hol¬ 
low-horn” anil “wolf-in-the-tail M are imagin¬ 
ary diseases of cattle. The symptoms which 
Ignorant quacks think indicative of local ail¬ 
ment iu the horu or tail, really indicate some 
ailment iu another part of the body or a gen¬ 
eral had condition of the system; and the 
treatment, should he directed not to the horn, 
hut to the real seat of the malady. 
THE ERROR OF EARLY MATURITY. 
B. F. JOHNSON. 
For the last six mouths wo have not heard 
as much of early maturity and one and two- 
year-old beef as we dnl the eighteen mouths 
before. It is, no doubt, more profitable to the 
breeder and feeder to be able to fatten and 
sell a steer at, one or I wo years, than to keep 
it a year or two longer: but, still it it, is found 
that one or two-year old meat, is not beef at 
all. in the estimation of the discriminating 
consumer, it, is plain the raising and feeding 
of baby beef will have to bo abandoned as un¬ 
profitable. and the truth is, one and two-year- 
old beef is not beef at all, neither is it veal— 
wanting the high, fine and frank flavor aud 
juiciness of the former, and the delicacy and 
tenderness of the lat ter. Besides, when size 
and fat, both, are to be attained nt the age of 
from one to two years, tho feeding must be 
forced from the start, with tho certainty that 
the muscles and flesh will be so iuterstnitifled 
with fat and tallow, tho lean meat will bo not 
ouly greasy, but oily. For example, take 
that wonderfully fat, well-developed and gen- 
Bubach’s No. 5 wo look upon out here as 
