THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
vice—or, rather, he took me in—and I began 
to prepare to set out my orchard. Before 
leaving the place,’however, I called his atten¬ 
tion to the poverty of the soil, and asked him 
what kind of manure to put on it. What 
was my surprise when he answered “None.” 
I began to question him at once, and received 
the reply that this land was quite fertile 
enough; that the roots of apple trees penetrat¬ 
ed deeper into the soil than the manure could, 
and did not extract from the soil the same 
elements that vegetables did, and hence this 
soil was exactly adapted to them; that the 
great trouble with trees on fertile ground was 
that they grew too fast, etc., etc. I took this 
all in, too; but with a suspicion that a field 
that would not raise potato bugs was a poor 
soil in which to plant-trees. 
I set them out, however, in October, Of 
course, during the winter there was not much 
chance for observation; but I was well pleased 
when 90 of them leafed out in the spring. 1 
cultivated the orchard carefully, but about 
July aud August some of the leaves began to 
wither and roll up and before frost 20 more 
succumbed to the inevitable. ~ It was the first 
time any man had ever put out over 25 
trees at once in that vicinity and many were 
the surmises, conjectures aud comments, but 
I heeded them not in my [determination to 
carry out the notions of the'agent; k but at the 
end of the season I had lost all faith in him, 
and determined to try my own plan, hit or 
miss. So during the latter part of the winter 
I hauled a great amount of old rotten wood 
from the woods and put it around some of the 
trees. Others I treated to a fine coat of ashes, 
and around others I piled stable mauure. 
Those trees have done well ever since. I 
would not advise manuring new ground or 
land that is naturally already very fertile, 
but I am certain that old worn-out ground 
should always be fertilized. 
Shelby Co., Ind. 
&\)c THtmjmrih 
THE FLORENCE CONGRESS OF FUNGI¬ 
CIDES AND INSECTICIDES. 
REMEDIES AGAINST MILDEW. 
The insecticides and fungicides exhibited 
at the above important convention, were few. 
For use against phylloxera there were exhib¬ 
ited various types of injectors (or plungers for 
applying liquids below ground) and for plows 
for the use of bisulphide of carbon; but there 
was no new material. The Vemorel injector 
obtained the first prize. For plant-lice in con¬ 
servatories there was presented a sort of red 
copper kettle, throwing, by means of a spout 
with a narrow opening, vapors of a decoction of 
tobacco. In what concerns fungus diseases of 
the vine, there was sulphur, sublimed and 
triturated, for oidium, and numerous spray¬ 
ing apparatus for throwing copper mix¬ 
tures against the mildew. Among the French 
apparatus, that which took the prize was that 
of M. Vermord of Villefranche (Rhone),and 
among the Italian that of M. Garda of Lime- 
na (Italy). The most interesting part of the 
meeting was the discussion relative to the 
treatment of mildew. The efficacy of the use 
of salts of copper was confidently proclaimed. 
The best formulae given are: 
The Bordelaide Mixture.— The vines are 
sprinkled during growth with a mixture of 
sulphate of copper aud of lime, prepared in 
the following manner: Six or eight kilograms 
of sulphate of copper (a kilogram or kilo is 
about 3 l-5th pounds) are dissolved in 100 liters 
of water; and 15 kilograms of slaked lime, in 
30 liters of water. When the sulphate of cop¬ 
per is completely dissolved aud the lime 
forms a homogeneous mixture, the latter is 
poured into the copper solution, the whole 
being stirred. A clear blue precipitate set¬ 
tles at the bottom of the bucket, and this 
must be- 6tirred at the time of using in order 
to suspend it in the water. 
The Audoynaud Process.—M. Audoy- 
naud, Professor of Chemistry in our school, 
proposed to sprinkle the leaves with ammonia- 
cal sulphate of copper. This liquid is made in 
the following manner: In a stoneware or 
glass vessel two or three liters (a liter is rather 
less than a quart) of warm water are poured 
upon a kilogram of sulphate of copper which is 
stirred with a wooden or glass rod to hasten 
the dissolving. When the liquid has cooled, a 
liter of ammonia, at 33 degrees Beaumd, is 
added. This liquid is finally mixed, in a suit¬ 
able cakk, with sufficient water to make the 
300 liters (about 50 gallons) which serve for the 
treatment of one hectare (about 2 % acres). 
The application is made by means of the 
Riley spraying nozzle which has received nu¬ 
merous applications here since it was made 
known to us. 
Sulphated Sulphur.—M. Theophile Ska- 
winski at Chateau Laujae in Gdrond, and M. 
D. Cavazza, Director of the Ecole de Viticul¬ 
ture at Alba (Piedmont), have used success¬ 
fully mixtures of pulverized sulphur with 
eight or 10 per cent, of sulphate of copperfinely 
triturated. 
These three remedies have shown themselves 
efficacious, but the one which appears to give 
the most satisfaction aud security is the sec¬ 
ond. It has the ad vantage of adhering strong 
ly to the leaves, and of persist! ug there until 
their fall. The salts of copper thus applied to 
the leaves act by preventing the germination 
of the conidia, and, consequently, the devel 
opmeut of the perouospora. Thus no sub¬ 
stance really new was exhibited at Florence. 
G. FOEX. 
Director of the Agricultui’al Experiment 
School, Montpelier, France. 
SEEDLING GRAPES. 
On looking over some back issues of the 
Rural, I notice that Mr. Geo. W. Campbell 
says that all Niagara seedlings that have come 
under his notice are white. I have one that is 
as black as a Clinton. Buuch the shape of the 
Niagara, but smaller; berries large, very 
sweet, but foxy. Shells from cluster when 
fully ripe. 
Raising seedlings is my hobby. I am now 
raising a lot from seeds taken from unripe 
grapes, in hopes of getting earlier varieties. 
It is well known (?) that seed corn selected 
as soon as the kernel is glazed will give us a 
crop that will mature earlier than if the ker¬ 
nels are left until they are fully ripe. A neigh¬ 
bor informs me that he has often grown sweet 
corn from seed gathered as soon as the corn 
was in a boiling stage, and that the crop grown 
from such seed was four or five days earlier 
than com taken from the same stalks after it 
had fully ripened. The same results are said 
to have been secured in case of tomatoes, 
melons, etc. Now I cannot see why the like 
results cannot be obtained in the case of 
grapes, aud if the same advantages can be 
gained we shall soon have grapes that will 
ripen even in the most northern limits of the 
United States. I find seeds taken from berries 
just as they begin to turn color, will sprout, 
and the plants from them seem as vigorous as 
auy. By selecting the first berries that color 
from early sorts, such as Moore’s Early, 
Ulster, Worden, Brighton, Eumelan, etc., we 
can soon test the matter. 1 have so much faith 
in the plan that I am raising a large lot of 
seedlings. [Success to you!— Eds.] f. l. w. 
Plainfield, Mich. 
BAGGING GRAPES. 
I WISH to add my testimony to that of for¬ 
mer writers as to the advantages to be derived 
from bagging grapes. There is in my garden 
a Warren or Lenoir vine about .50 years old, 
which for 20 years did not ripen a souud 
crop of grapes: all rotted more or less. Last 
year I cut it off at the ground to kill it, but 
during the summer it sent out two or three 
vigorous shoots that rau 30 to 50 feet. This 
year I put the vines up on trellises and con¬ 
cluded to try bagging the fruit. When it was 
about the size of No. 0 shot, I put a good many 
bunches into one-pound paper bags, drawing 
the bags up to the vine, folding the two upper 
corners tightly around the stems, aud fastening 
them with one pin each. A small bit of each 
lower comer was torn off to let out water. 
When the grapes were ripe, they were the 
soundest, most perfect aud luscious I ever be¬ 
held, aud at the same time the most beautiful 
having more bloom ibau any I ever saw raised 
without bags. Several other varieties of 
grapes were tried, all with the same good re¬ 
sults. The benefits from bagging grapes will 
much more than pay for the little time aud trou¬ 
ble devoted to the work aud assure the ripening 
of several varieties, which, if not bagged, 
would be worthless. Altogether, bagging 
grapes was a most useful discovery. 
Edgefield, S. C. r. h. m. 
tyvxticidtnval. 
SMALL FRUITS FOR CANADA. 
The time for planting has come, and in 
many a country home of large or small di¬ 
mensions the question arises; What fruit shall 
I plant? And easy as it seems with the varied 
catalogues in which each nurseryman brings 
forward his special fruits, there is really no 
guidance for the amateur. For this northern 
latitude questions often come to me from 
readers of the Rural that can lie answered in 
a few words. Consult some good fruit grow¬ 
er in your neighborhood and take the benefit 
of his successes ami failures. Soil and climatic 
influences are bo different that it is not easy to 
decide. For the latitude of Canada and 
Northern New York there is a good margin 
in the way of strawberries, because of the 
necessity of protection. Jersey Queen, Bid- 
well, Cumberland and Miner’s Prolific are 
equally satisfactory. Raspberries differ very 
much and are often killed to the snow-line, as 
they are more difficult to protect; yet the 
delicate Brinckle’s Orange is sure to give us a 
crop of fruit, if the snow stays on the beds. 
Grapes that, like the rest of the fruits, must 
be laid down, are all capable of fruitage, but 
for a sure crop the amateur cannot do better 
than to take Moore’s Early and Concord for 
black, Agawam aud Delaware for red, and 
Duchess aud Lady for white. This selection 
is the result of long experience and an answer 
to many inquiries. annie l. jack. 
Province of Quebec, Canada. 
^Irbonatllitral. 
A PLEA FOR THE NORWAY SPRUCE 
AND BALSAM FIR. 
“The Norway Spruce must go.” But 
where can we find a spruce in which such rap¬ 
idity of growth, cheapness of price, ease of 
production aud hardiness are found ? Is there 
any? Do Alcock’s, Oriental, Menzies, Coni¬ 
cal, etc., possess all these good qualities, and 
have they been proved by years of trial? 
There are many beautiful specimens of new 
aud as yet but little tested evergreens in the 
nurseries, protected by evergreens and other 
trees, that, when exposed to our changeable 
climate—the heat and drought of summer and 
the frost, ice and snow of winter—in the open 
lawns or fields, greviously disappoint the 
planter. Another objection will be found in 
the prices asked for tbo new kinds. These are 
so large compared with the small size of the 
trees that but few tree plauters can afford to 
purchase them. The White Spruce is a better 
tree in many respects, but as far as my ob¬ 
servation has extended in the Middle States, 
it will grow' about one-half as fast as the Nor¬ 
way Spruce. That the Norway Spruce is not 
adapted to all soils I admit; but what tree is? 
In very poor or sandy soil it will not thrive 
like the pines, which feed the roots by their 
decaying leaves, which also afford a mulch for 
protection. The spruces do not return that 
which is taken from the soil, and hence they 
should be fertilized by occasional manuring if 
the soil is not good enough to make them ob¬ 
jects of use aud beauty, ns they are when in 
their perfection. It is often owing to neglect 
of proper training that complaints are brought 
against them; for the annual growth should 
be shortened if it extends beyond, say, six or 
eight inc hes, aud if the side shoots are also 
kept in due proportion (which can be done 
even when quite large by the use of Water’s 
pruning shears, aud if still too high by stand¬ 
ing on a step-ludder) I apprehend the time 
has not yet come for the Norway to go. The 
same care and treatment will greatly improve 
the Balsam Fir; and if kept from growing 
too fast, it will be a useful tree for the planter 
and need not be rejected even if the Cepha- 
lonia, Nordmann’s and other firs are more 
rare and costly. 1. hicks. 
Queens Co., L. I. 
THE OSAGE ORANGE NOT DESIRABLE 
FOR POSTS. 
The Osage Orange is a very durable and 
valuable timber tree, but it is not to be com¬ 
pared with the catalpa for posts when one 
takes into consideration the rapidity of 
growth of the latter. We have several acres 
of Osage. They were a terrible thing to cul¬ 
tivate. They have been planted about 10 
years and are about half the diameter of 
catalpa, and Heaven help the man that has to 
work them up into posts. They are a harbor 
for prairie wolves that destroy the fanners’ 
chickens, and the nuisances cannot be hunted 
out. I set a man to prune the trees a few 
years ago, inteudiug to give him more help, 
but passing along afterwards and seeing the 
poor fellow (who had never done me any barm) 
suffering, I called him away, and they are not 
pruned yet. 
The question is often asked, “What are we 
to do with our criminals in State prisons now 
that the Knights of Labor oppose their work¬ 
ing?” This solves the problem. Plant your 
wheat laud with Osages, aud hire the State 
prison birds to cultivate aud prune them and 
work them up into posts, and you may rest 
assured that the Knights of Labor will never 
attempt to get the work away from them. 
As the small primings which huve lain around 
the hedge for 20 years are sound yet, one 
can see that it will not help to let them be 
killed by crowding, as can be done with the 
catalpa, so thg,t wheu the trees are to be worked 
into posts you will have all the thorns to con. 
tend with, and the Osage throws out 10 side 
shoots for the eatalpa’s one. 
Waukegan, III. ROBERT Douglas. 
[We need add nothing to Mr. Douglas’s re¬ 
marks. There are few if anybody in this coun¬ 
try better capable to advise.— Eds.] 
©je ^nation. 
AVOIDING STINGS. 
W. Z. HUTCHINSON. 
Ordinarily bees sting only in defence of 
their stores or themselves. A rabbit is not 
more timid and harmless than a foragiug bee. 
The distance to which it is safe to approach a 
hive depends upon the opinion of the bees, and 
this opinion varies greatly according to cir¬ 
cumstances. The danger of stings is greatly 
lessened by approaching a hive from the side 
opposite to the entrance. The reason why the 
danger is greater in front of the hive is be¬ 
cause the line of flight, nearthe hive, is in that 
direction. As a rule, bees do not go very far 
out of their way to make an attack. It is for 
this reason that when an apiary is surrounded 
by a high board fence or a row of thickly-set 
trees, the bees have but little inclination to 
make an attack outside the inclosure. But 
of all things, nothing makes bees so peaceable 
as a good flow of honey. At such a time they 
fly to and from the hive in a kind of quiet de¬ 
lirium, so absorbed, apparently, in gathering 
in the nectar, that they pay no attention to an 
intruder, even allowing the hive to be care¬ 
fully opened without the use of smoke. It has 
been repeatedly asserted that blowing smoke 
among the bees so frightens them that they fill 
themselves with honey and are theu good- 
natured upon the same principle that a man 
is most amiable immediately after dinner. 
While this may be true in part, there are good 
reasons for believing that smoke subdues bees 
mainly by frightening them; as Mr. Hedden 
says: “It seems to instautly impress them 
with the utter uselessness of opposing an 
enemy with a breath like that.” If a swarm 
is left hanging upon a limb the bees sometimes 
become fairly ferocious. A few puffsof smoke 
will cause them to cluster compactly aud be¬ 
come as meek as though they had been in their 
hive when the smoking was performed, and 
certainly the change is not wrought by their 
filling themselves with honey, as there is no 
opportunity for such a proceeding. 
The great point in subduing bees with smoke 
is to thoroughly alarm all the members of the 
colony before there is any attempt to handle 
them or even jar the hive. The first intimation 
given the bees that they are to lie molested 
should be a stream X>f smoke puffed in at the 
entrance; aud, unless it is during a good flow of 
honey, this should be continued until every bee 
is thoroughly alarmed; then the cover may be 
carefully removed and a volume of smoke 
poured in at the top, after which any rattling 
or jarring of the hive ouly seems to add to the 
subjection of the bees. If a hive is opened or 
even jarred before the bees are thoroughly 
frightened by smoko, the disturbance angers 
them, and the application of smoke will then 
not completely subdue them; in fact, in some 
cases, it seems to increase their auger. 
Much may be done to avoid stings by wearing 
appropriate clothing properly arranged. It 
should be smooth, and of some neutral tint, as 
gray or brown. Bees seem to have a particu¬ 
lar aversion to black clothing. The trousers 
should be tucked inside the boot tops, or, if shoes 
are worn, the pants may be tucked inside the 
stocking tops. The wrist bands should be 
close-fitting. In fact, the whole clothing 
should be so made and arranged as to leave 
as few openings as possible. If the hairs upon 
the wrist and back of the baud are long and 
abundant, many stings will be avoided by 
shaving or singeing them off. If left on, any 
bee that alights will catch its feet in the hairs, 
and, when struggling to escape, will sting. 
Beginners sometimes wear gloves, but usually 
they are soon discarded as being too bungling 
and preventing but few stings, for the fact is 
that most stings are directed at the eyes, and 
the only protection that bee-keepers usually 
seek, aside from the ordinary clothing, is a 
veil or face-protector. Even this is not need¬ 
ed except when the bees are “cross” because 
there is no honey to gather. Mosquito uettiug 
or tarleton will unswer for making a bee 
veil. It should be sewed to the edge of a straw 
bat, and lie long enough to be tucked inside 
the collar. If a piece several inches square be 
cut out in front of the eyes aud be replaced 
with silk Brussels net, the obstruction to the 
vision will be very slight. 
Improbable as it may appear, confidence 
has much to do with avoiding stings. Let a 
timid person go into an apiary expecting to 
be stung, aud it really seems as though the bees 
know it and do their best to realize his expec¬ 
tations. An experienced bee-keeper will walk 
confidently into the apiary, go unconcernedly 
about his business, and if a bee comes buzzing 
threateningly about he pays no attention to it 
and the bee, finding that the muu does not 
“scare,” finally goes about its business. 
There is often u great difference in the dis¬ 
position of individual colonies. One, or two' 
or more in on apiary are sometimes so invine 
