VOL XLVI. NO. 1969. 
NEW YORK OCTOBER 22, 1887. 
PRICE FIVE CENTS 
$2.00 PEP. YEAR. 
Entered, according to Act of Congress. In the year, 1887, by the Rural New-Yorker, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
liio^rapljicat. 
THE RURAL’S PORTRAIT GALLERY. 
PROFESSOR .T. W, SANBORN, B. S. 
ROFESKOR JEREMIAH 
WILSON SANBORN, au 
excellent likeness of whom, 
engraved from a late photo¬ 
graph, is given at Pig. 433, 
is now 40 years old, having 
been born at GUmanton, 
New' Hampshire, on Febru¬ 
ary 4,1847. His father was 
one of the most extensive land owners in the 
State, owning 2,500 acres. Both his father 
and mother had a taste for philosophy, and 
from the excellent library at his disposal, con¬ 
taining the best extant works on agricultural 
science, young Sanborn, at an early age, ac¬ 
quired a great liking for the science of agri¬ 
culture, and resolved to make it a life-study, 
and use his best endeavors for its advance- 
meut. On reaching 21 he became a partner 
with his father in the farm, and kept up the 
connection till his 29th year. Having a water¬ 
power and saw-mill on the farm, lumbering 
was done in the winter, chiefly to give 
work to the teams, and the keeping 
of stock was carried on to n considerable 
extent, for sale in the neighboring towns. 
A month after attaining his majority, Mr. 
Sanborn was elected superintendent of the 
public school system of his town containing 18 
school districts. At 22 he was re-elected. At 
25 he was nmdc'memlier of the [State Board 
of Agriculture, and Vas re-appointed by suc¬ 
cessive Governors till he left the State 10 years 
afterwards. During the time he held the po¬ 
sition he frequently lectured in his own and 
neighboring States on agricultural matters. He 
also began to contribute to tlie agricultural 
press, nud this work he has kept up quite 
abundantly ever since. At 27 he was nomi¬ 
nated by the minority party of his town as 
representative for the State Legislature, aud 
was elected. He was re-elected the following 
year aud served two terms ns chairman of 
the Committee of the Slat© Agricultural Col¬ 
lege, procuring two appropriations for it. 
At 29 he was appointed Farm Superintendent 
of the college farm by the desire of President 
Smith of Dartmouth College with which the 
Agricultural College is connected. J^The ap¬ 
pointment was iu uo seuse political, but was 
made simply because he was the fittest man 
for the place. The college had no Chair of 
Agriculture; but Professor Sanborn did all 
the requisite work of the office. Heat ouce 
began experimental investigation into ques¬ 
tions of animal nutrition, plant growth and 
soil fertilization, and discovered and reported 
several important points which are sure to 
stand. The college farm was iu bail shape 
when he began to manage it, but six years 
later he left it very productive, and every 
year while iu his charge, it made a profit. 
Five years ago—when in his thirty-fifth year 
—Professor Sanborn was invited to accept the 
position of Professor of Agriculture at the 
Missouri Agricultural College, at Columbia. 
Mo., and after a short time was made Deau 
of the Faculty. After a service of two mouths 
on the State Board of Agriculture he was 
elected its secretary which position he still 
holds. 
At 27 he was appointed statistician of the 
Department of Agriculture for Missouri, aud 
at 89 Secretary of the Kansas City Fat Stock 
Show-. Not a single interest intrusted to his 
hands has ever left them without having been 
greatly benefited and placed on u broader busis 
of success. The Missouri College farm wheu 
he took hold of it, was in a wretched plight; 
in a few weeks it will be as well organized as 
any in America. The Missouri State Board of 
Agriculture was a dormant affair; now it is 
organizing aud holding farmers’ meetings, 
making monthly crop reports and giving 
many other indications of an active, useful 
wakefulness, while its funds have been 
tripled, and it is gaining rapidly iu public 
favor. The Government statistical service 
was in a muddle; now' it is iu excellent order. 
Professor Sanborn is uo visionary teacher, 
but a thoroughly practical farmer and stock 
raiser. Iu teaching he tells, uot what may be 
done, but what has been done. In the prime 
of life he has already attained a distinguished 
position, and is close to the realization of bis 
ambition—the exalted position of a farmer 
who is able to organize a typical farm worked 
berry,” by E. S. Goff, of Geneva, N. Y., was 
read by the author. He desired to call spec¬ 
ial attention to this wild fruit—Amelanehier 
Canadensis. In part, he said: “Treasurer 
Smith, of this society, first sent the plants to 
the New York Station in 1882. They bore a 
small crop in 1883, and have borne well since. 
The shrubs are now about three feet high aud 
the same in diameter. They propagate by 
suckers, like the raspberry. The fruit ripens 
the latter part of June, when strawberries be- 
gin to fail. It reminds one of blueberries 
when fully ripe as to flavor, it being mild. 
The largest specimens are about half au inch 
in diameter. To my ow'n taste it is equal to 
the currant, aud most of the blackberries.” 
Several members interrupting said; “It is 
good as far as it goes.” Continuing, the essay- 
reason; will have to give it up.” Mr. Long 
said the birds about Buffalo were so fond of 
this fruit that he hail scarcely been able to get 
a taste of it. President Berckmans said, “We 
have plenty of it South, but the fruit is not 
regarded as of any special value with us.” 
Pomologist Van Deman said “I have tried 
several varieties of the Amelanehier during 
the last 15 years and never saw any disease 
about it in Kansas. It is au abundaut bearer. 
I have sold it in considerable quantities. 
The fruit is somewhat insipid. I have one vari¬ 
ety called ‘Success,’ which I think worthy of 
cultivation. It is the largest sort I ever saw. 
It does not come true from seed. I find large 
variation.” [The Ru ral has cultivated this 
shrub for 12 years. The hushes usually bear 
abundantly, but the birds take most of the 
fruit, which being mealy and Insipid is no 
great loss.— Eds. 1 
An important and interesting paper on 
“Promising Wild Fruits,” was then read by 
Andrew S. Fuller. It was a strong plea in 
behalf of the products or Nature’s garden. 
He asked the members to glance at some of 
the fruits which have _ passed their childhood 
days. In part he said: “People have long ig¬ 
nored and neglected the uative varieties and 
species. It is hardly 40 years since 
vineyardists first became aware that we 
posse sed uative varieties of grapes 
that were worthy of cultivation. To-day 
we no longer seek foreign grapes. It is 
true there is yet room for improvement in 
onr native grapes, but they have passed that 
stage which we call merely “promising.” The 
raspberry is another neglected fruit, but now 
the native kiuds are driving all foreign sorts 
from the market. Time was when none of 
the natives wore considered worthy of a place 
iu our catalogues; they were uot thought good 
enough for the table. Now they are the hard¬ 
iest and most reliable sorts we have. In 1852 
this society catalogued only four raspberries, 
all foreign. No native red sort had been heard 
of. In 1862 only seven were on the list, all 
foreign. As late as 1868 no one suggested a 
native red berry; but iu 1885 out of 30 variet¬ 
ies catalogued 25 were uative. It is now evi¬ 
dent that we have no further use for foreign 
raspberries, and even those of our natives con¬ 
taining foreign blood are apt to be regarded 
as delicate and of doubtful value. The same 
is true of our native grapes. Our best sorts 
come from wild stock and any trace of for¬ 
eign blood is looked upon with distrust. Then 
as to strawberries; we made no progress until 
we began to build on the wild stock. Also the 
blackberry; our native blackberries seem to 
be turned out in a very perfect state and we 
have only to select the best varieties from the 
woods aud yet there is room for improvement 
in certain directions. All this warrants fur¬ 
ther trial by selection and the crossiug of other 
native fruits. ” Speaking of the J line-berry or 
Service-berry, he said, “The typical form of 
the plant is a tall tree 30 or 40 feet high, and 
from that all the way down to the small 
shrubs which now produce our best 
fruit. I would suggest that this spec¬ 
ies be hybridized with the apple or other 
tree fruits. This does not seem impossible; 
somebody must try it, that’s all. The Ame- 
lauchier belongs to the apple family, and the 
blossoms are similar. Mr. Goff, being asked 
about it, said he bail never tried to bybrilize 
it. He had grown the dwarf kinds for 20 
years without any trouble from the fungus 
complained of by Mr, Lovett. Continuing, 
Mr. Fuller said: “ The Missouri currant is an¬ 
other wild fruit which should be cultivated 
and improved. As to gooseberries, the for¬ 
eign sorts eaunot be depended upon. We 
must use our native varieties, although they 
are not so good in flavor. So far the wild 
species has been much neglected. Theu there 
L the huckleberry. The idea that it will uot 
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PROFESSOK J. W. SANBORN. Fi ff . 433. 
iu harmony with the laws of nature, and iu 
which science aids art to achieve success. 
So cuius. 
AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 
AT BOSTON.—IV. 
(RURAI. SPECIAL SHORTHAND REPORT.) 
The Dwarf Juneberry; promising wild 
fruits; native grapes, raspberries , cur¬ 
rants, persimmons , plums, cherries; the 
pawpaw; transplanting wild fruits, the 
Cuthbert Raspberry; the Ohio ccutennary 
exposition; revision of the society's cata¬ 
logue. 
In continuatiou of the second morning ses¬ 
sion au interesting paper ou the “Dwarf Jnue- 
ist said: “I think the shrub is perfectly hardy. 
The fruit is slightly injured by the curculio 
at times. The question is, Cau we hope to 
improve the flavor? It may even be ques¬ 
tioned, perhaps, whether we have, on the 
whole, improved the flavor of fruits iu gener¬ 
al over the wild kinds. As a general rule, I 
think the darker the color of the fruit the 
higher the flavor. This shrub is indigenous 
to the Rocky Mountains.” Mr. Goff theu 
read a brief history of the plant,which he <aid 
had been prepared by Treasurer Smith. Dr. 
Hoskius said the shrub was very hardy iu 
Vermont. The only trouble is that it is so at¬ 
tractive to the birds. Mr. Lovett said “They 
grow it in Jersey, but the trouble there is it 
is liable to the attacks of cellar fungus. We 
cau scarcely grow it with success for that 
