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§23 
Monmouth was very slender when planted, 
but has proven stocky, and the runners are 
nearly as heavy as those of Bubach. 
On the morning of May 31 we had 10 de¬ 
grees of frost which destroyed nearly al of 
the strawberry crop. Bubach produced some 
magnificent berries, fully as large as the 
pictures. Mammoth stands high with me, be¬ 
ing double the size of Jessie and five times as 
productive. In fact with Mammoth and 
Bubach planted side by side, I see nothing 
farther to be desired in the way of large 
berries. Cornelia was quite productive and 
the berries of fine form and flavor. 
Adel, Iowa. 
FROM W. H. HOLMES. 
My Jessies and Bubachs did splendidly this 
season. Haverland is one of my most prom¬ 
ising varieties. Lida and Bomba are extra, 
but are scanty in foliage. No spring-set 
plants of twelve new kinds equal Cloud and 
Stayman in vigor of growth. These are fol¬ 
lowed closely by Crawford, Eureka, Miami, 
Burpee’s Louise and Pearl. 
Davenport, Iowa. 
Dtotetf from the iturnl (Smtndtf. 
THE NEWER STRAWBERRIES. 
With very few and generally unimportant 
exceptions, the R. N.-Y. has from year to 
year made its reports 
upon the new straw¬ 
berries as they have 
been announced and 
tried here. W hen 
these reports please 
the introducers the 
R. N.-Y. is often 
complimented and 
thanked. But it de¬ 
serves neither com¬ 
pliments nor thanks. 
When these reports 
speak disparagingly 
of the new variety, 
the introducer is oft¬ 
en displeased. We 
have a note before 
us now: “ I demand 
that you destroy all 
the-plants I sent 
you and that you 
never again mention 
its name in your 
paper.” This is eq¬ 
ually unjust. The 
R. N.-Y. does not 
deserve censure in 
this case any more 
than it deserved 
praise in the other. 
The new variety was 
fairly tried beside a 
hundred others and 
found wanting. 
What are such trials 
made for? It is mani¬ 
festly to the R. N.¬ 
Y.’s interest to give 
praise where praise is due. It is manifestly its 
duty to tell the truth freely when a variety is 
fouud to be worthless or inferior. It should al¬ 
ways be borne in mind that the fact that a given 
kind of strawberry does not or does thrive 
here is but circumstantial evidence that it 
will succeed or fail elsewhere. 
Mary. —Received from H. H. Alley, Hil¬ 
ton, N. J., July 25, 1888. Three plants only. 
No suckers. Plants fairly vigorous and pro¬ 
ductive. Berries all large. Peduncles not 
very strong. It begins to ripen in mid-season 
continuing to late season. The color is a 
bright red, rather than either “ scarlet ” or 
“crimson,” the two adjectives so generally 
used in defining the color of strawberries. 
Skin glossy—seeds not deeply imbedded. Firm 
and regular for so large a berry. In these re¬ 
spects it may well be compared to the Down¬ 
ing, though the angular shape is more that of 
the Sharpless. 
In early July Mr. Alley, who is a straight¬ 
forward, hard-working man, brought to the 
office of the R. N.-Y. a quart or more of ber¬ 
ries which he had that day picked from his 
own vines. The illustration Fig. 196 accur¬ 
ately shows the average as regai'ds size and 
shape. Mr. Alley said that he picked 21 of 
the bpst and found that they weighed one 
pound 12 ounces. The seed of the Mary was 
sown three years ago. Champion was the 
female and Great American the male parent. 
The past season, Mr. Alley says, the Mary 
w as the most productive of 500 different kinds. 
The quality is of a strawberry acidity not far 
from that of the Wilson. The flower is 
pistillate as we remember. 
Hampden (nearly pistillate) from J. W. 
Adams, Springfield, Mass. Another season 
required. 
Haverland from C. A. Green, Rochester, 
N. Y. Conical shape often as if two berries were 
j lined in the middle. Early, not very firm, 
medium in size, ovate-conical, quite regular, 
fair quality, scarlet, mederataly productive, 
peduncles weak. Another season required. 
Gandy is a desirable late strawberry. Bi¬ 
sexual. 
Enhance proves this season, as in seasons 
past, one of the most productive berries ever 
raised here. Quality poor, shape very irregu¬ 
lar, size very large. Its season is from medi¬ 
um to late. It is bisexual. Vines very hardy 
and vigorous, often 18 inches high. Henry 
Young, Ada, Ohio. 
Lida. There is nothing to add to previous 
reports. Not desirable here. 
Bubach has scarcely sustained the reputa¬ 
tion it has earned. The wet season did not 
suit it. 
Ontario. Sharpless preferred. 
Eureka and Clara both from the Cleve¬ 
land Nursery Co., Ohio, will need another 
season. The first is nearly pistillate, the other 
bisexual. 
Crawford (b) has borne abundantly and a 
wet season agrees with it here. Vines not 
vigorous. 
“Sharpless upon Jessie” (bisexual).— 
Plants set May ’88 from Jerry Dutter, Angola, 
Md. Large leaves, vigorous plants. Long 
Berries from heart-shape to roundish, and 
quite regularly so. Quality good, quite firm. 
The color is a rather dull red later in the sea¬ 
son. It does not succeed very well here as at 
present judged. 
Belmont will be rejected as unproductive. 
YUCCAS ON A CALIFORNIA FARM. 
Some of the finest species of yuccas in the 
world grow on the deserts of Arizona and 
New Mexico. One of the best is a native of 
the Mojave region in southern California. 
This species—Y. baccata—lives to a great 
age, and reaches a size that entitles it to be 
called a tree. It begins to bloom when quite 
small, and is very orname ntal. The illustra¬ 
tion Fig. 199 shows a portion of a row of 15- 
year-old yuccas, Y. baccata and Y. Whipplei, 
in bloom in the nurseries of James Shinn, 
near Niles, Alameda County, with Mr. Shinn, 
who is one of the oldest and best known horti¬ 
culturists on the Pacific Coast, standing by 
one of the flower stalks. The stalks are 10 
and 12 feet in hight, and the masses of large 
fragrant, bell-shaped flowers are very attract¬ 
ive. In the back-ground are groups of Aus¬ 
tralian Eucalypti, and the Coast Range foot¬ 
hills. c. H. s. 
YUCCAS ON A CALIFORNIA FARM. From Nature. Fig. 199. 
peduncles, rather slender. Quality good for 
so large a berry, better than that of Sharpless, 
and the vines are rather more productive. 
Heart-shape, often broad and flattened at the 
tip. Medium red, firm. Berries of the larg¬ 
est size. Vigorous foliage. 
Mineola (b) from N. Hallock, Creedmoor, 
Long Island, May, ’ 88 . Season medium to late. 
Vines low and not very vigorous. Oblate- 
round, to broadly heart-shape. Firm, fine 
quality, quite productive. 
Louise. —Plants received through W. Atlee 
Burpee & Company, Philadelphia, Pa., June 
15, ’88 Originated with N. Hallock. Bisexual. 
Fairly vigorous vines. Season medium to 
late, later than Mineola. Heart-shape, in¬ 
clined to conical. Foliage vigorous. Color 
light to medium red. Firm. Excellent qual¬ 
ity. June 16, we find the following additional 
note: Fine vines, berry averages large. It is 
largest in the.middle, tapering to tip and stem. 
Light red, white like the Parker Earle before 
ripeniug. Quality excellent; quite prolific. 
Pearl, received from E. & J. C. Williams, 
Montclair, N. J., April 1st. Vigorous vines, 
(b) Large berries, fine shape, ovate-conical. 
Standard, from J. B. Campbell, North 
Reading, Mass., April 30. Nearly pistillate. 
Quality good, color light red. 
Viola from S. K. Kramer, Gahanna, 
Franklin County, O., April 30. (b) Another 
season required. 
Wabash, received from J. A. Foote, Terre 
Haute, Iud., in September of 1887. There is 
nothing remarkable about this variety. 
Yale from S. Hoyt’s Sons, New Canaan 
Conn., received September 12, 1SS8. Nearly 
pistillate. Medium to late. Foliage good . 
Copies. 
VALERIAN ROOT AS A CASH CROP. 
In collecting the notes on “The Cash Crops” 
which were printed some weeks ago, the R. 
N.-Y. learned from E. A. Fassett, a subscrib¬ 
er at Hancock, Vermont, that farmers in that 
neighDorhood found considerable profit in 
producing valerian root. As valerian cul¬ 
ture is rather a new enterprise to most of our 
readers, we have collected a few facts con¬ 
cerning the culture, handling and sale of the 
root. A picture of the stem and flower is 
given at Fig. 198, in whien a, b and c show 
the seed at different stages of its development. 
The cultivation of this plant at Hancock 
seems to be a local enterprise. We have not 
learned of any other section where it is culti¬ 
vated to any extent. 
Valerian root is quite largely used in medi¬ 
cine as an antispasmodic. It is impossible to 
get at the exact amount imported or used in 
this country. McKesson & Robbins, leading 
wholesale druggists of this city, estimate the 
imports of valerian at 25,000 pounds yearly. 
They do not think the consumption is increas¬ 
ing. They further state that the imported 
root can be had down here for about five 
and 0^9 cents per pound. A great many con¬ 
sumers will use only the imported article. 
Thus it may be seen that the market may 
easily be overstocked. Still the production of 
the root provides a profitable business for a 
few localities. 
FROM E. A. FASSETT. 
This question was asked me last fall : “ Why 
don’t we see anything in agricultural papers 
about valerian ?” The question was asked by 
a farmer who had raised valerian for 30 
years. I don’t think he has failed to grow a 
crop any year in that time. He used to be 
poor; now he is well off. He is one among 
several in this section who raise valerian 
with good results. I suppose the reason why 
nothing has been said about the business is 
because we farmers are not writers. We do 
the farming, and learned men must do the 
writing. The men who raise the largest crops 
often couldn’t write about them if they tried. 
Valerian culture was first Introduced in 
this section by Dr. Wm. HuntiDgton of Roch¬ 
ester, Vt., about 30 years ago. He has been a 
dealer in valerian in this section ever since. 
Tods of it have been raised here yearly. It is 
the staple article for cash for rich and poor. 
After it has been once started, there is no ex¬ 
pense in raising it. As roots are left in the 
ground for seed, one doesn't have to buy any 
in the spring, and it doesn’t cost anything to 
winter it. After the ground is thoroughly en¬ 
riched and cultivated, we get big crops. One 
of my neighbors claimed to have raised 2,200 
pounds, two years ago, from a little over an 
acre ; but let us put the average yield at 1,000 
pounds per acre. 
After the ground has been thoroughly pre¬ 
pared, it is furrowed out two feet apart. The 
roots are plowed out of the ground, where 
they were left the fall before for seed, and 
separated by cutting the clusters of roots 
apart. Then they are dropped into the fur¬ 
rows aDd ^covered. 
The plot} must be 
thoroughly cultivat¬ 
ed and kept free 
from weeds. The 
crop must be got in 
as early in spring 
and left as late in fall 
as possible to get a 
heavy yield. In the 
fall the crop is 
plowed out and after 
the earth has been 
shaken off, it is car¬ 
ried to the dry- 
house to be cut apart 
by girls. Then it is 
washed, and dried in 
the same way as hops 
and packed in bar¬ 
rels. To wash valeri¬ 
an, take the boards 
10 feet long and make 
a box of the desired 
width, and place it 
in a brook. Have it 
tight enough to hold 
all the water needed 
and still loose enough 
for the waste water 
to pass off. Handle 
with dung forks. 
Hancock, Vt. 
FROM C. DOWDELL. 
I have grown vale¬ 
rian 24 years ; my 
best crop was 
2,400 pounds, and the poorest 900 pounds. 
I like a clay loam, with plenty of good 
rotten barn-yard manure. Plant in the 
spring as early as possible. Manure heavily; 
plow and harrow the same as for corn. The 
sets are obtained in the early spring, from 
some grower, as they are left in the ground 
all winter. For cultivation, hand-hoeing 
and fingers are used for weeding, as the crop 
is a very slow grower for the first three 
months. In spring the seed has to be dug and 
all the dirt that can be taken out in the field 
is shaken off, and the roots are taken to a 
building used for that purpose and there 
women pick out any foul weeds and cut up 
the cores and trim off all green tops. Then 
the seed is ready to be taken to the field and 
planted. In the late fall what is intended for 
market is at first treated in the same way as 
the seed. After it has been cut by the 
women, it is taken to a tank through which 
a large stream of water is running and there it 
is washed by men until it is perfectly clean; 
then taken to a drying kiln and dried as 
much as possible. It is tfien packed into 
barrels and is ready for sale. We sell to 
wholesale druggists and manufacturers of 
patent medicines. I have sold it here for 15 
cents per pound, but of late years it sells for 
eight to 10 cents. 
Hancock, Vt. 
I may say a word about protecting cattle 
and horses from the ravages of flies in summer. 
I apply on my horses that are at work in the 
field plowing and mowing, crude petroleum. 
I buy it by the barrel. It is applied with a 
sponge on ihe legs and belly. It]' is harmless 
and will not hurt anything. f. p. q. 
