THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
tationas a large, early, productive family 
berry of very good quality. 
Mrs. Garfield, a light cropper, is a good- 
looking berry of indifferent quality. 
Daniel Boone is a much better cropper, 
but too poor in quality to be recommended, 
and both must go as has the \ ick. Unless 
these three varieties have shown better qual¬ 
ities elsewhere, especially with the originators, 
it were better that they had perished at their 
birth-place. They are no compliment to the 
illustrious persons whose names they bear. 
Mississippi Valley and Daisy Miller 
are two new varieties. I have been trying 
for the past three years to find out what 
they were good for; but up to this time one 
word expresses all I have found, viz; nothing. 
During the past 20 years I have written 
this epitaph, ‘'Not worth a name,” for a goodly 
number of seedlings. I hope the present 
movement to have new fruit tested by compe¬ 
tent committees, and when introduced accom¬ 
panied with a proper certificate of merit, will 
prevent the introduction of so many worthless 
varieties. If the purchasing public would de¬ 
mand this course, it would be money saved for 
them. 
Durand’s King Cluster, among the new 
varieties which made so favorable an impres¬ 
sion last year, has maintained its promises 
again this season and has secured the Ameri¬ 
can Institute’s prize for continued excellence. 
This I see is to be introduced as the “Crimson” 
Cluster, as has been stated in thoR. N.-Y. As 
it has been known as King Cluster for years 
and widely known of late, a change at this time 
of name seems impolitic and totally at var¬ 
iance with all established pomological rules. 
experiments in wintering celery. 
The variety was Golden Heart, planted 
August first. The latter part of October the 
earth was drawn up to the plants as for blanch¬ 
ing, but it was done to protect them from 
freezing on cold nights. The last of Novem¬ 
ber, fearing that Winter might set in and 
freeze the earth solid, I dug the plants one 
warm afternoon. Grasping the stems in both 
nands, in such a way as to prevent injury to 
them, I beat the earth as clean as I could from 
the roots. Then after all defective stems had 
been plucked off, the plauts were placed upright 
iu bottomless boxes (old bee-hives) as compact¬ 
ly as possible. Next, about two-thirds of the 
foliage was cut off, through fear that the 
celery was so very densely packed that it 
would suffocate and rot. Tbeu, haring insert¬ 
ed the nozzle of a tin funnel here and there 
through the tops of the remaining foliage, 
sifted quicksand, such as is used for making 
mortar, was poured into the funuel till all the 
interstices between the stems were filled up to 
the foliage. The boxes were on the earth-floor 
of a dimly-lighted and cool cellar, where a 
little frost sometimes entered. Earth was 
banked up around the boxes three or four 
inches; a pailful or two of water were poured 
on to the sand in the boxes, and the operation 
was repeated every 10 or 15 days. It was 
three months before the plants blanched and 
were in nice condition. The hearts were solid 
by March 15, when they were sold. At the 
time of digging, the small plants were “heeled 
in” in a dark room of same cellar against 
sloping earth. First, a tier of plants was laid 
as closely as possible; then a layer of mellow 
earth sloping for a second tier of plants, and 
so on, earth and plants alternately. We used 
these in the family till May. Some of them 
were wet once or twice with water, and these 
commenced rotting first. The beating of the 
earth off the roots allows the packing of three 
or four times as many in the same space as 
with the earth left on, and the second experi¬ 
ment proves that a lighted cellar is not neces¬ 
sary. If the plants could be kept cold nearly 
down to the freezing point, we probably could 
have celery till June or July. s. d. n. 
North Lansing, Mich. 
PomhUgkdl. 
CALIFORNIA LETTERS. 
PROF. W. A. HENRY. 
Climate of Southern Californ ia; olive grow¬ 
ing; propagating the olive; longevity of the 
trees; orchards without irrigation and 
with; making olive oil. 
I find iu this portion of California an 
almost undeveloped country, but one of great 
possibilities and wcdl worthy of the most care¬ 
ful investigation. With one of the most 
equable climates on the globe, semi-tropic at 
all times, but not so hot as to bo enervating, 
fruit growing can be carried to a marvelous 
degree of perfection hereabouts, as shown by 
the small areas already in cultivation. 
While nin ny fruits flourish here, I will men¬ 
tion only the olive, at this time, as one well 
worthy of more attention. About NationalC ity 
on the Bay of San Diego, are growing some 
12,000 olive trees, about half of which are now 
bearing profitable crops, but all are quite 
young. A large proportion of these trees ore 
on the lands of Messrs. Warren and Frank 
Kimball, of National City, to whom I am in¬ 
debted for many kind attentions and much 
that I have learned of this section. The olive 
resembles the willow somewhat iu its leaves, 
which are long and narrow, being an olive- 
green above and whitish below. The trees are 
trained with shapely heads and present a fine 
sight in the long rows in the orchard. I notice 
quite a tendency to throw out shoots from the 
stem and at the ground, which is counteracted 
by free use of the knife. Trees have been 
usually set 20 feet apart, but this is now held 
to be entirely too close, and 25 feet is now the 
standard distance. A cutting as thick as a 
walking-stick, and from one to two feet in 
length, is placed in the nursery row, or, better, 
where the tree is to stand. In about five years 
the tree yields a little fruit, but for an oljve 
orchard to begin giving good returns one 
must wait from eight to ten years. The lon¬ 
gevity of the tree is remarkable, as we kuow 
from the histoiy of the olive in Europe and 
Asia, and here there seems no exception to the 
rule. At the Old Mission near this place, 
which was built a century ago, there cau be 
seen an olive orchard of about 300 trees set by 
the fathers at that early date. Through all 
the vicissitudes of a century this group of 
trees have stood, and to day the trunks ai-e as 
sotmd as ever, the foliage as green as when it 
shaded the converted Indians that carefully 
tilled the soil beneath, and ripens fruit for the 
American as freely as it did for the Spaniard. 
These trees are the parents of about all the 
olives of this State, I am told, no imported 
variety proving to be of equal merit. 
Though the olive will grow on poor soil, it 
responds to the best that can bo given it, as do 
most other plants. Iu this section water is 
the one requisite, and though the olive cannot 
go without any, it will do with a very moderate 
supply if properly applied. As the small rain¬ 
fall is confined to the winter months, the land 
in the orchard is carefully tilled at that season 
so that all the moisture from the clouds is 
caught and held by the soil; when the rain 
ceases the cultivation is kept up and the dry 
soil at the surface forms a mulch that iu a 
most remarkable manner conserves the moist¬ 
ure below. Mr. Frank Kimball has an orchard 
of 10 acres now carrying a heavy crop of 
olives, that has bad no irrigation for three 
years. To attain such results there must be 
a retentive subsoil and the best of summer 
cultivation. I thought, as I looked over this 
orchard so mellow that it resembled a garden 
just ready for seeding with not a weed in it. 
that we of the Eastern United States could 
take some lessons iu cultivation of our Califor¬ 
nia brothers. Yet most of the olive orchards 
will have to be watered once or more each 
Summer. Most of the water for irrigation 
purposes hereabouts is raised by large wind¬ 
mills from wells varying from 10 to 100 feet 
in depth; a few' parties use steam engines. 
The water is stored in elevated tauks and sup¬ 
plied to the orchard through iron pipes and 
rubber hose. To irrigate a tree a cup, as it is 
called, is dug aliout. it; that is, the ground is 
loosened and drawn back from the stem so as to 
make a cavity sma U if for a young tree,but often 
eight or more feet iu diameter, for large ones. 
The water pours into this cup from the hose 
and soaks away to the roots below: when 
enough has been applied the soil is put back to 
its place again. Thus the tree is watered and 
the soil mellowed thoroughly about each, 
which is a great advantage. 
So fur alJ the olives raised hereabouts have 
been pickled; but this year the gentleman lie- 
fore mentioned will put up an olive press and 
extract the oil. This is, I understand, a sim¬ 
ple process much like cider making, and the 
oil expressed is easily handled. So far the 
little oil manufactured in the State has found 
a ready market, I learn, at excellent prices. 
There seems to be uo reason why olive grow¬ 
ing sboidd not become a business of great 
magnitude in California, and large orchards 
will no doubt be planted in many places. 
Thus another industry may be added to our 
list, aud occupation lie found for more people. 
Those w'ho have studied it most, say that, with 
present prices this business will pay about as 
well as orange growing. How this may be I 
canuot say, but I feel confident from wdiat I 
have seen that the tree is at home in this sec¬ 
tion and that it fruits abundantly; so the pri¬ 
mary condition of success is assured. 
San Diego, Cal., July 10. 
CORRESPONDENTS’ VIEWS. 
The country along the coast here is well 
adapted to bean raising. We frequently see 
100 acres iu oue field. Lima beans are raised 
here without poles. They are planted in rows 
four feet apart, and grow all over the ground. 
In the Fall they are cut below the ground 
with hooks or a plow made for the purpose. 
They are dried and then hauled to a tramp¬ 
ing ground aud tramped out. The yield is 
often from 15,000 to 20,000 pounds per acre. 
Santa Barbara Co., Cal. Q. h. 
The quality of our stock here is, as a rule, 
poor. It is improving, though. Quite a num¬ 
ber of Jerseys have 1 een brought in of late 
years, and have made their mark upon cattle, 
partieulerly on the town cows. Good grade 
Jersey bulls run at large and serve the cows. 
Grade Jersey cows are most esteemed in the 
towns for “family cows.” A. G. n. 
Marshall, Texas. 
I like the talk on butter-making by “A. E. 
S.” Is it necessary to soak butter-tubs with 
sour milk? I always put iu salt aud pour on 
boiling water, let it stand covered till the next 
day, then turn the water off and scald again. 
[Many use sour milk, which is excellent for 
cleaning or removing the taste of wood. It is 
not “necessary,” as hot water and salt will 
answer.— Eds.] The birds are unusually 
plenty here this Summer. We have a perfect 
colony of barn swallows, which seem to be 
disappearing in many places. We have 45 
nests iu a space of 30 feet. They ate the cher¬ 
ries faster than we could. Two robins bad 
a most amusing quarrel with an old hen. 
Tompkins Co., N. Y. e. l. b. 
Every “practical” man enjoys hitting the 
agricultural colleges of the country. It is 
much easier to tell how to do a thing than it 
is to do it, aud hence their advice flows as 
freely as water. Many of the agricultural 
colleges have been obliged to crawl under the 
sheltering wing of a “University” in order to 
die properly, but these same “practical” men 
are, iu a measure, responsible for it. Far¬ 
mers cau safely make up their minds that 
they never will have any agricultural college 
until they interest themselves. In Michigan 
and Kansas where farmers have fought for 
such a college, sent their sons to it aud defend¬ 
ed it, there is very little growling about any 
failure. Farmers expect too much of these 
schools. They growl if a boy does not pick 
up in four years’ time an amount of informa¬ 
tion that they could not acquire in a century. 
A college boy is obliged to invent answers or 
hear from all sides “you ought to know; you 
have been to college.” These farmers would 
not trust their lives in the bands of a year’s 
graduate at a medical school, aud they would 
hardly put a law' case iuto the hands of a 
young law'yer who had nothing but a college 
diploma to show. Why then blame an insti¬ 
tution because it fails to disprove the old say- 
iug—“A fool can ask questions that a wise man 
cannot answer.” Many of these same “prac¬ 
tical” men arc the most foolish specimens of 
humanity in regard to the education of their 
own sous. The little second-class colleges are 
filled up with farmers’ boys. Will they make 
farmers? Not much! They are fitting them¬ 
selves for cross-roads lawyers, country school 
teachers, aud starring doctors. You can’t 
make a first-class professional man out of a 
second-class scholar. The Rural is right in 
saying that farmers can build up these neglec¬ 
ted colleges if they really want, to do so. Let 
them send their own boys there. There is a 
foundation for a good farmer’s college in every 
State in this country. Send iu students and 
there will be uo cause for the growling we 
now hear. _„ graduate. 
Who have noted any ill effects from eating 
strawberries? We are told to eat all the fruit 
we can. I believe it is possible for one to eat 
too much. I am satisfied that several cases 
of severe constipation during the past season 
were caused by an excessive use of strawber¬ 
ries. It may be that some persons ore more 
liable to be troubled in this w'ay than others, 
or that the trouble was caused by the seeds 
rather than the berry itself, but that the fruit 
caused the mischief is beyond question. The 
fact is that the intemperate use of any article 
of food wifi render it harmful. c. n. 
Bergeu Co., N. J. 
Wk plowed up out of laud that my father 
entered from the Government, a tool that 
makes the best thing we have seen for digging 
out burdock, thistles aud such like weeds. 
The blade is four inches wide, eight Inches 
long and three-eights of an inch thick. It is 
of metal like that of an ax. No one knows 
what it was originally, but for digging dock 
it is the best tool we ever saw. It does not, 
tear up the sod like a spade. Wo fastened an 
old pitchfork handle to it. J. P« s. 
Palmer, Ill. 
I am glad you speak well of the Early Har¬ 
vest Blackberry. It produces a flue crop with 
me. Began to ripen June 16, and continued 
till the Snyder ripened. Suyder would uot 
stand the drought, while Early Harvest was 
not affected. Glad to see that you begin to 
understand Prohibition. a. h. griesa. 
Douglas Co., Kan. 
I kill rose bugs with a preparation consis¬ 
ting of one part sulphur and one part tobacco 
dust. Mix them well, apply in the morning 
when the dew is on the plants, three times a 
week. Dust the mixture over the plants. If 
rose hushes look yellow use barnyard water 
mixed with bone dust, one pad of the former 
to a pound of the latter, Put a half cup to 
each plant three times a week. It will restore 
the color. J- s * B * 
Hightstown, N. J. 
1 saw iu a late Rural an illustration of 
the Hilton Strawberry. I had a Sharpless 
that measured eight and one-half inches one 
way, seven inches around the other way, 
grown on a runner plant. Sharpless, Manches¬ 
ter, Parry, Atlanta are the four best out of 
25 kinds. 1 have sold berries of these kinds up 
to the 16th of this month for 12 cents but when 
raspberries were selling for five cents, w. G. 
Auburn, N. Y. 
I put in two rows of Early Ohio Potatoes, 
flat culture. I wish now 1 had planted all my 
potatoes that way. Contrary to my expecta¬ 
tions, they were easy to dig. No more hill 
business for me. J. i. c. 
Detroit, Mich. 
“HAYSEED.” 
T. H. nOSKINS, M. D. 
I see that many of the agricultural papers 
are congratulating their readers upon the pass¬ 
age of the oleomargarine bill through the U. 
S. Senate. I fear the congratulation is prema¬ 
ture. Among the Semite amendments I find, 
first, that the tax which made the bill ostensi¬ 
bly one for revenue, is retained, but lowered 
to two cents a pound. This retains the con¬ 
stitutional objection for whatever it may be 
worth, and at the same time makes the tax¬ 
ation feature valueless as affecting the profits 
of the manufacture to any practical extent. 
Certainly this was done in the interest of the 
oleomargarine men. But the fatal amend¬ 
ment was the insertion of the word “know¬ 
ingly,” which throws the burden of proof up¬ 
on the Government in every persecution, to 
show that the dealer “knew” he was not sell¬ 
ing genuine butter to his customer. 
The old foxes of the Senate are happy, no 
doubt, at thus emasculating this “hay-seed” 
bill, which they feared directly to kill. Any¬ 
one who has ever lieen much about the halls of 
legislation, either State or National, knows 
full well the waves of ridicule and contempt 
that are set in motion there by the intro¬ 
duction of auy sort of “hay-seed legislation.” 
Such bills fare worse than anti-liquor legis¬ 
lation, because they, as a rule, have no such 
backing among the voters. They are despised, 
while the others are hated by our practical 
politicians;aud this feeling is reflected in the 
general newspaper press, the witlings of 
which circulate the moldiestof “chestnuts” iu 
reference to the subject. 
“\Ybyis this thus?” The business of agri¬ 
culture holds at its control the bulk of the 
productive capital ami employs directly and 
indirectly a large excess of the labor of the 
country. And, notwithstanding the current 
sneers that meet us daily iu the press, the fact 
cannot seriously lie disputed that far more 
men of intelligence and broad information are 
engaged in the conduct of American agricul¬ 
ture than in any other of our great national 
industries. That there are a large number of 
uneducated and more or less ill-informed men 
to be found upon our farms may be conceded, 
but facts will back this statement that the 
educated farmers of America constitute a very 
large body by themselves—a body that could 
numerously outvote any two or three other 
classes. 1 think any five or six of the leaders 
and directors of productive industry on this 
continent. 
Why then are wo so weak, politically ? 
How is it that the legislative houses which are 
supposed to contain the ablest and most ex- 
perieuced of our public men are the houses 
where agricultural interests are least regard¬ 
ed, and agriculture (while often compliment¬ 
ed to turn an elocutionary period) has no 
power to influence legislation ? There can be 
no reason save lack of leadership uud lack of 
union—of that union which is strength; 
strength that la w-makers and law-dispensers 
will respect Agriculture, politically speak¬ 
ing, is a giant—but a palsied giant. 
It is the work of every agricultural journal, 
1 aud of every agricultural organization, to 
make “hay seed” respected, Iluy is our big¬ 
gest crop, but where is “hay-eeed” in politics? 
Away down in the bottomless pit of innocuous 
desuetude. It is said, iu explanation, that 
the interests of American agriculture are so 
i varied aud dispersed that the farming element 
can never be made a powerful factor in oui 
i national flairs. I do uot believe it, Old 
