Yol. XLV. No. 1917. 
NEW YORK, OCTOBER 23, 1886. 
PRICE FITE CENTS. 
$2.00 PER YEAR. 
Entered according to Act of Congress, In the year 1886, by the Rural New-Yorker In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 
nearly duplicated "an" "experiment which we 
tried with potatoes last year. On one half of 
a measured acre he plowed under 11 tons of 
New York stable manure. On the other half 
40(1 pounds of Mapes potato fertilizer were 
sown broadcast before planting, and 200 
pounds 4 were spread aiong.tbe drills just before 
the first^hoeing. The potatoes were planted 
in drills three feet apart and 15 inches apart 
in the drill. The manured half yielded 59 
bushels of marketable potatoes and 11 bushels 
of small ones. The fertilized half-acre gave 
78 bushels of marketable and 11 bushels of 
small potatoes. 
* * 
PEAS PLANTED LATE. 
Ocr method of securing a succession of peas 
has been to plant, early in the season, the 
earliest, intermediate, late and latest varieties 
at< about the same time, and in the order 
named so that the land could be cleared for 
later crops as the peas matured. Years ago 
we planted *peas in July or August. They 
mildewedlso badly that we rather hastily con¬ 
cluded that late-planted peas could not be 
made to pay. In a market sense perhaps this 
is true. 
We were pursuaded to return to the experi¬ 
ment last August after a visit to C. A. Dana’s 
island home in the Long Island Sound, where 
our contributor, Mr. William Falconer, the 
Superintendent, treated us to peas which 
seemed even more tender and delicious than 
those of early June. We planted a few rows 
of the Alaska Pea August 16. The vines, in¬ 
stead of growing to the length of three feet, as 
they did from April plantings, began to bloom 
when one foot high. The peas set freely and 
produced a very good crop by the first of 
October, the vines having remained quite free 
of mildew. The soil on either side of the 
young vines was mulched, the weacher being 
dry, aud two waterings were given afterwards. 
Two of the best peas picked are shown in our 
illustration Fig. 396, page 703. 
The Alaska is a smooth pea. as our readers 
well know. Would it have been better to 
plant wrinkled peas—those of the thriftiest, 
bushiest growth, like Abundance or Everbear¬ 
ing Or would the dwarf kinds, like American 
Wonder, or the half-dwarfs, like Stratagem, 
have been better! 
The deliciousness of the Alaska when cooked 
will be borne in pleasant memory until an¬ 
other season, when we shall try the experiment 
again, though in order to escape early frosts, 
we shall plant from the 1st to the 5th of Au¬ 
gust instead of the 16th. 
* * * 
PRUNE D’AGEN. (?) 
September 4, we received from Mr. J. M. 
Ogle, of Puyallup, Wash. Ter., three plums 
which weighed 12ounces. He calls it Gros 
D'Agen: says it is very common in the nur¬ 
series there aud that many specimens will 
weigh four or more ounces. The tree he de¬ 
scribes as a moderate grower, “requiring 
much cutting back to enable it to carry its 
immense load. As hardy as any one of our 
cultivated pluuis. v He further says: “Its keep¬ 
ing qualities aiv good. I have a box now (Sept. 
13) that are yet moderately firm, picked three 
weeks since and kept in an open room. 
The) 1 will readily bear shipment to New 
York.” 
With these large plums were others which 
he calls Petit d’Agen which were of the same 
color and quality as the others. This we have 
no doubt is the Prune d'Agen, but the large 
ones, a specimen of which is shown entire at 
Fig. 398 (page 705) aud iu half section at Fig. 
897, we are in doubt about. The suture is 
small, the color reddish-purple. The flesh 
clings somewhat to the stone. The quality is 
superb, sweet, sugary, juicy and tender. We 
do not remember to have eaten finer plums. 
made an early and rapid growth, and by the 
last of July began to bloom, and since Aug¬ 
ust 15 there has at all times been an abun¬ 
dance of ripe fruit on nearly all these plants, 
many single canes producing over 100 perfect 
terries, while some plants have produced over 
400 berries, many of them three-quarters of an 
inch cross-diameter. Earl}’ in July of this 
year I again went to Illinois and although the 
main crop had been about all picked there 
was some fruit left and some was ripening on 
regard to it, saying, “Here, Mr. Hale, it may 
pay to follow’ this matter up. for if half the 
story is true, it’s the most remarkable new 
fruit yet produced.” After some correspon¬ 
dence I was convinced of the honesty of the 
writer, and in June ’85 visited Illinois to see 
the fruit., and there fouud one of the strong¬ 
est-growing black-cap® I had ever seen, carry¬ 
ing an abundant crop of tine, large fruit on 
the old caues. The strongest of the new canes 
were just beginning to bloom for the second 
Experiment (Svounib’ nt the §UmiI 
|?;eu)-^ovker. 
E ARH ART EVERBEARING RASPBERRY. 
# thong plants were received from 
the introducers, Hale Brothers, 
South Glastonbury, Conn., Nov. 
21, 1885. Our first, note was 
made June 29, of this year. 
The bear- 
“First rip>e berries, 
o)J|§e ing branches are wreathed with 
” dusters. The laterals, from six 
to 12 inches long, boar from six to It) med¬ 
ium-sized berries with a slight bloom. They 
are of good flavor and firm. The seeds 
are rather large. Canes thick and vigorous.” 
Again, the following note appeal's in our 
records under date of August 30: “Earbart 
bore its first crop with other medium-early 
caps. Many berries are ripening now, while 
others are quite green. Taking an average 
cluster,we count 30 berries all green.” 
The illustration, Fig. 394, was drawn from 
a caue cat Sept. 10. Most of the leaves were 
cut off so as to show the berries, several of 
which bad dropped off, as shown. The berries 
continued to ripen until frost. 
On September 1st, Hale Brothers sent us a 
box containing about 30 fruiting tipis and 
longer stems. One six inches long bore 28 
berries, all ripe. Six branches about cue foot 
long bore respectively 29, 15, 21,40, 85 and 25. 
One branch 15 inches long bore 69, half ripe, 
the rest green or red. The above may be 
considered an average of the 30 stems. On one 
stem with niue laterals there were 380 berries, 
one-third fully ripe, the others iu various 
stages of development. 
The productiveness of this variety is some¬ 
thing remarkable. Even though it bore but a 
single crop, we should deem the Earhart a de¬ 
sirable variety, for its first crop was as large 
as that of ordinary kinds. When it is consid¬ 
ered that it bears almost constantly during 
the entire season, and that the berries are iu 
quality bettor than the Gregg and of fair size, 
we need only further to learn whether it will 
thrive as well generally as it has done 
here, with the Hale Bros, aud in Illinois, to 
be satisfied that the Earhart is a valuable ac¬ 
quisition. That it is hardy and thrifty there 
is little doubt. 
from the report of the fruit committee 
R. I. STATE FAIR, SEPT. 28, 1886. 
“An exhibit of fruiting canes of the Earhart 
Raspberry is worthy of sp>ecial commendation. 
Single canes containing over 800 perfect ter¬ 
ries are shown. Some of the berries are three- 
quartei's of an inch and over in diameter aud 
of as good quality as any black cap, Other 
canes exhibited have buds, blossoms, given 
and ripe fruit, indicating that as an everbear¬ 
ing variety it is well worthy of consideration, 
and a special premium.” 
ITS HISTORY. 
“Like many of our best fruits, the Earhart 
is a “chance seedling” found in the woods in 
Mason Co., Ill, about 1870, ripening its fruit 
in Oct., iu such profusion as to attract atten¬ 
tion. The original plant being removed to a 
family garden, aud given good care for a 
year or two, proved to bo an everbearing 
variety, producing its first or main crop with 
the other black-caps the last of J une and early 
in July, while the new canes each season be¬ 
gin to bloom and boar fruit the lust of July 
before the main crop is gone, and continue 
iu fruiting till stopped by freezing iu Fall. 
They bear not an occasional berry, but whole 
canes are thickly set with fruit. 
My first knowledge of this terry was iu 
1884, when the editor of the R. N.-Y., handed 
me a letter he had received from Illinois 
THE EARHART EVERBEARING BLACK-CAP 
Drawu from a branch cut Sept. 10 at the Rural Grounds. 
crop, while the younger of the now canes were 
showing traces of buds, and throe months 
later—Sept. 20th—rows eight rods long y ielded 
18 quarts of fruit at one packing, and had 
been fruiting continuously since June, and 
still had buds, bloom and green fruit that 
would ripen later. Early in May last, we 
planted out 600 plants on our farm here iu 
Connecticut—tip plants with no wood on 
them, but plenty of good, strong roots. These 
the new wood. I counted 190 berries on one new 
cane, aud a photograph of one taken Septem¬ 
ber Kith shows 520 perfect berries. These 
qualities may not be of great value to the 
market gardener; but for the family fruit 
garden it is the most valuable novelty I have 
ever seen.— J. H. hale.” 
MANURE versus FERTILIZER FOR POTATOES. 
Our neighbor, Mr. A. J. Bogert, pretty 
