flesh was not appreciably changed in texture 
or flavor. 
Ames, Iowa. 
to grow the following Spring is often recom¬ 
mended; but this is of doubtful expediency, 
as the roots, being so matted toarether, can 
only with great difficulty provide nourish¬ 
ment for the new growth. The benefit de¬ 
rived can be of but short duration. 
I have found it a much better method to dig 
up the roots, and after dividing them, reset in 
a new place. One such chimp often makes 
from 10 to ‘20 roots, each of which will, the fol¬ 
lowing Spring, send up several strong, thrifty 
shoots. Several years ago I divided several 
ofsueh clumps, giving them good cultivation. 
The second year thereafter they produced a 
good crop of currants that were so very large 
that it was difficult to distinguish them from 
the finest Cherry Currants. jl h. b. 
violets, pansies and polyanthuses, it does them 
no £ood; hence, don’t subject them to it. 
Uncover them in warm, mild weather; tilt up 
the sashes in bright, sunny weather, even if it 
freezes a little; hut shut up early and keep in 
a little sun-heat. Cover over the sashes with 
straw mats. Russia mats, thatch, straw or 
other available material to exclude hard frost, 
and it will greatly add to the warmth of the 
coverings if you have tight half-inch pine 
shatters to lay over the covering to keep all 
snug and dry. But avoid coddling your 
plants, else they will damp or rot off, bleach 
or spindle, and become unable to yield good 
flowers. Occasionally stir the soil between 
the plants to keep it sweet and the plants 
healthy, and remove all decaying loaves and 
the like from the frames. 
Tite Greenhouse, —Tf you have only one 
greenhouse and in it only one compartment, 
so arrange your plants that the poinsettias, 
crotons,dracaenas and other heat-loving plants 
shall be at the end next the fire-place, and the 
carnations, cyclamens, cytisus, primroses and 
others requiring low temperature, at, the cool 
end. Don’t be too kind and keep the house 
extra snugan l warm, as such is very injurious 
to your plants. Haug up a thermometer about, 
the middle of your house, and let it Indicate an 
average temperature of 50 degrees; this will 
give five degrees higher at the warm end and 
five degrees lower at the cool end. Veutilate 
in fine weather. Open the ventilators early 
and only a little at a time, and shut up early 
in the afternoon, so ns to keep in a little of 
the sun heat aud save firing. By syringing 
the large-leaved plants—but never the flowers 
—and wetting th° benches and paths, main¬ 
tain a damp atmosphere; but never 
sprinkle the hot pipes so as to raise 
steam. 
new, clean tin cup. No attempt is made to 
avoid plucking the pistils also, as they do no 
harm, and sorting out the stamens would make 
slower work. In an hour enough pollen can 
be gathered in this wav to fertilize a thousand 
or more blossoms. After gathering, the pollen 
is placed in a warm, dry room for dryiug and 
the bursting of the cells of the anthers. If 
kept dry in this form it retains its potency for 
many days, and may be sent long distances by 
mail. Hence in all cases where a given female 
parent expands its blossoms earlier than the 
variety we wish to use for fertilizing its blos¬ 
soms, we can send to a friend farther south 
for the pollen. 
The Sacks. —I do not like paper sacks. 
Thin, white muslin sacks, four inches long and 
four inches at the mouth by 51'tf inches at the 
top, I have found to answer the purpose best, 
In practice I find them to handle much better 
if widest at the bottom. With a sewing 
machine 1.000 are soon made. We fasten them 
in place with pins, as strings are too bother¬ 
some in putting on and taking off. 
Removing the Anthers.— The right time 
to remove the anthers from the blossoms to be 
polionized is when, now and then, a flower of 
the tree is fully expanded. With a pair of 
small forceps they can be nipped off rapidly 
after a little practice. Cover with a sack at 
once after the anthers are removed. We 
usually take the anthers from the two strong¬ 
est, buds of a cluster, and pinch off the remain¬ 
ing ones. 
Poleeating.—A s the development of the 
stigmas depends largely on temperature, etc., 
w. remove the anthers one day and touch the 
KELSEY’S PLUM. 
Our illustration of Kelsey’s Japan Plum, 
Fig. 432. is an accurate portrait of a specimen 
sentto us by P. J. Berckmans of Augusta. Ga. 
September 20. Mr. Berckmans writes: 
“ I send you a specimen of Kelsey’s Japan 
Plum, the first I have so far had to arrive at 
full development. Some specimens injured 
by birds matured a month since, and were 
quite purple in color. To prevent further in¬ 
jury from the same source, I had mosquito 
netting put around the fruit, which may have 
prevented the full coloring. The trees are 
very vigorous and healthy. Fruit set in 1885 
upon trees budded in June, 18S4, but was 
blown off,and failed.therefore.to show itssize,” 
This plum was eaten by the writer of this 
note on September 24, as the halves had been 
carefully preserved after they had been 
sketched. The skin was very firm, without 
any bitterness, and of a yellowish-green color. 
The flfsh was thick (as the engraving shows), 
sweet, juicy, meaty and tender. It was not 
so sprightly as some of the best of well-known 
plums. In this respect it would probably have 
improved, had it been allowed to ripen more 
fully. This plum, to speak with all needed 
conservatism, promises to lie a first-rate ac¬ 
quisition. The first tree was imported by Mr. 
Kdsey, of California, after whom it is named. 
It probably has a Japanese name, by which, of 
course, when known, it should lie called. It 
is said to be exceedingly productive in Cali¬ 
fornia, and to bear when trees are three years 
Fertilizer Analyses.— Bulletin No. 40, 
just issued by the New Jersey Agricultural 
Experiment Station, gives upwards of 150 
analyses of different chemical fertilizers. 
These analyses show the amount of phosphoric 
acid, potash and nitrogen each contains. They 
represent tho retail cash cost of these plant 
foods be fore the crude materials containing 
them have been mixed with each other. These 
valuations, therefore, ate not intended to cov¬ 
er the expenses of mixing, bagging and trans¬ 
porting fertilizers from the factory to the 
farms. If, for example, the Station estimates 
the value of a given brand at $40 per 
ton, it means that for $40 a farmer can 
buy enough lmmixed mate rial to fur¬ 
nish the amount of nitrogen, phosphoric 
acid and potash shown by analysis to 
be present in that brand. The farmer 
must add to the $40 the expenses of mix¬ 
ing the crude materials with each other, 
packing the mixture into bags, cost of 
bags and freightiug it to his farm. Many 
analyses are given which do not present 
the selling price at all. so that we do not 
see that they are of any present value to 
the farmer. In considering the differ¬ 
ences between the Station valuations 
and the selling price at the factories, one 
important fact is liable to be overlook¬ 
ed. For instance, a certain brand of 
corn manure is valued at $40 per ton. 
The selling price is $44. Here we have a 
difference of four dollars. This differ¬ 
ence amounts to 10 per cent. Another 
brand is valued by the Station at $20 
per ton. It costs $24 at the factory—a 
difference also of four dollars. But this 
difference amounts to 20 per cent. Then, 
again, the farmer should consider that 
it costs just as much to transport and 
spread over the land the $20 fertilizer as 
it does the $40 fertilizer. Those of our 
readers who desire this bulletin may ap¬ 
ply to 7 the" Director, Prof. George H. 
Coofe/New Brunswick. N. J. But the 
Station is under no.obligation to furnish 
copies to applicants outside of New Jer- 
CROSSING OF ORCHARD FRUITS 
professor j. l. budd. 
Over large nreas of our country the 
desirability of securing systematic 
crosses of our orchard fruits with a view 
to combining the season and quality of 
one variety with the (icrfect foliage and 
hardiness of tree of another, is not ques¬ 
tioned at this time bv our thoughtful 
fruit growers. Hoping to enlist the at¬ 
tention of n few readers of the Rural 
and induce them to plan some work of 
this kind for their next season of blos¬ 
soms. these brief notes on crosses effect¬ 
ed on the college grounds the past season 
are penciled. 
Selection ok Parents. —Of course, 
the selection of parents will depend on 
climate and the end to be gained by the 
proposed cross. With us the primal 
thought is to secure varieties hardier in 
the tree, and more perfect in leaf Hum 
the Willow or Roman Stem Apple, the 
Early Richmond or English Morello 
Cherry or the Lombard or any other 
West Europe plum. Hence we selected 
for mother varieties of the apple such 
undoubted iron-clads as Hibernal, 
Liehy, Anis, Antonovka. and Long- 
field, and crossed the blossoms with 
pollen of Grimes’s Golden, Roman 
if Nsw-Yofixrr? 
KELSEY’S "JAPAN PLUM. From Nature. Fig. 432 
Variations in Richness of Jersey 
Milk. —John E. Parmlv writes to the 
American Dairyman that there are 
some families of Jersey cows that 
Stem, Northern Spy, etc. Among 
cherries we selected for the female part of the 
the cross some really good varieties of the 
Griotte type int roduced from Orel. Russia, and 
crossed them with the sweet and half-sweet 
varieties of North Silesia. Again, to increase 
the size of tho prospective trees to lie grown 
from pits, we crossed the Large Montmorency 
on the Dwarf Vladimir Cherry, uud ou the 
dwarf sort known as Sehatteu Amarello. 
With plums our crosses as yet are of varieties 
of the native sorts, tho purpose being to 
secure combinations of desirable points in tree 
and fruit. As instances, De Soto was crossed 
with a strong-growing native sort known as 
Speer, aud also with Maquoketa, tho best in 
size and quality of fruit of the Chickasaw 
plums, but, not quite hardy in tree. Again, 
Wolf Plum, a native sort with some trace of 
foreign blood, and not quite good enough in 
quality of fruit, was crossed with Maquoketa 
and with the Yellow M irnbolle. 
Saving the Pollen.— The success of crosses 
of the apple, cherry, and plum, will depend 
largely on having a supply of pollen at tho 
exact nick of time when the stigmas are coat¬ 
ed with the needed nee tar to receive it. As 
practiced here, pollen-gathering is a simple 
aud rapid work, Whcu the blossoms of the 
varieties of apple, pear, cherry, or plum we 
intend to use as male parents are fully expand¬ 
ed, a student is set at work p! m-king the nearly- 
ripened anthers, with filaments attached, with 
thumb aud Unger, and dropping them into a 
stigmas with the pollen brush on the two suc¬ 
ceeding days. We find as many stigmas in 
condition for pollen reception the second day 
as the first. If the brush is slightly moistened, 
it takes up the pollen from the dish readily, 
and it can be applied very rapidly. The boy 
who takes off aud replaces the caps has the 
main work. At the second application of 
pollen we believe it well pavs to touch the base 
of the blossom with weak arsenic water or 
London-purple, as we find the coddling moth, 
curculio, etc., specially apt to get under 'the 
cloth caps. About five days after the blos¬ 
soms have been fertilized, the cloth caps should 
Lie removed and the forming fruits covered 
with (pinned on) pieces of mosquito bar, to 
remain until the fruit is ready to be gathered. 
Our Relative Si guess.— The season with 
us has been specially unfavorable, yet we have 
saved seeds of every cross made upon the 
apple except the Wild Crab, and from every 
cherry and plum cross fertilized. In some 
cases the crossed specimens were the only ones 
retained on the trees during the frost aud 
storms or the season of blossoming. 
Modification of Fruit and Seed. —This 
can be only noticed at this time. In two or 
three cases the change of fruit was remarka¬ 
ble. As an instance, the Longtield apple fer¬ 
tilized by Roman Stem was wholly changed 
in form, aud some of the specimens had every 
external mark of the Roman Stem, but the 
of age or less. Sometimes the plums are nine 
inches in circumference. The pit is relatively 
very small, as our engraving show’s. It is 
said to excel other plums for canning, and 
when dried to equal the best dried prunes. 
Unquestionably this plum will prove a good 
shipper ou account of its firm skin aud solid 
tlesb. lu so far as we can ascertain, the tree 
is hardy, thrifty and healthy. Our engrav¬ 
ings show true to nature the leaf, the entire 
fruit, a half section showing the thickness of 
the flesh, aud finally the small pit. 
ijoiliculiucrtl. 
IMPROVING OLD CURRANT-BUSHES. 
In nearly every farmer’s garden there are 
a few’ bushes of the common red currant, 
many of which have been growing in the 
same spot so long a time that they have become 
nearly worthless, the fruit being very small 
and scattering on the stems. The bushes are 
mere clumps, the roots have become so matted 
together that there is little space left for new 
roots to form. Manure spread around such 
bushes can lie of very little benefit to them 
on account of there being little chance for 
new roots to grow. The question arises what 
can be done in the way of improving such 
bushes. Trimming off all of the old wood in 
the Fall ’and .allowing but four onfive shoots 
give quite a large volume of milk, 
aud at the same time make good records 
of performance as butter cows. He has one, 
“Lily Seituate,” that in seven days in June 
last, gave Sfiii 1 ., pounds of milk, which made 
24 pounds ft , ounces of butter. This would 
show that 14' t pounds of milk made a pound 
of butter. He has another cow that gave 386 
jiOttnds of milk that ma le 19 pounds of but¬ 
ter; another that gav e 43 pounds of milk per 
day aud made 18 pounds nine ounces of but¬ 
ter per week; another that.at four years of age, 
gave 39 pounds of milk per day and made 
pounds of butter per week. So it appears 
that the four cows made so 1 , pounds of but¬ 
ter in a week. As the cows of the country 
ran, it would require a drove of about 1(3 of 
them to’ produce so' much butter. Can a 
farmer afford to feed Ui cows to do the w’ork 
of four? Money will buy the better sort, and 
care and feed will make them perform. Then 
consider the value of the calves of such cows! 
Profit in Small Fruits.— Editor Cheever 
says in the N. E. Farmer, that if we would 
make money raising small fruits we must go 
into the business to stay, not fora year, but 
for many years or for life. There will be 
bad years for fruit growers as well as for pro¬ 
ducers of any other products, but those who 
leant the business most thoroughly and who 
establish a name for quality of products and 
tor fair dealing, will be the ones to succeed in 
the long ran. They will have to sell with lit 
