356 
May 9 
FARMERS’ CLUB 
[Every query must be accompanied by 
the name and address of the writer to in¬ 
sure attention. Before asking a question, 
please see whether it is not answered in 
our advertising columns. Ask only a few 
questions at one time. Put questions on a 
separate piece of paper.] 
Mammoth Black Twig and Arkansas Black 
Apples. 
J. C. A. iNo Address).—The Mammoth 
Black Twig and Arkansas Black were a 
few years ago extensively sold in southern 
Indiana, also Akin. But I do not see them 
mentioned in any horticultural report. Are 
they good Winter apples? 
Ans.— Arkansas or Mammoth Black 
Twig and Arkansas Black are both Win¬ 
ter apples of good although not high 
quality. They are both red, the latter 
being almost black in some cases, and 
are seedlings of Winesap. They keep 
quite well, and meet with favor in the 
orchard and on sale, except that in some 
sections Arkansas Black drops badly be¬ 
fore gathering time. Akin is an early 
Winter variety of brilliant red color and 
most excellent quality, being very ten¬ 
der of flesh and delicately flavored. It 
usually bears well. h. e. v. n. 
Lime Needed for Alfalfa. 
E. TV. W., Bellvale, N. Y.—'We seeded two 
or three acres with Alfalfa last season. 
The land is a sandy loam and had been in 
corn for the two previous seasons. We 
did not sow any other crdp with it. The 
seed came up nicely, but gradually during 
the Summer seemed to disappear. Great 
quantities of horse sorrel came in, and I 
think smothered it out; also the White 
clover spread over the ground wherever the 
land was very rich. On one spot of ground 
where a large quantity of brush was burned 
about three years ago the Alfalfa made a 
good stand. On examining the field to-day 
1 found the Alfalfa thick on this piece and 
four or five inches high, but on the rest of 
the field only a few stalks appear now and 
then, with a great deal of horse sorrel. 
Ans.— This seems to prove what so 
many people tell us, that Alfalfa re¬ 
quires an alkaline soil to start and grow 
well. Where that brush heap was burn¬ 
ed we should expect to find lime from 
the ashes, and the action of fire also 
sweetens the soil. Where the sorrel ap¬ 
pears you are quite sure to find the soil 
sour. Lime or manure seem to be need¬ 
ed on such soils if we expect to start 
Alfalfa. 
Apple Trees on Rough Hills. 
W. C., Camp Point, Ill.—l have 11 acres of 
land in one field; seven acres are level and 
planted to apple trees which I intend to 
cultivate, fertilize and spray according to 
the latest methods; four acres are very 
hilly with small valleys at the bottom 20 
feet wide, and all covered with several 
kinds of grass, mostly Blue grass. Valleys 
are very fertile for 20 feet on each side, but 
the rest of the hills are a stiff clay badly 
worn and washed. Can I set one row of 
apple trees say 10 feet up on each side of 
the valleys and piece out the rest of the 
hill here and there in Irregular rows about 
30 X 30 feet after the Stringfellow method, 
end keep the whole heavily mulched from 
the start? Cultivation is out of the ques¬ 
tion, on account of washing. As the land 
lies now I cannot get any use out of the 
four acres, pasture not being worth the 
amount of fencing required. 
Ans.— With our experience we should 
have no hesitation in planting the trees 
as you suggest. Cut the roots off close 
and set in small holes, packing the soil 
hard around them. When the Spring 
rains stop mulch a space about four feet 
in diameter around the trees and keep 
this mulching up all through the grow¬ 
ing season. Wrap the trees in Winter 
as a protection against mice and rabbits. 
Planting Apple Trees Among Stumps. 
G. J., Calera, Ala.—l have a 40-acre tract 
of mountain land, choice sandy loam, now 
covered with good-sized oaks, chestnut, 
some pines and other mountain growth, 
that I am having cleared for an apple and 
peach orchard. I am cutting off all the 
large timber and will grub up all the under¬ 
growth, sprouts, etc., but will leave the 
stumps to rot out. The soil is loose and an 
ordinary walking stick can be pushed down 
a foot most anywhere on this tract. My 
idea is, dig holes the proper distance apart, 
except where stump is in the way, and fill 
with rich soil mixed with equal parts of 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
ground bone and muriate of potash, plant 
the trees this Fall. If I wait to get stumps 
out of the way, I cannot get the work done 
in time, and will be set back a year. I ex¬ 
pect to cultivate thoroughly between rows 
and among stumps until trees come into 
bearing. I shall then have all stumps out 
of the way. How would this plan work 
with trees set out on Stringfellow plan, 
simply in holes made with crowbar? 
Ans.— This plan has been followed in 
parts of Virginia with, we understand, 
good results. It is too late in the sea¬ 
son to start the orchard now. We think 
you will make a mistake to dig large 
holes and partly fill them with rich 
earth and fertilizer. We would much 
prefer to dig small holes and cut both 
roots and tops of the trees severely. 
Plant the trees in these small holes and 
maul the soil hard around them. Use 
your rich soil and fertilizer scattered 
around the trees and throw brush and 
weeds around them. We have planted 
1,000 trees in crowbar holes, but now 
prefer small holes dug with a spade, for 
this enables us to pack the soil around 
the roots to better advantage. 
j? BRIEF NOTES FROM FLORIDA. 
Hastings, St. Johns Co., Fla., produced 
in 1902 30,000 barrels of potatoes. This year 
It is estimated that 75,000 barrels will be 
shipped from that locality, which, at $3.25 
per barrel, will return to the growers 
$243,750! How is that for a single crop from 
an area of about 2t4 square miles? The 
growers have perfected an arrangement by 
which they regulate the shipments sent to 
different points, so as to avoid a glut in 
any market. Farmers’ coSperation attain¬ 
ed and kept up. A market gardener near 
St. Augustine this Spring has sold from 
one-fourth acre $300 worth of beets, ped¬ 
dling them to hotels and boarding houses. 
Does this beat the record? A R. N.-T. 
correspondent. writing from Cocoanut 
Grove, a point just below Miami, recently 
gave a very satisfactory description of suc¬ 
cessful tomato culture as it is there prac¬ 
ticed, to which nothing need be added, but 
I would like to be allowed to confirm its 
truthfulness which I now do, as I have 
friends on the spot and in the business. 
No tomatoes for $4 a ton down there! If 
anyone interested in tomato growing hap¬ 
pened to skip that instructive little article 
he should look it up and read it, and be 
glad that some tomato farmers somewhere 
are making money. 
High up in the air, on the front of the 
old fort at St. Augustine, in a chink of the 
wall, at an unreachable spot, a fig tree is 
growing, well supplied with fruit. Figs 
grow in the dooryards and gardens and 
fruit well. Date palms, Phoenix dactyli- 
fera and P. recllnata are quite numerous, 
and some are fruiting finely. Oranges, in 
bloom and fruit, were once a prominent 
and delightful feature of the St. Augustine 
landscape, but they have been frozen out. 
On the Flagler house grounds there are 
some orange trees that were planted a year 
or two ago, which are protected by tents 
in the Winter, citrus overcoats, so to 
speak. The ragged and dried leaves of the 
bananas rustle in every wind in many gar¬ 
den corners, but the location is too far 
north for successful growing of the fruit. 
A long, hot, moist season is demanded— 
something hotter than the pineapple re¬ 
quires. The “slatting” required in order to 
obtain the best results in pineapple culture, 
costs $300 per acre, and on account of the 
quick decay of lumber, in this climate, the 
covering does not last many years. This 
big item of expense is a serious considera¬ 
tion for those who are thinking of starting 
pineries. 
I have noticed in the State papers a wall 
from the turpentine camps about the great 
loss resulting from fallen timber—trees 
blown down by the wind. Upon examina¬ 
tion It will be found in many Instances 
this loss has been caused by the greed of 
the “box cutters,” or those who cut near 
the root of the tree a cup-shaped receptacle 
to catch the pitch. The cutters frequently 
make two or even three boxes in trees bare¬ 
ly able to withstand one, and the first 
strong wind blows them over in the way 
and ends their mission as producers. To 
remedy these mistakes, and to cheapen 
and quicken the “working” of the camps, 
a metal box has been invented which it 
seems likely will finally come Into use by 
the time the woods have disappeared. This 
can hardly be called a land of flowers, and 
Ponce de Leon never meant to call it that. 
He landed here on Palm Sunday. April 3, 
1512. The day is termed, by the Spaniards, 
Pasqua Florida or Flowery Easter, there¬ 
for Ponce named the new country Florida. 
The blue Iris common at the North, here 
abounds, also the lupin at the North, here 
Tradescantia Virginica, known north as 
“widow’s tear” or splderwort, with great 
masses of vivid ultramarine blue blossoms 
closing at noon. Among the millions of 
plants of the blue sort we discovered one 
solitary white flowering plant and tenderly 
dug it up and mailed it home. But we did 
not come for flowers, but for the climate 
and health, and found it on the Gulf coast 
stopping here in this quaint old-new town 
to cool off a bit before going home. We 
discovered in coming over a great deal of 
unused land around the many lakes reach¬ 
ed by the Seaboard Air Line that could 
be purchased for $5 or less per acre, and 
devoted to celery growing. Any informa¬ 
tion I may have obtained Is at command 
of The R. N.-T. readers at any time. 
J. TATES PEEK. 
For the land’s sake, use Bowker’s Fer¬ 
tilizers. They enrich the earth.— Adv. 
Shoo- Ry 
This cow was 
a terror to 
milk prior to 
using cents 
' "*”• * *** worth of Shoo-KI}’. Had it 
■been used earlier, nho would not have lost 
milk and flesh to thcamountof $U.OO. The 
other cow was proU‘cted early and continued 
to give 18 qts.of milk daily through fly-time. 
__ _ the original stock protector used by the snnio 
dairy-men since 1^, after testing imitations. It prevents contagi¬ 
ous abortion and other diseases, cures all sores, scratches, skin 
diseases, hoof ailments, etc. JfO I.,I€E in poultry house or any 
place it is sprayed. Beware of imitations that last only 
hours and make sores. If your dealer docs not keep Shoo-Fly 
(made in Philadelphia, Pa.,) send us $1.00 for latest Improved 
Three Tube Sprayer and enough Shoo-Flx 200 cows. 
Cash returned if cows arc not protected, 
SHOO-FLY MF’G. CO. 10OB Fairmounl Ave., Phila.,Pa. 
Killa 
every 
fly ft 
strikes: 
keeps off 
the rest. 
Harmless 
to man 
or beast. 
8hoo-riy 
Protect Your Cattle from Flies. 
IfITTI C irnilCnDT ** cheaply 
IVA I 1 Lb IVUnirUll I and elTectlvely, and 
your cows will re|)ay you many times over. Send for 
prices and terms to agents. 
KATTI.E KOMFOKT CO., Columbus, N. J. 
THE 
SHARPIES SEPARATOR, 
with Tubular bowl, is guaranteed to 
yield the farmer a 6^ greater profit 
on his investment than any other 
separator will yield. 
It gets more and 
better cream. 
It makes more and 
better butter. 
It takes less time 
and labor. 
11 turns more easily 
and cleans more easi¬ 
ly. 
It requires less oil 
and fewer repairs; 
all because It is so simple In construction and 
SO perfectly made. Get free catalogue No. l&S 
buarples co .9 p. n. sharplbs. 
Chicago, Ilia West Chester, Pa« 
99^E’'^canAav0aMharpU$d^or§ poupaji/orit. 
DISC ORCHARD PLOW 
Clark, of Higganum, Conn. Nearly new. 
Address F. W. VAIL, Milton, N. T. 
SEND FOR CATALOGUE AND PRICES OF THE 
DIRIGO SILO 
MANUFACTUHKD BY 
D. B. STEVENS & CO., 
AUBURN, ME. 
AGENTS WANTED. 
W EBER JR. 
Gasoline Engines 
are the outjrrowlh of 19 years ol 
engrine buildingf. Notapproached 
fyratrength, safety, simplicity or width 
of duty. Valuable fora score of farm 
duties. Any boy can run them. 2)^ full horse power at less than 5 cts. 
per hour. Tested and ready for action upon arriral. Made to fit 
farmers' needs. Other sixes up to 3tX} h. p. Write for free catalogue. 
WEBER GAS & GASOLINE ENGINE COMPANY, 
Box 206, Kansas City, Mo. 
Stanley’s Crow Repellent 
For preventing Crows and other birds pulling com. 
Non-poisonous, easily applied, will not clog any ma¬ 
chine. Price, delivered to your express office, 1S«1 per 
can. Liberal discount on larger orders. One can will 
cover two bushels of corn. Send cash with order. 
THEO. A. STANLEY, New Britain. Conn. 
pan-Amebican Gold Medal 
20 Kinds (my selection) @1. 
Purchaser’s selection $1 dz. & up. 
600 kinds, latest and best. Cat 
free. H.F. Burt,T aunton,Mass 
GLADIOLI 
Our Motto: Quality First. We have 
however, a suflScient quantity to supply 
all demands. Send for Catalogne. 
ARTHUR COWEE, 
“Meadowvale Farna.” Berlin, N. Y. 
United States Grower and Representative 
of GROFF’S HYBRIDS. 
CACTUS DAHLIAS 
300 varieties. Hardy Phlox, 100 varieties. Hardy 
Pompon Chrysanthemums, 60 varieties. 
Send for Catalogues. 
NORTH SHORK FERNEKliSS, Beverly .Mass. 
DEAULIEU 
HARDY WHITE ONIONS 
Lb., $2.50. Spcclal Offer! The 
New' Onion Culture, by T. Greiner, FREE. 
IIW A TTT.TWfT Wnnrthn.vf>n. BJ. 
lOObu. K,8-rowed Yellow Seed Com; 
■ ■IIKN 200ba. W. Star Oats, clean and choice, 
w W ■ ■ ■ ■ Sample free. First at N. Y. State Fair. 
Everett’s Early Six Weeks potato, $2.50 per barrel; 
Irish Cobblers, Sir Walter Raleighs and oGiers. Some 
choice seconds. Write wants to-day* S* J* SMITH'S 
potato farm, Shortsvllle, N. Y. 
Unui Unthnrl o* BLANCHING CELERY, used 
PICn mClIlUU with anv system of culture. Perfect 
blanching; no rot or rust. No braising or breaking 
in handling; one-third expense of boards or earth. 
60c. by mall. SUO for best bunch of celery by this 
method. B. L. MADDEN, Perry, Ohio. 
Sweet Potato Plants ci,,, i- 
ready July 1, $1 per 1.000. Potted Strawberries ready 
July 15. SLAYMAKER & SON, Dover, Del. 
niA OTCII Sweet Potato Plants, $1.75 per 1,000; 
iSIU O I Cni Jersey lied and Pierson the same; 
TorcAv Yollnw* 81 ftfl T ‘ '- 
SURPLUS STOCK 
lUaine Seed Potatoes 
at low prices. FARM IMPLEMENTS. 
K. F. MANCHESTER, Bristol, Conn, 
A _|*—Second-growth Seed Potatoes, $1.25 
I or vQIO per bushel; Home-grown Crimson 
Clover Seed, $3 per bnsbel; Cow Peas, $1 ..50 per bushel. 
JOSEPH F. HOLLAND, Milford, Del. 
SEED POTATOES 
name. $1 per bushel. Send for circular to ^e N. Y. 
P OTATOES— Bovee, Carman, Cobbler, Harvest, tiWks 
Uncle Sam, Rose. 85 kinds. C. W. Ford, Fishers,N.Y 
Western I THE KELLY CO., 
Grown SEED MERCHANTS. 
Clover, 160-152 Sheriff St., Cleveland, Ohio. 
Timothy, All kinds of grass and field seeds and 
Etc. poultry supplies. Seed manual free. 
Reference, this paper, or Park National Bank. 
12 Oom Paur™"$l 
KEVITT’S PLANT FARM, Athenia, N. J. 
STRAWBERRY PLANTS Si’ATf.’Jrst: 
amh!AG andy, Brandywine, 
QllQ^llOrriOS Lady Garrison, Excelsior, 
Parsons, Tennessee, Crescent, Michels, Sheppard 
a surplus at $1.60 per 1,000. „ „ , « , T^ , 
WM. PERRY, Cool Spring, Del. 
COW PEAS 
—^Early Black, $1.25 per bu., sacked and 
f. o. b. O. O. Gwathmey, Aylett, Va. 
M nr » Q Very cheap. Raffia for tying Aspara- 
rilAu gus and Khubarb. 5 lbs. for$l. 
For Immediate Acceptance. 
Black-eye Cow Peas, $1.(!0 per bushel; Jersey Pickle, 
$1.50 per pound; Boston Marrow Squash. 35 cents per 
pound. EDW. RIGG, JR., Burlington, N. J. 
Cow Peas t! 
Hammond'S Extra Early,Whippoorwill, Clay.WonderfuI, 
Black’s, $1.50 per bu., mixed $1.20. Medium Green 
Soja Beans, $2 per bu. Dwarf Essex Rape, 4c. a lb. 
HARRY N. HAMMOND SEED CO. Lid. 
Box 42. Bay City, Michigan. 
TREES SUCCEED WHERE 
“ery. OTHERS FAIL 
Result of 78 years’ expcrienc. 
Larm8t_ Nursery. 
: Free. 
400,000 TREES 
and PLANTS at Wholesale Prices. Appje, Pear, 
Cherry and Peach trees, $8.00 per 100. (3 at. Fbee. 
RELIANCE NURSERY, Box 10, Geneva, N. Y. 
H IINDP thousand 
l|l|V*^EACH TREES. BitfTarlitlii. 
»s many Apples, Plums, Cherry, 
Etc., cheap. Catalogue free. 
WOODVIEW NURSERItS, MT. HOLLY SPRINGS, P* 
Trees, Plants and Vines 
Ornamentals, Shade Trees, Shruhs, 
Flowers—everything to ma.ke the home 
grounds heautiful. Fruit Trees, too. 
Send for Catalogue. 
STEPHEN HOYT’S SONS, 
New Canaan, Conn, 
IJIjjlN 
BfMixltlct: Apple, 16c; Peach, 12o; Cherrj, 15o. Small fruit planU, 
Bo m i, rlnei. lOO-page catalogue free. 2 New Red Croas curranU 
lOo. Beoretft of Fruit Orowlns* 150 photoa, 10c* Oopj 
Breea’i Fruit Grower free. Good BMary paid for work at home. 
ORtEN’S NURSERY CO., Rooheater, N.Y. 
