436 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
June 13 
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 tirafi. Put questions on a 
separate piece of paper.] 
Lightning and a Steel Tower. 
M'. /f.. lUisl (Iranhi/, (Uinn.—l have a steel 
windmill on a iO-foot steel tower on one 
end of my barn. Would this be liable to 
attract the lightning? There is a 1.200 gal¬ 
lon tank of water underneath the wind¬ 
mill with a pipe 114 inch running down to 
the well. How would it be to solder three 
or four copper wires on to the steel tower 
and run them into the tank? Also, how 
wouhi it l)e to run the lightning rod 
straight down through the roof? laghtning 
is said to piefer the easiest way. and does 
not like to turn short corners. 
Ans. —1 have never heard or known 
of a steel windmill on steel tower being 
struck by lightning, and the only way to 
account for this exemption is on the 
hypothesis that they convey a large 
amount of electricity silently from and 
to the clouds. If W. R. will connect a 
sufficient number of copper wires from 
tower to tank either by soldering or 
firmly twisting them about the metal 
portions it will form a permanent rod 
over which the electricity will pass. It 
is far safer to keep the lightning rods 
outside all buildings, but to have them 
go as direct as possible. 
J. S. WOODWARD. 
Grapes in Place of Concord. 
TP. 77. 7f.. FHockporl. Ohio .—Will H. M. W., 
Of Rockford, Ill. who declares war on 
Concord grapes and others on page 208, 
kindly tell us which he has found to be 
the best grapes for a home garden, all 
things considered? . 
An.s,— 1 would hardly venttire to say 
what varieties of grapes, all things con¬ 
sidered, would be most suitable for the 
home garden in Stockport, 0. I will, 
however, give a short list of varieties 
which have proved good here. Je.ssica 
is an extra early white grape with a 
pure flavor and no trace of foxiness. It 
is a strong grower of short-jointed 
canes, and if not allowed to overbear, 
which it is apt to do, the quality is 
nearly perfect. Moyer, an early red, is 
very hardy and vigorous, and is sweet 
and good. If there was a trifle more 
acid to balance the sugar it would be 
very fine. The Brighton, another red 
variety which ripens a little later, has 
the same fault, but if not allowed to 
hang on the vine till dead ripe the qual¬ 
ity is excellent. It is a strong grower 
and heavy fruiter, but an imperfect 
blossom, and must have a vine with per¬ 
fect flower near b.v to give best results. 
Ulster Prolific is a red grape that is per¬ 
fect in regard to flavor. It is a heavy 
bearer but rather weak grower, and 
must be severely thinned or the vine 
will not mature the load. The Salem 
and Lindley are two very tine red 
grapes where they will resist mildew 
and anlhracnose. For black, I would 
suggest Aminia, Barry and Wilder. They 
are the three best hlack grapes I ever 
raised and all strong growers and good 
bearers, but not inclined to overbear. I 
think these three all have imperfect 
flowers, so it would be just as well to 
fall hack on a vine or t\w of the de¬ 
spised Concord blood to furnish pollen. 
The Worden is as good a one as there 
is for that. The quality is certainly a 
decided improvement over the parent. 
The Delaware ought not to be left out 
of the home garden list, .if it is suitable 
for your locality, for the quality is per¬ 
fection. For a late grape and one of the 
best keepers there is, try the Vergennes. 
It is a little inclined to mildew, but al¬ 
most always gives a crop here, and the 
quality is good. For quality, produc¬ 
tiveness. large size of berry, compact¬ 
ness of cluster, strong growth and har¬ 
diness, the Regal, a seedling that was 
raised here in Rockford, Ill., easily takes 
the lead. I have 12 new varieties which 
I am testing, seedlings raised by E, F. L. 
Routenberg, Lincoln, Ill., and G. Engel, 
Paw Paw, Mich. Some of them appear 
very promising, but they have only been 
set three years and have not had suffi¬ 
cient time for a test. They are full of 
fruit buds now, and I shall have a 
chance this year to judge. It our re¬ 
tired farmers would devote some of 
their surjilus energy to raising new seed¬ 
lings instead of spending so much time 
talking politics and condemning the 
trusts we would soon have a better 
class of fruit, and they would have the 
satisfaction of knowing they had done 
something that was beneficial to the 
public. _ H. M. w. 
THE "MISSING LINK" AGAIN. 
May I give the Missing Link a little pro¬ 
tection from those who would kill it? It 
will stand all their criticisms, and at last 
come out at the head. Did Ben Davis has 
been criticised and condemned by both 
writers and lecturers as being almost 
everything but a gentleman, and still he 
remains at the top of the heap with his 
very poor flavor. H. E. Van Deman, in 
the May number of Green’s Fruit Grower, 
places him at the head of the list for 
planting from Ohio west, including Kansas 
and Nebraska. More than 200 persons 
during the last two years at the county 
fairs and farmers’ institutes here in north¬ 
ern Pennsylvania have asked whether the 
flavor of the Mis.sing Tank apple is better 
than that of the Ben Davis. I have al¬ 
lowed them to test it for themselves, and 
their universal decision was that It was 
far superior. As to size It is larger than 
the Baldwin as grown here; the color of 
those that I grew here is as red as the 
Baldwin. The Mann apple that I have 
is not in it at all for keeping qualities or 
flavor, either, according to my taste. The 
Willow or Willow-twig is a good apple 
and keeps well, and occasionally may be 
placed on the fruit stands on the Fourth 
of .Tilly. I have Missing Ivink apples grown 
in 1901 that' have passed one Tfourth of 
July, and unless decomposition sets in 
very soon T shall have them on the fruit 
stands the coming Fourth of July. Kvery 
year in some sections of our countr.v there 
is a total failure of the apple crop, which 
consfitutps a very serious break in tbe 
apple chain, and in my opinion the farmer 
who misses planting a few Missing T.ink 
trees to carry him over that break makes 
a ver.v serious mistake. B. m. stone. 
In The R. N.-Y. of May 16 is a very un¬ 
favorable criticism of the Missing Ijlnk 
apple, by Mr. Van Deman. I beg leave to 
take issue with him. He says the quality 
is poor to medium. My neighbors pro¬ 
nounce the apple better at 15 months old 
than any other long keeper is on the 
Fourth of July. He says it is not large. 
I have before me right now two samples 
that measure 1014 inches in circumference. 
He says it is rather dull green with bronzy 
red stripes. He gives the exact description 
at picking time; but why did he not tell 
that the green turns to golden yellow in 
midsummer? He says he has seen the 
apple at various times on exhibition in 
Illinois: and certainly the green had then 
turned to golden yellow on the year-old 
samples. His article calls to mind a cer¬ 
tain fable, wherein a poet sent some of 
his verses to a farmer. The farmer criti¬ 
cised them severely and returned them 
without giving them credit for any merit 
whatever. Then the poet called on the 
farmer for a bushel of wheat. The farmer 
sent it. The poet picked all the cheat and 
cockle out of it, and sending these back 
to the farmer, kept the wheat himself. 
The moral is, that we should never expose 
a man’s , faults without giving credit for 
his virtues. On the same principle, a 
worthy man cannot afford to rriticlse the 
resources of his neighbor’s income without 
also noting their merits. s. m. d. 
Brown Elk. N. C. 
BOOK BULLETIN. 
A Book of the Country and the 
Garden, by H. M. Batson. This is a well- 
dressed volume of essays on gardening and 
rural life, chiefly reprinted from English 
magazines. It contains 320 pages, admir¬ 
ably printed and bound, and many illus¬ 
trations. It gives a pleasing record of a 
rural year, though lacking the literarv 
grace we find in several other English 
books of the same class. Its cultural notes 
will be suggestive, rather than useful to 
gardeners in this country. We are unable 
to find sufficient authority for the treat¬ 
ment accorded to botanical names In this 
book; they are printed entirely without 
capitalization, and, to our mind, romneya 
coulteri looks quite as grotesque as John 
smith. It is quite permissible to use the 
generic name alone without a capital let¬ 
ter. though this is not the usage of The 
R. N.-Y.. but we consider that when ac¬ 
companied by the specific or varietal name 
it should always be capitalized. This book 
is published by E. P. Dutton & Co., New 
York; price, $3 net. 
The American Carnation; How to 
Grow It, b.v C. W. Ward. This book will 
take an authoritative place in greenhouse 
literature. It is written by a specialist, 
who combines with a vast fund of practi¬ 
cal knowledge the literary ability required 
to convqy this knowledge to others. The 
subjects covered include everything in the 
life of a carnation., from the taking of the 
cutting to the marketing of the flower; 
greenhouse construction, heating and use 
of fuels are fully discussed, and there is 
a very suggestive chapter on sub-irriga¬ 
tion. The chapter on carnation culture in 
different geographical localities will be 
found valuable, and also the data concern¬ 
ing the American Carnation Society. A 
copious index makes the contained infor¬ 
mation readily available. The book is 
handsomely bound, well printed and freely 
illustrated. Published by the A. T. De 
La Mare Company, New York; 296 pages; 
price $3.50. _ 
Don’t keep your money at home 
for Burglar and Fire ravages. Yon 
can send it to us, no matter where 
you live, safely and convenientiy. 
We pay 
4 PERCENT INTEREST 
compounded semi-annually on any 
ainoiint from one dollar up. 
Ours is a Big, Strong, Savings 
Bank with immen.se capital and 
strong men back of it. 
Our interest rate presents a bet¬ 
ter proposition than Government 
Bonds, IS just as safe and pays on 
small amounts as well as large. 
Write for Booklet “H,” inking 
by Mail” 
THE FEDERAL TRUST CO. 
CAPITAL. $1,500,000. 
Cleveland, • Ohio. 
The City of Banks 
Crown Gai.e—Another View.— If the 
professors did not dispute it I wou'd say 
that crown gall was the result of damage 
from root aphis. But they say it is a dis¬ 
tinct trouble. I have plenty of young 
trees an inch or tw'o in diameter that have 
a knot four or more inches across at the 
crown that was certainly caused by the 
killing of the upper fine roots by root 
ai-hids, resulting in a strangulation, much 
tbe same as would be caused by a strangle 
from wire or string. I have found no 
practical remedy. I have used quantities 
of tobacco dust and ashes; both are bene¬ 
ficial but they do not exterminate. I con¬ 
sider plant lice as the worst of the in¬ 
sects I have to contend with, and “blight” 
as the worst of the bacterial troubles. 
benjamin buckman. 
Illinois. 
WET AND DRY ROT PREVENTED 
anU fence posts, sills and all exposed timbers made to 
last indefinitely by the use of CONSERVO WOOD 
PREfSEKVATIVK, It permeates and hardens 
wood, prevents working of wood worms, insects, etc. 
Cost but a trifle. Write for free circular. 
SAMUEL CABOT,3Ifg. Chemist, 
81 Kilby Street. Boston, Mass. 
Potted Strawberry Plants, 
well rooted, .Inly 16. 1 OO Oom Paul for #>3. 
KEVITT’S PLANT FARMS, Athonia, N. J. 
f ^ ^ I Home-grown Crimson Clover 
r" O ■ a 16 Seed.Rl.SO per bu.; Cow Peas, 
fl.50 per bu. J. E. HOLLAND, Milford, Del. 
f'ELEKY I’LANT.S I eTRAWBEKKY (PottRd 
^ only *1 per 1.000. 1*^ Plants) $1 per 100. 
Address SLAYMAKER & SON, Dover, Del. 
For the land’s sake, use Bowker’s Fer¬ 
tilizers. They enrich the earth.— Adv. 
Farm Wagon only 821.05. 
In order to Introduce their Low Metal Wheels wdtb 
Wide Tires, the Empire Manufacturing Company, 
Quincy, 111., have placed upon the market a Farmer’s 
Handy Wagon, that Is only 25 inches high, fitted 
with 24 and 30 Inch wheels with 4-lnch tire, and 
sold for only $21.95. 
This wagon is made of the best material through¬ 
out, and really costs but a trifle more than a set of 
new wheels, and fully guaranteed for one year. Cat¬ 
alogue giving a full description will be mailed upon 
application by the Empire Manufacturing Co., 
Quincy, Ill., who also will furnish metal wheels 
at low prices made any size and width of tire to fit 
any axle. 
'ftilF Fruit B 
TREES SUCCEED WHERE 
Larfe™«iry. OTHERS FAIL 
Fruit Book Free. Keeult of 78 yeari’ expenene* 
GARDEN, FIELD and FLDWER SEEDS 
CLOVEK and TIMOTHY. 
BEARDLESS SPRING BARLEY. 
We are recleaners of all kinds of Field Seeds, and 
do not mix Medium with Mammoth Red 
Clover. Write for Field Seed Price List; 
also 1903 Seed Catalogue mailed free. 
The Henry Phillipps Seed and Implement Co., 
115-117 St. Clair Street, Toledo, Ohio. 
CELERY 
PLANTS.—G. S. B., $1 per 
1.000 ; 70c. per 500. Strong, 
healthy plants from imported seed sown tliin (in 
rows) in rich beds. Plants are kept in even steady 
growth by irrigation. W. P., G. H. and G. I’. $1.30 per 
1.000 ; 90c. per 500. LfiOO,000 plants. 1 ship in ventilated 
boxes. Roots in damp mo.ss. 
F. W. ROCHELLE, Drawer 1. Chester, N. J. 
Wanted.—A complete set or number 
of consecutive volumes of The Rural New-Yorker, 
either bound or as issued. Rejily to 
A. C. LANE, Box 2244, Boston, Mass. 
DC Hill ICinC hardy white onions 
DCAULIbU O Lb. $2.50. Special Offer; The 
New Onion Culture, by T. Greiner, FREE. 
BEAULIEU, Woodhaven, N. Y. 
Clenwood Nurseries 
Most complete assortment of choice 
Ornamental Trees, Shrubs and Vines 
Send for Descriptive Illustrated Catalogue. 
THE WM. H. MOON CO., MORBI8V1L1.K, PA. 
60 miles from New York; 30 miles from Philadelphia- 
CRIMSON CLOVER 
HENRY A. DREER, TI4 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 
In sowing this valuable clover, it is important 
that American seed is used. We sujiply genuine 
Dela-ware seed only. Our special circular describ¬ 
ing uses of Crimson Clover is mailed free. 
The great value of this hook is found in the fact 
that every word of it is Avritten from the author's 
personal experience. During the Avhole time of its 
preparation, he never consulted another hook or 
another author. He has planted and cared with his own hands for eveiy plant 
described in this hook, and has written from that experience and observation alone. 
Another important feature of the hook is the grouping of subjects. On Apples, 
for example, you find all information as to the [Jrepai’ation of soil, planting, fertil¬ 
izing, pruning, varieties, etc., all conveniently grouped under one genex-al heading. 
Then the varieties for Summer, Autumn and Winter are classed h^’- themselves, and 
those for home use distinguished from commercial varieties. The same is true of 
4 PRACTICAL BOOK 
“Guide to Hardy Fruits 
and Ornamentals.” 
BY T. J, DWYER. 
pears, plums, peaches, strawberries, cane berries, grapes and other fruits that one 
wishes to know about. The ornamentals are treated in a class by themselves. Here, 
too, the author has written entirely from his own experience. He planted, on his 
own ground, every hush and vine he describes, and plucked the flowers from them 
Avith his own hands. 
The book is convenient in form, as well as in arrangement. It is hound in stiff 
paper, reinforced with cloth. Price postpaid, 50 cents. Addi-ess 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 409 Pearl Street, New York, 
