1903 
6i3 
EVERYBODY'S GARDEN, 
Eari.y Tomatoes.—] have been much in¬ 
terested in your tomato reports. Several 
years ago we began growing plants for 
market, as well as for the fruit. The 
Quarter Century has thus far proven most 
satisfactory, though we continue testing 
most of the new varieties. It has seemed 
to us that Dwarf Champion was not up to 
the old standard, and that the Quarter 
Century gave much stronger plants as well 
as fruits. When we started growing sale 
plants the market was supplied by the 
usual hotbed stock. We particularly 
wished to capture this trade, and did not 
believe for best and earliest results that 
hotbed plants were desirable. We there¬ 
fore transplanted from seed flats to boxes 
11 X 15 inches, one dozen per box, where 
they grew until planted out. They maKe 
strong growth, tops and roots, and when 
cut out there is a solid block of top and 
roots, and so little disturbance when 
transplanted that they rarely wilt, and 
the fruits, which are frequently set, con¬ 
tinue to grow and ripen. The sale of the 
boxes is steadily increasing, and the price, 
higher than that for hotbed plants, does 
not deter people from buying. f. o. c. 
Sandy Creek, Me. 
Referring to varieties, as for me and 
my house, we are thoroughly weaned 
from the Dwarf Champion. Two years’ 
trial under favorable weather conditions 
on both heavy and light soils, has con¬ 
vinced us that their early ripening quali¬ 
ties are a snare and delusion. As to 
promises, they are all that could be de¬ 
sired, as the fruits set early and are all 
right as to size and form, as also flavor. 
But right here the promises all fail, and 
they hang on the vines and dally around 
about ripening until patience is worn 
out. We have seen this tendency in pre¬ 
vious years, but circumstances were 
such this year that it was Dwarf Cham¬ 
pion or none, so we took them and are 
confronted with the same trouble as be¬ 
fore. There are fruits enough on the 
vines, but they hang there with very 
few ripening, while the price goes grad¬ 
ually lower, and the dream of good pro¬ 
fits has vanished in thin air. The Quar¬ 
ter Century is good, far better, I think, 
than the former, but of all the dwarf 
varieties thus far grown Fordhook 
Fancy has done best for us. As to bear¬ 
ing qualities, I have not tested the latter 
two side and side, but believe the Ford- 
hook Fancy will outyield the Dwarf 
Champion two to one. As to greenhouse 
and hot-bed plants, of course opinions 
differ. Some extensive growers with all 
facilities at hand, prefer the hotbed for 
tomato plants. Personally, I have had 
good results in the hotbed, and can get 
plants plenty large enough as early as 
they can go Into the open ground. I use 
both pots and berry boxes for trans¬ 
planting, and can set in the hottest 
weather without fear of checking. This, 
of course, is not to deter any from grow¬ 
ing in the greenhouse if that convenience 
is at hand, but many cannot afford that 
and to such I isay that good results can 
be had in the hotbed. 
Cutting Asparagus Tops.— At what time 
do you advise cutting off asparagus tops? 
Spring Valiev, Ont. J. d. t. 
The time for this work varies widely 
among growers from before seed matures 
until the following Spring. It is gener¬ 
ally understood, I believe, that maturing 
the seed is the most exhaustive effort of 
plant life. If this be so, I see no reason 
for allowing such a drain upon the 
plants, and personally think it preferable 
to cut just as soon as the tops have got 
their principal growth, and while the 
seed balls are forming. Others, of 
course, differ from this, and may have 
good reasons for delaying the work. 
Some think that if left standing through 
the Winter they help to hold the snow 
and thus improve the condition of the 
plants. I believe, however, that these 
results are best obtained by a mulch of 
brush or very coarse litter in addition to 
a covering of manure, which I think 
ought always to be applied. 
I'HE Potato Planter Again.—W ill you 
let U.S know how you apply the fertilizer 
when u.sing the planter (without furrow¬ 
ing)? K. B. B. 
Wlnchendon, Mass. 
Personally I have never used much 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
fertilizer on potatoes, preferring rather 
good sod ground or lacking this, stable 
manure plowed in the previous season. 
In the article referred to, I think I stat 
ed that this was not personal practice, 
but that of a successful gardener of mj' 
acquaintance. I also stated that 1 did 
not approve the practice of planting be¬ 
fore fitting the ground, and, of course, in 
the case referred to I think there was no 
necessity of thus doing. The ground 
could have been fitted first, 1 suppose, 
and would have been better, I think. I 
should have fitted the ground, at least to 
the extent of marking or furrowing, the 
fertilizer could then be easily put on 
above the seed, or along the furrow and 
then covered with the harrow. 
Guess Work. —Yesterday I was doing 
a job that was occasioned solely by going 
at it blind at the start, or by at first do¬ 
ing the work on the I-thought-so plan. 
In the Spring we were lacking a suffi¬ 
cient supply of Lima beans. I had to 
get an extra quantity, and took it for 
granted that I was getting a bush va¬ 
riety. When they came up and began 
to grow I discovered that moist of them 
were pole beans, and I had to take to 
the woods for poles, as it was then too 
late to plan for trellis posts and wires. 
They do not take readily to the poles, 
and it has caused me no end of .trouble 
to keep them attending to business. They 
were off on one side trying to climb the 
sweet corn, and on the other side wind¬ 
ing around potato tops. They had all 
been carefully tied up before, but were 
still prone to wander around. It may 
not be so bad after all, for there is good 
opportunity to see the advantage of 
strings over poles. To save cutting ami 
setting poles, I set short stakes at some 
hills and tied twine from the stake t. 
the top of other poles. Wherever the 
twine was used the vines require no ty¬ 
ing or watching, only start them and 
they take care of themselves. In future? 
I shall try hard to know what I am 
planting, and not depend upon guess-sos. 
Then when I wish to plant the pole va¬ 
rieties I shall provide the trellis and 
get it done in time, that 1 need not have 
to bother with poles. j. e. mob.sf.. 
Michigan. 
Propagating Hydrangea and Privet. 
J. W. O., Tlarrishurg, When Is the 
proper time to propagate Hydrangeas 
and California privet by cutting? Is there 
any way in which I can tell the proper 
condition of the wood for cuttings? 
Ans. —Most varieties of Hydrangeas, in¬ 
cluding the hardy H. paniculata grandi- 
fiora, are propagated from cuttings of 
green wood taken just after the fiowers 
open. Nurserymen in this vicinity are 
making their cuttings now. The green 
wood is cut to single eyes, half of the 
accompanying leaf is removed, and they 
are then firmly planted in damp sand in 
propagating beds under glass. If kept 
moist and shaded they usually root free¬ 
ly in a few weeks, and are then trans¬ 
ferred to frames, being protected by sash 
during the Winter. In Spring they are 
removed to nursery rows as soon as the 
ground is fit to work. California privet, 
on the other hand, is usually propagated 
from hard-wood cuttings, though green 
wood may be taken at this season and 
rooted in the same manner as Hydran¬ 
geas, but hard, or ripe wood cuttings are 
usually depended upon. Young shoots, 
averaging in thickness about the size of 
a lead pencil, are cut in midwinter in 
lengths of eight inches or more, butts 
all one way, and tied into bundles of 
about 100 with withes of willow or dog¬ 
wood, as cord Is likely to rot. The bun¬ 
dles are then buried in the soil butt end 
up, covering them with three or four 
inches of sand. They are left until early 
May, by which time the warmth of the 
sun causes a callus to form on the butts 
near the surface, while the tips, being 
deeper in the soil, are not likely to start. 
The cuttings are then set in deeply- 
plowed and thoroughly worked ground, 
six inches apart in rows three feet apart, 
suitable for horse cultivation. They are 
pushed down into nari’ow slits made 
with a special tool or spade, six or seven 
inches deep, and the earth firmly tramp¬ 
ed about the tops. If put in moist soil 
in early Spring, 80 per cent of them may 
be depended upon to root. They are 
usually marketed when two years o!( 
and at that time bring from $3.5 to $40 
per 1,000 wholesale. 
Hydraulic Rams. 
ir. a. K., Saranac, N. Y .—Can you tell me 
the percentage of water received by using 
a ram? I have a spring giving about flve 
gallons a minute on a slope where I can 
get from 15 to 20 feet fall if necessary. I 
wish to get water up to a tank 300 yards 
away and 60 feet higher than spring. 
Ans.—A Rife ram in the location men¬ 
tioned will deliver about 50 gallons of 
water per hour. W. S. K. is fortunate 
in having such a good opportunity for 
installing a ram. Where water has to be 
elevated a hydraulic ram is the cheapest 
and best means of doing it, provided a 
sufficient vein of water with three feet 
or more of fall can be found within a 
reasonable distance of the buildings, ^ne 
usual difficulty in the way of using a 
ram is the fact that one has to go too 
far to get the fall required. The drive 
pipe which feeds the ram must be com¬ 
paratively short, not over five to 10 
times the amount of the fall. Evidently 
W. S. K. has no such difficulty as this. 
His drive pipe will be inch in diam¬ 
eter and the pipe to carry water to build¬ 
ings % inch in diameter. The drive pipe 
should be straight, but the delivery pipe 
may go up hill and down, excepting that 
any sharp turn increases friction and 
diminishes the efficiency of machine. 
The ram must be so set as to have a 
permanent run-off for discharge water. 
The greater portion of the water escapes 
and it is this which furnishes the power 
to elevate the remainder. Where there 
is a small amount of spring water, and 
it is all wanted for use, a double-acting 
ram can be had which will utilize neigh¬ 
boring brook water to furnish the power, 
and at the same time the spring water 
and the brook water will be kept sep¬ 
arate. But your correspondent has so 
much water with such good fall that it 
is not likely that he will need a double¬ 
acting ram. I have seen a number of 
Rife rams in operation, and they give 
good satisfaction. grant da vis. 
For the land’s sake, use Bowker’s Fer¬ 
tilizers. They enrich the earth,— Adv. 
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launche.s, pumps, farm implements, or anything 
requiring a durable gloss finish in black or colors. 
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Six selected hardy American seed bearing plants, 
$1; $15 per 100. Package of 75 seeds, $1; $10 per 1,000. 
CAltVKirs CIN.SENG FARM, Chardon, Ohio 
U. V. Carver and Archie Carver, Proprietors. 
GINSENG 
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60 cent book on Culture and 
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THISTLE-INE1 
Oak Grove, Mich., July 9, ’03 
The Llndgren Chemical Co.* 
Grand Rapids, Mich. 
Gentlemen: 'The more I 
useThistle-ine the better I like 
It, and I believe It will in time 
. ' be as necessary an article on 
‘ * the farm for spraying noxious 
vegetable growths as I’arls 
Green Is for spraying potatoes. 
Used Thlstle-ine an Milkweed 
last week, and was delighted 
with results. Yourstruly. 
W. O. Richards. 
One thorough spraying with •• Thistle- 
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