674 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
September 2t) 
serymen cut theni expeditiously with a hand hay cut¬ 
ter. The cuttings are then mixed with coarse sand, 
thoroughly moistened and wintered in boxes in an 
outbuilding where they are freely exposed to frost, 
taking care they never dry out. In Spring, when the 
soil may be safely worked, it is plowed and fined in 
the usual manner, drills four inches deep struck out 
four feet apart, and the cuttings, which should be well 
callused by this time, sown in so as to lie five or six 
inches apart. The furrows are filled in with a level¬ 
ing tool and the field rolled, or soil in row firmed by 
tramping. The after cultivation consists in keeping 
the soil loose and free from weeds. The plants should 
be ready to sell or set in fruiting field by next Spring, 
but may be left two years or more in the row. 
Improving a Wild Cherry. 
Among several wild (“Rum”) cherry trees I have 
found one that bears quite large (much larger than the 
others) and sweet fruit. It has fruited three years. If 
I transplant to my garden and cultivate, will the fruit 
increase in size? ®- 
Ayer, Mass. 
If the tree is in good soil and thrifty it is not likely 
that the fruit on this wild tree will be materially im¬ 
proved by transplanting it to cultivated ground. It is 
not of very great value anyhow. u. k- v. n. 
How to Kill Weeds on Walks. 
What is the best known way to suppress the growth 
of grass and weeds in brick or gravel walks, borders, etc.? 
New Paris. O. 
The basis of most weed-killers used for sprinkling 
gravel and brick walks seems to be arsenic or some 
similar irritating poison. These preparations are 
usually quite effectual and lasting. They are offered 
by few seedsmen in this country. A saturated solution 
of salt will kill weeds or grass where sprinkled, but 
must often be renewed, and the same may be said of 
a solution of copper or iron sulphate, one pound to 
the gallon of water. 
Peaches on the Coast. 
Is the salt atmosphere on the coast Injurious to peaches 
or other fruit? Some farmers here say It is. w. e. n. 
Newport News, Va. 
From considerable experience in growing trees on 
the coast of Virginia and extended observation 1 
would say that the air does not have an injurious ef¬ 
fect on fruit trees of any kind. I have seen apple, 
pear, plum and peach growing within a few feet of 
salt water and unless the high tides covered their 
roots occasionally or the land was marshy they seem¬ 
ed to flourish as well as those miles back from it. Such 
places are often quite windy and bleak, but these are 
the only unfavorable conditions that I have noticed 
near bodies of salt water. 1 have seen some very good 
fruit trees at Newport News. n- k- n- 
The Hungarian Prune. 
l bought 50 Hungarian prune trees from an agent a 
year ago last Spring, and as I have never seen anything 
about that variety in The R. N.-Y.. I would like to hear 
what Mr. Van Deman or anyone else knows about it. Is 
It a desirable and profitable variety to grow for market, 
and where would I be likely to find a good market for 
them? What is the best way to cultivate and prune? 
Wolcott, N. Y. C- e- b. 
The name “Hungarian prune” is only a class name, 
and is one of many that are given to the varieties of 
the prune that have been brought from Germany. It 
is probable that the trees bought in this case may be 
Fellenberg, or they may be of some other variety. In 
any case they are likely to be some of the varieties 
that are rather good bearers and of only medium 
quality. The fruit can be sold in almost any market 
at profitable prices. The trees need heading back a 
little, not allowing them to become close and brushy. 
A little thinning out of the branches every year and 
cropping back when they grow very upright is all 
they need in the way of pruning. n. e. v. d. 
Budding or Grafting Chestnuts. 
Last Spring I planted a quantity of chestnuts. What 
the mice and chip squirrels did not get are growiiig. I 
wi.sh to graft or bud these seedlings with improved 
chestnuts: that is. the large varieties. Can you tell me 
what the best process is for doing so? I have had no 
experience with grafting very young trees, but as the 
nurseries have them to sell at one or two years old, I 
suppose there is a way of budding or something of that 
kind while they are very young. I have been grafting 
some large natural sprouts, wild sprouts that came up 
in the woods where other timber had been cut. but 
thinking it might be better to raise the young tree direct 
from the nuts, I have planted them with that view\ 
Wilkesbarre, Pa. J. e. p. 
The art of budding chestnut trees successfully has 
not yet been learned, but possibly it may be accom¬ 
plished. It is the custom to graft nursery trees just 
below the ground when they are small, and this is 
the plan that can he followed in the present case. The 
scions should be inserted as soon as the trees are large 
enough, which is often not until the second year of 
their growth, and in the early Spring. The splice or 
tongue method is the best for that size. The earth 
should be banked up nearly to their tops as soon as 
the grafting is done, to lessen evaporation until the 
union of stock and scion is complete. It will pay 
much better to plant the grafted trees in open ground, 
where they may be given good culture, than in brushy 
land. H. E. v. D. 
Hardy Peaches. 
For the benefit of your readers in the “debatable land” 
north of the peach belt, will you give us a list of varie¬ 
ties most hardy in tree and bud, and most likely to give 
us some peaches when more tender varieties fail? Seed¬ 
lings give us more fruit than any budded kinds we have 
tried, but they often bear poor fruit. subscriber. 
Des Moines, Iowa. 
A list of hardy peaches is unknown to me. Perhaps 
the most hardy peach is Bokhara, which is a seedling 
of a strain that grows in the country after w'hich it 
is named. It came from an imported seed and budded 
trees of it are now sold by several of the nurseries, 
especially those in the Mississippi Valley. The tree 
has safely endured the Winters of central Iowa for 
several years, and it has also been grown in southern 
Wisconsin. The fruit is of medium size, creamy white 
with but a slight tint of red, the quality is good but 
not equal to some of the best, and is a freestone. 
Crosby is thought by some to be hardy in bud. I 
found Early Rivers the hardiest in bud of nearly 150 
kinds that I had in my test orchard in Kansas many 
years ago. n. e. v. n. 
/I Problem in Corn Breeding. 
If a grain of corn i.s planted and the stalk produces 
three ears of corn, and two suckers .spring up from root 
of same stalk, and each sucker produces a good ear of 
corn, which would be the better to breed from, all being 
equall.v good ears, the ears from stalk or from suckers, 
and why? a. w. s. 
Americus, Ga. 
This query can only be satisfactorily answered by 
practical trials continued through several genera¬ 
tions, but any experienced plant breeder, if looking 
for best results, would prefer to start with corn from 
ears on the main stalk. Indian corn or maize is a 
member of the Graminese or grass family, and in 
common with its associates has a tendency to tiller, 
which has been in a great measure suppressed by seed 
selection for countless generations. Where corn 
(seeds) are wanted under ordinary cultural conditions 
this is an objectionable trait, as it is sufficient for the 
plant to concentrate its energy on a single stalk. If 
grown for stover the suckering tendency is not so ob¬ 
jectionable. The ears borne on the suckers, one would 
think, might have a greater tendency to revert to this 
habit than seeds from main stalk. The best practice 
would seem to be to save seeds from plants showing 
no tendency to sucker, unless silo corn is wanted. 
Calla, Oxalis and Smilax. 
Will you give brief in.'itructions for culture of calla lily, 
yellow OxalLs and Easter lily? When .should they be 
started, and should the calla and Oxalis be placed in 
the dark for a few weeks? Could an amateur succeed 
with Easter lilies? How often should manure water be 
given growing plants? Where can I obtain a good 
strain of geranium seed? Can I obtain dormant smilax 
roots, no use trying plants here? m. w. 
Carlsbad. N. M. 
The white or African calla, Bermuda lily and yel¬ 
low Oxalis should be started as early as the bulbs can 
be procured. Just now is an excellent time. These 
bulbs do not need starting in the dark, but the lily 
and Oxalis will do better if kept in a rather cool place 
at first. The Bermuda or Easter lily is quite uncertain 
in the hands of amateurs. Many of the bulbs now in 
commerce are diseased, and will not flower well even 
under expert treatment. If tried the bulbs should be 
planted about three inches deep in a six-inch pot of 
good soil, first providing good drainage. The reason 
for planting tfie bulbs so ^eep is that this lily throws 
out its best “feeding roots” from the stem just above 
the bulb. When growing It should haA'^e plenty of air 
and su‘nlight, but does best in a fairly cool tempera¬ 
ture. Manure water need not be applied oftener than 
once in two weeks to most plants. It should always 
be rather weak, as the roots of many plants cannot 
absorb concentrated solutions of fertilizers. Any re¬ 
liable seedsman can furnish good seeds of garden ger¬ 
aniums. Geranium seeds from the best varieties do 
not germinate very freely, but there is little satisfac¬ 
tion in growing ordinary kinds. Smilax is grown 
from seeds or rarely cuttings. Dormant roots can 
very rarely be obtained, as the plant seldom rests 
during life. Clumps may be moved like other grow¬ 
ing plants, and in this way you may get a start. 
A MAIL BOX ON WHEELS. 
On page 580 request is made for a device for run¬ 
ning a mail box on wheels. If ground is level from 
point of delivery to house this diagram. Fig. 253, will 
send the box to and from the house. If you want the 
box at the road slip the wire up the post from B to A 
on the wire AB; when you wish the mail to come to 
the house slip C down to B and it will come. If the 
house is uphill from the route near the house plant a 
post, and attach a wheel v.dth a groove in its outer 
edge, with crank attached with a wire stretched up 
hill as H, Fig. 253, and a cord K attached to mail box. 
When the box is wanted turn the crank to the right 
and the mail box, suspended on the wire by a pulley, 
will come to the house as prompt as a cow will come 
to her calf. It can be loaded and sent back. If the 
distance is too great for two posts more posts may he 
added. As to boys meddling with the mail box there 
should be no fears, as boys get tired of meddling with 
Uncle Sam’s property. n. e. m. 
Portland, Ind. 
A YOUNG STOCK FARMER. 
Fig. 254 shows a Georgia boy with three of his Po¬ 
land China friends. Here is his story: 
“Gordon E. Perry was born in Ohio in 1890, and 
came to Georgia in 1891. At a very early age he show¬ 
ed a liking for animals and always had some pet 
around him. but showed a special liking for pigs, and 
is always working around them. He has three fine 
ones now, two Poland Chinas and one Chester White. 
The picture w’as taken when he was seven years old. 
He has always showm a liking for farm life, and is 
perfectly happy on the back of a horse. He lives on 
a 500-acre orchard, and has learned all of the mys¬ 
teries of budding, grafting, etc., and says he wants to 
follow farming. He attends school in Winter, walk¬ 
ing tw'o miles, and on Saturdays has great times with 
his hounds hunting rabbits.” 
We consider it a good part of an education for a 
country boy to become interested in animals and to 
learn how^ to care for trees. Few things that are 
learned from books are more useful. 
CLEAR KEROSENE FOR INSECT PESTS. 
I have always looked upon this as a dangerous 
medicine to apply to growing trees, but having a 
young apple tree of a variety I did not consider of 
value, well infested with the Scurfy bark-louse, an 
application of clear kerosene was applied with one of 
the hand spray pumps used for spraying cattle for 
flies. Although the spray is fine the trunk and limbs 
were thoroughly wet, so no dry spots showed on the 
bark. In doing this more or less of the foliage wa^ 
also wet. This application was made in June, in or¬ 
der to kill the young scales hatched this Spring, and 
the tree was in a thrifty growing condition, yet as 
far as I can see no harm was done to either tree or 
foliage. Later, as aphides or lice appeared at the end 
of the present season’s growth, another application 
was given the whole tree, foliage included. This was. 
of course, done as an experiment, yet no harm was 
done the tree, and it is now in a thrifty growing con¬ 
dition, although at the time of the last application 
either from the aphides or other cause growth had 
stopped. Two other young apple trees (four years 
set) had their trunks and limbs thoroughly sprayed 
for Scurfy bark-louse with no injury at all to them, 
and although applications of clear kerosene were ap¬ 
plied to the foliage of apple, pear and cherry, in no 
case was any harm done except to a few tips of rank 
and tender growth, and that could have been possibly 
the effects of the lice. In fact, the clear kerosene has 
proved no more harmful than a fairly strong solution 
of whale-oil soap. 
The applications were made in fair and drying 
weather, so that evaporation should act quickly. Of 
course no drops stood upon bark or foliage, as the 
spray is very fine, yet they were thoroughly Avet, and 
my experience leads me to believe that applications 
of clear kerosene can safely be applied to growing trees 
to kill such insects as suck the juices of the tree and 
cannot be reached by poisons. Possibly a compressed- 
air sprayer could be invented which would make kero¬ 
sene a practical remedy for killing the young of the 
San Jos6 scale, as they are hatched through the sea¬ 
son, provided they do not a]l go together. 
Massachusetts. • ' r. o. mead, 
V 1 ’ 
