784 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
November 24 
Farmers’ Club. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the 
name and address of the writer to insure atten¬ 
tion. 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.] 
Peach Buds and Yellows. 
L. A., Benton Harbor, Mich .—The people 
connected with a local nursery here claim 
that buds taken from a peach tree affected 
with yellows will not grow when used for 
budding nursery stock. Is this true? 
Ans. —It has been well tested and 
proven that buds from peach trees af¬ 
fected by yellows do not grow well. They 
are low in vitality, and worse than all, 
they are almost certain to transfer the 
disease to the new stock. I would never 
set a single bud from a diseased tree of 
any kind. There could be no benefit in 
doing so. The nurseryman mentioned 
is practically correct. 
H. E. VAN DEMAN. 
Basswood In California. 
J. V., Los Oatos, Cal .—Will basswood trees 
grow In this country? We have a drought 
here in the Summer that generally lasts 
about four months. 
Ans. —The American linden or bass¬ 
wood tree is one which loves a rather 
moist climate. However, if properly ir¬ 
rigated there is scarcely a doubt of it 
doing well in the Santa Clara Valley of 
California. Some of the European lin¬ 
dens are also very well suited to our 
climate. Their foliage is usually a lit¬ 
tle more dense than that of our native 
species, but the trees do not grow so 
thriftily or to such large size. Both 
make beautiful shade trees and are not 
affected by any serious pests. 
H. E. VAN DEMAN. 
Yellows on Peach Trees. 
W. P. B., Crystal Run, N. Y — Is there such 
a thing as the yellows belt In peach stock? 
Are southern-grown trees less liable to 
this disease? I am thinking of setting a 
small orchard in the Spring and some of 
my friends insist on my using southern 
stock, while others advise Dansville trees 
and Hightstown stock. 
Ans. —Peach yellows is quite generally 
distributed over the country, but the re¬ 
gions east of the Alleghany Mountains 
and north of Virginia are the worst af¬ 
fected. Very few nurseries have it 
among their trees anywhere. I would 
really not be afraid to plant any that 
might be grown in New York or New 
Jersey if I wished to do so, although 
those from the South are very good. 
There is only a bare chance of getting 
this disease from any source, because 
the nurserymen are very careful to get 
their buds from healthy trees. 
H. E. VAN DEMAN. 
Sweet Potatoes; Trimming Peaches. 
W. Y., Palmyra, Neb.—l. A woman here 
who raises sweet potato plants for sale, 
says that if I plant pieces of sweet potato 
instead of sprouts, I will not get any po¬ 
tatoes. Is she right? 2. I have been think¬ 
ing of rough pruning of peaches as soon as 
the leaves fall, then in the Spring do the 
work all over again. This Fall pruning is 
intended to check evaporation in the Win¬ 
ter. Now a writer comes along and says 
that a limb that is cut back in the Fall 
loses more water by evaporation than if 
left entire. I have long been of the opinion 
that we lose more trees by drying than 
by cold. What should I do? 
Ans. —1. Your neighbor is correct as to 
the way to propagate sweet potatoes. 
Their nature is such as requires a very 
warm temperature, and even a chilly 
temperature will cause them to rot. I 
have known pieces of the potatoes to be 
put in hills in the open ground in Texas 
and other extreme Southern States and 
a crop grown from them, but this is 
quite unusual even in that warm cli¬ 
mate, and where the growing seasons 
are long. Besides, it is not likely that 
the potatoes would be so well propor¬ 
tioned in size as if a single sprout had 
been planted. One sprout is sufficient 
in a hill. I have tried the pieces in the 
hill in Kansas and did not like them. A 
piece of potato would probably send up 
several, and they would make too many 
roots to attain large size. A sweet po¬ 
tato i.S a rppt and a»d has no eyes, while 
our common potato is the end of a 
swollen underground stem, and has buds 
the same as a twig on a tree, and in 
regular order over it. A single “eye” 
or bud may be allowed to each piece in 
planting and a single sprout will grow 
from it, but a scrap of sweet potato has 
no buds, and they must be formed and 
forced out of the skin anywhere, and are 
called adventitious buds. 2. The plan of 
cutting back peach trees roughly in the 
Fall to lessen evaporation, and in the 
Spring cut back the same stubs care¬ 
fully I have never seen tried, but I be¬ 
lieve it would work very well. I do not 
think it would seriously injure the 
branches so shortened. They would die 
back a little from the end, but not much. 
Little evaporation results from the exu¬ 
dation of sap from so small a wound as 
would be made in cutting back a small 
branch. As to the effect of cold upon 
trees, it is very evaporating. Cold air, 
especially if there is a strong current of 
it, is very hungry for moisture. In Ne¬ 
braska and other States on the central 
plains the Winters are very drying in 
their effect on fruit trees. It kills many 
of them and injures millions more. 
H. E. VAN DEMAN. 
Buying Trees in Fall. 
A. W., No. Leominster, Mass.— 1. Would 
you advise buying trees of cherry, plum, 
pear or peach In the Fall, burying them 
in earth, to set out in the Spring? 2. What 
can you put into grape juice to keep it 
from crystallizing? I put it up hot in 
bottles, cork and cover with hot resin. 1 
add some sugar. It is fine but it will 
crystallize. 
Ans. —1. In general it is best to get 
trees of the stone fruits in the Fall and 
bury them until Spring. The pome 
fruits, such as the pear and apple, may 
be set in the Fall with good advantage 
in the Eastern States, or anywhere t-iat 
the climate is not dry or severely cold. 
2. I know of no way to prevent grape 
juice from forming crystals of tartaric 
acid. It is natural to grape juice, and 
this is the foundation of the “cream of 
tartar” that is used in baking powder 
and otherwise. What objection is there 
to the crystals anyhow? They are 
harmless. And I believe, but do not 
know, that anything that would prevent 
their formation would be harmful to 
the juice. Let us hear what others have 
to say about this. h. e. van deman. 
Tar and Kerosene for Trees. 
Reader, Long Island.—I find this statement 
in a local paper. A fruit grower is said 
to have conquered the San Jos£ scale by 
using tar and kerosene. His method of 
defense is to prune the tree and fertilize 
the ground and give the branches a coat¬ 
ing of tar and kerosene. This coating 
must be applied when there are no leaves 
on the tree, consequently the Fall and 
early Spring are the periods best adapted. 
He prunes the trees very severely and 
gives them a heavy dose of fertilizer after 
fruiting. This is to impart as much 
strength to the trees as possible. Then he 
paints the whole tree with a mixture, 
which is made of two-fifths Georgia pine 
tar and three-fifths of kerosene. The com¬ 
bination must be made over a slow and 
not very hot fire, otherwise it is likely to 
catch fire. The remedy, of course, must 
be applied while hot so that it will get 
into the cracks. 
Ans. —Theoretically, such a mixture of 
pine tar and kerosene oil would kill 
fruit trees whenever applied, and theo¬ 
retically kerosene and crude petroleum 
undiluted was expected to kill the trees, 
but these substances have been used, the 
kerosene when peach trees were in full 
foliage, and the trees were uninjured. 
However, many trees have been killed 
or seriously injured by applying these 
two oils. I found that pine tar slightly 
injured the trunks of peach trees when 
applied in Summer for Peach borers, but 
coal tar, contrary to expectations, did 
not injure the trees in the least. Hence 
it is quite possible that the mixture of 
pine tar and kerosene might be applied 
to some fruit trees in Winter without 
injury to the tree, but I should expect 
it seriously to injure a tree, and would 
therefore use it very cautiously on a few 
trees first. The mixture would undoubt¬ 
edly kill the scales. 
M. V, 8LINGBBLAND. 
Planting Magnolia Seeds. 
M. M. TV., T Vest Newton, Mass.— 1. Some 
time ago In The R. N.-Y. It was stated 
that It Is easy to grow Magnolias from 
seeds, so I planted a large number of Mag¬ 
nolia Soulangeana according to the direc¬ 
tions, but not a plant appeared. I did not 
cover them to keep trom freezing, as no 
mention was made of doing so. I should 
like to try them again this year, and 
would be obliged if you would irfform me 
the proper way to plant them. 2. How 
should Canna roots be kept in Winter? 3. 
Is the Campbell Early grape as good as 
recommended when it first came out? 
Ans. —Magnolia seeds are quite hardy, 
and should generally be sown as soon 
as ripe. It is well to macerate seeds of 
pulpy species to free them of their cov¬ 
ering. They can also be stratified and 
kept over Winter in damp sand, in a 
cold place. Your Magnolia seeds may 
have dried out before germinating, or 
they may have been imperfectly pollin- 
ized. Try it again, covering very thinly, 
and lay a board over the row during 
Winter for protection from rodents. 2, 
On page 754 we give all directions for 
wintering Cannas. Lift the clumps with 
plenty of dirt around the roots. Cut the 
stems off within three inches of the 
ground. Pack the clumps one layer deep 
in flat boxes with loose dirt filled in and 
pack in a warm, dry place. 3. We re¬ 
gard Campbell’s Early as a very prom¬ 
ising variety. 
How to Grow Water Cress. 
S. V. F., Brown's Mills, N. J.—Give me 
some information about growing water 
cress. We have a running stream of 
spring water with sandy bottom. When 
is the best time to set or sow? Which 
should we use, seeds or plants? What 
kind of bottom is required, and what depth 
of water? Is there any special or different 
kind that grows more rapidly than others? 
In order to keep it growing well, should 
plants be pulled out or cut off, so as not to 
disturb the roots? 
Ans. —Water cress may be planted or 
sown in April, or again about the mid¬ 
dle of August. If plants can be secured 
they are preferable to seeds,, as the lat¬ 
ter are often washed away by freshets 
before the little plants gain a foothold. 
A sandy or gravelly bottom in a slow- 
running stream, from eight inches to a 
foot deep is probably the most favorable 
situation for water cress. The plants 
can be layered along the margin under 
a few inches of soil and water and will 
quickly spread. The seed germinates 
readily in the saturated soil at the wa¬ 
ter’s edge, or seedlings may De grown 
in trays of sandy mud and water and 
later transferred to the streams. The 
common wild cress of our eastern 
brooks is the variety commonly used. 
J. J. H. Gregory & Sons, Marblehead, 
Mass., advertise an improved large- 
leaved cress which The R. N.-Y. has not 
tried. Seeds of the common variety may 
be had from any seedsman; and plants 
pulled from places in which they are 
naturalized. It is better to pull a por¬ 
tion of the plants out when gathering 
the crop, as the roots have a tendency 
to mat thickly in congenial situations. 
For the land's sake, use Bowker’s Fer¬ 
tilizers. They enrich the earth.— Adv. 
SEED POTATOES. 
FULL LIST. PURE STOCK. 
We want Rood reliable Agents to take orders. 
LIBERAL COMMISSIONS. Address 
LECLARE & MANNING, Farm Seeds, Brighton, N.Y. 
California Privet Hedge 
for 10 cents. 
100 strong plants for 
$2.50. Two samples 
T. C. KEVITT. Athenia, N. J. 
n 4 I nWW-Y° r * Imperial, three years, line. Price 
DALI! II III ii 8 t free. C. D. Wenger, Dayton. Va. 
YORK IMPERIAL - KIEFFER. 
One tree to a carload. 
Business trees at business prices. (They are bear¬ 
ers.) Inducements to Reach buyers Let us 
quote you on your want list. 
WOODVIEW NURSERIES, Box 100, Uriah, Pa. 
PEAR POSSIBILITIES 
are only fully realited by thoae who plant our 
Standard Kiefer Pears. 
' Our Htock is renowned for vigor and rapid 
growth and absolute freedom from disease, etc, 
This pear is enormously productive, large site, 
fine flavor and handsome appearance. A good 
seller. Trees are free from blight; ripens late. 
"Our stock is the beat the growers* art can produce. 
HAKKJSON’S Nl KSKKins, Box Berlin, M(l. 
Apple Seedlings. 
We offer the following grades: 
First-class, 3-16 Inch and up, straights. 
Second class, 2-16 to 3-16 inch, straights. 
Branched, 3-16 Inch and up. 
These Seedlings are equal to any on the market, 
and offered at reasonable prices. We also have 
a large stock of Root Grafts. Address 
F. S. PHOENIX, Itloomington, Ill. 
m 
ctat 
l|( TREES SUCCEED WHERE 
Largest Nursery. OTHERS FAIL. 
Fruit Rook Free. Result of 76 years’ experience. 
cnnAT?ir tjrhr 
T Atl « n , A *% A M A I I O W fl TT 111 A M V 
Look and Read This! 
We save you money on all kinds of FRUIT TREES 
and Plants. Apple Trees, Une, at $6 and $10 per 100. 
Peach Trees, $2 per 100 and up. Send us list of your 
wunts, and ask for price list. 
ERNST'S NURSERIES, Moscow, Ohio. 
I am now booking orders for 
LUCRETIA DEWBERRY PLANTS 
I grow sixty acres of this fruit for market, and find 
it the most proiltable of all the small fruits. Inci¬ 
dentally, in growing so many for market, 1 have a 
verv fine lot of plants (no tlnercanbe produced), 
which lam selling for from one-third to one-half 
less than most nurserymen offer them, and I could 
not sell at these prices were I not growing them 
largely for fruit. November is the best time to plant. 
Correspondence solicited. Catalogue free. 
W. F. ALLEN, Salisbury, Md. 
Fall is the Best Time 
TO PLANT all the Trees, Plants, Vines and Shrubs, both Fruit 
aud Ornamental, that are listed. See our Autumn Catalogue. 
Send for it at once. The prices are right. 
T. J. DWYER & SON, 
Orange County Nurseries. Box 1, CORNWALL, N. Y. 
1 ~|i yi j"* I will send, by express or freight, 1 Paragon, 1 Alpha, 1 Parry’s 
JTOr IpO Giant, 1 Early Reliance, 1 English Walnut, 1 Japan Walnut, 
1 Pecan, 1 Bismarck Apple, 1 Dwarf Rocky Mt. Cherry, worth $8.20. Full line of 
Nursery stock. Certificate. ARTHUR J. COLLINS, Moorestown, Burlington Co., N. J. 
THE STORKS & HARRISON CO., PAINESVILLE, OHIO. 
Leading American Nurserymen, offer one of the Hlost Complete Assortment* of 
FRUIT AND ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ROSES, BULBS, ETC. 
47 YearR. 44 GreenhouRCR. 1000 AcreR. CorreRpondenoe Solicited. Catalog Free. 
) 
Driving Lamp 3 
IT Is the only perfect one. £ 
IT throws all the light straight ahead )\ 
from 200 to 300 feet. 
IT looks like a locomotive headlight. A 
IT gives a clear white light. ^^ , __ W 
IT burns kerosene (Coal Oil) ^ ^ 
It will not blow nor jar ou t n 
CUT THIS ADVERTISEMENT OUT 
E a . and send it to us and we will send 
y book describing our lamp, and will agree to send you one single lamp or 
at our wholesale price (very much less than the retail price). 
. DIETZ COMPANY, 87 Laight St., New York. 
Established 1810. 
SPECIAL OFFER. 
