84 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
February 8 
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.] 
Gooseberries for Minnesota. 
H. N., Fergus Falls, Minn. —What can be 
said about the following varieties of goose¬ 
berries: Hyte’s Golden Prolific and White 
Queen, and who is propagating them? 
Ans.—I do not know them, only as 
occasionally in experimental planta¬ 
tions. They >are European varieties 
that are not likely to succeed in Minne¬ 
sota. Houghton and Pearl are better. 
H. e. v. D. 
Ashton Apple. 
T. A. 8., Catasauqua, Pa.— What is the 
character, quality and value of the Ashton 
apple? 
Ans. —Ashton is a new seedling apple 
that originated in Arkansas. It is an 
early Winter apple of fair size and red 
color, and is sweet and rich in flavor. 
Those who wish a sweet Winter apple 
of good quality should give it. a trial. 
Scions of it can probably be obtained 
from the State Experiment Station at 
Fayetteville, Ark. h. e. v. d. 
Borers in Cherry Trees. 
E. M. L., Plantsville, Conn.— H. E. V. D. 
made a mistake when he said in The R. 
N.-Y. several months ago that borers did 
not bore In cherry trees. In May last I 
dug 33 borers out of a black cherry tree 
11 years old. 
Ans. —Yes, I have found that there is 
a small borer called the shot-hole borer 
that does infest cherry trees, and it also 
bores into the bodies of peach trees. 
iNot long since I got samples of this lit¬ 
tle pest from Canada, and I do not 
doubt that it is in Connecticut, for I 
have lately heard of it in neighboring 
States. There is great difficulty in pre¬ 
venting its ravages. iNo kind of wash, 
so far as I have heard, will prevent the 
beetles laying their eggs. Wrapping 
with paper will do it, but this is very 
troublesome. h. e. v. d. 
Apples for Pennsylvania 
IT. A. F., Homewood, Pa. —What do you 
think of the following list of apples? I 
fear it Is too long. I want 80 trees to fill 
a small block for a good home market. 
How far apart should they be planted on 
high clay ground, where they do well even 
under neglect? Eight Rambo, six Grimes 
Golden, six Northern Spy, ten Rome Beauty, 
twelve York Imperial, ten Baldwin, eight 
Jonathan, eight Wagener, six Red Astra- 
chan, six early Harvest. I have not much 
love for the Baldwin, as it drops so badly 
in the Fall. 
Ans. —There should be no Baldwin 
and Northern Spy, and but two each 
of Red Astrachan, Early Harvest and 
Rambo. In addition, I would suggest 
planting two each of Williams, Primate, 
Chenango, Gravenstein and Hubbard- 
ston. These will fill out a'good selec¬ 
tion of Summer and Fall kinds for home 
use. The other 20 I would add to the 
York Imperial and Grimes. H. e. v. d. 
How to Build a Greenhouse. 
IF. M. R., Seaford, Del.—I Intend to build 
a hothouse in which to grow a large quan¬ 
tity of tomato plants early. Will you 
kindly inform me how to build the hot¬ 
house to be a success, and in the cheapest 
way possible? 
Ans. —Tomato plants are extensively 
grown in hotbeds, but earlier plants 
may be had in greenhouses. The cheap¬ 
est houses for the purpose are about 11 
feet across, and should be built in 
lengths not much less than 100 feet. The 
ordinary span-roof construction, run¬ 
ning north and south, gives best re¬ 
sults. This will give two benches three 
feet four inches wide, and a walk two 
feet across, allowing for tnickness of 
side walls. Hotbed sashes six feet long 
may be used for glazing, and will give 
sufficient slant to the roof, or ordinary 
sash bars put in not closer than 12 
inches apart, and the glazing done with 
12x14 or 12x16 glass, beddod in putty 
in the usual way. The side walls, made 
of matched siding and barn boards, with 
building paper between, nailed to a line 
of locust and cedar posts set eight feet 
apart, need not be over three feet high, 
and the benches inside may be about 
28 inches high, which will give eight 
inches clear for plants at the eaves. 
Heating may be by hot water or steam 
pipes under the benches, or in houses 
not over 50 feet in length, by a coal 
stove in a separate compartment at a 
low level, with an eight-inch tile flue 
carried under the bench on the north 
side, with a chimney at least 12 feet 
high at the further end. The ordinary 
brick arch flues are expensive in fuel. 
Provision should be made to keep a 
minimum temperature of at least 50 
degrees during the coldest nights. De¬ 
signs and dimensions for such houses 
vary greatly, and it would pay you to 
read Prof. Taft’s Greenhouse Construc¬ 
tion, price $1.50, from this office. 
Apples and Pears for Western Michigan. 
A. R.. H., Buchanan, Mich .—What distance 
apart would it be best to plant apple trees 
on good corn land for a commercial or¬ 
chard? What varieties, in your opinion, 
would succeed best here, and be most 
profitable for a commercial orchard? 
Would apples, peaches or plums be best 
to use as fillers? Give choice in order and 
varieties each to be used as fillers. When 
using fillers in an apple orchard do they 
fill rows both ways? What varieties of 
pears would be most profitable to grow 
here for market? 
Ans. —Permanent apple trees should 
be 40 reet apart in Michigan, and in 
most other sections, except in the West, 
where the trees bear very early and do 
not attain the age and size tha/t they 
would under other conditions. The 
list of profitable commercial apples is 
very limited for any section, and west¬ 
ern Michigan is no exception. Although 
there have been very few tests of the 
Sutton in that region, 1 fully believe 
that it will do as well there as in New 
York and other eastern States, where 
it is supplanting the Baldwin. How¬ 
ever, Baldwin is one of the varieties 
that should be planted. Rhode 'Island 
Greening is another for it is an old 
standard that does well, and will al¬ 
ways sell. Northern Spy is late in com¬ 
ing into bearing, but it is dependable 
when it begins. Jonathan is rather 
small in that climate, but it is excel¬ 
lent. Grimes is another most superior 
apple, and is getting more and more 
popular every year. Hubbardston is 
also of high quality and a good variety 
in almost every way. York Imperial is 
worthy of trial, and so is Rome Beauty. 
I would use early bearing apple trees as 
fillers, and some Kieffer pear trees, but 
no peaches or plums. The varieties of 
apples I would sugest for fillers are 
Wagener, Oldenburg and a few Yellow 
Transparent. The plan which I prefer 
in setting fillers in an apple orchard is 
to put them both ways, with the ex¬ 
ception that every third row of fillers 
is left out. This leaves a broad space 
every fifth row to serve as a roadway 
for the passage of teams. I prefer to 
have these wiide spaces run north and 
south. While there may be more profit 
in growing the Kieffer pear than any 
other, yet its poor quality is a serious 
objection. Bartlett is the best pear for 
general market purposes, h. e. y. d. 
Bleaching Winter Celery. 
A. F. K., Orwigshurg, Pa .—Will you Inform 
me how to bleach celery? I have two large 
houses, glass on one side of roof, full of 
Winter Queen celery, planted very close; 
yet it will not bleach for me right. Other¬ 
wise it is fine. This is my first experience 
packing in houses for Winter. 
Ans. —'The bleaching of celery and 
other plants is the result of an effort 
to grow in the dark. If your celery is 
planted on the soil where it can get 
enough moisture to start growth, all 
that is necessary is to darken the houses 
by covering the glass. The celery 
should be in as near total darkness as 
possible, and the temperature should be 
high enough to maintain a slow, steady 
growth. The green outer stalks will 
slough off in time, and the center bleach 
perfectly. 
Pruning Plum Trees.— The Burbank 
plum tree is a very strong grower, throw¬ 
ing out long branches every year. These 
should be kept headed in every season by 
cutting back the long branches one-third, 
one-half or even more; by so doing the 
grower can keep the trees in the desired 
shape. If I had Burbank trees eight years 
old that had not been pruned I should thin 
out some of the worst branches that were 
interlocking, then shorten in the long ones. 
I think if the inquirer follows this treat¬ 
ment he will soon have his trees in better 
shape. ETHELBERT BLISS. 
Massachusetts. 
When 
you 
haven’t 
a minute 
to spare, 
you need an 
Elgin 
Watch 
It is the world’s standard time¬ 
keeper. Sold by Jewelers every¬ 
where. An Elgin Watch always 
has the word “Elgin” engraved on 
the works. Booklet free. 
ELGIN NATIONAL WATCH CO., Elgin, III. 
Oats 
yielding oats are Michigan Northern Grown. Hammond’s 
rtamelcss, Hammond’s English Wonder, Czar of Ilussta and 
Michigan nond.r, the four best varieties. Rust proof, stiff 
straw, have yielded 320 bu. per acre. Catalog describing 
these oats and all other farm seeds free on request 
lUltltV N. HAMMOND SEED COMPANY, Ltd. 
Uni 4-.'. R„t PDt Itl-V 
t>5c a bn. and up. 
The cleanest, 
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ESTABLISHED 1802 
SEEDS 
have been the standard of excellence 
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the GOLD MEDAL both at the Paris 
Exposition of 1900 and Pan-American 
1901. Our 101st Annual Catalogue Is In 
every respect the most complete, most 
reliable, and most beautiful of Ameri¬ 
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Write for It. We mall it free. 
J.M.TH0RBURN&C0. 
(Late of 1.5 John Street) 
36 CORTLANDT STREET. NEW YORK 
ESTABLISHED 1821. 
HIGH-GRADE 
Garden Seeds 
BRIDGEMAN'S SEED WAREHOUSE 
37 East Nineteenth Street, New York 
Descriptive Illustrated Catalogue mailed free 
to all applicants. 
Best in the World. , 
None so low in price. Largest illustrated 
1 seed catalogue ever printed, FREE. En- f 
graving of every variety. Price only 1 
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with every order. Send name and address 
by card or letter. 
LR. H. SHUMWAY, Rockford, Illinois. 
Japan Walnuts. 
Trees grow very fast, produce sweet 
nuts, bear young and every year, profi¬ 
table and make elegant shade. Full line 
of trees, plants and vines. Catalog free. 
Arthur J. Collins, Moorestown.N.J. 
1902 SEEDS. 
This great Western seed house offers a complete line of seeds for 
the farm and garden In 19U2. Everything new, fresh and reliable 
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GRASS SEEDS 
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HENDERSON & CO. 
-35 & 37- 
CORTLANDT ST. 
NEW YORK. 
CLEAR 
THE TRACK! 
Here’s the monarch—nothin? 
like it on earth. Halzcr’s New gOth 
Century Oat takes the cake, cariies first 
prizes as the biggest yielder everywhere. The fact 
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kinds tested, Salzer’n were the best. How do you like that, 
Mr. Farmer? Our new 20th Century Oat is bound to completely 
revolutionize oat growing and we expect dozens of farmers to report 
yields iu 1902 running from 200 to 800 bushels per acre. Price is 
dirt cheap. Be in the swim and buy this variety this spring to sell to 
your neighbors the coming fall for seed. It will surely pay you. 
Salzer*s Marvel Wheat—42 bus. per Acre 
The only spring wheat on earth that will yield a paying crop north, east, south, 
and west and in every state in the Union. We also have the celebrated Macca- 
toni wheat, yielding on our farms, 63 bushels per acre. 
SPELTZ 
The most marvelous cereal and hay food on earth, producing from 60 to 80 bushels 
of grain and 4 tons of rich hay per acre. 
VEGETABLESEEDS 
Wc are the largest growers and our stock of earliest Peas, Beans, Sweet corn and 
all money making vegetables is enormous. Prices are very low. Onion seed 60 
ceDts and up a pound. Catalogue tells. 
For lOc— Worth $10 
Our great catalogue contains full description of our Beardless Barley, 
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worth $100 to any wide awake gardener or 
farmer, with 10 farm seed samples,—worth 
$10 to get a start—is mailed you on 
receipt of 10c. postage. 
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JohnASalzerSeed Co. 
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