498 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
July 19 
; Ruralisms ; 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS 
Strawberry Observations. —We have 
no formal report of strawberry tests this 
year, though many new kinds are under 
trial. The season, during the early por¬ 
tion at least, has been so cold, dry and 
generally unfavorable, that late-set 
plants of last year had little chance to 
develop their characteristics. The Presi¬ 
dent, from Thomas R. Hunt, Lambert- 
ville, N. J., made a wonderful showing 
under the circumstances for size, vigor 
and productiveness, as noted in recent 
numbers of The R. N.-Y. As grown 
here it has all desired market qualities 
except high flavor. There are better va¬ 
rieties in this respect among the new 
ones, but so far they do not come up to 
President in other ways. Another sea¬ 
son is needed to bring out their special 
points of merit or demerit. Meanwhile 
a review of the behavior of the straw¬ 
berries mentioned in the 1901 report (R. 
N.-Y., page 518, July 27, 1901) in the 
light of added experience may be of in¬ 
terest. 
Black’s Pedigree Strawberries.— 
Of the 17 varieties composing this group 
received from Joseph H. Black, Son & 
Co., Hightstown, N. J., in April, 1900, 
we shall discard all but Prof. Fisher 
(staminate), late, vigorous and im¬ 
mensely productive of large, brightly 
colored berries of very fair quality; 
Mrs. Fisher (pistillate), very similar in 
appearance and growth of plants; ber¬ 
ries large and borne on stout peduncles, 
bright scarlet in color; quality excel¬ 
lent, not quite firm enough for long 
shipments, but fine for near markets, 
and Howard (S.), late, strong, produc¬ 
tive and handsome. It resembles Gandy 
but seems better suited to light soil, and 
is of better flavor. There are other ex¬ 
cellent sorts in this collection, notably 
Bobbie (S.), which was more productive 
and desirable in every way than the 
standard varieties on a neighbor’s 
heavier soil, and Ham (S.), which we 
are tempted to retain for its unusually 
fine flavor. It is a large, dark-colored, 
early berry, in every way better than 
Marshall as the latter grows on our 
soil. Joe (S.) is another valuable late 
kind, producing immense trusses of deep 
red berries, often coxcombed in shape. 
The quality is very good, and the ber¬ 
ries show up well when boxed. The only 
fault is a tendency to retain a light tip 
to the berry when hot weather forces 
the ripening. All the Black Pedigree 
berries are healthy and strong growers, 
and are worthy of extended trial on dif¬ 
ferent soils. It is very unusual to find 
five or six meritorious kinds out of a 
lot of 17 submitted for trial. 
Some Recent Novelties. —Kansas 
(P.1 showed up much better than last 
year, and bore a great crop of hand¬ 
some, medium-sized berries, acid in 
taste, but very agreeable when prepared 
for the table. Kansas is evidently a 
great drought resister, the berries hold¬ 
ing up well in size and firmness over a 
period of nearly four weeks. It is a 
hustling plant-maker, and bears its pro¬ 
fuse fruit clusters on short stems well 
hidden under the foliage. The berries 
look well and ship well. Altogether we 
see much more merit in Kansas than we 
were able to find last season. 
New York (S.).—This large-fruited 
variety, together with the preceding, 
was received from W. F. Allen, Salis¬ 
bury, Md. It proved a disappointment 
this year and will be discarded. The 
large, conical, brightly-colored berries 
are a little soft, but of splendid flavor. 
No variety under trial is more agreeable 
to eat in the field. It does not hold well 
through the season. The first berries 
are wonderfully fine, but the succeeding 
ones rapidly taper down to mere nub¬ 
bins. We rate it as good for home use 
where quality is the greatest considera¬ 
tion. In berry and plant New York ap¬ 
pears to be only an enlarged Jessie. 
Success (S.)—Again proved its worth. 
It is one of the earliest kinds grown 
here, exceedingly productive and always 
of good flavor. The berries are light 
red and rather round in form. Although 
very early it holds out well, and brings 
every berry to perfection; the last ones 
coming in with the later kinds are as 
good as the first, though of course small¬ 
er. Such a vigorous and profuse cropper 
should he profitable where it succeeds. 
Gladstone (P.).—This does not suc¬ 
ceed with us, though the plants grow 
well and set a great abundance of ber¬ 
ries which, however, do not color up 
well. Gladstone is well-known to re¬ 
semble Sharpless in many particulars 
and under some conditions may be a 
great improvement on that favorite old 
standard of quality, but is plainly not 
suited here. The ripe berries are sweet 
but not high-flavored. 
Seedling No. 4 (S.).—A. B. Howard, 
Belchertown, Mass. A large, handsome, 
very late berry, firm and of fine quality. 
The color is clear bright red. The ber¬ 
ries hold out well in size, and the plants 
have been very productive for two sea¬ 
sons. Foliage large, dense and resistant 
to diseases. 
Wm. Belt (S.).—This is about the 
best all-’round strawberry we grow. It 
seems to thrive better in a dry season 
than many others. It bore a splendid 
crop of large, handsome and luscious 
berries this season. They are good 
wherever you find them—in the field, at 
the table or in the shipping crates. Last 
year, an unusually wet season, the local 
Belts did not produce well, probably 
owing to excessive rain hindering pol- 
lenization, but that is the only partial 
failure we have noticed in six years’ 
trial. There is some tendency to rust 
in the foliage, which grows serious in 
certain localities, but it has never hurt 
the plants much here. We would not 
care to do without our Belts. 
Rough Rider. —A complete failure 
here. Produces moderately of rough¬ 
looking, hard, sour berries. They might 
ship well, but no one would want them 
after sampling a few. 
Gandy. —We cannot get along without 
a few Gandy plants. It is, after all, the 
handsomest, most productive, reliable 
and profitable of late strawberries in 
this portion of New Jersey. “Gaudy’s 
Prize” as it was formerly called, has 
been a mine of horticultural wealth to 
the growers who studied its needs. The 
Rural Grounds soil is not adapted to 
Gandy, as it likes more compactness and 
moisture, yet it always ripens up a lot 
of fine berries. We picked a few in good 
condition this July 5. Howard, one of 
Black’s Pedigree seedlings, as noted 
above, starts in somewhat better than 
Gandy in flavor and adaptability to light 
soil, but it may not hold out as well as 
this grand late variety. 
Palmer’s Earliest is a small berry 
of particularly rich flavor; equal to the 
best wild varieties. It was the first to 
open blooms this year, but the berries 
practically came in with Success and 
New York, though they began to color 
a few days earlier. The plants are small 
but make many runners. The variety 
is here so unproductive that scarcely a 
quart was secured where a dozen could 
reasonably be expected. 
Marshall. —This richly-colored and 
high-flavored berry has about run its 
course in this locality. The Hope Farm 
people find it the best kind they grow 
on heavy land, and it has been much 
planted hereabouts, but only those who 
have a firm, retentive soil and give high 
fertilization really succeed with it. As 
ordinarily grown the berries are always 
handsome and good, but the yield is too 
light. One gardener nearby reports 
Henry (which always seems identical 
with Marshall when grown away from 
Hilton, N. J.) the finest variety of the 
year, but he has suitable soil, and spares 
no expense nor trouble to secure perfect 
conditions for his strawberries. While 
the local crop was much curtailed by the 
drought, the quality of the berries was 
generally satisfactory and prices ruled 
very good. There is an inclination to 
enlarge plantings and give better atten¬ 
tion to the needs of the plants, including 
irrigation where practicable, w. v. f. 
The Squash Bug. 
Bulletin No. 89, of the Durham, N. H., 
Experiment Station, gives a detailed de¬ 
scription of the work of this pest, which 
devotes its energies to making life weari¬ 
some for the pumpkin, squash and gourd 
tribe. The bug undergoes four moults be¬ 
fore becoming full grown, feeding liberally 
between these changes. When the vines 
are killed by frost in Fall, many of the 
young bugs are able to come to maturity 
by sucking the juices from the pumpkins 
and squashes left in the field. They hiber¬ 
nate under stones, leaves, boards or other 
rubbish, and are on hand in Spring, ready 
to lay eggs on the squash vines. An im¬ 
portant natural enemy of the bug is the 
Tachinid fly. The eggs of this parasite, 
which are laid on the outside of the bug's 
body, develop into maggots, which burrow 
in and feed on the tissues of the host, 
causing death in about a week. Young 
plants may be protected by covering the 
hills with netting for a time. Among 
other protective measures are heavy seed¬ 
ing, so as to provide more plants than 
the pests can destroy; thorough culture; 
hand picking and trapping. It is especi¬ 
ally desirable to remove from the fields 
all brush or other rubbish that would har¬ 
bor the pests during Winter. Good results 
have been obtained with a spray of a 
mechanical mixture of kerosene and water. 
An eight-per-cent emulsion, which will 
kill the bugs, is fatal to the plants also; 
but a two-per-cent mixture sprayed on 
plants and earth will cause the concealed 
bugs to come out and try to escape from 
the odor. They may then be picked by 
hand, and the ground between the plants 
sprayed with an eight-per-cent mixture. 
The most suitable time for spraying is 
late in the afternoon. The Spring crop 
may be greatly decreased by destroying 
as many as possible of the bugs which are 
found on the old vines and pumpkins late 
in the Fall. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
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H of Per Annum on De. 
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Capital paid in - $1,000,000 
Assets - - - - 1,600,000 
Surplus- - - - 185,000 
Conducted under supervision of State Bank¬ 
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who cheerfully permit us to use their 
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New York State Fair 
Grand Horse Show 
Will rival anything ever given at a State Fair. 
The finest horses used for coaching and equestrian 
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equipages shown at the New York Horse Show will 
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The Live Stock 
The finest breeds of cattle, sheep and swine will be on 
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Grand Circuit Races 
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GENERAL ADMISSION , 25 CENTS. 
Send for Prize List. S. C. SHAVER, Secretary. 
$60,000 
IN 
PREMIUMS 
AND 
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$60,000 
