1902 
687 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
STRAWBERRIES IN CLOSE QUARTERS. 
Last Summer we did not have enough for our three 
families, and the prospect for next year was not flat¬ 
tering. We had enough plants, and they were 
healthy but crowded. Our married daughter had suc¬ 
ceeded in getting a deed of a lot 50x100 feet in the 
midst of our seven acres, and being a marvel of in¬ 
dustry, had planted it. With some of Gregory’s Won¬ 
derful peas. Her husband, who is a merchant, had 
built a stable 20x30 feet, and all the manure from 
his driving horse has been plowed into this lot. We 
persuaded our daughter in an after-dinner discus¬ 
sion, to let us have the unoccupied part of the land 
to be set out with strawberries. Having a remark¬ 
ably large crop of green peas superior in quality, 
their merits were early discovered, and quick sales 
at round prices followed; therefore it was not so easy 
a task to induce her to loan us the land. We argued 
that she had been so successful that it would be wise 
to quit that particular line of gardening; that she 
doubtless would never again produce so large and 
healthy a crop of peas, nor would they ever sell at 
such high prices. She, however, contended that she 
had a lot of pleased customers, and they would con¬ 
tinue to buy of her and bring others, but we might 
have the land. 
After the peas were removed the ground was 
thickly coated with manure and plowed, harrowed 
and pressed down with a three-plank drag, which the 
late Chas. L. Flint said was so superior to a roller 
for seeding land to grass. We took up the plants 
with earth, as the ground had been well soaked by 
rains, and planted them the last week in July, in 
squares 15 inches apart. The first bed of five rows 
was Sample; the second of four rows, Clyde; third, 
Crescent; fourth, Glen Mary. Gibson and Magoon. I 
also found room and ordered 18 President, of which 
12 lived and two are added since by runners. We 
noted from The R. N.-Y. that wonderful things were 
spoken of it. Very likely these plants were watered 
from the can at the time of setting, and the Presi¬ 
dent, which came by mail a long distance, was cov¬ 
ered for a few days by flower pots. Having abundant 
water and hose, they were not permitted to go dry, 
but water was put on copiously when needed. After 
the plants had become established, we applied liquid 
manure, perhaps three different times a week apart, 
and now a coating of wood ashes. To-day a letter 
sent by a strawberry expert says he would hard¬ 
ly risk the application of more fertilizer, unless it 
might be wood ashes. It is a question whether (being 
of a sportive disposition and, in this trial, not dis¬ 
posed to count the cost) I could produce maximum 
crops by intensive culture. Would the application of 
fine ground bone, added to the fertilizers already 
used, induce the formation of fruit crowns, instead 
of leaves? October is regarded as the month that 
sets the pace, both in root growth and fruit buds, for 
the strawberry at the North. 
It gives the family much pleasure to look over the 
bed and see the plants grow. At this writing they 
nearly cover the ground. From the adjoining bed, 
where these were taken, plants are being soid at $1 
per 100. Would it he good policy to sell from this 
trial bed, if we were offered five cents a plant? It 
might not be a wise investment for the buyer, unless 
he was a nearby purchaser and could move them 
without disturbing the soil. Our present inclination 
is to refuse all offers and see the trial through. The 
intention was to grow this planting in hills, solely 
for fruit, cutting the runners as they appear. It is 
a question with me whether such a practice is jus¬ 
tified by the habit of the plant, since the tendency 
of the strawberry to make runners is so imperative. 
I have therefore decided to allow one runner to grow 
from each plant and remove all the others, as soon 
as they show themselves. Until now, the hoeing has 
been done with a rake, about once in 10 days. The 
weeds have about given up the race. Not so the run¬ 
ners; for they increase in numbers and size, as the 
days go by; but the swelling crowns and the rich 
green foliage are a constant encouragement to con¬ 
tinue the close pruning we are giving. Now comes 
the question whether we shall cut the cords which 
bind the well-rooted runners to the parent plants? 
Such a separation would make the labor of hoeing 
easier and compel every plant to stand on its own 
bottom and hoe its own row. It is doubtful if these 
runners have any right to remain in the bed for an¬ 
other day. I shall look them over again and then 
decide whether there will be any injurious crowding 
before the harvest. Another bed, planted a week 
later, has had all its runners removed from the 
start, and as they are the same varieties and grow 
nearby, the comparative results will be watched and 
may convey information of some value. o. d. 
Massachusetts. 
R. N.-Y.—We would risk the ground bone, making 
sufficient application fairly to cover the ground, and 
cut the runners where the tops are well rooted. If we 
could get five cents a plant, we would do some hard 
thinking at least, as it usually takes more than one 
plant to produce five cents worth of berries. 
HOW A TEXAS GROWER PREVENTS ROT 
IN PEACHES. 
Many reports as to the behavior of the Carman 
peach in different places report it as the very finest, 
entirely free from rot; a few say it is rotting quite 
badly. There is deep-seated cause for wholesale 
peach rot, but is it generally understood? The orig¬ 
inal tree of the Carman has, up to this day, shown no 
rotten peaches, although standing on low and rather 
wet ground. It stands in a corner of an orchard from 
which come the prevailing south winds. Surrounding 
PERFECT AND IMPERFECT LOWER MOLARS. Flo. 280. 
the tree by say 150 feet there is no peach ripening 
ahead of it, hence no spores of rot are present to in¬ 
fect the fruit. In other parts of orchards where some 
badly rotting varieties had been replaced by Car¬ 
mans, in wet weather the Carmans are also subject 
to rot, though not as bad as many others, ripening 
either before or with it. The cause of it is this: The 
brown-rot fungus, once present in an orchard, espe¬ 
cially where the rotten peaches are allowed to remain 
on the ground, or to mummify on the tree, is there 
to stay for years to come. In damp weather the 
spores spread on the ground, often covering quite a 
large space, where rotten peaches laid perhaps two or 
three years before. This growth on the ground is of 
a grayish yellow, and luxuriates mostly in the shade. 
For this reason a closely-planted peach orchard is an 
especial hotbed for the propagation of rot, in particu- 
HORSE DENTISTRY. Fie. 281. 
lar where there are no hogs kept to clean up the waste 
as it comes from the trees. 
The best remedy of course is preventive. Giving 
trees a liberal distance (for my own section of coun¬ 
try no less than 24 feet each way; in other parts less 
might do), and keeping shotes in orchard, will prevent 
rot, or greatly check it, as well as curculio. Hogs have 
had the run of our main orchards now about 12 years, 
and the result is that rot and curculio have almost en¬ 
tirely disappeared. Some men loading a wagon with 
peaches this Summer wanted to know if “them hogs 
didn’t harm the trees.” I pointed to the peaches in 
the wagon, saying: “If you can find a single wormy 
peach in this wagon I will make you a present of all 
you can haul off.” They did not find the wormy 
peach. That was of a variety (Sylphide) that used to 
be over half wormy years ago. Some of those shotes, 
10 months old, are bringing me now over $16 a piece, 
the butcher coming after them. 
We are all in the business for the money there is 
in it; now what difference does it make whether the 
dollar comes through the peaches the hogs eat, or 
through those that are shipped? I believe in shipping 
only the best, and let all the hogfeed stay at home 
where it ought to be. Thus we not only built up a 
good reputation, but have also usually remunerative 
prices for our goods. To furnish plenty of cheap hog¬ 
feed when there are no peaches, the orchards are sown 
to Rescue grass, a native annual of our State. The 
seed lies dormant in soil from May till the first rains 
in October, when it comes up like a spear of wheat. 
It grows rapidly, and usually covers the ground be¬ 
fore Christmas. All stock is very fond of it, and as 
the seeds are ripening during the month of April, 
they are nearly as nourishing as oats. I have no seeds 
to sell. By middle of May we generally give orchards 
a good plowing, turning under that Rescue sod, which, 
as it disintegrates, keeps the soil loose and mellow 
the biggest part of the season, a few harrowings with 
the Acme being all the cultivation required after the 
plowing. As well as furnishing hogfeed this cover 
crop of grass also prevents the washing of our land, 
not a small matter with us, where sometimes as much 
as six inches of rain falls during one night. I have 
known four inches to come down inside a half hour; 
then good-bye land that is kept too clean. The Res¬ 
cue grass grows from one to two feet high; is the 
hardiest plant in the way of grass we have. No 
amount of drought or cold will kill it, nor can it be 
pastured too close to prevent it from going to seed. It 
is a boon to Texas indeed. j. w. stubenratjcit. 
Texas. 
RULES FOR GRADING FRUIT. 
What Constitutes Number One ? 
The following questions are submitted by one of our 
New York State readers: “A sells his crop of apples at 
a certain price per barrel, the buver agreeing to give the 
same price for No. 1 and No. 2 quality. Can the buyer 
create his own code of rules as to what shall constitute 
No. 2 quality, or are there certain fixed rules which pro¬ 
tect the seller in this case?” What is the custom in 
your locality? 
There should be no creating of code of rules by 
either the seller or buyer after a sale is made unless 
both agree to the rules. The rules and specifications 
should be agreed upon at the time of sale as to what 
constitutes a No. 1 and a No. 2 apple and be a written 
contract. J - B - collamer. 
Hilton, N. Y. 
I understand that there is a fixed code of rules, 
stating what shall be No. 1 apples and No. 2. As I 
understand it No. 1 are nothing less than 2% inches 
in diameter, free from worms and fungus, No. 2 are 
nothing less than two inches in diameter and not 
more than one wormhole and fairly free from fungus. 
The above is what I suppose is the rule of the New 
York State grower. b. j. case. 
Sod us, N. Y. 
There is no code of rules for grades of apples that I 
know of. All perfect apples 2 y 4 inches in diameter go 
for No. 1 here, unless it is specified that they shall be 
2% inches. No. 2 are all other apples reasonably fair 
that are two inches or over, but any man makes a 
mistake to sell in that way, and not have some defi¬ 
nite understanding. Fungus on Greenings in a bad 
condition this year, and we should put ourselves in 
the place of the buyer, at least part of the time, when 
we are packing. t. b. wilson. 
Hall’s Corners, N. Y. 
If A sells a hundred barrels of apples for $2 per 
barrel, what difference does it make if 50, 60, or 90 
barrels are graded as No. 1 and remainder No. 2? 
If same price is paid for No. 1 and No. 2 the buyer 
grades to suit himself. If A should sell his No. 1 
for $2 and No. 2 for $1.50 the parties would agree on 
size and condition of No. 1, as well as size and con¬ 
dition of No. 2. Some buyers will accept for No. 1 
apples, free from all defects and above 2% inches in 
diameter; others will accept down to 214 inches. 
Orleans Co., N. Y. i. n. stebbins. 
The custom of selling fruit in two grades at a uni¬ 
form price per package for both is not uncommon, 
and one of the objects in making such a sale is that 
the buyer may grade it or have it graded to suit him¬ 
self. Certainly there can be no injustice to the grower 
in such a case in permitting the buyer to do as he 
pleases. He may after buying put the fruit all in one 
grade and call that No. 2, or he may make his No. 1 
a fancy grade and put the bulk of the fruit in another, 
and call it No. 2. In neither case ought the grower to 
complain, as he gets the same price per package with¬ 
out regard to the grading. There are no rules tha: 
are binding in this matter. The National Apple Ship¬ 
pers’ Association has adopted rules of grading, but 
they can be enforced only by individual contract. The 
rules suggested by the New York State Fruit Growers' 
would not co,ver such a case, because they do not in¬ 
clude a second grade, the purpose being to base the 
reputation of New York State fruit on high grade 
only. If, however, the inquirer has reference to the 
line between the No. 2 and culls or rejected fruit he 
might be greatly injured by allowing the buyer to 
dictate. There should have been a distinct under¬ 
standing at the time of sale and the contract should 
have covered the point as specifically as possible. 1 
know of no rules that would govern the case in the 
absence of such a contract. w. t. mann. 
Barker, NY. 
