1902 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
689 
EVERYBODY'S GARDEN. 
Gathering the Onions. —So many 
questions come to me regarding harvest¬ 
ing the late crop of onions that a few 
suggestions may still be timely. When 
the tops die and fall down it is fully 
time for gathering the crop. With the 
giound in good condition and free from 
weeds, the work may be done more 
rapidly with the hand garden rake than 
by hand-pulling. Two rows may be 
raked together between second and 
third row when traveling in one direc¬ 
tion, and the third and fourth rows 
may be raked into the double row when 
going in the reverse direction. This 
puts four rows together, and if care is 
exercised to avoid bruising the bulbs 
with the steel teeth, the work is per¬ 
formed rapidly and withal well done. 
Unless the weather is very dry, they 
should be stirred occasionally, and bet¬ 
ter now with a wooden rake, as too 
much care cannot be taken to avoid 
bruising. When the tops are thorough¬ 
ly dry, cut them off half an inch above 
the bulb, and a few days of bright 
weather will cure them in proper shape 
for storing. 
Storing.— Here comes the “tug of 
war,” and without proper facilities for 
storage it is usually much safer to sell 
in the Fall than to attempt carrying 
the crop over. With some precautions, 
however, they may be kept in good 
condition without serious loss. They 
should be entirely free from dampness, 
and never piled or stored together in 
large quantities, especially in warm 
weather. They should never be piled 
under any conditions; but should be 
stored in level condition and not to ex¬ 
ceed two feet in depth. Stored in the 
level heaps and kept dry and cool as 
possible they will keep fairly well. 
They will keep well in frozen condition 
provided they can be kept thus, until 
required for use, but gradual thawing 
is necessary, and they must not be al¬ 
lowed to freeze the second time. If 
freezing is attempted, they must be al¬ 
lowed to freeze clear through, then 
cover with straw or other material 
thickly enough so that weather changes 
will not affect them. 
Storing Celery. —Various methods 
for Winter storage of celery are in 
practice among the growers, the celery 
house, trench and hotbed storing being 
perhaps the most generally in use. The 
ceiery houses are low structures built 
half under ground. The walls are 
boarded or planked, and above ground 
are double, and filled in with sawdust, 
or they may be left a single wall and 
banked with earth or manure as the 
colder weather of Winter requires. A 
convenient width is 12 to 14 feet and 
any length desired. It should be pro¬ 
vided with door at one end and window 
at the other, and also woouen flues or 
chimneys in the roof 12 or Id feet dis¬ 
tant. The flues are for ventilation, and 
may be covered with a board or other¬ 
wise to avoid danger of freezing. The 
structure need not be high; four feet 
at the eaves will do, and one-fourth or 
one-third pitch to the roof is sufficient. 
A narrow passageway should be left 
through the center extending from the 
dcor to the window. The spaces on 
either side are left for the celery, and 
if desired may be divided with boards 
extending from the passageway to the 
walls. The celery clumps snould be set 
as thickly as they will stand with their 
roots on the loose soil of the bottom. 
No soil should be placed around the 
sialks, but they should be set closely 
enough to remain in an upright posi¬ 
tion. All damaged stalks should be re¬ 
moved before the plants are set in the 
house. Coarse manure or straw may 
be put on the roof if necessary to pre¬ 
vent freezing, and the thorough ventila¬ 
tion which may be had by means of 
the door, window and chimneys, will 
keep the celery in fine condition. The 
above plan is too expensive, except for 
extensive operations, but smaller quan¬ 
tities are easily stored in trenches. 
These should be made where the ground 
is high and dry, with no danger of 
flooding. The trenches should be one 
foot in width and as deep as the stalks 
are high. Leave the soil in bottom of 
trench loose, and set the plants closely 
together on the loose bottom earth. 
Nail boards together, V-shape, and turn 
over the trenches to shed the water, and 
cover over all with straw or other litter 
as cold weather demands. In this way, 
the temperature can be controlled much 
more easily than by covering the 
trenches with straw and earth. Hotbed 
storage is quite common, and also con¬ 
venient, provided one has the hotbeds. 
They can be banked with earth and 
covered with boards and manure suffi¬ 
cient to protect from both water and 
frost The celery should be set closely 
together in upright position and never 
packed in piles. The hotbeds are really 
convenient, if they are at hand. The 
most convenient storage for the family 
supply is to pack in boxes in the cellar. 
Select a dark part of the cellar and 
use damp sand for the roots. Keep the 
sand moist, and considerable growth 
will be made, and the blanching will be 
perfect. 
Ripening Late Tomatoes. —Present 
indications are that to get any consid¬ 
erable amount of tomatoes this year, 
most of us will have to resort to 
artificial ripening. Of several methods 
of handling the late tomatoes which I 
have tried, I have met with most suc¬ 
cess in the hotbed or on the cellar bot¬ 
tom. The former plan is simply to cover 
the hotbed bottom quite thickly with 
perfectly clean dry straw and pack the 
tomatoes in layers. There is no use 
whatever in wasting time and space 
with diseased or imperfect fruits, for 
they will simply serve to spoil the rest. 
Select them, only the perfectly sound 
ones and pack them carefully in layers, 
placing the greenest at the bottom. 
They must not be massed in too deeply; 
but four or five layers will do no harm. 
Put on the sash, making sure that they 
have plenty of air. If steam or mois¬ 
ture collects on the under side of the 
glass it indicates too little ventilation, 
and the sash should be raised. It is well 
always to keep them up in daytime ex¬ 
cept in stormy or too cold days. The 
top fruits usually ripen first; but they 
should be carefully watched in order 
to remove any that show signs of decay 
I have carried them in this way until 
late in the Fall, and nearly up to Win¬ 
ter. The cellar bottom if perfectly dry, 
is almost equally good; but of course 
they will ripen more quickly under the 
glass. I have sometimes spread them 
on straw, and sometimes simply spread 
them on the earth or cement floor. It 
helps them carefully to turn them over 
occasionally. Either way is good; but 
lacking either cellar or hotbed, what 
then? In such case simply pile the vines 
up like a wind row of hay and cover 
with straw or stalks. Some will decay; 
but many will ripen, and saving a part 
is better than losing the whole. Some 
plow a furrow and put the vines in 
lengthwise and cover with straw; 
trenches are sometimes used. Person¬ 
ally I have been unable to see any ad¬ 
vantages in the furrow or trench over 
piling right on top of the ground. I 
have tried all ways with more or less 
success, but like the hotbed or cellar 
best. If ripened on the vines, they 
should be piled or trenched before there 
has been injury from frost, and they 
should never be put in while wet. 
Michigan. j. e. morse. 
The Plant Breeders' Conference. 
The International Plant Breeders Confer¬ 
ence. held at the American Institute rooms, 
21-23 West Forty-fourth street, New York, 
September 30 to October 2, under the aus¬ 
pices of the New York Horticultural So¬ 
ciety, was well attended by delegates from 
every State and Territory, Europe, many 
South American countries and the West 
Indies. Nearly 40 papers, touching on every 
phase of breeding economic and ornamental 
plants, were read and discussed. Some 
were technical and theoretical, others em¬ 
bodied the practical results of earnest life¬ 
long workers in the hybridization and selec¬ 
tion of interesting plants. There was some 
disposition in the earlier sessions for the 
practical men, those who have actually 
done things in plant breeding, and those 
who choose to theorize about what others 
have done, to form separate camps; but 
they subsequently got together with the 
greatest harmony, as it is plainly as 
important to find out why and how a thing 
is done as to do it blindly. Almost all the 
experiment stations, from the National De¬ 
partment of Agriculture down, were rep¬ 
resented and Directors were as plentiful as 
blackberries on a well-cultivated bush. It 
was hardly safe to call a member by any 
less imposing title than Professor, though 
there were a few humble individuals who 
had only done a lot of successful plant 
breeding but had seldom talked or written 
about it. The transactions of the Confer¬ 
ence. including all papers presented and ac¬ 
companying discussions, will shortly be 
published in a copyrighted volume by the 
New York Horticultural Society, and will 
form a valuable reference work, as this is 
the first attempt at collating in authorita¬ 
tive form the enormous amount of valuable 
plant breeding work accomplished in this 
country. An exhibition of hybrid plants, 
fruits and flowers was held in the Confer¬ 
ence rooms, among which were many prom¬ 
ising apples and pears. The crosses be¬ 
tween crab apples and standard market ap¬ 
ples are particularly Interesting. During 
the afternoon of October 2 the Conference 
was entertained on the grounds of Bronx 
Park Botanical Gardens and on the day 
following at the Hudson River residence of 
a wealthy plant lover. 
Queens-Nassau, N. Y., Fair. 
The Sixty-first Annual Exhibition of the 
Queens-Nassau Agricultural Society was 
held on the grounds of the Society at Min- 
eola, September 23 to 27. This >s 
one of the few county fairs which 
seem to improve w’ith age. The exhibits 
in all departments were excellent. The 
fruit and vegetable exhibits were particu¬ 
larly good, owing to the remarkably wet 
season on Long Island. The center of the 
vegetable tent was taken up by a wonder¬ 
ful display of natural and artificial plants 
by the firm of Peter Henderson & Co., in 
charge of Mr. J. J. Heinrich, of Baldwins, 
L. I. The vegetable display in this tent 
was unquestionably the finest ever seen on 
Long Island and showed the possibilities of 
intensive culture—with an abundance of 
rainfall—on the light sandy soils of Queens 
and Nassau counties. The display of cab¬ 
bage was especially fine. The first prize 
for early, middle and late cabbage was 
awarded to Wm. Graham, Central Park; 
also for the heaviest specimen when 
weighed—20 pounds; the variety in each case 
being Succession. The J.V. Baylis Seed Co. 
made an exhibit in a tent adjoining the 
vegetable tent, and gave away a hundred 
bushels of seed potatoes during the fair. 
The cattle, sheep and swine buildings were 
well filled, but did not attract as many 
visitors as they should have done. The 
poultry building and auxiliary tents were 
filled to overflowing and were crowded 
with visitors all the time. The main build¬ 
ing and the industrial annex were crowued 
with exhibits. The women’s building has 
become one of the most attractive features 
of the fair. It is devoted to woman’s work. 
The continued stormy weather made the 
fair a financial loss but fortunately the 
Queens-Nassau Agricultural Society is in 
excellent financial condition. J. h. g. 
For the land’s sake, use Bowker’s Fer¬ 
tilizers. They enrich the earth.— Adv. 
WE GUARANTEE CQL 
ON YOUR SAVINGS W A * 
No 
Speculation. 
Business 
Established 
THE INDUSTHIAL SAVINGS 
1 AND LOAN CO. is thoroughly 
responsible, and has always lived 
up to its agreements. Our depos¬ 
itors, many of the most prominent 
clergymen and professional men 
in the country heartily indorse 
our methods. 
Ten Years 
Under State 
Banking 
Department 
Supervision. 
Accounts of conservative deposi¬ 
tors solicited , upon which we pay 
5 per cent per annum. 
Deposits may be made or with¬ 
drawn at any time, and bear 
earnings for every day invested. 
Full particulars sent upon request. 
Paid in Capital. Assets. Surplus. 
$ 1.0(10,0(10 $l,ii()<).()0U $185.000 
Industrial Savings and Loan Go., 
1134 Broadway, New York. 
OUR HURRY 
is over, and now vou can have your fence shipped 
the day your order is received. Try us on a “Rush 
Order," and put it up this Fall. 
PAGE WOVEN WIRE FENCE CO., AOKI AN, MICH. 
It Will Pay You 
to buy poultry netting 1 of us now. We 
are making 1 special low prices, delivered. 
Write your wants. Price-lists FREE. 
Square Mesh Poultry Fencing is best; 
descriptive circulars tell why. 
CASE BROS., Colchester, Cotm. 
Cider Machinery.—Send for catalogue to Boomer & 
Boschert Press Co., 118 West Water St., Syracuse, N.Y. 
THE MIETZ & WEISS 
Kerosene Engines. Sizes, 1 to 60 H.P. 
CheapeMt and SafeBt Power Known 
For pumping and electric light¬ 
ing, grluding corn, separating 
cream. Hawing wood and all power 
pnrpoHos Highest Award for 
Direct Coupled Engine and Gener¬ 
ator, Paris Exp., 1900; awarded 
Gold Medal Pan-Am. Exp., Buffalo, 
1901; Gold Medal, Charleston, 8.0., 
Exn., 1902. Send for Catalogue. 
A. MIETZ, 128 Mott St., New York 
The “WeberJunior” 
Pumper 
Can also 
be used 
for other 
power 
purpose 
es. 
Is all complete* roady to at¬ 
tach to pump. Equals 30 mon 
pump ing water. 
Usos but littlu gas¬ 
oline. Is shipped 
crated completely 
erected, all connec¬ 
tions mado. Easy to start, any 
one can operate it. Every 
one guaranteed. Other sizes 
up to 50 H. P. Sond for cat¬ 
alog. Weber Gas & Gasoline 
Engine Co., Box 10 2 
Kansas City, Mo. 
CHARTER 
Gasoline Engine 
iirip rv Any Place 
I Srll “y A, iy One 
For Any Purpose 
Stationaries, Portables, Engines 
and Pomps, Holsters, 
Sawing Outfits. 
Send for Illustrated Catalogue and 
Testimonials, state your Rower Needs. 
Charter Gas Engine Co., Box 26, Sterling, III. 
Clark’s 
Cider 
Mills 
CUTAWAY HARROW 
wiil easily move 15,000 tons 
Of earth one foot in a day. 
Send for Circulars to 
THE CUTAWAY HARROW CO., Higganum, Ct. 
One to eight Barrels. 
Clark’s Double-Action 
House Heating Bills 
are perpetual. They are greatly redviced by 
ceiling the attic and sheathing your whole house with 
pAil332.’»i‘ 
Cabot's Sheathing Quilt. 
Please do not think it’s a building paper. It’s far superior in every way. A thick mat¬ 
ted fabric of eel grass six times as warm and costing half as much. Filled with dead air 
cells, non-conductor of heat or cold. Vermin proof. Send for free samples. 
Agents at all central points. SAMUEL CABOT, Sole Manufacturer, 81, Kilby St., Boston, Mass. 
A c l»io« f-" cpinjl un of the Truss anil Cable 
dlllULL 9 I nHit5J Wire Fence contains 
six wires, strands made either 2 or 4 inches wide. Makes the strongest 
fence in existence. Costs less than any other and lasts longer. Per¬ 
fect provision for contraction and expansion. Sold direct from 
factory at wholesale prices Agents wanted. Sample free. 
THE TRUSS & CABLE FENCE CO., 323 Federal Bldg.,Youngstown, 0. 
9 | A I AB S*" I A It I 1"% is the earliest, easiest worked and most Dro- 
.p 8 9 fry ill I J- 1 , I 3 LAfvU ductive land, by using tile you get rid oUthe 
1 M 1 ns» sur pi us water an d admit the air to the soil- 
k both necessary to best results in agriculture. My AGRICULTURAL 
DRAIN TILE meets every requirement. Make also Sewer Pipe, Red 
and Fire Brick, Chimney Tops Encaustic Side Walk Tile, etc. Write for 
what you want and prices. JOHN H. JACKSON, 76 third Ave. Albany,N.Y. 
UrCDNrRfC "UNION” FEED AND ENSILAGE CUTTERS 
S3 ll En ll wjf are the only thoroughly up-to-date machines lu dry tedder cutting. They 
and crush at uue operation. Preparer the nutritious lower stock, making an excellent and much relished food, 
waste. Easy to masticate. Itis easier to grow two tons of fodder than one ton of ha/ on the 
same ground. Fodder is equal to ha/ in feeding value. The corn itself Is clear gain. Shr d- 
.■inf/ attachment for 96.00. Vou then have cutter, crusher and shredder combined in one. 
Not much more ox'pensivo than other machines, but far more valuablo. Send for/ree booklet. 
IIEEBNER A; SONS, S3 Broad St., Lunxdule, Pa. 
