1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
i35 
WINTERKILLING, SO-CALLED. 
Oftentimes trees are said to be winterkilled, when 
the truth is they were practically killed, or ready to 
be killed, when Winter set in. Trees may well be 
expected to winterkill if, being in a none too thrifty 
condition during the Summer, a Fall drought sets in, 
during which they have no cultivation to conserve the 
moisture in the soil, but on the contrary, are sur¬ 
rounded by weeds which pump from the soil what 
water there is. 
While I was calling, last Spring, on an acquaint¬ 
ance in Virginia, he planted a couple of small trees 
sent to him. To Etart with, they were in poor con¬ 
dition, and the roots dry and dead-looking. I should 
have cut them, as well as the tops, back severely. His 
orchard was in sod, and he asked me to walk over 
with him while be took his spade and planted the 
trees in vacant spaces where borers had killed the old 
trees. He dug out a hole in the grass about twice the 
width of the spade and 1% foot deep. Into this he 
crowded the roots of the tree just as they were, and 
then dumped back the earth, even leaving the sod 
on top, where it could grow again after a rain. I 
asked him whether he did not think it a safe plan to 
water trees in planting; but he said it was not neces¬ 
sary, as it would soon rain, and that would do it bet¬ 
ter than he could. I have not seen the trees since, 
but it is not difficult to imagine their condition, unless 
the farm has changed hands. 
In planting trees in this way, three rules are 
essential to observe : First, have the ground thor¬ 
oughly worked up and fertile in as large a space as 
the new tree roots can possibly run the first year. 
Second, have the ground thoroughly wet, after plant¬ 
ing. If it is dry, give it and the roots a thorough 
soaking and puddling; “melting’’the earth around 
them is excellent practice. Third, keep the soil 
around them cultivated and free from weeds through¬ 
out the year, the same as with a growing garden 
crop. g. E. M. 
CONTRACTS FOR GOVERNMENT SEEDS. 
WHY DEALERS REFUSE TO BID. 
There has been some comment about the way in 
which the last contract for supplying the Government 
with seeds for its free distribution was awarded. The 
contract was closed at a low price, and many of the 
best seedsmen of the country refused to make a bid 
for the contract, when the specifications were made 
known. The following note from W. Atlee Burpee & 
Co., of Philadelphia, gives some of the reasons why 
our best seedsmen did not care to bid for the contract: 
The list of seeds on which proposals were asked 
could not possibly be procured to fill the order, with¬ 
out substitution. The value of the seed 
alone, not including cotton seed, of 
which we know very little as to value, 
amounts, at a low estimated cost, to 
$ 66 , 409 . 81 ; this, of course, does not in¬ 
clude putting up the seeds in packets, 
or the assembling in mail packages. 
Many varieties required by the Depart¬ 
ment are practically impossible to pro¬ 
cure. For instance, it wishes 750 bushels 
of Pride of the Market peas, 750 bushels 
of Early Mohawk beans, 4,000 pounds 
Black-seeded Satisfaction lettuce, 3,500 
pounds of Salamander lettuce, 3 500 
pounds of Prize Head lettuce, 2,200 
pounds of Long Yellow cantaloupe, 2,200 
pounds of Seminole watermelon, and 
many others which are really very sel¬ 
dom called for, or of which the crops 
were very short the past season, making 
it utterly impossible to procure anything 
like the quantities it would take to fill 
the order. You know about what the 
figures of successful competitors were, 
so that, with the figures we have given, 
you can figure out just what a large 
profit the successful bidder will have, notably when 
you take into consideration that he is compelled to 
rent a building in Washington especially for the 
purpose. 
Another very important reason why no reputable 
house would bid for the seed contract was the fact 
that it was specially stipulated that all the flower 
seeds should be of American growth, and it would be 
utterly impossible to procure anything in the quanti¬ 
ties needed on most varieties, while on some varieties, 
it would be impossible to procure any seed whatever 
of American growth. Our house would not even con¬ 
sider making a bid, when we received the specifica¬ 
tions, as we knew it would be impossible to procure 
the varieties asked for. w. atlee burpee & co. 
S. H. Derby, of Delaware, says that the Red Astrachan apple 
tree is excellent for top-working early sorts. It is particularly 
free from Woolly aphis. 
HOGS IN THE APPLE ORCHARD. 
Not a Wise Plan. —I have read what Richard P. 
Campbell said on the above subject, on page 848 of 
Tiie R N.-Y. for December 10, 1898. I do not in the 
least doubt his statements as to how his pigs did, or 
the result on the crop of apples. But I cannot agree 
that his was a wise course to recommend. 
In the first place, it is a dangerous practice to 
shove hogs into an apple orchard, and allow them to 
root at will. I have seen many fine apple trees entire¬ 
ly ruined by hogs rooting deeply and eating the roots 
of the trees. The bark of apple roots is sweet and 
much liked by hogs, and once they get the taste of it 
one can hardly stop them from eating it. 
The Fertility Side. —Then I could only wonder 
what he could expect 30 pigs to add to the soil of that 
THE WEEPING RUSSIAN MULBERRY. Via. 47. 
10 acres of orchard, when he was feeding them noth¬ 
ing but water during the whole time they were run¬ 
ning in the orchard. Of course, the rooting up of the 
sod would conserve the moisture, but we must not 
forget that “ nothing from nothing comes,” and if the 
pigs ate nothing but what came out of the soil, they 
could return nothing to it. On the contrary, what 
little growth they made was at the expense of the soil. 
He does not tell us how much they gained, and so we 
cannot know how much they took from the soil ; but 
of one thing we may be certain, if getting nothing 
but what they could pick they did not make a maxi¬ 
mum gain. 
Get More Feed. —How much better it would have 
been if he had plowed that orchard lightly, if he so 
desired, and sowed it to Canada peas and rape, and 
then turned in 100 hogs on the 10 acres (better yet, 
200), instead of 30, and fed them enough wheat mid¬ 
dlings and fine bran to make a good gain. They 
would have gained more than double each what each 
of the 30 did on grass and weeds alone. The extra 
gain would have more than paid for feed and care. 
The larger number of hogs would have better eaten 
fallen fruit and destroyed worms, and kept down the 
grass and what grew. Then see what a large amount 
of the best kind of manure would have been scattered 
over and mixed into the soil. Why not winter brood 
sows instead of pigs? j. s. woodward. 
THE WEEPING RUSSIAN MULBERRY. 
It was about 15 years ago that the so-called Rus¬ 
sian mulberry was much talked of as a valuable tim¬ 
ber tree. This tree is a rapid grower, easily propa¬ 
gated by cuttings or seeds. It is said to thrive well 
in the dry soils of the West, and we can testify that 
it grows thriftily in the driest soils of the Rural 
Grounds. 
According to authorities, this was a favorite tree of 
the Mennonites, who cultivated it on the western 
prairies. They brought it from Russia ; but it seems 
that we have long known it in the East as the Tar¬ 
tarian mulberry, Morus alba var. Tartarica. 
There is a pendulous form of this Tartarian mul¬ 
berry which easily takes first rank among small pen¬ 
dulous trees. We received a specimen of it from Ell- 
wanger & Barry about six years ago, grafted upon 
the species about eight feet high. As we remember, 
the fast-growing branches, drooping almost parallel 
with the stem itself, reached the soil the second sea¬ 
son. The plant is now about seven feet in diameter, 
and the form is fairly well shown in our little illus¬ 
tration at Fig. 47. The branches have spread over 
the ground for a considerable surface, but these may 
be restricted in growth as one may desire. The slen¬ 
der branches are so thickly clothed with leaves, no 
two of which seem to be precisely alike, that the 
stems are wholly concealed. 
It fruited the second year, but the berries are small, 
and not to be considered as among the desirable char¬ 
acteristics of this beautiful tree. There are many 
other trees besides the mulberry which bear dissimilar 
leaves, none of which, however, is more conspicuously 
unlike than those, perhaps, of the sassafras. Fair 
specimens of the dissimilarity of the leaves of the 
Weeping mulberry are shown in Fig 48. 
WHITE ARSENIC AS A POISON. 
SUBSTITUTE FOR PARIS-GREEN ? 
Is not white arsenic formula for spraying an improvement on 
Paris-green, as the latter is so dimcult to hold in solution ? c. h. 
Lima, O. 
Very Satisfactory.— The white arsenic formula 
has been perfectly satisfactory, and we have used it 
quite extensively for three seasons. So far as we 
have heard from those using it, it has given general 
satisfaction. It is an improvement on Paris-green, 
both as regards efficiency and cheapness. We use it 
in connection with Bordeaux Mixture altogether ; the 
lime in the Bordeaux Mixture prevents injury to foli¬ 
age which would occur if the arsenic formula were 
used alone. w. j. green. 
Ohio Experiment Station. 
Hesitates to Commend It.— The white arsenic 
has nothing to recommend it, except 
the fact that we get a uniform 
product. The arsenate of soda, which 
is produced by boiling white arsenic 
and caustic soda, is horribly injurious 
to plant foliage, and unless it is com¬ 
pletely neutralized with lime or in 
some other way, it is very dangerous. 
In the use of arsenic as an insecticide, 
the chief point to be looked to is the 
amount of actual arsenic m the mix¬ 
ture, and its insolubility. Paris-green 
comes as near to being insoluble as 
any material on the market; but it 
varies seriously in the* actual amount 
of arsenic, even when pure, that is, 
free from adulterations and when made 
by the same manufacturer. Personally 
I have had very little experience with 
the white arsenic formula, and what I 
have seen of it makes me hesitate to 
recommend it. We have something very 
much better in arsenate of lead, or as 
it has been called, “Gypsine”. This is 
more easily made than the white arsenic 
mixture, is always uniform, is abso¬ 
lutely harmless to foliage, and if once the farmer 
becomes used to it, will give him identical results 
when used under similar conditions, john b. smith. 
New Jersey Experiment Station. 
A Dangerous Color.— We have not made very ex¬ 
tended trials of white arsenic as an insecticide for 
general purposes, because of its color ; being so like 
many other harmless substances it will much more 
endanger life than Paris-green, and the uncertain re¬ 
sults obtained by the average farmer or horticulturist, 
in the combination of the arsenic and soda. I do not 
think it in any way superior to Paris-green. 
Massachusetts Ex. Station. s t. maynard. 
On page 878, of last year, we were told to avoid scions without 
terminal buds when grafting branches on apple trees. Scions 
without terminal buds are equally as good if topped with graft¬ 
ing wax; in fact, I found them better for that purpose, because 
the growth from a terminal bud starts straight upwards, while 
from a bud of the second or third cut, it starts more horizontally, 
especially if tatcen from a branch of a somewhat natural horizon¬ 
tal growth, and is properly arranged when inserted, a. wirth. 
LEAVES OF WEEPING RUSSIAN-MULBERRY. I Fig. 48. 
