218 
March 25 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
doubt that grafted trees would he better, because they 
would be sure to bear the same kinds of nuts as the 
parent trees. Grafting or budding these and all other 
nuts is a difficult job, but it can be done. Dry nuts 
are very likely not to grow, although I have had them 
sprout after they had been kept for months in the 
house. Such nuts should be soaked for several days 
in water that is as nearly ice cold as possible, and 
then planted one inch deep in heavy soil, or a little 
more in light land. The proper way to keep nuts is 
to put them in damp soil or sand as soon as gathered, 
and never let them dry out. The seedlings would not 
require shading while young, or at any time, unless 
they were in a very warm or dry climate. 2. Grape 
cuttings for planting should be made about 8 or 10 
inches long. The vines should be cut into such lengths 
with a sharp knife or shears, so as not to crush or split 
them. The lower or butt cut should be very close to 
a bud or joint, because roots come out there much 
more readily than between the joints. The top cut 
should be an inch or more above the top bud, so as to 
be sure that it is in no degree injured, for it is expected 
to grow and make the top. The cuttings should be 
firmly set in mellow ground in early Spring, leaving 
out about two or three inches of the top. Then keep 
them well cultivated during the whole season of 
growth. 
Unproductive Damson Plum Trees. 
I have 100 three-year-old Blue Damson plum trees that have 
never borne. They were sprouts from an old orchard. When 
will they bear ? Will it pay me to leave them ? j. w. c. 
Illinois. 
It has long been a common practice to dig up sprouts 
of the Damson plum, and make new orchards of them ; 
it is a very good plan if the sprouts are well rooted. 
The principal objection is their proneness to sprout. 
However, this is not a serious fault if the ground is 
cultivated very shallow, so as not to break the roots 
and induce a large number of sprouts to grow. I 
would certainly let the trees stand, and take good care 
of them if the variety is a good one. They will, prob¬ 
ably, begin to bear in a year or two. 
A Deteriorated Concord Grape Vine. 
About 85 years afro, I procured a Concord grape vine, then a 
new variety. It proved remarkably prolific, bearing high char¬ 
acter fruit. The late Hon. J F. C. Hyde sought and obtained 
many plants from my Concord, the fruit from which took first 
prize several years at our horticultural fairs Of late years, no 
first-class fruit has been received from the vine. What can I do 
to restore it to its original superior condition ? n. t. a. 
Massachusetts. 
It is possible that neglect of some sort is the cause 
of deterioration of the fruit of this vine. Although 
35 years is a good old age for a grape vine, there are 
many thrifty and productive specimens of many varie¬ 
ties that are much older. As the Scripture says, “Dig 
about it and dung it Prune it back to good healthy 
wood, if it has such, and see what it will do. It may 
be that its days of usefulness are over. If good treat¬ 
ment will not bring it into profitable bearing, then it 
is a very easy matter to plant a new vine. 
Apples for Southern Indiana. 
I intend to set a large apple orchard for commercial purposes. 
What varieties of apples are best for profit ? What do you think 
of the following varieties: Grimes Golden, Jonathan, Home 
Beauty, Roxbury Russet, Smith’s Cider, Tompkins King, Twenty 
Ounce, Seek-no-Further, Winesap, York Imperial, Mammoth 
Black Twig, Arkansas Black ? I live in southern Indiana, about 
latitude 38. The soil is heavy clay without any sand, is high and 
slightly rolling. I wish Winter apples. Will subscribers living 
on the Air Line Railroad or its vicinity, or near the same latitude, 
tell of the apples that do best in their neighborhoods ? w. n. r. 
Indiana. 
With my present understanding of apple orchard¬ 
ing, and having recently traveled in southern Indiana, 
looking over the orchards and examining into the be¬ 
havior of the varieties growing there, and among 
them, most of those mentioned by W. R. F., I 
would plant as follows : York Imperial, Ben Davis. 
Rome Beauty, Jonathan and Arkansaw. Regarding 
the other varieties mentioned, Grimes Golden is of the 
highest quality, and should not be left out of any 
family list in that section; but it is too early for 
Winter use, except it be gathered very early and kept 
with care for a short time. Farther north it keeps 
later. Roxbury Russet is a poor bearer and a poor 
keeper, too, in that section. Smith is a fairly good 
early Winter variety there, but it is not very satis¬ 
factory, and has been discarded by most orchardists 
in all parts of the country. Tompkins King is very 
unsuitable there. It ripens in the Fall, and is shaken 
off very badly by the winds. The tree is also badly 
affected by the climate, and soon dies. Twenty Ounce 
is utterly worthless as a Winter apple so far south. It 
is a Fall apple, and is not very good for that season 
there, as it is not a heavy bearer and rots quite easily. 
Westfield (the Seek-no-Further part has been cut off) is 
another Fall apple in southern Indiana. It is small and 
entirely out of the question. Winesap is an excellent 
Winter apple for home use, and has been considered 
one of the standard Winter apples for market in that 
region, and is yet held in such esteem by many ; but 
it is losing favor when compared with varieties that 
are taking its place. It has the fault of overbearing, 
and the fruit becomes small as the trees attain age. 
The growth of the tree is very ungainly, making 
it difficult to prune into convenient shape. The Ar¬ 
kansaw, or Mammoth Black Twig, according to some 
authorities, is a seedling of Winesap, and although 
not so good in quality, or so well colored, it is larger and 
the tree is decidedly better. Stayman, another seed¬ 
ling of Winesap, is fully as good as its parent in every 
way, and the tree has a much better habit of growth. 
Arkansas Black is not worthy of cultivation. It is 
one of the Winesap type, and the fruit is exceedingly 
handsome, but the quality is not very high, and it 
falls so badly before picking time as to prove the 
variety worthless for market purposes. Reasonably 
fertile clay soil that lies high and is well drained in 
southern Indiana is good for apple culture. There 
are many very large and profitable orchards in that 
region now. 
Some Massachusetts Fruit Problems. 
1. I have a lot of thrifty peach trees, set four years ago, bought 
for Mt. Rose, but prove to be a medium, yellow-fleshed fruit that 
rots before getting mellow. How would you advise to change to 
a good variety ? Or would it be best to pull out and reset ? 2. 
How near to known, existing and uncontrollable cases of yellows 
would it be advisable to grow a pear h orchard ? 3. Would there be 
any use to attempt to keep an orchard clear of yellows with a 
neighbor’s diseased trees within 25 rods, and the neighbor an un 
believer in yellows ? 4. What are the first observable symptoms 
that would jueti'y removal of a tree to prevent the spread of 
yellows? 5. Can you tell anything about the Parlln and the 
Arctic apple? G . K- 
Massachusetts. 
1. It would be impracticable to rebud peach trees 
so large as four-year-olds. The only way to change 
the variety is to dig them out and reset. 2. It is 
not known how far peach yellows is contagious, be¬ 
cause it seems to spread in so many ways. 3 It would 
be likely to spread from a neighboring orchard that 
was not more than 25 yards distant, but if a constant 
watch is kept for the first symptoms of a diseased tree, 
and all such are promptly dug out and burned, there 
SEEDLING OF R. N.-Y. No. 2 POTATO. Fig. 82. 
See Ruralisms, Page 224. 
might be a reasonable degree of safety in growing an 
orchard within that distance. That unbelieving 
neighbor, and all like him, need the strong hand of 
the law laid upon their trees, and that they be obliged 
to foot the expense bills for destroying them. It is 
rank folly for such pests to be allowed. Peach yel¬ 
lows, like smallpox, can and should be stamped out 
on sight. One disease is just as real as the other. 
Michigan has practically wiped out peach yellows, 
and it can be done everywhere by concerted action. 
4. Premature ripening of the fruit is usually the first 
sign of this disease. The skin of the peach begins to 
show red specks, and the flesh has streaks of the same 
color. The next sign is a growth of slender, wiry 
shoots, which are commonly in clusters. 5. The Par- 
lin apple I do not know. The Arctic is a dark red 
apple of medium size and very fair quality. It is a 
very late keeper, and is thought well of by the few 
who have tested it. 
Fruit Trees for a Backyard. 
I want to set three or four fruit trees in my backyard—a couple 
of plums, a cherry, and some other desirable fruit that will be 
likely to grow. I would line to put in some gooseberry and cur¬ 
rant bushes if the location is suitable. Toe house fronts east, 
and the nearest house is about 150 feet away. Will you suggest 
what kind of stock to buy? What kind of a grower would the 
Wild Goose plum make? H . E , V- 
Kansas City, Mo. 
It would be very satisfactory to plant a Richmond 
cherry tree and one of English Morello, which is one 
early and one late variety. Both are quite sure bear¬ 
ers in the climate of Kansas City. The Wild Goose 
plum is a thrifty grower, but not a sure bearer by it¬ 
self. The flowers of some other variety are needed to 
pollenize those of the Wild Goose. Moreman is one of 
the best for this purpose. All kinds are not suitable 
to each other, even though they bloom at the same 
time. One or more of the Japan plum trees would be 
more satisfactory. Abundance, -Wickson or Burbank 
would be very nice for a suburban lot. Currants do 
not succeed well in the climate of Kansas City, as I 
know by many trials covering an experience of 18 
years not far from there. The Summers are too hot 
and dry. The best location for a few currant bushes 
in that region is close up to the north side of a stone 
or board fence, where the afternoon sun cannot reach 
them. Under the shade of trees is not nearly so good, 
for the roots of the trees rob the currants of moisture. 
The soil must be moist and cool if they are to flourish. 
Mulching helps materially. The gooseberry is a more 
rugged plant, and will flourish there quite well with 
fair treatment. Houghton is the most, dependable 
variety for that part of the country. 
Peaches for Virginia. 
Will you name a short list of the best peaches for this 
locality ? I would like the best and most productive market peach 
ripening September 15 or later. What about Wonderful, Wilkins 
Cling, Geary’s Hold On and Henrietta? c. w. it. 
Loudon County, Va. 
It is presumed from the questions asked that all of 
the varieties are for market purposes. In this case, it 
is in accordance with the experience of most com¬ 
mercial peach growers to discard nearly or entirely 
all the earliest kinds. Beginning with Elberta, which 
usually ripens in August in the latitude of Harper’s 
Ferry, we may plant Walker, Sal way, Wilkins, Piquet 
and Henrietta Wonderful and Geary are much like 
Smock. Chairs is, also, a very good medium late 
peach. Among the very late yellow peaches, the Sal- 
way seems to be a prime favorite, and may be con¬ 
sidered as the peach that C. W. R. is looking for. 
Crothers is a medium late white and red freestone 
that is not known in the eastern States, but is of al¬ 
most perfect quality in every respect. Bonanza is a 
later one of similar character that is attracting much 
attention from the great peach growers of the West. 
THE FEEDING OF A TREE. 
WHAT IT EATS. HOW IT EATS. 
Where Shall We Put Its Dinner? 
(Concluded from Page 198 ) 
The Plant Food Taken.— Next we come to in¬ 
quire how much plant food—of the sort supplied in 
fertilizers—a fruit tree or an acre of fruit trees takes 
from the soil in a year, and how much of this is taken 
away from the land in fruit and leaves. This cannot 
be directly and fully answered, for the data are lack¬ 
ing. Let us see what we have. We have a single 
estimate of the quantity of plant food removed in a 
crop of peaches as determined several years ago at our 
Station. Reckoning 130 trees to the acre, and three 
baskets to the tree as an average yield from orchards 
five years planted, we found that about 20 pounds of 
nitrogen, 22 of potash, four of phosphoric acid and 
only one of lime were taken from an acre of peach or¬ 
chard in the fruit. Bv the way, the pulp of the peach 
contains, by far, the larger part of the nitrogen and 
mineral matters, the stones and seeds carry only 
one-fourth of the nitrogen and one-tenth of the ash 
elements. 
The composition of apples, and ve^y likely that of 
pears, is not very different from that of peaches, 
though pound for pound of fruit, apples take more 
mineral matter from the soil than peaches. The 
leaves, too, contain, while growing, large quantities 
of mineral matter, and carry off a part of this when 
they fall ; not the whole of it, by any means. It is a 
well-established, fact that, during the Summer, the 
tree withdraws these things from the leaf into the 
stem. Thus it has been shown that the leaves of the 
peach contain the highest percentage of nitrogen, 
phosphoric acid and potash in May, and the percent¬ 
age steadily decreases through the season. The 
largest total amount is found in July, and then de¬ 
creases till the leaves fall. In some tests of oak and 
chestnut leaves years ago, I found that green oak 
leaves lost between one-third and one-half of the per 
cent of nitrogen in their dry matter between the time 
they began to fade and the time they were dead or 
falling ; less than one month. That is, on October 16, 
the leaves contained 1.93 per cent of nitrogen, but on 
November 13, they had only .77. The dry substance 
of the leaves in the same time lost two-thirds of the 
percentage of potash, and one-half the percentage of 
phosphoric acid, while the lime remained, and did not 
flow back into the tree trunk. For these reasons, I 
believe, estimates of the exhaustion of soil calculated 
from the analyses of leaves gathered before they fall, 
are likely to be quite wide of the mark. A large part 
of the same mineral matter and nitrogen which are 
found in the leaves while they are still green, may be 
found the next year in the fruit crop. It is only the 
amount of plant food found in the leaves after they 
have fallen, which can be reckoned as a loss to the 
orchard. 
Prof. Roberts, of the Cornell Experiment Station, 
had all the green leaves picked in July, from a Seek- 
no-Further apple tree of fairly thrifty growth but 
under normal size, in an old apple orchard, and found 
that, -calculated from his results with this tree, an 
acre of orchard at that season would contain over 
