1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
3i9 
is an account of the enemies of tobacco worms. One 
of them is a fly, shown in Fig. 128, which lays its eggs 
on the outside of the larvae, so that the maggots which 
hatch from these eggs work their way into the in¬ 
terior. Here they feed on the tissues of the worm and 
finally, after making their growth, kill their host. 
Another enemy of the worm is shown at Fig. 129. The 
white bodies on the side and back of this worm are 
the cocoons of this parasite. The grubs developed in 
the interior of the worm, and made their exit to the 
outside. _ 
Van Deman’s Fruit Notes. 
All Sorts of Questions Answered. 
Growing Tree Mulch in an Orchard. 
I expect to plant this month an acre to fruit trees, the usual 
distance apart, and between the rows I shall set out berry vines, 
currants, etc. As I live a long distance from the place, and can 
seldom visit it, I would like to know what crop you would advise 
to be planted between the rows, the idea being to cut it and use 
it as a mulch about the trees to keep grass and weeds down, and 
save labor. Is the idea feasible ? b. f. 
New York. 
A young orchard will not be hurt by growing bush 
fruits among the trees, if the latter are given plenty 
of room and good cultivation. But it would be a 
great mistake to seed down any part of the interven¬ 
ing spaces to grass or anything that is not to be cul¬ 
tivated, with the expectation of mowing it and using 
it as a mulch under the trees. The only proper plan 
for a young orchard is to cultivate the soil. It is the 
cheapest as well as the best plan, and it is the proper 
thing to do with an old orchard, too. 
Peaches and Apples for New Hampshire. 
1. I have a farm on which I wish to set orchards of peach and 
apple trees. The land Is at the top of a hill sloping to the south 
and west, and is a clayey loam. Previous owners have made 
quite a success of raising peaches on this place. 
Will you give a list of the best market peaches 
suitable for this locality ? The varieties pre¬ 
viously raised here are Oldmixon, Crawford 
Karly and Alexander. Will peach trees started 
n the southern States do as well in this climate 
as those raised in western New York? 2. In 
setting out an orchard of Winter apples for 
market, what other varieties would you set 
than Baldwin, which is our standard apple ? 
3. I have a number of thrifty native apple 
trees which I wish to graft. Will you give me 
a list of the best varieties of apples for family 
use from the earliest to the latest ? j. w. w. 
Nashua, N. R. 
1. Peach trees from southern nur¬ 
series, provided they are of the right 
varieties, will do very well if planted 
in the North in the Spring after severe 
frosts are past. By Fall, they will 
have become well established and able 
to endure the following Winter as well 
as though they had been grown in a 
northern nursery. A good list for mar¬ 
ket purposes for the North is Moun¬ 
tain Rose, Elberta, Kalamazoo, Fitz¬ 
gerald and Crosby. 2. For the latitude 
of New Hampshire, I would recommend 
the following Winter apples for a mar¬ 
ket orchard: Hubbardston, Sutton 
and McIntosh. In my opinion, these are preferable to 
Baldwin. 3. In top-grafting old apple trees with 
varieties suitable for family use, covering the entire 
apple season, which is about the entire year, only a 
tree or two of a kind should be devoted to a single 
variety. This will give opportunity for a succession 
that will ripen as desired. The following will prove 
a good list for New England : Summer Rose, Yellow 
Transparent, Fanny, Primate, Lowell, Jefferis, Chen¬ 
ango, Fall Pippin, Mother, Grimes Golden, Sutton, 
Roxbury Russet, Tompkins King, Stark. 
A Tree Wash for Borers. 
A neighbor (a successful orchardist) claims that a wash com¬ 
posed of lime, carbolic acid and lye will effectually prevent 
borers from getting into apple trees. I have wrapped my trees 
for several years with old newspapers several thicknesses, Sum¬ 
mer and Winter, and can’t see that my trees are injured by it. 
Where wrapped there were very few borers, while unwrapped 
trees were about destroyed. What do you think of the above 
wash, and also of the wrapping ? r. w. d. 
Cameron, Kan. 
As I have never tried the lime and carbolic acid 
wash, or seen it tried, it is impossible for me to give 
an opinion of it, further than to say that I think it 
might have some effect in preventing the borer moths 
from laying their eggs upon the bases of the trees. Nei¬ 
ther do I think it would injure the trees, if the pro¬ 
portion of lime were abundant. The potash in the 
lye would soon be dissolved and pass into the ground 
or become chemically united with other substances ; 
but the carbolic acid would, probably, have an offen¬ 
sive or poisonous effect on the insects. A trial is the 
best proof of the efficacy or inefficacy of this wash. 
Wrapping with newspapers is certainly harmless and 
easily done. 
Grafting Chestnut on Bitternut. 
Would it be possible to graft or bud the chestnut on the bitter 
walnut (locally called hickory)? I intend to try it this season, 
anyway, as I have hundreds of small trees, and it seems as 
though, by means of what we called sprig budding in Florida, it 
could be done successfully. a. s. a. 
New York. 
My opinion is that the attempt to graft or bud the 
chestnut on the bitternut is useless. This is a species 
of hickory, Hicoria minima, that has worthless, bitter 
nuts, but a thrifty tree. The scion and stock are too 
unlike to unite well, if they do in any degree. There 
is nothing better for gaining information than ex¬ 
periment, and I hope G. S. G. will let us know of the 
results of his trial to unite these very diverse species. 
There is nothing that I have ever attempted to bud 
Apples for the Roadside. 
What Winter apples are beat for the roadside? The variety 
should be vigorous and an upright grower. Some say that the 
fruit should not be attractive. I want it so. York Imperial is a 
great Pennsylvania variety of late years, but being unacquainted 
with its habit of growth, I hesitate using it as road stock. Smith’s 
Cider is a sure cropper, but a weak grower, and like Ben Davis, 
fast falling behind for superior varieties that pay better, c. a. 
Williamsport, Pa. 
It is presumed that C. G.’s purpose is to grow some 
kind of apple along the roadside that shall be both 
useful to himself and pleasing to the public eye. York 
Imperial is very good for the purpose, although it is 
not so upright as might be desired, if a very upright 
habit only is suitable. It has a roundish, upright 
head, something like Ben Davis. Jonathan makes a 
very fine show when in fruit; no variety would attract 
more attention, with its glo wing red apples, and when 
ripe, none would be eaten with more delight. In cen¬ 
tral Pennsylvania, it ripens in early Winter, and might 
become too good to eat by picking time, to be left 
alone by those passing by. The shape of the tree is a 
little more spreading than that of Ben Davis. North¬ 
ern Spy is upright enough, but it is a very tardy 
bearer, and not a late keeper in Pennsylvania. 
THIRD CROP IN A MINNESOTA GARDEN. Fig. 130. 
and graft that has proved so unsuccessful as the 
hickories, and to put the chestnut on such stocks 
means a waste of time. 
NINETEEN GARDENS TO THE ACRE. 
EACH PROVIDING “ ROUGHAGE ” FOR SIX PEOPLE. 
The Effect of Constant Tillage. 
Great Results.— The amount of produce that can 
be grown on a small piece of ground will surprise any 
one who has not given close observation to this ques¬ 
tion. I have tilled a little piece of land with spade 
and hoe for the past four years, and the produce ob¬ 
tained from it every year is simply extraordinary. 
The garden covers but the nineteenth part of an acre, 
and the following is the record of the production from 
it in 1897: 
Onions used green. 854 plants. 
Onions matured. 52 quarts. 
Radishes. .2,126 plants. 
Spinach. 882 plants. 
Cucumbers used green. 565 fruits. 
Lettuce. 585 plants. 
Summer savory. 210 plants. 
Sage. 7? plants. 
Parsley. 90 p’ants. 
Peppergrass. 56 plants. 
Corn used green. 191 ears. 
Cabbages. 65 heads. 
Cauliflowers. 16 heads. 
Potatoes. 74 quarts. 
Tomatoes used on table. 60 fruits. 
Tomatoes harvested. 3 pecks. 
Vegetable oyster . 4 pecks. 
Fall turnips. 6 pecks. 
Pumpkins. 25 fruits. 
Citrons. 15 fruits. 
Squashes. 5 fruits. 
Beans used green. 4 quarts. 
Beans ripe and shelled. 3 quarts. 
Beets used while growing. 78 plants. 
Beets harvested. 4 pecks. 
Carrots used while growing. 102 plants. 
Carrots harvested. 6 pecks. 
Peas in the pod used green. 64 quarts. 
Tlie Garden History.—The soil, when broken in 
the Autumn of 1893, was poor and raw. The subsoil 
was sandy in texture, yet it had enough clay in it to 
make it very hard in dry weather. The surface soil 
was made land, and consisted of the ordinary mold of 
the prairie. It was so shallow that, on much of the 
plot, the spade struck the stony, hard subsoil at about 
half its depth. The subsoil had been placed there 
when the cellar was dug. The only manure used was 
what may be called the equivalent of one load of 
farmyard manure when somewhat reduced by fermen¬ 
tation. This manure came from the horse stable, and 
in the fresh form was used for banking the cellar in 
Winter. Then it was taken each Spring to the rear 
of the lot, and shaped into a sort of compost heap, 
which receives the waste from the house, and in the 
Autumn was spread over the land, and buried when 
the garden was dug. No water was used in Summer 
other than what fell from the cloud3, except on rare 
occasions, a little was applied by hand to newly-set 
or struggling plants. 
The record of the produce given above is not greatly 
in excess of that of 1896 or 1895. In 1894, the season 
was so dry in Minnesota as to preclude the possibility 
of highest success in gardening in the absence of 
irrigation. 
Double Cropping. —Fig. 130 shows the crop of 
citrons and pumpkins. These represent the third 
crop on the ground for the season. Where the citrons 
grew, the first crop was radishes, and the second 
peas. Where the pumpkins grew, the first crop was 
peas, and the second corn. Three crops were grown 
in succession on all or nearly all the land, and in a 
climate which many are wont to look upon as one of 
much rigor. The season of growth usually begins 
some time in April, and there is virtually no more 
growth after October. In growing these crops, one 
was invariably started before the crop previously 
grown had been harvested. This must be taken into 
the account in growing the first and 
second crops. Of course, where crops 
are thus grown in succession, no little 
care must be used in the choice of the 
succession and in the growth of the 
crops. For the early crops, varieties 
are chosen that are dwarfish in their 
habits of growth. 
Value of a Garden. —This paper is 
written in the hope that it may encour¬ 
age persons who live in towns or vil¬ 
lages or in the suburbs of cities, and 
who have a little piece of ground in 
the rear of the dwelling, to turn it to 
account by growing garden produce in 
it. What a grand pastime for the 
growing members of a household! How 
delightful it is to have a supply of vege¬ 
tables beautifully fresh and crisp, and 
whenever they may be wanted ! There 
is, also, something in the added en¬ 
joyment of eating what has been pro¬ 
duced by our own hands. Then think 
of the amount of produce that may 
thus be raised! A family of six per¬ 
sons cannot begin to use the vegetables 
grown on this garden in many lines of 
production. The neighbors are urged to come and 
share the surplus. There is thus the pleasure of giv¬ 
ing, one of the highest that man can ever know, added 
to that of feasting daily and during every day in the 
year on a portion of the produce of the garden. 
It is wonderful to note the change that has taken 
place in the soil since 1893. At that time, the 
digging was discouragingly hard, because of the 
stubborn character of the subsoil. When brought to 
the surface, it was light in. color and refused to 
.crumble. Now the spade can be sunk in any part to 
its utmost depth. The soil to that depth is dark in 
color, and when brought to the surface, it crumbles. 
This change has been brought about by digging 
deeper every year, and by burying in the soil as far 
as it can be done the waste products of the ground, 
as for instance the tops of the radishes and the leaves 
of the cabbage. These products are buried as soon as 
obtained, when this can be done, and these green sub¬ 
stances in their decay assist greatly in the ameliora¬ 
tion of the raw subsoil, while they increase the power 
of the land to hold moisture, [prof.] thos. shaw. 
Minnesota. __ 
Experiment seems to show that the best time to plow under 
Crimson clover is just before the blooms begin to get hard. This 
will be when the clover is at its best, and the plants should then 
be plowed under and, If possible, the ground should be rolled. 
The rolling packs the clover down firmly into the ground, renders 
it less liable to ferment, and retains moisture. We have found 
that Crimson clover decays and becomes available more rapidly 
than any other green manure we have tried. 
Rhubarb in the Dark.—I am trying to grow rhubarb in my 
cellar as an experiment, and had the articles on this subject ap¬ 
peared a little earlier in the Fall, I would now have my cellar 
well filled with nicely-growing rhubarb. As it is, however, I 
have a few roots that I chopped out of the frozen ground about 
January 15. The shoots are several inches high at present, with¬ 
out any heat other than what the cellar contains. I think, by 
another Winter, I shall be prepared to grow a fine lot for market. 
Le Claire, Iowa. w - K. 
