1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
341 
Farmers’ Club. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the 
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tion. Before asking a question, please see 
whether it is not answered in our advertising 
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Put questions on a separate piece of paper.] 
FROZEN PEACH TREES IN MICHIGAN. 
WHAT WILL BE DONE WITH THEM ? 
Even Apples Were Killed. 
Most fruit growers here have been 
waiting to see what the outcome of the 
February freeze would be. At this time, 
about one-third of the growers are cut¬ 
ting out all trees they are sure are dead, 
and cutting back heavily to 2 to 3% feet 
from the trunk of the tree. One grower, 
who has a very fine orchard of 15 acres, 
said that he could not find a tree on 
which the bark was not loose from the 
body of the tree, and rapping on the 
bark sounded like rapping on a roll of 
pasteboard. He will pull all out. Some 
others claim to have a few that may live. 
I can safely say that there will be very 
few peaches in this county this year. 
Most of the growe/3 will plant new or¬ 
chards this Spring, if able to get nursery 
stock at anything like reasonable prices. 
All trees that are killed or so enfeebled 
by the freeze as to be worthless, will be 
pulled out. The outlook is good for new 
trees, if prices do not range too high. A 
number of the tender kinds of apples 
are, also, killed, such as Wagner, Bald¬ 
win, Maiden Blush. Many pears, also 
sweet cherries and the tender kinds of 
plums, are killed, also ; in one orchard I 
was in, Lombard and Union Purple 
plums were all killed, while 16 feet away 
Quackenboss was fresh and nice, and 
loaded with fruit buds I. h. ford. 
Oceana County, Mich. 
Great . Loss in Bad Situations 
Although it is now near the middle of 
April, the full effect on fruit trees of the 
late freeze can hardly be determined. 
More than one-half of the peach orchards 
in this section will, probably, be pulled 
up and never be replaced. For the last 
10 years, people have been setting peach 
orchards where their own good judg¬ 
ment would indicate was very risky, that 
is, on land not properly air-drained, and 
sometimes not properly drained of water. 
Such orchards are all destroyed, and 
will, probably, not be reset for many 
years, at least Those on high, rolling, 
proper peach land are in much better 
condition, although most of them are 
badly injured. The very best are on 
what are known as hogbacks or ridges, 
with little level surface on the summit. 
Very many have been badly deceived 
by examining the tops of the trees 
which, in most cases, saow little injury, 
while the bark is entirely loosened from 
the trunk, and the tree completely 
ruined. I have finished trimming my 
orchards (50 acres), although I do not 
know of another peach orchard in this 
section that has been trimmed this year. 
Most people are waiting to see which 
trees will make a start. I took personal 
charge of the trimming, and where the 
bark was green and fresh, and not loos¬ 
ened from the bodies of the trees, they 
were left standing, even though the 
wood was discolored. About two-thirds 
of the top was generally taken off such ; 
if the tree was killed or bark dead and 
loose, and the tree not over four years 
old, we sawed them off near the ground, 
hoping to start a sprout which could be 
budded as high as where we wish to 
start the top. Such sprouts are too 
coarse to bud near the ground. 
As there was no snow, the trees were 
frozen to the ground, and there is no 
hope of starting a sprout above the 
original bud. A good many new orchards 
will be set this Spring, but only by those 
that have good locations. I intend to 
set 20 acres, and have no idea of giving 
up the business at present. The supply 
of trees seems to be fully equal to the 
demand, as they will not be set by every 
one as in the past few years. 
Kent County, Mich. l. .j. post. 
A Tremendous Setback. 
In the immediate vicinity of Benton 
Harbor, our peach trees escaped injury 
except occasionally young trees in low, 
damp pockets. In such locations, there 
are a few doubtful trees, while within 
five rods, on land six or eight feet higher, 
there are a few live fruit buds and no 
dead wood. S.ill higher, say 20 feet, 
there is a fair crop of live buds. Taken 
altogether, we shall, probably, have a 
fair crop of peaches, and there is no ap¬ 
parent injury to other fruits ; but with¬ 
in 25 miles, conditions change, and there 
are many dead trees and only a few live 
buds in most favorable locations. This 
brings a most puzzling condition to 
many fruit growers—part of an orchard 
dead, part alive. 
The question arises, How badly can a 
tree be injured, and live? It is a new 
experience for most of our growers. The 
consensus of opinion is that a damaged 
tree should be cut back and trimmed 
severely, to balance the trying condi¬ 
tions imposed on the sap circulation, and 
give the tree a chance to recuperate by 
not allowing a surplus of buds to ex¬ 
haust the tree and its ability to repair 
damages. My own opinion is that, by 
next August, fully one-half the peach 
trees in Michigan will be dead or worth¬ 
less, and a large per cent of pears, plums, 
and quinces will be found to be dead or 
seriously injured. The same condition 
exists in all States south of us as far as 
southern Georgia, and as far west as 
Kansas. There is a stroDg demand for 
trees at advanced prices, and I look for 
a serious shortage in trees for next sea¬ 
son’s trade, as in many nursery sections, 
there was not enough snow to cover the 
dormant buds, and they cannot s‘and 20 
to 35 degrees below zero. There may, 
also, be a short crop of natural pits for 
nurserymen next Fall, and unless theie 
is a fair supply of the ’98 crop carried 
over, plantings may be curtailed. On 
the whole, it looks to me as though it 
might be 8 to 10 years before there is so 
large an acreage of live peach orchards 
of bearing age in the United States as 
there was in 1898, r. mobrill 
Berrien County, Mich. 
Honey Locust for Fence Posts. 
J. II , Indiana —Does the Honey locust make 
suitable fence-post timber ? 
Ans —The Honey locust makes good 
feLce posts, but no better than other 
faster-growing trees. With us, it does 
not grow any faster than a White oak, 
that is, make posts any quicker. The 
Black locust and Catalpa are much 
faster growers, and make as durable tim¬ 
ber, more so in fact. The Black locust 
is subject to borers, but they do not in¬ 
jure the timber for posts. For this pur¬ 
pose, I would advise planting not fur¬ 
ther apart than 5x5 feet; if on very 
strong soil, 4x4 feet; they will grow 
much taller and straighter than at a 
greater distance. I think the oaks are 
overlooked for this and other purposes. 
We all recall the oak as a slow grower, 
associating it in our minds with pasture 
land tramped hard by stock, or in neg¬ 
lected corners where it gets no cultiva¬ 
tion. If planted in cultivated land, one 
would be surprised at the growth after 
the second year ; one year’s growth from 
four to six feet is very common. 
Illinois. thos. h. douglas 
Chicory as a Weed. 
F. n. 0 , Midland , Mich —A number of us are 
making contracts to grow chicory for a Bay City 
factory. Will it grow from cuttings or the pieces 
that are broken off and remain in the ground, 
and thus become a nuisance like horseradish? 
Ans —Chicory will grow from even the 
small pieces of root left in the ground 
after digging the crop, severe frost hav¬ 
ing but little effect upon it unless turned 
up near the surface, where alternate 
freezing and thawing will kill by ruptur¬ 
ing the cells. The plant is a bad weed 
in many places, and has become such 
partly from the neglect of the roots left 
after digging, and partly from the seed, 
which is produced in abundance. But 
in the growing of the crop for the fac¬ 
tories, no plants should be allowed to 
mature seed, their stems being cut off 
as soon as they begin to shoot up. The 
roots from such plants are worthless in 
the manufacture of the chicory of com¬ 
merce. 
As for the pieces of roots, they will not 
become troublesome unless the farmer 
be very careless. By the practice of a 
good rotation, such as includes the grow¬ 
ing of corn, potatoes, beans, or some 
other hoed crop after the chicory, very 
few plants will reach the surface, and 
these may be easily destroyed. Or if the 
farmer choose to pasture the field after 
digging his chicory, he need never know 
that such crop was ever upon the field, 
all stock being fond of the plant, and 
eating the leaves down to the ground as 
soon as they appear. Of the two plans, 
the former should be given the prefer¬ 
ence. Chicory is not so bad as many 
weeds we now have ; it is easy to control, 
and unless it grows wild in the locality 
it need never intrude upon the fields. 
"Spring Unlocks 
The Flowers 
To paint the laughing soil.” Nature and 
people are much alike; the former must 
have sunshine, the latter require pure blood 
to have perfect health. Houd’s Sarsaparilla 
cures all blood troubles. It is to the 
human system what sunshine is to Nature. 
SaMap ahitta^ 
Never Disappoints 
Paragrene. 
A NEW INSECTICIDE. 
It is a deadly foe to insect pests and bugs. It is 
cheaper than Paris Green, more bulky and kills quicker. 
Does not injure the foliage. 
For many years wo have been the Role Til am] facturerfl of the 
well-known Star Brand of Strictly Pure Paris Green, end know 
that Paragrene i« an effective and reliable improvement on 
Paris Green. Our reputation ns Paris Green manufacturers 
is a guarantee that Paragrene will do all we claim for it. 
Potash. 
'P' NOUGH of it must be 
contained in fertilizers, 
otherwise failure will surely 
result. See that it is there. 
Our books tell all about 
fertilizers. They are sent 
free to all farmers applying 
for them. 
dERMAN KALI WORKS, 
93 Nassau St., Naw York. 
V—a A AA AAAA AAA.A * A A A A A A. <« t 
: Insure Your Crops 
OF WHEAT AND OATS. ^ 
‘ 100 lbs. of Nitrate of Soda per ' 
- acre applied early in the spring 
doesit.Promotesstooling, stimu- ’ 
' lates growth, increases yield. Of ’ 
- great value on all crops, vegeta¬ 
bles, grass, fruits, etc. Get free 
! book, “ Food far Plants.'’ which ’ 
• tells why. Address John A. ► 
\ Myers, 12—O John St., New ’ 
York. Nitrate for sale by ’ 
; BALFOUR, WILLIAMSON, & CO., I 
* 27 William St., New York. ► 
> V V T~T T T T T T T T~T T'T T ▼ T T T"?’ T T A 
Profits of Farming 
GARDENING AND FRUIT VULTURE. 
depend upon Good Crops and they In 
turn upon Good Xfertlll/.ers. The 
uniformly best fertilizer for all Crops 
and all soils Is made by 
The Cleveland Dryer Co., Cleveland, O. 
Materials Supplied for “ Home Mixing .” 
CvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvS. 
CANADA UNLEACHED 
HARDWOOD _ _ 
For prices address THOS. POTTS, Brantford, Ont. 
Pricks: 14 lb. kits, t^c. per lb.; 1 and 3 lb. pkgs., 
15c. per lb.; lb. pkgs. 16c. per lb.; yf lb. pkgs. 17c. 
per lb.; f. o. b. New York. Special rates to dealers. 
Send for descriptive pamphlet nnd samples. 
FRED. L. LAVANBURG, Box 1670 B New York. 
BIGGEST LITTLE 
BUG KILLER 
ON 
KILLS 
BUGS 
POTATO 
At one-fourth expense in labor 
and material of any other method, 
lalesmen wanted everywhere. Big Profits 
to m nin si 95 u i vomd f rpf>. Write for terms. 
MORRILL & MOBLEY, 
Benton Harbor, Mich. 
UEGGETT’S 
A Dry Sprayer 
No Water or Plaster. 
Suits Tret, Bush or Tint. 
Two rows of potatoes as 
fast aB you walk, wide or 
narrow planting. Agents 
wanted. Catalogue and 
spray calendar free. 
LEGGETT & BROTHER, 
3011’carl St., New York. 
War Declared 
against insects by the fruit growers \\M 
throughout the country would result 
in the savings of millions of dollars byr ™ 
reason of having healthy, handsome , 
fruit. We can tarnish you WEAPONS 
that are a "SURE DEATH” to pests 
of all kinds from *1.50 up. Write for our 
new catalogue,free. It tells all about them. 
Agents Wanted Everywhere. _ 
THE BERGER MFG. CO., Department K, CANTON, OHIO. 
Qther People’s Profits 
have increased 25 to 50 per cent, when they began to spray the right way— 
^with the right sprayer, the PEPPLER AND CLIMAX SIX*R0W SPRAYERS. 
.—^^^They will do as much for yon. Read how they spray 30 acres a 
day, how they save ^ the poison, increase crops one-half, pay for themselves in 
season. Catalogue contains spray calendar, formulas, etc. Sent free. 
THOMAS PEPPLER, Box 65, HICHTSTOWN, N. J. 
rTTMMMTTMrmCTMfMumMMM ]- 
. .. rn v 
. . 
buy Your Fertilizers direct! 
Save Money! No Salesman’s Expenses; No Middleman’s Profit. Our entire product 
goes from Factory to Farm. Write for free samples and book. 
WALKER, STRATMAN & CO., Pittsburg, Pa. 
You can get your crop to market a 
fortnight sooner than the other 
fellow if you use Jadoo Fibre. 
A bookful of evidence for the asking. 
The American Jadoo Company, 
815 Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia. Pa. 
