5i4 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
July 15 
Ruralisms 
TWENTY-FIRST ANNUAL STRAW¬ 
BERRY REPORT. 
The drought at the Rural Grounds is 
broken—broken quite too late to help 
strawberries and raspberries (black and 
red), while the crops of currants and 
gooseberries must fall far short of the 
average production. For testing the pro¬ 
ductiveness of varieties of strawberries, 
the season has been a failure. The early 
kinds were somewhat checked, the inter¬ 
mediate did not yield half a crop, and the 
late and latest kinds yielded only nub¬ 
bins, as one would say if speaking of 
the last ears of the Fall crop of Indian 
corn. Still, the strawberry season had 
its compensations, one being that some 
varieties did not, apparently, suffer in 
the least as to foliage, while others did 
not make half their usual growth, and 
still others were killed outright. 
Among the vigorous growers in spite 
of the drought were the varieties sent 
us for trial from the firm of Joseph H. 
Black, Son & Co., of Hightstown, New 
Jersey. This firm has sent us from one 
to a dozen different kinds every season 
for the past six or eight years. Invari¬ 
ably we have reported “extra vigorous” 
plants, whatever their failings may have 
been 'in other respects, and the past 
season of unprecedented dry weather 
has proved no exception. Were these 
varieties, or any of them, as productive 
of shapely berries of high quality as the 
most popular kinds of to-day, nothing 
further could be desired. All of them 
are a trifle short of perfection, however, 
in one way or another—productiveness, 
shape, or quality. In size, all the ber¬ 
ries, as will be seen, rank from medium 
to very large. 
Ai.mond. —Plants (bisexual) received Sep¬ 
tember, 1898—June 2: Very vigorous vines, 
large, well-shaped berries, none ripe. June 
4: Broadly heart-shape, scarlet, beginning 
to ripen, fine quality. June 9: Besides extra 
vigorous foliage, the variety is of medium 
merit only. June 12: Ripening freely. June 
18: A few “buttons” ripening still. The 
vines, however, have not suffered from the 
drought. There is not a dead or spotted 
leaf. June 25: A button ripening here and 
there. 
Elma.— Received September, 1S98.—Feebly 
staminate. June 2: Extra vigorous vines, 
no berries ripe. June 4: A few ripe, crim¬ 
son, heart-shape, often irregular, large size 
fairly firm. June C: Rich crimson, sprightly 
acid. June 9: Barge, perfect shape, medium 
firmness only, fair quality. June 18: Vines 
not injured by drought, berries small to 
medium, rather soft and of poor quality. 
Prof. Fisher.— Received August, 1898. 
Bisexual.—June 4: Extra vigorous vines, 
none ripe. June 0: Beginning to ripen. 
Barge, solid, deep, puckered at tip which is 
often white, fair quality. June 9: Variable 
shapes, glossy crimson color, ripens through 
a. long period. June 12: This variety gives 
us, to-day, about the largest berry of the 
season. It is fan-shaped, nearly round and 
2(4 inches in diameter. June 18: Now ripen¬ 
ing freely; berries from small to medium, 
poor quality. June 25: Vines strong and 
healthy. Still bearing a few of fine quality. 
Hazel.— Received September, 1898.—June 
2: None ripe. June 6: Holds its peduncles 
up well. Beginning to ripen—truncate, 
some puckered at tip. June 6: Very large, 
irregular, solid, firm, high quality with 
sugar. June 9: Berries small from drought. 
June 12: Still ripening. June 18: Bearing 
still fairly well; vines very vigorous. June 
25: Dark green strong vines; still bearing 
a few. 
Ham.— September, 1S9S.—Bisexual. June 2: 
Barge flowers, extra vigorous vines. June 
G: Begin to color. Heart-shape, often as 
though halves were joined together, some¬ 
times long, white tips, crimson, sweet, often 
hollow. June 12: Height of season; bear¬ 
ing finely. June 18: Vines not harmed by 
drought, berries small to large, irregular 
shape, tine quality. June 26: A very late 
variety. Berries have not yet all ripened. 
Wonderfully thrifty vines. 
Howard. —September, 1S98.—Bisexual. June 
2: Tall stems, large leaves, no berries ripe. 
June G: Begin to ripen, perfect heart-shape, 
fine quality. June 9: Berries not well held 
up, height of season. June 18: Vines not 
harmed by drought. June 25: Still bearing 
a few berries. 
Jim.— September, 1898.—Nearly pistillate. 
June 2: Ripening; heavy peduncles which 
stand up well. Extra vigorous vines. June 
4: Berries sour, medium size, medium red 
color. June 6:'Begin to ripen, berries large, 
and quite regular, often as though two 
halves were joined together in the middle. 
High quality for an acid berry. June 9: 
Ripening freely. Besides extraordinary 
vigor, thi*s variety seems to have no special 
merits. June 18: Vines not injured by 
drought; bearing a few' “buttons.” The 
quality improves as the berries ripen later. 
Beon.— September, 1898.—Pistillate. June 
2: Extra vigorous vines, heavy peduncles 
which are too long to stand up well; none 
ripe. June 4: Ripening, large size. Sharp¬ 
less shape. June G: Only a few ripe, puck¬ 
ered tips, large size, fairly productive. 
Berries lying on soil. June 9: Berries ripen¬ 
ing freely in large quantities, sometimes 15 
or more berries to a single fruiting stem 
which, of course, cannot hold them up. 
Scarlet color, irregular form, sweet while 
flesh. June 12: Vines of fine vigor. June 25: 
Vines still thrifty. 
Nettie. —August, 1898.—This proves our 
best late variety of this season's trials. 
Berries from large to very large, and vines 
laden; color between crimson and scarlet, 
medium firmness and quality; shape broad¬ 
ly conical and quite regular. June 25: Vines 
still thrifty and bearing many berries both 
ripe and green. 
Nina. —September, 1897. —Bisexual. June 2: 
Beaf-stems a foot to 18 inches high, leaves 
large and vigorous. Fairly productive, first 
picking. Berries scarlet, often hollow in 
the center, acid. June 4: Ripening freely, 
round heart-shape, sometimes irregular, do 
not part freely from calyx, sour. June G: 
Ripening freely, not well held up. June 9: 
Perfect heart-shape, medium size, sour. 
June 12: Vines suffering, but still bearing. 
June 25: Medium size berries here and there, 
now of the richest quality. 
It will be seen that the endurance of 
the above varieties of strawberries, set 
not until last Fall, with one exception, 
during the severest drought ever ex¬ 
perienced at the Rural Grounds, is quite 
remarkable. It is difficult to understand 
why the berries suffered from the 
drought, while the plants were as green 
and thrifty as though supplied with all 
needed moisture. How will they behave 
next year, when they should be at their 
best? Many of the kinds mentioned 
were also sent to the Rural Grounds 
during 1897, reports of which will be 
found in Tiie R. N.-Y. of July 16, 1898. 
Nick Ohmer.— From M. Crawford, Cuya¬ 
hoga Falls, Ohio, Spring of 1898.—Bisexual. 
Also sent to us by Slaymaker & Son, of 
Dover, Delaware. Few newcomers have 
met with such a flattering reception as this, 
and there are few who do not join the 
procession. Mr. Dwyer, of Cornwall, N. Y., 
says: “A giant among strawberries; never 
misshapen, firm, excellent quality.” J. T. 
Bovctt, of Bittle Silver, N. J., says: “A 
great surprise is in store for all who fruit 
this for the first time.” Mr. Matthew 
Crawford, one of our most trustworthy 
strawberry specialists, says: “I am confi¬ 
dent that it is one of the most desirable, if 
not the very best, ever sent out. If re¬ 
stricted to one variety, the Nick Ohmer 
would be my first choice.” The SLorrs & 
Harrison Co., of Painesville, Ohio, find it 
"probably not surpassed in healthy, vigor¬ 
ous growth and great productiveness”—and 
so on without end. June 2: Of rather more 
than ordinary vigor and of much more than 
ordinary productiveness. Berries average 
extra large size, mild flavor, irregular 
shape, often broadly coxcombed with many 
ridges. (See Fig. 202.) June 4: Sometimes 
white.tipped, solid, heavy, nearly always 
crinkled. June G: Variable shape, all the 
way from Sharpless to Crescent. Ripen¬ 
ing freely. Berries held up moderately 
well. Fully as good as Sharpless in quality; 
plants more productive. June 9: Has not 
quite reached the height of its season; 
vines very productive. June 12: Still ripen¬ 
ing freely, and many yet to ripen. Vines 
standing the drought fairly well. June 18: 
Still bearing many berries, though they 
are small on account of the drought. June 
25: Still quite prolific of small berries, 
though the vines have suffered. The berries 
are now of the finest quality. 
Pilgrim.— From A. Diamond, Rochester, 
N. Y.— Bisexual. June 2: Vines of medium 
vigor, fairly productive; berries large size, 
broadly heart-shape, mild flavor. June G: 
Between crimson and scarlet in color. 
Vines small. June 9: Berries lying on the 
soil. 
Sample.— From C. S. Pratt, Reading, 
Mass.—Pistillate flowers. June 2: A few 
ripening, Crescent-shape, averaging larger; 
very productive, high quality. June 4: 
Much larger than Crescent, very produc¬ 
tive, high quality. June 6: A fine variety, 
now ripening freely. Shapely, large and 
still Crescent-shape, glossy. June 9: Height 
of season, stands drought better than many 
other varieties. June 12: Berries lying on 
the soil, vines suffering. June 18: Berries 
small. June 25: Merely a few buttons. 
Salem. —From B. M. Smith, Beverly, 
Mass.—September, 1898.—Bisexual. June 4: 
Small plants, small berries, beginning to 
ripen; not vigorous, not promising. June 
9: Berries small to medium. June 12: Ber¬ 
ries dried up, small, dark colored, inferior 
quality. 
Up to date.— From J. E. Bever, Keiths- 
burg. Ill.—Bisexual. June 2: First picking. 
Berries Crescent-shaped, averaging rather 
small; fall 1 quality. June 6: Ripening freely, 
fair quality, scarlet color. June 9: Berries 
small to very small, quality fine; many ber¬ 
ries yet to ripen if drought do not dry them 
up. June 12: Berries growing smaller, and 
vines suffering. June 18: A tew small ber¬ 
ries ripening. June 25: A berry here and 
there; vines have stood drought better than 
was supposed they would. 
(Concluded next week.) 
BULLETINS BOILED DOWN. 
Farmer's Bulletin No. 96, issued by the 
United States Department of Agriculture, 
is entitled Raising Sheep for Mutton. It is 
written by Chas. F. Curtiss, of the Iowa 
Agricultural College, and gives in a con¬ 
densed, practical way, some of the facts 
necessary to the would-be sheep feeder. 
Many of the facts and pictures are taken 
from bulletins issued by the Iowa College, 
and this is one of the pamphlets that every 
stockman should have in his library con¬ 
stantly ready for use. 
Bulletin No. 37 of the Oklahoma Station 
(Stillwater), gives an account of Digestion 
Experiments. The idea was to learn some¬ 
thing about the digestibility of fodder and 
grain produced in Oklahoma. This fodder 
was chiefly Kaffir fodder and Kaffir corn. 
Farmer’s Bulletin No. 100 is entitled, 
Ilog Raising in the South, and is written 
by Prof. S. M. Tracy, of Mississippi. For 
many years, the South has been importing 
a large share of the meat consumed by the 
southern people. Prof. Tracy, in this pam¬ 
phlet, allows that this is all wrong, for the 
climate and soil of the South permit the 
growth of numberless fodder crops, that 
are very useful in stock feeding. Probably, 
there is no part of the country where the 
food problem is so easily settled as in the 
South, and this pamphlet tells in a clear, 
practical way how to produce the southern 
hog at fair cost. 
Edible “Toadstools.”— Bulletin 168, Cor¬ 
nell Experiment Station (Botanical Di¬ 
vision), is a continuation of studies of 
mushrooms. Three varieties of edible Co- 
prinus are discussed, all of which are re¬ 
garded by the ordinary observer with sus¬ 
picion, though they are wholesome and nu¬ 
tritious. The first variety described is the 
Shaggy-mane, which is found in rich soil, 
in grassy places, during Summer and Fall. 
The marked feature in which the Shaggy- 
mane differs from the common mushroom 
is the shape of the pileus or cap, which is 
cylindrical or barrel-shaped, instead of ex¬ 
panding like an umbrella. The surface of 
the cap is flaked with brown scales which, 
as the fungus grows older, shred into tufts, 
giving it a very shaggy appearance. 
Commoner than the Shaggy-mane (Co- 
prinus comatus) is the Ink-cap, Coprinus 
atramentarius. The stems are shorter than 
the first named, and the cap is oval or egg- 
shaped. The color varies from silvery or 
deep gray to smoky brown, and the surface 
may be either smooth or scaly. The third 
variety described is the Glistening Coprinus, 
the surface of which is covered with tiny 
scales which glisten like mica. It occurs 
about the bases of trees or stumps, or in 
places where dead roots are buried under 
the soil. It occurs in dense clumps; some¬ 
times there are several hundreds in a mass. 
At first the cap is rounding or egg-shaped, 
spreading out as the fungus becomes more 
mature. The color is buff or yellowish- 
brown, and the surface is marked with tiny 
furrows radiating to the margin. Prof. At¬ 
kinson says that the Shaggy-mane is the 
most delicious of these three fungi, but 
they all form a satisfactory substitute for 
the common mushroom. 
The New York Experiment Station (Ge¬ 
neva), sends out an important circular on 
the Forest-tree caterpillar and the Hessian 
fly. Prof. Lowe, who issues this circular, 
repeats the advice to interest boys and girls 
in the work of collecting cocoons of the 
caterpillar. This is one of the best methods 
of preventing a spread of this dangerous 
insect. The Hessian fly is giving a good 
deal of trouble in various parts of the 
country. The insect remains in the stubble 
all Summer long, therefore it can be de¬ 
stroyed by burning the stubble or plowing 
under and rolling it. If the season is very 
dry, the stubble can be burned soon after 
harvest, and the chaff and screenings from 
infested wheat could, also, be burned. If 
this is not practicable, the stubble should 
be plowed and rolled. Wet weather favors 
the fly, and the work should be promptly 
done. If the weather is dry during July 
and August, it is good policy to delay burn¬ 
ing until the latter part of August. This 
is because certain parasites which are 
beneficial insects may be allowed to escape. 
As to early or late sowing in the Fall the 
character of the season should determine 
that. In unusually dry or hot weather, de¬ 
lay sowing as late as possible. In a wet 
season, there need not be so much delay. 
Bulletin 169, of the Cornell Experiment 
Station (Ithaca, N. Y.), is a very valuable 
study in milk secretion. In other words, 
it gives an account of the work performed 
by the Cornell dairy herd, and draws con¬ 
clusions from these results, which ought to 
be of great value to thoughtful dairymen. 
At Cornell University, a herd of about 20 
cows has been kept for a number of years. 
Most of these cows are grade Jerseys and 
grade Holsteins. One object in keeping the 
herd was to attempt to get together first- 
class cows at moderate expense. Instead 
of keeping high-priced, purebred stock, the 
plan has been to take ordinary cows, and 
by the use of purebred bulls and a careful 
selection of the best heifers, increase the 
capacity of the cows to produce milk and 
butter. The bulletin shows how the herd 
has gained in milk production from an 
average of 3,000 pounds per cow in '74 to 
an average of 7,575 pounds in 1S98. This has 
been done by selecting the best heifers and 
the best cows, keeping only those which 
gave good promise after one year in milk. 
Incidentally, a number of interesting prob¬ 
lems have been worked out with regard to 
the milk of a cow; for instance, these re¬ 
sults demonstrate that a cow will produce 
more butter during the first few weeks of 
lactation than at any equal subsequent 
time, before again becoming fresh. Opinions 
have been divided as to the general effect 
of a change from barn to pasture. In this 
herd, such a change will Increase both the 
flow of milk and the per cent of fat 
for the first two weeks. For the next three 
weeks, there was a slight decrease in milk 
and per cent of fat below the daily average 
for the last three weeks in the barn. Many 
other interesting problems are discussed 
in this bulletin, and all dairymen ought to 
obtain it and study it carefully. 
44 Evil Dispositions 
Are Early Shown." 
Just so evil in the blood comes out in 
shape of scrofula, pimples, etc., in 
children and young people. Taken in 
time it can be eradicated by using Hood's 
Sarsaparilla, cAmerica’s Greatest Medi¬ 
cine. It vitalizes and enriches the blood. 
Jlcccfi Sa Uafallfh 
Never Disappoints 
QUITE A JAC. 
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