626 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
September 2 
< Ruralisms - 
< x ► 
ROCKY FORD MELONS IN OHIO. 
Rocky Ford muskmelons deserve all 
the commendation they received in The 
R. N.-Y. of August 19. It is an error, 
however, to suppose that they attain 
their highest excellence only on Colo¬ 
rado soil. Last Summer, with careful 
culture, and on a Crimson-clover sod, 1 
grew them here in my garden to per¬ 
fection. No melon could have excelled 
them in flavor, while in solidity and 
beauty, they actually surpassed those 
that I saw from day to day in Cincin¬ 
nati, received in crates from the famous 
Colorado town. It is commonly sup¬ 
posed that the Rocky Ford is a new 
variety, but it is in fact quite an old one, 
having been introduced by Burpee under 
its proper name, Netted Gem , as long 
ago as 1881. Anotherexcelient variety 
is the P aul Rose. It has the same deep 
flesh and small seed-cavity that charac¬ 
terize the Rocky Ford, but it has one ad¬ 
vantage over its rival in that-its flesh is 
of a fine rich orange color, making it, 
when cut, the handsomer melon of the 
two. As a table melon, it is superb, 
though in sheer delicacy and refinement 
of flavor, perhaps it yields a shade 
to the Rocky Ford. Both are su¬ 
perlative melons, fit for the table 
of a king. Tip-Top, a third kind, 
should also be "mentioned in the class 
of superior melons. At its best, it 
would be difficult for any variety to ex¬ 
cel it in point of flavor, and it has the 
beautiful orange-colored flesh that ren¬ 
ders the Paul Rose so attractive; but its 
large size and smooth, yellowish rind 
prevent it, in my judgment, from being 
considered an ideal table melon. Aside 
from these features, which to most per¬ 
sons would perhaps seem of no conse¬ 
quence, Tip-Top is a capital melon, and 
well named. wilbub dubois. 
Hamilton Co., 0. 
FREAKS IN CITRUS FRUITS. 
A fruit novelty is reported from Califor¬ 
nia. It is half lemon and half orange, with 
the shape of the lemon and the color of the 
orange, the juice having the flavor of both. 
It is, of course, artificially produced. Here¬ 
tofore the phantom lemon, which figures in 
picnic assets, has had the chief distinction 
as a lemon curiosity. The fruit world, it 
will be seen, shows a tendency to combina¬ 
tion as well as the business world.—Youth’s 
Companion. 
Of all classes of fruits, there is none 
with which I am acquainted that has so 
many and such inseparable gradations 
and crosses as the genus Citrus, which 
comprises the entire orange and lemon 
family. From the giant shaddock, 
which is sometimes as large as a man’s 
head, and weighs five or six pounds, to 
the tiny kumquat, no larger than a boy’s 
marble, there are all sorts of fruits in¬ 
termediate crosses between the various 
species. I have seen and critically stud¬ 
ied very many specimens that were 
curious indeed, and that could not be 
classed either as shaddocks, pomelos, 
citrons, oranges, lemons, limes or kum- 
quats. I think there is not a gap be¬ 
tween any of these seven distinct fruits, 
as they are here arranged, that I have 
not seen filled by one or more crosses. 
Many of these I have examined in both 
tree and fruit, as they grew. In no case 
that I ever knew had there been any 
artificial attempt to produce these curi¬ 
ous fruits, all of them being chance 
seedlings; neither is it much to be won¬ 
dered at that they exist, for the flowers 
of the several species are as much alike 
as are those of the plums, grapes and 
other fruits that we might mention. By 
the interchange of pollen crosses can 
easily be made either naturally or arti¬ 
ficially. 
There are many crosses now in exist¬ 
ence that it would puzzle any pomolo- 
gist to tell whether they are pomelos or 
oranges, oranges or lemons, lemons or 
limes, limes or kumquats. Some are 
sour and some are sweet in almost every 
one of these crosses. A sweet lemon 
may seem strange, but I have eaten, or 
rather, tasted such. A sour orange is 
not so very uncommon, and we all know 
there are many sweet ones. Some are so 
mild flavored as to be insipid and worth¬ 
less. There are sweet limes—and any 
one who has ever tasted lime juice, 
knows that it is sour enough. 
There are variations as well in the 
color in these crosses. Some of them 
are deep orange, and others are very 
light lemon color. There are variations 
in shape and size of the crosses, even 
more than in the varieties of the true 
species. Some that I have seen were 
pear-shaped, others almost as elongated 
as cucumbers, and others are round as 
balls. The rinds vary in thickness, too. 
There are citrons with tough, white 
peelings more than an inch thick, and 
some so thin as to be called “paper- 
rind” and “kid-glove” oranges. Some of 
the mandarins are of the latter type, the 
skins coming away from the puip or 
flesh almost as easily as a glove from 
one’s hand. Truly, the Citrus fruits com¬ 
pose a class which is at once a novelty 
and a delight to the lover of fruits, and 
a source of interesting and instructive 
study to the scientist. h. e. v. jd. 
A beadeb in Hudson, Mich, writes 
the following note: 
I should like to know more about the his¬ 
tory of corn. Among nearly all sorts of 
corn, red ears occur occasionally. Why? 
Was red the original color, and have the 
other colors been bred from sports? Is 
white an albino form? I grow a large 
white sort that has usually given, perhaps 
one red ear per bushel. I planted an ear of 
red, and the resulting crop was about one- 
third red. I again planted red seed, and 
the crop was a little over half red. I have 
again planted, and think it will gradually 
breed to a red corn with an occasional 
white ear. Will this prove anything? I 
have, so far, seen nothing but praise in 
The R. N.-Y. for the Loudon raspberry. 
With me it is all right except in one par¬ 
ticular—it will not stand up but falls over 
so that the berries get sand* and are hard 
to pick. It is not so strong a grower as 
Cuthbert. I have grown it three years. It 
will never supersede Cuthbert here unless 
it learn to stand up. j. h. v. 
With the exception of the yellow-pod¬ 
ded corn, in which every grain is wrap¬ 
ped in a separate chaffy husk, and which 
is said to grow wuld in the moist forests 
of Paraguay, most really primitive types 
of maize are of light leaden or brown 
colors. White cannot be considered as 
indicating albinism, as in that case, 
the lack of color should extend to other 
parts of the plant than the seeds. The 
maize plant had been under cultivation 
by the aborigines of North and South 
America for countless generations be¬ 
fore the discovery of these continents 
by the Europeans, and has always shown 
remarkable inclination to accommodate 
itself to circumstances of climate, by 
producing distinct varieties, which range 
from the dwarfest proportions, scarce¬ 
ly two feet high, maturing in a few 
weeks’ time, to the gigantic stature and 
long season of the Mexican June and 
China tree corns, which are among the 
tallest of all annual plants. Red corn 
appears to have been a favorite with the 
Indians, as well as extremely popular 
with the young folks among the early 
settlers, on the occasion of their “husk¬ 
ing bees,” at least, and it is probable 
that J. H. V.’s white variety was pollen- 
ized with red corn some time in the 
past, and the appearance of red ears an¬ 
nually in fields where only white seed 
/is planted, is only an ordinary case of 
reversion to a more or less remote an¬ 
cestor. He can, probably, as suggested, 
by continuous selection, breed it back to 
a fairly constant red variety. 
We have not noted the weakness of 
canes in the Loudon raspberry mention¬ 
ed, when grown in this locality. It is a 
fine berry, but many commercial grow¬ 
ers here still prefer the Cuthbert, as su¬ 
perior in productiveness, and brighter 
in color. 
Dr. J. S. Read, of Fayetteville, Ark., 
sends a Canna bloom which he describes 
as follows: 
I raised it from seed of my own growing. 
I have not seen, or have I read of, a simi¬ 
lar one. The foliage is bright green, habit 
dwarf—three feet. Is it new and desirable? 
It forms a beautiful border for my 
Italias and Austrias, eight and nine feet 
high. 
The Canna was too far gone for posi¬ 
tive identification, but from the peculiar 
cleavage of the flower from seed cap¬ 
sule, it appears to be of the Canna flac- 
cida group. While it may be very useful 
locally, its commercial value depends 
on several factors, such as size and color 
of bloom, freedom of flowering and per¬ 
fection of truss, habit and height under 
varying conditions of growth. Many ex¬ 
cellent Cannas have been produced in 
this country in the last few years, and 
the standard has been raised to such a 
point that it takes an all-’round good 
variety to fill the bill. A fair estimate 
of its possible value can be had by send¬ 
ing a plant to some reliable commercial 
seedsman for trial. w. v. f. 
A New Peach. —At Fig. 236 is shown 
a new peach sent us from Pennsylvania, 
which, as yet, is nameless. It is a seed¬ 
ling, and was selected in 1895 from a lot 
of several seedling trees. The tree bore 
its first fruit in 1897. It is said to be of 
rare value, both as to hardiness, thrifti¬ 
ness and productiveness; it showed no 
trace of injury after the past severe 
Winter. In Berks County, Pa., where it 
originated, it ripened the last of July, 
between Amsden June and Troth’s Early 
Red. The orchard in which it is grow¬ 
ing is one of the highest points in Berks 
County, and is owned by J. D. Schlicter. 
The specimen sent to us was extreme¬ 
ly juicy, sweet, excellent flavor and qual¬ 
ity, though a little coarse in texture. It 
adhered slightly to the pit, but the orig¬ 
inator says that it is a freestone. It is 
of medium size. Judging from the sin¬ 
gle specimen, it is a decided acquisition. 
Two New Peaches. —The Carman 
peach is a variety of the North China 
type, and although newly introduced, it 
has been quite generally tested. It has 
been found to succeed very well in most 
peach-growing regions. It ripens soon 
after the extremely early kinds. It is a 
creamy or yellowish white, with a deli¬ 
cate blush on nearly all specimens. The 
skin is tough and the flesh firmer than 
most early peaches, which makes it de¬ 
sirable as a shipper. The size is large, 
shape oval, and the quality extra good. 
It was first described in The R. N.-Y. 
several years ago, and was named in 
honor of Mr. E. S. Carman. The varie¬ 
ty is well worth planting. 
Waddell is a newer variety, and but 
little tested as yet. It ripens almost 
with the very earliest kinds, and is of 
the same type as Elberta, Carman, 
Chinese Cling, etc. In size, color, shape 
and firmness of flesh, it is much like the 
one just described. The flavor is excel¬ 
lent. It promises to be one of our best 
early family and market peaches. Un¬ 
like many of our early kinds, these of 
the North China type are not much 
subject to destruction by rot. The trees 
seem to, endure our Winters as well as 
most other kinds. h. e. v. d. 
PRUN/NGS. 
A Tough Apple.— Some of the horticul¬ 
tural papers have been describing a new 
apple, which Mr. R. A. Barnes, of Middle- 
town, Mo., was said to have originated. 
Mr. Barnes informs us that several years 
ago, he bought trees of a tree peddler, and 
when they came in fruit, there wasn’t one 
of them true to name, most of them being 
mere seedlings, and worthless for practi¬ 
cal purposes. In this lot of trash, there 
was one tree that produced a singular 
apple, quite different trom any that local 
fruit growers had ever seen. Some of these 
apples have been kept by Mr. Barnes for 19 
months, and at the end of that, time, the 
apples still had a fair taste, and wera in 
good condition. When taken from the 
tree in the Fall, Mr. Barnes says the 
apples were so hard and tough that they 
were absolutely worthless, but kept 19 
months, one year from the following Feb¬ 
ruary, they gave fair satisfaction. Mr. 
Barnes thinks he has a good thing in this 
variety, but its only merit seems to be in 
its ability to keep for a long period. In 
these days, when the best of fruit can be 
kept so long in cold storage, it Is not veri- 
apparent why such a hard and tough apple 
would prove an acquisition. 
Illinois Notes. —Winter apples here show 
less scale and knot than did the early ones. 
I never before saw the early apples so 
scabby. Plums are rotting badly; half the 
Robinson have rotted. Plums rot worse if 
the rains come when the fruit has arrived 
at a certain stage of maturity. The worst 
rotting period for grapes is when they are 
two-thirds grown, and of peaches and 
plums, when they first commence to ripen; 
at this stage, grapes are nearly immune, 
except to “bitter rot.” b. buckman. 
Sangamon Co., Ill. 
Golden Queen, a new yellow raspberry, 
received a certificate from the Royal Hor¬ 
ticultural Society in England recently. 
This must not be confused with our 
familiar Golden Queen, which is generally 
regarded as a sport from Cuthbert. The 
English Golden Queen is a seedling trom 
the Superlative raspberry and Rubus la- 
ciniatus, according to its originator. This 
combination of garden raspberry and dew¬ 
berry seems an odd one to produce a yel¬ 
low fruit. This Golden Queen is described 
as resembling Superlative in every respect 
except color. The variety last named is 
described by English authorities as the 
best of all raspberries in that country. 
The Japan Plums.— From my experience 
with Japan plums, I am favorably im¬ 
pressed with the class. I think we have 
in them a new style of plum that has come 
to stay. Many of the varieties, after trial, 
will be discarded, and the better ones with 
some of the newer ones will be retained. 
So far, the Burbank and Abundance have 
produced with us most favorably. The 
Wickson has proved hardy with us, but we 
have not had this variety planted long 
enough to fruit. The Willard produces too 
small fruit to be planted extensively. It is 
safe to plant sparingly of the newer sorts, 
until further testing. This class of plums 
holds its leaves through the season better 
than the European type, and this should 
Insure its being more hardy. Our experi¬ 
ence does not lead us to believe that the 
Japan plum will die out easily without 
some local cause. c. w. stuart. 
Newark, N. Y. 
Talks About Pears.—M r. J. R. Cornell, 
of Newburgh, N, Y., makes a specialty of 
growing pears. He says that Bartlett, 
Bose and SeckeJ are a sound trio and good 
enough for him. 
“But can you compete with the Califor¬ 
nia Bartlett?” we asked. 
“Yes; for while California may produce 
a larger pear with a very high color, the 
flavor is decidedly inferior to ours. Our 
best way to handle Bartletts is to put them 
into cold storage when we pick, and put 
them on the market just when the demand 
for them is right.” 
“What about Bose?” 
“A grand pear to sell, but hard to grow. 
I notice some growers advise budding it on 
Kieffer, but this has not proved successful 
with me. Almost invariably, the budded 
tree did fairly well for awhile, and then 
died.” 
“What about Kieffer?” 
“I do not want to eat it myself, and don’t 
care to sell what I would not eat myself. 
I think our northern growers make a mis¬ 
take in planting Kieffer. This pear is 
adapted to a southern climate. We cannot 
grow It as well as they do in tne South.” 
“Why not grow Sheldon?” 
“It does not do well in our section. The 
shape is against it, and it is too short¬ 
lived. When it is ready to eat, it must be 
hurried off at once, or it will be too soft. 
It is like a tomato or melon in this re¬ 
spect.” 
"To Err is Human.” 
c But to err all the time is criminal or 
idiotic. Don't continue the mistake of 
neglecting your blood. When impurities 
manifest themselves in eruptions or vohen 
disordered conditions of stomach, kidneys, 
liver or bovoels appear, take Hood's Sar¬ 
saparilla. It void make pure, live blood, 
and put you in good health. 
-H p* pr 
3b:| 
zp rAuL 
THE SUCCESS 
of Paste Fence is not in doubt. Over 500,000 farmers 
are usinsr it, and telling their neighbors to u»e It. 
CAGE WOVEN W1BE FENCE CO., AUB1AN,JHCH. 
