854 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 9 
-At- dfr- .A A if- A Ilfr-I A A -*• ^ 
Ruralisms ; 
irTTTrv tvt' v'v yr t 
Sweet and Sour Apples. —Every year 
some one sends us specimens of apples 
eaid to be sweet on one side and sour 
on the other. This year specimens came 
from a friend in Connecticut, who, later, 
sent the following account of the tree: 
Our “sweet and sour” apple tree has a 
circumference at the base of six feet four 
inches. The branches extend from the 
body about 18 feet in every direction. The 
graft was taken from a grafted tree. Our 
tree, as nearly as we can judge, was grafted 
in the early sixties, or nearly 40 years ago. 
Grandfather took his graft from a tree that 
is still living and bearing fruit, about 55 
years ago. I cannot say whether or not 
the parent tree was from a graft, or from 
budding, but am under the impression that 
it was budded. This year our tree has 
borne an abundance of fruit, the larger 
proportion of the apples being pure Green¬ 
ings, and some are all or entirely sweet, 
while the rest are mixed, or sweet and 
sour. Probably next year, If the tree 
bears, the apples will be mostly sweet, as 
it alternates one year nearly all sweet, the 
next Greenings. It is no freak of nature, 
but done by splitting the bud from a sweet 
tree and one from a sour tree and letting 
them grow together. 
R. N.-Y.—The apples resembled small 
specimens of Rhode Island Gi’eening. 
There were distinct differences of color 
on the skin. Stripes running up and 
down the apples were dark green or 
light yellow. There was no regularity 
about the size of these stripes—on some 
apples the yellow color predominated, 
while on others the green covered three- 
fourths of the skin. In every case the 
flesh under the yellow skin was “sweet,” 
or, rather, without any strong acid 
flavor, while under the green skin the 
flesh was distinctly sour. 
Winter Muskmelons Again. —Ira W. 
Adams, of Napa County, Cal., writes 
stance, will root sparingly from the 
tips, but this method of increasing 
blackberries cannot be depended upon. 
The Rathbun grows freely from short 
cuttings made from the roots of plants 
under two years old. Take the plants 
up carefully any time after the middle 
of October, cut all roots of the average 
size of a lead pencil into lengths of two 
to three inches, with a sharp knife, pack 
the cuttings in layers in boxes, in sand 
or old sawdust, moisten thoroughly and 
store in some moist place where mod¬ 
erate frost can penetrate. See that they 
never dry out during the Winter. In 
early Spring plant in drills four feet 
apart in good mellow soil, dropping the 
cuttings six or eight inches apart, and 
cover about three inches deep. Give 
good cultivation during the growing 
season. The plants should be large 
enough to set for fruiting by the next 
Spring, and the roots can again be used 
for propagation if taken up during the 
Fall previous. 
^ The Faxon Squash. —The Faxon 
squash seems to be an example of a 
good thing not half appreciated. The 
original seeds came from southern 
Brazil, where it has long been grown by 
the natives. Several of the more promi¬ 
nent seedsmen declined to introduce it 
after trial, solely on the ground that the 
type was not sufficiently fixed, the 
squashes ripening in two colors, sage 
green and orange. They are alike in all 
other respects. It was finally sent out 
by an eastern seedsman, who gave it the 
name it now bears. It has not altered 
appreciably during the seven or eight 
years it has been cultivated in this 
country, though some careful seed se¬ 
lection has been carried on. The great 
points of merit in the Faxon are: 1. A 
good constitution, enabling it to resist 
diseases and insect depredations to a 
remarkable degree. 2. Really fine qual¬ 
ity under all reasonable Circumstances 
that he was the first to grow a stock of 
seeds of the Winter Pineapple musk- 
melon for dissemination by an eastern 
seedsman. He has been raising these 
melons on the same ground for 12 years 
without manure of any kind. He picks 
the melons about the first week in 
October, after the vines have been 
killed by frost. The crop this year is 
14 tons on a trifle more than one acre 
of land. The melons do not ripen on 
the vines, except a few premature ones, 
which are generally worthless. They 
can be stored in any cool place, where 
they will not freeze and, like some 
pears, will gradually ripen into a pal¬ 
atable and delicious fruit, keeping until 
Christmas and New Year’s. The small 
melons are readily sold at $5 a ton for 
feeding cows and pigs. Mr. Adams says 
that they are excellent for poultry, and 
will fatten a hog quicker than anything 
he is acquainted with. 
Our experience with this class of 
melons was given on page 770. We may 
say that in most eastern localities only 
the first plantings of early-maturing 
varieties of muskmelons produce well- 
flavored fruits. Most good varieties are 
quite susceptible to cool nights. After 
August the foliage quickly blights, no 
matter how vigorously the plants may 
be growing, and the melons lose quality 
at once when healthy leaf action is 
checked from any cause. The Winter 
muskmelons we have hitherto grown 
have been no exception to the rule, and 
the resulting fruits were entirely worth¬ 
less. Mr. Adams may possibly have a 
superior variety. 
Propagating Rathbun Blackber¬ 
ries. —A Connecticut friend asks how 
Rathbun blackberries may be propa¬ 
gated. The Rathbun blackberry is 
claimed to root freely from the tips, but 
experience shows that this is a very 
uncertain method of propagation. Some 
other varieties, the Wilson Jr., for in¬ 
of growth. 3. Most remarkable keeping 
quality; although thin-skinned, it can 
be preserved intact in a dry room, free 
from frost, until late in the Spring. On 
the other hand it is: 1. Only a moderate 
cropper, but as good squashes can be 
had of this variety, when most others 
fail, this is not much of an objection. 2. 
Moderate size, averaging five or six 
pounds in weight. 3. Ripens in two 
colors as above noted. It might be said 
also in its favor that it is very early in 
maturing its first fruits. Although the 
shell is of two distinct colors, the flesh 
is always deep orange, cooking dry, 
sweet and fine-grained. The Faxon is 
the only reliable cropper of all the 
squashes tested up to this time on the 
new Rural Grounds. Other varieties 
suffer ffom what appears to be a leaf- 
blight early in the Fall, and fail to ma¬ 
ture the squashes sufficiently to give 
good flavor and keeping qualities. We 
found it the same in middle Tennessee. 
We got a fair crop of good Faxons, but 
no squashes worthy of the name from 
any other variety. The long-keeping 
quality certainly has not been exag¬ 
gerated. We placed a few selected 
squashes of this variety in a dry fruit 
room one Autumn. They were picked 
just before frost. The temperature never 
went below 30 degrees during the Win¬ 
ter, and probably averaged 36 degrees. 
By April all but three had shown some 
slight signs of decay, and were eaten, all 
proving of good quality. Two others 
were cooked in June, when the flavor 
showed considerable deterioration. The 
remaining squash was allowed to remain 
until the following November, 13 months 
after picking. It showed no signs of 
decay, but had diminished fully one- 
half in weight. On being cooked, it 
proved rank and objectionable in taste. 
The seeds were intact, and germinated 
on being planted next season, producing 
fine squashes of the same type. 
THE BLOOMFIELD APPLE. 
At the late meeting of the American 
Pomological Society at Philadelphia, 
during September of this year, there 
was a new seedling apple, called Bloom¬ 
field, presented to the public for the 
first time, that excelled in attractive¬ 
ness and general excellence all other 
new kinds that were shown there. The 
original tree is a seedling that came 
up by chance on the farm of Richard T. 
Bentley, of Sandy Springs, Md. (now 
deceased), in the year 1874. About 1880, 
It began to bear, and the fruit looked 
and tasted so well that the tree was al¬ 
lowed to stand. It has continued to 
bear regularly up to the present time. 
Many grafts were set in trees in that 
vicinity, and all who have the variety 
are pleased with it. 
The fruit is above the average in size, 
and very symmetrical in shape, being 
nearly round, with slightly flattened 
ends. The color is a handsome rosy 
red, with darker stripes over a yellow 
ground, which makes a very attractive 
fruit. The flesh is yellow, tender and 
juicy, but a little coarse in grain. The 
flavor is subacid, and to some tastes, 
might be a little too tart for eating 
from the hand, but is very agreeable. 
There is no better cooking apple. Its 
season is September in Maryland, but 
to the northward it would be later, of 
course. We have many very good Fall 
apples now. but this is one which is 
worthy of being tested and compared 
with the standard varieties; because of 
the handsome appearance, good flavor 
and dependable bearing qualities. A 
cross-section of the apple is shown at 
Fig. 312. h. e. van deman. 
Potato Scab.—I have had a fair test this 
year, which proves that some varieties are 
more subject to scab than others. The 
Rural is seldom troubled, Carman No. 1 
is being discarded here on account of the 
scab, Carman No. 3 is almost entirely ex¬ 
empt. I had the James Vick and Carman 
No. 3 in the same field. The No. 3 was 
exempt, while of the Vick one-third or 
more were scabby. c. m. 
WATCH YOUR 
KIDNEYS. 
The Most Important Organs in the 
Human Body—They Throw 
Out All Disease. 
Swamp-Root Cures Weak Kidneys. 
Does your back ache? 
Do you have pains across your kidneys? 
Is your complexion chalky, gray, white? 
Is your skin dry or feverish? Are there 
puffy bags beneath your eyes? 
Are your eyes dull, listless and dead¬ 
looking? 
Are you irritable and hard to please? 
Do you feel as though you have heart 
trouble? 
Do you have to urinate several times in 
the night? Is there ever a scalding, burn¬ 
ing sensation there? 
Do you feel the desire immediately to 
urinate again, with no result? 
Is your urine clouded, thick or milky? 
Is there any sediment or do particles 
float in it? 
Don’t neglect these conditions, and if 
they or any part of them are yours, 
Swamp-Root, the great kidney remedy, 
will be found just the medicine you need. 
Here’s a simple test for the kidneys, just 
as certain as though a physician were in 
personal attendance on your case: Pour 
some of your “morning” urine in a glass 
or bottle and allow it to stand twenty-four 
hours. Then hold it up to the light, and 
if you find any settlings or sediment, or if 
it is thick or milky, or if small particles 
float about in it, don’t hesitate for a mo¬ 
ment, but write at once to Dr. Kilmer & 
Co., mention The Rural New-Yorker, 
and immediately begin using the sample 
of Swamp-Root which you will receive at 
once, absolutely free by mail. The results 
will surprise you. 
Swamp-Root is purely vegetable, pleas¬ 
ant to take, and is for sale by druggists 
everywhere in bottles of two sizes and 
two prices—fifty-cents and one-dollar. 
Bear in mind the name, Swamp-Root, and 
the address, Binghamton, N. Y. 
Wax 
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