87o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 16 
; Ruralisms ; 
MORE ABOUT NATIVE PLUMS. 
Comments from Central Illinois. 
In your issue of November 18, Native 
Plums in the Northwest was the sub¬ 
ject of an interesting article, and while 
this locality may be called—not the 
Northwest, but the Middle West, it may 
not be amiss to note the points of dif¬ 
ference as well as agreement, as seen 
from this standpoint. Here it is also 
generally admitted that the European 
plums—Damsons excepted—are prac¬ 
tically a failure, and I think that the 
Japs are each year losing in popularity. 
The causes are short life of the tree 
and liability of the fruit to curculio and 
rot—especially the latter. If rot can be 
practically prevented, as some claim, by 
spraying, then one main objection to 
these eastern plums will be removed. 
So far as my experience goes, the results 
are very doubtful where the Bordeaux 
spray is depended on. So we agree that 
our main reliance must be on our native 
plums. Here plums of the Wild Goose 
class seem as hardy and long-lived as 
those of the Americana. 
Really, as a rank outsider, without 
any botanical knowledge, I cannot see 
any necessity for dividing the natives 
into so many classes. In leaf, tree and 
fruit the Americana are markedly dis¬ 
tinct from the others. When it comes 
to separating the Wild Goose, Prairie 
Flower, Louisa, Miner, Robinson, etc., 
I fail to see the necessity. Of course 
there is a difference in each individual 
variety. But as this kind of talk is 
heresy, I desist. I have not tried either 
Aitkin or Surprise, but if there is any 
more satisfactory early plum than the 
Wild Goose, I have failed to find it 
among about 75 varieties fruited here. 
Milton is not so large, and no earlier. 
Cheney is weeks later, and rots 10 times 
as badly. Yosete looms up far in ad¬ 
vance of all others as an early plum, 
ripening with the earliest of the apples, 
or about July 4, but for various reasons 
it is not promising. If I were in the 
hybridizing business, I should cross this 
with Wild Goose, and hope for good re¬ 
sults. Digressing, it seems to me like 
crawfish progress in nomenclature to 
change this euphonious and handy name 
to Earliest of All. Perhaps some one 
can explain. 
Wyant here also is an excellent plum, 
and I name this. Prairie Flower and 
Forest Garden as among the very desir¬ 
able plums, but the latter, unless thin¬ 
ned, is much inclined to rot. Prairie 
Flower resembles Wild Goose, but is 
much later and better in quality; it is 
also nearly free from rot. Wyant seems 
a little defective in tree, perhaps, on 
account of being stem-grafted on Ma¬ 
rianna, but the fruit is exceedingly 
rich—almost to a fault. Specimens 
here, contrary to your illustration, are 
often one-sided or with a ridiculous 
shrug-of-the-shoulder appearance, not 
easy to describe. The fruit of these 
three varieties named hangs well, is of 
good size, quality and appearance, and 
ripens at midseason. Speer has fair 
quality but seems not very productive. 
Rollingstone is rather small and lacks 
in quality. Deep Creek, from the South, 
has the quality but lacks in every other 
way, most of the fruit turning to 
“plum pockets”—curious fungus growth. 
Miles and Marianna are in sharp con¬ 
trast to most of the above; the fruit is 
thin-skinned, pulp soft, watery and in¬ 
sipid, softening, like the Alexander 
peach, from the outside, and when 
nearly fit to eat, it is ready to rot. 
Also it falls from the tree when only 
slightly colored. Looking at the tree 
you say, “They will be ready to pick in 
a few days.” Looking under the tree 
you find that half the fruit is already 
half picked. Such varieties are very 
unsatisfactory. Talk about “picking 
when well colored!” These varieties 
never get to this stage on the tree. 
The fact is, that one variety must be 
handled in one way, and another in 
another way. Even Wild Goose, when 
but little more than half colored, will 
drop from the tree with an ordinary, 
every-week, brisk wind, while a Damson 
hangs long after reaching its full color. 
Here in seasons favoring the develop¬ 
ment of rot most plums should be mar¬ 
keted on the day of gathering, or at 
latest the day after, and I venture the 
assertion that in central Illinois, at 
least, over half the plums rot before 
gathering, and after gathering half the 
remainder go the same road before the 
consumer gets them on the table. The 
outlook for plum raising may be bril¬ 
liant in the Northwest, but here I think 
that the >,j to 75 cents per 24-quart 
crate, which we get for all native va¬ 
rieties—including Wild Goose, Union, 
Weaver, De Soto, Wolf, Cheney, Poole 
Pride, Robinson, Wayland, Golden 
Beauty, Forest Garden, etc., will not 
lead many growers into extravagant en¬ 
thusiasm on the subject. People want 
a few plums, but not the amount they 
would use of apples, peaches and straw¬ 
berries, by any means. The little late 
glossy red showy plums, such as Way- 
land, Moreman, Reed, etc., would sell 
fairly well if they could be picked and 
ripened properly, but even when they 
turn to a deep brilliant red and drop, 
they are about as sour as it is possible 
for a fruit to be, and they must be very 
carefully handled to oring out their ex¬ 
cellent qualities. Golden Beauty, of 
the Wayland group, is also among the 
latest to ripen, is a wonderful bearer, 
medium, or under in size, and of fair 
quality, but it is so subject to fungus 
spots, which alike embitter the fruit 
and the one who tastes it, that it is 
nearly worthless. So far, spraying has 
not corrected this trouble, but I hope to 
experiment still further in this direc¬ 
tion. “Missouri Apricot,” sent out as 
a new variety several years ago, is evi¬ 
dently the same as Golden Beauty, or at 
least a “chip from the old block.” 
I notice that in many places the 
Marianna is condemned as a stock, the 
claim being made that it is tender. This 
may be true, but here I have never 
known this variety to die from any 
cause except from being grubbed out— 
IMPROVED HICKORY AND CHESTNUT. 
Fig. 321. 
and often not even then. I lost Amer¬ 
icana varieties that were grafted on 
this stock, but not the stock itself. It 
may be that this stock is not congenial 
to some varieties, and causes them to 
lose their vitality. I leave this for 
others to explain. benj. buckman. 
Sangamon County, Ill. 
IMPROVED HICKORY; NEWCHESTNUT 
Several times during the past few 
years Tiie R. N.-Y. has referred to an 
improved hickorynut from our old 
friend Henry Hales, of Ridgewood, N. J. 
We now show a picture of the nut at 
Fig. 321, this being the size of a fair 
specimen. Mr. Hales tells an interesting 
story about how he found this nut. 
When he bought his place in Bergen 
County, N. J., the tree was there, but he 
knew nothing about it. After having 
learned the superior quality of the nuts, 
he took some of them to the late Andrew 
S. Fuller, who named it Hales’s Paper- 
shell hickory. Mr. Fuller sent the nuts 
to Parsons & Son, and Mr. Trumpy, of 
that firm, tried to propagate them under 
glass. This was found, however, to be 
too slow a process to produce merchant¬ 
able nuts. Mr. Hales now has three 
grafted trees in bearing. It is very diffi¬ 
cult indeed to graft the hickory. Mr. 
John Keller has grafted some of them 
in Georgia, succeeding fairly well in out¬ 
side grafting. So far as grafting on the 
ordinary hickory is concerned, Mr. Hales 
says that it is a total failure; yet, he 
has some hopes that this improved nut 
may yet be successfully grafted at a 
merchantable price. This nut is of very 
superior quality, with a thin and easily- 
cracked shell. Mr. Hales thinks that 
there would certaiinly be a good market 
for an improved hickory like this. He 
says that fair-sized hickory trees will 
vary greatly in yield, some of them 
yielding but a peck, while others will 
produce a bushel. He says that there is 
nothing so valuable as a hickorynut in 
regard to the shape, size and yield. In 
the same picture is £hown a chestnut, 
which strikes us as being one of the 
best now before the public. The quality 
is excellent, very much superior to Para¬ 
gon and other large nuts. Mr. Hales is 
not quite sure as to where this nut came 
from. Mr. Fuller gave him a few grafts 
several years ago, the tree having been 
sent him by some one at present un¬ 
known. Mr. Hales planted the tree, but 
Mr. Fuller died before it came in bear¬ 
ing. The graft was put into a large tree 
about five feet high, a seedling which 
has now grown to 20 feet. The nut has 
a characteristic leaf, being very thin and 
transparent. It makes a beautiful 
growth, more rapid even than Paragon. 
The tree bore half a peck of nuts this 
year, and Is certainly an acquisition as 
regards both size and quality. 
The Dana Hovey pear is a late Fall or 
early Winter variety when grown in New 
England, and one of the very highest in 
quality. The tree is sufficiently vigorous 
and very productive. It is well worthy of 
a place in every amateur orchard. The 
Sutton apple begins to bear about as early 
in life as the average, or a little earlier. 
H. e. v. D. 
About Tulips.— Matthew Crawford says 
in his catalogue that tulips may just as 
well be grown in this country. Why can¬ 
not he publish his mode of operation, and 
thus help bring to this country a business 
which gives employment to hundreds of in¬ 
dustrious gardeners? One would suppose, 
if the idea were practicable, that Holland 
growers now in this country would take 
the matter in hand and teach us how to 
do it. A. 
Chinese Paeony.— Better keep the paeony 
seeds dormant in sand in a cool and 
rather moist part of the cellar, and plant 
in well-prepared bed in the garden in 
early Spring. Paeonies do not make much 
growth above ground the first season from 
seed, but usually develop good roots. Use 
care in weeding and cultivation, and water 
thoroughly during dry weather. The roots 
can winter in the seed bed and be moved 
to their blooming quarters the following 
Spring. 
The value of the Wichuraiana rose in 
hybridizing is fully appreciated by many 
experimenters, and Ruby Queen has a 
number of promising companions. The 
Manda and Dawson hybrids give especial 
promise. One of the latter is W. C. Egan, 
resulting from pollinizing Wichuraiana 
with Gen. Jacqueminot. This variety has 
a double pink flower, somewhat like 
Souvenir de la Malmaison. Their hardi¬ 
ness, vigor, and beauty of foliage should 
render the Wichuraiana hybrids very pop¬ 
ular. 
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What is 
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in heating it afterwards. 
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