1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
9oi 
VAN DEMAN’S FRUIT NOTES. 
(continued.) 
Strawberries and Other Fruit. 
1. Give the best four strawberries for local 
market in my section. I have the follow¬ 
ing kinds, and if there is anything better 
I want it: Clyde, Brandywine, Greenville, 
and Enhance. 2. What are the best 
peaches for the same market? 3. I have 
a young pear orchard three years old, and 
there are too many Clapp trees in it. 
Would it be advisable to top-graft to some 
other variety more desirable? p. d. m. 
Grapeville, Pa. 
1. P. D. M. lias an excellent quartette 
of strawberries. Bubach might yield a 
larger quantity of very large berries 
than any of those mentioned; but the 
fruit is rather soft. However, for a 
local market, this is of no serious objec¬ 
tion. Michel would ripen earlier than 
any of them, and be valuable in length¬ 
ening the season for marketing. Gandy 
would ripen after all of them, and add 
further to the length of the strawberry 
season. 
2. Among the good peaches to plane 
for either market or home use are 
Triumph, Mountain Rose, Elberta, 
Stump, Walker, Salway and Henrietta. 
3. Clapp is a pear which is given to 
rotting at the core almost before it is 
thought to be fully ripe, and I would 
not wish a large proportion of my trees 
of that variety. It would probably be 
well to top-graft all but a few of the 
trees. Fortunately, Clapp makes a very 
good stock to graft upon. A good list 
to use for this purpose would be as fol¬ 
lows: Tyson, Bartlett, Seckel, Bose, An¬ 
jou, Lawrence anu Easter. These are 
arranged in order of ripening, and will 
furnish almost a continuous succession, 
from the earliest to the latest, and 
would suit either a family or market 
grower. 
Soot as a Fertilizer. 
I). II., Blaclcstone, Mass .—I would like to 
know whether soot from a mill chimney, 
where they burn nothing but coal, is good 
for farm land, and if so, how should it be 
used, and is it better for one kind of vege¬ 
table than another? 
Ans. —Soot has but little fertilizing 
value. The average analysis will show 
to the ton about four pounds of nitro¬ 
gen, 15 of potash, and 17 of phosphoric 
acid. The actual fertilizing value, as 
compared with other manures and fer¬ 
tilizers, is not much over $1.25. When 
used on cold or light-colored soils the 
soot is useful in making them some¬ 
what warmer. It darkens their color, 
and thus makes them better able to re¬ 
tain heat. Generally speaking, soot is 
hardly worth hauling as a fertilizer. 
Farmers sometimes ask how it is that 
potash and phosphoric acid are found in 
soot, when they are told that these ele¬ 
ments never go into the form of a gas. 
Soot is a deposit from the smoke, and 
consists of fine solid particles not en¬ 
tirely consumed by the fire. If used at 
all we would broadcast it in early 
Spring. It will suit such crops as cab¬ 
bage, sweet corn or peas. 
Potash in a Spraying Mixture. 
O. 8. G., Newport, N. Y.—What would be 
the advantage, or disadvantage, of putting 
some potash in the solution when spray¬ 
ing apple trees, say with any arsenites? 
The question, perhaps, needs an explana¬ 
tion. Apple trees need potash. Would the 
leaves absorb any of it? It isn’t desirable 
to dig around the trees I have in mind, on 
account of the steep hillside, and I don’t 
see how to work it in the soil readily. 
Maybe the potash would burn the leaves 
or cause some unfavorable chemical action 
in the spraying solution. 
Ans. —There would be practically no 
advantage in putting potash in a spray¬ 
ing mixture of Paris green and water. 
The carbonate of potash is sometimes 
used in the Bordeaux Mixture in the 
place of lime. The object of potash or 
lime in the Bordeaux is to neutralize 
the acid, and not to fertilize the trees 
or shrubs. It would, in fact, be impos¬ 
sible to fertilize the tree by applying 
any solution to the leaf. This would be 
just about like washing a man’s face 
with an oyster stew or stuffing beef tea 
into his lungs. The food that is to 
nourish a man should go into the 
mouth.. He can’t breathe it in or ab¬ 
sorb it through the pores of the skin. 
The leaves of the trees are its lungs, 
while the feeding roots correspond to 
the mouth. The minerals, such as 
potash, phosphoric acid, and lime must 
first go into a solution, and be taken in 
through the roots of the plant in order 
to make them available. Any attempt 
to spray them on the foliage in the hope 
of getting them into the circulation 
would, of necessity, prove a failure. 
Lime and Hen Manure. 
O. 8. 11., Burdett, N. Y .—Will lime put on 
the table that catches hen manure injure 
the value of the manure? Will Canada 
hard-wood ashes with the manure make a 
complete fertilizer for corn, oats and 
wheat? I have about 200 hens, and wish 
very much to utilize the manure to sow 
in a fertilizer drill with my grain. 
Ans. —Don’t under any circumstances 
mix lime or wood ashes with the hen 
manure. The action of the lime will be 
to set the ammonia in the manure free. 
This will escape in the form of a gas, 
and 'thtis its fertilizing value will be 
lost. Plaster, which is sulphate of lime, 
acts in a very different way. Instead of 
setting the ammonia free, it unites with 
it and holds it securely. If you can’t 
obtain plaster, road dust mixed with 
sifted coal ashes will do fairly well to 
dry out the manure. Coal ashes contain 
but little lime or potash, and will not 
act like wood ashes to set the ammonia 
free. Wood ashes and hen manure make 
a good combination for fruit or grain, 
but they must not be mixed before ap¬ 
plying them to the soil. If used for 
corn we would rather put the hen ma¬ 
nure in the hill, and broadcast the wood 
ashes, or the wood ashes can be broad 
casted and the hen manure dried fine so 
as to pass through an ordinary grain 
drill. _ 
Florida Freight Rates. —It is well 
understood here tnat freight rates from 
Florida to northern points, especially 
New York, are much higher than from 
there to Florida. This is supposed to be 
owing to the competition of sailing 
packets or coasters, which come to Flor¬ 
ida for lumber. Their charters, usually, 
are for a cargo of lumber from Florida 
to some northern point only; they are 
left to come here empty or in ballast, 
hence are willing to bring freight of any 
kind, at almost any rate obtainable, and 
a considerable amount of freight is 
brought by them. This compels the 
steamship lines to make low rates for 
freight coming this way. From Florida 
to northern ports there is practically no 
competition; the one steamship line 
from Jacksonville sets the rate, charging 
whatever is desired, which is usually 
about all the freightage will bear, some¬ 
times more. During the pear-shipping 
season the rate was 80 cents per barrel 
on pears. The agent now at our landing 
tells me that the rate on pears, Norwalk 
to New York, is still 80 cents per bar¬ 
rel, and that the rate on Irish potatoes, 
New York to Norwalk, is 30 cents per 
barrel. I think that the corresponding 
rates on all classes of goods will hold 
about the same difference. That these 
conditions can be remedied I do not ex¬ 
pect, unless by Government owning and 
operating all transportation routes. 
However, while the line controlling 
freights to and from this part of Florida 
squeezes all it can out of it, it is unde¬ 
niably true that in every way it gives 
splendid service. l. w. k. 
Norwalk, Fla. 
English Tomatoes. —We who live in 
a favored clime can scarcely imagine 
how the English get along in their gar¬ 
dening operations Without sweet corn, 
melons, eggplants, tomatoes, etc., as 
none of these, to us, indispensable vege¬ 
tables can be grown in the open, except 
the last, and then only in a few locali¬ 
ties, and under special conditions. It is 
true that they grow fine root crops, and 
their gooseberries are beyond reproach, 
but that tails to fill the void bred by our 
National abundance. Of course, almost 
all exotic fruits and vegetables are 
grown under glass, except our table 
corn, which is an absolutely inconceiv¬ 
able esculent to our British cousins— 
until they come over here and try it— 
but the above and other garden pro¬ 
ducts, so cheap and common here, are 
luxuries usually obtainable only by the 
well-to-do. There is only one locality in 
the south of England, where grapes can 
be depended on to ripen in the open air, 
yet we find the outdoor cultivation of 
tomatoes extending considerably of late. 
This is made possible by the develop¬ 
ment of some very early-fruiting varie¬ 
ties, the Early Ruby and Early Eves¬ 
ham, which, however, are scarcely 
worth growing over here under our 
conditions. Sutton’s Earliest of All and 
Carter’s Outdoor are also favorites in 
some sections. Several growers culti¬ 
vate two or three acres each every year, 
and yields of nearly 40 tons per acre 
are reported. The wholesale price is 
somewhere near twopence per pound, 
or at the rate of $80 per ton, which is 
vastly different from the $7 or $8 per ton 
received by American growers from the 
canneries. The past few seasons have 
been favorable for the outdoor develop¬ 
ment of the tomato in England, and the 
very hot Summer now ended is no ex¬ 
ception. The most important point 
seems to be to utilize the short growing 
season by procuring strong, well-hard¬ 
ened plants early in Spring, and to plant 
out at the earliest moment it appears to 
be safe. The plants are all staked and 
trained to a single stem, so that the ut¬ 
most influence of the sun can be utilized 
to develop and ripen the fruit. The dis¬ 
eases to combat are spot, a sort of fun¬ 
gus; tendency of the fruit to crack, and 
“sleepy” disease, by which we suppose 
the plants get too chlilly and lazy to 
grow. Tomatoes are largely grown in 
the south of Europe, particularly in 
Italy. We have tested a number of Ital¬ 
ian varieties, and find them all inferior 
to our standard kinds. The best Eng¬ 
lish forcing tomatoes are Frogmore Se¬ 
lect and Sutton’s Best of All, which is 
also a very promising field variety, like¬ 
ly to be extensively grown here. 
For the land’s sake—use Bowker’s 
Fertilizer.— Ad/o. 
1,000 SAMPLES FREE 
of our new Success fence ratchet 
which tightens any wire fence, new 
or old. Grips automatically as wire 
is wound on. No holes to bore in posts. Attaches 
midway of the fence. We will mail you a sample to 
test if you will send us 12c. to cover postage only. 
Cir. free. W. H. MASON & CO., Box 67, Leesburg, O. 
IF YOU ARE WAITING 
to find a better fence than the I*»ge you hud better 
sit flown, for you’ll get awful tired. 
I'AGK WOVEN WIRE FENCE CO., ADRIAN, MICII. 
SAVE m GASH 
You need fence. The ready made kinds 
cost from CO to 75c. a rod. We tell you 
how to make the best fence on earthfor 
20 to 35 Cents per Rod. 
Over 100 Styles, and from 50 to 70 rods 
per day. Send for our free Catalogue. 
KITSELMAN BROTHERS, 
Box 106 KidgCTlIlf, Indiana, U. 8. A. 
Like a Bull Dog 
for strength Is the CHANDLEE 
FENCE You build it yourself, 
you control all the conditions 
of height, weight, closeness of 
stay s, cost, etc. 11 requires no 
I expensive machinery. The 
I secret is in the use of our 
1 CHANDLEE LOCK. It 
makes the stays stay where 
you put them, on any kind 
or size of wire. There is no 
twisting and consequent weakening of the wires. 
It’s strong, handsome, safe and cheap. WE 
W ANT AGENTS and will rvserva exclusive territory for the 
right mt-n. Write to-day for entnlog, terms, etc. To-morrow may 
be too late, for some other man may ask for the territory you want. 
CHANDLEE FENCE CO., 17 S. Howard St., Baltimore, Md. 
No. 7 
Hard 
Steel 
anuunvM 
Hunranwi 
DfififlDMI 
innn nitf) 
FENCE! 
STRONGEST 
MADE, bull- 
strong. Chicken- 
tight. Sold to the Farmer at Wholoul* 
1’rlee,. Fully Warranted. Catalog Free. 
COILED SPUING FENCE CO. 
BOX £4. Wlneheiler, Indiana, U. B.L 
Scrofula and 
Consumption 
People tainted with scrof¬ 
ula very often develop con¬ 
sumption. Anemia, running 
of the ear, scaly eruptions, 
imperfect digestion, and 
enlargement and breaking 
down of the glands of the 
neck, are some of the more 
prominent of scrofula symp¬ 
toms—are forerunners of con¬ 
sumption. These conditions 
can be arrested, consumption 
prevented and health re¬ 
stored by the early use of 
Scott's Emulsion 
Your doctor will tell you so. 
At all druggists; 50 c. and $ 1 . 00 . 
SCOTT & BOWNE, Chemists. New York. 
(ARE.THE 
ONLY ^ 
BRAND NEW 
TINNED STEEL 
ROOFING 
rtnex- 
aretm; 
ONLY 
T00I 
YOU 
NEED 
$2.00 per Square of 10x10 
feet, or 100 Square Feet. 
CARRY A COMPLETE STOCK OP ALL KWHS T/Vu .j 
OP MCRlOWDISt AND /MATERIAL ftOUOnT AT ,uul *A 
ShERirrS'.RLCtlVERS'AM TRUSTEES'SALES. YOU 
Write for Free Catalogue So. 67 _ NEED 
Ou^’rlcoaar^jjj^oMMhors^ 
UVCACiO M005E WRECKING CO., 
WEST 35 Tfr . & IRON 3T5., 
(JMSMiQ 
A Poultry Proverb : 
Cold Hens Never Lay 
Poultry-Houses that are lined with 
Cabot’s Sheathing 
PaLlSJm 
are wind and frost-proof. A scientific 
insulator, ten times as warm as rosin 
paper, and costs only about one cent 
a foot. Indestructible by decay or 
vermin, and antiseptic. Incompar¬ 
ably the wannest sheathing made. 
Send for Samples and Circulars. 
SAMUEL CABOT,81 Kilby St.,Boston,Mass 
M. M. S. POULTRY FENCING 
is practical: requires few posts, no top or bottom 
rail. It does not sag or bag, is easily and quickly 
erected. It leads in strength and economy. 
Don’t Take Our Word for It, 
but send for illustrated circulars and samples. We 
pay the freight to nearly all railroad stations in tne 
U. S. A. You cannot afford to make a fence of old- 
fashioned netting, even if it be donated. 
JAMES S. CASK (Box N.), Colchester, Conn, 
