736 
T HE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
October 29 
application, but it is not as effective, because it does 
not stick as well. Neither must we forget the tonic 
effect of lime in loosening the bark and thus promot¬ 
ing healthy growth. On the whole, where Bordeaux 
can be used conveniently, it is superior to the copper 
sulphate solution for this early spraying. Another 
application of Bordeaux after the petals fall, and a 
third two weeks later, ought to make an ideal treat¬ 
ment for Apple scab under these conditions. 
The early spraying of orchards has need of stronger 
emphasis, notwithstanding it has been practiced at 
many experiment stations and in some commercial 
orchards. Prof. Maynard, of the Massachusetts Agri¬ 
cultural College, sprays all the Station orchards with 
the copper sulphate solution before the leaves unfold. 
He considers it a very important part of the season’s 
work. Where Brown rot and Apple or Pear scab are 
serious menaces to the fruit interests, it would, cer¬ 
tainly, be worth a trial. s. w. fletcher. 
WHAT THEY SAY. 
Nitrogen and Wbkat. —We gave, several weeks 
ago, a careful synopsis of the address by Sir William 
Crookes, on wheat production. It is but just to say 
that this address has been severely criticised by 
students of American crop conditions. Mr. C. Wood 
Davis, of Kansas, several years ago prophesied high 
prices for wheat. Probably his criticisms of the state¬ 
ment by Sir William Crookes will be interesting to 
many of our readers. He says, “American farmers 
will adopt the use of 
nitrogen very slowly if 
at all; nearly as slowly 
as the southern negro 
does phosphates for cot¬ 
ton. This is because the 
nitrogen will cost nearly 
the selling price of the 
added bushel. Moreover, 
what need the farmer 
care if the nitrogen be 
used and become a com¬ 
petitor ? Its very use 
implies high prices for 
wheat, and this is all 
farmers desire.” Mr. 
Davis says that the use 
of nitrogen, if it ever be¬ 
come general, will in¬ 
dicate the greatest pros¬ 
perity for the grower of 
food products, who owns 
the land he cultivates. 
“Yet”, he says, “the 
editors are expatiating 
on this phase of Sir Wil¬ 
liam Crookes’s address, 
as assuring the world 
cheap bread, and gloat¬ 
ing, apparently, upon 
the thought, or over the 
thought, that they will 
still sell farmers’ prod¬ 
ucts for little or noth¬ 
ing.” It would, probably, surprise Mr. Davis to 
know how extensively nitrogen is already used 
by the farmers east of the Alleghany Mountains. 
These men who depend almost entirely upon fertilizers 
to grow their wheat crops, are most likely to be bene¬ 
fited by cheaper supplies of nitrogen. Western farm¬ 
ers may be surprised, 25 years hence, at the competition 
which will come from eastern farmers when fertilizers 
are reduced in price. 
The Longfikld Apple. —Mr. S. D. Willard recently 
sent us a basket of Longfield apples. He asked us to 
test them and see just what we thought of their qual¬ 
ity. He thought that Mr. Woodward was a little 
wrong in his statement that they are not good enough 
for market purposes. Mr. Willard told us, at the 
Geneva meeting, that Longfields had been bringing 
$4 a barrel this year, in the Philadelphia market. To 
our taste, these apples were a little too acid to eat 
directly out of the hand, although many people would 
like them. We think that they would make an ad¬ 
mirable cooking or baking apple. Mr. Willard says 
that the apples sent us were picked earlier than they 
should have been. He does not claim that the Long- 
field is an apple of choice quality, but sufficiently good 
to make for itself a fair place in the market. He calls 
it one of the best of the new apples which ripen in the 
Fall. Mr. Willard believes that farmers must give up 
the varieties that are so susceptible to disease, and 
grow more vigorous sorts of fair quality. 
Pieplant in tub Dark. —J. B., Windham, N. Y., in 
The R. N.-Y. of September 27, asks, “ Is there another 
edible, besides the mushroom, that can be grown in 
the dark ? ” Yes, and so cheaply and profitably grown 
that every farmer and gardener in the land may not 
only have a supply for home use, but for market also. 
Growing pieplant in Winter has passed the experi¬ 
mental stage, and become a profitable industry in this 
section at least. Thousands of dollars are paid the 
gardeners here each Winter for the product, which is 
bought at high prices, both for home consumption 
and for shipment. Any cellar or outbuilding which 
can be made absolutely frost and lightproof will 
answer the purpose, and J. B.’s spaces will do nicely. 
There is no objection to the house cellar, as no manure, 
and very little water are required, so no odor or 
dampness will arise. The labor of growing is so little, 
and the profits so large, that the mdst greedy ought 
to be satisfied with the results. .J. k. m. 
Detroit, Mich. 
A Group of Jersey Calves. —The lively little Je r - 
seys shown at Fig. 338, reproduced from The Jersey 
Bulletin, are the property of Will J. Davis, of the 
Willowdale Farm, at Crown Point, Ind. For fawn¬ 
like beauty, the Jersey leads all other breeds. Many 
of the calves are so delicate that, to those unfamiliar 
with the characteristics of the breed, their appear¬ 
ance seems to indicate constitutional weakness. But 
their slender makeup is coupled with great nervous 
energy, and the performances of this breed for many 
years show their capacity. But the Jersey is a deli¬ 
cate butter machine,and like other machines of delicate 
construction, must be most carefully handled. The 
Jersey will not endure hard knocks as well as some 
of the heavier breeds. She must be carefully handled 
to give highest attainable results. Not every man is 
fitted to handle Jerseys and secure the best work of 
which they are capable. In short, a highly-bred, 
sensitive animal requires a highly-bred, careful man 
to secure the greatest amount of work possible from 
that animal. 
POSTSCRIPTS. 
One reason why the Bose pear is not more largely 
grown, is the difficulty in propagating the stock. This 
tree has such a cranky, obstinate way of growing that 
it is very hard, indeed, to obtain good specimens. It 
is a pity, too, because this pear carries really the finest 
flesh of any fruit that grows on a tree. 
Farmers often ask how much fertilizer they ought 
to use on fruit, and the question is hard to answer. 
In using potash and phosphoric acid alone, it must be 
remembered that neither of these substances is likely 
to be lost in large quantities. If one has the capital 
to spare, these minerals are nearly as safe in the soil 
as out of it. With nitrogen, the case is different, as a 
portion of this is liable to be lost. We would not, 
therefore, make large applications of nitrogen at any 
single time. 
Some of the Italian venders on the New York City 
streets have a remarkable system of spelling. In 
writing or printing signs advertising their wares, 
they slaughter the English language about as the 
Spanish attempted to slaughter the Cubans. Accord¬ 
ing to the St. James Gazette, however, these people 
cannot touch an English vender who undertook to 
offer a choice sample of ice cream. This is what he 
put over his stall: 
We Deli Iuspeckshun. 
Analis. 
Milk. 
Shuger. 
.20 do. 
Miselayneus. 
.16 do. 
Vaniler. 
It is safe to say that no self-respecting bacterium would 
have anything to do with ice cream with such an an¬ 
alysis as that. 
FRUIT NOTES FROM WISCONSIN. 
COMPARISONS OF SMALL FRUITS. 
The season of 1898 has been, indeed, a fruitful one 
in Wisconsin. Berries were so plentiful that the low¬ 
est prices in years were experienced. Strawberries 
brought per bushel, if first-class. Blackcaps and 
blackberries were correspondingly cheap, but the 
reds held up well, bringing $2.50 to $3 per bushel 
on our local market. Currants and gooseberries could 
not be sold, except in limited quantities, at any price, 
and hundreds, possibly thousands, of bushels were 
never picked. Plums bore abundantly, and brought 
fair prices. Apples are a full crop, and owing to fail¬ 
ures in other sections, are bringing top prices. 
A few notes on varieties tested here may, possibly, 
be of interest, although it is generally urged by fruit 
growers, and commonly accepted by experiment sta¬ 
tions, that variety tests of fruits are of little practical 
value outside of the immediate locality of the trial 
grounds. This is, probably, largely true, still such 
tests possess a certain value to the grower. The fol¬ 
lowing is the opinion of one individual of certain 
varieties grown under one set of conditions : 
Strawberries. — The following varieties were 
gi’own: Annie Laurie, Arrow, Berlin, Belle, La Crosse, 
Bisel, Bouncer, Brandywine, Brunette, Champion of 
England, Clyde, Columbian, Edith, Enormous, Epping, 
Fountain, Holland, Howell’s Seedling, Ilunn, Ideal, 
Iowa Beauty, Ivanlioe, Kyle No. 1, Lady Thompson, 
Lincoln. Maida, Margaret, Marshall, Mary, Mayflower, 
Michigan, Oriole, Pre¬ 
mium, Pride of Cum¬ 
berland, Splendid, Sta¬ 
ples, Star, Tennyson, 
Vories, Weston, Wm. 
Belt. The soil is a heavy 
clay loam,well manured. 
The plants were set two 
feet apart in rows 3 feet 
apart, and allowed to 
form matted rows two 
feet wide. 
Without reference to 
notes, the following va¬ 
rieties stand out clear 
in memory : Wm. Belt, 
Clyde, Brandywine, 
Iowa Beauty, Michigan, 
and Edith, the last 
named being remarkable 
for its size only, being 
the largest of all, but ill¬ 
shaped and poor in color 
and quality. Wm. Belt 
is, undoubtedly, the 
best of the lot; vigor¬ 
ous plan ts bearing 
abundantly of fine-col¬ 
ored, well-shaped fruit 
of good quality. It is 
midseason to late. Clyde 
ranks second for profit, 
yielding well and for a 
longer season than Belt. 
Brandywine is a fine berry of excellent color and fair 
quality, in size medium to large. Iowa Beauty ranks 
a close second to Warfield, which variety it much re¬ 
sembles. It has proved a profitable berry here. Michi¬ 
gan yielded well for two seasons, of large fruit, fair in 
quality, but of a poor color. Its extreme productive¬ 
ness and late season entitle it to a place in any ex¬ 
tended list. Of the remainder, nine-tenths are worth¬ 
less, and the remaining tenth of doubtful value. The 
famous Marshall gives a few very large berries of 
good quality, and then plays out entirely. Bisel is 
longest in season of any, but scarcely valuable. Mar¬ 
garet is the best in quality, but unproductive and of 
short season. 
Raspberries. —No extended tests were made. Of 
reds, Cuthbert, Miller Red, Harris and Loudon were 
grown. The last leads by several places, both in pro¬ 
ductiveness and marketable value. Its color and size 
commend it, but it is scarcely as high in quality as 
Cuthbert. Miller Red is certainly of good color, but 
is small and insipid. Harris is late, fairly productive 
and of good quality. Its dwarf habit might commend 
it to amateurs. 
In blackcaps, Eureka and Gault competed in vain 
with Gregg for first place. Conrath’s Early is valu¬ 
able for its earliness, preceding the abovenamed vari¬ 
eties by several days. Spry’s Early proved to be too 
small and shy to be of any value. 
Blackberries. —Ancient Briton is nearly hardy, 
and very productive of medium-sized oblong berries 
of high quality. Eldorado, a comparatively new va¬ 
riety, has fruited three seasons here, and is valuable 
for an early variety, ripening fully two weeks ahead 
of Ancient Briton. The fruit is slightly larger than 
the above, sweet and juicy. It has many good quali¬ 
ties, but as grown here is not productive enough for 
a market berry. Frederic cranefikld. 
Wisconsin Experiment Station. 
A GROUP OF JERSEY BABIES AT FEEDING TIME. Fig. 338. 
