298 
April 23 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
harrow it thoroughly in, using a wheel harrow) is the 
grand remedy for all the ailments to which the squash 
is heir. First comes the little striped bug, which we 
fight with plaster (if a little Paris-green is well mixed 
with it, the better), applying as soon as the seed 
breaks ground, and keeping well covered until the 
third leaf appears. If the large, brown stinking bug 
is found, we protect by laying pieces of shingle at an 
angle close to the vine at night, and kill bjr visiting 
early in the morning and crushing all lodgers who 
have crept under for warmth and shelter. In the 
stage of growth in which these enemies abound, the 
heavy manuring is essential to rush the vines so 
rapidly as to get beyond injury from their ravages. 
The next enemy in order is the Squash borer, which 
deposits its eggs, beginning near where the vines begin 
to run. all along the runners. Here again, I have 
found that the more vigor, the less they are liable to 
be attacked. There appears to be a law at work, that 
when any of the vegetable kingdom cannot fulfill its 
mission it becomes but food to enable other existences 
to perform their missions. 
After the vines have just begun to set their fruit, 
very rarely on the seacoast, but not infrequently in 
the country, they begin to wilt at midday, and even¬ 
tually die. This is undoubtedly caused by some root 
trouble, but what it is, and whether from attack of 
any form of animal or vegetable life, I am unable to 
say. I must leave it with our experiment stations to 
enlighten us; yet, one fact I have noted, that the 
more heavily manured a piece is, the less liable is it 
to be injured in this way. There must be some reason 
why we are less liable along the seacoast to the last 
trouble; either the sea air is not favorable, or some 
element which enters into the composition of our sea 
manure. The fact that it has more salt in 
its composition than the barn manure is con¬ 
sidered the reason by some, consequently the 
application of a few bushels of waste salt per 
acre is advised. I have tried this once or 
twice, on land devoted to squashes on my 
country seed farm, apparently with success. 
To these precautions add frequent cultivation 
up to the last moment the vine will allow, 
and I believe our friend will succeed in rais¬ 
ing a noble crop of Hubbard squash. 
Massachusetts. j. j. n. Gregory. 
which is a much larger apple, of equally high color 
and flavor, and good bearing qualities.” 
“ Is York Imperial satisfactory with you ? ” 
“ The reputation of this variety as a first-class mar¬ 
ket fruit is well established, and no apple succeeds 
better in Virginia. The tree is not quite as vigorous 
a grower as the Mammoth Black Twig. The latter is 
the most rampant grower I ever saw, and thin land 
does not seem to check its growth as it does that of 
other varieties Kinnaird’s Choice is also a seedling of 
Winesap, which originated in Tennessee, and is an 
apple of high color and luscious quality.” 
“ Of course the Albemarle Pippin is a leading variety 
in Roanoke County. Is this graded for market like 
other varieties ? ” 
“ This section is the home of the great Albemarle or 
Newtown Pippin, and there is no place in America 
where this variety is grown to greater perfection than 
right here in Roanoke County. But Pippin growing 
is like raising race horses ; there are many that never 
get a record, and there is a large per cent of Pippins 
that are classed as culls, even where they grow to 
their greatest perfection. Unless a Pippin grades as 
first-class, it has no market. Red apples can be graded 
into three grades, and there is a market for all; be¬ 
sides, first-class red apples are selling as high as Pip¬ 
pins in the European markets. The red apple comes 
into bearing earlier and is a more regular bearer than 
the Pippin. The Pippin is a slow grower, and bears 
only on alternate years. There is a large orchard of 
Winesaps in this section that has had three heavy 
crops of apples in three successive years. Wherever 
the Pippin succeeds best, there must be a condition of 
soil and climate suitable for successful apple culture, 
and to its highest perfection.” 
than 
to 
HOME OF THE ALBEMARLE PIPPIN. 
A GREAT ORCHARD VENTURE IN VIRGINIA. 
Roanoke County, Va., is in the district fa¬ 
mous for the Albemarle Pippins so much es¬ 
teemed abroad, and here the Diamond Orchard 
Co. have purchased a tract of 450 acres to be 
planted to fruit trees. The entire tract will 
call for 45.000 trees, of which 30,000 are al¬ 
ready planted, chiefly apple. The Roanoke 
Valley is the finest apple-growing region in 
the South, being located on the slope of the 
Blue Ridge, and is the home of the celebrated 
Back Creek Pippin, which is nothing more 
a Newtown Pippin grown to its very highest per 
fection. Many car-loads are exported directly 
England from this place, and bring almost fabu 
lous prices. Wherever this Pippin can be grown 
to its greatest perfection, there the conditions of soil 
and climate must necessarily exist that are requisite 
to the highest development of flavor and color in all 
kinds of fruit. Peaches, plums and grapes are grown 
here equal to the best in the world. 
Selection of Varieties. 
On being asked what varieties of apples were being 
planted Col. A. M. Bowman, president of the Diamond 
Orchard Co., replied : 
“Of the 18,500 apple trees first planted, 9,000 were 
Mammoth Black Twig, 5,000 York Imperial (called 
Johnson’s Winter by some), 2,000 Ben Davis, 1,000 
Winesap and 1,000 Kinnaird’s Choice.” 
Is the Mammoth Black Twig to which you refer 
the Tennessee variety ? ” 
“No, it is the variety originated in Washington 
County, Ark., and known in some catalogues as the 
Arkansas. It is distinct from the Tennessee variety, 
which is called Paragon, but propagated by some nur¬ 
series as Mammoth Black Twig. Both the Arkansas 
Black Twig and the Paragon are supposed to be seed¬ 
lings of the Winesap, but the Arkansas seedling is 
the better keeper of the two. Both are fine growers 
and early bearers, and both will, no doubt, succeed 
where the Winesap succeeds.” 
“ You name a comparatively small number of Wine¬ 
sap. Is that variety of indifferent value with you ? ” 
“ The Winesap, when well grown, is the best apple 
for general culture, for all portions of Virginia. Its 
only fault is that, in dry seasons and on thin land, it 
is too small for a first-class market apple. To remedy 
this fault, we have adapted as one of our principal 
apples, its best seedling, the Mammoth Black Twig, 
“ Is the bulk of the orchard in one field, or into how 
many farms and different fields is it divided ?” 
“ The orchard is in two fields, one containing 287 
acres, and the other 163 acres, the two being separated 
by a public highway.” 
“ Shall you grow crops between the young trees for 
the first three or four years, and if so, what will these 
crops be ? ” 
“ We shall take no crops whatever from the land, 
but our plan is to cultivate the entire orchard three or 
four times each Spring with Acme and Cutaway culti¬ 
vators. sowing cow peas and Crimson clover at the last 
cultivation, and turning these crops under the follow¬ 
ing Winter and Spring, prior to the next year’s culti¬ 
vation.” 
“ What fertilizers, if any, shall you use on this 
ground, and in a general way, what will be your treat¬ 
ment of the soil until the trees come into bearing ? ” 
“ We shall apply annually from 300 to 500 pounds of 
fertilizer per acre, worked into the soil about the 
trees. This fertilizer is compounded after a formula 
furnished by us. The base of these goods is composed 
of ground tobacco stems, and so compounded as to 
yield a very high per cent of available poK-ah and 
phosphoric acid. The tobacco acts as an insecticide, 
preventing Woolly aphis and other root-infesting in¬ 
sects. This fertilizer is applied at three intervals, in 
April, May and June, and is well worked into the soil. 
In addition to the above, we shall use 200 pounds per 
acre of a lower grade fertilizer applied with a wheat 
drill when the cow peas are sown, to stimulate the 
growth of the peas and clover.” 
“ W hat are the special reasons dictating this treat¬ 
ment ? ” 
The object is to lay up a large storehouse of nutri¬ 
ment for the trees to draw upon when they 
come into bearing.” 
Will any washes or insecticides be used ? ’» 
“ The trees will be washed three times per 
) year with a solution of lime, whale-oil soap 
and gas tar, the latter part of May and the 
middle of August, as an insecticide, and during 
November to protect them from the ravages 
of rabbits.” 
The location of this orchard is on the foot¬ 
hills of the Blue Ridge range. All familiar 
with the district pronounce it an ideal fruit¬ 
growing locality, and the progress made on 
this large orchard venture will be a matter 
of interest, suggesting, as it does, the great 
orchards of the West. 
y* i j 1 / / 
THE ROOTS OF A STRAWBERRY PLANT. Fig. 134. 
“ In what condition was this soil before you set out 
the orchard ; in other words, what crops and culture 
had this soil produced and received ? Was it a rough 
meadow or pasture land, or had it been cultivated and 
cropped ?” 
Two hundred and fifty acres of the land were av¬ 
erage farming land that had been in cultivation for 
many years. The remaining 200 acres were in ori¬ 
ginal and second-growth forest. Nearly all the culti¬ 
vated land had been cultivated in either corn or wheat 
just before it was purchased for an orchard.” 
“ What tools do you use in working the ground, and 
how many cultivations did the land receive ? How 
small did you cut the roots of these trees before put¬ 
ting them in ?” 
“ The old land was plowed with a two-horse Oliver 
chilled plow, and subsoiled to the depth of 16 to 18 inches. 
Beyond this, the land received no cultivation previous 
to the planting of the trees. The forest land was 
cleared of the timber, and all the land, both old and 
new, was laid off in crop check rows by the use of an 
ordinary single-shovel plow. All the stumps within 
seven or eight feet of the checks were then removed 
by the use of dynamite and mattocks. The holes for 
the trees were then dug from 2% to three feet square 
and 16 inches deep. The holes were then filled with 
top soil to the proper depth for receiving the trees, 
and the trees were planted with scarcely any root 
pruning beyond what they received in digging them 
from the nursery.” 
“Was the planting done in Spring or Fall ?” 
“ The trees were planted in both Fall and Spring, 
and without any perceptible difference in results.” 
“ How large a force of men and teams were em¬ 
ployed in the work ?” 
“The force of men employed varied from 40 to 120, 
and the number of teams from 10 to 25; the period 
of time taken to prepare and plant the whole ground 
was about 15 months.” 
SUN SPROUTING OF SEED POTATOES. 
I believe that the practice of exposing seed 
potatoes to sunlight has many advantages that 
are not known to every one, and will be of use 
_ ^ to growers in general. The plan I adopted was 
to spread my seed potatoes out in a single layer 
as soon as danger of freezing was past, with 
the seed end up, on the floor of the barn 
loft, where they could receive the sunlight, but 
not the direct rays of the sun. My barn being 
rather dark, the sprouts commenced to grow too 
l 011 ?) so I hired my little girl to turn them over at five 
cents an hour, and the cost was only about a cent a 
bushel. When I came to plant, they had short, stubby 
sprouts that were not easily broken off. For late 
planting, I believe that this method has the following 
advantages: 
1. It is the best way to keep the seed until wanted, 
and retain its full vitality, cold-storage seed not ex¬ 
cepted. I have tried both ways, and the seed that 
was sun-sprouted came up much quicker than the 
cold-storage seed. In my field last year, the potatoes 
showed through the ground in a week after they were 
planted, and in less than two weeks, the rows were 
plain enough to follow with a cultivator. I dug up a 
piece 24 hours after being planted, and the roots 
had commenced to start; in 48 hours, the roots were 
over an inch long. They made me think of the roots 
on strawberry runners, when the 'weather is good for 
their growth. Cold-storage potatoes start out much 
slower, and every day counts in this part of the sea¬ 
son. Every farmer has a place to give his seed a sun 
sprouting, but a cold-storage place is beyond the reach 
of most farmers. 
2. I ewer stalks in the hill. Some growers advocate 
the practice of planting whole potatoes, while on the 
other hand, some go to the opposite extreme, and cut 
to a single eye ; but with sun-sprouted seed, one gets 
a good, large piece with but a single sprout, if he 
wants it, although there is very much difference in the 
way different varieties will sprout, and how many 
sprouts they will make, for a large number of the 
eyes will remain dormant. The R. N.-Y. No. 2 will, very 
often, give but one good, strong sprout from a 
large potato, and nearly always at the seed end. So 
by this method, one can get the whole potato and a 
single sprout. This is a little expensive when pota- 
