1898 
433 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
never come up again! It saves a world of after- 
tilling and worry. 
For a week or more, it is possible to see the places 
where the hollows were before the whole patch was 
leveled. These portions are drier on top. In case of 
a very heavy rain within two weeks after the leveling, 
the excess would, probably, drain off easily and 
quickly in the loosely compacted soil where the old 
channels were. The soil of these expei'imental plots 
is gravelly, and has many flat stones. It is warm and 
early, and may be worked soon after a rain. Even 
heavy clay lands, Prof. Roberts says, if thrown up 
into ridges at the time of potato planting, can be lev¬ 
eled very nicely at the right moment, and much sooner 
after a heavy rain than they could be worked if other¬ 
wise treated. It is said that any one who has ever 
practiced the ridging and leveling of potato lands 
before the plants are up never wants to go back to the 
old way. Corn land can not be ridged, but it can be 
cultivated and harrowed before the plants are up, and 
the same principle ought to be useful with other 
cultivated crops. The chief danger, of course, is in 
putting off the operation a day or two too long. 
Tompkins County, N. Y. wilhelm miller. 
The Farmers’ Club 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name and address of 
the writer to insure attention. Before asking a question please 
see whether it is not answered in our advertising columns. Ask 
only a few questions at one time. Put questions on a separate 
piece of paper.] 
THE HOME OF THE HEWTOWH PIPPIN. 
A VIRGINIA APPLE SECTION. 
T. M., Nelson Comity , Va .—Whenever you print anything in 
regard to fruit culture, it is of more than passing interest to me, 
so I take the liberty of asking for fuller discussion and informa¬ 
tion on the following questions. I am particularly interested in 
the apple, for I live on the west side of the Blue Ridge Mountains, 
right in what is called the frostless apple belt, which is the home 
of the Albemarle Pippin and many other fine apples. The Albe¬ 
marle Pippin is often called the Newtown Pippin, but our Pippins 
are considered much finer flavored than the northern Newtown 
Pippins and bring several dollars more in the English market; 
in fact, they are very much sought by the English buyers. Last 
season, all the No. 1 apples were bought before they were gath¬ 
ered, at nearly double the price of other kinds. Some of our 
growers got as much as *5 per barrel, and from $8 to 810 in Liver¬ 
pool. The owner picks and delivers the fruit at the nearest 
depot, and the foreign buyers do their own packing. They are 
very strictly graded, and packed in nice new barrels of Hour-barrel 
size. A few were wrapped in paper and packed in boxes like 
oranges for the first time. 
Our lands are rich, but mostly steep and rough, so it is very 
hard to realize a profit out of anything else. Many farmers made 
good money out of them last season, many getting from 8500 to 
85,000 for their crops right in the orchard, and I know one man 
that refused815,000; still it is not such aone-sided, money-making 
business as one would think, for it has many drawbacks. The 
pests seem to increase year by year. In the first place, this warm 
apple belt extends only through about four counties along the 
east side of the Blue Ridge Mountains, it is only a few miles wide, 
and only certain soils in this small belt will bring the Newtown 
Pippin to perfection. I know of many apparently fine young 
orchards that are worthless, because of a kind of smut or mildew 
and rot, and often one will see trees of first-class fruit right in 
sight. When one does hit everything just right, this seems to 
be the natural home of the Albemarle or Newtown Pippin, and 
they grow to great perfection. I know of old orchards that are 
still bearing paying crops that have been in bearing 50 years, 
and the trees attain enormous size. I know of one old tree in 
particular that towers like a large forest tree. It is over 12 feet 
around six feet from the ground; several years ago, 17 oarrels 
of No. 1 apples were packed from it, that brought 8-1.50 a barrel, 
and there must have been at least as many more No. 2’s and culls, 
for, owing to the height of the tree, it was impossible to gather 
nearly all of the fruit. This old tree is said to be over 90 years 
old, but no one really knows how it got up in this rough hollow 
alone, unless it is a seedling, for they seem to sprout up natur¬ 
ally everywhere around here. 
But what is the cause of our young orchards dying out so soon? 
I know of many around here that have been in bearing only 
about 10 years, yet they are dying out, and show more signs of 
old age than some of these old orchards. The only difference I 
know is that these young orchards were planted from nursery 
stocks which, I suppose, were on piece roots, while these old 
trees were top-grafted near the ground, on our natural seedlings, 
so, of course, are on whole roots. If that is the only difference, 
why cannot some one find it out. As I am raising my own trees 
now, I would very much like to know what you would advise as 
to piece or whole roots, and what is meant by the term whole 
root ? Does it mean a certain part of the root, as I was told by 
a nurseryman, or does it mean the entire seedling root ? What 
do you consider the best stocks for apples and cherries ? Our ex¬ 
perience has been just the same with cherries. These old cherry 
trees bear wagon-loads of fruit, while the young ones are nearly 
all gone. Is it best to graft or bud cherries and apples ? We have 
lots of fine seedlings of both, but have had poor success top-graft¬ 
ing them. The cherries seem to start well, but die the second or 
third season. The apples grow all right, but do not seem to heal 
well over the old limb, and mostly break off when they bear, if 
not before. 
Although the Newtown Pippin is such a fine apple, when every¬ 
thing is just right, still we feel the need of another Winter apple, 
to use or. soil that does not suit it, for where it spots and specks, 
it becomes nearly worthless as a market apple. Besides, it bears 
a good crop only every other year, and it has to become so very 
old before it bears paying cx-ops. The Winesap seems to fill our 
needs, and it surely is a fine apple as grown in this apple belt. 
It bears young, and is a very heavy and regular bearer, but has 
its drawbacks, which with us are that it is very short lived, and 
after it gets about 10 years old, the limbs turn right down, and 
we have to prune them away until it becomes a very unsightly 
tree. But the worst is its very poor root growth; many of them 
blow over when they are full of fruit. What do you think of the 
plan of grafting with the Northern Spy, and then budding to the 
Winesap ? Do you consider this practical, and do you think one 
year’s growth and that little joint of the Spy could make the 
roots have the Spy nature ? Do you think that the stock being a 
Summer or Winter apple could impart its influence as to season to 
the top ? Most of the Winter apples of New York are Fall apples 
with us hex-e. Could this be overcome in any way ? The orchards 
in this section have been sadly neglected, receiving only the 
usual field cultux-e along with the cx-ops. The warra belt refex-red 
to is usually between about 800 and 1,500 feet above the sea, and 
seems to be warm and dry, and the frost rarely bites things in 
this belt, although it may kill both above and below it. 
ANSWERED BY H. E. VAN DEMAN. 
This is a very good description of the conditions in 
the famous fruit belt of the Blue Ridge country in 
Virginia, and in North Carolina as well. Having 
traveled over and studied a large part of this region in 
different seasons of the year, I may assure the readers 
that all that T. M. says in this letter is in accordance 
with the facts as I saw them. The land is extremely 
rough and stony in many places, but generally rich ; 
some of the best paying orchards grow on land that 
stands at an angle of 45 degrees. But if just the right 
location is selected, there may be grown as good Win¬ 
ter apples as are found in any part of the most fav¬ 
ored fruit regions of North America—and better New- 
towns than I have seen elsewhere. In fact, I would 
not try to grow this variety in any other section of 
the country east of the Rocky Mountains. The smut 
fungus that T. M. mentions is a very common trouble 
all over the country, and on those apples that are 
light colored and show it plainly, such as the 
Newtown, it becomes a serious injury to their market 
value. The way to avoid this trouble is to plant in 
localities that are not subject to it; and this can be 
done in the region under discussion. An easterly or 
southeasterly presentation is the right one there, as 
a northerly one is liable to be troubled by this fun¬ 
gous disease that discolors the fruit—it is supposed, 
because it does not have sufficiently strong sunlight 
from the direct rays. 
Why the young apple trees should die so much 
sooner than the old ones is not clear to me. It may 
be because of their method of nursery treatment. 
Budding is no better than grafting, if the same grade 
of stocks is used for each method of propagation. 
But I would prefer for root grafting to use the upper 
six inches of a first-class, one-year-old apple seed¬ 
ling, to any other part or portion of any age seedling. 
This refers to grafting that is done indoors during 
the Winter. If the seedlings are grown in the nurs¬ 
ery, and grafted or budded as they stand, the result¬ 
ing trees may be better and longer lived ; but I doubt 
whether they are any better in any way than those 
grown from such root grafts as I have just mentioned. 
The so-called whole-root” trees are made in just 
this way, and it would be useless to try to make 
better trees by using the entire seedling root as it 
comes from the ground ; for it would not make any 
better tree, and in my experience, not so good a one. 
With me, the lower part of the long tap root either 
died or failed to develop thrifty rootlets. At first, a 
seedling apple tree has a deep tap root, but it soon 
changes materially by developing its side branches, 
and assumes a broadly branching style. It would 
seem to me that T. M. could grow his own apple 
seedlings from seeds saved at the cider mills, and that 
may be found in fruit from thrifty trees, and not 
from such kinds as Winesap, which have poor root 
systems. I would give this matter special attention, 
and wash the seeds out of fresh pomace that came 
from apples that I knew were from such trees as I 
preferred. If those of a single strong-growing variety 
like Ben Davis, Gilpin, or perhaps, some seedling, 
were obtainable, I would feel quite sure of vigor and 
uniformity in the seedlings from them. 
As to stocks for cherry trees, the seedlings of the 
Mazzard type, which is fully represented all along 
the mountain chains from New York to Georgia, by 
thousands of majestic seedling trees, are the best for 
all the Hearts and Bigarreaus. If seeds of the old 
seedling sweet cherries that T. M. mentions should be 
planted and stocks grown, they can be budded at one 
or two years old, with any of that type, such as Tar¬ 
tarian, Napoleon, etc. For the sour cherries of the 
Morello type, and all others of that general class, the 
best stock is the Mahaleb, because the two unite well, 
and this stock does not sprout from its roots. 
In regard to top-grafting, double-working influence 
of the stock on the graft, etc., there are various 
theories and experiences. There is no doubt in the 
minds of experienced persons as to the good results 
from grafting varieties having weakly roots, like 
Winesap, Esopus, Red Canada apples on to those that 
have strong root systems. Ben Davis is one of the 
best for such top-grafting. Northern Spy is, also, a 
good one. Just why these and some other varieties 
make good roots almost regardless of the seedlings 
upon which they have been worked is, perhaps, not 
well known by any one, but that they do is a fact. I 
have often observed it while digging many thousands 
of nursery trees. If I were going to top-work some 
such trees, I would prefer that they grow a year or 
two in the orchard before budding or grafting them, 
that their roots might become well established and 
growing vigorously. This would seem to me better 
than top-budding a one-year-old tree, although I have 
never tried the latter plan, but often have tried the 
former. 
The idea that the flavor or season of a variety may 
be changed by the stock upon which it is grafted or 
budded is a mistaken one, in my opinion. In the 
thousands of cases I have noticed, there has been 
nothing that has led me to believe in such a theory. 
The fact mentioned by T. M., of the northern Winter 
apples ripening in the Fall in the South, is no evidence 
to the point. Climate is the cause of this change from 
Winter to Fall ripening, and may be seen in all its 
gradations, as well as the contrary later ripening of 
the southern varieties when taken north, in passing 
from north to south and the reverse. 
A Pasture Crop in Sweet Corn. 
C. W. S., Frankton, Ind .—I have about two acres of sugar corn, 
aud wish to sow some kind of forage plant at the last cultivation, 
for a quick and cheap hog pasture, and one that will be of some 
benefit to the land, a black loam and clay mixed which has 
been heavily manured this Spring. Which would be better 
for both land and pasture, cow peas or Dwarf Essex rape ? About 
how much seed of either per aci’e for xi good heavy stand ? 
Ans. —Three or four methods may be followed, all 
of which should give good results. 1. Sow Dwarf 
Essex rape alone, using four or five pounds of seed per 
acre. This will furnish pasture until the frost be¬ 
comes severe. 2. Sow cow peas alone, using, say three 
to four pecks of seed per acre. This crop would be 
better for the land than the other, but would not pro¬ 
vide pasture so good as the rape, neither would it en¬ 
dure frost so well. 3. Sow the cow peas and rape seed 
together, using one-half the quantities of seed named 
of each. The mixture will afford variety, and the 
two crops will grow all right together. 4. Sow the 
common vetch along with rape seed, two pounds of 
the latter and one peck of the former per acre. The 
last named will furnish the richest pasture. But the 
second method, all things considered, will, probably, 
be the best. Much enrichment of the land should not 
be looked for, owing to the short period of the growth. 
On the other 'hand, it should not lose in fertility, as 
the droppings will go back on the land. Barley could, 
also, be sown alone if the seed was at hand. It would 
furnish a pasture quickly and very cheaply. Mixing 
Winter rye with the barley would provide pasture 
later in the season. If one or both of those grains be 
sown, two to three bushels of seed per acre should 
be used. prof. thos. shaw. 
The Morel Mushroom. 
P. 1£. C., Pelee Island , Out .—Are you acquainted with the Morel, 
a species of mushroom found here growing in old sod land, 
somewhat shaded ? Would you give its histoi-y aud method of 
propagation, if any ? It is a pleasant edible cript, and the people 
here know little about it. So far, I have not heai-d of, or been 
able to find, any method of px-opagation by seed or spawn like 
the diffex-ent mushrooms. 
Ans. —The Morel (Morchella esculenta) is one of our 
best edible fungi. It is very widely distributed, both 
in this country and in Europe, being found in Spring 
or early Summer in grass near or under trees, espec¬ 
ially in places which have been burned over. The 
upper portion is peculiarly honeycombed. These 
Morels are quite nearly related to the truffles, though 
the latter grow underground. The Morels, dried and 
powdered, are valued by European cooks for flavor¬ 
ing gravies and sauces. We have never heard of their 
being cultivated, and fancy that it would be difficult 
to secure the spawn. It is quite possible that the 
Morel might be cultivated like the truffle, which long 
baffled old-world gardeners. In cultivating the latter, 
the fungi are allowed to ripen to the point of decay, 
and are then buried in a locality to their liking. A 
similar treatment might be successful with the Morel. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
Baling Green Hay.—C. D. W., Mystic, Conn.—It is not safe to 
attempt to bale hay directly from the field. Such bales gener¬ 
ally go wx-ong, and are not satisfactory. The hay ought to be 
stacked or left in the mow first, whei’e it may thoroughly swexvt 
before going into the bale. 
Pruning Shatter’s Colossal Raspberry.—M. N. W., Hamden, 
Conn.—If one cares to take the trouble, thex-e is no better way of 
pruning a raspberry than by pinching off the leading shoots. 
Laterals are thereby induced to grow that would not otherwise. 
It is leather late for the pinching process, however. 
Flax Seed for Poultry—C. F. S., New Westminster, B. C.— 
Whole flax seed in moderate quantities is useful as chicken food. 
Do not feed too much of it. One-fifth of the ration, by weight, 
three times a week, wlli be ample. It will not take the place of 
ground bone; the latter contains much lime and phosphoric acid, 
and to a certain extent, also serves as grit. 
Wash for Peach Trees.—On page 350, Mr. M. Morse, of Massa¬ 
chusetts, told us of a wash that he had used upon peach trees to 
keep out the borers. In 1897, after this wash was used, only two 
borers wei-e found in more than 400 trees. Mr. Morse now wxites 
to say that this season’s examination of the trees has failed to 
discover any marks of borers in the whole orchax’d. 
