1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
479 
learn more about that place in Washing-ton State. Is 
it a fact that farmers generally are such hard masters? 
We believe that this writer is sincere in what he says, 
and that such cases as he pictures can be found ; but 
we don't believe that such are the rule. Some state¬ 
ments made by the writer of the above, however, show 
how little he and others similarly situated know 
about the real situation of the city man. He calls the 
$75 a year •'an expense for laziness.” The city man 
might go afoot, but in the case of the writer of this, 
it would mean a walk of about 40 miles a day. The 
fact is that few country people realize the true situa¬ 
tion of the city workingman. We cited a typical aver¬ 
age case, while we believe that our friend has taken 
an extreme case. 
FALL-DUG PEACH TREES DIED. 
WHEN ARK SPRING-DUG TREES BETTER? 
Last Fall, a Massachusetts reader bought a lot of 
peach trees, pruned the roots and tops, and heeled 
them in, covering the tops as well as the roots with 
earth. Last Spring, most of the tops appeared to be 
dead and dry most of their length. We asked a num¬ 
ber of the horticultural authorities whether it is prob¬ 
able that covering the tops with earth caused this in¬ 
jury, and whether they consider it unsafe to dig 
peach trees in Autumn for Spring setting. The fol¬ 
lowing is a summary of their replies : 
Spring Treks Better. —Edwin Iloyt, Connecticut, 
says that, as a rule, he does not advise taking up aud 
heeling in peach trees, or even setting them in the 
Fall. The peach is a late-growing tree, holds its 
foliage late, and the wood is porous and needs the 
leaves until they drop oft' naturally, to harden the 
wood. There is much more risk in planting peach 
trees in Fall than in Spring. If heeled in at all, it 
should be in dry soil with the tops all left on. They 
should be in a slanting position with one-third to one- 
half of the bodies covered, and the soil be thoroughly 
worked about every root. Well-grown peach trees set 
in Spring and properly cut back, seldom fail to grow. 
He cannot see why any one should want to buy peach 
trees in Fall to be set in Spring. Let the nurseryman 
take the risk of wintering the peach trees. All other 
fruit or forest trees may be set with safety in Fall, 
except on wet ground. 
Fall-Dug Trees Unsafe. —J. II. Hale, Connecticut, 
says that long experience has taught him that it is 
entirely unsafe to handle northern-grown peach trees 
in the Fall. They grow the latest of all trees, and do 
not fully mature their roots and tops until about 
freezing time in early Winter. The practice of digging 
and selling them in October or November is a danger¬ 
ous one, and the nurseryman who cares for his repu¬ 
tation should recommend his customers to buy peach 
trees in the Spring. The cause of the loss by the 
Massachusetts reader was, probably, from burying 
these immature, succulent trees ; as for 
thoroughly ripened trees, this treatment 
is the best he could have given them for 
his latitude. 
Worst Danger in Drying. —Prof. F. A. 
Waugh, Vermont, says that, under ordi¬ 
nary circumstances, he would dig peach 
trees late in the Fall, if convenient He 
would heel them in in well-drained 
ground, covering the roots thoroughly 
and deeply, and treading the soil hard 
upon them. It would, also, be an advan¬ 
tage if the soil . were thoroughly set¬ 
tled by soaking with water. The great¬ 
est danger is usually from the drying of 
the trees, or from their standing in wa¬ 
ter. He would not cover the tops in 
heeling in trees. 
Spring-Dug if Near By.—P rof. S. A. 
Beach, of the New York Experiment 
Station, says that most kinds of nursery 
trees which are dug in the Fall after the 
leaves have ripened and fallen, are 
better for wrapping and shipping 
than Spring-dug trees, because they are 
in a perfectly dormant condition, while 
the trees which are not dug until Spring become filled 
with sap, and active in preparing for new growth, 
before the ground is in a position to permit digging 
them ; still, it is, probably, best for most producers of 
peach trees to have the trees delivered in Spring. To 
bring Fall-delivered peach trees through the Winter 
in good condition, they should be heeled in without 
trimming, the earth packed firmly about the roots, 
and covered over, before severe freezing weather. They 
should be heeled in where the surface water will 
readily drain away, and should be trimmed when 
planted. Nurserymen in this vicinity usually trench 
them in sand in cellars or caves, and by properly con¬ 
trolling the conditions under which the trees are win¬ 
tered, are enabled to bring them through in better 
condition than the average retail buyer would do. His 
preference would be for Fall-dug trees unless from a 
nearby nursery. 
Notes from Wisconsin. —Prof. E. S. Goff, of the 
Wisconsin Experiment Station, says that, in his ex¬ 
perience in that State, the tops of peach trees covered 
with earth out of doors, have always been killed back 
more or less during the Winter. He thinks there is 
no objection to digging peach trees in the Fall if 
they can be heeled in in a cool cellar in which the air 
is moderately moist, but in that case, he would cover 
the tops with earth. The soil about the roots should 
be kept moist but not wet, and he would prefer peach 
trees thus handled to those dug in Spring, unless the 
latter can be dug very early. The roots of most trees 
start somewhat earlier than the buds, hence, unless 
dug early, some growth will be made at the tips of 
the main roots which are generally left in the ground 
when the tree is dug. Such early growth, if cut off, 
tends to exhaustion. 
Wiiy the Trees Died. —Prof. S. T. Maynard, of 
Massachusetts, says that the chances are that the 
trees were injured by the covering being too deep, or 
that they were in a place where the sun struck them 
much of the time. Possibly they were in a very im¬ 
mature condition, and might have been injured 
whether covered or not. He does not consider it at 
all unsafe to dig in the Fall, and heel in for Spring 
planting, and would advise it if the trees are growing 
late and are on rather heavy soil. On thin, rather 
poor soil, they will stand more exposure. In heeling 
in trees, the tops should always slope to the south at 
an angle of about 45 degrees, that the sun may strike 
the branches as little as possible. They should be 
heeled in only in light, well-drained soil. Where mice 
are not liable to work, he would use some light cover¬ 
ing like pine boughs ; but great care must be exercised 
not to cover too deep. If the heeling in be thoroughly 
done, there is a great advantage in securing fruit and 
ornamental trees in the Fall for Spring planting. 
The best method of securing good trees that arc sure 
to grow when transplanted, is to grow them on the 
place where they are to be planted, thus insuring an 
early start and rapid growth. 
A FLOWER THAT BLOCKS NAVIGATION. 
THE WATER HYACINTH IN FLORIDA. 
When the Water hyacinth was first introduced to 
Florida waters, it was regarded as a very ornamental 
addition, its spikes of pale violet flowers being plenti¬ 
fully produced. In tropical and subtropical America, 
it is widely distributed as a weed, but in Europe and 
the northern States, it is a favorite plant for the aquatic 
garden. In the South, however, especially in Florida, it 
has thriven so marvelously as to become a dangerous 
menace to navigation, and its naturalization proves 
as serious an error as the introduction of the rabbit 
into Australia. 
A copious bulletin issued by the Division of Botany 
of the United States Department of Agriculture de¬ 
scribes the growth of the plant in Florida, and the 
means employed to destroy it. 
Where It Grows. —The Water hyacinth, Eichhornia 
crassipes (Piaropus crassipes of Britton) commonly 
floats upon the water, without attachment to the 
soil; if the water be very shallow, it will extend its 
roots into the mud, but does not flourish so well 
under such circumstances. It cannot grow in dry 
ground. The leaves form a rosette one to two feet 
high, remaining above water. The basal portion of 
the leaf stalks is strongly swollen, this swelling be¬ 
coming less as the plant grows older. The swellings 
on the petioles act as air reservoirs, preventing the 
young plant from sinking or being overturned. The 
old plants are so entangled that they cannot be over¬ 
turned ; their long petioles contain large air cham¬ 
bers, which keep them afloat. The roots form a 
bushy mass, sometimes over two feet in length. 
Sluggish fresh-water streams, bayous, and creeks, 
form the favorite place for the Water hyacinth, and 
the character of the water appears to have something 
to do with its growth. In the St. John’s River, where 
the plant has spread so rapidly, the water is brownish 
or yellowish, appearing to contain a good deal of or¬ 
ganic matter. In places where the water seems pure 
and hard, the plants are stunted. The plant does not 
survive in water containing sulphur, neither will it 
grow in brackish portions of the rivers ; it is killed 
when it floats down into the sea water. 
In Florida, these plants line the shores of the rivers 
and lakes in immense quantities, making belts from 
50 to several hundred feet wide. Small coves, bayous, 
and creeks are entirely covered. The plants nearest 
to the shore become anchored to the mud, these serv¬ 
ing to moor large floating masses to the shore. Occa¬ 
sionally the wind or current tears masses of the 
plants loose, and these are blown here and there by 
the wind, or drift with the current. In 
the large lakes, these masses shift their 
positions constantly, and this is the 
chief cause of the obstruction of navi¬ 
gation. In the sharp turns of narrow 
portions of the river, the plants are 
caught and form blocks which some¬ 
times extend for miles. See Fig. 217. 
How it Grows. —The Water hyacinth 
is propagated by seeds and stolons, the 
latter method being very rapid. The 
stolons branch out from the main stem, 
forming at the end a little rosette of 
leaves, which soon forms roots, as shown 
in Fig. 21<>. The mode of growth is sim¬ 
ilar to the familiar Hen-and-Chiekens. 
Several generations of plants will be 
found bound together by the stolons, 
which aid in firmly connecting the whole 
mass of plants. 
Little is known of the actual intro¬ 
duction of the plant to Florida, but it 
is supposed that it was first naturalized 
in the St. Johns River in 1890. Its dis¬ 
tribution is limited to the St. Johns River 
and its tributaries, and to a few inland 
lakes and ponds. Stockmen are said 
to have carried the plant up the river by the boat¬ 
load, to spread it as food for cattle. 
What it Does. —The plants are an obstruction to 
fishing with nets, and the masses banked up against 
bridges cause damage to the structures, especially at 
time of floods. The blocking of small streams, and 
the accumulation of decaying vegetable matter, are 
sources of danger to health. 
Actual extermination of the plant seems impossible. 
The use of a light draught steamer is suggested, hav¬ 
ing outriggers to collect the floating plants, and an 
inclined carrier which would pick them up, either to 
be destroyed by being crushed under rollers, or de¬ 
posited upon dry land. Floating log booms could be 
placed at favorable points, for the collection of the 
A CREEK CLOSED BY WATER HYACINTH. Fig. 217. 
