85o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Decemoer 17 
R uralisms • 
► 
A Dwarf Cassabanana.— Our friend, 
J. L. Normand, of Marksville, La., writes: 
“ Several of your readers have written 
to me that the Cassabanana did not suc¬ 
ceed with them. I hardly think that 
it will fruit much farther north than 
here, unless the seeds be started in arti¬ 
ficial heat early in the Spring, and the 
plants set out in the open ground when 
danger of frost is over.” 
Our trial of the Cassabanana at the 
Rural Grounds was a failure ; the vines 
did not even bloom. 
Mr. Normand is now growing the 
dwarf Cassabanana which, he says, is 
much earlier—so much earlier that he 
thinks that it will do well even in 
Canada . 
Japan Plum Experience. —Mr. Nor¬ 
mand has had as much experience with 
Japan plums, perhaps, as any man in the 
country. He finds that many of the 
varieties that do not succeed at all with 
him in Marksville, thrive well farther 
north. Several years ago, he sent scions 
to several of the leading horticulturists 
in the North, of certain new varieties of 
the Japan plums that were failures with 
him. Mr. G. W. Livingston, of Monroe, 
la., writes him : “ I consider the Wasse 
Sumomo the best of the Japan plums, as 
it ripens its fruit so early that there are 
no others in the market, and the fruit is 
free from rot and insect ravages.” 
Mr. Theodore Williams, of Benson, 
Neb., writes to Mr. Normand : “ Sorts 
like Ogon and Engre, that you once said 
were barren with you, thrive best here. 
One thing is sure, the true Sweet Botan 
from you is not the Abundance I have 
from Lovett. Though they are nearly 
alike, the true Sweet Botan is much 
hardier, enduring a degree of cold that 
kills the Abundance.” 
Mr. McLelland, of the Nebraska Sta¬ 
tion, finds the Japan plums hardier than 
the natives. 
The Engre, in so far as we have heard, 
is close to the Willard, ripening at about 
the same season. Like the Willard, it 
is of low quality. 
Many of the new varieties of Japan 
plums will, probably, bear fruit next 
season at the Rural Grounds. Of all 
those that have fruited up to the present 
time, we prefer the Abundance. The 
Hale is a disappointment to us thus far. 
The Ogon tree bears early and abund¬ 
antly, but its yellow fruit, of medium 
size, is of low quality. Willard is worth¬ 
less, as we have stated before. Satsuma 
has borne with us for two seasons, but 
the flesh is coarse and sour, the color 
of a dull red, and we do not know why 
any person should care for it for any 
purpose except it may be for canning. 
Unquestionably, there are excellent 
Japan plums, and we may hope that 
there is room for further improvement. 
Why we especially value them at the 
Rural Grounds is that they are the only 
species whose fruit is not destroyed by 
the curculio. 
Dioscorea bulbiffra. —It was in our 
issue of December 1, 1894, That we first 
made reference to this interesting plant 
which, in some parts of the country, has 
proved of economic value. Many of our 
friends are familiar with the Dioscorea 
Batatas which has, of late years, been 
advertised as the Cinnamon vine. This 
was introduced about 1855, and it was 
thought at that time and later that it 
would prove to be a formidable com¬ 
petitor of the Irish potato; but it was 
soon found that there was no chance of 
anything of the kind, because the tuber 
grows too deep in the soil, the big end at 
the bottom, tapering to a narrow top. 
The tubers form in the soil two feet or 
more in depth, and they are so brittle 
that it is almost impossible to dig them 
out without breaking them. Old plants 
often bear tubers weighing five or six 
pounds, and drought seems to be no 
hindrance to their development. The 
vines grow with wonderful rapidity, 15 
feet or more during a season, the green¬ 
ish-white little flowers emitting a pleas¬ 
ing fragranceof cinnamon. Once planted, 
you have always the Chinese Yam with 
you. In the axils of many of the leaves, 
are borne little tubers the size of large 
peas, from which the vine is easily prop¬ 
agated. It was Mr. Julius Schnadelbach, 
of Grand Bay, Ala., who first sent us an 
aerial bulb tuber of the yam, Dioscorea 
bulbifera. It measured nearly three 
inches in diameter one way, about an 
inch the other, and quite resembled in 
form a double-winged, flattened straw¬ 
berry. The color, as we then stated, 
was grayish, like those of the little aerial 
yams of the Cinnamon vine. Mr. 
Schnadelbach wrote us at the time that 
he considered this Dioscorea worthy of 
being introduced as a vegetable. We 
quote : “ It is very productive—10 plants 
have yielded over half a bushel. 'When 
cooked as one cooks the Irish potato, 
they can hardly be distinguished from 
it, except that the Dioscorea tubers have 
a slightly pungent taste.” It appears 
that some of these aerial tubers grow to 
the size of a pound and over. Unlike 
the Cinnamon vine, underground yams 
do not form. We planted our yam, but 
it did not sprout. 
Now we are favored with an interest¬ 
ing letter respecting Bulbifera by Mr. 
Normand, who tells us above about the 
Dwarf Cassabanana : 
“ I mail you a few tubers of a new 
vegetable which, I believe, will be of 
interest to you and your readers. It is 
called the ‘ Air tuber ’; some call it the 
New Orleans Air tuber. Its botanical 
name is Dioscorea bulbifera. My atten¬ 
tion was first called to this novelty by 
Prof. Burnette, of our State Experiment 
Station. After testing it for two years 
on my experiment grounds, I find it 
equal to the Irish potato when boiled 
until soft, peeled and then mashed and 
fried like the Irish potato, with the re¬ 
quired seasoning. Try them, and I be¬ 
lieve you will like them. The plants 
produce much more than those of the 
Irish potato on the same space of land. 
It matures its tubers during the Sum¬ 
mer, and continues until frost. The 
tubers are formed in the axils of each 
leaf, and to see a vine in full bearing is 
a sight to behold. Some of them are 
quite large. An analysis of the tuber 
made by the assistant chemist of our 
State Experiment Station, shows that it 
contains, protein, 1.82 per cent; fat, .55; 
carbohydrates, 20.70. In carbohydrates, 
it compares favorably with beans, sweet 
potatoes, peanuts and Irish potatoes. 
“ The tubers are a curiosity on account 
of their various forms. They look like 
petrified rocks of a gray silvery color, of 
the most intricate carved stone work. 
They suggest the missing link between 
the vegetable and animal kingdom.” 
A “ SPORT " FROM ANCIENT BRITON 
BLACKBERRY. 
In laying down my Ancient Briton blackberries, 
I found a branch of one bush that had rooted at 
the tip, and grown a sprout a foot high. I have 
raised that variety over 15 years, and never saw 
one before. Would you think it a sport, and do 
you suppose I could produce a tip variety from it? 
Whitehall, Wis. c. A. 
ANSWERED BY FREDERIC CRANEFIELD. 
The rooted blackberry tip mentioned 
by C. A. is a sport, a method employed 
by Nature in the production of new 
varieties. According to all known laws 
and established rules in plant breeding, 
root cuttings or suckers from this plant 
should produce plants that would show 
a marked tendency to root from the tips. 
In time, no doubt, a variety could be 
obtained that would root freely from the 
tips, as the Rathburn is said to do. 
Remember that B o w k e r ’ s Animal 
Meal is sold only in yellow bags and 
yellow packages. The original; richest 
in protein.— Adv. 
Whether this would be an advantage, 
could be decided only by a comparison 
of plants so grown with others grown 
by methods now in vogue. If the plants 
from root tips should prove to be as 
vigorous as sucker or root-cutting plants, 
a tip-rooting variety would, in my 
opinion, be preferable for the following 
reasons: 
Sucker plants do not commonly possess 
a very extensive root system, generally 
having but one straight root, the entire 
plant being somewhat T-shaped. Tip 
plants, if of the character of blackcap 
tips, would have a matted root system 
which would tend to start the plants in 
better shape. Root cuttings can be suc¬ 
cessfully started only under glass, either 
greenhouse or hotbed, with the ad¬ 
ditional expense of transplanting, and 
consequent loss of plants. 
(Continued on next page.) 
Make it a Point 
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