258 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
April 17 
three feet thick, so that it will be moistened by the 
rain, which will soon sprout the seeds it may contain. 
In the spring, I rake enough off from the rows to 
allow the plants to grow through readily ; this covers 
the spaces between the rows until after picking is 
finished, keeps the fruit clean, and keeps the moisture 
in the soil. As soon as picking is finished, I cut off 
the tops, shake up the hay, spreading a little more on 
the rows, and on a windy day, when dry, set fire to 
the piece; this cleans it of all fungi and insects. 
After burning and before growth commences, I run 
the cultivator deep between the rows, and follow this 
with a light, spike-tooth harrow with the teeth slant¬ 
ing backward, crossing the rows ; this will draw some 
of the mellow soil in between the plants. They will 
now take on a new lease of life. The rest of the sea¬ 
son, I care for them the same as the first year. 
Rockland County, N. Y. martin l. bkll. 
WHAT THEY SAY. 
The “ Strawberry-Raspberry,” Rubus Sorbifo/ius. 
On page 116, in answer to an inquiry, The R. N.-Y. 
says that this interesting new plant is a “ worthless 
affair.” As there is likely to be some dissent from 
this rather sweeping assertion in the near future, an 
account of a two-years’ trial may be of interest. In 
May, 1895, a number of pot-grown plants, propagated 
from dormant roots received from Japan, were planted 
out in a field of sandy loam, of rather ordinary fer¬ 
tility, setting the plants about 3x4 feet apart. They 
received fair culture, the ground being kept quite 
mellow and clean with the cultivator and hand hoe. 
By September, they had formed handsome tufts, aver¬ 
aging 16 inches high and nearly two feet across. Late 
in October, the plot was carefully dug over in order 
to secure the roots for further propagation, but a row 
of seven plants was not disturbed, in order to make a 
fruiting test the succeeding year. The winter of 1895 
and 1896 proved quite severe, the temperature run¬ 
ning down to six degrees below zero on one occasion, 
with many sudden changes and severe freezes. The 
short canes soon died to the ground, which seems to be 
their habit, but live buds could easily be found an 
inch or so below the surface of the soil. 
The first new growth appeared in April, an abund¬ 
ance of “ suckers” coming up over a radius of three 
or four feet from the parent clumps. From the mid¬ 
dle of May until late September, this little plot 
formed a compact mass of brilliant green pinnate 
foliage resembling somewhat a particularly well- 
grown bed of the dwarf “ Spiraaa ” (Astilbe Japonica), ' 
but covered almost constantly with pretty, sweet- 
scented, white blooms, accompanied with the exceed¬ 
ingly bright and showy berries. The canes covered 
the ground so thickly that only two or three lusty 
rag-weeds were able to penetrate the matted foliage. 
The berries began to color about J uly 1, and continued 
to ripen until frost became imminent. The plants 
apparently made little effort to sucker beyond the 
limits of the bed, as outlined by the first spring 
growth, but a considerable extension of its area may 
be expected the coming season, if left unchecked. 
Fig. 109, first page, will show the natural size and 
form of leaf and fruit, as it is taken from a photo¬ 
graph, but neither description nor color processes can 
convey a fair impression of the brilliant intensity of 
color in the ripe berries. They color up when still 
firm and hard, but later the receptacle or “core” be¬ 
comes quite pithy, and they easily lose their shape. 
No estimate could be made of the quantity of fruit 
ripened, as many people had access to the plants, and 
carried the berries away as they ripened, chiefly as 
curiosities, but on many occasions, a quart of ripe 
berries • could have been picked at once. Probably 
more than half as many were produced in the season, 
as could be raised on a similar area of improved 
strawberries. 
“ But what are the beautiful berries good for ?” is 
a pertinent question, quite likely to be asked by one 
who sees a fruiting bush for the first. They are cer¬ 
tainly not liked in the fresh state, as the flavor varies 
from sour and insipid to a somewhat bitter, but 
fruity taste, according to the stage of ripeness. 
When stewed in sugar, however, in the usual manner 
of fruit preserves, they develop a pleasant flavor, 
curiously enough, midway between that of a red 
raspberry and the strawberry, and impart a most 
brilliant and rich garnet color to the syrup. All who 
have tasted the cooked berries like them very well. 
In conclusion, the defects of this novel herbaceous 
blackberry may be included in the statement that it 
is not in its present undeveloped condition either pro¬ 
ductive enough, or of sufficiently agreeable flavor in 
the uncooked state, to warrant extended planting. 
On the other hand, its entire hardiness, the complete 
possession it takes of the soil, excluding weeds and 
other plants, the beauty of leaf, flower and fruit, its 
extended season of productiveness, and the useful¬ 
ness of the berries for preserving, should make it a 
very agreeable addition to any private garden. The 
plants, as received from Japan, produce fruits vary¬ 
ing greatly in size, shape, and even flavor, showing 
that they are undoubtedly seedlings. It is not too 
much to'hope that Rubus sorbifolius can be eventually 
as much improved by selection and cross-breeding as 
other members of this very useful genus of fruitiDg 
plants. _ W. VAN FLEET. 
WHY DO WE PLOW ? 
WHAT IS THE OBJECT OF TILLAGE ? 
Part I. 
The casual observer, in replying to this question, 
would, probably, say : “ To make a fine bed in which 
to plant seed for the next crop.” This answer is 
correct so far as it goes. The same person might also 
say that we plow to kill weeds or whatever plants are 
already in the soil, which is as true as the first reply. 
Plowing is also done to bring to the surface some of 
the fertility that has been carried down by rains ; to 
bring new portions of the soil under the direct action 
of air and rains, whereby the soil is made finer, and 
more plant food is unlocked and made available ; to 
air and warm the soil and thus make it more comfort¬ 
able as a work-shop for the germs of nitrification. 
But still more important is the relation which the 
plow bears to the texture of the soil and the move¬ 
ments of the soil water, and it is mainly in relation 
to these two problems that this article will be con¬ 
fined. 
By texture of the soil is meant the degree of loose¬ 
ness or compactness of the soil, and the fineness or 
1 inch bust nut-CH 
/ '(,■ % mt 
AA'.X/ Pf//// 
1 INCH DUST riULCH 
PREPARING SOIL FOR STRAWBERRIES. Fig. 110. 
The upper figure represents soil that is simply plowed and then 
harrowed. The lower figure shows the effect of first harrow¬ 
ing, and then turning this harrowed portion over, 
coarseness of the soil grains. Sand has a loose, and 
at the same time, a coarse texture, for the individual 
grains are large as compared with the grains of a clay 
soil. A clay containing no organic substance is very 
compact, and its texture is bad, or as is sometimes 
said, it is in a poor physical condition. The same 
clay mixed with a sufficient amount of organic matter 
or humus, becomes a most productive clay loam with 
a loose, crumbly texture, and is in a good physical 
condition. The clay in its first state is of little value 
to the farmer, because no plants will thrive on it; but 
improve its texture by wise cultivation and the incor¬ 
poration of humus, and it becomes most profitable. 
Prof. Bailey, in Bulletin 119 of the Cornell Station, 
gives an apt illustration showing the relation of an 
unproductive clay soil in a poor physical condition to 
a good bean soil. The chemist analyzed samples of 
each soil and found the per cent of plant food as 
follows: 
Pbos. Organic 
Water. Nitrogen, acid. Potash. Lime, matter. 
Unproductive clay.13.25 . 08 . 20 1.10 . 41 3.19 
Good bean soil.15.95 .11 .17 .75 .61 5.45 
This shows the unproductive clay to contain more 
mineral plant food than the soil growing a good crop 
of beans. The two plots from which the samples 
were taken were not more than 20 feet apart, and ail 
the so-called poor soil needed to make it as produc¬ 
tive as the other was judicious plowing and tillage, 
and the incorporation of organic matter to supply the 
needed nitrogen, and to keep the soil porous after 
once being loosened and made crumbly by tillage. 
The grains of clay are exceedingly minute, which 
fact accounts for the ease with which clay may be so 
tightly packed, even so that it is impervious to water. 
The ideal condition of such a soil is not that each 
grain should be separated from its neighbors, but 
that several grains should be bound together in a 
flake-like body, and that the whole mass should be 
composed of these flakes. This making of flakes, or 
flocculation, is done by the action of lime; also, 
judicious plowing and tillage do much to accomplish 
the same object—both by the direct use of the imple¬ 
ments themselves, and indirectly, by their making the 
incorporation of humus possible. 
The grains of sandy soils are so large and of such a 
composition that there is no danger of their becoming 
compact under ordinary usage. Thus these remarks 
on the relation of plowing to soil texture will not 
apply as well to them as to clays and loams. 
The instrument which, above all others, is best 
adapted to the loosening and crumbling of the soil is 
the plow, and a plow which does not pulverize the 
soil is not worth using. However, there are instances 
where it is not desirable to fine the surface at the 
same operation with plowing, as, for example, plow¬ 
ing in the fall, when a pulverized surface soil would 
be likely to puddle before spring, and thus injure the 
texture. But in the great majority of cases, the 
ground is planted soon after plowing, and then, if the 
greater part of the pulverizing can be done by the 
plow, much time and labor are gained. 
The time to put the plow into the soil to have it do 
its best pulverizing work, is in the spring, when just 
enough water has been evaporated from the soil so 
that it will crumble and not pack in the hand. All 
clays and heavy loams that are to be plowed should 
be carefully watched at this season, so that the plow¬ 
ing may be done when the soil is “just right.” If 
plowed then, it will come up mellow and crumbly, 
and require but little harrowing. If plowed too wet, it 
will bake; if too dry, it will be cloggy. Careless 
judgment or two or three days’ delay in plowing may 
mean many hours of extra harrowing, and even then, 
a poorer condition of soil than the plow alone would 
have left if used at the proper time. If the field is 
rolling and contains different kinds of soil, it will 
pay to plow the lighter, drier portions first, and leave 
the heavy parts until later. l. Anderson. 
Cornell University. 
TO PREVENT SCAB IN POTATOES. 
CORROSIVE SUBLIMATE VALUABLE AND RELIABLE. 
It seems to me that M. M., Medway, Mass., in his 
article on page 87, Sulphur and Potatoes, has unjustly 
accused the experiment stations. It usually takes 
more than one witness to convict in courts of justice, 
and hundreds could be produced to testify to the value 
of the corrosive sublimate treatment. I fear that he 
has not thoroughly studied his bulletin on the treat¬ 
ment of potato scab, or else he has jumped at con¬ 
clusions. The bulletin which I have before me, No. 
49 of the Geneva Station, states very plainly, and I 
have found truthfully, that where the soil is badly 
infested with scab, no treatment as yet found is of 
any practical benefit. Where the scab fungus has 
become thoroughly incorporated with the soil, there 
seems to be no other way than to seed and use the 
land for other crops for a few years. When again 
using the land for potatoes, plant early on a clover 
sod and dig as soon as fully ripe. If possible, select 
a variety that does not show a tendency to the dis¬ 
ease. An undue amount of moisture in the soil very 
often produces scab. With me, the application of 
wood ashes invariably induces scab, if they come in 
contact with the growing crop. The use of stable 
manure when applied direct to the crop will some¬ 
times have the same effect; but if spread broadcast 
on a sod in the early fall or winter and thoroughly 
pulverized before plowing, they have given me ex¬ 
cellent results. 
Potatoes planted on the same field year after year, 
are likely to be more affected with the scab than 
when a new field is used each year. Then, as Dr. 
Roland Thaxter of the Connecticut Experiment Sta¬ 
tion says, “ The practice of feeding scabby tubers to 
stock is one of the most important means by which 
the disease is spread on farms. In view of the well- 
known fact that great numbers of fungus spores can 
and do pass through the digestive tract without 
injury, and that the scab fungus is known to grow 
luxuriantly in decoctions of horse or cow dung, it is 
not unreasonable to assume that its spores passing 
through the digestive tracts of stock fed with diseased 
potatoes continue their development in the manure 
after evacuation.” 
In this section, it is the common practice of farmers 
to feed to their stock all small and unsalable potatoes, 
generally in the raw state. If the means are not at 
hand to cook the potatoes, thereby killing the germs, 
it would be safer to bury the potatoes out of sight 
than to run the risk of spreading the disease. In the 
concluding remarks in the bulletin on treating for 
scab, it seems to me the results are underdrawn, that 
better effects usually follow than the station would 
