644 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
October 
oughly sprayed under his direction, and yielded a 
good crop of almost perfect fruit. Another orchard 
of 40 acres of Newtown Pippins that was only about 
half sprayed, had a crop on it for which the owner 
had refused $14,000 on the trees, while other orchards 
nearby had not nearly so good crops. 
Dr. R. C. Kedzie, of the Michigan Agricultural Col¬ 
lege. read a very concise and instructive paper on 
Fertilizers and Fruitfulness. One idea that was new 
to many, although plain enough when once we think 
of it, was that fertilizers rich in phosphoric acid 
hasten maturity of fruits, and those rich in nitrogen 
retard maturity by prolonging a succulent growth. 
Both are needed as well as plenty of potash, but too 
much nitrogen can easily be applied for the good of 
a fruit crop. He also set forth very plainly the need 
of keeping fruit trees in a vigorous condition, that 
they might be able to produce well-developed pollen, 
such as would be potent. He had found from experi¬ 
ments conducted that pollen from feeble trees is not 
likely to be potent, and fully believed that this is one 
great reason why many orchards fail to bear. When 
we think of it, we always keep male animals that are 
used for breeding purposes, in the most vigorous con¬ 
dition possible. 
The Root Gall Problem was treated by Prof. A. D. 
Selby, of Ohio. He thought that this disease on the 
roots of peach trees was more of a menace to the 
peach industry in Ohio than the yellows. There are 
different species of fungous plants that make galls of 
different kinds and in different places on the under¬ 
ground parts of trees and plants. The blackberry 
and raspberry have galls whose germs readily infest 
the soil and get on to peach roots, if they are near. 
He objected to planting those bush fruits in peach 
orchards, or setting peach trees where they had been 
growing. All affected nursery stock should be de¬ 
stroyed as promptly as though it had any of the other 
diseases or pests which we dread. 
Prof. John Craig, of the Canadian Experiment 
Station, at Ottawa, showed samples of a number of 
Russian apples that were classified into types or 
families, and explained them in a very interesting 
way. He thought that very few of them are of value 
south of the very coldest fruit-producing regions of 
North America. The Yellow Transparent and Pointed 
Pipka were about the best of the entire list of Russian 
apples. 
The Committee of Awards gave silver medals under 
the provisions madeby our beloved Marshall P. Wilder 
to the Campbell’s Early grape, the McPike grape and 
the collection of Russian apples shown by Prof. Craig. 
The officers elected for the ensuing term were : Presi¬ 
dent, C. L. Watrous, of Iowa ; vice-president, G. W. 
Campbell, of Ohio; secretary, W. A. Taylor, of Wash¬ 
ington, D. C. ; treasurer, L. R. Taft, of Michigan. 
The time and place of the next meeting were dis¬ 
cussed, but finally left to the executive committee. 
H. e. v. D. 
WHAT THEY SAY. 
Another “ Mysterious ” Fire. —At one time, I 
owned a thrashing outfit and horse-power, and went 
among the farmers to do their thrashing. At one 
time, I had to go for repairs. Just as I returned to 
the job, all was running in good shape; a man was 
between me and the feeder about 10 or 12 feet off, 
just in the act of lighting'his pipe. He scratched a 
match on his trousers as many do ; just then a flame 
sprang up at the feeder’s legs, I jumped and grabbed 
the pile of straw and carried it away. The man was 
looking in his pipe to see why it did not burn. I 
always thought that my timely arrival saved the 
whole outfit, 1,300 bushels of grain and the buildings, 
as no one except the driver saw it until I had removed 
the fire, and the business did not stop. If we had 
been using the engine, as we did usually, it would 
have been laid to that, and no one would have been 
the wiser for it. j. m. h. 
Claremont, Va. 
Parchment Lining in Butter Tubs. 
In the New York Produce Review, Mr. M. 0. Aws 
tells how he prepares butter tubs and puts in parch¬ 
ment lining. After experimenting with various 
methods, he has adopted the following: “ First soak 
the parchment paper in strong brine for two hours. 
Have the tubs well steamed and then soaked with 
cold water for three hours. To line them, grasp the 
lining on the top edge near the center. Place the 
part between the hand over the outer edge of the 
tub, letting the paper lap over about one inch. Never 
mind if it wrinkles and crumples up. Moving the 
hands in opposite directions, smooth the edge around 
the outside of the tub until the two ends meet. The 
paper being wet, it will stick to the tub. Hold the 
two corners with one hand and press the lining down 
inside the tub. You will then have about one inch 
on the bottom of the tub. Place the circular bottom 
lining in place and the task is completed. 
“ This way, I think, will exclude all possibilities of 
tubs and butter molding, as the tubs, by being so 
thoroughly steamed, will be perfectly free from pos¬ 
sible bacteria that create the mold, and the same way 
with the parchment paper if soaked well in brine. 
“ Considerably less loss from warped tubs with one 
or more hoops gone, will also be found if tubs are 
thus treated, than if kept filled with water from 10 
to 15 hours as some buttermakers advocate, and I 
think just as effective.” 
Pictures showing the way this parchment paper is 
put in the tubs are shown at Figs 272 and 273. 
Manure Under a Shed. 
I have carried into effect some convictions on this 
subject which may be of service. For years, I saw 
black strenns issuing from the manure piles near 
LINING THE BUTTER TUB. Flo. 272. 
farmers’ barns after every rain. It is a plain prob¬ 
lem, that to enrich the soil the farmer must save the 
manure. To preserve from leaching and evaporation, 
a cover is a necessity. The scientific farmers informed 
us that plain plaster scattered over the fermenting 
piles would absorb the ammonia, and so secure mois¬ 
ture sufficient to rot the straw. With these conclu¬ 
sions, I made the experiment in 1882, Ten feet in 
front of a Swiss barn, I erected a shed 40 x 50 feet. 
Before the foundation wall was erected, a pit sloping 
toward the barn was dug—nearest the barn, eight 
feet deep. At the other end of the shed, the ground 
is level. Doors were provided on each side from 
which the teams do the dragging. Good walls are 
erected. On this wall a frame structure is erected, 
inclosed with 16-foot boards, eight feet of which are 
THE LINING COMPLETED. Fig. 273. 
clear over the manure ; the remaining eight feet with 
roof cover afford a place for straw. The floor of the 
straw shed is on a level and extended by an eight- 
foot-wide passage, with the barn floor. The straw is 
easily transferred. Under this passage way, an open¬ 
ing or doorway, closed by six-inch board bars and a 
door on rollers, is made. Though the pit is eight 
feet deep at this point, the bars secure animals 
against accident. 
The manure is thrown into this shed and, whenever 
clouds of ammonia indicate burning fermentation, 
plaster is applied. The farmer, however, would not 
accept the opinion of the scientists. He declared that 
plaster is not sufficient, and that water must be sup¬ 
plied. We on this suggestion arranged the water 
spouts so as to turn on or off. Since then, we learned 
that, by means of water spouts, without plaster, the 
rotting process can be carried forward. Brief experi¬ 
ence will teach the farmer when to apply water, and 
how much. When rain is scarce, use plaster. The last 
few years, we used less than one-half ton of plaster per 
season. The application of water is so much cheaper 
that we have not relied wholly on plaster, and have 
succeeded without. 
We have now reached a period when, every time 
we plow a field, we first cover it with manure. Hav¬ 
ing now gone several times over the property (100 
acres), applying lime once in 10 or 15 years, in addi¬ 
tion to manure, increased fertility of soil and produc¬ 
tion are recognized by neighboring farmers. When 
this shed was erected, a neighbor, who was recog¬ 
nized as a reputable thinker and good farmer, propheti¬ 
cally lamented my loss by saying : “ That man is 
throwing his money away.” Neighboring farmers 
now admit that the manure made under this shed is 
one-half stronger than that which is leached and 
evaporated during the year. My farmer says that 
our manure is 40 per cent stronger than that of the 
older process. The Yearbook, 1896, United States 
Department of Agriculture, says that manure made 
under cover is 30 per cent stronger than the out-door 
leached article. The droppings of well-fed stock, 
straw going through such stables, with periodical 
applications of lime, will secure the permanent fer¬ 
tility of any well-managed property. h. m. 
Reading, Pa. 
Celery Going to Seed. 
It should be understood that the large, fleshy stalks 
of celery are purely a triumph of the gardener, that 
they are produced at the expense of some other part 
of the plant, and that they are produced only when 
certain influences act upon the plants during their 
growth. Chief among these influences, is that which 
is exerted by nutrition or by the kind and amount of 
fertilizers that are absorbed and assimilated by the 
plants. It is well known that high feeding with nitro¬ 
genous fertilizers encourages vegetative or leafy 
growth, and retards the formation of blossom stalks, 
and it is by the application of this principle that 
experienced celery growers overcome the tendency of 
early celery plants to go to seed before they are 
marketable. It is, also, well known that the forcing 
influence should act upon the plants continuously 
from the time they are well started in the seed bed 
until they go from field to market. If it is allowed 
to relax, even for a short time, as sometimes occurs 
when plants remain in the seed bed too long, or when 
it is dry after they have been set in the field, it fre¬ 
quently happens that they will not recover from it 
even though the land where they are set is very rich. 
Only last year, a striking illustration of this came 
to our notice. A friend who had nearly four acres 
of early celery, lost nearly half of it in this way. We 
saw the field before it was plowed up, and three- 
fourths of the plants had started blossom stalks. The 
cause of this seemed to be easily traced to a temporary 
period of starvation of the plants that occurred while 
they were crowded together in the seed bed. A 
second sowing from the same lot of seed was made 
about three weeks after the first, and although the 
plants were grown in the same way, set in the same 
field as the other, by the same men, and on the same 
day, they did not go to seed. On September 9, I saw 
the field again, and found my friend packing about 
200 dozen bunches of celery for shipment that after¬ 
noon, and he informed me that he had marketed large 
lots of celery every week since early in July, but that 
he had no trouble this year from plants going to seed. 
Rhode Island Station. [prof ] l. f. kinney. 
THE KEEPSAKE GOOSEBERRY. 
Will you be kind enough to tell us what you know of the Keep¬ 
sake gooseberry ? In your experience, do you find that the berry 
or the leaves will mildew ? Have you ever fruited a larger berry ? 
What is its origin ? 
I have not seen or heard of the Keepsake in this 
country. Downing speaks of it as a famous old Eng¬ 
lish variety of the green-colored class, but in 1882, I 
did not find it in any of the recommended lists of the 
continent. |J. l. bddd. 
Iowa State College. 
I have very little to add to the description of this 
variety which was published in my bulletin 114, page 
26. The fruit is there described as “medium or 
above.” This season, the fruit varied from medium 
to very large. We have fruited larger berries on 
other varieties. I have gathered the last of the fruit 
from our bushes to-day (August 7). I mail you a few 
specimens, but can hardly hope that they will reach 
you in sound condition, for they are very ripe. You 
will find some mildew on these specimens, and that 
will answer your question as to whether it ever mil¬ 
dews in this country. Mildew has been unusually 
prevalent this season, but Keepsake has not been 
seriously troubled with the disease here as yet. We 
obiainsd th3 variety fr j n W n. Fall & C ) , H ixhi n, 
ISiglaql, aui Jahn Witkim, WithiagbDn, Eiglanl. 
