8o 
niE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Pebi'uary !» 
FACTS ABOUT PORTO RICO. 
Climate. —Prof. George B. Groff, Lew- 
isburg, Pa., who spent two years in 
Porto Rico as Commissioner of Educa¬ 
tion, gave a most interesting address on 
the fruits and vegetables of that tropical 
island at the late meeting of the Penn¬ 
sylvania State Horticultural Association 
at Harrisburg, Pa. The interior is 
mountainous, with an average elevation 
of nearly 2,000 feet. There is practically 
no swamp land, and the slopes are near¬ 
ly all covered with rich black soil. The 
north coast is well watered, but the 
southern half of the island is subject to 
occasional droughts. There are over 1,300 
named streams, but the course of most 
is very short. He described the climate 
as nine months June and three months 
August, though the temperature range 
is only from 75 to 96 degrees, excessive 
heat, such as frequently experienced in 
the North, being unknown. Constant 
sea breezes temper the whole Island, as 
the most distant point is scarcely 40 
miles from the ocean. Nearly all the 
vegetables cultivated in the North are 
grown, some in very limited quantities, 
however. 
Vegetables. —Asparagus was seen at 
one place, but the plants were small and 
the growth far from thrifty. It is not 
found in the markets except as imported 
in cans. Beans are extensively grown 
and form a staple food. Red beans of 
the kidney type are much preferred, as 
they cook easily and are considered more 
digestible; white beans are not liked. 
Some Lima beans are grown, but as they 
are not picked until nearly ripe the table 
quality is not good. One of the local 
varieties of beans grows on a small tree. 
A few beets are grown, but are not gen¬ 
erally used. Carrots were not seen. Cab¬ 
bages are highly prized. They do not 
head hard as in the North. Celery is 
grown in a small way for soup. Water 
cress is abundantly naturalized in the 
streams. Sweet corn is much grown, but 
is picked too old for best quality. Cu¬ 
cumbers are plentiful and good. Sugar 
cane is used extensively as food and is 
nutritious. The Caladium, more proper- 
*ly Colocasia esculentum, is used for food, 
but as commonly cooked is not very pal¬ 
atable. Ginger is now well naturalized 
and grows wild everywhere, but is not 
much used. Egg plants thrive well and 
are much cultivated. The natives bake, 
but seldom fry them. Lettuce is plenti¬ 
ful, but of low quality, as it is not care¬ 
fully cultivated. Watermelons are scarce, 
small, and not very good. Onions and 
garlic much used for flavoring; they are 
not grown, but abundantly imported. 
Okra is much esteemed, and is eaten 
cooked as a vegetable and rarely used in 
soup. Parsley is occasionally grown as 
a soup flavoring. Peas thrive well, but 
are not picked until too hard. Peppers 
grow luxuriantly and are eaten green; 
not used as a condiment as in other 
Spanish countries. Sweet potatoes grow 
well, but are not as good as the Jersey 
product. Small varieties of pumpkins 
grow everywhere, and are much eaten, 
being used in soup as well as cooked like 
other vegetables. They are small and 
ill-looking, but of fair quality. Rad¬ 
ishes of the small red type are plentiful 
but low in quality. Rice is the staple 
food of the natives, and is generally 
cooked like a vegetable and colored with 
annotto, which is also used to color milk 
and soup; never used to color butter, as 
with us. Rhubarb and squashes are not 
grown. Tomatoes ripen every day in 
the year. Native varieties are small 
and ill-flavored, but very productive. 
Good ones are being grown by Ameri¬ 
cans. Turnips gi'ow well but are seldom 
planted. Many large woody yams and 
some Cassava plants are grown. They 
are poor eating. Northern seeds do not 
germinate nor grow well as a rule. 
$6 Send us a club of four subscrip- 
r tions with $4, and we will advance 
your own subscription one year 
$4 free—the five subscriptions for $4. 
Fkujts. —The mountains are full of 
Citrus fruits, but they get no care, and 
are generally of poor quality, but some 
are good. Oranges can often be bought 
for six to eight cents a hundred. Lemons 
are plentiful but little used. One variety 
is very sweet. Dates and figs are not 
often seen. Bananas are very plentiful, 
and are found in many varieties. To¬ 
gether with rice they form the staple but 
insufficient food of many natives. Cocoa- 
nuts are plentiful near the coast, and 
the green nuts are always in demand, the 
liquid interior being used as a beverage. 
Chocolate has been largely cultivated, 
but is dying out. Coffee growing is still 
the main industry. One kind of bread¬ 
fruit contains seeds that resemble large 
chestnuts and taste like them when boil¬ 
ed or roasted. Pineapples are numerous 
and of most excellent quality; better 
than those raised in Cuba and Florida. 
Many tropical fruits of minor and local 
importance were described. No northern 
fruits are grown. A few neglected gi’ape 
vines were seen. Peach trees grow, but 
bear no fruit. No berries were seen but 
the Mayberry (Rubus cratmgifolius?) in¬ 
troduced five or six years ago, is becom¬ 
ing naturalized, and is spreading rapidly. 
The berries are sometimes seen in mar¬ 
ket, and are much liked. w. v. F. 
A Word About Cow PeaSi 
.L T. (i., Daulon. N. T.—Where Crin I gri t 
cow peas, and are they good lo keep up 
flow of milk after grass has dried up in the 
Fall ? 
Ans.—C ow peas are offered by dealers 
and farmers in The R. N.-Y. If you sow 
them expecting late Fall pasture you 
will be disappointed. They die at the 
first hard frost. We do not advise cow 
peas as pasture, though some farmers 
use them for hogs and cattle. We ad¬ 
vise them for plowing under on poor 
land. Do not sow them too early. They 
are as tender as beans, and June 1 is 
early enough for your latitude. 
“EleotriD” 
applied to either 
Whiilt or WiKont 
is a guarantee of ezoellence. The pub¬ 
lic appreciates this fact. In 4 years we 
sold 080,000 Electric Steel WheeU and 80 
000 Electric Handy Wagon>. We make wheels 
to Otany wason. lllnetratcd Catalog FREE. 
Electric WhMl Co. Boi 88, Quinc), lilt. 
THOMP 
CRASS 
Sows alloloreraan deny other 
gnm, no matter how chaffy. 
Special Hopper for 
wheat, oats, etc. 
Welgha only 40 Iba. 
LASTS IN. 
DEFINITELY. 
SON’S 
SEEDER 
Sows 20 to 40 seres a day. 
BoftUihs wind »od wei. 
Don’t boy a seeder until 
you send for our free illos 
trated catalog ue# 
O.E.Thorapson&Sons.’^'Sl'”."’ 
You Send No Money 
Until Goods Arrive. 
AU Steel and Iron but the 
pole. Easily handled by two 
horses Send for delivery 
prices on all sizes. Disc 
Harrows, Lever Harrows, H-feot Seeders. 
ESIPIBE MFG. CO., 62 River Sfc, Sterling, Ill. 
Eureka 
Potato 
Planter, 
$ 35.00 
Guaranteed to equal the work of high-priced planters 
in any spot or place. Has Fertilizer Attachment. 
Write for catalogue and full information. 
EUREKA MOWER CO., UTICA, H. Y. 
Early Ohio, Hebron, Rose, B'orlune, 
rOlBlOBO Harvest, Bovee, Queen. Irish Cob¬ 
bler, Good News, Stump the World, Thoroughbred, 
Uncle Sam. 85 kinds. C. W. Ford & Co., B'lshers, N. Y. 
CCCn POTATOES 
■■ !■ mM Grown by us in Maine. 
HENRY ELWELL & CO., 
310 Washington Street, New York. 
Mention this paper. 
“ Seeds—Northern Grown—Seeds ” 
For tl we will mall, postpaid, 40 Large Size Packets of 
Choice assorted Vegetable Seecs and 1 oz. fine Strain 
Mixed Sweet Peas, as follows: 3 varieties Beet, 4 Cab¬ 
bage, 2 Carrot. 2 Celery, 4 Cucumber, 1 Egg Plant, 1 
Sage, 1 Leek, 3 Lettuce, 1 Muskmelon, 1 Watermelon, 
2 Nasturtium,2Onion. 1 Parsnip, 1 Pepper, 1 Pumpkin, 
2 Radish, 1 Salsify, 2 Squash, 3 Turnip, 2 Tomato. All 
Crop 1900. Money back if they do not give satisfaction. 
Northern New York Seed Co., Cape Vincent, N.Y. 
A New Vegetable 
“ CRIMSON WINTER 
The GREAT VALUE OF RHUBARB has always 
been its earliness. CKIM80N WINTER is fully 
six months earlier than any other Rhubarb. 
“OPULENT" Peach, “FIRST” Plum 
and other new fruits. 
B'or descriptive catalogues address 
Burbank’s Experiment Farm, Santa Rosa, Cal. 
TREES 
and Plants at Wholesale Prices. Apple. 
Pear and Plum, $8 per 100. Cat. free. 
Reliance Nursery, Box 10, Geneva, N. Y. 
r« iliA Mow A lit A Strawberry. Largest and 
IJ IIIB nVfl HUIU Best. 8.000 qts. to the acre. 
1 doz. plants for 82. Other good kinds as low as 
fl.50<p 1.000. Cat.free. Slaymaker&8on,l)over,Del 
OCTOBER PURPLE PLUM. 
A fine Plum of large size, maroon color, delicious 
flavor, ripens about the middle of September, or a 
month after the Abundance. Tree a young and pro¬ 
fuse bearer. Fine 2-year Trees for Sale. Also 
a large stock of Green Mountain vines, 2 or 3 years 
old. as well as large quantity of other nursery stock. 
Send for catalogue. Address 
STEPHEN HOYT’S SONS, New Canaan. Conn. 
Everblooming; Hardy Roses. 
I grow them. Don’t bother with little mall-size plants. 
Get strong three-year old field-grown bushes— 
vigorous and hardy ! I have them. Try this half 
dozen—all perpetual bloomers: Mrs. John Laing, 
soft pink; Anna Dlesbach, bright rose; Coquette des 
Alpes. finest white; Gen. Jacqueminot, crimson scar¬ 
let; Baron Bonstettln, dark velvet; Paul Neyron, 
largest and finest of all. Too heavy to go by mall. 
Big, strong bushes that will bloom profusely the first 
season. By express, prepald,$2. Order to-day. 
J. A. CALLISON, Bose Grower, 
Grand View Station, Des Moines, la. 
mm PEAS 
For Seed. 80c a bushel and up. 
Varieties: White, Green, Blue, Golden Vine and 
Hammond’s Hog Food, also Cow Peas. We are 
the largest growers in America, Catalogue of 
Peas and all other seeds FREE upon request. 
HARRY N. HAMMOND SEED CO., 
former!]/of I'ijiild. Box 48, Bay City, Mloh. 
A HOT PROPOSITION! 
For 8 limited time w© willriv© every farmer buying 
one of our Uarper Ball Benrlngr ForitrcB&co^* 
bined Anvil and Vise Fre©—freight prepaid. Save 
tfane and money by doing your own retiring this 
winter. Order now. We pay the freight. Forge, Drill, 
Anvil and Circulars Free. 
C. R. HarperMfg. Co. Box 246, Marshalltown, Iowa 
YOU CAN 
OBTAIN A MILLION 
-03FL XaXSSS - 
of the Best Quality 
at the manufacturers’ 
lowest cash price. Write 
for catalogue of Fruit and Farm Baskets and 
Cnites. Low prices for early orders. 
COLKS & COMPANY, 
Est’d 1884. 109 <fc 111 Warren St., New York. 
Indeed, 
ule while 
our now patoiit 
SPRAYERS 
sprayers. 
I N< ■ 
Kerosene Emul* 
lumping. van* 
ordeaux and Ver* 
morel N'ozzles, the World’s Best. 
THE DEMINQ CO. Salem, 0. 
Western Agents. Hennion A Hub- . luJUflT tJtk 
CUcago. Catalog, formulas free ^ ^ 
ALL BRASS. 
"$17 outfit for $7.00, express paid. 
WilTspray a loacre orchard per day. 100.000 in use. 
Satisfaction guaranteed or money refunded. Hid. 
catalogue free. Agts. make from $5 to $15 per day. 
Sew improvements. Free Trial. Mention thi.s paper. 
P. C. LEWIS HFO. CO., CatskilL N. Y. 
J. F. GAYIXIRD, Receiver. 
Buy a Good 
Spray 
Pump 
o n ’ t experiment— 
costs money. We have done 
the experimenting—used the 
common spray pumps in our 
own orchards, noted their 
defects—then invented the 
ECLIPSE. You get the bene¬ 
fit of our experience free- 
Send at once for catalogue. 
MORRILL & MORLEY, Renton Harbor, Mich. 
EVERY FRUIT GROWER SHOULD BEAD R. M. KELLOGG’S NEW BOOK, ENTITLED 
GREAT CROPS OF SMALL FRUIT 
AND HOW TO GROW THEM. The author has grown the largest crops of fancy fruit ever 
produced on an acre. In his experimental grounds are single plants which yield over FOUR 
QUARTS each of fine large berries. His customers have done as well. This has been accomplished 
by SCIENTIFICALLY BREEDING np plants to a high fruiting vigor so they throw their energie-s 
to the development of fruit instead of useless runners. The profit conies from a big crop of big 
berries that sells at sight to regular customers. This book tells you all about how it Is done. THE 
CHEAPEST PLANT is the one that will give you the best fruit and most of it. You can’t afford to 
play second fiddle on the market by using scrub plants. The only stock of scientifically-grown 
thoroughbred plants in the country for Spring planting. Send your address at once, and get a copy 
of this book, and a revised edition for three years FREE. Address 
XI.. 3MC. JSXSXjXi^>GrG-, T'lixree DFl.i'vrex'iaf, 3\«Xlolx. 
For Wholesale Sorayin^ 
in large commercial orchards where the saving of time, labor 
and material is a necessity, to say nothing of having the 
spraying done in the right “nick of time” nothing equals 
^Orchard Monarch 
Send for free cat¬ 
alog and opinions 
of people who 
it last year. 
used 
—note the large .storage ohanibcr In front. A 
convenient pumpoperatedhychain spnxiket froin 
rear wheel raises air pressure to 1.50 lbs. With 12 
gallons of liquid In chamber this will work two 
Vermoral Nozzles 6 to 10 minutes at full capacity- 
enough to spray the largest tree. Automatic arltators 
keep liquid thoroughly stirred up. Brushescleansuc- 
fion .itrainera automaticaUy every instant No buminp or ecaldmg 
offoliage. Sold complete as shown in cut. Wemakethe 
Famous Empire King Barrel Sprayer 
and full line of smaller machines. 
FIELD FORCE PUMP CO., 2 Market SI., Lockport, N. Y 
(PATXNTID) 
Goulds “Kerowater”Sprayer 
For Emulsifying and Spraying Kerosene 
and Water. 
Endorsed by the leading Horticulturists awd State Experimental 
Stations. A kerosene sprayer w’hich accurately proportions the 
mixture for any desired strength. Built in three sizes, for tank, 
barrel or knapsack use. There is a great demand for them. Ask 
your dealer or write direct to us. 
“How to Spray, When to Spray, What Pumps to Use,” a valu¬ 
able Booklet, free for the asking. 
The Goulds Mfg. Co., 
SENECA FALLS, N. Y. 
Warerooms: 16 Murray St., New York. 
