548 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
August ic 
Jarmers Club. 
[Every query must be accompanied by 
the name and address of the writer to in¬ 
sure attention. Before asking a question, 
please see whether it is not answered in 
our advertising columns. Ask only a few 
questions at one time. Put questions on a 
separate piece of paper.] 
The Arctic Apple. 
ii'. /•’. C., Turner, .Vc.—Can you give me a 
correct description of the Arctic apple? 
Ans. —The Arctic apple is of medium 
size, flat, dark or bright red, of fair 
flavor when fully ripe and keeps until 
late Winter in the Northern States with 
proper care. It is such a newly-intro¬ 
duced variety that little is known of it 
outside a few places in New York and 
the New England States. ii. e. v. d. 
Pruning Questions. 
G. A. Ii., Germantown, Pa.—l. Is it ever 
I)roper to prune or cut back grafts? In 
March, 1900, I grafted a fine new pear on 
an Anjou. This tree is 11 years old, about 
M feet high, and SYs inches diameter; a 
remarkably strong tree, but has never 
borne but once, and then had only two 
pears on it. The graft, now 16 months 
old, is about the thickness of a lead pen¬ 
cil, but is four feet 10 inches long. Should 
it be cut back? 2. I have two cherry trees 
10 years old standing 18 feet apart. The 
Bigarreau is a rank grower, with leaves 
so dense as to exclude both sun and air. 
My gardener pruned it in March, cutting 
away one-tliird of the inner limbs, but it 
failed to bear. Entirely new growth, suck- 
ering from the limbs, has in several in¬ 
stances attained a length of 30 inches. 
Four grafts on this tree last March all 
grew nicely. The California cherry is a 
much more feeble grower, and it was 
loaded with cherries, but of four grafts 
on it, not one grew. What would you ad¬ 
vise me to do with the Bigarreau? Would 
it not be advisable severely to prune the 
California, and if so, when? 
Ans. —1. Yes, cut back this or any 
other graft when it does not grow prop¬ 
erly. A graft is the same as any other 
part of a tree, and should be treated ac¬ 
cordingly. It is a good plan to pinch 
back grafts the same year they are set, 
if they grow too tall and spindling, thus 
causing them to branch out and take 
better forms. 2. Cherry trees rarely 
need much pruning. They usually bear 
when they attain proper age, if condi¬ 
tions are favorable, and I would think 
these trees ought to bear at 10 years 
old. I would be patient with the strong 
growing one and enrich the other. Then 
if they do not bear properly 1 would 
graft the former and regraft the other. 
n. E. v. I). 
An Orchard on Long Island. 
A. R., Brooklyn, V. Y .—Early last De¬ 
cember I had planted at St. James, L. 1., 
an orchard of Pall Pippin, Maiden Blush, 
Baldwin, Ben Davis, Bottle Greening and 
Tompkins King apples; Bartlett, Kieffer 
and Seckel pears; crab apples; Crawford 
I>ate, Elberta and Champion peaches; 
raspberries, blackberries, currants. Fay 
and Cherry, and gooseberries. Red Jacket 
and Chautauqua—about 1,750 in all. The 
soil is a sandy loam with a gravel sub¬ 
soil. The trees were bought from a first- 
class house in Rochester, but they have 
not done at all well up to the present, 
owing to disappointment in not being able 
to get anyone to work in the Spring. The 
trees were not cut back at all. Should I 
leave them until next Spring, or would it 
do any damage to cut them back the first 
week of August, when I shall be able to 
see to it myseif? They have not had any 
fertilizer, but I have had the ground 
plowed and am going to sow Crimson 
clover between the rows to plow in next 
May. We have had Peach curl, leaf rust 
on the apple leaves, and the buds on the 
cherries after opening into leaf seemed to 
turn brown and shrivel up. Should I sew 
the clover right up to the trees, or keep it 
a few feet away? 
An.s. —is probable that the varie¬ 
ties planted will do quite well on Long 
Island. The matters of cultivation, 
pruning, etc., are essential to success, 
and it is useless to continue keeping the 
farm with an idea of profit under any 
other conditions than the best of care 
will provide. In my opinion, August is 
a little late for pruning, but if it is not 
done too severely no damage is likely 
to result. In all probability a good fer¬ 
tilizer would benefit the trees greatly, 
and it would be well to apply it with 
the Crimson clover seed this Summer. It 
Avill do no harm to sow it close to the 
trees, if It is plowed down next Spring 
H. E. A”-. D. 
Lime or Wood Ashes for Strawberries. 
What has been your experience with 
lime or wood ashes used on strawberries? 
Experiments seem to show that where the 
soil is quite sour, lime is helpful, but that 
when the soil is not sour little benefit is 
observed. 
Ans. —I have applied wood ashes at 
the rate of two tons to the acre upon 
strawberries with the very best of re¬ 
sults. My soil is a gravelly loam upon 
a clay subsoil, and in some portions o! 
the farm what would be known as hard- 
pan. There is more or less of acidity in 
this soil. I am satisfied that the lime 
in the ashes has particular value, and I 
intend to apply lime direct to the soil. 
I have found it of late almost impos¬ 
sible to plant cherry trees with any cer¬ 
tainty of their growing beyond one year. 
Such varieties as Robert’s Red Heart 
and the Elkhorn are among the most 
valuable of all our cherries, as also the 
Black Tartarian. It has been with 
great difficulty that I can get any of 
these varieties to grow of late years. 1 
am going to plant again of all of these 
kinds, but shall first give a liberal ap¬ 
plication of lime before planting the 
trees. I shall then use wood asihes as 
the one form of potash to be applied, 
sow Crimson clover to give such nitro¬ 
gen to the soil as will be needed, and 
get the soil in a good mechanical con¬ 
dition, as well as increase its ability to 
hold moisture. I have been exceeding’y 
well satisfied with the effect of wood 
ashes, not only upon strawberries, but 
upon all kinds of tree fruits. There has 
not only been a fine growth of foliage, 
but the fruit has been of excellent 
quality, as the result of. both lime 
and potash c-ontained in the ashes. 
I believe that potash in wood ashes 
is in the best possible form for 
fruit, and where the ashes can be 
purchased at a reasonable price my 
own advice would be to use them freely. 
I believe there is value in wood ashes 
beyond the mere commercial value of 
the potash they contain. Good Canada 
hardwood ashes contain about 30 per 
cent of lime in the form of carbonate 
of lime. Soils are far more acid than 
they are supposed to be, and moderate 
applications of lime made annually are 
of greater value than heavy applications 
made once in three or four years. 
OEO. T. POWELE. 
What to Do With a Small Farm. 
R. It. C., Easthamyton, Will you tell 
me what would be the best crops to raise 
on a 40-acre farm in New Hampshire? I 
am told that there is no stone on the place, 
and the farm is level. It is IV^ mile from 
the railway station. If I could obtain a 
market for my produce in Boston, would 
it be wise for me to raise small fruits and 
vegetables, and ship them to the city? 
Also, do you think that poultry for eggs 
and broilers would pay? I am employed 
in a factory at present, but have worked 
some on farms. 
Ans. —It would be worse than guess¬ 
ing to try to answer these questions. 
Neither of us (has seen the farm. We 
do not know what the soil is, how the 
roads are, how much cleared land there 
is, or anything definite about it. In our 
experience the best crops for an inex¬ 
perienced man to start with are grass, 
corn and potatoes. All these require 
great care and skill, but the beginner 
can do better with them than with most 
other crops, and can thus learn some¬ 
thing about working the soil. We would 
not, of course, plow up any good grass 
land to begin with. We would start a 
good flock of poultry at once, and in¬ 
crease it to reasonable size as fast as we 
could afford comfortable houses and pro¬ 
vide food. We have found that cur¬ 
rants pay about as well as any small 
fiuit for the beginner. They can usual¬ 
ly be sold in bulk, and there is less rush 
about picking and shipping than there 
is with other small fruits. We would 
advise you to go slow with most fruits 
and A'egetables. Great skill is required 
to raise them properly, and you will 
need some years of haixl work before 
you can make them pay. You will have 
to be satisfied with small returns until 
you learn how to handle your farm. 
Clipping the Alfalfa. 
.1. I'. L., Clifford, N. Y .—I sowed a small 
piece of ground to Alfalfa about May 20. 
The weeds have got the start of the Al¬ 
falfa. Will it answer to put the mowing 
machine on and cut as high from the 
ground as five or six inches, and rake the 
weeds and Alfalfa off? I think it would 
be good for the cows. 
Ans. —Yes, we would by all means clip 
off the weeds. This is usually done by 
good farmers. Sometimes it is neces¬ 
sary to do it twice the first year. It pays 
—giving the Alfalfa a show and keep¬ 
ing down the weeds. It sometimes pays 
to clip off the young clover in the same 
way. 
Spraying the Resin-Lime Mixture. 
J. V. B., East Setauket, N. Y .—Last year 
Mope Farm Notes described means of kill¬ 
ing the worms on cabbages. Was the resin- 
lime mixture u.sed? Was there any trouble 
in spraying it? I used Paris-green dry 
on mine, but it did no good, as my crop 
was a total failure. 
Ans.— This resin-lime mixture is thivk 
and sticky—hard to force through the 
ordinary nozzle. A strong force pump 
is required. Ihe cheaper class of pumps 
would clog and probably prove useless. 
Spraying this mixture is hard work. For 
the benefit of those who have not kept 
Imck issues of The R. N.-Y. we repeat 
the formula: Five pounds of pulverized 
resin, one pound of concentrated lye, 
one pint of fish oil, five gallons of water. 
The oil is used to soften or dissolve the 
rosin. Boil the oil, resin and water in 
an iron kettle. When the resin is soft¬ 
ened add the lye—first dissolving it in 
water. Stir this well and then add four 
gallons moi’e of hot water. Boil all this 
until you have a clear, amber-colored 
liquid which unites with cold water. 
This makes a “liquid soap” which when 
put with the Paris-green and water will 
make it stick well to leaf and stem. 
When you add the potash and water you 
must let the kettle cool slightly. If this 
is not done the whole mass may boil 
over and the oil and resin will take fire. 
Disk Harrows; Brome Grass. 
if., Orantsville, Md .—Can the disk or 
Cutaway harrows be used successfully on 
siony or rocky ground? Do you recom¬ 
mend the new grass (Bromus inermis) for 
culture in the East In preference to Tim¬ 
othy or other well-known grasses? 
Ans. —In our experience such harrows 
are not at their best on soil covered 
with flat stones or With large rocks, 
't he disks are chipped and broken, and 
cannot toss and throw the soil as they 
should. Where the stones are small and 
round these tools do better. The best 
harrow for stony fields is the spring- 
tooth. We advise only an experiment 
with Bromus inermis or Awnless brome 
grass. It appears to give good satisfac¬ 
tion on the dry plains of the West—be¬ 
ing reported superior to Timothy in Ne¬ 
braska or Dakota. For the more humid 
climate of the Eastern States we prefer 
our common grasses and corn. 
yields of Asparagus and Rhubarb. 
TV. TV. TV., Tyrone, Fa.—How many pounds 
ought an asparagus bed to yield to the 
acre under the highest culture? How 
much does dark-forced rhubarb yield com¬ 
pared with that grown naturally? 
Ans. —The following answer to first 
query by a most experienced grower, 
Edwin Beekman, will be found of in¬ 
terest: 
“My old bed of Conover Colossal at 
seven and e'ig'ht years (the prime condi¬ 
tion) cut 3,000 2%-pound bunches per 
acre. At that time rust was unknown. 
I am informed that the Palmetto, before 
the advent of rust, in its prime (six to 
nine years) would cut 2,000 bunches, 2^^ 
pounds, per acre, but of course this 
would be mostly all No. 1, only a small 
percentage of cull shoots. Since the 
rust it takes a good bed of Palmetto to 
cut 1,000 bunches in a season, and very 
few here this year cut that many.” 
We have not been able to get authori¬ 
tative yields of forced rhubarb as com¬ 
pared with field plants, but our own ex¬ 
perience, extending over several seasons, 
implies that nearly the same weight 
m.ay be cut from forced as outdoor 
plants, though the roots are practically 
destroyed in the process. 
ARMSTRONG & McKELVY 
I'lltshutgh. 
BETMER-BAUMAN 
I’lltsburgh. 
DAVIS-CHAMBERS 
Pittsburgh. 
FAHNESTOCK 
Pittsburgh. 
ANCHOR ) 
y Cincinnati. 
ECKSTEIN ) 
ATLANTIC 
BRADLEY 
BROOKLYN 
JEWETT 
ULSTER 
UNION 
SOUTHERN 
SHIPMAN 
COLLIER 
MISSOURI 
RED SEAL 
SO THERN 
Nc\ 7 York. 
I Chi 
Chicago. 
>St. Louis. 
JOHN T. LEWIS & BROS CO 
Philadelphia. 
MORLEY 
Cleveland. 
SALEM 
Salem, Mass. 
CORNELL 
Buffalo. 
KENTUCKY 
Louisville. 
m 
AINT SAVES MONEY. It pro¬ 
tects your property and improves its 
appearance. Buildings kept well 
painted last longer ; without protection from 
weather and sun they will soon decay. 
In painting, labor is two thirds of the 
cost. It is a waste of money to put any¬ 
thing but the best paint on your buildings. 
The best paint is Pure White Lead (see 
list of brands which are genuine) and Pure 
Linseed Oil. This will protect your build¬ 
ings longer and better than any other 
known paint material. 
For any color or shade required, use NATIONAL LEAD COM 
PANY’S Pure White Lead Tinting Colors. Pamphlet sent free 
upon application. 
National Lead Co., lOO William Street, New York. 
The New Horticulture 
BY H. M. STRIDICF'ELLOW. 
We do not hesitate to say that this is one of the most 
interesting books on horticulture that ever was printed. 
Most reading farmers have heard of the now famous 
“Stringfellow Method” of planting trees, but few 
understand clearly what it is. This book tells the whole 
story in clear-cut, forcible style, which all can under¬ 
stand. Not only is the theory of close root-pruning 
carefully explained, but the general principles of garden¬ 
ing and fruit-growing are discussed. Mr. Stringfellow 
is a practical gardener, and he gives his own experience. 
We commend the book to all without reserve. ^New 
Edition, paper covers, 50 cents. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, New York. 
