1901 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
565 
EVERYBODY'S GARDEN. 
Saving Seed. —^Generally speak’.ng, 
the proper time for selecting and saving 
seed is just as soon as it is well ma¬ 
tured. There are doubtless some excep¬ 
tions, as in developing early strains of 
tomatoes, when to a certain extent, seed 
from unripe fruits may be used to ad¬ 
vantage. Potatoes for seed purposes are 
thought by many growers to be more 
vigorous if dug before thoroughly ripe. 
Be this as it may, wherever possible the 
seed should be selected before the main 
crop is harvested, or if not gathered 
should be sought out and so marked 
that there will be no difficulty in secur¬ 
ing it at a convenient time. 
Sweet Coun may be gathered with 
safety as soon as thoroughly glazed, or 
when the inner husks begin to turn yel¬ 
low. Strip the husks, leaving two or 
three, and tie two ears together and 
hang up on poles, freely exposed to the 
air, but secure from rain or dampness. 
Peas and beans are best cared for by 
pulling the vines at the proper time and 
after stripping off all inferior pods, hang 
up the vines with the same precautions 
as noted for sweet corn. When thor¬ 
oughly dried, thrash out or shell and tie 
up securely in strong paper bags and 
carefully label. 
Tomato Seed. —The plan much in use 
of allowing the fruits to lie exposed to 
the sun and rain until rotted down is 
not at all desirable, and should be dis¬ 
continued. First, if the seed by remain¬ 
ing in the rot and filth is not injured 
outright, it is at least not oenefited by 
its surroundings, and the work of wash¬ 
ing out the filth is in no sense a pleas¬ 
ant task. Second, in establishing a type 
of tomatoes, or holding or improving a 
type already established, it is not safe 
to trust to outside appearances alone. 
Tomatoes growing side by side upon the 
same vine, and almost identical to out¬ 
ward appearances, will often differ wide¬ 
ly as to inner conditions and number of 
seeds. Other things being equal, the 
more meat and the fewer seeds we have 
the better, so the only safe test is the 
knife. Select them, the finest speci¬ 
mens obtainable, halve them crosswise 
and save only those following closest to 
the desired type inwardly. With a spoon 
scoop out the seeds into a sieve, and the 
pulp is easily separated by holding the 
sieve in water and rubbing it through, 
leaving the seed clean and ready for 
drying. The Hunter flour sifter, used 
by nearly every housewife, is an ideal 
sieve for washing the seed; held under 
a faucet of running water, or lacking 
this, held in a pail or pan of water and 
turning the crank the work is quickly 
and nicely done. The seed is easily 
dried by spreading on cloth or muslin 
and exposing to the sun and air. Do 
not expose to too much wind, as when 
dried, the seed is light, and is easily 
blown away. This plan is preferable to 
drying by heat, as it may be easily over¬ 
heated and spoiled. Like nearly all 
other seeds, however, when thoroughly 
dried almost any degree of dry cold will 
be harmless. 
Sai/f and Ashes. —When the leaves 
of tomato, egg plant, pepper and other 
plants turn yellow and fail to set fruits 
as generously as desired, try an applica¬ 
tion of salt and ashes. A small handful 
of the mixture in the proportion of one 
part of the former to four or five parts 
of the latter, sprinkled around the hill 
will give new life and vigor to the 
plants. 
Care of Tools. —All are not so situ¬ 
ated that they can buy every desirable 
tool and labor-saving device now offer¬ 
ed in the market, but every one is so 
situated that he can keep such tools as 
he does possess in the best possible or¬ 
der for easy and thorough work. I es¬ 
timate that fully 25 per cent of time and 
labor may be saved by keeping tools in 
proper shape and repair, and having a 
place for everything, and keeping every¬ 
thing in its place. A rusty plow, culti¬ 
vator, spade or hoe will tire out man 
and beast before the task is half com¬ 
pleted, and the work be poorly done at 
that. When through using, the tools 
should be thoroughly cleaned and safe¬ 
ly sheltered, and when finally laid aside 
for the season they should be painted 
with crude petroleum, axle grease or 
something of that nature to prevent 
rusting through the Winter. Keep the 
shovels, hoes and spades sharp, and for 
this purpose an eight-inch flat file or 
even larger, costing but a few cents, 
will save dollars in time and many a 
weariness during the season. Always 
file the tools on a true bevel from the 
upper side of the blade, as this gives 
the tool the tendency to cut more deeply 
and s.tick more closely to the work, 
while filing from the underside has the 
directly opposite effect. Some day when 
the mercury is soaring upward and the 
sun’s rays are coming down by the 
shortest possible route, go out with your 
dull and rusty hoe and hoe for an hour 
or two in the weeds and grass; then 
stop and scour and file your hoe until 
sharp, and try it again, and you will 
wonder why you did not try it before 
beginning to hoe. If you find a tool 
broken or otherwise out of repair, stop 
then and there, if possible to do so, and 
make the needed repair. If not conven¬ 
ient or practical to do it at once make a 
note of it for the first possible oppor¬ 
tunity. Often a few minutes’ work done 
at once will save hours later on. 
A Handy Table. —A very cheap and 
convenient table for draining and tying 
up vegetables after being washed is 
made as follows: The legs are made of 
2x2-inch stuff four feet long. With a 
three-eignthsor half inch bit bore a hole 
through each leg 18 inches from the foot 
and bolt two legs together with bolt and 
nut. The top rails are lx2-inch stuff, 
and any length desired for the table, 
Halved into the top of legs. The lower 
rails are Ixl-inch and halved into the 
legs six inches from the foot, and se¬ 
cured with nails or screws. The top is 
made of heavy burlap which may be had 
of any upholsterer for 10 or 12 cents per 
yard. Tack this lengthwise to the upper 
rails, and you have a table made on the 
same principle as the folding cot, and 
when once used will not be dispensed 
with. When desired for use, the table 
may be set convenient to the washing 
place, and as soon as washed the vege¬ 
tables may be bunched or tied and left 
to drain without danger of soiling with 
the mud and dirt. When not in use it 
may be folded and set aside where it 
will occupy but little room. Of course 
any height and width of table desired 
may be made, and this will be governed 
entirely by the length of legs and tnc 
distance of bolting the legs together 
from the feet. j. e. morse. 
Michigan. 
USING FERTILIZER WITH WHEAT. 
Shall We Drill or Broadcast? 
My experience with fertilizers for 
wheat includes both broadcast and drill¬ 
ing, complete and partial manures, and 
in amounts not exceeding 250 pounds 
per acre. No appreciable difference in 
results, so far as stand of plants, or in 
the final outcome, has been noticed by 
either method. Last season I used dis¬ 
solved rock on clay land, about 250 
pounds per acre, drilling with ordinary 
form of fertilizing drill, and the yield 
was 24 bushels per acre, average, ma¬ 
chine measure, which is the best yield 
reported in the neighborhood. We 
have used both commercial and stable 
manures, in large quantities, on growing 
fruit plants, applying by both methods, 
that of broadcasting and in trenches. 
The broadcast gave best results. For 
seeds, as wheat, where amounts are not 
excessive, drilling will give, on our soil, 
as good results as broadcasting, and is 
to be preferred, as being more economi¬ 
cal of labor. If applications were heavy, 
say 500 pounds or more per acre, I’ea- 
soning from our experience in fruits, I 
would rather risk broadcasting. I may 
say that the purpose for which fertil- 
lizer is used, by our best farmers here, 
is to stimulate the wheat to extra 
growth in the Fall, and not to supply 
(primarily) plant food to produce a crop 
of grain. The Hessian fly damages 
early-sown wheat so badly as to compel 
sowing from two to four weeks later 
now than formerly. The problem now 
is to sow late enough to avoid the fly, 
and at the same time to develop a 
growth strong enough to withstand the 
Winter. For this purpose fertilizing is 
nearly a necessity, and drilling answers 
every purpose. ralph w. moss. 
Indiana. 
Close observing farmers have long un¬ 
derstood that it is not wise for them to 
make heavy applications of commercial 
fertilizers with wheat when the ground 
is too dry for good germination. It is 
generally believed that under such con¬ 
ditions a heavy application of phosphate 
or of complete fertilizer that conitains 
a large amount of phosphoric acid, in¬ 
jures the germination to a greater or 
less extent. I am not aware that ac¬ 
curate experiments have been made to 
determine to what extent the germina¬ 
tion is injured under such conditions. 
The extent of injury would undoubted'y 
depend largely upon the amount of 
moisture present in the soil, and upon 
the amount and kind of fertilizer ap¬ 
plied. It is also held by practical agri¬ 
culturists that less benefit is derived 
from the fertilizer if the application is 
made when the ground is dry than when 
sown under more favorable conditions 
as regards moisture. When the ground 
is dry a moderate or light application 
of commercial fertilizer should be made 
if loss of plant food is to be reduced and 
injury to germination avoided. 
[Prof.] O. C. WATSON. 
Pa. State College. 
Bright Spots in Florida. 
There are some parts of Florida that 
are not desirable for any kind of set¬ 
tlers to locate in, but others are good 
agricultural country. I can make more 
pork and beef from the products of an 
acre here than in any other State I 
know, and I lived in the Blue-grass sec¬ 
tion of Kentucky until I was over 30 
yeai-s of age, and still own a farm of 240 
acres there. This is a good farming 
country in spots, and the spots are good 
large ones, but there are no farmers 
here. When I came here the farmers 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you will get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See our guarantee 8th page. 
STRONG POTTED STRAWBERRY Ai 
PLANTS, early and late, sent safely ^ I 
anywhere postpaid for One Dollar. 
A. B. KATKAMIER, Macedon, N. Y. 
Beautiful Strawberries in 1902 
We can furnish you with 
pot-grown Strawberry Plants 
that will bear a full crop of 
fruit next year. Celery and 
Cabbage Plants. Full line of 
Fruit and Ornamental Stock. 
Write at once for our Summer 
and Autumn catalogue. It 
explains all. Fruit packages 
of all kinds for sale at low 
^ prices. T. J. DWYER & SON, 
jrange County Nurseries, Box 1, Cornwall, N. Y. 
Pot=Qrown 5 B Plants 
as shown in the cut are much the best. The roots 
are all there — and good roots, too. If set out In 
August and September will produce a crop of ber¬ 
ries next June. 1 have the finest stock of plants in 
the New England .States. .Send for Catalogue and 
Price List. C. S. Pratt, Keadiug, Mass. 
New and Rare 
FRUITS 
Buds by mall. Circular free 
K. J. BLACK. 
Bremen, Fairfield Co., Ohio. 
SUCCEED WHERE 
Largest Nursery. OTHERS FAIL. 
Fruit Book Fret. Result of 76 years' experience. 
FINE NURSERY STOCK 
Grown In the famous Delaware fruit land. Free from 
disease; true to name. Fruit Trees. Kerry 
Plants, Asparagus Roots. Try our prices on 
two-year Kleffer Pears. DOVER NURBERIES, 
B. H. ATKINSON. Dover. Del. 
RED APPLES 
500 trees good red apples. In proper soil, and given 
proper care for 10 years, will lift the ordinary farm 
mortgage '‘easy,” and leave you in comfortable cir¬ 
cumstances. Best method In the world for planting 
Apple trees and prices free. 
WOODVIEW NURSERIES, Box 100, Uriah, Pa. 
BUDS IN SEASON 
Peach, Apple, Pear and Plum. Write for 
prices, giving qtiantity wanted. 
HARRISON’S NURSERIES, Box 29, Berlin, Md. 
pulled a little foddei-, and their hVigs 
fattened on mash. I can make hay here 
Headquarters 
at less cost than anywhere, except on 
the prairies, but mine will be better 
hay, and we are now curing our owu 
pork. When 1 first came here one of 
my neighbors told me, when asked 
about milk, that he had 24 cows, and he 
sometimes got as much as a quart of 
milk at a milking. We now nave cows 
that give four gallons per day. There 
are some pretty good fruit growers and 
some good vegetable growers in the 
State, but very few farmers, and there 
is a splendid opening here for good 
ones. If you can see some one connect- 
for the October Purple Plum and 
Green Mountain Grape. The largest 
New England nursery, 500 acres. Strong 
stock of all fruits, ornamental trees and 
shrubs. Caltalogue free. 
STEPHEN HOYT’S SONS, New Canaan, Conn. 
S EED WHEAT—Rudy. Harvest King, Am. Bronze. 
&c. High ylelders; clean and graded. Farmers’ 
prices. Send for samples. A. H. Hoffman, Bamford, Pa 
open WUFAT^ Description of best and poorest. 
0 L L U 11 n LA I 0 Many varieties entirely ruined. 
Write to-day. Smith’s Wheat Farm, Mancbester.N. Y. 
ed with the large Winter hotels here, 
ask him what they would pay for good 
chickens and eggs for their hotels. 
They will name a good price, but will 
tell you that they can’t depend on 
Florida for their supply. Yet there is 
no better chicken country than this; 
eggs can be set in September and have 
broilers ready for the tourists’ bote’s 
but nobody tries it. The people who 
come here hear of some one who has 
made a big thing in vegetables or fruits, 
and at it they go. They want to get 
rich quick, and “go broke.” If they 
would be satisfied with good living, 
steady but what seem to be slow gains, 
they would do much better. s. h. g. 
McIntosh, Fla. 
CRIMSON CLOVER SEED-r"n.‘’To; MZl 
R. 8. JOHNSTON, Box 100, Stockley. Del. 
Homo-Grown Crimson Clover Seed. 
Choice Japanese Buckwheat. Seed Wheat and Win¬ 
ter Oats. J. B. HOLLAND, Milford, Del, 
s 
WvIiEb#V I graded, recleaned and ^ee from 
weeds, dirt, etc. Sure growers, bigvielders. New Mammoth 
_ White Rye and new crop Timothy tor fall sowing. Prompi 
•hipmenu. Write for prices, etc. Q. C. SHEPARD CO.. Medina, 0. 
mammoth WHITE WINTER SEED 
RYE AND STRAW, can now be seen at Pan- 
American Exposition, Buffalo. It is noted for its 
productiveness In grain and straw. Awarded First 
Prizes at several New York State and American 
Institute Fairs; also first at the Tennessee Centen¬ 
nial, Missouri, Vermont and Massachnsetts State 
Fairs Price, $1 per hu. K.L. CLARKSON. Tivoli. N.Y. 
Refer by permission to The Rural New-Yorker. 
“The Granger” for fruits and vege¬ 
tables. dR3, S5, 98. Clioular 
EASTERN MFG. CO., 257 South 6th 8t.. Phlla., Pa. 
The Robison Basket Co., Palnesvllle, 0.,the largest 
manufacturers In the U. S. of grape, peach and fruit 
packages. Write us for samples and prices. 
CELERY PLANTS 
gatlon method—$1.50 per 
CLOVER SEED 
$1 per bu.; sacks free. J. 
—not spindling ones 
and not raised by Irri- 
$1.50_per thousand. 
-Choice, clean Crimson or 
Scarlet of my own raising, 
C. ELLIS, Mlllsboro, Del. 
CLOVER 
In sowing this valuable clover it is Im¬ 
portant ihat American seed is used. We 
supply genuine Delaware seed only. Our 
special circular describing uses of Crimson 
HENRY A. DREER, TI4 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Pa. 
