662 
THK RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
September 
^ Ruralisttis 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS. 
Our Best Cover Crops. —The exces¬ 
sive rains and great heat of August 
stimulated our cow peas to outdo all 
former efforts. The Early Black, which 
usually makes less than two feet of 
growth, grew until it rolled up a tan¬ 
gled mass waist deep, and has now 
dropped most of its leaves, while the 
ripening of the pods goes on. The tu¬ 
bercles on the roots are larger and more 
numerous than we have ever had them 
before, particularly on soil where the 
peas were grown before, showing that 
the tubercle germs are increasing in 
numbers. Other varieties, such as the 
Whippoorwill, New Era, Late Speckled, 
etc., are making phenomenal growths 
and blooming freely, but will not ripen 
seeds. The improvement of the soil by 
cow peas is so thoroughly established 
in the South, where they have been long 
grown, that it is never questioned, and 
it is only a matter of finding a suffi¬ 
ciently early variety to make them val¬ 
ued in the North. For our own pur¬ 
poses we grow the Early Black on our 
cultivated land for the purpose of chok¬ 
ing out weeds, restoring the soil texture, 
and providing a Winter cover, without 
taking into account the value of the ni¬ 
trogen stored, which all agree to be con¬ 
siderable. We gather a portion of the 
earliest pods for seed, and allow the 
chickens to harvest the rest at their lei¬ 
sure, which they do with much skill and 
persistence, to the evident improvement 
of the egg record. 
While Crimson clover likes plenty of 
moisture when young, an unduly high 
temperature is not beneficial, and our 
stand, though thick and even from good 
germination, has been quite yellow and 
flabby. A few cool nights, however, 
have tinged the plants a deeper green, 
and started a vigorous growth which 
should last until the ground freezes. We 
sow Crimson clover in strips between 
small fruits and after early vegetables 
to hold the soil during Winter, and gain 
all possible fertility. Of its beneficial 
effects when turned under in the Spring 
we are fully convinced. The Rural 
Grounds soil had been long cultivated 
as a nursery before being put to its pres¬ 
ent use, and was as devoid of fiber and 
humus as could well be. To restore it 
to proper conditions meant heavy ap¬ 
plications of stable manures or the 
growing of grasses. The first was ob¬ 
jectionable on account of expense and 
the certainty of introducing trouble¬ 
some weeds, and the latter because of 
the necessary loss of time. Moderate 
applications of good chemicals and 
growing nitrogen-gathering legumes 
was the plan adopted, and so far carried 
out with much satisfaction. Clover has 
now been induced to grow by repeated 
sowings on a bare and worn slope, so 
poor that weeds would not cover it, 
even in a wet year, the growth soon dy¬ 
ing out in earlier attempts, but becom¬ 
ing stronger as the soil became better 
inoculated witn the tubercle germs. W« 
shall keep right on with the clover on 
this strip each season, in order to as¬ 
certain its restorative powers, when 
useu alone. The most common objec¬ 
tion to Crimson clover in this locality is 
the uncertainty of getting a good stand 
if the weather should remain dry after 
planting. The chances of winterkilling 
are not much considered, as the Fall 
root growth is reckoned as sufficient to 
pay for the seeding, even if it freezes 
out altogether. Cow peas can get along 
with much less moisture than clover, 
and rarely fail to germinate, and start 
off well if good seeds are sown in fresh¬ 
ly prepared soil. The benefits of cow 
peas to the soil are so direct and con¬ 
siderable that one cannot grudge the use 
of the land for an entire growing sea¬ 
son, but the commercial seeds are rather, 
expensive, and too often of poor qual¬ 
ity. It costs time and trouble to save 
one’s own seed in the proper manner by 
hand picking and careful shelling, but 
it is certain to pay in the end. 
The Sultan or Occident Plum.— 
This is one of Burbank’s hybrids sent 
out three or four years ago. Fig. 293, 
page 658, shows a typical fruit sent in 
by J. H. Black, Son & Co., Hightstown, 
J. Many specimens are larger than 
the one represented, and in California it 
is said to grow as large as a medium¬ 
sized apple. The color is dull red, 
shaded with greenish yellow and cov¬ 
ered with a blue bloom. The flesh is 
very firm, and dark red in color, like 
Satsuma. The flavor is sweet and good, 
only a slight astringency being percept¬ 
ible under tiie thin, tough skin. The 
stem is very short, causing the plums 
to cling firmly to the branches like 
Delaware and Apple, also red-fleshed 
seedlings of Satsuma. The Sultan is a 
long-keeping plum of a quality high 
enough to become popular. The tree on 
the Rural Grounds is a healthy, vigor¬ 
ous grower, but too young to fruit. If 
Sultan and its companions should bear 
well and show a reasonable resistance 
to rot they will be useful here in the 
East. Burbank named this plum Sultan 
when sent out, but Prof. F. A. Waugh, 
in his Plums and Plum Culture, page 
221, substitutes Occident for sultan, as 
the latter name was given to an Eng¬ 
lish seedling of the Domestica type 
about 1875. 'The European Sultan has 
probably not been introduced in this 
country. 
A Worthy New Basket Plant.— 
Campanula isophylla Mayii is a new 
trailing bellflower that seems admirably 
adapted for the window garden. It has 
neat small foliage, a slow rambling 
growth, and is a remarkably profuse 
bloomer. The flowers are saucer-shaped 
and of a clear lavender-blue. Hundreds 
of these attractive blooms open at a time 
on plants small enough for a five-inch 
pot, presenting a continuous mass of 
color. They are about two inches across 
and last several days. The plant shou'd 
be grown in a partially-shaded place, 
and likes well-drained soil and an aiiy 
situation. During the late hot and 
muggy weather our plants under glass 
lost most of their growth from mildew, 
but at once started freely when remov¬ 
ed to a shaded porch. It is still so 
scarce that it has not been tried much 
in an amateur way, but there is little 
doubt it will make an important addi¬ 
tion to the few plants really adapted 
to cool and half-shaded windows. When 
grown in pots it can be staked up a 
foot or more high, but it thrives espe¬ 
cially well when allowed to trail over 
the sides of a deep basket. Campanula 
isophylla, the species from whidh this 
new variety was derived, is a native of 
Italy, and is often grown on shady 
rockeries. There is a white form that 
is very popular, but it is not so free in 
bloom as C. isophylla Mayii. w. v. f. 
IMPROVING QUALITY IN SWEET CORN 
The statement was recently made in 
The R. N.-Y. that the Sheffield sweet corn 
is improving in quality. As this variety 
was originated by Dr. Van Fleet his 
opinion was requested, and is given in the 
following Interview: 
In referring to the Sheffield corn a few 
days since a correspondent stated that 
this corn has improved in quality from 
year to year. Is it a fact that most 
sweet corns are improved in this way? 
I think so. A very sharp watch is 
kept on the table quality, which is in¬ 
dicated to a great extent by the appear¬ 
ance of the cured seed. Corn having a 
high sugar content in the grain shrinks 
greatly in drying, and becomes trans- 
luoenlt in appearance. 
Do I understand then that Kernels are 
picked out, or is the selection done en¬ 
tirely by the picking out of ears? 
The seed to be put on the market each 
succeeding year is improved by select¬ 
ing ears. For stock seed for improving 
the strains I have reason to believe that 
the individual kernels are selected for 
the necessary characteristics. 
What type of ear would be selected in 
the Sheffield? 
The ideal type of Sheffield corn is a 
medium-sized ear six to seven inches 
long, well filled to the tip with trans¬ 
lucent kernels. It is an eight-rowed va¬ 
riety, and the ears should average near¬ 
ly two inches in diameter. 
Would the selection be made on the 
stalk or after the corn was dried? 
For stock seed purposes the selection 
would be made in the field among the 
earliest developing ears. The stalks 
would be marked, and the ears not com¬ 
ing up to standard rejected on gather¬ 
ing. 
The idea is, then, that the ear would 
naturally convey that early maturing 
tendency to the crop? 
Yes, as Sheffield is an early corn an 
effort is made to accentuate that char¬ 
acteristic. 
In selecting for quality on the average 
how many of those dried pointed ker¬ 
nels would be found on the ear, that is 
how close down do you cull? 
As it is, of course, impossible to make 
a culinary test of the corn selected for 
seed, we must depend entirely on the 
appearance. In the ear approaching the 
ideal type about one-third of the ker¬ 
nels occupying the middle portion of the 
cob would have the desired characteris¬ 
tics. Chance kernels may be found on 
other ears not having the desired char¬ 
acteristics. 
Do you have any idea that these ker¬ 
nels selected for quality would give as 
large yield as the others? 
If a good germination is secured, there 
could be no doubt that the yield would 
be fully as good. However, the increas¬ 
ed proportion of sugar in the seed rather 
favors rotting. 
Does that explain why some strains 
of Evergreen are so hard to germinate? 
Possibly it does. Nature has undoubt¬ 
edly fixed a limit beyond which it cannot 
be induced to go. The proper balance 
for the nourishment of the germ must 
be maintained. An excess of sugar con¬ 
tent may mean a deficiency of other in¬ 
gredients, possibly a deficiency of en¬ 
zyme, a ferment which renders the sur¬ 
plus of sugar and starch available for 
the assimilation of the germ. 
Do most seedsmen make a double se¬ 
lection, one for commercial use and the 
other for gardening purposes? 
I think they generally do so. The 
theory is that once the selection is made 
and a crop of seed grown from this se¬ 
lection, it will answer well for commer¬ 
cial growing for that season, but to pro¬ 
pagate and intensify the desired charac¬ 
teristics it is necessary to make a still 
narrower selection. 
Do they charge an increased price for 
these extra kernels? 
A higher price would be charged, but 
as a matter of fact no special stock 
seeds are allowed to pass from the 
seedsman and his grower. 
Is this plan of selecting these improv¬ 
ed kernels practicable for the private 
gardener? 
It is perfectly practicable for anyone 
who is willing to give the necessary 
care and attention, but it is very neces¬ 
sary that the grower should have a defi¬ 
nite ideal toward which to work. 
Is any such selection practiced in 
other vegetables, the beet for instance? 
In the beet the root itself is tested, 
and seed is raised from those that have 
most of the desired characteristics. Of 
course such a test is not practicable in 
corn, where the seed itself is the edible 
part. 
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. 
For the land’s sake, use Bowker’s Fer¬ 
tilizers. They enrich the earth.— Adv. 
Soft 
Harness 
You can make your har- 
nesa iw aoft aa a glove 
and as tough aa wire by 
using EUREKA Unr- 
neae Oil. You can 
lengthen its life—make It 
last twice aa long aa It 
ordinarily would. 
EUREKA 
Harness Oil 
makea a poor looking har- 
ne.s3 like new. Made of 
pure, heavy bodied oil, es¬ 
pecially prepared to with¬ 
stand the weather. 
Sold everywhere 
in cans—ail sizes. 
Made bv STANDARD DIL na 
Our catalogue of high- 
class bulbs fer fall plant¬ 
ing is now ready. A11 who 
have not received a copj- 
are invited to send for it. 
We mail it free. 
J.IVI.THORBURN&CO. 
36 CORTLANDT STREET. NEW YORK. 
Wood’s Seeds 
FOR FALL SOWING. 
T. W. Wood & Sons Fall Catalogue, 
Issued in August, tells all about 
GRASS and CLOVER SEEDS, 
Vetches, Crimson Clover, Seed 
Wheat, Oats, Rye, Barley, 
Rape, etc. Also Vegetable 
and Flower Seeds, Hya¬ 
cinths, Tulips, and all 
Bulbs, Seeds and 
Plants for Fall 
planting. 
The Information given In our Fall 
Catalogue about different crops is from 
our customers’ and our own practical 
experience. We are constantly in re¬ 
ceipt of the most gratifying expressions 
as to the great value and the help that 
our Catalogue proves to Farmers and 
Gardeners everywhere. Catalogue 
mailed on request. Write for it and 
prices of any seeds desired, 
T.W. WOOD & SONS, 
Seed Growers & Merchaiits. 
RICHMOND, VA. 
LARGEST SEED HOUSE IN THE SOUTH. 
IF IT’S COT TO 
stand USE and ABUSE, you’d better buy “PAGE." 
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