79o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
November 23 
uralisms ^ 
► 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS. 
A New Raspuerry-Blackberry Hy¬ 
brid. —The careful experiments in hy¬ 
bridizing blackberries with raspberries 
carried on by the late E. S. Carman did 
not result in varieties of commercial 
value, and the same may be said of all 
attempts to unite the characteristics of 
these useful fruits until Judge J. H. 
Logan, Santa Cruz, Cal., originated the 
now fdmous Loganberry, which sprang 
from seeds of the native Californian 
dewberry pollinated with a red rasp¬ 
berry of European origin. The Logan¬ 
berry did not prove successful here in 
the East, but is grown commercially in 
California, and is steadily gaining favor 
in England, as it shows a special adapt¬ 
ability to the climate. It is becoming 
a feature of the Summer fi'uit shows 
over there. The defects here are ten¬ 
derness of plant as regards Winter ex¬ 
posure, and limited productiveness, 
probably owing to injury of canes and 
buds by cold. The fruits are large and 
attractive, but the plant is rapidly go¬ 
ing out of cultivation east of the Rocky 
Mountains. Now comes The Mahdi, a 
novelty resulting from crossing the 
raspberry Belle de Fontenoy with the 
common European bramble or running 
blackberry. It is said to be superior in 
flavor to the Loganberry, and perfectly 
hardy in England. Pig. 355 shows the 
form of the berries, which appear like 
very large violet-red blackberries, but 
more rounded in shape. The foliage is 
midway between the parents, and very 
luxuriant, while the plants are rapid 
growers and very prolific under British 
culture, ripening in late July and early 
August. These favorable reports do 
not necessarily imply that The Mahdi 
will succeed with us, as few berries of 
European origin are able to withstand 
our climate. 
Rural Grounds Products. —It is al¬ 
ways gratifying to get encouraging re¬ 
ports of new varieties of plants origi¬ 
nating on the Rural Grounds. So many 
promising novelties fail to adapt them¬ 
selves to changed surroundings and 
conditions that some self-congratula¬ 
tion over plants maintaining their good 
quality in distant places seems permis¬ 
sible. The new Gladiolus hybridus 
princeps, the gem of more than 100,000 
hybrids, which has gained commenda¬ 
tion wherever shown in this country, 
was given an award of merit at a late 
exhibition of the Royal Horticultural 
Society of London, and the following 
report of the behavior of the hybrid 
Ganna flaccida Pennsylvania, comes 
from a point as far distant in the op¬ 
posite direction. 
The Canna Pennsylvania has one cluster 
full of bloom and one cluster of buds coming 
on. I have just measured the blooms; they 
are each just six inches across. They stand 
the sun hei'e as well as the Ci'ozy type. The 
petals seem to be of more substance than any 
of the orchid-flowered type which I have seen. 
The petals do not stand out as regular and 
stiff as I would like to see them, but it is a 
great advance in its thick petals and ability 
to stand our sunshine, luthbk borbank. 
Santa Rosa, Cal. 
The Right Soil ij-or Kieffer Pears.— 
Each recurring season emphasizes the 
fact that the Kieffer pear grown on thin 
sandy or gravelly upland is a very dif¬ 
ferent and much more acceptable fruit 
than his companion grown on rich or 
heavy loam. Planted on soils of the 
latter character the trees make a 
thrifty growth, and bear heavily after 
attaining sufficient size, but the large 
size, dull and rusty coloring, gritty 
consistency and watery taste of the 
pears do not encourage sales at paying 
prices. The trees are slow in hearing 
as a rule on thin light soils, but the 
pears, if picked soon after the seeds 
color, and packed away in boxes or bar¬ 
rels under shelter, soon color brightly 
and soften to the core, developing a 
brisk and pleasant flavor, though they 
remain too coarse in texture to com¬ 
pare favorably with standard dessert 
varieties. The clear, waxy yellow col¬ 
oring occasionally relieved by a deep 
red flush, renders a properly ripened 
Kieffer, if grown on congenial soil, the 
most attractive pear of its season, while 
those from low and heavy soils are 
nearly all dull and cloudy. Growers 
are convinced of this difference, which 
is emphasized by the hard logic of dull 
sales and low prices for cloudy and 
rusty fruits, no matter how well devel¬ 
oped, and fewer trees will be planted 
hereafter on uncongenial soil. Heavy 
soil and high fertilization, while favor¬ 
ing large crops of fruit, also encour¬ 
age the tendency to blight, and most 
of the older Kieffer orchards are now 
seriously affected by the disease. It 
was supposed at the introduction of this 
vigorous pear that the trees once es¬ 
tablished would go on bearing indefin¬ 
itely, but the impi'ession is now gain¬ 
ing that 12 to 15 crops are all that 
should be expected from the Kieffer, 
even under the most favorable treat¬ 
ment. Orchards about Freehold, N. J., 
planted 17 to 20 years ago, are falling 
off so seriously in earning capacity that 
they are likely to be replaced with other 
fruits, though they have been highly 
profitable in the past. Brightly colored 
and well-ripened Kieffers will prob¬ 
ably be wanted for a long time, but the 
market is glutted with undersized and 
cloudy fruits, which it consumes with 
difficulty. It may be that the sand pear 
hybrids in the future will be grown on 
thin soils where it is now considered 
unprofitable to plant tree fruits. 
W'. V. F. 
Pears in Illinois. 
In The R. N.-Y., issue of October 12, 
H.E.V.D. asks for information regarding 
the Koonce pear. I have 20 bearing trees 
in my orchard. I found that they did 
not start as readily after transplanting 
as the other varieties. The second year 
they made up in growth for all their 
backwardness the first season, and now 
I find them equal to the Kieffer in the 
length of new growth of wood. They 
are very little behind the Keiffer in ear¬ 
liness of bearing, usually from three to 
five years from planting. The fruit is 
medium size, very good quality—better 
than Vermont Beauty, but will not sell 
as well, for u lacks the color, that beau¬ 
tiful crimson blush which creates a sen¬ 
sation of hunger when you look at it. 
Keiffer is the money-maker, but needs 
a pollenizer, and Vermont Beauty fills 
the bill. It helps the color and the 
quality. s. e. hall. 
Winter Cover for Dewberries. 
On page 676 of The R. N.-Y., E. T. B., 
of Whitewood, S. D., asks information 
about Winter covering for dewberries. 
I used to have the same trouble. From 
his description I think the climate is 
colder here, and the other conditions 
similar to those at Whitewood. We 
have the bare ground and drying winds. 
Here the fruit buds of the Lucretia dew¬ 
berry will kill every Winter, .and the 
stalks nearly every Winter, without pro¬ 
tection. My experience in covering them 
with earth corresponds with that of E. 
T. B. I think the failure is due to the 
fact that the wood is made tender by 
the close covering of earth. If E. T. B. 
will cover his vines with a thin layer 
of cornstalks after the ground is frozen 
an inch or two, just enough to keep 
them frozen and prevent their thawing 
out every warm day and freezing up 
every night, he will have gained his 
point. Do not remove this cover until 
the buds have started, and some show 
tiny leaves. When the cover is removed 
lift the vines and tie them to the top of 
a stake three or four feet from the 
ground. Do not bring them up straight 
to the stake, but in a half bow, and cut 
them off six inches beyond where they 
are tied. Use the stalks for a mulch, 
and I am sure the results will be an 
abundance of fruit. s. e. ii. 
Cherry Valley, Ill. 
Preparing Soil for Strawberries. 
In regard to L. R.’s inquiry about ma¬ 
nure or fertilizer for strawberries, page 
708, I have a piece of ground in prepara¬ 
tion to plant to strawberries next 
Spring. After cutting the grass i sowed 
cow peas July 3 (the Whippoorwill). 
Early in October I plowed in a good 
crop of vines and sowed rye. In the 
Spring I shall plow in the rye and put 
hen manure and commei’cial fertilizer 
in the row, and work into the soil be¬ 
fore planting. I should avoid common 
stable manure, as it is apt to be full of 
weed and grass seeds, which will be 
very difficult to deal with among the 
vines. Would you not substitute sul¬ 
phate of potash for the muriate? Some 
good authorities object to the muriate, 
as the chlorine in it is injurious to cer¬ 
tain plants, strawberries among them, 
and advise using sulphate instead. By 
growing and plowing in a crop each f 
cow peas and rye 1 destroy the weeds 
and put into the soil a large quantity 
of vegetable matter which preserves the 
moisture and greatly lengthens the 
bearing season, and no quantity of com¬ 
mercial fertilizer will ever serve as a 
substitute for it. Thus I get vegetable 
matter and humus without the weeds 
usually found in stable manure. h. 
South Hadley, Mass. 
R. N.-Y.—That is a good preparation 
for strawberries. The sulphate of pot¬ 
ash is said to give a better flavor to 
fruits like strawberries. Otherwise, the 
muriate is, we believe, just as good. 
More About the Kieffer Pear. —I 
have read with considerable interest 
the numerous notes on the Kieffer pear 
in your paper, and it seems strange to 
me that no one offers any suggestions 
as to how the Kieffer may be made to 
stand in a different light. If Kieffer 
pears are picked in September and prop¬ 
erly ripened, they are a very good pear 
to eat, free from grit or woodiness, and 
I find that when they are in perfect con¬ 
dition they are nearly equal to Bartletts, 
but the trouble is they are left on the 
tree till the last of October and they 
change entirely, and then no matter 
how I'ipened will be gritty at the core. 
Surely no one who has ever had Kieffers 
properly canned, that is, has had the 
pear in the right condition, and then 
properly treated and put in the can, 
would say that a canned Bartlett can 
compare with it. The best Kieffers are 
selling in Philadelphia now at 50 cents 
per five-eighths basket. Lawrence does 
not bring more. The trouble in grow¬ 
ing Kieffers is to keep them clear of 
rust, and to get them to color, that is 
have a red cheek. If that can be done 
there is no danger but what the grow¬ 
ing of such fruit will be profitable. 
w. H. c. 
Soft 
Harness 
You can make your har¬ 
ness as sofc as a glove 
and as tough as wire by 
using EUREKA Har- 
ness Oil. You can 
lengthen Its life—make it 
last twice as long as it 
ordinarily would. 
EUREKA 
Harness Oil 
makes a poor looking har¬ 
ness like new. Made of 
pure, heavy bodied oil, es- 
^cially prepared to with¬ 
stand the weather. 
Sold everywhere 
in cans—ail sizes. 
Made 1; STANDARD OIL CO. 
CAN’T YOU BEAR 
one or two cents more on a rod for PAGE Fence ? 
1‘AGK WOVEN WIRE FENCE CO., ADRIAN,MICH. 
How to urain Land Profitably. 
On every farm there is probably some land 
that could be made more productive by under¬ 
drainage. Properly drained land can always 
be worked earlier, and more profitably. The 
-—^—■=—^ best and most 
economical way 
to drain Is ex- 
_ plained in the 
book, “Benefits of Dralnajre 
whlcli is sentToy JOHN H. JACKSON,_ 
CHARTER 
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Cider Machinery.—Send for catalogue to Boomer & 
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Acre WF^rnI 
and Its possibilities under tbe Silsg« | 
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I 
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is the practical light for night use, driving in dark, storm, wind and 
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Throws Strong Light lOO Feet Ahead. 
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RED 
BALL 
