i89o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
205 
Business. 
TRADE 11IUT STOCK, 
Notes From Nurserymen. 
SALES HEAVY; PRICES LOW. 
FROM SMITHS, POWELL & LAMB. 
Nowadays a large proportion of the stock 
of fruit trees is sold later in the season, 
both for fall and spring, so that sales for 
delivery this spring have nearly all been 
made. The demand for last fall and this 
spring’s trade has been greater during the 
past year than in any preceding one within 
our recollection, and we think the demand 
generally has been heavy. Notwithstand¬ 
ing this fact, prices have not advanced 
materiallv, except on one or two articles. 
From the present indications, we think 
there will be an unusually heavy demand 
for nursery stock the coming season. More 
and more fruit is being consumed every 
year, and this fact is stimulating growers 
to plant. If this increased demand should 
cause an increase in prices to a point that 
would make the business comparatively 
remunerative, it would be in a very satis¬ 
factory state. 
Of the varieties of apples called for 
Baldwin leads the list far ahead of the 
others and Ben Davis comes next. There 
is also a heavy demand for Duchess of 
Oldenburg, Northern Spy, R. I. Greening, 
King, Mann, Wealthy and Yellow Transpa¬ 
rent. There is also increased demand for 
most of the sweet varieties and especially 
is the old Pound Sweet becoming more 
popular every year. Among pears, of 
course Bartlett heads the list, then come 
Keiffer, Flemish Beauty and Seckel in this 
order. There is more and more demand 
every year for Clairgeau and Bose, both 
popular market pears, but poor growing 
trees. Among plums, Lombard still leads, 
as far as the demand for trees is concerned, 
Bradshaw and German Prune being next, 
while Moore’s Artie is also called for to a 
large extent. Gueii is becoming more 
popular from year to year. Among cher¬ 
ries, of course, the heaviest demand is for 
sour kinds. Early Richmond still leads, 
with Montmorency a good second, while 
Empress Eugenie and Louis Phillippe are 
becoming popular. In the sweet sorts, 
Gov. Wood, Napoleon Bigarreau and the 
old Black Tartarian are very popular. 
Some new kinds are highly spoken of, espe¬ 
cially Windsor, New Black and Schmidt’s 
Bigarreau; but they have not yet been suf¬ 
ficiently tested so that we can recommend 
them without reserve. In peaches, Early 
and Late Crawfords are still the leading 
kinds, Alexander being the most in de¬ 
mand as a very early sort, Foster is also 
very popular, and it is a very delightful 
peach. There are many new varieties, 
none of which we think will approach some 
of the older kinds in quality. 
Late peaches are now in good demand— 
the varieties that ripen at a time when the 
earlier peaches have all been disposed of. 
Among these Hill’s Chili seems to be very 
popular. 
Western New York is one of the greatest 
fruit-growing sections of the country, and 
we judge that fruit growing is only in its 
infancy there. There seem to be in certain 
portions of Colorado and the Northwest, 
sections particularly adapted for growing 
fruit, and an increased interest has been 
awakened there, and great quantities of 
trees have been sold there in the past two 
years. Of course, California has probably 
developed more rapidly than any other sec¬ 
tion in fruit-growing, but we think there 
would be but very little demand for Cali¬ 
fornia fruit in the East, if our own growers 
would furnish a sufficient quantity of the 
proper quality for home consumption. A 
general interest seems to be awakened in 
fruit-growing all over the country, and the 
inquiries from planters are very numerous. 
Unquestionably the time will come when 
every family will consider a supply of fruit 
as necessary for each day’s meal as meat, 
and we see no reason why the industry of 
growing fruit trees should not increase, as 
it has continually done in the past. 
Syracuse, N. Y. 
FROM THE STORRS & HARRISON CO. 
We have booked considerably more orders 
from nurserymen aud dealers at present 
than at the same time last year, and the de¬ 
mand promises to be fully equal to, or better 
than last spring’s. The amount planted al¬ 
ways depends somewhat on how the spring 
opens and on the weather at planting time. 
We have a general trade with planters, 
sending out all sizes of trees all over the 
United States, and consequently we have to 
offer a large list of varieties. Our trade 
seems to be about “level” in all sections of 
the country. In our opinion more atten¬ 
tion is being paid to the growing of fruit 
and the planting of trees in Michigan, Mis 
souri and Kansas, perhaps, than in other 
sections. The bulk of our trade is in Ohio, 
Indiana. Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, 
Kansas and Missouri. ,Of the larger sizes of 
fruit trees we sell the most of the follow¬ 
ing varieties: apples, Red Astrachan, 
Tetofsky, Duchess of Oldenburg, Haas, 
Baldwin, Ben Davis, Fameuse, Grimes’s 
Golden, Pewaukee, Wagener, Alexander, 
Mann, Red Beitigheimer, Walbridge, 
Wealthy and Yellow Transparent: among 
pears the call for Bartlett is far ahead of 
that for any other sort. In other varieties 
the greatest demand is for Clapp’s, Anjou, 
AngoulOme, Flemish Beauty, Sheldon, 
Seckel and Lawrence. In peaches, Alex¬ 
ander, Beer’s Smock, Early and Late Craw¬ 
ford, Globe, Lemon Free, Stephen’s Rare¬ 
ripe, Salway and Smock’s Free are among 
the favorites. In cherries, the sour varie¬ 
ties are largely planted for market pur¬ 
poses ; the demand is for Early Richmond, 
English Morello, Large Montmorency, 
Reine Hortense and Olivet. 
Painesville, Ohio. 
FROM GEO. S. JOSSELYN. 
My sales of grape vines for spring are 
already very large. We have sold many 
more than usual up to this date. There 
seems to be a short supply of most of the 
leading varieties. As we ship to all parts 
of the United States, some varieties take 
the lead in one locality and some in another. 
Of Fay Currants we can never grow enough 
for our sales. They are being planted in 
immense quantities for market purposes 
by those who have been experimenting with 
them in a small way. We have sold nearly 
all our Fay Currants and could have sold 
50,000 more if we had had them. 
Fredonia, N. Y. 
FROM CHAS. A. GREEN. 
The inquiry for grape-vines and small 
fruit plants, etc., appears to be fully up to 
the average thus far, but it is too early to 
decide what is to be the volume of business 
in this line. The sales of Concord grape¬ 
vines are greater than those of any other 
kind. Next come Worden, Delaware, Ni¬ 
agara, Moore’s Early, Pocklington, Wyom¬ 
ing Red, Catawba (less each year) Lady, 
Salem, Lindley and Agawam in the order 
named. Of the newer grapes, Moyer, 
Eaton and Diamond are most called for. 
Among red raspberries Cuthbert is gaining 
on Marlboro, being less fickle. Shaffer is 
also popular. Among old kinds of black 
raspberries, Gregg, Ohio and Tyler lead. 
Of the new sorts. Palmer, Nemaha, and Hil- 
born come out ahead. The sale of strawberry 
plants increases each year. Crescent and 
Sharpless lead among the old kinds, follow¬ 
ed by Wilson, Downing, Bubach, Cloud, 
Jessie, Warfield, Haverland and Cumber¬ 
land. In blackberries Snyder and Taylor 
lead, followed by Erie, Stone’s Hardy, Ag¬ 
awam, Ancient Briton, Wilson Jr., Lu- 
cretia and Kittatinny. Lawton is seldom 
called for, and the merits of Minnewaski 
do not seem to have become known yet. 
In currants the Cherry and Victoria lead. 
Next are Versaillaise, Red Dutch,and White 
Grape, the latter, being seldom planted for 
market. The demand for Fay’s is such, 
that the supply at wholesale is already ex¬ 
hausted. Lee’s is the favorite black currant. 
The Downing Gooseberry is worthy of its 
popularity. Houghton is largely sold out, 
and will continue a favorite. Industry is 
largely advertised in catalogues, hence the 
sales are large. Next in popularity are 
Smith’s, Crown Bob and Whitesmith. 
Rochester, N. Y. 
FROM LEWIS ROESCH. 
The fall trade of nursery stock has been 
very large and satisfactory, so far as the 
amount sold is concerned. The prices, 
however, have been quite low and in some 
kinds hardly remunerative. No doubt this 
accounts, in part at least, for the extra 
amount sold. In the vine line I sell as 
many Concords as of all other varieties 
taken together, if not more, indeed. Next 
in demand are Niagara and Worden ; 
next Brighton, Champion, Moore’s Early 
and Pocklington ; then Agawam, Cottage, 
Delaware, Duchess, Empire State, Hart¬ 
ford, Ives, Salem, Vergennes, Wilder, Wy¬ 
oming Red, Catawba, Clinton, Diana, 
Early Victor, Elvira, Goethe, Iona, Isabella, 
Jefferson, Lady Washington, ^Lindley, 
Martha. Massasoit, Merrimac, Norton’s 
Virginia, Perkins, Prentiss, Telegraph and 
Ulster Prolific. For the rest on the list 
there is but little demand. Only a scatter¬ 
ing few are wanted in large orders. Of the 
new varieties — Downing, Eaton, Moyer, 
etc.,—there is, of course, as yet no demand, 
except what is induced by bold and per¬ 
sistent advertising which costs all we get 
out of them, and whatever the case may 
have been in the past, now it will pay no¬ 
body to push new varieties unless he is 
pretty sure that they are valuable and 
will eventually get into public favor. For 
Moore’s Early, Niagara, Pocklington, Ver¬ 
gennes, Worden and Wyoming Red the 
demand is constantly increasing; while for 
the wine grapes, such as Bacchus, Clinton, 
Elvira, Mo. Riessling, etc., the demand is 
growing less and less every year. This 
may be owing to a smaller demand for 
wine, but probably much more to the per¬ 
fection of chemical science through which 
wine is produced from any and all kinds of 
grapes that may be convenient, or from no 
grapes at all. There is still considerable 
demand for the old Ives, but orders for it 
are large rather than numerous. 
In the small-fruit line the demand has 
been heavy for currants and gooseberries 
which, no doubt, was largly due to the 
poor crop of these plants, the past season 
having been very unfavorable for their 
growth. The demand for them continues 
and prices are firm and higher. The calls for 
the Cherry, Fay’s Prolific, Versaillaise, 
Lee’s Prolific, Victoria and White Grape 
Currants are about equal,and so are those for 
the Houghton and Downing Gooseberries. 
The demands for other varieties are fewer. 
Blackberries are also in brisk demand. In 
my trade the Snyder is the favorite, with 
Ancient Briton crowding it closely Straw¬ 
berries have sold as well as usual the past 
fall, and raspberries rather better; but in 
my trade the spring business in these is at 
least four or five times as much as the fall 
trade, and I know this preponderance of 
spring orders is based on good sense and 
experience. I think it very unwise to rec¬ 
ommend planting strawberries and black 
raspberries in the fall (as do some who 
ought to know better) north of the 40th 
parallel of latitude; for the weather 
is hardly ever favorable for them ; all that 
heat and drought in the early fall do not 
use up a severe winter is almost sure to ; 
while at the South where the winters are 
mild, late fall—say November—is, by all 
odds, the best time for planting, as the 
plants get well established and start grow¬ 
ing before the heat and drought of sum¬ 
mer are upon them. At present the pros¬ 
pect for a large and satisfactory spring 
trade is very bright indeed. This must, 
however, be credited, in part at least, to 
the unusually mild winter weather which 
constantly reminds people of spring and 
spring business. 
Fredonia, N. Y. 
FROM COE & CONVERSE. 
Just now everything indicates a brisk 
trade in grape-vines and small fruits this 
spring, notwithstanding the scarcity of 
money. The Jessie and Bubach No. 5 are 
in most demand among the newer varie¬ 
ties of strawberries, while Wilson, Crescent, 
Capt. Jack, Sucker State, Park Beauty, 
Manchester, and Sharpless are much 
wanted. In this section Sharpless is not 
of much value owing to the fact that cold 
nights, even without frost, blast the blos¬ 
soms to such an extent that but very 
small crops can be grown. Still the de¬ 
mand is good for the plants in other places. 
Among red raspberries the Shaffer, Brandy¬ 
wine and Cuthbert are the most sought 
after. The Shaffer meets with great favor 
among farmers and others because the 
bush grows the same way as the black¬ 
caps, without suckers, and it increases 
from the tips. In black-caps the trade is 
good for Tyler, Souhegan, Gregg, and 
Nemaha. Of blackberries we send out 
probably 10 times more Stone’s Hardy than 
of Snyder and Ancient Briton combined. 
The Downing and Houghton Gooseberries 
seem to be the most in demand, with quite 
a call for the Industry. The currant trade 
is improving wonderfully. Victoria, White 
Grape, Prince Albert, and Fay are finding 
ready sale. Dewberry culture by the 
masses has, so far, failed to be very satis¬ 
factory. The leading varieties now are 
Bartell’s Mammoth and Lucretia. The 
cold, backward season of 1889 showed 
planters the desirability of planting more 
largely of early kinds of grapes. Moore’s 
Early, Worden, Concord aud Brighton 
take the lead in the quantity of vines 
planted, and such varieties as Wilder, 
Salem, Vergennes, Agawam, Delaware, 
Duchess, Massasoit, Niagara, Lady, etc., 
follow in smaller lots. 
Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. 
FROM FRANK FORD & SONS. 
From present indications the demand 
seems to be better for nursery stock than for 
a few years past. Of early apples we sell 
more of the Colton than of the rest, with a 
few Yellow Transparents, Early Harvests 
and Red Astrachans. Among fall apples, 
Ohio Nonpareil and Maiden’s Blush come 
first and among winter sorts Baldwin takes 
the lead. Northern Spy, R. I. Greening, 
Belmont, Grimes’3 Golden and Ben Davis 
are also among the most salable. In pears, 
Bartlett comes first, there being scarcely an 
order without it. Keiffer sells readily as 
we have always considered it one of our 
best pears, all things considered, and we 
have always spoken well of it. Flemish 
Beauty, Sheldon, Seckel and Lawrence lead 
all others with these exceptions. Among 
peaches, Ellison’s Seedling is selling 
well, Smock, Wheatland, Crawford’s Early 
and Late, Red-cheek Melocoton, Oldmixon, 
and Yellow St. John’s or Yellow Rareripe 
are leading the others. In cherries, the 
Early Richmond takes the lead, followed 
by Large Montmorency, Reine Hortense, 
Louis Phillippe, Black Tartarian, Rock- 
port, Napoleon and Governor Wood. We 
sell more in Indiana than elsewhere, Michi¬ 
gan and Missouri following. 
Ravenna, Ohio. 
THE EFFECTS OF THE FREEZE. 
The cold wave which swept over the 
South on March 4, did an immense amount 
of damage to early truck and fruits, but 
the destruction was only partial and 
strong hopes were entertained that much 
of the injured crop would recover suffi¬ 
ciently to produce a partial yield at least. 
But last Sunday morning, a still colder wave 
devastated that region, and completed the 
work of destruction. At Charleston the 
thermometer fell in 12 hours from 70 to 24 
degrees and every green thing was destroy¬ 
ed. The truck and fruits were far advanc¬ 
ed owing to the unusually mild season, 
and the loss amounts to hundreds 
of thousands of d r liars. In this city 
the effects are apparent in increased 
prices of Southern products. Straw¬ 
berries, which one week ago ranged from 10 
to 25 cents per quart, now range from 
20 cents for the poorest up to 60 cents for 
the best. Bermuda potatoes now sell for 
$9 to $10 per barrel, an advance of two 
dollars. Pease and string beans have ad¬ 
vanced to $6 per crate for the best, and 
other vegetables in proportion. Of course 
the prices matter little to those whose 
truck is all destroyed, but those fortunate 
enough to have anything to ship, should 
avail themselves of every advantage. At 
ruling prices, only the wealthy buy this 
produce, and they require everything of 
the best, so extra pains should be taken to 
grade and pack everything in the best pos¬ 
sible manner, thus insuring quick sales at 
handsome prices. 
NOTES. 
The R. N.-Y. has never seen or used a 
“Cyclone chura.” We assume that it is 
one of the modern inventions in which it is 
claimed butter can be made in a very few 
minutes. We have tried three of these 
affairs and do not care to try another. 
They make a so-called butter fast enough, 
but it is stuff without color, without grain, 
and without sale. Men who produce good 
butter have little use for a chum with no 
other merit than that of rapid churning. 
Some of the rapid-churning people point to 
the “Butter Extractor” as a proof that 
their slashers are correct in principle. A 
moment’s thought should show them that 
in the extractor the heavier solids—not the 
butter fats—are thrown about so violently. 
The R. N.-Y. is surprised that some of 
our implement dealers do not introduce 
the English “ Strawsonizer ” in this 
country. This is a machine for distribut¬ 
ing fertilizers, poisonous mixtures or sand. 
It works on the principle of an air blast, 
forcing the substances to be distributed 
out through tubes by means of a revolving 
fan. It ought to sell in this country. 
It is reported that about 800,000 tons of 
cotton seed have been crushed this season 
at the South. Most of this product will be 
used as a fertilizer, still there is a growing 
demand for the meal to be used for feeding 
dairy cattle. This meal is now supplied by 
all the leading feed dealers. A few years 
ago it was difficult to obtain it outside of 
the large cities. 
