3o6 
May 2 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
New Absurdities. —We have received 
this note from our good friend, J. W. 
Kerr, of Denton, Md. : 
On the editorial page of Thk R. N.-Y. of March 
21 , there is a somewhat pointed criticism upon 
the influence exerted by the graft or bud on the 
root upon which it is grown. That the tops of 
nursery trees do influence, to a large extent, the 
root system, will no longer admit of debate. As, 
for example, compare the root system of a row 
of Limbertwig apple trees with that of a row of 
Winesap or Early Ripe—propagated similarly on 
stocks of the same kind, and you have irrefutable 
testimony as to the great influence of the stock 
upon the roots. Still, I think that it is straining 
badly the facts, when it is stated that subsequent 
to the budding of pear on quince, all the new 
roots formed by the quince will be pear roots. In 
this relation, however, my attention has been 
called to some strong statements made by Mr. A 
W. Pearson, of New Jersey, in an article written 
for a western agricultural paper, under the title 
of “ ‘ New ’ Things in Agriculture.” In this arti¬ 
cle Mr. Pearson sayp, “I have mixed a white sweet 
potato with a red one—the varieties distinct—by 
merely placing the tubers of the two sorts con¬ 
tiguous, or, rather, contagious, to each other in 
the plant bed, thus getting a cross—a new variety 
which is superior to either of its antecedents. * * 
I have also mixed a white Peachblow potato with 
a red one by planting the two sorts of tubers near 
to each other along the row. * * When the crop 
was dug, the potatoes appeared mottled—white 
and red. * * Mentioning these new and queer 
experiences at a farmers’ institute, I there 
learned that, several years ago, a neighbor 
farmer had mixed two varieties of sweet potatoes, 
a yellow and a red, by grafting together the vines 
of the two sorts planted near to each other.” Here 
he describes the operation of grafting, and says 
further: “ Among the tuber roots grown on the 
yellow, he found a few yellow externally, with red 
flesh, or more correctly, pinkish in color, chang¬ 
ing, when cooked, to a decided red” 1 ! ! 
Now, what becomes of Mr. Burbank’s potato- 
tomato grafting, with X rays, such as the above, 
thrown upon it? Mr. B., possibly, is mistaken 
somewhere. Why doesn’t he own up, if those 
potatoes with tomato tops grafted on them, had 
little seeds scattered here and there through 
them ? Or, if the skins were “ pinkish ” in color, 
and possessed a tomato flavor ? I am rather 
pleased to see Mr. B. get himself into a hole like 
the above, for I would not like to have my pota¬ 
toes mixed with tomatoes. How would you enjoy 
a mixed dinner of that kind, Mr. Editor ? 
No one of experience can doubt that 
the graft exerts an influence upon the 
roots. It is a matter of nutrition only. 
If the graft or bud and the stock are 
uncongenial, the roots of the stock will 
be comparatively few and feeble, but 
they will be the roots of the stock—not 
those of the scion or bud. That the 
roots of quince stocks after being grafted 
with pear scions, will be those of the 
pear, is simply absurdly impossible. 
Our attention was called to the article 
by Mr. Pearson in the New York Farmer, 
to which, our friend, Mr. Kerr, alludes, 
and we commented upon it under Rural- 
isms of December 14, 1895. We do not 
believe that the sweet or Irish potato 
was ever affected or changed by such 
contiguity, or that it ever will or can be. 
The same changes—color of skin, flesh 
and quality, would have occurred under 
favoring conditions just the same had 
the different varieties been planted in 
different fields or plots. We believe 
that, were any number of different kinds 
of potatoes planted in the same drill or 
hills, no changes, owing to this fact , would 
occur either in color, shape or quality. 
Such changes, when they do occur, as 
they certainly do, are owing to other 
causes. Stems cannot mix. We might 
graft hundreds of apples or pears, 
peaches or plums upon the same stock. 
Each variety—though more or less in¬ 
creased in size or quality or color by the 
congeniality or uneongeniality of the 
stock—would remain essentially true to 
name. So, too, we might graft different 
vines of the sweet or Irish potatoes, of 
beets, turnips, roses or ornamental trees 
or shrubs of any kind, the varieties would 
remain absolutely distinct. The changes 
that do occur in potatoes or plants of 
any kind, are not and cannot be due to 
contiguity or “ contagion,” but peculiar¬ 
ities of condition that favor the break¬ 
ing out of a potency that previously ex¬ 
isted but remained dormant. And this 
potency comes through a previous cross¬ 
ing or hybridization of the seeds. 
We have endeavored to keep moder¬ 
ately well posted as to the excellent 
work that Mr. Burbank has been doing 
for years, and we think our respected 
friend, Mr. Kerr is mistaken as to what¬ 
ever Mr. Burbank may have said as to 
the effect of grafting potatoes and toma¬ 
toes and vice versa. 
A writer in that best of horticultural 
magazines, the London Garden, does not 
seem to hold a very exalted opinion of 
the trustworthiness of American cata¬ 
logues. He has been induced to try 
Burbank’s Primus—a hybrid between 
the raspberry and blackberry—and the 
Logan-berry. He says : “ Both come 
with wonderful descriptions of their 
qualities, but blessed is he that relieth 
not on an American catalogue.” We 
have received the leading English cata¬ 
logues for many years and, it seems to 
us, that both the descriptions and en¬ 
gravings are quite as misleading as those 
of our own leading catalogues. Indeed, 
as to the illustrations of the catalogues 
of the two countries, ours are almost be¬ 
yond comparison, superior artistically 
considered, or as portraits. 
Again in the interests of our readers, 
we beg to allude to that grand rose, 
Rosa Wichuraiana—so different from 
any other, so almost wholly like unto 
itself, and a grand self it is. There is 
no other rose to take its place; no other 
that excels as a trellis plant or to cover 
the soil as vincas would cover it; no 
other that blooms out of the season of 
the ordinary hardy roses ; no other that 
bears such shiny, dark-green little leaves 
and wax-like flowers. The writer’s ex¬ 
perience with it is confined to a single 
season, and we have given that bit of 
experience to our readers in full. The 
coming season, will, no doubt, give us 
the chance to speak more fully, because 
we have planted it in all the ways for 
which it seems to be suited—on the lake 
bank, as a bedding trailer, and to cover 
a trellis. Our accomplished friend, Wil¬ 
liam Falconer, who seems to have been 
among the first to plant it, tells us in a 
late number of GardeniDg, that its habit 
is to spread flat upon the ground, form¬ 
ing a thick, close mat, covering a con- 
(Continued on next page.) 
always mention 
In writing to advertisers, please 
The Rural New-Yorker. 
Get 
only 
Freestone PEACH 
Ripening with Amsden, 
_log describing tne Col’d plates of 3 new fruits and on* 
^^ — wonderful Mercer Cherry and receive Emperor Peach June bud, postpaid. 
JOS. H. BLACK, SON 4, CO., Village Nurseries, HIGHTSTOWN, N. J. 
he Latest an 
Largest Yellow 
Freestone PEACH. 
Send 10 c. for catalog describing the 
IUMPH 
The only Yellow 
SURPLUS 
CHESTNUT TREES 
AND 
GRAFTING WOOD. 
Paragon, Parry’s Giant, Alpha, Reliance, and all others. 
Apples, Pears and Cherries at one-half rates. Champion Quince and Japan 
Plums at still less. Bismarck and Starr Apples. Rocky Mountain Cherry, all 
sizes. Send for special rates. 
PARRY’S POMONA NURSERIES, Parry, N. J. 
MONEY IH FRU ITS 
Japan Plums, or other money makers. Address 
FUN, too, if yon pnt heart and soul 
in their culture. Hale has found heaps 
of both. Tells the story in book, "From 
Push Cart to Trolley Car in Fruit Cul¬ 
ture.” It’s fret. Send for it now if 
interested in Berries, Peaches, 
HALE, SOUTH GLASTONBURY, CONN. 
Stock Dormant. 
IN PROPER CONDITION FOlt PLANTING. 
Apple Trees, 6 to 7 feet.per 100.$9.00 | Cherry Trees, 6 to 7 feet.per 100.$18.00 
Pear Trees, 
88T ORDER AT ONCE. 
6 to 7 feet.per 100.12.00 I Peach Trees, 5 to 6 feet.per 100. 
Two-year-old Asparagus Plants.per 1,000. $4.00 
Two-year-old Currant Bushes.per 1,000. 80.00 
T. OT. DWYER, Cornwall, TXT 
8.00 
PEACH TREES 
By the 100.1.000 or In car lots. 
Strawberry Plants 2 m: 
Marshall and Greenville. Trees and plants, all kinds. 
Write for prices. None lower. 
N. P. BROOKS, Lakewood (Nurseries), N. J. 
Hood’s Pills 
Berry Baskets. 
Quarts, Shor 
&c. 
B 
BUTLER’S BERRIES 
are true to name, fresh dug, reasonable 
in price, and Standard varieties. No 
Circus Poster, but honest descriptive 
list free. All fruits. 
G. 8 . BUTLER, Box B, Cromwell, Conn 
B 
Strong, Vigorous Berry Plants 
are grown on my soil. ALL KINDS. BEST VARIE¬ 
TIES. Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries. Cur¬ 
rants. SEED POTATOES. Send for Catalogue. 
WALTER F. TABER, 
Lakeview Fruit Farm. Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 
PLANTS 
200 Choice Assorted Straw- 
_ berry Plants, postpaid, for$l. 
WM. PERKY, Cool Spring, Del. 
CRIMSON CLOVER 
-The largest handler 
viiiinwwii w —°f American-grown 
Crimson Clover Seed in the United 8 tates, is JOSEPH 
E. HOLLAND, Grower and Jobber. Milford, Del. 
Also, Cow Peas, Winter Oats. Timothy Seed, etc. 
CRIMSON CLOVER 
Thomas McElroy, Euro- 
_ _.j pean 8eed Commission 
Merchant, Mercantile Exchange Building, Harrison 
St., N.Y. Continues the largest importer of fine grade 
Crimson Clover In the U. S. Prices to dealers only. 
The best when you buy your Spring Medicine. 
Be guided by the experience of thousands of 
people who voluntarily testify that 
Hood’s 
Sarsaparilla 
Is the One True Blood Purifier. All druggists, 
Maule’s Extra Early Huron Dent Corn 
Best Dent Corn grown for Eastern and Middle 
States. Planted June 1, ripened every ear and yielded 
94 bushels shelled corn per acre for three acres. ’I his 
corn was not in “ corn land ” and had no hand work 
or extra care. Price. *1.25 per bushel; 10-bushel 
lots,*l per bushel. 
Day’s Leafless Field Beans 
Best field Bean grown for yield and quality. Price, 
$1 per peck ; $3 per bushel. 
Ridge’s Queen Potatoes 
No potato grown that is the equal of Ridge’s Queen 
for yield and quality combined. See Mr. E. S. Car¬ 
man’s trial. Price, *1.60 per bushel; *3 per barrel. 
“ RIDGE FARM,” AldenviUe, Pa. 
W. C. Norton, Agent. 
CORN 
cure Liver Ills; easy to 
take, easy to operate. 25c. 
I—VIRGINIA ENSILAGE makes larger 
growth and more fodder than any other 
w w . _ . - sort. Climatic change makes Southern 
corn especially valuable for fodder and ensilage pur¬ 
poses in the North and West. Write for price and 
circular giving full information. 
T. W. WOOD & SONS, Richmond. Va. 
fruit packages;',:;: 
Also Beekeepers’Supplies. 
Now is the time to order be¬ 
fore the rush of the busy season. 
Price list free. 
BERLIN FRUIT BOX CO., 
Berlin Heights, Erie Co., Ohio. 
Stowell’s Evergreen Sweet Corn 
Very fine. For table or ensilage. A limited quan¬ 
tity at 90 cents per bushel, f. o.b. Bags, 15 cents 
Send money with order. _ „ _ 
WM. NEWTON, Henrietta, N. Y 
■—Early Amber Cane 8 eed, at 
00 c. per bushel; perfectly 
clean and pure; f. o. b. cars 
at Doniphan, Kan. Address 
C. D. BRENNER. Doniphan, Kan. 
FOR SALE 
and 
Thirds, 
r Baskets. 
Sizes, 2, 4, 6, 8, io. 12, 14 
and 16 quarts. 
Grape Baskets. 
Sizes, 3 %, s, 8, : 
15 pounds. 
Peach Covers. 
Wood, burlap and cotton. 
BERRY, PEACH AND GRAPE CRATES. 
Crate stock and box shooks in all sizes, direct from 
the manufacturers. Special prices to dealers and car¬ 
load buyers. Write for catalogue. 
A. H. MONTAGUE & SON, 
Manufacturers and Agents, 
120 Warren St., New York City. 
PU A DM A M’Q Orphan and Dutton 
UnArlflHIl 0 Lead all iu Yield 
“The Orphanoutyielded R.N.-Y.No.2and Dutton.’ 
“ The Orphan showed highest quality test by salt 
methods.”—J. J. Dillon, Manager, and H. W. Colliug- 
wood, Editor of The K. N.-Y. “ Elegant baked, and 
hard and firm in May.”—F. Dye. Director New Jersey 
Institutes. " Had Burpee boomed them they would 
have sold for *10 per barrel.” Send as many dollars 
as you want barrels, or send your sacks by express 
prepaid to Freeville, N. Y.. and get 180 lbs. for 75c. 
Early Huron Dent Corn ripens in 90 days. 
30 Cheshire Pigs. II sold last week. 
Single Comb Brown Leghorns. 
Extra fine; cheaper than eggs. Three Hens, f. o. b., 
for *3. Send 4-cent stamp for Illustrated Catalogue. 
Hints How to Grow Potatoes for nine cents per bushel, 
and Description of Cheshire Swine. „ _ 
C. 1£. CHAPMAN, Peruville, N. Y. 
VINELESS 
SWEET POTATO 
Our “GOLI> COIN” PRO¬ 
LIFIC Is the Greatest 
Sweet. Potato on earth. No 
one ean otter it tlais year 
_tan l ourselves. It’s a fortune 
to any one. PAYS 20 times its cost in in- 
ereascd yield and cheapness of produc¬ 
tion. Quality the very best. Leading horti¬ 
culturists say nothing equals it. Every farmer 
and gardener should grow it. No vines to 
bother. It’s marvelous. Nothing before ever 
equaled it. Order immediately before stock is 
exhausted. We oiler $100 for tho largest yields. 
Our book.‘‘40yearsexperiencein growingSweet 
Potatoes,” Free. Price prepaid 1 lb. $1.00; 
2 lbs. $1.50: 31bs.S2.00 : 50plants $1.00; 100, $1.50; 
600, $5.IK); 1000,$9.00. Send club orders. 
nUNTIfiGTOS SEED CO., Indianapolis, Ind. 
VINELAND’ 
Sweet Potato Plants.—From extra 
selected seed, *1.50 ?M; 5 Mor over, 
*1.25 V M. Cash with Older. S. T. Dowler.Vineland.N.J 
POTATOES 
Carman No. 3. 
Carman No. I. 
Moneymaker. Early Sunrise. 
Four best. Grown on natural potato land and 
sprayed. Cheap to close out. 
WOODWARD & JAQUES, Lockport, N Y 
CARMAN No. I. 
paid Thorburn *20 per barrel; have never been 
sorry for they are grand in quality and production. I 
have a few barrels for sale at *2 f. o. b. 
C. A. SWEFIT, East Aurora, N. Y. 
M oneymaker potatoes.—S eed from Edw. f. 
Dibble Seed Co. Strong growers and great ylelders. 
Price,*1.25 per bbl. Poland-China Boars, 8 months old; 
young pigs in pairs, not akin; sows bred to farrow in 
spring, eligible to O. P. C. Keg., for sale cheap, to make 
room for spring litters. Holstein Calves bred from 
large milk and butter producers and registered stock. 
B. F. WRIGHT, North Ridge, Niagara County, N. Y. 
DHTATflCC Empire 8 tate Express (earliest of 
lU I M I Uuu all), sample 6 c., with Carman No. 1, 
10c. Four quarts of most new kinds for 25c. Thirty 
newest varieties. Wholesale price list free. 
GEO. A. BONNELL, Waterloo, N. Y. 
Perfect Seed Potatoes^oTl 0 : 1 ™; 
for prices. G. A. PARCELL, Wilawana, Pa. 
qrrn PATAThF^ You can buy tbem way down 
OCjLL/ lUlillv/LhJ cheap. 16 varieties, warranted 
true to name. *1 and upwards per barrel. List free. 
GEO. H. COLVIN, Crest Farm, Dalton. Pa. 
Seed Potatoes 
l’KICKS. 
Carman No. 1, R. N.-Y. No. 2, 
.... Owen Seedling, etc., at low 
L. W. McELWAIN, Wilawana, Pa. 
DIBBLE'S MONEYMAKER , 
E. S. WISEMAN, Big ltaplds, Mich. 
for four bbls. 
$1.50 abbl $5.00 
RURAL NEW-YORKER NO. 2, 
DUTTON'S SEEDLING, OK 
EARLY NORTHER SEED POTATOES. 
All warranted true to name, and grown on our rugged 
slate land in Sullivan County, where the best quality 
of potatoes in the world are grown. Kept in ground 
pits all winte*-, they are in best possible vigor for 
seed. Orders may be sent to The Ritual Nkw- 
Yokkkk or to GROTTO FARM, Mongaup Valley, 
Sullivan County, N Y. 
WORLD’S FAIR DIPLOMA 
on collective exhibit of 12 varieties of potatoes, some 
of which yielded over 1,000 bushels per acre; the 
average was 490 bushels per acre of large, smooth 
and good flavored potatoes. It Is therefore proven w ith- 
out a doubt that our elevation and soli are superior 
to anything In the United States for the growth of 
hardy and vigorous seed. Prices: K. N.-Y. No. 2 and 
Potentate, per bush., 50c.; bbl., *1.50. Mt. Carbon, per 
bush., *1; bbl., *2.50; 10 bbl.. *2. Rutland Hose and 
White Mountain, per bush., $1.50. Seed limited. Our 
Early Siberian Oats are new and direct from the 
International Seed Co. The heads are from 10 to 18 
Inches long, with three oats in a chaff, shuck thin, 
berry large. Mr. B. Truax, of Chittenango Station, 
harvested 108 bushels of these oats from two bushels 
of seed. Price, *i per bush.. 50 bush.. 85c. Address 
HOWARD LOUCKS SEED CO., Chittenango, N. Y. 
