1896 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
5i3 
crowded, the better plan to get them into grafted 
trees in the orchard, would he to graft them next 
spring where they now stand, and move those that 
succeed, the next year. If they were transplanted 
this fall or next spring, and grafted next spring, the 
chances are that few of the grafts would take. It re¬ 
quires the full vigor, of a nut tree, especially, to unite 
the stock and scion. If the ground where the seed¬ 
lings now stand must be cleared before another year, 
transplant them next fall, cut back the branches 
severely to lessen evaporation during the winter, 
and, after they have made a year’s growth, graft 
them the next spring. My experience in grafting 
chestnut trees for the past two years, has confirmed 
my former opinion that the tongue method is far 
better than the cleft graft, especially for small stocks. 
Where large trees or branches must be used, the 
crown graft is the best system I have tried. Always 
cut the scions in the fall or early in the spring, and 
keep in a cool place as in the sawdust of an icehouse, 
to hold them back until the stocks have started into 
leaf. This is one of the main secrets of successful 
grafting of nut trees. h. e. y. d. 
Is It True Abundance Plum ? 
G. iS., Monroeville , N. Y. —Why do not my Abundance plum 
trees bear more ? I have six of them planted near a chicken 
house, where 150 White Leghorns keep the ground bare. They 
are set 15x2C feet apart, and grow from three to live feet each 
year, which I cut back to about two feet, making them strong. 
Two years ago, the frost killed the blossoms. Last year, there 
was a big storm in the middle of the blooming season, but this 
year, they had tine summer weather, and I thought we would 
have a bushel to the tree, as they were white with bloom; but 
nine-tenths of them grew to about the size of No. 4 shot and then 
fell off. Some get stung with the eurculio, and then drop off 
before ripening. If they need some other plum to fertilize them, 
what kind will bloom at the same time? I would prefer some 
other Japan that I could bud into them as suggested by J. C. L., 
page 402. 
Ans.—T he statements of G. S. accord so poorly with 
the almost general behavior of the Abundance plum, 
that it leads me to doubt the genuineness of his trees. 
It may be that he has some other variety—possibly 
the Satsuma, which is a poor bearer, but a good 
grower. Abundance is not deficient in fertility when 
planted alone, as many trials have proved, and does 
not need another variety budded into it. There is 
something quite remarkable, if not positively wrong, 
in this case, but it is not possible to know just wherein 
it lies. It may be that he has the true Abundance, 
and that a fungoid blight of some kind destroyed the 
young fruit. There have been many cases of that 
kind, with the plum and cherry in particular. 
H. E. VAN DEMAN. 
Picking and Packing Grapes. 
A. B., Bordentown, A. ./.—Will you put me in the way of learn¬ 
ing how to gather and pack grapes for market ? 
Ans.—I f A. B. has learned how to grow his grapes 
so that the quality will pay for the extra work neces¬ 
sary to put them on the market in an attractive con¬ 
dition, I will tell him how I do it. I have a light, 
spring hand-cart upon which I place nine carriers 
such as we use in strawberry picking. I take this 
into the vineyard, cut the clusters of grapes and place 
them carefully in the carriers. When full, I draw to 
the packing house. I use three-pound tills, first 
placing in them the stamped, lace-edged, fancy 
colored papers, that can be bought in all grape sec¬ 
tions, cut to the length of the till and put two colors 
in each, placing them so that they will cover the 
grapes when packed. I handle the clusters carefully 
so as not to remove the bloom, and pack as close as 
possible without injury. These tills are put into 
cases folding eight each. We find that this sized till 
sells better than the larger ones, as grapes can be sold 
by the package without loss in handling. 
In cutting from the vine, I cut only large, well- 
ripened clusters, leaving others to mature later, which 
the vine is enabled to do after being relieved of a 
portion of its fruit. I pack only first-class fruit, and 
find a commission man that has customers for such 
fruit, who are willing to pay for it. Extra fruit, 
neatly and carefully packed, can always be sold at 
fair prices, and many times, greatly above market 
rates ; but one must first make a reputation for it, and 
then the way is easy. w. f. tabek. 
Winter Lettuce Without Frames. 
S. II., Ansonia, Conn.—I would like to hear what the gardeners 
have to say concerning growing lettuce in winter for the spring 
market. Last fall, I planted seed late in September. The seed 
came up and grew to small plants before cold weather set in. I 
then covered the plants with hay when I covered my strawber¬ 
ries. This spring, not one could be found when I took off the hay, 
Can any one give me advice ? It was an experiment with me last 
year, and it failed. I cannot afford to lay out more for glass 
frames. We are about 12 miles north of Bridgeport. The laud lies 
exposed to the north. It would be quite a saving to me if I could 
succeed in my undertaking. 
ANSWEltED BY E. G. LODEMAN. 
It is no easy matter to winter lettuce successfully 
without the jirotection of glass. .Lettuce is strictly 
an annual plant, maturing its seed the same year that 
it begins growth. On account of its moderate hardi¬ 
ness, however, this character of the plant has been 
partially modified so that seed may be sown one year, 
but the crop does not mature until the following sea¬ 
son. This radical departure from the normal habit 
of the plane has exerted a marked influence upon 
seedlings so treated, and European gardeners have 
obtained several varieties which are especially adapted 
to withstand the cold of winter. 
Any one who wishes to grow lettuce by wintering 
it in the open ground, should first secure the hardiest 
varieties. Lettuce is, ordinarily, supposed to suffer 
severely if the mercury falls lower than 10 degrees F. 
This is, however, scarcely low enough under all cir¬ 
cumstances. The French have several winter varie¬ 
ties, the most important of which are probably 
Madeira, White Boulogne, Hardy Red Winter Cab¬ 
bage and Roquette Cabbage. The American varieties 
have not been sufficiently tested to warrant any de¬ 
cided recommendations. Having determined upon 
the varieties to be grown, the next important factors 
are the soil and the location. My experience has led 
me to favor a sandy soil, one which is inclined to be 
dry, although the plants should, in no way, suffer 
from want of moisture. But a soggy soil should be 
avoided. If such a soil is situated where plenty of 
snow will lie during the winter, the conditions for suc¬ 
cessfully wintering a lettuce crop are promising. I 
have grown several varieties with the above treat¬ 
ment, with very satisfactory results. The seed was 
sown the first week in September, so that the plants 
had time to make a fairly good growth before winter 
set in. A light covering of leaves, straw, or similar 
material should be applied as late as possible. If the 
plants are well established and well hardened when 
they go into winter quarters, they should come out 
in fairly good condition in the spring. Too high a 
temperature must be avoided in winter, as well as 
the opposite extreme ; the protection given by snow 
is ideal. 
The Harlequin Bug or Calico-Back. 
E., Johnson City , Tenn.—l inclose a black, red-spotted bug. 
Is it a Harlequin squash bug? I found a lot of horseradish 
plants literally covered with them, the leaves of which would wilt 
and die in a short time under their work. Are they propagated 
the same as the Colorado beetle, and are they of similar habits ? 
That is, do the matured bugs lie dormant in the ground over 
winter ? What is the remedy ? 
ANSWERED BY M. V. SLINGERLAND. 
Yes, the black, red-spotted bug was a Harlequin 
Cabbage bug or Calico-back. They feed readily 
upon many mustard-like plants, but make their pres¬ 
ence felt the most upon cabbages and radishes. They 
belong to an entirely different group of insects from 
the Colorado Potato beetle. The latter bites off and 
swallows the particles of its food, and the form 
which comes from the egg—the grub or slug—is a 
very different creature from its parent, the beetle ; 
when full grown, these grubs go into the soil, there 
form a little earthen cell in which they shed their 
skins and apiiear as very tender white objects—the 
pupae—which develop into the hard-shell beetles. 
The Harlequin Cabbage bug, however, takes in only 
liquid food which it obtains with a sharp beak that 
pierces the skin of the leaf and then pumps out the 
juicy interior ; and its young which emerge from the 
egg resemble their parents in form, but have no 
wings ; as they increase in size the skin is shed from 
time to time, and at each of these moults the young 
bugs take on more and more of the aspects of their 
parents, the wings gradually enlarging as pads on the 
sides of the body ; their growth is gradual and con¬ 
tinuous until the adult stage is reached, no quiescent 
stage corresponding to the pupa of the potato beetle 
intervening. The potato beetle usually hibernates in 
the soil, sometimes in rubbish, while the Calico-backs 
always pass the winter in any sheltered place above 
ground. The Calico-backs are astir very early in the 
spring, during the first warm days, and they make 
for the nearest mustard-like plants that may be up. 
They feed upon these and if no cabbages or radishes 
are out when they are ready for egg-laying, the eggs 
are laid on the weeds and the first brood develops 
there. The eggs are beautiful little objects, white 
with black markings, resembling small white ban els 
with black hoops ; they are usually laid in two parallel 
rows of about six each. The eggs hatch in three or 
four days, and the young bugs go through all their 
moults and are ready for reproduction in about two 
weeks. There are thus many generations during the 
season, probably as many as seven or eight in Ten¬ 
nessee. The insect is a very difficult one to kill, and 
the destruction of the hibernating individuals is the 
important point to be attained. They mostly gather 
upon mustard and radishes in the early spring, and 
the pest has been greatly checked by growing very 
early crops of these plants to serve as traps. When 
the bugs are found in large numbers on these trap- 
crops, hand-pick the bugs or spray the plants with 
pure kerosene, killing bugs and plants also. Radishes 
grown between cabbage rows will often attract a 
majority of the insects. I know of no insecticide that 
can be used on cabbages which will kill the bugs and 
not the plants. Hand-picking is the only sure method 
that can be resorted to, if the trap-crop method is not 
practiced. It is very doubtful if the pests can be 
reached in the winter, for it would prove no easy task 
to find them, so securely are they hidden. Clean 
cultivation and the destruction of all tnustard-like 
weeds and rubbish heaps near cabbage fields, will tend 
to discourage this most destructive of all southern 
cabbage pests. 
Anthracnose of the Raspberry. 
J. F., Waterloo, Iowa. —What is anthracnose of the raspberry ? 
My red raspberries send up strong, healthy shoots every summer, 
but the following spring, they are nearly all dead. They look as 
though burned, the skin blistered, and there is generally the 
mark of a small worm on some part of the dead cane, which looks 
as though a small, red-hot wire had been drawn along It for an 
inch or two ; but if there is a worm there, I could never find him- 
Perhaps, I have not looked for him at the right time. My varieties 
are Cuthbert and Turner, and I know that it is not the severity 
of the winter that causes the trouble, as the Turner was always 
regarded here as perfectly hardy. 
Ans.—W ithout specimens, I cannot say whether J. 
F.’s raspberry canes were killed by the anthracnose 
fungus or by an insect. The Raspberry anthracnose 
“generally appears late in the spring or early in sum¬ 
mer, on the young shoots, wheD about a foot high, in 
the shape of small reddish-purple spots, scattered 
irregularly over the surface near the ground. As 
the canes grow, these spots increase rapidly in size, 
their centers becoming grayish-white, and other spots 
appearing on the upper portions. There is an elevated 
dark purple margin around each spot, representing 
the division between healthy and diseased tissues. 
As the season advances, the spots continually enlarge, 
many of them finally running together to form irreg¬ 
ular, longitudinal blotches, which, sometimes, run 
clear around the cane and thus girdle it. The injury 
extends through the outer bark, frequently rupturing 
it, and sapwood, but, usually, does not penetrate the 
pith. As the tissue dies, the purple color of the mar¬ 
gin changes to brown. The disease is not fatal the 
first season, neither does it seem visibly to affect the 
growth of the young canes ; but the next season, 
when last year’s young canes bear fruit, its destruc¬ 
tiveness becomes but too apparent. Its effects are 
most noticeable at the time of the ripening of the 
berries, which do not attain to a normal size, but 
shrivel, and finally dry up; the leaves are much 
smaller than healthy ones, and have a generally un¬ 
healthy appearance, later turning yellow, then brown. 
The canes finally become blackened and die.”—From 
Weed’s Fungi and Fungicides. 
This fungous disease is proving a very hard one to 
combat. Thus far, the application of fungicides, 
like Bordeaux Mixture, to prevent it, has not been 
sufficiently definite or successful enough to warrant 
any general recommendation being made as to spray¬ 
ing for it. At present the only safe recommendation 
that can be made is to cut out and burn the diseased 
canes as soon as they are seen. Watchful and 
thorough work in this way will eradicate the disease. 
m. y. s. 
Barley and Rye for Fall Fodder. 
G. S. T., West Medway, Mass. —I wish to sow some barley and 
rye together as recommended by A. W. Cheever. How much of 
each shall I sow per acre ? Could I sow peas also ? How many ? 
ANSWERED BY A. W. CHEEVER. 
When winter rye and spring barley are sown to¬ 
gether in August for producing a late green crop to 
be fed the last of October or early in November, and 
for a rye crop the following year, I would recommend 
five or six pecks of rye and six to seven pecks of bar¬ 
ley per acre. I think that I would not sow peas in 
addition, but would sow them separate from the rye. 
I have never tried peas and barley, but think that the 
experiment would be worth trying. Peas often mildew 
sown in warm weather, but I have seen them remain 
bright and green, and make excellent late fall feed. 
The character of the weather has much to do in de¬ 
termining the quality of the crop. Common Canada 
field peas are usually grown for fodder, but if sowing 
for a late crop, I think that a large Marrowfat would 
yield more. It would take about two bushels to sow 
an acre. Of small varieties, not so many would be re¬ 
quired, as there would be a greater number of seeds 
in a bushel. Your correspondent, Monroe Morse, has 
grown heavy crops of late peas for fodder. 
The Cure for Alkali Soil. 
A. C., Pilyer, Neb.—Is there auy remedy for alkali such as we 
have in the soil here ? 
Ans. —Before seeking a cure, let us look for the 
cause. As a rule, an alkali soil is sterile because it 
contains too much soda in a form that makes it harm¬ 
ful to plants. The cure is either to get the soda out 
of the soil, or change it into such a form that it will 
not hurt the plants. The only way to get the soda 
out, is to drain and then flood the soil; in other words, 
to wash it out. It is not likely that this can be done 
in your case, and the next best remedy is to use 700 
pounds or more per acre of gypsum or land plaster. 
This will change the form of the soda so that the 
plants will not be injured. 
