1896 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
7o7 
FARMERS’ CLUB DISCUSSION. 
(CONTINUED.) 
Unsifted Coat Ashes. 
Q., Watertown, N. Y. —Some time 
since, I asked through the columns of 
The R. N.-Y., if any of its readers had 
ever used coal ashes as a disintegrant 
of clay soils. Several have answered, 
hut none who has ever resorted to the 
sifted ashes. I know that on such a soil 
the application of unsifted coal ashes is 
the very worst thing that can be done. 
One end of my garden was treated in 
this manner for several years. The 
result is that the soil has become a con¬ 
crete, almost impervious to a pronged 
spade even. I am thinking of having it 
carted away and replaced with new soil. 
One of my neighbors who evidently be¬ 
lieves in the available, recently graded 
up his front yard with unsifted coal 
ashes, sowing grass-seed over the grade. 
It is safe to say that he has the most 
disgraceful looking front yard in the 
city. 
The Fanny Apple. 
W. T. S., Uwchlasd, Pa. —In The R. 
N.-Y. of September 26, you speak of the 
Fanny, apple, giving it high praise. The 
name and description are identical with 
an apple originated by Dr. John K. 
Eshelman of near Downingtown, Pa. 
Mr. Eshelman has been a prominent 
fruit man of eastern Pennsylvania for 
the last 50 yeai*s ; and still markets from 
his fine orchard, much nice fruit, but 
nothing more attractive in its season 
than the Fanny apple, which, I think, 
he told me he named in honor of his 
wife. Charles Downing, probably, got 
scions of this apple from Mr. Eshelman, 
and propagated them, as he was accus¬ 
tomed to test all new fruits of which he 
heard. 
Poisoning Cut Worms. 
Frank Hodgman, Kalamazoo Co., 
Mich. —In a recent communication, I 
called attention to the remarkable suc¬ 
cess of a neighbor in stopping the 
ravages of cut worms by the use of 
Paris-green mixed with bran and 
molasses, and also to the fact that it 
had proved a preventive of the ravages 
of the cabbage maggot. The man re¬ 
ferred to was Mr. Albert Ewers, of the 
firm of Ewers & Bucklin, market gar¬ 
deners. Since then, I have met his 
partner, Mr. Bucklin, and talked the 
matter over with him, particularly with 
reference to the destruction of birds. 
He says, “I watched them carefully, 
and I never saw a bird touch the poison. 
There were plenty of them on the cab¬ 
bages, but they did not go on the ground 
to feed. We did not find a dead bird. 
If we had, it would have made no differ¬ 
ence, for the poison was worth many 
times as much to us as the birds. It 
saved our crops, and the birds could not. 
Next spring, we shall get half a ton of 
bran, and molasses and Paris green to 
go with it, and shall use it right along 
from the beginning of the season, as 
long as necessary.” 
It seems to me that its usefulness in 
stopping the ravages of the cabbage 
maggot is an important discovery, in 
the possibilities that it points toward in 
its use for other insect pests. For in¬ 
stance, in some parts of Michigan, the 
climbing cut worms have been very 
destructive. In the latest report of the 
Michigan Board of Agriculture, wool 
bands are recommended to prevent the 
worms climbing the trees. Why not 
put a ring of the poisoned bran and 
molasses about the base of the tree, and 
catch, not only the climbing cut worms, 
but every other climbing pest which 
will eat it ? You might catch a lot of 
codling moths in that way, increase the 
market for bran, and, possibly, raise the 
price of wheat a trifle. 
To 
Jan. I, 
1898 , 
for 
$ 1 . 00 . 
) 
You must have a neighbor who 
wants The R. N.-Y. Now is the 
time to interest him. Send us his 
dollar, and he will get the paper 
to January 1, 1898, and you may 
have a choice of these books: 
First Lessons in Agriculture, 
American Grape Training, 
The Business Hen, 
The Nursery Book, 
The New Potato Culture. 
It is October 6. The most brilliant 
flowers we have now are verbenas. The 
leaves are as fresh as in early summer, 
and the umbels of flowers as brilliant. 
The bed alluded to is one of scarlet ver¬ 
benas—Henderson’s Mammoth, the finest 
strain we have ever raised; finest in that 
the flowers are larger. Many prefer to 
have beds of verbenas, pelargoniums, 
etc., of one color. The writer’s taste 
is not educated up to that view. He 
prefers clusters or beds of the same 
plant, but of all the colors that the plant 
produces. What is the opinion of our 
readers respecting this question ?. 
The Idaho pear tree at the Rural 
Grounds bore one pear of medium size 
and poor quality. 
The new winter pear, Fred Baudry, 
is described as medium to large in size, 
oblong pyriform. The color is yellow 
with blotches of russet. The flesh is yel¬ 
low, buttery, juicy, solid, with no evi¬ 
dence of rot. It has a distinct flavor, 
and the quality is regarded as from very 
good to best. It ripens a little after 
Josephine de Malines. 
Olivier des Serres is another new, 
late-keeping pear that is said to keep 
until March. It is of medium size, round¬ 
ish, averaging larger than Josephine. 
Flesh tender, juicy and melting—very 
good to best. 
Fagus sylvatica purpurea major 
(Dark Purple-leaved beech) is a stronger 
grower than Rivers’s. It is, too, an erect 
and more rapid grower. The leaves are 
large, glossy and of a very dark purple. 
Our readers may recall what we said 
of the beautiful Rose-margined Purple¬ 
leaved beech, a leaf of which was pic¬ 
tured in The R. N.-Y. of January 25, 
1896. It was planted in a warm, south¬ 
ern exposure, and the delicately varie¬ 
gated leaves so burned that the little 
tree died. Perhaps, it would thrive in 
a cool, moist position. 
The Ailanthus-leaved walnut is said 
to be of excellent quality, and the tree 
bears when young. The leaves are long 
and ornamental. 
Four Little-Known Pinks. —In the 
early spring of 1887, we received from 
Ellwanger & Barry four different species 
of pine trees which are little known 
and rarely alluded to in print. They are 
Pinus ponderosa (the Heavy-wooded 
pine), P. I’allasiana, P. Jeft'reyi (Jeffrey’s 
pine), and Pinus Monspeliensis (Salz- 
mann’s pine). Ponderosa is a native of 
California and the Northwest, and per¬ 
fectly hardy in Rochester, where there 
are specimens 50 feet in height. The 
Rural Grounds specimen is now 16 feet 
high, the gi-owth having been retarded 
this year by last year’s tornado. There 
are three leaves, about eight inches 
long, in a sheath. This tree, as well as 
the others, is growing in a very poor, 
sandy soil—we might say, sand and clay, 
for there is no soil. The proportion of 
branch to foliage is such that one sees 
more of the branches than the leaves. 
The chief beauty of the tree is the color 
of the leaves, which is a light steel 
green, making an effective contrast with 
Pallasiana, which has very dark foliage 
—the darkest of the set. 
Pinus Pallasiana has two leaves to a 
sheath. It is a native of Siberia, grow¬ 
ing about 50 feet high. The foliage con¬ 
ceals the branches effectively. It is 13 
feet high, and a sturdy, commanding- 
looking tree. 
Pinus Jeft'reyi grows to a height of 
150 feet in California. It has three 
leaves, nine inches long, to a sheath. It 
is more densely clothed with foliage than 
Ponderosa, less so than Pallasiana, and 
the color is intermediate between the 
two. It is 14 feet high. 
Pinus Monspeliensis is a European 
speci es. ; The leaves are of .[the »same 
color as Jeffreyi, twcTto the~sheathTand 
seven inches long. The numerous 
branches are well covered with foliage. 
It is said to make a spreading and pic¬ 
turesque tree of great vigor and hardi¬ 
ness. 
The four kinds are exceedingly hardy, 
and it is a question yet to be answered 
whether they would not prove of more 
value than the well-known Scotch and 
Austrian pines. 
Not the least among the good things 
that may be said of the hardier magno¬ 
lias, is the freshness and luxuriance of 
the foliage in late fall. We are writing 
October 7. The horsechestnuts are los¬ 
ing their leaves. What remains is half¬ 
dead-looking and dried up. So, too, the 
thorns are as naked as in midwinter. 
While in bloom, no shrubs or trees are 
more brilliant than the double-flowering 
thorns (Crataegus), such as Paul’s, Coc- 
cinea and Alba. Well-established trees 
are a mass of color, be it red, rose or 
white, and the beautiful trusses are en¬ 
during. But the beauty of the thorns 
goes with their flowers, and in early 
autumn, they are among the first to re¬ 
mind one of the approach of winter. Not 
so the magnolias. We are looking, as 
we write, upon four magnolias, Soulan- 
geana, Macrophylla, Auriculata and 
Hypoleuca. We have four distinctshades, 
the most decided contrast being between 
Macrophylla, the great leaves of which 
have a light green surface with a silvery 
back, and Soulangeana, the leaves of 
which are a dark green. Not one of the 
four whispers of winter. They still tell 
us of the verdure of the tropics. 
We have told our friends all we know 
of Saghalin as a forage plant. Its close 
relative, Polygonum amplexicaule, de¬ 
serves a word of praise as an ornamental, 
hardy, herbaceous plant. We prize flow¬ 
ers now, especially those borne by hardy 
plants that need no special care. P. am¬ 
plexicaule is just that. It begins to 
bloom not until September 20, and it 
continues to bloom until most shrubs 
and trees have lost their leaves. The 
flowers are very small, it is true, but they 
are pure white, and borne m large com¬ 
pound racemes from four to ten inches 
long. They have an agreeable honey 
odor. As we have said, the leaves and 
stem of this Stem-clasping knotweed are 
relished by horses and cattle as much as 
those of either Saghalin (Sacaline) or 
Polygonum cuspidatum, and the plant 
spreads like wildfire. It will grow any¬ 
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OUR RURAL BOOKS. 
Any Book on this List will be forwarded 
promptly on receipt of price. 
Accidents and Emergencies. 
G. G. Groff, M. D. What to Do In—Home 
Treatment of—What to Do ’till the Doctor 
Comes. Snustroke, poisoning, broken bones, 
cuts, bites of mad dogs, insects, snakes, etc., 
freezing, bruises, burns, choking, colic, 
drowning, exhaustion, explosion, suffocation 
by gases; what to do in storms, being stunned, 
wounds, etc.20 
A Fortune in two Acres. 
Fred Grundy. This is a story of how a work¬ 
man in a small market town gained inde¬ 
pendence and a fortune on two acres. 
Paper.20 
Chemicals and Clover. 
II. W. Collingwood. A concise and practical 
discussion of the all-important topic of com 
mercial fertilizers, in connection witli green 
manuring, in bringing up worn-out soils, and 
in general farm practice. Paper.20 
Country Roads. 
I. P. Roberts and others. Expert opinions 
upon laying out, constructing and maintain¬ 
ing public highways. Highway laws. Illus¬ 
trated. Paper.20 
Fruit Packages 
A description of the current styles of baskets, 
boxes, crates and barrels used in marketing 
fruits in all parts of the country. How to 
grade and pack fruit. Illustrated. Paper..20 
Fertilizers and Fruits. 
H. W. Collingwood. How the Hudson River 
fruit growers cultivate and market their 
crops, and especially shows how these skill¬ 
ful men are feeding their vines and trees. 
Paper.20 
Fruit Culture. 
W. C. Strong. Laying out and management 
of a country home. Illustrated. Each kind of 
fruit treated separately. Injurious insects 
described. How to fight them. Cloth. $1 
Horses, Cattle, Sheep and Swine. 
Geo. W. Curtis, >1. S. A. Origin, History, Im¬ 
provement, Description, Characteristics, Mer¬ 
its, Objections, Adaptability South, etc., of 
each of the Different Breeds, with Hints on 
Selection, Care and Management. Methods 
of practical breeders of the United States and 
Canada. Superbly illustrated. About 100 
full-page cuts. Cloth.$2 
How to Rid Buildings and Farms of 
Rats, Mice, Gophers, Prairie Dogs, Ground 
Squirrels, Rabbits, Moles, Weasels, Minks and 
other Pests, Quickly and Safely. How to SDare 
Hawks and Owls. Valuable Hints to House¬ 
keepers, Farmers and Poultrykeepers.20 
Improving the Farm. 
Lucius D. Davis. Methods of Culture that 
shall Afford a Profit, and at the same time In¬ 
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treats exhaustively on renewing run-down 
farms. Cloth.fi 
Milk : Making and Marketing. 
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illustrated account of the methods, herds 
and appliances of several remarkably suc¬ 
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My Handkerchief Garden. 
Charles Barnard. An explicit account of Mr. 
Barnard’s actual operations on a suburban 
village house-lot. Interesting and valuable 
to all suburban dwellers, professional men 
and mechanics.....20 
Plant Breeding. 
By L. H. Bailey. (Cross-breeding and Hybrid¬ 
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Facts and Philosophy of Variation ; the Phil¬ 
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by which Garden Varieties Originate; De¬ 
tailed Directions for Crossing Plants. Cloth, $1. 
How to Plant a Place. 
Elias A. Long. A brief treatise, illustrated 
with more than GO original engravings, and 
designed to cover the various matters per¬ 
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Popular Errors About Plants. 
A. A. Crozier. A collection of errors and 
superstitions entertained by farmers, garden¬ 
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refutations. Valuable to practical cultiva¬ 
tors who want to know the truth about their 
work. Cloth.|i 
Spraying Crops. 
Prof. Clarence M. Weed. Why, When and How 
to Do It. Illustrated. Covers the whole field 
of the insect and fungous enemies of crops for 
which the spray is used. Paper.25 
The Modification of Plants by Climate. 
A. A. Crozier. Influence of climate upon size, 
form, color, fruitfulness, acclimation, etc. 
35 pp. Paper.25 
The New Botany. 
J. W. Beal, M. Sc., Ph. D. A Lecture on the 
Best Method of Teaching the Science. Valu¬ 
able to Students and Amateurs, being a 
useful guide in studying “The Beautiful 
Science.”.25 
The Rural Nkw-Yobkeb, New York. 
