77o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
November 21 
Mr. William Pickhardt, Port Ches¬ 
ter, N. Y., writes us in reference to one 
fault he has to find with the potatoes R. 
N.-Y. No. 2 and Carman No. 3. It is that 
the largest tubers grow hollow-hearted. 
He has grown them for two seasons for 
market, and, to his loss, finds that this 
hollow-heartedness condemns them, not¬ 
withstanding their handsome appear¬ 
ance. The past season, he planted Car¬ 
man No. 1 and No 3 in a small way. As 
a result, he gives his preference to No. 
1. He says that it vields well, is hand¬ 
some, of good quality, and solid. The No. 
3 “is very handsome, a great yielder, of 
good quality, but— hollow .” He regrets 
this because, in all other respects, he is 
greatly pleased with it. 
The reports we receive regarding pota¬ 
toes from different parts of the country 
are instructive. Some correspondents 
tell us that the large potatoes of Carman 
No. 1 are hollow-hearted, but that the 
No. 3 are not. Mr. Pickhardt finds the 
No. 1 solid, the No. 3 hollow. We have 
never before received a report that the 
No. 2 is hollow-hearted. Some tell us 
that the No. 2 is of the finest quality, 
others that it is of low quality. At the 
Rural Grounds, it varies from season to 
season. Sometimes it is soggy, some¬ 
times it is as dry and mealy as one could 
desire. With us, the Carman No. 1 in some 
seasons is shapely, in others, as the past, 
it is far from it. The quality, however, 
is always excellent. We do not consider 
hollow-heartedness as a serious defect. 
All tubers which grow to a very large 
size are liable to this defect. The sea¬ 
son, too, has evidently something to do 
with it. If we would avoid hollow¬ 
heartedness, we should plant larger 
seed pieces and plant them closer to¬ 
gether. That some varieties are more 
liable to be hollow-hearted, however, 
than others, we have no doubt. Quality, 
solidity, rapidity of growth, firmness of 
skin, evidently have to do with it. 
As an extra-early sweet corn of first- 
rate quality, Mr. Pickhardt, after two 
seasons of trial, chooses Burpee’s Ford- 
hook. He planted it the first time April 
14, and picked the first 400 ears July 9 
(90 days). Last season, he planted it 
later, and it was fit for the table in 72 
days. Last season, we planted Early 
Fordhook May 5, and picked ears fit for 
table use July 19—75 days. We find the 
variety to be a day or so later than 
White Cory. 
Acting upon The R. N.-Y.’s suggestion, 
Mr. Pickhardt tried the Zig-zag sweet 
corn in a small way. He says that the 
ear is handsome and plump, and the 
quality fairly good, “ but not compar¬ 
able with that of the Country Gentle¬ 
man in richness and delicacy of flavor.” 
We may assure our friend that the qual¬ 
ity of this variety, as grown at the 
Rural Grounds, is distinctly better than 
that of the Country Gentleman or Ne 
Plus Ultra, which is the same thing. We 
hope that our friend will try it again, 
selecting different seed. 
Mr. Edward T. Ingram of Westches¬ 
ter, Pa., writes us that the Chestnut 
worm is proving an antidote for the 
chesnut-planting fever in his locality. 
Last season, nearly the entire crop was 
wormy. It is worthy of note that some 
trees bear sound nuts, while others, 
which have produced many bushels each 
year, have never borne a nut that was 
not infested. It seems that the offspring 
of these Japan or Spanish chestnuts, 
whichever they may be, are oftener 
wormy than the native chestnuts. He 
thinks it may be owing to the fact that 
the foreign trees set their fruit earlier.. 
A few weeks ago, Mr. Ingram sent us 
a little box of chestnuts which were of 
goodly size and excellent quality. We 
wrote to him requesting further infor¬ 
mation. It seems that Mr. Du Pont, re¬ 
siding near Wilmington, Del., (Du Pont 
of powder fame), had some chestnuts 
growing in the yard near his powder 
works. They were different varieties 
and were, probably, seedlings raised 
from nuts brought by Mr. DuPont from 
his native country—France. As long as 
40 years ago, a relative of Mr. Ingram 
brought from Mr. DuPont’s scions from 
the best tree of the lot. One of these 
scions he worked upon a sprout which 
grew from a stump of a Spanish chest¬ 
nut tree. The third year thereafter this 
scion bore three quarts of nuts and the 
tree has been bearing ever since. One 
year the crop of nuts sold for $20. Mr. 
Ingram’s father has several trees and an 
uncle has about six acres of side-hill 
land from which he cut the timber, 
grafting the sprouts with the DuPont 
variety, as Mr. Engle has since done 
with the Paragon. He is reported to 
have sold more than $200 worth of nuts 
in one season. Chestnut grafting was 
not so well understood in those days as 
now, or without doubt the DuPont 
chestnut would have been placed upon 
the market before now. 
Our readers will remember our several 
reports as to the behavior of the Mexican 
June corn, seeds of which were kindly 
sent to us by J. J. U. Gregory of Marble¬ 
head, Mass. One of our subscribers, Mr. 
W. W. Willson of Mt. Sterling, Ky., 
planted it about May 25. It began to 
develop silk and tassels the middle of 
August. On some of the plants, well- 
filled ears matured, but most of them 
did not bear any ears. Some of the 
plants had four or five suckers which 
grew to the height of 10 feet. The 
plants at the Rural Grounds did not 
sucker at all. Mr. Willson says that 
some of his plants grew to the height 
of 16 feet—the lowest ears being 10 % 
feet above the soil. Some stalks meas¬ 
ured three inches in diameter. As at 
the Rural Grounds, these strong plants 
were not lodged by high winds. Mr. 
Willson alludes to adventitious roots 
growing out of joints five feet from the 
ground. Possibly such joints would 
propagate the same as the sugar cane... 
As has been stated, several trees of the 
Alaska quince were sent to us by C. A. 
Green, Rochester, N. Y., during April of 
1891. Last year, the fruit was destroyed 
by the tornado, and the trees were more 
or less injured. How much this may 
have injured the bearing qualities and 
diminished the size of the fruit, we may 
not say. Fig. 251 shows one of the 
average size. It will be seen that it 
is less pear-shaped than the Orange 
quince. Mr. Green claims that it bears 
fruit of superior quality, at a very early 
age. It is not unusual to find young 
trees in the nursery rows heavily laden 
with quinces of a fine golden color, ripen¬ 
ing early, and keeping well. Years ago, 
Mr. Green visited the originator, Luther 
Barker, of Bloomfield, N. Y. An orchard 
of this quince was in full bearing, the 
finest display that Mr. Green has ever 
seen in the way of quinces. Our own 
quinces were fully ripe this season, 
October 5, though they were unquestion¬ 
ably retarded by the weakening influ¬ 
ences of the tornado. The Fuller quince 
was not yet ripe. The Alaska ripens 
about with the Orange. 
During the past year, the sale of a 
fertilizer called “ Natural Plant Food ” 
has been pushed very hard among the 
farmers of New York. The price asked 
varies from $25 to $28 a ton. Its real 
value as plant food is shown by Bulletin 
No. 108 of the New York Station (Geneva) 
to be less than $10 a ton. Average analy¬ 
ses give to 100 pounds of the “ Natural 
Plant Food,” but 1.40 pound available 
phosphoric acid, 20.81 pounds of insol¬ 
uble phosphoric acid, and 0.13 pound of 
soluble potash. 
United States Pomologist Heiges 
says that the European sweet chestnut 
(Castanea sativa) has, for many years, 
been grafted in France and England 
upon the European black oak (Quercus 
robur), using young seedlings raised by 
planting the acorns where the trees are 
to remain permanently, or which have 
been freshly planted, and also upon 
branches of proper size on matured trees. 
Until quite recently, this has not been 
practiced in this country. Thepomologi- 
cal division of the Department of Agri¬ 
culture distributed scions of the Para¬ 
gon, Numbo and Ridgeley last spring, 
and also, in the spring of last year. They 
were worked upon the Chestnut oak 
(Quercus prinus), and reports show as 
good success as when grafted on the 
native chestnuts. 
It is suggested that it may be possible 
to succeed with other species of oak as 
stocks, as, for example, the Post, Burr, 
Swamp, White oak, Yellow oak, Basket 
oak, all belonging to the same group as 
does the Chestnut oak. The success at¬ 
tained in Europe, Mr. Heiges says, by 
using the European Black oak as a stock, 
would indicate that our Black oak group 
might be equally available. This group 
comprises the Red, Scarlet, Pin, Spanish, 
Bear, Water, Shingle oak, etc., covering 
a vast area of country. Should several 
of these species be found to be suitable 
stocks for the chestnut, the cultivation 
of this valuable nut would be much ex¬ 
tended, as oaks will grow in soil and 
under conditions in which the roots of 
the native chestnut would die, if planted. 
The California violet to which we al¬ 
luded a few weeks ago, is, to us, a most 
charming plant. We are writing October 
28. A few flowers with their long stems 
were plucked and placed in a vase. The 
delicate perfume, so unlike that of any 
other flower, quite permeated a room 
fully 15x20 feet square. This is a state¬ 
ment that we are ready to excuse our 
friends for questioning. It is quite true, 
however. Bear in mind, too, that the 
plants are out of doors without protec¬ 
tion, and we have had several “ killing ” 
frosts. 
UARTER OF CENTUR Y OT.O. 
In writing to advertiser*, please always mention 
The Rural New-Yorker. 
Chronic 
Catarrh cannot be cured by local applications. 
To cure catarrh purify the blood. 
Hoods 
Sarsaparilla 
Is the best—in fact the One True Blood Purifier. 
HrtrtH ’ c Pi He cure Liver Ills; easy to 
* J i Illd take, easy to operate. 25c. 
nnTITnCO—Five greatest yielders in the world. 
lUInlULu 300 bushels per acre this year. Car¬ 
man No. 1 and 3; Early Thoroughbred, Ideal and 
Great Divide, $1 per busbel. Write for wants. 
GEO. A. BONNELL, Waterloo, N. Y. 
SEED POTATOES 
‘—Selected Stock. Money¬ 
maker, Great Divide (late, 
white), $2 per barrel. Vanguard (second early, red), 
$1 75 per bbl Discount on five barrels or more. Choice 
OHIO RASPBERRY PLANTS. $5 per thousand. 
H. C. KING, Willow Creek, N. Y. 
MANILLA 
mOFING. 
[WATER PROOF, 1 "SlEST 1 
CHEAPI 
STRONG! 
No RUST nor RATTI.E. Outlasts tin or iron. 
A Durable SubMitiire for Plaster on walls. 
Water Proof Sheathing of same material, the 
best and cheapest in the market. Write for samples, Ac. 
The FAY fllA.MLLA ROOFING CO.. CAMDE>»Ji.J. 
PROTECT YOUR STOCK, AND 
KEEP THEM WARM AND 
COMFORTABLE THIS WINTER. 
P . D RUBEROID 
* D ROOFING 
IS THE BEST IN THE 
MARKET. 
STRONG, DURABLE 
AND ABSOLUTELY 
WATER AND AIR 
TIGHT. 
MADE OF BEST WOOL FELT. 
NO TAR! NO PAPER! 
Send for Samples and Prices. 
T" e STANDARD PAINT COMPANY, 
Sole Manufacturers, 
81=83 JOHN ST., NEW YORK. 
AGENTS WANTED 
To canvass for the celebrated Geneva Nurseries 
Established 1840. Liberal Terms. 
W. & T. SMITH. Geneva. N. Y. 
CRIMSON CLOVER 
We are headquarters for Recleaned Seed, 
10c. per lb. to $3.50 per bush.; $5.50 per 100 
lbs. Sow 15 lbs. to an acre. Circulars free. 
HENRY A DREER (Inc), Seedsmen, 
No. 714 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa 
ODIlICnil PI nUCD-The largest handler 
UflllHOUIV ULUVCn of American-grown 
Crimson Clover Beed in the United Btates, is JOSEPH 
E. HOLLAND, Grower and Jobber, Milford, Del. 
Also, Cow Peas, Winter Oats. Timothy Beed, eto. 
Summer and Autumn Catalogue 
of POT-GROWN and layer STRAW¬ 
BERRY PLANTS. 
FRUIT TREKS, Plants, Vines, etc., 
mailed free on application. 
T. J. DWYER I Nurseries, Cornwall, N.Y. 
13 M?LLER RASPBERRIES 
BY MAIL, FOB $1.00. 
T. O. KEVITT, - - ATHENIA, N. J. 
GRAPE™!? 
All old and new varieties Extra quality. Warrnnted 
true. Lowest rates. Descriptive Catalogue Free. 
T. S. HUBBARD CO., FltKDONlA, N. Y. 
Doonh Trnoe -FCL|L assortment. Apply to 
rcdbll I I CCO R. 8. JOHNSTON, Stockley, Del. 
TREES AND PLANTS. 
Full assortment. Special prices on PEACH TREES, 
Large stock CALIFORNIA PRIVET, NORWAY and 
SILVER MAPLE. 
N. P. BROOKS, Lakewood, N. J. 
THE STORRS & HARRISON CO. aBox 304, PAINESVILLE, OHIO. 
who occury the most favorable location be- 
ductions, extending one and a half miles 
tion to their extensive assortment of 
Fruit and Ornamental Trees, 
Shrubs, Roses, Bulbs, 
42 Years. 1000 Acres. 29 Greenhouses. 
tween the oceans for healthy nursery pro- 
along.the banks of Lake Krie call atten- 
Small Fruits, Grape Vines, 
Greenhouse Plants, Etc. 
Catalogues free, address as above. 
A POINTER 
Business Farmers and Fruit Growers are planting ROGERS 
FRESH-DUG DANSVILLE TREES for best, results. 
ROGERS NURSERIES, DANSVILLE, N. Y. 
TRIUMPH 
The only Yellow Freestone PEACH 
Ripening with Amsden. 
The Latest and Largest 
Yellow Freestone PEACH, 
EMPEROR 
MERCER { 
The only Sure-Bearing, 
Non-Rotting CHERRY. 
For full descriptions send for Catalogue (lOo.) We will send our Beautifully Illus. Catalogue with 
the Col’d Plates of the 3 Wonderful New Fruits, and 1 Emperor Peach June Bud b; 
mail.postpaid,for 10c. JOS.U. BLACK,SON AGO., Villa** Margeries, HighUton, ~ 
