848 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 26 
one trying this method will be well satisfied with the 
results obtained. F. G. tick. 
Oswego County, N. Y. 
Apples on Dwarf Stock. —At Fig. 282, is an engrav¬ 
ing of a photograph of a Paradise dwarf apple tree 
planted in the fall of 1894. The photograph was taken 
July 6,1896. The variety is Yellow Transparent. The 
height of the tree is 5 feet 8 inches, the stem at the 
bottom is two inches in diameter. There were 27 ap¬ 
ples on the tree, which were pretty sour. We have 
four of these trees ; every one bore and is loaded with 
buds for next season. We think that dwarf apples 
are a success, and shall plant more next spring. 
Wisconsin. JOHN grape. 
A Florida Family Affair. —The picture on our 
first page shows a scene often witnessed on some of 
the small Florida orange groves before the great 
freeze. Here we have the whole family at work. 
The younger man is sorting oranges. His sorter is 
like the potato sorters we have often described. It is 
an inclined plane made of wooden grates with the 
slats arranged so as to give large and small spaces. 
As the oranges roll down the different sizes fall 
through the different holes and are thus sorted or 
sized. The man throws the poor fruit aside as he 
picks them over. The young woman is wrapping and 
packing the fruit, while the old gentleman nails up 
the boxes. The freeze destroyed the prospects of 
many Florida people who had started with strong 
hope and courage to mend their fortunes and health 
in that sunny land. Now the trees are growing again, 
and within a few years the Florida orange will again 
reach the market. Probably, however, the new in¬ 
dustry will mean larger operations, and it is not very 
likely that such scenes as we have pictured will be 
numerous in the future. 
Some Wife Milking Machines. —I have just re¬ 
turned from a visit, and while gone from home, I saw 
and heard some very interesting things. One thing 
was where a man came into the house and re¬ 
marked to his wife, “ Well, I’ve turned your cow in.” 
“ Oh, dear !” was her answer, “ I’ve just put the bis¬ 
cuits in the oven.” She reflected a moment, then 
tokl him to watch the fire, and take the biscuits out 
when they were done ; she then took her milk pail 
and started for the milk shed. The man crammed 
the stove full of wood, sauntered into the parlor, and 
chatted with the young lady boarder, entirely for¬ 
getting that there was anything in the oven, and when 
the milkmaid came in, she found her biscuits nicely 
burned. I wondered why he could not have done the 
milking, and let her bake her own bread, but I found 
that “ he couldn’t.” “ Couldn’t,” indeed 1 Great strong 
man that he was. I thought wouldn't was the proper 
word. Another man who “couldn’t” milk accom¬ 
panied his wife to the cowyard, and stood leaning 
against the gate with his hands in his pockets, while 
she did the milking. She has rheumatism in her 
hands, too, and I wondered how it was that any man 
who pretended to love his wife could find it in his 
heart to put off a hard task like that on her, while he 
selfishly took his ease. N. J. 
Oregon. _ 
The Farmers’ Club. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name and address of 
the writer to insure attention. Before asking a question please 
see whether it is not answered in our advertising columns. Ask 
only a few questions at one time. Put questions on a separate 
piece of paper.] 
Houses for Forcing Lettuce. 
E. V. S., Elver side, Pa.— I intend building two greenhouses for 
growing lettuce, carnations and tomatoes; the idea is to grow 
two crops of lettuce and then grow tomatoes, so as to have them, 
at least, one month before they come outside. The houses will 
be 108 feet long. What width should they be, and should I join 
them ? We read of the .lettuce houses near Boston. Could you 
give us an outline of one ? I am growing lettuce and a few car¬ 
nations on a small scale, have been at the business for four years, 
and have met with reasonable success. I have more trouble with 
lettuce this fall than at any time previous; it is very much spotted 
on the bed. About one-half of the plants are good, and the others 
become spotted on the under leaves, and these spots finally de¬ 
velop into a rot or mildew. 
Ans. —Narrow lean-to or even span lettuce bouses 
are still in use, but newer erections are, usually, of 
greater width. The large lettuce house near Bos¬ 
ton, to which R. C. S. refers, is 50x400 feet; another 
large erection is 33x370 feet, three-quarter span ; 
height at ridge, 15 feet; south wall, 3% feet ; north 
wall, 12 feet. 
R. C. S. speaks of building two houses for lettuce, 
carnations and tomatoes. We infer that he means 
one house for lettuce and tomatoes, and one for car¬ 
nations. The carnations would occupy the space from 
October to June, but from February on, he could grow 
tomatoes with them, as there would be sun enough to 
render the slight shading by the tomatoes harmless. 
This combination is often seen in the “ carnation 
belt” of Chester County, Pa. The usual style is a 
three-quarter span house about 20 feet wide, though 
there is one big carnation house at or near Kennett 
Square, Pa., 50 feet wide. A visit to that neighbor¬ 
hood would suggest many ideas of value to R. C. S. 
We do not recommend joining the two houses. The 
long slope (if three-quarter span) will be to the 
south, and the lettuce house should have glass doors 
in the wall at that side, in addition to the ventilators 
at the ridge, that there may be a free circulation of 
air over the beds when needed. The carnation house, 
if joined to this, would be shaded by it, and we can’t 
afford to shade carnations, any more than roses, dur¬ 
ing the dark days of winter. 
The lettuce trouble is, evidently, mildew, usually 
the result of a too high temperature and a damp, 
stagnant atmosphere ; it is especially likely to appear 
during dull weather. The temperature should be 
kept at 35 to 40 degrees during the night, rising to 
60 or 70 degrees in the day, with sun heat. See that 
there is free ventilation whenever the weather per¬ 
mits. Do not allow water to lie on the leaves or 
bench. A system of sub-irrigation, either with tiles 
laid in the bed, or flower pots, sunken to the rim, is 
resorted to as a preventive of mildew. Sulphur fumi¬ 
gation is recommended as a cure, but it must be han¬ 
dled carefully, or injury to the lettuce results. The 
use of unchanged soil in the same beds, season after 
season, is regarded as a prolific source of mildew. 
The Best Soil for Onions. 
s., Vermont .—On which soil can I grow onions the cheapest per 
bushel, and on which will the quality be the best—a heavy soil 
with a stony clay subsoil 12 to 18 inches below the surface, or a 
light, sandy soil ? 
Ans. —It has been my experience that the largest 
crops could be grown on moist, heavy soil, but that 
the onions raised on light soil would be harder, of 
better quality and keep better. Tops grow ranker and 
more luxuriant on heavy ground, thus crowding out 
weeds in the latter part of the season, so that the 
cheapest bushel could, probably, be grown on such 
A SOUR APPLE ON PARADISE STOCK. Fig. 282. 
soil. Contrary to the general rule regarding rotation of 
crops, the onion does better by continual cropping on 
the same ground with an occasional rest, taking care 
that smut does not get in, seeding down or changing 
the crop at its first appearance. S. does not state the 
color he desires to raise ; if white, sandy light soil 
should have the preference, as they are harder and 
clean up much whiter, which is a necessary feature 
in securing the first price. Yellow onions seem to do 
better on new ground than the other colors, giving a 
smaller percentage of straight ones, while the red 
give us the best yields. Joseph adams. 
Connecticut. 
The Annual Growth of Roots. 
A. H. II., Denver , Col .—Here in Colorado our blackberry and 
raspberry canes must be protected in winter from the drying 
winds and constant changes from freezing and thawing. This is 
done by carefully .bending over and laying do wn the canes as 
closely as possible, and then plowing and shoveling on to them 
all the earth from between the rows to a depth of eight or ten 
inches, leaving the field in successive ridges from 18 to 24 inches 
high. In this process there is a great destruction of small roots, 
especially in raspberries. The entire space between the rows is 
always filled with the fibrous roots, which are torn out in great 
numbers with every shovelful of earth removed. In the early 
spring, these ridges are leveled down, the canes raised and 
the ground restored to its natural level, and the canes, seem¬ 
ingly none the worse for this barbarous destruction of their roots, 
go on producing leaves and fruit in rich abundance. Yet when, 
in the following fall, the covering is repeated, the earth between 
the rows is found to be filled as before with millions of these 
small roots. Must it be concluded that the canes renew those 
destroyed roots early in the season with which to produce their 
crop of berries, or is it suppossd that the roots remaining undis¬ 
turbed are sufficient ? To what extent, if any, do trees and plants 
re-grow their fibrous roots each season, as they do their leaves ? 
Ans. —Of course the roots of the fruiti ng canes of 
blackberries, raspberries, etc., die every fall, since 
they have no longer anythi ng to support them. The 
roots of the canes which grow the current season to 
fruit next are those, therefore, which support the 
plant, though the old roots may yet have a part pos¬ 
session of the soil, not as yet having rotted. The 
roots of all trees are constantly growing during the 
growing season, the true feeders being of but annual 
duration. The season that this annual growth ceases, 
the plant perishes. It is now thought that in trans¬ 
planting trees, it is not necessary to preserve the 
fibrous roots. It is the roots of several years of age 
that need to be preserved in transplanting, since it is 
from these that the fibrous roots grow, and from these 
again that the root hairs grow from -near their tips, 
which supply food to the plant. These are of annual 
production, the same as the leaves. 
Club Root and Cabbage Seed. 
IV. G., Wayne, Mich .—Last spring, I sowed four rows of cabbage 
seed for transplanting. Afterwards, I received some Govern¬ 
ment seeds including Flat Dutch cabbage seed, which I sowed in 
a row next to that already sowed. It all grew well, but at trans¬ 
planting time, all the plants of the Government seed had club 
root, while the other plants were entirely free, clearly showing, 
to my mind, at least, that club root goes with the seed. I have 
never been troubled with club root on cabbage on this land. 
Ans. —There is scarcely one chance in a million 
that the fungus-like organism which causes the club 
root of cabbage could have been introduced on the 
seeds sown by W. G. The spores or seeds of the dis¬ 
ease will remain alive in the soil year after year, and 
will even retain their vitality after having passed 
through the digestive system of cattle ; thus manure 
from stock fed on infested cabbage may infect cab¬ 
bage plants around which it is used. Another im¬ 
portant consideration is the fact that the disease 
thrives on the roots of several mustard-like weeds, 
and is, doubtless, often perpetuated in a garden in 
this way. While the facts, as presented by W. G., 
indicate that the disease was introduced with the 
seeds, yet it is scarcely probable that is the true 
explanation. The facts in regard to the nature of the 
disease render it highly improbable, and, in fact, 
almost impossible, that it might be transmitted on or 
in the seed in any way. m. v. slingerland. 
Healing Wounds on Pruned Trees. 
G. E. II., Sussex County, N. J .—I have found it necessary to cut 
quite a number of branches from my apple trees, so as to culti¬ 
vate under them. They are about 12 years old, and some branches 
have a diameter of two inches. Will you ask the advice of horti¬ 
culturists and fruit growers, through The R. N.-Y., as to which 
is the best to apply to the wounds, grafting wax or white lead in 
oil; or is there something better than either ? I wish to do them 
up right, but am in doubt as to the best way. 
I like grafting wax for application to any branches 
cut off, using : Four parts of resin to one part of 
beeswax and one part of mutton tallow. This 
formula will require warming to apply, but will not 
be inclined to melt and run in hot weather provided 
well worked or pulled before being used. I prefer 
mutton tallow to beef tallow, as it is inclined to be 
harder. s. D. willard. 
New York. 
For healing such tree wounds there is nothing bet¬ 
ter than good grafting wax applied as soon as the 
limb is removed. Spread the wax on smoothly, press¬ 
ing it hard so as to make it adhere firmly, and look 
at it occasionally to see that it does not peel up, in 
which case press it back into position. Another very 
good material is gum shellac, such as painters use 
for covering knots before applying the paint; this, 
applied with a brush, covers the wound very nicely, 
and adheres firmly. It should be gone over again 
next season. On so young trees the wounds would 
begin to heal the first year, and in two or three years 
would nearly cover the wood. I would say, keep 
white lead paint off the wounds. edwin hoyt. 
Connecticut. 
I should prefer to apply to the wounds a grafting 
wax formed by melting together 1% part beef tallow, 
two parts beeswax and four parts of resin. I would 
apply as soon as the branches are cut off and be care¬ 
ful to press it closely to the surface of the wood. I 
think this will be better than a paint of white lead 
and oil, since the latter does not prevent the crack¬ 
ing of the wood. My experience with grafting wax 
is, that when carefully applied, it remains on the 
tree three or four years, which is longer than white 
lead paint is serviceable. e. s. goff. 
Wisconsin Experiment Station. 
What About the Longfield Apple ? 
J. W., Oakwood, III .—Four years ago, I started a young orchard 
of 200 trees. I bought my stock of a leading Ohio nurseryman, 
who, at that time, recommended the Longfield apple very highly, 
but in his last annual catalogue, he has dropped it from his list. 
I set 20 trees of that variety, and I find that about the middle of 
the summer, from one-fourth to one-half of the leaves blight and 
dry up, hanging on the tree all winter. Last spring, some of my 
trees set fruit which grew nicely, and was free from insects until 
in July, when the leaves blighted and the fruit rotted, hanging 
on the tree after they were all wilted and rotten. The location is 
high timber land. The trees continue to grow and look well other¬ 
wise. Is it the nature of that variety, or is it from some other 
cause ? If it is the nature of the variety, and the nurseryman 
deceived me, I want to dig them up and reset with a better variety. 
Will you tell us something about the Gano apple ? 
Ans. —The Longfield apple is one of the Russian 
varieties, and is thought to be valuable for the ex¬ 
treme North, because of the hardiness of the tree. 
The fruit is small to medium, of a yellowish-green 
