6o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
January 28, 
A. .A. A. .A. A. .A. .A. .A. A A A. A. » 
Ruralisms ; 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS 
About Tree Seeds. —Vast numbers of 
seedling trees are grown by foresters and 
nurserymen here and abroad. The com¬ 
merce in tree and shrub seeds is in conse¬ 
quence large and steadily growing, as the 
desire for ornamental planting and the ne¬ 
cessity for reforesting denuded lands in 
many countries becomes more pressing. 
Owing to the greater development of the 
science of forestry in Europe dealers over 
there have long offered extensive collec¬ 
tions of tree seeds gathered from the tem¬ 
perate parts of the world, and annually 
import in quantity many desirable Amer¬ 
ican kinds. There is always a great call 
for acorns of the White oak, as this fine 
timber tree grows well abroad, but it is 
exceedingly difficult to transport the seeds 
in sound condition. Acorns of white and 
several other species of native oaks natu¬ 
rally start into growth as soon as mature 
in Autumn, making roots several inches 
long before freezing weather if they lie on 
or are buried in the soil. The leaf sprout 
or plumule does not appear until Spring, 
hut the root or radicle quickly pushes from 
the ripe acorn under the influence of the 
slightest moisture, such as the natural 
“sweating” or condensation when packed 
for transportation. If allowed to dry they 
quickly perish, so that the problem of get¬ 
ting them safely over seas is so difficult 
that it has practically been abandoned. 
Some European governments do not per¬ 
mit the importation of nursery trees or 
seedlings from America, on account of 
supposed danger from phylloxera and San 
Jose scale, and in consequence planters and 
foresters there must go without the valua¬ 
ble White oak except as it can be grown 
from naturalized trees. The chinquapin 
or hush chestnut is almost as difficult to 
handle, but it is in small demand, being 
of general interest only as an ornamental. 
Certain soft, early-ripening seeds, as those 
of the Silver and Red maples, and most 
species of elm, are so perishable they can¬ 
not well he kept in stock, hut must be or¬ 
dered in advance, and planted as soon as 
received. Others do not germinate quick¬ 
ly, and can he preserved a long time if 
stratified or stored in moist sand to pre¬ 
vent drying out, but must be carefully 
guarded from undue heat while in stock, 
or during transportation. Many kinds, on 
the contrary, must he stored perfectly dry. 
Evergreen seeds, as a rule, keep best mixed 
with dry sand until time of sowing, which 
should not be unnecessarily delayed. Very 
fine seeds like those of the Azalea are 
best kept in the pod or capsule, and quite 
a number, among which are the various 
roses, are best preserved when dried up in 
the fruit. There are many collectors of 
tree seeds in this country who yearly 
make offerings to nurserymen and dealers, 
but practically the only full assortment 
offered to the public is that listed by J. M. 
Thorburn & Co., New York, in their an¬ 
nual seed catalogue. A most comprehen¬ 
sive collection of seeds of evergreen and 
deciduous trees and shrubs is offered by 
this firm at prices varying from 35 cents to 
$12 a pound, according to variety. Ounces 
or packets of every kind may be had for 
amateur use from 10 to 25 cents each. 
An Odd Experience. —A botanical col¬ 
lector of our acquaintance had an un¬ 
looked-for experience in filling an exten¬ 
sive order for seeds of Pitch pine, Pinus 
rigida, from an agent of the Austrian 
Government. The seeds were wanted al¬ 
most by the ton for planting waste sandy 
lands in the valley of the Danube. It was 
necessary to fill the contract with dispatch, 
so the barn, cribs and outbuildings of an 
unoccupied farm near the “pine barrens” 
region of southern New Jersey were leased 
for storage and all the available school 
children of the neighborhood engaged to 
collect cones during available hours. The 
cones soon came in by the wagon load, 
and were thrown in the corncribs to cure. 
As the weather was quite moist at the 
time they were tightly closed, and naturally 
settled very close together. A short pe¬ 
riod of dry weather followed, and the 
cones, as pine cones will, expanded with 
great force and bulged the walls of the 
buildings. A foggy and rainy interval fol¬ 
lowed, during which they closed and bed¬ 
ded down more compactly than before, but 
this was followed by a mighty expamion, 
when the weather again cleared, that al¬ 
most wrecked the buildings. So rapid 
were the alternations of drought and mois¬ 
ture that collecting had to be stopped and 
some expense incurred for repairs when 
the buildings were finally cleared. The 
cones had become so compactly interlocked 
that a pick was used to get them out. In 
getting conifer seeds out of the cones the 
usual method is to spread the ripe cones 
loosely on a dry floor and beat the seeds 
out with light blows of a flail or stick 
when well opened. Sometimes they must 
be dried by fire heat. The seeds are 
cleaned by running through a fanning mill 
This method was followed in this instance 
and a fraction of the order filled, but it 
proved impracticable to find safe storage 
for enough cones, before the seeds were 
naturally shed, to yield the large amount 
wanted. 
The Pitch Pine. —Pinus rigida seeds 
are quoted at $3.50 a pound retail, and 
probably represent fully that amount in 
cost of labor in collection and preparing. 
Though not much planted in this country 
the species is quite ornamental when young 
and well-grown. It has some value as a 
timber tree, and is extensively used as 
mine props and as framework in rough con¬ 
structions. It will grow in poor and sandy 
soils, and shares with the western red¬ 
wood the property, almost unique among 
conifers, of suckering or sprouting near 
the base when the top is destroyed by fire 
or accident. When closely cut it does not 
sucker, and the stump rapidly decays. It 
is one of the hardiest of all evergreens, 
and grows well in full exposure. It will 
probably be used in the near future for re¬ 
foresting barren fields and reclaiming 
waste sandy lowlands near the seacoast 
and large water courses, in which localities 
it thrives vigorously. Well-grown trees 
reach 80 or more feet in height, and occa¬ 
sionally two feet or more in diameter, but 
they usually do not exceed 40 to 50 feet in 
height. The nearest western relative is 
P. ponderosa, the Bull pine of the western 
Rocky Mountains. The Bull pine is quite 
similar in appearance, but immensely 
larger, growing 150 or more feet high. The 
Pitch pine of the South is the Yellow or 
Long-leaf pine, P. palustris. It is scarcely 
hardy north of Virginia. w. v. f. 
An Old Farmer Talks. —As an old farmer, 
I would like to give a few items to my young 
brother farmers of the State to economize in 
expenses while labor is so scarce and high. 
For the. corn crop we make a good seed bed, 
plant with a planter, go to cultivating as soon 
as will answer, and keep at it until the corn 
is two feet high : cut it as soon as it is well 
glazed, let it. stand in stout until it will an¬ 
swer to house. We consider the work then 
about done. We husk no corn excepting for 
seed. We cut corn and stalks up together; it 
is carried by elevator to the loft, dropped into 
a fanning mill, and is separated. The corn 
drops in barrels, the cut cobs by themselves, 
and the stalks and leaves by themselves for 
fodder, and it is all done by machinery. We 
have a six horse power steam engine that does 
the work. We cut corn in one-fourth inch 
length ; it then drops into a grater that tears 
every kernel from cobs, and then goes to the 
elevator. We have cut 40 stouts of corn in 
15 minutes. Now for the result. There were 
three barrels of shelled corn, about as much 
more of cut cobs by themselves, and pile of 
fine fodder, and all done by myself and son 
in tlie 15 minutes. We thrashed 2,500 sheaves 
of rye and drew nearly four tons of straw to 
market, four miles away, the same day. We 
can saw all of the wood we can handle, and 
we grind all of our grain we want for feed 
and some for neighbors. We can grind about 
20 bushels an hour, and do most of power 
work with the engine. 
New York. Isaac van dewerker. 
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PISOS CURE FOR 
CURES WHERE ALL ELSE FAILS 
Best Cough Syrup. Tastes Good. 
Use in time. Sold by druggists. 
CONSUMPTION 
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When you write advertisers mention ThE 
R. N.-Y. and you'll get a quick reply and 
“a square deal." See guarantee, page 14. 
HOWTO RID YOUR ORCHARD 
OF 
SAN JOSE SCALE 
PATKNTKD JUDY 5, 1904, 
CONCENTRATED I.IME-SCLFHUK WASH 
Dilute One Gallon of “ CONSOL” with 
Forty Gallons of Water. No Cook¬ 
ing. No Wasting of Material. 
See IRON-CLAO GUARANTEE 
in Our Booklets. 
AMERICAN HORTICULTURE 
DISTRIBUTING CO., 
Martinsburg, West Virginia. 
SALIMENE 
KILLS SAN JOSE SCALE 
Write for circulars and testimonials. 
DRY OR LIQUID FORM. 
Monmouth Chemical Works. Shrewsbury, N. J. 
U. S. STANDARD. CAUSTIC POTASH 
WHALE-OIL SOAF*. 
A positive destroyer of San Jose Scale. The OWEN 
QPRAYINft CDAR for Power Sprayers. OtherOr- 
OrnHIinu OlHfi, chard Necessities. Write for 
catalogue and prices. W.H. OWEN, Port Clinton,O. 
CIDER 
PRESSES. 
Investigate the“ Monarch’ 
Hydraulic Press before 
buying. Special Con¬ 
struction, Added Con¬ 
veniences, Maximum 
Capacity and Results. 
Catalogue free. 
MONARCH MACHINERY COMPANY, 
41 Cortlandt Street, New York. 
Turn your fruit 
into Dollars. 
A Fruit Orchard sprayed three 
times in a season with a Spranio- 
tor will give you 8o% more fruit. 
TheSPRAMdTOR TtS 
purpose a good Chemicals. It is 
recommended by Government ex¬ 
perts and Experimental Farms 
everywhere. Best of all it pays for itself. Write 
for booklet “A". It givesfuil particulars free. 
SPRAMOTOR CO. 
Buffalo, n.y London, Canada. 
AGENTS WANTED. 
GRASS SEEDERS i!± pKI 
r-/%_ and up. Particulars and cuts free. 
OUC. SEEDKK MFC. CO., Box 4. Homer, Mich. 
The quality and quantity of the 
crops depend on a sufficiency of 
Potash 
in the soil. Fertilizers which are 
low in Potash will never produce 
satisfactory resuits. 
Every farmer should be familiar with the 
proper proportions of ingredients that go to 
make the best fertilizers for every kind of 
crop. We have published a series of books, 
containing the latest researches on this all- 
important subject, which we will send free 
if you ask. Write now while you think of 
it to the 
GERMAN KALI WORKS 
98 Nassau Street, New York. 
Hardie 
Spray Pumps 
Pesr Bffected by the San 
Jose Scale which annual¬ 
ly destroys ?: to,000,000 
worth of fruit. 
are the fruit growers best 
protection against all In¬ 
sects and diseases which 
attack fruit trees. The 
Hardie Spray Pump is the 
simplest, strongest, most 
durable andhighestpres- 
sure spray pump made 
and "it works so easy." 
Send today for our free 
book on Spraying giving 
all the best formulas and 
Information about how the successful fruit 
growers make big money. Just a request on a 
postal will bring this valuable book. 
HOOK-HARDIC CO. 
111 MECHANIC ST,HUDSON, MICH. 
With the 4 
ORCHARD 
Monarch 
SPRAY. 
_ "y Automatic Compressed Air 
Sprayer, No hand labor—has agitator and bru«he« for 
£ cleaning Btrainera. Our free book tells about It. “No swindled feeling” 
■ If you buy our pumps. We .laora.lt. the Empire Kino, Car- 
■ field Knapsack and othsrs. ** 
I^JEU^ORC^UM^C^^^Ithst^lmlraJGY. 
-THE— 
Deming Knapsack Sprayer 
leads everything of its kind. 5 pal. cop¬ 
per tank, brass pump, bronze bull 
valves, mechanical agitator. Easily 
carried. Pumprightorleithand. Knap¬ 
sack and Bucket Spraver combined. 
\\ e make 20 styles sprayers. \Vrite for Catalog. 
THE DEMINC CO., Salem, O. 
Henion & Hubbell, West’n Agts., Chicago. 
SPRAY 
for scale with the WALLACE 
SPRAYERS. Noexpense for power 
Wallace Machy. Co., Champaign, Ill. 
LOADED 
with 
Sm 'MEND-A-RIP’ 
Docs all kinds of Light and heavy Stitching 
Does all kinds 
light and 
heavy riveting 
Savr tub Prici Of Ithklf 
Many Timkh a Year. A Perfect 
Band Sewing Machine and Riveter combined 
To Show it Meant* a Sale. Agents 
make from $8 to #15 u day. One 
made |20 first day and writes to hurry 
to him. Write for special agents' prioe. 
Foundry Co., Frederick to wn, O, 
Great Agents Supply House. 
9 CORDS IN IO HOURS 
BAW8 DOWS 
TREES 
BY ONE MAN. It’* KING OF THE WOODS. 8nve» money and 
backache. Send for FKEE illus. catalogue showing latest improve* 
ments and testimonials from thousands. First ord**r secures agency. 
Folding Sawing Mach. Co., 16 So. Clinton'St.,'Chicago, 111. 
OUR NEW CATALOGUE 
“HUBBARD’S FERTILIZERS FOR 1905” 
will be r.ady for distribution next month. It will be sent free to any address. 
IP YOU A-IIE GrOIMGr TO USE ANY 
COMMERCIAL 
FERTILIZERS 
next SPRIMG, tHis Boob, wzill interest you. 
THE ROGERS & HUBBARD CO., 
MANUFACTURERS OF 
HUBBARD’S “BLACK DIAMOND” FERTILIZERS, 
Middletown, Conn. 
AGRICULTURE, 
HORTICULTURE, DAIRYING AND ANIMAL INDUSTRY 
thoroughly taught at your own home by twelve of the finest experts employed by the 
United States Agricultural Department. If you wish to learn scientific f rming but can¬ 
not afford to leave home to attend college, send for our Agricultural Catalogue and learn 
bow you can secure this education by mail with very little r xpense. Mention this pu^er, 
Columbian Correspondence College, Washington, D. C. 
