THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
February 11, 
98 
WESTERN NEW YORK HORTICUL¬ 
TURAL SOCIETY MEETS. 
Part I. 
President W. C. Barry called to order the 
fiftieth annual session of the Western N. Y. 
Horticultural Society. The audience cham¬ 
ber was well filled, although the blizzard de¬ 
layed trains on all roads. The President in 
his annual address was retrospective, con¬ 
gratulatory and prophetic. He briefly re¬ 
viewed the past work of the society, thanked 
the members for their support and co-opera¬ 
tion, expressed his gratitude to those who 
have in the past presented valuable papers 
and delivered instructive addresses at our 
meetings. lie made a plea for an increase 
of membership, saying we should have at 
least 1,000 members instead of the (jOO or 
700 we now. have. 
The morning session took the form of a 
celebration • of the golden jubilee of the Soci¬ 
ety. Reminiscences of years past were related 
by the older members, among whom were ,T. 
S. Woodward. Loekport. C. M. Hooker, Roches¬ 
ter, S. D. Willard, Geneva, Foster Udell, 
Rroekport. and C. L. Hoag. Loekport. George 
T. Powell, of Ghent, Columbia Co., spoke 
on “ A Higher Standard in Horticulture." 
He said New York State limits are now used 
in all the markets of the world, and if we 
want to keep them in those markets we must 
raise our standard of quality. -In former days 
fruit was considered a luxury, and a lower 
grade of fruit was accepted.hut to-day fruit is 
a necessity, and quality counts for much. The 
future presents stern problems to fruit grow¬ 
ers, for much of the poorer grades will not 
now pay for the harvesting, packing and 
transportation, hut there is a great demand 
in the markets of Europe as well as America 
for fine fruit. To get this high quality we 
must adapt variety to soil. The next step is 
to select better stock to propagate from. We 
must cease growing high, heavy trees, and 
use low-headed trees, with low branches; the 
day of trees 40 feet high is past. We must 
have a high system of culture and grow the 
varieties of high quality, like King, Jonathan, 
McIntosh and Spitzenberg. We must have 
organized effort in packing and marketing. 
The future will not demand enormous or¬ 
chards, but smaller orchards with better 
fruit, selection and culture. During the dis¬ 
cussion on apples, a number of allusions were 
made to very poor quality of apples seen 
on the tables of the different hotels of the 
city. Prof. Slingerland said there were three 
on his table, one, smaller than an egg, one 
wormy, and one gnarled and withered. All 
were windfalls. One member said he had fed 
hundreds of bushels of better apples to his 
cows and hogs. All agreed that it was a 
disgrace to western New York. 
The question of soil and seed inoculation 
was discussed in an intelligent and pleasing 
manner by C. S. Wilson, a student of Cornell. 
“The Relationship of Plants in the Orchard” 
was the topic of an address by Prof. U. P. 
Hedrick, of the Michigan Agricultural Col¬ 
lege. He showed by lantern slides the effect 
on the growth of peach trees by growing in 
the soil about the roots different crops like 
wheat, rye, potatoes, tomatoes, peas, beans 
and clover. The trees made the least growth 
with the wheat and rye, and the best with 
the clover. The clover seemed to gather 
nitrogen from the air and pass it over to the 
tree roots. This practised with fruiting trees 
would retard the ripening of the wood, and 
prevent the formation of fruit buds. 
Prof. John Craig of Cornell University, 
gave an illustrated talk on “The Result of 
Orchard Survey in Wayne and Monroe Coun¬ 
ties." One of the striking things brought out 
by the speaker was that New York had 
dropped from first to second place, and Ohio 
from third to fourth place, while California 
had moved steadily upward from twenty- 
seventh place to first, during the last forty 
years. He said that the worst enemy of the 
apple orchard is the apple tree. Close plant¬ 
ing is ruinous. Statistics show that, the yield 
per acre steadily decreases as the number of 
trees per acre is increased. The tendency 
in planting now is to give each tree more room. 
When the trees are young the ill effects of 
close planting may not be apparent, but with 
advancing years it becomes acute. Prof. Craig 
referred to the influence of ownership, 
saying that in one township of West¬ 
ern New York. 300 orchards cared for by 
the owners yielded an average of 201 bushels 
per acre, while 200 rented orchards yielded 
192 bushels per acre. On this survey the 
average yield was found to be much larger in 
tilled orchards than in sod orchards, there 
being a difference of nearly 100 bushels per 
acre in favor of tillage. 
Prof. M. Y. Slingerland, assistant professor 
of economic entomology at Cornell University, 
who' is popularly known as the “Bug Man." 
spoke in “Some Insect Problems and Experi¬ 
ences." His talk also was illustrated. After 
speaking of the insect pests of the past fifty 
years. Prof. Slingerland took up the future, 
with respect to what it may have in store for 
New York fruit growers. He said in part : 
"The New York fruit growers w:il never 
have any less number of kinds of insect foes 
to fight, and at least, three or four new ones 
will demand serious attention in the near 
future. The Gypsy moth and the Brown-tail 
moth cannot be prevented from crossing our 
eastern border, and sooner or later spreading 
over the State, it will oe difficult to get a 
State or National Government to expend the 
vast amount of money and labor necessary to 
check, control and finally exterminate these 
insects, if such a thing is possible. Another 
insect which has been a serious apple post 
in other States for 25 years and more, has 
been working farther southward in our State 
during the past few years until it now serious¬ 
ly threatens the whole New York apple indus¬ 
try. I refer to the Apple maggot, or "railroad 
worm,” as it is called in New England. This 
insect is an Insidious pest, its work not often 
showing until the crop is found to be almost 
worthless at nicking time. All varieties of 
apples may be infested, some more than 
others, and there seems to he no way of get¬ 
ting at the nest with our present insecticidal 
batteries. Recent experiments in Rhode Is¬ 
land indicate that Spring plowing to bury the 
hibernating stage of the post is valueless, but 
that thorough and frequent tillage may help 
materially. Pasturing the orchard or picking 
up the windfalls frequentlv are the most suc¬ 
cessful methods known for controlling the 
insect on a commercial scale." 
George G. Atwood, chief inspector of the 
State Department of Agriculture, read an in¬ 
teresting and particularly Instructive paper on 
“The Gypsv Moth.” which was listened to 
with the closest attention by the members. 
Mr. Atwood described minutely the Gypsy 
moth ; how it is spread and grows, and the ef¬ 
fect it has on the fruit. He stated that it is only 
of late that the nature of the damage done by 
the Gypsy moth has come to he fully realized 
by those who grow fruit, and who are in¬ 
terested in preserving their orchards. “The 
Gypsy moth, if allowed to grow and spread 
unchecked, can do fully ns much damage to 
the country's interests as the boll-weevil, of 
which we hear so much. If the Government 
is to take steps to prevent the importation 
and spread of one of these evils, why neglect 
the other?” Mr. Atwood urged the members 
of the Society to unite in trying to suppress 
the San Jose scale. A motion was adopted 
to the effect that the matter of suppressing 
the scale, Gypsy moth and other pests be 
referred to the legislative Committees of the 
Society, the Eastern Nurserymen’s Associa¬ 
tion and the New York State' Fruit Growers’ 
Association, with power to act. The Society 
unanimously adoped a resolution that an 
appeal he made to Congress and the Secretary 
of Agriculture. In connection with his ad- 
dress Mr. Atwood had an interesting ex¬ 
hibit of Gynsy moths, which were examined 
closely by the growers. He also had pictures 
of the fruit, showing the effect of the Gypsy 
moth on it. The story was told of how a 
naturalist in the eastern part of the country 
imported some specimens of the Gypsy moth 
for study, and how they had accidentally 
escaped. Figures were given to show the 
extent of the damage done by this pest in 
this country, and in foreign countries where 
they are to he found more thickly. That Mr. 
Atwood had succeeded in entertaining and in¬ 
structing the growers was shown by the ap¬ 
plause which greeted his remarks, and lVv 
the animated discussion which followed. 
E. C. GILLETT. 
Chemicals for Grass in Northern Jersey. 
F. C. »S'., Rldgewodd, .V. ./.—Will you give 
me the amount of fertilizer one ton of horse 
manure contains; also one ton of cow man¬ 
ure? I have a new grass meadow that I want 
to fertilize and I find that manure is very 
expensive here, as we have to get it by the 
carload. 1 would like to find out which is the 
cheaper, manure or chemical fertilizer. If 
the manure is the cheaper, I would want to 
put it on at once, while the ground is frozen, 
so that I could drive over it. 
Ans. —Average samples of horse and 
cow manure analyze about as follows: 
Phosphoric 
Nitrogen Acid Potash 
Horse manure .10 fi 31 
Cow manure . 7 4 8 
Cow manure, unless well rotted, does 
not spread well on meadows. For actual 
plant food chemicals are cheaper on such 
a meadow, but you must use enough of 
them. One of the ready-mixed grass and 
grain mixtures will answer, but if you 
want to mix at home the formula used by 
Geo. M. Clark, of Connecticut, will make 
the grass grow: 400 pounds nitrate of 
soda, 400 pounds muriate of potash, 400 
pounds fine ground bone and 800 pounds 
acid phosphate. Use 800 pounds per acre. 
This is an expensive mixture, but hay is 
worth enough in your neighborhood to 
warrant its use. 
Cover Crop for Orchard. 
F. Ji., tit. Catharines. Out .—There is a 
lot being written these days on the advisa¬ 
bility of using some kind of cover crop in our 
orchards. Clover, cow peas, and Hairy vetch 
all receive their share of praise, and rightly 
so, although the latter is expensive, as com¬ 
pared with the others. Oats. I see, are also 
spoken of favorably, but they furnish no 
nitrogen. Have any of your readers tried the 
common vetch for this purpose? It will of 
course, not winter, but will it not do all that 
any crop that is not leguminous will do, 
and at the same time furnish some nitrogen? 
Indiana. reader. 
Ans. —Several of the experiment sta¬ 
tions have reported experiments with vetch 
as an orchard crop. Write to the stations 
at Ithaca and Geneva, N. Y. ; Orono, Me.; 
Wooster, Ohio, and Agricultural College, 
Mich., for bulletins. 
For the land’s sake, use Bowker’s Fer¬ 
tilizers. They enrich the earth.— Adv. 
A BOOK WORTH HAVING. 
One of the most complete and compre¬ 
hensive handbooks on garden tools ever 
published is the 190.1 Planet Jr. catalogue 
of S. L. Allen & Co.. Philadelphia. It is a 
veritable mine of information, so valuable 
that no farmer or gardener can afford to be 
without it. The catalogue is beautifully illus¬ 
trated, and carefully describes the famous 
Planet Jr. garden tools—implements whose 
popularity extends to every quarter of the 
globe. One of the leaders of this line is the No. 4 
Planet Jr. Combined Seeder, shown herewith. 
Fitted as shown, No. 4 is a thoroughly de¬ 
pendable seeder, either for continuous rows 
or hills. It is simple in construction, and 
cannot get out of order. But a moment is re¬ 
quired to connect it into a cultivator or plow, 
capable of doing the finest kind of work in 
hoeing, furrowing, ridging, marking, etc. 
Among other Planet Jr. tools are plain and 
combined seeders, wheel hoes, one and two 
horse cultivators, harrows, etc. 
The catalogue is sent free upon request to S. 
L, Alleq & Co,, Box 1107 V, Philadelphia, Pa. 
PureWhiteIead 
Every house-owner 
should know why Pure 
White Lead is both the 
best and cheapest paint 
he can put on his house. 
Our Booklet “ What Paint & 
Why ” tells this and names the 
brands of White Lead that are 
purest and best. Sent free from 
any of our branches. 
NATIONAL LEAD COMPANY 
Largest makers of White Lead in the world. 
New York Buffalo Ch’icago 
Boston Cincinnati St. Louis 
Cleveland 
National Lead & Oil Co. John T. Lewis & Bros. Co. 
Pittsburg. Philadelphia. 
VEGETABLE PLANTS 
Large transplanted plants of Cabbage, Celery, 
Tomato, Pepper, Egg Plant, Cauliflower and Let¬ 
tuce for the man that plants for profit. 
Our Cabbage Plants are transplanted in De¬ 
cember and are grown in a cool temperature all 
winter; they will head earlier than any other 
plants. Write for Price List. 
J. E. Ht TTON & SON, Conyngham, Pa. 
LEAMING SEED CORN 
100 bu. of this popular var'ety; grown and selected 
by us for highest yield: guaranteed to have highest 
germinating vitality. We are breeding this corn for 
silage and protein contents: it is used by many of 
our Ohio Farmers for silage, maturing earlier than 
regular silage varieties A mammoth ylelder $2.00 
per bu. f. o. I) .tipped and shelled or in ear. 
E. K. MATLHE, New Berlin, Stark Co., Ohio 
—PLANT— 
Page’s Seeds—They Grow 
T HAT’S the kind we sell. It’s the kind 
you want, no matter whether you use 
few or many, you want the kind you 
can depend upon. We have built up our 
business and t stab'islied our reputation only 
by fair dealing and supp ying Seeos that 
Grow. Last season our sales on Seed Corn 
alone were over 25,000 bu. That’s because 
we sell the kind that grows. Our new 72- 
page catalogue, covers lithographed in eight 
colors and colored plates, describes over 1,000 
varieties of Flower, Vegetable a'd Farm 
Seeds, Plants and Bulbs, Free. Write to-day. 
The Page Seed Co., 
SEEDSMEN, GREENE, N. Y. 
PDAOC cccn Timothy and all kinds of Clover 
UnAOO vCCU Seed. BlueGrass.RedTop,Orchard 
Grass, BIG 4 Seed Oats. Enquiries pleasure to 
answer. Let me hear trom you and your -wants. 
Address U. «J. COVER, Alt. Gilead, Ohio. 
CLOVER SEED 
M ammoth, Medium, A 'sike, Timothy. True to name, 
clean and pure. Direct to farmers. 
The O. C. SHEI’ARI) CO., Aledina, O. 
were awarded Two Grand Prizes, 
the hig-hest possible honors, at the St. 
Louis Exposition. Our Catalogue, the 
One Hundred and Fourth Annual 
Edition, is by far the most complete, 
most reliable and most beautiful of 
American Garden Annuals. We are 
offering this year the great 
N0R0T0N BEAUTY POTATO 
The Most Valuable Ever Introduced. 
Full description and the opinions of 
many high authorities who have 
tested it will he found in our Cata¬ 
logue, which will he mailed FREE to 
all interested in gardening or farming. 
J. M. TH0RBURN & CO., 
SEED GROWERS AND MERCHANTS, 
30 Cortlandt St., New York. 
103 years in the business. 
A (■ p n O —Now write plainly to me the names 
uttLIu and full addresses of a number of 
persons who buy Garden Seeds, 
and I will carefully keep trace of them, and favor 
them with lowest wholesale prices for select, fresh 
tested. Northern-grown seeds of ail kinfls. direct 
from best reliable growers who won Gold Medals at 
St. Louis Exhibition, and 1 will send to you at end of 
season five (ft) per cent, of the total amount of their 
purchases. Perhaps a very large amount, easily 
earned. Special terms for February. 
F. W. WILSON, Cleveland, Ohio 
Wholesale Grower and Importer 
(j ARDEN, Field and 
u Flower Seeds, Clovers 
and Timothy, Beardless 
Spring Barley, Blue 
Grass, Orchard Grass, 
Red Top, etc. 
We can also offer Feeding Corn, and Oats in car 
lots track your station. Write for Field Seed Price 
List, also 1905 Annual Seed Catalog mailed free. 
THE HENRY PHILLIPPS SEED AND IMPLEMENT CO, 
115-117 St. Clair Street, Toledo, Ohio. 
I New and standard varieties. Promising new vart- 
feties from the Flower Seed Ball. Cannot be pro¬ 
cured elsewhere. Earliest Seed Com and 
Garden Seeds from the natural home of 
(the potato, and the garden of Northern 
Maine. Catalog free. 
The Geo. W. P. Jerrard Co., Carlton, Maine. 
SEEDS 
SOLD OK MERIT. Catalog free. 
The Ford plan saves you money. 
Satisfaction Guaranteed. 
Ford Seed Co. Oeot.24 Ravenna.0. 
ACOPY OF 
1905 
'Garden™* Floral Guide i 
[Mealed FREE on Request i 
James Vick's Sons.301 MainSt.,RochesteiimI 
i v tg - - 
Pnhhon'n Onnrl Long Island grown, Succession. 
UdUUdgti OCCU, Flat Dutch, Early Spring. 75c. 
per lb. B. E. GOODALE, 1947 Broadway, N. Y. City. 
P OTATOES—BIIbh, Hovec, Cobbler. Harvest, Hebron, Ohio, Long¬ 
fellow, Six Weekb ; 85 kinds. C. W. FOKD, Fishers, N. Y. 
SECOND CROP SEED POTATOES 
Mature earlier.stand drought better, yield more large 
potatoes than a y other seed. Catalogue free. 
ALF. A. WHITTINGTON. Marion Station, Md. 
B E , S T 
SEED POTATOES 
Catalogue of 
70 varieties free 
A. G. ALDRIDGE, Fishers, Ontario Co., N. Y. 
Hall’s Improved 
plants good as grow, 
tive Catalogue FREE. 
Second-Crop Potatoes the best SEED 
everywhere. 45 varieties of Strawberry 
Asparagus Roots, Seed Corn, etc. Descrip- 
J. W. HALL, Marion Station, Md. 
H ,§A ■ ■ ■ Essex Rape which h; 
■H JTfl Bw ■■ proved to be the mo: 
■ ■ HLM valuable forage plant in e 
■ S istence for sheen, Hogs < 
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Cattle. Costs only about: 
cents per acre for seed; yields 20 tons per acre. Ov 
seed was grown in Essex, England, and is extra choic 
Descriptive circular and sample freeif you mention th 
paper. Ask for copy of our large illustrated catalog i 
Garden and Farm Seeds. Free for the asking. 
IOWA SEED COMPANY. DES MOINES. I0W 1 
S OMETHING N ^ w SWEET CORN. 
A red variety, of finest flavor, that will be ready 
for use by July 4 th. Also Peep O’Day, a white 
variety of equal earliness. 15 cents for 3 ounce pack¬ 
age of either, or 25 cents for both. Address: 
WALDO F. BROWN, Box 8, Oxford, Ohio 
Carman Seed Potatoes 
Carefully selected L. I. stock; 5 bu. lots, @1.50, 
10 bu. lots, @1.40, 25 bu. lots, @1.30 , 50 bu. lots, 
@1.25. For larger lots, prices on application. 
J. B. BROWN, Box 115, Bridgehampton, L I., N.Y. 
FOR SALE 
■—CRIMSON CLOVElt Seed, $4 50 
__bushel: Cow l’eas, $1.75 bushel; 
2nd growth Seed Potatoes, $3.00 to $3.50 barrel; Union 
Sets,$2.50 bushel. JOSEPH E HOLLAND, 
Milford, Delaware. 
MAINE SEED POTATOES. 
Prices given on any quantity delivered in New 
York. Catalogue. CARTER & COREY, Presqu? 
Isle, Aroostook Co., Maine. Over fifty varieties. 
(J A I ‘Czar of Russia Oats: 
I^V O #A Ui t Durham BullCalf.four 
monthsold; Heifer most three years; AlphaDeLaval 
Separator Baby No. 1. CHAS. MARSH, Valois, N. V. 
SEEDS 
THEILMANN’S—The Seedmen—carry a full line of Garden 
and Field Seeds. Onion Seed a specialty. Write to-day for 
their catalog and Special Prices. 
THii THEIL.MANN SEED CO., - Erie, Pa. 
niDDI CJC CCCn DATATflCC Areth ebest obtainable anywhere at any price. Grown in 
UIDDLL O wtCU lU I H I UCO the cold north, largely on Virgin soil, they are full of vigor 
and vitality. We are headquarters for Seed Potatoes. We grow and sell the products of over 1.000 acres 
annually. All the new and standard varieties, 35 in all. at from $2.00 to $3.00 per bbl., with special prices on 
quantities. Our new catalog now ready. Ask for it to-day. 
EDWARD F. DIBBLE, Reedgrower, lloneoye Falls, N. V’. 
