THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
March 4, 
164 
the ridge. These points, many of them small irt 
themselves, collectively figure more conspicuously in 
the final results than might be supposed at first thought.. 
SPRAYING VINES.—In the fruit world probably 
no other question is receiving as much attention at the 
present time as that of spraying. Likewise in the 
vegetable kingdom I believe there is nothing of greater 
importance. The one difference is that the science of 
fruit spraying is about a decade in advance of that of 
vegetable spraying, let, nevertheless, the time has ap- 
NASTURTIUMS ON A ROCK. FlO. 71. 
parently come when if we wish our plants to live 
tnrough their whole natural life, we must spray. Spray¬ 
ing has assumed almost the proportions of a fad, but a 
fad, 1 am sorry to say, created by hard necessity. The 
spraying of white potatoes with Bordeaux Mixture, as 
a prevention of the various blights, has been liberally 
treated this past Winter, and there seems to be no> 
question of the beneficial results gained therefrom. But 
it is in connection with the spraying of vine truck that 
I wish to speak. This line of truck, melons, canta¬ 
loupes, cucumbers, etc., has probably suffered more 
disastrously than any other. The pickle and cantaloupe 
crops have been almost wiped out in some localities by 
the fungus troubles, bo complete has been the devas¬ 
tation that many sections, once noted for this line of 
truck, have abandoned the business. Yet in spite of the 
apparent hopelessness of the situation, our experience 
the past season with Bordeaux Mixture has convinced 
us that there is a possibility of completely controlling 
the various fungus diseases to which the cucurbs are 
subject. Bordeaux—four parts of copper sulphate to- 
six parts of lime, if applied thoroughly and kept con¬ 
tinuously on the vines, seemed to keep them in a vig¬ 
orous condition until practically all of the fruit was. 
matured. The one essential point in this work is thor¬ 
oughness. The good derived will be just in propor¬ 
tion to the care and thoroughness exercised. 
SPRAYING BEANS.—During the past season much 
amateur experimenting was done with Bordeaux Mix¬ 
ture on various crops for various diseases. Very 
marked benefit was derived on string and Lima beans. 
The rusty condition of the vines, so prevalent, was 
materially improved, and much better crops obtained. 
The tomato blight also yielded to this treatment, but 
here again a thorough job is necessary. A machine 
with sufficient power to force the liquid down in and 
among the vines is of vital importance if we hope for 
best results. J- barton. 
New Jersey. 
WHEN AND HOW TO CUT SCIONS. 
When and how should scions be cut for grafting apple 
trees, and how keep them after cutting till they are used? 
I have 10 large trees of that absolutely worthless apple 
(except for hog feed) known as Ben Davis, and I want to 
graft them to something good to eat, as there is no market 
here for apples, at a price that will pay for picking ana 
drawing. In my own and my neighbors’ orchards are plenty 
of good kinds, 'and I have seen grafting done, so I think 
I can do It. K - H - 
Stanton, Mich. 
Apple scions are best cut in Autumn or early Win¬ 
ter, before hard freezing, but may be cut any time 
after the leaves fall, and before the buds swell in 
Spring. The best scions are made from one or two- 
year-old wood of thrifty bearing trees of the varieties 
desired. The selected wood should be smooth, bright 
and average about the thickness of an ordinary lead 
pencil. Do not use water sprouts if they can be 
avoided, as they are usually long in bearing, but well- 
ripened shoots from the upper portions of the trees. 
They may be cut in lengths of eight to 10 inches, prop¬ 
erly labeled and buried in the soil • on the north or 
shaded side of a building until wanted, covering the 
soil with a board to keep out excessive wet. They may 
also be packed in damp, not wet, moss or sawdust and 
kept in a cool building or icehouse to retard the buds; 
in short they must be kept cool and prevented from 
drying out until the stocks are ready to graft. Prob¬ 
ably the best time to graft the apple is when the leaf 
buds are beginning to open, provided the scions are 
quite dormant. _ 
THE GARDEN AND THE HEN. 
PART I.—THE COMPLAINT. 
I received the pamphlet, “The Business Hen,” and 
thank you. Looking at that title, “The Business Hen,” 
the only thing that came to my mind for quite a spell 
was the business hen and floriculture, floriculture and 
the business hen ! I have a neighbor, a very estimable 
young lady, and she’s got hens; I think “business hens,” 
but I can’t say what they are at home. I only know 
that when they pay my plantation an occasional visit, 
they generally get right down to business, inspecting 
my business, and the first business of yours truly, on 
such occasions, is to let out a few assorted strong 
words. Now, instead of sending to a sedate follower 
of the goddess Flora such a pamphlet, you would 
kindly at some time compose a composition entitled, 
“How to get rid of your neighbors’ business hens,” a 
good many of our class, would rise up and call you 
blessed. Do you think the following recipe: Nux 
vomica, three drachms; arsenious acid, two drachms; 
corn ad libitum mix, and a post mortem rescript, dc 
mortuis nil nisi bonum, would do the business? 
C. A. B. 
PART II.—THE REMEDY. 
The book attempts to induce the business hen to 
mind her own business by telling how to build a 
comfortable house and yard, and how to feed a hen. 
We doubt if this case will yield to prose treatment, and 
so we suggest the following. How this remedy will 
work when the lady owns the hens we cannot say. 
“PLEASE KEEP YOUR HENS AT HOME.” 
A maiden lady owned a piece of ground, 
And morn and even in Summer she was found 
Within her garden. But her neighbor kept 
A dock of liens, and while she worked or slept. 
With busy feet they dug her finest seed. 
In vain she chased them at her utmost speed. 
And "shooed" and stoned them, quite undignified. 
The while her neighbor laughed until lie cried. 
But women who can foil the wiles of men, 
Will not be daunted by a Leghorn hen. 
The hand that rocks the cradle, still can block 
Man’s ridicule, and give his nerves a shock. 
Our lady cried a bit—as was her right— 
Then took some cards and on each one did write: 
"Please keep your hens at home !”—A seed of corn 
She strung to each. With early break of dawn 
Back came the liens; they gobbled grain and string, 
Then back for home they started on the wing. 
From every mouth they dragged tlie lady’s card. 
"Plea sc keep:” lie scratched his head his heart was hard, 
But shame cut through it like a knife, and hence 
Ilis hens no more flew o’er the lady's fence. 
PART III.—THE SEQUEL. 
Please accept ray very best thanks for your kind re¬ 
ply. You see the word “hen” acts on me like a red 
rag does on a bull, and seeing that title 1 could not 
resist the temptation to give vent in black and 
white to a few subdued feelings. I’m not a Spring 
chicken, not by any means, and my trials and tribula¬ 
tions with hens have been pretty severe. Even my 
own mother in her lifetime tested my serenity severely 
by trying to keep a hundred hens on a place fit only for 
25, and without adequate fencing, to the ruination of 
my pocketbook and temper. In the case just at hand 
there might have been still another solution of the 
hen question. That is, I to propose and marry the 
lady, then leaving the question of the hen “To be or 
not to be” to fate. Alas, she is already married! At 
the same time I handed my letter and your kind reply 
to her for inspection, and with excellent result. There 
will be a decent house this Spring (she’s got your 
“Business Hen”) and also plenty of wire fencing, and 
ditto a garden, and there’s where I’ve got her. The 
love of flowers will be cultivated to the utmost extent, 
and therefore, again, my very best thanks to you. 
_C. B. D. 
TWO METHODS OF TREE PLANTING. 
How Hilchings Plants Apple Trees. 
I have been much interested in reading in the December 
21, 1904, number what O. M. Taylor lias to say of the 
"mulch method in apple culture,” and the account of start¬ 
ing an orchard among the stumps, and would like to hear 
a little more fully as to what he does after getting off and 
burning the brush, especially the method of setting the trees, 
how deep a hole he digs, how he prepares it, how large in 
diameter the hole would be, and what tue future care of the 
earth immediately around these trees would be? ''hat 
amount of fertilizer each year? E - 
Lawrence, Mass. 
My plan of planting out the apple trees on the tract 
of ground newly cleared of woods this W inter is as 
follows: The rows of trees will be lined out one 
way 33 feet apart. The distance apart in the rows will 
vary between 20 and 30 feet, aiming to plant 25 feet 
apart, but varying if necessary five feet either way, 
in order to select a better location for the tree. The 
holes will be dug two feet in diameter, and a trifle 
over one foot in depth. After placing some surface 
soil in bottom of hole the roots of the tree will be 
pruned close enough so that the tree when planted will 
stand one inch deeper than it stood in the nursery. 
The trees will then be mulched with the forest leaves 
right at hand, with a little soil thrown on top to keep 
leaves from blowing off. No further fertilizing or 
mulching will be given them. The ground will be 
seeded early in Spring without cultivating with a 
mixture of two-fifths clover, two-fifths Kentucky Blue 
grass, one-fifth Timothy seed, using about eight pounds 
clover, eight pounds Blue grass and four pounds Tim¬ 
othy per acre. In July the weeds and brush will be 
cut and left on ground. The following Winter stumps 
that are partly decayed will be removed, the others 
as they decay. Here we have the best soil conditions; 
that is, soil well filled with decaying vegetable matter. 
I expect to maintain this soil condition by allowing the 
grass that grows in this orchard to decay on its sur¬ 
face soil. The wood cut from this tract of ground 
will sell for more than enough to pay for the apple 
trees and their care until they come into bearing. 
GRANT G. HITCIIINGS. 
How Mr. Bell Plants Pear Trees. 
One of your readers in western New York intends 
to set out a pear orchard in the Spring, and you ask 
me to give my experience in setting out trees, and 
methods which I would recommend. In the first place, 
the ground should be thoroughly worked the year 
previous to planting, so that it will be as near as possi¬ 
ble its natural grade. This is necessary in order that 
the trees may be set at a uniform and regular depth. 
The hole for the tree should be sufficiently large so 
that the roots can all be spread out, and if a little 
larger, so much the better. I usually dig the hole 2j4 
to three feet across, and deep enough so that the 
collar of the standard tree will be on a grade, and 
the dwarf two inches below the natural level of the 
ground. By using a straight edge (a lath answers the 
purpose), the proper depth for the trees can easily be 
gauged. The distance between the trees depends on 
the variety. Fifteen by 20 feet is sufficient for Bart- 
letts. Kieffer, Anjou, Seckel, and Lawrence should be 
set 20 x 25. Before the tree is set all surplus and 
damaged roots should be removed. The top should be 
headed back at least as much as the roots, and if it is 
trimmed more, it will do no harm. I cut back to two 
or three buds, for the reason that the remaining buds 
will push out and make a stronger growth than if a 
larger number were left. Three-year-old trees have 
proved entirely satisfactory to me. 
The after care of the orchard is of much importance 
in obtaining satisfactory results. I would advise an¬ 
nual trimming of the trees; that is, to thin out and head 
back annually. This should be done in the dormant 
season, from November 15 to March 1, but should not 
be done when the wood is frosted, for the wood at the 
cut is then liable to check and not to heal over. The 
trees, when trimmed as stated above, will not come 
into bearing as early as if they were left without trim¬ 
ming. But the owner can well afford to wait a few 
years longer, for in after years his orchard will be 
more profitable. The orchard should be kept in thor¬ 
ough cultivation during the growing season, until the 
first of August. Then a cover crop of some kind, to 
protect the ground during the Fall and Winter, will 
very much benefit the trees. I use the common Medium 
clover, which has proved the most satisfactory to me. 
Why set out Kieffer, which is of very inferior quality, 
when there are so many good varieties to grow? The 
consumers are always looking for better fruit, and will 
A HOMEMAKERS’ MELON CUT. Fig. 72. 
not be satisfied unless they can get it. Our aim should 
be to grow fruit of better quality than you can get in 
the Kieffer pear. Besides, it does not mature at its 
best in western New York. I would advise the setting 
of Beurre Bose or Winter Nelis, for when well grown 
they always command a fancy price. Quality and not 
quantity should be our aim. david k. bell. 
Monroe Co., N. Y. 
HARDY GRAPES 
8 VINES FOR 50 CTS. 
SMALL FRUITS 
42 PLANTS FOR $2.25. 
FRUIT TREES 
20 FOR $2.50. 
This Is the finest collection of Choice 
Hardy Grapes ever offered. Vines are all 
strong, dormant, one-year-old field grown, 
having strong roots. At local nursery 
would cost you from $1.25 to $2.00. We 
guarantee them to please you. 
Our Catalogue .containing I64 pages, fully illus 
crated, describes the above, and hundreds of other va¬ 
rieties of Seeds, Plants, dec. WRITE FOR IT. 
A collection admirably adapted to gar¬ 
dens of limited area; even a city lot wijl 
(furnish sufficient room to plant them. 
These varieties are the choicest in thefr 
class. At local nursery prices would cost 
from $3.50 to $4.00. ' 
Our Catalogue milt give names and full descrip. 
lions of the above, and all kinds of Seeds, Plants , l 
Bulbs^&c. FREE ON A PPLICATION. 
This collection contains 6 Apples, 3 Pears, 
5 Peaches, 3 Plums, 3 Cherries. Every va¬ 
riety a "gem” in its class. The trees are 
3 to 4 feet high, % to % inches in diameter, 
thrifty and fine. Cannot be duplicated in 
local nurseries for less than $4.00 to $5.00. 
Our Catalogue gives full description of the varie¬ 
ties, also of everything in Vegetable anti Flower seeds. 
fd.* aq d Ai* 
'hnisOWAlkPt*. 
Plants, &c. SENT FR. 
