4io 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
May 20, 
uralisms ; 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL 0R0UNDS 
Single-Germ Beet Seed. —The novice 
in gardening cannot but notice that how¬ 
ever thinly he sows his beet seed the 
plants come up in crowded bunches. On 
the other hand, the tricky seedsman can 
usually point with pride to the high ger¬ 
minating percentage of the beet seed be 
supplies, although his other seeds may 
test distressingly low. It is quite usual 
for 110 to 120 plants to gro - from 100 
commercial beet seeds, notwithstanding a 
varying proportion of the seed may not 
germinate fit all. The explanation is that 
most beet “seeds” are really compound 
fruits—the product of several flowers 
grown together, and may contain from 
two to six separate germs or real 
seeds. These compound seeds are nearly 
as large as peas, noJe or less rounded, 
and are spoken of as “seed balls.” Occa¬ 
sionally a beet flower is placed singly and 
produces a single-germ fruit or seed; in 
its dried form a star-shaped body very 
much smaller than the more numerous 
compound seed Lalls. These single germ 
seeds can, to a certain extent, be sepa¬ 
rated from the plump seed balls by sifting, 
but few would care to plant these little 
angular seeds, looking like broken frag¬ 
ments of the ordinary round ones. The 
National Department of Agriculture not 
only plants single-germ beet seeds, but is 
working out an elaborate experiment for 
the development of a race of sugar beets 
to bear only solitary seeds. 
Advantages of Single-Germ Seeds.— 
While it is always gratifying to get a full 
stand of the desired plants when seed is 
sown the usual bunchy germination of 
beets is too*much of a good thing. One 
of the most laborious items of beet culti¬ 
vation is the thinning out of surplus 
plants, and in sugar beet cultivation on a 
large scale it is an all but insurmountable 
problem. If reliable single germ seeds 
could be had the sowing and thinning 
would be as simple a matter as with tur¬ 
nips or carrots, but the surplus plants 
from the multiple-germed beet seed balls 
are so closely packed they must be pulled 
by hand, as no implement can single out 
the desired one. Bulletin No. 73, Bureau 
of Plant Industry, Department of Agri¬ 
culture, gives an account of methods of 
breeding for single-germ seed by the 
usual means of selection of seeds and 
hand-pollination single blooms to fix if 
possible the habit of bearing the desired 
type of seeds. MaterM progress is re¬ 
ported in increasing the percentage of sol¬ 
itary blooms and resulting single-germ 
seeds. The work is likely to extend over 
a long time, but if successful will go far 
towards reducing the expense of growing 
beets in commercial quantities. 
Garden Magazines Galore. —There is 
an extraordinary outbreak ot luxurious 
new magazines treating on garden lore 
and topics concerned with country life. 
All are lavishly illustrated, and printed 
with much elegance. The price of a sin¬ 
gle number of some of the issues would 
pay half a year’s subscription to The R. 
N.-Y. Every imaginable subject of gar¬ 
den cultivation is treated by ready writers, 
more or less familiar with the topic, and 
exemplified with kindergarten half-tones, 
showing all phases of the work. These 
magazines are at ractive and highly useful 
in encouraging a liking for country recre¬ 
ation and pursuits, but it can scarcely be 
denied their tone is that of airy certainty 
in dealing with vexed cultural problems. 
It will not do to dwell on the horticultu¬ 
ral heartaches likely to result from a too 
close adherence to the instructions of 
cocksure contributors. Rather, let us 
consider the real impetus to the apprecia¬ 
tion of country life and its endless pleas¬ 
urable resources. The commuter, the cot¬ 
tager, the amateur, and the town dwellers 
of moderate means are interested and en¬ 
couraged as never before to dally with 
the fascinating arts of horticulture and 
gardening. Much good will flow from 
this great increase of ornate suburban 
literature, but it cannot yet be claimed 
to touch the real interests of actual tillers 
of the soil. Dealers in seeds, trees, im¬ 
plements and plants, however, are reap¬ 
ing a golden harvest, and it is likely their 
sales this season will be record breaking. 
Buy one or all—as many as you can af¬ 
ford—of these beautiful garden maga¬ 
zines; read, examine and criticise, but 
before you greatly enlarge your planting 
ventures be sure to consult your best 
local authority as to possible difficulties 
and complications. 
The Long and Dreary Winter. —The 
ancient and agreeable fiction that Win¬ 
ters of severe and continued cold are likely 
to be followed by early and genial Springs 
is receiving another rude setback. It is 
true that official reports show that March 
and April were a trifle warmer than the 
average as regards night temperatures, 
but there were so many cold, boisterous 
and gloomy days, su-h a general defi¬ 
ciency of Spring warmth and sunshine, 
that vegetation is making tardy progress. 
Frost has taken several sharp nips at such 
new growths as ha/e sufficient courage to 
push out, but has not been able to affect 
here the damage reported from localities 
further South. It is, of course, entirely 
possible that staple crops may be planted 
at the usual time this season and start off 
promptly, but there is yet no promise of an 
actual “early Spring.” The Winter, here 
as elsewhere in the North Atlantic States, 
was cold and grim, with quite remarkable 
deficiencies of temperature for the months 
of December, January and February. No 
records for extreme cold were broken, as 
local thermometers did not indicate at 
any time more than six degrees below 
zero. The snowfall was not particularly 
heavy, but owing to the steady cold af¬ 
forded unusually good protection to her¬ 
baceous plants, though frost penetrated to 
a considerable depth in unprotected places. 
Fruit buds generally came through in fair 
condition, but there is an unusual amount 
of winter-killing of peach and plum trees 
where crusted with San Jose scale. The 
usual vagaries in amount of injury to or¬ 
namental and fruit trees and shrubs fol¬ 
lowing a hard Winter seem to be exagger¬ 
ated this season. Thus young wild Red 
cedars, Beach plums and persimmons, 
though indigenous to the soil, are quite 
extensively injured and the wild Eastern 
holly has its- foliage browned in exposed 
places, while large specimens of the 
Chinese Buddleia variabilis and the blue 
“shrubby verbena,” Caryopteris mastacan- 
thus, heretofore cut to the ground in far 
milder Winters, are scarcely harmed. 
Roses of the Hybrid Perpetual class have 
suffered greatly, many well established 
plants being killed root and branch, but 
most Ramblers and tbe new hybrid Ru- 
gosas are budding out to the very tips of 
the branches. Blackberry and raspberry 
canes are less banned than usual for such 
low temperatures, but dewberry canes are 
killed except where well covered with 
snow or litter. w. v. f. 
Soaking Seed Potatoes. — I have had no 
experience with formalin, but have some sea¬ 
sons soaked my seed potatoes in the corrosive 
sublimate solution as much as three or four 
weeks before planting, and have seen no bad 
effect from same. After soaking, the potatoes 
were spread on the tloor in the granary and 
allowed to dry and lie in the bright sun¬ 
light until planted. The sprouts would then 
be stubby and tough and would not break off 
easily. Whether this practice was an advan¬ 
tage or not I cannot say, but the yield was 
good. L. N. NELSON. 
Wisconsin. 
Spraying in the Hudson Valley.—I 
should say two-thirds of the fruit growers 
spray their apples quite thoroughly; about 
three-fourths of them spray their grapes for 
the rot. This section is affected quite badly 
by the rot. Some seasons those who do not 
spray thoroughly lose nearly their whole crop. 
The apple growers do not pay as much at¬ 
tention to spraying for the fruit, except the 
largest growers, who And a great benefit from 
it, having a better quality of apples and 
fewer wormy ones. When I said that about 
two-thirds of them sprayed their trees, it was 
on account of the San Jos£ scale, which is 
very bad in this section, and I think those 
who neglect it in a few years will not need 
to spray, as they will not have any trees. 
This seems to be at present the worst en¬ 
emy the fruit grower has to combat. This 
is one of the greatest fruit sections on the 
Hudson, Including strawberries, currants 
raspberries and all other small fruits, which 
are shipped to New York principally There 
are very few orchards of Bartlett pear trees 
in this section at present that are any good. 
The Winter of 1804 and the psylla killed 
thousands of Bartlett trees. Farming in 
this section is a back number. c. it. ii. 
Germantown, N. Y. 
Bowker’s 
Insecticides 
are cheapest 
the y are reacl y t0 us e by adding 
water ; they do not waste time in mix¬ 
ing, nor in clearing clogged nozzles; they adhere to the 
foliage in spite of heavy rains, making repeated spray¬ 
ings often unnecessary, except to protect new growth ; 
most important of all, however, they do the work, and 
they work night and day. Many of them are made 
upon government formulas, and all have the unquali¬ 
fied endorsement of practical men and experiment 
station officials. 
Disparene 
is the only insecticide made 
that will destroy both broods 
of the codling-moth (see booklet). Enough for a large 
orchard, $ 4 . 25 . Smaller quantities, $1 and 50 cents. 
Our large handbook of insect pests and plant diseases is well 
worth 50 cents, but we mail it to all interested parties FREE 
BOWKER. INSECTICIDE COMPANY 
C. C. Brown Co. 
6 rows at a time, any 
wUth, with 
Rcnu/n’o traction 
DrUWn S COMPRESS E 
AIR SPRAYER. 
Constant pressure up to 150 lbs 
Power costs noth! ng. 100 gal 
Ion cypress tank, all bras 
pump. Pcrftotly adapted also to 01 
chard work. We are the largest mar 
ufacturerfl of apray pumpa in th 
world, hand and power,including th 
fainoui ‘•Auto-Spray.'* 
Send for Catalogue. 
268 Stat e St. . Rochester, N.Y 
“FUMA” 
kills Prairie. Dogs, 
' Woodchucks,Gophers, 
and Grain Insects. 
‘The wheels of the 
gods grind slow but 
exceedingly small.’' 80 the weevil, but you can stop 
"Fuma Carbon Bisulphide ”.'S°S 
EDWARD R. TAYLOR, Penn Yan, N. Y. 
The Perfection Sprayer 
Sprays Every thing—Trees, potatoes, etc. Fur¬ 
nished complete with Cart and Barrel. Combined 
hand and horse power. Don’t buy until you get my 
catalogue, FREE. 
Thomas Peppier, Box 45, Hightstown, N. J. 
CIDER °«WINE*, 
^MORE 
GOOD 
can be made from a given amount of 
apples or grapes with one of our 
presses than with any other. 
The juice will be purer and 
bring higher prices, while 
the extra yield soon pays 
for the press. We make 
HYDRAULIC E., 
in all eltea, hand or power. 25 “ 
to 800 barrels per daj. Also 
Gasoline A Steam Engines, Boil¬ 
ers, Saw-Mills, Steam Evapora¬ 
tors. Apple-butter Cookers, etc. — 
Fully guaranteed. Catalog FREE.- 
TheHydraulicPressMfo.Co. ^ 
12 Main Street, Mt. Gilead, Ohio 
^ or Room 124-F, 30 Cortlandt St., New York, N. Y. 
WITH THE 
EMPIRE KING. 
The only hand pump having- a me¬ 
chanical automatic agitator with a 
brush for keeping the suction strainer 
clean. Also the Garfield Knapsack and 
Orchard Monarch. Can furnish the New 
Process Lime, which requires no slack¬ 
ing or atraining. Valuable book free. Mo 
“swindled feeling" 1 f you use our pumps. 
FIELD FORCE PUMP CO. ( 
Si I 1th St.» Elmira, N. V, 
HOOVER Potato Digger 
A Satisfactory Digger 
and'guaranteed f ^ The Hoover-Prout Co. 
in every way. # _Avery, Ohio. 
Catalog free. 
MontlAn tVilii 
> 
“Lightning” White- 
Wash Sprayer No. 28 
White-wash your poultry-houses and stables. 
Kills lice and vermin. Easy to operate. Sprays 
white-wash rapidly. Impossible to clog. Also 
for spraying trees, washing wagons, etc. 
Double action pump, will spray 3U ft. high, 
has 3 1-2 feet heavy hose, extension-rod, brass 
nozzles, steel stirrup, ball valves. All brass 
pump, $3.50; Galvanized Iron, $2.50. Cash 
with order. Express prepaid. Agents wanted. 
D# B. Smith & Co., Utica, N.Y. 
M APS,Reports,Descriptive Lists. Prices, Illustrated 
Book about Delaware Farms, Cheap Lands.Best 
Markets. State Board of Agriculture, 
Dover, Delaware 
Hammond’s Slug Shot for Potato Bugs, Currant, Cabbage Worms, Etc. 
To the Editor op American Gardening: 
In your issue of June 18, cn page 399, I uotice a good article on the Colorado Beetle or Potato Bug. For 
the benefit of your numerous readers I would advise them to try Hammond's Slug Shot. I have used it here 
this seaqon witli excellent results, on Potatoes, Egg Plants, Cucumbers and Squash, —for Potato Bugs and also 
for Striped Beetles, and it is the best remedy I know of, simple and effective. I purchased two of the Dusters 
which he advertised iu your paper, and they are very useful articles. The best time to dust the plants is early 
morning, as the substance adli-res much better when tbe dew is on. A light dusting is sufficient, aud woe bet de 
the bugs or the larvae. Once they get a taste of it they shrivel up right away. 
Sold by Seed Dealers and Merchants all over America. GEORGE STANDEN, Gardener to Col. D. S. Lamont, Millbrook, New York, 1904. 
Send for Pamphlet on Bugs and Blights to Bknj. Hammond, Flshkill-on-Hudson, N. Y., for information about solution of Copper, Bordeaux Mixture, 
Grape Dust and Cattle Comfort. 
Hubbard’s “Black Diamond” Fertilizers 
HUBBAHds 
Have producea the Record Hay Crops for the past fourteen years. Send for our Free Book, 
“HUBBARD’S FERTILIZERS FOR 1005” 
THE ROGERS & HUBBARD COMPANY, 
Middletown, Conn 
