Vol. LXIV. No. 2903. 
NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 16, 1905. 
WEEKLY, +1.110 PEK YEAR 
SOME PROMISING NEW PLUMS. 
J hese plums arc the products of an attempt to obtain 
a variety having a perfectly free stone, while retaining 
the fine quality of the Satsuma plum, which is said to 
be unproductive if not grown near other varieties so 
that the blossom may become pollinated. 
As the Satsuma tree from which the seeds were 
saved stands between trees of the Ogon, Burbank and 
PLUM SATSULAND; NATURAL SIZE. Fig. 285. 
Chabot 1 concluded that most of the seedlings grown 
from those seeds would be crossed with one of those 
varieties. I also pollenized a few blossoms on the same 
tree with pollen from the Richland plum, a perfect free¬ 
stone Domestica variety, and the oval, dark-colored cling 
variety which I have named Satsuland (Fig. 285) is 
evidently a product of that experiment as the shape of 
the fruit, the form of the stone and its long stem seem 
to indicate. Although it is not a freestone I am satis¬ 
fied that it has a good deal of merit in the enormous 
productiveness of the tree; in healthy, vigorous growth; 
large size, long stem, allowing more of the fruits to swing 
clear of the branches and of each other when overloaded, 
so that decaying specimens do less harm and the fruit 
is easier to gather with stems on if desired; tough stem 
resisting rot and curculio better than many others, the 
fruit being remarkably exempt from the marks of that 
insect; and the shape and color of the fruit is distinct 
and attractive, being oval with no cavity at the stem 
end, which is also an advantage, as no water can stand 
there to cause the skin to crack in rainy weather, as is 
often the case with varieties having deep set stems and 
thin skins, such as the Burbank. Climax and others. 
The Abundance is more free from rot mostly for this 
reason. In the Burbank and other later varieties rot 
starts from curculio marks near the stems, and varieties 
with deep cavities afford the late brood a good position, 
between the stem and the skin, in the cavity to puncture 
the skin, just as they do when they crowd in between 
two plums to secure the pressure needed to cut through 
the skin when it has become too tough to cut it on the 
open surface. 
The dark fleshed freestone I have named “Satsugon,” 
(Fig. 287) evidently a cross of the Satsuma and the 
Ogon, combining the fine quality and dark flesh of the 
former with a little of the flavor and the perfect free 
stone of the latter. The tree is a healthy, vigorous, 
good, upright grower, with dark green strong foliage, 
and productive to a fault—bore its first crop the fourth 
year from the seed, and this, its fifth year, produced a 
tremendous crop—too many to secure good specimens 
(Fig. 286 shows a cluster much reduced)—and the 
flavor is consequently not so good as last year, when 
they were considered by those who tested them of very 
fine quality, and a decided acquisition on account of 
being a perfect freestone. levi bell. 
RYE AND VETCH FOR HAY. 
In a recent number I notice the planting of rye and 
vetch advised for hay. What time should they be planted, 
and how much of each per acre? I have never seen the 
vetch. Is it a sure crop like rye, or is it uncertain? Could 
the hay be taken off in time for potatoes? We have an 
acre of land in garden truck this year, and think of setting 
it to strawberries in the Spring. Would it be right to sow 
rye this Fall to turn under? The ground needs humus; 
it gets hard unless cultivated deep and often ; and is sandy. 
Ohio. h. e. c. 
Winter vetch may be sown at almost any time from 
early Spring until the first of September, although if 
the thought is to use the crop the following season, 
probably August 1 is the best period for sowing it. In 
our experience on the College Farm we have found the 
vetch very reliable; perhaps not quite so sure of making 
a stand as rye, but much more so than Crimson clover. 
Among our co-operative experimenters we have some 
reports of failures. We have not always been able to 
determine the cause of failure, many of the farmers not 
giving close observations and making notes carefully. 
Here at Ithaca we have never known the crop not to 
be abundantly inoculated. It may be that in localities 
where failures have been reported inoculation has not 
SATSUGON PLUMS; MUCH REDUCED. Fig. 286. 
taken place. It may be that in these cases the soil was 
acid, which condition is objectionable to all leguminous 
crops. Vetch and rye intended for hay can be cut in 
June, the exact date varying with the season and the 
richness of the ground. While this would be early 
enough to permit of planting to potatoes according to 
the calendar of some farmers, yet we do not favor late 
planting of potatoes, and also the land from which the 
crop of rye and vetch hay has been taken would 
probably be considerably depleted in moisture unless it 
happened to be a season like the present in New York, 
when there seems to be no deficiency of moisture under 
any conditions. Rye and rye and vetch may be sown 
upon land that is intended to be set to strawberries next 
year, but it would be undesirable to allow the crop to 
make large growth next Spring before plowing, as an 
abundant mass of strawy material turned under at this 
period would shut off the moisture from below to such 
an extent that the strawberries would be likely to suf¬ 
fer. If, however, the plowing is done quite early in the 
Spring before large growth has been made, the practice 
is a good one. j. l. stone. 
Cornell University. 
MAPES, THE HEN MAN. 
A Deformed Rooster. 
I have a valuable White Wyandotte cockerel four months 
old, and' two toes on his left foot turn out forming a regular 
hook making a clubfoot, spoiling the sale of him as a number 
one bird. Is there any way that it can be straightened? I 
would like to hear from Mapes in regard to the matter. 
South Carolina. n. p. 
The only solution for this problem which occurs to 
me is to detoe him. Dehorned cattle are not disqualified 
from exhibition and possibly a detoed bird would stand 
an equal show. I am not well enough versed in the 
rules of show-birds to say as to that. Many good birds 
have doubtless lost one or more toes by accident. Should 
the question ever come up how could a judge determine 
how the toes were lost? The accident happened in 
this case before the chick got out of the shell, making 
his toes crooked. 1 doubt if they can be straightened, 
but they can easily be cut back and still enable him to 
walk. I don’t believe the deformity can be transmitted 
to his offspring or I would not advise it. In fact I don’t 
advise it, I only suggest it. 
Feeding Grain in Sheaf. 
I wish to feed 100 hens for laying—oats and wheat to be 
fed in bundle, and will soon begin to feed corn in the ear. 
How many bundles per day would you deem necessary and 
how much corn in the ear? How would you feed, that is, 
at which meal would' you feed the different grains? They 
are all Barred Rocks. There are 70 six months old. I am 
now getting 30 eggs per day. I have a good, warm house 
and scratching shed. f. g. h. 
Elkhorn, Wis. 
The oats ai d wheat fed in the bundle would be all 
right, but I doubt the wisdom of trying to feed corn in 
the ear. 1 don’t know that this is the best way, but if I 
had the same problem I should go about it thus: 
In the morning I would give them the oats on the 
floor of the scratching shed; at noon wheat in the same 
way; at night shelled corn rather than corn in the ear. 
How much for the ioo hens? Much depends on being 
SEEDLING PLUM SATSUGON; NATURAL SIZE. Fig. 287. 
able to gauge the quantity to suit the appetite. A safe 
rule I believe to be not to satisfy the appetite fully dur¬ 
ing the day. If the appetite is to be fully satisfied at 
any time it should be done just before night. Probably 
four ounces each per day of grain, for good-sized Rocks, 
is near the proper amount. More than half of this 
should be corn. By thrashing a few average sheaves of 
the oats and wheat, weighing carefully the straw and 
grain, an approximate estimate can be made of the 
size of bundle necessary to give a pound of cleaned 
