3io 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
April 7, 
Keeping Muriate of Potash. 
J. IF. T., Ardena, N. J. —If kept sheltered 
on a good dry barn floor, is muriate of potash, 
in bags, as good the second year as the first 
for home-mixing with dry ground bone to har¬ 
row in peach orchard? 
Ans. —The muriate is just as good as 
ever. Nothing would hurt it except a 
thorough leaching with water. The pot¬ 
ash will not evaporate. 
Nitrate of Soda on Barley. 
<7. A. It., Waverly, IF. Fa.—Will some one 
inform me how much nitrate of soda must he 
used per acre on Spring barley? Is it better 
to use alone, or to mix with other fertilizers? 
Is it successful on crops? 
Ans. —From 100 to 125 pounds of ni¬ 
trate per acre will be the limit for profit 
on grain. The nitrate provides nothing 
but nitrogen, arid if your soil needs that 
clement it will pay to use it. To secure an 
even sowing mix the nitrate with three 
times its bulk of good soil. Used alone it 
would not have much more bulk than a 
bushel of wheat, and is hard to spread 
evenly. 
Orchard for Clinton County, New York. 
H. C. IF., Morrisville, N. Y. —I have a 
young orchard set four years ago this Spring. 
The trees are mostly Wealthy, I’ewaukee, Sut¬ 
ton Beauty and other standard sorts, such as 
Greening and Spy. They are set 33 feet each 
way and under cultivation. The Wealthy 
trees had a few apples on last year. I am 
thinking of selling cherries and standard 
pears in between. Can I do this without in¬ 
jury to the apple trees? How many should 
be filled in ? What varieties would you rec¬ 
ommend for market and sufficiently hardy to 
stand our severe Winters? I shall set more 
apples this Spring. What would you recom¬ 
mend for commercial purposes in this local¬ 
ity? Have Liveland Raspberry, Delicious, 
King David. Champion and Apple of Com¬ 
merce been sufficiently tested to determine 
their value, and with what results? 
Ans.— With apple trees set 33 feet each 
way I would in no case set in fillers. If 
best results are to be expected, these 
trees will be too close when they are 20 
years old, with the possible exception ol 
the three first named. I would never 
set pears or cherries among apples. They 
should both be as long-lived as the latter, 
and require entirely different treatment. 
It is often necessary to stop the cultiva¬ 
tion about the pears, when the apples 
will be the better for it, neither will they 
take as much nitrogenous fertilizer, and 
danger arising from this cause with the 
apple is slight in comparison. The same 
is true of the cherries, only more so. 
After the first few years they will do 
much better if kept in sod. Further, 
ieaving the above most vital considera¬ 
tion out of account, to set any but very 
short-lived trees like the plum or peach, 
in an apple orchard, trees 33 feet apart, 
would mean a thicket most difficult to 
cultivate and spray, with little chance for 
sunlight to penetrate either tree or soil, 
and too much root growth in the land. 
Better set the pears and cherries by them¬ 
selves, if it is wise to set them at all. The 
latter point can be best determined by in¬ 
quiring of those in the locality who are 
growing them. They, too, can best settle 
the variety question. If the questioner 
has good apple land and is willing to 
grow apples as a crop, giving the best 
up-to-date care, including spraying, and 
eventually that for the San Jose scale, 
I would certainly set apples next Spring. 
Otherwise it will not pay. The day of 
the farm orchard that like Topsy, “just 
growed,” is past. In Clinton County 
there are no apples that do better than 
the Spy, Fameuse, Greening and Pound 
Sweet. I should not .go much beyond 
these. See suggestions as to varieties by 
the writer in The R. N.-Y. of March 10, 
second page. I know nothing of the 
varieties mentioned. Again I say avoid 
novelties, except in a small way—very 
small too—for experimental purposes. 
EDWARD VAN ALSTYNE. 
Number of Fruit Questions. 
T. L. IF., Grampian, Pa .—Is the Cherry 
cm ant as large as the later introduced kinds 
aud as productive and valuable? I ask be¬ 
cause some list Cherry and Versailles as iden¬ 
tical. I have Versailles but they seem rather 
smaller than I like, with short stem. New 
kinds are always boomed and older ones have 
little said about them. What currant is the 
best by actual test? What can be said of 
the Blowers blackberry in comparison with 
Eldorado, except of later and longer season? 
What quince of good quality is most resist¬ 
ant of blight? I have Van Deman, Meech, 
Orange and Bourgeat and all blight. What 
of McIntosh and Boiken apples, quality, size, 
vigar and keeping quality? What other name 
for Sweet Catawba apple? 
Ans. —The Cherry currant, by many 
called Versailles, was for a long time 
the leading large red variety, but it was 
superseded by the P'ay, which is larger in 
both berry and cluster. However, its 
habit of growth is not so upright and 
the branches lie on the ground too much. 
This variety has been in turn excelled by 
Perfection, which is still larger and very 
good in habit of bush. There is no doubt 
that this is a well tested and most ex¬ 
cellent variety. The Blowers blackberry 
I do not know, but the Eldorado is surely 
hard to beat in quality of fruit and other 
good points. Ward is a new variety that 
should be generally tried. There does 
not seem to be much difference in the 
matter of resistance to blight, for all 
quinces are subject to it, and in some 
places and in cases of wet growing sea¬ 
sons the injury is very bad. The affec¬ 
tion is the same as that which injuries 
pear trees. McIntosh is an apple that is 
a seedling of Fameuse, and an improve¬ 
ment on it. The fruit is not large but 
not so small as Fameuse and of very 
pleasant flavor. It is not a late keeper. 
The tree bears well, but the fruit is 
rather easily affected by scab. Boiken is 
a very handsome yellow apple with a 
bright red cheek, making it very attrac¬ 
tive. It is not large and only of medium 
quality. The tree is exceedingly healthy, 
none having foliage that is more free 
from rust and other fungoid troubles. I 
have never heard of an apple named 
“Sweet Catawba.” h. e. v. d. 
“Funny’" Stories That Take. 
77. L. 11., Massachusetts .—As one good turn 
deserves another. I send you 10 cents to pay 
for trial subscription for a friend. You 
might not think the funny column would be 
an advertising medium for your paper, but 
my sister often took up the paper to read the 
fun, and recently a friend of the family 
spoke of the agricultural papers and my sister 
remarked that her brother took The R. N.-Y. 
and thought it a fine paper. On her return 
home she suggested that I send our friend a 
sample copy—hence the trial subscription and 
probably a permanent subscriber. 
Ans. —We have heard from the funny 
column before. You ought to hear some 
of the institute and other speakers who 
manufacture those jokes into stories be¬ 
ginning “When I was a boy!” A little 
fun, properly taken, is the oil of life. The 
wheels would often scream without it! 
M. Prudhomme: “I received an anony- 
letter this morning.” M. Bonhomme: 
“Poof! The vile things. Whenever I re¬ 
ceive an anonymous letter I do not take 
the trouble to open it.”—Punch. 
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