THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
May 5, 
39o 
TOP-WORKING KEIFFER PEAR. 
W. W. F„ Watervillc, O .—I noticed an 
3t^m In The R. N.-Y. which seemed to indi¬ 
cate a doubt as to the advisability of graft¬ 
ing other varieties on Kletter trees. I have 
*H) or 75 Kiefters which have been planted 
from two to four years, which I expected to 
Kraft to Bartlett this Spring, but if it will 
hot do, I would like to know it in time to 
nrevent a waste of time and trees. Our 
State Horticultural Society discussed this 
question at our last meeting, and the testi¬ 
mony was favorable, but not very full or 
••onclus'ive. I would not want to top-graft 
hlder pear trees of any kind, especially if 
vhere was any blight in them, as it seems 
to make it increase rapidly, but with such 
voung trees I had thought it might succeed. 
Am I wrong? 
That the Kieffer pear tree is a poor 
tree on which to graft Bose has been our 
experience, as well as that of many others. 
■The Seckel, Dana Hovey and Bartlett 
seem to do no better, the only pear really 
doing well being the President Wilder. 
We account for this by the fact that all 
the trees except the Wilder are of weaker 
stock than the Kieffer, and weaker stock 
cannot be grafted on stronger stock with 
any success. The trees seem to make a 
good growth for a year or two and then 
stand still. the hittinger fruit co. 
Massachusetts. 
There is a live question in the country 
as to whether Kieffers can be profitably 
grafted to other pears, and whether they 
make permanent unions. L. L. Morrell of 
Columbia Co., N. Y., grafted a large block 
of Kieffers to Bose and possibly other 
kinds. When I last saw them there were 
so many broken unions that it looked like 
a very poor result, yet I know the plan 
is recommended to-day as not only feasi¬ 
ble. but advantageous, in that the Kieffer 
energy and push will be put behind the 
slower-moving Bose or Bartlett, and there 
will be a gain. I have no doubt but there 
may be a temporary advantage, but the 
question has risen with me as to whether 
it was not altogether the Kieffer foliage 
which gives the Kieffer push, and with 
no Kieffer foliage, but only Bose foliage, 
I have about concluded that we get only 
Bose growth. _ H. 
STRAWBERRIES AND RHEUMATISM 
Mr. Bannister on page 241 wants to know 
whether strawberries cause rheumatism. We 
should say emphatically no. He asks about 
acids in different fruits and pieplant. 
Oranges, currants, gooseberries, raspberries 
and strawberries contain (he same acids, viz., 
malic and citric. Rhubarb or pieplant con¬ 
tain oxalic acid. Fresh fully ripe strawber¬ 
ries eaten in moderation will not injure any¬ 
one, and in the majority of cases it would 
be practically impossible to eat sufficient to 
cause any indisposition. Dyspeptics, how¬ 
ever, should not use cream or milk with 
them. I have raised strawberries in a small 
way for the past 25 years, and for several 
years past have not had less than an acre of. 
them. We use them three times a day when 
in season and the people freest from sickness 
are those who use fruit in large quantities. 
The story of strawberries causing rheumatism 
comes up every year or two, and probably 
comes from some one who uses unripe or 
stale berries immoderately, and the person is 
subject to indigestion, and indigestion is one 
of the principal causes of rheumatism. Mr. 
Bannister can cure his rheumatism by using 
hot water with common salt dissolved in it, 
applying the water as hot as it can he borne 
for 10 or 15 minutes, two or three times a 
day, then use a liniment made as follows: 
One cupful each turpentine and vinegar, and 
two eggs shaken together in a small fruit 
jar; this will keep for a long time, and is 
better than any liniment you can buy, as it 
will not blister. Eat nuts instead of meat 
and use all the celery you can, and rheuma¬ 
tism will have no terrors for you. b. 
Indiana. 
Acid fruits are blamed for much of which 
they are not guilty. Some diseased stomachs 
may be sensitive to the acidity. Much of 
the trouble produced by acid fruit is on ac¬ 
count of their being eaten with milk. I am 
not now condemning milk as an article of 
food, but milk and acid fruit is a condemn- 
able combination. The bad effect of milk and 
sour fruit is frequent in young children. It 
is a foregone conclusion that milk is a na¬ 
tural and healthful food for the young, there¬ 
fore the fruit receives the whole blame; while 
the ripe fruit is as healthful for a child a 
year old as milk. It is the two together that 
is injurious. A good way to prepare straw¬ 
berries is to sprinkle sugar over them and 
moisten the sugar with orange juice. Boiled 
milk is less likely to be harmful than raw 
milk but many do not like it as well. Some 
older people, because of diseased digestive 
organs, or otherwise, find one or more vari¬ 
eties of fruit injurious. I think any young 
person—under 50 years—who is subject to 
“strawberry rash" can overcome it by eating 
one ripe strawberry at the first opportunity, 
and increasing the number by one each break¬ 
fast and dinner until a whole quart is con¬ 
sumed at each of these meals. I believe no 
fruit ever caused rheumatism, but that their 
use is beneficial in that disease. 
New Jersey. G. G. gibbs. 
Why Use Sulphur on Potatoes? 
F. R. A., Wisconsin .—The Hope Farm 
man speaks of putting sulphur on potatoes. 
Will you tell us why he uses it? 
Ans. —Sulphur has some effect in pre¬ 
venting scab. We have not found it a 
sure remedy, but it helps. The sulphur 
also seems to preserve the seed piece. It 
will not rot so quickly when well dusted 
with sulphur. This is often useful in 
damp soil, or in seasons when there is too 
much rain. 
Wood Ashes and Hen Manure; Fertilizer for 
Grapes. 
8. M. n. C.j Hampshire Co., Mass .—I have 
200 bushels of good ashes from Black birch 
wood. I have also four or five barrels of 
hen manure. How shall I make a balanced 
fertilizer for corn and potatoes? Our soil is 
a light moist loam, somewhat rocky. 2. I 
wish to plant Moore's Early, Green Mountain 
and Niagara grapes. I have absolutely no 
knowledge of their requirements; how or with 
what shall I fertilize them? 
Ans. —One of the first principles of farm 
practice is never to mix wood ashes and 
hen manure above ground. The ashes 
contain lime, and this will set the ammonia 
in the hen manure free. No damage will 
be done when the two are put into the 
ground together, as the soil will hold this 
ammonia. For the corn we would broadcast 
the ashes and harrow them in—then use 
a handful of fine hen manure scattered 
around the hill. We would not use the 
wood ashes on potatoes. The lime is 
likely to increase the amount of scab on 
the crop? The grapes will do well fertil¬ 
ized much like the corn—that is the wood 
ashes broadcast and worked into the 
ground and the hen manure put around 
the vines. 
Apples for Cambria County, Pa. 
F. A. W., Patton, Pa. —1. What varieties 
would you recommend for pollinating the 
Northern Spy? Would Ralls Genet and 
Rome Beauty do? 2. What varieties of Fall 
and Winter apples would you recommend for 
orchard fillers at an elevation of 2,250 feet. 
3. Would you recommend planting Stayman 
Winesap at the above elevation, and would it 
color >ip well? 4. Would you advise planting 
King David, Senator, Delicious and Com¬ 
merce in Cambria Co.? 5. Do you think that 
Wagener, Fallawater, Rome Beauty, Para¬ 
gon, Mammoth Black Twig, Wealthy, York 
Imperial and McIntosh; would be safe and 
dependable bearers for this section? 
Ans. — 1 . The matter of the varieties of 
apples that are suitable for planting to¬ 
gether for the purpose pf inter-pollination 
has not been worked out, except to a very 
limited extent, and I am not able to say 
just what varieties will serve best to pol¬ 
linate the Northern Spy. It blooms so 
late that very few kinds could be depend¬ 
ed upon to furnish any pollen at the same 
time- Ralls Genet is about the only one 
I know that blooms at the same season, 
and it has not been tested with Northern 
Spy, so far as I know. Rome Beauty is 
not of the same blooming season I am 
sure. However, Northern Spy is not 
especially in need of cross-pollination and 
usually bears very well without it. 
2. Wealthy would be a very good Fall 
apple to use as a filler. If an earlier va¬ 
riety is desired the Oldenburg would be 
good, and it is a heavy bearer and very 
salable. A good Winter apple for this 
purpose is the Wagener. All of these 
kinds will succeed at the altitude men¬ 
tioned, or almost anywhere else that the 
apple grows. 3. Stayman will probably 
succeed fairly well in the mountain sec¬ 
tion of Pennsylvania, but it is more suit¬ 
able for the regions farther south. 4 
Probably all of the varieties mentioned 
will succeed very well in that section, and 
I think all of them are good apples except 
the Commerce, which is nothing extra, in 
my opinion. 5. All the varieties named 
in this question are suitable there, unless 
it may be the Paragon and Arkansas 
(Mammoth Black Twig), which are of 
the Winesap type. h. e. van df.man. 
WANT TO KNOW. 
Trouble With a Spring. — I have a spring 
that has been bubbling up in same old way 
for hundreds of years, undisturbed by floods 
or droughts, until last Summer, when my two 
sons, a son-in-law and a doctor, who, what¬ 
ever he may know about medicine, has small 
acquaintance with water, being at the farm 
on a two-weeks’ visit, undertook to improve 
it. These, with the help of another son, 
who works on the place, and my hired hand, 
a one-eyed negro, “fixed” the spring. Their 
purpose was to raise it about three feet so 
that the trough in the spring house would 
be just right, and the women folks, bless 
them, would not have to stoop over. The 
water finally reached the height, but soon 
dropped. It has been gradually lowered un¬ 
til the outlet is where it had been before it 
was raised. Still there is a green scum on 
it that was not there before. Please tell me 
cause of this scum, and how to get rid of 
it. i. w. T. 
Virginia. ___________ 
Onions and Squash Bugs. —I have planted 
several onions with each hill of cucumbers 
and squash the last two years, and have not 
been troubled with the striped bug. This, 
I think, is more convenient than E. A. D.’s 
moth balls, as onions need be planted once 
only. a. c. s. 
St. Marys. Pa. 
IBEROID 
REG. U. S. PAT. OFFICE 
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From 20 to 40 acres of potato vines dusted per 
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15 Chatham 8<|., New York. 
Established 1816. 
*• Milburn 
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Costs more but is worth more than it costs. 
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But it pays to put this little extra money 
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And then the few dollars you saved in buy¬ 
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good,from lum¬ 
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wagon com¬ 
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The cut shows just one of our scores of 
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Well, after that pile of lumber has stood 
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MILBURN WAGON COMPANY, 
Dept. R. Toledo, Ohio. 
WARREN’S 
(WALRUS 
’ROOFING 
Tough and tight as a walrus 
hide, and just as pliable and 
lasting. Summer sun. winter 
lice, won’t affect it. It can’t rust and won’t! 
crack. Anybody can lay it. Send for sample. 
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to°ls^ Never Slip Wire Stretcher 
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list and reference to 
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235 Broadway, N. Y. 
Factory near Pittsburg. 
LAWN FENCE 
Many designs, any 
height up to 6 ft. for 
Parks. Our price, freight 
paid, will interest you. 
Cyclone Fence Co. 
Waukegan, Ill. 
Holly, Mich. Cleveland, O. 
