634 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
August 18 , 
j Ruralisms 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS 
Early Vegetable Novelties.— In these 
days of fierce competition with southern 
growers truckers in the Northern States 
welcome any possible gain in earliness in 
vegetable varieties, as tending to offset 
the climatic disadvantages under which 
they labor. Rapid growth and quick ma¬ 
turity of a given planting may mean the 
difference between loss and substan¬ 
tial profit. About all vegetable novel¬ 
ties now make claim to phenomenal earli¬ 
ness. but only a few really possess this 
great merit. The following appear 
worthy of careful commercial trial: 
Neapolitan Pepper.— Seeds from J. 
M. Thorburn & Co., New York, and W. 
Atlee Burpee & Co., Philadelphia. This 
is offered as large and early. Early it 
certainly is—the quickest fruiting of all 
mild peppers we have ever tried—but it is 
not very large Fig. 262, page 630, shows 
an average penoer in marketable condi¬ 
tion in early July. As the plants grow 
stronger the fruits gain considerably in 
size, but never attain the proportions we 
are accustomed to in standard varieties. 
Plants from seeds sown under glass the 
last week in February were .set May 26, 
and gave us "ood-sized and particularly 
well-flavored peppers June 28. They are 
still bearing profusely, and we can well 
believe will continue to do so until frost. 
The skin is thin and the quality sweet and 
mild, fitting the peppers well for all table 
uses. The ripe fruits are bright red in col¬ 
or, the immature ones rather pale green, 
with some purple markings as they gain 
in size. Neapolitan appears likely to be a 
profitable variety where early markets do 
not insist on large size. 
Pkemo-Malakhov Table Corn. —Seeds 
from New Jersey Agricultural Experi¬ 
ment Station, Flanted April 25; first 
ears ready for table July 9. They were 
eight-rowed, of good form, and averaged 
about nine inches long—a desirable size— 
and were evenly filled with well-devel¬ 
oped white kernels of excellent quality. 
The stalks grew five feet high in light soil 
of very ordinary fertility, many bearing 
two good ears. Seventy-five days is not 
record earliness for this variety. Prof. 
B. D. Halsted, the originator, informs us 
that edible ears have been secured in 72 
days from planting, but the season did not 
favor extreme earliness . Malakhov, its 
parent, of Russian origin, planted in the 
same plot at the same time yielded ears 
fit for boiling July 3, but they are only 
of half the size of the cross-bred progeny 
—too small for market, but most accepta¬ 
ble for home use on account of their rich 
and delicate flavor. The stalks scarcely 
rise over three feet high under our cul¬ 
tural conditions, but often produce from 
two to four neat little ears. 
Though Malakhov is probably too small 
to attract market attention, the Premo- 
Malakhov cross appears eminently suit¬ 
able for commercial use. As tested here it 
is the earliest table corn of fair size and 
fine quality. It is vigorous, productive and 
less injured by smut than any extra-early 
we have grown except the two diminutive 
varieties, golden Bantam and Malakhov. 
The latter has been offered by a few 
seedsmen the past two seasons, but the 
hybrid Premo-Malakhov is still under 
control of the N. J. Experiment Station. 
It is likely small quantities of the seed 
may he procurable from nearby seedsmen 
next Spring. 
Earliest Pink Tomato. —Seeds from 
W. Atlee Burpee & Co.. Philadelphia, Pa.: 
'own under glass March 14; set in garden 
May 28; first ripe fruits July 2. The 
plants showed bloom in the four-inch pots 
from which thev were transferred to the 
open, and continued to bloom and set to¬ 
matoes with but slight check caused by a 
short drought. It is evidently a vig¬ 
orous and productive variety, but is 
HOW SllOcumbing to the combined ef¬ 
fects of constant rain and over¬ 
bearing. Most varieties are going 
the same road, so that its value can¬ 
not be judged as in a normal sea¬ 
son. The tomatoes are large, fairly 
smooth, borne in great clusters and of 
good quality. The color is dull pink—not 
an advantageous shade in our markets. 
They do not readily crack, but rot as 
quickly as those of other first-earlies. The 
variety appears to have the advantages 
and defects of other quick-growing kinds, 
but is claimed to continue longer in bear¬ 
ing. Where pink tomatoes are liked it is 
well worth trial. 
Dog’s-tooth Violets. —A bed of 100 
California Erythroniums in four varieties 
from bulbs supplied by Mr. Carl Purdy, 
Ukiah, Cal., produced a wonderfully at¬ 
tractive floral effect for nearly three weeks 
in early May. It was made up of 25 each. 
E. Californicum, broad mottled foliage, 
pale primrose blooms of great size; E. cit- 
rinum, mottled foliage, creamy white flow¬ 
ers with bright yellow centers; E. grand- 
iflorum robustum. large dark green foliage, 
very brilliant yellow blooms of great size, 
and E. Hartwegii. also with plain foliage, 
flowers clear yellow, several from each 
bulb. The bulbs were planted in late Oc¬ 
tober in light soil in partial shade, bedding 
them in two inches of sandy muck from 
a nearby swamp, and covered with three 
inches of soil with a further protection of 
three inches of Eulalia stover during Win¬ 
ter. All seemed to grow and bloom, aver¬ 
aging two flowers to each plant. These 
fine Erythroniums do not appear to be 
well known, and should he more freely 
planted, as thev have turned out to be 
the most successful of Pacific Coast bulb¬ 
ous plants for eastern culture. They are 
considered hardy after the first year, and 
may be planted in any convenient place, 
giving them a Winter mulch of leaves or 
litter until well established. Other at¬ 
tractive species of equal merit from the 
same region are E. Hendersonii, purple, 
with mottled foliage, and E. revolutum. 
plain foliage with white, rose or light pur¬ 
ple flowers. 
The popular name of Dog’s-tooth violet 
is applied to the European E. Dens-canis, 
with its small, tooth-shaped bulbs and 
rose or purple flowers, which are always 
borne singly. Some improved forms of 
this popular plant are offered under name, 
hut most of the bulbs sold by dealers are 
of the large-flowered form, catalogued as 
E. Dens-canis grandiflorum. Two very 
common soecies in the Eastern States are 
E. albidum and E. Americanum, with white 
and yellow flowers respectively. The lat¬ 
ter has richly mottled leaves and often 
occurs in dense colonies in moist land near 
wooded streams. Two other species with 
plain foliage and small rose or lavender 
flowers occur in the Middle West. They 
are little cultivated, hut appear to deserve 
attention. _ w. v. F. 
MY FRIEND THE COW PEA. 
Not long ago I was in Fairfield County, 
Conn., where the soil is the same as my 
farm in Ohio. Noting the run-down con 
dition of many fields, I asked several 
farmers if they had ever tried cow peas 
to bring up that land. No one had a 
good word for my old friend. Strange 
you can’t raise them here when I had no 
trouble on the same kind of soil in Ohio, 
i. e., after T had learned the nature of the 
plant. I think of the two Connecticut has 
hotter Summers than northern Ohio. The 
amount of it was they had never tried 
them but once and (planted too early) 
they were a failure, and received condem¬ 
nation then and there. If they had planted 
the last week in June, or even up until the 
10th of July, if the season was backward. 
no doubt they would have beeitl greatly 
pleased, and raising them to-day. 'Ihey 
certainly arc a great renovator for run¬ 
down land, as they will grow where grass 
seed and clover will not, and grow rank, 
too, if handled right. As an example, I 
will give an account of the last crop I 
raised on the old farm before I sold it. 
In one of my peach orchards I had pulled 
an acre of trees which proved to be clings 
and unprofitable. The land had been kept 
cultivated for five years, and was pretty 
poor. After burning brush and cleaning 
the plot other work pressed so hard we 
had no opportunity to plow and fit it until 
the first week in Tuly, when it was plowed, 
rolled and harrowed, and drilled with 
Clay peas and 200 pounds of good fer¬ 
tilizer, V /2 bushel peas per acre. October 
1 we cut it early when the barometer in¬ 
dicated good weather; that afternoon they 
were raked into light windrows. The 
next afternoon we bunched it in small 
bunches about half the size of an ordinary 
clover hay bunch. Doing this when they 
are in a wilted condition, they' settle to¬ 
gether in the heap, and shed rain pretty 
well. We let them stand two weeks, then 
with a drying day open up the bunches— 
simply dividing it into three or four parts 
and taking care not to shake them up, but 
turn each forkful over, especially the part 
that lay on the ground. We drew them in 
toward night and had two large loads 
(over a ton each) from the acre. I found 
that although the tops of the bunches 
were bleached out hv sun and rain, and 
the bottom often looked had, when we 
opened them up after two weeks there was 
not as much waste as in clover hay. In 
fact, there was no waste, and all kinds of 
stock, horses, cows and brood sows, are 
very fond of the hay, preferring it to any 
other, as I have proved many times by 
test. No doubt the peas turned under 
would have been better for the land, but T 
was afraid of being short that year, so cut 
it. One year I plowed under five acres of 
the Black-eyed variety. They stood three 
feet high before they began to settle with 
their own weight, and were a perfect 
mat when we plowed them under. I did 
pot have a rolling coulter for my plow, so 
we took a heavy lever harrow and slanted 
the teeth just enough to prevent their 
clogging, and harrowed the same way we 
plowed; then with a chain on they all 
went under, and not a spear in sight. 
Good plowing is one of the foundations of 
good farming. I think the agricultural 
press should change the name and call 
them cow beans. 
_ L. W. K. 
Tarred Corn. — I enjoy Hope Farm Notes 
every week, and was especially pleased with 
the fable of the crows. For the first time 
I used tar this year with good success. We, 
however, ran the corn through a planter 
without trouble after rolling it in land 
plaster. j. d. ii. 
Antrim, N. H. 
When y6u write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See guarantee, page 8. 
[ Dig Your Potatoes With a 
Dowden. 
Get them all in any soil. '^J^'deep or shal¬ 
low, hilly or level, light or heavy vines. 
Potatoes come clean and sound. The ma-l 
chine that works right and lasts. Write for catalog. [ 
Oowden Mfg. Co.. Box 622, Prairie City, Iowa, 
Well 
DRILLING & 
PROSPECTING MACHINES. 
Fastest drillers known. Great money earners I 
LOOMIS MACHINE CO« TIFFIN. OHIO. 
ENSILAGE CUTTERS 
with blower are guaranteed to do 
more and better work with the 
same amount of power than 
other machines of 
_the same or even 
■ larger 
size. We 
'manufacture 
different sizes 
'ranging in ca¬ 
pacity from eight 
r to twenty tons of 
ensilage per hour. 
jA FAIR TEST 
will demonstrate 
the superiority of Rosa .Machines 
| 56 Tears* overall competitors. 
Experience Write to-day for FREE Catalog. 
THE E. W. ROSS CO., Box 13 , Sprlngfl.ld, Ohio 
Largest Manufacturers of Ensilage Machinery in the World. 
Write for lions Manure Spreader Catalog. 
Ml ■ ■ M C Rapid and satisfactory 
C.I1311_HfllC.. work with Smalley Cut- 
tCI'H and Blowers. Com¬ 
bine safety, convenience, strength. Elevate into any 
Silo. Also Silos, Threshers, Powers, Spreaders. Catalogs free. 
HARDER MFC. COMPANY, Box II, Coblesklll, N. Y. 
WITH THE 
’EMPIRE KING” 
and bugs, worms, blight, etc., will 
have no terrors for you. Heat con¬ 
struction, perfect agitators, no scorched 
foliage. We make all sires and styles. Free book 
on spraying. Agents wanted. 
FIKLD FOKCK PIMP CO., No. 4 i Eleventh St., Klmlra,N. Y. 
CRAIN DRILL 
The YORK FORCE FEED ORII.I. combines 
lightness witli strength. Most complete drill made. No 
complex gearing to get out of order. Boxes are close to 
ground. Easily Fully 
regulates 
quantity 
of seed 
or fer¬ 
tilizer. 
AWARD¬ 
ED GOLD 
MEDAL 
St. Louis 
World’s 
Fair. 
Weight, 
Only TOO lbs. 
Agents Wunted. 
Write for catalogue. 
THE HENCH & DROMGOLD CO 
Mfrs., York, l*a. 
IUI1K ALSO WITH DISC 
HORSE POWERS 
THRASHERS Wood 
and CLEANERS Saws 
One & two-horse Thrashing Outfits. Level pilTTCDQ 
Tread, Perfect Governor, Feed & Ensilage • * LIlO 
Write for catalogue 
ELLIS KEYSTONE AGR’L WORKS, Pottstown, Pa. 
Germination of Soy Beans. —In cor¬ 
roboration of the statement of your 
Maryland correspondent in regard to two- 
year-old Soy bean seed, will say that I 
sowed Soy beans left over from last year’s 
seeding, and while the percentage of germin¬ 
ation was not as low as he says, the stand 
is extremely poor. I think it well for such 
experiences to be reported, as it may save 
others loss. a. s. w. 
U. S. GOVERNMENT 
STATES THAT 
TAK-A-NAP SOFT NAPTHA SOAP 
makes the best Emulsion to kill 
Tobacco Thrips and Scale. 
40 pound ke^:, $1.!>0; 100 pound keg. $4.50, less freight 
in East. Special low prices in larger quantities. 
THAm-HOVEY SOAP CO., Darby, Penn. 
THE BOSS POTATO DIGGER 
works well in 
stony ground and 
on side hill. Digs 
every row. WARRANTED. 
Thousands in use. Write for 
prices. Manufactured by 
E. R. ALLEN FOUNDRY CO., 
Corning, N. Y. 
PRATT’S 
9 9 Soluble 
Petroleum 
WIRE POSITIVELY DESTROY 
Saw Jose:, Cottony Maple Scale, Pear Psylla, Etc. 
Without Injury to the Trees. Samples, Drives and Endorsement of Experiment Stations on Application. 
T3. G-. PHATT CO., Oopft. XI Uroadway, NEW YOHK CITY. 
