1906. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
893 
A WORTHY FLOWER. 
There are but few flowers in bloom as 
long as the Delphinium (larkspur) ; they 
commence to bloom early in June, and 
arc in flower most of the time up to Oc¬ 
tober 21. There were still many spikes of 
buds that would bloom for some time to 
come; Oct. 21 I cut a fine bunch for the 
cemetery, which shows how hardy they 
are, as on the morning of October 11 the 
mercury was down to 26, and at midnight 
following it was down to 25, though it 
was up to 32 at daylight next morning. 
No other hardy flower I grow is in bloom, 
all being killed by the hard freeze. They 
require but little care if planted in fairly 
good soil, and stand a drought much bet¬ 
ter than hardy Phlox. They seem to 
thrive in partial shade, though 1 prefer 
full sunshine for them. As a flower for 
table or house decoration I know of no 
other of their color that is their equal, 
from the lightest shades of blue to dark 
indigo, double, semi-double and single, 
spikes from one foot to 2'/> feet in length. 
Plants from seeds sown early in February 
will bloom some that season, though it is 
my opinion the plant will be much larger 
and better able to stand its first Winter 
if all blooms are pinched off. I mulch 
them lightly with leaves in December, or 
when they are frozen back to the ground. 
This season after I had given many spikes 
away and used many myself, I shipped 
two small crates of my best spikes to a 
commission florist over 100 miles away, 
and they netted me $3.50 per crate. I fol¬ 
lowed a week later with a like amount, 
and they did equally as well. They hard¬ 
ly occupy a square rod of ground. In the 
Spring I shall divide the strongest clumps 
and set new plants, and increase my plant¬ 
ings of this valuable flower which seems 
to have no disease or insect pests, and 
furnishes such beautiful flowers so late 
in the season. No other flowers, home 
grown or grown under glass, were seen in 
this large cemetery, and the bouquet of 
this flower I had taken there a week ago 
to-day was in fair condition after a week 
of sunshine and dry windy weather. 
Ohio. VILLAGE SMITH. 
LIGHT SOIL FARMING. 
A Manure Factory. 
I am still buying quite a number of 
cars of stable manure from New York, 
though not nearly as much as 1 did sev¬ 
eral years ago. For growing water¬ 
melons, cantaloupes and strawberries for 
plants there seems to be nothing else quite 
equal to it. I have quit using fertilizer 
on strawberries grown for plants, but get 
my plants out as early as possible, and 
give them a top-dressing of stable ma¬ 
nure, and this seems to give me more and 
healthier plants than any other way I have 
ever tried. I am now already (October 
24) planting young strawberry plants for 
1908 plant crop. I find that by setting 
in the Fall the plants get established and 
make an earlier start in the Spring than 
if set any other time. As soon as the 
ground begins to freeze we will begin to 
get in some cars, using what I have of my 
own first, and then buying enough from 
New York to cover all the young patches, 
giving them a good sprinkling over the 
rows for a space of about 15 to 18 inches 
to protect them from the severe changes 
of freezing and thawing, and the first 
warm days in the Spring they are ready 
for business, long before Spring-set plants 
are out. This really gives them from four to 
six weeks longer to make a crop of plants 
than when set in the Spring. Even though 
we commence the first warm days in the 
Spring, it takes considerable time to set 
out 60 to 75 acres of plants, and by the 
time we would get done the season would 
be getting late, and the plants would not 
make the growth they otherwise would. 
At this writing I have out about 15 
acres, and if we have mild weather 
through November I shall expect to be 
practically done planting before the 
Christmas holidays. Now, if T were grow¬ 
ing strawberry plants for fruit, I would 
not go to the expense of buying New 
x ork manure, but would plant at the same 
season of the year that I do now on land 
where a good crop of cow peas or Crim¬ 
son clover had been turned under within 
the last 12 months, which would make me 
all the plants for berries I would want. 
For a crop of berries, in the Fall I would 
give them about 800 to 1,000 pounds to the 
acre of some good fertilizer, about two to 
three per cent ammonia, 10 to 12 per cent 
phosphoric acid, and about eight per cent 
potash; this would give me, under normal 
conditions, an excellent crop of well- 
colored, firm and delicious berries, that 
would bring top prices. 
I am so thoroughly convinced of the 
value of cow peas and Crimson clover for 
the improvement of poor land and the 
keeping up of the fertility of good land, 
that I have not the slightest doubt any soil 
can be improved by a rotation of these 
crops. For instance, the man who grows 
corn exclusively could sow Scarlet clover 
in August or September, and in May plant 
corn again. I believe this'can be done for 
several years, and by the addition of a 
little fertilizer, to keep up the supply of 
potash, grow a good crop every year and 
leave the land better after tilling it a life¬ 
time than it was when he commenced. 
For the wheat crop the same can be done 
with cow peas. After cutting the wheat 
sow cow peas, plow under the peas and 
sow wheat again. I believe this rotation 
could go on forever, and the land would 
get better all the time. If I could" not get 
New York manure, and I am not positive 
that I would not be as well off if I could 
not, I think I should keep a herd of cattle 
for the express purpose of eating up the 
cow peas and clover, and return it to the 
land. 1 believe there would be profit in 
this, even though the cattle were put to 
no other use. I have a neighbor who 
lately came from the North, who tells me 
the New York manure is too expensive 
(he does not grow truck crops, by the 
way), but says he is going to build a cow 
barn and fill it with scrub cattle for no 
other use than to make manure. He says 
lie will call this his manure factory, and I 
believe lie will make a success of it. 
Wicomico Co.. Md. w. f. allen. 
Apples for New Hampshire. 
Tj. C., Dublin, N. If .—I want to graft some 
.voting native apple trees here with fruit 
maturing from September to November. I 
have in mind Early Harvest, Early Joe, 
Williams, Primate, Golden Sweet, and rtams- 
dell. Elevation of this locality 1.400 feet. 
Ans. — 1 he varieties mentioned are in 
part some of the very early kinds, and 
would all ripen before November, and 
rarely could any specimens be found on 
the trees in September, although they 
would mature very late at an 'altitude of 
1.400 feet above tidewater in New Hamp¬ 
shire, or anywhere in that State. Such 
varieties as Williams, Primate, Jefferis, 
Garden Royal, Golden Sweet, Dyer and 
I'all Pippin will cover the space of time 
mentioned in that region, but are earlier 
farther south. All of them are of good 
quality and very suitable for family use: 
Ramsdell is good and very handsome, but 
I think it too late for New Hampshire 
during the time mentioned as desired to 
be covered. h. e. van deman. 
Sweet Cherries on Mahaleb Stock. 
I''. L. Y., Lookport, N. Y .—Is there any 
hope of sweet cherry trees amounting to any¬ 
thing %vhere they have been budded on Ma- 
haleb stocks? Would you take out an orchard 
where' one in 10 trees has died this year 
from being enlarged above the bud? 
Ans. — r l here is really very little reason 
to expect much success with sweet cherry 
trees on Mahaleb stocks. I cannot tell 
why any nurseryman would so violate the 
rules of nature as to propagate trees in 
that way. The only good excuse is the 
fact that Mazzard stocks are not easy to 
get, but some are ignorant of the behavior 
of the. sweet cherry on Mahaleb stocks, 
and this is a reflection on the intelligence 
or progressiveness of those who are not 
better informed. 1 would let the orchard 
stand as it is if it is not yet in bearing 
and as the trees die replace them with 
trees on Mazzard stocks, until there is not 
much piofit in leaving the old ones longer 
•But if the trees are young I would dig 
up all and replant the whole orchard at 
once - H. e. van deman. 
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