5io 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
June 29, 
■ Ruralisms 
▼ y v ▼ t t 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS 
White or Green Asparagus? —Natural 
or green asparagus continues to gain in 
favor in discriminating markets as against 
the elaborately bleached article, which, 
though attractive in appearance, is so 
wasteful that only the tips can be used. 
The gain is slow, as most city buyers ap¬ 
pear to suspect the green bunches are of 
inferior type and, in fact, much of the 
green asparagus offered is made up of the 
smaller sizes of spears or stalks. Almost 
m 
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Sftfv 
PALMETTO 
ASPARAGUS. 
SIZE. Fig. 247. 
NATURAL 
every grower prefers for his own use 
crisp, green growths, four or five inches 
long, snapped off at the surface of the 
soil, but the market has been so long ac¬ 
customed to the tough and insipid under¬ 
ground stems, just as it has to polished 
rice and blue-dyed sugar, that it does not 
quickly welcome a change. Small grow¬ 
ers, who do not care to ridge their as¬ 
paragus for bleaching, have tried, with 
good success, to work up local trade for 
green spears, and- report the majority of 
their customers well pleased with the 
product. Large growers, however, cling 
to the bleaching process. They are 
equipped for ridging up the soil and cut¬ 
ting the blanched spears low down as 
soon as tips appear. They claim the fre- 
i*rl 
t ”*• 
quent stirring necessary to maintain the 
high ridges over the crowns is a most lib¬ 
eral advance cultivation, working the soil 
into the best possible condition by the end 
of the cutting season, and that the bleach¬ 
ing of the shoots to the tip maintains 
nearly uniform size throughout their 
length, while that grown above ground 
tapers so that it does not bunch well. They 
think the gain in size offsets the loss of 
spears and crowns injured by deep cut¬ 
ting below the surface. Only radically 
increased preference on the part of con¬ 
sumers for unbleached asparagus would 
induce them to change present methods. 
We do not know of any authoritative ex¬ 
periments on the comparative yields of 
bleached and green asparagus of commer¬ 
cial sizes in similar- areas of the same 
field. Our personal observation is to the 
effect that plants produce a considerably 
greater bulk of edible shoots of better 
average size if not ridged, the shoot being 
cut at the surface when eight inches high. 
The dictum of a well-known authority on 
asparagus that “no one with any preten¬ 
sion to good taste would serve up green 
asparagus at table” is regarded with small 
reverence when unprejudiced trials are 
made. A fair shoot of unbleached aspara¬ 
gus of the Palmetto variety is here shown 
in Fig. 247. Every portion of it is edible 
when divested of scales. 
French Breakfast Radish. — This re¬ 
liable old variety, illustrated in Fig. 243, 
page 50G, is one of the quickest growing 
of small radishes, but has too large 
foliage for economical forcing, special 
strains of the scarlet turnip type needing 
less glasshouse space, but for home and 
garden nothing much better has yet been 
found. It is crisp, mild and tender, keep¬ 
ing quite a while in good condition. Plant¬ 
ings made in succession in frame or open 
border will keep the household supplied 
throughout the season with radishes of 
decorative appearance as well as of the 
most acceptable quality. The neat oval 
form, scarlet coloring and white tip make 
it a very pretty radish. 
Possible Shortage in Seeds. —The con¬ 
tinual replanting of tender seeds, such as 
corn, melons and beans, on account of the 
unseasonably cool weather has exhausted 
many local supplies and drawn heavily 
on wholesale stocks that were regarded 
at beginning of the year as more than 
ample. Cucumber and Lima bean stocks' 
are much depleted, and there is little pres¬ 
ent indication that the seed crop of these 
indispensables for the coming year will 
b sufficient, as climatic conditions appear 
practically similar over the whole north¬ 
ern hemisphere, not even the usually-fa¬ 
vored seed farms of California escaping 
the pervading chilliness. Practically no 
seed crops are reported in good present 
condition, with the exception of a few 
varieties of turnip and cabbage. The 
outlook for the vegetables in question af¬ 
ter such general replanting is naturally 
discouraging, but may quickly improve 
under seasonable conditions, if they come 
in time. At this writing it may be said 
potatoes are about the only promising 
item among market garden crops. Where 
not planted in too moist soil they do not 
find the abnormal temperatures trying at 
this early stage of growth. In view of 
possible shortages of seeds next year it 
would appear wise for growers to save for 
themselves a portion of their usual re¬ 
quirements where opportunity presents. 
Great Demand for Vegetable. Plants. 
—Replanting has not been confined to : 
seeds alone. Frosts have been severe in 
many places, and tender plants have per¬ 
ished by the thousand from cold and wet * 
where frost has not been quite sharp 
enough to nip them. Dealers and plant 
growers who plan to have yearly surplus, 
over any probable demand find this sea- > 
son they are unable to meet late orders ; 
that are continually pouring in. As it 
requires several weeks to grow the plants 
most wanted, the season is too far ad¬ 
vanced to make up the shortage. The 
garden of the commuter as well as the 
fields of the trucker, will likely remain 
skimpy, as far as tender vegetables are 
concerned. w. v. f. 
Oil and Iron on Shingles. 
T. R. C., Campbell Hill, III .—Referring to 
what I. A. Thayer, of Lawrence Co., Fa., has 
to say on page 443 of his experience with 
oil and iron on shingles', I would like informa¬ 
tion on this very important subject. What 
does he refer to as oil? I suspect he means 
either raw or boiled linseed oil, yet he may 
be talking about crude kerosene or maybe 
coal tar. Does his manner of treating the 
shingles render the water caught from the 
roof in cisterns unfit for family use? Cis¬ 
terns furnish about all the water used by 
families in this vicinity. 
Ans. —I used raw linseed oil; the 18,000 
shingles absorbed the 52 gallons of paint. 
The water was not tainted in the least. 
Another fact I might have stated; this 
thick coat of iron paint on the shingles 
rendered them much less liable to be set 
on fire by falling sparks. To convince my 
insurance agent of this, as he came along 
. hen I was dipping shingles, I took a 
well-dried shingle and laid a live coal of 
fire from beneath the kettle on it. The 
coal lay there until it died out without 
igniting the shingle. A year or two after 
the roof was laid, on the night of the 
Fourth of July, the boys were sending up 
rockets at a lively rate, when two of my 
neighbors’ roofs were set on fire by the 
descending rockets. Two fell on my 
roof without igniting it, so well was the 
surface of the shingles glazed with the 
iron. I. A. THAYER. 
Fruil Questions from Colorado. 
O. W. II., Rifle, Col. —1. Do you know any¬ 
thing about the “Ensee,” and Red Canada 
apples? 2. What Is the season of Engle’s 
Mammoth, peach as compared with Elberta, 
also quality, etc. ? 3. Please describe the Chil- 
low peach. 
Ans. — 1. The Ensee is a new apple that 
had its origin in Southeastern Ohio and 
is very well thought of by the few who 
are familiar with it. The tree is very 
good in every way, being well formed 
and productive. The fruit i.s medium to 
large, roundish oblate, covered with mixed 
and striped red, making it attractive in 
color; the flavor is subacid; flesh firm, 
yellowish; quality better than the aver¬ 
age; keeps well. Of the new Winter 
apples Ensee deserves to be more gen¬ 
erally tested than the average. There are 
two varieties of apple that go under the 
name Red Canada. The one that is prop¬ 
erly called so is not so large as the other 
and in appearance is somewhat like a very 
small Northern Spy, except that it is more 
dotted and less striped. It is of excellent 
quality, being very juicy, subacid and deli¬ 
cately flavored. It is a good keeper but 
not so late as some. The other variety is 
larger, more oval in shape, dark, dull red 
in color, with very prominent dots; coarse 
yellow flesh; subacid flavor; rather poor 
quality, being dry and mealy when fully 
ripe; keeps well towards Spring. Its true 
name is Roseau, which was given it as 
early as 1849, but this variety should not 
be confounded with the true Red Can¬ 
ada. The above description is given to 
distinguish it from the better variety. 
Roseau is grown in Canada more than 
elsewhere, while true Red Canada is 
grown chiefly in Michigan and other 
northern States. 2. Engle Mammoth 
peach is a large yellow freestone of good 
quality that ripens soon after Late Craw¬ 
ford. The stone is small and quality is 
very good. It is a good market variety 
and well worth growing. 3. Chillow is 
a yellow peach of good size, color and 
flavor, and ripens about midseason. It 
has been tested but little as yet. 
h. e. v. D. 
A \ 
Home 
Guard 
RUBEROID 
TRADE MARK REG. U.S. PAT. OFF 
Guards against rust and decay. 
Contains no tar or paper. Outlasts 
metal and shingles. 
WATER & WEATHER-PROOF 
FIRE-RESISTING 
RUBEROID is the pioneer ready to lay 
roofing. Any handy man can apply it. 
See that you get the genuine. 
Write for prices and saniples, 
THE STANDARD PAINT CO. 
OCN IRAL OFFICCS 
100 WILLIAM ST., NEW YORK 
B HAN OH 19 - -CHICAGO, ST. LOUIS. BOSTON, 
PHILADELPHIA, ATLANTA. 
'■'T’.t: i'.'.V.".t »—* 
GET THE BEST 
A Good Spray Pump earns big 
profits and lasts for years. 
THE ECLIPSE 
is a good pump. As 
practical fruit growers 
we were using common 
sprayers in our own orchards 
—found their defects and 
invented the Eclipse. Its 
success forced us to manu¬ 
facturing on a large scale. 
You take no chances. We 
have done all the experi¬ 
menting. Large fully illustrated Catalog and 
Treatise on spraying FREE. 
MORRILL & MORLEY. Benton Harbor, Mich. 
(JRST POTATO dr 
ORCHARD SPRAYER 
' ON FREE TRIAL. 
No money in advance—Pay when 
convenient. Sprays Everything— 
Trees; Potatoes, Truck .etc. 4 rows 
at a time—20 acres a day. Doubles 
Your Crop—extra yield one acra 
will pay it first season. A hoy can 
operate it. GUARANTEED FIVE 
YEARS. Wholesale Price (where 
A f . .. . , no agent). AGENTS WANTED. 
After trial, if you keep it—pay when you can. Special FREE 
♦OFFER for first one in each locality. “SPRAYING GUIDE” and 
full information FREE. Write Today. We Pay Freight. 
H. L. HURST MFG CO., 56, North St.,Canton,0. 
It will pay yon to spray your 
Fruit Trees and Vines for protec¬ 
tion from seale and all insect 
pests and fungus diseases. FBEE 
lust ruction Hook shows the 
famous Garfield, Umpire King, Orchard 
Monarch and other sprayers; also gives a lot 
of formulas and other valuable information. 
FIELD FORCE PUMP CO.. No. 2 11th Si.. Elmira, N. Y. 
SPRAY 
fftmnnR C, 
HEAVIEST FENCE MADE 
1 All No* 9 Steel Wire. Well galvanized. Weighs J 
more than most fences. 15 to 85c per rod j 
delivered. Wo send tree maniple for inspec- A 
^tion and test. Write for fence book of 133 
^styles. The Brown Fence & Wire 
Co., Cleveland, Ohio* 
“Lasts a Lifetime” 
exactly describes the 
merits of the 
Superior Wire Fence 
Best steel; best galvanizing, 
and connected by the Superior 
Lock—strongeBt.neatestand cheap¬ 
est lock made. Free catalog, describ. 
ing over 114 styles. Freight prepuld. 
THE SUPERIOR FENCE CO., Cleveland, Ohio.’ 
TWENTY TO ONE 
' We’d rather get twenty small orders 
than one big order for same amount of 
ALL No. 9 STEEL WIRE 
mpire Fence 
Because It makes more farmers 
acquainted with it. 
We want you to know about this 
fence. Knowing Empire 
fence makes the sales. 
We want a small 
order. K M PIKE 
fence sold you at wholesale, all 
ready to staple to posts. We guar¬ 
antee It. Write today for more 
Information about the No. 0 wire. 
BONO STEEL POST CO., Adrian, Michigan 
We 
Bay 
The 
Freight 
HUBBARD’S FERTILIZERS SUU i 
as evinced by many 
letters which this from 
a customer in Rhode 
Island is a fair example 
Send for 1907 Almanac and Prices. 
THE ROGERS 
Fertilizer Manufacturers 
IT’S A PLEASURE TO HUSK THE CORN. 
The ROOEBS & Hubbard Co., Middletown, Conn. 
Gentlemen:—This is my second year with Hubbard's 
Fertilizers, and I am obliged to say that I cannot find any 
fault with them. 
I am raising an elegant crop of Coni on pasture land 
with Hubbard s Soluble Corn and General Crops Manure. 
I find ittoo strong to use in the hill, but when broadcasted 
t he Corn comes up, and then it grows and matures ears that 
make husking a pleasure. 
I have as fine a crop of Potatoes this year on brush land 
as I would wish to see, raised with 800 lbs. per acre of 
Hubbard's Market Garden Phosphate. 
& HUBBARD CO. 
MIDDLETOWN, CONN. 
J 
