770 
THE RURAIs NEW-YORKER 
August 28, 
Ruralisms 
STRAWBERRIES IN MEXICO. 
In all the discussions recently about 
“everbearing strawberries” or Fall-bear¬ 
ing strawberries, I have never seen any 
reference made to the Mexican straw¬ 
berries, which seem to be everbearing. 
At Irapuato on the old Mexican Cen¬ 
tral Railway, and at other points along 
that line a‘nd the National Railway, en 
route to Mexico City, native girls meet 
the trains with little baskets of straw¬ 
berries at all seasons, strawberries of 
the most luscious kind, a little differ¬ 
ent from those soft, hot, mushy ber¬ 
ries we get in the cities in early Spring, 
as cool as though they were refriger¬ 
ated, for you know the temperature in 
the vicinity of the city is always cool, 
such points being high in the moun¬ 
tains. At some points where the trains 
go some six or seven miles around the 
mountains, the little barefoot girls, with 
their cornucopias of appetizing straw¬ 
berries, meet the train, however late, 
at the first stop on one side of the moun¬ 
tain, and after disposing of their visible 
stocks to the hungry tourists at a 
greater price, scramble up the mountain 
side, and the American tourist, still 
strawberry hungry, is met by the same 
smiling barefoot girls, with a larger 
stock of better berries, asking but 
“cinco centavos;” however ignorant as 
they are in many ways, they have a 
keen insight as to business methods, and 
all Americans are good-naturedly held 
up on every occasion, but it does not 
hurt, as a few cents advantage of the 
bargain satisfies them. It has occurred 
to me that with such everbearing pro¬ 
clivities as these Mexican strawberries 
seem to possess, we might develop good 
strains therefrom, with the same char¬ 
acteristics. With their antiquated 
methods down there, I doubt if any 
established varieties exist. a. l. 
R. N.-Y.—The Mexican everbearing 
strawberry was introduced to cultivation 
about 1865 as a horticultural wonder. 
It was condemned after trial by A. S. 
Fuller, Thos. Meehan, P. J. Berckmans 
and other experts as of no commercial 
value in the East. It has since been 
declared by botanists as identical with 
the Alpine strawberry of Europe, Fra- 
garia vesca. We all know how in re¬ 
cent years certain seedsmen have been 
offering seeds of this berry as a nov¬ 
elty. 
“HYBRIDIZED” POTATO SEED. 
The following notes are added to the dis¬ 
cussion of potato seed and new varieties 
on page 693. 
What is said in regard to hybrid seed 
is along the line of what I have sus¬ 
pected, and agrees with what informa¬ 
tion I have received before both by 
observation and from other people. I 
have had no trouble in getting potato 
seed, in fact, have quite a quantity on 
hand at the present time, but for the 
most part it has been from inferior 
varieties. It has been my observation 
that the older a variety becomes and 
the more tendency it has to produce a 
good quantity and quality of tubers, 
the less liable it is to produce seed. For 
instance, so far as I know. Pearl (known 
in your country as Peerless), a variety 
which is standard here, never produces 
seed; in some of the mountain districts 
it does not even produce blossoms 
enough so the growers know what the 
color of the blossom is. The old Peach- 
as the variation and vigor of self-fer¬ 
tilized seed (i.e., within the clonal va¬ 
riety) is as great as from any lot of 
hybrid seed of any plant I ever saw. 
Personally I do not know Mr. Cook, 
but I do know this: no sane man is 
going to make artificially produced hy¬ 
brid potato seed to sell as a commercial 
or philanthropic proposition. If I was 
doing this I would admit that there 
were certain features resembling graft 
or gold mine promotion to the business. 
If I had a quart of potato seed I would, 
if I believed them worth anything, try 
to develop the valuable strains myself. 
Personally I never made a hybrid, as I 
found the entire range of variation rep¬ 
resented in the seed we purchased in 
1902, which was said to come from 
Early Ohio straight. Under some cir¬ 
cumstances a large field of potatoes will 
produce bushels of seed balls, but in 
relation to the number of flowers pro¬ 
duced the seed obtained is so very small 
that I would not like to undertake to 
produce it in marketable quantities by 
hand emasculation and pollination. 
Massachusetts. j. b. Norton. 
A WEED IN ALFALFA. 
A. G., Weed'lie. Pa .—I send you for 
identification, name and characteristic habit 
a plant which I got in a bushel of Alfalfa 
seed. I sowed perhaps a little over a half 
acre in June, 1909, and am about ready to 
sow remainder, and I hesitate to do so, as 
I have sufficient varieties of weeds; I 
hardly feel able to cope with another. 
You will notice this is a rank grower, 1% 
month old, and is well distributed in the 
Alfalfa seed. I paid $12 per bushel to 
insure good, clean seed. The Alfalfa is 
up evenly and growing well, but now this 
curse threatens me. 
Ans. —The plant received is the young 
stage of the Russian thistle, Salsola 
Tragus. In the unoccupied lands of the 
upper Mississippi Valley this has cov¬ 
ered great areas, and it is spreading 
eastward along the railroads. It can be 
controlled by good tillage and short 
rotation of crops, but we certainly 
should not like it in our Alfalfa. Sev¬ 
eral of the Western State experiment 
stations have published bulletins on this 
weed, including Ohio and Wisconsin, 
and there is also a Farmers’ Bulletin 
(Bulletin 15 of the Division of Botany) 
issued by the U. S. Department of Ag¬ 
riculture. In the West the dried Rus¬ 
sian thistles roll before the wind in 
great masses in some exposed and un¬ 
cultivated districts, until they bank up 
in drifts along the fences. 
“For the Land’s Sake, use Bowker’s 
Fertilizers; they enrich the earth and 
those who till it.”— Adv. 
Trinidad Lake Asphalt 
is the greatest weather-resister 
known. It makes roofing last. 
We use it to make Genasco— 
and we own the Lake. 
If you want your roof insured 
against leaks, damages, and re¬ 
pairs get 
Genasco 
Ready Roofing 
Mineral and smooth surface. Look 
for the trade-mark. Insist on the roof¬ 
ing with the thirty-two-million-dollar 
guarantee. Write for samples and 
the Good Roof Guide Book. 
THE BARBER ASPHALT 
PAVING COMPANY 
® Largest producers of 
asphalt and largest man¬ 
ufacturers of ready roof¬ 
ing in the world. 
PHILADELPHIA 
New York 
San Francisco Chicago 
blow, which is grown here in the Car- 
bondale and west slope districts, and 
locally known as Red or White Mc¬ 
Clure, sometimes produces considerable 
Seed. G. P. BENNETT. 
Colorado Exp. Station. 
As far as I known there are few po¬ 
tato “hybrids” that can be guaranteed 
as to the parents. However, as far as 
my experience has gone, the question 
of getting hybrid seed is unimportant, 
WITH GROOVED TIRES 
4 in. widej The Groove protects 
the heads of spokes from wear, 
which makes wheel good and 
strong till tire is worn out. We 
make plain tire wheels in other 
widths. We make wheels to lit 
any thimble skein or straight 
steel axle. Get our free catalog 
of Steel Wheels and Low Dowi 
Handy Wagons. 
HAVANA METAL WHEEL CO., 
Box 17 Havana, HI. 
# ne 
e w^/owe// oyoec/a/ 
Gaso/ine Engine 
FREE 
TRIAL OFFER 
I will send any re¬ 
sponsible p e r s o n a 
Caldwell Special En¬ 
gine—on SO days’ 
free trial. 
The 
Sensation of the 
SG&SOn —I will prove to you 
that the Caldwell Special Gasoline En¬ 
gine is mechanically correct, and is by 
far the best engine obtainable for the money. 
Try nay engine on your farm and if you are dis- « 
satisfied for any reason whatever, or learn of an i 
engine of equal value that can be purchased for less _ 
in Waterloo and been in business here for over twenty yrars* Write any** theeieht baiAs of*Watarfon 
catalofh^".^?? ^ ab ° U ‘ ^ and 7 ° U WlU eaVe the de&lerS ' “ d J°*berAnd 
What Witt / Send You 7 
A high grade, well built finely finished gasoline engine. A gasoline engine that I will guarantee 
difficulty in starting and success- 
r fully operating at all times. I 
have satisfied and saved money for 
thousands of purchasers and 
know that I can satisfy you and 
can save you from $50.00 to $100.00 
on the price of your engine. I want 
you to compare my prices with the 
prices of other engine companies. 
Vrite without fail for catalog and price list. 
CALDWELL-HALLOWELL MFC. COMPANY, 
J. D. Caldwell 
Commercial St., Waterloo, Iowa. 
17 Years On 
The Market 
Abenaque Water Supply Systems 
-;-—--- and 
Pumping Plants 
Are described in detail in onr new Water 
Supply Catalogue. We can furnish outfits 
for all purposes. Submit us your Proposi¬ 
tion and let us submit Price on a suitable 
system. Engineering advice gladly given 
free of charge. Write for Catalogue “O.” 
Abenaque Machine Works Wcst v^ont tatloa ’ 
Boston Salesroom, 77 Oliver Street 
CLARKS 
CUTAWAY 
TOOLS 
\ 
DOUBLE ACTION “CUTAWAY” HARROW 
WITH JOINTED POLE. It is made especially for every day 
work. It will increase your crops 25 to 50 per cent. This machine will 
cut from 28 to 30 acres, or will double-cut 
15 acres in a day. It is drawn bj- two med¬ 
ium horses. It will move 15,000 tons of 
earth one foot in a day, and can be set to 
move the earth but little, or at so 
great an angle as to move all the 
earth one foot. Runs true in line 
of draft and keeps the surface 
true. All other disk harrows have to run in half lap 
The Jointed Pole Takes All the Weight Off the Horses 
Necks, and keeps their heels away from the disks. 
We make 120 ni/.e* and styles of IMsk Harrows. 
Every machine fully warranted. 
Send for FREE booklet with full particulars. 
CUTAWAY HARROW COMPANY, 
839 Main St., HICCANUM, CONN. 
BIG 
CROPS 
PERFECTION 
SWING STANCHION 
with frame fitted to Stable. 
Warranted the BEST on the 
market. Sold on 30 days 
trial. Also PERFECTION 
Water Basins, Steel Stall anp 
Manger Partitions, Litter 
and Feed Carriers. Send for 
20 page Booklet. 
BATES & SWIFT SPECIALTY MFG„ Box 5, Cuba, N. T. 
Better than the Old-Fashioned Wrought Cut 
Nails are 
Our Zinc-Coated (Guaran¬ 
teed) IRON CUT NAILS. 
The heads won’t rust off. As they are rust-proof, 
they will wit),stand climatic conditions and the 
free acid present in the sap of all wood. Last a 
lifetime. Write for prices and samples. 
Malleable Iron Fitting's Co., Branford, Conn. 
FERTILIZER LIME 
WALTON QUARRIES, Harrisburg, I n, 
Tho RJo' Per,n °f sun-touched early apples 
ine mg A^rop from Delaware follows 
closely the big crop of strawberries. General in¬ 
formation for fruit buyers and also farm oppor¬ 
tunities for home-seekers furnished by 
State Board of Agriculture, Dover, Del. 
FUMA 
iipiiii a kills Prairie Dogs, 
m m m ^Woodchucks, Gophers, 
and Grain Insects. 
“The wheels of tho gods 
grind slow but exceed¬ 
ingly small." So the weevil, but you can stop their 
*with “Fuma Carbon Bisulphide” are doing. 
EDWARD R. TAYLOR, Penn Yan, N. Y. 
c 
ORN TIE— Cheap, quick, reliable. $1.50 per 
hundred. KELIABLE TIE CO., Chadwicks, N.Y. 
CRIMSON GLOVER 
The great soil improver. Valuable 
also for early green food, grazing and 
hay crop. Special circular free; also 
sample and price of seed on request. 
HENRY A. DREER, 
714 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Pa. 
