538 
Juno 27. 
Ruralisms 
The Double-Flowering Crab. —One 
of the most desirable but at present little 
appreciated ornamental trees is Bech¬ 
tel's double-flowering crab-apple. The 
blooms, shown in reduced size in Fig. 
244, page 535, so closely resemble roses 
in form and coloring that a glance at 
the foliage is almost needed to con¬ 
vince the observer that they are glori¬ 
fied apple blossoms instead. The color¬ 
ing is light fresh pink, varying occa¬ 
sionally to deep rose-pink. They possess 
a most delicate and refreshing fragrance, 
more grateful to many than the odor 
of roses, which is occasionally so irri¬ 
tating as to cause symptoms of a “cold 
in the head.” Bechtel’s crab is a horti¬ 
cultural variety of Pyrus Ioensis or 
angustifolia, the wild crab apple of the 
Prairie States. It makes a small spread¬ 
ing tree, commencing to bloom on in¬ 
terior spurs, when only four or five 
years old, and everywhere, almost to the 
tips of the branches, with increasing age. 
There are practically no off years, as 
the blooms are sterile, rarely, if ever, 
setting fruits. An established tree is 
an object of beauty and pleasing frag¬ 
rance for weeks each year. The in¬ 
dividual blooms are nearly two inches 
across, coming out in large clusters later 
than orchard apples, and are quite en¬ 
during, defying sun and rain for many 
days. They last excellently when used 
as cut flowers if taken as the buds are 
opening. Bechtel’s double crab is one of 
the choicest ornamental trees that can be 
planted, suitable alike for the farm 
lawn, and the most elegant public or 
private park. Trees are multiplied by 
grafting on seedling apple stocks, just 
as ordinary apples are propagated. The 
cost is from 50 cents to $1 each for 
trees that should bloom in a year or 
two after planting. There are few in¬ 
sect enemies. 
The Anti-Strawberry Crank Again. 
•—The regular yearly yawp of the 
strawberry alarmist has been again 
given prominence in the public press, 
and especially so in the sensational 
Sunday issues. At the opening of every 
strawberry season publicity is given to 
wildly exaggerated statements from 
notoriety-loving medical “authorities” 
to the effect that the strawberry is 
among the most unwholesome of fruits, 
causing digestive disturbances, rashes 
and rheumatism. As a matter of fact 
there is scarcely an ordinary article of 
diet that does not normally contain a 
toxin or poisonous principle that will 
distress an occasional user. Tea and 
coffee are rank poisons to some, but 
beneficent aids to millions of others. 
Chocolate may only be drank or eaten 
by an occasional individual at the ex¬ 
pense of sickness and headache, but its 
use as a healthful food is increasing 
more rapidly than probably any other 
edible. Milk and cheese cause innumer¬ 
able illnesses even when of good qual¬ 
ity, but are the main dietetic standbys 
of thousands. Veal and pork violently 
disagree with many. Peanuts have 
caused death by the sudden action of 
their inherent poison, and yet are eaten 
with impunity by 99 out of every 100 
consumers. Melons sometimes have a bad 
reputation, raspberries cause distress, 
and even the apple—the lodestone of the 
Apple Consumers’ League—has been 
credited with causing deadly nausea. 
Beans and peas, the staple strength-giv¬ 
ing vegetable foods of humanity since 
the dawn of civilization, are charged 
with containing toxins that cause diver 
ills to occasional consumers. Tomatoes 
were formerly believed by many to cause 
liver troubles and even gastric cancer, 
but are now more widely used without 
harm than any other vegetable of tropi¬ 
cal origin. The truth of the matter is 
that here and there susceptible persons 
exist who cannot use certain ordinary 
foods without distress or danger. 
Strawberries, even when ripe and sound, 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
have been known to irritate the stomach 
and even to cause transient rashes on 
the skin, but that is about as far as the 
ill effects ever extend. Probably not 
one individual in a thousand is incon¬ 
venienced by strawberries eaten in 
proper manner and due moderation. To 
charge the strawberry with causing 
rheumatism and blood deterioration is 
atrociously misleading. The acid fruits 
of Spring are far more likely to cure 
such troubles than promote them. The 
strawberry is a boon, a benison, to man¬ 
kind, coming first after the Winter’s 
scarcity and combining in itself the most 
refreshing and delicious qualities of all 
fruits. Eat them freely, unless satis¬ 
fied they cause you individual harm, and 
your health and spirits are likely to im¬ 
prove. It is not, however, commend¬ 
able to serve them with milk or cream. 
Use sugar freely, as it is easily digested 
with the aid of the fruit acid, and water 
or diluted lemon juice if more moisture 
is needed, but abjure as far as possible 
the mixture with milk or cream. If 
the latter must be used it is less harm¬ 
ful in the whipped form, as there is 
less curdling, and the contained air 
spreads the casein and oil over a larger 
digestive surface. Possibly the most 
wholesome and palatable, if not the 
most decorative way to serve the large 
modern berries is to slice them, cover 
well with sugar and keep covered in a 
cool place for 30 minutes before serving. 
It is difficult for a normal person to 
eat too many prime strawberries pre¬ 
pared in this manner unless gorged at 
the time with other unsuitable food. 
Drink freely cool but not iced water 
when eating sugared fruits. 
Will you tell me something about palm 
culture for house plants? mbs. y. 
Wellsburg, N. Y. 
The house culture of palms dates back 
about 40 years. Before that they were 
only grown in costly heated glass struc¬ 
tures, but are now propagated by the 
acre for pot or window garden plants. 
They rarely survive in amateur hands 
more than a year or two, so that the de¬ 
mand is tolerably constant. The most 
popular varieties belong to the broad 
or fan-leaved section, such as Kentia 
Belmoreana and Forsteriana and Latania 
Borbonica. These are of slow growth, 
and thus may be kept a long time in 
comparatively small pots, and are less 
affected by dust, draughts and dry air 
than the more graceful narrow leaved 
sorts, such as belong to the date and 
cocoanut families. Kentia Belmoreana 
is probably the most useful of all, and 
is a stately and handsome plant when at 
all in good health. The soil used for 
potted palms should be light and por¬ 
ous, but need not be over-rich, as the 
fertilizing material may be added in 
liquid or top-dressing forms from time 
to time as needed. The base of the 
plant should never be buried in the soil, 
but should stand an inch or two above 
it as is the case in nature. Water 
should be abundantly and regularly 
given, but at no time be allowed to stand 
in the saucer in which the pot is gen¬ 
erally placed. Potted palms, as a rule, 
need very little direct sunlight, which 
may injure the color of the foliage, but, 
of course, should not be too heavily 
shaded. They do not require much 
heat, but should always be protected 
from frost. When badly pot-bound they 
may be shifted to a slightly larger size, 
preferably at the beginning of the year, 
taking care to ram well the new soil 
about the ball and to soak the new pot 
thoroughly before using. Cleanliness is 
very important. Frequent sponging of 
the leaves with warm water in which a 
little soap has been dissolved is most 
beneficial and will in addition dislodge 
insect enemies, of which the chief is the 
brown scale. This can be scrubbed off 
whenever noticed and will likely do little 
harm. A protected place on a lightly 
shaded porch or under a lattice screen 
suits them best in Summer. When 
foliage is battered by accident or lost 
by ill-treatment the plants may as well 
be thrown away, as it may require years 
of careful treatment to restore them to 
beauty. _ w. v. f. 
MAKING BORDEAUX MIXTURE. 
I am an amateur farmer, but have no¬ 
ticed in recent numbers inquiries as to best 
method of dissolving bluestone for Bor¬ 
deaux Mixture. I have found an easy way 
which I have used successfully for two 
seasons, after suffering in previous sea¬ 
sons a great deal of delay in the prepara¬ 
tion. I now use hot water on the blue- 
stone, and have it fully dissolved in 30 
minutes. Take a good vinegar barrel, or 
whisky barrel, well bound with good heavy 
hoops. Saw it in two in the middle. The 
result will be two good heavy tubs. Use 
one for the bluestone, and one for the lime. 
I put in a coffee sack or old fertilizer 
sack the number of pounds of bluestone 
desired to make a certain number of barrels 
of spray, and hang it in the tub so it will 
swing clear of the bottom. Now I pour 
in two buckets of hot water for each barrel 
of spray, and in 30 minutes the bluestone 
will be entirely dissolved. As to the lime, 
I have found that “new process” lime, re¬ 
quiring no slacking, keeping any length of 
time, and already in fine, powdered form, 
is a great help in the preparation of the 
spray. I was talking with a brother law¬ 
yer recently and he like myself lives in the 
country and farms a little. He said he 
had tried spraying apple trees one season, 
and found it a nasty job. He quit and 
cuts down his trees when they fail to do 
right. I believe in spraying and have 
tried it now for the fifth season. It is a 
nasty job, but a very useful one. Let us 
make it as easy as is consistent with good 
results. c. d. merrick. 
West Virginia. 
My way to handle the Bordeaux Mixture 
is this: I use six pounds sulphate of 
copper and four pounds lime to 50 gallons 
of spray. I first locate my spraying camp 
handy to the water. I take a 50 gallon 
barrel and fill with water. I take 24 
pounds sulphate of copper, put in a coarSe 
gunny bag just large enough to hold it 
easy; tie it up with strong string, take a 
wire, make a hook on each end of wire 
and hang it on chines of barrel so it will 
be suspended just below the top of the 
water. In a few hours it will be dissolved. 
In case of a rush in work you can hasten 
the dissolution by raising the bag up and 
letting it down in the water. I always 
put sulphate of copper to dissolve a night 
or few hours before using, and I have no 
trouble. I then slake enough lime with 
boiling water to fill another 50 gallon bar¬ 
rel, making it about the thickness of rich 
milk. Then you have lime and sulphate of 
copper for four barrels of Bordeaux Mix¬ 
ture. I use a 50 gallon barrel and spray 
pump. I then stir up the sulphate of 
copper water and put 12 gallons in the 
spray pump barrel first. I then fill in 
water on top of bluestone until there is 
just room for 12 gallons of the lime water 
stirred well, to fill the barrel. This will give 
anyone the simplest and quickest way of 
making Bordeaux Mixture. I also use for 
the first Bordeaux spray after bloom falls 
four ounces of Paris-green. I take one 
pound best Paris-green, put in a good-sized 
jug, and pour in one gallon of water and 
take one quart of the Paris-green water 
after shaking well to each barrel of spray 
last thing on top of lime water and then 
spray until barrel is all sprayed out clean. 
Illinois. l. jones. 
Leggett’s Dusters Insecticides 
- -- - IN DUST FORM 
NO WATER TO HAUL 
lEGGETT’S 
CHAMPION 
DUSTER 
The CHAMPION 
dusts two rows of pota¬ 
toes or tobacco as fast 
as you walk. 
The BEETLE 
Potato Duster (Horse 
Power) dusts four rows. 
Illustrated Spray Calen¬ 
dar gives concise infor¬ 
mation with name of 
nearest agent. Mailed 
on request. 
LEGGETT & BROTHER, 301 Pearl St., New York. 
FERTILIZER 
Tankage an ideal Fertilizer for Wheat and the 
permanent enrichment of all soils. Free from sul¬ 
phuric. acid or other injurious chemicals. Licensed 
for sale and analysis guaranteed under the laws of 
the State of New York. Sold direct from factory 
to farm. $15.00 per ton delivered freight prepaid 
to any railroad station in New York State. 
AMERICAN REDUCTION COMPANY OF 
PITTSBURGH. Pittsburgh, Pa. 
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GREEN#M0UNTAIN 
SILOS 
Superior in design, material 
and workmanship. 
Simplest, strongest, most 
practical, most durable. 
Write NOW for money-sav¬ 
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Creamery Package Mfg. Co. 
220 West St., Rutland, Vt. 
STEEL -REINFORCED 
G&lraniied etee 1 frame. Continuous 
opening. Safe ladder. How to Build. 
“For the Land’s Sake use Bowker’s 
Fertilizers; they enrich the earth and 
those who till it. Est. 1873. For prices 
or agencies address Bowker, Boston or 
New York.” 
jSaw Rills 
If you need anything in saw mills or wood working ma¬ 
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Goods highest quality and prices reasonable. 
American Saw Will Meh. Co., 129 Hopest.,Hackettstown,N. J. 
New York Office, 1582 Fulton Building. 
H1RST POTATO SPRAYERS 
on FREE T R IAL 
NO MONEY IN ADVANCE -vte» a »?.T 80Ut 
„ ... the extra profit. Sprays 
Everything— potatoes and truck 4 and 6 rows at a time. 
Man-power and Horse-power. High pressure and perfect 
agitation. Vapor spray stops Blight, Scab, Rot, am LB 
ugs 
raying Guide, 
Canton, Ohio, 
WHY NOT USE 
HUBBARD’S FERTILIZERS? 
Send for Hubbard’s Fertilizer Almanac 1908, telling' all about them. 
IT IS FREE. 
THE ROGERS & HUBBARD CO., 
Middletown, .... Connecticut. 
