683 
THE RURAb NEW-YORKER 
Juno 17, 
WHAT ABOUT CRUNELLS? 
I. H. G., Westmoreland Co., Pa .—Will 
you tell me something about “crunells,” 
which are said to be a cross between a 
gooseberry and currant, and free from 
mildew, as our gooseberries are generally 
ruined by mildew, perhaps this would suit 
our climate and locality. What do you 
know about them? 
Ans. —The plant known as crunells, 
widely advertised some years ago as a 
mildew-proof hybrid between the cur¬ 
rant and gooseberry, appears to be in 
reality simply a prolific strain of the 
wild round-leaved gooseberry, Ribes 
rotundifolium, native to rocky wood¬ 
lands from Pennsylvania westward to 
Montana. It is a strong-growing, up¬ 
right variety of gooseberry with few 
spines, producing abundant crops of small 
mild-flavored fruits with few seeds and 
a thin, smooth skin, dark purple when 
ripe. The quality is good, but the ber¬ 
ries are too small to have value, except, 
perhaps, for domestic jelly making. The 
foliage is good and appears quite resist¬ 
ant to mildew, while the plant does not 
seem to be as readily attacked by native 
and imported currant worms as the va¬ 
rieties in general cultivation. Ribes ro¬ 
tundifolium is quite variable in the wild 
state, most plants being slender and 
drooping in habit and the berries vary 
in color when ripe from light green to 
blackish purple, but are always smooth 
and free from prickles. Occasionally an 
upright-growing specimen is found, and 
crunells appears to be a good example 
of this rare form. It is plainly a goose¬ 
berry, coming quite true from seeds, and 
there is no hint of the currant in the 
make-up of plant or fruit, except possi¬ 
bly in the profusion of the latter and 
their small size when mature. 
The gooseberry has been hybridized 
with the black currant by several inves¬ 
tigators, but the progeny has invariably 
turned out to be weakly and unfruitful, 
possessing no horticultural value. Al¬ 
though gooseberries and currants are re¬ 
garded by botanists as members of the 
same genus, Ribes, they are from the 
gardener’s standpoint quite distinct, and 
probably never will turn out useful hy¬ 
brids. No authentic crosses of the 
gooseberry and red currant have so far 
been announced. The writer has inter¬ 
bred extensively crunells and selected 
wild forms of Ribes rotundifolium with 
other promising native species, and with 
the large-fruited forms of the European 
gooseberry, R. grossularia, in the hope 
of getting mildew resistant varieties 
with larger fruits than Houghton or 
Downing. The experiments at this stage 
of progress can only be regarded as par¬ 
tially successful. Ribes Missouriense, 
formerly known as R. gracile/ native to 
the prairie States of the Middle West, 
has proved a far more tractable species 
for amelioration, and has distinct horti¬ 
cultural promise. w. v. F. 
ABOUT QUINCE CULTURE. 
J. C. B., Buchanan, Midi .—Would some¬ 
one who has had exncrienee with quinces 
tell about their culture and care? I have 
17 !j trees on three-fourths acre. I find very 
little concerning them in any of the farm 
papers. 
Ans.— Like the apple the quince de¬ 
lights in a cool, moist climate or one 
where water may be applied by irriga¬ 
tion. The soil should be well drained 
and rich in plant food and humus. The 
quince flourishes in both clay and sandy 
soils and it is remarkable how well the 
trees often do in those that seem to be 
thin and unfavorable. They should be 
moist rather than dry. But the quince 
trees will well repay for the use of good 
soil and all the care that is necessary to 
bestow upon their culture. Plenty of 
stable manure should be applied and 
common salt is thought to be beneficial, 
by inducing moisture. The distance 
apart to plant the trees is about one rod, 
although some think that 12 feet is a 
proper distance, I would prefer more 
than one rod rather than less. There 
are trees growing in good soil that 
profitably occupy 20 feet and if given the 
best of care in deep soil they will need 
that much room. In no case should they 
be less than 15 feet. 
The manner of training the trees is 
not fully agreed upon by those who are 
successful growers. Some consider the 
quince a mere bush and train it accord¬ 
ingly. But while as much and as good 
fruit may be grown on trees with bushy 
stocks, coming from the base without 
several branches, a low, single trunk 
seems the better way to train the trees. 
The trunk should not be more than two 
feet tall and one foot is just as good or 
better. The head should be spread out 
well and the branches not be allowed to 
crowd each other but a very open or 
vase-formed center is not approved. 
With a very reasonable amount of com¬ 
mon sense pruning a quince tree will 
naturally assume a shapely form. The 
culture necessary is such as almost any 
orchard requires. Grass and weeds are 
not to be tolerated until the trees at¬ 
tain bearing age, when mowing and 
mulching will do very well. But until 
that time the cleanest and most thorough 
tillage should be practiced. Crops of 
vegetables or strawberries may be grown 
among the trees for several years after 
they are planted, but when they attain 
sufficient size to shade half the ground 
and permeate it with their roots they 
should have the entire area. The va¬ 
rieties of the quince are not very numer¬ 
ous, and all of them are good, so far 
as I have tested or seen them. The one 
called Orange or Apple is about the best 
of the lot. It is early, large and of 
roundish shape, with a clear golden yel¬ 
low color when ripe. It is of pure quince 
flavor and is good stewed, baked, canned 
or made into preserves. I once made 
some cider from a lot of culls that was 
delicious. The Pear or Meech is another 
good one. It is not quite so early as the 
Orange, is more pear-shaped and has a 
decided neck. The color is clear yel¬ 
low and the flavor excellent. Van De¬ 
man is one of the lately introduced va¬ 
rieties, having been originated by Luther 
Burbank in California. It is much like 
the Orange in every way except the sea¬ 
son, which is later. It has been tested 
and found to be suitable where other 
varieties succeed. Champion is another 
good variety and a late one. Rhea and 
Missouri are two more good kinds but 
there is nothing about them, so far as 
I have ever seen, to warrant their plant¬ 
ing instead of the old Orange, and 
Meech. However, there is nothing 
against them, and if it is equally or more 
convenient to get them there is no good 
reason why they should not be planted. 
H. E. .VAN DEMAN. 
What is “ Swamp Root ? ” 
W., Massachusetts .—Can any reader of 
The R. N.-Y. give the botanical name and 
furnish any facts regarding the habitat, 
etc., of a plant called by some people 
swamp root? The only part of the plant 
of which 1 have any knowledge is the seed- 
pod. It is cylindrical, nearly black, about 
three-quarters of an inch in diameter, and 
it is said to be a foot in length. Between 
the seeds are black partitions which look 
and taste like licorice. Half the thickness 
of the seed is imbedded in this partition. 
The partition with the impression looks 
much like a seal on a letter, impressed 
shape on the seed. 
Ans. —Readers are invited to try this, 
but so far as we know no recognized 
drug or medicinal plant has pods of the 
described character. Black Indian hemp 
or Choctaw root, Apocynum canna- 
binum, has a slender root pod or follicle, 
four inches long, and the pods of the 
swamp milkweed, Asclepias incarnata, 
are of about the same size and form. 
Both grow in moist places and the roots 
are used in medicine, but the feathery 
seeds in both cases differ from your 
description. If a portion of the plant 
in question could be furnished us it 
could probably be identified. The iden¬ 
tity of the plant used in a kidney re¬ 
medy has not been ascertained, though 
many analyses have been attempted. 
No plant appears to be popularly known 
as “swamp root” in this country, and it 
is likely that the name was invented by 
proprietary medicine exploiters for pur¬ 
poses of mystification. ' v. 
Fuel for the Future. 
Under its policy of saving natural re¬ 
sources for the people the United States 
Government has withdrawn from entry the 
following coal lands: 
Acres. 
Arizona . 118,718 
California . 23!),903 
Colorado . 5,8(50,763 
Idaho . 8,266,509 
Montana .21,393,613 
New Mexico . 2,532,038 
Nevada . 92,141 
North Dakota .18,215,384 
Oregon . 3,711 
South Dakota . 2,375,263 
Utah . 6,128,923 
Washington . 2,207,967 
Wyoming .10,711,875 
Total area .78,152,808 
That means that this vast tract of land 
containing coal will not be taken by private 
persons or corporations without lease or 
purchase. These deposits of coal represent 
the nation’s greatest natural asset—prob¬ 
ably greater even than the millions of water 
power in the rivers. In addition to this, it 
is estimated that there are some twelve 
billion tons of dry peat in swamps which 
may some day be utilized. 
Stove Ventilators. 
I enclose diagram of a ventilating devico 
we have been using about a year. It is 
very good and does not injure the draft 
in a warming stove. In the cut A is stove; 
B, stovepipe; C, chimney; D, t jtilator 
pipe; E, screen of No. T8 wire cloth; P, 
cap below wire screen. All of the pipe 
should be riveted together. e. n. 
Oregon. 
Suitable Soil for Strawberries. 
What kind of soil do you consider best 
for strawberries? I have tried them on 
red clay bottom ground heavily manured 
and failed. I bad a rank growth of foliage, 
but the berries were very small. E. D. s. 
Williamstown, W. Va. 
From choice we would take a good loam 
soil and have it well drained. A clay gets 
too hard in dry weather. Get such a soil 
full of organic matter by plowing in ma¬ 
nure or green crops. Your soil was too 
rich. There was so much nitrogen that 
the tops made a rank, heavy growth, but 
they could not mature berries. To over¬ 
come this trouble you can use a mixture of 
potash and bone or potash and acid phos¬ 
phate. This, with the manure, will make 
a balanced fertilizer. 
About That Kinky Rope. 
If N. C., who inquires about straighten¬ 
ing ropes, will coil his rope up nicely and 
put it into a wash boiler, cover it with 
water and boil it for half an hour, he will 
have no more trouble with the twist be¬ 
tween the fork and car. If the rope is not 
unhitched from the whiflletrec while the 
fork is returned to the load, sometimes the 
driver will put the twist into the rope by 
turning the same way every time. For in¬ 
stance, turning every time to the right will 
turn the rope over every time around, and 
in unloading 10 loads four forkfuls to the 
load will make 40 extra twists in the rope. 
These will work back toward the end of 
the rope and cause the twist between the 
fork and car. To avoid this the driver 
should turn part of the time to the left 
and part of the time to the right. 
Whitney Point, N. Y. R. E. E. 
NEW PLANT IMMIGRANTS. 
Among specimens received from China by 
the Bureau of Plant Introduction are bul¬ 
bils of a Sagittaria or arrowhead, known 
by the Cninese as “chi koo,’” the tubers of 
which are highly esteemed as food, being 
boiled with beef or pork. Another arrow¬ 
head called “ma tai’’ is also very popular. 
These plants are grown in wet places like 
rice. Arrowheads are common aquatic 
plants, but we have no knowledge of any 
use of them as food here. 
Among new fruits received by the Bu¬ 
reau we find apricots from Chinese Turk¬ 
estan which withstand a considerable 
amount of alkali in the soil and are not 
hurt by great fluctuations in temperature. 
Those forms nearly all have sweet kernels, 
replacing almonds in local consumption. 
One variety ripens towards the cud of 
August, at an elevation of about 6,000 
feet, where it is so cool that melons, grapes 
and peaches do not ripen. These apricots 
are to be tested thoroughly, especially in 
the West, and also are to be used in hy¬ 
bridization experiments with native plums, 
in the hope of creating new strains of 
garden fruits, fit to withstand severe cold. 
A plum called “Alutcha,” also received 
from Chinese Turkestan, is described as a 
fine yellow clingstone which ripens iu the 
latter part of July, but can be kept for a 
few months. It is described as a very rare 
and probably new variety of Central Asian 
plum, excellent for jellies and preserves. 
Formalin for Sterilizing Soil. 
The R. N.-Y. printed some weeks ago a 
plan for sterilizing the soil of plant beds 
by forcing steam under a bottomless pan. 
Is there any chemical that can be used 
for this purpose? J. s k. 
Yes, formalin, the same thing use d for 
soaking potato seed, will do it. The De¬ 
partment of Agriculture recommends one 
pint of formalin to 12% gallons of water. 
This was gradually sprinkled over the bed 
at the rate of one gallon per square foot, 
taking care not to puddle the soil. The 
bed was then covered with burlap or sash 
to hold in the fumes. Spring treatment 
leaves the bed wet and cold, and it should 
not be sown for a week after treatment, 
lest the formalin still in the soil should 
kill the sprouting seed. Stirring the soil 
will facilitate the evaporation of the for¬ 
malin and excessive moisture. 
Destructive Cutworms. 
The cutworms are something fierce 
around here. I dug a little patch for truck, 
about 200 by 75 feet, and I believe I 
picked a pint of them and threw them to 
the chickens. Then I called the little 
peeps in (it is fenced) and I locked them 
in, but the worms are still cutting, so we 
put paper around the plants, cabbage and 
tomatoes. It is rather dry here; wheat 
and rye is about one-fourth less in height 
of straw than last year. Hay looks about 
one-half crop; corn and oats have a good 
start if favorable weather carries them 
through. e. G. 
Pennsylvania. 
R. N.-Y.—The cutworms are “fierce’’ ev¬ 
erywhere this year. We never had so 
many calls for help. The poisoned “bait” 
which we have often described will get 
them, but it gets the chickens too. 
Separating Vetch and Rye. —For sepa¬ 
rating vetch and rye let M. Morse, page 603, 
make a screen 10 feet long, of slats to 
somewhat resemble a window blind, with 
slat lapping, and open one-eighth to three- 
sixteenths of an inch. Have a blank board 
at top, elevate so that the slats will be 
level. Feed the vetch and rye on slowly 
and give a shaking motion. I think the 
vetch will roll to the bottom and the rye 
will not go far, but will fall through the 
cracks. , f. ii. s. 
New York. 
Need of a Parcels Post.—We had a 
wheel sprayer weighing 200 pounds shipped 
from Canton, O., to our place. It was 
handled by two railroad companies, and the 
freight on it was 82 cents. A casting weigh¬ 
ing about three pounds was broken and a 
duplicate ordered. This was sent by the 
Pacific Express from Canton to Delphi di¬ 
rect. and the charge was 40 cents, 82 cents 
for 200 pounds by freight, 40 cents for three 
pounds by express. Give us parcels post to 
head off such robberies. J. H. H. 
Delphi, Ind. 
Plant Physiology, with Special Refer¬ 
ence to Plant Production, by Dr. 15. M. 
Duggar. This book is intended especially 
for the student and each chapter includes 
laboratory work iu connection with the sub¬ 
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requirements, and the processes by which 
they absorb nutriment is lucidly discussed ; 
growth, variation and heredity all come in 
for consideration. Dr. Duggar says that 
plant physiology finds its practical appli¬ 
cation in plant production, to which it 
stands in much the same relation as does 
industrial chemistry to general manufactur¬ 
ing. There is an increasing realization of 
this fact among practical farmers and 
gardeners, as well as teachers and stu¬ 
dents in scientific lines. The book contains 
516 pages, 144 illustrations and a copious 
index. Published by the Macmillan Com¬ 
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17 cents additional. 
