1911. 
MTUFC RURAL NEW .YORKER 
861 
Ruraiisms 
Prunes in Michigan. 
J. B. B., Grand Rapids, Mich .—Could I 
make a success of growing prunes in this 
locality? 
Ans.— The growing of prunes at 
Grand Rapids or anywhere in Michigan 
cannot be made to pay financially for 
drying. They are grown and dried too 
cheaply in California, Oregon and \\ ash- 
ington. It is possible that they would 
pay to grow for sale in the fresh state, 
however, and they have been grown 
with fair success about Traverse City, 
some 150 miles to the northward of 
Grand Rapids. They would have to be 
sold as plums, which they are in real¬ 
ity, for plums that are meaty enough 
to dry and still be meaty are called 
prunes. This is an arbitrary classifica¬ 
tion that was decided upon by pomolo- 
gists some 20 years ago. What is 
known as the German prune, or techni¬ 
cally as Fellenberg, is the best variety 
to try. It would be well to look about 
among the fruit growers around Grand 
Rapids and learn what they have done 
before planting many prune trees there. 
I believe that Damson plums would pay 
better. h. e. van deman. 
Insect Attacking Dahlias. 
W. W. L., Dahlin, X. Y .—My Dahlias are 
all losing their buds. A small bug, some¬ 
thing like a squash bug, eats the buds right 
off. My Dahlias began blooming the first of 
July, and shortly after the bugs began their 
depredations. What can I do? I depend 
almost on Dahlias for cut flowers, and have 
such nice varieties and have taken so much 
care with them that I hate to lose all my 
reward. I have dusted with sulphur, but 
that does not do any permanent good ; can¬ 
not use poison on account of the children. 
All around here come the same reports. 
Ans.— The tarnished plant bug, a 
relative of the squash-bug, often at¬ 
tacks Dahlias, and causes great loss. It 
does not “eat the buds right off,” but 
pierces buds and young shoots, caus¬ 
ing them to curl over, blacken and 
wither off; it is also responsible for 
blasted and malformed buds which 
either fail to develop at all, or else 
make one-sided flowers. This insect 
seems to poison the plant tissue by its 
puncture. We are sorry that we can 
give no practical remedy for it, except 
destroying all insects found, and thor¬ 
oughly working the ground in the Fall, 
destroying all the Dahlia tops by burn¬ 
ing. We believe this insect is discussed 
in Bulletin 47, issued by the Missouri 
Experiment Station. Columbia, Mo. 
Various Fruit Questions. 
B. C. If., Plainfield, V. ./.—I have iu 
my garden a plum tree that hears small 
purple plums, the natural fruit. Can I 
top-graft it in August after the fruit is 
ripe, as I would an apple or pear tree? Is 
there anything better than Abundance to 
put in? Can peach or cherry trees be 
grafted in the same way? A Moore’s Early 
grape vine, 10 years old. makes plenty of 
wood, but bears only a few bunches each 
year. A cutting five years old has only 
borne one bunch. There are plenty of 
other grapes near. What can 1 do for 
them ? 
Ans.— B. C. W. speaks of grafting 
trees in August. This he cannot do, as 
grafting should be done in early Spring, 
when tree and grafts are dormant. Bud¬ 
ding (which is a very different process 
from grafting) is done in Summer when 
the trees are growing. The plums can 
be grafted in the Spring the same as 
apple, also the cherry. The peach can¬ 
not be successfully grafted, and is pro¬ 
pagated entirely by buddie^r. The better 
way to work over the cherry would be 
to bud them, excepting large trees when 
budding would not be practicable. If 
the plum trees out be budded in limbs 
not averaging over one inch through, 
then they can be budded any time when 
the sap is flowing so that the bud can 
be inserted under the bark. If larger 
than one inch, graft them just before 
growth starts in the Spring. Cut the 
grafts in early March and keep in moist 
sawdust, moss or sand, in a cool place, 
until ready to use. The Abundance is a 
good plum, but I prefer a European 
variety like Imperial Gage or Brad¬ 
shaw. The Moore’s Early grape is of¬ 
ten a shy bearer, and when pruning more 
wood should be left on it than the 
shorter-jointed varieties. Where Con¬ 
cord and like varieties are cut back to 
one or two buds, the Moore’s Early 
should have double or more eyes left. 
They require a greater length of fruit- 
i-- . wood than the other varieties. 
e. s. BLACK. 
Chestnut Tree Blight. 
A blight that has destroyed twenty-five 
millions of dollars in chestnut timber will 
cause people to wonder and guess what it 
means. I write you to correct two errors 
that have appeared in the papers of New 
York City and also Philadelphia. It is 
reported that Mr. T. D. Candy, a ilorist at 
Langhorne, Pa., is the discoverer of the 
“cause of the chestnut tree blight.” He 
says it is caused by a species of beetle. 
There are beetles and other insects that 
injust chestnut and other trees. It is 
quite possible Mr. Candy has seen some 
damage to chestnut trees by a species of 
beetle. I have seen instances of such dam¬ 
age when examining forests in Pennsyl¬ 
vania. New Jersey and New York. The 
work of the larvae of insects burrowing be¬ 
neath the bark of chestnut trees is of 
slight consequence compared with the dead¬ 
ly, all-devastating depredations of the 
fungus which is the real cause of the 
blight. Insects can be dealt with by sprays 
and poisonous vapors, but the blight can¬ 
not be controlled in that way. Mr. Candy, 
the Ilorist, is entirely mistaken. It is not 
caused by any form of insect life, hut by a 
fungus which was determined in 1906 by 
Dr. Murrill, whose conclusions and scien¬ 
tific description are correct. 
The second error comes from Staten Isl¬ 
and. where it is reported the blight is now 
destroying oak trees. 1 have examined 
forests for a distance of 150 miles and 
have always kept iu mind the immunity of 
other trees. After examining thousands of 
oak trees, white oak, red oak, chestnut 
oaks, etc. I have never found the chestnut 
tree blight on any of the other trees. I 
am not now discussing the inoculation of 
other speciecs ol' trees for experimental 
purposes, hut in the forests under natural 
conditions the chestnut is the only host 
of the fungus Diaporthe parasitica, which 
is the cause of the ’ chestnut tree blight. 
When I return to Brooklyn from my Sum¬ 
mer home in the Catskills I will visit 
Staten Island and examine oak trees and 
send you the result of my investigations. 
The blight has not yet advanced north¬ 
ward in the Hudson Valley to the Kaaters- 
ki 11 Clove and the vicinity of Palenville. 
JOHN MICKLEBOltOUOH. 
Cover Crop for Garden. 
Is a cover crop used in the garden at 
Hope Farm? If so, what crop is growD 
and when is it seeded? M. n. 
We try to “double crop” the garden, 
planting one crop after another, so it is 
is commonly used in late September or 
not practical to sow cover crops early. Rye 
October and in our latitude makes a fair 
growth. It would not answer much fur¬ 
ther north. This year other work and the 
dry weather has prevented much double 
cropping and weeds came in freely. They 
were mowed off twice before seeding and 
left on the ground. This provides humus 
and holds the soil. 
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LAND LIME 
AUGUST is the Time to Sow ALFALFA 
without a “Nurse Crop,” but ALFALFA 
WILL NOT THRIVE WITHOUT LIME. 
O UR LAND LIME is especially 
suited to the needs of ALFALFA 
as it contains the quickly soluble “quick 
liir.e’’ which will feed the plant this 
Fall, and the slowly acting calcium car¬ 
bonate, which will act next Spring. 
LAND LIME requires no slaking, does 
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about one ton of Lime per acre. Why 
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Write for prices, circulars and samples. 
THE SOLVAY PROCESS CO. 
SYRACUSE. N. Y. 
Red 
Wave 
Wheat 
'This is a real photograph 
and not a fanciful drawing 
This notable.variety is one 
of the best productions ofi Mr. 
^A?N.. Jones of Nevv,York, who 
been recognized by the Dept, of 
Agriculture at Washington as the 
greatest originator and improver of 
ican Wheats' Red Wave is a cross 
between the Early Red Clawson and an 
unnamed Russian cross-breed., its yield is 
tremendous. Planted aside of Dawson Golden 
Chaff, Red Wave’jyielded 
49 Bushels'and<2, Pounds Per Acre 
while the Dawson'yielded 27 bushels per acre. On 
2]4 rods Red Wave yielded at the rate of 
68 Bushels and 5 Pounds Per Acre 
Red^ Wave is bald. HeadsTareiA^to.6. inches long—chock- 
fullZoX, medium-sized, hard.fred grains. 
Red Wave is Free from'the Usual Faults. 
Jls^Thick Brown Chaff Keeps it from^Shelling Easily., 
Its Stiff.Thick-Walled ^Straw*Prevents.Lodging. 
yVATnake a specialtyjof growing Red \Vave for seed^here in 
thejdeal wheat soils of Lancast euC oy 1 Pa. OuCcrop of it—■ 
genuine,‘pure and cleanTisYiow^ready^to ship. 
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less than'1 bushels' sold. Cash jjnust 'come with order.' Bags to 
hold 2 >2 bushels22c each extra.: 
When the.WheaCreaches you examine it and if it is disappoint- 
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payVound-tripjfreight.Y We will not be responsible after.wheat is 
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atjmuch lowerj prices and can furnish any time right up* to seed 
But'ifTyou want Red Wave order at once. Ouustock of. 
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Red Wave is l<irge but not as large as the demand., 
Amos H. Hoffman, Bamford, 3 Lancaster CO., PA. 
OB 
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OTASH 
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Profit in Wheat 
vS 
-‘A*’ 
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Wheat is profitable if the yield is good. A good 
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fertilizer is used that is suited to the soil. Almost any 
fertilizer will increase the wheat crop, but why not get the 
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the phosphate is balanced with 
POTASH 
Insist on 6 to 8 per cent, of Potash in wheat fertilizer. Some of 
Viy^” the best growers use 10 per cent. If you have trouble in getting 
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