400 
THE RURA-L* >USW-YORKER 
April 6, 
A FREAKISH FREAK APPLE. 
Reading the Ruralisms column on 
page 281, the stories of forming graft 
hybrids recalls to mind experience of 
mine some 40 years ago. In the article 
referred to mention is made of apples 
part sweet and part sour, said to have 
been produced by grafting together the 
halves of two buds taken from sweet 
and sour apple trees. I have never be¬ 
lieved such grafting could be done, but 
there are apples of such mixture of 
flesh. About 50 years ago a neighbor of 
mine told me of such a freak apple 
growing in the town of Cumberland, R. 
I., but it sounded too much like a fake, 
and I was a doubting Thomas. To con¬ 
vince me he offered to get me some 
scions if I would set them in a tree for 
trial. I did so, and in time got apples 
from same. The first apples were very 
inferior and much resembled R. I. 
Greenings in looks and flavor. I think 
it was the second years fruiting was 
mixed, part of an apple would be sweet 
and part sour, and a very distinct mark¬ 
ings of color of skin showed which part 
was sweet and which part was sour; 
the sweet part yellow while the sour 
was like R. I. Greening. At that time 
Mr. Alonzo Cheever was editing the 
agricultural columns of the New" Eng¬ 
land Farmer, and his home was in 
Wrentham, a town adjoining Franklin, 
where I then lived. I told him that I 
had an apple tree which bore fruit part 
sweet and part sour, but he, like my¬ 
self, was a doubting Thomas, and would 
not believe without seeing, so I invited 
him to come to my place the next 
Autumn and I would show him the fruit. 
He came and I went out with him and 
gathered apples to sample. But, lo, all 
the apples were sour, and apparently a 
poor grade of R. I. Greenings. Of 
course the laugh was on me, with a 
strong suspicion that I belonged to some 
Ananias club, but I told him to come 
again next year. That year the tree was 
well loaded with fruit, some of which 
was all sweet and some all sour and 
some all mixed up. I gave Mr. Cheever 
some of the fruit and he absolved me 
of membership in the Ananias club, and 
gave in the New England Farmer a full 
account of the freak apple. I took a 
branch of the tree bearing seven apples 
to Dr. Sturtevant, then publishing a 
little paper called “The Scientific Farm,” 
in Boston. It was not a new thing to 
him, as he had seen the same freak 
apples before. To say that that tree 
bore apples part sweet and part sour 
does not tell the whole freakishness of 
that freak tree. Some years the fruit 
would be all sweet and some years all 
sour, and some years all mixed up. The 
branch which I took to Dr. Sturtevant 
had growing on it apples that were all 
sweet and apples that were all sour, and 
other apples that were of mixture, all 
growing on a branch not more than one- 
half inch in diameter. Now the won¬ 
derful, and to me unaccountable, thing 
about this freak is that the crops of 
different years should be so very dif¬ 
ferent, some years sweet and some years 
sour and some years all mixed up. 
After I bought my present farm and 
sold my old place in Franklin I thought 
1 should like to have on my farm, as a 
curiosity, some of those apples, and I 
went to get some scions, but the tree 
had been cut down. I have since tried 
to secure scions from Cumberland, R. I., 
but so far have not been able to do so. 
If this meets the eye of anyone know¬ 
ing of such a freak tree I wish he would 
write me or The R. N.-Y. 
Massachusetts. m. morse. 
CAREFUL NOT TO HEAD TOO LOW. 
Being interested in apple growing, as 
I have 20 acres in apples, I don’t want 
to make mistakes, but after reading so 
much about low-heading of apple trees, 
I still do not think it is the thing. In 
the first place, if you will remember 
when you were a boy looking for the 
largest, reddest, and best flavored apple, 
you went well up in the tree. After 
you had almost enough, but felt as if 
you ought to have one more, you never 
wanted it off the lower limbs. At least 
I never did. If you were gathering 
samples of apples to show to the trade 
or for the apple show, you would never 
get them from the lower limbs, I don’t 
think. If you will just think for a min¬ 
ute anything in the way of fruit or 
nuts is much better high up in the tree 
than nearer the ground. You will no¬ 
tice the chestnut is not good near the 
ground. The squirrel knows it. You 
never see him getting a meal off the 
lower limbs; the birds and chickens go 
high in the tree for no other reason, 
only for the good fruit. Apples or cher¬ 
ries, or almost any kind of fruit grow¬ 
ing near the ground has a poor color, 
poor flavor, and is very much smaller 
than that higher up in the tree. Now 
if we are going to spray in order to get 
good fruit, why not prune for the same 
purpose, and head the tree up a little— 
reasonably high at least? 
A man who was growing a young 
orchard which had never borne any said 
to me last Summer that the only objec¬ 
tion to low heading was that you had 
to lie down to dig the borers out of the 
trees. I just thought wait until they 
bear, and then you will find other ob¬ 
jections. If you want to let hogs run 
in your orchard, if the trees are beaded 
low they may, if not fed well, eat tue 
apples off the lower limbs, but if you 
will give them half enough out of the 
tree high up they will not bother the 
apples on the lower limbs. 
If you were to take apples off the 
lower limbs that came close to the 
ground, and go to the plate book to 
compare them to find the variety of 
apples you have, you never could find it. 
They would not compare in size, color 
or flavor. The principal reason for low- 
heading seems to be on account of pick¬ 
ing, which would be cheaper of course. 
I will just answer that by saying that 
25 cents is always easier got than a 
dollar. I think there is about that dif¬ 
ference in apples grown near the 
ground and high up in the tree. I 
would be glad if someone would be in¬ 
terested enough this Fall in this subject 
to take one bushel of apples off the 
lower limbs of a low-headed tree and 
then take one bushel out of the top of 
the tree, and take them to his best 
fruit dealer and see what difference the 
dealer would make in the price and then 
report through the columns of The R. 
N.-Y. I have given a few reasons why 
I think trees should not be headed as 
low as some people think. This low 
heading has not been in practice long, 
and for fear it is not the thing, let’s 
talk it over. There are many other 
reasons that may be given in favor of a 
higher heading than so many recom¬ 
mend. I hope to hear from a number 
of readers of The R. N.-Y. on this 
subject. b. f. w. 
West Virginia. 
R. N.-Y.—No doubt you will hear. 
Why is fruit at the top of a low-headed 
tree inferior to that 60 feet up on an 
old high-head? We do not want hogs 
in the orchard—we want bush-shaped 
trees. With average spraying the high- 
tops will carry most wormy apples, since 
it is hard to get the spray up there. 
Pyrox fills the barrel with the apples 
that used to go on top. Write Bowker 
Insecticide Co., Boston, for book.—Adv. 
EVERY 
111111 FARMER CAN 
liiM AFFORD A 
EUREKA PLANTER 
r Low in price—accurate and reliable. Plants com, 
i beans, peas, beets, etc. Drops any quantity in hills 
or drills. Any distance apart or any depth. Plants uni¬ 
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The Enreka Mulcher and Seeder 
A mulcher, smoothing harrow,cultivator,weeder and seeder 
all combined. Three sizes, 8,10 and 12 ft. Lever with press¬ 
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tivate in rows. Forma # dust mulch and conserves moisture. 
Seeding boxes can be easily attached to sow grass i 
seed, alfalfa* oats, etc. Adjusts for seeding various i 
[ quantities. Teeth cover seed thoroughly either 1 
V shallow or deep.____ A 
A Prompt shipments from 
A branch near you. Send for BfSgfcj B Sa 
Grow More 
Potatoes 
Per Acre- 
Get 
Plant your potatoes 
the right way. Grow 
2 bushelB where 
you now grow one! 
Get the easily operated AMERICAN 
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ork faster—get more accomplished—get 
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—30 In. wheels supported by 1% inch cold-rolled 
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this. Has distinct dropping device—perfected 
fertilizer attachment. Will sow from 300 to 
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FREE—Ask for Itl Write at once for full 
Information. Learn the American way 
of planting. Do It now. Address 
> Machinery Company^ 
208 Madison St., Hammond, Ind. 
American Potato Planter 
Save Money on 
Berry Boxes and 
Baskets 
Fruit aud Vege¬ 
table Package® 
and Growers' Sullies of all kinds. 
Write for free mouey-eaving catalogue 
and price-list. 
Largest Faetory’of it* Kind in the Country • 
NEW ALBANY BOX AND BASKET CO..Box 111. New Albany,Ind. 
Better Than Nitrate of Soda 
FOR THE PERMANENT ENRICHMENT Of LAND 
FARMOGERM INOCULATION 
Is recognized as the S^'N'DARD INOCULATION 
Valuable Book of Particulars sent FREE 
EARP-THOMAS FARMOGERM CO. 
De"t. 11_Bloomfield, N. J., U. S. A. 
Hay at $25.00 PerTon 
With hay selling at $25.00 per ton. com and other 
grains selling at a very high price, you want to 
secure the 
BEST FERTILIZER to INCREASE Your Crops 
Joynt’s Pnre Canada Unleached Hardwood Ashes 
are the Best Manure for worn-out Lands. THEY 
ENRICH THE EARTH. Write for information 
and prices delivered at your station. Address 
JOHN JOYNT, LUCKNOW, Ont„ Canada 
r 
GRASS 
SEEDS 
/ 
| THE HENRY PHILIPPS SEEP & IMPLEMENT CO.,Toledo. 0. 
FOR ALL KINDS OF 
CLOVER and FIELD SEEDS 
ALSO A FULL LINE OF 
GARDEN and FLOWER SEEDS 
WRITE THIS OLD RELIABLE HOUSE, 
Catalog Free and Price List of Grass and 
Field Seeds mailed yon on application 
Vegetable Plants 
Large transplanted plants of Cabbage. Tomato, 
Celery. Egg Plant, Pepper& Cauliflower. Write for 
Price List. THE J. E. HUTTON CO., Conynoham.Pa. 
PADPR DHTQ 3-incli, SI.25 for 1,000 ; 55.00 for 5,000 
rrtrtlll ru I 0 4-inch, L75for 1,000; 7.50 for 5,000 
Shipped flat; low rates. “They are entirely satis¬ 
factory.”—R. L. Watts, Pennsylvania State College. 
P. B. CItOSBY & SON, CATONSVILLK, Maryland. 
WHOLESALE PRICES 
On Strawberry, Raspberry. Blackberry. Gooseberry. 
Currant. Asparagus and Grape Plants. Heavy Rooted, 
High Grade Stock. 20th Annual Catalogue Free. 
A. R. WESTON A CO, R-8 Bridgman. Mich. 
450.000 TREES 
*®0 * Brietles. Also Grapes, Small Fruit*, etc. Best 
rooted stock. Genuine, cheap. 2 sample entrants mailed for lfc. 
Catalog free. LEWIS KOKSCH * SON, Boa h 9 Kimdonla, S. f, 
I WANT TO SAVE YOU 
$ 10T0 $20 PER 100 
ON YOUR TREES 
I have no solicitors, no agents, 
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All this saving is given to the customer. 
GREEN’S TREES 
Are known everywhere for their growing 
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Established 33 years. Capital $1 OO.OOO. 
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Send for my complete 1912 catalog. It has 
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GREEN’S NURSERY CO., Box 22 , Rochester, N Y. 
FRUIT TREES 
Don’t place your order for Trees and Plants 
until you get our illustrated-descriptive CATA¬ 
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We guarantee safe delivery and SATISFACTION 
LAHORE AC X NURSERY CO., SCHOHARIE. N. Y 
BARTLETT 
SECKEL 
and BO SC 
The great trio in pears — 
Bow should be top worked, and 
nothing beats 8e<*k«I for this 
purpose. Our catalog will help 
you get a safe start. 
J. B. MOREY NURSERIES 
Duugville, N. Y. 
Call’s Nurseries,‘owe' 
Have a Large Stock of the finest Fruit, 
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Pumps, Spraying Solutions, and Gasoline 
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Send for Price List. 
Low Prices 
Freight PAID 
(Itir new catalogue contains a big list of the greatest | 
nurserv bargains ever oflered. Less than half 
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This catalogue will save you money I 
Don't buy your plants till vou'vc read it. 
RICH LAND NURSERIES, Box ITS, Rochester , N. Y.' 
Rochester is the tree center of the world. 
! Money-Saving Book 
HARTSHORN 
SHADE ROLLERS 
Bear the script name of 
Stewart Hartshorn on label. 
Get “ Improved," no tacks required. 
Wood Rollers Tin Rollers 
ALFALFA HAY 
Has more than twice the feeding value 
of Timothy hay, for producing milk, 
and fifty per cent, more feeding value 
than clover hay. At the present market 
price, baled Alfalfa hay is by far the 
cheapest feed to buy. Let us quote you 
price by carload, delivered your station. 
BRIDGE €) SOUTER 
CANASTOTA, N. Y. 
“FRIEND” NOZZLE 
37* XI lit E 
FRIEND” MFG. CO. 
wf, Mojwro Camty . » /Vn> 
STRICTLY SI.00 NOZZLES 
Just to introduce the Fruit Growers’ Best 
Spraying Outfits 
DURING APRIL ONLY 
Send us $1.00 for one of these 
Nozzles and we will 
Send You 2 Nozzles 
State which are wanted. 
We simply want you to see OUR NEW 
CATALOG (before it’s too late). 
MOTOR PUMPS, COMPLETE SPRAYERS 
Several Sizes 
Hand Outfits, Hose, Nozzles, Shut-Offs, Fittings, etc. 
Only One Free Noxzle to Bach Grower 
“FRIEND” MOTOR PUMP 
The Strongest, Simplest, Smoothest 
Working High-Pressure Power Unit on 
Earth. Put it on your old wagon and 
SPRAY WITH REAL PRESSURE. 
Immediate deliveries, if ordered now. 
Wo are BUSY so DON ’T WAIT. 
“Friend” Manufacturing Co. 
GASPORT, N. Y. 
World’s Best Sprayers 
See our March 2nd Advertisement. 
800 GALLONS or 1,500 GALLONS 
A FEW years ago tbo N. Y. Experiment Station started out to prove that “SCALECIDE” was too expensive, but 
they found that in orchard work nine gallons of ‘‘SCALECIDE’' went as far as seventeen gallons of Lime- 
Sulfur. This being the case, a barrel of “ SCALECIDE,” which makes 800 gallons of spray at the strongest strength, 
will go as far and do better work than 1.500 gallons of Limo-Sull’ur spray, which will require three and one-third 
barrels of the best commercial Lime-Sulfur, or live or six barrels of the best home-made concentrated. The Missouri 
Experimental Station reports that “SCALECIDE ” killed one hundred percent, of scale in five out of seven testa 
Lime-Sulfur did not do it once iu ten tests in the same orchard. ‘‘SCALECIDE” has greater fungicidal properties 
than Lime-Sulfur as a winter wash. 
WHAT DOES YOUR SPRAYING COST? 
Spraying Material Is Not Your Greatest Expense 
If you buy Lime Sulfur at $t5.U0 per barrel, 3>i barrels, making 1,500 gallons of spray. 
’ will cost.;. $20.00 
Labor of applying 1,500 gallons at Ike. per gallon. 22,50 
$12.50 
One barrel of “SCALECIDE” will spray just as many trees as 3 A barrels of Lime- 
Sulfur, and will cost. $25.00 
Labor of applying 800 gallons of spray, at l^c. per gallon. 12.00 37.00 
In favor of “SCALECIDE ”. $5h0 
FOR FULL INFORMATION WRITE ME TODAY 
B. G. PRATT, President, 50 Church St., NEW YORK, N. Y. 
