1912. 
THE RURA.I* NEW-YORKER 
706 
Ruralisms 
MISSOURI FRUIT NOTES. 
Grape Rot in 1912.—Shall we have 
grape rot this Summer? Last year a 
late freeze killed all the young shoots 
with their clusters of grape buds, and 
we had the rare occurrence of a crop 
failure, for the grape is one of the 
surest of all the small fruits. Even 
after the destruction of this regular set 
of fruit, the dormant buds put forth 
and yielded in some varieties as high as 
25 per cent, of a full crop. Along with 
this abnormal condition came a drought 
that lasted from in May to late in July, 
and which effectually precluded the 
germination and spread of the rot 
spores, not only in the grape but in all 
fruit commonly affected with this 
disease. Consequently rot spores of 
this Summer must have survived from 
1910. Will they do this? If so, we 
have the question of where thev could 
have found a refuge from the hoe and 
plow of two seasons. Surely there will 
be few sources of infection, and we 
should see little damage by the rot, but 
nevertheless spraying will not be in¬ 
termitted, but given at the usual time 
and in the usual number. 
Brighton.— Of all my grapes the 
Brighton shows the greatest suscepti¬ 
bility to rot. Why? Because the 
physiology of its cell structure is most 
favorable to the growth within of the 
mycelium or thread-like branches of 
the fungus. The degree of resistance 
of the grape is not determined by the 
exterior covering of the epidermis, but 
by the nature of the interior tissues, so 
scientific investigation tells us, and this 
is true of other fruits and fungi that 
from such a distance and the circula¬ 
tion of sap in these extremities is more 
sluggish. 
Himalaya Blackberry.— In recent 
notes I recounted how both the cut¬ 
leaved and round-leaved Himalaya had 
winterkilled here, but now comes J. T. 
in the “Fruit Grower’ for May and tells 
us that there are three varieties of the 
Himalaya, the English Cut, the Oregon 
Evergreen and the Giant. The last 
named is the valuable one and is really 
quite hardy, enduring 25 per cent below 
zero or even more. It was never 
planted east of the Rockies before the 
Spring of 1910. He predicts that it will 
be a “widely planted commercial berry 
during the next few years,” and refers 
for corroboration to Prof. H. G. Eustace 
of the Michigan Agricultural College. 
Those who wish to test the Himalaya 
therefore should better make sure of the 
Giant variety. 
Cherries. —The cherry crop is the 
best in years. Early Richmond and 
Montmorency are the leaders. Were 
they of the same season the Richmond 
would be to some extent discarded, be¬ 
cause the Montmorency is superior in 
tree and in fruit, but as the latter is 
about a week or 10 days later, the one 
supplements the other admirably, and 
prolongs the season of marketing. The 
birds have not so far done perceptible 
damage in our orchard of 60 trees, but 
still their toll must be heavy. Jaybirds, 
catbirds and brown thrushes are the 
greatest single robbers but the really 
formidable enemy is the cedar or cherry 
bird, which like the snowbirds, suddenly 
appears in flocks out of nowhere as soon 
as the cherries begin to ripen. I have 
never seen them eat anything but cher¬ 
ries and mulberries. I am inclined to 
believe that mulberry trees adjacent do 
COMBINATION PLANTING OF GRAPES AND STRAWBERRIES. 
infect them. The Brighton is indeed a 
tine table grape, but if necessary we 
could do without it and get along very 
comfortably with the Wyoming Red of 
the same early season and the Dela¬ 
ware and Vergennes of like color but a 
trifle later. 
Short Cuts in Planting. — The 
Stringfellow method of root-pruning' 
constitutes a short cut in planting but 
so does also the spade method of setting 
plants. This latter way has been des¬ 
cribed in The R. N.-Y. before, and 
consists in setting plants by a line in 
fissures made by inserting a spade a 
few inches and working the handle back 
and forth. I am glad to see it has the 
endorsement of the Hope Farm man, 
for it has been practiced successfully 
here for years, and has saved us many 
an hour of hard work. The picture 
shows a combination planting of grapes 
and strawberries all planted in this way, 
and with a minimum of effort. The 
roots of the grapes were pruned back 
short enough to fit into a six-inch fis¬ 
sure the width of the spade, and a pres¬ 
sure of the foot that closed the aperture 
completed the operation. We plant 
everything in this way whose roots are 
flexible enough to admit of it, even to 
yearling trees, and believe it superior to 
the old way of digging holes and leav¬ 
ing long roots. I believe long roots 
are a positive detriment to a newly-set 
plant. Every time a plant is trans¬ 
planted it starts a new root system. 
What is left of the old roots does not 
grow in length, but from them, princi¬ 
pally from their cut ends, comes forth 
a number of white rootlets that grow 
into a new system. The shorter and 
stubbier the old roots are cut back, the 
more vigorously start out the rootlets. 
If the old roots are left long, the simple 
maintenance of their vitality is a drain 
on the life of the'plant; their cut ends 
are much smaller, and fewer rootlets 
start, and these are feebler because 
plant food must be conveyed to them 
lure the birds from the cherries for I 
see all the above-named birds gorging 
themselves on mulberries, of which 
there is a prodigious crop this year. 
There must be one less cherry eaten for 
every mulberry. The cherry bird is 
beautifully marked, grayish on back, 
yellowish on breast, a saucy topknot, a 
tail tipped with the brightest yellow and 
a touch of sealing wax red on the tips 
of his short wing feathers. They are 
not easily frightened by guns. 
L. R. JOHNSON. 
Cape Girardeau Co., Mo. 
A “New” Grain—Emmer. 
A. C. K., Albany, N. Y .—Below please 
find a newspaper clipping: 
“A new grain known as black Winter 
emmer has been evolved after years of 
study by Prof. Bufifum, who conducts an 
experiment farm in the Big Horn basin 
near Worland. Wyo. The grain is some¬ 
what larger than wheat and is a cross of 
wheat and several other less known grains. 
It will grow in much drier soil than 
wheat and four times as much can be 
grown to the acre. It weighs more to the 
bushel than wheat, and while hardly so 
fine as that grain for food purposes may 
assist materially in solving the general food 
problem, owing to its excellence and cheap¬ 
ness as fodder for the animals whose flesh 
figures on the dinner tables of men. 
Emmer itself is not a novelty. It has been 
raised for many centuries and has been 
given much attention by farmers in Russia.” 
This looks like the old “Alaska wheat” 
scheme. If it is, I know you’ll take good 
care of The R. N.-Y. family. 
Ans.—E mmer is a hardy vigorous 
sub-species of wheat, apparently de¬ 
veloped by ages of cultivation in 
Southern Europe from what is known 
as einkorn grass, Triticum dicoccum— 
the probable parent of ordinary wheat 
being the smooth-seeded Triticum vul- 
gare. Emmer retains its hull when 
thrashed, like barley, and can only be 
ranked as a feeding grain, as it is of 
little use as human food. It has found 
its highest development in Russia, 
where it is annually grown to the ex¬ 
tent of more than 10,000,000 bushels, 
but is cultivated to a considerable ex¬ 
tent in all South European countries 
and even in Northern Africa, where it 
is prized for its drought resisting quali¬ 
ties. It has been grown as a profitable 
field crop by Northwestern farmers for 
the last 20 years, and its use appears 
to be increasing. Among the many va¬ 
rieties introduced from abroad, some of 
which have been incorrectly termed 
“speltz”, Black Winter emmer, intro¬ 
duced to this country from France by 
the U. S. Department of Agriculture in 
1904, has proved most useful, yields 
under favorable conditions running up 
to 35 or more bushels of grain to the 
acre. It is, however, not at all likely 
to become a formidable competitor to 
the wheat or barley where these in¬ 
dispensable commercial cereals can suc¬ 
cessfully be grown. 
The strain of Black Winter emmer 
developed by selection by Prof. Buffum 
at the Wyoming Experiment Station, 
has the reputation of being more hardy 
and productive than the type as origi¬ 
nally imported. Just what the claims 
now exploited in the public press 
amount to is difficult to estimate, but 
it is quite probable that real improve¬ 
ment has been effected. Emmer will 
hybridize with ordinary wheat and 
many natural crosses have occurred, 
but it is not known that cross-breeding 
has played any part in the Wyoming 
variety of Winter emmer. v. 
Treatment of Lobster Cactus. 
Could you tell rue what to do with a 
lobster cactus? It has not bloomed for 
many years. w. s. 
Carlstadt, N. J. 
The crab or lobster cactus, Epiphyllum 
truncatuin. Is easily grown, and as a rule 
we have no trouble in flowering it freely. 
It is, however, very impatient of too much 
moisture at the root, and poorly drained 
soil, with too much water, is the most likely 
cause of failure to bloom. It wants a por¬ 
ous soil, two-thirds fibrous loam and one- 
third leaf mold, with a fair proportion of 
pounded brick and silver sand to keep the 
soil porous. There should be plenty of 
drainage material, such as broken crocks, 
in the bottom of the pot. Watering should 
be carefully done; during Fall and early 
Winter these plants should only have water 
enough to keep them from shriveling. The 
Epiphyllums do especially well in hanging 
baskets, which allow free drainage, and 
show their elegance of habit to the best 
advantage; in Brazil they grow upon trees, 
in company with orchids. Under green¬ 
house conditions they are best kept under 
glass all the year round, but as house 
plants we put them in a warm sheltered 
place outside during Winter, bringing them 
in before the nights get cold. A chill in 
the Fall, without actual freezing, will 
usually prevent bloom that season. Treat 
as directed, with care in watering, soil 
and drainage, avoid chills, and your plant 
should bloom freely. We might also add 
avoid cats, for we lost bloom one season 
because a pet cat formed the habit of nip¬ 
ping the little buds off as soon as they 
formed, and we have known other cats to 
bite the flowers off—why we could never 
imagine, except on the ground of innate 
depravity. 
Sunday School Teacher—“Yes, Job 
was sadly aflicted, but his patience was 
rewarded. In what condition do we 
find him at the end of his life?” Bright 
Scholar—“Dead.”—Denver Republican. 
When you write advertisers mention Tiie 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and a 
'square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
When you write advertisers mention Tus 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick; reply and a 
“square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
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