1912. 
831' 
BOX FOR STARTING PLANTS. 
G. E. M., New York .—What form of 
pasteboard box do you find most convenient 
for starting seedling plants? 
Ans. —Fig. 351 shows a box for 
starting plants such as tomato, melon, 
etc. that I have used very satisfactorily 
this Spring. It is double; the inside 
box is of straw paper while the out¬ 
side is of waterproofed stock. The pur¬ 
pose of the two boxes is that when the 
plant is set in ground the outer box 
PLANT BOX; Fig. 351. 
may be slipped up forming a protection 
to the plant roots from wind, sun and 
cutworm, the inner part being left to 
hold earth round roots. This does no 
harm, as the straw paper soon rots. 
This box seems to me to be a better 
one than those that must be tacked to¬ 
gether on arrival or before use. This 
box may be shipped flat and yet re¬ 
quires no labor to make ready, and the 
price is only $2 per thousand. The box 
seems to me to fill the requirements bet¬ 
ter than anything I have seen. 
H-. I. BENEDICT. 
HOW WE SUCCEEDED WITH STRAW¬ 
BERRIES. 
A vacated duck corral, in size 15 by 
28 feet, was the plot selected for the 
new strawberry bed. The exposure was 
southwest, with a steep hill to the north 
and northwest serving admirably for a 
windbreak. Although situated hard by 
a stream of running water, and occa¬ 
sionally subject to overflow, otherwise 
the plot was ideally located for a straw¬ 
berry patch. The ground was turned 
over with a small garden plow and fer¬ 
tilized with barnyard manure plowed 
under, and hen manure (note this) 
broadcast over the surface. Rich, sandy 
loam was carted on, to increase the 
depth of the surface soil. The plants 
arrived the latter part of May, 1911, ap¬ 
pearing rather fragile and withered 
from the heat. Hill culture was the 
method adopted, the rows being made 
two feet apart, plants 15 inches apart 
in the rows. The plants were well 
watered when set out (and regularly 
every morning until rainy weather set 
in), and, notwithstanding the soil was 
hot and dry, started to grow very 
nicely. But about two weeks after 
planting they began to die off, until only 
three plants remained of the original 
125. A careful search revealed some 
root lice present, and also swarms of 
brownish red spider lice everywhere in¬ 
fecting the soil. Various remedies were 
tried, but none of them proved effective. 
We finally discovered that these mites 
had been carted on the bed along with 
the chicken manure. They were not the 
same as infest roosts and coops and live 
on the blood of their feathered hosts, 
but a distinct species, that have their 
abode in the manure. No doubt the hot, 
dry soil favored their propagation, and 
in this instance they viciously attacked 
the roots of the newly set plants and 
quickly drained out the life-giving sap. 
We determined to reset the bed the 
coming Fall, in the meantime encourag¬ 
ing the weeds to grow up in exuberant 
profusion, so as to drain some of the 
rankness out of the soil. We asked a 
neighbor to let the runners take root in 
an old fruiting bed in order to furnish 
us with plants for resetting. Early in 
August the work of renovation began, 
and as fast as new plants became avail¬ 
able they were transferred to the new 
bed. This work was always done on 
rainy days. The plants were dug with 
a trowel, great care being taken not to 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKERi 
disturb the soil adhering to the roots. 
By the middle of September we had a 
perfect stand of plants, none of them 
being in. the least retarded in growth in 
resetting, although some were not as 
large as we wanted them. Cultivator 
and hoe were at once set going after 
each transfer of plants, and work with 
these tools never ceased until freezing 
weather prevented their further use. 
Before the last plants were set we had 
another pest to contend with. This time 
it was green plant lice and black ants, 
the former locating on the tender leaves 
as they emerged from the crown. We 
tried powdered tobacco for a remedy, 
sifting it on each infested plant, and 
this proved quite effective in holding the 
pests in check. When the plants went 
into Winter quarters they were as fine a 
lot of Fall growers as one would wish 
to see. 
Snow came before the ground froze, 
and we did not get any mulch on the 
bed until March of this year. However 
belated, the mulch well served its pur¬ 
pose, for not a single plant was heaved 
by the frost. As soon as the plants 
started to grow the mulch (rye straw) 
was carefully separated over each row, 
and we soon had the satisfaction of see¬ 
ing a growth of foliage away beyond 
our expectations. Most of the leaf 
stalks are 10 to 12 inches in length, 
while the leaves measure four to 4 
inches across. 
Flave the plants borne fruit this sea¬ 
son? On May 31 we counted as high 
as 109 buds, blossoms and unripe ber¬ 
ries on a single plant, and by the time 
the season was over we had picked 56 
quarts of large, luscious, edible berries 
from the new bed. The berries resem¬ 
bled the foliage in that they were veri¬ 
table giants in size, one that we meas¬ 
ured being 2 3 A inches in diameter. One 
corner of the bed is shaded by overhang¬ 
ing apple boughs, and here the plants 
have not developed near as large a 
crown system as those plants in the 
open; here, too, many of the berries 
rotted before ripening. The yield, of 
course, is not phenomenal, still it was 
at the rate of 5800 quarts per acre, and 
for Fall grown, especially when one 
does not expect a crop, it is certainly a 
yield worthy of every grower’s consid¬ 
eration. S. D. BLANCH. 
Pennsylvania. 
WHEN AND HOW TO PICK PEACHES 
AND APPLES. 
Peaches.—Crawford, when yellow on 
the light side. Elberta, when very light 
with transparent skin on the light side. 
Champion, which is a white peach, when 
very white on the light side. Peaches 
are not ready when there is a shade of 
green on the skin. Never pinch a peach. 
In picking it is possible to judge en¬ 
tirely by the eye, and one may become 
very expert. The best way is to take 
the fruit in the hand and tip it over. 
The stem should break free from the 
peach. The fruit is taken to the pack¬ 
ing house in the half-bushel picking 
baskets, spread on tables, and sorted 
into three grades, the same care being 
taken not to pinch or bruise it. We try 
to pack the fruit and ship it in refriger¬ 
ator cars the same day it is picked. It 
should not be picked or packed when 
wet, unless it is to save it. Many grow¬ 
ers make a practice of thinning to three 
or four inches. This is done before the 
pit hardens. Peaches ripen unevenly, 
and from three to five pickings are 
necessary. This gives the later ones a 
chance to attain better size. Never 
pinch a peach. 
Apples.—All apples are ready when 
the seeds turn brown. In western New 
York Greenings come in September. 
They are picked early to get them out 
of the way and to keep them from turn¬ 
ing pink on the sunny side, as the mar¬ 
kets demand a green Greening. Bald¬ 
wins usually come next and are allowed 
to hang a little longer for color. Spies 
can be left as long as possible for the 
same reason. We tell our pickers to 
take the apple in the hand, turning it 
up or over and breaking the stem with 
the thumb or finger. Picking twigs is 
not allowed. The fruit is picked in bags 
and delivered to the packing house in 
bushel crates. It is sorted into three 
grades beside the dry-house apples. 
Greenings should be barreled and put 
in storage the day of picking if possible, 
and all apples should be packed and 
stored as soon as can be without ex¬ 
posure to the weather. Should not be 
picked or packed when wet. Growers 
are beginning to thin apples and are 
well satisfied that it pays. 
Wayne Co., N. Y. f. w. Cornwall. 
Splitting of Cherry Bark. 
L. E. S., Ilalcott Center, N. Y —What 
causes the bark on cherry trees to split and 
peel up, exposing the wood? Is there any¬ 
thing one may do to stop it and prevent 
the tree from dying? 
Ans. —The injury mentioned is quite 
common with cherry trees, especially 
those of the sweet class. It comes from 
the unsuitableness of the climate, and 
is much worse in the Central States, 
where there are more violent changes 
and extremes of temperature than in 
New York and other Eastern States. 
The damage is usually seen on the 
south or west sides of the trees, where 
the sun has the most power, for it is ex¬ 
cessive heat rather than cold that usually 
does this kind of damage, causing the 
bark to die and peel off, and leaving a 
very sore place. If a narrow board is 
nailed on the southwest side of the 
trees that are likely to be affected it 
will often prevent the damage. Low 
heads that shade the trunks are also 
very beneficial. H. e. van deman. 
Best Strawberries. —Of a lot of 15 of 
the newer varieties Chesapeake was ap¬ 
parently the best under my conditions; 
of the older varieties grown Michell’s Early, 
Brandywine, Sample and Senator Dunlap. 
The last two were much the best. Soil a 
rather poor sandy loam and white grubs 
very bad; this last trouble favored plants 
that were free plant makers. Michell’s 
Early furnishes us first early berries and 
everyone likes the flavor, but will only 
furnish three profitable pickings. 
b. d. v. B. 
West Virginia Fruits.— The Hope Farm 
man may tell about his baked apples and 
Marshall strawberries, but if he could have 
eaten dinner with the Itocky Point orchard- 
ers, West Virginia, on July 4, he would 
have seen something that he can’t duplicate 
on Hope Farm. There were 13 kinds of 
fruit all grown on the farm and all picked 
that day. We had seven different berries, 
strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, goose¬ 
berries, huckleberries, dewberries, mulber¬ 
ries, besides apples, peaches, plums, cher¬ 
ries, currants and services. If there is 
anyone who can beat this I would like to 
hear from him. rocky point orchards. 
West Virginia. 
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AIR-COOLED 
Only practical farm en¬ 
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and Summer Special Price from I 
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A 323 Mich. Av. ( Lansing, Mich. I 
You Can Run 
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Cold weather need not 
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the owner of a 
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Send for 
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CLARENCE E. DEMENT, 
Boo’y and Gen’l Mgr. 
211 Willow Street 
Laming, Mich. 
Message Bearers Ancient and Modern 
Pheidippides, the most noted 
runner of ancient Greece, made a 
record and an everlastingreputaiion 
by speeding 140 miles from Athens 
to Sparta in less than two days. 
Runners trained to perfection 
composed the courier service for 
the transmission of messages in 
olden times. But the service was 
so costly it could be used only in 
the interest of rulers on occasions 
of utmost importance. 
The Royal messenger of ancient 
times has given way to the demo¬ 
cratic telephone of to-day. Cities, 
one hundred or even two thousand 
miles apart, are connected in a few 
seconds, so that message and an¬ 
swer follow one another as if two 
persons were talking in the same 
room. 
This instantaneous telephone 
service not only meets the needs of 
the State in great emergencies, but 
it meets the daily needs of millions 
of the plain people. There can be 
no quicker service than that which 
is everywhere at the command of 
the humblest day laborer. 
Inventors have made possible 
communication by telephone ser¬ 
vice. The Bell System, by con¬ 
necting seven million people to¬ 
gether, has made telephone service 
so inexpensive that it is used 
twenty-five million times a day. 
Captains of war and industry 
might, at great expense, establish 
their own exclusive telephone lines, 
but in order that any person having 
a telephone may talk with any 
other person having a telephone, 
there must be One System, One 
Policy and Universal Service. 
American Telephone and Telegraph Company 
And Associated Companies 
Every ‘Bell Telephone is the Center of the System 
