1912. 
1061 
THE RURAli NEW-YORKER 
Ruralisms 
THE KUDZU VINE IN THE NORTH. 
R. IF: P., Erie, Pa. —We experimented a 
little With kudzu this Spring in two or 
three spots on our farm in Chautauqua 
Co., N. Y., and although some of them 
died, chiefly because of our mismanage¬ 
ment, we have gotten a growth which 
rather interests us. In a few cases the 
vines have grown to be six feet long. We 
may experiment a little more largely next 
year, but before doing so would be glad 
to know if you recommend it. We would 
like to try it out on the soil in which we 
grow Alfalfa with more or less difficulty, 
the chief trouble being to keep the plants in 
the ground over Winter, as it is a clay soil 
and heaves badly. We would be especially 
interested to know if you have had any 
experience with this kudzu in the Northern 
States, whether it will stand heaving and 
if you figure it is worth bothering with. 
Ans. —It cannot be said that the 
kudzu vine has as yet demonstrated 
practical value as a forage plant in 
this country, though occasional reports 
of success in the South with this rapid- 
growing legume reach the public. The 
forage experts of the Department of 
Agriculture at Washington have made 
many trials of the plant and have widely 
distributed it to co-operators for prac¬ 
tical tests, but are not at all sanguine 
of favorable results. The most they 
appear to expect is that kudzu may have 
utility when naturalized or established 
with little or no culture in rough pas¬ 
tures or hilly land. Cattle and sheep eat 
the vines readily enough, and a good 
stand in a favorable locality would 
doubtless afford an enormous amount 
of nutritious herbage for an indefinite 
number of years. 
The main difficulty is to secure a 
Stand. Seeds are scarce and rarely pro¬ 
curable, and are often weak and un¬ 
certain in germination. Propagation is 
usually effected by root division or by 
cuttings of the half-mature shoots. The 
cuttings must be well rooted and plant¬ 
ed with special care, or they are likely 
to fail in the field. Probably the cost 
of establishing a stand of kudzu 'would 
in most cases exceed that of Alfalfa. 
The value of kudzu for hay or dry 
forage does not appear to have been 
worked out, but it could be expected to 
approximate that of the Velvet bean, 
cow pea, Soy bean and related plants, 
and to be fully as difficult to handle and 
cure. The root system of old kudzu 
vines becomes an enormous mass of 
contorted, starchy tubers and thong¬ 
like fibres, many feet long, that would 
doubtless prove difficult to dispose of 
with the plow should it appear desirable 
to follow with other cultivated crops. 
The kudzu vine, Pueraria Thunber- 
giana, is an extraordinarily vigorous, 
bean-like, hardy plant, native to eastern 
China and Japan. When established it 
is capable of making twining, hairy 
stems 50 to 60 feet long in a season, and 
from its rapidity of growth it has been 
taken to represent the famous bean in 
the children’s tale of “Jack and the 
Bean-stalk” that grew to the sky in a 
single night. It has long been grown 
for ornament, having good foliage and 
racemes of purple blooms. As a 
cover plant for porches, trellises and un¬ 
sightly fences it has considerable merit 
from the extreme rapidity of growth 
during Summer, the only defect being 
its habit of starting growth late in 
Spring. Kudzu is herbaceous in tem¬ 
perate climates, dying to the ground in 
Winter, but in warm countries the 
growths become quite woody and per¬ 
manent. In China starch of particularly 
fine grain and of excellent quality is 
extracted from the fleshy roots of old 
plants, and useful fibres from the twin¬ 
ing stems. _ v. 
Bermuda Grass for Lawns. 
D. E. M., Summit, N. J. — What can you 
tell me about Wave Crest lawn grass? It 
is claimed that it is a strong, fine grass 
that will run out weeds and make a good, 
hard lawn, and has been found to be su¬ 
perior to other lawn grass. It is sold by 
root only, being seedless, and is easily 
grown. If it is a good grass, would you 
advise Fall or Spring planting? 
Ans. —“Wave Crest” lawn grass 
seems to be unknown to the lawn ex¬ 
perts of this locality. There is, how¬ 
ever a rather superior variety, for 
Southern lawn purposes, of Bermuda 
grass. Capriola Dactylon, known locally 
as St. Lucie grass. It is deeper in color 
and shorter in growth than the type, 
and makes a serviceable lawn in proper 
localities. Like ordinary Bermuda grass 
it rarely seeds, and is grown from root 
and joint cuttings which are strewn 
over the prepared soil and raked in. 
Though fairly hardy as regards cold, it 
is not suitable for the North and other 
localities where Kentucky Blue, the best 
of all lawn grasses, can be grown. St. 
Lucie grass and other forms of Ber¬ 
muda grass quickly turns brown at the 
approach of frost and are very slow in 
starting in _ Spring. In the South and 
on the Pacific Coast, when they escape 
from cultivation they become an ex¬ 
tremely troublesome pest. v. 
Trimming California Privet. 
C. K., Rockaicay, A T . Y.—1. Cuttings for a 
California privet hedge were set out last 
year. When and how far from the ground 
should the first cutting back be made? 
When, how much and how often for the 
future? 2. To what height will the Berberis 
Thunbergii or Japan barberry grow? Do 
they need any trimming at ail? 
Ans. —1. Privet usually receives its 
first cutting back when set in its perma¬ 
nent situation, the young plants being 
trimmed to an even height of about 12 
inches. Previous to that the tips are 
sheared with a sickle while in the 
nursery row to thicken growth. The 
extent and frequen of the trimming 
depends on the amount of growth 
made; it is for the purpose of keeping 
the hedge even and symmetrical. If 
your hedge has not been trimmed since 
set last year it is likely to be quite 
straggling. It is now so late in the 
season that we would wait until it is 
dormant and leafless, and then trim 
it to good shape; then keep it well 
sheared next Summer. It probably has 
a good deal of tender growth now, 
some of which will be killed back if 
the Winter is severe. 2. Japan bar¬ 
berry keeps a very compact dwarf 
growth of two to four feet. Very 
little trimming is required beyond cut¬ 
ting out occasional dead or weak 
branches while dormant, in early 
Spring. 
Home-grown Onion Seed. 
If I raise my own onion seed, is it apt 
to turn to scallions? I set out some onion 
plants in the Spring. G. W. T. 
Maine. 
Wben it seems desirable to raise onion 
seed for our own use (and it sometimes is) 
it is always advisable to select large and 
perfectly formed bulbs .for that purpose. 
In almost everything, like usually produces 
like; hence if scallions be used for seed 
we can reasonably expect a goodly portion 
of the resulting crop to be of inferior grade. 
There is no reason why your onion seed 
is not just as good and will produce as 
good a crop as any seed you can buy 
raised from the same quality of onions, but 
it must always be remembered that to 
raise good onions the ground must be rich 
and well pulverized ; it cannot be made too 
good nor too fine. For the past three or 
four years I have been unable to raise 
onions from seed, as my soil is so badly 
infested with the cabbage maggot; they 
practically destroy the entire crop. I 
therefore have to rely on sets exclusively. 
These I plant in rows 10 inches apart with 
the sets three or four inches apart in the 
row, as early in April as I can work the 
ground. My crop is in every way as good 
as if grown direct from seed. The sets 
should not be larger than one-half inch in 
diameter; if larger they are liable to run 
to seed. I find sets one-fourth to one-half 
inch in diameter produces the best results, 
although smaller sets are good and pre¬ 
ferred by some growers. k. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and a 
“square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
IT’S THE FOOD 
The True Way to Correct Nervous Troubles. 
Nervous troubles are more often caused 
by improper food and indigestion than 
most people imagine. Even doctors some¬ 
times overlook this fact. A man says : 
“Until two years ago waffles and butter 
with meat and gravy were the main feat¬ 
ures of my breakfast. Finally dyspepsia 
came on and I found myself in a bad con¬ 
dition, worse in the morning than any 
other time. I would have a full, sick 
feeling in my stomach, with pains in my 
heart, sides and head. 
“At times I would have appetite for 
days, then I would feel ravenous, never 
satisfied when I did eat and so nervous 
I felt like shrieking at the top of my 
voice. I lost flesh badly and hardly 
knew which way to turn until one day 
I bought a box of Grape-Nuts food to 
see if I could eat that. I tried it with¬ 
out telling the doctor, and liked it fine; 
made me feel as if I had something to 
eat that was satisfying and still I didn’t 
have that heaviness that I had felt after 
eating any other food. 
“I hadn’t drank any coffee then in 
five weeks. I kept on with the Grape- 
Nuts and in a month and a half I had 
gained 15 pounds, could eat almost any¬ 
thing I wanted, didn’t feel badly after 
eating and my nervousness was all gone. 
It’s a pleasure to be well again.” 
Name given by Postum Co., Battle 
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