1012. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1201 
APPLES FOR THE HUDSON VALLEY. 
IK. M. D., Brooklyn, N. Y. —If you wore 
sotting out 1,000 apple trees and 1,000 
pear trees, liow many varieties of each 
would you set out, and how would you 
divide the number? The section would be 
Dutchess County, New York, and in the 
vicinity of Poughkeepsie. I would like the 
best varieties, both as to quality and com¬ 
mercial prices. In setting out such or¬ 
chards would you plant each variety in a 
solid block or would you alternate the 
several varieties? Would you plant squares 
or would you use the other method—using 
certain varieties for fillers—and if so, 
what varieties would you recommend? I 
want choice fruit which will command the 
best price. 
Ans.— This question is hard to ans¬ 
wer without knowing more of the par¬ 
ticulars, because the best varieties de¬ 
pend so largely on the conditions. For 
instance if a man has quite a large 
farm and is going to carry on orchard¬ 
ing as a kind of side line, then he might 
better have a succession of ripening that 
would allow him to handle mostly with 
the help at hand. Again, if he had a 
small place and some help of his own 
the same thing would be true. On the 
other hand, if it were a man who had 
only a little time to give at a certain 
time, and had to hire all work done, 
then it would be better to have few 
kinds, handle quickly and give remain¬ 
der of time to something else. Then 
again there are men starting in the fruit 
business to-day with an idea of cater¬ 
ing to a fancy trade. In that case the 
lirst thing necessary is that he under¬ 
stand the business and be able to give 
it personal care, or have some one who 
can. Then they should select varieties 
that are of fine dessert quality, which 
mostly need very careful handling. You 
see the man who just has in mind the 
selling of ordinary apples, handled in an 
ordinary way with average help, would 
have no use for these. The varieties 
that do well in the locality mentioned 
are numerous, begining with Yellow 
Transparent, and running through 
Oldenburg, Wealthy, McIntosh, Fall 
Pippin, Greening, King, Baldwin and 
Spy to Newtown. All excellent and 
well-known varieties. There are also 
York Imperial, Jonathan, Grimes 
Golden, Winesap, and many others that 
do well with some. The pear proposi¬ 
tion is very much the same, except there 
are not so many varieties to chose from, 
the popular list being Clapp, Bartlett, 
Seckel, Bose and Kieffer, while some 
growers are doing well with Anjou, 
Nelis and a few others. As to the 
prices, they are generally governed by 
the size of crop of a certain variety, 
some years one kind being highest and 
other years another. 
As to style of planting I prefer the 
square method because of the greater 
ease planting can be worked. The filler 
system is all right for a man who is 
fruit-minded, but is not good practice 
for the man who wants to crop his 
orchard as he would his other land 
until trees get too large for that pur¬ 
pose. WM. HOTALING. 
THE LEAF ROLL DISEASE OF POTATOES. 
The arid regions of the West have 
had for two seasons in some portions a 
very serious disease of potatoes, previ¬ 
ously unknown in this country. It is 
believed to be identical with the Blatt- 
rollkranckheit of Germany and Aus¬ 
tria, where as yet and in this country 
but little is known about the trouble. 
It occurs in America both above and 
below the ditch and does not seem to 
be to any extent a result of irrigation. 
It is not a disease of the surface por¬ 
tions and cannot be prevented by ordi¬ 
nary methods like those of spraying. 
The loss in four States in 1911 and 1912 
has reached a total of several million 
dollars. 
The symptoms of the trouble are dis¬ 
tinct, and fields afflicted with the leaf- 
roll can be told as far as they can be 
seen. When the plants have reached an 
age of about six to eight weeks each 
leaflet rolls upwards along the midrib. 
The color of the whole field is changed 
at once, not by any change in the color 
of the leaves, but because the under 
portion of the leaves are shown and the 
upper surfaces obscured, and the whole 
field is therefore given the much lighter 
green of the under leaf surfaces. The 
same change in the leaves gives the field 
a fine-cut appearance, like that given 
by the narrower leaves to a field of to¬ 
matoes. At this stage, if the attack be 
more than a light touch, the hopes of 
crop vanish completely. Whatever pota¬ 
toes have been set seem to grow a little 
but not much, and the farmer has lost 
his season’s expense and income, by an 
unknown cause, like the horse-thief at 
night. 
In hot seasons,-there is an almost uni¬ 
versal invasion of the vascular bundles 
by the fusarium fungus, so universal an 
invasion that in 1911 we felt sure that 
the trouble was some epidemic form of 
fusarium, and we went to great expense 
and effort to study what conditions of 
moisture and temperature would put the 
fusarium fungus into the ducts, and in 
fact learned some very important facts 
about these matters. But in 1912, we 
have had the same universal rolling of 
leaves apparently without the presence 
of the fusarium fungus. 
There is a distinct connection between 
the degree of maturity and the rolling 
of the leaves. Potatoes planted late 
enough to have the cool Fall weather 
come on before the age for leaf-rolling 
arrives are not affected, and if there is 
sufficient time before frost comes, a 
good crop is raised. The disease is 
cumulative in its effect upon seed pota¬ 
toes; the longer they are grown in af¬ 
fected regions the worse they have it; 
and the affected regions should buy at 
a distance all seed planted. No seed 
stocks are immune, but new seed has 
the trouble later or in less degree. 
No lands are immune, new lands have 
the trouble less or later in the season. 
Late planting on newly broken sod of 
new seed almost entirely escapes and 
a good crop is raised. No rotation seems 
to be sufficient for the control of the 
leaf-roll disease. The regions worst af¬ 
fected have practiced some of the most 
thorough rotation systems in vogue any¬ 
where. Fertilizers, natural or commer¬ 
cial, of all formulas, are of no effect 
whatever. Treatment of seed has been 
found to be of no use in Germany. 
When at its worst, the disease is associ¬ 
ated with the fusarium fungus, as noted 
above, but in the artificial inducement 
of fusarium in the ducts we get a droop¬ 
ing of the leaves and no curl. 
Potato growers of the East, you are 
interested to have this trouble under¬ 
stood out here in the arid West, lest 
perchance it come your way. It seems 
likely to demand the best efforts of the 
plant pathologist, the physiologist, the 
chemist, and the plant breeder, just to 
have it understood. Behind accurate 
knowledge of its cause we hope there 
lies a remedy. c. l. fitch. 
Colorado. 
Lime and Ashes for Trees. 
A nurseryman has told me that slaked 
lime and wood ashes is the very best fer¬ 
tilizer that I can have for my apple trees, 
which I want to nourish in the quickest 
and best possible way. What you thiuic 
of it? a. M. 
The wood ashes will furnish lime, pot¬ 
ash and phosphoric acid in about the best 
form for orchard use. We see little need 
of adding lime to unleached ashes. Nitro¬ 
gen will also be needed on most orchard 
soils, and the ashes do not provide any. 
In some cases clover, peas or similar crops 
will give the needed nitrogen and the ashes 
will feed the clover. If the orchard you 
refer to does not contain clover, we sug¬ 
gest fine ground bone, 500 pounds of bone 
to the ton of ashes. 
Dynamite in Tree Planting. 
Last Spring we printed a statement 
about the appearance of fruit trees planted 
in holes made by blasting with dynamite. 
These trees are on the place owned by C. 
M. Ottman. We now have the following 
supplemental report: 
“I called there in August and went care¬ 
fully over the work. I found that Mr. Ott¬ 
man has planted 580 trees, 90 of which 
were in blasted holes, leaving 490 set in 
spade-dug holes. Of these 490 trees, 29 
died within the first year, and Mr. Ottman 
reported that about 30 additional ones died 
during the cold weather of last Winter. Of 
the 90 trees set in blasted holes, one was 
accidentally plowed up, the other 89 are 
alive and growing nicely. Samples were 
taken of the subsoil, which was found 
to be a very fine sandy, gravelly, stony 
loam. On account of the large number of 
small stones in the soil, sampling was very 
difficult. The subsoil seemed to be slightly 
heavier in the low spot described in former 
communication. There seemed to be no 
difference in the subsoil "where the 90 trees 
were set with dynamite and on the adjoin¬ 
ing rows set without blast. The trees were 
carefully compared with regard to vigor 
and amount of growth. Some exceptionally 
fine trees were found on the unblasted area, 
and some of those set in blasted holes 
showed only a reasonable amount of 
growth. Averaging up trees grown under 
similar conditions, I would report that the 
average growth and vigor of trees set in 
blasted holes were decidedly better than in 
unblasted holes. j. h. squike.” 
The Post Office and Abusive Letters. 
There is a person who writes and sends 
very insulting letters through the United 
States mail, often full of curses in the 
worst form, and scandal; some of them 
running persons down and speaking of 
them being only half civilized and of a low 
degree, bad blood, etc.; full of abuse-; curs¬ 
ing about the post office. What can be 
done to stop this? If a letter should ho 
refused and he sent to the dead letter office, 
what would the penalty be? Please tell 
through The It. N.-Y. particulars and what 
steps to be taken. The letters can be pro¬ 
duced by many persons. s. e. m. 
Send one of these letters with the origi¬ 
nal envelope direct to the Post Office De¬ 
partment at Washington. They will inves¬ 
tigate and. if need be, put detectives on 
the case. The postmaster, if the case war¬ 
rants it, will be instructed not to deliver 
letters from that person. Last year one of 
our readers got such letters and forwarded 
them to Washington, as here stated, and 
the thing was stopped. 
Searching Scrutiny 
Assures High Quality in 
Clothcraft Clothes 
at $10 to $25 
E VERY yard of the cloth used 
in Clothcraft Clothes must 
be able to stand the chemical 
test that proves it absolutely 
pure wool. 
After being thoroughly shrunk, each piece is 
examined inch by inch, and every knot, pick and 
flaw plainly marked so it will be avoided in 
cutting. 
During and after making, every suit is given a 
triple system of inspection by expert eyes; and 
the final inspection is made on living models. 
This searching scrutiny is only one feature of 
the Clothcraft Scientific Tailoring that improves 
quality without increasing the price. 
CLOTHCRAFT 
Blue Serke Special 
N 9 4130°"i!iW<w« > “ *18 - 
Go to the nearest Clothcraft Store, and see the 
splendid results. Compare Clothcraft Clothes 
with others at higher prices. Try on several 
models—in various fabrics— and notice how good 
theyl ook and fit and feel. See that the Cloth- 
craft Label is in the coat, and the Guarantee in the 
nside pocket. Be sure to see 4130—the Cloth¬ 
craft Blue Serge Special at $18.50. You’ll 
pronounce it the equal of any $25 blue serge you 
ever saw. 
If you don’t know where the nearest Cloth¬ 
craft Store is located, write us for the address. 
With i t we'll send you the Clothcraft Style-Book 
for fall, and a sample of the 4130 serge. 
THE JOSEPH & FEISS CO. 
.da 
Oldest A mcrican 
Makers of Men's Clothes 
635 St. Clair Avenue, N. W, 
\Sixth City 
Save Money on Harness 
Buy custom-made, oalc-tanned harness 
direct from tactory at wholesale prices. 
We can save you money on any harness. 
All harness guaranteed—money back if 
you are not satisfied. 
KING HARNESS 
Will Outlive Your Horse 
All leather tested by experts. Over 31 years on 
market. Our big free catalogue illustrates over 
75 styles for all purposes—sure to show the harness 
you need. Send for it today. We also sell Horse 
Clothing and Fur Coats. Ask for Catalogue ** 
KING HARNESS CO., Desk C, Rome, N.Y. 
Get Factory Prices 
on Quaker City Mills 
Shipping direct to you 
from our factory, saving 
middlemen’s profits, let 
us make you very 
lowest prices on Quaker 
City feed grinding mills 
— the acknowledged 
standard of highest 
quality for 41 years. 
Oil 10 Days Traal— 
We Pay the Freight 
Every Quaker City Mill must be its own 
salesman. We let you grind your feed 
free —see it grind any grain, separate or 
mixed, ear corn (with or without husk) or 
shelled corn, coarsest to finest table meal. 
Try it—we assume all risk and expense. 
23 Styles, Hand and Power, up to 20 H. P. 
All Guaranteed. 
KTDjrET If you are interested In a Quaker 
1 City Mill, write us for complete 
catalog with information on feed grinding-. 
Get our bargain prices on farm machinery— 
also ask for Farm Supply catalog. 
THE A. W. STRAUB COMPANY 
Dept. E 3740 Filbert St., Philadelphia, Pa. 
Dept. T 3709 So. Ashland Ave., Chicago, III. 
feed your stock eats means 
a waste of 25 to 30%. Would 
you let that amount rot in the 
field unharvested? Not 
Then GRIND IT on a 
1 tVi 
ft* 
SEND FOR CATALOG 
We also build Samson Wind 
Mills, Pump Jacks,-Hand Grind¬ 
ing Mills for Poultry Raisers, 
Gasoline Engines, Ensilage Cut- 
STOVER MANUFACTURING CO. 
188 Ideal Avenue, FREEPORT, ILLINOIS 
SCIENTIFIC SWEEP MILL 
Doublo Action. Triple Geared 
This No. 5 is one of our 
loading Food Mills. Particu¬ 
larly adapted for grinding 
ear corn and small grain for stock 
feed. A medium priced mill that 
Gives Satisfaction 
Strong, durable and 
easy running. Mounted 
on a heavy hard-wood 
box. Fully guaranteed. 
Write for free catalog. 
Over’20 styles and sizes. 
THE BAUER BROS 
CO., Box 415 Springfield, Ohio 
Bigger Stock Profits 
Mix cut roots with dry feed, double fts value. Roots have 1 
their place in the feeding economy of every barn and »j 
stable. Keep your stock Healthy—they pay bigger 
profits on less feed. The 
Banner Root 
Cutter 
is only machine 
making the “Non- 
Choke Curve 
Cut rv feed from roots, etc. Self-feeding ; cuts 
fast and easy ; 7 sizes for hand or power. Low 
prices. Book Free. Address 
O. E. Thompson & Sons, YpsilantI, MlchJ 
BIG 
BARGAINS 
Fence. 150 stylcs- 
cents per rod up. We pay 
- -Send for bargain fence 
book and sample to test—ALL FREE. 
THE BROWN FENCE A WIRE COMPANY 
DEPT. 59 CLEVELAND. OHIO 
Triple 
Power 
Pull Out the Stumps Quick! 
Plant on Virgin Soil 
O NE year makes a difference of from no profit to 51.281 
on 40 acres. Pull out the stumps, double the land 
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Send name in now for fine free book and special price offer! 
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HERCULES MANUFACTURING CO. 
230 21st Street CENTERVILLE, IOWA 
