1912, 
1240 
Ruralisms 
Harvesting Walnuts. 
C. H. C., West Medical/, Mass. —I have 
quite a good-sized walnut crop this year 
secured from a young tree on my place, and 
I am writing to ask you just how to treat 
same before eating and also how long the 
crop should remain with the green covering 
on and how long before nuts are good to 
eat. 
Ans.—B y “walnut” is usually meant 
in New England what is called hickory 
nut over the greater part of the coun¬ 
try, but in this case it may be some 
species of the true walnut or Juglans. 
In either case the hulls should be taken 
off as soon as the nuts are gathered. 
This may be done quickly by running 
them through a corn sheller, although 
it is often done by beating with a mallet 
or some such thing. The hulled nuts 
should then be dried in the sun or under 
cover, when they are ready to be stored 
or eaten. h. e. van deman. 
Foreign Grapes in the East. 
C. TP. E., East Aurora, N. Y. —Can a 
meaty, close-skinned grape similar to To¬ 
kay or Malaga be grown in this climate? 
Ans. —It is in no way certain that the 
species of grape described in the above 
query—that is, the Vinifera, or one com¬ 
monly grown in California—can be 
grown in Erie Co., N. Y., out of doors. 
One of our experiments at the Vineyard 
Laboratory is the testing out of some 
of the hardier varieties of this species. 
Thus far we have fruited only one (this 
a black variety of wine grape), and 
while it appears promising, it will re¬ 
quire further testing out before it can 
be recommended for commercial plant¬ 
ing. The possibility of controlling dis¬ 
eases common to this type of grape now 
being assured, two other important fac¬ 
tors require consideration, namely, the 
ability of the parts above ground to 
stand the cold of Winter, and the length 
and temperature of the growing season. 
It seems quite probable that the solution 
will come with a hybrid of the Vinifera 
and one of our native species more cer¬ 
tainly than with the pure Vinifera. It is 
along these lines that the grape breeders 
of the East are working. 
F. E. GLADWIN. 
Lettuce Rot. 
F. R., Claremont, N. II. —I am told that 
lettuce rot is due to fungus in the soil. 
How should the soil* be treated to get rid 
of the fungus to make i-eady for another 
crop? The lettuce is in a lettuce house. 
Ans. —It is not always the fault of 
the soil when fungus attacks lettuce un¬ 
der glass; over watering and improper 
ventilation are more frequently the 
cause than anything else. The import¬ 
ance of water in the growth of plants 
under glass cannot be overestimated. It 
it hardly necessary to say its proper 
use is the keynote to success. Water 
and air when these are properly applied, 
giving the plants as natural conditions 
as possible, will go a long way toward 
bringing success. The amount of air 
contained in the soil has a very import¬ 
ant bearing on the health and vigor of 
the plants; water plays a very import¬ 
ant part in the matter, for it follows the 
more water in the soil the less space 
will there be for air. By the improper 
use of water the air will be excluded 
from the soil and various complications 
brought about, all of which directly af¬ 
fect the health and vigor of the plant. 
The improper use of water often affects 
plants in this way. The soil may be 
made too wet, and the house may also 
be over-supplied with moisture; these 
conditions are very apt to occur in Win¬ 
ter. The result is certain changes are 
brought about in the tissues which make 
them susceptible to the attacks of par¬ 
asites, especially fungi, and also render 
them liable to other injuries, such as 
sunburning, scald, etc. Therefore, too 
much care cannot be taken in the mat¬ 
ter of watering and ventilation. I have 
found it a great help to lime the soil 
liberally, but unless the watering and 
airing are carefully attended to the ef¬ 
fects of the liming will not be notice¬ 
able. Lettuce should not be grown 
over two seasons on the same soil. K. 
Forcing Winter Rhubarb. 
E. W. H., Portland, 0.— We have put 
about a wagon load of Mammoth rhubarb 
roots in the cellar. Will you tell us what 
you would consider the best method of 
forcing this for early rhubarb, and when 
should one start forcing it? 
Ans. —It is conceded that rhubarb 
roots do best when placed in position 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
for forcing by having been frozen before 
so placing them. We lift the roots or 
crowns before the ground is frozen in 
the Fall, set the crowns on top of the 
ground, taking care to keep a good lump 
of earth around them, leave them until 
frozen solid, then loosen them from the 
ground with an axe or pick and place 
them in position for forcing. If in the 
cellar, set them close together and fill 
in all the spaces between them with soil; 
give them a good sprinkling, not so 
much that the water will run off on the 
floor of the cellar, but so the crowns 
are well moistened. Repeat this several 
times during growth. Rhubarb can be 
produced under many different condi¬ 
tions, and successfully; when grown in 
cellars the style and quality will be gov¬ 
erned by conditions under which it is 
grown. In dark cellars, with the tem¬ 
perature running up to 60 or 75, the 
stalks will be slender and not so bright 
color as when grown in a temperature 
of 45 to 60. We have grown them very 
successfully under the greenhouse 
benches; will do so this Winter. Grown 
in this way, where there is more light, 
the stalks are larger and not so tender 
and brittle as when grown in dark 
places. This is one of the crops of con¬ 
siderable commercial value for Winter 
production, and with a little care and 
fairly good conditions is easily grown. 
Two and three-year-old roots are best 
for forcing; after using the roots for 
growing a crop they can be divided and 
set out in the open to grow crowns for 
future use, but if you have crowns that 
have never been forced that you can 
divide and set out, and thus have a regu¬ 
lar supply coming on at all times, it is 
best. J. S. BRIGHAM. 
Ohio. 
Apples for Washington. 
With due respect to undoubtedly emi¬ 
nent authority, I do not consider the advice 
given to W. E. C. of Elma, Wash., page 
1023, is good. Elma is in Chehalis County,’ 
west of the Cascade Range of mountains. 
There is as much difference between the 
country and the climatic conditions east of 
the mountains and those west of the moun¬ 
tains in Washington as there would be 
found between South Dakota and Southern 
Delaware. The advice to plant in Chehalis 
County “such varieties of apples as are 
grown all over the State” of Washington 
would lead to misfortune. Varieties which 
do well in Eastern Washington do not do 
well at all in Western Washington, and 
the reverse is equally true. Generally 
speaking, the apples of Western Washing¬ 
ton, where properly grown and cared for, 
are superior in lusciousness and texture 
and probably in keeping qualities, while 
for high color, uniformity and marketable 
appearance the Eastern Washington apples 
are not excelled anywhere. Some years 
ago I became convinced that Grimes Golden 
was the best apple for Western Washing¬ 
ton. This was about one part observation 
and four parts theory I have several 
hundred trees of that variety and have not 
changed my mind. Our largest fruit grow¬ 
ers’ association only last Winter adopted 
the Grimes as the apple for Western Wash¬ 
ington. Next to Grimes I would put King 
and Gravenstein. These do exceedingly 
well here—better than east of the moun¬ 
tain range. For a Summer apple—and I 
find the Summer apple profitable—there is 
no other variety to equal the Yellow 
Transparent for this section. 
I have not seen the “British Columbia” 
apple which W. E. C. inquires about, but I 
have reason to think that it is what is 
also known as the “Olympic,” which is 
supposed to be an ‘‘improved Baldwin.” I 
have upward of a hundred of them. They 
are slow to come into bearing, do not color 
extra well and are not particularly heavy 
bearers, except in occasional years. They 
keep well. I have thought of top-working 
mine into some other variety. 
ROBERT S. DOUBLEDAY. 
Tobacco Paper Fumigation.— One of the 
newer materials for greenhouse fumigation 
is paper treated with concentrated tobacco 
extract. This is hung from wires in the 
greenhouse and ignited, burning slowly 
without blazing. It produces highly nico- 
tinized fumes, very destructive to insect 
life, with very little risk to tender growth. 
Persons sensitive to tobacco are quickly 
affected by these fumes, hence must be 
careful not to remain long in their atmo¬ 
sphere. Strong black coffee is the florist's 
usual remedy for unpleasant symptoms 
caused by exposure during fumigation. 
The United States Consul at Moscow 
sends a report concerning the harvesting of 
sunflowers in Russia. Thrashing machines 
for this purpose are not used in Russia 
and everything is done by hand. The heads 
of the sunflowers are removed as late as 
the month of September. They are severed 
with an implement resembling a corn cut¬ 
ter. The heads are then placed in wagons 
and hauled to the barns, where they are 
deposited for ripening. In a few weeks, 
when the seeds are quite ripe, they are 
shaken off the heads and winnowed like in 
former years the farmers gathered their 
wheat. The separation may be performed 
also by striking the heads against a board 
and the seeds drop into receptacles or large 
sheets. 
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