1913. 
699 
SOME PEDIGREED TREE GUFF. 
The Winfield Nursery Co. of Kansas is 
sending out a circular from which we take 
a few choice gems of guff: 
There are seventy million apple trees in 
the United States.. Thirty-five million are 
barren. It took their owners 10 years to 
find this out. They had to prepare the 
ground, plant the trees, cultivate, prune, 
spray and care for them 10 long years and 
they get nothing—absolutely nothing for 
their work. Can you afford to take a 
chance like this? How much better and 
safer to buy “pedigreed trees” and be posi¬ 
tively sure that if well cared for, they 
will annually produce large crops of flawless 
fruit true to name." 
While there are some trees that bear 
more fruit than others there are other 
reasons for it, usually, than any in¬ 
herent virtues or ability to do so in 
contrast with others of the same variety. 
That is, I have never seen any con¬ 
clusive proof of the theory that is com¬ 
monly called “pedigreed” nursery stock. 
Theoretically it is all right and very 
plausible, but practically it is not. There 
was some local cause for nearly all the 
fruitful variations that I have seen, 
such as extra fertility of the soil, free¬ 
dom from insects and fungus troubles 
or checking of downward flow of sap 
by strangulation or some such thing. 
These causes being only temporary they 
leave no permanent influence on the 
constitution of the trees or on those of 
the succeeding generations. If this was 
not true and the influence was perma¬ 
nent then the fruitfulness could be per¬ 
petuated as some nurserymen claim. But 
I do not believe most of their claims, 
and they often disgust reasoning and ob¬ 
servant people by their extravagance. 
The case above stated is one of this 
kind. My observation in thousands of 
orchards of many kinds of fruits and 
grown from Alaska to tropical Florida 
leads me to believe that there is no such 
thing as a tree of a productive variety 
that is constitutionally “barren.” That 
half the 70 million apple trees in the 
United States are barren is a most 
monstrous and untruthful statement. 
There may be half of them too young 
to bear and many that are planted arc 
not properly cared for and fail to be 
profitable or die out, but that the 
owners of half the apple trees planted 
had to “care for them 10 long years 
and then get nothing—absolutely noth¬ 
ing for their work” is positively mis¬ 
leading to say the least of it. Indeed 
it is not true. And then to say that the 
"pedigreed trees” of this braggadocio 
of a nursery “will produce more fruit 
and better fruit than non-pedigreed 
trees and you will have a full bearing 
orchard instead of an orchard in which 
half the trees are barren” is another 
groundless assumption. And to urge that 
there must be haste in ordering the trees 
within 30 days because the stock was 
limited has a very fakish ring, but it 
accords with the statement about an¬ 
nually producing “large crops of flaw¬ 
less fruit true to name.” 
I here arc thousands of good nurseries 
all over the country that have been 
growing trees for many years that have 
been planted far and near and with good 
results, and for any one or more nurs¬ 
eries to claim superiority of their stock 
on an assumption of an improved the¬ 
ory, as this Kansas nursery does, is 
wrong—positively wrong. That there 
should be every possible precaution used 
to propagate trees true to name and 
lrom those that have borne fruit and 
proved their identity, is important— very 
important. But it is unwise and unfair 
,0 extravagant claims and is sure 
u> h »ally bring reaction by disappoint- 
mg the tree planter and hurt the nur- 
SCr y- H. E. VAN DEMAN. 
1 see you have disposed of that fine 
horse you bought from the city.” “Yes,” 
'cphed the regretful milkman, “he hurt 
my business. He had been used for 
polling a sprinkling cart and stopped at 
every hydrant.”—Judge. 
THE RTJ7RAI> 
PIGEON MANURE FOR ASPARAGUS, 
I live in South Jersey, have four acres 
of asparagus, also 750 pairs of pigeons. 1 
j»ut the manure on the bed, getting over it 
once each year in the Summer. I haul 
out and spread between ‘the rows, and 
work in the soil; also each Spring add 
one ton of high-grade fertilizer, G-7-5, to the 
acre. Is there any danger of my getting 
too much nitrogen? The soil is a sandy 
loam. H> c . c 
Bassett, N. J. 
According to Voorhees, pigeon and hen 
manure are about alike as to analysis. In 
the fresh state hen manure analyzes from 
one to 1% per cent, nitrogen and .5 to .75 
per cent, each of phosphoric acid and pot¬ 
ash. When dry it runs from two to three 
per cent, nitrogen and one to 1 % per cent, 
each of phosphoric acid and potash. When 
compared with some brands of commercial 
fertilizers this is not high, but the plant 
food in hen manure is in»an available form, 
and every gardener knows that this is 
the most valuable of all farm manures, 
especially for onions and other crops re¬ 
quiring large amounts of nitrogen. As¬ 
paragus belongs in this class, and I am 
quite sure there is no danger of H. C. C. 
getting too much nitrogen in his sandy soil 
while he fertilizes as he does at present. 
Asparagus can be fertilized heavier than 
almost any other truck crop, and yet make 
a profit on the money expended. Some 
growers claim that one to three tons of 
a commercial fertilizer, analyzing four to 
NEW-YORKER 
six per cent, nitrogen, together with 10 or 
12 tons of fine manure, can be used ad¬ 
vantageously on established beds. Such 
heavy fertilization might not under all 
conditions be an economical procedure, but 
aside from the question of economy I would 
have no hesitancy in applying it. A ton 
of the very best pigeon or hen manure will 
give only half as much nitrogen as the 
0-7-5 fertilizer, and if I had the manure I 
would put it all on and wish for more. 
We do not make a large quantity of hen 
manure, but if we had it we could use 
immense quantities to good advantage in 
growing early vegetables of nearly all 
kinds. A good part of what we do make 
is mixed with horse manure and used for 
our egg-plants and peppers. It gives them 
an early start. We also find hen manure 
quite beneficial for asparagus, and as a 
top-dressing for onions, cabbage and other 
quick growing crops. A neighboring grower 
used hen manure last year on part of a 
two-year-old asparagus plantation and It 
was quite easy to see, in the middle of 
Winter just where he put it. The stubs 
on the part of the field where hen manure 
was applied are nearly twice as large as 
those where it was not used. 
South Jersey. tuucker, jk. 
New Jersey Potato Contest Rules. 
The committee appointed at the meeting 
of the Monmouth County, N. J., Board of 
Agriculture has formulated the rules to 
govern the potato contest. The County 
Board has appropriated $60 to be given in 
prizes for the best acres of potatoes grown 
in the county. This sum will be divided 
into a first prize of $30, a second prize of 
$20 and a third prize of $10. All con¬ 
testants for these prizes must be paid up 
members of the Board. Anyone not a 
member may become eligible to compete by 
paying a membership fee of 50 cents. All 
applications must be filed not later than 
May 1, 1913. The area must *not contain 
over 43,500 square feet (one acre) deter¬ 
mined by actual measurement. Contestants 
shall make out duplicate reports, stating 
with as much accuracy as possible the de¬ 
tails of the crop. One of these reports 
shall be retained by the contestant, and 
the other mailed to the secretary of the 
committee five days before the Fall meeting 
of the Board. The following details are 
to be covered in the report. 
1. The crop grown and the improvements 
added to the soil last year (1912). 
2. Kind of soil and depth of plowing. 
3. Composition and amount of fertilizer. 
4. Variety and quantity of seed. 
5. Time and depth of planting. 
6. Distance between seed pieces in the 
row and between the rows. 
7. Method of cultivation. 
8. Method of spraying. 
9. The product shall be considered the 
total weight of potatoes grown on the 
contestant’s acre. 
10. There shall not be more than one 
contesting acre on each farm. 
The committee reserves the right to in¬ 
spect any contestant’s acre at any time and 
to verify the weight of the product. 
D. T. H. 
In 1918 — What? 
*By R. E. Olds , Designer 
Many a car will run 
well for one summer. But 
in five years from now 
where will flimsy cars be? 
And what will they cost 
in the meantime? 
“Dear Mr. Olds: I have run 
one of your cars for 75,000 miles, 
and it still runs as well as any 
new car I know.” 
That's from one of the letters 
which come to me constantly. 
And legions of men saying such 
things to others give to my cars 
the place they hold after 26 years 
of car building. 
It Isn’t Easy 
It isn't easy in these days of 
fierce competition to build a really 
honest car. In Rco the Fifth it 
means $200 more than such a car 
need cost. 
And nearly all that extra cost is 
hidden. It is years, sometimes, 
before users learn its meaning. 
Note what it means to the 
maker. He must have all steel 
made to formula. To make sure 
of its strength he must analyze it 
twice. 
Each driving part must be given 
all the strength it needs, then 50 
per cent extra strength must be 
added. 
He must use big tires—we use 
34x4—to cut down tire upkeep. 
He must use roller bearings—we 
use 15—where common ball bear¬ 
ings cost one-fifth as much. 
To escape all flaws he must use 
drop forgings. We use 190. He 
must use a $75 magneto—a doubly- 
heated carburetor — big brake 
drums, big springs. 
He must test his gears in a 50- 
ton crusher. He must test his 
engines for 48 hours in many radi¬ 
cal ways. 
And he must have scores of in¬ 
spectors and testers watching 
every part of that car. 
To the User 
To the user it means an almost 
trouble-proof car. A car with low 
cost of upkeep. A car that meets 
every strain. 
A car that continues, year after 
year, to render perfect service. 
And a car that saves hundreds of 
dollars in repairs, upkeep and 
trouble. 
You get this all in Reo the 
Fifth, and countless users know it. 
And you get it at an underprice. 
For all this extra cost is saved by 
our wonderful factory efficiency. 
We save 20 per cent in one way 
alone—by building a single model. 
Every machine and tool in this 
factory is adapted to this one car. 
And we make all our own parts. 
That’s how a car such as I de¬ 
scribe can be sold at the Reo 
price. 
New Control 
This car has our new control. 
All the gear shifting is done by 
one center rod, entirely out of the 
way. It is done by moving this 
rod only three inches in each of 
four directions. 
There are no levers to clog the 
way of the driver. Both brakes 
are operated by foot pedals. And j 
this car, like all the leading cars,/ 
has the left side drive. 
Write for our catalog and we'll 
direct you to the nearest Reo show¬ 
room. They are everywhere; 
R. M. Owen & Co., General Sales Agents for Reo Motor Car Co., Lansing, Mich, 
Canadian Factory, St. Catharines, Ont. 
30-35 
Horsepower 
Wheel Base— 
112 Inches 
Tires— 
34 x 4 Inches 
Center Control 
15 Roller 
Bearings 
Demountable 
Rims 
Three electric 
lights 
190 Drop 
Forgings 
Made with 
5 and 2 
Passenger 
Bodies 
Top and windshield not included in price. We equip this car with mohair top, side curtains and slip cover, windshield, 
gas tank for heudlights, speedometer, self-starter, extra rim and brackets-all for $100 ex'ra (list price $170). 
(Gray ^ Davis Electric Lighting and Starting System at an extra price, if wanted. ) 
Reo the Fifth 
The 1913 Series 
$ 1,095 
