1913. 
THE RURAL 
NEW-YORKER 
837 
Ruralisms 
MIXING OF MELONS AND SQUASHES. 
Does it hurt melons to plant them 
near squashes and cucumbers? I have 
always said (judging by such experience 
as I have had) it does. The melons have 
no flavor. Does eggplant mix with 
melon? w. s. R. 
You do not state whether you mean 
muskmelons or watermelons. There is 
no likelihood of the watermelon (botani- 
cally Citrullus) making a cross with the 
squash, pumpkin, muskmelon or cucum¬ 
ber, which belong to another family divi¬ 
sion (Cucumis). The watermelon will 
mix with the preserving citron, which is 
merely another form of the same thing, 
Citrullus vulgaris, but in this case there 
is little change in the fruit the same sea¬ 
son, though the seed would be unreliable 
for another year. IIow far the musk¬ 
melon is likely to cross with other forms 
of Cucumis is very doubtful; crosses be- 
EARLY KING BLACKBERRY. 
tween squashes and pumpkins are re¬ 
ported, and are also contradicted. We 
illustrated such a cross a few years ago, 
but have not ascertained its permanence; 
many such crosses are fugitive or infer¬ 
tile. If such a cross can take place it is 
unlikely that there would be any differ¬ 
ence noticeable the same year; the ef¬ 
fects would be shown by the progeny 
produced from the seed. Flatness of fla¬ 
vor credited to such crossing is more 
likely to be due to blight. This trouble is 
not always recognized in early stages, 
but it causes a marked deterioration in 
quality of fruit. There is no reason to 
imagine crossing with the eggplant, Sola- 
num Melongena, as this family is widely 
separated from the Cucurbitacem. The 
effect of foreign pollen upon flavor is not 
yet understood,- though we believe it is 
being studied in orchard experiments. 
KEEPING CUT FLOWERS 
To keep cut flowers in good condition 
they should be cut early in the morning, 
when they are still fresh and brittle and 
the sun has not yet had much effect on 
them. They should be cut when only 
partly or just beginning to open and put 
in fresh, cool water and kept in a cool, 
dark room (cellar) for about twenty- 
four to_ thirty-six hours before using them. 
This will make them firm and add greatly 
to their freshness and keeping qualities. 
After taking the flowers to the living 
room, the stem ends should be cut back 
a little and the flowers placed in a rather 
wide glass vase in fresh cold water, which 
should be renewed daily and kept in a 
cool place. A little salt, nitrate of soda 
(salpetre) or bicarbonate of soda may 
be added to the water, which will also 
help to preserve the flowers and brighten 
f fl c °l° rs - Much also depends on kinds 
of flowers and also on varieties. Some 
are very good keepers (carnations, 
hrysanthomums, Asters, orchids, etc.) ; 
others last only a very short time (roses, 
violets, poppies). 
On some varieties the plants with 
woody stem (Chrysanthemums), it be¬ 
comes necessary to split or mash the 
lower end of the stem to allow the flowers 
to take up more water to make them keep 
well. Others, again, may have to be 
Ringed or the stem ends inserted for an 
ineh or two in boiling water to seal them 
loin sett las, Euphorbias, poppies). Often 
" lit tug flowers can be made to look fresh 
again u the stems are cut back some and 
'lien inserted in a vase with hot water 
ami put in a cool, dark place for a few 
lours. Roses should be cut when the 
iHids just begin to open. Flowers of a 
n" . na Uire are usually poor keepers and 
1 overs of one kind will keep better than 
a mixed bunch. julius erdman. 
Colorado Agricultural College. 
U-. N.-Y.—All these suggestions will be 
I 'litid useful. Many flowers with suc- 
< l| lent stems, such as mignonette or wall¬ 
flowers, may be revived when they show 
urns of flagging by plunging them into 
a deep vessel of cold water, and leaving 
there afloat for several hours. Violets 
should never be immersed or sprinkled, 
as this seems to affect both fragrance 
and texture, but they are often revived 
by covering with damp tissue paper, and 
setting stems in water, in a cool dark 
place. Carnations need plenty of water 
at the stems, but the flowers should not 
be sprinkled or plunged. Dark carna¬ 
tions usually fade sooner than light 
ones. 
IMPLIED WARRANTY OF SEED CORN 
The American Florist states that 
where a seller of corn knows that it is 
purchased for seed, the supreme court of 
South Dakota holds, in Totten vs. Stev¬ 
enson (135 Northwestern Reporter, 715) 
that, in the absence of an express con¬ 
tract to the contrary, the law implies a 
warranty of the fitness of the corn sold 
for the purpose for which it is bought; 
and the party seeking to recover damages 
for a breach of the contract in refusing 
to accept the corn has the burden of 
showing that the corn tendered in fulfill¬ 
ment of the contract filled the require¬ 
ments of the implied warranty created 
by law. That is, he must show that the 
corn was reasonably fit for such purpose, 
unless it appeared that there was a con¬ 
tract wholly excluding the implied war¬ 
ranty. 
MISSOURI NOTES. 
The drought that has hung over 
a large part of the Mississippi Valley has 
been accompanied of late by a burning 
sun, drying winds and intense heat. It 
is always most painful to the lover of 
nature and her works to witness a 
drought in the Spring, at a time when 
flowers and fruit and vegetables are 
yielding their greatest bounty to man, 
when all growing things are in the hey¬ 
day of their youth and beauty. Can 
there be a more grievous sight, for exam¬ 
ple, than a great blackberry bush with 
its stout canes bending under a wonder¬ 
ful burden of berries towards whose ma¬ 
turity it is expending every ounce of its 
vitality and parental nutriment, but upon 
which a scorching sun is concentrating a 
heat that is robbing the fruit through the 
leaves and branches of the moisture that 
is just now indispensable to its perfec¬ 
tion, and that is radiating up in wither¬ 
ing waves from a superheated soil? 
The Early Harvest berries have been 
ripening for more than a week, and are 
fairly good. Early King came in a week 
later, and though they are below normal 
size, present a very satisfactory appear¬ 
ance. This is the best second early that 
I have so far found among the well- 
known varieties. It ripens the bulk of 
its fruit (and in a shorter period than 
most kinds) between the Harvest and 
main croppers. It is also unique in this 
that its berries are sweet enough to eat 
as soon as they turn black. Its early 
season and its appearance deceive the 
unknowing into thinking it is a dew¬ 
berry and it readily sells as such. It is 
hardy and nearly rust-proof and produc¬ 
tive, but its weak point is its slow and 
dwarfish growth, except on very rich soil. 
When I want a saucer of blackberries to 
eat raw with cream and sugar I seek 
the King in its season. Its time of ripen¬ 
ing and superiority in size and flavor to 
the Harvest give it a valued place in the 
succession of varieties. 
In order to accelerate the picking, I 
permit and advise the boys to pick in 
gallon buckets, which, when full, they 
carry to the shed and empty into quart 
boxes. With these buckets suspended 
from their nocks they can pick with both 
hands and save the labor of stooping with 
every handful. They are paid IV cent 
per quart; when berries become scarce, 
two cents. At first boxes were sold at 
10 cents straight; then we began selling 
24-box crates for $2 and a little later for 
$1.75. At this same date I notice that 
in the St. Louis market blackberries are 
selling for $2.50 per crate, dewberries at 
$2.75. At this rate it would be profitable 
to ship them from here. The Elfeagnus 
longipes again bore one of its regular an¬ 
nual crops of dark red berries. This 
berry was pictured in The R. N.-Y. of 
last year. It is about two-thirds the size of 
a cherry and has its own peculiar flavor. 
Everybody who tastes it likes it despite 
its tartness.. The crop was picked to be 
made into jelly and preserves. No in¬ 
sects or fungus diseases have ever mo¬ 
lested it. Here is a good fruit that is 
practically unknown and listed in very 
few nurseries. l. r. jounson. 
Cape Girardeau Co., Mo. 
Remedies for Aster Pests. 
Will you give me full directions how 
to make a small quantity, say about two 
gallons, of Paris green solution; also 
ammoniacal carbonate of copper solution? 
I have 50 fine plants of Asters and am 
anxious to keep them free from rust, 
beetles and green fly. I have been ad¬ 
vised to use these two solutions as a 
remedy, but I know of no one who could 
give me an exact formula for a small 
quantity. e. r. a. 
Closter, N. J. 
1. The proportions for preparing am¬ 
moniacal copper carbonate are as fol¬ 
lows: Copper carbonate, one ounce; 
ammonia, about one-half pint; water SV> 
gallons. To prepare it, set aside a little 
of the copper carbonate, and dissolve the 
rest in slightly diluted ammonia, using 
only just enough of the liquid to dis¬ 
solve the carbonate, after which the re¬ 
served portion is added to this. The 
reason for this method is that it in¬ 
sures using no more ammonia than neces¬ 
sary, as it is better to use too much 
copper carbonate than too much am¬ 
monia. This strong solution is diluted 
with water as required. 
2. For the Paris green spray, use one 
heaping teaspoonful Paris green, two or 
three ounces of lump lime, and three 
gallons of water. The lime is added to 
neutralize any soluble arsenic present, 
and thus avoid hurting the foliage. 
3. The green fly calls for a contact 
poison, being a sucking insect, and to¬ 
bacco tea, tobacco extract, which may 
be bought at any seed store, or kero¬ 
sene emulsion will be desirable. Often 
the green fly can be controlled by domes¬ 
tic soapsuds, sprayed against them with 
some force. 
Dishorning Peach Trees. 
Do you think it too late to “dishorn” 
some old peach trees, which seem to be 
failing? On 70 trees I have less than 
a bushel of fruit, as the frost got them. 
a. c. w. 
It is late to “dishorn” peach trees, but 
we shall try it on a few T . Do it now as 
soon as possible. Cut the limbs off with 
a slant, so the water will drain off, and 
put on a good quality of grafting wax 
to prevent "bleeding.” 
Protecting Trees Against Rabbits. 
On pages 751, you state that grease is 
bad to put on apple trees. What is good 
for protection from rabbits? They are 
very troublesome here. c. F." w. 
Cape Vincent, N. Y. 
We know of nothing better than some 
mechanical protector made by tying 
strips of veneering or cornstalks around 
the trunk, or using fine wire cloth. 
These protectors should be at least three 
feet high to keep off the rabbits, and 
should be close to or into the ground 
to keep mice away. We have little con¬ 
fidence in washes or smears to keep off 
vermin or borers. 
Bt t lletin S5 of the Office of Foreign 
Plant Introduction gives the following 
description of the way persimmons are 
ripened in China: “An earthenware jar 
about two feet in height is packed tight 
with persimmons while they are still 
green, just turning. The mouth of the 
jar is filled with rice straw. They think 
rice straw better than wheat straw. The 
jar is then turned upside down in pans 
with some water in so that a water seal 
is made. In about thirty days they are 
ripe and good to eat.” 
Destroying Bindweed. 
On page 712 L. FI. G. of Pennsylvania 
wants to know how to exterminate bind¬ 
weed. If it is Convolvulus arvensis he is 
“up against the real thing.” I fought it 
15 years, sold it 11 years ago, and it is 
now worse than ever. A neighbor, after 
20 years of fight fenced it in, put in a 
lot of pigs, fed no green food and in 
one Summer they cleaned it out. The 
only other way to get rid of it is die and 
go and leave it. h. c. s. 
Conklin, Mich. 
Y\ hen you write advertisers mention 
The R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply 
and a “square deal.” See guarantee 
editorial page. 
CUBS’ FOOD 
They Thrive on Grape-Nuts. 
Healthy babies don’t cry and the well- 
nourished baby that is fed on Grape- 
Nuts is never a crying baby. Many 
babies who cannot take any other food 
relish the perfect food, Grape-Nuts, and 
get well. 
“My baby was given up by three doc¬ 
tors who said that the condensed milk 
on which I had fed her had ruined the 
child’s stomach. One of the doctors told 
me that the only thing to do would be 
to try Grape-Nuts, so I got some and 
prepared it as follows: I soaked 1% 
tablespoonfuls in one pint of cold water 
for half an hour, then I strained off the 
liquid and mixed 12 teaspoonfuls of this 
strained Grape-Nuts juice with six tea¬ 
spoonfuls of rich milk, put in a pinch of 
salt and a little sugar, warmed it and 
gave it to baby every two hours. 
“In this simple, easy way I saved 
baby’s life and have built her up to a 
strong, healthy child, rosy and laughing. 
The food must certainly be perfect to 
have such a wonderful effect as this. I 
can truthfully say I think it is the best 
food in the world to raise delicate babies 
on and is also a delicious healthful food 
for grown-ups as we have discovered in 
our family.” 
Grape-Nuts is equally valuable to the 
strong, healthy man or woman. It stands 
for the true theory of health. “There’s 
a reason.” and it is explained in the little 
book, “The Road to Wellville.” in pkgs. 
Ever read the above letter? A new 
one appears from time to time. They 
are genuine, true and full of human 
interest. 
^ Get Your Canadian Home 
From the Canadian Pacific 
Home —— 
Maker 
E will make you a long-time loan 
—you will have 20 years to pay 
for the land and repay the loan— 
you can move on the land at once 
—and your Canadian farm will 
make you independent, 
20 Years to Pay 
Rich Canadian land for from Sll to J30 
per acre. You pay only one'-twentieth 
down—balance in 19 equal annual pay¬ 
ments. Long before your final payment 
comes due your farm will have paid for 
itself over and over. This advertisement 
is directed only to farmers or to men who 
will occupy or improve the land. 
We Lend You $2000 
for erecting vour buildings, fencing, sinking 
well and breaking. You have twenty years in 
which to repay this loan. You pay only the 
banking interest of 6 per cent. 
Advance of Live Stock 
on Loan Basis 
The Company, in case of approved land pur¬ 
chaser who is in a position and has the knowledge 
to take care of nis stock, will advance cattle 
sheep and hogs up to the value of $1,000 on a loan 
basis, so as to enable the settler to get started 
from the first on the right basis of mixed farm¬ 
ing. If you do not want to wait until you can 
complete your own buildings and cultivate your 
farm, select one of our Ready-Made farms—de- 
veloped by C. P. R. Agricultural Experts—with 
buildings complete, land cultivated and in crop, 
and pay for it in 20 years. We give the valuable 
assistance of great demonstration farms—free. 
This Great Offer Based On Good Land 
Ask for our handsome illustrated books on 
Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta—mention 
the one you wish. Also maps. Write today. 
K. S. THORNTON, Colonization Agent 
Canadian Pacific Railway 
Colonization Department 
112 W. Adams St., Chicago 
^FOR SALE —Town lots in all growing towns— 
Ask for information concerning openings. 4 ^* 
This $[15 Victrola 
is of the same high 
quality which char¬ 
acterizes all products 
of the Victor Com¬ 
pany. 
moment in placing this greatest of all 
musical instruments in your home? 
Other styles $25 to $200. 
Write for catalogs. 
Victor Talking Machine Co. 
Camden, N. J. 
Berliner Gramophone Co. , Montreal 
Canadian Distributors 
IT PAYS TO USE 
FARMOGERM 
THE STANDARD INOCULATION 
BEWARE OF IMITATORS 
ON SOY BEANS-COW PEAS 
VETCH - CLOVERS - ALFALFA 
FREE BOOK NO. 54 
ERP-THOMAS FARMOGERM CO.. BLOOMFIELD, N. J 
BARGAINS 
Fence. 150 styles 
.....s per rod up. Wepas 
Send for bargain fence 
sample io lest—ALL FREE 
THE BROWN FENCE A WIRKCOMPAN1 
DEPT. 59_ CI.EVEf.AND. OHIO 
HANDY BINDER 
JUST the thing for preserving files of 
The Rural New-Yorker. Durable 
and cheap. Sent postpaid for 25 cents. 
Tne RURAL NEW-YORKER 
333 West 30th Street, New York City 
