1910. 
257 
THE R U RAIi NEW-YORKER 
“HELIANTI.” 
A Near Relative of Jerusalem Artichoke. 
During the Summer of 1908 our attention was called 
to some circulars in French and German exploiting 
what was said to be a new and valuable plant known 
as ‘‘American Oyster Plant,” “Salsifis,” “Helianti,” 
and claiming that it was exceedingly useful, not only 
because of its value as forage, and the 
beauty of its flower, but because of its 
immense yield of tubers which are very 
nutritious and valuable food for man 
and beast. Early in the Spring of 1909 
we secured tubers of the “Helianti” from 
the American agents of the German in¬ 
troducers, and also some of Helianthus 
doronicoides from Vilmorin of Paris, 
who wrote us that in their trials this had 
proved identical with the plant sold as 
“Helianti” or “Salsifis,” etc. Both lots 
of tubers were planted at the Arlington 
farm and developed into vigorous-grow¬ 
ing many-branched plants about six feet 
high, carrying an abundance of foliage 
and producing through the latter part of 
the Summer many yellow flowers similar 
to, but we thought quite inferior in 
beauty to those of the wild annual sun¬ 
flowers of Kansas and Nebraska. We 
were unable to induce cattle or horses 
to eat the foliage, but during the Summer 
the .plants would have furnished a heavy 
crop of material for silage, and possibly 
a second cutting, as a few which we cut 
back threw' up a fresh growth. The 
plants stood a light frost without serious 
injury, but were killed by a more severe 
one in October. Most of the flower heads 
failed to develop viable seed, though we 
found a few' on each plant. The plants 
formed a great many long slender tuber¬ 
ous roots which were similar in texture 
and taste to those of the Jerusalem arti¬ 
cle k.e, though possibly a little less hard 
and brittle. The total yield of tubers was 
materially less in weight than CQitid have 
been expected from an equal area of any 
of the more productive varieties of po¬ 
tatoes. In our judgment, while the plant 
may have some economic value under 
certain conditions, it is not so useful as 
its near relative the Jerusalem arti¬ 
choke, and might become a troublesome 
weed, particularly if in certain localities 
and conditions it should develop a seed-bearing habit. 
A picture of the plant is shown at Fig. 101. 
U. S. Department of Agriculture. w. w. tracy. 
THE HARDY ORANGE AS AN ORNAMENTAL 
TREE. 
hive years ago I purchased a young tree of the 
hardy orange, well known as Citrus trifoliata. In 
1908 it bloomed and set about a dozen fruits. Last 
year it bloomed freely and set quite full of oranges. 
pieces two feet long, and stick in the pots for the 
beans to climb on. At planting time put pot plant and 
wire stake just as they come from the hotbed, close up 
to the pole, so that top of the pot is one inch below 
the surface of the ground, and press soil firmly about 
the pot. Four-inch pots are best for Limas; melons, 
cucumbers, squashes and sweet corn are treated the 
same way except that three-inch pots are used. 
Tomatoes, peppers, and egg plants are 
best started in shallow boxes, and trans¬ 
planted into the pots when about two 
inches high. Prof. Watts says that if 
you want the be t tomato plants trans¬ 
plant them two or three times before 
putting in pots, as this tends to make 
stocky plants, and stocky plants are what 
is wanted all the time. In planting in the 
garden if the plants have not been in 
the pots long enough to have the pots 
pretty well rotted it is best to tear the 
pot off. If you go into it on a large scale 
it saves lots of time to have some light 
crates made three feet eight inches by 
two feet, and put the pots in these and 
place the crates in the hotbeds; then at 
planting time load the crates on a stone- 
boat and drive to the field. For straw¬ 
berry plants if the young plants are dug 
and rooted in the paper pots, and then 
set out in the garden, they will go so far 
ahead of those planted the ordinary way, 
that I might be put in the Ananias club 
if I attempted to tell it. The advantage 
of pots in any case is that the plant may 
be set in the open ground without one 
of its roots being disturbed in the least, 
and it keeps right on growing with abso¬ 
lutely no check in its growth and there¬ 
by gets ahead of its neighbor whose roots 
are torn and bruised when planted the 
old way. p. B . c. 
Maryland. 
“EARLY POTATO BLIGHT.” 
In regard to your inquiry about early 
blight of potatoes, we have found, dur¬ 
ing the many .years of our spraying ex¬ 
periments in Vermont, that thorough 
spraying with Bordeaux Mixture has 
been highly profitable as a preventive 
of this disease as well as of the late 
blight. As you probably know, farm¬ 
ers confuse a variety of maladies un¬ 
der the term “early blight,”- including 
flea-beetle injuries, arsenical poisoning, and the 
fungus disease (Alternaria) which is the disease 
properly known as “early blight.” Fortunately, how¬ 
ever, the proper use of Bordeaux Mixture in com¬ 
bination with arsenical poisons is highly successful 
ill reducing all these troubles. I would, however, wish 
time. There was also a late setting that was only 
half grown when frosts came, but these also colored 
up. These are also still hanging on the tree despite 
zero weather and continued cold for a month. The 
earlier ones fell off but not till quite late in the Fall. 
I confess that its large crop of oranges of last year 
has very favorably disposed me towards the Citrus 
trifoliata as an ornamental yard tree, and I can’t help 
A PLANT OF “HELIANTI” Fig. 101. 
feeling much surprised that I read and hear and see 
nothing of it in that regard. All who saw it loaded 
with its bright yellow fruit were loud in their admira¬ 
tion of the novel sight. The dwarf Otaheite orange 
is frequently seen as a porch and house plant, and 
when full of fruit it is considered beautiful and orna¬ 
mental. How much superior should we account a 
tree that is perfectly hardy, at least to zero tempera¬ 
ture, that demands no more care than any shade tree, 
that grows quite large (how large I do not know) 
and bears in great profusion bright yellow oranges all 
over it? My tree is 10 feet high and still growing 
strongly. The oranges are of course not fit to eat, 
but that does not affect their beauty. They have a 
very decided aroma that is rather agreeable, but with¬ 
out the sweetness of the edible orange. The tree 
itself is ornamental in its intense green of its wood, 
its long green thorns and small leaves. I recommend 
it as a yard tree at least as far north as St. Louis. 
Its blossoms are small and inconspicuous. In the 
South it is used as a hedge plant, so I read, and if so 
fruitful there as here, a hedge yellow with oranges 
must indeed be a most beautiful sight. Some years 
ago The R, N.-Y. described the use of this tree in 
New Jersey. l. r. Johnson. 
Missouri. 
HARDY ORANGE TREE IN BEARING. Fig. 100. 
A peculiar characteristic is that it blooms intermit¬ 
tently from Spring till Fall, and sets fruit at different 
peiiods. Last Spring it set one orange alone, and no 
more till along in the Summer. Then it set a large 
number, some singly and some in clusters of three 
and four. The Spring orange turned yellow in good 
season, while all the others were green. They can 
all be depended on, however, to turn yellow by frost 
STARTING PLANTS IN PAPER POTS. 
If it is desirable to make two blades of grass grow 
where one grew before it must be equally commendable 
to have “garden sass” four weeks where there was no 
garden sass before. This can readily be done with a 
hotbed and some paper pots, and the following brief di¬ 
rections are given for the benefit of those who would 
like to have Lima beans, sweet corn, etc., four weeks 
earlier than previously. For Lima beans, make your 
hotbed about six weeks before time to plant beans 
in the open ground; put about one inch of soil on 
the manure, fill the pots with soil and? place on the 
earth in hotbed. Plant four beans to a pot. As soon 
as they are well up thin to two plants, and if you 
have bush Limas that is all you have to do until time 
to plant in the garden, but if you are partial to pole 
Limas (as I hope you are) cut some pieces of wire 
about as thick as grandmother’s knitting needles, into 
“IN HIS GUARDED TENT.” Fig. 102. 
to warn your readers that the potato is especially 
sensitive to local, climatic and soil conditions, and 
experience gained at Vermont may not be applicable 
to conditions of the far South or West. I am glad, 
therefore, to quote the evidence of Mr. Milward of 
the W isconsm Station. 
“The Experiment Station has been in the field 
since 1904 to test whether field spraying with Bor- 
deaux would hold the disease in check. Increased 
yields of from 15 to 50 per cent have been obtained.” 
L. R. JONES. 
