1910. 
THiC RURAI> NEW-VORKER 
Til 
Ruralisms 
The Labrador Tea. 
L. F. N., Franconia, N. H .—I send you a 
bunch of Ledum or Labrador tea, common 
on the White Mountains, a shrub that grows 
two or three feet high. Sometimes large 
patches are white with bloom above the 
timber line. The tea resembles spruce, it 
is an evergreen. This year's leaves have 
not started. 
Ans. —The Labrador tea, Ledum lati- 
folium, is a member of the Ericaceae or 
Heath family, to which a number of our 
favorite broad-leaved evergreens belong. 
It makes a handsome shrub abundantly 
covered with small oval leaves, dark 
green above, lined with a rusty brown 
tomentum or felt-like covering under¬ 
neath. The flowers, in terminal umbels, 
are small individually, but produced in 
great quantities, giving a showy effect. 
The Labrador tea is extremely hardy, 
and well suited to northern gardens, 
thriving in sunny or nartly shaded situa¬ 
tions. It prefers a moist, sandy or neaty 
soil, and" does well in a swampy place. 
It was introduced to cultivation in Eng¬ 
land in the eighteenth century, and is 
found there in collections of American 
plants, but our own nurserymen appear 
to catalogue it but rarely. Like some 
of our other beautiful native shrubs, 
its garden virtues seem more freely 
recognized abroad than at home, though 
all admire its beauty as a wildling. 
Apples and Pears for Michigan. 
L. II., Catino, Mich .—I am going to plant 
about 500 apple trees next Spring and 
about 350 pear trees. I was thinking of 
planting McIntosh and Pameuse and Bart- 
lett pears. I would like your advice on Mc¬ 
Intosh and Stayman and Bartlett pear, or 
would other varieties be better for me here? 
I have clay loam with limestone. Do you 
think the York Imperial would do well 
here? 
Ans. —The McIntosh is so much larger 
than Fameuse and otherwise fully as 
good in every respect, that it would 
seem a mistake to plant the latter vari¬ 
ety. McIntosh is well suited to Mich¬ 
igan. York Imperial is a good apple for 
Virginia and other regions of about the 
same latitude, but it is not suited to the 
extreme Northern States. It does not 
get large enough there. I would sug¬ 
gest the planting of the Delicious apple 
in Michigan, which is of very superior 
quality, and the tree is hardy and a good 
bearer. It is a native of Iowa. The 
Bartlett is* about the best pear that can 
be planted for market, but the Comice 
is also a good one and worth'- of trial 
in eastern orchards. It is very popular 
in Oregon and Washington, where Bart¬ 
lett has been the mainstay. 
H. E. VAN DEMAN. 
The Care of Onion Sets. 
M. P. W., Plainfield, O .—Will you tell 
me when to gather the sets of the Winter 
onions? This is our second year with 
them and the sets we gathered last season 
and put out this Spring were very inferior. 
We did not gather them until late Fall, 
thinking we were going to have so many 
nice sets—the first om s did look fine, but 
in a short time each one of those sets was 
sending out a stalk and sets formed on 
those. Then the first sets would get soft. 
Would it have been better to have picked 
the first sets before the next crop started? 
Ans. —Onion sets should be harvested 
as soon as the tops die down, never 
allow them to remain in the ground 
long after the tops are dead. They 
will never keep well when neglected in 
this manner. Dry them thoroughly by 
stacking them in shallow crates or tills 
in the open field or a shed where a free 
circulation of air is given them. On the 
annroach of cold weather they should be 
stored in a cool dry place. Light freez¬ 
ing seldom injures onions that are 
stored for planting. The past Winter I 
stored a few crates in an open shed 
and they froze solid, in fact I thought 
them worthless. I set some of them out, 
however, and to-day they are the finest 
onions I have. Those that form seed 
stock should be bunched and sold early 
as they will never make large sound 
bulbs. Onions that make seed stalks or 
run to seed early in the Spring are the 
result of planting sets that are too large. 
Bulbs that exceed three-fourths of an 
inch in diameter will usually run to seed 
without attaining size. T. m. white. 
Gardening Questions. 
C. P., Jefferson City, Mo .— 1. Is the 
Shipper's Pride a valuable, tried variety of 
red raspberry for climates like Missouri? 
2. Is it well to give tomatoes level cul¬ 
ture all through season, or should they be 
hilled up to keep more erect? 3. In local? 
ing greenhouses for retail trade of flowers, 
would it be best to locate in city or part¬ 
way out in the country, where land is 
cheaper? City about 10,000. real estate 
very high, suitable location almost impos¬ 
sible to get. while on other hand I already 
have 23 acres in suburbs. 
Ans. —1. We have never grown the 
raspberry Shipper's Pride, and cannot 
vouch for its reliability. The Cuthbert 
and King, all points considered, are the 
most popular market varieties in red 
raspberries. 2. Tomatoes should be set 
in hills about four feet apart so they 
can be cultivated each way. This meth¬ 
od will give them light hill culture and 
all the hilling up that will be required. 
3. I would choose a location for a green¬ 
house plant outside the cit'- limits where 
ground is less expensive. Tt should be 
considered that there are additions and 
enlargements to be added to a successful 
plant, and it is well to provide for this 
in advance. A florist should have plenty 
of ground for outside planting, cold 
frames, etc., which he will find indispen¬ 
sable. T. M. WHITE. 
NOTES AND COMMENTS. 
Frosted Potato Tops. —You tell a 
West Virginia correspondent that if po¬ 
tato tops are five or six inches high 
when frosted it is hardly worth while 
to try to save them. All down the At¬ 
lantic coast in Virginia and North Caro¬ 
lina they were blackened this Spring 
when higher than that, and no one could 
tell to-day that they had ever been 
frosted. Mine were shabby-looking 
things, but we are eating and have 
been for more than a week very fine 
Cobblers, and it did not take the plants 
a week to turn the blackened tops to 
green ones. 
Tomato Wilt. —It is rather surpris¬ 
ing that your correspondent at Hatties¬ 
burg, Miss., has not had the bacterial 
blight before, for it is common all over 
the South, and- the only thing that can 
be done is to avoid infected ground. I 
have had hundreds of plants loaded 
with green fruit, collapse in a single 
night. At Raleigh, N. C., in one part 
of my garden I could grow tomatoes 
with no signs of the disease, while in all 
other parts of the same garden I could 
not grow a tomato. So prevalent is the 
disease near Raleigh, N. C., that toma¬ 
toes always sell by the dozen in the 
Raleigh market, and it would be a rare 
sight there to see a whole bushel of to¬ 
matoes on sale at once at any one store. 
Loquats. —The loquat is perfectly 
hardy in upper central North Carolina. 
I had a fine one at the North Carolina 
College of Agriculture. But there it 
does not fruit, as it blooms late in the 
Fall and there is too much frost to ma¬ 
ture the fruit. It is a handsome ever¬ 
green and I intend to try it here in 
southeast Maryland, for the pomegran¬ 
ate thrives here unprotected. But you 
say that it compares with the olive in 
hardiness. Now, I never succeeded in 
wintering an olive in Raleigh, though 
the Chinese fan palm, Chamasrops ex- 
celsa, lives there in the open ground. 
Concrete Silos. —I used concrete 
silos, three of them, for several years, 
and I would never let anyone build one 
for me if they did it free of cost. The 
condensation on the cold walls kept 
the sides of the mass constantly wet, and 
there was always a layer of damaged 
silage all around it. As my three silos 
held 6oo tons the loss amounted to a 
large percentage, far more than I ever 
had in a wooden silo. w. F. MASSEY. 
* ‘*t _ 
A Short Catechism on Silos Free 
<1 The little book asks sixteen questions. just such questions 
as any farmer contemplating buying a silo would ask us. 
The answers are full and clear and there are a few letters 
from users that tell experiences worth while. 
Here Are a Few of the Questions . . . 
What is the best silo material? Why round? Of 
what use is the matching? How long will silo last? 
What do you claim of your dipping process? Why 
net leave out the extras to meet competitors’ prices? 
Why not build a home-made one ? 
Other Free Publications . . . 
Green mountain Silo Catalog, a beautiful booklet. 
List of more than a thousand users. 
The Creamery Package Mfg Co. 
338 West Street, Rutland, Vt. 
“GREEN MOUNTAIN” til LOS MAKE MORE MILK 
Fill Your Silo First I 
Pay Afterwards 
I We want to prove to yon that our machine* 
are a good investment before you give up 
[your money. We know they are so good that 
[We do not feel it a risk to n 
make this offer. Just tell Wk In our 
us your needs. mm 60th 
Year 
SILOFILLINQ 
MACHINERY] 
ha* 60 yeara'.xperionce behind it—more experience 
than any other machinery of its kind made. It has 
thousands of enthusiastic owners in every dairy and 
intensive farming district in the U. S. It is not only 
FULLY GUARANTEED 
to b« fr«» from defetts at all times but alio to bo 
the strongest, most durable and modern of any- 
manufactured. Our offer will help you to deter¬ 
mine this before you buy. Ask an expert's advice if 
you care to. 
Our large free catalog shows our complete line. 
Write for it. 
E. W. ROSS CO.Box 13 Springfisld, Ohio ] 
We also manufacture the Ross Silo 
SILOS 
The inventors of the Modern 
Continuous Opening Silo, in this, 
their semi-centennial year, offer 
to the public the best and most 
economical silo on the market. 
Experience, antedating that of 
any other firm manufacturing 
these goods, has enabled us to 
produce the highest quality at a 
-most reasonable price. 
Send for our Silo Catalogue aud 
tell us the size of the silo you want. 
We also make Silo Filling Machin¬ 
ery aud Manure Spreaders. 
HARDER MFC. COMPANY, 
Box I 1, Cobleskill, N. Y. 
T HE closed Elbow and Flexible Dis¬ 
tributer DOES NOT make back 
pressure on the blower. Note what the 
Farmer has to say. This party wrote 
us last year in regard to this question. 
He KNOWS as he has tested it. 
Pataskala, Ohio, June 17, 1910. 
W. VV. Bateman Co., Boonville, Ind. 
Gentlemen:— 
The Elbow and Flexible Distributer 
I purchased of you last fall has proven 
to be all that you claim for it. 
I admit, I was afraid of back pres¬ 
sure upon the blower but such is not 
the case, in fact, the machine seems to 
work better with it on than with the 
short improvised Elbow furnished 
with some cutters. 
We filled (15) silos, most of them 30 
feet high, and never had any bother 
whatever from the distributer and it 
did not clog the blower once. 
Respectfully, 
R.F.D. No. 3 . Walter Peters. 
W.W. BATEMAN CO., 
BOONVILLE, -:- Indiana. 
i^.yny 
GET THESE BOOKS 
If you raise stock for 
/profit, you ought to read 
Jr the latest edition of “Why 
/Silage Pays.’' It is packed 
r with surprising facts of 
/ profit - making - possibilities 
Fin silage feeding, tells how 
/and when to cut, gives en¬ 
dorsements of well known 
/breeders and authorities and 
/shows the Blizzard Culler which 
/we guarantee. With this helpful 
/book we include our 19 x 0 catalog, 
/describing and showing various 
/sizes of our machines. Both books 
fsent free on request. Get them now. 
THE JOS. DICK 31FG. CO., 
fl 42<> Tuscarawas 8t., Canton Ot 
NEWTON’S HEAVE 
COUCH, DISTEMPER ID IT « 
AND INDIGESTION VS U IX H g 
The Standard Veterinary Remedy. 
Makes the horse sound, stay sound 
DEATH TO HEAVES 
The first or second $1.00 can cures. The third can 
is guaranteed to cure or money refunded. 
$1.00 per can at dealers, or express prepaid. 
THE NEWTON REMEDY CO., Toledo. Ohi* 
Sound Horses 
made and kept sound the world 
over by 
f%UINN’S 
V OINTMENT 
Note the sign. Pries S1.00 par 
Bottle. Of druggists or by mail. 
Testimonials free for the asking. 
W. B. Eddy & Co., Whitehall, N.T. 
MINERAL 
HEAVE 
REMEDY 
NEGLECT 
Will Ruin 
YourHorse 
Send today for 
only 
PERMANENT 
SAFE 
CERTAIN 
Mineral Heave Remedy 
$3 PACKAGE 
will cure any case or 
money refunded. 
SI PACKACE 
cures ordinary cases. 
Postpaid on receipt of 
price. Agents Wanted. 
Write for descriptive booklet. 
™ E UNADILLA 
The sensation of the agricultural world 
Write for our “TWENTY- 
FIVE REASONS" why it 
is in a class by itself. 
Extra discount for early orders. 
Agents wanted. 
UMDILLA SILO CO., Inc. 
LnadiUa, N. Y. 
SILO 
BEFORE YOU BUY WRITE FOR 
NEW CATALOG DESCRIBING THE 
GUARANTEED MONEY-SAVINQ 
INTERNATIONAL 
SI LOS 
strongest built, simplest to put up and easiest operated 
on the market. Adjustable automatic take-up hoop- 
continuous open-door front—air-tight door and per¬ 
manent ladder are some/the unusual features. The 
International Silo Co.. 113 Slain St.. Linesriile. I’m* 
ANIMALS’ 
• FRIEND 
LLS EVERY FLY 
it strikes when our gravity 
sprayer is used. Keeps in¬ 
sect pests off animals 
in pasture longer than any 
imitation. Used since 1885. 
Thousands of dairymen dupli¬ 
cate 10 to 50 gallons annually 
after testing imitations. Abso- 
harmless; cures all sores. 
30 cents worth saves $10 
worth of milk and flesh on each cow during fly season. 
No .Lice ill Poultry House or any place it is sprayed. 
If dealer offers substitute, send us his name and $1 for 
3-tube gravity Sprayer and enough SHOO-FI.Y to protect 200 
cows Name express office. $1 returned if animals 
not protected. Free booklet. Special terms to agents. 
Shoo-Fiy Mfg. Co., 1317N. 10th St.. Phila.. Pa. 
