1910 . 
THtC RURAL* NEW-VOKKER 
743 
Ruralisms 
TREE SEEDS; RAPE; BEE PASTURE. 
IF. IF. P., Tohawanda, Neb. —1. Can you 
tell me how to treat the following tree seeds 
before planting, and should they be planted 
in the Spring or Fall? Blueberry; bass¬ 
wood ; tulip tree; how seeds should then be 
planted? 2. Where can I get seeds of 
Brassica rape? What time should it be 
sown? 3. What can I sow for bee pasture to 
provide honey the same year as sown? 
Ans. —1. Basswood seeds should be 
stratified or mixed with slightly moist 
sand as soon as ripe, stored in boxes or 
pots in a shed or cellar with protection 
from mice and sown in early Spring in 
well-prepared seed beds or frames, cov¬ 
ering the seeds with not more than an 
inch of sand or light soil. Tulip tree 
seeds should be treated in the same 
manner. An attempt should be made to 
secure seeds from near the western 
limits of the species, as eastern seeds 
are often defective. If by blueberry is 
meant the huckleberry (Vaccinium or 
Gaylussacia) of the Eastern States, the 
seeds are best sown in sour, peaty soil 
made loose by admixture of fine sand in 
pots, boxes or frames, under partial 
shade. Unless the soil is perceptibly 
acid little success can be expected. 
2. Rape seeds may be had from the 
Griswold Seed Co., Lincoln, Neb., and 
other large seed houses in the Middle 
West. 
3. Yellow Sweet clover, Melilotus 
officinalis, would likely be the best an¬ 
nual bee forage plant for your locality, 
but the seeds should be sown early in 
Spring in well-prepared soil of rather 
dry texture. Common buckwheat is ex¬ 
tensively sown for bee pasture in the 
Middle States. The flowering time is 
brief, but furnishes much nectar of fair 
quality while it lasts. Buckwheat may 
be sown any time during Summer when 
there is sufficient moisture in the soil. 
FRUIT ON A ROSE BUSH. 
The Seattle Sunday Times prints the fol¬ 
lowing: “A horticulturist of California, 
where horticulturists are habitually dissat¬ 
isfied with nature and seek to befuddle her, 
has so confused the rose hush that it has 
dropped to the unesthetic level of the pea 
vine and the muskmelon. A climbing rose 
at Berkeley has produced an edible fruit, 
simulating the flavor of the pineapple, allied 
to the loganberry which it will in course of 
time, we are told, supplant. It is assumed 
this fruit is as free from thorns as the mod¬ 
ern, familiar kitchen brand of codfish is 
free from hones, and perhaps more so; that 
it is not a prey to the homely and deter¬ 
mined rose hug; that its similarity to the 
pineapple does not extend to its oppressive 
taxation of the human digestion.” 
We have heard nothing of the Berke¬ 
ley fruiting rose except the write-up in 
Seattle Sunday Times, a clipping of 
which you print, but judge it is but 
one of the usual Summer crop of horti¬ 
cultural fakes. 
Many rose species produce fruits of 
limited edibility. Heps of the sweet 
brier and European dog rose have for 
ages been used for conserves, and later 
the large showy fruits of Rosa rugosa 
have been utilized for similar purposes. 
When cooked with sugar the flavor is 
quite agreeable to many. Some of the 
Pacific Coast roses, such as R. Nut- 
kana, bear large fleshy heps, occasion¬ 
ally used for sweetmeats. Rosa gigan- 
tea, the great climbing Burma rose, bears 
fruits as large as crab-apples with flesh 
of tolerably pleasant flavor. This spe¬ 
cies is sparingly grown in California, 
and may furnish the foundation of the 
Seattle newspaper yarn. The rose hep or 
berry is a hollow, fleshy receptacle or 
torus containing the bony seeds or true 
fruits, the inside surface being lined 
with sharp and rather stiff hairs or 
spicules, which must carefully be 
scraped out when the heps are used for 
conserves. These irritating spicules are 
the greatest drawback to the culinary 
use of rose fruits. They may possibly 
be reduced or eliminated in the course 
of extended breeding experiments. If 
the Berkeley originator has accom¬ 
plished this his product may be worthy 
of trial. W. v. F. 
Color of Banana Apple. 
R. L., Idleicild, N. Y .—What is the color 
of the Banana apple when about the size of 
a small egg? I bought some trees three 
years ago which have some fruit on them, 
and am anxious to find out if they are true 
to name. 
Ans. —The color of the Banana apple 
when fully ripe is yellowish with a red 
cheek. When they are young and grow¬ 
ing the color is green and the blush may 
be seen in some cases. But there is no 
striping in any case. There is consid¬ 
erable stir in the apple world about this 
apple, and some fancy boxes from the 
Far West have been sold at fabulous 
prices. The beautiful, waxen color ..ith 
the lovely tinted red cheeks is the main 
cause of the big prices obtained, but the 
quality, although very good, never 
seemed to me to warrant them. 
H. E. VAN DEMAN. 
Producing Fine Strawberries. 
C. T. IF., Elizabeth, N. J .—Must straw¬ 
berries grown in this section where our 
ground is a trifle heavy have a rich soil 
to bring them to perfection for home use? 
Growers around here treat their soil only 
to fair condition, hut I wish to find out 
how to produce fruit that is at least fair 
in size but very sweet, of fine flavor and 
numerous to flic plant. 
Ans. —Some varieties of strawberries 
do well on light soil, but in general 
this fruit will do best on a rich loam. 
The great object is to have the soil mel¬ 
low and well filled with vegetable mat¬ 
ter. For most varieties we should avoid 
a very rich soil and would not use too 
much stable manure, as nitrogen in ex¬ 
cess drives the plant to vine and soft¬ 
ens the berry crop. We would rather 
have a medium soil well filled with 
vegetable matter and then use a fertil¬ 
izer with not over two per cent nitrogen, 
but high in potash and phosphoric acid. 
Potash seems to determine the quality 
and firmness of the fruit. 
The Culture of Dewberries. 
R. R., Louisville, Iiy .—Will you give me 
the following information in regard to the 
culture, etc., of the dewberry? IIow does 
it propagate, by shoots or stolons? If by 
stolons does it root by the tip, or does it 
root by the joints like the grape and straw¬ 
berry? When is the time for it to begin 
taking root? The vine seems to prefer to 
run on the ground. Will it do well if 
trained on a trellis? Wherein does the 
dewberry differ from the blackberry? 
Ans.— The dewberry that is cultivated 
is a species of the blackberry or Rubus 
family, and is botanically Rubus Cana- 
dense. There is another species of trail¬ 
ing blackberry in the South known as 
Rubus trivialis. It is smaller in berry 
than the Canadense. The best known 
variety of the dewberry is the Lucretia, 
and this is the variety mainly grown 
for market. It is propagated just as the 
blackcap raspberries are, by burying the 
tips of the canes of the present season. 
In North Carolina, where Lucretia is 
largely grown for market, the practice 
is to let the young canes run along the 
rows during the growing season and the 
next Spring, when they are to fruit, 
they are tied up to stakes. Some have 
tried training them on wires stretched 
two feet above the ground, but it was 
found that the wires chafed the canes 
and stakes were substituted. Here they 
are grown pretty largely, and are not 
staked nor trained in any way, but the 
canes arc pinched to make them bushy 
and they do very well without any sup¬ 
port. They are planted about five feet 
apart each way. I believe that better 
crops are grown by the North Carolina 
method. The old canes are cut out as 
soon as the fruiting season is over, and 
three canes allowed to grow. These are 
trailed along the rows so as to admit of 
cultivation one way, and are left on the 
ground till the next Spring, as they are 
apt to be somewhat hurt in a cold sec¬ 
tion in Winter if tied up to the stakes. 
In the Spring the canes are all tied up 
together to the stakes, which are about 
six feet tall, and are manured well and 
cultivated. The canes may be trained 
on a chicken wire trellis in garden 
work, and will do well spread out more 
than on stakes. w. F. massey. 
26 Cents Buys This 
SOLID SHANK STEEL BLADE Field and Garden 
Hoe. All size blades. Write for our CATA¬ 
LOGUES of Hardware, Groceries, Etc. 
McHINNEY m. CO. 
MAIL ORDER HOUSE 
186-194 STATE STREET, BINGHAMTON, N. Y 
POTATO MACHINERY 
Our two-horse ele¬ 
vator digger guar¬ 
anteed to do 
perfect 
work 
in your 
field. 
If you are not thoroughly ac¬ 
quainted with the 
O. K. Champion Potato Digger 
let us send you some information that we 
know will interest you. We are also man¬ 
ufacturers of complete line of Weeders, 
Sprayers and Sorters and should like to 
send you our catalog describing our O. K. 
line of potato machinery and prices. 
CHAMPION POTATO MACHINERY CO., 
151 Chicag'o Ave., Hammond, Indiana. 
DON’T neglect to find out about 
The Acre-An-Hour Sifter, 
the new invention. Applies dry 
Bordeaux, Cement, Lime, Plaster or 
Screened Ashes with Paris Green to 
Potatoes, Cucumbers, Currants, etc., 
as fast as a man can walk. Covers 
instantly and perfectly plant 3 ft, in 
diameter; one man can treat an acre 
in one to two hours. Best implement 
for the business ever invented. Sam¬ 
ple by express, 7fie. Prepaid by mail 
only, buyer’s risk, $1. Splendid in¬ 
ducement to agents. ACRK-AN-HOUK 
SIFTER CO., Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 
vRAT.V.s 
SCALECI t>E 
Will positively destroy SAN JOSE SCALE and all 
soft bodied sucking insects without injury to the 
tree. Simple, more effective and cheaper than 
Lime Sulphur. Not an experiment. One gallon 
multes ll» to 120 trillions spray by simuly adding water. 
Send for Booklet, “Orchard Insurance.” 
B. G. PRATT CO., 50 CHURCH ST., NEW YORK CITY. 
■A/ r WITH THE 
Dir JIT '’EMPIRE KING” 
jfR p and bugs, worms, blight, etc., will 
_ II ^ have no terrors for you. Best con- 
^ structiou, perfect agitators, no scorched 
foliage. We make all sizes and styles of Gasoline 
Engine Sprayers. Free Book on Spraying. Agents wanted. 
FIELD FORCE PUMP CO., ‘2 Eleventh St., Elmira, N. Y. 
■f/E/?E/T/S —■ 
IMPROVED CLARK’S DOUBLE ACTION 
CUTAWAY HARROW 
The most wonderful farm tool ever Invented. 
Two harrows tn one. Throws tho dirt out. then 
. „ in, leaving the land level and true. 
q I ( A labor saver, a time saver. Needs 
I fa * U r? } no Tongue Truck. Jointed Pole. 
Beware of imitations and in¬ 
fringements. Send today for 
FREE Booklet. 
CUTAWAY HARROW CO. 
839 Main St., 
Higganuin, Conn. 
Cheaper aud far more durable than 
wood for Lawns, Churches, Cerne- 
Grounds. Catalogue 
For Special Offer. 
Rox443,Oeratnr Ind. 
Drilling Granular Lime With a 
Grain Drill. 
If any of our readers have a Superior 
Grain and Fertilizer Drill, they can pro¬ 
cure Superior Hen Manure Cones at a 
very nominal figure. Now to the' farmer 
who intends to purchase a grain drill, 
we would strongly urge that he send 
for a Superior catalogue to The Ameri¬ 
can Seeding-Machine Co., Inc., Spring- 
field, Ohio, also explain to them just 
what he wants to do. They will - be glad 
to give you all the information they can 
By purchasing one of these combined 
drills, the farmer can sow his grain and 
fertilizer at the same time and also use 
the machine for sowing granular lime. 
The Superior drill is an old favorite 
machine with thousands of our best 
farmers. It is no experiment. It is sold 
under such a broad and liberal guaran¬ 
tee that it means much to the purchaser. 
Go to your local dealer and insist on 
seeing the Superior Drill before you 
purchase any other make. Remember, 
this drill will sow all kinds of seed, 
from the largest to the smallest.—Adv. 
Hydraulic 
Thomas-Mbriaht Co., 
Cider Presses 
All sizes. We have had 33 
years’ experience and 
can save you money. 
Also Steam and Gaso¬ 
line Engines, Boilers, 
Sawmills, etc. 
Catalogue 
Free 
NEW YORK.N.Y. 
CIDER PRESSES 
THE ORIGINAL MT. GILEAO IIY-. 
0RAULIO PRESS produces more cider*) 
from less apples than any other and is a 
BIG MONEY MAKER 
Sizes 10 to 400 barrels daily, hand_ 
or power. Presses for all pur¬ 
poses, also cider evaporators, 
apple-butter cookers, vine- . 
car Benerators, etc. Cata¬ 
log free. We are manufac¬ 
turers, not jobbers. 
HYDRAULIC PRESS MFG. C0., ( 
(Oldest and largest manufacturers of cidor 
presses la tho world.) 
137 Lincoln Avenue, Mount Gilead, Ohio 
Or Room 119 L 39 Cortlandt St., Now York, N. Y. 
Turn your surplus fruit into 
money. You can make 
handsome profits from the 
sale of cider, vinegar or 
fruit juices. Write for 
catalog of outfits. 
THE BOOMER & BOSCHEST 
PRESS CO., 312 WaterSL 
Syracuse, N. Y. 
F tATENTS FORTUNES 
RIZES for patents. Patents secured 
through us advertised without charge. 
New lists of inventions needed and possible 
buyers. ‘‘Hints to inventors.” “Why some 
inventors fail.” Book on patents. Send us 
rough sketch or model for search of Patent 
Office records and report on patentability. Special 
agents in 500 cities and towns. Mr. Greeley while 
Acting Commissioner of Patents had full charge of 
U. S. Patent Office. GREELEY & McINTIRE, 
Patent Attorneys, Washington, I>. C. 
DELAWARE IS THE STATE ~~ 
OF HAPPY HOMES 
able 
ing, gen¬ 
ial climate, warm and sunny in winter, cool 
most of the summer. Famous for fruit; good 
for general farming. Land values are increas¬ 
ing, but are still low for the advantages 
enjoyed. For information address 
STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. Dover, Delaware. 
r We have new list of select Va. farms now 
ready. All special bargains. Rich lands $10 
per aero ami up. Close to big markets. Mild, 
healthy climate. Catalog tells all about this 
country; ser t free. Write at once. Come to 
Va. and let us show you. Dept. !>, 
^ Middle Atlantic 1mm. CoCom- .i£Si 
t monwealth Bldg., Richmond, Va. 
A Low Price Spreader At Last! 
Practical, always ready for use, 
durable; distributes from 100 lbs. 
nitrate to 4,000 lbs. lime and com¬ 
post to acre. Its price will please, 
as its work will amaze. Write for 
descriptive matter and special in¬ 
troductory price. 
KING WEEDER CO., RICHMOND, VA. 
TAKE AGENCY AND GET 
FREE SAMPLE. 
OUR NEW TRADE-MARK 
For a Big Rowen Crop use 
Hubbard's Bone Base Fertilizer for 
Oats and Top Dressing 
Solely Manufactured by 
THE ROGERS & HUBBARD CO ., MIDDLETOWN, CONN. 
Send for Free Almanac telling all about the Hubbard “Bone Base” Fertilizers 
For Big Hay Crops, Seed Down 
with Hubbard's Bone Base Fertilizer 
Grass and Grain Fertilizer 
