1910. 
A PROMISING NEW GRAPE. 
An Early Seedling from Michigan. 
On October 10 Mr. R. L. Taylor, of Lapeer Co., 
Mich., sent us specimens of the grape shown at Fig. 
448. These grapes came by express in good condition. 
Fig. 448 shows a sample bunch of natural size. It is 
nearly black, with a beautiful bloom, and of good qual¬ 
ity. Mr. Taylor says the clusters sent were “just off 
the vines, but have been ripe nearly a month. It ripens 
before Worden, about with Campbell’s Early; is a 
good keeper and shipper and suits the popular taste.’’ 
Mr. Taylor gives this further statement about the his¬ 
tory of this grape: 
“The story of the grape is about as follows: Some 
years ago, about eight or nine, I think, a stranger 
making a brief stop here, whose name and place of 
residence I have forgotten, if I ever knew them, hear¬ 
ing of my vineyard, called to see it. While here he 
related a story of his wife, in eating grapes three or 
four years before, having got a grape seed into a cavity 
of one of her teeth, when on removing the seed she 
remarked that she would plant the seed and 
see what it would produce. Accordingly the 
seed was planted; it grew and in due time it 
became a vine with fruit. He seemed to think 
so well of it that I accepted his offer of a little 
wood if I would try it, so he sent me a few 
buds, with which I grafted one of my stocks. 
In a year or two it began to bear, and has 
borne fruit every year since. As time passed I 
became so well satisfied with it that in 1907 
I grafted a dozen or 15 vines with it, and in 
1909 about 30 more, so that I now have nearly 
50 vines of this grape. The clusters sent you 
were taken from vines grafted in 1909, some 
of which vines ripened as much as 20 pounds 
of fine fruit. Their hardiness may be judged,# 
from the fact that the first year’s growth of 
the graft is so rapid that it is apt to be im¬ 
mature, and so much tenderer than the normal 
growth of the same variety, but I discovered 
no sign of injury on any of these, though a 
few grafts of the Jefferson close by were killed 
almost to the ground before I got around to 
cover them in November, while the seedling 
hung on the wires all Winter without any pro¬ 
tection. I think the vine is quite as hardy as 
either the Concord or the Worden, since it 
has never shown any injury, and the leaf is as 
healthy. As the stranger ‘mentioned lived 
somewhere in the southern part of Michigan, 
where the Concord is largely produced, it is 
quite probable that the seed was that of the 
Concord. I think it will ripen as much fruit 
as the Worden, but not quite so much as the 
Campbell’s Early, well cared for, on good 
ground. It hangs on the vines without any 
deterioration till frozen. Though the Worden 
cracked quite bad this year I have not noticed 
a cracked berry in this variety. 1 know noth¬ 
ing at all of the fate of the original vine.” 
SELECTING POTATO SEED. 
I have not seen the bulletin of L. R. Wald¬ 
ron on this topic, on which you comment on 
page 984, but from what you say about it, he 
fails to go to the root of the matter. Mere 
selection of seed from the bins or in the field 
will not prevent any variety of potatoes from 
gradually running out. While it may help to 
prolong the usefulness of a variety, still a 
gradual deterioration will take place, and finally 
the variety will cease to be profitable. But if 
the variety be bred as well as selected it can 
be kept indefinitely, but be improved. The 
way to do this is to commence with the best 
specimens of any variety obtainable. Choose a plot of 
the best potato soil on the farm of a size large enough 
so they may be planted in hills. Give perfect culture 
and when in full growth, but before maturity, go over 
the plot and mark such hills as are in every way de¬ 
sirable, having an eye on growth, vigor and health, in 
some permanent form, so as to be easily found at dig¬ 
ging time. When fully matured, first dig the marked 
hills, keeping product of each separate. Now go over 
and select from only such hills as are perfect, the 
marked potatoes from the same, till you have enough 
seeds to continue with a like breeding plot each year. 
In this way, continuing year after year, the variety 
may be improved. This breeding plot need be only 
large enough so that the entire yield shall furnish seed 
for the general crop, as such seed even from the poor¬ 
est hills will be greatly superior to that taken from 
bins as is ordinarily done. It is a fact that potatoes 
from the same hills—yes, eyes from the same potato— 
will vary more or less in growth, health and pro¬ 
ductiveness; and in the manner in which seed potatoes 
are almost universally taken, from what is left after 
those for market and use have been selected, the won¬ 
der is that they are at all permanent, j. s. woodward. 
TLIfcC rural new-vorker 
A HOME BUSINESS IN EVAPORATED CORN. 
The following statement is made by a farmer who has 
developed a good business: 
Some weeks since I noticed in The R. N.-Y. a 
description of how to evaporate sweet corn in a com¬ 
mercial way, that was interesting in that the process 
was quite different from that employed by us, and 
others in this vicinity. We have been at the business 
quite a while, and it is growing so we scarcely know 
what to do with it. since help is scarce and high-priced. 
Our business is small as compared with some things 
we might name, but for a small farm and in connec¬ 
tion with other farm and fruit operations, is not so 
mean after all. Our corn is sold by the measured gal¬ 
lon at $1.20 per gallon, and is sent all over the country 
by express and freight, being purchased by the wealthy 
and well-to-do in many of the large cities and towns. 
We are careful to pick the corn fresh each day. It is 
steamed, not boiled, cooked to set the milk, such as we 
boys used to like to eat off the cob. It is then taken by 
girls or women who with a sharp knife slice off the 
top of the grain. The back of the knife is then used 
to press out the remainder, leaving the cob fuzzy, and 
there is no indigestible hull in it except the top. 
Canned corn and other processes of drying have about 
all the hull, as it is cut down to the cob by machines. 
There is no machine yet made that will get out all 
the corn as we do, and with so little hull. When pre¬ 
paring for the table it is soaked over night if possible 
to restore the moisture, add seasoning to taste and 
bring it to a boil just as you wish to serve. The corn 
is already thoroughly cooked, and long cooking makes 
it dark and toughens it. An ordinary teacupful is suffi¬ 
cient for a family of five or six for one meal. 
RUSSETING APPLES.—Prof. Massey should re¬ 
vise his belief that spraying is the prime cause of 
russeting upon apples. I asked Dr. Thos. Graham, 
the owner of a beautiful Baldwin orchard at Grand 
Rapids, Mich., if he thought that the russeting was 
caused by spraying, and he replied that “the leading 
fruit growers there had settled down to the belief that 
it was caused by cold, dark, wet weather.” If Prof. 
Massey could see my orchard he would notice a lot 
of Baldwins covered with rust and the trees were not 
sprayed for the reason that help could not be got in 
the few sunshiny days between showers. 
Ohio. L. B. PIERCE. 
1047 
THE VALUES OF STUMP LAND. 
Charcoal From Stumps. 
Your “pile of stumps from 15 acres of Western 
land,” reproduced on page 893, recalls to my mind an 
old colored man who used to burn charcoal for me. 
We took out our stumps by the roots and piled them 
quite like your picture shows. In the center of the 
pile and acting as a sort of core we made a chimney 
of lighter stuff about three feet long. In the bottom 
of that chimney we placed straw and kindling wood. 
As the pile of stumps built up we built up this central 
chimney or core. When our pile was up we filled in all 
the interstices with small wood; indeed this was done 
as the pile was made, so as to have a compact mass. 
Then we covered the entire pile with earth much like 
our fathers used to bury their Winter stock of fruits 
and vegetables. The chimney top was the last part en¬ 
closed. Before it was shut up we threw live coals on to 
the straw and kindling in the bottom of the chimney, 
and when these were thoroughly ignited a broad slab 
was placed over the chimney top and the slab quickly 
sealed down with loose earth. The fire thus 
started spread through the pile of stumps, and 
in the course of a few days we drew our char¬ 
coal, which was sold to hotels, dining cars, etc., 
at a remunerative price. I remember how 
often the old darkey told me about how he 
could take pine stumps and work out from 
them the turpentine and rosin. Wnilc the 
spirit of conservation is abroad in the land it 
occurs to me those people out West could 
profitably engage some Finlanders, North Rus¬ 
sians or common Tennessee darkies and make 
those troublesome stumps a source of profit to 
themselves and a utility to the commerce of 
the country. The people I have enumerated 
are the best tar and charcoal makers in the 
world. w. v. ROOKER. 
Indiana. _ 
AN ARGUMENT FOR MULCHING. 
We have noticed that fruit trees often kill 
out badly during a hard Winter which follows 
a very dry Fall. It is usually said that con¬ 
tinued dry weather burns up or kills many of 
the feeding roots, so that the tree starts its 
Winter in a feeble condition. The following 
article by Prof. C. B. Waldron, of the North 
Dakota College, gives another explanation, and 
shows the value of a good mulch in keeping 
the soil moist and cool as well as preventing 
early freezing: 
“It is commonly supposed that if trees arc 
given a sufficiently moist soil during their grow¬ 
ing period their Winter condition in this re¬ 
spect is a matter of little importance. As a 
matter of fact trees are giving off moisture at 
all seasons of the year, though to a much less 
extent, of course, in cold weather. During 
the warm sunny days in Winter there is a 
considerable loss of moisture through the 
twigs, and except in very severe weather the 
roots are able to furnish this loss, though the 
soil about them be frozen. The ability to do 
this is naturally less if the soil be dry or 
frozen very hard. In that case the loss of 
moisture results in a more or less complete 
drying up of the tissues of the plant, and this 
often results in the death of the tree. What 
is known as root killing may in some in¬ 
stances be due to the immature or unripe con¬ 
dition of the plant when Winter begins, but in 
most cases root-killing follows dry seasons like 
the one just closing. If the soil has been kept 
moist by cultivation or mulching the trees arc 
safe, but if the soil is dry it should be thor¬ 
oughly wet before freezing and then mulched with old 
straw, chaff or stable manure to prevent drying out. 
The mulch delays freezing, and this in itself is an im¬ 
portant item, as it is the long continued frozen state of 
woody plants that injures them to a fatal degree. A 
moist soil then kept in an unfrozen condition as long 
as possible is the surest means to prevent winter-kill¬ 
ing of trees.” 
Many of our farmers have money out at interest: many 
of them have automobiles and are really taking comfort. 
Still with all this the young men are coming into town 
to run the street cars or to work in the factories at two 
dollars per day. They don’t like the monotony of the 
farm. In many cases their wives urge them on, for they 
don’t want the work and isolation of the farm. The 
women have more reason than the men. Men will buy 
machines for all kind of work, but seldom put water in 
tbe house, get a real washing machine or take the madam 
off on trips that she so enjoys. 
This report comes from the Middle West, and we 
have a number like it. Our opinion is that after awhile 
some of these people will gladly go back home to the 
farm. Perhaps they will learn while working in town 
some of the ways of making life easier and happier, 
and also see the shadow of town life. If they can 
take home some of the town conveniences and rig them 
up on the farm, their visit will not have been in vain. 
A MICHIGAN SEEDLING GRAPE. Fig. 448. 
