400 
THB IR UKAL NEW-YORKEK 
Chlorosis of Grape. 
I l ave about three acres of grapes in 
one piece. Some of them turn yellow 
and in a course of time the leaves come 
back to their green color again. What 
is the cause of this? The vines are 
10 years old, have fruit but shell oil bad¬ 
ly in picking. I would like to know 
what makes this, and a cure for them. 
Not only mine but the neighbors’ grapes 
do the same. W. c. V. 
Albion, Iowa. 
Apparently, similar examples of the 
trouble here referred to have been quite 
numerous during the past three years in 
the Chautauqua grape belt. There is of 
course the possibility that they may not 
be the same. For want of a better name 
we have called the trouble chlorosis, al¬ 
though this should not be confused with 
the disease of that name quite common 
in France, and less so in California. In 
the beginning the two have many symp¬ 
toms that are very similar. Again, this 
disease resembles the California vine dis¬ 
ease in some particulars, but at the pres¬ 
ent they are not thought to be of similar 
origin. This so-called chlorosis appeared 
first with us on vines from four to six 
years set; the older vines in some cases 
developed the trouble, but it was large¬ 
ly confined to the younger plantings. In 
most instances the worst affected vines 
were located on rather thin soil, the sub¬ 
soil being of a silty nature, and appar¬ 
ently very deficient in organic or humic 
matter, such a soil retaining but little 
soil moisture. In our experiences such 
conditions of soil are more commonly 
met on the knolls and slopes. 
Many of the elements known to be ne¬ 
cessary for the growth of plants were 
tried as possible soil correctives, but 
these did not affect favorably the control 
of disease. The belief now is that the 
trouble is directly due to a lack of soil 
moisture at the time the demand is the 
greatest, and that the conserving of the 
Spring supply by early plowing and fre¬ 
quent cultivation till midsummer is very 
necessary. The plowing under of green 
manures is especially to be recommended. 
Vines that show the symptoms should be 
marked the first year and short pruning 
should be practiced in the Fall and 
Winter following. When attention to 
these details is given the trouble has been 
considerably lessened. f. e. gladwin. 
The Ben Davis Apple a Menace. 
I have come to the conclusion that the 
Ben Davis apple is a menace to apple 
trade. It does more to reduce the con¬ 
sumption and price of apples than any¬ 
thing else, and the better-looking they are 
the more they injure trade. You see 
them on the fruit stands, all polished 
up three for 10 cents, Rome Beauty and 
Paragon the same price, a novice buys 
a Ben Davis and takes a bite, and in the 
gutter it goes and he buys no more ap¬ 
ples for six months. The Ben Davis is 
a worse substitute for an apple than oleo 
is for butter, and the Government col¬ 
lects a tax on oleo. A Princeton grocer 
told me the other day he could always 
tell when Ben Davis came in the market; 
you can find them all along the street 
with one bite taken out of them. 1 well 
know there are a lot of orchards of them 
all through the country; they should be 
top-worked or cut down. The first loss 
is always the least. 
It is against the law to pass counter¬ 
feit money. Why not make it unlawful 
to pass counterfeit apples? Growers 
ought at least to be made to label them 
Ben Davis when they are offered for sale, 
and then the people who raise edible ap¬ 
ples, with a little advertising, could sell 
them, and then the consumption of ap¬ 
ples would increase 50%. Apples all look 
alike to the average city buyer. The gro¬ 
cer and the fruit stand man buy the 
punky Ben cheap, sell a few at high price, 
and there you are—the use and sale of 
apples cut in half. p. ». d. 
Hopewell, N. J. 
Eastern or Western Onion Seed. 
Is there any difference between the 
onion seed raised in the Eastern States, 
say in Connecticut or Massachusetts, as 
to sixe and quality of market bulbs com¬ 
pared with that raised in the West, in 
Illinois. Michigan or California? There 
is a difference in price of from one- 
quarter to one-half. I have always used 
Eastern seed. w. o. s. 
Practically speaking, there are three 
grades of onion seed grown, and sold in 
the open market. The first grade is 
produced from bulbs selected to ideal 
type, the second grade from bulbs as they 
run, without any attention being given 
as to their shape or type; the third grade 
from large or overgrown sets. Northern- 
grown seed is considered somewhat su¬ 
perior to the Southern grown, and that 
produced in the Northern tier of States. 
If fresh and equally well cleaned, etc., 
the respective grades are of almost equal 
quality, whether produced in the East¬ 
ern, Middle or Western sections. It is 
believed, however, by some of the largest 
and most progressive growers, that seed 
that has been carefully grown, planted 
in the same general locality, will give 
much greater percentage of marketable 
stock than seed brought from a distance. 
The first grade of seed, produced from 
specially selected bulbs of desirable types, 
frequently sells for more than double 
the price of the second grade seed, and 
four to five times as much as the third 
grade. The first grade of seed will pro- 
Maron i4, 
duce 10 to 20 per cent, more market¬ 
able bulbs than the second grade seed, 
and therefore is the cheapest to plant, 
even though it cost more than twice as 
much as the second grade seed. The 
third grade should never be planted for 
the production of standard market 
onions: it is only suitable for the produc¬ 
tion of sets. k. 
Barn of Cement Blocks. 
I am contemplating building a barn of 
cement blocks. Is there any objection 
to blocks for stable for cows or horses? 
We have some severe weather Winters, 
and we do not know whether the stables 
would be damp. c. P. 
Cement blocks and hollow tile are used 
extensively in constructing farm build¬ 
ings, and there is very little complaint 
from their use after the materials have 
been thoroughly ripened or dried out 
after the structure is completed. Con¬ 
crete blocks do hold the moisture longer 
than the vitrified blocks, and the ma¬ 
jority seem to favor the use of the hollow 
tile as compared with the cement blocks. 
If the building, however, is located on 
relatively high ground so that free cir¬ 
culation of the air exists, and provided 
further that a complete system of ven¬ 
tilation is installed, concrete blocks may 
be safely used. The hollow tile blocks, 
however, are more durable, and in most 
cases less expensive, and furthermore, 
permit the use of the stucco finish, which 
has more of a finish and makes a better 
looking job than in case the cement 
blocks are used. In case of a long and 
continuous spell of wet weather, the ce¬ 
ment blocks are very apt to evidence a 
moist condition, and dampness may pre¬ 
vail in the stable. The King system 
of ventilation should be installed in 
every case where cement blocks are used. 
F. c. M. 
- ^ 
RAISE YOUR SILAGE CORN WITH 
FRANK COE FERTILIZERS 
1857: THE BUSINESS FARMERS’ STANDARD FOR OVER FIFTY-FIVE YEARS 11914 
HARVESTING SILAGE CORN RAISED WITH E. FRANK COE FERTILIZERS ON A MASSACHUSETTS FARM 
Many dairymen often deprive themselves of the benefits of a good crop of silage corn because they do not have enough 
barn manure with which to raise it. 
It is true that there is probably no other crop on which stable manure may be used to such good advantage as on corn; 
yet every practical farmer should realize that stable manure is not a necessity for profitable corn growing. 
Says Mr. H. W. Collingwood, the able and experienced editor of The Rural New-Yorker: “Do not believe those who 
tell you that you must have manure in order to grow corn. Some of the largest yields on record have been grown with 
chemical fertilizers and sod.” 
We specialize in fertilizers for silage corn. If you will advise us of your proposed acreage and also tell us the character 
of your soil, we shall be glad to give you our best suggestions, based upon many years of practical experience. A letter or 
postal card will have prompt attention. 
THE COE-MORTIMER COMPANY, 51 Chambers St., NEW YORK CITY 
