64 
THE RURAL M E W-YORKER 
Protecting Early Melons. 
A NEIGHBOR has given me a copy 
of The R. N.-Y. and on page 715 I 
notice a picture of protecting melon 
plants by the use of wire screens. I am 
expecting to plant watermelons and musk- 
melons extensively next Spring for very 
early marketing and had thought of using 
cheesecloth over a box frame for frost 
protection. Not seeing any particulars 
relative to the picture I write for all 
information possible about frost protec¬ 
tion by using window screen. Is using 
cheesecloth over a box frame an advan¬ 
tage over the former, and is it about as 
good as glass? H. F. H. 
King Hill, Idaho. 
The use of plant protectors and plant 
forcers is still in the experimental stage. 
The cut that you referred to showing a 
wire screen cover over a melon hill was 
intended more as a protection against the 
melon beetle than from frost. I do not 
know how valuable such a cover would be 
in case of frost. 
Last Spring I used a few covers in the 
garden made of heavy muslin, and also 
plant-bed cloth stretched over a wire 
frame. Four wires extended about six 
inches into the soil, so it would not be 
blown away by the wind. They will 
protect the young plants from damage 
by light frosts (provided the plants do 
not touch the muslin), from cold heavy 
winds and from insects, but they have 
disadvantages. Fix-st seed planted in the 
open very eai-ly will not come up as 
quickly under a muslin cover as it will 
without one. I attribute this to the 
fact that the hill does not get dii-ect 
sunlight, so much needed in early Spring. 
Therefore I would not deem it advisable 
to put the cover on until the young 
plants appear. Second, the plants under 
cover do not have the tough, hard, dark 
green appearance that we like to see, 
and when covers are removed they are 
more tender and delicate than plants 
gi’own without covers. If covers are left 
on any length of time the plants will be¬ 
come much larger than those without 
covers, but when these covers are re¬ 
moved the plant seems to stand still for 
several days, and by the time it becomes 
accustomed to the changed conditions the 
other plants grown without covers are far 
ahead of it. Another thing, if beetles are 
present they will immediately collect on 
these tender plants and devour them al¬ 
most before one is aware of it. Individ¬ 
ual glass forcers have been used but the 
danger of forcing a tender growth is even 
greater than with muslin covers. The 
above named disadvantages, together 
with the very great cost of providing in¬ 
dividual protection for each hill, is mak¬ 
ing us go slow on plant protectors. We 
will all continue to experiment with them 
on a small scale to see if we can over¬ 
come some of the disadvantages, but un¬ 
til that time comes we will not use them 
extensively. tbuckeb jb. 
Peas and Potatoes. 
N EXT season I think of making a spe¬ 
cialty of one or two vegetables, po- 
- tatoes and I think peas. Can you 
tell me a good variety of peas, or what 
you think would be a good variety? I 
want peas of good quality and very pro¬ 
lific. For potatoes I think of planting 
Cobbler or Manistee for early and Green 
Mountain for late. Will they be good 
varieties? Do you know of any better? 
I have a very good market, can sell all 
I can raise but by making a specialty of 
one or two vegetables there will not be 
so much work, as I am working my little 
six acres myself. A. F. c. 
Monmouth Co., N. J. 
When peas are grown for the home 
market, particularly when sold direct to 
the consumer, it is desirable and more 
profitable to grow’ a succession, commenc¬ 
ing with the first early, to be followed 
by mid-season and late sorts. Peas of 
the first early smooth sorts, should be 
planted as early as the ground is in con¬ 
dition to work; the wrinkled sorts may 
be planted somewhat later, usually about 
April 20; the mid-season and late sorts 
may be planted up to the middle of May. 
The early dwarf sorts will need no sup¬ 
ports, but the late tall-growiug varieties 
will require supports of brush or other 
material. (See catalogues for height the 
various sorts grow). All garden peas in¬ 
quire good sti-ong fertile land to produce 
a good paying cx*op. Large yields cannot 
be obtained on poor soil, and to obtain 
the maximum yield, which should be 
aimed at by every gx-ower of this vege¬ 
table for profit, the soil on which they 
are grown should have applied to it be¬ 
fore plowing well-i’otted manure at the 
rate of 30 to 40 tons to the acre. Fresh 
manure is injurious to peas. It should 
be buried under as deeply as the ground 
can well be broken with a two-horse 
plow. After plowing, harrow well and 
open shallow furrows, 30 to 36 inches 
apart for the dwarf eaxdy sorts, and 36 
to 48 inches apart for the mid-season 
and tall-growing later sorts. Cover the 
smooth-seeded sorts two to three inches 
deep and the wrinkled sorts two inches 
deep. Cultivate like corn and beans. The 
land cannot be made to yield its maxi¬ 
mum returns in a single crop. As peas 
cannot be profitably grown the entire 
season in your section, you w r ill increase 
your revenue from the land to a consid¬ 
erable extent, by following the pea crop 
with bush beans, green and wax podded, 
or sweet corn, or both. The beans may 
be grown in between the hills of corn, 
thus securing two crops with but little 
more labor in planting and cultivating 
than is required to grow either of these 
crops planted separately. Neither of 
these crops requires very rich soil, nor 
much cultivation, are easy to gather, and 
are always in demand, at a fair price. 
The sweet corn requires the least labor 
to produce, and is usually quite profitable 
as there never seems to be quite enough 
first grade in the market to meet the de¬ 
mand. 
The following varieties are among the 
best in their respective classes and sea¬ 
sons, and will in most instances be found 
entirely satisfactory. First early smooth 
seeded sorts: Alaska, Early June, Eu¬ 
reka. First early wrinkled sorts: Gra- 
dus, Nott’s Excelsior, Thomas Laxton. 
Second early wrinkled: Bliss Abundance, 
Heroine, Advancer. General or late 
crop varieties: Champion of England, 
Stratagem, Telephone. I have mentioned 
three varieties suitable for each season; 
there is but little choice between those 
in their respective classes. All are good, 
one or two varieties in each class should 
be grown only, as two many sorts be¬ 
come confusing. One quart will plant 
about 100 feet of drill, 1*4 to two bush¬ 
els to the acre. 
As to potatoes, you will find the Irish 
Cobbler for early and Green Mountain 
for late crop are well known in the shore 
markets and will probably be the most 
profitable you can grow. Both varieties 
are good yielders and good table sorts. 
If planted early, the Cobblers can be 
cleared off by July 15, and the ground 
can be planted to sweet corn or bush 
beans. If planted to sweet corn, use 
some early sort such as Metropolitan, 
Crosby or Early Evergreen. K. 
Any Profit in Raising Pheasants ? 
1 WOULD like to secure infoi-mation 
relative to profits (usual or probable) 
in the raising of Chinese or Ring¬ 
necked pheasants. Are the difficulties in 
raising, care or mortality any greater 
than ordinary poultry? Also do you 
consider New England cities like Hart¬ 
ford, New Haven, Springfield, etc., af¬ 
ford good markets, or would New York 
and Boston have to be looked to? 
Glastonbury, Conn. 0. H. j. 
The pi’ospect for profits in raising 
pheasants is much the same as in x-aising 
Belgian bares or certain breeds of poul¬ 
try. If you can sell enough eggs and 
breeding birds at good prices there 
should be some money in it as a side 
line in connection with poultry under 
present conditions of game law in New 
York. I do not know what the Connec¬ 
ticut law is, but if it permits the sale 
of pheasants as food it might be profit¬ 
able when the markets have become used 
to expecting pheasants at certain seasons. 
The largest cities are by far the best 
markets. I have never raised pheasants, 
but have understood that they are about 
as easy as turkeys to raise, and perhaps 
will stand close confinement a little bet¬ 
ter. They must have a more varied food 
than chickens, and the enclosure must be 
roofed over if they are to be kept in. 
Wherever the State game law’s make it 
possible there is a chance for some pro¬ 
fit from the sale of hunting permits on 
well stocked preserves. A man will pay 
more for the px-ivilege of shooting a few 
pheasants than he would pay for the 
same birds in the market, and it will 
cost less to raise them in this way. 
A. C. W. 
New York Apples in Wisconsin. 
I AM sending you under separate cover 
a medium-sized apple, Northwestern 
Greening, of 1913 crop, kept in an 
open box in cellar where the tempera¬ 
ture goes from 35 to 50 degrees in Win¬ 
ter and 60 to 70 degrees in Summer. It 
was not wrapped or any preparation 
made to assist its keeping. Thei’e have 
been a great many cars of New York 
apples in Wisconsin this Fall. Those 
packed under the new grading law show 
a good improvement over other years, 
but I have seen some shipped as unclassi¬ 
fied stock which were very fine on the 
face end for a little w’ay down in the 
barrel and the remainder ought to have 
gone to the vinegar mill or the pigpen, 
or been left to rot in the orchard. They 
w’ere hardly worth the freight, yet the 
consumei’s are paying $2.65 to $3.50 
a barrel. e. m. Johnson. 
Wisconsin. 
R. N.-Y.—While this apple showed its 
age it was still sound and reasonably 
firm. We do not regard the Northwest¬ 
ern Gi’eening as a high-flavoi’ed apple, 
but this one certainly showed fine keep¬ 
ing quality. It is discouraging to learn 
that inferior New York apples are be¬ 
ing sent away. This year gave our grow- 
ei’s a great chance to advertise their 
goods and their reputation and nothing 
but the finest fruit should ever have been 
sent away. 
Klemmer: “I see they have ordered 
all the schools closed.” Bain: “You 
don’t say so. John. What’s the trouble?” 
Klemmer: They found smallpox in the 
dictionax-y !”—Newburgh Journal. 
Wixen you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you'll get a quick reply and a 
“squai'e deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
LARGE**"* SMALL-HAHO A»dP()WER /N 
MEND" SPRAYERX 
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"Strawberry Plants That Grow” 
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Plant m ; Asparagus and Rhubarb Roots in assortment. 
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C. E. M bitten’* turneries, Box 11, Bridgman, Mich. 
Our catalogue is new, 
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LOW PRICES - FREIGHT PAID 
We sell at half the nursery agent's 
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orders. All orders guaranteed. Send 
postal for catalogue before you turn 
this page. 
RICH LAND NURSERIES 
Box 446 Rochester, N. Y. 
9> 
K-; 
S 
New Free Catalog 
^Tseeds 
Mail a postal today for your copy of the 
finest seed catalog Isbell ever published. 
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Seed Growers for 36 Years 
824 Pearl Street, Jackson, Mich. 
January 16, 
When you write advertisers mention The 
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Kelly’s Trees 
Direct from the Grower 
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at Growers* Prices 
We have grown thousands of splendid 
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All our splendid fruit trees are 
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Write for Our Catalog Today 
Ix>ok it over carefully; compare our 
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Quality Trees for years. 
KELLY BROS., Wholesale Nurseries 
248 Main Street, Dansville, N. Y. 
You’ll never regret planting Kelly Trees 
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SHRUBS 
our 
GEORGE A. SWEET NURSERY CO. 
20 Maple Street Dansville, N. Y. 
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JOSEPH HARRIS CO. 
Bex 102, Celdwater, N. Y. 
