731 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
RURALISMS 
Tomatoes Drop Flowers. 
I have trouble with the blossoms of 
tomatoes dropping off. Is this caused by 
a small insect biting them? n. H. 
Bethel. Pa. 
From the query I infer these tomatoes 
are growing in a greenhouse. I have nev¬ 
er known any insect to destroy the bloom 
of the tomato. The trouble is very likely 
caused by insufficient fertilization of blos¬ 
soms, too low temperature, or too much 
water. Another cause also may be too 
much nitrogen in soil, or not enough phos¬ 
phoric acid. While setting fruit tomatoes 
should not be over-watered. Water thor¬ 
oughly, then allow soil to get moderately 
dry before another watering. Try to have 
temperature 60 deg. at night, 75 to 80 
deg. daytime when sun shines. Take a 
light stick and pad one end with soft 
cloth, then each bright day go through 
the house and tap each plant lightly, just 
hard enough to shake it thoroughly sev¬ 
eral times, to fertilize the blossoms. Do 
not fertilize soil too heavily while plants 
are in bloom, but when fruit is pretty 
well set you can use either a high-grade 
fertilizer as a mulch, or liquid manure. 
One ton per acre of phosphate containing 
-% to 4% of nitrogen. 6% to 8% phos¬ 
phoric acid and 6% to 8% potash will 
not be too much to develop crop unless 
soil is very rich to start with. E. j. w. 
kinds more tender in bud than others, but 
I never had observed such a great differ¬ 
ence in the hardiness of the foliage. 
Under separate cover I am sending you 
some twigs of both Elberta with nearly 
every leaf injured, and others such as 
Frank, Lizzie, Katie, Barbara and Tena 
with every leaf sound, and loaded with 
young fruit. I have the Hale also in 
beaming this season. It shows a fair crop 
with very little damage to foliage. But 
I note something very peculiar about it; 
of the fruit set. on some of the limbs fully 
50 per cent are- doubles and even three 
and four in a lump This is not the case 
in the others named ; in fact, this charac¬ 
teristic of the many doubles is not found 
generally speaking among the North 
China race. The Crawfords used to show 
up that way years ago, but being inferior 
naturally they have been dropped from 
our lists long since. I would name the 
requirements for a successful regular 
bearer, first, hardiness of bud and second, 
a long blooming period. I have noted 
some varieties blooming not within two 
weeks as long as do others. Tena, Lizzie 
and Frank bloomed this year for fully five 
weeks; that is, during this time there 
were receptive blossoms ready to be pol¬ 
linated, while I have two others, Eva and 
Joe, that hardly had these blooms for 
three weeks, with the result that they 
have but little fruit, while all the long 
bloomers are loaded. 
The Ivieffer pears had about finished 
blooming at time of the last freeze, and 
as a result but very few escaped. The 
Garber blooming later will give good 
crops. These are the only kinds of pears 
that are a success with us. 
Texas. J. w. STUBE.XRAUCIL 
Rye in Young Orchard. 
Is it true that rye sown as a cover crop 
in a young orchard, hurts the little trees? 
R. C. II. 
Rye, or in fact any other cover crop 
will injure young trees if you permit the 
crop to grow too long. These cover crops, 
and particularly rye, use up immense 
quantities of water, especially when they 
begin to form their seed. In a dry time, 
and especially when sharp winds are 
blowing over the ground, such crops suck 
the moisture out of the soil, and do not 
leave enough to provide for the trees. We 
have had cases in a very dry May where 
rye was left to go to seed in a young 
orchard. The soil baked as hard as a 
brick, and the moisture in the upper part 
was practically exhausted. The result 
was that the young trees could not grow 
properly, and were stunted all through 
the season. If that rye had beeu cut 
early in the month, and left on the 
ground, or even taken away as fodder, the 
trees would have made a very much bet¬ 
ter growth, because the soil would have 
provided for them. Rye may be plowed 
under so as to injure the trees. This oc¬ 
curs when a heavy, sappy crop is turned 
under and the soil left loose and open. 
Fhe air works in, and dries out the soil 
thoroughly, and also starts a fermenta¬ 
tion in the green rye. Both of these 
things tend to injure the young trees. If 
the rye is turned under, and at once 
packed down hard, this loss of moisture 
and the souring will be prevented, and 
the rye handled in this way will prove a 
useful thing for the trees. Some farmers 
are prejudiced against rye as a green ma¬ 
nure, as they say it poisons the land. The 
trouble is not in the poison, but in the 
way the rye is handled. When it is pack¬ 
ed thoroughly down, and a fair quantity 
of lime used on top of it, there will be no 
complaint about poisoning. 
Growing Clematis and Barberry from Seed. 
How are Clematis paniculata and Ber- 
beris Thunbergii raised from seed? 
Rochester, N. Y. S. S. 
Clematis paniculata.—As soon as the 
seeds ripen in November, they should 
be gathered, cleaned and may be imme¬ 
diately sown, in the open ground or in 
the cold frame. If in the open ground, 
it is best to sow in beds about five feet 
wide and raised four or five inches above 
the surrounding ground surface, to pre¬ 
vent washing. One by six inch boards 
set edgeways along the sides and ends of 
the bed will be desirable. Raising the 
beds somewhat above the surrounding 
surface insures good drainage, which is 
essential to good germination of most 
kinds of hardy seeds. The soil should 
be a deep heavy loam, well enriched with 
thoroughly rotted manure. Sow in drills 
about six inches apart, and one inch in 
depth, scattering the seeds rather spar¬ 
ingly in the row. At the approach of 
Winter mulch with half-rotted strawy 
manure, which should be raked off in the 
Spring as soon as freezing weather is 
over. If kept clean and cultivated occa¬ 
sionally they will make fair-sized plants 
by Fall. If sown in the cold frame, the 
seed bed may be mulched with coarse 
manure as directed for open ground cul¬ 
ture, or the sash may be kept on during 
the Winter, in which case mulching will 
not be necessary. 
Berberis Thunbergii.—Gather the seed 
when the leaves fall, rub them between 
the hands to break the meaty covering, 
sow in shallow boxes in rich sandy soil. 
Firm the soil well and if they can have 
the benefit of a cool greenhouse the germ¬ 
ination will be quite uniform. Prick 
the seedlings off into other boxes when 
two inches high, giving each plant about 
two inches square space. As soon as the 
ground is in good working order the seed¬ 
lings should be planted in rows outside. 
If to be cultivated by horsepower, the 
rows should be at least .°,6 inches apart 
and the plants four inches or so apart in 
the row. If to be cultivated by hand, the 
rows may be one foot closer together. 
With good cultivation the plants will 
grow a foot high the first year. k. 
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ATLAS 
^ CEMENT 
When a man asks for 
Atlas, and insists on get¬ 
ting it—will accept no 
substitute, he knows 
something about Port¬ 
land Cement. Look 
carefully for this black 
trade mark with yellow 
letters on every bag of 
cement. Insist on Atlas. 
The Atlas Portland Cement Co.. 30 Broad St.. New York 
CHICAGO MINNEAPOLIS PHILADELPHIA 
raying Pays 
Not only 
every _ _ 
yields of better quality 
ten acres, first year. 
IRON AGE Sprayers 
have double actingr pumps, wood tanks, thorough automatic 
mixing of solutions, wind shift, pressed brass nozzles and 
strainers. For one or two horses. See your dealer and writo 
ua for new “Spray*' catalog and spraying guide. Both free. 
BATEMAN M’F’G COMPANY 
50 or 
100 
Gallon 
Tanks 
“Of course,” remarked Farmer Corn- 
tossel, “I don’t pretend to understand the 
ways of finance. But there’s one thing 
that I think ought to be explained to me 
so’s I can see through it.” “What is 
that?” “Why an egg is liable to be more 
valuable after it has been in cold storage 
than when it is fresh laid.”—Washington 
Star. 
Observations on Peach Varieties. 
W e have had up to date a most pecu¬ 
liar season. To February 1 weather was 
normal. All through February there was 
but one frost; in fact there was regular 
Spring weather. March set in cold, with 
cloudy and drizzling weather for many 
days, winding up with a good snow about 
middle of month. During remainder ther¬ 
mometer ranged mostly between 30 and 
JO, with two mornings about five points 
below freezing. Peaches had started 
blooming, last week in February. 
1 bus, it will be noticed that there was 
not much favorable weather for success¬ 
ful pollinatiou. Yet strange to say many 
or the trees or rather varieties came 
through with practically full crops, while 
others, especially Elberta, have but very 
little in the way of a crop left. Owing 
to the several freezes the last week in 
March, with trees well leafed out, the 
on age on some of the varieties also suf- 
ered badly, most of it crimped, ill shaped 
and beginning to drop off, Elberta here 
also being affected the worst of any, 
while other varieties standing even next 
flf f I : Jb i ( ; rta ’ d .° pot appear to be af¬ 
fected at all. This is certainlv somewhat 
strange. We always had noticed some 
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HOW MUCH TO USE 
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P. O. Station “B,” Buffalo, N. Y. 
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And greater price-slashes on all other New 
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Canada is Callin&\8u 
to her RichWheat Lands 
She extends to Americans a hearty invitation to settle on 
her FREE Homestead lands of 160 acres each or secure 
some of the low priced lands in Manitoba, Saskatchewan 
and Alberta. 
This year wheat is higher but Canadian land just as 
cheap, so the opportunity is more attractive than ever. Canada 
wants you to help to feed the world by tilling some of her 
soil— land similar to that which during many years has 
averaged 20 to 45 bushels of wheat to the acre. Think 
what you can make with wheat around $1 a bushel 
and land so easy to get. Wonderful yields also of Oats, 
Barley and Flax. Mixed farming is fully as profitable 
an industry as grain growing. 
The Government this year is asking farmers to put increased acreage 
into grain. Military service is not compulsory in Canada but there is a 
great demand for farm labor to replace the many young men who have 
volunteered for service. The climate is healthful and agreeable, 
railway facilities excellent, good schools and churches conven¬ 
ient. Write for literature and particulars as to reduced railway 
rates to Superintendent Immigration, Ottawa, Canada, or to 
J. S. CRAWFORD 
Syracuse, N. Y. 
Canadian Government Agent 
301 E. Genesee St 
