316 
Mar- h 3. 1917. 
but in spite ot this vandals got inside the 
fence and cut their initials all over the 
trunk, and in other ways defaced it. 
Whether it was due to this mutilation 
or some other cause, the tree finally died, 
but luckily this picture was taken earl¬ 
ier, so that while the tree is dead we 
may still see this curious freak of na¬ 
ture. The part containing the bear 
growth was turned over to a Masonic 
lodge as a curiosity. 
A Strong-growing Chinese Peach 
Tuk Tt. N.-Y. has referred several 
times to the Chine.se peach, Amygdalus 
Davidiana. which has been introduced by 
botanical e.xplorers traveling for the 
IT. S. Department of Agriculture. The 
accompanying picture shows one of the.se 
Chinese Peach Amygdalus Davidiana 
trees growing at the C'hico, Cal., J ield 
Station. The tr<‘es shown was planted 
as .seed in ^Dirch, liXX), and is now 20 
feet high, with a trunk circumference of 
20 inches one foot from the ground, ft 
makes a perfect union with plums, 
peaches, apricots and almonds. 
“ The Split Rock”— Power of Growth 
Old students at the Michigan Agricul¬ 
tural College will recognize an old 
friend in the. picture shown at Fig. 117, 
jiage 31.3. The split rock has served as 
jn-eacher and stimulator to thou.sands of 
farm boys who were struggling to obtain 
an education. It stands midway be¬ 
tween the college and the city of I-.ans- 
ing. Many a discouraged boy resting by 
the roadside on his hot and dusty walk 
from town has had the lesson forced upon 
him that if a little wild cherry tree 
growing in scanty soil can split a large 
boulder, he can split the difficulties 
which .surround a human -being. 
The 'earliest record of this rock was 
made by the late Dr. ('. F. Bessey in 
1.VG9. At that time he said the little 
tree was about two feet high and one- 
third of an inch in diameter. The crack 
in the rock was not more than half an 
inch wide. When the writer of this was 
a student, the crack had extended 
through the I’ock and the tree was per¬ 
haps eight inches in diameter. It now 
measures 13 inches in diameter at the 
top of the .stone, and as we see, has com¬ 
pletely split the boulder. !■ rom the best 
information at ‘hand, the tree is about G4 
years old. It seems to have been a 
small wild cherry s<“eilling pulled up by 
a workman and planted half in sport in 
the dirt at the upper part of a small 
crack. 
It is a wonderful illustration of the 
great, force exerted in the growth of a 
tree, and what a sermon might be given 
from this text! 
Curious Grafting Results 
Fig. 110, on page 314, shows an apple 
tree at Hope Farm, There are many old 
trees on the farm much like this one. 
They are very old—dating back to the 
time when the big early sweet apples 
were in demand. The twisted trunk at 
the bottom is evidently the seedling upon 
Avhich the first graft was made. The 
older farmers cut this seedling off and 
put in a graft, pi-obably from a .sweet 
apple. This graft was weaker than the 
stock and made a poor growth—as we 
see. Not satisfied with the way this 
variety behaved, the farmer finally cut 
it off and put in two grafts of the 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Nyack type. This wood w^as congenial 
and Ave .see how those grafts have grown. 
The tree is still in fair condition and 
giA’es crops of fair fruit Avhen properly 
spraye<l. lYe often have complaints from 
people Avho try to top-work old orchards 
to the effect that the new growth is 
not .satisfactory. We find that many of 
these old trees are past their prime, and 
do not take kindly to any efforts to 
put them at Avork. Then, too. the neAV 
stock grafted into them is not congenial, 
and AA'e have the re.sult shoAvn in the pic¬ 
ture. 
Small Potatoes for Seed 
Factors Involved.—T he question of 
whether to plant market potatoes worth 
tAvo dollars or more per bushel or small 
culls worth con.siderably less is a burn¬ 
ing one this sea.son. The an.SAver de))ends 
on three things; first, the relath’e cost of 
the large and small seed; second, the 
relativi! price of each compared with 
the price Avhich may be expected for the 
crop when dug next fall; and, third, the 
size of the crop Avhich each Avill produce, j 
Naturally, if the cull seed ahvays yielded 
as Avell as the large, it would be used, 
because cheaper. But there is just AA’here 
good judgment comes in, for small seed 
varies much more in quality than large, 
and so the value of any lot of small 
seed is harder to estimate. 
Variations in Planting.—W hy are 
some potatoes small instead of all be¬ 
ing uniformly large? On the ansAver de¬ 
pends much of their value as seed. We 
know that some varieties always set 
part of their tubers so much later than 
the rest that there are always a lot of 
culls. Each of these is just as good as 
the large tubers from the same hill, per¬ 
haps even better, because there is rea¬ 
son to believe rhat immature seed yields 
better than rii>ened. When hills ai-e 
planted closer together than' the strength 
of the soil’ Avarrants, the ci'op Avill run 
small. I'here are some places, as in 
Great Britain and fVdorado, Avhere .s<iil 
disease.s or other ti'oubles make it ad¬ 
visable to plant s(‘ed Avithout cutting. 
So potatoes intended for use .as seed 
there are often planted only six to nine 
inches apart in the row, to make all 
groAV small. ObserA’ant jnaictical "farmers 
know hoAV the number of potatoes set in 
each hill varies greatly Avith the rain¬ 
fall at about the time of setting. Oftmi 
tAvice as many Avill be set iiT a Avet sea¬ 
son as in another Avhich is dry at this 
time. 
Results from Cull Seed.—U nder 
most conditions in- the T’nit<‘d State's 
careful and accurate tests by scientists 
and practical groAvei-s have .shown poorer 
yields from the use of cull' .seed than 
from the use of large cut seed. Wt* 
have shown that in' many cases small 
seed is good. 3'here are many other 
cases in which there is some strong 
reason for the poorer yields from the 
culi seed. Anyone walking along a toav 
of potatoes after digging Avill notice 
hoAV a small part of the hills are very 
largely made up Atf culls, AA’hile the bc'st 
hills have very few. If the groAver uses 
the culls fur se.-d. he will be using A-ery 
few' of tin' best hills as parents for his 
next year'.s, crop, and using mainly the 
veiy poorest hills for that purpose. 
Like iiroduces like. 3die dairyman does 
nqt saA'e his In'iO'r calves from his poor¬ 
est coAvs, but from his best. The corn 
groAA'er does not carefully find and use 
for his seed the jioorest luibbins in his 
crop, ^'he seed of Avheat, oats, clover or 
timothy is carefully run through a fan- 
ning-mill, Avhich takes out all the poor 
and light kernels. 
Effects of Disease.— When any 
hill contains mostly small ))Otatoes, there 
is strong reason for beli<'ving that it has 
been attacked by some kind of disease or 
degeneration, and that the crop groAvn 
by its use as seed Avill continue to have 
the same trouble and poor yield. Among 
these troubles Avhich have been found are 
those called leaf-roll, curly-dwarf, and 
mo.saic. We do not knoAV just AA’hat 
cau.ses them, although many believe that 
the great cau.se is the hot climate of the 
United States. Certainly, potatoes 
ripening in the South in Summer are 
almost always poor for seed. Ea’ou as 
far north as OttaAva, Canada, there has 
been in several seasons heat and drought 
(Continued on page 352.) 
FRASER’S TREES 
are budded from known parents and prop¬ 
erl}' grown. Fraser’s Trees are money¬ 
makers. For the home garden Ave offer 
5 extra size, ready to bear, apple, 
pear, plum or cherry trees, your 
choice, delivered free east 
of the Mississippi for . . 
25 extra good fruit trees, all dif¬ 
ferent varieties to suit your cli¬ 
mate, delivered east of 
the Mississippi for . . 
FRASER’S TREE BOOK is an export's opinion 
of apples, peaches, plums and cherries. You 
need a copy. Send for it. 
SAMUEL FRASER NURSERY, INC. 
126 MAIN STREET GENESEO, N. Y. 
SPECIAL OFFER: 
The grandest red rambler in 
existence. Hardy as an oak. 
Clear crimson maroon. Flowers 
are larg^ and double—30 to 40 on a 
stem, we grow 400 varieties of 
the “Best Roses for America.”— 
All gxuiranteed to bloom. 
For 10c and 
the names and 
addresses of 6 rose-’.overs we will send you 
^ ' one 2-year, field-grown Excelsa, 1917 Floral 
Guide, and coupon worth 25c—postpaid. 'Take 
WM' advantage of this unusual offer today ! 
"^"^ONARD 
’& JONES CO.. Box j WEST GROVE, PA. 
Kobert Pyle, Pr€3, A. Wintzer, Vice-Pres, 
Rose Specialists—Backed hy 50 years* experience. 
ir ROSES 
M cNEIL’S Early, Hale, 
Delicious, Opalescent 
and hundreds of other 
excellent varieties at low 
prices. Send for our big 
special catalog. 
KING BROS. NURSERIES 
Box 7, Dansville, N. Y. 
"It is cheapest to buy the best” 
WRAtEMARK 
Millions of Trees 
PLANTS, VINES, ROSES, ETC. 
The oldest, largest and most complete niirseryin 
.Michigan. Send for catalog. Prices reasonable 
1. E. ILGENFRITZ’ SONS CO. 
THE MONROE NT RSERY MONROE, .MICHIGAN 
EHODES DOUBLE OUT 
PBUNINQ 8HEAB 
RHODES MFG. CO. 
529 SO DIVISION AVE. GRAND 
Cuts from 
both side* of 
limb and does 
not bruise 
the bark. 
Made in all Styles and Sizes 
All shear- 
delivered free 
to your door. 
Send for circu 
lar and prices 
RAPIDS, MICHIGAN 
maloney's TRE^ 
fTSeid 
'at cost’. __ 
f^plusone 
10 PEAR TREES FOR 98c. ^ 
I^ar ft, Firttt UarteU tt» JQ for 9Sc. 
Our Trees have been for years advertised m 
the Farm Papers which Kuaranteo their 
advertisinpT* If the trees had not mado 
’ good this advertisement would not appear. 
W© invite you to visit our Nursttrv of 400 
acres, the largest in New York State, or 
send for our big free wholesale Catalogue 
illustrated in colors. 
MALONEY BROS. & WELLS CO. 
47 East St. Dansville, N. Y. 
J)an8viUr’ft Pioneer WholeaaU Nur^ericB 
PEtkCH TREES 2c to 8c 
R ipe tomatoes 
Vegetables and Flowers a full month earlier with the 
BALL SEED and PLANT FORCER 
My beautiful Free Book tells you how. 
The Ball Mfg. Co., Department K, Tilenside, Pa. 
5,000,000 STRAWBERRY PLANTS 
at $ 1.90 to $2 per 1,000 
Frank Knowles of Ohio says " yoni- Plants are its 
good as I have ptiid $8 per I.OOO for.' Cattilog tree. 
Write today. C. S. PERUUF.. Box 21. Showell. Md. 
RASPBERRY PLANTS 
and other hardy smallfruifc.s from the Green Moun 
tain State. .Send for catalog. 
<;K0. I>. AIKEX Box M, Putney, 11. 
Clrouiharriao from -Tune to November from'‘ldeaj.;; 
Otr3WD6rri68 "Peerless,’' "f^nperb, ' Onwani, 
and '■ Forward.'’ Pl.-ints for sale by ibe originator. 
CircMilars free. FAMUEl.. OOOPEH. Oelevan, N. Y. 
EVERBEARING RED RASPBERRY, S2 PER 100 
No agents’ cominis.«ion to jtay. buy direct from 
the nurseries. SEND FOR I’ltlCES. 
BRIDGEVILLE NURSERIES 
I MYERS & SONS Bridgovlllo, Del. 
1 
Strawberries 
APPLE TREES 8c to 20c 
WM. P. 
RUPERT 
&S0N 
Sell Trees Direct 
Send for Trade List of wonderful 
bargains and 25 Family Fruit Collec¬ 
tions for large and small buyers. No 
dissatisfied customers. We pay all 
transportation charges. 
Box 20 Seneca, N. 'Y. 
New Peach-Wilma 
A Seedling of Elberta, with Elberta foliage, Elber- 
ta fruit and Elberta proiiiictivoness. Extends 
the Elberta season ten days. 
W. B. Cole, Nurseryman, Painesville, O. 
Big drop in iirices. Buy now from us. Also 
I millions of trees, slirubs and plants. New price 
I list and catalog ready. 
THE WESTMINSTER NURSERY, Boi 129, Westminsler, Md. 
Large, Luscious Ones 
The kind you can grow 
from Allen’s Plants \vill 
mean delicious Berries 
’ on your table and money 
in your pocket. Straw¬ 
berries will succeed in 
the garden, in the young 
orchard, in the field—wher¬ 
ever other crops will grow, Our 
1917 Book of Berries tells how. 
Write today for your copy—FREE. 
THE W. F. ALLEN CO. 
72 Market St,. Salisbury. Md, 
RELIABLE 
TREES 
PLANTS 
- - I i-i SHRUBS 
If you intend to plant Fruit, Shade or Orna¬ 
mental Trees or Plants, iuid want the best, 
write for our Price-Catalog. We ileal dii eet 
and guarantee satisfaction. Estab. 1877. 
CALL’S NURSERIES Box 60 PERRY, OHIO 
More 
Salable^ 
Fruit 
Nut Trees 
\Iy liarti}' Penn¬ 
sylvania Grown 
Budded and (graft¬ 
ed trees are the best 
for eastern and 
northern planting. Handsome catalogue 
and cultural guide free. 
J. F. JONES, The Nut Tree Specialist 
LANCASTER Box R PENNSYLVANIA 
TUB SAFETY 
LADDER can't 
tipoveror fall down. 
Is what the name 
inplles — a safe 
No V\, ladder. Mounted 
on a light steel 
truck. Can be 
moved easily hy 
one man. Never 
leans again.st 
the tree. Can't 
barklinibsor 
b_reak twigs, 
i n e f o r 
1 spr 
iinplenient 
an orcliardist 
can own pays foi 
itself ouicker tliau 
'■!5aCely Ladder.” Gets 
all tlie fruit on outer 
branches that ts otherwise likely 
to lie lost. Tills means more 
salalile fruit and larger profits. 
I’ieking can he done much 
quicker witll 
The Safety Ladder 
—YOr NEED FEWER MEN. 
Sold oft 10 dfty« freer tria!^ 
Writf for circular 
THE SAFETY LADDER COMPANY 
614 Reibold Building Dayton, Ohio 
. aying 
and prun¬ 
ing. 
SMUT 
EVERGREENS 
- 38 Hardy Tested Varieties 
Best for windbreaks, hedges and lawn 
planting. Protect buildings, crops, stock, 
gardens and orchards. Hill’s Evergreens 
are Nursery grown and hardy every¬ 
where. From $1 to $10 per hundred. . 
Hill’s Evergreen book and 60 Great Bargain sheet ^ent 
free. Write today. World’s largest growers. Lst.l8o5. 
D. HILL NURSERV CO., DUNDEE, ILLINOIS 
Box 2120 Evergreen Specialists 
»!£GRAPE-VINES 
69 varieties. Also Small Fruits, Trees, etc. Best rooted 
stoi’k. (leiinine. I'lieap. 2 sample vines mailed I’oiTOe. Ues- 
criptiveeatalog free.LEWIS ROE SCH,Box L. Predonia, N. Y. 
I NUT CULTURE gg 
(lisous.sed by experts. Ofliciul Jtiumal. 
‘ .26 a year; sample, 15o. American 
JT Journal, - Rochester, N. Y. 
Berry Tickets and Stationery tTSg b“/picke?° 
Samples free. T, M. JONES, Goreville, Illinois 
SPORICIDE 
in oat$. Simple to treat. Sent direct on trial where we have no 
agent. Free Booklet. Local Agents wanted. Established 1905. 
SPORICIDE CHEMICAL CO., Atlanta, N.Y. 
THE GASOLINE ENGINE ON THE 
FARM. Its operation, repair and uses. 
By Xeno W. Putnam.' 
given for handling the 
This Is the kind 
of 11 book every 
farmer will appre¬ 
ciate and every 
farm home ouglit 
to liave. Includes 
selecting the most 
suitable engine for 
farm work, its 
most convenient 
and eiliclent in¬ 
stallation, with 
chapters on trou¬ 
bles, their reme¬ 
dies, and how to 
avoid them. The 
care and manage¬ 
ment of the farm 
tractor in plowing, 
harrowing, har¬ 
vesting and road 
grading are fully 
covered; also plain 
directions are 
tractor on the road. 
530 pages. Nearly 180 engravings. 
This book will be sent to any address prepaid for 
TWO NEW YEARLY SI BSCRIPTIONS 
or Twenty Ten-week Trial Subscriptions 
or Four Yearly Renewal Subscriptions 
or One New Yearly Subscription and Two 
Renewal Subscriptions. 
TlTe Rural New Yorker, 333 West 30th St., N. Y, 
HARDY NORTHERN GROWN TREES and PLANTS 
HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of strong, thrifty trees, plants, shrubs, small fruit plants and vines, 
grown In our own nursery in nortliern Ohio. Send for catalog. 
T. B. WEST, MAPLE BEND NURSERY, Lock Box llO, PERRY, OHIO 
