RURALISMS 
Propagating Boxwood 
1. I wish to grow boxwood from cut¬ 
tings. How is this done? 2. How can 
I dry sweet corn for Winter use? 
Uniontown, N. J. s. s. E. 
1. The best time for propagating 
Buxus Sempervirens (boxwood), is about 
the middle of July. The wood at that 
time is just at the right stage of matur¬ 
ity to insure the most successful results. 
The method to pursue is as follows: 
The cuttings are taken from the ends of 
the branches, and are usually made about 
four or five inches long. Strip the leaves 
off the lower half, and they are then 
ready for placing in the propagating bod. 
A cold frame is an ideal place for the 
cuttings. About four inches of clean, 
sharp sand should be put in the frame 
and slightly firmed. Now with an old table 
knife open a line lengthwise of the frame 
by drawing the knife toward you, then 
insert the cuttings in the sand to a depth 
of about two inches, and about two 
inches apart in the row. Firm the sand 
along the roAv with a block of wood or 
brick, then open the second row about 
four inches from the firs'", and so on until 
the frame is full, or until you ’ ave set all 
the cuttings you wish to put in. Now 
w'ater them W'ell wdth a sprinkling can, 
place the sash on tight, and give the 
glass a good coat of whitewash to shade 
the cuttings. Keep the sash down tight 
until the cuttings have struck root, when 
they will need airing, which can be done 
b.v raising the sash in the rear three or 
four inches. While the cuttings are root¬ 
ing they will need sprinkling two or 
three times a day. This is important, 
and must under no circumstances be 
neglected. After the cuttings are i-ooted 
they must have air at all times, and 
should be gradually exposed to full light, 
wdien after a few days the sash may be 
taken off and put aside. The young 
plants may be either potted or planted 
in row's in the open ground, or they may 
remain in the sand until the following 
Spring, when they may be planted out in 
rows. 
2. In my boyhood days the farm folks 
used to dry much sweet corn for Winter 
use. They w'ould select the corn that 
was just at the best stage for roasting 
oars, take the shuck and silk off, then 
boil the ear just long enough to set the 
milk in the grain. It was then Cut from 
the cob with a sharp knife, placed in 
clean pans, and set in the sun or oven to 
dry thoroughly. When the drying was 
C'ompleted, the corn was usually bagged 
in clean muslin bags and hung up in a 
dry place. Flour bags are well suited 
for the purpose. K. 
Improving Spineless Blackberry 
I have a native blackberry which has 
no barbs on its canes. It is hardy and 
a heavy producer of good quality, fair- 
sizerl berries. How shall I proceed to 
improve size of fruit? c. M. M. 
AVinterport, Me. 
The only w'ay you could develop the 
size of your berries would be by cross- 
pollcnization upon larger varieties and 
by selection for years. This work re¬ 
quires specialized know'ledge, skill, 
science and patience. If you are very 
much interested in the work you may 
write to the New York Agricultural Ex¬ 
periment Station, Geneva, N. 1'., and ask 
them to send you their available litera¬ 
ture on the breeding of raspberries and 
blackberries. Out of 2,500 crosses they 
produced less than a half-dozen excellent 
strains. 
“Plum Pockets” a Fruit Disease 
AVill you tell me what kind of fruit 
the enclosed sample is? w. ii s 
Sullivan Co., N. Y. 
The fruit-like bodies on the branches 
from Sullivan County, N. Y., are “plum 
pockets” (Exoascus Pruni). The name 
“plum pocket” or “plum bladder,” arises 
from the curious hollow' deformity of the 
plum, caused by a fungus. The pulp 
and stone of the fruit are replaced by a 
thin, soft, inflated shell, and in place of 
the seed merely a hollow cavity exists. 
The disease appears soon after the flow¬ 
ers fall. The affected fruits vary in size 
from 2-5 cm. in length, and can be readily 
distinguished from the healthy fruit by 
JjAc rural NEW-YORKER 
their pale yellow color. As they 
they become coated over with a 
g-'i 
age, 
fine 
powder, consisting of the spores of the 
fungus which caused the malformation. 
I.ater the pockets turn black and fall. 
The disease is local in character. A 
single tree in an orchard may bear 
“pockets,” sometimes every fruit on the 
tree being affected, while surrounding 
trees are normal. A tree once affected 
continues to bear pockets in succeeding 
year.s. Treatment consists in cutting and 
burning the affected branches or trees. 
PERCY WILSON. 
New York Botanic Garden. 
Rhubarb Culture 
I have a great many questions asked 
me about rhub.arb. One man has poor 
rhubarb, while his neighbor directly 
across the fence, has splendid plants with 
large stalks and broad leaves. Will you 
give a few hints on the care and cultux'e 
of rhubarb? Does the plant do better in 
a shady or sunny spot? Does it respond 
to heavy fertilization? How often must 
the roots be divided? Will it bear all 
Summer if it is prevented from going to 
seed? Does it do any harm to pick off 
leaves and stalks the first year after di¬ 
viding roots? w'. 1 . M. 
Norwood, Mass. 
Poor rhubarb is from old plantings, or 
because of scanty cultivation and ma¬ 
nuring. Divide the hills when the stalks 
become too small for market, usually 
about seven years from setting. It will 
grow almost anywhere in this climate if 
the soil is free from standing water, but 
does best in deep loamy soil suitable for 
early potatoes and garden vegetables. 
Shade produces a deceptive, leafy growth, 
but a light yield. Give it a sunny ex¬ 
posure. Rhubarb is the rankest of feed¬ 
ers and can hardly get too much manure. 
Twelve cords of stable manure per acre 
or fifty one-horse loads is none too much, 
or say a load to from 25 to 50 hills. Old 
hills may be divided now digging or plow¬ 
ing away all but a few eyes and setting 
the parts removed for new plantings, two 
eyes in a place, and three feet apart in 
deep furrows feet distant. Put three 
big shovelfuls of manure to a hill with a 
little soil over the manure. New plant¬ 
ings should not be picked at all the sec¬ 
ond year, although a few stalks pulled for 
home use does no great harm. Picking in 
late Summer also weakens the plant, 
which needs time to store food in its 
bulky roots for the following season’s 
crop. Keep the seed stalks down and 
cultivate enough to stop weeds. 
G. B. F. 
Club Root in Cabbage 
What is good for clump-footed cab¬ 
bage ; large lumps on the roots of the 
cabbage. I have lost over 100 plants. 
E. w. 
Your cabbage plants are affected with 
the disease known :is club root, which de¬ 
velops inside of the roots of cabbage, 
cauliflower, turnips, rape, kale, radishes, 
and in the roots of many weeds such as 
wild mustard, wild turnips, shepherd’s 
purse, etc. It is caused by millions of ex¬ 
tremely tiny “worms” which develop in¬ 
side of the roots, causing the swellings. 
These “worms” exist for several j’ears, 
especially in a heavy sour soil. The ex¬ 
perienced growers of the above mentioned 
crops avoid planting these crops where 
any one of them has grown for about 
three years on light soil and for about 
five years on heavy soil. Since the dis¬ 
ease cannot persist in a sweet soil, it is 
well to apply lime, six months ahead of 
time, on the soil where these crops are 
to grow. The lime is also beneficial to 
the growth of the crops and thei'efore is 
doubly beneficial. The disease is some¬ 
times carried on the seed, but this source 
of infection may be avoided by soaking 
the seed for 15 minutes in a solution 
made up of one part of formaldehyde (40 
per cent.), and 224 parts of water. 
Rinse the seed in clear water and dry 
thoroughly. Seedlings are very suscepti¬ 
ble to the disease, and the utmost pre¬ 
caution must be taken to grow the plants 
on uninfected soil. When transplanting 
to the field any plant showing an enlarge¬ 
ment on the root should be discarded. 
As previously stated, soil on which 
these crops have recently grown should 
not be planted to these susceptible crops 
unless perhaps it has been well limed. 
Even the wash water from an infected 
field to a clean one may cause the dis¬ 
ease to develop. Many practical farmers 
know that hog manure is not good for 
cabbage; this is because the manure may 
have been infected with the' disease by 
throwing infected green stuff into the 
pens. Some farmers complain of the dis¬ 
ease on ground where cabbage or the 
other crops have never been grown, but it 
must be remembered that the disease can 
develop on the wild mustard, wild tur¬ 
nips, etc., etc., so prevalent in New York 
and other States. k. w. d. 
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