1496 
October ii, rr»r.> 
It* RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Vegetables and Fruits 
Making a Potato Soil 
We liave a reader in New England 
who says he has a piece of land, well 
drained, but worn' out with long cropping. 
ITe wants to prove that a good crop of 
potatoes can be grown on this soil in 
1921. How can he best go at it—econ¬ 
omy not so very necessary? 
Every piece of land has its own pe¬ 
culiar problem and all we can do is to 
give general advice—based on what we 
have done on our own farm. A potato 
soil should be well drained and open, full 
of organic matter and with an abundance 
of plant food. Most “worn-out” soils 
are sour and very deficient in organic 
matter. The potato should uot be planted 
in an alkaline soil, as that would increase 
scab, yet the soil must not he too sour. 
We should start at once and fit that soil 
by plowing and harrowing. Then sow 
one bushel of rye and five pounds of 
Alsike clover seed per acre. We would 
use a small amount, say TOO lbs. of lime¬ 
stone per acre, with the rye, to fit the soil 
and increase the crop. In the Spring we 
would scatter four to five tons of manure 
to the acre—right on the growing rye 
and clover. The object of this manure 
is to bring in the needed bacteria to help 
decay the rye and clover when it is 
Plowed under. It has been found that a 
little manure, put on the green crop in 
this w ay, will add g 
much the same as 
or with the commercial bacteria will help 
Alfalfa or clover. 
The rye, clover and manure should be 
plowed under early enough to sow oats 
and Canada peas. We use three bushels 
of oats and five pecks of peas to the 
acre. With this crop we would use MOO 
lbs. of acid phosphate and 100 lbs. of 
potash per acre. That will give a stronger 
growth of peas—and the more peas the 
more nitrogen. The oats and peas are 
to be plowed under in late June. Then 
the ground is well fitted and a variety of 
.•ow peas, like Early Black, drilled 2 ]A ft. 
apart. These would be cultivated until 
middle August, and then rye and Alsike 
clover seeded right in the cow peas and 
few years. Most of the few growers who 
have been caring for their apples here 
the past few years are realizing well from 
the renovation. This is an incentive to 
the others, who, seeing at first hand what 
can he done in their neighborhood, are 
making their plans to ln-ing about like 
results. 
Prom talks with peach growers of this 
vicinity the inclination is to plant ouly 
such varieties that have been proven 
hardy in wood and bud, giving second 
thought to quality. Few peaches are .ever 
shipped into this section even in big crop 
years, so that, the local markets depend 
almost entirely upon the peaches grown 
in the immediate vicinity. As a result 
the consumer is not particular as to the 
variety so loug as ripe yellow’ peaches are 
available. Among the varieties that are 
proving their worth, both as to quality 
and hardiness, Rochester probably holds 
first place. Elberta has probably been 
more planted than it ever will again be 
here. 
The demand for apple varieties is large¬ 
ly for the early or mid-season kinds. 
Duchess lias been generally planted and 
continues to be. Tt attains tine size and 
color. Wealthy and McIntosh follow, 
with the standard sorts, as Baldwin, 
Greening. King and Spy as last, choice. 
One variety that: has proven of value iu 
the windswept forelaud of the county, 
more general plantings. 
It hangs remarkably well in winds and 
it attains size and color that, surpasses 
any that I have ever seen grown iu New 
York. From the reports that I have 
just seen as to its returns when stored, I 
am convinced that it is one of the most 
profitable apples to grow. 
The majority of growers, especially 
those whose early plantings consisted of 
a great many varieties, are convinced that 
a few well-selected varieties are more to 
be desired than a large collection of medi¬ 
ocre to poor kinds. For local markets 
and on a limited scale a succession iu 
ripening of several varieties may be prac¬ 
tical, but experience has taught that the 
buyer wants solid ears of a variety, or at 
least a minimum of odd varieties. From 
their behavior in this locality I should 
plant Duchess, McIntosh, Wealthy, Rome 
and possibly Baldwin as a standard sort. 
P. JO. GLADWIN. 
Chautauqua Co., N. Y. 
A Case of "Misfit” Trees 
As you have bought and planted a 
great many apple trees, may I ask how 
they are proving true to name? Where 
do you buy your trees? Six or seven 
years ago I bought a few apples for my 
place. Here is the list: Wealthy, 
Duchess, Graveu.stein, Jonathan, McIn¬ 
tosh, Yellow Transparent. 
The McIntosh (?) has not had any 
fruit yet, but the others have, and only 
"no is true, that one being Transparent. 
'The Gravenstein turned out to he a 
Russet, The Wealthy, I don’t believe, is 
a Wealthy, not from what I have read 
of it. It is a good-size apple, good flavor, 
ripe now, poor color, dull faint red. 
Jonathan turned out to be a very small 
red and yellow striped apple, of no value 
whatever, and the Duchess likewise. I 
haven’t room for many trees, but what 
I do get. I wish I could know they were 
pretty near right. A. L. v. 
New Jersey. 
We have planted in all close to 4,000 
trees, and the truth is that we have 
been unusually free from “misfits.” One 
Mock of peaches went bad and was ripped 
out. One small block of supposed Bald¬ 
wins turned out to be a large brown apple 
of poor flavor, but of some value for 
cooking. No one at Washington has been 
able to name it. The trees bear well, 
and as the fruit sells for cooking we 
have let the trees stand and made no 
complaint. The great majority of our 
apples have come true to name. We 
have watched them carefully and know 
how the different varieties grow. Tt 
would be easy to tell a McIntosh or a 
Wealthy or a Baldwin after three years 
from the shape and habit of the tree. 
We have bought trees of at least a dozen 
different nurserymen and have had some 
trouble with crown gall and scale, but 
in our own case, the "misfits” have been 
very few. We have many complaints, 
however, most of which seem well justi 
tied. 
'The case reported above is a bad one. 
McIntosh should begin to bear a few 
apples at six or seven years. Of course, 
a russet-colored Gravenstein is a misfit. 
So is a "Wealthy” which ripens its fruit 
in New Jersey in late September. Most 
of our Wealthy apples are sold before the 
first week iu September. There is noth¬ 
ing so exasperating as finding these hate¬ 
ful "misfits’* iu a small orchard or garden. 
They are bad enough in a large com¬ 
mercial orchard, b\it where the “misfits” 
cover the entire family supply of some 
special variety it is enough to make a 
pacifist contemplate murder when he sees 
bis long anticipated fruit proving worse 
than thistles. 
Storing Apples in Pits 
The .Ycics f.etlcr of the Ohio Agricul¬ 
tural College has the following: 
“The prospect of high prices for ap¬ 
ples next Winter is causing many people 
to put their supply in pits, where a suit¬ 
able cellar is not available. It is sug¬ 
gested that they be placed in barrels sunk 
iu the soil below the frost line in a well- 
drained location. Beu Davis apples keep 
the best through changing temperatures, 
although the Russet, Gauo, Rome Beauty 
and York Imperial may he stored in pits. 
The thin skin of the Grimes Golden, 
Jonathan and Delicious does not make it 
advisable to store them in this way. Since 
apples decay almost directly iu proportion 
to the beat with which they come in con¬ 
tact, it is advisable that they be stored 
as soon as picked. In the Fall a light 
covering of burlap or old carpet may bo 
placed over the barrel. Iu Winter more 
covering should he applied, and during 
the midwinter the pit should be well 
covered with straw.” 
That is right about Beu Davis, hut if 
anyone tries this plan we advise them to 
dig the pit in light soil and on a hill or 
elevation. If the soil water rises and 
settles near this pit it will soon be off. 
Pessimist: “I have only one friend 
on earth—my dog.” Optimist: “Why 
don’t you get another dog?”—Judge. . 
STYLEPLUS CLOTHES 
reat value to it, very Rome, deserves 
inoculating with soil 
cultivated in. 
That is all until the Spring of 1921. 
Let the cow peas remain on the ground 
over Winter. Frost will kill them, but 
the vines will fall down and protect the 
rye and clover. Early iu the Spring, 
when the rye is about one foot bigb, chop 
up the whole thing fully with a disk or 
cutaw ay harrow, aud then plow as deep 
as the soil will stand. You will then 
have "made” a potato soil stuffed with 
decaying organic matter. 
Such a soil will produce a good potato 
crop without manure or fertilizer, but if 
you can afford it aud want to “show off” 
you can use half a ton or more of some 
good potato fertilizer on the acre. A 
poor soil can bo made fit in that way, 
but you will not get your prize potato 
crop unless you plant good seed of a 
variety suited to that locality, cultivate 
the crop right and are willing to spray 
it thoroughly at least three times. 
Fruits for the New York Fruit Belt 
Apple and peach orchards are rather 
uncommon in the Lake Erie fruit belt, 
although there has been a tendency dur¬ 
ing the past few years to turn somewhat 
to these fruits. With a few exceptions 
the peach plantings have failed, largely 
from the lack of proper care aud under¬ 
standing of the requirements of this fruit. 
The others have not been as successful 
as peach orchards are iu Ibe recognized 
peach areas. Winter-killing of the buds 
and wood, with an occasional late Spring 
frost while in bloom, has caused very 
spotted crops or failures. In recent years 
there has been a light planting of- cow- 
mercial apple orchards in Ibis locality, 
the entire acreage thus planted probably 
not exceeding 200. About the same 
acreage represents the peach planting. 
There is some tendency to continue the 
planting of apples, but little tendency to 
increase the peach areas. At one time 
the planting of apple orchards here was 
rather extensive, so that today there are 
many orchards under process of renova¬ 
tion. while many others will be brought 
back aguiii lo productiveness in the next 
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