734 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Garden Notes From New England 
TART I. 
Girdled Trees.- —The disappearing 
snow banks revealed a state of affairs 
which has brought consternation to 
amateur fruit growers, and for that mat¬ 
ter, to some commercial orehardists this 
Spring. Thousands of young trees have 
been girdled by mice during the long 
Winter months. Never before perhaps 
has so much damage from this cause been 
reported in New England. For one rea¬ 
son the mice could find nothing else to 
feed upon, and for another the snow was 
so deep that the owners of the trees could 
not follow the common custom of tramp¬ 
ing it down around the trunks. As a 
result the mice worked freely under the 
snow, and did a vast amount of damage. 
The loss comes particularly hard this 
year, because of the greatly increased 
price of nursery stock. For several years 
it has been impossible to buy trees at any¬ 
thing like old-time prices. French stock 
is very high, and in this country it has 
been difficult during the past few years 
to get enough seeds from cider mills for 
growing stock at home. Fruit trees are 
high, and it will pay if possible to save 
those which have been injured by the 
mice. The most common remedy is 
bridge-grafting, which can be done with 
a reasonable assurance of success. This 
is the plan to follow when a tree has 
been gnawed only half around. When 
the girdling of the young trees has been 
complete it is preferable, in the writer’s 
opinion, to cut it off smoothly just below 
the point of injury and immediately put 
in freshly cut scions by the cleft-graft 
method. This can be done with any 
stock up to three inches in diameter, 
although the larger the .stock the greater 
will be the chances of failure. In many 
cases the damage is rather high on the 
trunk, and probably a number of sprouts 
will start from adventitious buds below 
the point of union. Probably it will be 
best to let them grow for a season to 
balance the strong root system. In fact, 
if they arc not too low on the trunk they 
may be permitted to make -bearing 
branches. It has been suggested that 
strips of bark might be cut from limbs 
of other trees and fitted snugly around 
the girdled section, with the expectation 
that it will unite with the other bark. 
This method can be carried out success¬ 
fully by an expert, but an amateur will 
be almost sure to fail with it. 
reporting apples in their cellars which 
are still in good condition, crisp and well- 
flavored. Very often such farmers have 
cellars which get a fair amount of venti¬ 
lation, and which contain a certain 
amount of moisture. It has been found 
by experiments that air and moisture are 
just as necessary in cold storage plants. 
When a storage room is poorly ventilated 
the apples scalded badly, but there is 
much less trouble in this respect if the 
fruit is in ventilated barrels. A new 
storage cellar was reeeutly erected ou the 
farm of .Tames .T. Storrow at Lincoln, 
and at one end is an open window in 
which an electric fan has been installed. 
In the Fall, when the weather is warm, 
this fan is kept in operation, and pro¬ 
jects a current of cool air the entire 
length of the cellar. Superintendent 
Doten, in charge of the fruit, has also 
had a concrete gutter constructed on 
three sides of the floor. He has water 
available all the time, and proposes in 
the future to keep these gutters filled 
with running water while the house is 
closed, thus providing the moisture which 
the fruit needs. 
Paper Pots.—P aper pots and dirt 
bands have proven their value. They are 
especially useful for the amateur, al¬ 
though I 'have seen them used in a large 
way for starting tomato plants in a 
greenhouse. These paper pots or bands 
save much time and labor. Moreover, 
there is no setback when the plants are 
set in the open ground, because the roots 
are not disturbed. The paper sides also 
serve as a protection from the cutworms 
until the plants get established, but 
gradually rot away. It is best not to use 
a heavy soil in them, though, as such 
April 10, 1920 
soil retains too much moisture. The soil 
can be lightened by adding sand and 
humus, and is preferably considerably 
lighter for seedlings than for larger 
plants. This applies to flats as well as 
to pots*. A new kind of flat is very con¬ 
venient, because one side is so arranged 
that it can be instantly removed, allowing 
the plants to be slipped out without loss 
of the earth around the roots. 
Forcing Frames. —Another way to 
get. early crops is to use forcing frames 
in the garden. These are merely bonces 
with a light of glass over the top. They 
can be made up readily from soap boxes 
obtained at the grocery store. They are 
really miniature cold frames, and with 
their use tender vegetables may be started 
about 10 days ahead of the usual time. 
They are found especially useful for giv¬ 
ing a quick start to melons and cucum¬ 
bers, but may be used for beans and 
squashes, and even for corn in a small 
way. And of course they make good pro¬ 
tectors for tomato plants before the dan¬ 
ger of frost is over. 
Early Spring Work. —If you are 
planning to put out rhubarb or asparagus 
roots this season, get them into the 
ground as early as possible. And by all 
means try to get some plants of either 
the Martha Washington or the Miry 
Washington strain of asparagus. These 
Strains were developed at Concord, and 
are more nearly rustproof than any 
asparagus yet found. The next best kind 
is Reading Giant, which was introduced 
originally from England. 
Frt-tt Growers Unite. —A new Fruit 
Producers’ Association has been formed 
at West Acton,' Mass., with 122 charter 
members. It is the outgrowth of a move¬ 
ment. launched last Fall by the County 
Horticultural Agent, A. R. Jenks, and 
promises to be of no little advantage to 
all parts of New England, which is 
rapidly developing into a famous fruit¬ 
growing section. It is in this section that 
the McIntosh Red has been making re¬ 
markable strides. Last year three towns. 
Harvard, Berlin and Bolton, shipped 
40.000 boxes of this variety at an average 
price of .$.'{ a box. It is said that land 
in this section has advanced from $15 to 
$500 an acre on the strength of its value 
for orchard purposes. E. 1. earrington. 
Keeping Apples. —Many farmers are 
A Standard Type of Plant■ Protector 
“One good turn deserves another”—but it’s easier if you start 
the good old Ford on Columbia Hot Shot Ignition Current. 
A Single Dry Battery—4 Cellpower 
A solid unit—no joints—no connections to keep tightened— 
no metal parts to protect from rust or to keep in running order 
—just the two binding posts you see in the picture. 
This Columbia Hot Shot Dry Battery for Starting Ignition has 
been tested by the Ford owning public, and has made good. 
It’s backed with the O. K. of the most severe testing laboratory 
in the world—the open market. 
It’s the job of a moment to put this handy bucket of jazz under 
the seat and ready to work. You just connect one binding post 
to the frame and the other to the induction coil. 
Tell the man Columbia Hot Shot No. 1461 for Starting Igni¬ 
tion on your Ford, and see that he gives you that. 
At electrical, hardware, auto, and general stores—garages— 
hardware, auto, and electrical departments. 
NATIONAL CARBON COMPANY 
Incorpora ted 
Cleveland, Ohio San Francisco, Calif. 
Canadian National Carbon Co., Limited, Toronto, Canada 
Columbia 
^Batteries 
The Measure of Progress 
The progress of the 
past, as well as that of 
the future, is measured 
by criticism—for criticism 
exists only where there 
also exists faith in ability 
to improve. 
We do not criticise an 
ox cart or condemn the 
tallow dip, for the simple 
reason that they are 
obsolete. During the 
reconstruction period 
through which our 
country is now passing, 
if the public does not 
criticise any public utility 
or other form of service, 
it is because there seems 
to be but little hope for 
improvement. 
The intricate mechan¬ 
ism of telephone service 
is, under the most favor¬ 
able conditions, subject 
to criticism, for the rea¬ 
son that it is by far the 
most intimate of all per¬ 
sonal services. 
The accomplishment 
of the telephone in the 
past fixed the quality of 
service demanded today; 
a still greater accom¬ 
plishment in quality 
and scope of service will 
set new standards for 
the future. 
American Telephone and Telegraph Company 
And Associated Companies 
On* Policy One System Universal Service 
