1286 
tolerable existence it has always proved a total fail¬ 
ure, so in sheer self-defence, toward Spring of last 
year I planned a new campaign of horticultural en¬ 
deavor, and thus far, apparently, Fortune, “the fickle 
goddess,” has approved the plan with a smile. This 
plan embraced growing a sufficient number of trees 
Cutting the Spinach. Fig. 396 
to plant my entire acreage to late oranges, and mean¬ 
while specialize on strawberries as a supporting 
crop. It may not be amiss to remark that under con¬ 
ditions here both strawberries and oranges will with¬ 
stand, uninjured, frost that will utterly ruin a crop 
of tomatoes. 
STARTING THE CROPS.—According to plan, 
seeds of sour orange were planted; the seedlings 
have since been budded and are doing well. Nearly 
half an acre was set with stock plants of strawber¬ 
ries, to produce plants to set for fruiting in the Fall. 
Then came the tug of war, to prepare the land for the 
crop. While I had been loafing, Bermuda grass had 
been working overtime, and was in full possession. 
As a pest among cultivated crops, Bermuda in the 
South ranks with quack in the North, and of course 
cannot be tolerated in any quantity in strawberry 
culture. 
CONTROLLING WEEDS.—The whole surface 
was “flat-hoed”; that is, “scalped” off with a heavy 
hoe, the grass, runners and roots raked up and 
burned. Then the tract was deeply harrowed again 
and again with a spring-tooth harrow; then more 
raking and burning, and finally a heavy planting 
and growth of velvet beans completed the job. When 
planting time arrived, both the plants and the field 
to receive them were in almost ideal condition. 
THE STRAWBERRY SEASON.—Planting was 
begun in the latter part of October. The first fruit 
was sold, as usual for the variety here, in the first 
week of January, and the last on July 5, one month 
later than usual. Only in Florida and California 
does the strawberry season last like that. 
FIGURES ON THE CROP.—It was a very un¬ 
usual crop in various ways. Here is a brief state¬ 
ment of the most important features: Total area, 
2 1/7 acres. Varieties, Brandywine, 1% acres; bal¬ 
ance, Missionary. Total yield, 18,153 quarts. Total 
gross receipts, $9,805.90. Brandywine yielded 13,298 
quarts, or at the rate of 11,431 quarts per acre, 
worth $6,175; Missionary yielded 3,864 quarts, at 
the rate of 4,319 quarts per acre, worth $2,233. 
Doubtless there are those who find it difficult to be¬ 
lieve that any 2 1/7 acres of strawberries ever did, 
or ever will, produce so nearly $10,000 worth of 
fruit, even allowing for the present inflation of cur¬ 
rency, not to mention the overshadowing perform¬ 
ance of the Brandywine alone; but all such should 
consider that these berries were practically all sold 
locally, in the prosperous city of Miami, the main 
crop coming in the height of the Winter tourist sea¬ 
son, when the wealthy come here by thousands and 
consider expense as but an incident to having a good 
time. When the tourists were gone the resident pop¬ 
ulation eagerly bought the lesser quantities offered 
at a good figure. The fruit was practically all sold 
directly to grocers, hotels and cafeterias. In the 
main, the range of prices when sold in this way was 
from 40 to 75c per quart. What few were retailed 
were sold at 10c per quart above the jobbing price; 
the average price for the total crop being a small 
fraction over 54c per quart d. l. iiaktman,, 
Florida. 
(To Be Continued) 
‘Ibt RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Cultivation of Rye and Turnips 
I appreciate the importance of cover crops for planted 
land. I have three acres of corn on a rich side hill. It 
washes considerably, of course; was for several years in 
Alfalfa. I wish soon to sow it for a cover crop. Rye 
I can get easily; clovers cost high. Are the turnip 
seed and plants desirable? How should I get seed onto 
the ground, and should it be covered? w. E. K. 
Skaneateles, N. Y. 
Rye is always the “backbone” of the cover crop 
with us. If you think clover too expensive you can 
use turnip seed with the rye. It docs not, of course, 
give a permanent crop, and will be killed during the 
Winter, but it will furnish a large amount of or¬ 
ganic matter and help hold the soil on that side hill. 
You can use five pecks of rye and 2 lbs. of turnip 
seed to the acre. Our plan is to scatter the seed 
right over the ground among the corn just before the 
last cultivation. First the rye is put on and then the 
turnip seed. The seeds are so different in size and 
weight that they cannot well be seeded together. 
This work is done by hand. In some cases a boy can 
ride a horse through the corn, scattering the seed 
with a Cahoon seeder, taking four rows at a time. 
The trouble with that is that too much seed is lodged 
in the cornstalks. After the seed has been scattered 
in this way we take a cultivator with small teeth, 
set it to run shallow, and work the corn in the usual 
way. If a full seeding is desired, it is a good plan 
to follow with an iron fake and scratch in the seed 
between the hills. That is all; the seed starts and 
makes a slow growth until the corn is cut and 
shocked. Then the rye and turnips come on and 
cover the ground thickly. 
Melon Growing in the Hudson Valley 
T HE enclosed wrapper covered a melon from Im¬ 
perial Valley, California. The local fruit stores 
sell California products which are inferior to the 
same kinds which our fathers grew in this Hudson 
A Truck Load of Spinach. Fig. 39 7 
Valley. Is it not truth to state that no better Bald¬ 
win apples, Bartlett pears, Concord grapes, Indian 
corn and general agricultural products were ever 
raised than the Hudson River Valley has produced? 
These melons from California should startle New 
Yorkers. We can raise better melons in our own 
State. A native of Nyack told me yesterday that 
Nyack was once famous for melons and berries. 
Strawberries, blackberries and raspberries were sent 
by boat to New York. A local boatman stated some 
weeks ago that Nyack used to produce grapes for 
market. Boats used to stop at Croton Point for Un¬ 
derhill’s fruit. It is asserted that he received $10 a 
barrel for apples in pre-war times. Last July I “got a 
hitch” in the Catskills from East Windham to Cats- 
kill village. My friend who sat with me on the truck 
floor turned out to be a mason. As we rushed along, 
our legs swinging in the dusty swirl sucked up by 
the fast moving auto, my new friend pointed out the 
untilled farms. lie said : “This country used to raise 
tons of strawberries. -See that field? I remember 
when it raised the finest berries you ever saw.” To 
stop farming in the Catskills is a disaster to our 
State. Apples, grapes and berries thrive in the Cats¬ 
kills. I have seen wonderful potatoes and buckwheat 
grown in these mountains. To my amazement I 
learned that watermelons were once grown quite ex¬ 
tensively in the Hudson Valley. A native states 
that she never saw finer watermelons anywhere than 
those raised by the farmers of Westchester. An¬ 
other said: “When I was a boy I used to know the 
patches well.” Has “our father’s Ced” endowed any 
August 7, 1920 
other section on earth with a higher average of na¬ 
ture’s riches than New York State and the Hudson 
River Valley? How shall we restore our valley and 
State their rightful place as leaders of the world in 
certain products? This California melon is a chal¬ 
lenge to every New Yorker. e. r. n. 
Ossining, N. Y. 
R. N.-Y.—It is all true. In former years the Hud¬ 
son Valley supplied New York with every farm pro¬ 
duct, from melons to men. The finest apples, peaches 
and grapes are still produced there, in larger quan¬ 
tities than ever before, but under a different system. 
Thirty years ago Northern New Jersey was famous 
as a melon-growing section. The Hackensack melon 
grew to perfection there. The melon business was 
abandoned for various reasons. Sweet corn paid 
better. The blight disease became very destructive, 
and the labor question gave great trouble. Colorado 
and California could grow melons in great quantities 
largely free from the blight disease and under a co¬ 
operative system which included uniform packing 
and selecting. Farming and gardening is no longer 
entirely a matter of production. There must be a 
spirit and co-operation among growers in order to 
make a success. The chief reason why the Hudson 
Valley does not supply melons and similar luxuries 
(as it might easily do)' is because society has 
changed. Too many of the brightest boys have been 
lured away from the farms, and suitable land is more 
valuable for building lots and for “estates” than it is 
for farming. 
What Results From Bridge-Grafting 
I presume you know that the mice did thousands of 
dollars’ damage to Rhode Island apple trees last Win¬ 
ter. Most of the growers used the bridge-grafts, but 
as yet we cannot tell whether the expense was war¬ 
ranted. The question now is whether to pick off all 
the fruit that has formed or let it develop. We are 
advised both ways by equally good authorities. What 
is your advice? Do you know if such a wholesale de¬ 
struction by mice has ever occurred before? If so, 
what was the result of bridge-grafting, and what was 
found best to do in regard to picking off the fruit? 
Our people cut the trees back hard, used wax and in 
many cases heaped soil around the trees in addition. 
Rhode Island. R. ar. b. 
E think the damage from mice last Winter 
was the worst of which we have any record. 
In former years there has been great damage in 
many localities, but last Winter the trouble was 
well-nigh universal. No definite answer can he 
given these questions without a wide report on con¬ 
ditions. In our own case practically all of the 
bridge-grafted trees are living. Some are more 
thrifty than others. It is evident that five or six 
grafts should be put into a fair-sized tree in order 
to carry it through. We used only two or three 
grafts in some trees, and while they are alive the 
foliage is not what it should be. In several cases 
where a small.strip of bark was left, we put a mound 
of soil around the trunk, fully covering the girdled 
part. Such trees are alive, but are not thrifty. On 
many of our trees apples have formed, and as the 
foliage is strong and green, we shall let the fruit 
mature. On other trees the foliage seems light col¬ 
ored and sickly. We think the fruit should be taken 
from such trees, and, if possible, a part of the top 
should be cut back. Thus it becomes largely a mat¬ 
ter of good judgment and a good eye to decide about 
picking off the fruit. We would like to hear from 
Raking the Spinach Into Windows. Fig. 39S 
growers who tried bridge-grafting this Spring. Wii.it 
proportion of such grafts succeeded? Are any of the 
trees thus grafted able to produce a crop of apples- 
Do you consider that it pays to put a mound of so¬ 
up over the grafts? 
