274 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
February 19, 1921 
Horticultural Short Cuts 
Treatment of Asparagus 
Last Spring I prepared a trench, filled 
in about ti in. of well-rotted manure tor 
asparagus roots ordered, they were so 
long coming 1 ordered again from another 
hou.se ; just after 1 made my second order 
the first came. 1 set them in the pre¬ 
pared trench. Then when the others 
came I had to set them out with just 
good deep digging. There was quite a 
difference in the growth last year. 1 
have them covered with coarse stable ma¬ 
nure for a Winter overcoat. How much 
salt should I put on them to keep down 
weeds, or do they have to have salt as a 
necessary fertilizer for good production? 
The roots I set were three and four years 
old. Can I get pretty liberal cutting 
from them this year? j. w. d. 
You would have obtained good cuttings 
of asparagus sooner by sowing the seed 
in your manured trenches than by plant¬ 
ing roots of any age. especially those 
three and four years old. If I planted 
roots at all I would never use any more 
than one year old. Better use kainit if 
you can get it. for it will help the plants 
and furnish salt. too. I have grown a 
great deal of asparagus and have gotten 
as line stalks as anyone else, and in my 
long life in the garden have never used 
salt on asparagus. So far as keeping 
down weeds, the hoe and cultivators beat 
salt. 1 suppose the fact that the wild 
asparagus grows along the borders of our 
salt-water estuaries has led people to 
think salt necessary. I have long since 
quit transplanting asparagus roots, as I 
have demonstrated that tseed planted in 
heavily manured trenches and thinned 
and grown undisturbed will give cutting 
a year sooner than the transplanted roots. 
After a bed comes into use the heav¬ 
iest manuring and the cleanest cultiva¬ 
tion should be made after cutting ceases, 
so as to get the heaviest possible growth 
of top and root to make a bigger crop the 
following Spring. W'hat you can get 
from old roots planted last Spring I can 
hardly predict : not much at any rate. 
Keep the weeds down by clean cultivation. 
W. F. MASSEY, 
Cherry Stocks 
Which is the better stock for sour cher¬ 
ries. English Morel I o. to graft upon? I 
can lind wild cherries here, the small, 
sweet kind, and used them very success¬ 
fully for grafting sweet cherries. But I 
can also find the other kind, with fruit 
in clusters, like currants. Which would 
you advise me to gather and graft to sour 
cherries? I want about two dozen of 
them. C. v. 
The best stock for cherries is still in 
dispute. The two standard stocks are 
Mahaleb and Mazzard. Both have good 
and bad points. Some growers contend 
that native wild cherries are at least as 
good as these when used as stocks. The 
following points have been noted regard¬ 
ing the two standard stocks: Cherries 
on the Mahaleb stock are hardier to cold, 
due to the earlier ripening of the wood. 
The Mahaleb is also a dwarfing stock, 
and. as might be expected, bears earlier. 
Better unions are made with Mazzard 
stock, and the trees live longer. It is 
also claimed that the trees are more pro¬ 
ductive. 
Between the wild sweet cherry and the 
choke cherry, the first named is best for 
budding either sweet or sour cherries, as 
the relationship between the choke cherry 
and the cultivated cherry is very distant. 
For this reason the unions would prob¬ 
ably be poor. The choke cherry has been 
used as a stock in several cases, but it 
suckered so badly that its use was speed¬ 
ily discontinued. T. H. T. 
Propagating the Quince 
Can quince trees be propagated from 
cuttings? R. A. 
Quince trees can be propagated from 
cuttings, and a good stand is usually se¬ 
cured. Cuttings are generally taken in 
the late Fall, but they can be secured at 
this time of the year. They are made from 
the wood grown during the past Summer. 
With quinces we make the cuttings from 
6 to S in. long, cutting at a bud. both 
at the top and bottom. They are tied 
into bundles of convenient size and placed 
in a cellar in sand. Cuttings which are 
eallused grow best, so we place them 
under the conditions most favorable for 
callus formation ; that is, in a cool, moist 
place. The cuttings are set out in rows 
in the Spring, after danger from heavy 
frosts is past. They are set vertically 
two-thirds or four-fifths beneath the soil. 
When we have many cuttings to set, a 
furrow is plowed, the cuttings are placed 
against the straight side and dirt packed 
against them. The soil in which cuttings 
are planted should be compact enough to 
hold moisture, and rich in available plant 
food. Give plenty of cultivation. 
X. H. T. 
Cherry Trees Dying 
We have Ida. Wax and Black Tartarian 
cherries, and they seem to be dying. The 
tops of them are dead, and some of the 
limbs are also dead. We have been told 
by some people to trim them, and then 
by others not to. as that would kill them. 
Will you advise me what to do. and 
whether you think trimming would do 
them any good? F. w. B. 
Sweet cherries often die as an indirect 
result of a disease known as leaf blight. 
This leaf blight attacks Mazzard seed¬ 
lings readily, and many nurserymen re¬ 
port severe damage from it. Some trees 
are completed defoliated, and this results 
in an early loss of vigor by the trees. 
Such trees are not able to mature their 
wood properly, and thus they withstand 
the dormant period with more difficulty 
and enter the next season with decreased 
vitality. In 1904 in Maryland the loss 
from this disease was estimated as eight 
per cent. The elimination of old leaves 
and the protection of the developing 
leaves during the growing season consti¬ 
tute the known measures of control with 
leaf blight. The old leaves are plowed 
under, and this source of infection is de¬ 
stroyed. Dusting with sulphur or spray¬ 
ing with Bordeaux mixture are also 
recommended as control measures. As 
regards pruning or trimming, all dead 
wood Should be removed. It can only be 
a detriment, as insects and disease abound 
under the old bark. T. H. T. 
Pruning Black Raspberries 
Will you tell me how I should trim my 
young black raspberries—set last Spring 
—after taking up the new sets this 
Spring? They have a very rank growth 
of canes, part of which I tipped last Fall. 
Speneerport, N. Y. M. M. M. 
There are two methods of pruning 
blackcaps, and the condition the second 
Spring depends on this. If. as suggested 
by M. M. M.. they are tipped during the 
first, season they will be branched nicely. 
After the young plants are removed the 
next Spring, the laterals should be short¬ 
ened back from 12 to IS in. If the plants 
have not been tipped they will have long 
unbranched canes. In this ease the 
canes should be cut back about half. One 
must use his own judgment, as each case 
is different. 
A Well-trained Goat 
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Fed Thirty Pounds Each of Silag'e, Every Day,f or Over One 
Year, from the Product of One Acre of Ross’ Eureka Corn 
usm 
G4 tons of Ross’ Eureka Corn to the acre is the yield reported 
by Mr. Reynolds. Read his letter—it is convincing proof of 
Eureka Corn’s superiority over all other Silage Corns. 
THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS 
WORCESTER STATE HOSPITAL 
Worcester, Mass., December IS, 1920. 
Ross Bros. Co. 
Gentlemen: Replying to yours of Dec. 16th, relative to the 
manner in which we arrived at the weight of the crop of 
Eureka Ensilage Corn, will say it is our custom .to weigh each 
load as it is delivered to the cutter. The immense tonnage 
at this time caused some question, so average rods repre¬ 
sentative of the best acre were taken in the presence of 
reliable witnesses, were cut and weighed, and the result 
was as reported 64 tons to the acre. 
I have in my possession some photo¬ 
graphs of our field of Eureka Corn 
showing Corn IS to 20 feet high, which 
would convince the most skeptical that 
astonishing results are possible with 
this variety. Yours truly, 
(Signed) ,T. F. Reynolds, Farm Supt. 
Worcester State Hospital. 
The product from one acre of Mr. Rey¬ 
nold's crop would nearly fill a silo 24 
feet high and 14 feet in diameter. Two 
acres would fill a silo 30 feet by 14 
_ feet, and three acres would furnish 
enough silage to fill a silo 40 feet by 
16 feet. 
'4 
to 
Ross’ Eyreka Corn is being planted in nearly 
every'section of the United States and Canada, 
and in several foreign countries. Under any 
•climatic conditions its yields are big, and the 
quality is always the best. 
Ross’ Eureka Corn is very short jointed and 
does not blow down easily—it grows taller—has 
more leaves—and produces more tons of good, 
sweet silage than any other variety. Palatable 
and nutritious, it is a valuable feed for fattening 
cattle—and one of the greatest factors in induc¬ 
ing the cost of milk production. 
Every bushel of genuine Eureka is put up in 
Ross’ trade-mark bags. All seed is from selected 
ears, butts and tips removed and well fanned 
to remove any hull or waste material. Look 
carefully for the Ross trade-mark. Make sure 
it is on the hag before you buy your supply of 
Eureka Corn. 
Buy Ross* Farm Seeds 
Oats, Barley, Potatoes, Bye, Wheat. Buckwheat, 
Cowpeas, Vetch, Soy Beans, Essex Rape, and Field 
Corn, Grass Seed and Alfalfa, Early Fairmount Potatoes 
make extra heavy, high quality yields. Full line of 
agricultural tools, dairy goods, insecticides, etc. 
Special offer, Betsy Ross Garden—17 large packages 
of highest quality vegetables, enough for the home 
garden, postpaid, for only $1.00. 
Our 120-page catalogue will be mailed free if you ask for it. 
ROSS BROTHERS COMPANY 
67 Front Street 
Worcester, Mass. 
Every bag oj 
Ross’ Eureka 
Corn bears 
this trade¬ 
mark- Adopt¬ 
ed for your 
protection. 
