Tht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1477 
Horticultural Short Cuts 
Planting Peach Pits and Horse Chestnuts 
Will you tell me when and how to 
plant peach stones and horse chestnuts? 
Can horse chestnuts be started from the 
nut? mbs. w. A. G. 
Willimautic, Conn. 
Peach pits are gathered in the Fall, those 
for commercial planting coming from the 
mountain district of Georgia. However, 
pits from standard varieties will pro¬ 
duce fairly uniform trees and fruit sim¬ 
ilar in some respects to its parent. The 
pits are then placed in sand in layers and 
allowed to remain in the open, where 
they will freeze and thaw, causing the 
pits to open. We use shallow boxes or 
flats, placing 2 in. of sand, then a layer 
of pits, and covering all with more sand. 
The meat is then picked out and planted. 
A few growers plant the pits in the Fall, 
allowing them to crack in the soil, and 
the seedling tree grows from these in the 
Spring. 
Horse chestnuts may be grown by the 
same method; that is. cracking the seed 
coat through the action of frost, allow¬ 
ing the interior or meat to take up mois¬ 
ture and germinate. 
Pruning Blackberries 
What is the best way to care for black¬ 
berries? We have almost an acre planted 
to them. They are on good ground that 
slopes to the east. They are in rows S 
feet apart, well cultivated. We pinch off 
the top of the main cane in Summer when 
only be time and material wasted for him 
to undertake it. K. 
McIntosh Is a Canadian Apple 
I have read with a great deal of pleas¬ 
ure the article headed “McIntosh Apple 
at a Banquet.” page 1379. I am glad 
that the members of the Boston Chamber 
of Commerce can enjoy a delicious Mc¬ 
Intosh apple, as that variety originated 
in Canada, on the farm of Alex. Mc¬ 
Intosh. Dundas Co.. Ontario, supposed 
to be a chance seedling of the Fameuse. 
A number of years ago the original tree 
was killed by the barn near by taking 
fire. The residents of Eastern Ontario 
thought so much of the McIntosh apple 
tree that they erected a monument where 
the old tree stood, in its honor. 
My oldest trees are 30 years old, and 
stood the severe Wiuiter of 1917-18 with¬ 
out injury, while the Fameuse and other 
varieties were destroyed. You mention 
that it well represents New England, but 
please give honor where honor is due. 
The McIntosh is it Canadian apple. 
Montreal. Canada. K. bbodie. 
Growing Beet Seed 
I have obtained such good results in 
increasing my corn yield by selecting my 
seed from the field year after year that I 
should like to improve my crop of mangels 
in tin* same way. I have selected several 
fine specimen roots from the field, and 
would like to raise seed from them next 
Good-sized 
The picture reproduced above is a col¬ 
lection of hailstones which fell in Bock- 
land Co., N. lb, during the storm of 
July 31, 1921. This storm lasted about 
10 minutes. It was very heavy while it 
lasted, yet, strange to say. but little dam¬ 
age was done. These stones here shown 
Hailstones 
were not tlie largest, and naturally they 
melted somewhat before they could be 
photographed. Their size may be estimat¬ 
ed by cons-dering the actual size of a hu¬ 
man hand or ordinary teaspoon. That 
storm must have seemed like a battle in 
the Argonne! 
it is between 2 and 3 feet high. No other 
trimming until Spring, except when the 
side branches cross the rows; we have to 
cut them back so the children can get 
through to pick the berries. In the Spring 
we cut them back to about IS inches 
from the main cane. Both this year and 
last the canes never looked better, made 
a wonderful growth, but very few ber¬ 
ries. Variety is Blowers, and this is the 
fourth year since we planted them. 
Stamford, Conn. l*'. L- c. 
In the Summer pruning practiced by 
F. \j. C. I would advise pinching out the 
tip of the growing cane when it is 2 feet 
high, if the desired height is around 18 
inches. When allowed to grow more it 
simply means a waste of energy by the 
plant at the expense later of the fruit. 
In pruning laterals the next Spring one 
must know his varieties. The usual prac¬ 
tice is to shorten the laterals to 12 to In 
inches, but with some varieties of black¬ 
berries the fruit is borne near the tip of 
the cane, and to shorten this much means 
removing most of the fruit. I would 
advise leaving the laterals at various 
lengths and checking the yields in order 
to arrive at a systematic method. T. u. T 
Grafting Conifers 
Can Norway spruce, Colorado blue 
spruce. Roster’s spruce and larch be cleft- 
grafted on white pine or yellow pine, and 
what time can this be done successfully ! 
Can the same be root-grafted the same 
as apple root-grafts? C. w. M. 
Arendtsville. Pa. 
No, evergreens cannot- be cleft-grafted 
nor root-gra'fted like deciduous trees. 
Many thousands of evergreens are grafted 
annually, but the work is done under 
glass and on small potted and growing 
plants. There are so many details in 
connection with the work that must be 
carefully looked after that none but the 
trained man can hope to be successful. 
This is a branch of nursery work that is 
away beyond the amateur, and it would 
season. Can you give me any directions 
for planting these roots, and their proper 
care, for the best results in obtaining 
seed ? w. s. s. 
Worcester, Mass. 
Mangels and all the other members of 
the beet family are biennials; that . is, 
plants which live two years. This class 
of plants produce the vegetative part the 
first year and the flowers and seeds the 
second season. At the end of the first sea¬ 
son. desirable roots should be selected 
and stored in an old hotbed or cold cel¬ 
lar. Covering with soil keeps the roots 
plump, as the moisture does not evapo¬ 
rate. Tn the Spring the roots are set IS 
in. apart in rows 3 ft. apart, and cultivat¬ 
ed as any garden crop. A long stalk will 
shoot up. and these are generally tied to 
light stakes to keep them from breaking. 
A small quantity of seed can be harvest¬ 
ed by cutting off the tops and hammering 
the seed out on a large canvas. Then by 
pouring the seed from one pail to another 
on a windy day, all the chaff can be re¬ 
moved. There is plenty of chance for im¬ 
provement along the line of selection with 
such crops. t.u. t. 
Curing Cucumber Seed 
I notice in a recent issue ,T. W. B. 
asks how to cure cucumber seed, which 
is answered by T. II. T. 11 is answer is 
all right as far as he goes, but will not 
be very satisfactory. This is the way I 
do it, and have nice, clean seeds. Cut 
the ripe cucumbers and scrape out the 
seeds in a bowl or tub. according to how 
many you have; add twice as much water 
as you have seeds, and let stand a few 
days, till they ferment. Then the pulp 
will separate readily from the seeds, and a 
few changes of water will clean them. 
The pulp floats off on top; seeds will stay 
at bottom. Muskmelon and tomato seeds 
can be treated the same. Spread on a 
dish or any way you wish to dry. Seeds 
saved this way look as nice as those 
bought. E. C. M. 
Chardon. O. 
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RURAL NEW-YORKER 333 West 30lh St.. New York 
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Name.. 
Town... 
State. R. F. D. or Street No. 
