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The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
May  12,  1923 
New  England  Notes 
Orchard  Planting. — Although  no  one 
can  say  that  anything  like  an  orchard 
boom  has  developed  in  New  England,  it 
is  true  that  more  attention  is  being  given 
to  the  planting  of  fruit  trees  than  for 
several  years.  Planting  is  being  done  in 
a  more  systematic  way  than  ever  before, 
and  amateurs  are  planting  rather  more 
freely  than  commercial  growers.  The 
bulletin  on  apple  growing  issued  by  the 
State  of  Massachusetts  has  met  with  a 
tremendous  demand,  and  much  valuable 
literature  is  being  put  out  by  , the  Exten¬ 
sion  Service  of  the  Massachusetts  Agri¬ 
cultural  College  at  Amherst.  After  mak¬ 
ing  a  long  and  careful  investigation  the 
Massachusetts  Fruit  Growers’  Associa¬ 
tion  has  recommended  a  list  of  apple 
varieties  for  planting  in  this  section.  This 
list  is  as  follows,  in  the  order  of  ripening: 
Oldenburg,  Gravenstefn,  Wealthy,  Meln- 
tosh,  Delicious,  Wagener.  Baldwin.  For 
certain  sections  where  they  thrive  par¬ 
ticularly  well  Yellow  Transparent,  Red 
Astraehan,  Williams,  Rhode  Island 
Greening  and  Northern  Spy  may  be 
added.  All  these  varieties  have  been 
tested  and  shown  to  be  well  adapted  to 
conditions  as  found  in  New  England. 
The  list  is  a  good  one  for  amateurs  as 
well  as  commercial  growers,  but  emphasis 
should  be  placed  on  those  which  come 
later  than  Wealthy,  so  that  there  may 
be  a  good  supply  for  Winter  storage. 
Distance  Between  Trees. — Formerly 
40  ft.  was  considered  to  be  about  the 
right  distance  between  trees  in  apple  or¬ 
chards,  and  closer  planting  was  some¬ 
times  made.  The  tendency  now  is  in  the 
opposite  direction,  especially  in  orchards 
where  a  great  amount  of  work  cannot  be 
done.  Many  growers  have  come  to  be¬ 
lieve  that  50  ft.  is  a  much  better  distance 
than  40.  Prof.  R.  A.  Van  Meter  ex¬ 
presses  the  belief  that  the  danger  of  in¬ 
juring  orchards  by  leaving  fillers  too  long 
has  been  exaggerated  .  I  myself  think  it 
has  been  more  theorizing  on  this  subject 
than  reports  of  actual  damage.  Most 
growers,  as  Prof.  Van  Meter  points  out, 
find  no  great  difficulty  in  overcoming  any 
tender  feelings  they  may  have  for  the 
fillers  when  their  removal  is  necessary  as 
a  matter  of  orchard  policy.  Wealthy  and 
Wagener  just  naturally  bring  about  then- 
own  expulsion  by  producing  very  small 
apples  as  they  grow  older,  although  they 
stand  up  better  if  kept  heavily  pruned 
than  if  allowed  to  grow  freely. 
Rome  Beauty. — I  have  been  asked 
about  the  value  of  Rome  Beauty  for 
planting  in  Massachusetts.  Mr.  Fred  A. 
•Smith  of  the  Essex  County  School  at 
ilathorn,  Mass.,  who  has  had  much  ex¬ 
perience  in  fruit  growing,  recently  wrote 
me :  ‘‘I  have  grown  and  fruited  Rome 
Beauty  in  this  latitude.  I  have  also 
grown  the  improved  form  called  Ensee. 
Both  variety  and  variation  succeeded  well 
with  me.  They  were  grown  on  a  warm, 
moderately  heavy,  gravely  loam,  with  a 
decided  south  exposure.  I  set  the  variety 
with  some  hesitation,  knowing  that  it 
ordinarily  succeeds  wonderfully  at  its 
point  of  origin  in  Eastern  Ohio,  but  not 
knowing  what  it  would  do  here.  I  found, 
however,  that  even  in  this  more  northern 
latitude  it  is  a  beautiful  and  striking 
apple.  It  is  very  valuable  as  a  table  or 
dessert  fruit,  and  certainly  adds  some¬ 
thing  to  our  list  of  admirable  Winter 
sorts.  I  consider  it  superior  to  the  aver¬ 
age  run  of  Baldwins.  I  have  not  exper¬ 
ienced  the  slightest  difficulty  with  hardi¬ 
ness  so  far  as  Rome  Beauty  is  concerned, 
but  would  recommend  it  more  as  a  spe¬ 
cialist’s  or  amateur’s  apple  than  as  a 
general  orchard  variety.’ 
Scar. — Apple  growers  who  have  planted 
McIntosh  Red  in  large  numbers  have 
been  worried  .about  the  prevalence  of 
scab.  It  has  been  discovered,  however, 
that  scab  can  be  controlled  by  the  use  of 
lime-sulphur,  one  gallon  to  50  gallons  of 
water,  applied  first  about  a  week  before 
the  blossoms  reach  the  pink  stage.  An¬ 
other  application  should  be  given  when 
the  blossoms  reach  the  pink  stage  and  a 
third  after  the  petals  fall.  When  these 
three  sprays  are  followed  by  another  later 
in  the  Summer  scab  is  controlled  very 
effectively  even  in  wet  weather.  This  is 
the  plan  worked  out  by  Prof.  Krout,  and 
a  bulletin  giving  a  full  description  of  the 
method  can  be  obtained  from  the  Agri¬ 
cultural  College  at  Amherst. 
Wild  Flowers. — I  believe  that  farm¬ 
ers,  rural  school  teachers  and  other  per¬ 
sons  who  live  in  the  more  remote  parts 
of  the  country  should  co-operate  with  the 
efforts  being  made  to  prevent  the  exter¬ 
mination  of  our  native  wild  flowers.  Be¬ 
fore  the  automobile  began  to  turn  social 
conditions  topsy-turvy  there  was  little 
danger  that  the  Mayflowers,  Trilliums, 
1  lepaticas.  lady’s  slippers  and  other 
dainty  wild  plants  would  suffer  greatly 
except  near  the  large  cities.  Now.  when 
it  is  possible  to  penetrate  to  any  part  of 
the  country  with  ease  and  speed,  there  is 
no  haunt  of  the  wild  flowers  which  es¬ 
capes  a  visit.  The  average  motorist  is 
ruthless  in  the  way  he  gathers  the  flow¬ 
ers,  but  he  is  not  the  only  offender.  It  is 
not  uncommon  to  see  country  children 
offering  bunches  of  the  most  delicate  wild 
flowers  for  sale.  These  flowers  are  of 
little  value  to  anyone,  because  they  wilt 
and  pass  in  a  few  hours,  and  their  com¬ 
plete  extermination  is  certain  if  they  are 
kept  picked,  because  many  of  them  are 
propagated  only  from  seed.  The  Society 
for  the  Preservation  of  Native  New  Eng¬ 
land  Plants,  300  Massachusetts  Avenue, 
Boston,  is  distributing  leaflets  containing 
much  information  about  the  wild  flowers 
which  will  be  sent  without  charge,  and 
which  are  designed  especially  for  teach¬ 
ers,  school  children,  motorists  and 
campers. 
Bee  Work.— It  is  a  matter  of  satisfac¬ 
tion  that  the  State  of  Massachusetts  has 
voted  to  increase  the  appropriation  for 
bee  work,  which  has  been  sadly  neglected 
the  past  few  years.  An  extra  inspector 
will  be  put  on  this  season,  and  the  east- 
c-eive  attention.  Amateur  beekeepers  will 
also  be  interested  in  a  two-day  Summer 
school,  to  be  held  near  Northampton, 
probably  in  August.  The  federated 
Massachusetts  Beekeepers’  Association  is 
largely  controlled  by  two  very  active  and 
wideawake  women  who  are  doing  much 
to  further  the  interests  of  bee  keepers  in 
the  State.  They  are  Miss  Josephine 
Moss  of  South  Lancaster.  Mass.,  presi¬ 
dent.  and  Mrs.  Thomas  L.  Wiles  of 
Ilingham,  secretary.  The  association  is 
urging  beekeepers  to  investigate  the  new 
type  of  wire  foundation  put  on  the  mar¬ 
ket  last  year  for  the  .  first  time.  This 
foundation  does  away  with  sagging  and 
completely  fills  the  frames,  thus  obviating 
the  making  of  drone  cells  at  the  bottom 
bar.  Caution  is  urged  in  the  use  of  the 
new  antiseptic  which  is  being  offered 
for  the  treatment  of  foul  brood  combs. 
It  may  prove  to  be  very  valuable,  but 
should  be  tested  before  widely  employed. 
A  Talk  About  Roses. — I  have  been 
surprised  at  the  interest  in  garden  roses 
which  is  indicated  by  the  letters  I  have 
received  since  naming  some  of  the  varie¬ 
ties  which  have  proved  successful  in  my 
garden.  I  have  been  asked  in  particular 
about  the  Baby  Ramblers,  with  which 
many  amateurs  apparently  are  not 
familiar.  Most  of  the  varieties  are  en¬ 
tirely  hardy,  and  are  very  useful  for 
making  beds,  blooming  as  they  do  practi¬ 
cally  all  Summer.  The  flowers  resemble 
the  smaller  climbing  roses,  but  the  plants 
grow  only  one  or  two  feet  high.  There 
are  several  varieties  even  among  the  Hy¬ 
brid  Teas  which  can  be  depended  upon 
in  most  parts  of  New  England.  In  the 
last  issue  of  the  American  Rose  Annual 
Dr.  George  T.  Elliott,  living  in  East  Otis- 
field,  Me.,  gives  a  list  of  roses  which  he 
has  grown  successfully  in  that  climate. 
This  list  includes  Frau  Karl  Drusehki, 
Lieut.  Chaure,  Radiance,  Mrs.  Aaron 
Ward,  Mrs.  Wakefield  Christie  Miller, 
both  the  red  and  the  white  Killarneys, 
Mrs.  John  IJaing,  Jonkheer  J.  L.  Mock. 
Duchess  of  Wellington.  George  C.  Waud 
and  Laurent  Carle.  This  is  a  very  good 
list  indeed.  I  would  add,  however,  Colum¬ 
bia,  General  MacArthur,  Caroline  Tes- 
tout,  Gruss  an  Teplitz.  Ophelia,  Hugh 
Dickson,  Lady  Alice  Stanley  and  Mme. 
Leon  Pain.  George  Arend  is  a  very  fine 
rose,  but  is  likely  to  mildew  near  the 
ocean.  One  of  the  most  beautiful  of  all 
roses.  Mme.  Edouard  Ilerriott.  sometimes 
called  the  Daily  Mail  rose,  is  fairly  hardy 
and  worth  growing,  although  it  some¬ 
times  gets  the  black  spot  badly.  Mme. 
Butterfly  is  another  very  beautiful  new 
rose  worth  trying  out  in  New  England 
gardens.  Rose  growers  who  particularly 
like  fragrance  should  be  sure  to  plant 
Laurent  Carle  and  General  MacArthur. 
Frau  Karl  Drusehki  is  a  very  strong¬ 
growing  i*ose,  and  should  be  allowed  to 
throow  up  canes  five  or  six  feet  high  in¬ 
stead  of  being  pruned  hard  like  most 
varieties.  To  a  somewhat  lesser  extent 
this  also  holds  true  of  Hugh  Dickson. 
I  /os  Angeles,  a  wonderful  new  rose  from 
the  Pacific  coast  is  being  sold  very  widely 
in  New  England  and  is  exceedingly  beau¬ 
tiful,  but  is  not  recommended  for  those 
whose  purses  are  not  well  supplied,  be¬ 
cause  it  is  likely  to  suffer  from  black 
spot  and  be  destroyed.  Judging  from  my 
own  experience,  this  is  also  true  of  the 
remarkable  new  yellow  rose,  Souvenir  de 
Claudius  Pernet. 
I  think  that  the  new  hybrid  Rugosa 
rose  called  Grootendorst,  with  a  bloom 
almost  like  that  of  a  carnation,  will  prove 
very  popular  for  hedges  and  for  border 
planting.  This  rose  is  entirely  hardy  and 
blooms  practically  all  Summer,  its  only 
disadvantage  being  that  the  blossoms  take 
on  a  somewhat  purple  color  as  they  fade. 
E.  I.  FARRINGTON. 
The  Farmer’s  Wife  and  Her  Bees 
Last  Fall  we  put  away  our  three  colo¬ 
nies  of  bees,  very  carefully.  We  had  a 
feeling  of  great  admiration  and  respect 
for  them,  and  thought  they  deserved  all 
we  could  do  for  their  comfort.  Last  July 
we  had  found  the  hives  practically  empty 
of  honey,  for  the  clover  had  been  hit  by 
dry  weather,  and  the  Spring  season  cut 
very  short.  We  wondered  if  they  would 
be  able  to  get  enough  during  the  late 
Summer  to  put  them  through  the  Winter. 
But  the  hives  were  of  the  Jumbo  type, 
with  lots  of  room,  and  the  queens  had 
got  busy  when  the  Spring  flow  of  honey 
started,  and  there  were  bees  aplenty. 
So  when  Fall  came  and  the  young  were 
ready  to  work,  supplies  began  to  come 
in,  and  in  late  September  we  took  over 
a  hundred  pounds  of  exrtacted  honey 
from  the  three  colonies.  So  much  for 
big  hives.  Instead  of  getting  crowded 
and  sending  out  swarms  in  May  and 
June,  ours  had  settled  down  to  business 
and  raised  young  bees  for  the  Fall  rush. 
We  left  about  50  lbs.  of  honey  for  each 
hive  for  the  Winter,  and  put  box  “over¬ 
coats”  around  them  with  stuffing  of  dry 
leaves.  It  has  been  an  ideal  Winter  for 
them,  for  they  have  had  a  fly  at  least 
once  each  six  weeks.  When  we  have 
seen  them  dancing  about  in  the  warm 
sunshine  in  front  of  the  hives,  we  have 
felt  so  sorry  for  those  bees  who  are  put 
to  bed  in  a  cellar  and  do  not  see  the  sun 
till  Spring. 
Early  in  March  we  looked  into  the 
hives  and  found  things  in  very  good  con¬ 
dition,  with  supplies  at  hand.  But  then 
is  the  time  our  queens  should  begin  to 
prepare  for  the  early  honey  flow.  If  she 
is  to  have  young  bees  old  enough  to  go 
to  work  with  the  first  honey,  she  will 
have  to  go  to  laying  very  soon.  So  we 
put  a  super  on  each  hive  and  opening 
the  little  hole  in  the  lid  between  the  two, 
placed  over  it  an  inverted  jar  of  food. 
The  jar  is  a  quart  Mason  jar  containing 
a  syrup  of  two  parts  water  to  one  of 
honey,  the  lid  having  the  porcelain  part 
removed  and  the  metal  punctured  in  sev¬ 
eral  places  with  very  small  holes  so  the 
liquid  will  pass  through  very  slowly,  a 
drop  at  a  time.  The  bees  will  soon  find 
the  dripping  food  and  begin  to  carry-  it 
to  the  cells,  and  as  soon  as  the  word  is 
passed  on  to  the  queen  that  supplies  are 
coming  in  she  will  be  inspired  to  produce 
workers  to  take  care  of  these  supplies. 
That  will  mean  that  quite  early  we  will 
have  to  take  the  empty  jar  out  of  the 
super  and  put  in  its  place  frames  with 
empty  comb  or  starter,  for  with  the  com¬ 
ing  of  blood-root  and  Anemones  the  bees 
will  be  out  and  busy.  We  prefer  to  have 
our  honey  extracted  in  the  Fall,  and  put 
it  away  in  jars.  Then  we  have  the  empty 
comb  to  put  in,  and  so  save  the  little 
fellows  the  extra  work  of  making  comb. 
We  have  made  it  a  practice  of  having 
an  empty  super  on  the  hive  at  all  times 
in  the  honey  season,  and  this  with  the 
Jumbo  hives  we  hold  to  be  the  reason  why 
we  have  not  had  a  swarm  to  come  off  for 
four  years. 
It  is  all  so  simple  and  so  practical  for 
a  woman  to  do  that  we  wonder  why  more 
women  do  not  “keep  a  bee.”  Properly 
managed  there  is  no  necessity  for  chasing 
swarms  over  fences  and  into  treetops. 
Left  to  themselves  and  given  room,  the 
bees  will  take  care  of  providing  new 
queens  when  it  is  necessary,  without  the 
trouble  of  requeening.  A  judicious  use 
of  earbolized  cloths  will  prevent  the 
trouble  or  robber  bees  when  taking  honey. 
A  colony  of  real  Italian  bees,  properly 
housed  and  treated  with  reasonable  con¬ 
sideration.  as  you  would  a  cow  or  a  dog 
or  any  other  animal,  will  live  right  at 
your  back  door  in  peace  and  harmony 
with  the  family.  We  have  lived  so  with 
our  three  colonies  for  eight  years,  and 
two  little  ones  growing  up  in  the  family 
during  the  time.  “OHIO.” 
The  little  stern-wheel  steamboat  had 
just  stopped  at  a  small  Ohio  River  town 
to  put  off  freight,  and  among  the  deliv¬ 
eries  were  two  burros.  The  local  wharf- 
man.  checking  his  freight  manifest,  ap¬ 
peared  to  be  puzzled.  He  would  look  at 
the  two  burros,  carefully  scrutinize  the 
manifest  once  more,  and  then  glance 
quizzically  over  the  pile  of  freight.  At 
last  one  of  the  clerks  on  the  boat,  notic¬ 
ing  his  actions,  called  out :  “Doesn’t 
everything  check  out  right,  Henry?” 
“Well,  not  exactly — no,”  said  Henry. 
“I  am  short  two  bureaus  and  over  two 
jackasses.” — Everybody’s  Magazine. 
Mme.  Caroline  Testout,  a  Dependable  Rose 
A  Bushel  of  Rhode  Island  Greenings 
orn  part  of  Massachusetts  will  again  re- 
