New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-06-22
FARM AND GARDEN.
From The weekly Tribune, June Ia.
A STUDY OF THE FROST.

Pauline injunCton-" Forget not to communicate"
are reporting Incidents of the recent renarksble
! freeze and suggesting and specializing as to Its IN
! nuence and results. The HusbdndmdR remarks that
few days of patient waiting happily necessItated
revision of first estimates of disaster so lar rs west
! ern New York was concerned:
! "On some corn fields where the plants were wlted
! and backcncd clean to the ground new growth !Dl
! come forward promptly and the damage elected bY
! frost had proved very slight In fact, there were
/ fields where a week before replanting was cOntem-
plated that had since shown such growth thaJ cut
tiyation was needed, aud gwen, the plants showing
| hardly any effects of freezing"
! As to New England it is noted that the preceding
! cold dry weather was unfavorable to restart OF
! corn plants but where the frost did not go deep
! enough to touch the roots they will push again.
| Says one:
"Corn grows from the inside of the stalk and on
this account will stand a very hard frost without
| material injury"
In Massachusetts, and Connecticut it is variously
thought that potatoes cut by frost will still give
! fair return and the other hand, that the crop
will in such cases be d" small and few in the hlll'
the latter opinion predomnatng. writer in The
! " f. Homestead tells what might have been had
mis- forcthought been equal to his hndsight;
al could have covered six acres of potatoes with
potato covers ridges and after couple of days
narrowed down the ridges, which would have served
as hOcing, and also protected them from frost'
! He mentions market gardeners who, rather than
wait for luck worked for it-eycn into the early
morning hours they saved tomatoes and other ten
| der vegetables by laying them down and covering
lightly with soil Also he describes hrs own courseot
action and remarks that general record in due time
of expcdients adopted by others together with
results secured would serve ~ guides for similar
emergencies. thus gaining future profit from past
misfortune
| 81 have to-day-Nlay 31-commenccd to plant
over about ten acres of corn by drilling alongside
| the old rows and near enough so can take Old or
new planting as may seem best v hen begin to hoe
/ In my potato field shall drill corn alongside the
rows of potatOrs perhaps half the field; On
part of the rest will open drills between the rows
/ and plant for a crop, cultivate with the smoothing
/ harrow to keep the weeds down and in due time
! choose which TO save, A part of the field | Will
leave until later and if tho prospect Tor crop OF
potatoes is not sufficiently encouraging, plough
them up and put in sOwed corn or hungarian grass
Another correspondent notes the interesting fact
that the hardness of mature wood has little to do
with hardness of the growth" and explains
as follows
awhile the new growth of such trees az peach
and apricot does not in many cases seem to be III
/ iured ut all the growth of many forest trees,
ash. hickory, butteTuut and IN some cases OAK ana
chestnut is black and dead to the tops of the tacs
trees and some small chestnut trees IN exposed
places are killed nearly to the ground"
The State Pomoogist Of Connecticut calls atten-
ton to degrees of difference of injury TO various
kinds of strawberries under the conditions Of
! age exposure, culture, etc, also of grapes.
Some of the latter suffered severely, and other sorts
! NOTABLY Jefferson not seriously Currants with
him were only slightly cut, raspberries not much
harmed he hopes but apples are dropping badly aud
pears too, with exception of Keitter. which seemed
equal to the emergency" He adds:
"Consumcrs may reasonably expect to bear part of
/ the loss in advanced prices for the trult when
escapes. | fully believe much damage might nave
been avcrted by fires and smoke at or neal
! promising vineyards and strawb berry heldH."
Fruit-growcrs naturally suffered most, and THEN
apparent losses are least speedily repairable.
Frozen vegetables can be ploughed under and by
replanting spring Phoenix-like anew, but fruit
trees and vines says Mr.. Beekman, of the Hudson
Valley. Will stand perpetual reminder through
the season of a most bitter XperienCe:"
"Thc apple crop is ruined grapes total failure.
and straw berries, raspbarries, blackberrles and
currants almost entirely destroyed. Pears, plums
and cherries black upon the trees trees having
tender foliage like the black walnut, hickory sunac
etc black as though scorched by fine. Potatoes
and corn almost invisible and that peculiar Odor
which comes from frozen foliage when thawed
BY the sun, is very perceptible. Not only so, but
the Young canes for the next year crop of black
berries aud backcaps, are frozen to the surface. OF
the ground
Walking at 8 o'clock that black Friday morning
mercury 2Goj among the ruins of his own plapta-
tons
"The otherwise beautiful appearance of Nature
seemed but mockcry in the presence of such awful
dcsolation, aud felt Ike Jonah when the Lord
smOtc his gOurd"
But cheerful Faith, to which nothing comes
! amiss cannot doubt that even this visitation IL
/ embraced in the " all things" which "work to-
getber for good We gladly see the ground under
our orchard trees covered with fallen apples nipped
in the GERM preferring to get crop in So the of
/ wear" And We have not found a curTant worm
since the passage of the cold wave. Who knows
,;,,,n hi.h h
iron-clad in pupa may be vulnerable in the transi-
ton or the perfect sate-were refrigerated out OF
existence by the sudden Arctic atmosphere which
| caught them on the trail or on the nyY