The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1884-03-06
OUR RURAL TOPICS,
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers.
EyEReREnS HEpeEs FOE suELrrR.

EVERGREEN HEDGES FOR SHELTER.
Some people seem to consider it as an atfront
to the climate OF country when anything Is
said about protection or shelter to plants
animals. If mankind were always eontented
to grow only such crops and rear such animals
as are natives to the climate special protective
care might be unnecessary but if we collect the
productions OF other countries, we can only
make them profitable by maintaining their
health, aud unless this is accomplished failures
will result
The past winter shows, and, indeed, every
winter shows, the value OF protection from Sc
we're colds. IT we take the trouble to compare
results and observations we will find that pro-
lection from evergreen trees and hedges enables
certain plants to withstand the cold; or rather,
it preserves them from injury by meioTating
the cold, while plants of the same kind unpro-
tected sill be destroyed.
The best plants to employ for protection
from cold will vary somewhat, according TO
climate. For evergreen hedges in the South
ern States, even as far as Florida, we consider
that the Chinese arborvitsn is the most suitable.
1t can be kept III fine shape, with but little
trouble, as garden shelter, or it may be al
lowed to grow twenty feet in height for shell
tering broader areas. Its American cousin, the
native arborvitse, is harder, and will grow best
where the Chinese would be killed by cold.
When grown south of New York it assumes a
brown color towards winter, but it is a very
suitable plant for hedges, either dwarf or tall.
For q very large portion of the Eastern and
Middle States there IS evergreen tree that
will give better satisfaction protective plant
than the Norway spruce. 4 line of these,
placed six feet apart, surrounding II house from
northwest to northeast, viii in a few years
form valuable wind break and save fuel of
all kinds. This plant grows too coarsely for
making neat hedge Among all of our ever
green trees the Hemlock spruce MAKES the
| finest dwarf hedge; indeed, we know ONO ever
green, either native or introduced, that is SUI
i per.or to the hemlock for forming a neat oTna-
mental hedge, or for thick planting for pur-
poses of local shelter.
YELLoWs IN THE PEACH.
This disease is well described in the Proceed
| ings of the Pennsylvania horticultural Asso-
| citation, as follows although this has been
the worst enemy to the peach grower for half
q century, still little is known of its nature,
/ and nothing, with certainty, of its cause. Many
/ slight Observers have COMPOUNDED it with the
effects of the peach borer, but the two are en-
| tirely distinct. The symptoms are, first. prema
/ ture ripening of the fruit. This takes place
/ from one to three weeks earlier than the proper
season; the fruit viii ripen all together, and
/ will be undersized. Internally, the flesh is
more deeply coIored. especially around the
/
! first season OF the disease the fruit may be
about the usual size, but the following season
/ much smaller, with great tendency to rot.
/ Second, the production upon the branches of
/ small, wiry shoots, with small, sickly, light
yellow leaves. These shoots are not protrGded
from the eXtremities, but from latent buds on
| the main portion of the stem and branches.
These are unmistakable signs of the yellows,
and are not produced by worms or any other
| insects.
/ It is established beyond doubt that the yell
lows can always be propagated by budding, or
grating, OR by cutting into a diseased tree,
and, with the same instrument, into a healthy
tree. The soil, situation, or location does not
appear, materially, to lessen or increase the
| liability to yellows in certain climates. 1t is
! the almost universal opinion of all orehardists
that the yellows is q contagious disease, spread
/ ing gradually, but certainly, from tree to tree
| through whole orchards. 1t is also prevail
ing opinion of many peach growers that the
disease is communicated when the trees are in
bloom by wind and bees carrying the pollen.
1t is only by roofing out diseased trees and
| planting others from healthy source that we
can keep up our orchards"
NATIVE POTATOES
| The following remarks are taken from a
recent bulletin of the Pennsylvania State Col
lege . Within the past year, tubers collected
In Arizona in the fall Of 1852 have been sent
out to various applicants by Mr. j. G. Lennon,
| of Oakland, California. We planted seven OF
these little potatoes in ordinary garden soil
and gave them ordinary culture. One failed
to grow; from the others one hundred and
sixty-seyen tubers were produced. They aver
aged no larger than those planted although
several of them were about an inch in diameter.
They are simply dininutives of the cultivated
potato. 1t was the intention to test their edi-
| bility, but they changed color almost as quickly
as the cut surface Of an apple when exposed to
air and light and having delayed a day or two
we found them fully as bitter and unpleasant
as our ordinary patatoes when they have become
green by prolonged exposure to light When
cooked Immediately after digging they are
probably sweet and palatable, as they are often
used by the Indians. 1t is not at all likely
that any immediate good result to the farmer
will follow his cultivation of these native pota-
toes. Some persons appear to be under the
impression that the first crop willshow consid-
cradle change in the size and in the quantity Of
the product, and that cultivation a second year
will fix and increase these desirable qualities
more, and SO ON, until within a few years they
will become valuable for cultivation But such
quick results cannot be inferred from what we
know of the origin of our cultivated plants, and
our experiment fails to bear out the idea
Hence, for the practical cultivator, these pota
toes have as yet no value, but under the hand:
of the experimenter they may in time De soim
proved as to be worthy of general cultivation.
DEPTH OF DRAINS.
Some diversity of opinion exists with regard
to the best depth for drains. Some consider foul
feet proper depth and the drains to be about
thirty feet apart; others consider thirty inehe:
deep enough, with drains about twenty fee
apart. Deep drains have the disadvantage o.
being slower in their action than the shailowel
drain. Much depends upon the character of tn.
soil; where the subsoil iaelines to gravel or il
somewhat sandy, deep drains at a wider distanc,
apart may answer the purpose required, but il
clayey, or stiff, hard soils the more frequent
shallower drain is much to be preferred. One
great advantage of draining is that of dryins
the surface soil quickly in spring, so that the
operations for getting in crops may be fastened
We have seen cases where the shallow drained
portion of field was piowed, sown and har
rowed before the deeper-drained portion coulG
be worked, on account of the wet surface The
shallow drain acts quicker, and removes tn.
water at a depth sufficient to prevent injury Il
the roots of ordinary farm and garden crops.
HOG DISEASES.
A writer on the hog says that impure water
has destroyed more hogs than any other ont
thing. They can be induced to drink filthiel
water than other domestic animals, and they
get it. They are made to drink the least de
sirable water and get least of it, when in fac
they need great deal of water During dry
ceaconS cyvrne diSaa gas rrova or,ifa alone