The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1894-02-21

PROFESSOR BAILEY here speaks of
this "most important advance in Amer
lean pomology" as recent, and in such
way as to make it appear to be even
more recent than spraying for fungous
diseases of the foliage and fruit. This
is certainly mistake; for away back in
the early seventies we called attention
to the ubject,-led to do so by visit
to large young orchard planted al
most exclusively to one variety,-Bald-
win, we think,-near Lake Champlain,
which we visited in company with Cy-
rus G.. Pringle, the widely-known and
distinguished botanist, who has more
recently given so much time, with dis
tlpguished success, to the study of the
Mexican fora. At the time of this
visit the trees were large enough to be
bearing considerably; but there was
practically no fruit upon them. We
discussed the matter with Mr.. Pringle;
and he, as well as we, expressed doubt
as to the profit of an orchard so exclu.
sively planted to single variety. For
several years afterwards we kept up
our interest in the matter, and learned
that the orchard remained practically
barren. OF late we have heard moth
ing about it, having no correspondents
in that vicinity; but the subject was
several times referred to in the Yer
mont Farmer, of which we were then
the editor. We do not know that Pro-
fessor Bailey makes the claim that he
was the first to suggest this idea; and it
is so natural an explanation of the bar
renness of such an orchard as to be al
most obvious to person acquainted
with vegetable physiology. Since that
time we have, in our editorial work,
not unfrequently advised against ex-
elusive planting, on the ground stated.
The fact, merely as fact, had been
observed long before; and many skilled
orchardists were aware that exclusive
planting was unfavorable to produc-
tiveness. Professional grafters have
often noted the fact that grating a
part of shy-bearing apple tree with
another variety causes free produc-
ton of fruit upon all parts of the tree.
GEORGE j. WHEELER, Burlington,
Kansas, who is a subscriber to this
paper, kindly sends US copy of a
neatly-printed and otherwise we'll
got-up weekly paper, called The In
dustridlSt, which is printed and issued
at the Industrial College, Manhattan,
Kansas. The work on it is all done by
the students. That would not be bad
idea for the industrial students at the
Vermont Agricultural College. Thank
you, Friend Wheeler; can't you give
us little account of the agricultural
and horticultural work going forward
at your institution?
In the Industriahst, Professor J. T.
Willard of the Kansas college gives a
most interesting article upon the cleo
trio furnace, recent invention capable
of producing heat of over 5000 de-
grees. In this furnace the most re-
fractory metals are melted with ease,
and even vaporized. Six ounces of
gold can be distilled in as many min-
utes. Copper, silver, manganese, alu.
minum, and others, have been thus
volatilized. Even silicon and carbon
are vaporized. Lime, hitherto infusi-
BILE, melts to thin liquid, and by in
creasing the current is readily distilled.
HERE is a statement from Meehdn'S
Monthly for February which is rather
contrary to what we have heretofore
believed. We wish some Of our young
readers would try it, and send us re-
port of the results next fall: Draw
out trench, say four inches in depth
put the potato sets about foot apart
cover the whole of this trench in foul
inches deep with straw or litter, anC
then draw three or four inches of eartl
over it, and the product will be sur
prise. Not only are potatoes large anC
produced in enormous quantities unde
this treatment, but the skins of the pc
tatoes themselves have bright AM
clear look, which make them an objec
of beauty as well as desirable GRO
from the purely vegetable point O
view"
ONE of the many current absurditie
is the belief that farmer can keep a
exact set of books or any sort of az
counts in a similar way, and with tn
same accurate results as merchant {
manufacturer can do. We have keI
books for manufacturers and for me
chants, in our younger days; and
our father, who taught us bookkeeping
was long noted for his excellence as