The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1895-07-03
Clemson College.
CLEMSON COLLEGE, ;. e..
limo - 1904

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ton, and referred to in your letter of
9th May. would say
The work was begun in the Spring
of $50, under very unfavorable condi-
tions, tha; is to say. as to soil and
location.
The only available land was a high
ridge. sioping South, East and West.
The soil was poor, thirsty and 4 por-
ton of it washed int" gullics. 1t
has. however been successfully ter
raced. and is very much improved.
Almost the whole area is swept by the
Westerly winds, to which there is no
obstruction within two or three miles.
These winds do great damage by dry
ing and baking the soil and whipping
the plants. On these lands, in the
Spring of 1892, We planted about one
thousand fruit trees, and eight hun
drcd grape vines. These have been
added to from time to time, until we
now have about twcnty-thrcc hundred
fruit trees and two thousand grape
vines. The trees consist of apples,
pears, peaches. plums, ounces, cher
rics, ligs. pcacana, walnuts, chcstnuts,
Glbcrts, &C., in variety Of grapes, We
have thirty six varieties.
Both trees and vines have made
good growth and arc comparatively
free from disease. They are so inter
located and altcrnated as to give each
kind and each variety the benefit of
the different exposures and soils.
The freeze of 27tl March, 1894, did
great damage to all, but especially to
the figs, ounces and the so-callcd
oriental varieties of pears-thc Lc
Conte, CARRIER and Kictfcr being killed
to the ground.
Memoranda has been made Of the
growth, date Of bloom. damage by
frost, yields, &C., of the different
varieties on the several exposures.
The trees being young, and the
frosts continuing into May, have
borne little fruit as yet. y majority
Of the peach trees have a very fair
crop chis year. The grapes, after
recovering from the freeze in 81, bore
few scattering punches, but the
crop of this year promises to be very
fine, with the exception of one variety
the Nortens Virginia.
We have used the Bordeaux mix
turc, coppcrdinc and some other fun
sicdes. but as yet, have seen no sign
of disease or rot upon either sprayed
or unspraycd vines.
In the matter of experiments with
the vegetables, we have grown the
following: . varieties of asparagus;
81 varieties of bccts, including sugar
bccts and mangolds 90 varieties of
dwaft or bunch beans 4S of cabbage;
l3 of carrots 8 Of celery q Of Gu
cumbers 26 of lettuce : y Of onions:
! of pumpkins; Sc of Irish potatoes
Is Of radishcs 3 of satisfy II of
sQuashcs; 16of turnips + of spinach;
i of okra: I of parsnips: % of pepper;
53 of tomatoes and sundry others
together with G3 varieties of cante-
lopcs, and 81 varieties of watermclons.
Also popcorn, millcts, SOFA beans,
German coffee, ct al.
None of these experiments have. as
yet. run through mere than two years,
except dwarf beans, tomatoes and
Irish potatoes; bulletins as to the
result Of these last are now being pre-
pared. The result Of the first years
test has already been published. In
addition to these variety tests, fer
tilizer and cultivation experiments arc
also being carried on with various
vegetables, but especially with toma-
toes, beans, cabbage, onions and Irish
otatocs-therc being thirty-four diff
ferent fertilizers and combinations of
fertilizers on potatoes alone.
In small fruits We have raspberries
Gorty varictics,) strawberries forty-
two yaricties,) currants, goosebcrries,
&c. These were all more or less in
jured by the freeze Of March, 1894,
and none of them have fully recovered
except the strawberry. We gathered
Of these, this season, over four thou
sand quarts from three acres of old
and Door land. OF these forty odd
varieties the Buback No. ), the lla-
vcrland and the Grandy, in the order
named, deserve special mention for
yield. size and flavor.
We have needed and used very little
and but few insecticides, except to
test their relative merits. Small
boxes, elevated on poles. at the rate
of five to the acre, have been the
nesting and brooding places of the
common blue bird (sialia sialis) and
| other inScctivorous birds, and these,
with the aid of the common toad, have
kept all noxious insects subjugated.
except the harlequin bug (strachia
histrionica.) No bird or fowl, so far
as we have observed. will kill or eat
this bug. Our rule is to encourage
and provide for (by furnishing nesting
| places anI food in winter all birds Of
every kind except the jay bird and the
so-callcd English sparrow. These two
last we kill on sight.
The blue bird, cat bird and the old
| llclu l)dIIUh dlC NoIlh lHNiA VIE ~ 49,
"silvcr' to any gardener.
The various cabbage worms are
easily disposed Of. Wheat bran: corn
meal. gypsum, floats or any fine dust,
freely sprinklcd on the plants when
the dew is on. will soon destroy them.
After the cabbage has headed, take a
leaf from the bottom and lay it on top
late in the evening in the carly morn
ing you will find most Of the worms on
the undersidc Of this leaf.
The harlequin bug is made of ster-
ncr stuff. Next to hand-picking, the
best remedy we have found is to plant
mustard or turnips near to the cab
baec the bug prefers these, and
gathered Oh them Kill (both) with
crude petroleum or cheap Kerosene oil.
The labor in this department con,
>i>tS of one foreman. six laborcrs and
two mules. \ few Of the college stu
dents work about four hours each on
Saturday. an,l two sections Of the
Sophomore class work two hours Il
week. but this latter is educational
and not paid for.
In addition to hot beds. cold frames.
&C.. we have small green house say
22Uxi;3. in which are. grown several
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