THE Y SA Y. 



179 



matted rows, mulched with marsh hay in November, and 

 do not remove the mulch in the spring. — Geo. J. Kel- 

 logg, Wisconsin . 



Japanese Wineberry. — This new comer in the list of 

 small fruits is a decided novelty in many ways. It is en- 

 tirely distinct from any other raspberry, the class to 

 which it belongs, in having the fruit covered by the 

 calyx until nearly or quite ripe ; in its immense clusters, 

 and in the whole plant being covered with a reddish- 

 brown hair or moss. Before the calyx opens, display- 

 ing the fruit, it appears like the crested moss-rose bud. 

 The fruit is one of the handsomest of the berry family 

 the color being almost indescribable, having the inten- 

 sity of a flower rather than of a fruit. In flavor, the 

 fruit is not superior to that of our native sorts, but 

 the beauty of the plant when in fruit, and its being per- 

 fectly hardy, makes it desirable. Whether the fruit has 

 the astringency peculiar to most Japanese raspberries, 

 we cannot say, not having sufficient opportunity to test 

 it. — C. L. Allen. 



Mexican Tree Bean. — In the list of new vegetables 

 for the year we notice this bean, but cannot vouch for 

 its goodness as a vegetable, but must say the plant is 

 worth growing for the beauty of its pods, which are 

 more than a foot long, containing a dozen or more beans, 

 which are quite large and pure white. The name has 

 been used before for a branching " Navy." — Queens. 



FIG. I. HE.AD OF GARDEN MARKER. 



A Home-made Garden Marker. For the beam or 

 head (Fig. i) I use 1^x2 in., and 4 ft. 2 in. long, plow- 

 ing a groove j^x^ in. in the lower side. I then bore 

 Yz-in. holes every 2 in., beginning 2 in. from the Q 

 end. The teeth (Fig. 2) are made of oak, from 

 a stick like the beam, with a tenon 2 in. wide 

 by ^2, in. high and ^ in. long. Two inches 

 below this tenon or shoulder, I mortise in a 

 nut to take the joint-bolt, which is inserted 

 through the beam to hold the tooth 

 This joint-bolt (Fig. 3) is 5 in. long, 

 Yf. in. diameter, and pointed, with a 

 thread turned on the lower end. The hole in 

 which this bolt lies should be ^2 in-, to allow 

 of easy transference. The lower end of the 

 tooth is sharpened somewhat like a double 

 mould plow. For handles I use two rake 

 handles about 5 ft. long, which are fastened in 

 the head between the bolt holes. The teeth 

 can be adjusted to any distance in a very 

 short time, and the implement is a useful and 

 durable one. The rings on the top of the joint-bolt al- 

 low it to be turned with a stick when a wrench is not 

 handy. — John Jeannin, Jr. 



FIG. 3. 



Some Persons May Think that floiuers are things 

 of no use; that they are nonsensical things. The same 

 may be, and, perhaps, with more reason, said of pict- 

 ures. An Italian, while he gives his fortune for a pict- 

 ure, will laugh to scorn a Hollander, who leaves a tulip- 

 root as a fortune to his son. For my part, as a thing to 

 keep and not to see ; as a thing the possession of which 

 is to give me pleasure, I hesitate not for a moment to 

 prefer the plant of a fine carnation to a gold watch set 

 with diamonds. — William Cobbett. 



The First Tree of the new Idaho pear in Rhode 

 Island was, through the good offices of J. E. Lester, 

 Esq., planted upon the grounds of the experiment 

 station at Kingston, R. I. 



Nursery Stock vs. Wild Plants. — Many of the na- 

 tive plants offered by dealers do not appear to be grown 

 in the nursery. In some cases the demand is so limited 

 that it does not pay grow them, especially when they 

 grow wild near at hand. In other cases, on the con- 

 trary, the demand is sometimes so great that sufficient 

 stock can not be kept under culture readily, particularly 

 in those cases in which the demand is somewhat uncer- 

 tain. But there are other plants for which there is 

 a steady demand which are still dug in the woods by 

 some nurserymen. These wild plants are nearly al- 

 ways poorer than the nursery-grown specimens, being 

 old, rough, and untidy. Never having been cultivated 

 or transplanted, they are not so apt to live. Then 

 — S2J they are bulky and make excessive freight charges. 



We recently ordered so common a plant as Cletlira 

 alnifolia from a reputable firm, but got wild plants, 

 good ones to be sure, but the express, although the 

 ^ distance was comparatively short, amounted to 

 more than the plants were worth. We believe 

 in nursery-grown stock. 



Floral Decoration for the Table. — One of the_ 

 prettiest fancies recently noticed was used at a large 

 London dinner. It was a large cornucopia of yellow 

 pompon chrysanthemums, laid flat and close together, 

 while a profusion of beautiful white flowers were wired, 

 and stood up above the cornucopia at the top as though 

 they were the contents of the holder. The same idea 

 carried out in pale pink and white carnations with a few 

 long sprays of smilax would be equally pretty and ef- 

 fective. Another handsome dinner table ornament is a 

 large mirror laid in the center of the table with pond 

 lilies resting upon it. A dish of moss, ferns and English 

 violets also forms an unobtrusively elegant flat center 

 piece. Shallow bowls of cut glass filled with long- 

 stemmed rose-buds of white and pale yellow tints are 

 conventional but extremely tasteful ; other pretty com- 

 binations can be made also. 



The Rood Plum is attracting considerable attention 

 in some parts of Central New York. It is larger than 

 Lombard, much better in flavor, and the tree is pro- 

 ductive and hardy. The fruit is wine-colored. The 

 variety originated some years ago at South Cortland, 

 N. Y. 



