1 18 
February  20 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
Novelties  and  Staples. 
FROM  THE  CATALOGUES. 
J.  M.  Thorburn  &Co.,  15  John  Street, 
New  York. — This  firm,  established  in 
1802,  evidently  takes  pride  in  issuing  a 
catalogue  devoid  of  all  trumpery  and  sen¬ 
sationalism,  and  we  may,  to  some  extent, 
speak  from  personal  knowledge  when  we 
say  that  it  is  respected  for  this  conserva¬ 
tism  by  a  patronage  that  has  grown  from 
year  to  year  until  it  is  now  as  widely  ex¬ 
tended  as  that  of  any  seed  firm  in  A  merica. 
There  are  1 12  pages  in  the  catalogue,  in 
which  everything  in  the  way  of  seeds  is 
offered  that  is  worth  offering.  A  part 
(six  pages)  is  given  to  evergreen  and  de¬ 
ciduous  tree  and  shrub  seeds.  Our  read¬ 
ers  make  a  mistake  in  taking  so  little  in¬ 
terest  in  raising  hardy  plants  from  seeds. 
Hundreds  of  them  yearly  pay  from  25 
cents  to  $1  for  nursery  trees  and  shrubs 
which  they  might  just  as  well  raise  by  the 
dozen  at  a  less  cost. 
The  Thorburn  Refugee  Wax  Bean  is 
said  to  be  a  perfect  Refugee,  with  golden- 
colored  wax  pods  suitable  for  early  or 
late  sowing  and  for  a  wet  or  dry  season. 
The  claim  is  made  that,  without  excep¬ 
tion,  it  is  the  earliest  bean  in  cultivation. 
Thorburn’s  Long-Keeper  is  in  The  R. 
N.-Y.’s  opinion  the  best  early  tomato  of 
to-day.  Among  other  novelties,  the 
reader’s  attention  is  called  to  the  follow¬ 
ing:  Thorburn’s  Commercial  Pickle,  Jap¬ 
anese  Climbing  Cucumber,  Self-folding 
Trianon  Cos  Lettuce,  Long  Island 
from  its  brother  journals,  diligently 
worked  to  throw  into  general  disrepute 
the  delusive  monstrosities  with  which  a 
few  bold-faced  seedsmen  are  pleased  to 
decorate  their  annual  publications  : 
The  tendency  to  exaggerate  Illustrations  In  seed 
catalogues  has  become  so  great  that  we  have  decided 
to  offer  in  the  future  our  novelties  and  JeadlDg  spe¬ 
cialties  from  actual  copies  of  photographs  taken  dur¬ 
ing  growth.  While  experienced  gardeners  can  dis¬ 
tinguish  greatly  exaggerated  cuts  as  readily  as  a  bank 
clerk  can  counterfeit  money,  yet  there  are  inexperi¬ 
enced  people  who  are  humbugged  and  deceived  by 
them. 
The  plan  which  this  firm  adopts  of  offer¬ 
ing  standard  farm  books  as  premiums 
which  go  with  seed  purchases,  strikes  us 
as  commendable. 
Peter  Henderson  &  Co.,  35  &  37  Cort- 
landt  Street,  New  York. — It  is  a  beau¬ 
tiful,  costly  work  of  155  pages,  9x11 
inches,  with  five  full-page  colored  illus¬ 
trations.  The  story  of  the  400  Tomato  is 
told  and  a  colored  portrait  appears  of  one 
of  the  largest  size.  The  judges  decided, 
as  R.  N.-Y.  readers  have  been  told,  upon 
the  name  Ponderosa,  selected  as  the  most 
appropriate  among  45,000  names  sent  in. 
The  sum  of  $500  is  now  offered  in  10 
amounts,  from  $150  to  $5,  for  the  heaviest 
and  best  formed  tomatoes  grown  from 
seed  purchased  and  sown  this  year,  a 
wise  method  of  obtaining  seed  from  which 
improved  strains  may  come.  Some  10  or 
12  years  ago  The  R.  N.-Y.  first  tried  what 
was  then  called  the  Ne  Plus  Ultra  Sweet 
Corn.  It  was  offered  as  a  novelty,  but 
had  been  in  fact,  under  other  names, 
pages  of  specialties.  Among  the  novel¬ 
ties  we  call  attention  to  Dreer’s  Bush 
Lima  Bean,  which  is  a  true  dwarf  variety 
of  Dreer’s  Improved  Pole  Lima.  The 
plants  grow  from  1  %  to  2  feet  high,  are  of 
vigorous,  bushy  habit,  the  beans  ripen¬ 
ing,  as  is  claimed,  10  days  before  the  pole 
sort.  Mr.  Dreer  claims  that  this  dwarf 
Lima  is  earlier  than  Burpee’s  and  more 
prolific.  The  R.  N.-Y.  has  tried  and  was 
the  first  of  the  press  to  report  upon 
Kumerle,  Burpee  and  Henderson  dwarfs 
but  it  has  not  tried  the  Dreer.  The  cata¬ 
logue  offers  Improved  Ne  Plus  Ultra 
Sweet  Corn  and  the  Heroine  Pea,  the  lat¬ 
ter  of  which  is  a  favorite  at  the  Rural 
Grounds,  as  will  be  seen  by  our  pea  re¬ 
ports  in  a  few  weeks.  Mr.  Dreer  offers 
$500  in  cash  prizes  for  the  best  vegetables 
grown  from  his  seeds — see  page  159.  On 
the  last  inside  cover  page  is  a  colored 
picture  of  the  charming  canna,  Mad. 
Crozy,  one  specimen  at  least  of  which 
should  be  in  the  garden  of  every  R,  N.-Y. 
reader. 
John  Lewis  Childs,  Floral  Park, 
Queens  County,  N.  Y.— Mr.  Childs  has 
sued  The  R.  N.-Y.  for  libel  and  yet  he 
continues  to  send  us  his  catalogues  for 
notice — four  of  which  we  have  received 
within  a  few  weeks. 
We  regret  that  the  present  edition 
gives  no  evidence  that  Mr.  Childs  has 
been  favorably  impressed  with  The  R. 
N.-Y.’s  well-meant  strictures.  As  an  evi¬ 
dence  of  this,  a  new  colored  plate  of  the 
The^F  Sower  ^^has 
No  Second  Chance. 
Good  tense  Bay  make  the  most  of  the  first. 
’  have  made  and  kept  Ferry’s  Seed  Busines^ 
the  largest  in  the  world — Merit  Tells. 
Ferry’s  Seed  Annual  for  1892 
tells  the  whole  Seed  story — Sent  free  for  the 
asking.  Don’t  sow  Seeds  till  you  get  it. 
kp.M.FERRY&CQ.,Petroit,Mich^ 
P.  O.  lloi  joai  a. 
LAST  A  BEAR  like  WHOLE 
ROOT  Trees;  see  “Fruits  and 
Fruit  Trees” — Free.  Amer. 
Garden  says;  Novel,  USEFUL,  to  the  point.  Orange  Judd 
Farmer:  Ably  written;  gives  trusty  INFORMATION.  Cal. 
Fruit  Grower:  Burprising  LOW  prices!  Apple,  Pear, Cher¬ 
ry,  Plum, PRUNE. Peach,  Ap’t,  Quince,  Nut, Or. Trees,  Grafts, 
ROSES — everything.  No  largerstock  tn  U  S.  No  BETTER. 
Nocheaper.  STAltK.  BROS.,  15>th  St.,  Louisiana, 
Mo.— Founded  1885;  OLDEST  1OO0  Acres;  LARGEST. 
Beauty  Musk-melon,  Laing’s  Tuberous 
Begonia  seeds,  chrysanthemum  seeds, 
Molucella  spinosa. 
Three  more  varieties  of  the  R.  N.-Y. 
wheats  are  offered  by  numbers,  as  they 
are  not  as  yet  named. 
No.  1  is  half  wheat  and  half  rye,  as 
early  as  rye. 
No.  4  is  absolutely  beardless — half 
wheat,  half  rye — as  early  as  rye. 
No.  52.  Pure  wheat  cross. 
D.  M.  Ferry  &  Co.,  Detroit,  Mich. — 
Seed  Annual  for  1892.  This  is  one  of  the 
largest  seed  houses  in  the  world.  It  ap¬ 
pears  that  it  required  30  tons  of  cabbage, 
61  tons  of  beet,  33  tons  of  onion,  147  tons 
of  turnip  seeds,  12,000  bushels  of  corn, 
40,000  bushels  of  peas,  and  other  kinds  of 
seeds  in  like  proportion  to  meet  the  de¬ 
mands  of  their  trade  during  1891.  One 
of  their  warehouses  covers  one-half  a 
block  300  by  120  feet,  six  stories,  affording 
nearly  eight  acres  of  floor  space.  Another 
is  140x85  feet,  nine  stories.  Another  large 
house  turns  out  30,000  boxes  annually. 
Upon  a  single  farm,  just  outside  the  city 
of  Detroit,  from  20  to  30  tons  of  onion 
seed  alone  are  grown.  On  another  farm 
of  200  acres  as  large  a  proportion  of  stock 
seed  is  grown  as  possible  under  the  man¬ 
agement  of  a  skillful  foreman.  Often¬ 
times  as  much  as  four-fifths  of  a  crop  is 
thrown  out  as  unfit  for  stock  seed  pur¬ 
poses.  All  seeds  are  tested  as  to  vitality. 
On  other  trial  grounds  (10  acres)  samples 
of  all  the  current  novelties  introduced  by 
others  are  tried.  In  this  way  the  firm 
satisfies  itself  as  to  their  value  before 
they  can  find  a  place  in  its  lists. 
The  cuts  in  the  catalogue  are  made 
from  photographs  of  the  plants  them¬ 
selves  and  the  descriptions  are  concise  and 
accurate.  The  firm  does  not  believe  that 
cuts  and  descriptions  of  plants  that  never 
did  and  never  can  exist  can  or  ought  to 
lead  to  permanent  business  success.  D. 
M.  Ferry  &  Co.  are  not  and  never  have 
sold  for  years  before.  The  kernels  were 
small  but  deep — the  quality  first-rate. 
The  ears  were  rather  small,  but  shapely, 
tapering  from  butt  to  tip  and  well  filled 
out  at  either  end.  A  peculiarity  is  that 
the  kernels  are  not  set  in  well-defined 
rows,  but  placed  as  closely  as  possible 
upon  the  cob  without  definite  arrange¬ 
ment.  It  is  a  late  variety  and  bears  more 
ears  to  a  plant  (if  the  plants  are  given 
plenty  of  room)  than  any  other  sweet 
corn  we  have  tried.  The  Hendersons 
offer,  under  the  name  of  Country  Gentle¬ 
man,  an  improved  strain  of  this  excellent 
variety — improved  in  that  the  ears  are 
larger.  For  home  use  we  confidently 
recommend  a  trial  of  the  Country  Gentle¬ 
man. 
Among  flower  specialties  are  the  Varie¬ 
gated-leaf  Moon  Flower,  the  Hardy 
Double  English  Violet  and  the  Hardy 
Chinese  Matrimony  Vine.  Other  special¬ 
ties  will  be  noticed  in  due  time  under 
“  What  Others  Say.” 
E.  M.  Cole,  Pella,  Illinois. — A  Gar¬ 
den  Annual  of  65  pages  with  16  pages  of 
specialties. 
John  W.  Hall,  Marion  Station,  Md. — 
A  price  list  of  “  High-bred  Seed  Pota¬ 
toes.” 
George  W.  P.  Jerrard,  Caribou, 
Maine. — A  cheery,  well  printed  catalogue 
of  potatoes  and  selected  vegetables — po¬ 
tatoes  being  the  specialty.  The  R.  N.-Y. 
can  vouch  for  the  fact  that  Jerrard’s  seed 
potatoes  have  given  entire  satisfaction. 
Mr.  T.  B.  Terry,  the  successful  Ohio  po¬ 
tato  grower,  says:  “  Last  spring  I  bought 
all  seed,  as  did  some  of  my  neighbors,  of 
Mr.  Jerrard  who  lives  up  in  the  northern 
part  of  Maine.  We  had  them  come  just 
before  we  wanted  to  plant,  and  they 
reached  here  without  a  sprout  having 
started.  In  my  opinion  the  cost  of  bring¬ 
ing  them  so  far  was  a  small  matter  by 
the  side  of  the  gain  from  having  entirely 
Wineberry  appears  in  which  the  berries 
are  shown  as  apparently  twice  the  size  of 
(Continued  on  next  pope.) 
In  writing  to  advertisers  please  always  mention 
The  Rural  New-Yorker. 
Two  Battles 
With  the  Grip 
Mr.  Jacob  Knapp,  a  well-known  market  man  and 
dealer  in  meats,  lard,  hides,  etc.,  in  Tipton,  la.,  says: 
“I  have  had  the  grip  for  two  winters,  and  this  last 
winter  I  was  so  badly  off  I  could  not  eat  and  could  not 
rest  because  of  coughing.  I  took  medicine  from  phy- 
Upon  our  250  acres  of  Nursery  we  have  ev¬ 
ery  family  of  Trees  and  Plants  hardy  in  a 
northern  climate;  whether  fruit,  ornamental, 
nut,  or  flowering.  Among  the  numerous 
choice  new  sorts  are  Lovett’s  Best  Blackberry, 
Beebe  and  Lovett’s  Early  Strawberries,  Japan 
Wineberry,  Green  Mt.  Grape,  Lincoln  Plum, 
Hardy  Orange,  Japan  Walnuts,  Ice  King  Prim¬ 
rose,  Everblooming  Spiraeas,  etc. 
All  are  accurately  described  and  quoted  at 
half  the  price  of  solicitors  in  Lovett’s  Guide 
to  Horticulture,  the  most  complete  and  elab¬ 
orate  catalogue  published  by  any  nursery  es¬ 
tablishment  in  the  world.  The  book  is  richly 
illustrated  and  is  replete  with  notes  on  purchas¬ 
ing,  planting,  pruning,  care  and  culture. 
Mailed  free;  with  colored  plates,  10c. 
Shipments  to  distant  points  a  Specialty. 
J.T.  Lovett  Co.,  Little  Silver,  N.  J. 
of  Hood’s  Sarsaparilla  I  took  it  and  it  helped  me  so 
much  I  could  soon  attend  to  my  business.  I  have 
taken  eight  bottles  now,  and  feel  strong  and  well, 
and  have  a  splendid  appetite.  Before  taking 
Hood’s  Sarsaparilla 
I  wanted  to  sit  down  or  lie  down  all  the  time,  but  now 
I  feel  as  strong  as  ever.”  Jacob  Knapp,  Tipton, 
Iowa.  Try  Hood's  Fills. 
WIAKE  np 
CONDITION  POWDER 
Highly  concentrated.  Dose  small.  In  quantity  costs 
less  than  one-tenth  cent  a  day  per  hen.  Prevents  and 
cures  all  diseases.  If  you  can’t  gat  it,  we  send  by  mail 
post-paid.  One  pack.  25c.  Five  $1.  2  1-4  lb.  can  $1.20; 
cash.  Farmers’  Poultry  Guide  (price  25c.)  free  with  $1.0# 
orders  or  more.  L  S.  JOHNSON  &  CO.,  Boston.  Mass. 
UICI  I  SUPPLIESSrSre 
I ~~  tng,  Wlnd&Steam Mach'y.  Encyclopedia 2ic. 
"  *  """""“The  American  Well  Works,  Aurora,  111. 
JI-13  S.Canal  St.,  CHICAGO,  ILL.  1  D 
Elm  Street.  DALLAS.  TEXAS  (  Branch  House*. 
i1SWEETlC0RN 
WorL  D 
eNsG*°<61PFs 
l2'/2  INCHES  LONG  BY  8/a 
I  INCHES  IN  CIRCUMFERENCE 
WEIGHING  IMPOUNDS  EACH 
WE  WILL  SEND 
ONE  PACKET  EACH 
'  Of  This  CORN \ 
CHAMPION  RADISH  AND 
GRAND  RAPIDS  LETTUCE 
T06ETHER  WITH  OUR 
f Beautiful  illustrated 
CATALOGUE 
On  l  D  rOR  1892  FOR  10  CENTS. 
UttT  r  EARL  TUBEROSE  BULBS  . 
Price  &Reed,AlbanyN.Y. 
Fin’C  SMALL  FRUITS, 
tIUd  TREES) » 
CRATES  and  BASKETS.  NEW  FRUITS  a  specialty.  Have  you 
received  our  Catalogue?  If  not,  why  not?  Buy  direct  and  save  one-hair. 
Catalogue  FREE.  E.  W.  REID,  Bridgeport,  Ohio. 
Illustrated 
been  large  advertisers  in  the  journals  of 
the  day.  It  will  be  seen,  however,  that 
The  R.  N.-Y.’s  opinion  of  the  firm  is  of 
the  highest. 
Johnson  &  Stokes,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
— “  Money  Growers’  Seed  Manual  for 
1892,”  being  a  handsome  work  of  120 
pages,  with  the  new  and  commendable 
feature  that  the  ‘  ‘  novelties  and  special¬ 
ties”  are  illustrated  and  described  on 
heavy  calendered  paper,  the  portraits 
being  well-executed  photo-engravings, 
necessarily  true  to  nature.  The  following 
abstract  from  the  catalogue  especially 
pleases  The  R.  N.-Y.,  that,  as  its  readers 
know,  has,  with  scarcely  any  cooperation 
sound  seed,  so  that  the  first  sprout  could 
grow,  as  well  as  from  the  change  of  seed. 
My  next  neighbor  planted  a  few  rows  of 
his  own  seed  (Beauty  of  Hebron)  by  the 
side  of  Jerrard’s  seed  and  I  should  not  be 
surprised  if  the  difference  in  yield  in 
favor  of  the  latter  reached  75  bushels  per 
acre  !” 
The  R.  N.-Y.  has  tried  many  of  Jer¬ 
rard’s  seedlings  and  our  reports  will 
substantiate  all  reasonable  claims  as  to 
their  value. 
Henry  A.  Dreer,  714,  Chestnut 
Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa, — One  of  the 
best  catalogues  issued — 160  pages,  col¬ 
ored  covers,  two  colored  plates  and  eight 
lERRARD’S  SEED  POTATOES  S 
are  always  THE  BEST.  Grown  from  pedigree  seed  in  the  new  lands  of  5 
the  cold  North-East,  1  50  miles  farther  north  than  the  north  line  of  Ver-  * 
mont.  They  yield  Earliest  and  largest  crops  In  every  climate.  # 
The  beautiful  Early  Norther  heads  the  list  of  new  kinds.  New  Oueen,  I 
Harbinger,  Minister,  and  all  the  good  kinds,  new  and  old,  are  in  it.  • 
lERRARD’S  NORTHERN  SEEDS  ^  ; 
produce  earlier  vegetables  than  any  others  on  earth.  * 
CATALOGUE  MAILED  FREE.  Address  • 
.  GEORGE  W.  P.  JERRARD,  CARIBOU,  MAINE.  • 
|PRAY  YOUR  TREES.  $|7  Spray  Pump  $5  50 
Mate  3  Complete  Brass  Machines.  mTSrSSToSS&n'm. U 
A  Valuable  lU’d  Book  ( worth  $5.00)  on  ”  Our  Insect  Foes,”  given  to  each  purchaser.  Our  agents 
wwfll  *5  to„*20  per  day  Satisfaction  guaranteed  or  money  refunded.  Send  for 
|  111  d  Catalogue,  Price  List  and  Terms.  Remember  we  send  you  a  Brass  Outfit,  express  raid  and 
guarantee  satisfaction.  Write  at  once  and  mention  this  paper  Address 
1*.  C.  LEWIS  MANUFACTURING  CO.,  Cutskill,  N.  Y. 
