1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
Novelties  and  Staples. 
( Continued . ) 
those  in  the  original  colored  picture 
which  itself  represented  them  as  too 
large.  Mr.  Childs  is  a  man  of  nerve,  to 
say  the  least. 
Thk  Storrs  &  Harrison  Co.,  Paines- 
ville,  0. — This  catalogue  (165  pages)  is 
one  that  will  interest  every  one,  since  it 
is  a  combined  catalogue  of  seeds  of  all 
kinds,  ornamental,  deciduous  and  ever¬ 
green  trees  and  shrubs,  large  fruits  and 
small  fruits  and,  finally,  conservatory 
and  bedding  plants  in  great  variety.  It 
is  one  of  those  firms  that  we  take  pleasure 
in  commending  to  the  patronage  of  our 
readers.  We  would  especially  commend 
it  to  those  who  have  hardy  plants  of  any 
kind  or  fruits  (large  or  small)  to  pur¬ 
chase.  Roses  are  a  specialty. 
Among  grapes  Colerain,  Eaton  and 
Moore’s  Diamond  are  justly  placed  among 
the  most  promising  of  the  newer  varieties. 
Champion,  Spaulding,  Satsuma,  Blood, 
and  Burbank  among  plums;  New  Prolific, 
Miller’s  Cling  and  Champion  among 
peaches ;  Idaho  among  pears  ;  Eclipse, 
Crawford,  Parker  Earle,  Enhance  and 
Eureka  among  strawberries,  and  Musk¬ 
ingum  and  Kansas  among  raspberries 
should  be  considered  by  all  who  wish  to 
try  promising  new  fruits  of  such  kinds. 
W.  Atlee  Burpee  &  Co.,  Philadel¬ 
phia,  Pa., 'issue  a  catalogue  of  175  pages, 
which,  as  in  previous  years,  is  well  worth 
looking  over  by  all  our  readers  before 
closing  their  order  lists.  The  Burpee 
Bush  Lima  is  one  of  its  special  novelties, 
and  the  sum  of  81,060  is  offered  in  smaller 
sums  for  the  most  prolific  plants  which 
may  be  grown  in  the  States  or  Canada. 
While  this  firm  is  enterprising  and  alert 
to  the  extent  of  pushing  its  novelties  and 
staples  for  all  they  are  worth,  yet  it  is 
our  belief  that  few  if  any  other  firms  take 
more  pains  or  go  to  more  expense  to  se¬ 
cure  articles  of  the  highest  value.  Many 
pages  of  the  catalogue  are  given  to  de¬ 
scriptions  of  new  varieties  or  those  which, 
from  trials  at  the  firm’s  Fordhook  experi¬ 
ment  farm,  have  been  found  to  be  the 
best  of  their  several  kinds.  The  firm  is 
largely  interested  in  thoroughbred  live 
stock,  Scotch  collies,  pigs  and  poultry. 
As  is  well  known  to  its  older  readers,  The 
R.  N-.Y.  has  tried  most  of  the  breeds  of 
poultry  worth  trying  and  many  that  are 
not,  the  same  as  it  has  tried  hundreds  of 
plants,  seeds,  etc.,  that  were  compara¬ 
tively  worthless.  But  experiments  must, 
from  the  nature  of  the  case,  encounter 
such  difficulties.  To  find  out  the  one 
good  novelty,  hundreds  of  inferior  kinds 
must  be  tried. 
Early  during  the  past  spring  we  sent 
to  Mr.  Burpee  for  six  Indian  Game  and 
seven  Sherwood  eggs.  Five  of  the  first 
and  four  of  the  latter  hatched  April  26 
and  27.  The  Indian  Games  are  gawky- 
looking  creatures  from  the  day  they  leave 
the  shell,  and  they  grow  more  and  more 
gawky  until  they  begin  to  mature,  when 
they  quite  resemble  miniature  ostriches 
in  their  long  necks  and  small  bodies, 
perched,  as  it  were,  between.  It  is  laugh¬ 
able  to  see  an  Indian  Game  start  for  a 
hen  in  another  part  of  the  yard  and  see 
his  galloping,  high-stepping,  unbounded 
demonstrations  of  courtesy  when  he 
reaches  her.  The  circles  then  described, 
the  long-strided,  overwhelming  gallantry 
with  which  he  comes  nearer  make  the 
husbandly  attentions  of  other  roosters 
seem  quite  tame. 
The  legs  of  Indian  Games,  when  they 
are  about  three  or  four  months  old,  are  so 
long  and  seemingly  weak  that  the  birds 
often  eat  half  sitting.  The  Sherwoods 
at  this  time  were  larger  and  better  look¬ 
ing  birds,  being  fairly  well  feathered. 
The  surprising  thing  is  that  the  Indian 
Games,  though  their  bodies  seemed  so 
small  and  ill  developed,  were,  in  fact 
solid  masses  of  flesh  weighing  twice  as 
much  as  the  Sherwoods.  The  pullets  are 
of  the  same  form  as  the  cockerel  and  just 
as  heavy.  The  feathers  are  of  a  dark, 
rich,  lustrous  color,  varying  from  black 
to  a  mahogany.  The  cockerel’s  plumage 
is  marred  by  several  white  feathers. 
Thus  far  they  seem  peaceful,  contented, 
hardy  and  healthy.  Of  the  Sherwoods 
we  may  speak  later. 
Samuel  Wilson,  Mechanicsvili.e, 
Bucks  County,  Pa. — A  large  catalogue  of 
112  pages  of  seeds,  etc.  Some  years  ago 
Mr.  Wilson  took  exception  to  some  of  our 
criticisms  regarding  his  catalogue  and 
therefore  cut  our  acquaintance.  Still, 
however,  his  catalogue  comes  for  review. 
On  the  cover  of  the  present  edition  is 
the  statement  that  the  present  catalogue 
is  a  price  list  of  “  garden,  field  and  flower 
seeds  grown  and  sold”  on  his  seed  farm. 
We  would  ask  Mr.  Wilson  if  that  is  not 
a  falsehood. 
On  page  3  is  an  illustration  of  a  plant 
of  Modoc  Corn  “  drawn  from  Nature  on 
the  field  where  it  grew.”  “  The  stalks 
grow  to  a  medium  height  of  seven  to 
eight  feet.”  The  illustration  “drawn 
from  Nature  iu  the  field”  shows  a  plant 
five  inches  tall.  The  ears  (five  in  num¬ 
ber)  average  two  inches  long.  There¬ 
fore,  the  proportion  of  reduction  being 
accurate,  these  ears  must  have  been  two- 
fifths  as  long  as  the  plant  was  tall.  In 
other  words  the  ears  averaged  at  least 
three  feet  long. 
On  page  73  he  speaks  of  the  Washing- 
ington  Climbing  Blackberry  as  bearing 
“  the  most  delicious  fruit ”  and  as  being 
“  perfectly  hardy  in  any  climate.”  This 
has  been  under  trial  at  the  Rural  Grounds 
for  a  number  of  years.  The  canes  are 
not  hardy  even  in  moderate  seasons,  the 
fruit  is  of  inferior  quality.  Mr.  Wilson 
gives  the  size  of  the  berries  as  1%  inch 
long  by  inch  in  diameter.  The  berries 
of  The  R.  N.-Y.  specimen  would  not 
average  an  inch  in  length. 
On  page  112  of  his  catalogue  he  alludes 
to  The  R.  N.-Y.  as  a  “  so-called  agricul¬ 
tural  paper”  *  *  *  “to  show  how 
much  reliance  can  be  placed  on  this  agri¬ 
cultural  journal”  *  *  *  “so  excited 
the  ire  of  this  wonderful  paper”  etc. — 
quotations  which  may  serve  to  show  our 
readers  that  Mr.  Wilson  is  not  yet  ready 
to  accept  our  criticisms  as  having  been 
made  for  his  benefit  as  well  as  in  the  in¬ 
terests  of  the  seed-buying  public. 
Wm.  H.  Maule. — A  catalogue  of  104 
pages,  the  pages  being  11x8  inches, 
crowded  with  marvelous  illustrations  and 
15  full-page  colored  plates.  Mr.  Maule  is 
enthusiastic  over  the  Freeman  Potato 
which  he  last  year  offered  for  the  first 
at  an  extravagantly  high  price — 83  a 
pound,  as  we  remember.  After  another 
year’s  trial  he  says  that  it  is  “the  strong¬ 
est  grower  ”  he  knows  of,  and  that,  in 
general,  “  no  praise  is  too  strong  for  its 
merits.”  When  such  men  as  J.  M. 
Smith,  T.  B.  Terry  and  T.  Greiner  praise 
the  Freeman  in  an  almost  unqualified 
way  (their  letters  appear  on  pages  76  and 
77),  our  readers  may  feel  assured  that 
the  variety  is  one  well  worthy  of  a  trial 
at  least.  Here  is  the  report  of  a  trial  of 
the  Freeman  last  season  at  the  Rural 
Grounds: 
Six  pieces  (two  to  three  eyes  each)  of 
the  Freeman  were  planted  April  20,  in 
trenches  five  inches  deep  and  one  foot 
apart,  the  trenches  three  feet  apart, 
measuring  from  the  middle  of  each. 
Horse  manure  at  the  rate  of  20  tons  to 
the  acre  had  been  spread  in  February 
and  spaded  under  in  early  April.  The 
seed  pieces  were  covered  in  the  trenches 
with  an  inch  of  soil  and  Mapes  potato 
fertilizer  at  the  rate  of  1,200  pounds  to 
the  acre  evenly  strewn  over  it.  The  vines 
of  the  Freeman  matured  with  those  of 
the  Early  Rose  grown  in  the  same  plot. 
The  yield  was  40  marketable  and  30 
small  potatoes,  the  weight  being  14 
pounds  in  all,  which  is  at  the  rate  of 
564.66  bushels  to  the  acre.  The  skin  is 
of  a  light  buff  color  often  russeted,  few 
eyes,  not  prominent,  though  more  promi¬ 
nent  in  some  tnan  in  others  as  frequently 
happens,  especially  in  a  dry  season.  V ari- 
able  in  shape,  though  all  are  shapely. 
Some  are  roundish,  cylindrical,  others 
oblong,  ovate,  flattened.  The  two  cuts, 
Figs.  69  and  70  (see  page  114),  are  in¬ 
tended  to  show  this  variation.  They  fail 
to  do  so,  however,  because  the  variation, 
being  in  thickness,  is  not  shown  in  the 
broad  view  presented.  The  Freeman 
may  be  considered  a  handsome  early 
potato  of  nearly  white  flesh,  dry,  fine¬ 
grained  and  of  excellent  quality — better 
than  that  of  the  Early  Rose.  The  season 
was  one  of  the  driest  known,  which 
accounts  for  the  small  average  size. 
L.  L.  Olds,  Clinton,  Wis. — A  catalogue 
of  the  best  varieties  of  potatoes  grown, 
and  the  prices  are  low.  Our  Western 
friends  should  examine  it  before  order¬ 
ing  seed  potatoes. 
Plant  Seed  Co.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. — A 
catalogue  of  vegetable,  farm  and  field, 
flower  and  tree,  fruit  and  hedge  seeds ; 
also  bulbs,  garden  tools,  poultry  supplies, 
fertilizers  and  insecticides.  Plant’s  Extra- 
early  Pea  is  said  to  be  a  distinct  variety 
and  superior  to  any  other  of  this  class. 
The  Pascal  is  praised  (and  justly  so,  per¬ 
haps)  as  the  best  variety  of  celery. 
Frank  Ford  &  Son,  Ravenna,  O. — A 
concise  catalogue  of  vegetable,  flower 
and  field  seeds,  seed  potatoes  and  small 
fruit  plants.  It  has  been  shown  that  un¬ 
productive,  worthless  plants  have  been 
sold  by  unprincipled  or  ignorant  parties, 
as  the  Crandall  Currant  or  Crandall  Tree 
Currant.  This  black  currant  was  intro¬ 
duced  by  this  firm,  and  we  are  assured 
that  more  spurious  have  been  sold  than 
have  ever  been  propagated  of  the  genuine. 
The  list  of  potatoes,  including  over  50 
kinds,  is  first-rate.  This  firm  is  the  origi¬ 
nator  of  the  Advance  Tomato.  The  claim 
is  made,  and  it  is  well  supported,  that  it 
is  the  earliest  smooth  tomato  in  existence, 
and  as  early  as  any  of  the  rough  sorts.  It 
is  also  said  to  be  the  most  productive 
variety,  either  early  or  late.  The  quality 
is  the  best,  form  perfect,  nearly  round, 
never  rots,  ripens  about  the  stem  per¬ 
fectly.  It  is  further  claimed  that  it  is 
the  longest  keeper  and  best  shipper  in 
existence. 
W.  W.  Rawson  &  Co.,  34  South  Market 
St.,  Boston,  Mass.— A  large-sized  cata¬ 
logue  (82  pages)  of  vegetable  and  flower 
seeds  with  eight  pages  of  specialties. 
II.  C.  Faust  &  Co.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
— A  catalogue  of  65  pages  of  garden,  field 
and  flower  seeds — 16  pages  of  specialties. 
Mr.  Faust  offers  81  collections  of  vege¬ 
table  and  25  to  50-cent  collections  of 
flower  seeds. 
1 19 
% 
the  Wonderful  Russian  Forage  Plant,  and 
as  a  grass  that  will  succeed  in  droughty 
districts  where  no  other  grasses  will  suc¬ 
ceed.  For  the  arid  regions  of  the  West 
this  is  well  worthy  of  trial,  though  it 
should  be  known  that  it  must  be  cut  while 
young,  as  later  the  stems  become  woody 
and  worthless. 
The  Steele  Bros.  Co.,  Toronto,  Can¬ 
ada. — A  large,  handsome  catalogue  (100 
pages)  of  seeds,  plants,  bulbs,  etc.  Six¬ 
teen  pages  are  given  to  specialties,  among 
which  the  Rural  Thoroughbred  Flint  En¬ 
silage  Corn  and  R.  N.  Y.  No,  2  Potato  are 
favored  with  conspicous  places.  We  have 
reason  to  regard  this  firm  as  both  enter¬ 
prising  and  trustworthy. 
IP  you  name  The  It.  N.-Y.  to  our  advertisers  you 
may  be  pretty  sure  of  prompt  replies  and  right  treat¬ 
ment. 
£.  P.  ROE. 
My  1892  Catalogue, 
With  colored  plate  of 
E.  P.  Roe  Strawberry. 
f>0  other  Illustrations. 
Complete  List  of  all 
the  good  fruits  and  or¬ 
namentals  mulled  free. 
Address 
T.  J.  DWYER, 
Cornwall,  N.  Y. 
GIVEN  AWAY! 
This  is  the  mostbnsu- 
tiful  new  ROSE  of 
the  year  wh  ich  we  give 
_ ENTIRELY  FREE 
toouroustomersofl892.  If  you  are  interested 
in  FLOWERS  send  for  our  CATALOGUE 
of  the  grandest,  novelties  and  specialties  ever 
offered.  IT  WILL  PAY  YOU,  write  HOW- 
ROBT.  SCOTT  &  SON,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
TREES 
PEACH  Specialty 
A  fall  selection  of  all  the  leading  varieties. 
A  aorrset  descriptive  I  Also  a  full  line  of  PLANTS  and 
oad  finely  Illustrated  ORNAMENTALS. 
Gatalogao  FREE  I  and  Tree#  by  mall.  Address 
JOS.  H.  BLACK,  SON  &  CO., 
VII Nurseries,  Hlghtstown,  N.J. 
FRUIT 
BLOOMINGTONY" (PHtENIX)  NURSERY.' 
600  ACRES.  13  GREENHOUSES.  1 
TREES  M  PLANTS 
We  offer  a  larye  and  fine  stock  of  every  description  of 
FRUIT  and  ORNAMENTAL  TREES,  Shrubs, 
Roses,  Vinos,  Small  ERUITS,  Iledite  1  Innts, 
FltUlV  and  Vo  RIO  ST  TREE  SKlJOLINtiS. 
Priced  Catalogue  mailed  free.  established  1  rio«. 
PHOENIX  NURSERY  COMPANY 
to  hlDAK*  TUTTLE  A  CO..  ltbOOMINOTON,  IU. 
Price  &  Reed,  Albany,  N.  Y.— A  large¬ 
sized  catalogue  (50  pages)  of  seeds,  plants 
and  small  fruits. 
Alfred  Bridge  man,  No.  37  East  19tii 
St.,  N.  Y. — A  descriptive  catalogue  (66 
pages)  of  vegetable,  grass  and  flower 
seeds.  This  firm  was  established  in  1824 
and  has  always  issued  a  bright,  plain 
catalogue  which  avoids  even  the  appear¬ 
ance  of  all  exaggeration  as  to  illustration 
or  description.  As  a  rule,  the  variety 
alone  is  given  without  comment.  The  list 
is  well  selected— the  house  eminently 
trustworthy. 
J.  J.  II.  Gregory  &  Son,  Marblehead, 
Mass.— This  catalogue  is  just  as  meritor¬ 
ious  as  it  is  plain  in  appearance.  Mr. 
Gregory  has  always  avoided  deceptive 
announcements  of  every  kind,  and  novel¬ 
ties  are  catalogued  only  after  trial  or 
upon  the  indorsed  representations  of  the 
originators. 
We  are  glad  to  see  that  he  offers  three 
of  The  R.  N.-Y.’s  hybrid  wheats,  viz.: 
Willets,  Stewart  and  Beal. 
Mr.  Gregory  characterizes  the  Early 
Six  Weeks  Potato  as  earlier  than  the 
Ohio  and  a  better  yielder. 
We  are  also  glad  to  see  that  Nott’s  Ex¬ 
celsior  Pea  is  given  a  conspicuous  place 
among  novelties.  The  R.  N.-Y.  has 
has  already  rendered  its  report  regarding 
this  excellent  dwarf  variety. 
PnoeNix  Nursery  Co.,  Bloomington, 
Iix, — Wholesale  catalogue  of  trees, 
shrubs,  roses,  bulbs,  nurserymen’s  re¬ 
quisites,  etc. 
L.  L.  May  &  Co.,  St.  Paul,  Minn.— A 
catalogue  of  112  pages  of  seeds,  plants, 
bulbs,  etc.  Thirty-two  pages  are  given 
to  specialties  of  more  or  less  recent  intro¬ 
duction.  Bromus  inermis  is  offered  as 
__  TREE 
'Grandest  Illustrated  Garden-Guide. 
*)C  ccr\e  1  cent  a  packet. 
NT  r  |  l^Up  If  rare  or  costly, 
i  L  L \J  v/Cheapest.  Best  of  all. 
Free  by  mail.  500000  packets  of  extras 
h  to  Customers.  Send  at,  once  for  Free 
“book.  R.  H.  Shamway,  Rockford,  IU. 
SEEDS. 
My  Annual  PRICED  CATALOGUE  is  now  ready 
and  mailed  free  to  all  applicants.  It  contains  all 
the  leading  and  most  popular  sorts  of 
VEGETABLE,  FARM, 
AND 
FLOWER  SEEDS, 
Besides  all  the  desirable  novelties  of  last  season,  and 
nearly  everything  else  in  my  line  of  business. 
ALFRED  BKIDGEMAN, 
37  East  19th  Street,  New  York  City. 
and  Bell  direct  to 
you  choice 
Seed  Potatoes, 
Oats  and 
Field  Deans 
I  GROW 
at  living  prices.  Catalogue  of  20  best  varieties  free. 
EDWARD  F.  DIDDLE,  Honeoye  Falls,  N.  Y 
WEEDSPORT. 
GERMAN 
PRUNE 
Inquire  about  It.  We  can  interest  you  with  proof  of 
Its  value  over  any  other  Prune.  Price  of  trees  on 
application  to  WILEY  &  CO.,  Cayuga,  N.  Y. 
Every  reader  of  this  paper 
who  Is  Interested  in  8TRAW- 
m  m  _  _  _  _  _  _ _  BERRIES  to  send  for  my 
Illustrated  and  Descriptive  Strawberry  Catalogue 
Free.  Send  now,  It  will  pay  you. 
W.  F.  ALLEN,  Jit.,  Salisbury,  Md. 
CTD  AU/DCDDV  PLANTS  by  mall,  300  of  4  kinds, 
OlnanDtlWT  early  to  late,  only!#  L.  By  Ex.  per 
1,000,  $1  and  up.  Best  plants  and  packing.  Price  list 
free.  All  berry  plants. 
SLAYMAKEU  &  SON,  Dover,  Del. 
WANTED 
THE  KANSAS 
A  BLACKCAP.  The  Best 
early  large  Raspberry. 
.  _ _ _  Strongest  growth,  healthy 
foliage,  very  productive.  Choice  Fruit  and  Orna 
mental  Trees.  KANSAS  HOME  NURSERY, 
A.  11.  G KI ESA,  Box  J,  Lawrence,  Kas. 
