182 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
March  19 
in  ray  garden.  T  regard  it  as  the  greatest  improve¬ 
ment  ever  seen  in  tomatoes  for  the  North,  where  the 
ripening  of  tomatoes  is  the  exception. 
I  was  indebted  to  The  Rurai.’s  report  recommend¬ 
ing  Low’s  Champion  bush  bean  for  a  very  favorable 
experience  with  it.  I  shall  depend  upon  it  hereafter 
for  early  shells.  For  a  pole  bean  of  general  utility, 
including  winter  baking,  a  good  corn-hill  bean  also, 
the  White  Casekuife  suits  me  better  than  anything  1 
have  seen,  and  the  novelties  T  have  tried  beside  it  are 
legion.  I  would  like  to  see  a  change  of  bass  by  some 
of  the  seedsmen  in  their  descriptions.  There  is  lack 
of  scientific  method  as  well  as  of  truth  in  their  work. 
Too  often  the  introducers’  extravagant  claims  are 
copied  year  after  year  unchanged.  What  are  their 
trial  grounds  for?  Let  them  base  their  descriptions 
upon  experimental  knowledge  if  they  would  merit  our 
patronage. 
The  Lucretia  Dewberry  has  a  place  here  in  the  East, 
most  decidedly.  Planted  alongside  of  our  stone  walls, 
it  combines  ornament  with  use,  rendering  available 
land  that  is  of  no  account  for  most  purposes.  Lift  the 
vines  in  the  spring  to  the  top  of  the  wall,  where  they 
are  held  by  placing  stones  on  them.  Though  tender 
they  winter  perfectly  if  left  where  they  grew,  spra  vied 
along  the  ground.  Though  not  so  sweet  as  black- 
berri<  s  of  the  upright  kinds,  they  are  grand  for  jelly, 
and  if  dead-ripe  ax*e  fine  for  the  table. 
were  started  in  pots  during  early  March,  and  set  out 
in  a  densely  shaded  border  in  late  May.  They  grew 
and  bloomed  luxuriantly  during  the  entire  season, 
though  becoming  drawn  and  leggy  towards  its  close. 
The  illustration,  Fig.  101,  is  a  faithful  drawing  of  the 
average  flowers,  male  and  female,  of  these  plants 
grown  under  trees  and  shrubs  through  which  no  direct 
ray  of  sunshine  ever  found  its  way. 
Last  fall,  Mr.  Thomas  Griffin,  of  Westbury  Station, 
Long  Island,  brought  to  this  office  several  large  boxes 
of  the  flowers  of  seedling  begonias — the  results  of  his 
own  crossing  and  cultivation.  In  a  plot  of  land  fully 
exposed  to  the  sun  during  the  entire  day  he  had  at 
that  time  20,000  plants  growing,  all  healthy  and 
luxuriant  and  presenting  a  mass  of  dazzling  color, 
which  could  have  been  scarcely  equaled  by  any  other 
combination  of  bedding  plants.  Many  of  the  single 
flowers  measured  six  inches  in  diameter,  a  few  seven, 
while  the  doubles  at  a  little  distance  would  easily  have 
been  mistaken,  some  for  camellias,  some  for  balsams, 
others  for  hollyhocks,  and  still  others  for  picotees  or 
carnations.  The  colors  were  white,  pink,  scarlet,  sal¬ 
mon,  yellow  and  crimson,  while  others  were  yellow 
in  the  middle  surrounded  by  white  petals  tip¬ 
ped  with  rose. 
It  appears  that  all  the  double  flowers  are  males,  that 
is,  it  is  the  stamens  not  the  pistils  that  change  to 
petals.  Mr.  Griffin  says  that  these  charming  flowers 
I  know  of  no  variety  of  oats  that  can  be  safely  sown 
in  the  fall  in  Vermont,  as  none  will  stand  our  winters. 
I  understand  that  there  is  a  variety  which  can  be 
safely  sown  in  the  fall  in  the  Southern  States,  but 
have  not  seen  it.  o.  h.  Alexander. 
There  is  no  oat  that  will  stand  the  winter  in  the 
latitude  of  New  York  city.  There  is  an  oat  called  a 
li  winter  oat,”  which  will  stand  the  winters  of  Virginia 
and  the  adjacent  States,  but  it  is  completely  winter- 
killed  when  sown  in  the  fall  as  far  north  as  this 
isothermal  line.  peter  Henderson  &  co. 
From  my  reading  and  observation  here  at  the  Cor¬ 
nell  University  Station,  N.  Y.,  and  elsewhere,  I  have 
never  seen  or  heard  of  a  variety  of  oats  which  would 
stand  an  ordinary  Northern  winter.  In  the  South, 
they  have  what  is  called  winter  oats,  but  I  under¬ 
stand  they  are  nothing  more  than  hardy  varieties  of 
the  common  oat,  which,  as  far  north  as  Tennessee,  do 
sometimes  succeed  when  sown  late  in  the  fall.  This 
year,  oats  sowed  in  October  and  November  in  central 
Mississippi  were,  in  some  cases,  entirely  winter-killed. 
I  his  I  know  from  personal  observation  during  my  visit 
to  that  section  last  week.  i.  p.  Roberts. 
Several  years  ago,  I  tested  all  the  varieties  of  rust¬ 
proof  oats  I  coifld  secure  in  this  country  and  several 
from  abroad,  in  northern  New  York,  at  the  experi¬ 
ment  station  at  Geneva.  None  of  them  could  with- 
I  am  convinced  that  the  Shaffer  Raspberry  is  being 
generally  overrated  as  a  market  fruit,  not  as  to  its  in¬ 
trinsic,  but  its  commercial  value.  In  sec¬ 
tions  where  the  blackcaps  rule,  it  may  be 
an  acquisition  for  market.  I  became, 
enthusiastic  over  it  last  season  (as  some 
others  have  done),  and  began  to  project 
a.  large  plantation,  but  a  few  days  of 
marketing  diminished  my  ardor.  The  \ 
Shaffer  should  be  crushed  with  sugar, 
and  allowed  to  stand  awhile  before  it  is  ( 
eaten,  thus  allowing  the  chemical  action  ■  ?Y|||isgg|j 
to  take  place  beforehand.  But  this  un- 
fashionable  way  of  serving  berries  will 
never  become  popular.  In  spite  of  much 
time  wasted  in  trying  to  convince  patrons, 
I  found  Cuthberts  at  25  cents  preferred 
to  Shaffers  at  15,  even  by  people  who 
can  not  well  afford  luxuries.  They 
are  so  easily  grown  and  picked,  and 
so  like  the  currant  in  character,  that 
they  arc  a  highly  promising  substitute 
for  the  conventional  row  of  currant 
bushes  that  never  bear,  as  ordinarily 
treated.  For  home  use  they  can  not  be 
overpraised;  but  they  simply  won’t  take  // 
in  market.  / 
Contrary  to  many  published  reports,  j  v; 
t  he  Rancocas  is  here  superior  to  the  Marl¬ 
boro  in  all  that  goes  to  make  a  good 
early  raspberry  for  market,  being  equal 
in  size,  firmness  and  productiveness  of 
berry,  slightly  better  in  flavor,  and  much 
better  in  growth  and  vigor  of  plant.  It 
has  more  of  a  tree  shape  than  other 
reds.  The  Marlboro  is  generally  set 
down  as  a  failure  hereabouts,  in  Wor¬ 
cester  County,  Mass.  The  Crimson 
Beauty  lacks  size  and  firmness,  but  its 
piquant  flavor  is  more  agreeable  than  any 
other  early  red  in  my  collection.  The 
come  quite  true  from  seed  and  that  90  per  cent  of  seed 
from  double  flowers  will  produce  double  flowers. 
wj.  nuu.  ctn  were  cum* 
Tuberous-rooted  Begonias.  From  Nature,  Fig.  101. 
pletely  frozen  out,  although  I  tried  the  experiment 
carefully  with  numerous  varieties.  In 
eastern  Tennessee,  at  an  altitude  of  1 ,000 
feet,  the  red  rust-proof  would  go  through 
the  winter  all  right.  In  the  exact  latitude 
of  New  Jersey  I  have  not  tried  any,  but 
I  am  inclined  to  think  that  along  the 
New  Jersey  coast  where  the  winter  is 
»  somewhat  tempered  by  the  milder  air 
from  the  ocean  red-rust  proof  would  do 
fairly  well.  The  Georgia  red  rust-proof 
and  Burt’s  red-rust  proof,  as  I  compared 
them,  were  the  same.  This  is,  I  believe, 
the  most  prolific  and  vigorous  of  rust¬ 
proof  varieties.  c.  s.  plumb. 
Indiana  Experiment  Station. 
Onion  Sets  and  How  to 
Grow  Them. 
JOSEPH  HARRIS. 
Onion  sets  are  small  onions  that  are  set 
out  for  two  purposes:  1st,  to  produce 
green  onions,  that  are  eaten  tops  and  all 
early  in  the  spring  or  at  any  rate  much 
earlier  than  they  can  be  obtained  from 
sowing  the  seeds  in  the  spring:  2nd,  the 
sets  are  planted  for  growing  large  onions 
earlier  than  they  can  be  obtained  from 
seed.  Many  people,  especially  in  the 
South,  seem  to  have  trouble  in  growing 
good  crops  of  onions  from  seeds  and  they 
depend  on  sets  for  the  crop. 
When  a  good  sized-onion  is  set  out  in 
the  spring  it  throws  up  a  seed  stalk  and 
produces  seed  in  the  fall.  A  small  onion 
that  has  not  strength  enough  to  throw 
up  a  seed  stalk  will  grow  into  a  large 
onion.  Onions  that  are  too  small  for  seed 
and  too  large  for  sets  will  throw  up 
weak  seed  stalks.  If  these  are  cut  off  as 
Turner  and  llansell  are  not  satisfactory.  The  ideal 
early  raspberry  is  yet  to  appear.  The  Cuthbert 
leaves  nothing  to  be  desired  for  a  main  crop,  and  is  a 
profitable  berry.  fred.  w.  proctor. 
Tuberous-Rooted  Begonias. 
lie  propagates  the  plants,  for  the  most  part  from 
stem  cuttings  which  strike  in  sand  as  readily  as  pelar¬ 
goniums,  making  bulbs  the  first  season  that  will  bloom 
the  next  year. 
Mr.  Griffin  is  now  breeding  a  strain  that  has  a  deli¬ 
cate  odor  like  that  of  violets  or  of  Odontoglossum 
soon  as  they  appear  the  onion  will  grow  and  yield 
quite  a  large  crop  per  acre,  but  the  onions  will  not  be 
of  good  shape.  They  will  be  hollow  on  top  and  fre¬ 
quently  split  into  two  or  more  bulbs.  They  are  good 
to  eat  at  home  but  are  not  wanted  in  market  except 
when  there  is  a  scarcity  of  handsomer  bulbs. 
Among  flower  novelties  nothing  has  been  intro¬ 
duced  during  the  past  score  of  years  that  equals 
the  best  strains  of  tuberous-rooted  begonias,  while 
improvements  are  still  going  on  at  a  rapid  rate.  At 
first  it  was  thought  that  the  corms  must  be  planted  in 
shady  places;  then  in  half  shady  places.  Now  it  is 
known  that  almost  any  place  suits  them,  and  that  they 
will  thrive  as  well  in  full  sunshine  and  heat  as  in  any 
other  situation,  provided  the  soil  is  mellow  and  rich, 
and  that  water  be  given  as  needed  in  the  cool  of  the 
morning  or  at  night. 
Seedlings  are  easily  raised  though  the  seeds  are  very 
small.  They  should  be  sown  in  February  and  March 
in  flats  and  transplanted,  as  soon  as  the  seedlings  are 
an  inch  tall,  into  other  flats  or  pots  where  they  may 
be  left  until  finalty  transplanted  to  the  open  ground 
after  all  danger  of  frost  has  passed — say,  for  this 
climate,  the  middle  of  May.  They  will  begin  to  bloom 
in  late  summer,  continuing  until  frost.  Then  the  bulbs 
are  taken  up  and  kept  in  a  temperature  above  freezing 
(say  45)  much  as  the  corms  of  gladioli  are  cared  for,  or 
potatoes  for  that  matter. 
Last  winter  The  R.  N.-Y-.  received  two  small  collec¬ 
tions  of  bulbs — one  from  J.  C.  Vaughan,  of  Chicago, 
the  other  from  Thorburn  &  Co. ,  of  this  city.  They 
vexillarium.  Given  an  agreeable  characteristic  odor 
and  it  would  seem  that  the  future  of  tuberous-rooted 
begonias  will  be  all  that  could  be  desired. 
Is  there  a  Winter  Oat  for  the  North  P 
A  certain  seedsman  is  offering  oats  which,  they  say, 
will  grow  if  planted  in  the  fall  like  wheat  or  rye. 
How  much  truth  there  is  in  such  statements  may  be 
seen  from  the  following  notes  : 
From  my  experience  at  the  New  York  Experiment 
Station  at  Geneva,  and  here  at  the  Wisconsin  Experi¬ 
ment  Station,  as  well  as  from  my  observations  else¬ 
where,  I  have  no  knowledge  of  any  oat  that  will 
endure  the  winter  in  the  Northern  States.  I  have  read 
of  such  in  catalogues,  but  have  never  known  one  to 
thrive.  E.  s.  goff. 
We  have  at  various  times  tested  samples  of  winter 
and  rust-proof  oats  from  Tennessee,  North  Carolina 
and  other  places,  but  have  never  found  any  which 
would  live  through  the  winter  here,  even  with  the 
best  protection  we  could  give  them.  We  cannot  say 
that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  winter  oat  for  this 
section — about  Detroit,  Mich. — but  we  have  tried  in 
vain  to  find  it.  d.  m.  ferry  &  co. 
The  ideal  onion  set  is  one  that  is  large  enough  to 
produce  a  strong  growth  but  not  large  enough  to 
throw  up  a  seed  stalk.  In  other  words,  the  larger 
the  sets,  provided  they  will  not  throw  up  seed  stalks, 
the  better  they  are.  There  is  a  general  idea  that  the 
smaller  the  sets  the  more  valuable  they  are.  This  is 
true  to  this  extent,  that  the  smaller  the  sets  the  more 
there  are  in  a  bushel  and  the  more  ,land  the  bushel 
will  plant.  Onion  sets  bring  a  high  price — say  from  84 
to  86  per  bushel — and  it  is  surprising  that  gardeners  do 
not  grow  their  own.  There  is  no  special  difficulty  in 
doing  so. 
1.  You  want  clean,  warm,  dry  soil. 
2.  I  was  going  to  say  “  rich  soil,”  but  that  is  not  im¬ 
portant.  You  can  easily  make  it  rich.  On  a  warm, 
dry,  sandy  soil,  sow  broadcast  four  pounds  each  of 
nitrate  of  soda  and  superphosphate  to  the  square  rod. 
This  will  make  it  rich.  Potash  may  be  needed  on 
some  very  poor  sandy  soil  where  no  manure  has  been 
used  for  years,  but  on  my  farm  I  have  grown  the  best 
of  sets  with  nothing  but  superphosphate  and  nitrate. 
Sow  the  fertilizers  before  sowing  the  seed,  if  possible; 
if  not,  sow  as  early  as  you  can.  We  lose  half  the  good  we 
might  derive  from  our  fertilizers  by  not  sowing  early 
enough  when  the  soil  is  damp  enough  to  dissolve  them. 
