'&S\i 
m 
The Lirgest mail-order business in 
world is now being done in 
which yielded 150 bushels of currants per 
acre. 
In reply to “ Which is the best plum for 
canning ? ” Monroe Seedling, a yellowish 
plum was recommended as one of the best. 
“ Is the sowing of oats in the fall a good 
method of protecting strawberries in the 
winter?” It was not considered a good 
method, for, if sowed late, they would not 
grow large enough to give good protection; 
and if sowed early, the growth would be so 
rampant as to seriously affect the growth 
of the strawberries. 
The land of forest fires—America. 
Another Weapon. —Popular Gardening 
says that a solution of kainit, or muriate 
of potash, at the rate of one ounce to the 
pint of water, has been found to be sure 
death to many insects, such as green-fly, 
cabbage maggot, etc., by contact. This 
simple and safe remedy is worthy of trial.. 
The New England Homestead says that 
it is indeed a heavy road and a hard road 
that the farmers’ movement has tackled, 
especially in the West. If farmers would 
avoid asking for so many things and con¬ 
centrate their attention on one or two prac¬ 
tical reforms at a time, more would be ac¬ 
complished. 
Are new fruits overpraised ? asks Mr. 
C. A Green, in his Fruit-Grower. He an¬ 
swers that they are almost invariably over¬ 
praised. This is a natural consequence. 
Have you a baby in the house, and does 
not the father attempt to make every mem¬ 
ber of the family and all of his neighbors 
and friends believe that it is the most re¬ 
markably baby that ever lived on earth ; 
and do not the mother and other mem¬ 
bers of the family attempt to impose upon 
the public in a like manner ? Of course 
they do. Now, this new fruit is the baby 
of the originator ; he has watched it from 
its infancy, cared for it through the long 
years, and thinks it the greatest of all 
babies, the same as you think of your ba¬ 
bies. You must expect that he will over¬ 
praise it. It is an endowment of heaven 
on all parents, on all originators of new 
fruits, that they should have an overween¬ 
ing idea of their children, or of the fruits 
which they have succeeded in originating, 
which causes them to take unusual care 
and thought to protect in every way that 
they shall not perish. 
TO HOLD 
They are recognized as the Amer. Standard of 
excellence by more than 175,000 of the most 
successful gardeners in the United States, who 
have planted them for years, who consider 
them the best they have ever sown, and to 
whom alone we are indebted for A BUSINESS 
SUCCESS THAT HAS BEEN UNPRECEDENTED 
IN THE AMERICAN SEED TRADE. 
From the Atlantic to the Pacific, from the 
Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, in every 
county in the U. S., they are equally popular, 
so much so that they have been supplied direct 
to customers at more than 33,000 Post Offices. 
SHORT STORIES. 
Prof. I. P. Roberts, the able Director 
of the Cornell University Experiment Sta¬ 
tion, has been experimenting with fowls 
as to the different effects of nitrogenous 
and carbonaceous rations. So far as it is 
warrantable to draw any conclusions from 
a single experiment of this kind, it would 
seem that: Chickens fed on an exclusive 
corn diet will not make a satisfactory de¬ 
velopment, particularly of feathers. The 
bones of chickens fed upon a nitrogenous 
ration are 50 per cent stronger than those 
fed upon a carbonaceous ration. Hens fed 
on a nitrogenous ration lay many more 
eggs but of smaller size and poorer quality 
than those fed exclusively on corn. Hens 
fed on corn, while not suffering in general 
health, become sluggish, deposit large 
masses of fat on the internal organs, and 
lay a few eggs of large size and excellent 
quality. The flesh of nitrogenous fed fowls 
contains more albuminoids and less fat 
than those fed on a carbonaceous ration, 
and is darker colored, juicier and tenderer. 
At the end of the experiment little dif¬ 
ference could be seen in the hens of the two 
groups; but the two lots of chickens were 
in striking contrast. While the chickens 
fed on nitrogenous food were large, plump, 
healthy, active, and well feathered, the 
chickens fed on a carbonaceous ration were 
In general much smaller, sickly, and in 
several cases almost destitute of feathers. 
Two of them had perfectly bare backs and 
so ravenous were they for flesh and blood 
that they began eating one another. The 
inability of the chickens fed on a carbon¬ 
aceous diet to throw out new feathers, and 
the ability of the chickens fed on a nitro¬ 
genous diet to grow an enormous coat of 
feathers, is a splendid illustration of the 
effect of the composition of the food in 
supplying certain requirements of animal 
growth. It was plain to see that maize, 
even when assisted by a small amount of 
wheat and green clover, could not supply 
sufficient nitrogen for the growth of 
feathers. 
How are The R. N.-Y. wheats wintering? 
Remember that The R. N.-Y. will give two 
cash prizes of $10 and $5, respectively, for 
the best and second best heads containing 
the greatest number and heaviest weight of 
grains; not less than three heads of a kind 
to be selected and forwarded to this office 
before August 15, 1891. 
And now come the Sherwoods. The 
breed originated in Virginia, from White 
Games which, as far back as 1850, were 
given a free run with Cochins and Light 
B hmas. Twenty years ago, selections 
were made with a view of establishing a 
new breed. 
Here is what Mr. W. Atlee Burpee tells 
us of the Sherwoods. They derive from their 
Light Brahma or Asiatic parentage heavy 
bodies, but are shorter in leg, while also 
deriving from the Game parentage fuller 
breasts. They are very stylish birds and 
majestic in carriage, with close, compact 
bodies. Their yellow bills, beautful erect 
combs of medium size, bright red ear-lobes 
and white plumage with yellow legs lightly 
feathered to the outside toe, make them 
attractive in appearance on the lawn. 
Their feathers are not fluffy, but are close, 
like the Indian Games. They endure the 
cold weather better than the Asiatics or 
other fowls of equal size; the young chicks 
are also very hardy, the damp weather 
seeming to have no effect on them. They 
grow rapidly, mature early and are fit for 
broilers at the age of 12 to 14 weeks; they 
are of excellent quality for table use. They 
are very careful and attentive mothers, yet 
gentle and tractable to handle. They are 
very prolific egg producers and the eggs 
are of large size, fine flavor and good 
quality. The birds are of good size, the 
cocks weighing nine to ten pounds and the 
hens seven to eight pounds each. 
Try a few hills of the new Fordhook 
Squash. Though not tried at the Rural 
Grounds, concurrent testimony ranks it as 
one of the best all-year-round varieties in 
cultivation... 
Green’s Fruit Grower says that dried 
elderberries are now sold at the groceries, 
and the fresh fruit was sold at paying prices 
in Rochester the past season. It is a valu¬ 
able fruit. 
Professor Bailey at the late meeting of 
the W. N. Y. Horticultural Society spoke 
of a currant plantation on Lake Michigan 
TREES and PLANTS 
We offer for the Sprlngtrade a large and fine stock 
of every description of FRUIT and Ornamental 
TRUES, Shrubs, Roses, Vines, SMALL 
FRUITS, Hedge Plnnts, Fruit Tree Seed¬ 
lings and Forest Tree Seedlings. Priced Out*, 
logue, spring of 1891. mailed free. Established 1851 
PHOENIX NURSERY COMPANY 
SatMiicn to UDKZT TCTTLK k CO.. BLOOflINGTOX, ILL. 
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 
FLOWER SEEDS 
j-loraLToVe^™. 
Besides all the desirable novelties of last season, and 
nearly everything else in my line of business. 
ALFRED 1SKIDGEMAN, 
37 East 19th Street, Now York City. 
Six days earlier than 
any varletv tested at the 
yP* % Agricuit’l Ex. Grounds 
. - at Geneva, N. Y. Color 
1 greenish white: pulp 
tender, sweet and de- 
llclous. The only grape 
1 i that ranks first both In 
| earllness and quality. 
/} Each vine sealed with 
our registered trade- 
— ”-y/ mark label. ^Send for 
tier Information. Agents wanted 
HOYT’S SONS, New Canaan, Ct. 
Our Catalogue for 1891 is pronounced ab¬ 
solutely the best seed and plant book issued; 
printed in good legible type, on good paper, it 
excites the admiration of all. (164 varieties 
of Vegetables, Flowers, Flowering Plants, 
Small Fruits, Fruit- and Nut-bearing Trees, 
etc., are beautifully illustrated, as many as 
38 of them being in colors. This catalogue is 
mailed free to all who ordered in 1890; but as 
the postage on the book alone is five cents, we 
must ask all others who are not customers, 
desiring a copy, to send us twenty-five cents 
in stamps for it; and in addition to sending 
our catalogue, we will also mail you, without 
extra charge, a packet of the wonderful HUSH 
LIMA BEANS, THE MOST VALUABLE VEGE¬ 
TABLE NOVELTY INTRODUCED IN YEARS; 
AND A PACKET OF THE NEW MARGUERITE 
CARNATION, THE FLORAL WONDER OF 
1891. These two packets of seeds are worth 
25 cents; so it virtually means the same thing 
as mailing our catalogue free to all who answer 
this advertisement. Address 
[MDLMARK_ 
BECAUSE THEY ARE 
THE BEST 
D. M. Ferry & Co’s 
Illustrated, Descriptive and Priced 
WORD FOR WORD. 
Tho cent the poor man drops upon the plate, 
And puts in ther j with heart full of good will, 
Makes greater noise In Heaven’s blest estate 
Thau Croesus’s much grudged twenty-dollar bill. 
N. Y. Herald. 
A LIE will go a long way, but the sender 
usually has to pay the freight. 
A LIGHT that can successfully be hidden 
under a bushel is not likely to be a very big 
blaze. 
A close mouth calls for few assessments 
and pays big dividends. 
-Prof. J. L. Bhdd: “Thousands of dol¬ 
lars have been squandered for the high 
priced Niagara Grape during the past six 
years with the result of absolute failure in 
most localities and a faint indorsement by 
a favored few.” 
-Edward Eggleston, in the Cen- 
TDRY : “Your millionaire and mlllionairism 
is getting so common as to be almost vul¬ 
gar,—your millionaire never tires of telling 
you how he worked the multiplication 
table until cents became dimes, and dimes 
well sown blossomed presently into dollars, 
till dollars swelled to hundreds of thous¬ 
ands, and the man who had been a blithe 
youth but 20 years before became the pos¬ 
sessor of an uneasy tumor he calls a for¬ 
tune.” 
-C. A. Green : “ Are new fruits profit¬ 
able to the originator ? I regret to say that 
in most cases they are not. Who can name 
the originator of a new fruit who has 
made himself rich ? There are no such rich 
men.” 
“We have recently the case of Mr.'T. Y. 
Munson, who has been introducing his new 
strawberry, the Parker Earle, undoubtedly 
one of the most promising of new straw¬ 
berries. He announces, after a.year or two 
of advertising and other expenses, that he 
has made no profit in its introduction.” 
“The man who invents a churn or rat 
trap or a remedy for corns or colic may 
patent his machine or medicine and be pro¬ 
tected for many years. No one has the 
right to make the machine or mix the 
ingredient of the medicine without his con¬ 
sent; but the man who labors for a lifetime 
originating new fruits has no protection, 
and is virtually robbed of his reward.” 
Seed Annual 
For 1891 will be mailed FREE 
Ito all applicants, and to last season’s 
l customers. It is better than ever, j 
I Every person using Garden, j 
g Flower or Field Seeds, 1 
Address M 
should send for it. 
D. M. FERRY &. CO. 
DETROIT, MICH. 
Largest Seedsmen in the world 
WM. HENRY MAULE 
PHILADELPHIA, PA 
THE DINGEE & CONARD CO S 
GROW and BLOOM. 
^ SO B We have the know-how ol' growing them, keep- 
M ■■■I ing them, shipping them. Acres of Glasa. 
————If you really like Roses you are hound to como 
to us in the end. Our NEW GUIDE— 124 pp., illustrated, complete, the he.it hook of its kind , FREE 
to all interested. We send ROSES, HARDY PLANTS, SUMMER, IIULIJS, FLOWER and 
VEGETABLE SEEDS postpaid, to all post offices. Safe arrival anti satisfaction euariutteed. 
THE DINGEE & CONARD CO. -Rose Growers aitd Seedsmen-West Grove, Pa. 
THE NOVELTIES OF THE SEASON 
a quality and productiveness. It is a cross between 
the celebrated Kolb Gem and that old delicious 
variety the Mountain Sweet. Possessing the good 
qualities of both parents, it is the most perfect 
Watermelon in the world to-day. Price, pkt. 
; I^mud? #4.’50“*10Vbs.’»4(L0o! I 
NETTED BEAUTY MUSKMELON. 
The earliest Muskmelon grown. Uniformly 
rich, lusciously sweet, and very productive. It 
is closely netted as shown in cut. Flesh very 
thick and of a pale green color. Netted Beauty 
when known will rapidly popularize itself as the 
best of all early Cantaloupes for either home 
use or market. Price, pkt. 15c.; oz. 35c.: 
1-4 lb. $ l.OO; Pound, S3.50. 
CUMBERLAND RED TOMATO. 
This magnificent new Tomato originated in 
Cumberland Co., New Jersey, where they have 
been grown with great profit by a few truckers. 
Vigorous growers, skin remarkably tough, and 
keeping a long time after being pulled, making 
them a most desirable variety for market and 
shipping. Very smooth, handsome shape, and 
a beautiful rich red coIor.^Price, pkt. 2()c.; 
XING NOVELTIES for 1891 are without rivals. Large planters 
,e assurance of success. In order to introduce them we will mail 1 pkt 
>rices to 50 ccntw), together with a copy of our handsome and complete 
JOHNSON &. STOKES, SEEDSMEN 
Philadelphia, Pa. 
UNIVERSAL WEEDER^CULTIVATOR 
iU O.W Greatly improved for 1891. Endorsed by leading; agri- 
^ culturiat8 throughout the country. 
must have two next year."—T. TERRY. 
■jnSjj“ I regard Breed's Universal Weeder as one of the most valuabl 
mE rjpWj implements a farmer can afford to employ.” J. J. THOMAS, inventor 
W “ We are using the Weeder to-day on a field of potatoes a foot high, 
X V jl and does the best work it has done yet."—WALDO P. BROWN. 
“ Your Weeder is about all that can he asked for as a weed killer 
OfriXj ami surface pulverizer.”—JOHN GOULI). 
UNIVERSAL WEEDER CO., North Weire, N. H. 
Where we have no Agents, Machines will be DELIVERED at retail price. 
Send for 
Circular 
and 
PriceList 
