1894 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
663 
The yield from that one potato, about inch in 
diameter, was 18 pounds—15 pounds large and medium 
sized. One hill, of one eye, had four potatoes that 
weighed three pounds. o. v. B. 
McGrawville, N. Y. 
FLOWER NOTES FOR OCTOBER*. 
The Winter Care of Bulbs. —The gladioli, tigri- 
dias, zepyranthes, and other summer-blooming, bulb¬ 
ous-rooted plants, which have continued to grow as if 
there were no stopping, may now be taken up, dried 
for a time in a breezy place, and stored for the winter. 
They may be packed in sand or perfectly dry earth, 
and stored in boxes, but probably the most satisfac¬ 
tory method is to place each variety properly labeled 
in a paper bag ; pack the bags lightly in a splint 
basket, which may be hung to the joists of the cellar 
during winter. In this dry and airy position, they 
are not likely to be injured, even by a chance descent 
of the temperature below the freezing point. Any 
cellar that will winter potatoes well, is safe for all 
summer bulbs and tubers with the exception of glox¬ 
inias, tuberous tegonias and tuberoses. These should 
not be stored where the thermometer will fall below 
45 degrees, and are best protected by a covering of 
dry sand or sawdust. Canna roots need different 
treatment; while many of the old varieties are hardy 
enough to winter in a dormant state on the cellar bot¬ 
tom, it is better treatment to pack the clump, with 
most of the adhering earth, in boxes, in a single layer, 
having previously cut off the tops. 
The boxes should be hept in a rather 
light and warm place, and not al¬ 
lowed to dry out entirely. If cold 
and wet, the tubers will slowly rot; 
and if hot and dry, they are likely 
to wither ; so the problem is to keep 
them in a dormant condition by 
striking a happy medium between 
the two extremes. 
The dwarfer cannas may be potted 
up in roomy tubs or boxes, and grown 
on in the window garden, where ^ ^ y. 
they will continue to bloom finely. 
Some care should be taken with the ^ 
tubers of that fine old favorite, the ' / 
dahlia. As the stem is hollow and / 
the interrupted growth at the end ) 
of the season is apt to be very rank, \ 
it is best, when drying the roots off 
after digging, to place them upside 
down, so that the crude sap exuding 
from the cut surface of the stem, 
may drain away and not accumulate 1 “ 
in the hollow where it is likely to 
produce decay. Dahlia tubers usual- 
ly winter well in an ordinary cellar ; 1/ ¥\ 
but very choice specimens may be 
covered with charcoal dust, which is 
an excellent preservative. 
The chrysanthemums are nov/pre- - - 
paring for a brilliant show as the 
rapidly expanding buds testify. 
Where facilities for potting the 
blooming plants are not at hand, 
they may be carefully taken up, 
with large spadefuls of earth, and 
replanted in a sheltered position on 
the south side of a fence or building. ^ ^ 
A rough construction of poles or lath 
may be built around them, over which may be tacked 
old burlap or bagging, leaving the front and top open 
during the day, and shutting it up during frost or chill¬ 
ing winds. This will prove an excellent protection, and 
although the immediate effect may be anything but 
artistic, many beautiful blooms will open quite as per¬ 
fectly as if they were under glass. Some advance has 
been made of late in producing early blooming chrys¬ 
anthemums, but they are still scarce in commerce. The 
great mass of show varieties now catalogued by the 
florists, cannot be considered satisfactory plants for 
amateurs without greenhouse facilities, as they are too 
slow in perfecting their bloom. 
What Bulbs to Buy. —The fall catalogues of the 
seedsmen and bulb dealers are now all out. It does 
not appear that they are less gorgeous and optimistic 
than usual in spite of dull times. The buying public 
has learned to take these glowing descriptions and all 
too perfect illustrations, with several grains of salt. 
Nevertheless it must be remembered that these dealers 
have brought together an immense amount of perish¬ 
able material which they offer to you at a really low 
price considering the great cost of growing, transport¬ 
ing and advertising their goods. Certain bulbs are 
standard, and the veriest tyro may depend upon their 
rewarding him with a wealth of brilliant bloom and 
delicate fragrance, with but a trifling outlay of care 
and money. Hyacinths, tulips and narcissi we must 
have at any rate, and the hundred other varieties of 
less common, but highly desirable bulbous plants, 
should not be overlooked. As to methods of planting, 
both for indoor and outdoor blooming, the directions 
are given in full detail in the catalogues, under 
each heading, and are generally excellent, and quite 
certain to insure reasonable success. 
A few general points on planting are worth mention¬ 
ing. Sometimes rather too elaborate instructions are 
given as to the character of the soil. It is evident that 
the bast soil in which to plant bulbs is the soil you 
have. The bulb is a dormant plant; the germs of the 
roots, leaves and flower buds themselves are already 
formed—built up by provident Nature assisted by the 
skill and care of the grower, and in most cases abun¬ 
dant nutriment is stored to perfect the bloom without 
further aid than a congenial supply of heat, sunlight 
and moisture. All know that thousands of hyacinths, 
crocuses and narcissi are bloomed each winter in water 
alone. All bulbs are not so constituted, however, and 
rooting in earth is more congenial even to the above 
examples. A light, porous soil, one that will permit 
the free passage of water and not pack hard, is all 
that is needed, as an excessive degree of fertility is 
not only useless, but objectionable to most of these 
plants. 
The Time of Planting is of some moment, as most 
bulbs lose vitality rapidly when kept too long from 
the ground. The latter half of October is probably 
the best time for the majority of the bulbs to be placed 
in their winter homes, though fairly good resuits are 
often had from outdoor plantings, delayed until freez- 
Wk^\ 
A Family Group ! What Page Are They Reading ? 
ing weather. Of the commoner hardy species, the 
crocus suffers most by delay. The corms become ex¬ 
cited early in the month, and should be planted as 
soon as they can be procured. They are wonderfully 
cheap, costing at retail less than $1 per 100 ; and their 
fresh and highly-colored bloDms are cheerful beyond 
expression, as they are among the very first to bloom 
in early spring. A most sat sfactory method of plant¬ 
ing has been much neglected of late ; that of dotting 
them in dense and irregular cluaeps in the grass of the 
lawn. A variety of hardy and brilliant little bulbs, 
such as snowdrop, scillas, chionodoxas, the winter 
aconite, the erythronium or dog-tooth violet, the white 
and blue grape hyacinths, and some of the lesser nar¬ 
cissi, Euch as N. carbularius may be associated with 
the crocuses, keeping each species in a group by itself. 
The effect in spring is most charming, and has a cer¬ 
tain element of unexpectedness about it, even to the 
one who tucked away the bulbs months before. In 
setting about this method of planting in the grass, it 
is only necessary to provide one’s self with a piece of 
broomstick 12 to 16 inches long, cut square at both 
ends, and a mallet. Drive the stick about two inches 
in the ground ; push a bulb into the hole until the 
base rests firmly in the soil at the bottom, and close 
the opening with a side blow of the mallet. Plant 
the bulbs quite closely ; not over two inches apart. It 
is much better not to attempt any formal patterns, 
but to imitate, as far as possible, the careless abandon 
of nature in grouping a colony. If the soil is rich and 
mellow, some of the species above mentioned, especi¬ 
ally the scillas and the grape hyacinth (muscari), and 
possibly the snowdrop and erythronium may become 
naturalized and display their dainty bjauty in in¬ 
creased numbers for many seasons. But the crocuses 
will not make much of a show after the second season, 
as they do not appear able to eompete with the grass 
roots for nourishment in the long run. Fairfax. 
NOTES ON POTATO CULTURE. 
GOOD VARIETIES ; THE BEST CULTURE —WET OR DRY. 
The drought has affected all early varieties badly, 
because it came at the time when they were fo-ming 
tubers. Of tbe early varieties which we have, I think 
the Early Harvest has made the best crop, and we are 
mere than pleased with this most excellent white 
variety. The Queen has made a good crop on strong 
soil, but poor on sand. Polaris has done well; Free¬ 
man runs rather small, but is of excellent quality. 
All Rose varieties are very light on all upland, but on 
the swamp or muck land the yield will run from 150 
to 300 bushels per acre. Of all the late varieties, I 
think outside of Troy Seedling, the Orphan is the 
strongest grower, and of 30 varieties, I believe it the 
most promising general cropper. While the growth 
is extremely rank, with an upright vine, it produces a 
beautiful long white tuber of good quality. Tbe Bill 
Nye has made the next best growth, and is one of our 
favorites. Dutton Seedling has produced a very 
heavy yield on a number of different 
fields quite widely separated, where 
we had them grown for a test, This 
also promises to be a very heavy 
yielder, and while the tubers grow 
very large, the eyes are shallow and 
the surface smooth. Late Puritan 
has a very fine, rich looking growth 
of vine, and sets its tubers early. 
They are well shaped and of fine 
quality. Vick’s Champion is a stand¬ 
by for rather heavy soil. It has given 
a good growth, though it has not as 
many tubers as usual, but they are 
I ofi large size. Maggie Murphy has 
done the best of the red late varie- 
ties for us this season. It is a very 
\ fine general crop potato for sandy 
^ ^ \ Yi American Wonder has 
done equally well with the Late 
Puritan, but should be planted on 
loamy or sandy soil. World’s 
IliP Fair will yield better than Freeman, 
Wm m M and the tubers are larger. Green 
Mountain is giving a good yield of 
WlllljWmm extra fine eating quality. 
m The course I purpose to pursue 
next season is as follows: I think 
that it will give the best results 
either in a dry or wet season. At 
least it has with me. I shall plow 
under a good growth of either first 
//- crop clover or rye if possible. If 
that cannot be done, I shall apply 
straw or coarse manure and plow as 
deeply as possible without turning 
up the subsoil. Then work fine and 
deep, and with a Darnell furrower 
or plow, make furrows from four to 
six inches deep, as the soil will per¬ 
mit. I do not cut the potatoes any faster than they 
are required for planting, two eyes to the piece for 
hills and one eye for drills, and cover so as to leave 
the surface level unless there is quack or Blue grass, 
in which case I prefer a coverer and make a ridge. 
Just as the potatoes are coming through the ridges, I 
go over with the coverer and recover. This will 
smother all the weeds, and in 24 hours the potato 
plants will come through. 
In case of the level covering, I begin harrowing 
with a smoothing harrow as soon as possible after 
planting, and harrow several times before the potatoes 
come up. As soon as I can trace the rows, I begin 
cultivating, and from that time I aim to go through 
once each week at the very least, both ways, if in hills, 
and of tener if possible, never letting the surface crust. 
I continue cultivation as Icng as possible without dis¬ 
turbing the setting tuber. All cultivation after the 
first—which should be deep—must be shallow. 
It is not always a safe rule to cut all varieties to the 
same number of eyes, as different potatoes will give 
vastly different results. In cutting our Carman No. 1, 
I naturally cut as fine as possible, sometimes dividing 
the eye. I tried only one hill, which was a fair sample, 
but in that I found 10 very fine tubers which would 
weigh four pounds. The No. 2 cut that way would 
have given about two, possibly three, and they would 
have been much too large and coarse. In that case, I 
prefer to cut to single eyes and put three pieces in a 
hill. The question is asked. Why not cut to three 
