C/6e  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
887 
Care  of  Amaryllis 
Will  you  toll  me  how  to  cure  for  bulbs 
of  the  Amaryllis  class?  When  and  how 
long  should  they  remain  dormant? 
Bolton.  Mass.  n.  w.  k, 
The  Amaryllis  is  a  noble  genus  of  bul¬ 
bous  plants;  the  large  trumpet-shaped 
blooms  are  gorgeous  in  coloring,  and  very 
showy  on  account  of  the  form  and  pecu¬ 
liar  habit  of  growth.  Generally  speaking, 
but  few  plants  are  so  unsatisfactory  in 
the  hands  of  the  inexperienced.  This  is 
because  (he  natural  habit  of  the  plant,  is 
not.  properly  understood.  It  requires  and 
must  have  a  season  of  rest,  after  each  sea¬ 
son  of  growth,  and  these  seasons  must 
succeed  each  other  at  regular  intervals,  or 
the  chances  of  success  will  he  very  doubt¬ 
ful.  In  almost  every  instance,  where 
failure  results,  it  can  be  charged  to  the 
improper  care  given  the  plant,  in  the  mat¬ 
ter  of  the  seasons  of  growth,  and  rest. 
Generally  the  plants  are  kept  growing  con¬ 
tinuously.  they  are  kept  in  full  light,  and 
given  water  at  regular  intervals.  This 
treatment  is  all  wrong.  Growth  should 
he  encouraged  only  while  the  plant  is 
making  new  leaves.  But  when  new 
leaves  cease  to  appear,  and  tin*  old  ones 
begin  turning  yellowish,  it  is  a  sure  sign 
that  the  plant  wants  and  should  have  its 
rest.  This  should  be  encouraged,  by  grad¬ 
ually  withholding  water.  Do  not  allow 
the  soil  to  become  quite  dry.  but  have  it 
just  moist  enough  to  keep  the  lmlh  from 
losing  its  plumpness*  Set  the  plant  away 
in  a  semi-dark  place  such  ns  a  cellar  or 
basement.  And  do  not  feel  alarmed  if  the 
foliage  dies  off,  as  this  will  not  injure  it 
in  the  least.  Very  often  one  of  the  lirst 
signs  of  resumption  of  growth,  is  the  ap¬ 
pearance  of  a  flower  stalk.  When  this  ap¬ 
pears.  the  plant  should  he  given  light  and 
warmth,  and  an  application  of  liquid  cow 
manure.  From  now  on  until  the  plant, 
again  shows  indications  of  wanting  to 
rest,  it  should  he  liberally  supplied  with 
water,  never  allowing  it  to  suffer  for 
moisture,  even  for  a  short  time.  If  proper 
attention  is  given  to  the  alternate  periods 
of  growth  and  rest,  making  these  opposite 
conditions  as  complete  as  possible,  the 
plant  will  respond  by  giving  at  least  one 
crop  of  flowers,  with  reasonable  certainty, 
and  perhaps  a  second  crop  will  reward 
you  for  the  extra  care.  K. 
Trailing  Arbutus 
Trailing  arbutus  can  he  easily  grown 
in  pots,  and  can  be  transplanted  at  al¬ 
most  any  time  if  enough  care  is  taken. 
The  important  points,  as  shown  by  Mr. 
F.  V.  Coville  of  the  F.  S.  Bureau  of 
Plant  Industry,  are  to  provide  a  proper 
soil,  and  to  keep  the  roots  from  drying. 
In  preparing  soil  for  arbutus  or  blue¬ 
berries  the  foundation  is  acid  peat  and 
sharp  sand.  Go  to  a  thicket  of  laurel  or 
Bhododendron.  or  a  dense  growth  of  oak 
w  Inch  has  not  been  burned  over.  Dig 
up  the  mat  of  roots  and  partly  rotted 
leaves  which  covers  the  mineral  soil. 
This  mass  should  be  rotted  a  few  weeks 
in  a  dose  pile,  and  then  chopped  or 
rubbed  through  a  sieve.  It  should  not  he 
rotted  too  long,  and  water  should  not 
he  poured  through  It.  as  this  will  remove 
some  of  the  acids  which  are  needed. 
Mix  one  part  of  clean  sand  (wash  it  if 
there  is  much  day  in  it),  nine  parts  of 
the  peat  (by  hulk )  and  three  parts  of 
clean  broken  flower  pots.  The  roots  grow 
through  the  soil  for  long  distances  until 
they  meet  some  obstruction  where  they 
form  masses;  the  pieces  of  flower  pot  are 
to  furnish  such  obstructions.  In  a  pot 
practically  all  the  roots  are  around  the 
outside.  If  one  cannot  find  a  thicket 
of  laurel  or  Rhododendron  there  are  some 
other  similar  soils  that  will  do,  Mr. 
Coville  suggests  turfs  of  low  hush  blue¬ 
berries.  also  that  o-*1'  leaves  piled  closely 
and  rotted  ah.  8  months  without 
lime  or  manure  arc  very  good.  I  have 
had  good  results  from  using  the  turfs  of 
roots,  loaves,  small  twigs,  etc.,  in  a 
dense  hemlock  woods.  Some  other  ma¬ 
terials  are  being  tried  hut  their  success 
is  not  yet  sure. 
As  1ms  been  said  above,  in  pots  the 
roots  of  blueberries  or  arbutus  are  close 
to  the  outside.  In  order  to  keep  them 
from  drying  out,  the  pot  must  he  packed 
in  damp  moss  or  buried  in  sand  to  the 
top.  • 
In  applying  these  directions  to  the 
planting  of  arbutus  in  the  garden  I 
should  sink  a  box  about  a  foot  deep 
where  the  plants  were  to  stand,  put  in 
the  bottom  about  four  inches  of  clean, 
sharp  sand  or  gravel  and  till  it  with 
the  prepared  soil.  IT  the  soil  is  not 
naturally  well  drained  it  would  be  bet¬ 
ter  to  put  some  sand  or  gravel  around 
the  box  and  lay  a  tile  drain  away  from 
it.  The  box.  of  course  should  not  he 
tight.  In  the  Fall  cover  the  bed  with 
several  inches  of  oak  leaves.  If  it.  is 
feared  that  mice  will  get  in,  the  sides  of 
box  could  be  raised  a  few  inches  and  a 
tight  cover  of  wire  screen  put  over  it. 
To  move  arbutus  at  this  time  of  the 
year.  I  should  take  up  as  large  a  sod  as 
possible  and  move  it  immediately  to  the 
place  where  it  is  to  he  planted.  The  bed 
should  have  been  prepared  beforehand. 
After  planting  water  well  and  then  cover 
with  a  good  mulch  of  oak  leaves.  Many 
plants  will  die  hut  those  that  live  should 
blossom  well  next  year.  It.  would  he 
better  to  wait  until  the  latter  part  of 
August  or  the  lirst  part  of  September 
for  tlie  trails  planting. 
Arbutus  and  various  other  plants 
winch  grow  in  a  soar  soil  seem  to  depend 
on  certain  fungi  for  their  supply  of 
plant  food  through  the  roots.  These 
fungi  cannot  live  in  soil  which  is  al¬ 
kaline  and  do  not  grow  in  neutral  soil. 
It  is  necessary  to  maintain  the  soil  aci¬ 
dity  by  mulching  with  oak  or  chestnut 
leaves.  Leaves  of  maple,  birch,  etc.,  are 
not  suitable,  as  they  pass  through  the 
acid  stage  to  the  alkaline  too  quickly. 
For  the  same  reason  stable  manure  or 
alkaline  fertilizers  should  uot  he  used. 
Wayne  C’o.,  N.  Y.  A.  c.  w. 
Goodyear  Takes  No  Chances 
on  Tire  Fabric 
A  well-designed  tire  with  a  fabric  whose 
tensile  strength  is  not  as  high  as  it 
ought  to  be,  is  like  a  fine  house  built 
on  a  rotten  foundation. 
In  our  own  fabric  mill,  we  have  developed 
a  fabric  far  above  the  ordinary  in  qual¬ 
ity.  This  is  the  Goodyear  standard,  and 
all  Goodyear  fabric  must  now  meet  a 
quality  test  much  more  severe  than 
formerly. 
Think  what  tire  fabric  must  stand. 
Forget  the  weight  of  the  car,  the  strains 
and  stresses  of  driving,  turning,  quick 
starting,  and  sudden  stopping. 
« 
Consider  only  two  great  forces — air-pres¬ 
sure  from  within — and,  from  without, 
a  million  hidden  enemies  at  every  inch 
of  the  road. 
These  destroyers  assault  the  tire  at  every 
turn.  1  hey  rain  upon  it  millions  of 
bludgeon-like  blows. 
Holes  in  the  road;  loose,  sharp  stones; 
nails,  glass,  bricks,  wire,  tacks,  ruts, 
friction,  imbedded  stones — all  unite  in 
a  savage  onslaught  which  never  stops. 
The  extra  strength  of  Goodyear  fabric 
withstands  these  ceaseless  attacks  long 
after  they  have  ruined  tires  with  fabric 
of  lesser  quality. 
Perhaps  we  give  greater  fabric  strength 
than  is  actually  needed  —  perhaps, 
according  to  ordinary  tire  standards, 
we  are  too  particular. 
Very  well,  then  —  we  are  too  particular. 
Mulching  Peach  Trees 
I  wife  on  page  G.S5  the  question  of 
mulching  peach  trees  is  discussed  some¬ 
what.  and  while  heartily  agreeing  with 
the  writer  I  would  like  to  draw  attention 
to  some  facts  advanced  by  Downing  in 
his  “Fruits  and  Fruit  Trees  of  America," 
in  regard  to  this  same  question. 
Downing  wrote  in  1S45  that  this  ques¬ 
tion  of  mulch  vs.  clean  cultivation  was 
much  debated  from  time  to  time,  but 
pointed  out  that  the  mulch  was  used 
most  in  the  sandy  loam  of  New  Jersey 
and  south  of  Philadelphia,  where  the  soil 
was  thin,  light  or  previously  somewhat 
impoverished.  The  use  of  a  mulch  under 
such  conditions  would  very  obviously  be 
a  help  in  conserving  the  moisture,  where¬ 
as  cultivation  would  he  likely  to  disturb 
the  roots  too  much,  especially  in  thin 
soil.  On  the  other  hand,  the  soil  of  New 
England  and  New  York  is  usually  of  a 
heavier  and  more  moisture-containing  tex¬ 
ture.  also  fairly  deep.  Soil  of  this  char¬ 
acter  does  not.  of  course,  require  a  mulch 
by  reason  of  its  mechanical  (or  material) 
composition,  and  in  the  North  our  soil  is 
not  subjected  to  the  intense  rays  of  the 
sun  to  as  great  an  extent,  nor  for  as  long 
a  time,  both  of  which  circumstances  are 
in  favor  of  clean  cultivation.  In  any 
ease,  four  inches  is  plenty  deep  for  the 
first  Spring  plowing  or  disking,  and  two 
inches  will  he  sufficient  to  create  a  dust- 
curtain  for  the  orchard  soil  the  rest  of  the 
Summer.  frank  j.  mc  gkeook. 
Massachusetts. 
Easy  to  get  from  Goodyear  Service  Station  Dealers  Everywhere 
Goodyear  No-Hook  Tires 
are  fortified  against: 
Rlm-cutting  —  By  our  No- 
Rim-Cut  feature 
Blow-outs— By  our  On-Air 
Cure. 
Loose  Treads  —  By  our 
Rubber  Rivets. 
Insecurity  —  By  our  Mul¬ 
tiple  Braided  PianoWire 
Base. 
Punctures  and  Skidding — 
By  our  Double -Thick 
All-Weather  Tread. 
An  Opalescent  Apple  Warning 
I  have  noticed  a  number  of  articles 
commending  the  Opalescent  apple  of  late, 
and  wish  to  offer  a  word  of  warning. 
About  10  or  15  years  ago  a  nursery  in 
this  State  made  quite  an  effort  to  push 
it.  for  a  number  of  years,  blit  finally 
abandoned  the  effort  on  account  of  its 
tendency  to  blight.  At  that  time  I  plant¬ 
ed  several  trees,  and  since  then  have 
planted  several  more  at  different  times, 
hut  at  present  have  hut:  one  left,  all  the 
rest  having  gone  with  blight,  although  we 
usually  have  blit  very  little  trouble  with 
blight.  The  fruit  is  very  beautiful,  but  I 
should  investigate  very  carefully  before 
planting  many  of  them. 
In  a  late  issue  I  notice  some  one  speaks 
of  using  the  Mann  apple  tree  as  a  stock 
for  other  varieties.  I  consider  it  one  of 
the  poorest  trees  we  have,  and  I  think 
many  others  have  had  the  same  expe¬ 
rience.  Use  Northern  Spy,  Tolman,  Ben 
Davis  or  some  of  the  other  good  varie¬ 
ties,  Imt  you  would  better  lay  the  ax  at 
tin1  root  of  the  Mann  than  to  graft  over. 
Dhio.  W.  W.  Farnsworth 
