T5hc  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
1033 
Yucca  on  Embankments 
T  have  a  stoop  embankment,  about  15 
or  20  foot,  which  I  would  like  to  improve 
in  looks.  What  grass,  trees  or  shrubs 
with  strong  long  roots  can  I  plant?  The 
soil  is  loamy  satid,  and  dry  in  Summer, 
the  edge  is  used  for  a  roadway  for  a 
Summer  home.  j.  rc. 
Sea  Breeze,  N.  Y. 
Yucca  filamentosa.  would  probably  be 
the  most  satisfactory  plant  for  this  em¬ 
bankment.  It  is  deep  rooted,  and  with¬ 
stands  dry  weather  to  a  remarkable  de¬ 
gree.  It  is  a  desirable  plant  both  for 
flower  and  foliage.  The  flowers  are 
creamy  white,  fragrant  and  are  produced 
on  strong  erect  stalks,  frequently  live  to 
six  feet  high,  and  it  is  not  uncommon  for 
a  single  spike  to  bear  250  or  more  blos¬ 
soms.  The  foliage  is  long,  slender  and 
stiff,  is  evergreen,  and  rises  from  the 
crown  of  the  plant  to  a  height  of  about 
two  feet.  The  foliage  from  the  preced¬ 
ing  year  lying  prostrate  on  the  ground, 
and  when  the  plants  are  set  at  two  feet 
or  so  apart,  the  prostrated  leaves  almost 
cover  the  ground  completely.  K. 
Apple  Wood 
This  makes  a  beautiful  hardwood  floor, 
but  anyone  intending  to  use  it  in  that  way 
must  not  expect  to  get  a  floor  at  little 
cost.  The  wood  is  in  short  lengths,  and  is 
costly  to  saw  into  planks.  It.  must,  be 
worked  in  a  high-speed  hardwood  planer. 
Much  sorting  is  necessary  in  order  to  get 
the  floor  well  matched  in  color.  The  wood 
varies  in  color  from  very  white  to  almost 
as  dark  as  ebony,  and  when  well  matched 
makes  a  floor  of  beautiful  and  unusual  ap- 
penrauee.  Some  mills  which  claim  to 
respect.  However  it  may  be  a  good  plan 
to  cut  them  down  to  the  ground  when 
more  plants  are  required  for  setting  out 
than  would  ordinarily  be  produced  by 
letting  them  grow  as  is  generally  done. 
I  should  think  the  best  time  to  cut  them 
down  would  be  immediately  after  the  old 
canes  are  done  fruiting,  cutting  off  all 
growth  close  to  or  a  little  below  the  sur¬ 
face  of  the  ground.  When  plants  alone 
are  desired,  early  Spring  would  he  the 
best  time  to  operate  on  them,  severing 
the  entire  crown  of  the  plant  from  the 
roots.  The  roots  will,  with  this  treat¬ 
ment,  make  a  profusion  of  good  plants 
for  the  following  season's  planting. 
2.  As  a  rule,  yes.  With  some  varieties 
it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  insure  a 
crop.  K. 
Overgrown  Rose  Stock  ;  Treatment  of 
Bulbs 
1.  What  causes  dark  red  rose  stocks 
to  change  and  bear  pink  flowers,  white 
and  pink  stocks  being  in  the  same  bed 
about  three  feet  apart?  2.  Is  this  a  good 
method  of  handling  Tulips  and  Hya¬ 
cinths?  Take  from  soil  when  flowers  are 
withered,  allow  them  to  lie  on  the  ground 
until  leaves  dry  off.  then  put  in  box, 
cover  with  dry  sand  and  store  in  cool 
Cellar.  J.  A.  D. 
Buffalo,  N,  Y. 
1.  Your  roses  were  no  doubt  grafted 
on  Manetti  stock,  which  has  been  per¬ 
mitted  to  grow  until  it  has  strangled  out 
the  red  rose  worked  upon  it.  This  is 
not  uncommon,  and  roses  that  are  not 
grown  on  their  own  roots  should  always 
lie  examined  for  these  strong  shoots  sent 
up  from  below  the  graft.  Any  buds  that 
form  below  the  graft  should  be  removed. 
In  ti  ne  such  shoots  take  all  the  nour¬ 
ishment  fmm  the  root,  and  if  i: ’.'.con¬ 
trol' e  1.  kill  out  the  budded  growth. 
rieties  proved  to  be  Summer  and  Fall 
sorts.  Russian  varieties  were  especially 
deceiving  in  this  way.  A  common  say¬ 
ing  is  “Plant  all  Winter  varieties  and 
then  you  will  have  too  many  Summer 
apples.”  The  result  of  course  is  a  very 
low  grade  of  Summer  apples  even  though 
they  are  raised  for  home  use  where  only 
the  best  ought  to  he  raised.  A  great 
many  persons  do  not  know  what  Yellow 
June,  I>yer  or  Benoni  apples  look  tike. 
Iowa.  WENDELL  I*.  WILLIAMS. 
Greenhouse  Cucumbers 
Will  you  advise  me  what  variety  of 
cucumbers  is  the  best  for  a  greenhouse? 
Buffs*),  N.  Y.  f.  G.  L. 
The  English  Forcing  is  one  of  the  very 
finest  strains  of  greenhouse  cucumbers. 
However,  the  Abundance  is  perhaps  more 
popular  with  tlm  growers.  The  cucum¬ 
bers  are  long,  dark  green,  and  the  vine  is 
a  strong  grower.  Ruwson's  Hothouse  is 
more  like  the  White  Spine,  which  grows 
out  of  doors.  Rawson's  Hothouse  cucum¬ 
ber  is  a  quick  grower  and  many  claim  it 
is  a  very  heavy  producer.  Seed  of  the 
house  cucumbers  can  be  procured  of 
almost  any  seedsmen.  However,  when 
Ordering  he  sure  to  specify  that  the  seed 
is  to  be  used  for  greenhouse  work,  be¬ 
cause  outdoor  varieties  will  do  nothing 
under  glass.  n.  w.  d. 
Encouraging  Young  Cherry  Trees 
If  O.  ('.  R.,  page  850,  will  put  a  V- 
shaped  trough  on  the  south  sale  of  his 
newly  planted  cherry  trees,  he  will  get- 
tliem  to  grow.  I  had  the  same  trouble 
ra  il  I  kept  the  hot  sun  from  the  trunk 
f  )•.'  a  few  years.  j.  it.  emmord. 
Maryland. 
mal  e  a  specialty  of  line  work  on  hard 
wood  do  not  do  a  good  job  on  apple  floor¬ 
ing.  ALFRED  C.  WEED. 
Wayne  County,  N.  Y. 
Field  Mice  and  Potatoes 
The  Pennsylvania  Experiment  Station 
issues  an  excellent  bulletin,  No.  140,  on 
potato  diseases.  The  troubles  which 
afflict,  the  potato  crop  are  well  described 
and  pictured.  Among  other  things  we 
find  a  reference  to  the  damage  sometimes 
clone  l\v  field  mice.  This  will  he  a  new 
Potato  Damaged  by  Mice.  Fig.  409 
one  to  most  people,  as  few  farmers  seem 
t;»  realize  that  these  little  mice,  which 
burrow  into  the  ground,  frequently  at¬ 
tack  the  potatoes.  The  picture  at  Fig. 
409,  taken  from  this  Pennsylvania  bulle¬ 
tin,  shows  a  small  tuber  which  has  been 
gnawed  by  the  mice.  Probably  these 
marks  are  usually  considered  the  work  of 
the  white  grub,  and  few  people  realize 
that  the  mice  are  such  potato  Caters.  It 
seems  evident,  however  that  in  some 
<asps  they  do  a  good  deal  of  damage.  The 
marks  of  their  teeth  can  be  quite  plainly 
seen  in  the  injury.  The  surest  way  of 
rating  rid  of  these  pests  is  by  thorough 
cultivation  of  the  soil  and  cleaning  up 
t'  e  fence  rows  and  along  the  stone  wall 
for  ia  these  situations  are  to  bo  found  fa¬ 
vorite  breeding  places  of  the  mice. 
Inducing  Blackberry  Suckers;  Cross 
Pollination  of  Grapes 
1.  At  wlmt  season  of  the  year  should 
one  cut  off  blackberry  bushes  to  cause 
them  to  throw  up  suckers  to  plant,  and 
would  it  he  best  to  cut  above  the  surface 
of  the  ground,  us  with  a  scythe,  or  to  cut 
below  the  surface  as  with  a  stub  hoe, 
mangling  the  crowns?  2.  Do  the  differ¬ 
ent  varieties  of  grapes  cross-pol Ionize  to 
advantage,  as  do  plums  and  other  fruits? 
Burlington,  N.  J.  j.  l.  ji. 
1.  It  is  not  necessary  to  cut  off  the 
growing  canes  of  blackberries  to  make 
the  roots  throw  up  suckers,  as  they  are 
generally  naturally  too  prolific  in  this 
These  shoots  may  be  easily  detected,  be¬ 
cause  they  come  up  through  the  ground 
outside  the  plant,  and  the  leaves  Con¬ 
tain  seven  or  nine  leaflets  instead  of 
three  or  five.  When  such  shoots  are  no¬ 
ticed  one  should  d'g  below  the  surface, 
and  carefully  cut  tlmm  off.  covering  the 
wound  Avith  earth.  Tf  the  roses  are 
planted  with  the  buds  t  •*  <  r  three  inch¬ 
es  below  the  surface  tkere  is  much  less 
chance  for  t1  esc  shoots  to  grow. 
2.  We  would  not  li't  the  tulips  and  hy¬ 
acinths  until  the  leaves  have  yellowed 
and  partly  dried.  Lifting  them  as  soon 
as  1  he  flowers  wither  does  not  give  the 
bulbs  a  chance  to  ripen  naturally.  The 
proper  time  is  when  tin*  leaves  are  with¬ 
ered.  but  the  stem  is  not  perfectly  dry; 
•if  left  too  1  ug  the  outside  sk  it- may  s'”) 
off,  and  tl  u  they  do  not  keep  as  well. 
They  shm’d  then  lie  in  an  airy  shady 
place  until  quite  dry  (they  do  not  dry 
as  Avell  on  the  ground  as  on  a  slat 
shelf)  ;  any  adhering  dirt  removed,  and 
they  may  then  be  put  in  paper  bags  and 
hung  in  a  cool  dry  place,  until  planting 
time.  No  need  to  cover  with  sand  if 
enclosed  i:i  paper;  the  cellar  would  be 
all  right  if  airy  and  perfectly  dry,  but 
we  prefer  a  tool-house  or  greenhouse 
shed. 
Stayman  in  Iowa 
I  notice  some  talk  of  the  Stayman  as  a 
New  York  apple.  I  want  to  say  a  word 
about  this  apple.  In  planting  our  orchard 
avo  used  Stayman  and  now  have  about 
G00  trees.  It  is  a  good  grower  if  the  one- 
year  trees  are  used.  The  trees  are  very 
often  irregular  shaped  and  I  hardly  think 
it  Avould  be  a  long-lived  tree.  The  fruit 
seems  not  to  be  so  valuable  as  AA’e  ex¬ 
pected,  being  dull  colored  and  not  so  good 
a  beeper  as  Ave  thought.  However,  it  is 
good-sized  and  a  good  apple,  and  probably 
we  have  made  no  great  mistake  in  plann¬ 
ing  it.  I  believe  it  Avoukl  not  color  so 
well  with  you  even  as  it  does  here.  My 
trees  are  young  and  it  may  do  better  after 
a  while,  but  I  hardly  think  Ave  Avill  plant 
it  again. 
Beach  buds  here  are  all  killed  and  ap¬ 
ples  are  going  to  he  a  very  light  crop. 
However,  Roman  Stem  had  a  light  crop 
last  year,  and  most  trees  of  this  variety 
have  a  fairly  good  setting  of  buds.  Local¬ 
ly  as  a  January  February  apple  I  can  sell 
this  variety  above  any  other  I  have,  con¬ 
sumers  u.siug  them  both  for  dessert  ari  l 
cooking.  In  the  Fall  it  is  a  poor  seller. 
Personally  I  do  not  like  this  apple,  and 
very  seldom  eat  one. 
The  Summer  apple  situation  in  Iowa  is 
simply  ridiculous.  Bought  from  Northern 
nurseries,  many  trees  got  as  Winter  v  i- 
New  Plant  Immigrants 
In  1907  a  species  of  rhubarb  from 
the  Agricultural  Station  at  Khabarovsk, 
Siberia,  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Meyer. 
Bull'd  u  110  of  the  Office  of  Foreign 
Seed  and  Plant  Introduction  contains 
the  following  statement  regarding  this 
plant,  from  Mr.  A.  Merritt  of  Long 
Island  : 
“A  little  over  three  years  ago  I  asked 
for  arid  had  sent  to  me  a  root  of  Siberian 
rhubarb.  This  turned  out  to  be  a  most 
delicious  plant  of  a  taste  much  more 
delicate  than  any  other  rhubarb  I  h  1 
ever  eaten  or  been  able  to  secure.  An¬ 
other  unusual  feature  of  it  was  that  P 
is  almost  ‘sweet’  enough  to  eat  without 
the  addition  of  sugar.  We  use  only  about 
one-sixth  as  much  sugar  to  sweeten  it 
:  s  the  ordinary  rhubarb  calls  for  under 
the  same  eircumstanc  s.  The  plant  does 
not  seem  to  spread,  however,  as  does  the 
ordinary  rhubarb,  and  I  have  been  afraid 
to  make  any  experiments  for  fear  of 
losing  the  one  plant  that  I  have  and  I 
arn  wondering  whether  you  could  tell  me 
bow  to  propagate  from  this  plant  and 
whether  you  could  s**ud  me  another  root 
of  this  same  rhubarb.” 
The  same  bulletin  refers  to  the  roots 
or  corms  of  a  plant  belonging  to  the 
Sedge  family.  Eleocharis  tubernsu.  which 
is  eaten  in  China  and  the  Philippines. 
Its  native  name  in  the  islands  is  Apulid. 
Regarding  a  similar  species  Mr.  F.  N. 
Meyer  says:  “They  are  mostly  eaten 
raw,  but  are  also  sliced  and  shredded  in 
soups  and  in  meat  and  fish  dishes.  For¬ 
eigners  in  China  grate  them  and  serve 
them  boiled  as  a  Winter  vegetable,  in 
which  state  they  resemble  sweet  corn 
very  much  in  looks  and  taste.  The  plants 
need  a  hot  Summer  to  mature  and  are 
grown  on  a  -mu 0k  or  clayey  soil  with 
several  inches  of  standing  Avater  on  top. 
very  much  in  the  same  manner  as  wet 
land  rice.” 
Specimens  of  the  water  chestnut, 
grown  largely  for  food  in  China,  have 
also  been  received  by  the  Office  of  For¬ 
eign  . . .  and  Plant  Introduction  from 
Shongliong.  A  Chinese  correspondent 
says  the  seeds  are  planted  in  June. 
“They  are  not  put  right  into  the  ground, 
but  they  take  Sand  and  plant  them  in 
Avet  sand  so  that  the  point  sticks  out 
of  the  sand  and  then  they  sprout  in 
constantly  Avet  sand  and  after  about 
three  or  four  weeks  they  are  taken  out 
and  planted  into  the  Avater  fields  like 
rice.  They  want  good  manured  fields 
and  always  covered  with  water.  Then  they 
spread  like  potatoes  in  the  ground  and 
in  the  Fall  they  are  dug  up  after  the 
Avater  is  drained  off.” 
This  water  chestnut.  Ti  n  pa  natans, 
is  a  very  interesting  aquatic  plant,  some¬ 
times  grown  here  in  the  water  garden. 
The  seed  is  a  hard,  horned  fruit,  sug¬ 
gesting  to  the  imaginnlive  a  miniature 
buffalo  skull ;  it  is  also  called  Avater 
caltrops,  because  the  projecting  horns 
resemble  the  caltrops  used  in  auoieut 
warfare.  The  seed  is  highly  farinaceous, 
and  is  an  important  article  of  food  in 
various  parts  of  Asia.  The  water  chest¬ 
nut  is  also  native  to  Southern  Europe, 
being  known  there  as  Jesuit  chestnut. 
Occasionally  the  seeds  are  sold  here  by 
dealers  in  Chinese  curios  ties. 
McaAxle 
Grease 
Takes  the  friction  off 
the  spindles  and  puts 
the  wear  on  the  bright 
smooth  coating  that 
Mica  Axle  Grease 
puts  between  the 
spindle  and  box. 
It  makes  easy  hauling 
on  any  grade. 
Sold  Everywhere 
Standard  OilCb^NX 
PrimaipAl  Officer 
,  BtalPoOo.  Albuy,  BoiRm 
'■Itt.'l'IHll.-.l 
RITE  FOR 
If  •»  x.  Over  25,009,01)0  rota  Brown 
Jf-'O-  i  r’rm'n  already  sold  to  400.000 
'  Svmer*.  Factory  Prices, 
.£■  'tjb'  Freight  Prepaid.  ISO  styles, 
JSf  1 3o  per  rod  up.  Gato-s  and 
Steel  Posts,  too!  Write  postal. 
THE  BROWN  FENCE  *  WIRE  CO. 
!«,n  ...  Cleveland,  OMo 
Fitz  Steel  Water  Wheels 
Electric  Ji  trill  the  f.'init  from  n  very  simill  gt  renin 
X9T  Booklet  tell*  lion,  UT  SENT  F  KEl! 
FITZ  WATER  WHEEL  CO.,  103  George  St.  HANOVER.  PA 
1 7 1  ACRES  STOCKandTOOLS 
SICOW8  and  heifers;  3  horses.  0.  7  and  8  years-old : 
8-ruom  Iwnso;  two  hnrn8.32xm,  I,  26x31! :  hog  house; 
lien  house;  silo;  wagons;  harness;  mower;  rake; 
plows ;  harrows;  hiood  sow;  10  liens:  platform 
wagon;  plenty  wAgons  and  tools;  hayfork:  pulleys; 
rope*!  every  tiling.  I’lieo  for  ovary  i  hing,  only  13,900; 
$3/00  rash.  I'.j  miles  to  Railroad. 
Hall’s  Farm  Agency,  On  ego,  Tioga  Co.,  N,  Y. 
fiAAn  CflDUC  I*1  nearly  every  desirable 
UUUU  r Hll PrlO  section  of  new  York  state 
Tell  us  what  kind  of  farm  too  want  and  how  much 
cash  you  can  pay  ami  we  will  semi  you  a  rnrOftdly 
prepared  list  of  just  such  places.  CENTRAL  OFFICE 
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Other  oOices  throughout  the  State. 
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