RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
1285 
RURALISMS 
Peonies  Yor  Cut  Flowers 
Will  you  give  some  information  on  the 
culture,  best  varieties,  earliest  varieties 
and  method  of  handling  of  peonies  for 
out  flowers  for  city  trade?  c.  s.  s 
Coshocton,  O. 
Peonies  are  gross  feeders,  and  want  a 
rich,  deep  soil  with  a  fair  amount  of 
moisture,  though  a  swamp  is  undesir¬ 
able.  Fall  planting,  from  tbe  middle  of 
August  to  the  middle  of  October,  is  gen¬ 
erally  advised ;  indeed,  they  may  be 
planted  as  long  as  the  ground  may  be 
worked,  but  if  planted  too  late  the  roots 
will  not  take  hold,  and  growth  will  be 
retarded  for  a  season.  They  may  be 
planted  in  early  Spring  also,  but  Fall 
planting  saves  a  season  in  development. 
Soil  preparation  should  be  very  thorough. 
Plenty  of  manure  should  he  used,  but  it 
should  be  far  enough  down  to  avoid  af¬ 
fecting  the  first  tender  young  roots. 
Where  large  tracts  of  peonies  are  grown, 
the  soil  treatment  given  is  the  same  as 
to  produce  a  good  corn  crop.  In  Nebras¬ 
ka  C.  S.  Harrison,  a  noted  grower,  says 
that  on  an  eighth  of  an  acre  he  used 
eight  loads  of  hen  manure,  a  strong  team 
plowing  it  two  furrows  deep,  and  taking 
a  whole  day  to  do  the  work.  Laud  to  be 
planted  in  Fall  should  he  prepared  dur¬ 
ing  the  Summer.  It  is  common  and  ex¬ 
cellent  practice  to  prepare  for  peonies  by 
excavating  the  bed  two  to  three  feet  deep, 
then  puttiug  in  a.  six-inch  layer  of  well- 
rotted  cow  manure,  spaded  into  the  sub¬ 
soil.  If  the  soil  is  very  stiff  and  clayey 
it  should  he  lightened  with  sand  and  leaf 
mold  before  putting  it  back. 
Among  peonies  recom mended  by  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  American  Peony  Society,  the 
following  represent  the  best  12  for  com¬ 
mercial  use.  Early,  iMtchessa  do  Ne¬ 
mours,  white;  Edulis  Suptrbu,  dark 
pink;  Festiva  Maxima,  white;  Mine. 
Coste,  delicate  pink;  Monsieur  Jules 
Elie.  silvery  pink;  Octave  Demay,  pale 
pink.  Midseason,  Due  de  Wellington, 
white;  Felix  Orousse,  crimson.  Late, 
Couronne  d'Or,  white;  Delachei,  crimson; 
Livingstone,  silvery  pink;  Louis  Van 
Tloutte,  crimson.  Festiva  Maxima,  Cou¬ 
ronne  d’Or  and  Edulis  Supcrba  are  three 
varieties  possessing  such  high  merit  that 
practically  every  grower  includes  them 
in  his  list. 
In  Fall,  after  the  ground  is  frozen,  the 
tops  of  the  peonies  should  be  cut  off 
about  three  inches  above  ground,  and 
thrown  over  the  crowns  for  mulch.  There 
should  also  he  a  liberal  mulch  of  coarse 
manure.  Tn  the  Spring  the  coarse  litter 
should  lie  raked  off  and  the  tine  manure 
forked  into  the  ground  to  a  depth  of 
about  six  inches,  care  being  taken  to 
avoid  breaking  the  crown  buds.  If  it  is 
very  dry  in  April  and  May  it  is  a  good 
plan  to  give  the  peony  bed  a  soaking  of 
water  once  or  twice  a  week. 
When  cutting  for  market,  the  buds 
should  he  full  grown,  but  not  open  ;  a 
common  rule,  is  to  cut  when  the  first 
outer  petal  rolls  hack  ;  then  drop  into  a 
pail  of  water.  After  they  have  soaked 
lip  a  lot  of  water  stand  in  deep  jars  of 
water  in  a  cool  dark  room  until  packed. 
They  are  put  in  bunches,  12  or  25  in 
bunch,  according  to  size  or  variety,  the 
hunches  wrapped  in  paraffin  paper.  For 
express  shipment  the  bunches  must  he 
dented  in  the  box,  and  the  usual  pre¬ 
cautions  observed  as  to  wrapping. 
Sweet  Clover  Smothers  Thistles 
The  answer  of  Mr.  F.  L.  Allen  to  the 
inquiry  of  .T.  S.  II.,  page  1132,  on  “De¬ 
stroying  Canada  Thistles,”  is  all  right. 
Alfalfa  will  certainly  smother  them  out, 
but  white  Sweet  clover  will  also  smother 
them  out  and  in  much  less  time,  at  least 
this  is  my  experience,  for  the  simple  rea¬ 
son  that  you  cannot  always  get  a  stand 
of  Alfalfa,  while  you  can  with  Sweet 
clover  if  properly  seeded.  This  should 
always  be  done  with  unboiled  seed,  pre¬ 
paring  the  ground  in  November  and  sow¬ 
ing  between  December  1  and  March  1,  on 
corn  or  potato  ground.  It  can  he  cut 
three  times  the  second  year,  same  as  Al¬ 
falfa.  but  on  account  of  its  heavier 
growth  will  smother  out  all  weeds  better 
than  any  other  legume,  and  stock  like  it 
better  both  as  hay  and  pasture.  I  had 
two  acres  completely  covered  with  this¬ 
tles,  but  Sweet  clover  has  cleaned  them 
out.  A.  BLOOM  I N  GD  ALE. 
X  w  York. 
Worm 
Drive 
Three  Hardest  Jobs 
where  motor  car  bearings  must 
stand  the  acid  test  of  service 
In  the  modern  motor  car  there  are  many 
places  where  anti-friction  bearings  are  used  — 
and  in  any  car  you  will  find  at  least  two  kinds 
of  bearings. 
Any  one  of  several  makes  can  be  said  to  be 
used  in  hundreds  of  thousands  of  cars. 
How  then  can  you  discriminate  between  them? 
By  finding  out  —  not  what  bearings  will  do 
the  easy  jobs — but  what  bearings  are  actually 
being  used  by  experienced  manufacturers  at  the 
places  where  they  get  the  heaviest  loads 
and  the  hardest  knocks. 
And  of  all  such  places  there  are  three  that 
stand  out  as  the  hardest  that  anti-friction  bear¬ 
ings  have  ever  had  to  tackle. 
On  the  spindles  of  the  front  axle  in  both 
pleasure  and  commercial  cars — where  the  bear¬ 
ings  must  carry  almost  half  the  car’s  weight 
and  at  the  same  time  resist  the  tremendous 
side-pressure  called  “end-thrust.” 
On  the  pinion  shaft,  in  the  rear  axle  of  a 
pleasure  car  where  the  bearing  must  combat  the 
constant  tendency  of  the  pinion  to  climb  the 
big  bevel  gear  and  resist  the  end-thrust  that 
results  from  the  teeth  of  the  gears  working  at 
an  angle. 
On  either  end  of  the  worm,  in  worm-drive 
commercial  cars,  where  the  bearings  must  hold 
in  leash  the  boring  end-thrust  of  the  worm  and 
at  the  same  time  resist  the  crushing  downward 
pressure  as  the  teeth  of  the  worm  slide  into 
mesh  with  the  curved  teeth  on  the  worm  wheel. 
It  is  at  these  three  crucial  points  that  you  will 
find  the  greatest  number  of  Timken  Bearings. 
Bearings  that  “stand  the  gaff”  on  the  front 
axle,  the  pinion  shaft  and  the  worm  can  be 
relied  upon  to  give  life-long  service  at  all  other 
hard-service  places — in  the  rear  whee's,  on  either 
side  of  the  differential,  and  in  the  transmission. 
Car  builders  know  that  Timken  Bearings  are 
not  built  for  the  easy  jobs.  They  are  designed 
to  carry  the  big  loads,  to  vesist  the  terrific  forces 
that  are  everpresent  to  wear  and  destroy. 
The  evidence  is  plainly  printed  on  the  pages  of 
Booklet  F-28,  “The  Companies  Timken  Keeps,” 
for  it  tells  not  only  what  cars  use  Timken 
Bearings  but  exactly  where  in  each  car  they 
are  used. 
Send  for  this  book  and  read  the  record  for 
yourself.  Sent  free,  postpaid,  on  request  to 
address  given  below. 
There  are  many  sizes  of  Timken  Bearings 
but  only  one  quality. 
THE  TIMKEN  ROLLER  BEARING  CO. 
Canton,  Ohio 
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