Kent Co., Mich., from sprouts growing from 
tho stock of a grafted tree, and lias now 
grown three full crops. 
Fruit, below medium size, roundish, flat¬ 
tened, regular. Suture distinct. Stalk, half 
an inch long, slender; inserted in a slight, 
regular cavity. Apex, slightly depressed. 
Color, dark, dingy purple. Surface profusely 
marked with largo, roughened grayish specks, 
many of them considerably elongated trans¬ 
versely to the-axis of the fruit, and the whole 
surface covered with a dense, whitish blue 
bloom. Flesh, greenish orange, rich, juicy, 
vinous; skin slightly astringent; flesh adher¬ 
ing to the very small, nearly round, rather 
flattened pit. (Quality, very good. Season, 
1st to 13th of September, and keeps well. 
Tree, a strong, upright grower ; old wood 
lightish green ; young wood slender, smooth; 
buds shouldered , foliage small, glossy, flat, 
recurved. Very hardy, and resists tiie cur- 
culio better than many others. Worthy of 
trial. 
florists, I had never succeeded well in their 
culture until this year ; and it may interest 
some one to learn how I managed to have 
them perfectly double and remain in bloom 
from the 10th of August till this 1st day of 
October, when there are still some flue stalks 
crowned with flowers, and many new shoots 
with buds, though all the small bulbs were 
removed from the central one at the lirst 
planting. In early spring, a friend sent me 
several quarts of large, sound bulbs, grown 
by her own gardener, a gift which any real 
lover of flowers would appreciate, and I 
wished that the perfect development of their 
waxen beauty might do credit to her gener- 
STRAWBERRIES IN ORCHARDS 
HANGING BASKETS 
The California Agriculturist says :—It is 
the practice about San Jose to grow straw¬ 
berries in orchards. The berries in this sun¬ 
ny climate are generally quite as fine in the 
orchard as on open ground The onlj' ques¬ 
tion seems to be as to how the trees are 
affected by such culture. And there seems 
to be quite a diversity of opinion among the 
gardeners. In order to produce a good crop 
TnE illustration herewith given of a hang¬ 
ing basket, shows how unlike the stiff for¬ 
mality of most of those seen in conserva¬ 
tories, living rooms and on piazzas in sum¬ 
mer, a well-arranged hanging basket may be 
—how it may become a hanging garden in 
miniature and a model of graceful beauty. 
This one was arranged tinder the direction of 
Mr. Barron of the Royal Horticultural Soci¬ 
ety's Conservatory at South Kensington. 
In the planting, flowering plants are toned 
down and softened hy an admixture of Ferns, 
Ivy, and other graceful foliage plants, while 
a few trailers, such as f'obcro tscandenfy Ivy, 
and the Virginian Creeper, may be twined 
around the sides, or allowed to droop in 
graceful festoons, tvs show u in our illustration. 
In largo baskots, a charming variety of form 
and coloring may be introduced by means of 
succulents, Btag’s-liorn Ferns, Aralias, Gan¬ 
nas, Dracaenas, Palms, and plants of f icus 
elaslica, along with Hydrangeas, Ivy-leaved 
and scarlet zonal Pelargoniums, Acbimenes, 
Begonias, and common Fuchsias, the last 
being among the most beautiful of all plants 
for basket decoration. Both Coleus and Ire- 
sine are admirably adapted for planting in 
hanging baskets, as when looked at, between 
the eye and the light their colors are seen to 
excellent advantage, especially when associ¬ 
ated with fresh green fronds of Maiden hair 
and other Ferns. Pan hum sulcatum is an 
effective basket plant, and many ornamental 
grasses might be used with excellent effect. 
When these baskets are. cleared out and 
re-arranged in the autumn, it is an excellent 
plan to insert a few Roman and other Hya¬ 
cinths, Tulip, Crocus, and Jonquil bulbs in 
them, all of which flower freely and light up 
the foliage plants and Ferns with charming 
glimpses of bright coloring early in the 
spring, when other flowers are scarce. Epi- 
pbyllums also make valuable basket, plants 
for flowering during winter, and should be 
grown in quantity for that purpose. Some 
of the scarlet Tropfeolums of the Lobbii sec¬ 
tion are likewise well suited for basket cul¬ 
ture, and bloom very freely when suspended 
close to t he glass in a sunny situation. Many 
of the. Clematises are invaluable for basket 
work in cool conservatories, and, under such 
conditions, produce their large, star-like flow¬ 
ers in great abundance. These plants also 
grow in a very elegant maimer, drooping, as 
they do, from the baskets in graceful festoons 
of flowers and fresh green foliage. 
STEALING TIMBER FROM UNCLE SAM.” 
“Dairy Rural, Like,” in speaking of the 
ranchmen of Colorado, says that while they 
make money farming in the valleys, they 
drive a good business stealing from the hills. 
While I cannot confess to making money by 
farming, I plead guilty to the charge of hav¬ 
ing stolen all the timber with which the im¬ 
provements on my ranch are made ; and to 
aggravate tho offence, 1 went live miles to 
do it. Not only that, hut all my Arewood for 
nearly two years has coiuo the same way. 
Sorry am I to have offended tho nice sense of 
honesty of “ Daily Rural Life but a man 
with so nice a discrimination is, to say the 
least, sadly out of place in tho atmosphere of 
New York ! Did ho, I wotider, buy the wood 
they used in camping out ? If not, then, ver¬ 
ily is he as guilty as I ? 
Butseriously speaking, what would “Daily” 
or any other man do, if he should take up a 
ranch without a stick of timber or brush 
upon it, with very little means, the nearest 
sawmill sixty miles, and they using the tim¬ 
ber from the mountains without leave or 
license, which, of course, as honest a man as 
“ Daily” would not buy, for a house to cover 
his head. The timber land in this country is 
valueless for farming or stock purposes, ex¬ 
cept a little Cottonwood along the st reams. 
I have never yet known a man in this coun¬ 
try, however rich or respectable, who did not 
get the nearest timber to him for use when¬ 
ever required ; nor do 1 think that “Daily” 
himself, under like circumstances, would 
have any compunctions of conscience. But 
it is easy to criticise the actions of others 
when not in their circumstances. Perhaps, 
after all, we average as well for square deal¬ 
ing as our brethren of the East. 
Cimarron, New Mexico. New Mexico. 
ANOTHER FLOWER TALK 
If the editors of the Rural New-Yorker 
should tire of these frequent flower reports 
they can be consoled by the reflection that 
the frost king will soon come to their rescue, 
when bud and blossom shall perish beneath 
the touch Of his icy wand ; while wo busy 
country people, to whom this combined work 
of the hoe and pen has been a blessed change, 
can resume the more practical discussion of 
rag carpets, washing-day labors, and kindred 
home topics. These records of successful 
gardeners interest me, for they weave many 
timely floral hints into their pleasant letters ; 
but why did one of them give me the gourd 
fever just now, when six long months of 
wintry weather lie between me and the 
possible planting of a single gourd seed ! 
Of course, our little garden could not hold 
everything, so, heretofore, the gourds have 
been left out, in company with other desirable 
plants ; but perhaps another year the “crape 
flower” and serpent gourd will trail their 
beautiful blossoms over some unsightly object 
in our own door-yard. Then let the fair 
Ruralist rejoice now in the possession of her 
TricOfiOntbus Columbiana, while through my 
open window there steals the delicate fra¬ 
grance waftecl from a bed of tuberoses, the 
especial pride of our gardener the past sum¬ 
mer, which has been a wonderful one for 
flowers. Since July, frequent rains have 
kept the soil moist, so that plants have 
required no extra watering, and but little 
hoeing, leaving us all the poetry of flower 
gardening, such as tying und pruning, with 
just an occasional skirmish with the weeds, 
on which the sun shone as kindly as on the 
flowers ; but they soon paid tribute to the 
compost heap. My balsams and verbenas 
must be near aldn to Dore Hamilton’s, for 
though bushels of them and other flowers 
were cut for friends, they have kept bloom¬ 
ing at a marvelous rate ; but, for the last six 
weeks the dahlias, Japan lilies and tuberoses 
have been the crowning glory of our garden. 
Though I had purchased tuberoses of 
hanging basket 
About the middle of April I made a 
osity 
compost of equal parts of garden soil, leaf- 
mold from a maple grove, and old barn-yard 
manure, with the addition of a small quan¬ 
tity of black peat, mingled with sand. An 
old milk-pan was half filled with this mixture 
and 25 bulbs planted in it, the rest being 
reserved for planting in the open ground. 
The roots were entirely covered with the 
soil which now tilled the pan, and being 
thoroughly moistened, were covered and 
placed in a warm comer of the kitchen. In 
two weeks the bulbs commenced to sprout, 
and soon all were growing nicely. The plants 
were well watered once a week, and given 
sun and air as much as possible. The 10th of 
June, they were transplanted one foot apart 
to a bed made quite rich with decayed sods 
and manure, with some of the original com¬ 
post put directly around each root, at the 
same time giving a plenty of water. Tho 
bed was in the warmest pail of the garden, 
exposed to the sun all day, but the plants 
never wilted, holding their own through a 
drouth of several weeks’ duration. The 
ground was stirred often, when subsequent 
rains and warm suns brought them rapidly 
forward to blooming. 
Even the weeds respected that bed, and I 
gave it but little care beyond tying the tall 
stems, loaded with buds, to stakes. Those 
bulbs that were planted later are nicely 
budded, and have been taken up for blooming 
in the house; while the small offsets, removed 
from the large bulbs in t) e Epring, were set 
in the garden and carefully cultivated to 
mature them for future flowering. I feel 
amply repaid for my labor, and the precious 
store shall he guarded from frost and mil¬ 
dew, keeping them above ground through 
the winter, as I hope to have some bulbs 
strong enough to bloom another year. 
Ruth Lee. 
of strawberries they must be irrigated plen¬ 
tifully during the fruiting season. Where 
there is a natural underdrainage, as in light 
soil, or soil underlaid with gravel or sand, no 
harm to the trees is apparent from the effects 
of such irrigation. But In places where the 
soil is heavy, with no natural or artificial 
under-drainage, the trees soon begin to show 
signs of premature decay. The trunks get 
mossy and the branches thin and straggling ; 
or, if closely pruned, of sickly growth. We 
are of opinion that where stra wberries are 
cultivated in orchards the irrigation should 
always be discontinued as early as in August, 
at least only as much water as will keep tho 
plants alive should be used after that. The 
reason for this is that the tree needs to ripen 
off its wood growth and perfect its buds for 
another season’s fruit and growth. This rest 
to tho tree is quite essential to its health and 
continued vigor, and would make up for 
much of the over-stimulation and severe 
soaking which the tree is subjected to by 
such copious irrigation as is required to make 
a full crop of strawberries. 
BARREN FIG TREES 
On page 45, Rural New-Yorker July IP, 
appeared an article showing how barren tig 
trees may be budded. F. J. Btcrckmans, in 
Farmer and Gardener, copies the article re¬ 
ferred to, with the following comment : 
“We find the above in Rural New-York¬ 
er, and give it room in our columns merely 
as an evidence that iig trees can bo budded, 
and also as an answer to a query upon that 
subject made some months ago. But why 
keep a barren fig tree, or take the trouble of 
budding it, when in our climate cuttings of 
such varieties as Brown Turkey, Green Is¬ 
chia, Blue Genoa, etc., made in March will, 
if properly attended hr, produce fruit tho 
ensuing fall. 
“ Wo would advise all who have barren fig 
trees, to uproot them and replace them at 
once with a young plant of a fruitful variety. 
A good fig bush one year old will cost but 125 
cents, and give fruit a few months after be¬ 
ing set out; whereas, to bud an old tree re¬ 
quires time and knowledge, and is seldom 
satisfactory. Tho original tree will continue 
to throw up suckers, so soon a3 another vari¬ 
ety is grafted upon it, and thus spend nearly 
all its vigor in the production of the former, 
to the detriment of fruit.” 
THE HUSTED PLUM 
T. T. Lyon writes the Michigan Farmer : 
This plum was brought to the notice of the 
State Pomological Society at the recent fes- 
lival at South Haven, where it received a 
commendatory notice from the proper com¬ 
mittee. It was again shown, in fine condi¬ 
tion, at the State Fair, showing its capacity 
as a keeper. It cannot be claimed to be 
superior in quality to other plums of its 
season, and it is understood that the com¬ 
mendations of tire committee are bestowed 
Upon it rather on account of its alleged hurd- 
iness and ability to repel the eurculio. 
It originated with N. P. Husted, of Lowell, 
A Large Sassafras Tree.—A gentleman 
from Ohio informs the American Agricul¬ 
turist that there is on the farm of Mr. Geo. 
W. King at Painesville, Ohio, a Sassafras tree 
which, one foot from the ground, measures 
10 feet 4 inches in circumference, and four 
feet from the ground, 8 feet 111 inches. It is 
130 feet high, presenting a clean trunk of 50 
feet to the lower branches. 
