MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
MAY 2© 
of a pluralist. 
DAILY RURAL LIFE. 
From the Diary of a Centleman near New 
York City. 
AM9NQ THE FANCY EVERGREENS. 
May 17.—Now that vegetation begin* to 
wake up from it* long winter nap, one oan 
learn something of it* condition. About the 
first things to *how the effect* of severe 
weather, are Evergreens, especially those 
kinds not well adapted to the climate, and 
the soil in which they are growing. To say 
that this or that plant “is not hardy ” in 
any particular locality, or iliut it fails to 
withstand the rigors of winter, are rather 
ambiguous forms of expressing the causes of 
failure—inasmuch as low temperature, in 
scores of instances, has really nothing what¬ 
ever to do with the destruction of moderate¬ 
ly hardy kinds. 
For instance, our common Hemlock Spruce 
(Abie* Canadennia) 1* one of the most hardy 
of all our native evergreens, being found 
growing wild far North into British America 
where 80 to 40" below zero is not an uncom¬ 
mon temperature in wintor, still this tree is 
frequently killed outright by 20 or 80’ less 
cold in the gardens about New York City. 
A very severe, winter in the Middle State* is 
pretty certain to he destructive to this natu¬ 
rally very hardy evergreen, consequently we 
must consider mere temperature as only one 
of the destructive agents, and not alone the 
cause of our lo*se9. 
The hygrometric condition of the atmos¬ 
phere in winter has a wonderful influence 
upon evergreens of all kinds, and a species 
which will withstand 4l)° below zero in a 
moist atmosphere, or one that becomes moist 
as the temperature rises, may perish in one 
that is dry, although It may be many degrees 
wanner. Cold, dry winds in winter are also 
very destructive to evergreens, especially 
while their roots are frozen, and we need to 
take these and many other conditions into 
account in making selections of what might 
be considered, in a superficial view, as hardy 
evergreens. 
A glance at my groups of evergreens from 
various ports of the world, ia sufficient to 
show trie that 1 tfkudo is no guide in determ¬ 
ining the capabilities of a plant in with¬ 
standing the rigors of a different climate. 
Most of t he pines have passed the winter, as 
usual, withoutinjury. The Scotch, Austrian 
and Native White P.ne, stand alongside the 
Stove Fine of Italy, and me Table Mountain 
Pino yPlnuH pungem) of North Carolina, are 
all alike hardy ; but only a few feet distant 
there is a specimen of the “Great Sdver 
Fir,” which is injured more or less every 
■winter, end is now nearly dead, although its 
norue is in the mountains of Colorado, and 
further North and West. 1 have seen mag 
nifioent. trees of this fir growing in the 
Rocky Mountains, near the timber line, and 
where snowbanks are abundant throughout 
the year. Still, it is not hardy, or at least 
gets badly scorched in winter by the side of 
some almost tropical species which are never 
injured, although exposed to the same 
changes of temperature, 
A few steps further on, I came to a dead 
Nootka Sound Cypress, (Cupreous Xutkac 
nis), the last of ten handsome specimens 
planted several yearn since. This is a beau¬ 
tiful evevgreen tree, native of Northwestern 
America, even up to Alaska, but it is un¬ 
suited to our climate, at least every plant 
unprotected in winter has never failed to 
come out dead in spring, in my grounds. A 
few young plants in nursery rows, where 
they were covered with snow, look bright 
nud fresh, but. as they lift themselves in the 
world new dangers will beset them. Law- 
son’s Cypress (O Lawsaniana), from the same 
region of country as the last, fares no better 
in my garden. While the plants are small 
they grow finely and are apparently hardy, 
but as soon as they reach above t he snows of 
winter their fate is sealed. Japan, English 
and American Hollies are killed about one 
year in five ; consequently good, full-grown 
specimens are rare, except in half shady 
situations. 
Perhaps it would be well to add just here 
that the kinds named above, and nearly all 
the far-western species of evergreens, will 
thrive on the Atlantic slope, if grown in a 
half shady situation and protected from the 
cold Northwest winds. But we have no 
evergreen trees which grow 200 to 400 feet 
high to employ as “protectors;” hence we 
must be content with dwarf specimens or 
none at all. Making necessity a virtue is 
sometimes pretty good policy, and had I 
taken this view of the subject years ago 
many dollars would have been saved which 
1 paid for evergreens long since cremated 
and their ashes used as a fertilizer for more 
worthy kinds. 
There are. however, enough evergreens 
left, after discarding’.he uncerta.n kinds, to 
make one’s home surroundings beautiful : 
and as the “ diseased ” are passed to the 
“ funeral pyre,” the old favorite* and new 
pets show forth m re beautifully than ever. 
I have a few groups of small kinds scattered 
ab'Ut my grounds, which oould scai cely 
fail to please any one who 1 r fond of ever¬ 
greens. In the largest one there are some 
novelties, as well as old favorites, which are 
worthy of a passing notice. Among the. new¬ 
er kinds 1 will name the following as very 
promising : 
Vctchiu Japonica is a beautiful evergreen 
from Japan, with rigid, sharp-pointed, dark 
green leaves, retaining their color well during 
winter. In habit the plant is very compact, 
and from app°arance is of rather slow 
growth. 
The new silver-tipped arbor-vitees, Queen 
Victoria and Columbia, have passed through 
the winter safely, and both promise to be 
acquisition* of no inconsiderate value. 
The. Golden American Arbor Vita', t aurea) 
is also a beautiful variety, and although only 
of late disseminated by our nurserymen, I 
have had it in cultivation for the past, twelve 
years. 
Some of the Japan cypresses are exceed¬ 
ingly ore tty, and as hardy us one could de¬ 
sire ; others are quite tender, and of no par¬ 
ticular value. Among the best and most 
hardy the “Golden Plume” (Rettnispora 
plvmosa ) is a grand variety, with soft, 
feathery foliage, and withal quite bard}'. 
R obtuso, is alHo a fine species to mingle with 
the coarse-leaved evergreens, or to plant 
alone in groups. 
The English Yews burn in winter and lose 
much of their oe&u’y, while the various spe¬ 
cies of Box (Buxuh) do well almost every¬ 
where, and if the tips of toe branches get 
scorched they are easily pruned off in spring, 
and the cut ting-back improves the appear¬ 
ance of the plants. 
The new Weeping Hemlock is about as 
hardy as the common sort. Some of the 
branches get a l.ttle brown in winter in mild 
localities, but it does better Noilh than 
South. 
The Weeping Norway Spruce (Abies excel- 
na inverta) is a grand acquisition to our list 
of weeping evergreens, and needs only to be 
seen to oe appreciated. The branches are 
really not pendulous, but take a direct line to 
mother earth, without t ie graceful sweep of 
the willow and many other kludsof weeping 
trees. Tne leading shoot requires tying up 
occasionally, in order to increase thehight 
of the tree ; otnerwiso no special training is 
required. 
But it is idle to attempt uaming all the 
handsome, hardy everii cens to be found in 
our gardens at. tne present, day. Tne arbor- 
vitaes ot different, habits of growth are 
counted I>y the doz ms, and the spruces are 
nearly as nuraerou.-, with Junipers of all 
fancy shapes and styles, including the little 
dwarf Hedge-hog,a specimen of which in my 
grounds, twenty years old, measures only six 
inches high and twelve in diameter, while 
other species of the samu age are quite large 
trees. In fact, the world is full of glorious 
things, and there are enough for everybody 
and every place, only requiring the will and 
a little of the “neeof j1,” to make a desert 
bloom and look cheei ful. 
-- 
SALT FOR CABBAGE. 
A New Jersey gardener considers salt 
necessary to the development of cabbage, 
especially in places far from the coast. He 
finds them more crisp, of better flavor, and 
to keep better when salt is used than with¬ 
out. He used it as follows “ A few days 
after setting out the plants, and when they 
are damp, either after a rain or when the 
dew is on, I take a small dish of fine salt and 
walking among the rows sprinkle a little 
pinch of salt on the center of each plant 
when the leaves begin to grow. I repeat 
the salting, and when the center of the 
leaves begin to form the head, I apply salt 
again, scattering it. over the leaves ; after 
this] I look them over occasionally, and if I 
find plants that do not head well and appear 
diseased, I sprinkle the salt over freely ; 
this will save all such plants. A quart of 
salt is sufficient for five hundred plants in a 
season, although more can be used with 
safety.” 
--—-- 
The Guayliko, the Field and Stream says, 
“ is one of the most difficult fish in the world 
to cultivate successfully.” 
^boricultural. 
SOME OF OUR VALUABLE FOREST 
TREES. 
In this “impatient” age men are very 
likely to overlook true merit or intrinsic 
values, if it takGB any considerable length of 
time to secure them. This is especially true 
in regard bo the raising of forest trees. A 
cord of wood, regardless of quality, appears 
to be the main point, aimed at by many who 
are attempting to raise their own fuel, the 
intrinsic value or real worth of it being of 
secondary consideration ; hence, the lauda¬ 
tions of willows and cottonwoods on account 
of their quick growth are rendering them 
exceedingly popular in sparsedly wooded 
regions of country. 
Now, it is a question worthy of thought 
whether a half cord of maple is not equal 
in value to a cord of either of the kinds 
named above ; and further, if the surplus 
trees Dot taken out at the first, or second 
tbinningsof plantations do not really increase 
in value more rapidly than the soft, spongy 
and perhaps freer-growing sorts. Of course 
we admit the necessity of obtaining some¬ 
thing in the shape of wood upon the prairicB 
as soon as possible, but a comparatively 
small amount will suffice for a few years, or 
until a better, although slow-growing kind, 
can be produced. Impatience, however, fre 
quently gets the hotter of discretion, and 
continues to hold its own, even long after 
any necessity for haste has passed. This is 
particularly noticeable upon the far-western 
prairies, where cottonwood groves were 
started many years since, and although the 
actual needs of their owners for firewood 
have been supplied no steps are being taken to 
produce valuable timber for other purposes. 
As a. rule the most rapid-growing trees are 
inferior in quality of wood, and therefore 
really no more valuable, except under pecu¬ 
liar and rare conditions, than those of 
moderate growth. As au illustration of this 
phase of the subject we will name a few of 
what may be considered the most valuable 
of our hardy forrest tree*. 
The Sugar Maple (Acer tnccharinum) is a 
tree of only moderately rapid growth, but 
j is the most valuable species in the genus 
when the quality of its timber is taken into 
account,. The Silver Maple (A-dasycarpum), 
aud the Negundo Maple (A-Negundo), are 
bot h rapid-growing species, producing timber 
far superior to the willows or cottonwoods ; 
in fact they are the most valuable of the 
very fast growing trees for cold climates. 
But neither of those would be placed in a 
list of choice trees, the timber of which is 
desirable for the manufacture of farm imple¬ 
ments, or of any considerable value for 
fencing or building purposes. Something 
bettor is needed, and we must look for it 
umong the. various species of ash, hickory, 
and locust. 
The White Ash has been used quite exten¬ 
sively in the construction of our agricultural 
implements, and it w'as long since admitted 
by rival European manufacturers that the 
cheapness, as well as quality, of this timber 
added much to our progress as well as to the 
superiority of this branch of American in¬ 
dustry. The best quality of ash timber is 
however becoming scarce, and it behooves 
the owners of cheap lands to attend to the 
production of a supply for the future. It is 
a tree easily grown from seed, readily trans¬ 
planted while young, and withal a hardy 
and vigorous species. There arc also several 
other species of ash worthy of attention, 
several of them growing freely in low, wet 
lands, which are not adapted to ordinary 
farm crops. 
The Hickories are probably next in im¬ 
portance as reliable standard timber trees, 
suitable for the construction of farm imple¬ 
ments, and other purposes where tough, 
flexible wood is required. Some of the 
species succeed best on a sandy or rather 
loose soil, while others, like the shell-bark 
hickory, grows most freely upon rather stiff 
clay lands. They are, however, as a whole, 
slow-growing trees, especially for the first 
few years from seed, but increase in rapidity 
of growth with age. A twenty-five-yeiar-old 
hickory in a congenial soil will equal in size I 
some other kiuds which are of far more 
rapid growth during the first half dozen 
years. 
The common Yellow Locust is still another 
valuable tree, but owing to the. attacks of 
insects of late years it has lost much of its 
former popularity as a timber tree. But 
when cultivated in extensive, plantations or 
large groves, t he locust borers confine their 
ravages mainly to the trees on the borders, I 
those in the center escaping. No timber 
belonging to our native forests excels the 
locust in lasting qualities, excepting, perhaps, 
the red cedar, which is of too slow growth 
for practical purposes. We may, however, 
qualify this remark by haying that the wood 
of a rapid-growing red cedar quickly decays, 
that which is produced slowly alone being 
especially valuable for its enduring qualities 
The same may be said of the locust, for on 
rich soils it is of far less value thau that 
which is produced on light and rather poor 
soil. 
The farmer who will take the trouble to 
inquire as well as to observe need not go far 
astray in selecting forest trees for culture 
and profit. 
§hc (Hmtiett. 
“USES OF SURFACE-STIRRING.” 
An editorial in the London Garden under 
the above title states (1) “ But the greatest 
advantage of frequent stirring is that the 
loosened soil acts as a mulching, arrests the 
ascent of the moisture by a capillary attrac¬ 
tion, and keeps the soil in which the roots 
are acting moist. (2) To secure this benefit 
of cultivating the land, it ought to be done 
just as soon as the soil become* friable, after 
showers. (3) It is u mistake to suppose that 
the roots of plants are benefited by direct 
contact with air in the mellowed soil. Air 
is always injurious to them, and especially 
so if it be hot and dry. (1) i : is often said 
that the loosened soil absorbs moistur • from 
the atmosphere, and thus aids the growth of 
plants; but every one can see that the sur¬ 
face dries much more quickly for being st ir- 
red, and it is very clear that what little 
moisture is thus received in the night is very 
quickly evaporated, and cannot reach the 
roots or the soil in which they work.” 
It is seldom that the painstaking and gen¬ 
erally accurate London Garden falls into 
such errors. 1. The pulverization or stir¬ 
ring of soil does not, arrest the ascent of 
moisture by capillary attraction, but. facili¬ 
tates it, as was proven by an experiment 
with flower-pots and detailed in the Rural 
New-Yorkeh of Dec. 15, 1874. While the 
force of gravity cannot act upon a compact 
soil as upon a loose soil, and a good deal of 
rain collects in puddles to be evaporated 
from t he surface or to run off to lower sur¬ 
faces, it readily passes through the loose soil 
until it become*saturated. Whereas, there¬ 
fore, the loose soil parts with its moisture 
more readily than the compact, it receives a 
proportionately greater supply. 
2. The soil ought not to he worked as soon 
as possible after showers, for the reason that 
fresh surfaces are exposed and evaporation 
promoted. If possible, pulverization, weed¬ 
ing, etc., should be performed just before a 
rain. 
3. It. is not a mistake to suppose t hat air is 
beneficial to roots when in direct contact in 
the mellowed soil. It is only injurious when 
tneyare exposed to currents of air which 
hasten evaporation and dry out the tender 
fibers. It is necessary that the roots of 
plants should be firmly fixed iu the earth, 
else would the fibers be lacerated by every 
movement communicated by every wind. 
For the rest, if plant* could be held firmly 
and supplied with every variety of food that 
their systems demand iu the loosest possible 
soil, their well-being: would he enhanced. 
Seed, if planted too deep, cannot germinate, 
because deprived of a portion of the oxygen 
essential to tueir germination. Plants, if 
transplanted too deep, suffer for a cognate 
reason. Air, if hot, is certainly injurious to 
their roots ; but it should be considered that 
air imprisoned within the particles of earth 
is a better non-oondnevor of heat than the 
earth, and, of course, serves to equalize its 
temperature. 
4. It may be true that a greater portion of 
the dew which accumulate* upon the loose 
soil during the night is dissipated by the 
morning’s sun ; but heavy' dews sink benea: h 
its surface, and if they do not invigorate the 
fibers, certainly do retard the evaporation of 
the moisture previously existing upon or near 
the surface. E. S. Carman. 
-♦ 4 -*- 
LETTUCE CULTURE. 
The American Garden says that the soil 
for lettuce can scarcely be made too rich. 
For the greatest perfection it must be grown 
rapidly. The soil should be well hoed or 
stirred every two weeks after the plant s are 
set out, as the lettuce thrives best in soil that 
is frequently stirred, and thus kept open. It 
it is desired' to have lettuce yet eai lier tha n 
by the process already described, It can be 
done by preparing a cold frame, with soil 
made very rich with rotten manure, and 
large enough for set dug out the plants in it, 
seven or eight inches apart each way. the 
frame must be well covered tip at night, aud 
air given during the middle of the day) 
increasing the siring as the season progresses. 
Care must be had to water the plants freely, 
so that they may be kept in a constantly 
growing state—the requisites for success 
being plenty of light, heat, air and water. 
