" 6 ~~34S 
MOORE’S RURAL WEW- YORKER 
. 27 
(xglar^ultutpl. 
AEUNDO DONAX. 
Haying spoken of this Reed lately (June 
16) we copy the accompanying illustration 
from the London Harden, because it is an 
excellent portrait and conveyB almost as 
comprehensive uu idea of its general appear¬ 
ance us would looking upon the plant itself. 
We need only remark that though it had 
been deemed perfectly hardy, the great se¬ 
verity of last winter killed it in some places, 
though with protection it was unharmed in 
others. Of rapid growth, attaining a bight 
of at least twelve feet, its straight, pliant 
culms especially lit it as a central figure 
among beds of Erianthus Ravennoe, the Pam¬ 
pas Grass, Gymnothrix latifolia, and many 
other pretty Grasses of lower stature. 
Such beds of the Grasse* are so'different 
from all other garden plants* that they create 
an .attractive aspect by their distinctness 
alone ; and wo hope they may be accepted 
another summer with iucreased favor, even 
though they encroach upon the everlasting 
and ubiquitous Canna and Caladium. 
ANTIRRHINUM. 
In making our adieus to another summer, 
we see a few deciduous plants that even yet 
refuse to recognize that Bummer’s departure 
carries with it all that is green and pretty in 
the land of flowers and shrubs. We are 
thinking especially of Antirrhinums, that, 
among the withered and frozen bedding 
plants left out to perish, still present all 
the freshness of their midsummer apparel, 
though within the past ten days the ther¬ 
mometer has been as low as 17°, 
The improvements upon this plant of late 
years are so marked that those who remem¬ 
ber only the old Snapdragon would now gaze 
upon it with wonder. Its habit is dwarf, 
and its small, darlc-green leaves are so nu 
morons as to cover up the stems effectually 
and to form a compact, rugged little bush of 
real beauty. The flowers are twice as large 
as of old, and the colors of each more con¬ 
trasting, as well as varied. The white throat, 
with crimson lips and yellow palate; the 
■white throat, and lips irregularly striped 
with crimson ; the lemon, speckled as if with 
crimson dust, and the deep maroon, with 
orange lips, arc those we should select, 
avoiding the solid whit© and yellow. The 
simple, unbroken shape of the (lowers needs 
a contrast of colors to giro relief, and white 
and yellow seem of all colors the most tame, 
unless the corolla is spreading or double. 
The dwarf varieties of Antirrhinum grow 
about a foot high. They bloom, if raised 
from seed, about the first of July, continuing 
until nearly the first of November. Though 
called perennials, wo prefer to raise them 
every spriug from seed. Plants the second 
year are disfigured with old wood and bloom 
less freely Besides, many will be killed by 
the winter, in spite of protection. In tact, 
their longevity is quite uncertain, and we 
think that “hardyannual'* as an out-door 
plant for this latitude defines their sphere as 
well and more reliably than perennial, or 
even biennial. 
In our plants during last summer we dis¬ 
covered a double flower—a “monster’’ in¬ 
deed, as if several corollas had lit upon too 
small a foothold and all were striving to 
crowd each other offa most unseemly and 
degenerate attitude on the part of the “re¬ 
fined'’ and “elevating” flower! Except 
that this crowding proclivity commends it 
to certain go-ahead people who could not 
take an interest in a flower otherwise, we 
should not waste much time to secure a 
double A ntIrrh mum. 
The lips of the flowers close so tightly that 
it is difficult to see how one plant can cross 1 
with another through the agency of wind or £ 
insects ; and it would seem that the many i 
variations must have sprung from self-fertii- 1 
ized seed-variation. We found it, however, I 
a simple matter to pry open the lips by 
pressure upon the sides in the well-known 
manner, removing the anthers before ripe, 
and to introduce pollen from other flowers <3 
when the stigma matured. As many as one- s 
fifth thus operated upon formed seeds. E 
But we like this little plant above all for C 
its near approach to an evergreen. Cold as c 
last winter was, we remember to have cut b 
sprigs for Christmas bouquets, though we Cl 
could not have done so a lew days later. Iu- li 
terspersed among masses of Lardy shrubs, S i 
they break the bare spaces between the tt 
woody stems and help to give a much need- k 
ed finish to such collections. 
The Antirrhinum, so far as we are aware, tl 
is never infested with insects—not to injure L 
it, at all events. It thrives in any border, 
and requires from first to last but a modicum 
of care. E. S. Carman. 
-«««- 
WINTER PROTECTION. 
It is better to wait until the ground is fro¬ 
zen at least two or three inches in depth be¬ 
fore we place litter or protecting material of 
Sfltfi foult^ jgaiji. 
WHICH BREED OF POULTRY EATS MOST! 
An Ohio poultry dealer recently took ten 
pullets of each of the breeds mentioned be¬ 
low, about six months old, gave them a yard 
any kind over the roots of herbaceous plants, > forty feet square, with a comfortable bouse, 
ARUNDO X50TST-A.3:. 
shrubs or trees. Frozen earth will form a 
better non-conductor than unfrozen earth. 
The protecting material will tend to keep it 
thus frozen and prevent its freezing deeper. 
The litter if unrotted will protect far better 
Lhun if decomposed. Weil - rotted manure, 
though it enriches the soil and nourishes the 
plant in the spring, must feebly conduce to 
protection against cold, since the mass is ho¬ 
mogeneous and connected. Additional litter 
placed over the earth when it is deepest 
frozen is advantageous, protecting the ice— 
so to speak—and preventing exposure to the 
intense cold that may follow. 
We should bear in mind that our first ob¬ 
ject is to keep roots frozen from the time 
they are first frozen until such time in the 
spring when there is no longer any danger of 
severe weather. 
Frozen roots can never suffer from drouth, 
nor, as is very evident, from the fatal effects 
of alternate freezing and thawing, e. s. c. 
FLORICULTURAL NOTES. 
L. c ardinalis blooms with us during July 
and August. We have found it in bloom in 
September. L. syphilitica we found bloom¬ 
ing Sept. 20. L. iynca we are not familiar 
with. 
Utilize. Cigar Ashes .—If those who smoke 
would thump off their cigar ashes into little 
ash trays, they would utilize to some extent 
the useless habit of smoking. Cigar or pipe 
ashes are excellent to sprinkle over the earth 
of flower-pots, both as a manure and an in¬ 
secticide. 
“Bedding .—The Commissioners of Works 
intend to distribute, this autumn, among the 
working classes and poor of London, the 
surplus bedding-out plants in the Metropol¬ 
itan Parks.” 
Your budding-out plants you may offer the poor, 
Now Autumn tier leafage is shedding; 
But Winter will teach you they want something 
more, 
And then you cun offer them—bedding. 
p‘Punch.” 
The Cardinal Flouicr .—The London Gar¬ 
den, speaking of a flower to which we have 
several times referred of late, says:—“The 
most brilliant hardy dowel's of the month of 
October are the Cardinal flowers, Lobelia 
Cardtnalis and its allies. Among these, Lo¬ 
belia ignv.u is, as we write (Oct. 19), magnifi¬ 
cent in the College Botanic Gardens at Dub¬ 
lin. There, and in districts where the plants 
survive through the winter, they form strong 
tufts. In the marshy woods of North Amer¬ 
ica, however, the Cardinal flower blooms 
much earlier than this. It is curious that 
these flue flowers are so rarely seen about 
London.” 
Costof VhI. of Vat. nr 
Feed. Kune. Meat. 
Total 
Vulue. 
Total 
Pro tit. 
*11.20 
*12.10 *14.00 
*26.11 
*16.28 
10.16 
11.85 14.1(1 
23.42 
16 29 
7.72 
10.4S 11,90 
22.38 
11.56 
?.«>5 
15.26 6.10 
24.76 
19 51 
6.77 
16.14 7.30 
23.44 
17.07 
Brahmas. *9.?0 *12.10 *U.Q 0 $26.11 *16,26 
Cochins. 10.15 11.85 14.10 28.42 16 20 
Dorkings. 7.72 J0.4S 11.00 22.38 , ll.:6 
Houdans. 1 l.-io 15.26 6.10 24.76 1 10 51 
Leghorns. 6.77 16.14 7.3U 23.44 17.07 
The greatest profit on the investment is 
thus in favor of the Houdans, with the Leg¬ 
horns next, and the Dorkings next.— Ex. 
— ■* * » 
ASHES FOR POULTRY. 
I have raised chickens, more or less, for 
thirty years, aud have relied mainly on a 
free use of ashes scattered broadcast under 
the roosts, in the rolling places, in the nest 
boxes (under straw), as a preventive of 
disease and vermin. I have in no year lost 
over, and seldom so many, as live per cent., 
from any and all diseases together. I have 
often noticed my poultry, young aud old, 
drinking from ash drains, and being appre¬ 
hensive of ill results, w'atched them until 
satisfied that a weak infusion of alkali in 
their drink was at least harmless, aud as 
they preferred it where plenty' of pure water 
was as easy of access, I came to the conclu¬ 
sion that there must be conditions of the 
poultry system harmonizing at least with an 
alkali. In Kansas I had a neighbor who,for a 
succession of seasons, lost many fine fowls 
with cholera. She had a leach put up for 
soap making. After the ashes had been 
viously. Strong lye, like many another 
good thing, in concentrated form,Is destruct¬ 
ive to animal life generally. Sour milk is 
excellent for poultry, bat I am satisfied that 
too much causes cholera.—C. I. H. Nichols, 
in Pacific Rural Press. 
--- 
Carbolic Acid diluted with water will 
destroy almost any kind of small insect, and 
we suggest its use to several correspondents 
who have ir,qured how they may relieve 
fowls and poultry houses of the small lice 
which invest them. 
and kept exact account of eggs and feed as 
follows : 
The Dark Brahmas ate 3G93^ quarts of corn, 
oats und wheat screenings, and laid 605 eggs, 
and weighed 70 pounds. The Buff Cochins 
ate 406 quarts, laid 391 eggs, and weighed 73 
ponnds. The Gray Dorkings ate 309]^ quarts, 
laid 534 eggs, and weighed 59)T pounds. The 
Houdans ate 214)^ qiturts, laid 763 eggs, and 
weighed 45.Vjf pounds. The Leghorns ate 
821.1-5 quarts, laid 805 eggs, and weighed 
3G),j pounds. 
To make this experi inent more complete, 
and to show which lot gave the most profit, 
Including both eggs and flesh, we have sup¬ 
posed the fowls to be sold and dressed at the 
end of six months, at 20 cents per pound, al¬ 
so that the eggs are worth 24 cents per 
dozen, (2 cents each,) and that the cost of 
the feed was 2 '4 cents per quart, or 50 cents 
per bushel. The figures would then be : 
TABLE KNIVES AND FORKS. 
There are nations on the earth to whom 
Table Knives are a mystery. Believing that 
“ fingers were made before forks,” an article 
of faith stoutly professed by small boys in 
our own country, they are content to tear 
their food with teeth and claws, as the beasts 
do, and know nothing of the convenience, 
cleanliness, the “small, sweet courtesies” of 
the dinner table. 
But we, as a nation, believe in Table Knives 
aud Forks, and every house has them, while 
the varieties in shape and other particulars 
are legion. The first Knives were large, 
clumsy, with two pieces of wood riveted to 
the blade to form a handle, and between the 
wood and the metal impure fluids crept and 
left a taint behind. Trying to avoid this, 
blades have been fastened in with cement, 
and any unusual heat melted the cement and 
the handle came off. Even when the way 
to secure the blade had been found, a mate¬ 
rial for bandies, that would resist the heat of 
boiling water was a desideratum. 
This crowning iriumphof Table Cutlery, 
the Mkkidkn Cutlery Co., No. 49 Chambers 
St,, New York has accomplished. Their 
Hard Rubber Handled Knives and Forks are 
simply perfect for their purpose. The han¬ 
dles are immovable and indestructible, and 
the blades almost so. We have used them 
for several years, and know whereof we 
affirm. 
Beside* t he Hard Rubber, and having simi¬ 
lar ’excellence, they have produced a new 
material for Handles, which they have 
named “Celluloid,” or “Patent Ivory.” It 
is whit 2 , firm, inodorous, indestructable by 
heat or boiling water, looks like ivory, but 
costs much less. 
We propose to give our Agents (or such 
subscribers as may form clubs) set3 of these 
knives and forks at such rates that only a 
small amount of effort will be needed to sup¬ 
ply their homes with undoubtedly the best 
article of Table Cutlery to be found in the 
country. We will send of the Hard Rubber 
Handle goods, One Dozen Table Knives, 
price $9, for 17 Subscribers, or One Dozen 
Knives, price §8, for 15 Subscribers. Of the 
“Patent Ivory” wo will send One Dozen 
Table Knives, price $10, for 19 Subscribers, 
or One Dozen Desert Knives, price $9, for 17 
Subscribers. We will send a set, Carving- 
Knife, Fork and Steel of cither material, 
price $5, for 12 Subscribers at Club rates, 
- 
THE RANDALL PULVERIZING HARROW. 
The Plow, though important as ever in 
good farming, has long since lost its exclu¬ 
sive significance as symbolizing the farmers’ 
calling. A multitude of new machines for 
working among and ameliorating the soil 
claim the farmer’s attention, and have come 
tM 
--- 4 
ffilt 
, . . . 1 . • at to be considered necessities. Among these 
poultry svstern harmonizing at least with an ,. , 
.. ,• t tt . . , . . .. there is none more useful or peculiar than 
alkali. In Kansas I had a neighbor who,tor a r, , ,, -r, , . . 1 , 
. . . _ 6 _ ’ the Randall Pulverizing Harrow, of which 
succession of seasons, lost many fine fowls we give an engraving. The twelve rolling 
with cholera. She had a leach put up for wheels, revolving constantly when the beam 
soap making. After the ashes had been is in motion, cut and grind the soil more per- 
thoroughly leached for soap, she continued lectly aud to a greater dept li than any other 
. f .. ... i . . . ,, implement involving the sumeoiitlav of pow- 
torun water through them tor breaking the er 1 They cannot be dogged, will work per- 
hard well water, and kept it standing in the fectly on a newly turned sod. and can be 
leach trough where her poultry had free drawn by a light team, wiui the driver 
access to it. Cholera left, and for the two Seated pn it, as easily as a common harrow'. 
hard well water, and kept it standing in the 
leach trough where her poultry had free 
access to it. Cholera left, and for the two 
seasons following—up to the time of my 
coming here—her poultry were healthy. The 
ashes had beau kept put of their reach pre¬ 
It is made of the best materials, and is not 
liable to get out of order. This Harrow is 
manufactured by the Little Warrior Mow¬ 
er Co. of Little Falls, N. Y. 
