APRIL 30 
THE 
RURAL WEW-YORKER. 
leaves are kepi sprinkled they can stand in the 
strong sunlight; still it iB better to give a mild 
light for the first day or two. Whenever a 
warm, gentle rain is falling, 1 always carry 
out my boxes of slips and set them in a safe 
place to enjoy the rain, and they reward roy 
trouble by living and growing vigorously. 
Moinence, Ill. L- a. r. 
-♦ ♦ -- 
COBCHORUS. 
It is impossible in a great crowd to pay a for¬ 
mal tribute to every friend one sees. S j in the 
immensity of horticultural collections some 
valued plants can only gain notice here and 
there and now and then. I have in a corner a 
pair of Praitie Roses, aDd growing up with 
them is a plant with similar but more slender, 
long, green twigs resembling compound leaves, 
and rose-like fl overs that are bright yellow. 
B it for these ti >ral buttons of gold the plant 
might aluicst be taken in the Summer as a 
curious i II shoot of the roses. It is, in fact, a 
near relation, being of tbe same great botanic¬ 
al family—the R/Stc>se — and of the same 
branch of it with epiifeis. potetitillas, straw¬ 
berries, raspberries, etc. Three or four spi¬ 
rals, too—red and white—are growing as a 
fronting to the group, hiding the bare steins 
of th«-ir tailer relaiiv s the little Callosa alba 
and Filipendula leathering down to the sur¬ 
face. When 1 planted the green-twigged com¬ 
panion of tue roses it was called C'orchorus, 
but it seem- that it should be called K rria. It 
comes from Japan, and I have since had the 
pleasure of an introduction to, and possession 
of, a dw.if variety of it with leaves of elegant 
figure, marked prettily with shaded green uod 
clear white. This has l.he merits of equal har¬ 
diness with tbe lype and or preserving its 
pie ising variegation bright and pure through 
all weathers to the end of Summer. 1 am lold 
there is also a golden variegation of the K-r- 
ria, but I have not seen it. (U does not hold 
its variegation very well —Eos ] I mean to 
put in slips of this pretty thing for fronting 
some beds of evergreens. It disposes itself 
naturally in a round, bunchy tuft. I think it 
will be better used as a"row of buttons” 
round a bed of shrubs thau the Eaonymns rad- 
ic’ins, which resembles it, but is stiller in its 
attitudes, I have used the Golden veined 
Honeysuckle as a continuous mass of low fol¬ 
iage in front of a bed of evergreens, with very 
good effect, and now I want to try silver. 
The Eerria is the more interesting when one 
knows that the jute fiber, which has become of 
late such a great item in the world’s industries 
and commerce, comes from a species of Cor- 
eborus which also has long green stalks, reach¬ 
ing unbranched to an altitude of 10 to 15 feat, 
thus yielding a very long and even, as well as 
tenacious fiber, the cheapest that is known. 
This is grown in tropical countries, and chiefly 
in Bengal. Besides its use for the strong, 
coarse gunny cloth, the finer parts are used 
for shirtings, etc., and to mix with flax, wool, 
cotton, and even silk. w. 
horticultural. 
In a recent number of the Rui*al there is an 
allusion to the supposed ideudty, i y some, of 
the Burbank tnd S „ Patrick Potatoes. I have 
seen it stattd elsewhere in the most positive 
manner, that they are identical. How this 
identity is arrived at and established I do not 
understand 1 had ihe pota oes from the orig¬ 
inal sources, and I never saw anything about 
them to arouse the least suspicion that they 
were identical. I think au examination of the 
skin, eye, fi rh. and average slice of each will 
lead to a d ffirent conclusion, to say nothing 
of the manner of growth. So, too, it is 
asserted quite as positively (and at this early 
date ton) vhat the St- Pitrick and the White 
Elephaut are identical. [ The d fference in the 
time of ripening alone would settle Buch a 
question —Eds ] And yet they do not grow 
alike, do not set their tubers alike, aud their 
eyes are not alike, or my eyes are all wrong. 
I had my White E enhaut also from original 
Bources, and l caunot see where the identity 
comes in. All three of these potatoes resemble 
some other kinds much more thau they do 
each other. It must be that the parties who 
see these identifies have not the true kinds. 
But is it not pretiy nearly time to begin to 
reduce the list of potatoes? What is the use 
of so many when they only serve to bother in¬ 
vestigating minds? 
H. T J., in the Rural, for April 9, expresses 
his regret that so little has been said about the 
Cu-leav> d Weeping Birch. I hope it will be 
some sort of pleasure to him to learn that I 
agree with him in all he says in regard to its 
beauty. I caunot at this moment remember a 
tree that has greater claims for a conspicuous 
place on the lawn. I not only give it such a 
place on the lawn, but sometimes when the 
case will admit of it, put one on each side of 
tbeentrancegate, where tb<y grow into exceed¬ 
ingly gractful trees, and make a pleasing first 
impression on entering tbe grounds. They 
serve another and a useful purpose when thus 
located : there will scarcely ever be a night so 
dark that their silvery-white trunks will not 
distinctly point out the place of entrance. 
They are lovely guide boards of Nature’s own 
making. I. for one, am grateful to tbe Messrs. 
Ellwanger & Barry for having introduced and 
made known this ve>y beautiful tree. 
Years ago I pursued almost precisely tbe 
same plan as Gob. Noble in improving the 
sweet corn, and with similar results. At the 
end of six years I could rely upon three ai d 
four ears to a stalk, aud I still have a hand¬ 
some piece of silver to show for it. When this 
improved corn was disolbuted, however, no 
care was taken ia the selection of the seed by 
those into whose bauds it fell, aDd, in codsl- 
q ience.it gradually deteriorated. Let it he 
understood that such corn a9 I saw at the 
Rural Farm last Summer caunot be long grown 
without careful selection of seed and good col 
tivaiion. Improvements in corn made bv st- 
lectiou can only be maintained by selection; 
and the same remark will apply to some other 
things as well as to corn, Gen Noble's article 
is timely and to the point If this matter of 
selection were carefully and generally observed 
there would be more frtquent occasion to 
praise and less to condemn. 
I like Mr. Wyaor’s criticism on the word 
“hillside,” and all that it implies and involves. 
It is well taken, and excellent in manner, and 
I like it not only for this reason, but because 
it shows that farmers are not only becoming 
more careful cultivators of the soil, but also 
more careful cultivators, so to speak, of the 
terms used to express what they do and what 
they see. 
If the Editor will put his tomato stakes jn 
the ground j nst as he does, and then, instead 
of laths or sticks, use tarred twine in their 
place as the plants progress in growth, he will 
have a neater arrangement aud save 6ome 
time and labor. The tarred twine can be put 
around the stakes as soon as set, making a 
single hitch at each one, or it can be cut of a 
proper length, rolled into a ball, and put 
around as the plants increase in growth, and 
they will need but little other tying Forget¬ 
ting the hammer nine timeB out of ten led me 
to the tarred twine or marlin. The plan, 
whether laths or tarred twine be used, is, as 
the Editor says, an excellent one. Like him, I 
have never used an upright trellis that suited 
me. _ 
It may not be improper for me to say, in 
reference to growing the Thunbergia on the 
ground, that I first received the suggestion 
from Mr. Charles Downing. I make the state¬ 
ment because I do not wish to take to myjelf 
credit which does not belong to me. I only 
varied the practice by confining the plants to a 
bed; but they may be grown on the ground 
elsewhere j ust as well. Hobticola. 
-♦ -»♦- 
STRAWBERRIES AND THEIR NAMES. 
“ What's in a name ? That which we call a 
rose by any other name would smell as sweet ” 
The newest thing to me among strawberries is 
the nomenclature—and some of the names are 
fresh, veiy fresh—Imagine a scene like this : 
(Young lady customer admiriDg some very 
flue berries.) “Beautiful! What ia the variety?" 
(Boy clerk ) “ Them la ShirtB." 
(Young lady) “Hjw ?" 
(Boy clerk ) “ Shirts.” 
(Youog lady .) “ Oa ! Carl Schurz.” 
(Boy clerk desperate, but bound to be accu¬ 
rate ) No. ma'am, “S-h-'-r-t s.” 
(Young lady ) “On—ah!” 
(Young lady’e face, boy-clerk’s face, and in¬ 
nocent little box of ShirtB all of one color.) 
This reminds me of an incident of last Sum¬ 
mer, that is encouraging to those who are 
growing fruit for market and take a pleasure 
in supplying the fiaest berries. Meeting a city 
friend whose taste had been previously “edu¬ 
cated" ly an afternoon spent at our place 
feasting on some of the choicest klud*, he 
wanted to know why growers didn’t label the 
varieties th< y marketed to the storekeepers. 
He was sick of eating sour berries, and had 
discovered that there was a difference in 
strawberries; if berries were only labeled he 
would know which to buy. I had just stored 
away in n y pocket the proceeds of a few 
crates of MonarcliB and Jacuudas, for which 
the magnificent sum of seven cents a box bad 
been received, and was a little taken aback, 
but getting my hand into my pocket aud 
grasping my wallet for reassurance, I replied 
that I was contemplating, If tbe price didn't 
fall eff more than six or seven cen's a box, 
throwing is a chrorno lithograph with every 
box next Beason. 
But, in truth, is it not an encouraging sign 
when customers begin to discriminate? Poor, 
pitiable city folks! What poor stuff they eat 
in the way of fresh fruits and vegetables! 
Many a man carries home from the market 
wilted, mashed and dried up berries (quite 
likely as good as can be bought there), who 
has unoccupied laud enough at home to 
supply his table daily with berries as much 
better than those he can buy as cream is better 
than skimmed-milk! So they live, pitiable 
people ! smacking their lips over poor, wilted 
berries, hardly ever tasting a berry in its de¬ 
licious freshness; but if they wont read the 
Rural what can we do for them ! 
A friend who retails many of my berries bad 
often told me that his customers still liked the 
Wilson better than some of our choicest varie¬ 
ties they bought the large and handsome 
ones because of their attractiveness, but after 
all preferred the flavor of the Wilson. At 
first I thought it a clear case of “depraved” 
taste; but I find the people are quite correct 
in their opinions. The truth is, nearly all of 
our fiuest berries rapidly deteriorate in flavor 
after picking, while the Wilson improves. 
Picked an hour or two before eating, nine out 
of ten people would prefer any of the choicer 
varieties to the Wilson; but if the berries be 
kept until morning, the Wilson will be pre¬ 
ferred by the majority. Now, what is wanted 
for a market berry is one of large size, good 
color and form, as productive as the Wilson, 
but ' f better fl ivor. Customers are beginning 
to discriminate and will appreciate fine flavor. 
We have berries early enough and late enough 
and large enough ; for home use we have 
plenty of handsome, superb delicious berries; 
but now we want for market one that will be 
of good flavor when picked and just as good 
twenty hours afterwards . When the “coming” 
berry comes, Mr. Editor, be at the christening 
and don’t maim it with a name. 
Rochester, N Y. “ Bannockburn,” 
Stringing Pole Beans.—I would like to 
tell the Rural readers my wsv of stringing 
pole beans. I planted the beans four feet 
apart each way, set a pole and stake at each 
alternate hill, and ran Borne strong cord from 
the end of the stakes to the top of the poles. 
METHOD OF STRINGING POLE BEANS —FIG 221. 
Bythismeaus only half the amount of poles 
are required, and the effect is very fine if the 
beans are planted at the back end of a garden. 
Last Beason I planted white and scarlet run¬ 
ners—commonly called Dutch runners—and 
they were the admiratiou of all who saw 
them. a. w. 
JfifH) Crop, 
TOBACCO CULTURE.-RO. 8. 
G. A. GOFF, JR. 
The Curing of Tobacco. 
That the proper method of curing seed leaf 
tobacco, and the correct mode of managing 
sheds in regard to ventilation while tobacco is 
being cured, are not generally known is shown 
by the conflicting opinions that exist on the 
subject among tobacco growers themselves. It 
is not unusual to find tobacco growers of wide 
experience who virtually disagree with regard 
to the manner in which the tobacco barn 
should be managed during the process of cur¬ 
ing the tobacco. It is an important subject 
and one which deserves the closest attention 
from tobacco growers, for iu a great measure 
the quality of the cured leaf depends on the 
manner in which it Ib cured. Color is an im¬ 
portant element iu the quality of tobacco, and 
it is only by proper curing that good colors can 
be obtained. The inexorable law of fashion at 
the present time demands rich, dark-colored 
wrappers for covering flue cigars; hence the 
importance of knowing how to obtain them. 
As the natural lawB which govern tbe curing 
of tobacco are not as yet generally understood, 
I cannot give facts ia this part of my paper. 
The best I can do is to state my beliefs along 
with those of our most experienced uud suc¬ 
cessful growers. It is a well known fact that 
tobacco in a given section in certain seusons 
cures with an exceptionally good color, vary¬ 
ing only with the various conditions and qual¬ 
ities of soils, and, somewhat, with the kind of 
barn in which the crop is cured. At other sea¬ 
sons in the same section the color of the to¬ 
bacco will be generally poor. The cause of 
such variations has not as yet been satisfac¬ 
torily explained. It is the general belief that 
rapid drying tends to produce light colors, and 
the reverse, dark colors ; but the difficulty lies 
in so governing the process that the curing 
shall be slow and gradual and yet escape tbe 
dreaded “pole-burn.” After tobacco has been 
bung a few dayB in the curing barn it begins to 
sweat, or show considerable moisture on the 
surface of the leaves or stems. This, I believe, 
is a critical period and the tiure when pole¬ 
burning is most likely to occur. If this moist¬ 
ure dries off well there is less after danger, yet 
it should not dry too rapidly for the beat re¬ 
sults. 
In order to test the relative difference be¬ 
tween rapid and slow curine, I selected two to¬ 
bacco plantB of (q lal size and in equal stages 
of development and hung them up at tbe same 
time, one in a dry, airy loft, where the drying 
was very rapid ; the other in a damp cellar, 
where the curing must necessarily proceed 
very slowly. Tbe result of the experiment 
proved a decided gain in favor of gradual cur¬ 
ing—at least as far as color is concerned. The 
color of the leaf hung in the dry loft was very 
light, and, on the whole, veiy undesirable, 
while that in the cellar was a rich dark brown. 
Undoubtedly much depends ontheweaiber 
in the curing of tobacco. It is a well-known 
fact that in certain seasons tobacco in a given 
locality cures with too light colors. At other 
seasons a general complaint is beard among 
growers that their tobacco is pole-burnt,. These 
variations of quality are probably owing to the 
general character of the weather during the 
curing process, or they may occur from the 
character of the growth of the plant. If the 
weather produces the colors, we might prevent 
danger either from too slow or too rapid cur¬ 
ing by some artificial means. The loss in this 
section during some seasons from pole-burn¬ 
ing unquestionably amounts to many thousands 
of dollars. Tnis loss I believe might be avoid¬ 
ed if our growers knew just how and when to 
produce aitifieial ventilation in their curing 
barns. We need to know at j ust what stage of 
the thermometer and barometer the burning 
begins and how to secure ventilation to 
avoid it. 
Notwithstanding the fact that the subject of 
tobacco curing is not thoroughly understood, 
much can be done to regulate the process, 
tending towards the desired object. As a pre¬ 
ventive of pole-burning the tobacco should not 
be hung thick. From 20 to 25 pairs of plants 
should be hung upon a 14 foot pole, the num¬ 
ber varying somewhat with the size of plants 
and the distance they are hung from the 
ground, as the higher up they are hung in the 
barn the more rapid is the dryiug. 
The method of managing the ventilating 
doors followed by our best groweis is to keep 
them tightly closed in dry or windy weather 
and to open them freely when the air is moist 
or the weather is what is termed “muggy ” It 
is duriug this muggy weather, when little, air is 
stirring, that tbe pole-burniog is most likely to 
commence, hence at Buch times it is advisable 
to admit as much air a3 possible, and to close 
the bam correspondingly tight during dry, 
windy weather. 
.- «»» 
MANGOLDS. EXPERIMENTS.—1880. 
professor r. p. Roberts. 
Notwithstanding the marked success of 
some in the preservation of green fodder in 
siloB for Winter feeding, there will still be a 
great want felt by the small farmer at least, 
for some succulent cattle food to give tone 
and health to his animals during the loDg. 
hard Winters. All things considered, nothing 
bo perfectly meets that want in must parts of 
the United States aB the mangold. The grass¬ 
hopper damaged the experiment crop of 1879 
and therefore I do not consider the results as 
reliable as they would otherwise have been. 
If they taught anything it was that Norbiton a 
Giant is a more productive variety than the 
Yellow Globe aud Lhat but a slight increase is 
produced by the liberal application of com¬ 
mercial lertilizers. 
Fertilizers. 
Yield per aero. 
No. Variety of seed. Fertilizers par acre. Tons. lbs. 
1 Norbiton’a Giant, 4*1 lbs. Pacific Ouauo 
Plios,.14 160 
2 “ “ No tortilizor.14 460 
3 •* '* 460 Ibis, Swift-Sure 
PUoa. 12 1280 
4 “ •• No fertilizer . .14 1680 
6 •• “ 4HoH>». Sulphate of Am¬ 
monia .12 1120 
6 “ “ 340 lbs. Sul. Am. 340 lbs. 
P.G. PfiOS.16 820 
7 •• •• No fertilizer .15 1200 
» •* •• 480 lb*. Plaster (Gyp¬ 
sum).14 48o 
9 •• “ Results of 1480 rbs salt.18 860 
duplicate { No lertll- 
10 •' •* plots. llzor.......15 160 
“ “ 13 cords Farmyard Ma¬ 
nure .. 20 80 (j 
The following are tbe results of duplicate 
plots. They were all treated to fairly rotted 
farm-yard manures at the rate of 12 cords per 
acre. 
V ield per acre. 
No. Variety of Seed. Tous. lbs 
12 Imperial I,.riro Red . ..... ..•'*“ 
13 Curler's Warden Prize VeLlow Globe.29 mo 
14 Yellow Globe..™ 
15 Norbitou’s Giant. .*° - 8U 
Tons, lbs, 
The largest yield of any siturle plotin the ex¬ 
periments with varieties was produced 
by < 'artor'n aud gave .......•» 
The smallest yield was Yellow Globe.-3 
Average yield of the four phosphated plots. .. 13 mo 
“ '• of the four adjoining uufertll- 
ized ones... '6 ia 
" •• of nine plots treated to farm- 
yard manures .....34 Mi 
One plot rotted... 18 boy 
