JULY 30 
* 
T 
HE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Miner's Great Prolific has developed hard¬ 
iness, size, productiveness and vigor enough to 
commend it for general rnark.t planting, and it 
only lacks hardiness and firmness to commend 
it to the first place as a market beriy. 
So. Haven, Mich. 
STKAWBERRIES-THE B1DWILE¬ 
THE past season has been a very favorable 
one for the growth of BtrawberrieB and the 
yield was exceptionally laige, tffordirg an 
excellent opportunity for comparing the pro¬ 
ductiveness of the different varieties as well 
usdecidiug the question of firmness. Although 
the continued wet weather was detrimental to 
the development of aioma in some of the 
higher flavored varities. It was interesting to 
observe the varying capabilities of those most 
generally grown for market, and experimenters 
may begin to draw the line closer, so as to 
txclude a gnat many kinds which have neith¬ 
er size, flavor nor habits of bearing to com¬ 
mend them over those that are old and well 
tried. In (act, when we consider the wonder¬ 
ful Btrides in advance marked t y the Bidwell, 
Longfellow, Oliver Goldsmith, Shins and Sen¬ 
eca Qneon, it seems like lolly for men who 
are engaged in the business of raising and dis¬ 
seminating plants to sound the praise of infe¬ 
rior kinds, and herald tveiy new-comer with¬ 
out first thoroughly testing its merits along¬ 
side of its peers, in conditions wholly 
unpampered by tender care and treatment, 
leaving to their inherent qualities and natu¬ 
ral‘vigor the right to rescue them from 
oblivion. [Surely, that is what the Rural is 
doing. Eds J Failing then to establish a supe¬ 
riority in some important particular, no berry 
however much of a pet, should be allowed to 
swell the already impracticable list and add to 
the perplexity of buyers. 
It was under this most natural test that the 
Bidwell, in competition with over a hundred 
others, came to the front, and stands pre¬ 
eminently in the first rank to-day as a market 
and gaidenberiy, exceeding, with improved 
cultivation, the most liberal expectations of 
its friends. I have seen it in all stages of 
growth till the clo^e of its present fruiting— 
July 2d—which < xtended over an entire month, 
and the last two quarts were as handsome, 
large-E zed berries, ripened as evenly to the 
tips, as any picked during the 31 days preced¬ 
ing ; and, although familiar with its fine table 
qualities, 1 was surprised at the briskness and 
delicacy of flavor which characlei zed it to 
the last. 
Gan as much be 6aid of ai y other strawber¬ 
ry ? The foliage, a healiby, dark green, 
stands up well under all conditions. The 
plants form immense, compact stools ; and 
the enoimous quantity of large, regular¬ 
shaped, brigh,-looking berries which they 
ripen perfectly, astonishes every one who has 
seen them. 
In this connection I would suggest that 
there are often too many kinds grown for 
prefit. With one or more of the above-men¬ 
tioned sorts as a staple crop, the Duchess for 
early and Heivty Davis or Memphis for late, 
there would be a succession of fruit, which, in 
this Stale, conld not be equaled. 
And, buyers, beware of a multiplicity of 
names. I can call to mind a number of in¬ 
stances where, undoubtedly, two or three well 
known names sell the same stock of plants. 
And above all things, be careful of whom you 
buy. A nurseryman who. after working for 
years and spending large eums of money to 
secure a certain stock, and finding it inferior 
after all, has the moral courage to tell you, 
“ It has not done well with me, I would not 
recommend it," thus leaving thousands of 
wortl less, profitless plants on his hands, inby 
be trusted implicitly when he praises anything, 
as it is fair to presume he does so for its in¬ 
trinsic value. w. o. s. 
With me the first raspberry to ripen was the 
Doolittle Black Gup. and next the Caroline, 
with perhaps a day’s difference between them; 
and almost at the same time the New Rochelle. 
These three kinds, therefore, may be placed as 
ve>y early. The next to ripen was the Cuth- 
bert, a single ripe berry having been picked on 
July 9th, a fair mess having been picked from 
the Doolittle and the Caroline on the 4th. The 
Montclair is still later than the Cuthbert, no 
ripe fruit having yet (July 9th) been picked. 
The different kinds are all iu near proximity 
to each other. Ripening in this w ay, the sea¬ 
son is quite prolonged. The productiveness of 
the Caroline is so remarkable that I cannot 
help alluding to it again ; and the New Ro¬ 
chelle is but little behind it. If anybody sup¬ 
poses that these plants are growing in a rich 
soil, he is laboring under a mistake. 
Why can we not have more articles like 
those from Mr. Farnell, Mr. Augur, “A. P.,” 
and “Notes from the Rural Grounds?" They 
have a special value for all of ub alter a Win¬ 
ter like the last. A. P.’s notes on his experi¬ 
ments with the Rural 6 eeds, etc., are intei- 
esting, and I should be glad to see more like 
ihem. After taking as much labor and painB 
as the editor does to give seeds and plants to 
his subscribers, it must be a pleasure to him to 
know that pain6 are taken to grow them. 
[Horticola should look over the ‘ Everywhere” 
Department more carefully. We have only 
feared that we were giving too much space to 
the reports with which our readers are con¬ 
stantly favoring us, and which are alwavs wel¬ 
come.—E ds ] I fear, however, that the little 
boys and girls over in the juvenile department 
are far ahead of the big boys and girls in this 
respect, which, however, speaks well for the 
future. 
How much wrangling, to say nothing of ill- 
feeling. might be prevented by fair and manly 
statements like those of Mr. Waldo F. Brown, 
lie “hopes the Professor will accept his apol¬ 
ogy,” and I think there can be no doubt about 
that. How much better this than to ktiow you 
are wrong, and “ stick to ii ?” 
I have been thinking that the winter-killing 
of the Japanese maples mi y have been owing 
iu some measure to the fact that they had 
been grown in pots till the roots had become 
matted into a mass almost as hard as a stone, 
with very little earth left to sustain them, their 
chief dependence beiDg upon the daily water¬ 
ings. I know that such balls of roots are being 
constantly moved in the Winter, and that 
plants otherwise haroy are in this way not un- 
frtquently winter-killed before new roots have 
been thrown out from the old ball, and this, 
under the circumstances, is a very slow pro¬ 
cess. It is often years before they recover 
from this stunting system. This cramping of 
the roots, moreover, weakens the constitution 
of the hardiest plant, familiar examples of 
which might be named ; but I alluded to the 
Sul jeet chiefly for the purpose of eliciting an 
expression of opinion or experience from the 
readers of the Rural, The subject is si fli- 
ciently interesting. 
This, so far. has been an txeellent season 
for testing artificial or commercial fertilizers. 
It has been my experience that tiny are of very 
little value without a fair supply of rain, and 
this from the very natureof their composition. 
We have had, thus fur, an abundance of rain, 
aud I shall be greatly disappointed if the read¬ 
ers of the Rural do not send in, at the proper 
time, carefully-prepared statements of their 
experience. We shall huve, of course, the re¬ 
sults at the Rural Faun and at the experimen¬ 
tal stations, and these will be valuable j but 
the stations are altogether too few and wide 
apai t to satisfy the expectations of the gei - 
eral farming community. Perhaps the editor 
already ha6 his attention fixed on this impor¬ 
tant subject. 
I am a little puzzled to know why that excel¬ 
lent early pea, the Alpha, should be bo uncom¬ 
monly sweet this season. This has been the 
case, not only with me, but wherever I have 
seen it or heard it spoken of. The moist 
weather has been unusually favorable to the 
pea, and it may be that this, In connection with 
the intense heat when the sun did come out, 
has had theifleet of developing)he saccharine 
principle in an unusual degree. Perhaps other 
kinds may be Bweeler than usual, though I 
have not yet noticed it. Horticola. 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS. 
Early Sunrise Pea. 
Man ir new peas of extraordinary merits are 
yearly brought oat in England. The most nota¬ 
ble of late years have been the Telephone and 
Telegraph, which, however, prove to be the 
6 ame. Generally speaking, these pea novelties 
wheD cultivated here lose their distinctive 
character, and of all the English varieties in¬ 
troduced during many yearB the Chumpion of 
England still holdB the first place. The Tele¬ 
phone, however, during three years has held 
its own well, and, as we have stated, proves to 
be of unusual excellence, while the vines are 
6 trong, free from mildew, and the peas large, 
tender and sweet. Last year a new pea was 
offered in England and was advertised under 
the name of Day's Early Sunrise. We give 
the announcement as found in the catalogue of 
Daniels’ Brothers, of Norwich:— 
Early Bunbibk (Lay) (see illustration). Large, 
seeded, first early, dwarf.white, wrinkled Marrow, of 
utiontf and robust habit. It is YB:y hardy and ex¬ 
tremely prolific (ibe haulm heiuK covered with large’ 
Well-filled pods), while, as the peas . re large aud very 
sweet when cooked.it is very desirable either as a 
market variety or for gentlemen's gardeners’ use. it 
is especially tree ir eta mildew, and liati proved itself 
extremely useful for iate sowing. Ter half-pint. Is. 
3d.; pint, 2s, 
MX. JOSEPH FOBD, 
Gardener to H. R. H. the Duke of Edinburgh,s ye:— 
’’ It is of splendid Quality, very robust, and as early 
as Ringleader. A large wrinkled Marrow as early as 
this requires little rtcon mendation, and is what all 
gardeners have long wanted." 
MR. r. UOSSA 0 K. 
Gardener to the Marquis of Conyngham. alBO tried it, 
and writeB of it:— 
"Your Early Sunrise Pe.V is a strong grower and 
great bearer. It is of splendid quality, yet comes in 
with our very earliest sort*. Being a Marrow, it will 
be a great acquisition to our early crops, while it is 
also very useful for late sowing.'' 
A large market grower, Mr. Joseph Collard, of Hard- 
acre. having, by desire, tried it, reports 
“It surpasses anything I have ever seen or grown 
as a first early or general market variety. The short, 
thick haulm and enormous crop of large, well-filled 
pods, render it particularly suitable for field culture." 
One-twentieth of an acre of Ibis pea was 
sown May 10. They were read y to pick July 
10, It will be seen that iu this climate it is 
not a very early pea, but should take an inter¬ 
mediate place between the early and the late. 
The leaves are rather small, though the stems 
are strong, growing about three and a-half 
feet high. The pods, as shown in our engrav¬ 
ing. are of medium size, containing from four 
to five peas of good s ze, which are of fair 
qualiiy. Thus far there seems to be nothing 
remarkable about the Early Sunrise. But we 
have to add that it is as prolific as any kind of 
HAY'S EARLY SUNRISE—FROM ENGLISH CATALOGUE 
FIG. 355. 
pea we have ever raieed. The single pea (Fig, 
354) is an average of our crop; Fig. 855 is re¬ 
engraved from the catalogue above referred to. 
-*-M- 
GARDEN NOTES. 
The Alpha Potato I am veiy much pleased 
with. I have grown it for the first time this 
season, and I can cheerfully recommend it to 
all who desire an excellent early potato. I 
obtained a bushel this Spring and planted 
them on April 14, using Forrester’s Potato Fer¬ 
tilizer, and the crop is all that could be de¬ 
sired. The vines are maturing now while those 
of the Early Rose, grown alongside, are quite 
green. On being cooked, the flavor is found 
to be excellent, with a dry, white flesh. Tbe 
tubers are of medium size, smooth and white, 
with a trace of red near the eyes. The stalks 
or vines average 14 to 16 inches in hight. As 
a variety for garden culture where early pota¬ 
to* s are desired this kiDd is without an equal 
[Did thev yield well?— Eds] 
Rosa Rugosa, the Rimauas Rose of Japan, 
is, when well grown, a very desirable addition 
to our ornamental plants for lawn decoration. 
Grown in a deep, rich soil, with an annual 
dressing of well rotted manure, it will soon 
attain a hight of flve or six feet, with laige 
terminal clusters of. rosy crimson flowers 
which are about thiee inches in diameter. 
They are produced veiy abundantly in June 
and also at intervals throughout the Summer 
months ; being succeeded by large red berries 
which are a great addition to the ornamental 
character of the plant. This rose is best grown 
as a standard with a single stem, 10 or 12 
Inches in hight, before it is permitted to 
branch. Do not prune it severely, but pinch 
back the yonng shoots occasionally during the 
season of growth, so as to keep the plant in 
8 bape. See illustration, page 497. 
Cob-ea scandens is oue of the most beauti¬ 
ful and useful of our climbing annuals. Strong 
plants set ont early in May in good, rich soil, 
often grow 30 to 40 feet in a single season, be¬ 
sides the branches which are freely produced. 
If the plants are carefully taken up aud potted 
just before frost, they will be found to be veiy 
useful for the decoration of the greenhouse as 
well as the window garden. 
Queen’s Co., L. I. Chas. E. Parnell. 
- —« ■ » ♦-- 
Hlraw berries. 
I had a pleasant visit to a neighbor’s farm 
lately. He has fruited 22 varieties of straw¬ 
berries this season and nearly all ot them seem 
to do well under his system of cultivation. I 
picked some of the laigest and finesl-flivored 
berries I have ever Been from his bed of Sharp¬ 
less. He regards the Col. Cheny as one of the 
finest berries he raises. The Green Prolific is 
smaller, of fair quality, but it is too soft for 
market. The Glendale, contrary to his expec¬ 
tations, proved no later than the Kentucky 
and resembles this variety in many respects. 
Addison Go., Yt. Gardener. 
Jfitlii Crop. 
CORN CULTIVATION. 
Keasons lor Various Methods. 
S. RUFUS MASON. 
The Rural for July 3 has " Notes from the 
Rural Farm ” on page 435, in which are sever¬ 
al important queries and conclusions from 
home practice. I offer the following remarks. 
Hilling up corn Is necessary in heavy, 6olid 
clsy soils, as the only mode of letting the 
snu’s heat down into the cold soil arcund 
tbe corn roots. On such soil flit cultivation 
would not answer. Root-pruning is, to a cer. 
tain extent, a misnomer ; few, if any, roots are 
cut off, but the frequent close cultivation 
checks and prevents the full development of 
surface roots and stimulates the downward 
oms, acting upou the plant exact y as if the 
upper roots were really cut off. The engrav¬ 
ing, No. 317, does not represent this operath u 
at any stage. Root-pruning begins at the first 
cultivation, never exposes any roots to the aii, 
is never performed when the ears are formed, 
as all cultivation ceases long before thei . 
Hilling does not eupportthe plant, and I never 
heard any one say he thought so. High 
winds (and we have ample experience with 
them here iu Nebiasku) never prostrates coin 
till the ears are so large as to make the plant 
top-heavy, aud so by their leverage they help 
the wind to tear out ibe roots from the soil 
softened by the accompanying rain. Flat cul¬ 
ture is suitable to sandy land, as that is warm¬ 
er than clay; it is also necessaiy on hill-sides 
as not presenting gullies inviting hea\y rains 
to wash. 
Check-row culture is required on weedy 
land, as It enables the cultivator to reach ull 
weeds by cross work. Drill-rowingis ouly ad¬ 
vantageous on very clean land, kept so ) y r< - 
peated hurrowings before the corn is up and 
till it is six inches high, and where the farm¬ 
er can attend to It constantly till July 4th. It 
is not necessary to make drills further apart 
than checks, but they must run North and 
South. Root-pruning will not answer in shal¬ 
low Boils with rocky or impenetrable subsoils; 
but here, where our soil is from two and one- 
half to four feet deep, it is a benefit. When 
we have a hot, moist May and June, if we do 
not root-prune, the surface roots are scorched 
by the fervid July sun, and the leaves curl, 
much ii juring the crop. 
Fig. 318 shows the roots only as they grow 
here in a wet, cold Spring, when they rise to 
4 
