NEW YORK, SEPT. 17, 1881 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, In the year 1881, hv the Rural New-Yorker, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.] 
other rows of large growing deciduous trees. 
The shaded seedlings thus naturally shoot up¬ 
ward clean and straight in search of more 
light. Then, the grafting is no easy opera¬ 
tion. The mechanical process of inserting the 
graft and waxing and covering it with oil¬ 
paper is not so difficult, but the protection of 
the fresh union throughout the following Win¬ 
ter is an undertaking subject to many acci¬ 
dents. The low-grafted form of the tree has 
its advantages. Its short, protected stem 
needs little, if any, shelter from the cracking 
effects of sun and wind. Altogether it is 
hardier than the high-grafted form and speci¬ 
ally adapted, from its dwarf and somewhat ir¬ 
regular habit, to the nooks and corners of 
rock-work. The 'Weeping Sophora needs no 
pruning, except now and then to remove a bit 
of dead wood ; its growth is invariably slow 
and well regulated. On the lawn it should oc¬ 
cupy distinguished and isolated positions ; far 
enough away to be seen with effect from a 
porch or window and yet not too far for a due 
consideration of charms that bear, and are 
worthy of, the closest examination, 
There are several good specimens of Weep¬ 
ing Sophoras In the Boston Public Gardens, in 
Flushing and a few other places in the coun¬ 
try, but it is a rare tree. Yet it should not, 
and need not, be rare. If the public insisted 
upon having it, the demand would be met 
sooner or later. An enlightened public inter¬ 
that 1,203,670 barrels of apples were received 
in England from the United States during the 
year 1880. These figures will surprise many, 
but there can be no doubt that they may be 
greatly increased if some regard be paid to the 
much neglected “golden rule,” which is just 
as good in trade as anywhere else. 
Tlubori cultural 
horticultural 
THE WEEPING SOPHORA. 
Sophora Japonica Pendula. 
SAMUEL PARSONS, JR. 
I now remember seeing the Skowhegan 
Raspberry at Mr. Force’s, but without, at the 
time, knowing its name. Mr. Downing saw it 
there during the past season, and says of it: 
“It is a week earlier than any other Black¬ 
cap, is of large size, jet black color, very pro¬ 
ductive, sweet, juicy, aud rich. I think it an 
acquisition among the Black-caps.” He fur¬ 
ther says : “ I was at E. P. Roe’s, and saw the 
Centemnal, another Black-cap, equally as good 
as the Skowhegan in all respects ; if there is 
any difference, it is in favor of the Centennial. 
As to quality, they are both superior to the 
Gregg or the Mammoth Cluster, but not quite 
as firm in texture.” The Black-caps, it will 
be seen, are coming to the front, and this is 
only the beginning of the end. Their hidden 
capabilities have hardly been suspected yet. 
But wait. 
Weeping is a misnomer—it should be droop¬ 
ing. Pendulous, the Latin word being pendula, 
expresses a tendency shown by some trees to 
extend their branches out and down in more 
or less definite curves. This habit is, in the first 
place, on accidental sport, or freak of some 
particular specimen. The branches or twigs, 
of such a tree ai-e cut off aud grafted on a 
plant of the ordinary parent type, thus per¬ 
petuating the desirable peculiarity. There are 
two kinds of weeping or drooping trees : one, 
like the Weeping Beech, tosses and droops its 
branches now here, now there, with the most 
charming abandon and beautiful picturesque¬ 
ness of effect; the other is rounded, symmet¬ 
rical, dignified and more or less parasol-like in 
form. 
To the last belongs in the most definite man¬ 
ner the subject of our sketch. The illustration 
serves only to show the character of the foli¬ 
age and flowers. Few trees have foliage more 
positively beautiful than that of the Sophora 
Juponica pendula. The leaf itself is small, 
scarcely ail inch long, wit h a perfect ly oval out¬ 
line and smooth, delicate surface. Its color is 
rich green, darker than that of the Virgilia 
lutea, which, however, it resembles in size 
and outline of leaf and flower and other char¬ 
acteristics more difficult to define. The flowers 
are white or yellowish-white, small and of a 
decidedly leguminous appearance, hanging 
during August in loose panicles sometimes a 
foot long. This summer-blooming quality is 
valuable because limited to a few trees and 
shrubs. A Drooping Sophora, seldom, if ever, 
blooms until it is old, and then sparsely and by 
no means every year. When in bloom, how 
ever, a large Drooping Sophora is a sight to 
behold, all embroidered with cream-colored 
blossoms oil a ground-work of gracefully ar¬ 
ranged masses or folds of dainty, exquisite 
leaves. The trunk of this, as well as of other 
sophoras, is light, somewhat rough and corru¬ 
gated, but the bark of the branches and twigs 
is smooth mul of a rich green color, These 
branches and twigs have a curious fashion of 
bending suddenly in short, grotesque curves— 
a peculiarity which serves to give the tree a 
perfectly parasol-like form, and arbor-like imi- 
braguousness. 
The Weeping Sophora grows slowly and 
lives long. One sees now and then a specimen 
in perfect health aud vigor at least 30 years 
old and not over eight or nine feet high. There 
are very few Sophoras to be seen anywhere in 
this country. If there were more we should 
have many long-lived, perfect specimens ; for 
the Weeping Sophora is singularly jterfect 
during late life. As a tree it is not generally 
considered quite us hardy as the Weeping 
Beech and other drooping trees. This applies, 
however, to its young state, and to conditions 
induced by recent transplanting. The bark, 
too, of the stem or trunk is liable to suffer from 
American extremes of heat and cold. It is a 
good plan to bind the ba rk with moss for two 
or three years after transplanting. When 
fairly established in the soil, the Weeping So¬ 
phora seems ns hardy as most other ornamen¬ 
tal trees. It does not transplant readily unless 
it has been moved repeatedly; or what amounts 
to the same thing, unless thus transplanted 
the roots are apt to be bare prongs without 
fiber. 
Propagators find this tree a difficult, subject 
to handle. In the first place, to graft it high, 
a straight, clean-barked seedling of Sophora 
Japonica is required, and this can lie most 
surely obtained by allowing the seedlings to 
stand close together in the row surrounded by 
In a recent letter to me Mr. Downing says : 
“ The New Rochelle is, as you say, veiy pro¬ 
ductive. but the color is against it as a market 
fruit, and I think one of a better color and 
better flavor will take its place some day.” 
That is well said, I add my own hope to Mi 1 . 
Downing’s. A New Rochelle with a bright 
color and acceptable flavor would be decidedly 
the greatest acquisition that has yet been made 
to the whole tribe of raspberries ; and we 
shall have it yet if originators of fruit will 
only turn their attention in that direction. 
Let any man who has a plant or two of the 
New Rochelle study its habit thoughtfully for 
a single season, and I think; he will reach the 
conclusion that, aside from the color and flavor 
of the fruit, the plant has more desirable points 
than any other raspberry in cultivation. Here 
is a good starting point and a rare opportunity 
for some man to make himself famous. May 
I live to make a grateful record of his success! 
Can anybody tell me why some of our best 
fruit trees should not be used as ornamental 
trees on the lawn i I mean any good and suf¬ 
ficient reason outside of the domain of preju¬ 
dice and sentiment f For example, my friend, 
who is a gentleman of culture and refined 
taste, has bought a small place in the country, 
and wants fruits, flowers, vegetables, orna¬ 
mental trees and shrubs, and a small lawn ; 
that is, a real lawn, and not a sham. Apples, 
pears, peaches, etc., he cannot have in useful 
quantity unless they are used as accessories to 
the lawn. Then why may he not use them in 
this way for the purpose of ornamentation, 
not exclusively, but in combination with what 
are called ornamental trees I I have told him 
he may. Is it anything deeper than prejudice 
which prevents the judicious use of fruit trees 
on the lawn 1 I have so employed them sev¬ 
eral times where fruit could not otheiavi.se ba 
gi'own, and am by no means dissatisfied with 
the result. Pleasing effects can in this way be 
generally produced even on a limited scale. 
A peach, a cherry, a plum, etc., with double 
flowers, are ornamental trees; with single 
flowers they are not. But why i What can 
be more beautiful than an apple, a pear, or a 
peach tree in full bloom ? Where a man has 
the choice of au orchard, that is the better 
place for Ins fruit trees, as he can cultivate 
them there as he cannot on the lawn, and se¬ 
cure better fruit ; but by top-dressing the 
lawn he can be pretty sure of fair crops of 
very good fruit. Therefore I say that, rather 
than be without fruit, I would plant fruit trees 
on my lawn. 
TrtE seed catalogues still continue to say that 
the Dwarf Golden Wax Bean is eight to ten 
days earlier than the Black Wax, and I still 
continue to prove that it is not. I have tried 
them again this year, with the same results as 
heretofore, that there is less than a day’s dif¬ 
ference between them. I imagine it will be a 
loug time before the Black Wax is much 
beaten in the race for earliuess ; yet our seeds¬ 
men still say it is eight or ten days behind, 
and will not be convinced to the contrary. 
They mean well, and I think well of them, so 
I shall continue to pray for the horticultural 
sinners till they repent. The reader should 
know that these Wax Beans are among the 
earliest and best of beans. 
THE WEEPING SOPHORA. — FIG. OOO 
I have before, in this column, made allusion 
to the discreditable manner in which some par- 
ties pack apples for the English market. Since 
then the complaints have grown louder and 
more frequent, and always coupled with the 
statement that our Canadian neighbors thus 
far pack fairly. Investigation, I am sorry to 
say , shows these complaints to be, in many 
cases, well founded. AU, of eourse, do not 
resort to this reprehensible method, but all 
should feel au interest in exposing and cor¬ 
recting the evil as fur as may be, for the sake 
of our common reputation. It will only re¬ 
sult in hurting the trade, and this trade is 
already of such dimensions us to be worth pre¬ 
serving, apples now forming an important 
item among our exports. It is officially stated 
est is all that is necessary to secure with a 
little patience, a moderate supply of any or¬ 
namental tree or shrub. 
The Weeping Sophora. —Our engraving 
was drawn from a specimen kindly furnished 
us by Mr, Parsons. The compound leaf is 
marked A.; the flower raceme B. and the leaf 
of natural size O. Several years ago, a speci¬ 
men of this attractive tree was planted at the 
Rural Grounds iu the Fall; but it did not sur¬ 
vive the severe Winter which followed. Wo 
have always, however, in the trying climate 
of the Rural Grounds met with better success 
in Spring than in Fall transplanting, let the 
kind of tree be fruit or ornamental. At the 
Rural Farm, on the other hand, where the soil-is 
more sandy and susceptible to dry weather. Fall 
transplanting has always proved successful. 
Are Agricultural Societies and similar in¬ 
stitutions as careful of their reputation for 
Consistency and justice in their awards as they 
should be l In 1879, at a certain fair, a com¬ 
mittee of experts reported a certain article as 
having no special merit, and as being a foreign 
invention, which latter of itself barred it from 
