tiWf. 
434 
THE RURAL 
-YORKER. 
MARCH 2 
MID-WINTER BEAUTIES. 
As we walk about the Bubal Ghounds to-day, 
there are several plants that are attractive be¬ 
yond most others. They show that with a little 
care in making selections, the winter garden 
might be made far moro interesting than it is. 
The Golden Itetinospora is now as richly 
golden as in the early fall, and must be ranked 
among the first of hardy winter plants. It is 
charming at any season of the year, perhapB 
most so just after it has made its growth in 
spring, when the new shoots present an incom¬ 
parable freshness and delicacy of coloring. But 
now we prize it more in contrast with the dull 
brown or olive color of Arbor-vibes, Spruces, and 
Firs, and see that all vegetable life is in the very 
depths of its wintry rest. There are some plants 
so beautiful that we are impatient at their Blow 
spread and appreciation. Spring is upon us. 
We tell our readers, who have plants to order, to 
include this. 
Shall we implore them to do so ? Shall we 
say, “Doit if you value our friendship ?” And 
then should the plant disappoint them—what 
then? Then they need not ever speak to ns 
again. So yon see, Bubal friends, how muoh 
we are willing to hazard upon the beauty and 
worth of the Golden Retinospora. 
The variegated Pinus Massonianus is a tree of 
great promise for this climate. Its “needles" 
are now of a bright yellow, and it has thus far 
stood the winter without the least injury. Our 
account of it, with an engraving, a few weeks 
since, will be remembered. 
As a winter out-of-door plant, Ynoca filamen- 
tosa is of rare merit. For hill-sides, lake-bor¬ 
ders, or clamped here and there among dwarf 
evergreeDB, its long curved leaves, which re¬ 
main quite green through the winter, are always 
pleasing to look upon. 
crossing Lilies. We cannot give the particulars. 
But the gist of it is, that with only two or three 
exceptions, all the seedlings closely resembled 
the female plant. Lilinms auratum, speciosum, 
longiflorum and Buperbum were the species 
used for crossing. 
Prof. Gray oonclndes his article as follows: 
“ All this is very curious indeed. We knew that 
The Bashaw race owes its origin to Grand 
Bashaw, a horse imported from Barbary, and 
it has been represented principally through bis 
Bon, Young Bashaw, and the latter’s sons, An¬ 
drew Jackson, Black Bashaw and Saladiu. The 
first of the trio was also the first stallion that 
ever trotted in public, his best performance hav¬ 
ing been in 1835, when he trotted two miles in 
Variegated Euonymus Badioans. 
Kalmia latifolia, our Mountain Laurel, is now 
one of the greenest shrubs to be seen. It is 
quite common in some of the woods within a 
short distance of these Grounds, and yet it is 
rarely to be seen in the gardens of the neighbor¬ 
hood. Several have tried to transplant it with¬ 
out success. 
It is only necessary, however, to dig about the 
roots, so that the soil may adhere to the fibers 
which grow near the surface, and to shade the 
plants during the first spring and summer. 
Their flowers, which vary from white to rose, are 
both odd and showy. (See page 137.) 
Among decidnous shrubs which attract the 
eye in winter and are worthy of a place in our 
winter garden, is the blood-wigged Dog-wood, 
Comus stolonifera (or aaDgninea of catalogues). 
The stems are as smooth as gl&BS, and of the 
color of blood, so that, especially when snow 
covers the ground, they stand out conspicu¬ 
ously. The variegated Euonymua radicanB is 
also a sturdy dwarf bush with evergreen leaves 
of light green margined with white. (See cut). 
There are scores of plants that are as pretty 
in the winter as in the summer, a happy selec¬ 
tion and arrangement of which, as we stated in 
the beginning, would render gardens during that 
long dreary period, rather more inviting than 
they seem to be at present. 
Prof. Gray, in the American Agriculturist, 
GEO. 
offspring might take a great deal more after one 
parent than the other. But that the female sex 
should be so prepotent in Lilies, is a quite unex¬ 
pected result. That in so many cases the influ¬ 
ence of the male parent should be imperceptible 
is most wonderful.” 
Several years ago, the writer became inter¬ 
ested in crossing Pelargoniums, the main results 
of which were published in these oolamns a while 
afterwards. In the hopes of prodncing a variety 
which should bear flowers as intensely scarlet as 
Jean Sisley, with a pure white center muoh 
larger, we crossed it with Madam Yanoher, one 
of the oldest white Pelargoniums, and still one 
of the best. From the seeds thus obtained, we 
raised at least fifty plants, and every one was 
scarlet, most of them with a white eye smaller, 
and not one larger, than Jean Sisley. This was 
made the female parent because it formed seeds 
far more readily than the pollen parent Vaucher. 
In onr other crosses with Pelargoniums, also, 
it always seemed that the female parent, was? 
more potent in impressing itself upon the seed¬ 
lings than the male, but as in these instances 
we were simply striving to obtain improved va¬ 
rieties, we canuot Bpeak with any precision. 
It may appear from the above that there are 
other genera besides Liliurn, the seed bearers of 
which, when crossed with other specieB, are 
more potent than the pollen parents in transmit¬ 
ting their likeness. 
Rural Grounds, Feb. 20. 
a hr Ijorsfman. 
NOTED TROTTERS. NO. 2. 
CASSIUS M. CLAY, JB. 
In the once splendid horse, Cassius M. Clay, 
PALMER. 
, 5.18. Before his day, the opinion was general 
that entire horses would he mined for service 
if “ put through the mill ” for racing purposes. 
Cassius M. Clay Jr., is his great-grandson 
through Henry Clay and old Cassius M. Clay, 
also the sire of George M. Patchen. It is pretty 
generally conceded that the Bashaws are infe¬ 
rior to the Messenger hue as natural trotters ; 
but it ib no easy matter to separate them, as 
Young Bashaw's dam was a Messenger mare, 
and in many other oases, also, the lines have been 
intimately mingled. For instance, CaBsius M. 
Clay, Jr. received, through his dam, another 
strong dash of Messenger blood, his maternal 
grandsire, Chancellor, having been by Mambrino, 
son of the far-famed Imported Messenger. 
From this gray, thorough-bred, English horse, 
imported into this country in the latter part of 
the last century, all versed in the origin and 
characteristics of the American trotting horse, 
concede that the highest types of that valuable 
' race are descended. Indeed, in view of the ex¬ 
cellence of which he was the founder, and of the 
vast extent of the interest that has sprung from 
his loins, it has been well remarked, though per¬ 
haps with just a trifle of enthusiastic exaggera¬ 
tion, that when he descended the gang-plank of 
the vessel that brought him over, the value of 
not less than one hundred million dollars struck 
our Boil. Before his death, in 1808, he covered in 
this country, daring 20 seasons, and as he had 
plenty of mares and was a sure foal-getter, it is 
estimated that he must have been the sire of 
about 1000 horses. His sons also were long- 
lived and as constantly employed in the work of 
increase as himself, and his grandsons likewise 
impressed on their multitudinous progeny the 
excellent characteristics he owned and conferred. 
Now, taking into account the remarkable power 
these horses had of stamping their living image 
on all their get, and of infusing into their sons 
CAS S1US M. CLAY, Ir. 
Jr., now somewhat aged, is liberally united the t and daughters the attributes of pluok, resolution, 
blood of the famous Bashaw with that of the and endurance, some estimate can be formed of 
tells of Mr. Francis Parkman’s experience in I still more illustrious Messsenger. 
the vast influence Messenger haB had on the I 
trotting stock of this country. Experience 
has shown that the blood of this celebrated 
horse “ hits" with almost any other strain, 
a fact that increases the value of the pedigree 
of Cassius M. Clay, Jr. This stallion iB of a 
rich brown color, and nearly 16 hands high. 
His legs are clean and flat, bis Bhoulders sloping 
his chest deep and back short. He has powerful 
hind-quarters, a beautifully eet-on head, a flow¬ 
ing mane, heavy tail, and a fine, graceful car¬ 
riage. His eye is marvelously full, and his hoofs 
round and solid. He has now a numerous 
progeny, favorably known among tbe “ Clays.” 
GEORGE PALMER. 
Some military commanders, like William of 
Orange, for instance, have achieved an honor¬ 
able reputation for generalship, although pretty 
uniformly unsuccessful in the field, and simi¬ 
larly, George Palmer, who died a couple of 
weeks ago, won high distinction for speed, al¬ 
though ordinarily unlucky on the trotting track. 
Like the English King, his misfortune lay in 
that he wan far too often matched with the very 
few rivals just able to baffle him. Lady Thorn, 
Goldsmith Maid, American Girl, and Lucy, the 
illustrious quartette of mares, that since the with¬ 
drawal of Dexter, have generally carried off the 
highest honors of the trotting track, were, all or 
moBt of them, his chief competitors in his most 
famous efforts. Although more than once he out¬ 
stripped each of these in individual heats ; still 
one or other of them was fortunate enough in 
nearly every instanoe, to win the chief honors, 
and, better still in their owners’ eyeB, the first 
money. For instanoe, on the 8th of October, 
1869, in a race with the four mighty mares at 
Narragansett Park, he won the third heat in his 
best time, 2 m. 19)^ s., and carried off the sec¬ 
ond money; but Lady Thorn gained the race, 
after having won the second heat in her beBt 
time, 2 m. 18}^ s. 
George Palmer was a bay geldiug, small, nar¬ 
row, and light in the bone, and at first sight few 
would consider him as fast and enduring as 
many closely contested races proved him to be. 
It is generally believed that his sire was a horse 
called Lame Bogus and his dam an unknown 
mare; but late researches prove that Lame 
Bogns died in 1843, while George Palmer was 
not foaled until 1861. According to Wallace's 
recent discoveries he was bred by Allen Wat¬ 
son, of Stafford, GeneBee County, N. Y., and was 
got by Ames' Bogus, known after his son had be¬ 
come famous as Palmer’s Bogus, a grandson of 
Lame Bogus, through his son Ballard’s Bogus, 
a flue hay, 16 hands high and an excellent 
roadster. Palmers dam waB a chestnut mare, 
said, without sufficient investigation, to have 
been a daughter of old Henry Clay, the sire of 
Cassius M. Clay, and progenitor of the Clay 
breed of trotting horses. 
Jfaitit ®0|JUS. 
WHY CITY FARMERS FAIL. 
WM. J. FOWLEB. 
The stress of the time is compelling thousands 
of families who have heretofore lived in cities, 
to go to the country. Men who have failed in 
other business take the remnants of their for¬ 
tunes and betake themselves to the country 
with the idea that they can make money by 
farmiDg. Almost invariably this idea has 
proved delusive. Men who do not succeed in 
avocations where they have spent their best 
years and which, it is to be presumed, they 
understand, will not usually do better in a busi¬ 
ness about which they know little or nothing. 
Farming especially is a poor business for begin¬ 
ners. It requires considerable capital and un¬ 
less this is carefully watched much is sure to be 
wasted. Besides, at the best, farming is never 
a very profitable business. During the last 
four years only good farmers have made any 
thing more than a living. If we are to have an 
influx of thousands crowded out or starved out 
of the cities the prospect ahead ib quite as blue. 
Fanning is a safe business, but even this is only 
true of experienced farmers, for they are in¬ 
variably so cautions that they would make any 
business safe. If the beginner in farming 
thinks of going ahead at railroad speed, thero is 
jnBt &b much likelihood of a smash-up on tbe 
farm as on the rail. 
We know very well the answer which will be 
made to these forebodings. It is that the city 
farmer proposes to do bo muoh better than all 
his neighbors that his increased expenses will 
be more than met by still larger profits. They 
know only the rose-oolorod side of farming. 
“Nature works for the husbandman. He 
plants or sows the seed and the crop is growing 
while he is sleeping.” These and like aphorisms 
have satisfied them that farming is a simple and 
easy business. If farmers do not make money, 
it is because they are so incorrigibly stupid and 
old-fogyish. With all their doubts about the 
ability of average farmers, they have none 
