THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
written by him, although his name was not 
signed to them. 
The Rural New-Yorker -was the first 
journal to present a portrait of this berry. It 
was drawn from nature by our own artist. 
The berry has been tested both at the Rural 
Farm and Rural Grounds, and our remarks 
respecting it have been made by not less than 
six different persons. Mr. Roe does not con¬ 
trol this berry—has never controlled it and 
t Ultra! 
or had experience with the other? It must 
be guided wholly by what others say and this 
guide as applied to new things, has proven it¬ 
self ro extremely fallible that it has misguided 
thousands and caused millions of money to be 
expended in unprofitable ventures. It is a 
truth that tho great advertising interests of 
this country to a frightful extent control the 
average agricultural journal. The journal 
must be supported, and it does not run the risk 
daily and weekly; Dispatch, weekly; and the 
News, daily. The banking facilities of the 
city are ample, the business men active, and 
their stores well stocked and of metropolitan 
pretensions. The commercial business for 
1881 amounted to *1,3413.750. Besides the 
railroad expenditures, $300,000 were expended 
for permanent improvements, which include 
several handsome brick buildings. 
Gregory Square is a handsome park 6S0 feet 
each way, centrally located, with a natural 
setting of stately pines of uniform size. An¬ 
other small park is upon the railroad grounds. 
The citv has a neat place of amusement called 
Hartley’s Opera Hall, which has stage, scenery 
and accessories. The prices of lots and lands 
have materially increased during tho past 
year. Business lots worth a year ago from 
$500 to $1,000, now bring $750 to $8,500. Res¬ 
idence lots have risen from $75 to $135 to 
$200. Lots in the first addition between the 
original town and shops, bring about the same. 
Those in Farrar and Forsyth’s addition, north 
of and adjoining the railroad manufacturing 
grounds (some beautiful sites), sell at from 
$125 to $500; those in-Sleeper’s addition ad¬ 
joining the shops, at from $75 to $150; those in 
Paine's addition, adjoining this on the south, 
at from $35 to $100, aud those in Hayne’s ad - 
dition to the east of Farrar and Forsyth’s and 
northeast of the shops, at from $25 to $75. 
The lots in several of these additions are near¬ 
ly all sold for permanent improvement and 
occupancy. 
The manufacturing interests of the city are 
important and rapidly developing. Besides 
those of the Northern Pacific, there are a 
large sash, door and blind factory, a boat shop, 
brick yards with a capacity for 8,000,000 
bricks in burning kilns, which in quality equal 
Milwaukee bricks. We learned of Lyman P. 
White, the agent for the Lake Superior and 
Puget Sound Land Co. (the wheel within a 
wheel on town sites), that C. A, Pillsbury & 
Co., of Minneapolis, are to build a saw-mill 
of|150,000 capacity, with two “gangs,” at Rice 
Lake, a mile and a quarter up the river. 
Croget & Howard are to build a saw-mill 
opposite the city—a “gang” mill of some 
85,000 capacity. There is a future here in 
hard wood manufacturing, as a great abun¬ 
dance of suitable timber of the best varieties is 
to be found within 40 miles southwest on the 
L, F. & D. Railway (a part of the N. P. sys¬ 
tem), and as near as 20 miles to the north. 
The refuse from sawing would furnish abun¬ 
dant material for power, and steam for bent 
work at nominal expense. 
The most important maufaeturing inter¬ 
ests of Brainerd as well as the greatest impe¬ 
tus to the growth of the town are the mam¬ 
moth and expensive improvements already 
spoken of as made by the Northern Pacific Rail¬ 
way. Having obtained from the motive pow¬ 
er department the report of work done and 
yet unfinished, we will append it unaltered. 
“The general plan comprises the following 
buildings, viz: A locomotive engine house 316 
feet in diameter; covered annular portion 67 
feetdeep, with capacity for 44engines. Machine 
and erecting shops 120x508 feet, placed at 
right angles with main line and connected by 
tracks with engine house and transfer pit 40x 
548 feet, placed parallel to, and extendiog the 
full length of, the machine shop. The machine 
shop will have accommodations for 23 locomo¬ 
tives at one time for repairs. Annexed to ma¬ 
chine shops is boiler and engine room, 40x80, 
with brick smoke-stack 100 feet high. On the 
opposite side of the transfer pit and facing the 
machine shop, are located a boiler shop, SOx 
102 feet; a copper shop 80x62 feet; a tank re¬ 
pair shop, 80x122 feet; a blacksmith shop SOx 
162 feet, under one roof separated by brick 
fire walls. The buildings are arranged with 
suitable storehouses for fuel and iron in con¬ 
nection with them. A general storehouse and 
office building 40x300, are arranged so that 
These, botanically known as Funkia, and 
commonly called Blue or White Day Lilies, 
according to the color of their flowers, are 
among the good, old-fashioned, hard.y perenni¬ 
als we should like to see more recognized in 
our gardens than they are at present. They 
are natives of China and Japan, perfectly 
hardy, and adapt themselves very agreeably 
to cultivation in our gardens. There are 
several sorts well worth growing and not un¬ 
common in our gardens, but there is great 
confusion in their nomenclature. Siebold’s 
Funkia —which is the one represented in 
our illustration—is a noble plant and forms a 
large mass of tropical-appouring, glaucous- 
green leaves which are of themselves very 
ornamental. It blossoms about or before the 
middle of July, and has large, lilac-blue, scents 
less flowers. Fortune’s Funkia is nearly re¬ 
lated to Siebold’s, Tho species commonly 
known as the White Day Lily, namely subcor- 
data and its larger form called grandiflora are, 
however, perhaps tho best of all for us. They 
have large masses of green leaves, and in July 
and August, lots of large, funnel-shaped, white, 
fragrant blossoms. The common Blue Day 
Lily, known as ovata, is at its best durii^j the 
last fortnight of July; it is, too, a vigorous 
species with ample leaves; but of it there arc 
some varieties of smaller growth aud later 
season. The Nurrow-leafed Funkia is a pretty 
little species that blossoms in September; its 
flowers are blue. Besides these species and 
several other varieties esteemed for thetr 
flowers, there are many very distinctly varie¬ 
gated leafed varieties, such as the White, the 
Blue, tiie Lance-leafed, and especially one 
called undulata. The most, prominently 
variegated form cf undulata has white leaves 
banded around with green, not unlike those of 
a recently introduced hydrungea. The varie¬ 
gated forms flower as freely as the plain-leaf¬ 
ed ones, except, perhaps, in the case of undu¬ 
lata, but in that instance the foliage is reckon¬ 
ed of more importance than the flowers, and 
in order to prolong the season of the good 
condition of the leaves, the flower spikes are 
usually plucked off before the blossoms open. 
Besides, as border clumps the variegated sorts 
are often used as edgings to shrubbery bor¬ 
ders. 
These Funkias are of the easiest possible 
culture, and enjoy a rich, friable soil and a 
sheltered but faintly shaded situation. They 
will grow well enough in the open, sunny 
border or under the thin shade of trees, and 
the stronger kinds especially will hold their 
own with profit if planted out as clumps upon 
the grass in some slightly shaded place. The 
great drawback to the planting of them in 
open, sunny places is their susceptibility to 
“scorching” in Summer. It is very vexing to 
find that when your Funkias ate in untarnish¬ 
ed vigor, there comes a shower or a day or 
two of dull weather succeeded by hot suu- 
shine, and your Funkia leaves are all damaged. 
But such is the case, and we know of no plants 
more certaiuly affected in this way than the 
Funkias. 
They all ripen seeds, some kinds, as ova'a, 
do so extravagantly, but for tidiness’ sake it 
is well to cut over the spikes as soon as the 
flowers are past. They are readily propagat¬ 
ed from seeds; indeed, even so fine a species as 
Siebold’s sows itself freely ; but the varie¬ 
gated forms are perpetuated by division. 
They are perfectly hardy, but the first frost 
cuts them down as if they were dahlias, but 
the roots are unhurt. It is a good plan then 
to cut away the leaves and place a forkful of 
decayed mauure about their crowns there to 
remain; when they begin to gron in Spring, 
their leaves will soon cover the manure which 
not only stimulates them as food, but pie- 
serves the soil cool and open about the 
crowus. 
Funkias used to be known as Duy Lilies, 
but this common name being also used for the 
genus Hemeroeallis, Mr. Robinson, of Eng¬ 
land, recently advertised for a new English 
name for Funkia. Among the mauy proposed 
"Plantain Lily” was the one he accented. He 
of cutting off the best source of its income. 
But this policy is really short-sighted, for just 
so soon as it is made to appear that honest 
motives guide alike a journal’s praises and 
censures, just so soon will the independent, 
conscientious journal reap the benefit of its 
course by the very confidence it inspires in the 
minds of its readers. Years ago when first 
the Rural came under its present manage¬ 
ment, we laid out this course as the one we 
should aim to pursue. But it was up-hill work 
for a time. Our advertising clerks opposed it. 
When we published the seed tests of Prof. Beal, 
which did not speak well for the purity or 
freshness of the seeds of several seedsmen, our 
advertising interests suffered in a way that 
induced an unpleasant feeling that such a 
course and a full and profitable advertising 
department were inimical. But that is all 
past. The Rural to-day, at prices which are 
invariable, commands all of the advertising 
patronage that it should give space to, and 
that, too, for the most part, of the best firms 
in the country, while its circulation, as we 
are willing to show to all, is constantly in¬ 
creasing. Its policy of speaking the truth 
whenever it knows what the truth is, regardless 
of advertising interests, has certainly proven 
that, in the one case at least, it pays to con¬ 
sult, as a first consideration, the interests of 
those for whom the journal is professedly 
published. 
BRAINERD, MINNESOTA. 
Unusual Development.—Rapid Growth, 
Northern Pacific Division Head¬ 
quarters.-—Improvements 
Nearing- $500,000. 
MESSRS. HOLMES AND SWEETLAND. 
[Special Correspondents of the Rural N’kw-Yorkkr,] 
The first house was built in Braimrd in the 
Fall of 1870, and for ten years the town en¬ 
joyed what might be termed a healthy 
growth. Its location was especially fortunate, 
being upon the banks of the Mississippi River, 
encompassed by primeval forests, which to 
the sturdy settlers who laid out and founded 
the town foretold prosperity. 
'• No. there is a necessity In fate 
Why stltl the brave, bold man Is fortunate." 
And truly in those early days of pioneering, 
settlement in the then “New Northwest” re¬ 
quired a great amount of bravery and bold¬ 
ness, and the most enthusiastic among the pio¬ 
neers would have fallen far short of the truth 
had he endeavored to forecast the Brainerd of 
to-day. 
Now, however, with the experience of the 
past and the truths of the present spread be¬ 
fore us with panoramic vividness, there are 
certain deductions which can be drawn, which 
will scarcely fail of complete realization. To 
enable the many thousand readers of tho Ru¬ 
ral to do this for themselves we will append 
a pen picture of the Brainerd of to-day. 
By actual count the city has 4,706 inhabit¬ 
ants, though the census of 1SS0 only enumer¬ 
ated 2,100. The Congregationalist church was 
destroyed by fire last year, but the founda¬ 
tions are in for a new one to be built at once 
to cost $8,000. Other churches of Episcopal, 
Mr. A. G. Gulley made a statement to the 
South Ilaveu Bornological Society (usreported 
for the Michigan Farmer) respecting Mr. Roe 
aud the Bidwell Strawberry, which was decid¬ 
edly incorrect. He said that all the cuts of 
the Bidwell Strawberry which have appeared 
in the different periodicals and papers were E. 
1. Roe’s, and nearly all the articles praising 
up the wonderful qualities of that berry were 
