!' 
Vol. XLII. No. 1768. 
NEW YORK, DECEMBER 15, 1883. 
PRICE FTVK CENTS 
*2.1)0 PER YEAR. 
[Entered aecorcIiiiB to Act of Congress. In the year 1888, by the Rural New-Yorker in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.! 
f loriatltitral. 
AKEBIA QUINATA. 
he list of geuera of climbing 
vines sir ted to this climate is a 
short one. There are, however, 
many beautiful and distinct 
varieties of one or two genera, 
such as the honeysuckle and cle¬ 
matis, that go far towards mak- 
lug up by their varied ehanns 
for this peculiar lack of actual 
genera among climbing plants. 
But the climbing vine akebia, on the other 
hand, has few species or varieties, and of 
these few one of the best is Quiuata, the vine 
and flower of which are shown in Fig. 690, 
and the fruit in Fig. 697. The attractions of 
the akebias, aud especially of A. quinata, 
are, however, so great that we can more read¬ 
ily forgive the small size of the family. 
Akebia quinata is a .Japanese plant loving, in 
its native home, declivities of mountains, 
although it is a common and valued plant 
throughout, the gardens of Japan. The foliage 
of this climber forms its principal attraction, 
being made up of clusters of fire little leaves, 
which, though quite tender while young, 
become tough in later life. Though this foliage 
is hardy and vigorous, and has a quaint and 
curiously ucftt appearance which makes the 
plant a valuable ornamental climber, it hardly 
grows thickly enough to cover ordinary trellises 
or walls satisfactorily, aud should therefore 
be mixed with the more bushy honeysuckle, or 
else trained over a large-meshed lattice of 
wire, like the clematis. 
The flowers are not, perhaps, as prominent 
as those of some climbers, but t hey are, never¬ 
theless, quite interesting. They bang in sim¬ 
ple, short, grape-1 ike clusters, aud are small, 
sweet-scented uud of a rich violet color. Each 
flower is composed of three petals, and the 
female flowers at the bti*e of the cluster sur¬ 
pass the adjoining male flowers in size and in 
the lengt h of t,he pedicels or secondary flower 
stems, 
We must not fail, however, to notice one of 
the most interesting features of the akebia, 
uamely, its fruit. Few have had the good 
fortune to examine the akebia fruit for them¬ 
selves, for in this country it is yet uncommon 
to see a bearing vine. It is difficult to say 
what is the cause of this shyness of hearing, 
although we ourselves have strivenin vain to 
produce fruit by impregnating with the pollen 
the viscid stigmas. The appearance of this 
fruit is certainly very curious; so curious, in¬ 
deed, that we have known the inside of it 
spread open in a half-decayed specimen to In? 
taken for some strange worm by certain Park 
officials living not a thousand miles from New 
York. Usually three or four iuches long, it 
is oblong in shape, and brown with a light 
tinge of violet, its taste is sweet, and is said to 
be agreeable. The accompanying sketches are 
from nature. 
BEGONIA REX. 
This is one of the most ornamental and 
highly prized of “ foliage” house plants, and, 
too, one of the most common, ltlikcs a warm, 
moist atmosphere, shade from sunshine, aud 
a moderate but not at all copious amount of 
water at the root. It loves to grow under the 
same conditions as Maiden-hair aud most 
other ferns, and thrives well in ordinary light, 
fibrous soil. It is one of the most useful 
plants we can use iti furnishiug our fern eases 
in Winter. Being naturally of a ouo-sided 
Akebia Quinata.—From Nature. Fig. 696. 
habit, it is peculiarly adapted as a bracket- 
plant in our dwelling houses, and as a house 
plant for a north or east-facing window. It 
is an excellent companion for ferns, Chinese 
Primroses and Spring-blooming bulbous 
plants, as hyacinths, polyanthus, narcissus, 
tulips, and the like. If the plants are stocky, 
strong and not overpotted, they should live 
well during the Winter months in a moder¬ 
planted along the pathways, and there allowed 
to naturalize themselves; and, indeed, it is a 
common occurrence to find the best plants 
growing on the floor. In fern houses where 
the ferns are plauted out in rustic fashion, 
these begonias are set out here and there 
among them; and in the case of fern walls, 
that is, north-facing or other shady walls sur¬ 
faced with turfy peat and moss held in place 
ately low temperature—say 45 deg.—aud w-hen 
repotted in April grow away as If their cool 
rest had been a benefit to them. But 15 deg. 
higher in temperature would be more in con¬ 
formity with their tastes. ~ In the flow er-gar- 
deu, exeeptjuuder exceptional circumstances, 
as on the shady side of a fence or building, 
they are not happy, the sunshine is too much 
for them. But out-of-doors in sheltered, 
shady places, either in pots or planted out, 
on a stand in some shady nook or on the 
piazza, provided they are kept moderately 
moist all the time, they maintain their beauty 
during the Summer mouths. 
In greenhouses, iu addition to being used as 
pot plants upon the stages, they are often 
by wire nettings, these Rex Begonias together 
with cyrtodeiras, flttonias, dwarf marantas 
and other shade-loving plants, are used iu 
company with the ferns to decorate the walls. 
The}' soon take fresh root and grow in size. 
Rex Begonias are propagated from seed, 
and more commonly from leaves, of which 
the whole leaves or pieces of them may be 
used. The seeds are as fine as dust, and need 
to be dusted on tine sandy soil in a pot or box. 
aud not covered. Whatever moisture is 
needed before the seeds germinate, should 
be given by dipping the bottom of the pot in 
water till it has absorbed enough Keep 
warm, shaded and away from drafts till the 
seeds germinate, aud afterwards till the seed 
Akebia Quinata Fruit. From Nature. Fig. (187. 
lings are big enough to be pricked off singly 
and about half an inch apart into other pots 
or boxes. To raise young plants from leaves, 
cut off a mature leaf, lay it on its back on a 
pot or small box filled with very sandy soil or 
pure sand, and with small stones or pegs 
fasten it to the sand; then sever wholly or 
half-through some of the larger veins beside 
a fork- These cuts will soon heal, and little 
bulb-like buds, as it were, will form at the 
incisions, and soon develop into plants. Or 
you may cut the leaves into pieces aud insert 
as you would leaves of gloxinias. This you 
can do in Summer. 
Our illustration (Fig. 698) shows the true 
Begonia Rex. Fig. 698. 
Rex Begonia with its broad, silvery band. 
But there are many other species and garden 
varieties of equally striking form and beauty 
and as easily cultivated. For instance, Roi 
Leopold, reddish crimson: Splendida superba, 
silvery throughout, and suffused with reddish 
hair: Jules Chretien, claret-tinted; Nivosa, 
green, spotted with silver: and others as 
Duchesse de Brabant, Comte de Lemininghe, 
Queen Victoria aud Marshallii. 
Dtxinj ijitsbnni)nj. 
DAIRY NOTES FROM ENGLAND. 
PROFESSOR J. P. SHELDON. 
The attention of practical dairymen is now 
being directed, as it never was before, to the 
milk, cheese and butter-yielding capaci 
ties of individual cows in America, and 
of breeds of cow's in Britain, With us 
the yield of milk, and with you the 
yield of butter, seem to be the leading tests 
of merit. Cheese in both countries, although 
it is an immensely important dairy product, 
seems to be left, somehow, in the background, 
so far, at all events, as makiug it a test of 
profit is concerned. The quantity of milk on 
the one hand, and the weight as w ell us the 
quantity of hotter ou the other, are, in our 
respective countries, recognized in some sort * 
us the be-all aud the end-all of the capacity 
of cows to make their owners rich. With us, 
I regret to say. the quality of milk is, prac¬ 
tically, regarded as of less importance than 
the quantity of it; with you, the butter test, 
which, after all, is the chief test of the qual¬ 
ity of milk, appears to have taken the lead, 
iu popular estimation, over both milk aud 
cheese. 
Reasons for these things are, perhaps, not 
far to seek. Iu your country butter is a lead¬ 
ing product of the dairy, yielding an instant 
return of cash, so to speak, and us differing 
quality of batter with you means a far' greater 
difference in value than it. does with us, it is 
quite natural that you should go in so heavily 
ou the Jerseys, whoso milk is the richest and 
whose butter is the best and deepest-colored 
of any milk and butter in auy country and 
from any breed of cow's. In our country, on 
the contrary, the rnargiu of price between 
the best aud middling butter, is too narrow' 
