4333 
THE BUBAL NEW-YORKER. 
price at which they sell steer beef. If a 
man can be his own feeder, butcher 
and retailer, he can find a profit in the busi¬ 
ness no doubt: at least that is my view, based 
on such limited experience as I have had. To 
pay, it must be made a business conducted on 
business principles, in my view. 
Essex Co., N. J. 
NORDMANNS FIR. 
A young specimen of this splendid conifer 
was planted at the Rural Grounds, some 13 
or 14 years ago. It is now 15 feet high and 
has never been injured by the heat of summer 
or the frosts of winter. It seems, therefore, 
to be hardy in this situation. We know, 
however, of a tree of about the same age and 
fine evergreen and worthy of a place in every 
collection. 
Our illustration is from a photograph taken 
the past spring. 
TREE NOTES. 
We have had the Rhus Osbeckii, and find¬ 
ing it like the common sumach—Rhus glabra— 
very much inclined to throw up suckers, dug 
it up. It answers for a variety, ’tis true, but 
we could see little beauty in it. Seeing in a 
French catalogue the Dimorphanthus Mand- 
schuriGus we thought that with such a terribly 
long, hard name, it must be valuable, and 
bought a few. Although an improvement on 
the Hercules Club it threw up suckers so boun¬ 
tifully that they had to go, and the young 
plants are so thorny as to be dangerous to pass 
them by unguardedly. 
Early last summer while visiting in Ontario, 
I was greatly surprised to find in some places ■ 
the ground covered with a white, downy sub- ■ 
it grows compact; its leaves are a light green 
and glossy, and in the autumn on Long 
Island, where the maples seldom show the 
autumn foliage, it is the most beautiful shade 
of dark red. Interspersed with maples, mak¬ 
ing a striking contrast in ornamental planting, 
is the White Linden. It is a strong, upright 
grower and hardy and the weeping variety 
standing alone, is, in my opinion, the most per¬ 
fect specimen of a symmetrical tree that I have 
seen. It should be planted alone and not in a 
row with other trees, as otherwise its beauty 
of form and foliage will be overlooked. The 
American Linden or Basswood when planted 
in suitable soil is a fast-growing tree and it 
should be selected with a leader or it will not 
be a tree of beautiful form. The European 
Linden is not so rapid a grower; but it has 
finer foliage and is far more desirable than 
the tall-growing elms for which we must wait 
so many years before they form a shade or 
develop their value on light soil. The Platy- 
phylla or Broad-leaved Linden, is more] fre¬ 
quently planted here ; but the leaves turn 
brown from a fungus that preys on it, and 
fall off in early autumn, and to this pest the 
European sort is not subject. Isaac hicks. 
Queens Co., N. Y. 
^Gxticuituxai. 
WATERMELONS AND THE NEW 
DWARF LIMA. 
Watermelons , Kolb's Gem is valued only for 
its shipping qualities; injury to other 
melons of better quality. The dwarf 
Sieva bean; high words of praise. 
I always read with pleasure and profit, so 
far as difference in climate will per¬ 
mit, what Mr. William Falconer has 
to say, and therefore I have noted 
his remarks as to the “Green and 
Gold” melon and the new bush Sieva 
bean. We think down here that we 
know good melons; but I fear, as Mr. 
F. speaks of Kolb’s Gem as popular, 
that you must have a poor opinion 
of our taste. Kolb’s Gem is raised 
in this section solely to ship, as no 
one here would think of buying one 
to eat, if he could get any other. I 
think it has done more injury to the 
melons of this section than anything 
ever introduced, as it has been plant¬ 
ed so largely to ship north that it 
has crossed with nearly all the other 
varieties, deteriorating them. Green 
and Gold is much superior in quality 
to Kolb’s Gem, and has one advan¬ 
tage I never knew in any other 
melon, which is, that no matter how 
much rain falls, Green and Gold 
never rots at the bloom end, while 
excess of water causes all others 
to do so. 
As to the dwarf Sieva bean,]I can 
speak ex cathedrd, having grown 
and watched it with special atten¬ 
tion. I have never known anything 
to bloom as it does. I have never 
known a plant to resist drought and 
so rejoice in heat as it seems to do. 
It will in my opinioti, if the beans 
are picked green for eating, give an 
uninterrupted succession of beans ftr 
the table, in this climate, from June 
until the latter part of October. Mine 
were planted too late, in May, and 
yet I picked dried beans in July, and 
a crop of dried seed, every eight or 
10 days thereafter until the August 
storms, which checked them. In 
September they put out a new 
growth, blooms and pods—and to-day 
(October 22), while I am picking my 
seventh picking of dry beans, there 
are fully matured green ones on the 
bushes, and new blooms. 
1 planted Dreer’s Improved and 
Challenger Limas at the same time 
and have never had “a mess” from 
either. The season has been very 
unfavorable — cold with drying 
winds, except at midsummer. I 
believe that in this section the 
dwarf Sieva bean will yield for 
the table 10 times the quantity of 
beans that any running Lima will. 
If the season had been favorable and 
all the blooms which first came on 
the bushes had set pods, the crop 
would have paid handsomely. I 
have no pecuniary interest in the 
dwarf Sieva bean. 
Americus, Ga. a. w. s. 
THE PARAGON CHESTNUT. 
On Oct. 29 we received from H. M. Engle & 
Son, of Lancaster Co., Pa., seven burrs of the 
chestnut called Paragon. Each contained 
three chestnuts at least one-third larger than 
our largest American chestnuts. 
The quality is nearly as good as that of our 
American chestnuts, while the size is much 
larger. We are assured by Mr. Engle that 
his grafted trees bear in the nursery rows the 
second year from the graft. This we can 
readily believe since a single tree planted at 
the Rural Grounds last spring bore both 
male and female blossoms which were des¬ 
troyed in order to prevent so great a strain 
upon the newly-planted tree which bearing 
fruit would have caused. There is little doubt 
in our mind that this is a Japan seedling. 
The quality of the nuts, their splendid size, the 
productiveness of the trees and their early 
bearing all go to show that the Rural’s hope 
that a greatly improved variety of chestnut 
would be derived from the Japan species is 
thus soon in the way of being realized. We ad¬ 
vise our friend to try one ,at least,of these trees. 
FROM STEPHEN HOYT’S SONS. 
Here in New England it would be a losing 
business to buy feed to fatten steers even if 
one raised the hay. The Chicago beef trade 
has killed the fatting of beef here entirely. 
No butcher butchers now. The most profita¬ 
ble stock to raise in connection with garden¬ 
ing and fruit raising is hogs. They utilize all 
waste and if stuff is given them they will 
make a large quantity of manure. Poultry 
is also profitable. Sheep are out of 
the question. If a farmer has land 
so that he raises hay or grain, he 
had better sell all the hay and straw 
he has to spare and not try to feed 
it out. For feed or manure it is 
not worth what it will bring in 
market. Turn everything of that 
kind into cash and buy fertilizers. 
With turf and fertilizers land- can 
be brought into strong fertility and 
produce large crops in the mean¬ 
time. We have spent much money 
and time in buying, hauling and 
handling yard or stable manure, and 
we have come to the conclusion that 
it does not pay to haul and handle 
75 to 80 per cent, of water to get a 
few pounds of fertilizer. Plow in 
turf often for vegetable matter, and 
use chemicals for the rest, and larger 
crops can be raised and the land be 
brought up faster. Labor uses up all 
the receipts from crops unless 
worked to the very best advantage. 
The labor of handling ten or twelve 
cords of manure would nearly buy 
and apply fertilizer enough for an 
acre, and the crop could be got in 
many times two or three days sooner 
by using the fertilizer instead of the 
manure. 
Fairfield Co., Conn. 
FROM N. HALLOCK. 
From my knowledge of market 
gardeners, I think the failures would 
be due to lack of judgment in the 
purchase of stock in the fall, and the 
sale of it in the spring. The buying 
and selling of stock this way is 
mostly in the hands of Jews, and 
with but little experience in that 
kind of trading, the gardeners would 
get left. 
Again, feed and hay would have 
to be purchased as there is not 
enough grown here to supplj more 
than is required for the teams and 
it is not uncommon to see a market- 
man returning with a bale of hay in 
his wagon for home feeding. With 
the lack of experience in purchasing 
stock and the expense of procuring 
feed, I think few would be found to 
try the experiment. Market garden¬ 
ers now have manure delivered by 
car or boat at a certain price, which 
is a fixed quantity in their calcula¬ 
tions. Some there are who sell milk 
in connection with trucking, but 
their number does not increase, and 
some have abandoned it, or dimin¬ 
ished the number of their cows. 1 
have known parties of good business 
ability to raise pigs in considerable 
numbers, but after a few years’ 
trial, they abandoned the business 
as not having sufficient attrac¬ 
tions or profit. Poultry raising 
has been boomed as a rich 
placer, but I can buy lots of deserted 
glass houses and unused incubators, showing 
that the average farmer is better off by fol¬ 
lowing his regular course. Although there 
will always be found men who prosper in any 
calling, their number is comparatively small. 
I should advise any one to go slow in new de¬ 
partures. 
Creedmoor, N. Y. 
size being killed, root and branch, less than 
two miles from ihe Rural Grounds, during 
a severe winter. An unusually dry fall pre¬ 
ceding may have caused its death rather 
than the severe winter, as other conifers re¬ 
garded as perfectly hardy were also killed. 
This beautiful fir is said to be hardy in Roch¬ 
ester, and it may stand still colder climates. 
Abies (Picea) Nordmanniana was first dis¬ 
covered by Prof. Nordmann growing upon the 
Adshar Mountains, at an elevation of some 
5,000 feet. Some of the trees were 100 feet 
in hight. It is found also on the Crimean 
Mountains. The leaves are a full inch in 
length, of a dark, very glossy green on the 
upper surface, and of a glaucous color under¬ 
neath, making a pleasing contrast not unlike 
that seen in Alcock’s spruce. It is certainly a 
stance like a miniature snow,and found it pro¬ 
ceeded from some large cottonwood trees 
and was told that this down shed from the 
catkins of these trees was a great nuisance, 
and in the town the trees had all to be cut 
down, and as there are other’varieties of pop¬ 
lar better and more desirable, I would advise, 
people not to plant these. The Carolina and 
Balm of Gilead are better and the Elegans 
has handsome foliage and is a highly orna¬ 
mental shade tree. 
Our Pbellodendron is much prettier than 
the Rhus Osbeckii and although it is not of 
large size, still it promises to be one of the 
most desirable of that class of pinnate foliage 
such as the Coffee tree, walnuts, ashes, aiian- 
thus, etc. Why is the liquidambar so little 
planted? When transplanted once or twice 
NORDMANN’S FIR. From a Photograph. Fig, 381, 
