THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
JUNE 28 
spread either upon the grass or upon plowed 
ground and harrowed in for fodder crops. 
There was nothing lost there, certaiuly; all 
that was in the manure was put to use at once. 
But a practice, however good, cannot always 
be used in all cases ; and some farmers must 
do the best they can, although they lose some¬ 
thing by it.” 
“ Just as I did,” replied the old gentleman. 
gleaned. R. album elegans, a. grandiflorum and 
other whites usually considered hardy, were 
considerably injured last winter, whereas such 
kinds as Everestianum, Alex. Dancer. Charles 
Dickens, H. W. Sargent and Chancellor, occu¬ 
pying the same beds and growing under the 
same conditions, have not lost a leaf or bud, 
but look the very pictures of health. 
The garden and pleasure-grounds, compris¬ 
ing some 130 acres, are naturally rolling and 
^rbrirattaral. 
EVERY-DAY NOTES, 
sam’l parsons. 
Spiraea Trilobntn. 
One of our common Spiraeas has pleased me 
greatly this season, viz.: S. trilobata. Though 
orticttltral, 
MR. SARGENT’S GARDEN. 
BT A VISITOR. 
Mr. Sargent's private garden at Brookline, 
a suburb of Boston, is one of the largest and 
most beautiful in the country, and famous for 
its extensive collection of trees and shrubs, in¬ 
cluding rare conifer®, Rhododendrons, hardy 
Azaleas and mauy handsome deciduous trees. 
Certain kinds of greenhouse plauts. as Indian 
Azaleas, Palms and Agaves, are also a special¬ 
ty. About the end of May and first of June is 
the heyday of Azaleas and Rhododendrons, and 
in order that the public may avail themselves 
of such a floral treat, Mr. Sargent at this time 
freely opens nis garden to the public, who 
greatly appreciate the kindness. And in order 
to make it more comfortable for visitors as 
well as to display the plauts to better advantage, 
the Rhododendrons and Azaleas, relieved by 
graceful Palms, are tastefully arranged in beds 
and clumps under a spacious tent on the lawn, 
where also seats are placed whereon to rest 
and admire. 
& i Wm 
- - * • • i 1 
.. r . 
Sharpless, No. 1. 
The greenhouse Azaleas are grown in pots, 
but the pots being plunged out of sight in the 
grassy turf, only dense floral pyramids, um¬ 
brellas and cushions, varying in color from 
the purest white to the deepest red, are left to 
view. As a rule, the azalea season would be 
past by this time, but Mr. S. retards the flower¬ 
ing period of his plauts by wintering them in 
cold-pits, and otherwise, so far as he cau de¬ 
nying them premature excitement. Chief 
among them are King of Hollaud. Decora, 
Bride of Abydos, Iveriana, Exquisite. Beauty of 
Europe, Criterion, Variegata. Flower of the Day, 
Crispiflora, Beauty of America and Daphne. 
Scores of plants of that exquisite hardy Japa¬ 
nese species, A. mollis, also honor the occa¬ 
sion. They are covered with creamy-white, 
yellow and pink flowers, and the tiniest jdants 
blossom. 
The Rhododendrons within the tent, are 
mostly those that are barely hardy enough to 
survive uninjured our winters out-of-doors. 
They are wintered in pits, sheds and cellars, 
transposed to their position under the tent 
during their blooming season, and then trans¬ 
planted thence to a faintly-shaded plaee duriug 
the summer. This treatment they bear well 
and annually lift with better earth-balls. Among 
the finest are Mrs. John Clutton, white; the 
Queen, white, changing to blush; Purity, 
white; Chancellor, purplish lilac; Kettledrum, 
purplish crimson; Mrs. Milner, crimson; 
Charles Dickens, dark scarlet; Everestiau- 
um, rosy lilac; II. W. Sargent, crimson; 
John Walter, rich crimson; Michael Waterer, 
deep rose; Joseph Whitworth, rich lake; 
Stella, pale rose, with dark blotches; Eclipse, 
very dark ; Katie Waterer, delicate rose; and 
other beauties, as Austin Layard, Mrs. Layard, 
Win. Cowper, and the like. Mr. S. regards 
Lady Eleanor Catkcart as his prettiest Rhodo¬ 
dendron, and next to it, Katie Waterer; but 
my own taste reverts to such iutensely dark 
kinds as Joseph Whitworth. W. E. Gladstone 
has immense rose trusses, the individual blooms 
of which are the largest in the collection. 
In the beds of hardy Azaleas are interplanted 
hardy Lilies of mauy kinds, Hyacinthus candi- 
cans. Tigridias. Narcissus, of sorts, and other 
bulbous plauts. and thus a succession of blos¬ 
soms is maintained duriug all the summer 
months. The Lilies, too, seem to enjoy the 
deep, cool soil of the rhododendron beds 
around the pond. 
A north-and-east-facing bank near Mr. S’s. 
residence, is planted with Rhododendrons, and 
there are also large beds of them in the neigh¬ 
borhood of a pond in the pleasure-grounds, 
and from them some curious facts may be 
CHARLES DOWNING STRAWBERRIES.—(SEE NOTES FROM RURAL GROUNDS, p. 406.) 
artificially much enhanced in beauty. Wher- 
ei'er a knoll came in coutact to obstruct a 
view, it has been removed, divided or toned 
down, imperceptibly, as it were, but with pleas¬ 
ing result, and consequently mauy fine views 
of the surrounding country are commaudcd. 
The grouping of trees aud clumping of shrubs 
are so disposed as to add tellingly to the effect. 
Beds are filled with Japanese Retinosporas 
which are perfectly hardy,and interspersed with 
Lawson Cypresses.* English Yews and some 
other less hardy plants, which require cellar or 
cold-pit wiuter protection, I also notice that 
beds which used to be filled with Canuas aud 
other sub-tropical plants, are now permanently 
filled with hardy evergreen conifers, a change 
I thoroughly indorse. 
Deciduous shrubs are very satisfactory, and 
just now masses of them are aglow in color. 
The copper-leaved Japanese Maples are as tell¬ 
ing among shrubs as are copper Beeches 
among trees Zanthoceras sorbifolia, “ new." 
handsome and hardy, is going out of bloom; 
Viburnum macrocepbaluin, handsomer than 
auy Hydrangea, is at its best; many kinds of 
“new" Weigelas—little bits of things imported 
from Belgium last year—have grown like Wil¬ 
lows, aud are full of flowers. Spiraea trilobata 
in sunny places are perfect snow banks; Paul's 
double, scarlet Thorn grows thriftily, but 
so far blossoms sparingly ; the bold habit and 
handsome leaves and flowers of Rosa rugosa 
commend it for shrubbery clumps; Viburnum 
lautanoides, though a uative, Is, nevertheless, 
at this season one of the handsomest of garden 
shrubs; so is the Coekspur Thorn, with its 
wide head of horizontally-disposed branches 
covered with showy white flowers. 
But one of the most commendable features 
of this gardcu is the beautification of the wild 
or uncultivated spots. Such corners and belts 
are thickly studded with Daffodils and Narcis¬ 
sus, of sorts. Squills. Tulips, Crocuses, Snow¬ 
drops and other bulbous plants, Forget-me- 
nots, English Primroses, some of our bolder 
composites and many other introduced wild 
plants. 
Mr. Sargent’s farm dairy is one of the neatest 
aud most beautiful I have ever seen, and though [ 
perhaps beyond the means of the majority of | 
farmers, it is a handsome model for the wealthy, j 
long familiar with the plant, I had, apparently, 
never before so fully realized the charm of the 
graceful curves of the branches, the delicacy 
of the leaves and attractive set of the flower. 
Spirica Reevesiana is always beantiful in late 
spring, boih in flower and general habit. It 
has, indeed, gained the lovely name of Bridal- 
wreath Spiriea, but to me either S. Thunbergii 
or S. trilobata merits more justly this honora¬ 
ble title. 8. trilobata bends almost into semi¬ 
circles, its branches laden with exquisite 
rosettes of pure white flowers. Scarcely any 
cluster of sprays is more beautiful for the deco¬ 
ration of rooms than the curving branches of 
this Spiraea. The delicate texture of the leaf 
is also curious and very exquisite in its way. 
Old shrubs, like these, should not be neglected, 
which 1 fear is too much the case with S. tri¬ 
lobata. It may not be amiss to note here the 
importance of pruning Spiraeas immediately 
after they are done flowering. Not only is the 
bloom rendered more abundant by thus prun¬ 
ing, but the foliage also is greatly improved. 
Summer I’ruiiing. 
If every one does not know, every one ought 
to know, that now is the time to cut back the 
hardy Roses which have just done blooming. 
Perhaps, also, it is not known to every one that 
only iu this way can a secoud series of flowers 
be obtained of any value on the so-called Hy¬ 
brid Perpetual Roses. Early summer should 
be a busy time on the lawn in more ways 
than cutting grass aud hoeing weeds. Sum¬ 
mer pinching and pruniug must be followed 
up continually, aud decayed flowers removed 
from even Rhododendrons and Azaleas, al¬ 
though otherwise such plants require little 
pruning. 
Rase Bugs. 
The present season has brought us a sad pest 
of rose bugs. Roses generally have been so 
much injured thereby as to prevent many per¬ 
sons from exhibiting at our yearly rose show 
for lack of Roses fit for the purpose. The rose 
bugs had entered in and taken possession. 
Every one naturally asks: “ What is the rem¬ 
edy for this evil ?” “What will bring dire de¬ 
struction on rose bugs ?" Of course, numerous 
ways of getting rid of them are put forth, 
among which I hear much iu favor of turpen¬ 
tine, and especially of picking them off by 
Sharpless, No. 2. 
aud its arrangement may be equally suggestive 
to all. But as ttiis is a strictly private depart¬ 
ment of Mr. S'e. establishment, perhaps I have 
no right to mention it, and I would not, did I 
notkuow that his generosity for the welfare of 
mankind is equally extensive. 
-• - 
Our Strawaerrv Cuts.—As a rule, the pic¬ 
tures of strawberries and other small fruits 
displayed in catalogues, are not portraits, but 
fancy sketches. The faults are smoothed over 
—the size exaggerated. The above cuts are- 
portraits aud the reader may safely judge them 
as characteristic of these varieties and of the 
average size which they will attain under 
good cultivation. ^ 
‘[Does not Lawson Cypress require protection?—E ds.] 
Sharpless, No. 3. 
hand. Yet I imagine many people this year 
give up the difficult problem in despair. 
The Rocky Mountain Columbine. 
One of the most beautiful flowers I have 
blooming in my grounds at present is the 
Rocky Mountain Columbine—Aquilegia cceru- 
lea. Blue is always charming in flowers, partly', 
doubtless, from its novelty. The contrast in 
this case of the white petals with the blue calyx, 
renders the plant still more remarkable. Odd 
in form, like all Aquilegias, it seems to be one 
of the largest of the species, and is, indeed, a 
very uucommon flower. Remaining iu bloom 
for weeks, it is suited to almost auy spot; for 
it does not grow tall, and adapts itself to 
very ordinary soil. Indeed, it forms a worthy 
example of the positive value possessed by 
hardy herbaceous plants for permanent orna¬ 
mentation of lawns. We want Geraniums and 
Coleuses, but do let us have as much variety 
as possible In our lawn effects. Bedding out 
plants surely do not make up the sum total of 
a lawn. 
JfitOr Crops. 
CORN AND ITS CULTURE. 
PROFESSOR A. E. BLUNT. 
I am aware that people generally, if they 
have some extra-fine premium seed, are apt to 
overdo the thing trying to make it yield euor- 
mously. Perhaps it is not too lute to give 
readers of the Rural a hint about corn aud its 
culture. 
In some localities there is as much danger 
of manuring too much as of manuring too 
little. Corn will not bear being surfeited. It 
will surely “founder,” aud grow nothing but 
stalks. Anybody can make stalks, but every¬ 
body cannot make graiu. It is a difficult mat¬ 
ter to draw that fine line between the manuring 
that makes stalk food aud the manuring that 
makes the grain. Corn demands but a little 
wholesome food when properly given. As 
more thau fifty per cent of corn is made up of 
carbohydrates, cellulose, etc.—the very ele¬ 
ments every farmer has on his land—he should 
endeavor to fertilize his crop with a compost 
as nearly as possible like that which his corn, 
grain and stover will make when decomposed. 
It may be applied to the surface or plowed 
under. If old and well rotted, apply it to the 
surface and cultivate in. As uo plants will 
take up green manure, great care should be 
PIONEER. 
taken in preparing a corn compost. The roots 
of corn are so delicate aud fastidious—if I may 
use the word—that all plant food must be 
reduced to a hygroscopic—vapory—form before 
they will take it up; hence the necessity of 
exercising great care in manuring and culti¬ 
vating corn. Highly concentrated commercial 
fertilizers may be of great benefit, if discretion 
is used in their application. The safest course 
for the farmer is to make and apply his own 
composts. In dry climates level is much bet¬ 
ter thau hill culture. The soil retains moisture 
and the roots are not exposed. 
My Improved Prolific Corn has been success¬ 
fully raised in almost every State, aud I hope 
the seed the Rural New-Yorker has sent out 
may be of great benefit to the farmiug commu¬ 
nity. In improving and bringing it up to its 
present reputation, I have endeavored to make 
as little stover and as mneb grain as possible. 
By selecting and saving the seed, by crossing, 
root pruning, by properly fertilizing and culti¬ 
vating, the grain has been made much more 
abundant aud better, and the stover smaller 
and finer. I shall persist in making it better 
still, if the Colorado climate will permit. 
I hope every farmer will take pains to keep 
up liis seed by selecting it in the field and by 
careful cultivation. As all seeds “ run out” or 
deteriorate by careless selection and thriftless 
saving, manuring and cultivating, it behooves 
every one to institute a better system of cul¬ 
ture. Put in less laud and attend to it better. 
Put your braiu-work aud manure on a smaller 
acreage, and yonr hand-work will be less 
heavy, more satisfactory and more remunera¬ 
tive. I have four acres of my Prolific Cora 
planted. It is doing well. On one acre and a 
half I have 35 (24 pounds) varieties of spriug 
wheat now nicely heading. I have alreudy 
cultivated it twice. I also am testiug 110 kinds 
of Irish potatoes. 
State Ag. College, Fort Collins, Colorado. 
isrillaiifous. 
JOTTINGS AT KIRBY HOMESTEAD. 
COL. F. D. CURTIS. 
Breeding for Sex. 
We have received a number of letters from 
different parts of the country inquiring if any¬ 
thing can be done to regulate the sexes in 
breeding eattle. 
