'tyl-'O'*-*; 
VOL. XXXVHI. No. 38, 
WHOLE No. 1547. 
PRICE FIVE CENTS, 
82.00 PElt YEAR. 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1879, by the Rural Publishing- Company, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. — Entered at the Post-Office at New York City, N. Y., as second-class matter.) 
The idea is a good one and we can tell our 
friends that if they have old trees, fences, out¬ 
buildings or out-of-the-way corners that they 
propose to cover with vines, let them be to¬ 
mato vines. 
New Varieties. 
As usual we have tried all the much-talked 
of or advertised new sorts. Among them were 
Criterion, New Triumph and Paragon. Crite¬ 
rion seems to be a selection from Acme of a 
somewhat quadrangular shape. It is of medi¬ 
um size, prolific, firm, of a piukish-red color 
and free from seams. It does not begin to 
ripen with us until about September 1st, which 
condemns it for this climate and situation. 
New Triumph is an irregular, much-lobed 
6 ort, without any unusually fine qualities that 
we can discover. Paragon seems a selection 
of the Trophy—large and lobed like it, and 
earlier. 
Again (for the third year) Acme is our best 
red Tomato. It is, indeed, the best kind known 
so far as our tests enable us to judge. This 
tomato is one of those decided steps in the 
improvement of fruits, that rarely occur, and 
it seems to us worthy of being considered the 
standard of excellence from which we are to 
estimate all future improvements. We should 
now breed for better keeping qualities. 
Cllrculio-proof Plums. 
Bassett’s American “ Cureulio-proof’ Plum 
was discovered, it seems, some eleven years 
ago in a wood, bending with an immense crop 
of fruit. It was brought to the notice of Mr. 
Wm. F. Bassett, an experienced fruit-grower, 
who was so well pleased with it that he bought 
the tree “ at a large price’’ and provided for 
its propagation. Three years ago, a tree was 
sent to us for trial, and this year it blossomed 
profusely and the branches were wreathed 
with the little plums which followed, not more 
than one dozen of which are left to ripen. 
Those who are introducing this tree have free¬ 
ly conceded that the fruit is inferior. Its won¬ 
derful productiveness in spite of the Curculio 
was its great point of excellence. As it is not 
eurculio-proof, there does not seem to be any 
reason why it should not be consigned to the 
loug list of Tried and Worthless Novelties. 
Among the novelties offered this season and 
extensively advertised, was 
The American Banner Rose. 
We paid Jive dollars for a little plant of this 
about six inches high. In due time a bud ap¬ 
peared and in due time that bud unfolded. 
The outside petals were flesh-white with an 
occasional streak of light red. The inside 
was merely of a whitish color suffused with a 
rosy tint. The flowers were small, semi-double 
and perishable. The American Banuer Hose. 
considering its price 
is quite a curiosity. 
Musk Melons. 
••• m 
. • • TheTe are thousands 
• of Jhese* left in the 
Quids to rot. It does 
not pay to send them 
j£ A r Take up Lily bulbs 
A, as 80011 as the leaves 
begin to turn yellow, 
iQ d reset either in the 
^same bed or another 
we ^ prepared for their 
should be mellow at 
least a foot in depth. 
All greenhouse plauts 
which have been bed¬ 
ded out had better be 
repotted before they 
are injured by even 
the lightest frosts. 
Take up Gladiolus 
bulbs before severe 
frosts, remove the bulblets, dry them and place 
m paper bags for the winter. Cleanse and 
dry the large bulbs aud treat in the same way, 
The seed pods are now ripening. These 
should be gathered, the seeds removed and 
preserved in envelopes until spring. It has 
been recommended to make and strike cut¬ 
tings of tomato plants now, so as to have to¬ 
matoes earlier another year. The plan for 
this climate strikes ua as involving much 
trouble for a doubtful advantage. Potatoes 
should be dug as soon as the tops die. Every¬ 
body may kuow this, hut many neglect to do 
it. Nothing is more conducive to rot thau 
leaving potatoes in the damp soil at this sea¬ 
son after they are matured. Celery, if wanted 
by the first of the month, must now have the 
soil drawn up about the stems and then in a 
week or ten days it should be “banked.” 
Celery, cabbage, aud cauliflower seeds may 
now be sjowu so that the young plants may 
be wintered in cold-frames or pits. Onions 
and shallots, spinach etc., may also be 
planted now for spring use. Give the fruit 
trees a last wash with lime, sulphur aud pot¬ 
ash darkened with lamp-black so as to imi¬ 
tate the natural color of the bark. Pack 
fruit for market with all care—do not shake 
it from the trees. Make cuttings of currants 
and gooseberries, four inches long, of wood of 
this season’s growth. Set them at au angle of 
45 deg. in mellow soil and press it firmly 
about them, cover with a little litter after 
freezing weather. Keep the strawberry beds 
free of weeds. Do not pick grapes too early. 
If too ripe they will keep better than if picked 
before ripe. The change of color is merely 
the first indication of ripening. The shrivel¬ 
ing or change of color in the stem is a positive 
proof of ripeness. Use shears or a knife to 
cut off the bunches—never pull them off. 
POT CULTURE OF THE GRAPE VINE 
The accompanying cut represents a Grape¬ 
vine growing in a pot, as practiced in England 
and other Earopean countries. In this coun¬ 
try grape culture in pots is still in its infancy ; 
but as a healthy, well-trained plant is a com¬ 
bination of both the ornamental and the use¬ 
ful, anybody who has the requisite facilities 
will be well repaid for the extra trouble this 
culture may occasion. 
The plauts can be most easily grown from 
cuttings or single buds, which should be set m 
small pots iu March, and if placed in a green¬ 
house or hot-bed and given proper attention, 
nearly all will take root. Larger pots should 
be given as the growth of the plants may re¬ 
quire. Well- grown 
specimens may bear 
fruit the second year. 
The vines can also 
be raised from seeds, 
and thus, perhaps, 
give rise’to new and _. 
valuable* varieties. 
The present is a good ' 
time to plaut seeds of 
grapes for cultivation 
as soon as taken from 
the grapes, mauy will 
germinate iu three or 
four weeks. Sow the 
seeds in boxes, and of 
the young plants sc- 
lect only the strongest, M-Wy y 
which should be tran»- 
ferred to small pots, 
and trained to a stake. 
By pinching baek, 
careful training, aud 
repotting into larger 
pots aud richer soil, 
when necesssary, we 
may in three years be rewarded by a beautiful 
plant loaded with fruit as seen iu the engrav¬ 
ing. which is a reproduction of one presented 
iu a late number of the Gardeners’ Chronicle. 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS 
Tomatoes, 
The season has been a bad one for the Love 
Apple—too much rain. It needs plenty of sun¬ 
shine and a dry air to ripen early, evenly and 
to be sweet—or rather not to be too sour. As 
will be remembered, all of our tomatoes were 
trained to trellises about six feet high. These 
consist of red cedar posts and spruce-scantling 
cross-bars, the first ten feet apart and the bars 
two feet apart, the same as grape arbors are 
usually constructed. As soon as the plaut 
reaches the first bar, the main brauches are 
tied to that and the “ laterals,” as we may 
call them, pinched or cut off. This must bo 
attended to, or the vines will grow too bushy. 
The object of trellls-work is to make viues, 
uot bushes—aud thus to expose the leaves, 
stems aud fruit to the light, air aud sun. As 
soon as the branches have grown enough, they 
mast be tied to the second bar and so on until 
they reach the top, wheu they may be left to 
hang over aud support their owu weight. We 
have tried au experiment to ascertain how tall 
a tomato plaut would grow if carefully trained 
and pinched back. Three plauts were set 
aguinst the barn and the stems were held by 
leathers tacked over them as their growth 
rendered support necessary. As we write 
(Sept. 5.) these vines are 12 feet high—well 
loaded with golden, crimson and green fruit 
POT-GROWN GRAPE-VINE 
