NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 27, 1886 
PRICE FIVE CENTS, 
$2.00 PEP. TEAR. 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1896, by the Rural New-Yorker In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 
the ground just where I had thrown it. It 
had not grown any, neither had the leaves 
fallen off; but the cut end had healed over 
and was well granulated. I put it in the 
border, where it soon rooted and grew, I 
was surprised at the amount of vitality stored 
up in that old stick. It was equal to a willow 
log. I have many times since cut off pieces 
of old wood, aud thrown them about in vari¬ 
ous places to see how long they would live. I 
have kept them as long as three mouths, and 
then made plants of them. If the cut end 
should rest on the ground it will send roots 
into the soil. 
* * * 
Doubtless others have noticed this vitality 
in the old wood of the Zoual Pelargonium and 
some other plants. Being always on the 
that the cut ends should l>e thoroughly dry 
before the cuttings are packed. 
* * * 
But what I have particularly in view is the 
importation of pelargoniums from Europe. 
We almost invariably receive young, green- 
wooded plants, in full foliage, Ou the way 
the leaves and green wood mildew and rot, 
and a large percentage die. It requires, in. 
fact, a good deal of nursing for several mouths 
before those that survive are good for any 
useful purpose. In the early part of Decem¬ 
ber I saw' the remnants of a lot of pelargoniums 
imported from London last Spring, aud they 
were still far from being healthy-Iooking 
plants. This, in my experience, is a common 
ease. I do not think these plants, however, 
were [lacked as well as they might have been. 
to Japan as an experiment, and will let the 
reader know' the result in due time. 
* * * 
There is an old plant which I admire very 
much, which I do not remember to have seen 
noticed in the Rural, at least not lately, I 
allude to Spiraea ulmaria (Meadow Sweet), a 
hardy herbaceous species, llow'ering late in the 
Spring. It is a most, desirable plant for the 
border, bearing panicles of very pretty double 
white flowers. It is the variegated form, how¬ 
ever, which 1 set out to notice. This is seldom 
seen now, though its bright variegation makes 
it a handsome plant, even w'hen not in flower. 
It may sometimes be seen in some old country 
garden; but there seems to be no place for 
even such fine plants in the present style of 
gardening. I often, in the Spring, pull off a 
P E®?,. few side shoots, and 
send to friends, and 
|agg try in that way to get 
. it about again. In a 
ricb it will some- 
times lose its variega- 
tion, and manure 
j should therefore lie 
Jpg-' away from it. 
Ep;' V Abies Canadensis, 
would seem, must 
■||s|||§gi^|' now give place to 
' - -' • Thuja Canadensis. 
-$8l£ T ^111111 Thus our old names, 
• one by one, pass away, 
or mayhap, as Mr. 
Falconer found with 
tk® spiraeas, they go 
in heaps. If this kind 
thing to learn over 
I potted Friesia 
refracta alba about 
the middle of Octo¬ 
ber. Those kept in 
a cool atmosphere are 
now (Jan. 21) just 
beginning to show 
color, while those 
kept in a warm tem¬ 
perature (but not 
forced) have been in 
flower for two or 
three weeks. With 
the help of a cold- 
frame, I think it 
would be easy to 
have this charming 
plant in bloom from 
the flrst of December 
to the last of March. 
It bears a good deal 
of cold, and responds 
readily to heat. It 
is one of the easiest 
plants to grow. I 
love the friesia all 
the more that it takes 
kindly to culture in 
the sitting-room. 
* * * 
Some people have 
not yet learned how 
to manage the pretty little Oxalis versicolor. 
It it a mistake, for example, hi tie the shoots 
to sticks, or to try, by wires or other means, 
to keep them in an upright position. The 
plants should lie started in the open air in the 
Fall, where they will mukc a strong begin¬ 
ning; but, whether started in the open air, in 
the green-house, or in the sitting-room, let 
them grew upright till they get read}' to fall 
over, aud then let them do so. They will form 
a pretty drapery around the riiu of the pot, 
and flower abundantly. Half the bulbs are 
ruined by thrusting little sticks among them. 
It is a good ride never to put a stick to a plan 
NEW WHITE GRAPE ROENBECK, 
HIS grape, shown at Fig. 88, 
was first fruited in 1870. It is 
riV ; -v-iT ^--V a chance seedling, originated on 
-SiSKvi tbe grounds of Jas. W. Trask, 
• ‘A^VrfV&jjfc' Bergen Point, N. J. The wood 
' it* short-jointed aud light-color- 
w l : v ‘ ue hardy an( i prolific. 
•W Fruit needs thinning out, as the 
vine, like the Delaware, has a tendency to 
overbear. Our own notes on this grape, taken 
at the time it was left with us. areas follows: 
‘‘One of the most 
promising white < 
grapes we have seen, fc- ; ~ 
judging from the 
bunches left with us. 
Light-green berry, a ; ’'Ayfe- 
little flattened. Pulp 
meaty and tender, 
two-seeded, sweet, - Ivsll 
rinouSi not acid 
about the seeds. ^ Skin 
usually strong. 
Punches large,single- 
shouldered. Berry 
medium; hangs on W=- 
well. Vine vigorous 
and hardy.” 
A PROFITABLE VINE¬ 
YARD. 
Concord cuttings 
set out on a quarter 
of an acre in March 
1883, yielded in 1884, 
1.000 pounds of 
grapes of extra fine 
quality and size. 
Such a crop ou young 
vines injured them 
uota bit; for last year 
I sold 8,000 pounds of 
grapes which netted 
$125. In addition, I 
had 2,000 pounds 
from which I made 
225 gallons of wine. 
The vineyard slopes 
gently to the south 
aud is a sandy loam 
with u clay subsoil. 
The [Mists were eight 
feet high. On their 
tops, at right angles 
with the rows, strips 
of oak 1x2 inches and 
three feet long were 
nailed, and on these 
No. 14 galvanized 
wires were stretched, 
one in the middle, ami 
one at each end. The 
vines were trained to 
the tops of the posts 
and those bearing 
then allowed to grow, 
one to each wire, “p” 
NEW WHITE GRAPE, ROENBECK. From Nature. Fig. 88 
lookout for something useful iu everything I 
see, it occurred to me that this peculiarity 
might lie applied to some useful purptise. 
Among other things, 1 thought it might bo 
advantageously used for the transportation 
of cuttings over long distances. This I found 
to be true. Packed iu sphagnum nearly or 
quite dry, aud wrapped with oiled paper or 
muslin, they will bear transportation for 
thousands of miles, and arrive in good condi¬ 
tion. If kept warm, the tips may grow a 
little and become etiolated; but these, when 
necessary, may be removed, aud the cuttings 
will still be good. It is essential, however, 
though they came from a well-known London 
firm. There is reason to doubt whether the 
English, the French, or the Germans pack 
plants for transportation us well as we do. 
The point I would make is, that, iu ordering 
pelargoniums from Europe, we should make 
trial of cuttings from well-ripened wood, or 
rooted plants consisting mainly of such wood. 
The subject is one well worthy of considera¬ 
tion. I could anticipate some objections that 
will probably be mails to th< [dan suggested; 
but I will drop the subject where (t is for the 
present, simply stating that I propose to send 
some of these dried sticks on the long journey 
Some years ago, shortly after the plants had 
been moved to the opeu air, I cut about six 
inches of old wood from a Zonal Pelargonium 
aud threw it aside. It had the customary 
rosette of small leaves at the tip. Some six 
weeks afterward I saw the cutting lying on 
, 
