6 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
January (i 
1 A A AAArfoAAAii 4 * ^ 
; Ruralisms ; 
The Hammer pltjm, mentioned on 
page 797 as a native variety, said to have 
originated under cultivation, fruited 
here last Summer, The young trees are 
upright and thrifty, and have noticeably 
heavy foliage, looking more like the Eu¬ 
ropean than the American type. The 
plums were large, thin-skinned, and of 
good flavor, free from all astringency. 
It is the best native in quality that has 
fruited here, and is especially welcome 
for its season, which seems to be late 
August. 
Amorpiiophallus. —“What treatment 
should this plant have to bloom in Win¬ 
ter, and will the bulb be good next year 
if planted in the ground in Spring?” 
asks a reader in Hornerstown, N. J. As 
received here, the tubers of Amorpho- 
phallus Rivieri, the species generally of¬ 
fered, can only be induced to flower in 
May or June, but by growing through 
the Winter and drying them off the fol¬ 
lowing Summer, like callas, it may be 
possible to get them to bloom in the 
window garden quite early the next 
Spring. Turn the pot on its side in a 
sheltered place in the garden during the 
heat of Summer, and give no water until 
growth starts. 
Nero Apple. —On the first page of 
The R. N.-Y. for January 4, 1896, ap¬ 
pears a fine picture of the Nero apple, 
together with the Stark and Langford, 
all high-colored red varieties, success¬ 
fully grown in Delaware. Jos. Black, 
Son, & Co., of Hightstown, N. J., sent us 
some well-grown fruits of Nero recent¬ 
ly, and we find the quality very good. 
The flesh is yellow and fine-grained, the 
flavor is rich and agreeable, the acid 
not being pronounced. Messrs. Black 
say that it is not largely grown in New 
Jersey, but is well liked where it has 
fruited. The apples are of medium size, 
well formed, and highly colored. The 
tree is vigorous, and a profuse and regu¬ 
lar cropper. 
Odd Uses for Potatoes.— That the potato 
is a most useful plant is, of course, true, 
but I doubt if it has been thought to have 
any claim to beauty. The growm under 
certain conditions becomes really pretcy, 
and the branches may attain a length of 
seven or eight feet, as I found to my as¬ 
tonishment last Summer. 
It came about thus: In April I put sev¬ 
eral “half-cuttings” of medium size Joseph 
potatoes into a small fernery which had 
been in the house all Winter. The soil was 
rich leaf mold from a White-cedar swamp, 
and there was a pan sunk in the moss 
which I always kept full of water. Bot¬ 
tom drainage and aeration were free. The 
seed tubers grew fast until the whole case 
was filled by the vines, and we then opened 
the top, tying strings to the branches and 
securing them to the top of the north win¬ 
dow in which the fernery stood. The 
vines kept growing'longer and longer until 
they reached the top of the window; and 
with a little training occasionally were 
fresh and green all Summer, making a bit 
of indoor gardening for one who was un¬ 
able to leave the city during the hot 
months. In September the vines gradu¬ 
ally died, but no tubers were to be found, 
nor was there any seed on the plants. The 
fernery was watered immoderately from 
the first. A window plant which will grow 
well in the house during Summer is, I 
think, an acquisition not very common; and 
1 write this hoping that others may get as 
much pleasure from Summer window 
gardening as I did last season. J. D. 
Boston, Mass. 
The potato as a window plant is cer¬ 
tainly a novel idea, but we can readily 
understand that any plant that will grow 
fresh and green during the Summer 
might prove a treasure to the unfortu¬ 
nate dwellers in our closely-tmilt cities. 
As a Soup Flavoring. —We learn 
through a recent Department of Agricul¬ 
ture bulletin that the potato, as used in 
Mexico, is to be classed as a flavoring 
for soups and stews, rather than as a 
vegetable. It is very seldom used there 
as we use it. A few small tubers, from 
the size of a cherry to the size of small 
walnuts, apparently of the native wild 
species of the mountains, are added 
whole to the stews, along with raisins, 
olives and native fruits, but cultivated 
varieties are never seen. Here seems to 
be a chance for the Department to do 
some missionary work in promoting the 
use of a portion of our frequent surplus 
potato crop among the people of our sis¬ 
ter Republic in the same manner that 
the culinary value of corn has lately 
been advocated in Germany. 
Fine Pecans. —B. M. Young, Morgan 
City, La., sends us samples of remark¬ 
ably fine pecan nuts in three varieties: 
Frotscher, Miller and St. Mary. He asks 
us what they are worth in the wholesale 
market, saying there has been much 
written about the profits of individual 
trees, but information is wanted as to 
the value of these fancy nuts when of¬ 
fered to the trade on their merits. The 
three varieties differ somewhat in shape, 
but are all of the largest size and of 
fine quality. We submitted these nuts to 
the buyer of one of the largest dealers in 
nuts in New York. He said that they 
were the finest he had ever seen, and 
that they might be worth anywhere from 
25 to 50 cents per pound, wholesale; or¬ 
dinary pecans being quoted from 7 Y 2 to 
nine cents per pound. It will pay to 
g: ow all that can be produced for a long 
time of such quality. Ordinary pecans 
are polished by machinery until they as¬ 
sume a bright tan color, but fancy va¬ 
rieties, such as Mr. Young has sent us, 
would be offered as received, without 
manipulation. 
Ferns for the House. —A pretty little 
fern which we find very satisfactory in 
the house is Pteris adiantoides, which 
is, we believe, a variety of P. hastata. It 
has shining black stems and irregularly- 
angled fronds of deep shining green. It 
succeeds well in an ordinary living 
room, and requires no special care, be¬ 
yond the avoidance of overwatering. 
After being told that moisture is con¬ 
genial to ferns, the amateur is very 
likely to render the soil sour and sod¬ 
den by excess in this direction, and this 
is a great error. We have found the 
delicate maidenhair (Adiantum cunea- 
tum) very satisfactory in a room whose 
temperature ranges from about 55 to 70 
degrees, but with steam heat going 
above the maximum given it is sure to 
be disappointing. Where a large fern is 
desired, the Nephrolepis, commonly 
called Boston fern, is one of the best for 
the house. It must be protected from 
the possibility of infestation by scale in¬ 
sects; if once infested, nothing short of 
cutting it down to the roots will effect 
certain relief. 
Elm Trees.— A reader in Illinois asks how 
elm trees are propagated. They are gener¬ 
ally grown from seeds, which are gathered 
as soon as ripe and stratified in moist sand 
until the following Spring. Sometimes 
suckers can be found, and layers can De 
made of low branches. Special varieties 
are grafted on common seedling stocks. 
Canned Kieffer.— I note what you say 
about the canning of Kieffer pears, page* 
888. You are doubtless right; and a fraud 
is a fraud, and ought to be punished. Still, 
I think it is fair to call attention to the 
fact that Kieffer cans very successfully. It 
holds its form and texture much better 
than Bartlett or any of the ordinary Euro¬ 
pean pears. Besides this, canning seems 
to bring out the flavor of the fruit; so that 
canned Kieffers are as good as any other 
pears, or better. I am not sure but that 
I would just as soon have canned Kieffers 
as canned Bartletts. Of course, in any 
case, I would rather know what I was buy¬ 
ing. PROF. F. A. WAUGH. 
New Seedlings.— Somewhere I have read 
that it required 20,000 seedlings to produce 
one grape vine of merit; that being the 
experience of the late Mr. Campbell, of 
Delaware, O. I have never tried to raise 
grapes from seed, but young plants have 
sprung up, and a dozen or less have been 
allowed to bear fruit, which might be 
classed as good, very good and best. Wo 
might lose an old variety which we ob¬ 
tained from the late Samuel Worden, which 
bears his name, and replace it with one of 
our accidental seedlings, and the pomologi- 
cal experts who could detect the difference 
in size, color or taste, would not readily 
be found. Not a poor variety has yet ap¬ 
peared in the few we have tested. 
The Hampton Raspberry.— In your issue 
of November 25 I see the statement by W. 
D. Barns that the Hampton (red rasp¬ 
berry) is a few days later than Marlboro, 
but the fruit is larger, of better quality 
and it is more prolific. Two or three years 
ago my Marlboros produced at the rate of 
10,000 pints to the acre (nearly two acres of 
them), and they were the largest I ever 
saw, some of them an inch long and large 
around in proportion. While this was an 
exceptional crop, the Marlboro is far ahead 
of any other that we raise here in size, ap¬ 
pearance and total yield. If the Hampton 
can beat the record above mentioned, J 
would like to try it. c. l. p. 
Colorado. 
Variation in Apples.—A Baldwin, plant¬ 
ed about 15 years ago, has borne regularly 
for about five years. Previous to that, for 
some reason, it was not reliable, but about 
six years ago I built a henhouse, enclosing 
this tree in the yard, putting chicken coops 
under this tree for shade. Since then the 
tree has borne wonderfully, and apples of 
wonderful size some years. Two years ago 
we sold on an order for Baldwins, bu*. 
had to explain why they were so large, 
and apparently, another variety, not as 
red as the variety should be, because of the 
shade of the building and of two trees of 
King nearby. Baldwin on this tree was 
fully as large as King, and more of the 
appearance of that variety. This yeai 
they have gone back to Baldwin in ap¬ 
pearance. P. d. j. 
Alburgh, Vt._ 
Our Native Birds, by D. Lange, differs 
from other handbooks of similar title, in 
being a manual of bird-protection. It dis¬ 
cusses the decrease of song birds and game 
birds; methods by which they may be at¬ 
tracted and protected; modes of feeding 
birds in Winter, and of protecting them 
from their natural enemies. There is a 
good deal of miscellaneous information 
concerning bird-protection societies and 
literature bearing upon the subject. The 
book would be an excellent manual for 
reference in such associations, or in 
schools. Cloth, 162 pages; price $1. 
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ 
4 Although we supply seeds direct 
♦ every year to many more planters 
^ than do any other seedsmen, there 
♦ are thousands who have not yet 
♦ learned the satisfaction of having a 
4 garden planted with 
♦ 
l Burpee’s Best 
| “Seeds That Grow" 
♦ 
4 To make acquaintance, we shall he 
♦ 
♦ pleased to send you, in response to 
^ a postal card application, “ The 
4 Leading American Seed Catalogue 
♦ for 1900.” Simply address 
♦ W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO. 
♦ 
l 
PHILADELPHIA. 
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MUSHROOM SPAWN 
Choice English Milltrack. 
FRESH CONSIGNMENT JUST RECEIVED. _ 
Price, 10c. per pound; 17 per 100 pounds; in 
500-pound lots at $6.50 per 100 pounds. 
Send for Our 1900 Carden and 
Farm Manual. 
If you Keep Hens, you should have our new 
Poultry Supply Catalogue. 
JOHNSON & STOKES, 
217-219 Market St., Philadelphia, Pa. 
If you are a farmer or want to be one, 
send for the “Western Trail.” Published 
quarterly. Full of pointers as to settling 
in Kansas, Oklahoma and Indian Terri¬ 
tory. Handsomely embellished and con¬ 
cisely written. Mailed free. 
Address by postal card or letter. 
John Sebastian, G.P.A., Chicago.— Adv. 
WE WANT AN AGENT 
tn every county to sell to tbe farmers, thrashers and 
mills our superior brands of Lubricating Oils and 
Greases. Salary or commission. Experience not 
necessary; our instructions explain fully. For par¬ 
ticulars address THK VICTOR OIL COMPANY, 
Cleveland, Ohio. 
To get new 
customers t o 
test my Seeds, 
1 will mail my 
1900 Cata¬ 
logue, best 1 
have ever issued, 
and filled with 
more bargains 
than ever and a 
10c Due Dill 
good for 1 Oc 
worth of 
Seed a for trial, 
absolutely free. 
Over 20 vaiie- ; 
ties shown in 
colors. $1100 ; 
In cash prem¬ 
ium h offered. • 
Don’t give your J 
order until you see * 
this new catalogue . 
10 new vegetables i 
for 20c. 15 flowers * 
and 52 btlbs. 30c. ’ 
Potatoes, $2.00 and < 
up a barrel. Seed * 
grain, 40c and up < 
per bu. 
All the beftt Seeds, Bulbs, Plants, Roses, Farm Seeds, Po¬ 
tatoes, <kc., at the lowest price*. NINE GREAT NOVEL- 
LarTtiT.“S? S50 For a Name For Each. 
Many other novelties offered, including (.Iiiftcnjr, tbe great 
money making plant. You’ll be surprised at my bargain 
offers. Send your name on a postal for catalogue today. It Is 
FREE to nil. Tell your triends to se nd too. 
F. 3. MILLS. Box 79, Kosehill, Onondaga Co.. N . V. 
4 Buggy Wheels, with tire on, *0.75 
With Axles and Boxes set, *9.75 
I make all sizes and grades. Carriage and 
Wagon Hardware every description. Cat. 
free. W. K. BOOB, Center Hall, Pa. 
IT COSTS LESS 
TO BUY NEW WHEELS 
than to repair the old ones—you can get 
4 Buggy Wheels 7-8 in. Steel fire lor $7.50 
4 Carriage Wheels I in. Steel Tire ior $8.00 
Wheels for Milk, Mill, Spring and Delivery 
Wagons equally low in price. Our repu¬ 
tation guarantees quality. Gears & Axles. 
Boxes set when wanted. Write us for Iree 
price list N o. 88 with rules for measuring 
WILMINGTON WHEEL CO., Wilmington, l>cl. 
Largest manufacturers of 
Steel Wagon Wheels and 
Handy Truck Wagons in 
America. Guaranteed su¬ 
perior to any other make 
writ* us 
rvi eta I Wheel Go. 
HAVANA. ILLINOIS 
Extra Early Admiral Dewey 
Originated and introduced by 
HARRY N. HAMMOND, 
Seedsman, Box 42, FIFIELD, MICH. 
Largest grower of Seed Potatoes in America. The 
Iletvey is the most wonderful New Potato. Its 
merits are fully described n Ham i ond’s 1900 Catalogue. Free 
for the asking. Addrtss as above. Write to-day. 20 other va¬ 
rieties of potatoes. Also Vegetable and Flower Seeds. 
B erry Boxes 
Best White wood, 
@ $2.50 1000. 
Send for New Catalogue, FREE. 
Peach and Qrape Baskets. 
Melon Baskets. 
Your Whole Family 
Would Bo Satisfied 
with one of these surreys. They are handsome, strong, sty 
Ilsh, easy riding and durable. Selling on our plan you can 
examine it thoroughly before you are required to buy it. 
WE HAVE NO AGENTS 
but sell all goods direct from our 
factory to the purchaser at whole¬ 
sale prices. W r e are the largest 
manufacturers of vehicles and 
harness lu the world selling to 
the consumer exclusively. We 
N „ 707—Extcnsion Top Surrey, with double fend- ^Tyea"^* YoS^su^n^ 
era. Complete with side curtains, aprons, lamps and M we s hlp our goods anywhere tor exami- ,. A V1 _ „ 
pole or shafts. Price, $80. As good as sells for $40 more. natl0n an \, g^^tee safe arrival. Largest No. 180—Double Buggy Har- 
selection in the country as we make 178 styles of vehicles and 65 style* of harness. Catalogue free. ^ with cXmS hhch 
ELKHART CARRIAGE AHD HARNESS MANUFACTURING. CO., ELKHART, INDIANA straps, $22. As good as sells for $30. 
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