208 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
March 24 
ODD NOTES FROM RURAL GROUNDS 
Wintry Weather.— Since the bluebirds 
and robins appeared during the first week 
in February, we have had one or two 
moderate blizzards, with considerable snow, 
and the temperature record has been low¬ 
ered nearly to zero, while fierce winds blew 
for three days at a time. The first pipings 
of the welcome Song sparrow were quickly 
stilled, but he did not leave us, and may 
now be seen in sheltered hedges. The 
robins and bluebirds were very restless dur¬ 
ing the cold weeks, but are still here, while 
a few small tlocks of blackbirds have just 
appeared at this writing—March 6. No 
special damage seems to have been done by 
the cold. A few buds show blackened cen¬ 
ters, but they can well be spared if too 
many more do not follow later, and a few 
tender berries and roses have been cut 
somewhat lower than we care to have 
them. The close vicinity of the ocean (less 
than six miles) usually prevents severe in¬ 
jury from cold, though we are not exempt 
from late frosts. The chief climatic dam¬ 
age to fruit is likely to occur during the 
blooming season, from driving coast storms 
or drenching fogs, which wash the pollen 
from the flowers, thus preventing perfect 
fertilization. „ 
A New Hardy Abyssinian Plant.— Some 
snowdrops have opened in a snug corner, 
and a big Eremurus pushed through the 
ground, only to get the tip of its long 
leaves nipped by the frosty wave. This 
tall-growing member of the lily family 
seems to be little known in this country, 
except in the botanic gardens. About five 
years ago we planted six reputed species, 
imported from a European collector, but 
they all turned out to be identical with 
Eremurus robustus, which was not ordered 
at all. However, this is one of the best of 
the genus, sending up flower stems six or 
seven feet high, crowned with a spike of 
star-shaped, pinkish flowers with prominent 
orange stamens. The whole make-up of 
the plant is like the old Red-hot Poker 
plant, or Kniphofia, as it is now called, and 
it comes from the same locality in Abys¬ 
sinia, but differs from the Poker-plant in 
the important respect of being entirely 
hardy, with the exception that the young 
growth starts so early in Spring as to run 
the chance of being cut back unless pro¬ 
tected with some litter. These Eremuri 
are not as handsome as the dealers would 
have us believe, but are very noble and 
striking when in bloom in early May, after 
which they quickly fade and disappear 
above ground until another season. Two 
species were first offered last Fall by a 
New York seedsman at $3 to 55 each. The 
large claw-like tubers are easily injured in 
transportation, and it takes about six years 
to grow a plant to flowering size, so that 
they are likely to remain high-priced for 
some time. 
More About the Winter Tomatoes.- 
The 11 tomato plants in the Rural green¬ 
house are doing remarkably well, consider¬ 
ing their cool situation. Up to date they 
have set 422 tomatoes, and ripened 155. We 
find that they average about six to the 
pound, and, therefore, expect to gather 
about 70 pounds of fruit during the season 
from January to May. Some of the plants 
are nine feet long, and carry clusters of 
six to nine tomatoes throughout their whole 
extent. These plants get good care, of 
course, and have more sunlight than if 
other tall plants w r ere grown in the house, 
but on the other hand they are kept pretty 
cool at night, and the foliage suffers more 
or less from the sulphur and tobacco fumi¬ 
gations we are frequently obliged to give 
in order to prevent mildew and aphides 
from harming our little hybrid roses, and 
other susceptible plants. We could get 
larger tomatoes and probably an equal 
weight in the end by thinning the clusters 
somewhat, but these full bunches ripen less 
rapidly, and thus tend to give a steadier 
supply for table use. 
Seedling Roses. —For the last eight years 
we have been much interested in hybridiz-' 
lng various hardy roses, using botanical 
species as far as possible, hoping to pro¬ 
duce something attractive, and at the same 
time equal to the exactions of our variable 
climate. Many beautiful roses are sent 
out every year by the old-established 
growers of Europe, but remarkably few 
are in any way adapted to garden culture 
in this country, and it seems as though 
some careful work should be done to de¬ 
velop forms of sufficient vigor to thrive 
under our conditions. Of the thousands 
of seedlings bloomed on the Rural Grounds 
less than a dozen have been retained as 
possessing something of the qualities de 
sired. Hybridizing roses is exacting work. 
It requires long preparation to get the 
plants in a condition to bear seeds; many 
of the best ones are exceedingly shy in 
producing heps or fruits under any circum¬ 
stances, and not a few are entirely sterile. 
After pollenization is accomplished, and 
the seeds are finally secured, some care is 
needed to effect germination, and grow the 
seedlings to maturity. The seeds of some 
types, such as the Polyantha roses, will, 
under favorable circumstances, come up 
within 10 or 12 days after sowing, and show 
a tiny bloom after a few weeks’ growth be¬ 
fore the seed leaves have dropped; others, 
like the sweetbriers and many native spe¬ 
cies, seldom germinate until the second 
year, and we have seeds, still apparently 
sound, that have remained dormant since 
planting in the Fall of 1897, though every 
means known to us, such as variation of 
moisture and temperature, repeated freez¬ 
ings and thawings, etc., have been used to 
induce them to wake from their long sleep. 
The seeds of the Rugosa roses are not gen¬ 
erally so refractory. While uneven in 
their time of germination, most of the 
viable seeds will grow, if stratified as soon 
as ripe, exposed to a few weeks of frost, 
and then sown in a warm place, but a con¬ 
siderable percentage usually remains dor¬ 
mant until the next season. We have 
grown many hybrid Rugosas, and hitherto 
have always found that only a small por¬ 
tion of the seeds produced by hybridization 
were perfect, and that not more than five 
or six out of each hundred ever grew at all, 
so that w'e have fallen in the habit of sow¬ 
ing them very thickly. Last Summer some 
crosses were secured that had been planned 
for several seasons ago. The seeds were 
sown in a shallow box or flat as thickly as 
usual, but they have broken all previous 
records by coming up like the proverbial 
"hair on a dog,” and it looks now as though 
they would swamp all our vacant space. 
Chickens in the Greenhouse.— The 
wintry weather caught several broods of 
chickens just hatching. Now the mistress 
of the Rural Grounds manages the poultry 
department, and has been provided with 
very fair quarters for her pets, but noth¬ 
ing would do, while the temperature ranged 
so far below the freezing point, but to bring 
the chicks into the greenhouse. Of course, 
such a proceeding would never be tolerated 
in a commercial house, nor in an ornamental 
conservatory, but the Rural glasshouse is 
first and last a workship and convenience 
for carrying out our experimental work, 
and we utilize it for every consistent pur¬ 
pose, so the tender little fellows were 
transferred to snug Summer-like quarters 
under the benches. How they did toast 
their backs under the warm pipes, and run 
about the dry sandy floor! They seem to 
find some Insect food, and quickly nipped 
the clover and sorrel that had been allowed 
to grow in the lighter places. We find that 
one hen can take care easily of 18 or 20 
chicks under these favorable conditions, 
and they grow astonishingly fast. Only 
one has been lost so far, and he perished in 
an attempt to emulate the pet frog, by 
jumping into the water tank in an unguard¬ 
ed moment. Of course, the chicks are only 
taken in the greenhouse on bitter, stormy 
days and very cold nights; at other times 
they occupy the poultry house with com¬ 
fort. We get enough green stuff in the 
way of lettuce, radish tops and weeds from 
the benches and pots to make an agreeable 
addition to the menu of our small flock of 
hens. 
Stubborn Cabbages.— We have long 
wished to hybridize some of the standard 
varieties of cabbage with another plant of 
the same family, but have not been able to 
get them to bloom at the right time in the 
open, so some plants were selected with a 
view to flowering them under glass in the 
Winter. Some typical cabbages were trans¬ 
ferred to large pots early in the Summer, 
and the heads cut to encourage the bloom 
spike to start. Instead of producing flow¬ 
ers, new and smaller heads were formed 
just before freezing weather. The opera¬ 
tion was repeated, and the plants taken in 
the greenhouse, with the expectation that 
an attempt at seed production would begin, 
but other solid little heads have formed, 
running the stems up pretty tall. However, 
some of the lower buds have bloomed, and 
the cross-pollenization has been accom¬ 
plished. The glass-grown heads were very 
fine eating, but it is scarcely an economy 
to grow cabbages in this way. This experi¬ 
ment illustrates the high perfection to 
which cabbages have been brought by care¬ 
ful and persistent selection through many 
years. The production of three successive 
heads on a plant under adverse conditions 
would scarcely be anticipated, but the ten¬ 
dency has long been thoroughly inbred. 
What do we expect to gain by crossing cab¬ 
bages and breaking up this fixed tendency 
to produce typical heads, or Winter storage 
buds? Well, we may get something useful 
in the way of a spinach or kale substitute 
for early Summer use, but a season’s 
growth will reveal the real possibilities, 
and very likely upset preconceived theories. 
Notes from Vermont.—I am, as every 
good citizen ought to be, interested in the 
oleo question, and 1 would like to offer a 
few suggestions. First, that a tax of less 
than 10 cents per pound would not check 
the amount produced; therefore, it would 
put money Into the United States Treasury 
that of right belongs to the farmer and his 
family. For that reason I much prefer the 
anti-color law, and think it w r ould be much 
preferable, for the demand would be very 
small if any for blue or brown butter or 
any color whereby it might be easily de¬ 
tected from the genuine dairy butter. An¬ 
other reason why I would prefer the anti- 
color law is that I should not feel proud of 
my country if it went into partnership 
with the oleo scamps, for I think there Is 
a great deal of truth in the saying that the 
partaker is as bad as the thief. When the 
oleo bills are acted on in Congress, I hope 
we may have a full account, and especially 
be allowed to know the names of those, 
if any, who vote against the bills. If we 
have not Constitution enough to put down 
all food adulterations, give us another ar¬ 
ticle in the Constitution. I think the pure- 
food problem the most vital one that we 
as a nation have on hand, for if we cannot 
take care of our time-honored industries, 
what in the world will we do with more 
territory? Not that I am opposed to an¬ 
nexing territory, but I think there are 
questions of greater importance than that. 
If we want a prosperous country we must 
take care of our agricultural industries, in 
which thousands are engaged, for if we 
cripple one so great as our dairy industry 
we will feel the shock from center to cir¬ 
cumference. We ought not to keep quiet 
and let a few swindlers steal our homes 
from us, and do it under the protection of 
poor laws which they would like to dictate 
for us. F. E. D. 
Shoreham, Vt. 
For the land’s sake, use Bowker’s Fer¬ 
tilizers. They enrich the earth.— Ad/v 
The Admiral Dewey Potato. 
Still at the head with a yield rate of 977 bushels 
to the acre in 1898, with from GO to 90 pounds from a 
pound of seed planted in 1899 It resembles the 
Rose in color of the skin, but the ilesh is whiter and 
the quality Is unquestionably the best of Its type, 
and should supersede all others for main crop. 
Price, 75c. pound; 3 pounds, $2. post or express paid. 
Send for circulars and testimonials to 0. M. ROBIN 
SON, Manorville L. I., or JOHN DURVEA & CO 
27 , 29 and 31 Gansevoort Street, New York City 
Klondyke Potatoes.—T he farmers’ 
gold mine. Send for price. Wm. Meyer, Mears, Mich 
H eadquarters for 2nd-Crop Seed Potatoes. Best 
on earth. 50 choice kinds of Strawberry Plants, 
etc. Cat. free. J. W,HALL, Marion Sta., Md. 
Allkan on R. N.-Y.Trial Grounds 
wICUUCIl I OldlO yielded 726 bu. per acre. 
20th Century (early) 504; Raleigh only 342. Figures 
ought to convince. Tuber, 10c.; lb.. 25c. Thirty others. 
Gold Standard Oats, pkt., 10c. 
H1LER BROS., Prattsburgh, N. Y. 
PflTATflFQ You Want Seed? Low Freight? 
lUlMIUuO Maule’s Commercial? Queens? Six 
Weeks, and Catalogue Describing 40 Varieties? 
Spring Shipments (Tuber and Sample White 8tar Oats 
Postage 5c.) Rurals $1.95. Write Now. Barrel or Car 
Lots. SMITH’S POTATO FARM, Box E, Man¬ 
chester, N. Y. 
Early Black Cow Peas. C. C. Brown, 
Bridgeville, Del. 
f HIMPinV HIT'S - Earliest, most productive and 
ullmUilVil vnlO heaviest oats ever grown In 
the United States Yield, 112 bus. per acre. Weight. 
45 pounds per bus. Sample and circular tree. 
JOHN BURNS, Borodino, N. Y. 
An LA I nA ull W jf 
ROSS BROS. 
you plant bureka Ensilag 
Corn. It produce! 
more tons of silagt 
peracretlian otbei 
known varieties. 
Thirty-eight tons 
actual weight or 
one acre. Book 
aboutitmailedfree. 
WORCESTER, MASS. FRONT ST 
I0LMES’ SEEDS. 
Illustrated Catalogue free! Send postal 
■ ■ TO-DAY. If you are a Market Gardener. 
Send for my Wholesale List. 
HENRY L. HOLMES, Harrisburg, Fa. 
ROCKY MT. EVERGREENS~p7RKLA r w w Na f nd 
CEMETERY. Four Blue Spruce, 15 Inches, for $1.50; 
four 20-lnch for $2.50; ten two-year old, for 25 cents In 
postage. 100 two-year old for $2, all delivered EX¬ 
PRESS PREPAID. Catalogue of HARDY NURSERY 
STOCK, with colored and photo-plates FREE. Our 
stock all upon HARDY ROOTS; none injured by 
Winter of ’98 and ’99. GARDNER & SON, Osage 
Nurseries, 117 Seventh Street, Osage, la 
DON’T 
give an order for Nursery Stock again 
catalogue, and see low prices, 
etc. Remember it_ pays to 
by mail. You will 
rejoice if you 
Send to HALL’S NURSERY, 
Bargains by mail, 
have them sent 
PLANT THE BEST 
Cherry Valley, Ill. 
Trees and Plants.—D o you want the 
best that grow ? Save money by sending for my cata¬ 
logue. C. A. HYATT, Croton-on-Hudson, N. Y. 
WE SELL 
direct to planters reliable Trees at 
honest prices. Good standard tested 
varieties.Catalog and price-list free. 
The Geo. A. Sweet Nursery Co., B.16U5, Dansville, N.Y 
Our Illustrated Catalogue tor 1900 
Explains what may be accomplished by using 
well-grown trees and plants. Mailed free. 
W. M. PETERS’ SONS, Wesley, Md. 
SS TREES 
SWvarlctleinLlso Grapes.Small Frutt*,ctc. Best root¬ 
ed stock- Genuine, cheap. 2 sample currantH mailed for 
10c. Desc. price-list free. LKiVIS ltOKSCII, kretluuia, N. y 
^/tf« , 
Large 
Trees 
Deciduous and Evergreen, 
Shrubs and Vines, also bearing age 
Fruit Trees. Purchasers wanting to 
ornament new grounds or improve 
older ones, can obtain trees of large 
size as well as those of medium 
growth. Oaks a specialty. Send for 
our new illustrated catalogue. Assort¬ 
ment complete. Quality unsurpassed. 
THE WM. H. MOON CO., 
Morrisville, Pa. 
Olenwood Nurseries: 
60 miles from New York 
SO miles from Phila. 
C HOICE Vegetables 
will always find a ready 
market—but only that farmer 
can raise them who has studied 
the great secret how to ob¬ 
tain both quality and quantity 
by the judicious use of well- 
balanced fertilizers. No fertil¬ 
izer for Vegetables can produce 
a large yield unless it contains 
at least 8% Potash. Send for 
our books, which furnish full 
information. We send them 
free of charge. 
GERMAN KALI WORKS, 
93 Nassau St., New *Y ork. 
Cucumbers 
and Melons 
and all vegetables are exceedingly 
profitable if grown for the early market. 
Largo yields and early maturity are cer¬ 
tain to follow the judicious use of 
Nitrate of Soda . 
For particulars and proofs write for free 
book to John A. Myers, 12 OJolm 
St., New York. Nitrate for sale by fer¬ 
tilizer dealers everywhere. 
Write at once for List of Dealers. 
FARMERS 
Can Realize the Profits of Market Gardeners 
by planting the best transplanted vegetable plants 
and getting their produce Into market early while 
prices are high. Cabbage and lettuce plants ready 
March 1st, other plants in season, continuing until 
J uly 1st. Write for price list. 
J. E, HUTTON & SON, Conyngham, Pa. 
Japanese Maples 
IN LARGE SIZES. 
HENRY E. BURR, Ward Place, So.Orange,N.J. 
Telephone 2064. 
4 HORN vour homes with 
■**- Ferns, Ficus, Palma and 
other leaf and Flowering 
Plants. We have 44 Green¬ 
houses full: also hundreds of 
loads of 
Fruit and Ornamental 
Trees, Shrubs, 
Roses, Plants, Bulbs, Seeds* 
Choicest now and old. Mail 
size postpaid, safe arrival and 
satisfaction guaranteed. Direct 
deal will save you money. Try it. Elegant catalogue 
free. 46th year. 1000 acres. 44 greenhouses. 
THE STORRS & HARRISON CO., Box 793 Painesville, Ohio. 
TREES 
Fruit Trees, Small Fruits, 
including grapes. Ornamen¬ 
tal Trees, Evergreens and 
Shrubs for public and pri¬ 
vate grounds. Shade Trees 
for streets. Hardy Roses, 
Hardy Plants,Climbers, etc. 
Our new catalogue, carefully re¬ 
vised, beautiiully illustrated with 
half-tone engravings, with cover of 
exquisite design, contains accurate 
and trustworthy descriptions of the 
most valuable varieties in cultiva¬ 
tion, and is replete with practical 
hints indispensable to planters. Al¬ 
though prepared at great expense, 
it will be sent free to our regular cus¬ 
tomers ; to others, on receipt of 10 cts. 
ELLWANGER& BARRY 
Mt. Hope Nurseries, ROCHESTER, N.Y. 
Established 60 Year*. 
