288 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
April 21 
Ruralisms 
Rudbeckia Golden Glow. —One of 
the first hardy plants to push through 
the ground as soon as the frost is fairly 
out, is this valuable new double form of 
Rudbeckia laciniata. It is said to have 
been found growing wild in an Illinois 
woodland, and was tested and dissem¬ 
inated several years ago by a New York 
seedsman. It has proved one of the 
most useful and ornamental of all hardy 
plants. When established it will grow 
from six to eight feet high, the branch¬ 
ing 'stems being covered with masses of 
golden yellow double blossoms, large 
and perfect, and without the stiffness 
peculiar to sunflowers, which they most 
resemble. The flowers last in perfection 
many weeks, and are produced in the 
greatest freedom through August and 
September. These flowers are coming in 
demand for decoration, as in appearance 
and finish they are more like yellow 
Cactus Dahlias or Chrysanthemums than 
Rudbeckias. The Golden Glow Rud¬ 
beckia is entirely hardy, furnishing its 
own protection in the forest of flowering 
stems that remain throughout the Win¬ 
ter and arrest the drifting leaves and 
snow. A little plant soon spreads into 
a large clump that will hold its own 
with any native vegetation. If only one 
hardy plant is needed we would recom¬ 
mend this excellent Rudbeckia, unless 
there is a prejudice against yellow 
flowers. 
Berckmans and Willard Plums.— 
Lester R. Maynard, South Berlin, Mass., 
writes as follows concerning the Berck¬ 
mans and Willard plums, varieties that 
are being discarded almost everywhere 
as fast as tested: 
I received a catalogue recently from a 
Massachusetts nurseryman, and was very 
much surprised to see a glowing descrip¬ 
tion of the above-named plum, which reads 
as follows: “Medium to large; ripens just 
ahead of Abundance; color, deep blood red; 
Mesh white, very sweet and juicy; excellent 
quality. One of the best, and should be on 
every list. Very valuable for near mar¬ 
ket. Known in many sections as Abun¬ 
dance, but is far better than that variety. ’ 
What a man can be thinking of to print 
such a description as this is more than I 
can tell. It might have been true when 
the plum first originated, but is all out of 
date now, when we have so many varieties 
so much superior to Berckmans. In the 
same catalogue Willard is also highly 
recommended. In a communication to 
me Luther Burbank recently wrote: “Wil¬ 
lard and Berckmans I discarded 15 years 
ago as worthless when there are so many 
better ones. Why nurserymen keep 15 
year's behind I do not know.” I have 
fruited these two varieties, and therefore 
know whereof I speak. I hope you will 
publish these few lines, so as to let your 
readers know that the Willard and Berck¬ 
mans plum are not what this Massachu¬ 
setts nurseryman claims them to be. 
This corresponds with the recorded 
.conclusions of the tests on the former R. 
N.-Y. Trial Grounds, but on the other 
hand, very few purchasers make their 
selections from the recommendations of 
any one nurseryman. They generally 
consult several catalogues, and form 
their opinions from the average descrip¬ 
tions. There may be localities, how¬ 
ever, where 'the Berckmans and Willard 
plums are appreciated. 
A New Yellow Gladiolus. —Last 
August we received from Prof. Max 
Leichtlin, of Baden-Baden, Germany, 
three tiny and shrunken Gladiolus 
corms, with the statement that they had 
just been received from his collector in 
Madagascar, Who had gathered them at 
great personal risk from the face of a 
cliff in an unexplored portion of that 
great island. As they had been collect¬ 
ed when the plant was in bloom, the 
corms were in a very poor condiiton, but 
by careful nursing were induced to be¬ 
gin growth in December. One soon died, 
but the other two have made satisfac¬ 
tory progress since. One has even 
found strength enough to produce a 
bloom spike bearing two good-sized, 
brilliant yellow blooms. The color is as 
clear and rich as in a jonquil or butter¬ 
cup, and the form quaintly pretty, hav¬ 
ing long and well-developed lower pet¬ 
als. This new, and as yet unnamed, 
species will be warmly welcomed as soon 
as it can be secured in quantity. A num¬ 
ber of yellow varieties of Gladiolus are 
grown, but the color is rather pale, and 
most of them have red or purple mark¬ 
ings. Canary-bird is the best of the yel¬ 
low garden varieties. The species, G. 
Adlami, or sulphurous, bears a good 
spike of rather greenish-yellow flowers, 
but is still scarce and little known. 
Curiously enough its seedlings and 
crosses are nearly always bright red, 
leading one to believe that it is not a 
true species, but a variation of one of 
the species allied to G. psittacinus, or 
the red-and-yellow Parrot Gladiolus of 
Natal. The pretty new species, first 
mentioned, does not belong to the large- 
flowering class, but the intensity and 
purity of its color may prove of great 
advantage in breeding for an advance in 
our yellow garden varieties, as well as 
for its own intrinsic beauty. 
A Red Addle. —The Chicago Record 
tells this apple story: 
At precisely 2 o’clock every day. Senator 
Cockrell, of Missouri, leaves his seat, goes 
into the cloakroom, pokes his hand into 
his overcoat pocket and pulls out two big 
ted apples. Then he sits down in a com¬ 
fortable chair before the wood fire that 
crackles in the chimney place and pro¬ 
ceeds to eat them. He is as regular as 
the sun, and the Senators rather set their 
watches by him than by the old clock thal 
hangs over the entrance to the chamber. 
1-Ie takes no other luncheon, eats nothing 
else between breakfast at $ o’clock and 
dinner at 6 o’clock in the afternoon, and 
believes that apples are the healthiest 
food nature has provided for man. 
Senator Cockrell comes from the land 
of the Ben Davis apple, but we don’t be¬ 
lieve he selects that variety for his own 
eating. 
TEST OF APPLES. 
In the Spring of 1896 grafts were set 
in bearing trees of the following var¬ 
ieties of apples for testing: York im¬ 
perial, Springdale, Mammoth Black 
Twig, Gano, Shackleford and Akin Red. 
All boro a full crop last Summer for the 
first time, except the Mammoth Black 
Twig. All had about an equal chance, 
to show what they would do; none of 
them were sprayed. We had a severe 
frost early last Fall; it may have in¬ 
jured some of the apples, for it took 
off most of the leaves before the fruit 
was picked. The Black Twig seemed 
rather too green to pick; perhaps it may 
do better another season, but no doubt 
it is better farther south. Springdale is 
no doubt the best one of the lot; grafts 
bore a very heavy crop of large and re¬ 
markably smooth fruit, which clung to 
the tree in a manner equal to any apple 
we ever saw. They were in a very ex¬ 
posed place, yet scarcely any were blown 
off by the wind, not even the wormy 
fruit. It promises to be a good shipper 
and long keeper, remains firm and sound 
up to this time. Akin Red is too small; 
a good bright color, flesh fine-grained 
and tender, but not high-flavored. Seems 
to keep quite well, ripens rather too 
early for a long keeper. Mammoth 
Black Twig has been a disappointment 
so far, in size, color, and productiveness; 
it seemed to be immature at picking 
time. It may do better when we have 
a longer season. 
York Imperial seems to be more sen¬ 
sitive to curculio and other insects, caus¬ 
ing deformities in the fruit, than any 
other apple we had. There were no per¬ 
fect specimens among them, while the 
Springdale apples, not far from them, 
were nearly all smooth. York Imperial 
seems to have a very tender thin skin, 
very much subject to scald too. We do 
not care for it either as dessert or cook¬ 
ing apple, the flavor is not our taste. 
Gano is similar to Ben Davis, but 
seems to have more red and is perhaps a 
little better flavored. A good bearer, 
keeps well, not very smooth, very few 
windfalls. Shackleford is too poor in 
quality, ripens too early for a Winter 
apple, is not a good keeper, soon gets 
dry and soft. Fruit medium size, 
smooth. Good bearer. If not picked 
early there will be few to pick. 
Rockland Co., N. Y. levi bell. 
Selling Cabbage.— I sold 26,000 pounds 
of early cabbage last season, and made 
quite a mistake in not having lime, so I 
have the lime this year. I started to sell 
June 25 and closed July 30. I received $30 
per ton for very near all of it. h. a. 
There will be quite an increase in acre¬ 
age of strawberry plants in Burlington Co., 
N. J., this year, Gandy and Glen Mary 
seem to be in the lead. The canning sharks 
have been trying to locate a canning fac¬ 
tory in this section, but I understand that 
they have not been successful. They tried 
to raise stock to the amount of $8,500. 
P. O. D. 
Cow Pea Pasture.—Cow peas make 
mighty good Winter pasture. Cows have 
been on the piece I have about all Winter, 
and have cleaned it up pretty well. It was 
quite thick with beans in the Fall, but they 
are all gone now. I have a few stalks left 
to plow under, otherwise the cows have 
cleaned it up. G. p. 
Vaphank, ,L. I. 
The Carolina poplar is a hardy, quick¬ 
growing tree, not by any means as hand¬ 
some as the Sugar maple, but very suit¬ 
able for an ornamental shade tree. Trees 
grown on rich soil make long shoots that 
are liable to be injured by high winds, but 
occasional pruning will keep them in good 
shape. The Norway maple is a stronger 
grower than the Sugar maple and is the 
finer tree of the two, though of the same 
general character. 
Drinking Kerosene.— As evidence of 
the absurd stories that appear in the daily 
papers, we give the substance of a report 
from Long Island. Three men, grand¬ 
father, father and son, report that they 
saw a snake which consumed three pints 
of pure kerosene oil, and that he appeared 
lively and full of business, even after this 
illuminating diet. The entomologists tell 
us that kerosene is absolutely fatal to all 
forms of insect life. There may be vari¬ 
eties of snakes that can absorb kerosene, 
but we should want to see the snake be¬ 
fore and after his dinner, in order to credit 
this story. We have seen men in the 
lumber camps drink kerosene from the 
ordinary oil can, as a cure for sore throat. 
Some of these men were nearly in that 
condition where one is said to "see 
snakes,” and it may possibly be that this 
snake story started from such practice. 
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 York. 
Onions 
and all Garden Truck are vastly 
benefited and quickly grown by 
the use of 
Nitrate of Soda . 
No scallions; no club root; no 
pithy centers; only firm, solid 
vegetables. A lot of information 
and valuable booklets on these 
subjects free by asking John A. 
Myers, 12-0 John St., New York. 
Nitrate for sale by fertilizer dealers every¬ 
where. 
Write at once tor List of Dealers• 
The Slag Phosphate 
is not in the Fertilizer Trust." We are 
still selling at old prices. Orders must 
be sent in early to receive prompt 
shipment. Address 
JACOB KEESE, 
400 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 
POULTRY NETTING 60c. PER ROLL. 
All rolls 150 feet long, best quality wire galvanized. 
Our illus’d circulars give lowest prices freight paid. 
JAMES S. CASE (Box N), Colchester. Conn. 
