322 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
May 5 
• Ruralisms > 
«▼ T TTV 
CHANCE NOTES FROM THE RURAL 
GROUNDS. 
An Unwelcome Bird. —We trust the 
juncoes, or Black snowbirds, have at last 
retreated northward. These gentle har¬ 
bingers of cold and snow are really the 
most cheerful and useful of our native 
Winter birds. They consume millions of 
noxious weed seeds, and do absolutely 
no harm at any time. They ask no odds 
of man, except perhaps to claim a few 
crumbs from the dooryard or chance bits 
of broken grain during great stress of 
weather, but practically all their food 
consists of wild plant seeds which they 
gather in thickets and weedy fields. 
Nevertheless, the association of the 
juncoes with bleak skies in this locality 
is so constant that we arr only too glad 
to speed their parting this rainy and 
Backward Spring. 
The “Egyptian Fkrennial” Onion.— 
A small planting of this phenomenally 
hardy onion was made last September 
from top bulblets or sets, kept over from 
the preceding year. They rooted well, 
wintering without loss, and were ready 
for the table by April 1, before ordinary 
varieties were even planted. This is the 
variety of top onion so largely grown 
about Norfolk for the early northern 
markets. Nearly all the bunch or green 
onions offered at this season are of this 
kind, but they are apparently little 
grown north of the latitude of Phila¬ 
delphia. In the trucking districts south 
of Baltimore these onions form a fre¬ 
quent money crop for small farmers, 
who plant a rich piece of ground with 
them in the Fall and market the young 
onions next Spring, in time to grow 
tomatoes, sweet corn or other special 
crops on the same ground. These top 
onions never form a large bulb, but split 
up into a number of small sets, while the 
flower spike bears a bunch of little bulbs 
from the size of a small pea to that of a 
hickorynut, and often a few sterile 
blooms. The top sets are planted to 
form new beds, while the old bulb may 
be taken up, divided and reset in the 
same way. The sets and divisions are 
planted about the middle of September 
on highly manured ground, and require 
but little cultivation, as the growing 
coolness of the season does not encour¬ 
age weed growth. They form a strong 
mat of roots, with but little top-growth, 
and are seldom heaved or injured by 
frost. From the middle of March to the 
last of April, according to latitude, they 
are pulled, bunched, and sold in the local 
or northern markets. The ground is 
thus left in excellent condition for suc¬ 
ceeding market crops. 
Pride Goetii Before a Fall, and, we 
may add the Americanized version of 
this ever-true proverb, viz.: “Don’t 
halloo before you are out of the woods,” 
for the hybridized cabbage seeds, re¬ 
ferred to on page 208 (March 24), have 
proven very much of a delusion. By 
careful work we had pollenized about 
200 blooms, and the pods promptly grew 
to full size, but in ripening we find col¬ 
lapsed brown scales where the seeds 
ought to be. So far we have secured 
five seeds that look as though they may 
grow, in place of the thousands which 
the appearance of the pods indicated 
would ripen. It is well known that the 
various species of Cruciferae, to which 
extensive family the cabbages belong, 
are most difficult to inter-cross, but we 
were not prepared to find such a com¬ 
plete response to pollen influence in the 
quick growth and full development of 
the siliques, or pods, coupled with the 
almost complete failure to produce via¬ 
ble seeds. Fifteen years of experience in 
the hybridization of rebellious plants, 
teaches one to be quite conservative as 
to the outcome of any experiment of the 
kind, but we were certainly deceived tnis 
time. From the fact that all the check 
blooms, which were emasculated, but not 
pollenized with the other species, failed 
to develop at all into pods, we gather 
the comfort that the experiment was 
properly conducted, and that there is yet 
hope for an interesting result. 
Budded Imported Roses: Don’t plant 
them! The city sidewalks are now 
crowded with plant fakirs, displaying 
stocks of budded imported roses, both in 
shrub and standard or tree form, to¬ 
gether with Rhododendrons, bay trees 
and other showy plants of this class. 
These shrubs have all been grown, prac¬ 
tically, in manure heaps, in the heavy 
soils of Holland and Belgium. They are 
often large and handsome, but when it is 
considered that they have been exposed 
to the heat and close air of an ocean 
voyage in the hold of a steamer, and the 
number of times they have been handled 
over, as well as the exposure to drying 
win Ps on the streets, one can see that 
the chances of their living when finally 
planted are very small. These roses, wh'ich 
are also largely sold by the department 
stores, sometimes show a fair bloom tor 
a season or two, but even with the best 
of care the Manetti stocks on which they 
are budded soon fail, the buds die off, 
and the plant is lost, or suckers up from 
the root into a disappointing and trou¬ 
blesome brier. We have had ample ex¬ 
perience with these foreign-grown 
plants, and long ago concluded that 
there was more satisfaction in one 
homegrown rose than a dozen imported 
ones for a lasting effect. 
The Miserable San Jose Scale.— 
The Rural Grounds have not escaped in¬ 
fection with the pernicious scale. Three 
years ago it was discovered on some 
trial nectarine trees, which were at 
once destroyed. Last season some choice 
peaches went the same way. This 
Spring a most painstaking search re¬ 
vealed a few live scales on some young 
apple, pear and peach trees. They have 
all been thoroughly sprayed with com¬ 
mercial crude petroleum, as recommend¬ 
ed by Prof. John B. Smith, of the New 
Jersey Experiment Station. The buds 
are pushing just as rapidly as on the 
unsprayed trees, and it is to be hoped 
that the scales have been overcome at 
last. We hear of trees dying from the 
effects of this application on Long Isl¬ 
and, and would suppose it due to the 
varying quality of the oils used. 
W. V. F. 
A Round Bed ot Cannas. 
1 wish to arrange a round bed of Can¬ 
nas, to be seven feet in diameter, and to 
contain 19 plants. The outside row will 
require 12 plants, and I wish to alternate 
with red and yellow, requiring six 
plants in red shades, all to be different, 
and not exceeding four feet in height. The 
middle row will need six plants, growing 
four to five feet high, every other one to 
be yellow also. For the center plant I 
have been thinking of Alphonse Bouvier, 
crimson, or Allemania, red and yellow, and 
would like your opinion. What are the 
best six dwarf varieties in yellow shades, 
no two to be nearly alike, and what are 
the best dwarf varieties, not over four feet 
high, in red and pink? c. h. p. 
Stockbridge, Mass. 
Ans. —In the first place, we would en¬ 
large the bed to eight feet across, if at 
all possible, as the plants will be rather 
crowded in the seven-foot bed. There is 
a great variety to choose from, but we 
would be inclined to make the following 
selections: Center plant, Abraham Lin¬ 
coln, deep crimson; first row from cen¬ 
ter, reds, Blazing Torch, Alberta, Cham¬ 
pion; yellows, Brilliant, Empress of In¬ 
dia, Conqueror. Outside row, reds, Phil¬ 
adelphia, Duke of Marlborough, George 
Washington, Black Prince, Mme. Crozy, 
President McKinley; yellows, Janus, 
Florence Vaughan, Franz Buchner, But¬ 
tercup, Dr. Nansen, Gloriosa. The best 
yellows and reds for the above purpose 
can be found in the above list. The 
finest pink-flowered Cannas now in com¬ 
merce are the following: Rosemawr, 2% 
to three feet; Martha Washington, three 
feet; Maiden’s Blush, three feet; Lor¬ 
raine, three feet; Zephyr, two feet, and 
Annie Laurie, 2*4 feet. The heights 
given are only approximate, as all 
Cannas grow quite tall when given an 
abundance of water in a highly-fertilized 
soil. 
Disseminating Error. —Among the 
numberless horticultural fakes always 
floating through the press, we find the 
following: 
A real curiosity in fruit culture is to be 
seen at Forest City, Iowa, being a very 
thrifty and productive Wealthy apple tree 
which is the product of a Wealthy scion 
grafted on a willow root. The graft was 
made in this way: The end of a root from 
a willow tree was exposed in plowing a 
garden, and on this root was placed the 
scion. It grew and did well. The ques¬ 
tion is: Does this apple tree derive its 
nutriment from the willow system of roots? 
If it does, there might be a point here 
worth considering. 
The apple belongs to the Rosaceae 
or rose family, and has been successfully 
grafted on various species of apple, in¬ 
cluding crabapples, the Mountain ash. 
various thorns, the Juneberry or shad- 
bush, and occasionally on pear trees, all 
belonging to the same family, but that 
it could unite with and maintain exist¬ 
ence from sap furnished by a willow, be¬ 
longing to the widely-separated family 
of the Salicaceae, seems impossible in the 
light of experience. If the clipping is 
based on facts, it would seem that the 
willow root simply furnished moisture 
until the apple scion could throw out 
roots of its own like a cutting, but prob¬ 
ably the only foundation to the whole 
statement is some writer’s imagination. 
Fertilizing Strawberries.— I can’t agree 
with what is said in The R. N.-Y. of 
April 7, page 243, about fertilizing straw¬ 
berries. Three years ago I had some rows 
of berries that made a very poor growth at 
one end, so in the Winter I put my nen 
manure, as it was made, as far as it would 
go on the plants. It was put over one-half 
of the patch, and over the poorest end, but 
this end gave much more fruit, and the 
fruit was much larger and lasted longer. 
Anyone could easily see where the manure 
went. I should apply fertilizers to berries 
within two weeks of fruiting, and expect 
to see the good effects, provided we had at 
least one good rain. a. r. a. 
Virginia. 
1900 
THE SOUTH SIDE 
FRUIT CARRIERS AND BASKETS 
PETERSBURG, VA. 
Write for Catalogue and Prices 
A Few Days Brew 
Of Deadly Uric Acid. 
In a few days you may brew enough 
uric acid in your body to produce death. 
Your kidneys are your only salvation. 
Because when they are well, they filter 
out this deadly poison. 
So, when your kidneys are weak or out 
of order, you can understand how quick¬ 
ly your entire body is affected, and how 
every organ seems to fail to do its duty. 
Uric acid poison irritates the nerves, 
and causes rheumatic pains in joints, 
muscles and limbs, catarrh of the blad¬ 
der, headache, backache, stomach and 
liver trouble, shortness of breath, heart 
trouble, dizziness, nervousness, irritabil¬ 
ity, lassitude, loss of ambition, weakness 
and wasting away. 
Red brick dust and similar sediments 
in the urine are also caused by various 
salts of uric acid. 
The cure for these troubles is Dr. 
Kilmer’s Swamp-Root, the great kidney 
remedy. 
It instantly relieves the congested, 
over-worked kidneys, and gradually 
brings them back to health. 
Healthy kidneys keep down the excess 
of uric acid, and you soon feel the bene¬ 
fit in new health and strength. 
Swamp-Root should at once be taken 
upon the least sign of ill-health. It will 
make you well and is for sale the world 
over in bottles oi two sizes and two 
prices, fifty-cent and one-dollar. 
Swamp-Root is used in the leading 
hospitals; recommended by skillful phy¬ 
sicians in their private practice; and is 
taken by doctors themselves who have 
kidney ailments, because they recognize 
in it the greatest and most successful 
remedy for kidney and bladder troubles. 
To prove its wonderful efficacy, send 
your name and address to Dr. Kilmer & 
Co., Binghamton, N. Y., mentioning this 
paper, when you will receive, free of all 
charge, a sample bottle of Swamp-Root 
and a valuable book, by mail, prepaid. 
This book contains many of the thou¬ 
sands upon thousands of testimonial let¬ 
ters received from men and women 
cured. 
WHITE 
WELLS-HI6MAN CO., 
St. Joseph, Mich., 
FOK 
BERRY BOXES, 
Grape and Peach Baskets, 
AND 
STAVE BASKETS. 
We make specialty of shipping berry-box ma 
terial in the flat. 
COMPRESSED AIR 
... SPRAYER — 
HOLDS FOUR GALLONS. 
ONLY TAKE5 A MOMENT TQ 
PUMPIN THE AIR.NO MORE 
LABOR REQUIRED. PRICE 1 4.50 
COMPLETE.5ENT TO ANY AO- 
DRESS. ACENT5 WANTED. 
Tfii-nwAM'dn r smith LCO.UTirA.N.Y. 
BERRY BOXES and BASKETS 
Peach Packages— 
Grape Baskets— 
Fruit and Vegetable 
Packages Of every kind 
Send for catalogue. 
NEW ALBANY BOX & BASKET CO., 
New Albany, Ind 
your Fruit Trees and 
24 styles spraying outfits, liest 
and cheapest. For prices and 
full treatise on spraying all Fruit andVegetable crops 
address WILLIAM STAHL, Quincy, Illinois. 
Spraying Pays 
If you have the 
right pump. 
Our No. 305 out¬ 
fit is as good a 
pump as ever 
was sold, and 
you will besur- 
prised when 
you learn the 
price. We sell 
Pump, Barrel, 
5 Feet of Hose, 
GraduatedNoz- 
zle, which 
throws a spray 
as fine as mist, 
Extension Pipe 
for high trees, 
and with first 
order from 
every town, 10 
lbs. of Paris 
Green free. Write for book telling all about it, 
and how and when to spray. 
ROSS BR0S. w iS c .;S"- FRONT ST. 
B 
KKKY BASKETS.—Buy now while cheap. 
CHARLES I. ALLEN. Terryville, Conn 
A Dry Sprayer 
No Water or Plaeter. 
Bait! Tr#», Bu»h or Tta». 
Two rows of potatoes as 
fast as you walk, wide or 
narrow planting. Agents 
wanted. Catalogue and 
spray calendar free. 
LEGGETT & BROTHER, 
301 Pearl Bt.. New York. 
Perfect Fruit ■11 
Is produced by perfect spray- 
ing.Perfect sprayingis done by 
EMPIRE KING 
AND 
GARFIELD KNAPSACK 
The finest in the spray, moat thorough 
in the stirring, easiest In the work. 
An automatic brush keeps the strainer 
free from thick, raw poison. Impos¬ 
sible to scorch the foliage. No leather 
or rubber valves. Send for free book 
on spraying. Agents wanted. / 
FIELD FORCE PUMP CO.. 
H Market St., Lockport, N. Y. 
Save Your Trees, Plants and Vines 
The insect world is always alert and active, and he who would succeed with fruit, berr^ tuber iuid 
flower must be equally active. For best results spray everything with SWIFTs ARSKIN A1 IS 
OF LEAD. It is the new-est and best insecticide. It is white and adheres to, hut never scalds 
foliage. Kills all enemies of fruit and vine and injures nothing. Endorsed by leading State Entomologists. 
Made and sold only by us. Send for free booklet, “Injuriws Insects.’’ 
Win. H. SWIFT * CO., 05 Broutl St., BOSTON, MASS- 
