338 
May 12 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS. 
Spring Is Here at last, as evidenced 
by a flight of Purple martins and the ap¬ 
pearance of a few swifts, or Chimney 
swallows. The Meadow lark has been 
piping his tuneful lay, really the sweet¬ 
est of all the vernal sounds, for several 
weeks, but has often been interrupted by 
raw and frosty weather. Crocuses have 
bloomed and faded. Scillas, and the 
hardy and cheerful little Chionodoxas, 
are already past their best, but Narcissi 
in several varieties, and established hya¬ 
cinths, are blooming bravely while the 
first tulip is just opening. Burbank, Sat- 
suma and Red June plums are in full 
bloom, and Abundance is closely follow 
ing. A few early peaches are opening 
small red flowers. The first shrubs to 
open are, of course, the golden Forsyth- 
ias and the fragrant, but less showy 
bush honeysuckle, Lonicera fragrantis- 
sima, while the Japan quinces (Cy- 
donias), and Judas trees, or redbuds, 
show a few expanding blooms. 
Asparagus Fields.—A few miles east 
of the Rural Grounds are the old and 
famous asparagus fields of Middletown, 
within shipping distance of the Jersey 
village of mat name. Here Conover’s 
Colossal asparagus, until the advent of 
the rust, one of the most profitable of 
all varieties, is said to have originated, 
and has been most extensively grown, 
but is now rapidly being discarded for 
the Palmetto, which has proved so much 
more resistant to this difficult pest that 
single rows and chance plants can be 
identified in any part of a field of other 
varieties during the Fall, as they usually 
remain green and vigorous long after 
the others are browned with rust. With¬ 
in a square mile or so more asparagus 
is produced than in all the rest of Mon¬ 
mouth County. The growers believe in 
the liberal application of animal ma¬ 
nures, and cart the product of the New 
York stables from the railroad all Win¬ 
ter, spreading it as fast as brought to 
ibhe fields. The average applications 
rather exceed 10 tons to the acre, and in 
all about 1,300 tons were used this Win¬ 
ter, costing about $2,000, delivered at 
Middletown. A good season for these 
Jersey asparagus growers means re¬ 
ceipts of about $150 per acre, or nearly 
$20,000 for the 130 acres tributary to 
Middletown. The asparagus is shipped 
to New York or sold to neighboring can¬ 
neries. Heavy manuring and assiduous 
cultivation seem to be, to a certain ex¬ 
tent, antidotes to the rust, providing re¬ 
sistant varieties like the Palmetto and, 
to a less extent, the Argenteuil, are 
grown. 
A Naturalized Foreigner. —One of 
the first plants to push into growth in 
this locality is the Tawny day lily, 
Hemerocallis kwanso, which has become 
extensively naturalized along roadsides 
and in waste places throughout the coast 
region, it is contemporary in its Spring 
awakening with the common skunk cab¬ 
bage of the marshes (Pothos icetidus), 
but has the great advantage of giving a 
profusion of coppery-yellow lily-like 
blooms in midsummer. The various 
species of Hemerocallis are natives of 
southern Europe and middle Asia, ex¬ 
tending to Japan. Some, like H. flava 
and H. graminea, bear brilliant yellow 
sweet-scented flowers, and are common 
in old dooryards, while the single and 
double forms of H. fulva and H. kwanso 
are less cultivated. A very large-flower¬ 
ing species, H. aurantiaca major, was 
introduced a few years ago from Si¬ 
beria, but ha' not proved very hardy, 
and as yet is not often seen. The Tawny 
day lily, which term may be equally ap¬ 
plied to either H. fulva or H. kwanso, 
as there is .ittle difference between them, 
seems able to hold its own against our 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
native vegetation, and the large clumps 
and masses that are encountered in our 
Summer rambles add a distinct charm to 
the locality. These fine hardy plants 
should not be confounded with the 
Funkias, or Plantain lilies, though both 
belong to the Liliaceae, and are popu¬ 
larly called “day lilies.” Funkias have 
white, pink or blue flowers, while the 
various species of Hemerocallis all pro¬ 
duce large blooms of yellow shades. In 
parts of the Southwest the Pardanthus, 
or Blackberry lily, has also extensively 
escaped from cultivation, and is found 
disseminated through the fields and 
woodlands. This is a fine plant, weli 
worthy of a place in any garden, but it is 
not a lily, as it belongs to the Iris fam¬ 
ily. 
Those Greenhouse Chickens. — On 
page 208 we gave a brief account of the 
comfort the Rural Grounds chickens se¬ 
cured from our greenhouse accommoda¬ 
tions. Those little fellows spent possi¬ 
bly lv nights and half as many days un¬ 
der the warm pipes, and have thriven 
greatly. None have been lost, though 
they have grown so familiar that it re¬ 
quires much circumspection to keep 
from stepping on them, as they swarm 
about one’s feet on entering the poultry 
yard. This extra protection during 
sharp weather has made all the differ¬ 
ence between a strong, rapid growth and 
a debilitating check, due to exposure. 
However, excessive tameness in one’s 
fowls has its drawbacks, and it is prob¬ 
able that these early birds will meet an 
untimely fate as broilers, as they are 
getting too lazy to search for their food. 
A VETERAN HORTICULTURIST. 
Mr. F. E. Shelton, of Fayetteville, 
Ark., gives some interesting facts about 
the late John S. Downer, of Kentucky. 
Mr. Downer began his married life on a 
heavily-timbered tract of rich land in 
Kentucky. As soon as he got one field 
cleared he planted a small orchard of 
apple trees. He also began planting ap¬ 
ple seeds for stock on which to graft, 
and thus extended his orchard. In this 
way a surplus of fine trees soon accumu¬ 
lated on his hands, and he began to give 
away specimens to his favorite neigh¬ 
bors. Finally some of tne wealthier ones 
insisted that he ought to take pay for 
these trees, and in this way he started a 
nursery business, which finally became 
the largest of any in that section of 
country. Really Mr. Downer became a 
nurseryman several years before he 
thought of such a thing. Mr. Downer 
soon began to travel over the country in 
the Fall, collecting specimens and choice 
apples, and taking cuttings from the 
trees in order to propagate them. It got 
so that people would carry and send him 
seedlings that they thought extra fine, 
and Mr. Downer would graft and care 
for them so as to see what they amount¬ 
ed to. It was in this way that the Ben 
Davis apple was really started. Mr. 
Downer heard of this fine apple off in 
Butler County, Ky., and he mounted his 
horse and rode from farm to farm until 
he found the place where the tree was 
growing. It was on a poor farm owned 
by an old man named Ben Davis, who 
raised apple trees and sold them to his 
neighbors in a small way. He had no 
name for the apple, and so Mr. Downer 
began calling it Ben Davis, for Mr. Davis 
claimed to have raised it from seed. It 
would appear that there have been three 
men named Ben Davis, and that each of 
them did originate an apple named for 
himself, but Mr. Shelton is confident that 
Mr. Downer found the original Ben. At 
any rate, Ben has been going on ever 
since, earning money, if not reputation, 
for those who sold him. Mr. Downer 
was also the originator of the Charles 
Downing strawberry. He was a great 
personal friend of Charles Downing, and 
he was glad to name his strawberry after 
his friend. Mr. Downer also first propa¬ 
gated and sent out the Wild Goose plum. 
The origin of this plum has often been 
told. A wild goose was shot as it was 
flying home to the South in the Fall. 
After being kept some days as a curi¬ 
osity, this goose was thrown into a fence 
corner, where it lay and decayed. A 
seedling sprang up there and proved to 
be a plum tree, and it is supposed that 
the tree grew from a seed that was in 
the craw of the goose. Mr. Downer 
heard of this plum, went and examined 
it, and immediately secured the exclu¬ 
sive right to propagate the tree. Speci¬ 
mens were sent all over the country, but 
no one had ever seen it before. It proved 
to be an acquisition ranking much high¬ 
er in the plum family than Ben Davis 
did among apples, although the latter 
has brought far more money to those 
who handled it. Mr. Downer seems to 
have had an eventful life, and he cer¬ 
tainly did good service to his fellow men 
in thus propagating and securing for 
them these new and valuable fruits. 
Farm, Furnace and Factory says that 
rust and rot are the implement makers' 
best friends, and farmers should not form 
their acquaintance. 
Winter Pears Wanted.— Has it ever oc¬ 
curred to you to note the lack of Winter 
pears? If any part of your farm is suit¬ 
able for pears, varieties later than the 
Bartlett are very profitable, and but few 
are grown, hence they command good 
prices. I don’t count the sand pears (Kief- 
fer, Le Conte or Garber), as worth plant¬ 
ing under any circumstances; notwith¬ 
standing the great Kieffer craze which is 
raging at present. This craze is just the 
reason why good late pears should be 
planted. If any part of the farm has a 
northwest incline or slope that is the place 
for a pear orchard. f. f. w. 
For several years I have been afflicted with Asthma 
and Jayne's Expectorant Is the only medicine that 
has ever given me any relief.—LUKE VANAMAN, 
Rockwell, Tex., November 4,1895. 
Aid digestion with Jayne’s Painless Sanative Pills. 
—Adv. 
Perfect Fruit an 
Is produced by perfect spray- 
Ing.Perfect gprayingis done by 
EMPIRE KING 
AND 
GARFIELD KNAPSACK 
in the gtirrinj 
An automatic 
trough 
easiest in the work, 
keeps the strainer 
Idm» 
_ No leather 
or rubber valves. Send for free book 
on spraying. Agents wanted* , 
FIELD FORCE PUMP CO., 
2 Market St., Lock port, N. 
free from thick, raw poison. 
Bible to scorch the foliage. No 
or rubber valves. Send f or fr 
LEGGETT^ 
[plOjSl 
(HA 
A Dry Sprayer 
No Water or Plaster. 
Dusti Ties, Both or Tins. 
Two rows of potatoes as 
fast as you walk, wide or 
narrow planting. Agtfits 
wanted. Catalogue and 
spray calendar free. 
LEGGETT & BROTHER, 
your Fruit Trees and 
24 styles spraying outfits. Heat 
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 be sur¬ 
prised when 
you learn the 
price. We sell 
I’ump, Barrel, 
5 Feet of Hose, 
Graduated Noz¬ 
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 MaM! er ’ FRONT ST. 
A RARE COMBINATION 
HARTMAN steel rod 
nHn 1 mMI * PICKET FENCE. 
Boat and handsomest for lawns, parka, cemeteries, school grounds 
—anything. Send tor our frte catalogue—know more about it. 
HARTMAN M’F’G. C0„ BOX 19 ELLWOOD CITY. PA. 
Or Room 70, 809 Broadway, New York City. 
FARM FFNPF is to 24 cents per rod. Built without 
l nil ill 1 Lit UD machine. First inquiring, where 
not introduced, gets special terms and agency. 
BUCHANAN FENCE CO., Box 258, SmithviUe, O 
A NICE, SWEET, PLUMP 
sclioolma’ am pleases the eye. So does Page Fence. 
PAGE WOVEN WIRE FENCE CO„ ADRIAN, MICH. 
oon Saves Its Cost 
A Labor Saver ■ 
A 12-Year 
Old Boy 
can do more and better work, either 
In the Held or garden, with this 
HAND CULTIVATOR 
than three men can do with common hoes. 
Plows, hoes, cultivates— astrideor between rows. Ifnoagent 
b vour town send SI.35 for sample delivered and terms to agents. 
Ulrich Mfg. Co., ZORiver St.,Rock Falls,III. 
1900 
THE SOUTH SIDE 
FRUIT CARRIERS AND BASKETS 
PETERSBURG, VA. 
Write for Catalogue and Prices 
B 
ERRY BASKETS.—Buy now while cheap. 
CHARLES I. ALLEN, l’erryvllle, Conn 
M. M. S. POULTRY FENCING 
requires few posts, no top or bottom rail. Will not 
sag or buckle: easily erected; when completed costs 
less than old-style netting. Our circulars give net 
prices. Freight paid. 
JAMES S. CASE (Box N), Colchester, Conn. 
1,000 SAMPLES FREL 
■Jgk- 
of our new Success fence ratohei 
which tightens any wire fence, new 
or old. Grips automatically as wire 
Is wound on. No holes to bore In posts. Attaches 
midway of the fence. We will mail you a sample to 
test If you will send us 12o. to cover postage only. 
Clr. free. W. H. MASON & CO., Box 87, Leesburg, O. 
Farmers, Attention!! 
Now that wire is cheaper, 
you better build that fence! 
The Superior Fence Ma¬ 
chine builds all kinds of 
fences for 18 to 30 cents a 
rod. Ask your hardware 
dealer for one. If he hasn't 
them, we will send one prepaid on receipt of $4.75. 
SUPERIOR FENCE MACHINE CO., 
184 Grand River Ave., Detroit, Mich 
Steel Wheels wagons 
Any size wanted, any width of tire. Hubs to 
fit any axle. For catalogue and prices write 
Empire Manufacturing Co., Quincy, I1L 
Fruit Packages 
OF ALL KINDS. 
Wire-Stapled Standard Berry Baskets. 
These Baskets are stronger, more durable, and far 
superior to any other basket made. Write for 
catalogue and price-list. 
"WEBSTER BASKET CO., 
Monroe County, (Lock Box 43), WEBSTER, N. Y 
Good Fruit 
always finds a ready market, but to bring top 
prices it must be put up in neat, attractive 
and substantial packages. We have every¬ 
thing in the basket line. All sizes of 
Berry 
Baskets, 
Peach and Grape Crates. 
Buy direct from the manufacturers and 
■ave money. Write to-day for catalogue and 
new price list Special price in carload lots. 
A. H. MONTAGUE & SON, 
120 Warren Street, New York City. 
AN EARLY ORDER WILL SAVE MONEY 
(Other People’s Profits 
have increased 25 to 60 per cent, when they began to spray th* right <cay- 
' SIX-ROW SPRAYERS 
AND CLIMAX 
Read now the, 
if e r i 
with the right sprayer, the PEPPLER . .. -.. 
They will do as muoh for you. EeadTiowthey spray 30 acres a day, 
, how they save 34 the poison, increase crops one-half, pay for them¬ 
selves in one season. Catalogue contains spray calendar, formulas, etc. Sentfree. 
I also manufacture the Improved Riggs Plow and Riggs Furrowers. 
THOMAS PEPPLER, Box 60, HICHTSTOWN, N.J. 
UT I MII r s r V » H ' HM l I H M I 
