402 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
June 9 
parent. Though very handsome, these 
hybrids cannot yet compete with the 
splendid new varieties of the common 
lilac sent out from France of late years. 
They may improve considerably with 
age, however. w. v. f. 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS. 
Fruit Prospects Good. —The bloom¬ 
ing of the quinces, the beach plum and 
sand cherry has just finished the season 
for the flowering of tree fruits, which in 
the main has been very favorable. All 
orchard fruits, with, possibly, the ex¬ 
ception of cherries, have set well, and 
give promise of an abundant crop. A 
long rain interfered with the pollination 
of cherries, and the result is now plain¬ 
ly seen. Strawberries, generally, are in 
good condition, late rains having bright¬ 
ened them up considerably. Bush fruits 
of all varieties show a good promise, 
gooseberries being particularly well set. 
Nuts in Monmouth County. —Some¬ 
thing over 45 years ago a farmer near 
Middletown, N. J., planted nuts of the 
Persian walnut, often called Madeira 
nut, or English walnut, at his home¬ 
stead. These nuts probably came from 
some of the few old trees near Flush¬ 
ing, L. I., or northern Manhattan Isl¬ 
and. One tree, which finally survived, 
has borne from one to two bushels of 
fine nuts yearly for nearly a generation, 
and the present owner has given away 
so many hatfuls of nuts to boys, who 
claimed they wanted to plant them, that 
the vicinity of the Rural Grounds ought 
to be an almost continuous grove of 
walnuts, if all had grown into trees. It 
is probable that the boys found the qual¬ 
ity of the nuts too good to spare many 
for planting purposes. However, there 
are bearing trees enough in this part of 
Monmouth County to produce quite a 
hundred bushels of good nuts yearly. 
Many large and valuable trees are wide¬ 
ly known, and are regarded with long¬ 
ing eyes about nut-gathering time. Some 
of the old trees near here were con¬ 
siderably injured by the sharp frosts of 
the previous Winter, and lost many 
small branches from the tops last Sum 
mer. They are com'ing out well this 
Spring, however, and bid fair to pro¬ 
duce many nuts. Quite a number of im¬ 
proved chestnuts have been planted dur¬ 
ing the last 10 years, many of which are 
becoming regularly productive, though 
the weevil spoils many of the nuts. The 
Paragon is mostly planted now, as it 
grows well, and is a reliable cropper of 
fine, large nuts of tolerable quality. Two 
European chestnut trees are known 
which bring their owner in nearly $50 
each season. Almonds have been tried, 
and never proved profitable. An or- 
chard of 200 trees was planted 25 years 
ago on good ground, but they never bore 
well. Hazelnuts grow and produce well 
when planted in congenial situations, 
but yield to attacks of leaf blight and 
root borers. Pecans have been planted 
to a limited extent, but it is a problem 
whether they will ever mature nuts in 
this latitude. 
Tropaeolum Phoebe. —Two little 
plants of this attractive new nasturtium, 
recently received from Henry A. Dreer, 
Philadelphia, are blooming profusely. 
It seems to belong to T. Lobbianum 
class, and produces handsome, deep yel¬ 
low blossoms, with a feathered blotch 
of crimson in each segment. It is said 
to bloom finely all Winter, and its 
bright, particolored blooms are quite 
fragrant. 
Hybrid Lilacs. —.Seven years ago we 
hybridized some blooms of the common 
purple lilac (Syringa vulgaris), with 
pollen of the Persian lilac, in both light 
and dark varieties. Eight of the seed¬ 
lings have just bloomed, and are an in¬ 
teresting lot. They vary in color from 
light purple, through a very fair blue, 
to pure white, and plainly show the in¬ 
fluence of the Persian lilac in the large, 
open, feathery panicles of bloom, and 
smaller size of the florets. The habit, 
and foliage are very much like the seed 
JADOO FIBER FOR POTTED PLANTS. 
We have made quite a comparative 
test of Jadoo fiber on potted plants un¬ 
der glass the past Winter, and may say 
that in the main its use is attended with 
increasing satisfaction. For compari¬ 
son, a variety of seeds and rooted cut¬ 
tings wene planted in pure Jadoo, Jadoo 
and potting compost in equal parts, a 
standard potting soil, and in pure de¬ 
composed cow manure from the pasture. 
The best results in nearly every instance 
were obtained from the mixture of 
Jadoo and soil, though the pure Jadoo 
proved its ability to develop and carry 
plantis from seed to maturity in good 
health and vigor. The pure cow ma¬ 
nure gave a more rapid growth to sev¬ 
eral plants than Jadoo, but required 
more frequent watering, and proved 
troublesome on account of the weed and 
grass seeds contained therein. Cuttings 
of various hard and soft plants rooted 
rather more freely than similar ones in 
sand, but the new roots formed in this 
material are so brittle that special care 
is required in potting them off. Taken 
altogether, the usefulness of Jadoo has 
been fully demonstrated, and the cost 
of the material, as compared with or¬ 
dinary composts, remains the only 
question. Jadoo, as many of our read- 
era know, is made from peat moss, 
sterilized and fermented in such a man¬ 
ner that it gives up its contained fertil¬ 
ity under the action of living plant roots 
in a regular and gradual manner. The 
only difficulty the beginner is likely to 
encounter with it is that of overwater¬ 
ing the plants, as it retains an abun¬ 
dance of moisture long after the surface 
appears dry. One has to dig down in it 
to find whether the plants really need 
water. Jadoo should certainly prove 
useful to those finding difficulty in get¬ 
ting good soil for their window plants, 
though the farmer and country dweller 
seldom has much trouble in that re¬ 
spect. It is now successfully used out¬ 
side to grow sweet peas, melons and to¬ 
matoes, in situations where the soil is 
not congenial to such plants. We shall 
make a trial of it in this way the com¬ 
ing season, choosing plants that like 
considerable moisture at the roots. 
PRESERVING FRUIT FOR EXHIBITION 
We are often asked what nurserymen 
use to preserve fru'it for exhibition. 
Something is wanted that will preserve 
the shape and color of the fruit, and 
this is hard to find. J. T. Thompson, 
the Columbian raspberry man, says he 
lias used these formulas: 
Thirty-seven grains salicylic acid, one- 
half pound white sugar, to every quart of 
soft water. Put fruit in bottles or jars, 
and after ingredients are thoroughly dis¬ 
solved and combined, fill the jars with the 
cold solution, and seal hermetically, ex¬ 
cluding all air, if possible. 
Alcohol and water, two to four parts of 
the water to one of alcohol, depending on 
the time desired to keep the fruit. Alco¬ 
hol draws color badly. 
One quart water, one tablespoon even 
full of alum. 
Five quarts water, one quart alcohol, one 
teaspoonful salicylic acid. 
He finally adopted the first one for 
raspberries. The alcohol solutions 
are largely used, but alcohol injures the 
appearance of the fruit by lightening 
the color. Mr. Thompson says that 
al<l such solutions will “draw the color” 
somewhat. The fruit should be pre¬ 
served as soon as possible after picking, 
for it rapidly falls off when taken from 
the vine. Mr. Thompson thinks the 
alum solution changed the color more 
say bauot preservatives: 
Stark Bros., of Missouri, have this to 
say about presentatives: 
The best preparation that we have ever 
•used for preserving fruits is the corrosive 
sublimate. The proportions are one-half 
ounce of corrosive sublimate to each gallon 
of water; to this is added from eight to 15 
per cent glycerine, according to what fruit 
is to be preserved. We originally got the 
formula from Prof. L. H. Bailey, and he 
publishes it, we believe, in his Horticultu¬ 
rist’s Rule Book. We have found it very 
good indeed for stone fruits, but not very 
good for berries. We have discovered that 
one essential point to success in preserving 
natural-looking samples is to have them 
absolutely without bruise or blemish, and 
not too ripe. They want to be fully ma¬ 
tured but firm. We have had fair success 
with pure kerosene for strawberries, some 
varieties of grapes, and blackcap rasp¬ 
berries. 
SOOT AS A GARDEN FERTILIZER. 
Frequent inquiries are received as to 
the value of soot for fertilizing purposes. 
English books on gardening teem with 
recommendation of soot in all horticul¬ 
tural operations, but especially in glass¬ 
house cultivation. It is claimed that the 
application of soot and soot water to the 
soil in which potted plants grow in¬ 
creases the size and deepens the color of 
flowers and foliage, and greatly in¬ 
creases the general vigor of the plants. 
General experience in this country does 
not bear out these assertions. The home 
output of soot is nearly always utilized 
in the garden or among the window 
plants, but little difference can be no¬ 
ticed whether it is used or not. On cold 
soils an application of soot is undoubt¬ 
edly useful, as the dark color favors the 
absorption of heat from the sun, and 
thus makes it somewhat earlier. Prob¬ 
ably this warming of the soil explains 
the great popularity of soot in the Brit¬ 
ish Islands, as their high northern lati¬ 
tude and deficient sunlight render any 
application that will conserve solar heat 
of marked advantage, but in a climate 
where the soil gets warm enough to 
grow corn and tomatoes, it is of less 
consequence. As a greenhouse applica¬ 
tion it has some value, as slugs and 
soft-bodied insects avoid contact with it. 
The fertilizing value of soot, as shown 
^by analysis, is quite low. A ton of aver¬ 
age chimney soot contains about three 
pounds of nitrogen, 15 pounds of potash, 
and 17 pounds of phosphoric acid. The 
value of these constituents at present 
ratings would be about $2.80 per ton of 
soot. Boiler soot is even lower in fer¬ 
tilizing value, as it is coarser; contain¬ 
ing more ashes on account of the strong¬ 
er draft. The presence of nitrogen in 
soot, which is a product of combustion, 
is rather puzzling at first sight, as nitro¬ 
gen and ammonia are driven off in the 
form of gases during the burning of or¬ 
ganic matters, but when it is recalled 
that soot is really composed of fine par¬ 
ticles of unconsumed fuel, chiefly car¬ 
bon, the apparent inconsistency is ex¬ 
plained. Ammoniacal gases also con¬ 
dense in the cooler deposits of soot, 
away from the fire. 
My little girl, Julia, was taken with a Cough, and 
at times was prostrated with fever. I began ad¬ 
ministering small doses of Jayne's Expectorant. 
Every time it gave relief and did its work satis¬ 
factorily.— ( Mrs.) E. N. WALLERIU8, Vermillion, 
Minn., November 13, 1895. 
For Headache, take Jayne’s Painless Sanative 
Pills.— Adv. 
FARM FRNfF 18 to 24 cents per rod. Built without 
1 aum. 1 UliUU machine. First inquiring, where 
not introduced, gets special terms and agency. 
BUCHANAN FENCE CO., Box 258, Smlthville, O 
1,000 SAMPLES FREE 
of our new Success fence ratchet 
which tightens any wire fence, new 
or old. Grips automatically as wire 
is wound on. No holes to bore in posts. Attache! 
midway of the fence. We wlUmail you a sample tc 
test if you will send us 12o. to oover postage only 
Cir. free. W. H. MASON A CO., Box 87, Leesburg. O 
JUST THINK OF IT! 
Only 3 or 5 cents a rod more for PAGE Fences. 
PAGE WOVEN WIRE FENCE CO., ADRIAN, MICH. 
DRILLING 
Machines 
Over 70 sizes and styles, for drilling either deep or 
shallow wells in any kind of soil or rock. Mounted 
on wheels or on sills. With engines or horsepowers. 
Strong, simple and durable. Any mechanic can 
operate them easily. Send for catalog. 
WILLIAMS BKOS., Ithaca, N. Y. 
LIGHTNING WELL MACHY 
ISTHE STANDA_RD> 
STFAM PUMPS AIR LIFTS, *.1, / 
GASOLINE ENGINES 
w/urcroR circular taa 
THE AMERICAN WELL WORKS 
AURORA,ILL - CHICAGO - DAL LAS.TEX 
LEGGETT’S 
Dry Bordeaux Mixture 
and Paris-Green Compound. 
Kills Bugs and 
Prevents Blight. 
Send for Circular 
and Spray 
Calendar. 
LEGGETT & 
BROTHER, 
301 Pearl Street, 
NEW YOHK 
Good Fruit 
itlways finds a ready market, but to bring top 
prices it must be put up in neat, attractive 
and substantial packages. We have every 
ihing 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, 
12b Warren Street New York City. 
AN EAliLY ORDER WILL SAVE MONEY 
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 
Seymour 
Plaster Sower 
will sow broadcast, 8 feet wide, Guano, Bone Dust, 
plustcr, ashes, salt, lime, marl, superphosphate, ben 
manure and all other fertilizers. Will sow20 acres 
a day, any quantity per acre. Send for catalogue 
LE ROY PLOW CO., 
Gt Lake Street, Le Roy. N. V. 
For Pumping or Driving 
Cream Separa¬ 
tors or other 
machines re¬ 
quiring light 
power but ab¬ 
solutely steady 
motion, 
BUY A 
fitQlinOCQC” ONE-HORSE 
OUbUtOd TREAD POWER. 
It has a governor which regulates the walk of the horses to a nice¬ 
ty and delivers an absolutely st« ady and even motion to the ma. 
chine driven. With our Hack Geared Pump Jack It makes a splen¬ 
did pumping outfit. If you want a tread power for any purpose, 
buy a 4 *8u cccmh **1, 2 or 3-horse. They will deliver more power 
than any other because they run light, are roomy and strong enough 
for largest horses, etc. lvfore about them in our large Illustrated 
catalogue, and about our sweep powers, gasoline engines,windmills, 
fodder and ensilage cutters,wood saws huskers.steel tanks,etc. Kree 
APPLETON MFQ. C0 n 27 FAKGO ST. BATAVIA, ILL 
RUULROSS 
and you have the most durablet^^v^ 
and the most efficient »*-! 
Dry Fodder PUTTED 
and EnsilageUU I I Eli 
on the market. Equipped with shred¬ 
der head at a small additional cost. 
Great variety of sizes, cutting from 
in. up. Deliver feed any where at 
any angle. Write for Catalogue No. 30 
The E. W. Ross Co., Sprlngfleld.O. 
Wilder’s Ensilage 
Machinery. 
A full liueot Feed 
Ensilage Cut 
Fodder Shred¬ 
ders, with Self-Feed 
Ensilage or Plain 
Tables. Straight 
away orSwivel Carriers. 
Send for Catalogue and 
prices to 
J. K. WILDER & SONS, 
Monroe, Mich. 
USE LOOMIS’ 
LATE IMPROVED 
“CLIPPER” 
DRILLER 
The result of 30 years' expe¬ 
rience in Weil Drilling. 
LOOMIS & NYMAN, 
Tiffin, Ohio. 
|and specifications j 
leading teamot our new, revised and enlarged 
!“ BOOK ON SILAGE" 
By Prof. F. W. WOLL, 
J »f the University of Wisconsin. The book la neatly boumi 
! into a volume of 234 pages and contains everything that b 
latest on the subject from planting and building to feediug. 
I Among its principle topics are Included: 
I —Silage crops. II—Silos. 
f ill-Silage. IV—Feeding Silage. 
V—Comparison of Silage and other Feeds. 
VI—The Silo in Modern Agriculture. 
I Also illustrations and complete plans for round and 
• rectangular silo9, dairy barns, tables of com 
I pounded rations, etc. Mulled tor 10c. 
! coin or Ktiunps. 
SILVER MFG.C0. 
Salem, Ohio. 
