77o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
November 17 
Ruralisms ; 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS. 
The Trumpet Creeper. —The common 
Trumpet creeper, Tecoma radicans, is 
too much neglected for such a handsome 
and hardy shrubby climber. One rarely 
sees it when driving through the coun¬ 
try, but a well-grown specimen, clam¬ 
bering over an old building or festoon¬ 
ing a dead tree trunk, always excites 
one’s admiration. The plant shown in 
Fig. 295, on page 767, was photographed 
on the trial grounds of Johnson & 
Stokes, Philadelphia, Pa. This Trumpet 
vine is allowed to climb at will over a 
dead cedar tree, draping it completely. 
The bushy shrub in the foreground is a 
fine specimen of the common Japan or 
“California” privet. The effect of the 
orange and scarlet trumpet-like flowers 
on the dark leafy background is very 
striking. The seed pods may be seen 
abundantly hanging at the tips of the 
branches, but the cut is too much re¬ 
duced to show the details of the hand¬ 
some pinnate foliage well. The com¬ 
mon Trumpet vine is a self-climber, at¬ 
taching itself strongly to any firm sup¬ 
port by innumerable rootlets thrown out 
from the stem. When allowed to grow 
at will over old wooden buildings the 
thickening stems will pry clapboards 
and shingles out of place. It is found 
wild south of Middle States and is some¬ 
what troublesome in poorly-cultivated 
lowlands. T. grandiflora is a beautiful 
Chinese species, bearing much larger 
yellowish-scarlet flowers. It is not as 
strong a grower as Radicans, and some¬ 
what less hardy. It is a very handsome 
and worthy species. Bignonia capreo- 
lata, also called Tecoma by some writers, 
is a closely-allied native plant found 
somewhat sparingly in the Southern 
States. It is known among nurserymen 
as the Evergreen Trumpet creeper, as it 
retains its foliage throughout the great¬ 
er part of the Winter. A section of the 
stem shows a cross-like marking, from 
which it takes its name of Cross-vine in 
some localities. It is a beautiful vine, 
clinging well to rough walls and coarse- 
barked trees, but is not able to climb 
such smooth surfaces as the other va¬ 
rieties. The orange-yellow flowers are 
freely produced as early as May. Al¬ 
though less common in the South than 
Tecoma radicans, it sometimes becomes 
troublesome in old orchards by climb¬ 
ing up the trees. It is not entirely'hardy 
in the Northern States, as young plants 
sometimes freeze back to the ground. T. 
Thunbergii is another variety of un¬ 
known origin, bearing crimson flowers 
instead of the usual orange-red, but is 
otherwise much like T. radicans. 
Crab Grass as a Cover Crop. —Crab 
grass is such an assertive pest during 
the period of its rapid growth in mid¬ 
summer that we are apt to overlook its 
service in protecting the soil during 
Winter. The farmers in the trucking 
and fruit-growing districts of Monmouth 
Co., N. J., near the exposed shores of 
New York Bay, have learned that a good 
covering of the tenacious and ever-reli- 
able Crab grass is a most excellent thing 
to bind their loose soil and prevent it 
from blowing and washing away during 
the fierce gales that frequently occur 
throughout the Winter. So highly is it 
appreciated that one very successful 
fruit-grower, on taking possession of a 
farm on which excessively clean and 
late culture had been practiced, gathered 
the seeds from neighboring fields and 
sowed them among his grapes and bush 
fruits, and now allows it to grow after 
the middle of August, and form a dense 
mat between the rows in all his per¬ 
manent plantings. During its short but 
vigorous growing season Crab grass re¬ 
quires close watching, or it soon be¬ 
comes the entire master of the situation, 
but timely cultivations, before the seed¬ 
lings have become firmly established, 
will keep it in check until the growing 
coolness of the nights subdues its exuber¬ 
ant vitality. The close cover formed by 
a coat of Crab grass on good land is very 
effectual, botn against drying winds 
blowing the sandy soil about, and the 
washing of heavy rains, and offers but 
little inducement to harbor mice. It 
grows thinner and more brittle from the 
action of snow and rain, until it offers 
but little obstruction to the plow or cul¬ 
tivator in the Spring. Crab grass, how¬ 
ever, has no place among crops requir¬ 
ing late cultivation, and it is a question 
whether its function as a soil cover can¬ 
not be better filled by Crimson clover. 
These New Jersey farmers say not, and 
they have given it a good trial. They 
find the clover too uncertain in making 
a stand in the usual hot, dry Autumn, 
and claim too much of it winterkills 
during the late Winter. It is abundant¬ 
ly sown in the cornfields and other 
places where there is too much shade 
for Crab grass. Crab grass, Eleusine 
lndica, was introduced from abroad at 
a very early date for use on lawns, and 
has spread all over the country, being 
especially prevalent in the South, where 
it has value as cattle forage, though it 
is a most troublesome weed in cotton 
plantations and in gardens. 
The Male Paper Mulberry. —The 
Paper mulberry trees seen in dooryards 
throughout the older parts of the coun¬ 
try are all sterile, producing male or 
staminate blooms, which are very incon¬ 
spicuous. Now it is announced that the 
female or flowering form is to be intro¬ 
duced. This is said to bear very hand¬ 
some feathery balls of bright pink flow¬ 
ers, hanging down on stems like the 
“button-balls” of our sycamores. The 
Paper mulberry, Broussonetia papyri- 
fera, is a handsome round-headed tree 
from eastern Asia, prized for its rapid 
growth and the dense shade cast by the 
large leaves which are quite late in com¬ 
ing out. The specimens in this coun¬ 
try are probably all descended from the 
stock of one grower who happened to 
have the male form. The only objec¬ 
tions to the Paper mulberry are its pro¬ 
pensity to sucker from the distant roots, 
and the fact that it is not very hardy 
in the Northern States. The popular 
name comes from the use of the bark 
for paper making in China, and the gen¬ 
eral resemblance of the foliage to that 
of the mulberry. On general principles 
we would rather plant a true fruiting 
mulberry than this eastern imitation, 
even though it is more ornamental dur¬ 
ing the flowering period. w. v. f. 
NOTES ON GRAPES. 
Referring to report of L. B., Menard 
Co., Ill., on the Carman grape, and your 
report of exhibits by John Hart and oth¬ 
ers, of some varieties of grapes produced 
by me, at the American Institute horti¬ 
cultural exhibition, it seems remarkable 
that of the varieties named, those that 
are poorest in quality here, viz.. Beacon 
and H. Jaeger, are there mentioned as 
the best, or better than Carman, Gold 
Coin,Fern,Big Hope, Meunch. L.B. states 
(R. N.-Y., page 690) that the Carman 
was about tne size of the Clinton, and 
very little better. “We sacked a few 
bunches; they were fully one-third 
larger with fine bloom and rich flavor.” 
“They ripen here with the Concord.” 
And you say (page 697, R. N.-Y.) “It 
will be remembered that none of the 
Munson grapes succeeded with Mr. Car¬ 
man at his River Edge Trial Grounds.” 
Now all this proves that in those locali¬ 
ties the Carman, Gold Coin, Fern, Big 
Hope, Meunch, and other of my late 
kinds are clear out of their climatic 
range, and that those who grow them 
there, especially in such low, flat situa¬ 
tions, and in such cold, sour soils as are 
found about River Edge (the writer has 
been there and knows), can never pro¬ 
duce there those varieties in their true 
character. I have never recommended 
them for regions where the Norton, Va., 
or Herbemont cannot be well ripened; 
say 40 degrees north latitude, and then 
only on warm, loamy soils in protected 
sunny exposures. In such sites and 
southward those varieties are giving 
splendid results. Here Carman colors 
when Concord is dead ripe, but is not 
ripe for two weeks or more later, when 
it becomes very delicious, and pure, im¬ 
mensely better than Concord or Beacon. 
It is not good until thoroughly ripe. 
Gold Coin, Big Hope, Muench and Fern 
ripen still later than Carman, and in the 
order just named. 
If grape growers wish to have any of 
my varieties of grapes to succeed well 
in ordinary vineyard culture north of 
Philadelphia, Cincinnati and St. Louis, 
let them not plant the southern varie¬ 
ties, for which section only have I ever 
recommended them, out rainer the fol¬ 
lowing, specially bred for more north¬ 
ern regions; named in order of ripen¬ 
ing: r. Presly, w. Marvina, b. Manito, 
r. Brilliant, r. Yomage, w. Wapanecka, 
w. Rommel, b. Beacon, b. R. W. Mun¬ 
son. The letter preceding each variety 
indicates its color; b, black; r, red; w, 
white. Herman Jaeger cannot mature 
well so far north, but will succeed bet¬ 
ter than Carman. As these varieties 
have been before the public several 
years, some about 10 years; and many 
persons are growing and selling plants 
of them it is proper that tneir adapt¬ 
abilities should be better known. It 
should be understood by everyone that 
no variety of grape will do as well in 
low, flat, cold and heavy soils as in high, 
loamy, warm, sweet, well-drained soils. 
Observing these points in planting and 
the above as to climatic range of varie¬ 
ties will save much disappointment. 
On the other hand, we find that va¬ 
rieties entirely or chiefly of northern 
blood, as the Concord, and all its pro¬ 
geny, of pure and hybrid seedlings espe¬ 
cially those with the Riverside (V. vul- 
pina) species of the North, such as Clin¬ 
ton, are short-lived and do not develop 
so good flavor in the South as in the 
North. I hope the new Trial Grounds 
of The R. N.-Y. in Monmouth Co., N. J., 
are truly representative grounds foi 
profitable grape-growing in that lati¬ 
tude, so that results obtained may be 
of general benefit for the North. 
T. V. MUNSON. 
THE EMMA PEACH. 
Much has been said of late about the 
Emma peach, and this year I had my 
first and only view of it in the orchard. 
It was in Delaware, where there were 
several long rows of trees two years set 
and bearing their first fruit. The crop 
was very light, indeed; trees at that age 
could only be expected to hold a few 
specimens. The season of ripening, in 
this case, was almost the same as El- 
berta, of which there were hundreds of 
bearing trees not far away, although it 
was a very little later than the latter. 
It is supposed to be about a week or 10 
days later, and usually may be so. The 
fruit is large, slightly oblong and a lit¬ 
tle lopsided or inclined. The color is 
pale yellow with bright red cheek. The 
flesh is likewise pale yellow and red 
next the seed, firm, a little coarse. The 
seed is large, deeply furrowed and parts 
readily from the flesh. In flavor the 
Emma is rather tart, pleasant, but not 
quite equal to Elberta. In comparison 
with the Elberta I would not think equal 
to it in a general way. If it will prove 
to be generally a week or more later, 
as it is usually reported, it may be 
worthy of a place. One fault that de¬ 
veloped in the Delaware orchard was a 
tendency to crack and rot more than 
most other varieties ripening at the 
same time. Judging by this year’s ex¬ 
perience in the orchard mentioned, 
which I hope is exceptional, I would 
plant the Emma only in an experimental 
way until I knew more in its favor. The 
illustration, Fig. 294, was made from a 
good average specimen gathered in this 
orchard. H. e. van deman. 
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