8i8 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 
A. A. 
; Ruralisms ; 
!«▼ ▼ ▼ T TTTT’ T TT rt 
MOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS. 
The Merceron Grape. —Late in Octo¬ 
ber The R. N.-Y. received from the Mer- 
ceron estate of Catawissa, Pa., a box of 
an excellent new grape raised by the 
late F. B. Merceron, the originator of 
the Triumph gooseberry and Gladstone 
strawberry. Owing to Mr. Merceron’s 
death much of the data concerning the 
new grape is lost, but it has been estab¬ 
lished that it is a seedling, and prob¬ 
ably the result of crossing Wilder 
(Rogers No. 4) with Concord. It was 
grown about the year 1893, and has now 
borne four heavy crops. The bunches 
received were very large, and most of 
them possessed double shoulders. The 
berries were large in proportion, deep 
biack in color, with a light blue bloom. 
Tne flavor was sweet and sprightly, the 
pulp separating well from the few seeds 
with no unpleasant astringency. While 
it is very late, these specimens show 
that it ripens perfectly at its place of 
origin. The vine is said to be most 
healthy and vigorous, as, indeed, it must 
be to produce such fine grapes. On the 
first page we show, in Fig. 313, a charac¬ 
teristic bunch, reproduced in natural 
size. The R. N.-Y. thinks this promis¬ 
ing grape should be named Merceron in 
honor of the originator, who has done 
so much for practical horticulture. The 
seed parent being Wilder, a hybrid be¬ 
tween the European grape and an 
American species, the Merceron seems 
to bear out the prediction that our fin¬ 
est grapes are likely to be dilute hybrids 
of Vitis vinifera. Of course defects and 
limitations may develop when the Mer¬ 
ceron is propagated and planted in wide¬ 
ly-separated localities, but we venture 
to say that it will prove of value as a 
shipping and table grape wherever it is 
able to perfect its fruits. 
A Giant Ornamental Tobacco. —Ni- 
cotiana colossea is a very handsome 
shrubby species of tobacco too seldom 
grown as a foliage plant. It grows near¬ 
ly six feet high from Spring-sown seeds, 
and the immense leaves change from 
soft rose color when young to deep green 
with reddish nerves when fully devel¬ 
oped. A group of these plants grown 
from seeds furnished by Peter Hender¬ 
son & Co., New York, was much ad¬ 
mired on the Rural Grounds the past 
Summer for their stately and imposing 
aspect. They are quite equal to the 
choicer Wigandias in foliage effect, 
though they lack some of the rich vein- 
ing. This Nicotiana is very little trouble 
to grow, as it only needs an early start 
in the house or hotbed rapidly to make 
a fine specimen. The seasons are too 
short to allow it to bloom in the North¬ 
ern States, but it is quite resistant to 
early frosts. The roots can occasional¬ 
ly be preserved over Winter in boxes of 
sand in the cellar, and an early effect 
gained the succeeding season. While a 
close relative to commercial tobacco 
there is little in its appearance while 
growing to remind one of the latter. 
The Aiken Plum. —Two young trees 
of this northern native plum, received 
fi'om the Jewell Nursery Co., Lake City, 
Minn., made a thrifty growth early in 
the season and stopped short, ripening 
their wood up in late July. During our 
long warm Autumn these early-matur¬ 
ing trees looked forlorn enough in con¬ 
trast to the plums of the Japan and 
Wild Goose types, still laden with hpavy 
green foliage, but now that the leaves 
of the latter have fallen the wood of the 
Aiken trees is noticeably firm and bright 
in comparison. This brief, quick growth 
is a necessity in the Far North, as it 
enables the new wood and buds to ripen 
up firmly before cold weather sets in, 
and it may oe of utility in warmer lati¬ 
tudes by preventing a too early start in 
the Spring, as thoroughly-matured wood 
is not easily excited into growth by 
brief periods of unseasonable warmth. 
Eulalia Stems for Winter Cover¬ 
ings— The first half of December is 
usually a suitable time to apply Winter 
protection to half-hardy shrubs and 
plants, but it is always well to wait un¬ 
til the soil is frozen to some extent, as 
the real object is to keep the cold in 
rather than out; in other words, to pre¬ 
vent as far as possible the dormant 
plant from being awakened by the 
treacherous Winter sunshine. The ma¬ 
terials used have often been described, 
and should be as light and porous as 
possible. Nothing can exceed a good 
covering of evergreen boughs if they are 
attainable, and next in order come 
coarse straw, salt hay and forest leaves, 
held in place by light brush. The cover¬ 
ing should not exceed four or five inches 
in depth, and half the quantity is often 
better, as deep coverings invite the de¬ 
predation of mice and other rodents, and 
favor a premature start in the Spring. 
Corn fodder and litter containing grain 
should be avoided as far as possible, as 
affording too obvious an attraction for 
vermin. Boxes and barrels, with the 
head knocked in or a board removed for 
ventilation, afford a good protection for 
such tall plants as they can be made to 
cover. The vacant space may be loosely 
filled with leaves if the subject is quite 
tender. A covering of six inches or 
more of earth is very effectual in pro¬ 
tecting bulbs, roses, low-growing shrubs 
or vines and herbaceous plants of doubt¬ 
ful hardiness. Care should be taken to 
see that it is not washed away by Win¬ 
ter rains, and it must be removed in 
Spring before much growth begins. We 
have found the ripe stems of the dif¬ 
ferent Eulalias most useful for protect¬ 
ing roses and tender plants. They are 
light and firm, and can be cut when 
wanted and distributed among the 
plants, or tied securely about the taller 
specimens. They are not easily crushed 
by snow or beaten by heavy rains, and 
do not readily blow away. They offer 
little attraction for rodents, as they sel¬ 
dom pass the blooming stage before 
frost, and seed is never formed in this 
latitude to our knowledge. Eulalia 
gracillima univittata is the best for this 
purpose, as it is also the most orna¬ 
mental while growing. E. Japonica and 
E. zebrina grow almost too coarse and 
reedy, but can be utilized for the outer 
coverings. __ w - v - F - 
Notes on Peaches. 
Here are brief notes of our experience 
with some of the newer varieties of 
peaches, some of which we fruited this 
season for the first time. The season 
has been very favorable in this section 
for the peach, bright, sunshiny days, no 
fogs to speak of, but little rain; the re¬ 
sult has been fair, high-colored, luscious 
fruit, with very little scab and brown 
rot. Of course every fruit grower knows 
that different localities and different 
seasons are likely to give different re¬ 
sults from what we have had this year, 
but still in planting a new orchard the 
experience of others is a great help. As 
a rule, we find the extra-early sorts are 
very easily bruised, do not stand up 
long, and have considerable loss by de¬ 
cay. Varieties are given in order of 
ripening: 
Sneed, fruit medium to large, red cheek, 
very juicy but of poor flavor, ripe July 14 
to 25. Greensboro, fruit large, handsome, 
quality fair, follows Sneed. Dwarf Japan 
Blood, not worth cultivating. Triumph, 
medium to large, skin red, flesh yellow, 
quality good. Early Rivers, large, lacks 
bright color, decays quickly. Waddell, me¬ 
dium to large, handsome, juicy and sweet, 
profitable. Carman, large, attractive, profit¬ 
able market variety. Champion, very large, 
white, extra quality. Belle, large, hand¬ 
some, productive, valuable. Elberta, large, 
beautiful, good shipper, the most profitable 
variety we had this year. Chairs, much 
like Late Crawford, but a week later. Em¬ 
ma, large, yellow, with red cheek, season 
just after Late Crawford, or two weeks 
later than Elberta; did not crack with us, 
promises to be a valuable market variety. 
Lorentz, very late, quality poor, not valu¬ 
able. GEO. F. PLATT & SON. 
Connecticut. 
A Promising Pear from Washington. 
On September 9 A. A. Piper, of Ariel, 
Wash., sent us samples of the pear 
shown at Fig. 314, page 814. Tne pears 
came by mail in excellent condition. The 
flavor reminds one of Bartlett, but to 
our taste is better, there being a slight 
acid which is very agreeable. The pear 
seems a real acquisition, though like 
some other fruits originating on the Pa¬ 
cific slope, it may not prove useful when 
grown in the East. Mr. Piper gives this 
account of the tree: 
The tree is one of a number selected from 
a lot of seedlings planted for stocks for 
grafting purposes. It is 11 years from seed; 
has borne four years, two years moderately, 
two years fully. The tree is in very poor 
soil, sown in grass when planted, and has 
never been manured or cultivated. It is a 
strong, upright grower, foliage almost ex¬ 
actly like Bartlett, but bark dark, like 
Winter Nelis. The tree is now 21 feet high, 
16 feet diameter, body six inches above 
ground, 19% inches in circumference. That 
acid you spoke of has never been present 
before; the other three crops were decidedly 
sweet, far sweeter than Bartlett. I do not 
think it a great market pear, but for family 
use I do not think it has many superiors. 
It will keep three weeks after it is in good 
eating condition, never rots at core, and is 
good to eat until it is rotten all through. I 
am now going to give it a fair test on good 
ground, pruned and cultivated. 
Ariel, Wash. a. a. piper. 
Three Good Strawberries. —As to 
the planting of the Nick Ohmer, Gandy 
and Marshall strawberries I consider 
them among the very best, and grow 
myself more Gandy than any other kind, 
and always receive better returns from 
it than any other, it being without doubt 
the best late strawberry. The Marshall 
is very fine, if well grown, but unless 
soil conditions are right and proper 
methods of cultivation are practiced, it 
will not pay to grow. Nick Ohmer I 
have not fruited, but one of my neigh¬ 
bors has, and is well pleased with it. 
Clean cultivation and high feeding is re¬ 
quired for these varieties if best results 
are obtained. Brandywine is another 
good one if well grown. Brandywine, 
Marshall and Gandy make a grand trio, 
under suitable conditions. 
WALTER F. TABER. 
Campbell’s Early Grape. —I notice 
what J. W. A. says on page 755. I think 
it is now settled by experts that Camp¬ 
bell’s Early is a self-fertilizer. As far 
as my experience goes, I have observed 
that there are at least two conditions 
that will affect the clustering of grapes. 
A year ago last Winter we had in our 
vicinity and a good many other places, 
what is known as a “dry freeze.” Con¬ 
sequently there were hundreds of acres 
(principally Concord—not very young 
vines, either) which were frozen out on 
our belt. This, of course, weakens the 
vines and would injure the clustering. 
Campbell’s Early is inclined to overbear. 
We know of parties who have fruited 
them heavily the second year of plant¬ 
ing, which is wrong. No grapevine can 
stand this overbearing, or forcing, and 
the vines the following year will be 
about sure to show signs of weakness, 
either in clusters, want of wood or both. 
If a vine is inclined to overbear it is 
much easier to clip off a part of the 
blossoms with a pair of scissors than to 
put any additional blossoms on. On our 
great grape belt I have never heard of 
anyone being obliged to thin the blos¬ 
soms on Moore’s Early, as here it is pro¬ 
verbially a shy bearer. 
GEO. 8. JOSSELYN. 
FARQUHAR 
VARIABLE FRICTION FEED 
SAW MILL 
AND 
AJAK 
CENTER 
CRANK 
ENGINE 
Rapid, accurate,strong and 
simple, with large capacity. 
Engines on sills or wheels. 
Strong and safe. No Fnr- 
qiihnt- Boiler has ever 
exploded. Send forcatalog 
of Portable Engines,Shingle 
Mills, Threshing Machines, 
Stationary Engines and Boilers, 
and Standard Agricultural Implements 
e'pnpmllw 
4 Bnggy Wheels with tire on, 87.25 
with Axles Welded and Set, 11.00 
1 make all sizes & grades. Send for cat. giving 
Instructions for ordering. Special Grade 
Wheels far repair work, $5.50. ft prepaid, if you 
write to-day. w. R. BOOB. Centre Hall Pa 
THE WHEEL OF TIME 
A for all time is the 
Metal Wheel. 
make them in all sizes and vari- 
stagger spoke. Can FIT YOUR 
WAGON perfectly without change. 
MO BREAKING DOWN. 
•No drying oot. No resetting tire*. Cheap 
because they endure. Send for csts- 
logo# and prices. Free upon request. 
How to Drain Land Profitably. 
On every farm there is probably some land 
that could be made more productive by under¬ 
drainage. Properly drained land can always 
be worked earlier, and more profitably. The 
best and most 
economical way 
to drain is ex¬ 
plained in the 
book, “ Benefits of Drainage and How to Drain,” 
which 1 b Bent free by 
JOHN H. JACKSON, Third Ave., Albany, N. Y. 
Meat smoked in a few hours with 
KRAUSERS’ LIQUID EXTRACT OF SMOKE. 
Made from hickory wood. Gives tine flavor. 
Cleanest, cheapest; free from insects. Send for 
circular. E. KRAUSEI1 Ac BKO., Milton, Pa. 
New Feed Mill. 
Special Introductory Price. 
SUNDRIES MFG. CO., South Bend, Ind 
Custom Grinding 
demand* a grinder that will do all kinds of 
woik. This Quaker City Grind¬ 
ing Mill is a double grinder, grinds 
twice atone operation, grinds com and 
cob, all small and mixed grains. Makes 
fine oat meal,corn meal and graham flour 
for family use. h old on trial—guaranteed. 
32d annual catalogG-7 free. A.W. Straub 
ii Co.,3737 Filbert St., Phil*., Pa. The 
A. n. Straub Co., Canal & ltandolph 
Sts., Chicago. Also Western Agents 
for “Smalley” Powers, Shelters, Cutters, etc. 
350 BU. A DAY 
with tne Wolverine No* 805 31111. Grinds 
ear corn and all other grain line or coarse. 
Has shake feed, burrs odcu and let nails or 
bard substance through. Furnished with 
or without ear corn cruaher and 
elevators. Made in 3 sizes for 2 to 15 h. p. 
Can he run with power wind mill* 
CAPACITY £ uarante( * greater than any mill 
- made, because crusher and grinder run on sep¬ 
arate sn&fts, relieving all friction. 
<vHIPPFfl flN TRIAI If it don’t do more and better grinding and 
' isn’t the most complete mill and the biggest 
barg dn you ever saw, return it at our expense. 60 kinds of 
Grinders for ull k nds of work. 
Al CQ Horse Powers, tread and sweep, Gasoline Engines, Wind 
u Mills, Tanks, Pumps, Feed Cookers, Scales of all kinds. Send 
tor Free latest and largest implement catalogue ever printed. 
Marvin Smith Co., 53-59 N. Jefferson St., Chicago, Ilfs. 
NO RATCHETS TO LOOSEN 
If you use Page Coiled Steel Spring Wire Fence. 
L. B. ROBERTSON, Receiver, 
PAGE WOVEN WIRE FENCE CO., ADRIAN, MICH. 
A Winter Egg Producer. 
More eggs this winter and better birds 
next spring will be the reward of using 
CABOT’S 
Sheathing Quilt 
in your poultry-houses this fall. One layer is as warm as six of common papers, yet it costs less than 
ic. a foot. Good for your own house, too ; will save its cost in fuel in two seasons. Will not rot, 
repels vermin and doesn’t burn. Sample and catalogue on application, free. 
SAMUEL CABOT, Sole Manufacturer, SI Kilby Street, Boston, Mass. 
Agents at all central points. 
INCH ESTE 
FACTORY LOADED SHOTGUN SHELLS 
“New Rival, 99 “Leader,” and “Repeater” 
i Insist upon having them, take no others and you will get the best shells that money can buy. 
ALL DEALERS KEEP THEM. 
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