June 14 
4i8 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
; Ruralisms 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS 
Bio Price for a Novelty. —The sale 
of the stock of a new carnation for the 
actual cash price of $10,000 was lately 
announced. The variety in question is 
said to be very large and fine, and the 
purchasers are naturally confident that 
it has the commercial qualities needed 
to reimburse their large outlay. The 
color is a soft but brilliant pink, and 
the blooms, which often approach four 
inches in diameter, are carried on very 
strong stems. This carnation is a seed¬ 
ling of Mrs. Lawson, the novelty that 
gained much notoriety a few years ago 
from the claim that a wealthy mine- 
owner paid the originator $30,000 for the 
privilege of dedicating the flower ex¬ 
clusively to a member of his family. 
The result was great curiosity to see 
and grow such a sensational bloom, and 
a wide distribution of plants at a high 
price followed, but few believed that so 
considerable a sum was really paid for 
the purpose. Whether the millionaire’s 
money actually cut any figure in the 
transaction or not the announcement 
made a clever advertisement. Mrs. Law- 
son is an excellent carnation and has 
stood the test of general propagation 
well. It is now a staple variety, for its 
large size, fine form and rich, deep-pink 
coloring. The newcomer is named En¬ 
chantress, and may be expected to prove 
a good one even if it does not return a 
profit on the large purchase price. 
Some Fine Lilacs. —The common pur¬ 
ple lilac (Syringa vulgaris), abundant 
in every old garden, has been wonder¬ 
fully improved during the last 15 years 
by methodical breeding, chiefly by the 
European firm of Lemoine & Son, 
Nancy, France. Many new kinds of sur¬ 
prising beauty have been sent out by 
these enterprising growers. The double 
’ ones have florets formed like miniature 
Pearl tuberoses, while the single kinds 
are of the ordinary shape. Both have 
often immense compound bloom trusses, 
generally dwarf and compact habit, and 
flower profusely when quite young. The 
colors vary from pure white through 
rosy lilac and pale blue to deep reddish 
purple. It is difficult to choose between 
so many excellent varieties, but the four 
following, received from Ellwanger & 
Barry, Rochester, N. Y., are very fine in 
every way, and fairly cover the field of 
variation: Frau Dammann, single, pure 
white, immense large panicle; President 
Grevy, a very pretty blue, the florets 
large and double, immense broad pan¬ 
icle, often nearly a foot long; Ludwig 
Spaeth, very long panicle, dark purple 
red, large single florets, a very profuse 
bloomer; Michael Buchner, very dwarf, 
with very erect broad panicles, com¬ 
posed of a central spike with several 
shoulders, very double, rather pale lilac 
in color. These promise to make a fine 
group to which we hope to add other 
distinct sorts. A fair truss of Frau 
Dammann, seven inches across, is shown 
at Fig. 162, first page. These new varie¬ 
ties in strong grafted plants that will 
bloom as soon as well established, cost 
75 cents to $1 each. They are as deli¬ 
cately perfumed as the ordinary sorts, 
and good specimens are sure to grow in 
interest and value. The common lilac 
is most meritorious, and has the advan¬ 
tage of rather better foliage than the 
newer ones, but it does not often bloom 
until of considerable size. The white 
variety is particularly attractive, and 
is not seen as often as it should be. The 
several shades of the Persian lilac, S. 
Pei’sica, white, lilac and bright purple, 
together with its graceful habit and 
early-blooming propensity, make it a 
great favorite where known. The pan¬ 
icles are loose and large, often produced 
in such profusion as to droop the slen¬ 
der branches almost to the ground. This 
species is often locally called French 
lilac, and is frequently planted in vil¬ 
lages, but not often seen about country 
homes. The dark-colored varieties are 
better known, and are frequently offer¬ 
ed at a less price than the white, which 
still seems to be scarce. The florets or 
individual flowers are much smaller 
than those of the Vulgaris type, but the 
perfume is even more intense. A very 
desirable lilac is offered under the name 
of S. Rothomagensis, said to be a hybrid 
between the Persian and common types. 
The color is dark red and the panicles 
very large and abundant. It has char¬ 
acteristics of both of its supposed 
parents. Eight or nine years ago we 
pollenized many blooms of the common 
lilac with the Persian species in various 
shades. We recall the selected plant of 
the common form was so old and tall 
that it was necessary to pull the 
branches over with a rope and pulley 
while manipulating the bloom. The 
seedlings began to bloom in their fifth 
year, and came very variable both in 
leaf and flower. The colors range from 
ivory white to purple, including a very 
pretty light blue. They have not yet 
reached their full development, but none 
seems likely to approach Rothomagen¬ 
sis in value. There are several other 
highly ornamental species of Syringa, 
including the tree lilac from Japan. This 
grows to a good-sized tree, and bears in 
June great panicles of creamy-white 
flowers much subject to injury by the 
rose-beetle so common at that time. The 
botanical name is S. Japonica. S. Josi- 
kaea or Hungarian lilac comes from the 
mountains of Transylvania, and has 
dark shining foliage and purple flowers 
late in June. It is very distinct, and 
is also of tree-like growth. S. villosa 
comes from Japan and has odd-shaped 
leaves and white flowers, light purple in 
the bud. It is a profuse and also a late 
bloomer. While these rarer species are 
handsome and really desirable where an 
assortment is wanted the choice varie¬ 
ties of the common and Persian species 
will give most satisfaction on small 
grounds. _ w. v. f. 
FRUIT NOTES FROM IOWA. 
Ben Davis, Miner Plum, Bailey Peach. 
There is a wild strain in our nature yet 
that we pioneers of the prairies imbibed 
in those days when we gathered our fruits 
from the wild forests that fringed our 
rivers. In the early dawn we women folks 
would hurry off to the woods in search of 
blackberries. Our clothes would be wet 
with the dew, and torn by the briers, but 
the fun of it; the fervor of anxiety lest 
some one should beat our crowd to the 
patch and pick it before us! All the fore¬ 
noon would we tramp over hill and hollow 
in search of new worlds to conquer, and 
at last would drag our weary way home 
in the burning sun, hungry and thirsty. 
Our reward in fruit was meager indeed, 
but what boundless supplies of health and 
strength did we store up for all the years 
to follow! Those timber lands are to-day 
(in this locality at least) our best fruit 
lands; a wilderness of trees and stumps, 
the primitive home of the wild plum and 
crab apple, and of the wild strawberry 
that grew in profusion and excellence 
around the edge of the burnt brush piles. 
This wilderness, that skirted English 
River, has been transformed into beauti¬ 
ful orchards. Those woodland haunts 
seemed to possess some peculiarity of soil 
that rendered them marvelously produc¬ 
tive of fruit. It seems to be a sandy loam, 
as mellow as an ash heap with a clay sub¬ 
soil, and proves to be a far more practical 
location for an orchard than the high- 
priced black soil of the corn lands. The 
pioneer never dreamed that Iowa would 
develop into a fruit State. That we can 
raise fruit of all kinds in great abundance 
is a most pleasant surprise to us. But the 
quality of our fruit? O.h, that is another 
story! Thousands upon thousands of acres 
of new orchards have been planted 
throughout the West, and yet the East 
need never fear serious competition from 
western fruit. We cannot raise such ap¬ 
ples as you can. The Hudson River coun¬ 
try and the eastern slope of the Blue 
Ridge in Virginia easily wrest the crown 
and scepter from the West when it comes 
to quality. Why, if we could raise the 
Newtown or the Albemarle Pippin for 
shipment we would grub out the Ben Davis 
root and branch. We envy you your big,- 
yellow early peaches; your Bartlett pears, 
the Green Gage plum; your sweet cherries. 
True, a choice fruit may be found now and 
then, which the producer proudly carries 
around in his pocket and exhibits, but for 
fruit that fills our bushel baskets and our 
pocketbooks, we lowans have to depend 
upon the Ben Davis apple, the Bailey 
peach, the Miner plum, the Kieffer pear 
and Richmond cherry. This is the stuff 
that stands our ups and downs; our heat 
that hatches chickens -without hen or in¬ 
cubator; our cold that cracks thermom¬ 
eters in Winter 
In our orchard of 40 acres planted five 
years ago to Ben Davis, Jonathon. Grimes 
Golden and Winesap, the Ben Davis has 
survived the others two to one. Some one 
found a peach tree out on the Mississippi 
River, that had stood the storm for 50 
years. From this started the Bailey peach, 
a seedling. You fastidious easterners 
would not eat them. We do, for they are 
peaches, and precious, because we can 
gather them from our own trees in our 
own dooryards. We have 100 Abundance 
plum trees—beautiful trees— that are every 
Spring a wonder of bloom, the very first 
of all the trees to put on Spring airs, and 
yet. I have never seen an Abundance plum 
in my life except a wax one in the Agri¬ 
cultural Department at Washington. We 
have 75 Blue Damson that have only borne 
enough plums to can three quart jars. But 
the puckery, wild Miner furnishes plum 
butter for the dinner of almost every 
schoolboy in town. For sour cherries, we 
can defy the world—they grow in sod as 
easily as forest trees, free from disease, 
free from worms. The Iowa cherry or¬ 
chards are the Blue jays' paradise; they 
may have all they can eat, and of the 
best in the world. Our grapes grow like 
weeds and bear heavily of fine fruit. If 
they would not fall off, if they would keep 
and bear shipment, you would not need to 
ship another basket of New York grapes 
into the Northwest. a. h. m. 
The Tolicy of 
Studebaker\ 
lias been to make nothing inferior 
or shoddy. They believed they 
could not afford to when they 
started and they know they can’t 
now. For upwards of fifty years 
they have always put out the very 
best wagon they knew how to make. 
And they have always been a step 
in advance of the best anybody else 
could make. That is how the 
Studebakers got their good name 
and the colossal business they are I 
doing to-day. Studebaker’s wag* j 
ons stand first everywhere and al¬ 
ways 
Studebakers also make a full line of all 
kinds of vehicles, harness, etc. They I 
control entire output of the world Buggy j 
Co. and makethe 1 Tzzer Line’’ of vehicles. 
All dealers handle Studebaker goods. 
Write us for catalogues, etc. 
Studebaker Bros. Mfg. Co. 
South Bend, Ind. 
REPOSITORIES! 
Chlc'ftffo, »w York, Sun Fraiici«co, Kaunas 
City, Denver, Salt Lake City, Portland, Ore. 
THE MIETZ & WEISS 
Kerosene Engines. Sizes, 1 to 60 H.P 
Cheapest and Safest Power 
Known. For pumping and 
electric lighting, grinding 
corn, separating cream, 
sawing wood, and all power 
purposes. Aivarded Gold 
Medal Pan-American Exp., 
Buffalo, 1901. Send for Cat. 
A. MIETZ, 
128 Mott Street, New York. 
HAVE YOU SEEN THE 
Jack 
of All 
Trades? 
PUMPS 
WATER¬ 
SHEDS 
CORN- 
GRINDS 
FEED- 
CHURNS 
BUTTER- 
—and hundreds of other Jobs with the 
strength of 15 men. Most Convenient and 
useful power ever invented. Costs only TWO 
cents per hour to run. Especially adapted 
to farm work. 
it is a NEW ENGINE made by 
Kansas City 
St. Paul 
Minneapolis 
Omaha 
Denver 
Salt Lake City 
San Francisco 
Indianapolis Los Angeles 
St. Louis Portland, Ore. 
Fairbanks 
Morse & 
Co 
mpany 
Chicago 
Cleveland 
Cincinnati 
Detroit 
Louisville 
School of Practical Agriculture 
and Horticulture. 
Courses in Fruit Culture, Gardening, Landscape 
Gardening and Farming. Begins September 16, 1902. 
Open to men and women for training in practical and 
scientific work. Catalogue. 
GEO. T. POWELL, Director, 
Briarcliff Manor, N. Y. 
ELECTRIC 
FOR STRENGTH 
You are through with 
wagon worry forever when 
you buy one of our 
HANDY WAGONS. 
They carry 4000 lbs. and do 
_ it easily, and don’t cost a 
fortune either. Write for the free catalogue. It tells all 
about this wagon and the famous Electric Wheels. 
ELECTRIC WHEEL CO., BOX 88, QUINCY, ILLINOIS.. 
The Successful Orchardist 
Fruit Grower and Florist knows that frequent spray- 
jug is essential to his success, but some of them do 
not know that 
Black Soluble 
Insecticide Soap 
makes the very best spraying liquid. Dou’t trouble 
yourselves making Bordeaux Mixture, Kerosene 
Emulsion, Lime and Salt Mixtures, etc., when by dis¬ 
solving Black Soluble Insecticide Soap In cold water 
you have a solution which Is n^t only more effective 
than anv ol the others, but also actually restores 
fading and dying foliage, and Improves the quality 
and quantity of the fruit. For further particulars 
address y CASAZZA & BRO., 
190-192 PRINCE ST., NEW YORK. 
SAN JOSE SCALE. 
And other Insects can be Controlled by Using 
Good’s Caustic Potash Whale- 
Oil Soap No. 3. 
It also prevents Curl Leaf. Endorsed by Entomolo¬ 
gists. This Soap is a Fertilizer as well as Insecticide. 
60-lb. Kegs, $2.50; 100-lb. Kegs, $4.50; Half-Barrel, 
*70 lbs., 3)$c. per lb.; Barrel, 425 lbs., 3)4o. Large 
quantities. Special Rates. Send for Circulars. 
JAMES GOOD. 939 N. Front St., Philadelphia, Pa. 
The Pump 
That Pumps 
SPRAY Double-acting, Lift, 
PUMPS Tank aud Spray 
of all kinds. Write for 
Circulars and Prices. 
MYERS STAY0N 
Flexible Door Hangers 
with steel roller bearings, 
easy to push and to pull, 
cannot he thrown off the 
track—hence its name— 
“Stayon.” lias no equal. 
:• Thousands sold. Ask your 
1 dealer or write us for de- 
_ — Bcriptive ciroularH. 
MYERS <fc BRO., Ashland, Ohio. 
Dutton’s 
Improved 
Knife and 
Tool 
Grinder 
$2.50 each 
SAMPSON 
TOBACCO PRESS. 
CLARK’S 
DOUBLE - 
ACTION 
away Harrow will easily move 
K10 tons of earth one foot In 
CLANK’S SULKY 
Gang Disk 
Plow, 
From 2 to 8 feet. 
For horse or 
Steam Power. 
CUTAWAY HARROW CO., HIGGANUM, CONN. 
