4o 
January 21 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Riiralisms 
Small-leaved Hemlock. —It was only 
a year or so after we planted the Rural 
Grounds that we bought a single speci¬ 
men of this of the nursery of Parsons & 
Co., of Flushing, Long Island, N. Y. 
It was at that time rare and, so far as 
we know, it is still rare ; but why it 
should be little known, we cannot con¬ 
jecture ; for, treated as the specimen in 
the Rural Grounds has been treated, it is 
one of the most desirable evergreen trees 
that we have tried or read about. The 
origin of this variety seems to be ob¬ 
scure. The Gardener’s Chronicle, of Eng¬ 
land, mentioned a year or so before 1868, 
that Fisher & Co. raised it from seed of 
the common hemlock (Tsuga Canadensis) 
imported from Canada, and they found 
it more hardy than the parent. Josiah 
Hoopes said of it in 1868, that “ it is of 
such singularly dwarf habit that it might 
almost be compared with the heath.” 
This description does not at all accord 
with our specimen. It is by no means 
a dwarf. So, too, Tsuga Canadensis 
gracilis and Milfordensis, while similar 
in many respects, are described as dwarfs. 
During the past 18 years, we have cut 
our specimen back repeatedly, so that, 
as shown in the excellent photo-engrav¬ 
ing on the first page, it is almost round 
in form, at least 10 feet in height and 9 
feet in diameter. This cannot fairly, 
therefore, be designated as a dwarf 
tree. Though growing in a dry soil, it 
has never been injured by cold or heat. 
The leaves are scarcely one-fourth inch 
in length, that is to say, they are as 
much smaller than the leaves of the 
common hemlock as those of the Large- 
leaved hemlock (Macrophylla) are larger 
than those of the common hemlock. The 
branches are more slender and lithe. 
The foliage is so thick as almost entirely 
to conceal the branches. That it is a 
seedling of the common hemlock is appar¬ 
ent from the fact that several of the 
branchlets are precisely like those of 
the parent, both in color and size of leaf. 
The common hemlock is known to be 
a splendid evergreen hedge plant. We 
know of one hedge 200 feet in length, 
planted not less than 35 years ago, that 
is perfect in every part. Whether the 
little-leaved hemlock would prove as 
valuable for a hedge, we may not say... 
A reader living in Prince Edward 
Island, Canada, tells us that he bought 
half a dozen plants of the Lucretia dew¬ 
berry from a prominent nurseryman, 
and that they always make a strong 
growth and bear a goodly crop of ber¬ 
ries. They are about twice as large as 
Taylor’s Prolific growing alongside, but 
the quality is very poor. He asks 
whether this is always the case with the 
Lucretia, or whether we think he has 
some inferior variety. Were the fruit 
of as good quality as Taylor's Prolific, it 
would be of considerable value to him, 
as the vines could easily be covered each 
Fall and thus escape being winterkilled. 
We dare say that Mr. Stewart has the 
true Lucretia. We would go without 
blackberries rather than cultivate this 
variety. The vines are so strong and 
thick-growing, and the thorns so strong, 
that the berries are not worth the trouble 
of gathering them. Still some people 
prefer them... 
Mr A. C. Worth, of Cresskill, N. J , 
has read with interest what has been 
said in these columns regarding the 
planting of peas for Fall use. He thinks 
that he has solved the problem. When 
preparing land for celery in August of 
1897, he observed that, where the earliest 
peas had been grown, and the ground 
afterwards plowed to cover the weeds 
before they seeded, there were now and 
again pea vines as thrifty as any grown 
in April or May. The past Spring he 
saved seed from the early crop and sowed 
it as late as August 25 for the late crop. 
The result was a crop of peas as fine as he 
had ever grown, without a trace of mil¬ 
dew, and the quality was “ far ahead of 
the Spring-grown peas.” His conclusion 
is that seed sown in the late Summer, 
having been gathered over a year be¬ 
fore lacks the vitality required to per¬ 
fect a crop of peas. Mr. Worth suggests 
that we might be doing our readers a 
service by reminding them in the Spring 
to save first-crop seeds, and then again 
in August reminding them to plant them. 
From our own experience, we have found 
that late-planted peas are decidedly 
better (sweeter) in quality than are the 
early-planted peas, whether smooth or 
wrinkled. 
Mr. L. J. Farmer, in his Freaks Among 
Small Fruits, asks : “ Does the color of a 
berry have anything to do with its fla¬ 
vor ?” We think it does. For example, 
the White Dutch and White Grape cur¬ 
rants are better than any of the red cur¬ 
rants ; the Col. Wilder and Crystal White 
blackberries are sweeter than those of 
darker color. The several varieties of 
strawberries, such ag Ladies’ Pine, Len- 
nig’s White, etc., are of the finest qual¬ 
ity. We should like to make the gen¬ 
eral inquiry, “ How does color affect any 
fruit—apples, peaches, pears, oranges, 
pounds of ears ; 84 plants without nitro¬ 
gen yielded 32 pounds of ears. 
2. The unnamed variety from J. S. 
Roberts yielded in this way : On the 
nitrogen plot, 96 plants yielded 102 ears, 
weighing 71% pounds ; the plot without 
nitrogen, 102 plants, which yielded 77 
ears, weighing 40% pounds. The nitro¬ 
gen plants were perfectly green when 
cut, the leaves of the others were yel¬ 
low. 
3. The variety from Bushnel Post yield¬ 
ed as follows : The nitrogen plot, 86 
plants, yielding 86 ears, which weighed 
52% pounds; the no-nitrogen plot, 74 
plants, yielding 68 ears, which weighed 
39 pounds. 
4. Top-over : The nitrogen plot yielded 
73 ears, weighing 25 pounds. There were 
63 plants. The plot without nitrogen, 
yielded 79 ears, weighing 22% pounds. 
There were 95 plants. 
TIP-ROOTED BLACKBERRIES. 
A statement, with reference to a rooted 
blackberry tip, appeared in The R. N.-Y. 
of December 17, last. Mr. Chas. Mills 
remarks that new varieties are com¬ 
monly produced from seeds ; that black¬ 
berry root cuttings will grow and form 
plants, all of which is true ; further that 
the fruit from tip-rooted plants does not 
bananas?”. differ from that of the parent plant, 
which may also be true ; but he further 
There is no one—gardeners, small or 
large farmers—that should not, by ex¬ 
periment, know just what kinds of du- 
triment his soil needs. The cost of a 
single season’s experiment, in a small 
way, will, in most instances, be less than 
the gain in his crops the next season, if 
he be guided by the results of the trials 
of the first season. Guided by the ad¬ 
vice of the most experienced investi¬ 
gators of the early days, when this ques¬ 
tion became an absorbing one, The 
R. N.-Y. set to work to solve it as to its 
own lands, and we have kept up the in¬ 
vestigation ever since with modifications 
which have been suggested, from time 
to time. 
The great trouble of to-day is that 
farmers who have not studied fer¬ 
tilizers, and have made no careful trials 
as to what fertilizers or particular fer¬ 
tilizer their lands need, are too much 
guided by what agents have to say. 
They should not be guided at all by 
what these agents have to say. They 
read, it may be, that Farmer So-and-so 
raised an exceptionally large yield of 
potatoes by the use of potash, lime, 
phosphate or nitrate. This proves but 
one thing, viz., those fields which gave 
the large yield were given just the food 
of which the soil stood in need. If pot¬ 
ash gave the increase, that is proof that 
the land stood in need of potash, while 
it was still rich in phosphates and ni¬ 
trates. This man would, probably, 
praise so-called chemical fertilizers, 
while another who used phosphate or 
potash or nitrate alone without increas¬ 
ing his crop would condemn all chemical 
fertilizers. The one happened to hit the 
special fertilizer his land needed, the 
other happened to miss it. 
Among the many experiments we have 
tried to ascertain just what our land 
needed, the following gave the most de¬ 
cided results: The field was a sandy 
loam and pretty well exhausted by suc¬ 
cessive crops of corn, rye, melons, to¬ 
matoes, etc. Four varieties of field corn 
were planted May 13, viz , (1) ADgel of 
Midnight; (2) a variety from J. S Rob¬ 
erts, Wilmington, Ohio; (3) a variety 
from Bushnel Post, of New London, 
Ohio; (4) Top-over. 
Nitrogen was sown on half of each 
variety at the rate of 150 pounds per 
acre, the nitrogen being in the form of 
blood, nitrate of soda and sulphate of 
ammonia. Upon the other half of each 
variety, were sown at the rate per acre 
of 350 pounds muriate and sulphate of 
potash, and 500 pounds of dissolved bone- 
black. 
1. Forty-seven plants of Angel of Mid¬ 
night from the nitrogen plot yielded 32 
states, as nearly as I can make out, that 
I am mistaken in calling a tip-rooted 
blackberry plant a sport. I quote the 
following: 
Plant Breeding, by L. H. Bailey ; pages 
28 and 118. “ Bud-variation or sport, is a 
name given to those branches which are 
so much unlike the normal plant in any 
particular that they attract attention. 
As a rule, any marked sport is capable 
of being perpetuated by bud-propaga¬ 
tion. The number of bud-varieties now 
in cultivation is really very large.” 
I have not stated that the tip plant 
would produce fruit of a different char¬ 
acter. only that such a plant is likely to 
show a tendency to root from the tips. 
FREDERIC CRANEFIELD. 
R. N.-Y.—The more we propagate the 
blackberry by tips, the more readily we 
should say, they would grow from tips ; 
but this we do not kpow from persona 
experience. 
It is stated that wheat was grown this 
year at Ft. Providence, on the Mackenzie 
River, which is 200 miles farther north 
than Sitka, Alaska. This is thought to 
be the extreme northern point at which 
wheat has ever been raised. 
W- 1 
A DOZEN or 
A MILLION• 
Strawberry plants by tbe dozen or million. 
Ninety acres in plant beds. Tbe 
largest Strawberry Nursery in tbe world. 
My present stock cannot be surpassed for 
health and vigor. 
I grow everything I sell. 
I do not buy and sell. A trial order will 
convince yon. Illustrated and descriptive 
CATALOGUE FREE. 
W. F. ALLEN, JR., 
liooc 44 Salisbury,Nd. 
We Burn 
all inferior plants and trees — the kind some 
offer at low prices, but not cheap. We send 
out nothing but A1 stock, and we have 
everything any fruit grower can need. No 
“ extras ” for packing. Catalogue free . 
T. J. DWYER & SON, Box —, Cornwall, N. Y. 
Small 
Fruits 
Grape Vines.... 
Low prltea* Detfrlptlro list frea. Varieties. 
Extra fine stock CURRANTS, Gooseberries, 
CAMPBELL'S EARLY Grape. Quality extra. 
Warranted true. T< 8. HU11BAHD GO., Fred on la, N.Y* 
Small Fruits 
bring quicker and better returns than any 
other crop. I have the biggest stock of 
strong, well-rooted plants on earth. _ Vyar- 
ranted true to name. My catalogue is free, 
but it’s worth dollars to you. 
ALLEN L. WOOD, 
Wholesale Grower. Rochester, N. Y. 
Apple, .Japan Plums, Cherries, and a full 
line of fruit trees at low prices. Write for whole¬ 
sale list. C. F. MACNaik & Co.. Dansvllle, N. Y. 
ftlULTIFLPRA 
Seeduhcf^ose 
NEW MULTIFLORA ROSES. 
ay 1 
bloom in 60 aavs from time of sowing. Plant at any 
time. They grow quickly and flowers appear In largo 
quantity. Perfectly hardy in the garden, where they 
bloom all summer. In pots they bloom both summer 
and winter. From a packet of seed one will get Roses 
of various colors—white, pink, crimson, etc.—no two 
alike, and very sweet. Send us 10 cents and the 
names of 5 or more people whom you know buy seeds 
or plants, and we will mall you a packet of this Rose 
Seed with our great Colored Plat e Catalogue of 
Seeds. Bulbs, Plants and Rare New Fruits. 
JOUgliWIS CHILDS, Floral Part, H. Y. 
Every tree, plant or vine bought at Reid’s is well- 
rooted, vigorous, and true to name. Every care is J 
taken in growing to insure absolute certainty to the' 
buyer. Save one-half on anything you need in the 
nursery line, by buying at Reid’s. 
We’ll help you to choose by sending complete catalog, esti¬ 
mates, or any information yon may ask for, free. 
REID’S NURSERIES, BRIDGEPORT, OHIO. 
miinrxfmTimnTniiimuimuiinnmiiinmamumiu.iiumnmM uuiiu iiitii mimi mmo.iuiuuiniininimmiiniiimiimiiiimiq 
^AUDDITI | CADI V Seeds Need Not 
MAnlrDELLiLi ^9 F BeSwallowed. 
“First of all Grapes,” says Rural New-Yorker. Scaled 96 points in possible 100. “Will | 
[ ship round the world.’ 1 Early or Late. Insist on our Seals and get what you buy. 
| Largest stock of other Grape Vines, Small Fruits. Elegant Catalogue FREE 
CEORCE S. JOSSELYN, FREDONIA, NEW YORK. 
niuiiiiiniMiiuiuiuuniiiniuiiiiiiiiuiiiiuuauiiiiiiiiiiuiiuiuicinmiiinuumi 
RIGHT ROAD TO SUCCESS 
Straight Goods at Right Prices, Bought Direct. 
350,000 Peach, 150,000 Plum, 150,000 Pear, 75,000 Cherry, 
150,000 Apple,Quince, Apricot, Mulberry, etc., 50,000 Nut Bear¬ 
ing Trees, 2,000,000 Small Fruits, 1,000,000 lioses. Head¬ 
quarters for 
ORNAMENTAL TREES AND SHRUBS 
Forty-four Greenhouses filled with choice Roses, Palms, Araucarias, Ficus, Paudauus, 
^Wefse^nc^by mail postpaid, Flower and Vegetable Seeds, Bulbs, Roses, Greenhouse Plants, Small 
Trees and Shrubs, Grape Vines and Small Fruits, safe arrival and satisfaction guaranteed; larger 
by express or freight. OUR CATALOGUE, an elegant book, magazine size, profusely illustrated 
tells it all, FREE. Send for it today and get the best at right prices. 45 th year. 44 greenhouses. 
1000 seres ' 1 
THE STORRS 8c HARRISON CO., Box 447 , Painesville, O. 
FRUIT AND ORNAMENTAL 
Trees 
AT REASONABLE PRICES. 
Small Fruits, Grapes, Shrubs, Climbing Plant®, 
Roses, Evergreens, Hardy Plants, Paeonies v 
Largest and choicest collections in America. 
BEST NOVELTIES 
Descriptive Illustrated Catalogue free. 
ELLWANGER & BARRY. 
MOUNT HOPE NURSERIES, Rochester, N. Y. 
Fifty-ninth Year. 
