364 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
May 13 
• Ruralisms 
Hall’s Japan Magnolia —We don’t 
like to let a springtime pass without 
calling attention to this unique little 
tree or shrub which, during the past 15 
years or upwards, has never failed to 
bloom profusely with us at this season 
of the year (April 25). It is the earliest 
to bloom of all the Magnolias, whether 
American or foreign. The mercury has 
fallen as low during the past Winter as 
23 degrees below zero, which has harmed 
more or less such Japan varieties as 
Soulangeana, Thompsonianaand Lenn6i. 
The tree is literally covered with these 
blossoms which are about three inches 
in diameter, averaging about 15 petals 
which are one-half inch wide and strap¬ 
shaped. The botanical name of this 
shrub is Magnolia stellata; Magnolia 
Ilalleana is a synonym. 
It is by no means too late to plant 
Magnolia stellata now. Many of the 
nurseries can furnish the trees in pots. 
If we could have but one Magnolia for 
our garden, this would be our choice.... 
Wbitk Clover —Up to a few years 
ago, The R N.-Y.’s preference for grass 
seed for lawns was either Blue grass, 
Red-top or both. We have never thought 
that the lawn grass seed mixtures of 
seedsmen were of any value beyond 
these two species of grass which make 
up the bulk of them. Now, however, 
we should advise our friends, especially 
those whose lawns show impoverish¬ 
ment and need reconstruction, to sow 
White clover seed. It will grow and 
thrive where Red-top and Blue grass will 
die out and, according to the latter-day 
belief, will enrich the soil with nitrogen. 
After the White clover becomes well 
established, occasional dressings of phos¬ 
phoric acid and potash should keep it in 
fine order. For the phosphoric acid, we 
should prefer raw bone flour, which also 
furni lies nitrogen, and unleached wood 
ashes, which, besides five per cent of 
potash, will yield a little phosphoric 
acid and a large amount of lime. 
The Pendulous Cut-leaved White 
Birch (Bctula alba pendula laciniata).— 
This tree is always attractive, whether 
in Winter or Summer. Perhaps just at 
this season, it has a peculiar charm more 
strikingly attractive than at any other 
time. The leaves are now about half 
developed, and of that tender fresh green 
which gradually disappears, giving place 
to the darker, more somber green as the 
season advances. The brilliant white 
bark, too, makes, with the foliage, a 
more touching contrast at this season 
than later when the silvery bark is more 
or less concealed by the leaves. The 
essential charm of this weeping birch is 
its somewhat erect, slender form, with 
its lithe, silvery spray, giving to the 
whole tree an airy grace, as though it 
were coquetting with its companions. 
It is of rapid growth, and will attain 
the height of, at least 20 feet, in from 
five to eight years. 
Just a little later—a day or so, April 
27 this season—the male and female cat¬ 
kins mature, and the tree assumes a 
funny appearance—just as though alive 
with yellow caterpillars, the males from 
an inch or so to four or five inches in 
length and a full quarter of an inch in 
diameter, the females small, cylindrical, 
slender and inconspicuous, as the female 
flowers of plants usually are. The male 
catkins are swayed by the slightest 
breath of wind, waving to and fro, and 
scattering their golden pollen profligate¬ 
ly everywhere—forming, indeed, at such 
moments, clouds of golden dust The 
male catkins are really beautiful in their 
complexity of stamens and bracts, which 
together are so pliant and flexible as to 
suggest the most delicately-woven chains 
of gold. But this does not long continue. 
They soon turn black, drop and litter 
the soil or sod beneath as though with 
so many charred, wormlike carcasses... 
Selection of Seed Corn by Cross 
Breeding. —Mr. R W. Clothier, of the 
Kansas Agricultural College, tells us, “It 
will pay the farmers of Kansas to test 
the value of the following method of 
selecting seed corn : Two or three rows 
are planted in the middle of the field, 
using seed of a different variety from 
that used in the remainder of the field. 
The tassels of the corn in these rows are 
pulled out before they develop pollen, so 
that the ears will be fertilized with pol¬ 
len from the remainder of the field. The 
seed from these rows is selected for next 
year’s planting, and it is claimed that 
the yield has been increased by, at least, 
10 bushels per acre. Col. Dudley, of 
Topeka, has done a great deal in this 
line, and reports excellent results If 
the yield of the Kansas corn crop could 
be increased 10 bushels per acre, it would 
year’s yield by using his own seed 
crossed with an inferior variety ? That 
seems like an excellent plan of progress¬ 
ing backward. 
The plan that, years ago, suggested it¬ 
self to the writer as promising to be 
most effective in improving a given 
variety of corn, was this : A small plot 
—say one-twentieth of an acre square, 
or 66 x 66 feet—was selected as far away 
as practicable from other fields of corn, 
whether on our own or adjacent land. 
To start with, ears were selected the 
previous season, from plants in the field 
that had been marked before maturity. 
In this selection, the height of stalk, 
number of ears borne, and perfection of 
ears were considered. The next season, 
this seed corn was planted in the small 
plot. Just so soon as the sets or silk 
began to show, the plants were care¬ 
fully gone over from day to day as long 
as necessary, and the tassels (before ma¬ 
turity, of course) were cut out from all 
plants that were in any way inferior. 
The variety was the so-called Blount’s 
Prolific, which was, in fact, the Tennes¬ 
see Prolific, though sold by seedsmen of 
to-day under the former name. This se¬ 
lection was continued through several 
seasons—we forget just how many—the 
result being dwarfer plants, an elimina¬ 
tion of suckers, more ears to a plant and 
these borne lower, and an earlier ma¬ 
turity. The conspicuous faults with the 
original variety were that the plants 
grew too tall, they suckered too freely, 
the ears were borne too high, so that the 
plants were, during the late sea c on, top- 
heavy and easily lodged, and finally, 
though from two or three to ten sets ap¬ 
peared, only from one to three matured 
ears. We fancy that varieties of sweet 
corn may be similarly changed. 
The most efficacious way of crossing 
would be to remove the immature tas¬ 
sels, and apply pollen io the receptive 
silks (pistils) covering them securely be¬ 
tween the pollen applications, with tissue 
paper. 
It is always well to plant a generous 
number of seeds of melons, cucumbers, 
etc., in order to insure a good stand, and 
to thin out the plants after a good stand 
is insured. Generally, the superfluous 
plants are pulled out, always disturbing 
the soil about the roots of those that re¬ 
main, thus causing the leaves to wilt 
and growth to be retarded. In all such 
work, a pair of little scissors should be 
used, merely cutting in two the stem 
below the first leaves of the plants to 
be destroyed. 
collected, such as showed themselves on the sur¬ 
face, and in June the piece was planted to late 
cabbage. Ordinary cultivating and hoeing tor¬ 
mented the life out of the scattered tubers, and 
practically I had no more trouble from them than 
from ordinary weeds of the field. The field was 
a hillside, soil rather light, and the artichokes, 
therefore, did not grow as rank as they do in 
deep, moist soil; but when the cabbages were 
planted with 10 cords of manure to the acre, they 
then had their opportunity. 
Marblehead, Mass. J. J. u. Gregory. 
Shrubs and Flowers —About 20 yeats ago, 
when my father moved to this farm, he sent an 
order to a nurseryman for an assortment of 
hardy shrubs, which he tastefully planted about 
the house. I wish every reader of The R. N -Y. 
could see, after these 20 years, the great improve¬ 
ment to the place that they have made. One does 
not have to wait 20 years to begin to enjoy the 
results of plan tine ornamental trees and shrubs. 
No one except those who have done it knows the 
pleasure of watching the growth and waiting 
each year for the flo 'er of some shrub or plant 
that has been planted by one’s own hands. There 
is no use in putting all of our life in wheat and 
potatoes. Let us have sime of it in trees and 
flowe-s ard vines. Six days’ work gives an 
added zest to the rest of Sunday, and a few flow¬ 
ers about a place, to my mind, give as much rest 
to the farmer after his close relationship vitn 
financial cultivation, as does the rest of Sun¬ 
day after the work of the week. We all know 
what all work and no play does for the boy, so 
don’t let us have all working plants on th° farm, 
but some for rest and recreation, p. b. crosby. 
MALE CATKINS OF CUT-LEAVED WEEPING 
BIRCH. Fig. 148. 
mean several million dollars added to 
tbe value of the crop, and obtained by 
only a very little increase of labor ex¬ 
pended. About 15 farmers in the vicinity 
of Manhattan have agreed to cooperate 
with the Kansas Experiment Station in 
testing the methods this year, but why 
should not 500 or 1,000 farmers all over 
Kansas join in the work ? It will re¬ 
quire very little labor. Any farmer can 
find a different variety of corn from his 
own by going three miles, or less, away 
from his home ; the work of pulling out 
the tassels will be little more than the 
work necessary to cut the weeds out of 
the same number of rows. Farmers, 
give this matter your careful attention, 
and then plan to take up the work.” 
To the writer of Ruralisms, who for 
many years tried all sorts of experiments 
to increase the corn yield, Mr. Clothier’s 
suggestion comes as somewhat of a sur¬ 
prise. Suppose that the “ different 
variety of corn found three miles or less 
away from his home,” proves inferior to 
the corn he is and has been raising ? 
What then ? Is he to increase his next; 
Many western farmers report that last year’s 
clover 1 b entirely killed out, and they are work¬ 
ing up the ground to sow to some other green 
crop. Oats and peas, and millet seem to be the 
favorites, although a great deal of sowed fodder 
corn will, evidently, be used. 
The Ben Davis apple and Kleffer pear are 
called to account again ; but I do not believe any 
one owning an orchard of either of these popu¬ 
lar fruits will cut it down as a result of reading 
the attack by W., of Monroe, Wis, in The 
R. N -Y. of February 26. The Ben Davis suc¬ 
ceeds over a wider extent of country, probably, 
than any other apple; and we need only look up 
the market reports to judge of the profits in its 
cultivation. These reports, too, will suffice for 
most of us, as to whether the apple is good to 
eat or not. I humbly say it is good to eat. e. p. 
Uriah, Pa. 
We have a small plot of creek bottom land 
(about one twenty-seventh of an acre) which we 
use for an experiment plot. Last season, we 
planted it to early potatoes—Early Ohio and 
Early Rose. We cut one bushel of potatoes to 
two eyes to a piece, and planted them in rows 18 
inches apart—hills, about 10 inches apart. We 
raised 16)^ bushels; sold 13bushels for $.0 45, 
and used the rest for eating and seed. Although 
the season was rather wet, this potato patch 
was given level cultivation, and no other tcol 
used than a garden rake. l. e k. 
Missouri. 
Artichokes Becoming Weeds.— When, a few 
years ago, I planted toward half an acre to arti¬ 
chokes, I had some of the fear in common with 
Prof. Roberts, as expressed on page 228 of The 
R. N.-Y., lest they might hold permanent pos¬ 
session of the land. As they were planted solely 
for seed purposes, I dug such a portion of the 
crop as we needed, and left the remainder each 
season to their own wild freedom. Three years 
ago, I concluded to put the land to another cop, 
and in the Spring, plowed it with some misgiv¬ 
ings. The larger of the artichokes turned up were 
Soiling Crops ; Plowing —My farm 
has a lane through its center, and is well 
adapted to soiling. I would like to know 
how to proceed in this new departure of 
soiling all stock on the place, a square 
50 acres. As a creek runs through it 
nearly in the center, and there is a 
descent from each side to it, I have in 
mind to make a new departure, aBo, in 
plowing, and in such a manner as to 
have each land narrower than usual, 
and all dead furrows act as so many 
drains to carry off the water rap dly 
into the creek. To this end, I mean by 
the back furrow and open drain, to over¬ 
come the natural wetness of the soil. 
Chili, N. Y. uk F. 
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