45o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
June 17 
Ruralisms 
r TT T T’V TTT T T ^ 
THE CLIMBING ACTINIDIA. 
It was during 1883 that we received a 
specimen of this remarkable vine from 
Ellwanger & Barry, of Rochester, N. Y. 
They called it then, and do now, Ae- 
tinidia polygama. This must be an 
error, as we have before stated. It is 
Actinidia arguta. A Japanese book tells 
us that it (A. polygama) becomes arbor¬ 
escent with age. If it were confined to 
a single stem, possibly it would; but 
our oldest vine gives no evidence of any 
such possibility as yet, and it is now 
nearly 20 years of age. To quote fur¬ 
ther from the Japanese book : 
“ It often stretches across ravines, or 
climbs about and entangles the tops of 
the branches of trees. In June, two or 
three leaves toward the top of the 
branches become snow white. The fruit, 
which is the size of the top joint of the 
little finger, can be eaten either raw or 
prepared by dryiog. When fully ripe, 
it assumes a reddish-yellow color. It 
contains many seeds. Cats are exceed¬ 
ingly fond of the stems and leaves, and 
eat them voraciously. They even rub 
their bodies over upon it. Whenever 
the leaves or stems are burned, cats fol¬ 
low to the source of the odor, gathering 
about the fire, rolling upon their backs, 
secreting an abmormal amount of saliva, 
and seeming for the moment as if mad.” 
Except in one respect does this ac¬ 
count of the vine agree with the general 
behavior of The R. N.-Y. specimen, viz., 
“ It often climbs about and entangles 
the tops of the branches of trees.” That 
is just what our Actinidia has dene 
and would do again if it had a chance. 
It has done worse. The vine was planted 
on the north side of an arbor, which 
was at the time pretty well covered with 
the Chinese Yam (“Cinnamon” Vint), 
Clematis, and Dutchman’s Pipe, so that 
its roots and the growth for a year or 
more could receive no sunshine what¬ 
ever. But it grew rapidly, and suffered 
from neither the heat of Summer, the 
cold of Winter, nor from insects of any 
kind. There were three main stems, 
each nearly two inches in diameter, the 
lower portions of which exfoliated the 
bark, just as the Ninebark (Spiraea opu- 
lifolia) does. After it became well es¬ 
tablished in this inhospitable position— 
about the third year—its growth exceed¬ 
ed by far that of any other vine we have 
ever tried or heard of. It has no ten¬ 
drils. Writing about it during 1889, we 
said : “A shoot will start out at a right 
angle with the stem, and grow almost 
horizontally or at any angle until it 
reaches an object. Then it twines, curls 
itself about the object several times, 
and continues its course until it reaches 
another twig or branch, when it makes 
two or three turns about that, and still 
grows on and on. The stems thus 
closely encircled arehe.d as if by an iron 
cord until choked to death ! ” 
The arbor was about 10 feet high. The 
Actinidia nearly took possession of it, 
and then reaching out its arms on all 
sides 10 or 12 feet without support, 
finally twined about the nearest tree, 
climbed up to the top, coiling itself dur¬ 
ing its ascent upon various branches, 
and reaching out from the top j ust as 
before for other victims. The tree hap¬ 
pened to be a Magnolia macrophylla. 
The vine was permitted to have its own 
way We wanted to see just what it 
would do if not in anyway interfered 
with. The next season the top of the 
Magnolia was drawn about 15 degrees 
towards the Summer house, and the 
Summer house was raised from the 
ground and leaned towards the Magnolia 
no less than the Magnolia leaned toward 
the Summer house. 
Not long after, the terrible cyclone of 
1895 occurred. The Summer house was 
blown all to pieces, and the Magnolia 
destroyed. The Actin'dia roots were re¬ 
moved to its present home, where it is 
growing as fast as ever. Its present 
home is over a stone and cement wall on 
the east pier of the dam of the pretty 
little spring pond of the RuYal Grounds. 
It has grown across and over the dam 
12 feet supported by several rows of gal¬ 
vanized wires attached to large trees on 
either side. Thus it serves the purpose 
intended, viz., to plant out of view a cer¬ 
tain portion of neighboring grounds 
which are needed for purposes more use¬ 
ful than ornamental. 
There are four tiers of wires crossing 
the dam, each about two feet above the 
other. The vines, with a dense mass of 
foliage, cover every part, often with 
layer upon layer. From the topmost 
wire, about 50 leaders from one to three 
feet long are still upright swaying around 
in circles to find support which they seek 
in vain. Unless another wire be stretched 
across, these leaders will finally fall of 
their own weight, and accept the first 
wire as, under the circumstances, better 
than no support at all. 
Now this is the one point that we 
must make plain : This vine is Actinidia 
arguta not A. polygama, as the cata¬ 
logues have it. There is not a vine of 
the true A. polygama in this country 
in so far as we are informed. Our 
vine has no “white leaves;” neither 
do cats care any more for its stems, 
leaves or ashes than for any other stems, 
leave s or aBhes. The Japanese call our 
Actinidia (i. e A. arguta) Kokuwa, and 
the other (the true A. polygama) which 
does not seem to be in this country, 
Matatabi. Prof W. P. Brooks, of tbe 
Massachusetts Agricultural College, who 
resided in Japan 12 years, tells us that 
the true Actinidia polygama is a far less 
rampant grower than A. arguta, and 
usually climbs only over clumps of 
bushes. This species bears, at the ends 
of the shoots, so Prof. Brooks tells us, 
a fruit of a reddish-yellow color, of the 
s ze of the top-joint of the little finger, 
while the true A. polygama, on the fer¬ 
tile plants, bears fruit more abundantly 
and of a larger size and of a green color, 
even when ripe. The size is variable, 
but on a vigorous plant, the fruit will 
average as large as Green Gage plums. 
The skin is astringent, but the pulp, 
which is readily pressed out of the stem 
end, is delicious and readily made into 
jams of fine quality. This we knosv from 
having eaten of the jam, a bottle of which 
was kindly sent to us by Prof. Brooks. 
But our Actinidia (the A. polygama of 
the catalogue) is not fertile, and so it 
has never borne fruit. It seems that 
some plants bear only female flowers, 
some only male flowers, others both 
kinds. It would, therefore, be necessary 
to have male and female plants growing 
together, or to propagate from those 
which bear both kinds, by cuttings. 
What would this Actinidia do if con¬ 
fined to a single stem ? Is it possible so 
to confine it? Would the main stem grow 
large enough to support such a rampant 
gro wth of top ? Or would confining it 
to a single stem moderate its vigor ? 
Our readers should bear in mind that 
this vine does not mind shade ; that it is 
perfectly hardy at the Rural Grounds, 
and, probably, would so prove much 
farther north. They should, also, bear in 
mind that it climbs by winding around 
objects, and not by tendrils or adventi¬ 
tious roots. In the writer’s opinion, 
there is no other vine that grows so 
fast, no other that will so completely 
shut out forbidding objects with its 
wealth of exuberant foliage. The leaves 
vary in shape and size, but to these and 
to the flowers, we may allude in another 
batch of Ruralisms. 
Triumph is a new radish, the seeds of 
which were sent to us by Peter Hender¬ 
son & Co , of New York. It is among 
their novelties of this season, and is 
illustrated in colors on page 17 of their 
catalogue. The claims made for it are 
(1) that it matures in 21 days from the 
date of sowing the seeds ; (2) that it is 
globe-shaped, very small and the tops 
are so dwarf that the variety is invalua¬ 
ble for glass culture; (3) that, solid and 
crisp, its most valuable characteristic is 
the unique color of the radish which is 
distinct from anything heretofore grown. 
The seed was sown April 29, and the 
first radishes were pulled May 25, the 
weather having been so dry as to retard 
their growth, and render most of them 
almost as soft as a sponge. The time be¬ 
tween the sowing of the seed and the 
maturity of the radish appears to have 
been 26 days. The radi hes average a 
fraction over an inch in diameter, the 
color being white and crimson variously 
and prettily variegated. Some are pep¬ 
pered with crimson, others 6p’ashed here 
and there. Now and again a solid crim¬ 
son is found. Tney are really pretty and 
well worthy of cultivation just for this 
reason. Displayed in a grocery store, 
beside the solid-color radishes, we should 
say that, at the same price, the Triumph 
would meet with a readier sale. They 
are almost perfectly round. The tops, 
though dwarfer than those of most other 
kinds, are less dwarf than the 
Leafless radish introduced by W. At- 
lee Burpee, of Philadelphia, last season. 
It is not leafless, to be sure, but there are 
fewer leaves than those borne by any 
other kind we have tried or heard of. 
We find these nearly as early as the Tri¬ 
umph, the seeds having been sown April 
25, the first radishes pulled May 24—29 
days. The color is a bright crimson, 
just that of Triumph, the shape being 
generally oblong—1 % inch from leaves 
to root. 
Radishes, of all garden vegetables, 
cannot stand drought, having scarcely 
any roots besides the tap to furnish 
nourishment to the plant. The drought 
at the Rural Grounds this season is phe¬ 
nomenal. Hence it is that all our first- 
crop radishes are spongy. 
BULLETINS BOILED DOWN. 
Wild Cherry Poison.— Last year we briefly re¬ 
viewed Bulletin £6 from the New Hampshire Sta¬ 
tion (Durham), which gave an account of the 
formation of prussic acid in wild cherry leaves 
This bulletin showed how, when these wild 
cherry trees are cut down, and the wilted leaves 
are eaten by cattle, dangerous results often fol¬ 
low. One of our contributors, Mr. SeDger, of 
Virginia, explained this matter in The R. N -Y. 
before this bulletin was published. There is no 
doubt about the danger of cutting these wild 
cherry trees so that cattle can browse upon the 
leaves. They ought to be cut out of the pasture, 
and carried out of harm’s way 
Laws eor F’eedstuffs.— New York State has 
now a law for the control of feedstuffs, such as 
bran, cotton-seed meal and mixed grains. Maine 
and New Hampshire have such laws, and the 
farmers in those 8tates find them very helpful. 
Bulletin 128, from the Connecticut Station, gives 
a report of the analyses of the commercial feed¬ 
ing stuffs found in the Connecticut markets. 
Tnese feeds are analyzed and sampled very much 
like fertilizer, and the bulletin gives a good ac¬ 
count of their composition. A farmer can cer¬ 
tainly obtain a good deal of information by ex- 
aming a bulletin of this kind, and the Maine 
Station (Orono) has also printed a similar 
bulletin. 
Troublesome Weeds and Potato Scab —The 
Iowa Experiment Station (Ames) issues Bulletin 
No. 42 dealing with these topics. It describes the 
Horse nettle, a deep-rooting perennial which 
spreads by means of its roots as well as its seeds. 
It began to spread in the State about 10 years 
ago. It is as difficult to eradicate as the Canada 
thistle. Smothering the growth, or cutting off 
the leaves as they appear, are the most effective 
methods of eradication. Two other trouble¬ 
some weeds are European Bindweed or morniDg- 
glory, and Ground burrnut (Tribulus terrestris). 
Methods of treatment of Potato scab by corro¬ 
sive sublimate, formalin and potassium sul¬ 
phide are given. 
Profits of Farming 
GARDENING AND FRUIT CULTURE. 
depend upon Good Crops and they in 
turn upon Good Fertilizers. The 
uniformly best fertilizer for all Crops 
and all soils Is made by 
Tbe Cleveland Dryer Co., Cleveland, O. 
Materials Supplied for “ Home Mixing." 
Quick Fertilizer. 
There is nothing in the American 
market to day that acts so quickly and 
surely as a fertilizer as 
Nitrate of Soda . 
Apply to the surface in the spring. 
A small quantity does the work. 
Watch the crops* closely and when 
they look sick or make slow growth 
apply the remedy promptly. Book, 
"Foodfor Plants ,” tells all about it.’ 
John A. Myers, 12—0 John St., New 
York, will send you free copy on re 
quest. Nitrate for sale by 
BALFOUR, WILLIAHSON & CO., 
27 William St., New York. 
iJadoo Fibre and Jadoo Liquid 
Will give you Early Crops and Large Crops 
of Vegetables or Fruit. Send for Catalogues 
and be convinced of the merits of these 
new Fertilizers. 
THE AMERICAN JADOO CO., 
815 Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia, Pa. 
LEGGETT'S 
pjOfM 
of 
A Dry Sprayer 
No Water or Plaster. 
Bait! Tree, Buih or Vise. 
Two rows of potatoee as 
fast as you walk, wide or 
narrow planting. Ag«ntt 
wanted. Catalogue and 
spray calendar free. 
LEGGETT & BROTHER, 
301 Pearl 8t., New York. 
Paragrene. 
Better than Paris-green. Half the Cost. 
Does not burn the foliage. 
“I used Pauagrkne just as I would Paris-green. 
It did not injure the foliage, but killed all the potato 
bugs very quickly. I like it better than Paris-green, 
and shall always use it In future.” 
Suburba, Tenn. a. e. bunker. 
“I have used and found Paragrene the best, 
quickest and safest insecticide 1 ever used, and 
recommend it to every grower of currants and goose¬ 
berries for absolute destruction of the Currant worm, 
and does not injure the foliage. Please send at once 
two 14-pound packages more of Paragrene.” 
Tivoli, Madalin P. O.. N. Y. geo. w. fingar. 
Send for Pamphlet and Samples. 
FRED L.. LAVANlll'KG, Box lti*0 B. New York. 
POISON 
is not used in my Killer of Cab¬ 
bage Worms By mail. 25 and 50c. 
KDW. SWAKTS, Blockton, la. 
FumaCarbon Bisulphide 
Nowls the time for UfflfinPIIIIP VC to sleep 
farmers to put If UUUullUUltd with 
“ FUMAL.” 
KDWAJRD B. TATLOB, Cleveland, Ohio. 
A RUINED 
GARDEN, 
flower bed, green house 
or lawn may be the result 
of a few hours operation 
of an active, energetic 
mole. The remedy is to 
catch them on flrstsigns 
of appearance. 
Out-0-Sight 
MOLE TRAP 
catches him every time. It’s 
guaranteed to do that. Can be 
set anywhere—under glass, in 
the hot bed. &e. Sample trap 
85 cts. by mail, or have your dealer 
order for you. It is not like others— 
It Isbetter. Descriptive matter 
on traps mailed free. 
ANIMAL TRAP CO. 
10 fleekSt., Abingdon, il 
glass, in 
pic trup 
lealer 
D ADklO of Plank save Timber and Casb. Best, 
UHnifO cheapest, strongest, most desirable. Over 
2,000 built in last 10 years. Book for stamp. 
JOHN L. SHAWVER & BROS., BeUefontaine, O. 
buy Your fertilizers direct! 
Save Money ! No Salesman’s Expenses: No Middleman’s Profit. Our entire product 
goes from Factory to Farm. Write for free samples and book. 
WALKER, STRATMAN & CO,, Pittsburg, Pa. 
Other People’s Profits 
have increased 28 to 60 per cent, when they began to spray the rig\tmay— 
^with the right sprayer, the peppleR AND CLIMAX SIX-ROW SPRAYERS. 
^ will do as mnch for yon. Read how they spray 30 acres a 
day, how they save the poison, increase crops one-half, pay for themselves in 
one season. Catalogue contains spray calendar, formulas, etc. Sent free. 
THOMAS PEPPLER, Box65, HICHTSTOWN, N. J. 
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