658 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
September 16 
; Ruralisms ; 
▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ 
Waifs From the Sea. —The Dominion 
Line steamer Labrador was wrecked oft 
the coast of Scotland last Fall, while 
carrying a cargo of American apples to 
British ports. Thousands of little apple 
trees have sprung up on the western 
coasts of ihe Islands of Iona and Mull, 
from the seeds of the apples then 
washed ashore, and are found growing 
just above high-water mark. The croft¬ 
ers of the Islands are transplanting them 
tt> their gardens, and some are already 
several inches high. As these apples 
were, presumably, of our best export 
varieties, it is possible that some really 
good things may be found among the 
seedlings, and in after years, be returned 
to us. Many instances are recorded of 
similar horticultural waifs proving of 
value to the countries in which they 
stranded. The beautiful Nerine Sarni- 
ensis, or Guernsey lily, an Amaryllis-like 
bulb, first gained a foothold on the 
sandy coast of Guernsey and other Chan¬ 
nel Islands, early in the last century, 
when a ship from the Cape of Good 
Hope, partly freighted with bulbs, was 
wrecked on a reef in that vicinity. The 
bulbs floated landward, and found a con¬ 
genial home in the mild climate. The 
production of Nerines and related bulbs 
has since become a most important in¬ 
dustry in Guernsey, and it would be 
difficult to compute the enormous num¬ 
bers grown and sold every year. 
The Leafless Radish, which was 
shown at Fig. 191, page 479, which was 
introduced two seasons ago, is an odd 
freak, or rather, an ultra development 
of the dwarf-growing class of radishes, 
which have become so useful for forc¬ 
ing and quick cropping. For many 
years, growers of radish seeds have been 
selecting, for forcing purposes, radishes 
with the smallest and most compact top 
in proportion to the tuber, in order to 
get varieties of which a great number of 
marketable radishes could be quickly 
grown in a very limited space, under 
glass or otherwise. Most new varieties 
of this type conform to the rule, and 
some are marvels of quick and compact 
growth, reaching a satisfactory edible 
size in about 20 days after germination. 
The Leafless radish, however, is not, 
by any means, so rapid a grower; the 
decreased leaf surface so retards the as¬ 
similation of plant food, that almost two 
crops of the earliest forcing or “rocket” 
varieties may be grown in the same 
time. The great feature of the Leafless 
radish is the comparatively enormous 
development of the cotyledons, or seed 
leaves, and the small and crumpled ap¬ 
pearance of the few true leaves that suc¬ 
ceed. While large numbers of these 
curious radishes can be grown in a win¬ 
dow box or other limited space, it has 
but little value except as an oddity. The 
tuber is dark red, and the quality fair 
w. v. F. 
The California Poppy.— During a re¬ 
cent visit to the New York Botanic Gar¬ 
den, at Bronx Park, we were attracted 
by a vivid mass of California poppies 
(Eschscholtzia) in a temporary border 
of annual and herbaceous plants. Flow¬ 
ers of glowing orange and golden yellow 
covered the plants, and it was hard to 
realize that all this beauty was derived 
from a few seeds, scattered broadcast 
about the middle of May. The Cali¬ 
fornia poppy is one of our most showy 
native plants, and can be recommended 
for giving a fine result in an open sunny 
spot. 
Sprouting Cocoanuts. —The cocoanut 
of commerce, with its fibrous exterior, 
is familiar enough, but many people in 
the temperate zone would fail to recog¬ 
nize it as it comes from the tree, covered 
with its unshredded husk. Odder still is 
it to see the baby palm, poking through 
its mummy wrappings in germinating. 
At the New York Botanic Garden, we 
noted a number of cocoanuts lying in 
the sun-warmed water of a shallow la¬ 
goon, being placed there to germinate, 
instead of being put in soil like most 
seeds. These nuts had to be brought 
from Porto Rico. Cocoanuts are often 
carried long distances by river and sea, 
before finding a congenial place for mak¬ 
ing a start in life. 
Autumn Lilies. —Bulb dealers are 
now sending out their lists of bulbs for 
Autumn planting. Up to the middle of 
September, we may plant St. Joseph’s 
lily (Lilium candidum) out of doors; the 
other lilies may be planted in October. 
St. Joseph’s lily makes a fine sight in a 
mass, with its spikes of snowy flowers, 
and is not expensive. Plant five inches 
deep in a good, well-drained loam. If 
the soil is very poor, it would be well to 
remove it for a foot in depth, when the 
bulbs are planted, and fill with well-rot¬ 
ted sod and manure. Never set lily 
bulbs directly on manure; a little sand, 
under and around the bulb, seems to 
prevent rot. 
Strawberries for a Succession. —If 
I were to select varieties of strawberries 
solely for home consumption, I would 
choose for extra early, Michel, which is 
not as large or fine in flavor as many 
other varieties, but is valuable on ac¬ 
count of its extreme earliness. I have 
not found any of the newer sorts of re¬ 
cent introduction as early as the Michel. 
The old Crystal City was fully as early, 
but not nearly so large or productive. 
It seems to be a settled fact that our 
extra early strawberries are produced at 
the expense of flavor. 
For second early berries, I would have 
both Marshall and William Belt, both 
ripening at the same time and both of 
the finest flavor. We cannot decide 
which we like best. For this reason, I 
would plant both varieties. The Belt is 
most productive, but Marshall remains 
in fruit much longer. For this reason, 
perhaps, if I were restricted to only one 
of these varieties, 'it would be the Mar¬ 
shall. Considerable has been written 
about the susceptibility of the William 
Belt to rust. I am growing it in sepa¬ 
rate beds, and have over one-quarter of 
an acre in one block. The foliage is as 
clean as any variety I have ever grown. 
For late berries, I would choose Bran¬ 
dywine and Gandy. The latter is a few 
days later than the Brandywine, but to 
our taste, does not compare with Bran¬ 
dywine in flavor. I am quite sure the 
great majority of those who are ramiliar 
with both berries would prefer the 
Gandy for flavor, but there is a spright¬ 
liness about the Brandywine that I like 
very much. In fact, I think there is 
more real strawberry flavor to it when 
fully ripe than to almost any other 
strawberry I am acquainted with. 
T. J. D. 
Odd-Year Baldwins. —This apple 
maintains its characteristic habit, and 
this season, carries a full crop. There 
were none last year. The fruit exactly 
corresponds with the picture given it by 
Downing with long, slender stem. This 
year, as heretofore, it is' nearly free 
from worms, without spraying. Two 
years ago, a full crop was produced, and 
those we sold brought $5 a barrel. More 
than ever, this brings to mind the im¬ 
portance of grafting the Baldwin with 
scions taken from trees which produce 
the finest fruit. There is such a wide 
difference in the size, shape and flavor 
in this one best apple for the New Eng¬ 
land States. J. w. adams & co. 
Massachusetts. 
New Gideon Seedling. —We recently 
received some new apples from Peter M. 
Gideon, of Wealthy fame, being the fruit 
of carefully selected seedlings. Among 
them was the fruit reproduced, natural 
size, in Fig. 245, page 654. This fruit 
was a light green in color, the skin very 
smooth and bright; flesh crisp, juicy. 
and a pleasant subacid in flavor. The 
point which has especially impressed Mr. 
Gideon is the thrift, vigor and hardiness 
of the tree. It came from a promiscuous 
lot of seeds, saved from the best trees 
Mr. Gideon had in bearing at the time. 
Many of the seedlings raised from this 
lot showed a mongrel ancestry, and 
were valueless; but this one, as yet un¬ 
named, impressed Mr. Gideon as espec¬ 
ially promising. Mr. Gideon has been 
working for a combination of thrift and 
hardiness of tree, together with good 
quality of fruit. High-quality fruits, 
which will withstand the rigor of the 
cold North, form a valuable gift to 
American pomology. 
Early Blackberries. —Mr. T. J. 
Swearer, of Fayette County, Pa., writes: 
I see the Hope Farm man is blowing 
about his Early Harvest blackberries. 
Why, he doesn’t know what a blackberry 
is; he should have seen some of our Minne- 
waskis on a small patch we have in the 
garden. While the wild berries were al¬ 
most a failure in these parts, the Minne- 
waski came up smiling with a crop of big 
berries, and the past Winter was the 
coldest we have had in years. 
The Early Harvest is useful with us be¬ 
cause it fruits ahead of other varieties. 
It follows closely after late strawberries 
and raspberries, and sells well. The 
later varieties must compete with the 
wild fruit, which is ver? abundant and 
cheap. We find it difficult to sell late 
blackberries in our local market, be¬ 
cause people organize parties and pick 
the wild fruit. 
PRUNINGS. 
This season has been very hard on apple 
and pear orchards, that have been kept in 
sod for years. The cultivated orchards are 
far superior in a season like the present. 
Red June Eating Apple.— After a dozen 
years’ trial in comparison with Astrachan, 
Early Harvest and Yellow Transparent, 
we find it is fit for cooking earlier, is more 
productive, and is uniformly fair and free 
from insects. Though smaller in size, we 
regard it as the best one early apple for 
the family. j. w. adams & co. 
There is no doubt that different varie¬ 
ties of bush fruits have varying abilities 
to withstand the drought. The Early Har¬ 
vest blackberry seems specially able to 
take care of itself in a dry season. Two 
years’ test at the New Jersey Experiment 
Station clearly shows that some varieties 
are more inclined to vote the prohibition 
ticket than others. We shall learn all 
about this later when the tests are com¬ 
pleted. 
Catalpa Speciosa. —I notice in The R. 
N.-Y. of August 12, an article on Live 
trees for Fence Posts, in which several 
suggestions were made, all of which were 
fairly good. But no other tree equals the 
Catalpa, speciosa; in fact, I believe this 
tree to be the best for almost every prac¬ 
tical purpose of any grown in the United 
States. It grows faster than any other va¬ 
riety, and its lasting qualities are second 
to none. D. c. b. 
Kansas City. 
Haii, storms visited this grape section 
August 2; slight damage was done in some 
localities, but nothing worth mentioning, 
not 100th of 1 per cent loss. The crop is 
estimated at 2 per cent above the aver¬ 
age. Everything now indicates early ripen¬ 
ing and high quality. Black rot is present 
in some vineyards, but the drought which 
is prevailing here holds the rot in check, 
and it is getting so near the ripening time 
that we do not fear serious loss. e. c. g. 
Penn Yan, N. Y. 
The season has been very favorable here. 
My corn has hardly wilted since it came up. 
One field will, I think, make the heaviest 
corn I ever grew, and without doubt, much 
the heaviest ever grown on the field since 
it was cleared, over 50 years ago. It is 
planted 3x3% feet, and I hope to get in 
sight of 100 bushels per acre, 70 pounds to 
the bushel. That has been my ambition. I 
have a good prospect for clover seed. I 
have ordered a car-load of lambs from 
Cincinnati. I hope to get them at a cost 
of less than $3.60 per 100 pounds, on my 
farm. I saw a car-load last week as good 
as those I had last year, that cost $3.33 on 
the farm. Most people are afraid of them, 
but I am willing to take the chances. I 
hope to have them on full feed by Sep¬ 
tember 10. I have an idea that clover hay 
will make more mutton before extremely 
cold weather than it will if fed in the dead 
of Winter. john m. jamison. 
For the land’s sake—use Bowker’s 
Fertilizer.— Adv. 
Prepare 
for 
Winter. 
Now the time to think 
about keeping your stock warm 
during the coming winter. Be¬ 
fore cold weather sets in look 
over your outbuildings and see 
if there are any leaky roofs, 
any shingles or clapboards 
coming off, or any cracks that 
need stopping up to make the 
buildings warm. 
It is poor economy to have 
cows and horses sleep cold in 
the winter, and every farmer 
knows how much more profit¬ 
able hens are, and how much 
faster the chickens grow if they 
are kept warm. 
If you will accept a sug¬ 
gestion from us, of which the 
editor of this paper will ap¬ 
prove, you can fix up your old 
outbuildings, prevent leaky 
roofs, make warm your sheds, 
barns, henhouses, hot beds or 
greenhouses at very little ex¬ 
pense. 
Go to your nearest hardware 
dealer and get a roll of Ne- 
ponset Red Rope Roofing, 
which is made for any out¬ 
side covering, and is positively 
water-proof, wind-proof, and 
frost-proof. There are five 
hundred square feet in each 
roll, and it will only cost you 
$ 5.00 including the necessary 
nails and tin caps. 
Don’t confound Neponset 
Roofing with common tar pa¬ 
per, which, when exposed to 
the weather will crack, crumble 
and quickly rot away. 
Tar paper was all right 
for your grandfathers, but in 
this age of advancement a 
covering which is very much 
more durable and economical 
is required, and that is 
Neponset. It takes the place 
of shingles or clap-boards on 
outhouses, and back-plaster in 
dwellings. Any one can put it 
on and it will last for years. 
If you would like to have a 
sample of this roofing and full 
particulars before you buy, 
send a postal card to F. W. 
Bird & Son, East Walpole, 
Mass., and they will send it to 
you by return mail free. 
